January Around The Web
Hello, friends! Normally I can’t believe a month has already gone by when I write these posts but this January felt like two months in one. This month we finished up our mini kitchen renovation, rang in the new year with new KC friends, survived a blizzard and freezing temps, celebrated my friend Alyissa’s birthday and hosted a family birthday part for my grandpa. Work wise was where most of the craziness came in, I started lots of exciting new projects and my friend Meredith and I saw our mural at Ability KC come to life (thanks to lots of Hallmark volunteers)! This month wasn’t a big shopping month as we finished the kitchen, but there was definitely lots of kitchen inspiration on the brain and we made some new recipes, too. Enjoy!
I absolutely love this Parisian kitchen! We have lots of hits of blue in our house, but this has me inspired to add in more lighter shades with the navy.
My friend Alyissa created Think.Make.Share.’s downloadable wallpapers, perfect for February!
Very tempted to also get an acrylic box to display my wedding shoes.
I finally found house numbers I’m obsessed with! Hoping to get these ordered and hung up soon.
A new twist on avocado toast (for me) that I loved this month.
I’m really hoping to take a stained glass workshop sometime this year and I’m saving this for inspiration.
A cute Valentine’s Day gift roundup!
Have you been entering to win the HGTV dream home?
I’ve been thinking about ways to reduce my plastic usage, and it’s exciting to see the end of single-use plastics in the EU!
Welcome, 2019!
Ability KC Mural
Last week was super special as my friend Meredith and I saw the mural we have been working on since November come to life at Ability KC, a local organization that serves children with disabilities. Our fellow Hallmarkers volunteered to help us transfer and paint the 28 foot mural over four days (many of which participated through #My5Days!). Take a peek at the final mural design and time-lapse video below, I hope that the patients and staff at Ability KC enjoy this mural for many years to come!
January Blooms
A few blooms to brighten up this cold January. Enjoy!
Kitchen Roundup
Our mini kitchen renovation was finished just before Christmas and while I’m planning to share photos soon I also wanted to list out where we purchased some of the new pieces. Other than the light, everything below is happily living in our new bright white space and I’m looking forward to replacing the light fixture soon! Enjoy!
1. Delta Faucet Trinsic Single-Handle Kitchen Faucet from Amazon
2. Triune Semi-Flush Mount from Lucent Lightshop
3. Daltile Restore Bright White Ceramic Mosaic Wall Tile from Home Depot
4. Maya Rug from Lulu and Georgia
5. W&P Pineapple Tumbler from Amazon
6. Concentrate and Natural Scrub Brush from Branch Basics
7. VIGO Undercount 30 in. Single Bowl Kitchen Sink from Home Depot
101 in 1001 (Round Two)
Happy Wednesday! Once again I’ve decided to make a 101 in 1001 list inspired by Mackenzie Horan! (You can take a peek at my last list here.) While I only checked off 64 items I still really enjoyed having it to reference. Now that I’m settled in KC this felt like the perfect time to create another list that felt more relevant to what I’m interested in and want to focus my time on now. I will update this post with my progress over the next 1001 days!
January 1st, 2019 – September 28, 2021 (72 Completed)
