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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.

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!

Freshen up for Spring Bedroom redo

Hello Beautiful’s! Today I am sharing with you my Master bedroom Spring make over. One of my favorite thing’s is to change my bedding and little touches in my room for the seasons in an affordable way. By having good furniture and a Color pallet that allows you to change accessories and make little changes for BIG impact!

You can see what it looked like before for Winter here . With some of these easy to do tricks you can switch your room up too.

For Spring I like to lighten it up…In all way’s, bedding, curtains and color. My Tip for being able to change the whole look of a room with just switching out accessories is to use a wall paint you love and can work with ALL the seasons. Our walls are Revere pewter by Benjamin Moore its a great go to Gray! (Gray’s work well with every color!) If gray’s aren’t your thing, shades of Cream and greens are great for bedrooms as well as working with all the seasons.

I love our White bedding from Anthropologie I bought a couple years ago, A similar bedding here . White I know is brave ( specially with a black cat that likes to sleep at the foot of our bed.) Switching out your bedding seasonally helps to keep it in good condition and easier on the wear and tear. Tips for keeping white’s white Here from a post I did last week. I have 3 bedding sets in different seasonal weights and colors that ALL work together. Whites, gray’s and blacks, which All of these colors can be accented with any POP of color. ( You could have 2 sets 1 for Fall/Winter- Spring/Summer) Living where we have 4 seasons it’s important to have 1 heavy set & 1 lighter set.

I added a pop of pale pink with a couple of throw pillows a blanket and some candles. Bringing in pink books at the end of the bed also helps tie in the pop of pink without having to go buy another item. I always and I mean always have fresh flowers on my nightstand. It’s my splurge that puts a smile on my face. Waking up to flowers being one of the first things you see in the morning is just a blessing. How could you have a bad day? I will keep various shades of pink for the Spring season. (note Little Miss jumped up onto the Nightstand/desk just as I snap photo’s!) NOTE the small amount of pink… I could easily change out the pink items for a different color say Tiffany Blue items for a different look and not having to spend a ton of money. (2 pillows 1 blanket a couple candles and go through my books)

Changed out the Winter wreath and deer head for a Frame and our monogram. I keep seasonal items that I can trade out for a fresh look. I also move things around in our home to freshen things up and give spaces a new look. TIP: I suggest buying Items you love and things that can go in multiple spaces. This way you can move objects from room to room. (You’ll always find a space for something you love!) So give it a try…Move stuff around!

Taking the curtains down and just letting the plantation shutters shine. Spring Sunshine is just the BEST!

Sorry, I didn’t really make any changes to our sitting room or dresser areas so I didn’t add new photo’s of those spaces.

I hope I inspired you to do a little change up in your bedroom for Spring. OX, D’Arcy

Adding Spring Touches To your Home

After our long Winter I am so Happy to be adding Some touches of Spring to Our home! I really Used what I had on hand and what I have been collecting over the years! I will be adding more as we get closer to Easter and there is a couple things I have in mind I would like to purchase! I just wanted to show you a couple Tricks you can do buy moving things around and adding Spring colors to make a fun Spring Vignette & Spring tablescape!

Here I took down our Black Mirror and changed it to a gold one I had in my bedroom! I think gold helps reflect the light and the shine reminds me of sunshine!(which I desperately need!) Add fresh flowers in a fun pop of color! Tip: See what fun color of accessories you might have lying around or in another room and match your fresh flowers to those! This really helps to tie items together. I knew I had Coral pink Hunter boots & some books and A candle I knew I could Play with! (I did pick up the gold Home a couple weeks ago from the Target $3-5 bin) Really I didn’t know what I was gonna do with it. I just liked it 🙂

In our Dinning room I pulled out My Great Nana’s depression glass that my mom gave to me last year knowing I love to entertain and am always playing with tablescapes! I love that there pink and that its a family heirloom! Again I made sure my fresh flowers went with what I own and was going to be using. Tip: Costco has the BEST flowers at a great price and they last a long time, sometimes you can stretch out some of them for 2 weeks! I treat myself to Fresh Blooms every week, It’s one of those things that just makes me smile and fills our home with loving touches! Mixing my collection of Mercury glass votive’s and vases matched this cute bunny I bought a Homegoods a couple years ago! Tip: when your purchasing Seasonal items Don’t just buy it because its cute… purchase items that go with collections you own already (everyday collections) this really helps when you go to decorate for a season you have things that go together with ease.

