Sofa Table Inspiration

I have officially decided that I want to add a sofa table behind our couch in the family room. I really think this will make the area feel more homey and add to the room transition aesthetically.

Ultimately, this is the look I'm going for

Free plans to build this table

Right now, the family room transitions into the kitchen and the back of the couch is the only thing that separates the rooms.

I am obsessed with this wood-style table. I've seen a few at Homegoods but now I'm wondering if it'd be more cost effective to make one using the plans from the picture above. I really want to make sure the table we get has a bottom shelf because I absolutely adore the basket and blanket look and love how it sits on the little shelf.

via

Obsessed with how this table is styled

We'll see when/if this happens anytime soon - I mentioned it to Stephen the other night and he was all for it but we'll see how expensive these tables are ;)

Linking up with Annie.

Give Me Some Guacamole

A while ago, Natasha, posted a guacamole recipe on instagram and it looked super delicious so I took a screenshot of it to keep for when I'd ever decide to be brave and make guacamole. Well, Publix ran a sale on some chips that were a new type of tortilla chip. I was trying to think of what would pair well with the chips and I remembered the guacamole recipe! It was actually super easy to make and paired perfectly with the chips. (I am in no way getting compensated for this post, the chips were really good and look healthy; you know, with quiona in it ;))

The only problem I had, was that Publix didn't have a ton of great avocados so I didn't have time to let mine ripen. I had to throw them in a blender in order to mash them up so that's why it doesn't look smooth like regular guac. Definitely want to try this recipe again but with ripe avocados.

Ingredients:

- 4 rips avocados

- 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

- 1 clove garlic

- 3/8 diced red onion

- 1 diced tomato

- 2 tbsp lime juice

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix ingredients together then, chill in the fridge until ready to serve

Make sure to leave the pit(s) in the guac to keep from turning brown - it really does work!

Linking up with Jessi.

Weekending

This weekend, we had a much needed weekend at home. With being on the go the last few weekends, it was so nice getting to our house checklist and finally getting some things done. Friday, Stephen had off work so he went to work on clearing out one of our dirt with weeds landscaping areas in the backyard. So basically our landscaping needs a LOT of TLC. It's basically all cheaper plants and we found out that there was a lot of other plants grown in that were just cut at the root - some of them are starting to regrow. Stephen really did a great job pulling up the gigantic root systems these plants produced. We are pulling out all the plants on the side of the house, back of the house and front of the house in hopes to make the landscaping better. The sides of the house we will re-sod, I'd like to add some flowers to the back of the house but we're still not 100% sure what we're going to do with the front of the house.

Here's a before and after of the back landscaping area:

Once we figure out where we can buy sod, we'll sod the area, to the right, in

This is one side of the house we worked on Saturday. I failed at a before picture, but you can kind of see how big the bushes were in the before picture above.

While Stephen was hard at work on Friday, I ran to Old Navy during my lunch break to pick up this cardigan. It was a daily deal and was on sale for $12. It's lightweight which is perfect for Florida or leaving it in the office, which I will probably do. 

For dinner on Friday, we drove over to meet to meet Stephen's family for dinner at the Willow Tree, which is a super authentic German restaurant. We had a great time celebrating his mom's birthday with some great food. Total blogger fail - I didn't get any pictures of the restaurant. 

Saturday, we woke up early and I began our big house deep clean while Stephen ran over to help a friend with his boat. After he got home, he went right to work pulling out the bushes on the side of the house. After finishing my cleaning for the day, I joined him - surprisingly, we had fun ripping out all the plants which is good since we still have a lot more to go ;) 

After all our yard work, Stephen was a trooper an ran with me to the mall. I wanted to take advantage of the Columbus day sales but I ended up not finding anything. We did find some delicious pumpkin things from Target and picked up a welcome mat, for the back patio, that was on sale for $4! 

Saturday night, we finally watched the real-life Cinderella and it was really good - even Stephen enjoyed it! Definitely a lot sadder than the animated version but still a great movie! Now I can't wait for the real-life Beauty and the Beast.

