Happy Wednesday, friends.  Anyone else (like me) finding themselves STILL spending LOTS of time in their comfy, cozy clothes?  #Guilty.  But also, #NoRegrets.  (In my defense, things are finally starting to really reopen around Orange County, but poor air quality from all of the fires have also kept us at home a bit.)  And lately, if I’m at home, I’m kicking off any shoes in favor of my slippers.

I never used to be such a slipper fanatic, but quarantine really taught me about living my best slipper life this year.  My favorite pairs are definitely this one and then these from Emu Australia, and if you’re in the market for some super plush, genuine sheepskin slippers, I can’t recommend them more.  (Just make sure you size up an entire size in Emu slippers – they run a size small.)

But if you’re looking for more of a “cheap thrill” for your feet, I got you, girl.  Today I’m rounding up a bunch of super cozy slippers at all price points for the homebodies in us all.  Click around below to find your best pair to live your best slipper life.  Hope everyone has a great rest of your week.

xoxo

What’s the most exciting day of the month in your house?  If you’ve ever been to our house on BarkBox delivery day, then you already know what day that is.  (For the four-legged family members, at least.)  We’ve been BarkBox subscribers for about two years now (before little Wilma came along), and let’s just say that it certainly hasn’t lost its luster on these two pups.

Every month the box has a different theme – based on the time of year, holidays, awards season (aptly named “The Barkies”), pop culture, you name it – and every month Weeze and Wilma go wild.  (I’ll be sharing a little video of that on my Instagram stories later today – stay tuned.)  Every box comes with two toys, two full-sized bags of treats, and one chew, but you can upgrade to add on more.  (These spoiled pups receive three toys per month.)

Weeze and Wilma obviously love a box full of treats and toys, but what I love is the quality.  Despite our crazy chewers, we still have some toys around the house from some of the very first boxes we received.  The treats and chews are all-natural, sourced only from the US and Canada, and never contain wheat, soy, or corn.  Also, I LOVE that the subscription is customizable.  Our pups have allergies to chicken, so we avoid all food and treats that contain chicken.  (If you’ve ever searched through ingredients in dog food or treats, you know that chicken is in EVERYTHING.)  I let BarkBox know about their allergies, and we never receive anything that contains chicken.  Never.  It’s so nice to receive high quality treats for them every month without reading through a ton of different ingredient labels at the store.

Really, the only downside to BarkBox is that now I’ve got two crazy Vizslas thinking that every package that comes to the door is theirs.  (Kidding – they can sniff out a BarkBox pretty quickly.)  If you’ve been thinking of subscribing, your furry family members are wondering what you’re waiting for.  Use code NIKKI10 (must be capitalized) to receive your first box for $10 when you sign up for 6 or 12 months.

Hope your doggos love it as much as ours do!

xoxo

Brought to you by Barkbox

Remember this post wayyyyy back in April of 2018 where I shared a bunch of before and after photos of our home remodel?  Well around that time we had just finished a pretty big overhaul of the backyard, and I intended to share it sometime last summer, just as soon as I found new patio furniture.  Fast forward to now, and we’ve JUST created an outdoor space that we love in the backyard.

Although we don’t have many “before” photos of the backyard, if you scroll below, you can get a little feel for what we were working with.  It was overgrown (to say the least), had concrete poured in some strange “figure 8” pattern, and had dirt instead of grass.  It definitely wasn’t a place that we wanted to hang out or relax, but now, we are loving this space thanks to a few key changes.

Podocarpus Trees – Definitely one of the best things that we did in the backyard was lining all of the block walls with Podocarpus Trees.  We had them planted pretty close together, and after a couple of seasons, they had grown SO well.  They’re regularly trimmed as a living wall, and it provides so much privacy, noise protection, additional shade, and overall peace in the space.

Jacuzzi – This, by far, is one of our favorite features of our entire home remodel.  We use the jacuzzi ALL of the time, and we designed it pretty big so that it doubles as a small pool in the summertime.  (It even fits a full-sized float or two.)  We went with a natural stone exterior, a soothing waterfall feature, and two functioning coolers on the sides that are so handy for outdoor parties.  When we aren’t in the jacuzzi, we most likely have the waterfall feature on with the French doors in the kitchen open so that we can hear the sound of water throughout the house.

