Friday Feels – Summer Reads and My Next Project

Welcome to a little summer edition of Friday Feels on a Wednesday, where I share what I’m “feeling” this week. This post contains affiliate links.

I have had zero time to work on any house projects or photograph anything this week. So, I polled my instagram followers about what I should blog about this week, and you all had such great suggestions, I’m gonna roll a few random ones into a post!

First up, a few of you wanted to know what I’m reading AND what my kids are reading this summer. I’m currently working on Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford. It’s like short little daily reminder essays to have more patience with your kids (and yourself), slow down, breathe and enjoy the little moments. The perfect book for summer, which has really helped me slow down and appreciate my time with my kids. I’m also reading The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy which is a book of the month club pick (I talked about that fun service in this blog post here). A few books that are next on my list (I’m waiting on my mom to pass them on to me) are There, There by Tommy Orange and Circe by Madeline Miller. They are supposed to be excellent!

I think I mentioned before my kids love listening to books on audible. We live about 30 minutes from everything (school, church, Target ;) ) so we always have a book to listen to for long car rides. They also love to take a break from the sun in the afternoon and listen while they work on a puzzle too. Their favorite series lately was The 68 Rooms Adventures by Marianne Malone. It’s all about the miniature Thorne Rooms at the Chicago Art Institute. The main characters in the story can shrink down and go inside the rooms, which lead to different places and times in history. They are super imaginative and educational as well. My kids loved them and we are planning a trip to Chicago to see the Throne Rooms in person in the fall.

The other question I got a lot was what project do I want to work on next? I’m still planning on adding wallpaper to the pantry and getting that more organized in the fall. I want to get more bins for the right side of the pantry and get that together a bit! See the pantry here if you missed it last fall.

A pantry filled with food

I also want to finish my son’s bathroom (I’ve never even shown it on the blog) with wallpaper or wall tile as well. My big dream project is tackling our pool house across the street, but that’s probably a ways off yet.

A house with bushes in front of a building

I have been pinning some inspiration shots and dreaming up ideas like these brackets and deck off the top, that I sloppily photoshopped on, how fun would that be?

A house with bushes in front near a pool

We want to turn the loft up there into a fun bunk house and I have big dreams of built in beds up there. Someday!

Ok last, I just picked up this cute strawberry printed dress last week and it’s on major sale right now just $29! I’m wearing it to a party on the beach in a few weeks and it’s the perfect summer dress.

Strawberry print summer dress

dressshoesbagstrawberry print dress

I snagged this cute striped skirt that I think will take me through fall too. Also did you know you can shop my closet anytime? I’m constantly adding things to the page you can check it out here.

A striped skirt

After taking a quick poll, here were a few other suggestions from instagram for blog posts – leave me a comment below if any of these topics interest you as well!

  • More building series posts (how to pick a contractor, biggest regrets, how to budget, etc.)
  • More about me (what my typical day looks like, how the Mr. and I met, 10 random facts)
  • More about the area we live in, things we like to do
  • More recipes
  • Organization, cleaning tips
  • Parenting kid stuff

Let me know what you think, or leave your own suggestions!

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40 Comments

  1. I would love to hear more about the building process, too! How did you find your land, did you use a realtor, how did you select an architect, building plans, contractor, etc. It would also be fun to read “a day in the life of” post where you describe a typical day from start to finish. Thanks! Love reading your blog and seeing your gorgeous photos!

  2. Please more building series posts. I have been reading your blog for about a year and so enjoy seeing your beautiful lake home. Now, God willing, we are planning to build a home in Northern Michigan.

    1. Oh have fun building Carolyn, I will work on the building series! It’s been hard to organize my thoughts on it all with my kiddos home :)

  3. I adore every room in your house!! I’m building a new house this year and using your house as my inspiration. It’s perfection. Decor, organization, cleaning routine, exercise, food, fashion…love it all. Thank you!!

  4. I’d love to see how you keep the daily clutter at bay! Obviously things are cleaned up before taking blog pictures but where do you store misc items on a daily basis? Where backpacks go, mail that you haven’t gone through, school papers, kids art projects, etc. So I guess that maybe counts as an organizing post. I also am a HUGE fan of your instagram stories, I love the “real life” side of bloggers on there. So keep those coming!

  5. HI,

    Love your blog! Please include projects, a recipe once in awhile, as you decorate your house please continue to include where you bought the items, fashion, hair and beauty occasionally, book reviews and complete randomness info! Keep doing what you are doing but maybe post more often (3x a week?)