CREATIVE CAREER/LETTERING
1 Update Portfolio (January 2019)
2 Attend a new conference
3 Work on calligraphy for envelope addressing (2021 Mentoring Olivia)
4 Participate in Hallmarket
5 Create an illustration focused piece (January 2019)
6 Collaborate on a second font at work (Collaborating with Josh on Font in 2020)
7 Take a work trip (Almost! Letter West July 2020)
8 Letter a return address stamp
9 Set up home studio (November 2019, Set up Second Bedroom as Studio)
10 Continue mentoring (Mentorship with Leslie in 2019)
DALE AND ALLIE
11 Write anniversary notes in our guest book each year (2019, 2020, 2021)
12 Go camping (Devil’s Den in Arkansas October 2019)
13 Make a weekend trip to a winery (Wine Tasting California, Sept 2021)
14 Celebrate our 10 years of dating anniversary (Dallie Disco April 2019)
15 Volunteer somewhere together (Limited by Pandemic, but made large Harvesters Donation in 2021)
16 Send out Christmas cards each year (2019, 2020, 2021)
17 Surprise Dale with a date night (Minsky’s Nights, Gift Card to Rye)
18 Try three new restaurants (Plate, Thai Orchid, Bamboo Penny’s)
19 Go hiking together (Devil’s Den in Arkansas October 2019)
20 Walk to Brookside shops for date night (All the time in 2019!)
FITNESS/HEALTH
21 Try a new Fusion class (Drenched: January 17, 2019)
22 Try a yoga class in KC (Virtual Yoga: March 2020)
23 Hit water goal every day for two weeks straight
24 Try five new recipes (Greek Bowls, Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup, Turkey Meatball and Kale Soup, Salmon Avocado Toast, Pita Tostadas with Butternut Squash, January–March 2019)
25 Try Be Well smoothies every day for a week
26 Update our recipe book (February 2019)
27 Treat myself to a massage
28 Treat myself to a facial
29 Buy new glasses (April 2019)
30 Switch to silk pillowcases (December 2020)
TRAVEL
31 Take a family vacation (Costa Rica March 2020)
32 Visit two new states
33 Go to the beach (Alex and Adam’s Wedding June 2021)
34 Dale & Allie trip on one of his vacation weeks (Booked Cali Trip, April 2019)
35 College friends reunion trip
36 Travel to Thailand
37 Visit friends in Charleston
38 Visit friends in NYC
39 Travel to Iceland
40 Travel to Europe
ENTERTAINMENT
41 Go to the Kansas City Symphony
42 Go to a concert (Boulevardia with Megan and Matt June 2019)
43 Go to a KU game at Allen Fieldhouse (Dale with Austin 2021)
44 Take a trip to the Nelson (Napoleon Exhibit with Sophie & Dale, March 2019)
45 Take a flower arranging class (#My5Days Flower Arranging Workshop May 2019)
46 Go blueberry picking (July 2019 with Dianne, Mike & Graham)
47 Take a cooking class
48 Bake a fancy cake or dessert (Baked Derby Pie, January 2019)
49 Take Sophie and Grace to dinner
50 Watch Victoria (January 2019)
Get Organized
51 Go through clothes (January 2019)
52 Get TSA Pre-Check and Possibly Global Entry
53 Unsubscribe from emails (January 2019)
54 Instagram clean up (January 2019)
55 Go through phone and organize/delete contacts
56 Take broken china to be repaired
57 Organize Basement Shelves (January 2019)
58 Organize 2018 photos (February 2019)
59 2018 photo album (2020)
60 Fix security system/get doorbell
FAMILY/FRIENDS
61 Host a dinner party
62 Record Grammy and Pop telling childhood stories (Storyworth, 2020)
63 Help mom organize family photos (February 2021)
64 Spend a weekend at Turkey Hill (Pumpkin Carving October 2019)
65 Send hand-written letters to five friends
66 Finish college t-shirt quilt with Sophie
67 Join a book club (Internal Medicine Book Club 2019)
68 Host a movie night at our house (Watched The Shining with Grace October 2019)
69 Host a murder mystery party (Mom hosted for my 28th Birthday February 2020)
70 Mail birthday cards to 10 friends
BOOKS
71 Read an memoir (Becoming by Michelle Obama: November 2020)
72 Read a fiction novel (The Wedding Date: January 2019)
73 Read a non-fiction book (The More of Less: March 2019)
74 Read a historical book
75 Read a book (Fruit of the Drunken Tree: January 2019)
76 Read a book (The Woman in the Window: February 2019)
77 Read a book (Educated: March 2019)
78 Read a book (Red, White & Royal Blue: July 2019)
79 Read a book (The Only Woman in the Room: October 2019)
80 Re-read all the Harry Potter books
FINANCIAL
81 Cook our own food for two weeks
82 No extra purchases for a month (clothes/jewelry/books…) (February 2020, not perfect but close!)
83 Put money into a savings account each month for a year (2019)
84 Increase retirement savings percentage (Set up to increase yearly, 2020)
85 Follow up with student loan debt advisor (March 2019)
86 Reach savings goal (2020)
87 Start investing monthly after reaching savings goal (2020/2021)
88 Write things to buy in list for the next month for four months (2020)
89 Make a donation to charity (Harvesters January 1, 2021)
90 Plan long term financial goals (2020, Ongoing)
KC House
91 Buy a TV for the living room
92 Get a rug for our bedroom (February 2020)
93 New house numbers (2019)
94 Plant grass seed in the front yard (2019)
95 Paint stairway (December 2019)
96 Update bathroom (one room challenge?) (Spring 2020)
97 Get larger dining room table and more chairs (Fall 2021)
98 Hang up porch swing (2019)
99 Hang wallpaper in the sunroom (November 2019)
100 Replace kitchen, hallway, and sunroom lights (December 2019)
GRAND FINALE
101 Try something outside my comfort zone (Led Ability KC Mural Painting with Meredith, January 2019)