Weekly Roundup

Just yesterday I received my first round of notes from the City of San Diego regarding my permits to remodel the kitchen. Woot! I’ve been waiting weeks and weeks for a word from them so finally things are happening. Don’t get too excited though, I only got the first round of notes from one of four departments. So, there might be another couple of months of waiting. I’ll keep you posted on kitchen planning as soon as the City gives me a thumbs up on my design plan. I’ll be taking you along the journey from getting a permit to demo to install to picking appliances to styling the shelves. Stay tuned!

My buddy Daniel added a fireplace to his bedroom using salvaged marble, a found mantel, and an antique firebox. It turned out amazing, which is no surprise. But what’s crazy is that everything reclaimed magically matched up to be all the exact dimensions so all of the old oddities fit like a perfect puzzle. It’s incredible and goes to show that if you hoard everything that came out of your house, keep an eye out for gems on the side of the street, and you’re super creative, magic happens.

Ross and I have been watching Chernobyl this week and boy is it worth a watch. It feels like a hard-to-believe sci-fi movie that just keeps getting more and more surreal, but it’s all dreadfully true. It’s hard to stomach but it’s such an important part of our history and a good look at the issues of man-made catastrophes, toxic waste in our environment, the impact of negligent people in power, and the sacrifices made to prevent an even worse disaster. After watching the first episode it had me consulting my favorite book about energy sources and their effect on our climate crisis.

I shared a blog post earlier this week all about my love for bees, flowers, shade, and water. But I forgot to mention bug hotels! They’re such a great way to help out our pollinators. You can buy a bee hotel here or make your own with this tutorial.

I made this vegan mozzarella cheese this week and it turned out well! It was well received at homemade pizza night from family members not actively interested in going dairy free.

This outdoor kids playhouse makeover is adorable. What a lucky kid.

We had friends over last night and they brought a bunch of games to play. This one was my favorite, but to be fair, my favorite games are always the ones I’m good at. And I was really good at this one. #competitive

Plastic balloons are a major polluter so not my cup of tea, but even more-so, we’re running out of helium on earth and we need it for things like MRI machines. Skip the balloons!

Cathy is looking at classic white kitchens and I’m all for it!

Social media gets a bad reputation but I agree with this post that says, “If you’re not learning something new everyday, you’re following the wrong people.” There are SO many inspiring accounts out there from home design to zero waste and it’s true that I’m learning something new every. single. day. Follow the right people and you’ll feel rejuvenated after a few scrolls on social media instead of deflated.

I wrapped up my May playlist and, while biased, I've really been digging these tunes all month long. I’m adding songs to my monthly playlists throughout the month so follow along to listen with me. I just started my June playlist today.

Happy Friday!