I love...

...to bake. Seriously, if I could bake all the time, I would.  Not sure why I don't feel the same way about cooking, but I'll take what I can get.

Over the weekend, I put my skills to test with a new cookie creation.  Get this, a chocolate chip cookie baked around a Double Stuffed Oreo cookie.  Um, hello?  Why yes, don't mind if I do.

So I did.  And let me tell you.  This cookie is, well, it's incredible.

I'm not sure how I've been living without this cookie. Please, do yourself a favor and make these.  You won't regret it!
















WINNING

Bathroom Remodel

Our bathroom was dated.

A facelift wouldn't do it, so we decided to gut and remodel...ourselves.  Scary?  Yes.  Worth it?  Totally.

First we put a budget together - $3K.  That's it.  Three thousand dollars.  Doesn't sound like a whole lot when you go and do this...

And this...

But we pushed on.  We tiled...

And we sweat...

And after several weekends of hard work and dedication, we were finished.  (insert angels chorus)

Not one thing from the old bathroom remained.  New sink, new toilet, new tub, new wall color, toilet paper holder, closet space, faucet, etc.  And we stayed within our budget!  What an amazing and HUGE accomplishment for us simple DIY'ers.

This remodel then led to a kitchen facelift.  Awesome. The fun never ends!

Hello! Is it me you're looking for?

Hi.  It's me.  Stevie.  You don't remember me?  Well, I don't blame you.  I haven't blogged in nearly ten months.  Not sure why, I think I just got bored with it and felt all of this insane pressure to update on a regular basis.  More often than not, I dreaded blogging, so I stopped.


But I'm back.  My family loved keeping up with me through Stevie Unscripted and I've decided that being a sporadic blogger isn't such a bad thing. And I've really enjoyed watching some close friends jump back into the blogging world as well (you know who you are!) - so thanks for the much-needed inspiration to take the leap once again.


I have some really cool stuff to share soon.  Matt (the hubby) and I tackled some massive home remodeling projects this past year and it was quite the experience.  But by doing everything ourselves, we learned things we never thought we would and we saved a ton of money (woot!). 


Wow.  It felt nice to write this.  It's great to be back!

the month of my *birth*

Is May seriously over already?  How quickly time flies when you’re having fun, right?! 

 

It’s been a whirlwind of a month for me and the family.  We celebrated birthdays and new beginnings, went on a fabulous trip to NYC, wrapped up some more house work and of course, hung out with our little man, Norman.

 

First things first. 

 

Birthdays.  I turned 27 on May 19^th.  It wasn’t as an exciting day as I imagined.  It’s no longer fun getting older!  You don’t get as many fun presents!  And usually you’re so busy that there isn’t time to celebrate with family and friends.  At least that was the case for me.  Luckily, my wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to New York City and we had the best time.  It’s so nice to get away, especially when shopping and best friends are involved.  A quick breakdown of the trip involved: Soho, Wicked, a Yankee’s game, Times Square, runs in Central Park, eating, shopping and spending time with my bestie, Andrea and her boyfriend Dan.  The weekend couldn’t have gone by faster, but it was nice to get home to Norman.  I hadn’t been away from him for more than a day since we got him, so it was definitely hard to be gone for that long.

 

Times Square to buy Wicket tickets - w00t!

Loved Wicked

Party time!

And the Yankee's game to round out our fantastic weekend

Me and my buddy on my actual birthday!

Norman went to his first birthday party this past weekend!  Sonny, Derek and Tara's yellow lab, turned one!  Happy Birthday, Sonny!

Babies. Other May happenings included a shower for my friend, Allyson.  She’s having a baby girl, “Baby Girl Lake” on or around July 3^rd.  It’s very exciting for our group of friends because this is the first baby to come into our circle.  And boy is she going to be spoiled by all of us!

 

Allyson and her first baby - Houston

 

And not only is Allyson due next month, but a few more of my friends are pregnant as well!  I will reveal them when the time is right, but my heart is bursting for all of them.  What a blessing.

 

Bachelorette. I went to a good friends bachelorette party.  Mackenzie and Sam are getting married on June 26^th and I can’t wait to celebrate in their new journey.  I’ve seen this couple grow from the very beginning and am so excited to see Kenz walk down the aisle and marry her Sammy!

 

The Bach!

Me and Kenz!

 

Me and T, the MOH

Sass

Love this chica!

Backyard.  We finally finished our backyard!  It took a few more weeks than we thought it would due to the rain/weather, but it looks great and here’s to hoping the up keep won’t be so tough.  Norman loves it!

 

 

Bedrooms.  I never posted the before and after of our guest bedroom and master bedroom.  Here you go!

 

Guest Room - before the finishing touches

 

And done!

Master Bedroom - BEFORE

And DONE!

Bathrooms. The project has begun!  Matt and I have officially started researching costs, likes, dislikes for our master bath that we are building upstairs.  This is what we are working with - the old nursery.

Here is what we are envisioning.

 

Two of these

 One of these showers

And this color scheme

And once we finish the master bath, we’ll be on to our guest bath on the main floor.  For this one, we’re going to do a simple remodel with a color scheme of brown and white.  Very simple and crisp.

 

Bathroom now

Vision, but we'll use a pedestal sink.

 

Bubbers.  Aka Norman.  He’s almost 8 months!  I can’t believe how quickly he’s grown and he is so good at making best friends.  Cooper is his “uncle” but Sonny, Tara and Derek’s dog, is his best friend.  I’m not lying when I say they love each other.  See for yourself!

 

Bubbers

Uncle Cooper!

Norman's first swim

Norman and Sonny - BFF

Whew!  If you're still with me, thanks!  This was along post.  Happy Summer!