interiors

Christmas Tablescape & Holiday Tips w/ a Few Favorite Recipes!

Recap of Last Weeks Instagram Talks & Outfits

That SMILE you get when you go to the DENTIST 😁🦷
I know I know, some of you dread the dentist! I am telling you if you visit @drallanthomas you won’t dread the dentist and you’ll leave with the best smile!
If you watch my Instagram stories you would have seen my whitening experience (saved in highlights) No more blue lights, they use the latest technology not painful and the sweetest & knowledgeable staff. I had my teeth cleaned & then whitened. This was my first time having my teeth professionally whitened as I am lucky to have pretty white teeth. Even still I wanted them bright white and sparkly since I have my photos taken so often. Like I have always said”a smile can make someone’s day so do it often!” (so I’ll blind them with mine! Goals🙌🏻)………@drallanthomas office specializes in cosmetics dentistry giving you the smile of your dreams🦷😁

This is how I do squats 😜💪🏻
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Playing with stripes and tied front pants is how it’s done🙌🏻
Warning… this is probably the only time you’ll see me doing squats 😜😜😜 Happy Wednesday babes😘 It #pioneerday today in Utah which means Holiday🎉🎉🎉 State Holiday which means day off and headed to the Lake with all my girlfriends! Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday ♥️🍹🚤
Enjoy your day😘😘😘 Outfit from Banana republic

Starting of this Monday with a 2nd cup ☕️☕️ of @cafe504coffee ☕️☕️☕️#ad
@cafe504coffee found coffee tasted much better when they brewed it with Fiji water, and it turns out it’s the minerals in the water that make all the difference. They infused those same minerals directly with their coffee beans, and they’ve been stunned by how it effects the final cup. It’s a significantly smoother and richer cup of coffee, as if you brewed it with the world’s finest water!☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
They’ve crafted customized mineral blends to perfect your brewing water, based on where you live and how you filter it.
BOY I have to agree we got the French roast at it’s delicious! If your wanting a great cup of coffee from home head over to @cafe504coffee And grab yourself k-cups,ground coffee or beans. BETTER yet GRAB a FREE Bag By…..
Taking the quiz on their site and get a completely FREE BAG when you use the code DARCYFREE at checkout! Free shipping too! You can easily cancel the subscription at anytime, but trust me, you won’t want to. The coffee is amazing!

Hoping your Friday brings you cheer like a rainbow or like Friends laughter in a big pile of rainbow confetti! 🌈Although you have to watch out for my cute friend @chicover50 Shauna plays hard ball!!! Speaking of BALL go check out her cute stories to see what happened to her at last nights BALL game🎉🎉⚾️💍🌈🌈🌈♥️
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We have are own confetti happening over here today🎉🌈 Our oldest son @hudsonvandenberg Turns 23 TODAY! We had some fun celebrating last night with sushi & surfing on the lake! (see stories for fun photos) This am he’ll wake up to gifts and his favorite donuts and tonight we’ll celebrate with dinner and his favorite cake (Judy’s Chocolate Kahlua cake recipe on blog) 🍰🍩🍰🍩
I can’t tell you how proud I am of this boy of ours, it was like yesterday he was 3 & now 23! He’s such a delight, so smart a family lover and truly a good kid! We’re proud of the man he’s becoming and thankful we can call him ours♥️♥️♥️
Now… my gushing is over… I am off to bake😘

I’ll take HAPPY mail💌 any day!📬💌📬💌📬💌📬💌📬💌📬
When’s the last time you hand wrote a letter or card and sent it snail mail? For me… I still write hand written Thank you notes, Birthday & Holiday cards. I really feel it’s important and more meaningful then a text or email. It’s a lost art that truly should not be♥️ So for #tiptuesday Make someone’s day by mailing them a sweet note💌 even if it’s just a Miss you card😘
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If your in the Utah area head over to @lovelettersmuseum they provide a cute post card and a stamp for you💌 Note to mention all the beautiful ways to use words, letters and forgotten ways to write (aka Typewriter…kids didn’t even know how to put the paper in lol!)
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Outfit details…this season’s hottest trend the tied front pant @tjmaxx, shoes @picandpay, tank @rowanboutique, linen blazer @shoprachelzoe, jewelry old