I didn’t have Napkins on hand that went with my theme…but I had left over burlap from when I reupholstered our dinning room chairs! So I cut 8 squares and rolled a paper napkin in the center. The bunny ear Napkin Rings Target $5 bin for 4! Score! This silverware We got for our wedding 21 years ago and I love that the gold touch is so” IN “! Sad I have Gold chargers that would be so perfect….but our Main kitchen is under construction and they’re packed up so good that I just couldn’t get to them! I am still looking so when I find…and I will! I’ll share a pic! When I finished setting the table I did decide I would like egg cups…so I am on a mission! Always a work in progress…..

Lastly….Added some Outdoors indoors… I grabbed a couple of my outdoor planters and planted some spring plants…Ill have them inside until its safe to put outdoors! (if you live where it could snow until Mother’s day you understand!) I love having the color and greenery makes me forget we have snow on the lawn!

My Favorite Spring cleaning tools and products HERE plus some of my favorite home decor for Spring HERE on my Amazon shops!

Hope you enjoyed a peek into our home and grabbed a couple tips to try! OX D’Arcy

Winter Bedding to cozy up the Master Bedroom

Winter bedding black and white demask with Stripe , finished with Fur pillow's and A Minky Couture blanket.

Winter bedding black and white damask with Stripe , finished with Fur pillow’s and A Minky Couture blanket.

Changing of the season….As the Days get shorter and Nights get Colder, Our Master Bedroom gets cozier❤️ Do you change your Bedding seasonally? Add More Blankets or completely change your look? I love the opportunity for change, add layers and give our room a NEW look..

To get our look I change out the curtain’s from the light summer lace to the raw Lined Silk drapes (pottery barn) The heavier Curtain also helps keep the heat in. I add Rug’s to each side of the Bed to add texture and warmth (Tj max) Our Bedding set I purchase a couple years ago I saw on Pintrest from Macy’s. The comforter is thicker then our (Summer bedding duvet from anthropology ) and reversible for yet another option . The Set included a comforter, dust ruffle, 2 pillow shams. I added on the European Chevron Pillow….because I am pillow obsessed (I am always buying pillows) I purchased the 2 fur pillows and the sequined deer from Homegoods at different times. I do find it easy to change out pillows when I get board or need a new look… Hence a reason I am alway purchasing NEW ones. I am lucky I have a great storage room to store all my props and interior Season decor items. I Am in love with the Over sized dust ruffle that flares out of t he sides of the bed. It just adds that special touch! Black and white is just a classic color scheme that works with our Grey walls (Benjamin Moore) And easy to accent with any other pop of color if you wish. I love adding a pop of light pink around Valentine’s Day 💕 Another way I add a touch of warmth and luxury for the cooler months is a fur blanket our families favorite (Minky couture) Looks beautiful thrown on the bed and cozy warm to snuggle up with. The last detail is I add a spruce Wreath around a glittered dear head above our headboard. (growing up in California we had earthquakes, you don’t put Heavy object above your sleeping head!)

I often get asked about my choice for night stands…..I am not a fan of Matchy Matchy bedroom sets… Yes my dressers match our bed but to add a special touch I got two different desk and painted both of them in silver spray paint and topped with mirror to give them a chic look and I love having the space a desk has to offer over a small night stand. Thinking out of the Box to create a space that works for you:)

Hope you enjoyed your little Bedroom tour:) and inspired you to add winter warmth to your room.

❤️ D’Arcy

Vintage desk diy nightstand, My Side of the Bed💕

Our reading nook💕