Our Mexican Vacation

The day after we closed on our house, T and I left for a few days of vacation in Mexico.  We've had this trip planned for several months, not knowing we'd be closing on a house around the same time. When we were figuring out a closing date for our new house, we thought it made the most sense to buy the house and leave for a few days while we had the floors redone.  In theory it made perfect sense, but after our closing date was pushed back by a day, it had us scrambling at the last minute to sign paperwork before we left the country.  Thankfully it all worked out, but for about 48 hours, we were freaking out.

We landed in Mexico on Wednesday morning, and headed to our resort about 45 minutes down the beach. We returned to the same place that we honeymooned 3 years prior, The Paradisus in Playa Del Carmen.  The resort was just as great as we remembered.  We had 5 days of pure relaxation and over indulgence, and it was every bit amazing as it was 3 years ago.  

I surprised T with a selfie stick for the trip.  I mainly chose to surprise him with it because if I told him about it before I purchased, he would have been fully against the idea. But, it was so convenient to have it with us at all times to take pictures without having to ask others for help.  Plus the novelty of it was just hilarious.

Now it's back to the real world.  My first week back from vacation was a doozy.  I rarely take an entire week off of work because recovering from that is so tough.   Today I think I'm finally back in the swing of things, but oh what I would give right now to be sipping a margarita by the pool.

Vacation photo dump in 3...2...1...

Half Bath Inspiration

Our original plan with our new house was to start off with kitchen and living room updates, but we quickly decided to lump the half bathroom into that as well.  Like our kitchen, the half bath was fully covered in a dark burgundy paisley wallpaper, complete with a coordinating border.  We decided that while were paying someone to remove the wallpaper in our kitchen, it would be cheaper in the long run to go ahead and take care of the bathroom, too.

Since this was not in our original plan or budget, I have to be SUPER economical with what we're going to be doing in that room. Here's our plan:

The goal was to spend less than $500 total on the room.  Luckily, there was already a gold mirror in there, which will save us a couple hundred bucks.  We picked out an inexpensive vanity from Lowes this week that was on sale for $189, and I bought a chrome faucet ($54) and light fixture ($27) to go along with it.  Since the existing mirror is gold, we'll have a few other gold accents in the room to tie it all together.  I'm so happy that I get to use Sea Salt in one of our rooms, I think it's such a gorgeous color and perfect for a powder room.


Mirror (I'm using one we already have, similar to this)- Nordstrom
Vanity- Lowes
Faucet- Lowes
Light Fixture- Home Depot
Knobs- Pulls Direct
Paint- Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt

If all goes to plan, we'll spend about $350 on everything including the cost of paint, which leaves another $150 for all the other little extra things that I'll need (towel bar, rug, things to put on the walls, etc). Can't wait to see this all come together!

Just to see where we're coming from, here are a few pictures of the half bath as it is now.  Wallpaper has been removed as well as the toilet and 90's seashell pedestal sink. Nothing too exciting, but I do love the thick crown molding.  It's really the only part of the room we're keeping.

We should have everything painted and installed by early to mid next week.  Stay tuned for an update.

It's Good To Be Back!

I truly cannot believe how long it's been since I've blogged.  I'm going to use the cliche excuse that things have been crazy busy, and as lame as that may sound, these really have been some of the busiest weeks of my life.  
Within the last month, we purchased a house, put ours on the market and sold it, moved, took an out-of-the-country vacation, and started renovations on our new place.  All while keeping our nine to fives and trying to get my new jewelry business off the ground.  Whew. 
With all of that going on, something had to give, and it had to be my blog.  But, I'm back, and I hope I'm back to stay.   I'll be sharing some updates of the renovations over the next few weeks.  We're trying to knock out the kitchen and living room as quickly as we can.  Not having a functional kitchen has been tough (nowhere to chill my wine), and I don't know if T will be able to live much longer with out his chair and TV.  Priorities people, priorities.

Our last photo in front of our old house

Here are a few of the before and during reno pictures.  We moved in on Tuesday evening, and left for Mexico first thing on Wednesday morning.  I'm so glad I thought to snap a few before pictures that evening, but I wish I had taken more.  While we were gone the contractors started ripping up our old floors and replacing them with the new.
The kitchen and living room will receive the majority of renovations, so I'll focus on those two for this post.  We fell in love with this house because of it's flow.  I've always told T that I wanted a kitchen that opened up to the living room one day when we have a family, so finding one that did was major plus. (For the record I am not preggo- but we do hope that this will be the house we have kids in one day.) The vaulted ceilings and skylights in the living room are another one of my favorite parts of the house.  The floral wallpaper, pink bathroom tile back splash, and box florescent light in the kitchen?  Not so much. 

Here are a few pictures taken after we had the wallpaper removed and hardwoods initially installed, pre-stain.  Already a vast improvement.

And these pictures were snapped this morning.  We still aren't supposed to be walking on the floors yet, so I had to take them from upstairs.  The stain color we chose was Minwax Provincial, and I LOVE it.  The existing floors had a lot of 90's yellowy orange in them, which I wanted to get away from. I like the look of dark brown hardwoods, but I was afraid they would show too much wear and tear from our pets.  Provincial is a medium brown that has more ashy walnut tones than red or orange.

And here's a little breakdown of what we plan to do to each room.  
Kitchen
Remove linoleum and replace with hardwoods Remove wallpaper Replace light fixture with two pendants Install can lights Replace all appliances Kitchen island re-installed New back splash New counters installed Paint Walls (Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray) Install shutters/blinds
Living Room
Remove carpet and replace with hardwoods Replace ceiling fan Paint walls (Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray + a darker gray for accent wall) Whitewash fireplace Install shutters/blinds
Ahh, it's good to be back!