IT’S 5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE 🍹RIGHT?
One of the things I love about Summers is Outdoor living✔️☀️🍓🍹🍔🥗🧀🍉
Do you enjoy outside living? Have you created a space you love to go relax in, entertain or have a quiet date night in?
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I created this space to have a little of the inside brought out💛💛I adore black and white stripes and I think it pops with a touch of yellow and green! Tips for making your outdoor space inviting: throw pillows, a blanket for chilly nights, pots of flowers and plants, trays for serving and keeping things tidy. I love rugs to add color and define spaces, candles and lanterns for lighting (and keeping bugs away) I love some books or magazines to entice you to stay awhile 💛💛💛
Another big tip is if you furniture is mix & match spray paint it all 1 color to give it a cohesive look. It instantly makes it look more planned 😉

I hope you like the random recap of what happened over on last weeks Instagram. I know a lot of you had to DM me about missing a post on instagram because they only show 3% of our photos in our feeds. A trick to seeing people you follow posts: like the post and if you care to leave a comment do it! This will help their content stay in your feed. Another tip is watch their stories the more you interact with the people you follow allows instagram to know you want to see that person. Another big plus, engaging on Instagram really helps us bloggers do what we love and bring you content you want to see. If you want to see a weekly recap HERE on the blog leave a comment or DM me so I can continue to give you what you want to see!

Another plus to seeing a week in review is you get a taste of everything from fashion, items I am loving, interior tips or a space I love and things to do in Utah unless I was traveling.

Have a beautiful week! OX, D’Arcy

This post may contain collaborations and affiliate links.

Easy and Affordable Tips to Remodel Your Space!

Our client wanted an updated look with an affordable budget. She also wanted a modern feel and liked the soft feel of grey but loves color, she also doesn’t like much clutter or collectibles. With this in mind we created a space around these needs. I love the pop of color with the grey it works well with each other. Note how the color is in the accessories, this allows for an easy change to the look affordably buy switching out the accessories for new colors and trends.

The finished look. Note: the dresser painted silver to take something old and make it new again.

This space was created to sit and work/read have a cup of coffee or wine and chat. I created a couple of areas to sit and large pillows for the kids to lay around, gather and chat.

Before the space in the front room was used for an office. The space was dark, furniture placed wrong and the flooring was a strange vinyl padding.

Before: boring, furniture placed wrong, no color and doesn’t reflect the owners personality or style .

The entry walking into front room prior used for office. New space living/sitting area. Note the dark dresser, see what a little paint did to it! We did paint this space the same shade of Sherwin Williams grey and added a beautiful new light fixture. (sorry I forgot to take a photo of this.)

As for the molding to help with budget, we re-used the existing molding, painted it white and placed a smaller molding a 1/2 inch space above, leaving a gap that we painted white to give the look of much more expensive wider molding. This give a big budget bang and a fraction of the cost. Molding is like jewelry to an outfit, it really finishes it off. It’s a detail that finishes the job.

This is the before on the two floorings and the baseboard. Sorry for the bad photo! (it was the only one I took and I didn’t realize it was blurred until it was too late.) I really felt it was important to show the up close detail.

The after… refinished hardwood floor to give it an update without the cost of a total redo. Added a fun patterned carpet for detail and a unexpected pop! I think it turned out so sharp.

