Saturday
After a fun night with friends on Friday, we tried our best to sleep in as much as possible which is basically a joke with kids in the mix. We were up by 6:30 a.m. but the boys all seemed really content to just play around the house.
Ever since Chase started kindergarten and we have to leave the house super early on weekdays, it seems like the boys appreciate mornings when they can ease into the day and just play together without rushing out the door. Weekends are ideal for lazy mornings and we didn’t leave home until a little after 10 a.m.
We made our way to a local trampoline park and it was the perfect activity for a cold and dreary day. Even Rhett got into it because they have a giant climbing jungle playground inside that is all enclosed and safe for adventurous 17-month-olds! We stayed at the trampoline park until it was time for Rhett’s nap. Once we were back home, we dug into lunch and I got Rhett down for a nap before saying goodbye to Ryan and the big kids.
I had an eyebrow appointment (tint + wax) and then popped into Old Navy next door since shopping solo feels like a dream these days even if I was primarily looking for spring/summer clothes for the boys. I then stopped into Whole Foods and grabbed some shrimp and clams for a Saturday night seafood feast!
By the time I made it home, Ryder had just woken up from his nap and Ryan and Chase were a couple chapters into a new book. I spent some time working on a puzzle with Ryder until Rhett was up and then we all hopped in the car and drove by the new house!
Framing was such a cool stage of the home building process because it felt like there was something new to see every time we stopped by but things are definitely slower now. Right now most of the progress is electrical and plumbing related which isn’t quite as interesting from a visual perspective but I do have a couple of new pics to share for those interested in house updates.
First, our stairs!
They were installed when we were away on our West Virginia trip and I cannot wait to see the progress continue. It took me forever to come up with a stair design I love and in the end I’m excited with where we settled. They’re going to be streamlined (no overhang stair nosings) with white oak treads, risers, banisters and balusters.
And second, here is the framing of our living room built-ins!
I love the look of arched built-ins and these will be simple with floating shelves and stained wood cabinets below.
We also did a lap around the outside of our house because there’s a lot of progress on our exterior brick and it’s cool to see our vision slowly come to life. I’ll be sure to share more pictures as everything comes together.
By the time we made it home, everyone was ready for dinner. Ryan and Chase were in charge of dinner (clams in a white wine sauce!) and I whipped up chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
After dinner we did our best to get the kids in bed early before hanging out and digging into ice cream before bed. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty psyched for a low-key Saturday night for one main reason: My book! I started reading Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand and am so into it. I’m already looking forward to bedtime tonight so I can dive back in!
Sunday
Sunday was another dreary day weather-wise and with temperatures in the low 40s and rain coming down most of the day, we stuck with indoor activities.
We spent a few hours in the morning filling a few boxes with household things to donate and other boxes with pictures and personal items our realtor told us should be put away before our house goes on the market. (Basically we’re supposed to make our house look like a blank slate that anyone can picture themselves in.)
We then headed our to donate some of the items we rounded up. We had the boys help put some of their things in donation bins and since they did a decent job rounding up some toys and books to donate, we told them they could each choose one toy and one book at Goodwill to bring home with them. You would’ve thought they were visiting the North Pole with how excited they were to choose their “new” treasures.
I swear the boy could’ve stayed at Goodwill playing with toys for an hour but eventually we told them it was time to selecting something and head out. Ryder opted for a $2 Hot Wheels car transporter while Chase selected a little stuffed animal frog. Rhett got a little bag of cars and we also found a nice bike helmet for the boys while we were there, too! I actually popped into Goodwill a month or so ago and found $3 like-new Nike shoes for Chase. Goodwill has some serious gems, I’m telling you!
(And Ryder’s Crocs rain boots were a recent consignment shop find!)
After Goodwill, our random morning of indoor activities continued with a trip to Lowe’s for storage bins (and tractor rides for the boys) followed by a stop in the pet store since it’s one of the boys’ favorite places in the world.
