We’ve been busy with quite a few things this first part of the new year. First of all, we finally started our kitchen renovation. We’re waving buh-bye to our 1980s style cook area and hellllllo to our revamped space. After spending a week of my lunch hours at Lowes and Home Depot, I finally picked out a white, marbled quartz for our countertops. They are being installed in less than two weeks, so we (i.e. Todd) is doing as much work as we can before they are here. Today he made my dreams come true by scraping off the popcorn ceiling in our kitchen/living/entry area. And I’ve got a new stainless sink and gas cooktop just waiting patiently to be installed, which will all happen once our counters arrive. Add some subway tile backsplash and white paint to the cabinets and we’ll be back in the current decade!

Beyond house stuff, I’ve been planning our annual trip to Rosemary Beach. This weekend it’s been in the high 60s and I’ve been loving it, soaking it up at the park with Iris. I’m so ready for summer, especially as I stalk every beach house in Florida.

Another thing that is kinda fun is that we’ve been featured several places recently! Iris came in at number SIX for in the Top Viral Stories of 2015. I did an interview over on The Village. I had a story featured on PopSugar Moms. And last, but not least – remember that interview we did for a UK show? It finally aired overseas!

I’ve got to go help Todd clean up the mess in the top photo, but I’ll leave you on a cute note. Iris recently had “Dress Like Your Favorite Emotion Day” at school. I’m proud to report that she chose happiness. When I asked her what she would wear, she quickly answered “a smile.”