Hello Beautifuls,

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. My hubby surprised me with a weekend away to Salt Lake City for some pool time alone. Cheers to weekend dates! I wanted to share some news with you, My hubby and I have been a designer & construction team for years. In California we had a business B&D properties, interior design and construction specializing in remodels and makeovers. We were doing flips and spec homes as a team. While he also owned & operated ski shops for 25 years and I had Pages of Tyme, a home decor and scrapbooking store for 10 years. Business was great, we were really busy and life was moving fast! My hubby was burned out and wanted to slow things down….We decided to move to Utah where we had had a second home. So we sold everything and moved to Utah. Our plan was to take a year or two off enjoy our family and then we would start up B & D Properties in Utah on a smaller scale and x out any retail business and then housing market crashed… Needless to say our plans changed… B&D properties went on the back burner for Utah. My hubby stayed in the construction business and took on all kinds of jobs. While I recreated my career (I needed a break and I needed to do something creative on my fashion side). I had always loved fashion and always wanted to open a clothing boutique as fashion and design have a lot in common. The birth of Chic Style was born. Having grown the shops to 3 shops in 6 years after 9 years, I had really been missing design. I had taken a huge break in design while living in Utah and decided to take on a couple projects while still owning the shops…. Now talk about busy but I loved doing both while also growing my blog and social media. In December 2017 we decided to sell the clothing shops not really knowing for sure what I was going to do for work (I promise there’s a point to all of this!) I knew I didn’t want to do ANY type of retail anymore, I knew my blog and social were growing and I LOVED sharing tips and advice on anything fashion and lifestyle & design related. But I also knew I needed to work until I could make a living at this blogging & influencer job. To be honest I’ve been trying to find what that job would be… I’ve been searching, applying for all kinds of jobs (which I constantly get told I am over qualified!) from corporate manager jobs, retail and even big firm interior jobs. In this process I became a long term substitute teacher which I adore and have been picking up interior design side jobs! Reminding myself I’ve been self employed almost my whole life, why would I want to work for another business while I am capable of doing it on my own? After having to bring my hubby back on as the contractor to my last 4 jobs I realized a dream we hadn’t fulfilled, B&D properties, Interior design and construction in Utah has not been fulfilled! It finally all made since and came back around…that’s what we’re supposed to do, team back up and make that dream a reality. (God I hear you!) So B&D properties, interior design and construction is up and running. Our business license and insurances are all in the works or finished. We have a Facebook page HERE and an Instagram HERE and you can email us at bdproperty@icloud.com Don’t worry I will still be running Dear-Darcy, I will just be adding more design and home projects to the blog with a tab you’ll be able to search. My plan is to come up with a content calendar so you will see an even amount of fashion, lifestyle, travel and design. Stay tuned as I am really working on blogging 5 days a week to give you all the content you want to see.

Now.. Do you need some remodeling, organizing, personal shopping or your closet reworked? Email me because this is MY NEW JOB! Thank you for following along & supporting me, D’Arcy.

Thanksgiving Dining Tablescape

Vintage silverware, gold and silver china, gold and silver accessories, woodland accessories, bristle trees, bottle trees, place settings, antlers, woodland.

Vintage pearl& gold silverware {Similar HERE} & {HERE}, gold and silver china, {SIMILAR HERE} gold and silver accessories, woodland accessories, {SIMILAR HERE}&{HERE} bristle trees, bottle trees, {HERE}&{HERE}place settings, antlers, woodland place card holders, layered table clothes{SIMILAR HERE} &{HERE} and gold dipped steam wear glasses {SIMILAR HERE} {HERE} adorn our table top.

Our kitchen coffee & coco bar. Who doesn’t love a warm drink in the winter?

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

I wanted to share our Thanksgiving table setting with you. It’s not the traditional Fall feel with leaves and pumpkins, I went with a winter white, silver, and gold theme. It feels elegant and warm don’t you think? To give it a Thanksgiving feel I picked up this fun silver pheasant from Target and added antlers and wooden details. TIP: for adding layers to your table-scape find items around your home that work in your color/theme. Pay attention to heights, find items from low to high, but not too high that you can’t see around it. I love pieces that are general and don’t scream a certain holiday so you can use them more often. Items like glass, mercury glass, and solid colors like gold, silver, white, and red (red works for Christmas, Valentines day and Summer). Pieces that give your table a glow like candles, votives, and candle sticks are great pieces to collect. Another TIP I love to share is layer your tablecloth, this works great if you don’t have the perfect size for your table. Here I used a large plain white tablecloth that fits the table and to add a pop of design. I used the gold stripe tablecloth that was meant for a smaller table but you would wouldn’t notice it doesn’t fit the table because of the layering. I also like to layer different tablecloths of different sizes if you don’t have one that fits! Just remember they need to be in the same color family for it to work. Our table is for 8, yet I always buy everything in sets of 12. I do this in case anything breaks or if I have extra people we can make a kid table for 4 at our kitchen island. It is also because I am a little bit of a collector….(my boys are going to hate me when I die!)

I just love collecting things to entertain and make life beautiful, I can throw any kind of party on a moments notice because of the pieces i’ve collected over the years! So If you’re wanting to build your entertaining collection keep following along with me. I plan on sharing more of my entertaining tips and collections with you as I have had so many of you ask for me to share this part of my life. Would you like a list of my basic entertaining starter kit? This would be the must have items and then be able to build from that. *If so please leave a comment below.