    1. Hi Christina glad to know you love a little bit of everything! I think 3 blog posts a week may kill me ha, but I usually blog twice a week during the school year so I’ll be back to my normal schedule by September for sure!

  6. I think you’re spot on with your posts as is, but inquiring minds would be interested in the area you live in! I’d also love to know how you store your seasonal décor. My garage has been overtaken and I don’t even have that much. I drive the hubby insane!

    1. Hi Sarah, I have a “pillow closet” that is my kids very favorite place to play ha, great suggestions I’ll add them to my list!

  7. Thank you for asking! More building posts please!!! definitely what you learned, what you would do different and what you still love! Product information would be nice too. I love you home and would love a little minnie version!! My husband and I are in the early stages of planning and building a SMALL lake home in rural northern MN. We are moving from a 6500 sq ft bed and breakfast and plan to build a 1200-1400 sq ft one level retirement home. Our plan is to sub contact it ourselves and do a lot of the finishing work. BUT first we need a survey of the land, sit prep, and a plan would be nice too HAHAHA!! It’s been very frustrating because we can’t even get a returned call from anyone right now. Working in our climate is hard with so few months to get thing buttoned up and all the contractors as so busy right now.

    1. Oh wow you are brave to subcontract yourselves! Good luck the beginning phases are the most frustrating for sure :)

  8. You’ll have to install a slide down into the pool from that upper deck if you build it. :-) And maybe a firemen’s pole down to the concrete patio. Still drooling over your amazing pantry – even without bins.

  9. I liked this summer book read list! I went straight to my local library’s website to request them. Thanks! I like that dress, but does it get hot? It’s 100 percent polyester.

  10. Its all about the decorating to me! I know that your house is getting close to completion but I gain so much inspiration from your ideas and style. Have you ever thought about decorating someone else’s house like you’ve done with your mom and dad’s house? I also love the sale clothes and the book lists. I purchased 3 items from your j crew factory list as soon as I saw your post. Love them all and love that some is posting pictures of clothes that us “normal” people can actually afford!

    1. Thanks for the input Sarah! I definitely try to hit reasonable price points on stuff because that’s how I like to shop. I have items I’m willing to splurge on but I also hit Target up for cute shoes all the time :)

  11. I would love to read more about about you & (what a typical day looks like, how the Mr. and you met, 10 random facts) as well as more about the area you live in, things you like to do and organizational & cleaning tips would be great too.
    Maybe a post about how you plan for setting up holiday decor and executing that plan and how long it takes you to plan and how long it takes you to put it up.

    1. All great ideas thanks Mary Beth! I always wonder if I will bore people if I share more personal stuff on here so I appreciate the feedback!

      1. Kelly,
        I think it would also be fun to hear what the Mr. & family thinks about your blogging life and what you share etc from their perspective.

  12. …and some of us are wishing for a post specifically on your gardens and landscaping. We’ve seen teasers, but want more please. Enjoy your blog so much! Your home is just lovely!

    1. This is on my agenda! My limelight hydrangeas are just starting to bloom, I’ve been patiently waiting for them and that post will be coming right up ;)

      1. I would love to see more of the side of your home with the rock stairway… so pretty!!

        :)

        1. Thanks planning on that soon! It has been raining non stop here as soon as it clears I’m hoping to shoot some pics!

  13. Hello from Athens , Greece . I love your site i want to see Organization, cleaning tips
    Parenting kid stuff , More about me (what my typical day looks like, how the Mr. and I met, 10 random facts)
    More about the area we live in, things we like to do

  14. Uggh! I just finished The Perfect Mother last night, and I hated it. During the school year (we homeschool), I had to read Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Henry V, and Sir Gawain and the Green Night with two of my kids. I was ready for some mindless summer reading, but that book was ridiculous. I may be the only person on the planet that didn’t like it. Anyhoo, sorry to vent, but I literally just finished it. I’m not on Instagram so I’ll chime in that I love all the posts about building. We are on the fence right now about buying and remodeling again or building. Your posts about budget and choosing a contractor are really interesting to me. Thanks for all the tips and inspiration!

    1. I’m not sure how I feel about the Perfect Mother yet. I’m only about halfway done…my mom said she didn’t get all the hype either lol! Thanks for the suggestions!

    2. If you’re looking for a fun summer read, try the Selection series by Kiera Cass. They’re junior romance novels (I can’t handle “adult” romance novels – ha!). I’ve read all three in the main trilogy, and couldn’t put them down (like, literally, I read all day long and finished each one in less than 24 hours). So… maybe save them for a beach vacation rather than a day when you actually need to get stuff done. ;)

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