Fruit Trees – In addition to the Podocarpus Trees, we also planted avocado, Valencia orange, and Meyer lemon trees.  They don’t produce a ton of fruit yet, but it’s always nice when we can just grab an orange or lemon or avocado from the backyard.

Actual Grass – Here’s a shocker – planting grass was a significant change to the dirt patches we had before.  To the left side of the jacuzzi, there’s a strip of grass where the dogs can run and chase birds to their hearts’ desire.  And yes, we unfortunately have burn patches in the grass ALL the time because, well, dogs.

Built-In BBQ – The built-in BBQ and bar area has been so nice to have for grilling out or even just for putting out food and drinks during parties.  We made the bar pretty big, so there’s a ton of counter space for entertaining.  Originally I wanted to put barstools around it, but for now it’s kind of become a standing room bar.  We’ll see, the jury is still out on that one.

New Patio Furniture – Last but certainly not least, our new patio furniture is what helped tie the entire space together.  I don’t know if you guys have looked into outdoor furniture lately, but it can be crazy expensive, so I was so excited to find these two sets that I love at Walmart.  On any given weekend you can find me lounging on this couch or hanging in one of the rocking chairs – every piece is SO comfortable, and the quality really can’t be beat.  (Clearly, it’s pup-approved too.)

xoxo

Happy Wednesday, friends!  And yes, when typing that, I 100% felt like I should be saying “happy Tuesday” – is there anything better than a short week where losing track of the days always turns into a happy surprise?  Always good in my book.

Today I’m super excited to share a little spring and summer refresh in our master bedroom that was easy-peasy and pretty affordable to do.  If you remember back to this post last summer, our bedroom was a muted mix of greys, neutral tones, and blush pinks – with the same (not so wanted) pop of turquoise from the nightstands.

**A little back story on those – to be honest, I’ve never liked our nightstands, and the color was always an unhappy accident.  They were supposed to be MUCH more muted, almost a greyish blue.  They arrived when I was out of town, sat hidden in their boxes surrounded by construction materials for weeks, and were ours for the keeping by the time they were opened and in the house.  You live and you learn.  They’re next up on the chopping block, but I just haven’t found any that are tall enough that I LOVE yet.  The search continues…

Anywho, I was really loving the blush and grey (and turquoise I suppose) color palette, but our striped grey coverlet had really seen better days.  It was made of flannel, which we loved for the winter, but after a couple of years it was just looking tired and pretty pilled.  I searched around on West Elm and was pretty sure I’d end up with this pretty striped grey one or the grey version of what I eventually chose.

As a bedding rule of thumb around here, I do NOT do duvets anymore.  They’re too hot in the summertime, and to be honest, they’re just a giant pain in the ass every time you wash the duvet cover.  I was over that mess years ago.  We’ve also ditched the top sheet.  I buy these fitted sheets from Target that are great and have replaced the top sheet with this super lightweight coverlet that gets washed EVERY time the bottom sheet gets washed.  (I swear by this coverlet by the way – so breathable, affordable, and has held up wash after wash beautifully.)  Then I top it with something pretty – I always love the coverlet and quilt selection at West Elm (went there for the Palm Springs bedroom too), and they have great bedding sales all the time.

But this time, rather than sticking with the grey and blush palette, I decided to make a big little change and go with this yellow dotted coverlet, and I have to say, I love how much it brightens the room.  I picked up a couple of pillows from HomeGoods, grabbed minimal yellow touches like this little vase, and moved all of the blush accents into the guest bedroom.  Eric and I are loving how this room feels so fresh and new, and as you can tell, the pups are loving it too.  (Scroll down for a few more pics.)