I love Thanksgiving and spending time with family and friends over good food and I know you do too! So next time make it a beautiful experience and share your love over a beautiful designed table, there is no better way to show off the hard work you spent in the kitchen. TIP: You can build your perfect table-scape weeks before to take the pressure off.

May you have a beautiful Thanksgiving, yummy food and a great time with your family and friends. We’ll be having a Friendsgiving as all of our family is out of town. OX, D’Arcy

PS: Are you excited for Black Friday or do you stay home and put up Christmas? This is my first year not in retail for the Holidays and I can’t tell you how excited I am! I’ll be staying home to decorate and enjoy my family. I will be shopping a little online and I can’t wait to share with you all the deals I found this week for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday! My DEAL post will go live tonight at MIDNIGHT!

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own and I appreciate your support.

Fall Bucket List 12 Must Do Fall Activities

white kitchen, marble, super white quartzite counter tops

Bath and Body Works Fall candle collection, my favorite is leaves. Costco Fall flowers & candy corn make it feel like fall! My shirt is by Trunk old, similar here & here.

Hello Beautiful’s! You know how much I love Fall (it’s going to be my Birthday month!) and how much I love to do & enjoy all things Fall! So I thought it would be fun to do a Fall bucket list to share with you, since you loved my Winter bucket list last year (If you missed that check it out here!). I hope it inspires you to get in the spirt of the season and check a couple things off the list as well! OX

PUMPKIN PATCH – Well of course, an annual event around year! Even if my kids are big and over it! I still drag them out for a family day (normally it’s bribed with food). I always have a large assortment of pumpkins on our porch, steps and entryway. So this is a great time to have everyone pick a verity and help decorate!
HAUNTED HOUSE– A perfect date with the family, my boys will be really into this! I haven’t been to one since high school, so wish me luck!
A day in front of a fire with a cozy blanket, a cup of tea, a candle burning and a great book!
Go on an OUTDOOR HIKE, where the colors are stunning and the air is crisp!
Go to a COLLAGE FOOTBALL game! We have to go support Auston Tesch #53 for Weber state at least once a year! It’s always fun and last year my mom was here to go support him too!
Take a FALL DRIVE where the leaves are in full glory. I love grabbing a warm drink and taking a drive with my hubby to see the color’s. It’s fun to grab a meal out and make it a date. When we lived in California, we would go with the entire family,(my mom & my sister) to Oak Glen and pick apples, boy do I miss those days.
Make a HOMEMADE PIE, I haven’t made a pie from scratch in a few years. I used to love making apple pies, when we had so many apple trees in California! (I need to plant a couple apple trees)
JUMP INTO A PILE OF LEAVES and get a cute picture! I will wait for my boys to rake all the leaves up! hehe
Make a big POT OF CHILI (my veggie chili recipe is below) and watch Hocus Pocus! I mean what is fall without watching Hocus Pocus at least 10 times!
Create a FALL WARDROBE CAPSULE, these wardrobe capsules have been all the rage, (have you heard of them?) with fall being most peoples favorite time to shop, it’s a great time to create one for you. Help yourself to get inspiration and pick out classic pieces to build your wardrobe for Fall.
Spend the WEEKEND with GIRLFRIENDS in PJ’S watching HALLMARK MOVIES. Of course we’ll do face mask, drink wine and eat all kinds of yummy food! Who’s ready for a sleep over?
Enjoy a FIRE ON THE DECK making s’mores, under cozy blankets enjoying the crisp fall air! I will be decorating my back deck for fall this year! Unfortunately it’s a short season here in Utah, So I have never decorated the back deck for fall. This year we are going too spend more time wrapped in blankets enjoying the crisp air.

Corn Maze Fun: Outfit details- Cardigan old: similar here & here, Black tee Here, Shoes similar here, Camo moto pants, Old: Similar here and here here

Louis Vuitton, fall nails, purchase color here and Starbucks. Three of my favorite things!

My Easy Veggie Chili Recipe: (slow cooker) So easy you’ll make it a ton!

