Home Decor

West Elm Globe Pendant

July 14, 2013

Remember the farm table and West Elm chandelier we hung up last year? It didn’t work out well when Christmas came because we wanted to put the Christmas tree by the window so we can see it all the time rather than have it in the other room where we’d never see it. So we switched tables and moved the small black dining table back there. After Christmas we realized we liked the farm table where it is now in the formal dining room so we left it there.

Now the problem was the West Elm chandelier looked funny with a small black dining table. So I wanted to buy the globe pendant that I’ve been eyeing from West Elm for some time now. One weekend it was 20% off so I went for it and bought it.

It took longer than expected to do this one afternoon because we had to take down the ugly chandelier in the formal dining room, take down the West Elm chandelier and put it back up in the formal dining room and then install the globe pendant.

It wasn’t easy though. At one point, the chandelier was wired wrong and almost caught on fire. Also with the globe pendant the wiring/rope was sooo long so we had to cut it before installing it.

Now it’s perfect in both rooms! Stay tuned for the next post with an update on the formal dining room.

According to #29 on 30 Signs You’re Almost 30, I’ve graduated from IKEA to West Elm, woohoo!

My Life

Steph + Brickyard = AWESOME

July 11, 2013

I’ve been working at the same company for 5 years and it’s my first professional job since I started my internship there. I knew it was time to start looking for a better opportunity since I’m not into the commercial real estate industry as a marketing specialist and that’s not my dream job. As much as I was comfortable where I am and love my job, I needed to move on.

I came across this job posting for a graphic/web designer for a marketing company that’s 10 minutes away from home. This is a huge thing since my commute is 1 hour each way with traffic. So working 10 minutes away from home is a dream! I applied and got an interview scheduled. I was so freaking nervous! The last time I had an interview was 5 years ago obviously.

I did research on their company since I wanted to make myself stand out. So I went to Paradise Bakery to get a cookie cake made. I asked them to have the cookie read, “Steph + Brickyard = AWESOME” with their colors- orange & black. It turned out great!

My interview went well and they loved the cookie cake! I got a job offer immediately the next day. I was sooo excited that I went straight to my parents’ house to tell them the news instead of going home. I was so nervous at the same time because I had to make a tough decision- to stay where I am or go for this new opportunity. I didn’t want to disappoint my team at work and my boss too but I knew it was the right thing to do.

So I got a job at Brickyard!!! I haven’t met everyone yet but so far everyone is so nice and friendly! My first day at Brickyard is on Monday the 15th and my last day is tomorrow. I hope I don’t get too emotional. It’s going to be weird walking out and not saying “see you tomorrow” to my team.

On to the next chapter of my life and looking forward to it.

Everything Else

Dry Shampoo Saved My Life

June 12, 2013

The title says it all! I never thought dry shampoo would work for me until my friend at work convinced me to try it. So I tried it and thought it was amazing! It took a while to get used to it and figure out what works best for me.

I even tried seeing how long I could go without washing my hair and the longest was a week. Amazing, huh? This has definitely saved me more time in the morning! It’d take forever to wash my hair, dry my hair then curl it. Now if I wanted to curl my hair…that’s all I have to do after using dry shampoo! Oh and the curls stay in all day long! That is a huge thing for me since my curls would be dead by lunch time without dry shampoo.

I use Dove Dry Shampoo and absolutely love it! I’ve tried so many different ones and found myself loyal with Dove. It makes my strands smell awesome!

In the morning I sleep in as much as I can then take a shower without getting my hair wet & washed. Before getting fully dressed for the day, I wear a tank top to avoid the mess since it can be messy when spraying dry shampoo. I brush my hair and if it’s really messed up then I’ll use the straightener real quick. After that I spray my roots and then when I’m done, I’ll quickly spray all over my hair. There’s always some areas where I’ve sprayed too much and that is when I see too much white powder so I use my fingers to massage my scalp to get it in and give it some volume. I leave my hair alone to let the powder sit in for a while. I’ve got no time to waste in the mornings so while I’m waiting I put make up on. When I’m done then I’ll lightly brush my hair and some powder will come right off which is okay.

See how easy this is and how much time I’m saving in the mornings! Such a wonderful thing for me since I’m not a morning person at all.

Do you use dry shampoo? If so, do you do it a different way and which product do you use? #addictedtodryshampoo and #yesijustusedahashtaginapost