{Dream Kitchen}

We moved into this house a year and half ago and I've had such a fun time decorating every room exactly the way we want it. I think because this is our first home, I went a little crazy and wanted to do EVERYTHING I had in mind! While I love creamy whites and calming neutrals, I also love very masculine severe decor. I love fresh new modern lines but get weak in the knees for unique vintage pieces. I have gotten very lucky with some rare finds on Craigslist but definitely have some very rigid rules as to which items I will NEVER buy used. I can find something I love and wouldn't change in every single room in the house. That is, except the kitchen.

You see, I've always loved, ADORED, sought-after, dreamt about, a white kitchen. White cabinets, marble countertops and sparkly stainless steel appliances. Our current kitchen couldn't be more opposite. We have deep cherry cabinets (i.e., masculine and severe), large pewter floor tile and cream countertops with gray tile detail. Let me clarify, I DO NOT hate my kitchen whatsoever. I actually really loved it when we first moved in. We looked for a bit for a home with white kitchen cabinets but around here, they're rarely done right. I've come to terms that if I ever want my dream kitchen, it will have to be born through a new home build or a kitchen renovation in our next home.

Crisp white cabinets and gorgeous marble countertops.

An oversized island for family and friends to gather around.

Pendant lighting.

A cozy banquette.

Last but not least, a ridiculously large and organized walk-in pantry.

Luckily, we don't plan for this home to be our forever home. So, for now, we're frantically saving for the next one in hopes to be able to build our kitchen exactly how we want! In the meantime, I'm pinning away and and patiently waiting for my dream kitchen.

xx, Shiela

{Health and Fitness Lately}

I've gotten a bit busy lately. So, my fitness routine has morphed a bit. I haven't had the time to make it to the gym or Bikram class as much so I've been doing a lot of my work outs at home. Here are some of the workouts I've been doing!

The weather has been gorgeous out, so I've been taking advantage and doing a little running. I run around our neighborhood and the long way around is about a mile.

I have 3 and 5 lb. free weights at home so I do arm routines in front of a mirror. 

Sample Routine: I use my free weights and do 3 reps of 15. 

Shoulder Press

Hammer Curls

Lateral Raises

Arm Flies

Tricep Curls

I've also been doing lunges! Walking lunges are my favorite. I add weights to make it more challenging and also do 3 reps of 15 for each type of lunge exercise. 

Of course, abs! Working out my abs is my biggest weakness. I often skip this. So, I'm committing to making sure to do my ab workout every single time. 

I hope this shows that you can squeeze in workouts even when you're busy! Working out is one of the things that so easy to set aside when life gets busy. As I get older, I know that this is something that I have to make a priority. I'm hoping to start going back to the gym on a regular basis. In the meantime, this works out for me.

xx, Shiela

{Style Crush: Kourtney Kardashian}

Kourtney is by far my favorite Kardashian - mainly because of her fashion sense. She can go from cool boho chic to a high end designer glamazon. Below are some of my favorite looks!

Effortless in an oversized white blazer and jeans and perfect top knot.

Fearless in these OTK boots!

Fab in his and hers blush.

Love the designer belt detail in this black and navy ensemble.

And of course, her pregnant style!

xx, Shiela

{San Francisco Shenanigans}

This weekend was D's birthday. We both took the day off on Friday and drove to San Francisco. We stopped over at Livermore Paragon outlets and did a little shopping. That place is massive and would take all day to navigate! We only had a few hours so we only went to a few stores.

From Livermore, we went straight to an early dinner. If you've ever been to San Francisco, you'll know that the city is very eclectic and is host to many yummy places to eat! For this trip, we went to Park Chow. A charming little restaurant that serves comfort food!

{The food was delicious!}

{The ambiance was perfect for the chilly, cloudy San Francisco day}

After dinner, we went to a San Francisco Giant's baseball game! D and I try to go to a couple or more each season. We scored great seats and the best part is, they won!!!

It was a fantastic start to a fun-filled birthday weekend for D! If you've never visited San Francisco, I definitely recommend! This post doesn't even scratch the surface of all the fun to be had in the city!

xx, Shiela

{Party Decor How To: Wrapping Paper Tissue Poms}

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. It's been a weird couple of weeks for me. And by weird, I mean rough! I won't go into details but, let's just say I couldn't for the life of me complete a post on anything! No matter what I started to write about, I ended up deleting the entire post. Anyway, it's Monday and a brand new week! The weird/off/bad last two weeks is now in the past and o.v.e.r. Thank goodness!

I decided to start with a fun, lighthearted post. Last Saturday, I went to a baby shower. I was in charge of making tissue paper poms. I've made these before for D's birthday party (in brown to fit in with the BBQ theme) and another time for my niece's birthday tea party. Needless to say, I'm the go-to gal for making these party poms in our family. Luckily, they're easy to make and reusable. Which is great since buying packs of tissue wrapping paper over and over can get pretty expensive.

Step-by-Step Instructions:
1: Tools - scissors, stapler and string | 2: Stack at least 8 sheets of wrapping tissue paper neatly and position with the shorter end nearest you.  Begin folding approximately 1 1/2 inch sections | 3: Keep folding back and forth until the entire stack of tissue paper looks like an accordion| 4: Staple the middle of the stacked tissue paper to secure | 5: Optional - cut a half circle on both ends | 6: Tie a string around the middle and staple string to secure | 7: Gently pull apart each individual sheet and fluff towards the middle | 8: Repeat on the opposite side | 9: Fluff, adjust and repeat.

Repeat using different colors and sizes. To make different pom sizes, cut the tissue papers in half. 

xx, Shiela