1 large can of chili beans and sauce

1 can each of pinto, kidney, red beans drained and rinsed

1 large can of tomato sauce

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 cup of water

1 each of a red, yellow, green bell peppers, washed and chopped

1 large onion chopped and browned

4 cloves of garlic chopped browned

1 tablespoon of butter (for browning onion and garlic)

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of onion salt

1 tablespoon of kitchen bouquet (browning seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

crushed red pepper seasoning to taste

shredded cheese (for topping)

Brown the onions and garlic in the butter, then add everything (except cheese) into the crockpot on low in the morning and come home to a yummy meal! You can brown turkey or meat of choice with a chili seasoning packet and add that, but you’ll need another can of tomato sauce. Serve with corn bread, fritos or soda crackers!

Extra toppings optional: sour cream, green onions, hot sauce I hope you try it and let me know what you think. It’s a family favorite around here!

As promised I shared ALL the weekend sales on my instagram stories under Shopping!

I picked some of my favorite things and shared the deals, so go check them out!

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time out of your day to spend a little bit of time with me. If you have any question, please remember to leave a comment. I love helping my friends out! OX, D’Arcy

Father’s Day Gift guide & Dessert Bar

Every yummy dessert needs a glass of milk! How cute is it served in mustache cup and a paper straw! Dad will be so happy to have this cute little dessert bar served at your BBQ!

Bacon & Bourbon Brownies, My hubby ate 3 in a minute! Needless to say he loved them! A Father’s day dessert bar serving, party cookies and brownies! You know I love to entertain and putting this together with the help of The Coco House made it super easy, she created all of the desserts, Bacon and bourbon brownies, #1 dad, Top pop & beer mug cookies! Shipped to my door for a darling and easy to put together dessert bar, the men in your life will love! All I had to do was grab some serving pieces, the DAD blocks my son made in kindergarten, a pom pom garland & straws that matched the baked goods. Simple and so festive.

The Coco House
A Los Angeles Pastry Chef, Erica Kelly (that happens to be my cousin!) is so talented and everything taste amazing, helps to make any dessert bar to look perfect! She’ll ship it right to your door! Make sure to go follow her on instagram &
shop her on instagram @thecocohousela Here or shop her cupcake toppers Here

Gift Guide for Dad’s of all kinds

Father’s Day Gift Guide… Trying to make your gift ideas easy & will still make it in time for Father’s Day. Something for every type of Dad! The traveler, The foodie, The cool dad, Sporty dad and dad’s with hair:)

{1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8} {9}

Shop The guide by clicking on the number.

I kept in mind all types of dad’s, when I created this fun shopping guide. I love Shopbop and that, they really do have something for everyone. My hubby and our dad’s would love everything on this list. I also put in items for every budget. Really hoping I could help inspire you to give something the Father’s in your life would love.

Shopbop is having an extra 25% off sale item’s with code SCORE18 at check out, if shopping their sale section.

Do you have a fun Father’s day tradition? Or do you have any fun plans? Both our parent’s live out of state, so we don’t celebrate with them any more, but they’re celebrated for sure! We’re lucky to have such great men and role models in our lives for our boys. My hubby is happy to go to the lake or have a BBQ, so no big plans here yet. I have to say all the boys at our home already enjoyed the dessert bar, I joked to my hubby “Happy Father’s day!” we’re celebrating tonight! He’s so easy going he’d be ok with that!

I hope what ever you do or how you celebrate the father’s in your lives, that you have a great time and that they realize how important and loved they are! Enjoy your day! OX, D’Arcy

This post was in collaboration with The Coco House and may contain affiliate links. I only promote brands that I love and believe in! Thank you for the support!

Kitchen Remodel from Before to Dream!

After Remodel… Opened up 3 walls, took out 2 walls in kitchen 1 in dining room and the pantry to make 1 large kitchen.

Before photo: The kitchen before we remodeled! This is the view standing in kitchen dining & the french doors!

The View from the Kitchen looking out before cabinets went in!

I could sit and stare at this section of the kitchen all day! I adore the Custom hood with secret storage and large corbels. The custom glass doors I designed came out better then I dreamed! White subway tile finish off the look, giving it a farmhouse feel, yet traditional you can change out the accessories to change the look. A pot filler faucet was a must, as where the 2 side cabinet pull outs on each side of the stove for spices.

