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Archives for April 2020

Easy 3 Ingredient Quarantine Cocktails

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While we’re all stuck at home it’s nice to have a few easy cocktail ideas up your sleeve. I’m sharing three of my favorite easy 3 ingredient quarantine cocktails. These are the three cocktails I drink the most of so I made sure I had all ingredients on hand to make these classic staples. Classic cocktails are great for at-home mixing because most of them are simple as well as delicious. My three must-have cocktails for quarantine is an Aperol Spritz, a margarita and a negroni. Shall we make some drinks? It’s been a while.

Quarantine Cocktails

Aperol Spritz, serves 1

2 oz. Aperol

3 oz. prosecco

1 oz. soda water

orange wheel, for garnish

Firstly, add all ingredients into a wine glass filled with ice and stir. Garnish with an orange wheel. Suns out spritz out!

Margarita, serves 1

1 1/2 oz. tequila

1 oz. triple sec (like Cointreau or Combier)

3/4 oz. fresh lime juice.

lime wheel, for garnish

salt, for rimming (optional)

You can either serve this up or down but I prefer my margaritas up with salt. Salt is also optional here. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Then shake and strain into a salt-rimmed glass. Or not. Finally, garnish with a lime wheel. Or not. You don’t have to be fancy with garnishes. You’re home so you can take it easy. If you feel like being more adventurous try this hibiscus margarita recipe that I made!

Negroni, serves 1

1 oz. gin

1 oz. sweet vermouth

1 oz. Campari

orange twist, for garnish.

Add all ingredients to a double rocks glass with ice. Stir and express the orange twist on top of the drink. Lastly, place the twist in the drink. Sip and enjoy! If you’re into tequila like I am you should try a Rosita instead.

Most people with a decently stocked bar should have these items on hand. These quarantine cocktails are easy and quick to make and there’s something for everyone. If you’re in the mood for something light and refreshing, obviously an Aperol Spritz. Do you want something that’s crisp and sour? Well then, have a margarita! Or would you rather have something bitter and boozy? Then a negroni should do the trick.

I hope you’re all staying home and above all else staying safe. In the meantime, fix yourself a drink. After all, it’s almost the weekend, if that means anything anymore. I’ve linked all my favorite product picks to Drizy just in case you needed to get anything delivered to make some cocktails. Cheers, everyone! xo

Creating My Outdoor Living Space

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Okay. I’m going to start by saying that I’ve never had an outdoor living space in my adult life. So I’m really really excited to be sharing inspiration for creating my outdoor living space. My deck! I haven’t come up with a clever name yet as I have in the past for the Hallway Refresh or Office Overhaul. If you want to help me brainstorm a cute name feel free to leave a comment below. Deck Dreams? lol, I don’t know.

Like everyone else during the lockdown, I’ve been binge-watching a lot of things. Alias Grace, Outlander, The Dublin Murders, Little Fires Everywhere, Handmaid’s Tale to name a few. I’ve also been watching a lot of music videos too. I’ve watched Dwight Yoakam’s entire catalog of music videos. I have also watched a lot of episodes of The Buck Owens Show. So don’t be surprised when I tell you the color palette inspiration came from Buck Owens and The Buckaroos western suits in a 1966 episode. It’s true. I have problems. Pink, white and black everyone.

I made two design boards for what will be the living room area and what will be the dining area. This is the first time ever that I have been into the idea of black being an accent color but I really loved the way it looked. Thanks Buck!

Here are some before photos.

I’d really love to put up some outdoor curtains to cover the back wall that divides the deck from my neighbors. That would also allow me to hang some plants from the curtain rod. I’ve looked up some options and it seems doable. Covering the brown wall with white curtains will make everything look a little more cohesive and bright since I can’t repaint the deck.

The Living Space

Here is my main inspiration image for the back of the deck which will be the living area. Obviously a different color palette but pretty much how I imagine the setup being. Also, LOTS OF PLANTS. YES! Big couch and two deck chairs that actually came from my old living room design. I loved the style so I bought them and used them inside but now they save me a little money since I no longer have to buy chairs.