Weekend Recap + Swamp Rabbit Spring Flea

This weekend was a blast.  I had my first show with Laura Cox Designs at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe's Spring Flea, and it went great!  I got to meet so many people and even my goal with the amount of necklaces sold. I joined forces with Tabitha from Greenville Goods for this event.  We sold Greenville Goods tees, my necklaces, and other items from local makers like Pallet and Crate and Olive + Grey.  Here's a few pictures I snapped on Saturday.

The rest of the weekend was spent in complete relaxation  mode.  Last week I found out I had vertigo, so I spent Sunday just taking care of myself. This is the first time I've ever had it, and it's really thrown me for a loop.  I feel like everything is spinning around me, it's such a crazy feeling.  It was most likely brought on by stress, so in my down time I've been trying to relax as much as possible.   Easier said than done for someone who has entirely too many irons in the fire.

View my Etsy Shop here! www.lauracoxdesigns.etsy.com

Hope y'all are having a great week!

Easter Weekend Recap

This year for Easter T and I decided to surprise my parents, sister, and brother-in-law at the lake. We arrived Friday night with the car packed up and dog in tow, rang the doorbell, and the look on their faces was priceless.  This was Camille's first Easter and we were so happy that we got to spend it with her.  

Can you tell that we are the proudest aunt and uncle of our now two nieces?  We're like annoyingly proud.  #noshame  Hope y'all had a great Easter as well!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday!  Today I'm joining up with April, Darci, Natasha, and Christina for their Five on Friday link up.  Here are my top five things for this Friday:

one. Last weekend we celebrated my 27th birthday with friends and family. On Friday night we all headed down to my parents' lake house, and on Saturday we went to Camden for the Carolina Cup. The Cup falls around my birthday each year, and this year it fell on the exact day. We invited 6 of our friends to join us, and although it was chilly, we had a great time.

two. Last Thursday we welcomed our new niece Caroline into this world.  She is such a precious baby, and I already cannot wait to see her again.  T and I spent Thursday evening with her, and then stopped by again on the way back from the lake on Sunday so we could see her one more time before we headed back to Greenville.  We are so in love!

three. King of Pops has opened up shop in Greenville!  They have two stands that are open every afternoon now around downtown Greenville.  Follow them on instagram here to get updates on their whereabouts.  On Wednesday I checked them out with my coworker and fellow Greenville blogger Suzannah from Truly Unlruly.  We both highly recommend the Grapefruit Mint and Blackberry Ginger pops.

four. Upstate friends, have you heard of Greenville Goods yet?   It's a community brand for Greenville that's recently started up.  They're striving to celebrate everything good in Greenville, whether it's local do-gooders, people who make cool stuff, or great places to go in the Upstate, they want to highlight it.   I've been working with one of it's owners, Tabi, over the last couple of weeks, and they just started to sell some of my necklaces on their site!  Earlier this week we had a photoshoot with some of the other locals they're working with, and I had the best time meeting everyone.  Keep an eye out on Greenville Goods, they're going to be doing some awesome stuff in the near future.

five. Speaking of my necklaces, I have posted several more to my Etsy shop this week.  And head over to Newlyweds North today for information on how to enter a giveaway for a free necklace plus a coupon code to save you 15%!  These horsehair tassel necklaces are my absolute favorite, and they're all just $25.00.

Have a great weekend!

Favorite Greenville Lunch Spots

I feel like I mention in every other blog post that T and I are on a pretty strict budget these days.  Our friends are probably so tired of hearing it, too.  BUT keeping our spending to a minimum is a priority in our household and will be until we get stupid student loans paid off.

Although we both try to keep our spending to a minimum, T and I both really look forward to Friday lunches out.  I usually reserve a little bit of money for each of us every Friday so that we can treat ourselves to whatever we're craving.  I take lunches out pretty seriously.  If I only get one day a week to eat something other than leftovers or a turkey sandwich, it's gotta be good.

Here are a few of my favorite lunch spots around town:

1. Mekong Vietnamese Restaurant-  Best Banh Mi in Greenville, and their Steamed Duck Buns are out of this world.  All Banh Mi sandwiches are under $4.00 and their duck bun is $2.99.  Every dish is loaded with fresh vegetables and herbs, most of which are grown out back in the owner's parking lot garden.  If you're needing an afternoon pick-me-up treat yourself to some Vietnamese coffee.  It's decadent enough to be dessert.

2. Sacha's Cafe- Sacha's is a Colombian restaurant that has the best hot dog.  Probably not traditional Colombian fare, but it is damn good.  They serve a foot-long dog that's covered in bacon bits, slaw, cheese and crushed potato chips.  Yes, crushed potato chips.  If you'd like to go more of a traditional route, their Montanera Cazuelita is amazing.  It's a crock filled with rice, pinto beans, ground beef, sausage, fresh bacon, plantains, avocado, and a fried egg.

3. Tasty Korean BBQ- I love a bento box (who doesn't) but at dinnertime they're always ridiculously priced.  Korean BBQ offers a lunch bento box for under $10.  My favorite is their grilled pork.  The box also comes with rice, a salad, a noodle dish, and two fried dumplings.  Wash it all down with one of their Korean beers, and you're good to go.

4. Tropical Grill- I've always ordered the same thing at this Cuban restaurant, but it's so good I have no desire to branch out.  Their Classic Chop is incredible.  Chopped chicken and saffron rice served with three sauces that will take the dish to a whole new level.  The curry sauce is my favorite.  The sweet creamy curry sauce adds the most unique flavor to this dish.  Bring some gum or mints with you though, your breath will be kickin' when you leave this place.

Do y'all have any favorite lunch spots around town?  I'd love to get some more ideas!