The next one is kind of something we didn’t expect to be such a game changer, but we’re so happy we decided to upgrade our old front door. The new front door with windows lets in a lot of light in a pretty cramped inside space (see above photo), allows us to see out very easily and yes, looks good. Most everybody in our neighborhood has a solid front door, so ours is really distinguished, and well the red helps too. But for $200–why wouldn’t you!?
Our Lounge sofa from Crate & Barrel has been worth every penny already–and it was kind of a lot of pennies. Chris and I are both really tall (6’4″ and 6′ respectively) and to slouch relax with our butts far from the edge of the couch–that’s something. We can also pile a ton of people on this couch and I guess, if it ever came to it, we could use it as an extra bed because if you take the back cushions off, it’s as wide (maybe wider?) than a twin-sized mattress. It also cleans up like a dream. Greta was Mowgli (from Jungle Book) for Halloween and the black hair spray got all over this couch and it wiped right off. Can’t recommend this one enough.
has been a work horse for us. We use it every morning and it never complains or moans. We got it last August and we’re already over 300 smoothies–it even keeps track! I’ve heard good things about the Vitamix, but I can only vouch for the Blendtec. Amazing.Leave a Reply
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Semihandmade
Our wood grain Shaker cabinet fronts were designed for busy, high-traffic homes like ours. Clad with durable textured thermofoils, this line is compatible with Sektion, Akurum, Godmorgon, and Besta cabinets from IKEA. It's the perfect, practical way to add the warmth of wood to all the rooms of your home.
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We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs, in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room.
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We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors — The Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style. In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable — we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Ingrid stands up to it all.
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I want one of those shoe cabinets so bad! So glad you like it so much!
Love it! I would love to know what green smoothie recipes you use. Future post??
Definitely a future post. :)
I need to get one of those shoe cabinets!
I wish you would do a whole post on your dog and how it has been going!! :)
Such a timely request, Steph. ;)
Thank you! Loved it! :)
All good stuff, but what about your stove/ oven? I dream of a big stove like that for all our cooking, but would it really be worth it?
Yes! I can’t believe I forgot that one. Although a lot of our new kitchen appliances we’re in love with–a deep single sink, our touch faucet, the counter-depth fridge with an alarm and bottom freezer and yes, our double oven. What did we do before that!? Don’t love the dishwasher. :/
We are going to be in the market for a new sofa soon, and I’ve always your C&B one. We’re about half the height of you guys (haha), but that just means it’ll be extra ooshy cushy. Might have to look into it – a good sofa is worth the investment!
It really is. After going through so many, we finally found a winner. We tried out a few at Crate and Barrel and a lot felt cozy!
Interesting that two out of five of these items are from Ikea. We are moving to a new house tomorrow with a lot of empty space to fill and I’m debating an Ikea trip (it’s two hours away). I’ve only been once and I was a little overwhelmed by the crowds and a little underwhelmed by the quality, but I might just have to give them another chance.
Isn’t that funny? Some stuff is not the best quality, but some things, like their Hemnes collection (where the shoe cabinet reigns from) is solid wood–we have a few Ikea things sprinkled around the house so it doesn’t scream “Ikea!” You can’t beat the prices.
That sofa looks so comfy!
I just bought a Vitamix last night after going through a ridiculous number of blenders in the last three years (green smoothies every morning FTW!). Blendtec was a very close runner up, but got edged out after comparing reviews on Amazon.
I could live without pretty much everything in our house except our LG washer & dryer. I love those little workhorses. Oh, and our framed Kramer print in the guest room. Makes me smile everytime I go in.
We burned out so many blenders before our Blendtec. Air five for green smoothies!
I really love our SleepNumber mattress. It was definitely a splurge (kind of hilarious because the bed itself is from IKEA) but sooooo worth it. We both sleep so much better now.
Our toaster oven comes in second. I’m the laziest cook ever, so throwing stuff in there has been awesome.
Sounds so dreamy. I’d love to try one of those mattresses someday.
I want that couch SO badly you have no idea. It looks so amazing. Our blender struggles and moans. That Blendex sounds pretty life changing!
Ummmm things I can’t live without? My new double stroller. It’s amazing and life changing. All of our furniture pieces are all on their way out so I’ve never been too attached to them. I’d be happy tossing all of our stuff and starting over, but I’m sure when we look back and we’re on our last piece of cheap/student budget furniture I’ll be like, “baaaaaabe, we bought this when we were in Rexburg!!!!!!!” and want to keep it.
Hahahaha. That last line made me laugh so hard. We are still holding on to our dining room table and our bed–both we got while in Rexburg. *tear
We have the same Ikea shoe cabinet in our entry, which is also our kitchen, and we love it too! It is so much better than the basket we had before. We are still looking for a mirror to put above it, but are hopeful we’ll find one soon.