Hope you guys have a great rest of your week ahead!

xoxo

 White base bedding;  West Elm Coverlet Restoration Hardware Teen pendant light Bench via HomeGoods (similar here);  similar yellow velvet pillow;  Round ivory pillow;  Basket and throws via HomeGoods;  West Elm yellow vase Similar grey velvet pillows; Wall sconces Mr. & Mrs. pillow (gift from a friend, found on Etsy) Vogue book;  Homebody book;  Yves Saint Laurent book;  Yellow book;  flowers via HomeGoods (similar here);  One Kings Lane side table (sold out);  Wall sconces

Blame it on the fact that this SoCal “winter weather” just won’t quit or that my current everyday uniform consists of workout wear and sweats, but if there’s one trend from fall that I’m still loving, it’s anything resembling a teddy jacket.  And let’s be honest, I knew this one wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon for me.  Something cozy and soft and oversized and just so good?  Sign me up…times a few it seems.

I first scooped up my favorite ivory version in New York during the fall (seen here and here) and have worn that fuzzy little number more than I even care to admit.  It’s just…so fun.  I recently snagged this oversized version in green, and then a couple weeks later, wouldn’t you know the pink puff above somehow made her way into my closet?  I guess you could say things are getting a little out of hand, but I gotta say, I really don’t care.

If you haven’t tried out the trend (or just want to get a little out of hand with it like yours truly), I’m rounding up a few favorites below that are almost all under $100 with a bunch under $40.  Most of the versions that I’ve tried have run a little large, so I’d say it’s usually best to size down.  So scroll around and pick your fave – something’s gotta hold us over until spring, right?

xoxo

Photos thanks to Katie Stuart

She joined us just about a month ago, and now that the holiday whirlwind is behind us, I wanted to formally introduce the newest little fur baby in our household.  Meet Wilma!  That’s right, I’ve completely lost my mind.  Two dogs.  Anyone who knows me knows that the first pup nearly drove me insane (Remember wayyyyy back here when I shared a little pup-date on baby Weeze?), and now I suppose I’ve really done it.

While Weeze’s wild baby Vizsla phase nearly killed me, we had finally gotten into the easy breezy swing of things around here.  A three-mile walk every day and plenty of snuggles, and Weeze and I were two happy campers.  So let’s add a wild new one to the bunch, shall we?  To be fair, we knew we eventually wanted to add a second dog to the fam but decided to speed things up for Weeze’s biological sister.  (Yep, they’ve got the same furry parents.)

I’d say that the best decision we made was to have the pups meet at the breeder’s house, on neutral territory.  So in December before Eric and I headed off to Jackson Hole, we dropped Weeze off with her trainer slash breeder to hang out with Wilma for a couple of weeks before bringing them home together.  The gals came home right before Christmas, and y’all, look at these two little nuggets on their first night home together.  And then one week in during a nap together – melt my heart!

While the sleepy times and cute cuddly photos are pretty adorable, trust me when I say it’s been a wild ride this last month.  I’ve had lots of messages asking if it’s way harder with two pups (especially from fellow Vizsla parents), and the answer is a little bit yes and mostly no.  (As I type this, the rambunctious gremlins are WWE wrestling on my damn Pottery Barn couch, so you know, maybe the jury is still out.)

Personality-wise, they are so very different, and I’ll start off by saying it – Wilma is WILD, y’all.  So wild.  Eric and I call her “Bonkers” in the morning because girlfriend thinks it’s party time as soon as she breaks free from her crate.  She is constantly hungry and on occasion can be found pounding her little paw in an empty food bowl while staring me down.  I’m not even kidding.  (In those moments, we refer to her as The Hoss.)  In general though, she is just so sweet.  Her tail is ALWAYS wagging, and she runs and greets every single person with so much love and excitement.

Overall, the puppy phase this time around has definitely been a bit easier.  (So far, knock on wood, please, sweet Jesus tell me this is good puppy karma or something.)  It really is true what they say – monkey see, monkey do.  Wilma wants nothing more than to follow Weeze around all day and do every single thing her big sister is doing (including going to the bathroom OUTSIDE for the most part – glorious).  And Weeze in turn has been very…patient.  Luckily they get along amazingly during the day, but when Weeze gets a little too tired and old lady crabby, we try to keep little Bonkers away.

Do they make me crazy running around like banshees barking and playing in the house?  One hund-o percent.  But is it all pretty worth it once they’ve worn each other out and are both trying to squeeze up closer to me on the couch at night?  Yeppers.  And so, here goes another wild day with these two furry fools – hoping yours is just as fun.

xoxo