We arrived back home for Rhett’s nap and I stayed back to work a bit while Ryan took the big kids out for an afternoon movie. By the time everyone was home and awake, we didn’t have too much of the day left and spent time hanging out at home as a family before the whole bed time routine. I think Ryan and I were both fast asleep by 9 p.m. which made my 5:15 a.m. alarm this morning feel not quiiite so brutal.
I hope you all have a great week ahead and, as always, thanks for making my blog a part of your day!
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I just started reading Golden Girl as well!
It sucked me in immediately!!
Those stairs and ARCHES are stunning!
Thank you, Anne!
It must be so amazing watching your house to come together!! Gorgeous!! This is so beyond random, but I saw that you mentioned the olive and June mani system in your Friday favorites. I just purchased one myself! I was wondering how long it takes you to do a manicure this way?! Like you, I don’t have all the time in the world! Hope you have a great week!
It is definitely not fast!! It’s something I’ll do only after the kids are in bed otherwise I inevitably smudge it bc I don’t have time to let it dry properly
PRO TIP! Take a ton of pictures of all the plumbing and electrical before they drywall! We just did a remodel in our house and then had a pipe issue come up and it was so helpful to have pictures of the insides of the walls and where everything is.
Your house is going to look amazing! Do you have any tips for morning workouts? I need to move my workouts to the early morning before work – and I am not someone who loves getting up early to sweat. Do you genuinely enjoy early workouts or is it something you just know needs to get done? Also, does it get easier with time?!
I know you asked Julie, but as a morning workout convert I thought I’d chime in.
I had to make the switch to early morning workouts before work after my son started going to bed later as working out at 9-9:30 pm was not what I wanted to be doing at that time.
At first I would almost be sick working out first thing as my body was not used to it. But now I almost crave it, so it does get easier!
I think the biggest thing is doing something you love. There’s no way I would get up that early to run every day, but to strength train, absolutely!
There are certainly days I would rather be in bed, but almost immediately after I start working out I’m glad I did. Good Luck!
Thanks so much Pamela – this was helpful! I’m going to give it a try!
I responded to Pamela as well but I agree with her advice so, so much! Waking up at 5 a.m. is never fun but it’s definitely waaay less brutal if you wake up knowing you’re about to do a workout you genuinely enjoy. For me, this is stregth + Burn Boot Camp workouts. Also, going to bed early is sooo key. I try to get in bed at a decent hour (9 p.m.-ish most nights) so I’m decently well-rested and that helps a lot too. There’s definitely an adjustment period when switching to morning workouts but I LOVE the feeling of getting it done early and I swear it improves my mood all day long when I do!
YES!!! I second this x 1,000! I actually have a blog post coming on Wednesday about finding workout motivation and “doing a workout you love” is one of my key bullet points. It makes it a million times easier to motivate myself to workout at 5 a.m. when I genuinely enjoy the workout (the waking up early, not so much — haha)!
As soon as I saw those stairs I said out loud “wow, I really love those stairs!” Good job. 😉 My husband and I are a few years off from building a new house, but I’m trying to gather information/ideas now while I don’t actually have to make a decision. Thanks for sharing!
Please share more about the eyebrow tinting! I dye my hair blonder as well…do you dye yours lighter?
darker!! my eyebrows are sooooo light — like the blend right into my face so I have them tinted darker so they stand out a little more. I just wish the tinted lasted longer!
Hi Julie! I sent you an email regarding my niece and sister, could you email me back? ☺️
Hi Dannielle! I don’t see an email from you but if you can please resend it with “Email from Dannielle” in the subject line I’ll be sure to look for it!! And maybe also send it to juliebfagan@gmail.com because sometimes my pbfingers emails don’t forward properly to my main email address!
I resent it yesterday just checking to see if you got it? 😊
Love the house pics. It’s so exciting and those built ins are dreamy. If it’s not too late, you might consider opening up the space under the stairs that could be used for storage or something more fun, with or without access doors. It’s not a ton of room, but it’s still useful space for extra shoes, a fun little reading nook for the kids or a dog bed area for a future furry family member, if/when that’s in the cards.
Yes!! We are having it open (with a door) on the side opposite the foyer for storage/kid hide out/play space!