close up of the details

I really can’t tell you how beautiful the counter tops are. The veins of the Super White quartzite looks like Marble without the Care or scare of easy staining. I love the look of marble, its classic, clean and stunning! But having to worry about the maintenance and hubby with a coffee cup or a girlfriend with a glass of wine…Yikes! I really wanted that look without the worry! Galaxy Tops and Tile had a huge selection from granites, quartz and quartzite that could fit the look of marble with all budgets in mind. I chose the Super White quartzite, coming in at about $80 a ft, not manufactured or installed, which is the same cost as marble or a little under depending which marble you would chose. I am telling you their customer service and knowledge will wow you! Miguel (the owner) wants to make you happy and makes sure to give you what you want and see’s your vision for the space. Kayla the office manager, is just a pleasure to work with, calls you to keep you informed, scheduled and walks you through the process, from template measurement appointment to the install. I always felt up to date and informed. Working with Galaxy Tops and Tile was a pleasure and I would recommend them to anyone in need of any counter tops, tile and flooring. They have an amazing selection, are very knowledgeable and can work with every budget.
They showed up on time for measurements & gave very helpful tips and asked me multiple questions to make sure I was getting what I wanted on edges, corners, and how I wanted the finish to look around the farmhouse sink. They even fit me in faster then I expected, in this crazy busy construction market. The installing day went smooth, professional and gave the kitchen the perfect finishing touch! Check out their site here and go follow them on instagram here. Please is you go check out their show room in Ogden, Ut. make sure to tell them you saw their beautiful work here on my blog.

White Custom European inlaid cabinets with self closing doors and brushed nickel bar hardware. (European inlaid cabinets are flush with the cabinet and do not have doors sitting on the frame.) Also known as Frameless! The grey wall to the right of the photo did get tiled in white subway tile as well…. Just not in time for this photo shoot & that is just the way life works:)

A view of the Baking island With a butcher block top and the range wall!

A two island kitchen, sink island with Super White quartzite and the Bakers island with a butcher block top and seating.

Entertaining is one of my favorite things! Come enjoy our kitchen with us!
White dress=Standards and Practices, White blazer = Downtown Chic, Earrings = Victor & Marc

Drum shade chandeliers with a touch of bling

A view looking in! ( I am looking for the perfect barstools…So for now these will do!)

Just another look, looking into the hall and the dining room from the french doors looking in. Also a view of the flooring. I wish the beauty of this bronze & silver metallic 12X14 tile flooring would show in the photo’s, it is really stunning and something everyone comments on when they walk into our home. It’s very unique!

Custom designed glass doors to show off my special pieces. 4 total in the kitchen.

Stainless steel farmhouse sink, with a Moen faucet

If you’ve followed me for a while you have seen my mug collection. I had a cabinet designed to hold all of them, it sits right next to the Coffee & tea built in cabinet garage which has above storage to hold all of our coffees, teas and flavorings! And…it’s all hidden!

A cabinet also known as an appliance garage. with above cabinets to house all of our coffees, teas and flavorings.

Hello Beautiful’s and welcome to our kitchen!

This huge remodel took 4 years! Yes… 4 years! (we started when our oldest graduated High school and finished when he graduated college!) But hey… we paid cash for both, so we say it was a sacrifice well worth it! I am sure your asking your self, how did we cook? We’re lucky to have a second kitchen downstairs or we would have never been able to undertake such a huge remodel, specially for that long of a period.

