Hallway Project

I have big plans for our fairly long hallway - namely, gallery walls featuring family photos, prints, paintings, etc. in gold frames. As you can see..not *quite* there yet, but hey, it's a work in progress.

A few details to note - the floors are terrazzo (hello, '70's!), but I snagged this 10' long wool runner from Rugs USA for $70. Not too bad for a natural fiber rug of that length.  I love that it provides texture, comfort under foot, and a graphic kick to the hallway. I also think the light blue & off white chevron complements the cream colored walls (BM French Canvas). 

I want the pieces chosen for the walls to tell a story about our life as a family, as well as our passions and interests. One of them is, of course, our hometown of New Orleans. I picked up the fleur de lis at Garden Gate on Metairie Road - truly delightful shop - and just wrote the "laissez les bon temps rouler" quote on card stock and popped it into an old, generic frame that I spray-painted a muted gold. 

The Jen Ramos "LOVE" print and pic of Sam dancing in City Park are right outside of our bedroom. I smile every time I look at that picture of Sam - pure joy!

The hallway doesn't get much light, but in the evening, as the sun is starting to set, it practically glows, which is why I wanted to focus on frames in various shades of gold. I hope you enjoyed this mini-home tour. More to come! 

Tuesday Tip

Can you guess what's the smartest thing I have in my fridge? The bottle of Prosecco? Good guess, but not quite. The jar of pickles? Well, I do love those, but not this time...The six pre-made lunches for me and the Mr.? Ding! Ding!

Seriously, I am obsessed. I started doing the pre-made multiple lunches just last week (what took me so long?!) and it's already changed my life. Well, it's changed my life in that it saves me about 15 minutes every morning. Hey, that can be a total game changer when you have a toddler to bring to school and an office across town to get to.

You can find TONS of lunch ideas on Pinterest, but I've been sticking with sandwich/carrot sticks/berries for me and sandwich/carrot sticks/pretzels or chips for Mr.. I'll probably bore of that soon enough and try to branch out, but for now, this works.

Cost break out - I bought 8 Ziploc three-section "divided rectangle" containers from Tarjay for about $10 total. I'm guesstimating that lunch contents cost roughly $20 a week. $10/person for the week! That's less than what I'd pay for one salad and an iced tea at the cafe next door to my office. I'm so proud of my thriftiness, I can't stand it.

If you're looking for an easier way to prep brown bag lunches, I can't say enough about this simple little system. About $10 up front investment, $20 a week for food, and 15 minutes of your time on Sunday night and you have yourself a great time and money saver. Win/win? Oui! Oui!

Breakfast of Champions

Good morning! This is my new favorite breakfast - homemade berry bar, topped with plain greek yogurt, sliced strawberries, and a drizzle of honey. Oh my...SO good, and, for the most part, pretty healthy.

I found the recipe for the bars here: GroupRecipes.com and followed it to a T (well, except that I supplemented the blueberries with frozen raspberries to get the full 2 cups of berries). I highly recommend you try this one out.

Here's to a great Thursday!

You Don't Stop

It's Wednesday - we're halfway through the week and the Olympics are in high gear. It's time for some music to keep us going strong. How about a little "Sure Shot"? Enjoy!