After church on Sunday, we went to lunch with some friends and then I got right back to cleaning the house while Stephen worked on the lawn. It was non-stop but it feels SO good to have a clean house! For dinner, I made Christina's Chicken Enchilada Soup and it turned out delicious!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! Cheers to a great week :)

Linking up with Biana.

Five on Friday

This week has been so busy it's been ridiculous. I've been super busy so the blog has taken a backseat this week which I really hate but it's Friday and I'm back!

One
A few weeks ago, Target was having a sale on their TRESemme products to I picked up their new Make Waves gel cream from their Runway Collection. I decided to try it out Wednesday night so after getting out of the shower, I added the gel and then slept on it. Thursday morning, my hair was wavy (this is a big feat for my hair)! I really like the product because it doesn't make your hair crinkly like regular gel does and it felt very light. The biggest kick I got out of the whole thing was I cut my hair about 2 weeks ago and 4 people (yesterday) asked if I recently got a hair cut when my hair was wavy - guess I should wear it wavy more often.

Two

Stephen recently found out that he was picked to represent his company at the White House! When we found out he'll be heading up to the White House, we ran over to Jos A Bank to find him a new black suit. They were running a deal buy 1 get 3 free (I know it's a total marketing ploy but each suit ended up being a little cheaper than just going and buying a suit from Macy's. Plus since Stephen's so tall and skinny, he needs a special size - Jos A Bank was the best choice) and he got 4 fabulous suits! He is finally set for any and every occasion that comes our way ;)

This one is his "fun" suit since it's a lighter blue than navy. Now, we need to find him some fun shoes like the ones in the picture! He looks so handsome in his suits :)

Three

On Tuesday night, I had a dinner after work that I had to get dressed up for. It was so much fun and we couldn't leave without getting a picture!

Four

Thursday was our first night home for the entire evening all week so I had Stephen break out the gas grill. He cooked BBQ chicken, squash and corn and oh my word, it was so good! I am so tickled he finally has a grill and can make me all this delicious food ;)

Five

While we were grilling on Thursday, we had some uninvited visitors in our backyard and of course, I was snapping away. Two Sandhill Cranes decided to join us and they were NOT happy...

If you want to follow along my snapchat name is ashleyhirst23

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are glad to finally have a full weekend at home and we're planning on ripping out some of the bushes along the side of our house that have worn out their welcome. 

UF Tailgate 2015

This past weekend was my company's annual UF tailgate and we had an absolute blast! I've been lucky to attend the tailgate the past 3 years and it truly gets better and better every year. Honestly, I've been raised to always hate the Gators but I love going to the tailgate and helping out. I was so thankful my sister was able to come down and spend the weekend with me and Stephen was able to join us on Saturday after a long day of work on Friday.

Speaking of Stephen working, early on Friday morning he had a rocket launch and it was the perfect time to watch it. As the sun was coming up, you were able to see the solids falling back down to earth and it is the most incredible thing to watch!

Friday evening, I threw a welcome reception in the hotel lobby for the customers and employees that came up to stay in Gainesville Friday night. I loved throwing this little shindig and definitely had to consult Pinterest for some decorating ideas. After, we all headed out for dinner and then over to the Swamp. We didn't last too long since it was so crowded but it was fun!

The tassel garland turned out great ;)

Saturday morning, Stephen made it to town and we all headed over to the tailgate to get ready for everyone. We had such a great time entertaining customers and spending time together. Shockingly, the weather was beautiful and perfect!! We all ended up wearing jeans and we actually felt fantastic, which was totally out of the norm. My sweet friend, Susannah and her husband were going to the game and stopped by to say hi! We loved talking to them and catching up. 

So blessed to have such sweet friends as co-workers

Meridith got to hit the drum

Sunday, we headed back home and did the usual - laundry, grocery store, lawn care and blogging. It was an awesome weekend and can't wait to go back next year!

Linking up with Biana.