Now, that you know a little of the back ground, heres some of the details you don’t see. The kitchen was closed in and very small, with a in kitchen dining space. We also had a formal dining space on the other side of that closed off wall (dumb…you had to walk clear around through the living room to get to it!) Our first plan of attack was to gut the kitchen and take it to the studs including the floor to the joist’s, then remove two kitchen walls and the formal dining wall. This allows us to open up the space for an open floor plan, with architectural arch details. We chose to add more arches (we had 1 in kitchen and 1 in dining room already) and I didn’t want to remove those because we loved the Architectural element and we didn’t want to raise the kitchen ceiling (that would have opened another can of worms!) This gave us the in kitchen dinning space to double our kitchen space. Our 2nd plan of attack was relocate the water lines, gas lines, central vacuum system and all the electrical, to fit our new kitchen floor plan. This was not an easy task and was more involved & costlier then we would have liked. (remember I have a contractor hubby and is good with a budget) After accomplishing all the rewiring and plumbing, we were able to put in the new flooring and had the Arches built, our Friend Billy is a talented wood worker & owner of Studio H matched our existing arches perfectly! NO more dust and now we have one hell of a large dance floor! 🙂 That was our budget and some of our budget for the next year! With going over budget and having a kid in college, (that I was determined he would graduate without having a single bill!) This meant 2nd year had a smaller budget, so we started to purchase our appliances 1 by 1, ( did you know most warranties on Appliances don’t start until install date?) then we purchased the lighting and came up with a plan to attack the cabinet issue. I had really wanted European inlaid cabinets and their about double the cost of regular cabinets. Inlaid cabinets are a frameless cabinet which creates full access cabinetry because it offers greater accessibility by eliminating the face frame. Inlaid fit flush with the cabinet, not on top of the cabinet. This is a very precision process and no room for error. European cabinet is becoming more popular among American homeowners seeking simple, more contemporary cabinet design. I love the full access & the flush sleek look of them, no bar in center of doors and the concealed hinges are attached directly to the sides of the cabinet box. I also wanted real wood, even thought I wanted white cabinets, I love the feel of real wood and the weight of it. Another must, was soft close drawers. With a house of boys, this eliminates scratches and slamming! We decided to wait on doing all the custom cabinets in one full sweep, and came up with a 4 section stage. Our Cabinet guy (Billy)priced out each section (4 sections) Island 1, Island 2, fridge wall and stove wall, broken down by purchasing each section 1 at a time. knowing I could fit sections into the budget for the remaining years instead of 1 large payment. We squeezed in Island 1 into year 2….oops… on the budget!

We had an estimated budget set for each year and I knew going in what the total project was estimated to cost and that it was going to take us 3-4 years! I wanted what I wanted and would rather wait then to cut any corners or change the quality of the kitchen. Now, do I wish I didn’t have the gift of always picking the most expensive of anything….Yes! Yes I do!!! Telling myself “great things are worth waiting for!”

Year 3… Cabinets…. Goal is to get the last 3 section built and installed! We did it…Boy it looks like a kitchen and we’re so close! Life get’s in the way…. our down stairs kitchen appliances all need to be replaced, our washer and dryer broke….You named it, it happened…. Kitchen is gonna have to go into year 4… Bright side, our kid is on track to graduate in four years and with no debit!

Year 4…Our lighting is all installed, all the hardware is installed, counter tops installed thanks to Galaxy tops and Tile, faucet & pot filler have running water, back splash is installed (hubby and I up until 1am installing it for this shoot!) Don’t mind the one wall….it didn’t get done in time for this photo shoot but I can proudly say we got it done that weekend! It’s done…It’s really done and it was worth the journey! I have tears as I write this because it now feels real, I have sat and stared at my dream kitchen… while having a cup of tea and I couldn’t believe it was really mine and it’s done it’s really done! (I had more tears, when my baby boy graduated with honors on the deans list!) Yes… He did it:) Graduated from the University of Utah, both goals accomplished!

As for what’s next? For me I’ll be cooking in my kitchen and sharing some of my favorite receipts with you. As for Hudson, he’s finishing up his summer class and then he’ll be looking for a career…He wants to cook in the new kitchen! (maybe i’ll let him!)

I hope you enjoyed my kitchen journey and can be inspired in some way. I also hope you take away from this, that not everything has to happen overnight. It can be a process & a journey if you have a dream, a goal or even a remodel, plan & budget and work towards it every day until it gets accomplished! Yes, you will have set backs, you will have hoops to jump, you might even have tears wanting it to be over but let me tell you when it’s accomplished, it’s all worth it! (sometimes I would just stare at my kitchen plans wishing it was done and I would tell myself “it’s gonna be beautiful and worth the wait!”

Warning: I will be posting a ton of photo shoot’s in this space…. So get ready for kitchen over load!

If you have any budgeting questions or design questions leave a comment i’ll be happy to help. OX, D’Arcy

University of Utah graduation on May 4th! I thought you would like a peek at that exciting and emotional day! OX

This post was a collaboration with Galaxy Tops and Tile and may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own. I only promote brands that I truly love and believe in! Thank you for your support!

How to look Chic in that Ugly Christmas Sweater

How to look Chic in That Ugly Sweater!

Cheers! To a fun Party

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

How to look Chic in that Ugly Christmas sweater……

I don’t know about you but I never really wanted to look UGLY or dorky! (I always wanted to be something pretty or cute for Halloween!) Really …..Wait for it… I really never loved Halloween! I love getting dressed up Pretty for a party, dance or Black tie event….But costumes No!

