Thursday, October 20, 2016

Wardrobe Classics: Bottoms

bottoms for every occasion


Now y'all didn't think I forgot about this post did you? I know, its a little overdue for my followup to the Wardrobe Classics post- but I had quite a few of you let me know you wanted to still see this! Things just got so crazy with the move that I couldn't focus on fashion, especially when we are living this Indian Summer lifestyle here. #soreadyforfalltemps

This roundup is some of my very favorite tried and true bottoms and a few new skirts mixed in. I used to wear a lot of skirts when I was a corporate workin' lady, but these days not so much. I love, love these two options for skirts. The mini would be darling with a tailored button down and boots. The scuba skirt looks like it should hug in the right places. Sounds comfy too!

I included three of my favorite pairs of jeans, but truth be told I just wanna wear the leggings like every day of the week. They are lifechanging! Locals: we just got them in at Dee Gee's too! But again, you cannot go wrong with paige and DL1961 for denim. Make sure you try the instasculpt in DL because it is the best, flattering fit and sucks you in. For days I want some polish I wear the pixie or the martie pant- nothing beats a classic black pant. Oh, and yes I included my favorite Zella leggings...because some days those most definitely get worn with a pair of boots and oversized sweater and it passes as a real outfit. Well, at least in my eyes it does.

Any good staples I am missing out on?

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

New Kitchen Plans

The one thing we wanted to make sure we did right was the kitchen in our new house! It actually had great features already, but just needed some updating. I was initially a little concerned over the kitchen when we saw the listing online, but once we saw it in person I was relieved. It was a good size, had marble countertops, good quality existing cabinets and stainless steel appliances that were in great shape. However, my wheels were already spinning on how we could take this kitchen to another level! Go ahead and laugh because I said we didn't have any major renovation work to be done. But, this is really nothing compared to what we did in our last house! By the way, most of the paint colors you will see here are horrible. No offense against the previous owners because they built a beautiful home...but the paint colors...got to go!

Here is our plan in motion:
-Paint
-Remove header above bar
-Remove chandelier and fluorescent lighting
-Add pendants and recessed lighting
-Tile Backsplash
-Replace tile floor with brick floor (!!)
-Repaint kitchen cabinets/new hardware

Here is a shot looking into the kitchen. It is a galley style I guess? It opens up to a dinette {which we have never had before and I am so excited!} and the bar overlooks into the family room with double french doors onto the porch. I only mention those details because the whole area flows really nicely together and it makes a beautiful space I know we will spending most of our time.


We were unsure of how the header above the bar would play out but luck was on our side and nothing was weight bearing- so away went the wall! This is immediately what I saw happening when I stepped foot in the kitchen. It is so cool to see it unfold! Sheetrock work will be completed in the next few days.


starting the removal of header - non weight bearing:


header removed: 


We had a random chandelier hanging off centered in the kitchen, plus a large fluorescent light above the sink. Both of those are being removed and we will have updated lighting. My initial vision called for large satin brass lanterns...really looking forward to seeing those babies installed!

Not happening immediately, but we will eventually do a tile backsplash. Stephen and my brother in law have done plenty of backsplashes that they are old hands at it now. Lucky to have this skill in our back pocket!

So, one thing that wasn't in the initial plan...a new floor! The rest of the downstairs {minus mud room} has beautiful pine floors. The kitchen has a tuscan-ish color tile, which wasn't horrible but not our favorite. We decided to forego a professional painter upstairs {leaving the professionals to paint just downstairs} and left room in our budget for brick floor. I know it will finish off the space really nicely and is exactly what this house calls for. We wanted to go ahead and do it in the mud room as well but are trying to stick to our budget as closely as possible!

We had decided to have the cabinets professionally painted...but, again, decided to forego that. This is something I have done a few times and it just seems silly to spend the money on something I can do myself. I know, time is money. But, again...I hate our budget to be eaten up by things like painting!! Once finished, we are replacing the hardware with satin brass. Can't wait.

In a few days we should see the kitchen put back together before it gets ripped up with new floor and eventually, working on the kitchen doors.

We really are so excited about this house and appreciate your comments and excitement as well!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Our New Home Story

If you have been following Miss Dixie for some time {thank you!} y'all know how we moved into our fixer upper two and a half years ago. At the time, that sweet little house is exactly what I needed and wanted. It needed lots of love and work...and we gave it that. It went from an outdated 1973 ranch to an up to date 2016 renovation. We saw that it needed desperate attention, but had so much potential, and that is what it got. We are so proud of our little ranch and how far it came. The only major thing left on our to-do list was a completely new kitchen. It was certainly updated but not a full renovation like we dreamed of. We love to cook and we are at that stage of life with children when so much of your time is spent in the kitchen. Oh... another biggie! We added a priceless addition to our family, who resided in one of our three bedrooms. All bedrooms were now occupied and happily so. When we moved into our house, cards were still on the table for more children. Not that we didn't want more, I just never wanted to with out a doubt assume we would be gifted with more children!

We had begun some discussions about some changes we wanted to make. I think mostly because I had spent a good part of the summer indoors with a newborn and toddler and things were really apparent what we lacked in our house. The thought came across our minds about building. I was not up for building. I had just seen my parents build a new beach house and seen the day to day ordeal of building. We had a little taste of building when we had input on our first home and that was enough in itself. We also decided large additions and renovations were off the table. I'm not sure why, but I just popped over to Zillow to browse just to see what was out there, even though we weren't looking to move. I came across this adorable house. I fell in love immediately, wondering how houses like this were even for sale in my area with out me knowing. But, I quickly dismissed it and moved on. A few days later, one of my dear friends {also in the market for a new house} sent me the same house listing telling me that she had found my new house. She didn't even know I had been browsing already! I told her to hush up....Stephen would not be on board with a move :) However, I told myself otherwise and convinced him into a showing that same weekend. This house filled the gaps of what we were missing in our current one, without compromising the detail and character that we love in a house. We are definitely old house people :) The rest is all the nitty gritty details of trying to sell your house and buy a new one. Lots of bargaining, strategizing, hoping, waiting and patience. Fortunately, it was not a long process for us since both our buyer and seller were ready to move...but, I am sure glad to have that off my shoulders.


Yep, there are some changes to be made, but nothing major  like our last house! What we plan to do will be completed within the next few weeks. I'm thinking big here and hoping I can keep y'all updated in real time even if its just tid-bits each day.

These are a few photos taken from our first showing that I snapped, but I will share more soon!





Thanks again for following along!

Monday, October 10, 2016

Comfort Foods

I hit the jackpot the other day on pinterest as far as new recipes come. Don't you love it when you have a successful pinning session? Such a simple pleasure, something I had gotten out of doing for quite some time. But now, I am seeking out new faces to follow to re-energize my feed. I sound like someone with no life :) Perfectly ok with it. I love inspiration, and particularly around a time of change. Change of season = new food, new decor. Change of house {YAY! post coming soon if you missed it on insta} = new designs, new projects. Since we are rolling into a new season, I thought I would start off our week with a recap of some comfort foods I found while browsing this weekend during Hurricane Matthew. We live on the coast of NC and yes, thankfully, we are perfectly fine. I hope all of you are too. My heart and prayers go out to those who are severely affected by this natural disaster. Flooding absolutely terrifies me and I feel for those that have had such a hard time with the storm. So scary.

So, lets get on with some comfort food...











These are all new to me so I have not tried any yet, but I intend to! One thing I would love to find more of is your go-to soup recipes that don't require 50 billion ingredients and hours of chopping. I love an easy {and fairly healthy} soup. Send them my way if you have them!!