I went back and forth about whether I was going to get a large coffee table or two smaller ones. But I went with two metal stools because I liked the option of moving them around as needed. The perfect pop of black to tie in the end chairs in the dining area. That pink/terracotta rug is everything. Jute poof to add texture and to pull in the jute of the rug from the dining area.

Creating My Outdoor Living Space

There is a break in the windows which leaves a bit of wall in between the living and dining areas. I imagine that being a bar cart area. WITH MORE PLANTS.

Creating My Outdoor Living Space
Creating My Outdoor Living Space

More before photos.

The Dining Space

Here is my inspiration image for the dining area. I like the idea of walking out of the house into this space as an extension of the existing dining space in the house. I’m dreaming of having my morning coffee here. I loved the idea of four main chairs that matched and two matching end chairs. So I went with pink metal chairs for the main chairs and black rattan chairs for the ends. A simple light wood table and a jute rug to pull it all together. Also MORE PLANTS.

All items linked below, Pinterest board here and can’t wait to keep updating you on the process of my outdoor living space.

  1. Couch
  2. Rug
  3. Jute Pouf
  4. Deck Chairs
  5. Metal Side Tables
  6. Bar Cart
  7. Planters
  8. Planter
  9. Dining Table
  10. Jute Rug
  11. Pink Metal Chair
  12. Black Rattan Chair

Greetings from Nashville

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Well. I’ve been trying to write this post for months. Before and after making the move to Nashville.

You read that right.

I moved to Nashville.

If you’re following me along on IG then you already knew that. But before I start updating the blog again regularly I thought I would catch you up on what has been happening since December of last year.

I’m not sure where to start but to say that I had been trying to make the move to Nashville for around 3 years and the timing and situation just never seemed to line up. Even before moving into my old place I wanted to make that move and the decision was if I wasn’t making the move then I would have to find a place that would accommodate living and working and that I would be happy in. And so I stayed in Jersey City, NJ and made that apartment a home. Which you’ve seen quite a lot of from all of my One Room Challenge projects and home tours.

I was so emotionally invested in that home because I put so much time and effort into it that it pretty much took me an entire year to say goodbye to it. That mixed with trying to finish the book and everything else life was throwing at me. But after making a few more trips to Nashville over 2019, the last one being over Thanksgiving, I finally made my decision. I came home from that trip and I never unpacked my suitcase. I decorated for Christmas, I put George Jones on, and I applied for a home in Nashville, TN. My goal being that when I took the Christmas decorations down I would be packing them up along with everything else I owned.

I was approved and on New Year’s Eve 2019 I signed a lease for my first place in Nashville, TN. The greatest New Years gift I could have ever hoped for. Exactly one year after my partner left, one year after writing a book and publishing it and one whole year of finding my way back to myself.

I spent the next two months packing, planning and executing this move. After lots of trips to the Salvation Army, many Uhaul boxes, numerous mental breakdowns and two 13 hour drives later my things and I arrived in Nashville two days before my 33rd birthday. On my 1 week anniversary while I was celebrating with friends at Roberts Western World a tornado hit Nashville and its surrounding areas. Particularly devastating parts of East Nashville where I live. I felt very lucky to have a house to come back to after a 2-hour uber drive home through all the wreckage. That night I slept in my bedroom closet completely traumatized.

I spent the week after the tornado volunteering in East Nashville. Every day was different. Some days I was making sandwiches or packing lunches or taping up boxes or dropping off food to those in need. I couldn’t imagine unpacking the house I just moved into and was lucky to still have, while others just streets away had lost everything. So I earned that volunteer state nickname on my new Tennessee license.

A week after the tornado pretty much everything shut down due to Covid-19. All I can say is this isn’t the fresh start I was hoping for but here I am. I’ve spent the last two months unpacking, settling in and well, just living. It has been hard to think of anything else. And I’ve been wanting to write this post but so much has happened in such a short amount of time I just didn’t know where to start. I hope you’re all safe and I hope we can get back to normal life soon. But in the meantime, I thought I could get back to sharing some cocktail ideas and some home decor inspiration.

So I’m here to tell you that I’M BACK. xo Natalie