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party has become more and more popular and like “Halloween” for Christmas! At least at my Girlfriend Kjirstin’s Annual Sweater party! Don’t get me wrong it’s a hoot of a party! we’ve had the Griswolds, Whoville’s and some crazy ugly sweaters! It’s a great night and really fun to see what people come up with! As for me…. I’ll take the Chic route:)

Easy way to “CHIC” up that Christmas sweater…is A ..pick a cute one, Wink! Snowman sweater was Nordstrom last year… A cute choice here B wear you festive pants= red jeans or like shown above Silver Kut from the Kloth jeans or Black Leather pants! C wearing a fun pump or a stylish bootie D Statement earring!

I hope you liked my tips on How to look Chic for a Ugly Christmas Sweater party, OX D’Arcy

I would love to help you with any Styling questions… Just leave a comment!

Bar Cart Friday! Fun way to Entertain…

Happy Friday Beautiful’s!

Just a quick little post for Friday Bar cart Beautiful!

Today I wanted to share with you a fun little date night or even Boy’s Game night idea for your bar cart! Super easy & quick to throw together idea for a fun Night. Just a couple Items to throw this look together! If you’ve been following me you know I love to entertain and have been a collector of thing’s I think will make for good serving pieces or fun props that you can use over & over! Here’s some tips on what to look for to make your carts come together with easy….

I love the Word BAR I picked up at Homegoods and use a ton! Look for words you would use like EAT & Yum if you don’t drink! (Bar can be used for…. Candy BAR, Coco BAR, Cup cake BAR) You get the Idea! I love trays and consider this Coke Cola crate a tray (found mine on etsy) Collect fun Cups that can be used for multiple occasions. These lidded Mason jar glasses work great for picnic’s, Ice Tea, lemonade and perfect for game or movie night! I save cute bottle or cool soda cans and use as props. Glass jars are great to serve food and treats out of! Use things around your house…Like games, silk flowers, real plants, candles, books for risers Etc.

Collecting serving pieces & glass ware that can serve multiple occasions is smart… Don’t get to caught up in a theme you might not be able to get multiple looks out of it! Think Glass, White, solid colors or a pattern if you can use it for multiple seasons or holiday’s! ( I collect black and white stripes and polka dots) Which can be used for many occasions!

See my other Bar Cart idea’s Here…… BBQ, Tropical, Cinco de Mayo, Vacation ready, Girl’s Movie night, Summer weekend

Hoping you are enjoying My Bar cart Beautiful Series!

Have a great weekend Beautiful’s! Ox, D’Arcy

Friday’s Bar cart Beautiful= Summer Weekend

Hello Beautiful’s!

It’s time for Friday Bar cart styling = Hot summer night’s Nautical theme & Watermelon Moscow mules….

I hope your having a wonderful Summer! It’s been a really HOT summer in Utah! All anyone wants to do is float in the water or do something indoors! So I hope your staying cool!

We live in a lake town in Utah and I am a California girl at heart! So the nautical themed bar cart for Summer just feels perfect! This would be cute by your pool or a cute Summer Birthday party theme.

I don’t know if you remember a couple months back, when I decorated the Junior Leagues annual Gala? It was ” A night at the Cape”…. Which had me collecting a ton of nautical decor! (I had to do something with it!) Another inspiration for our Summer Bar cart! I hope this inspires you to have fun with your Bar cart and decorate it for the seasons!

My Favorite Drink these day’s is my Watermelon Moscow Mule cocktail creation! Yum! You can make a Mocktail by leaving out the vodka..

A copper cup ( I think it’s a must)

Ginger beer (our fav is Fever Tree) 1 bottle makes 2 drinks

club soda

vodka (leave out if making Mocktail)

lime

mint for garnish

3 slices of watermelon

ice

Fill your copper mug with Ice, pour 2 shots of vodka in mug, squeeze in the lime add to side for garnish, use 1/2 of the ginger beer in each mug….set aside!

cut up 1 water melon slice into 2 for garnish and other 2 watermelon slice’s put in plastic bag and smash into juice…

add juice to both mugs you set aside & stir top off with club soda and finish garnishing with watermelon slice a sprig of mint! YUM…If you try it leave me a comment and tell me how you liked it!

Hope your enjoying your Summer loves! OX, D’Arcy