My Living Room Style

We've lived in our home for about a year and a half now, when we moved in I was excited to start over with a new space and excited to really make the space our own. It's taken quite some time to get everything together in our home, but I wouldn't have it any other way. In our last home we had I bought things to just "fill space" instead of really waiting and seeing what our style was going to be, or waiting for the things I really wanted. This time around we took our time finding the right things for us in our budget. We saved for big purchases like our sectional and sofa table. 

We lived with out curtains for few months till I found the right ones, then waited for them to go on sale. It's about the process and I'm ok with that. 

It's funny because the furniture we moved in with is not the same that we have now. When we moved in we quickly realized that our couch and chaise chair wasn't going to be enough seating to entertain with and fill up the space. 

It's been a fun labor of love and saving up for purchases over the last year and a half making this space our own. Let'e take a look at what it looked like when we first moved in. 

Our living room opens right into the eat in kitchen. You walk through the front door and you're in it. 

We painted our front door black, and added a "hello" sign. I wanted to define this entry way a bit more since we don't have a formal entry way. We added the board and batten on the wall and some hooks to hang our stuff. I love how it frames this space as an entry way, it also adds a really fun and cute element to an otherwise builder basic house.

The room is decent size and has four windows, I love all the light they let in during the day. We didn't paint at all when we moved in, we liked the neutral color that was here. We did add the board and batten to the wall behind the couch. I love it so much, it really adds a lot to this space. 

Like I mentioned over time we found pieces for this room. The couch came from a local Phoenix furniture store called Pruitts. Since the couch was so dark I knew I wanted most everything else to be light and airy. In our old house the decor was very warm tones, and my style has changed so much since we first got married. I like the lighter side now. 

(rug- Rugs USA, Ottoman-Amazon, chevron pillows- groopdealz, gold pillows- Goods by Grinn, blue pillow- World Market, quatrafoil pillows- Target, throw- World Market, lamps- Target, sofa table- World Market, Chair print- Day Spring, curtains- JC Penny.)

Toys sitting out, weights on the floor because this is real life, we live here and that's how we roll! 

(tv cosole- Ikea, family rules sign- made by me)

I love this couch, that spot there in the center it's my fave curl up with a good book or a show spot! 

We love our home, and I'm excited to share bits of it with you over the next few weeks. I feel really blessed to have a home for my family. Thank you for letting me share our "done for now" living room. 

If you have any questions about stuff, leave them in the comments below and I'll try my best to answer them. 

An Honest Stitchfix Review

Have you tried Stitchfix yet? 

Most of you have probably heard of Stitchfix, but for those that haven't basically it's a styling service where you fill out an online profile, answer some questions and based on your answers they send you items to try on. You keep what you like, and send back anything you don't. 

There's a $20 styling fee involved but it's get credited towards anything you purchase.

You get 5 items in your "fix" which could be a combination of bottoms, tops, jewelry, handbags, etc. Or you can tell your stylist that you'd like all tops or whatever you choose. 

Part of the fun is getting to customize your fix, and the surprise is opening the box and seeing what they sent!

I told you this was going to be an honest review, didn't I?! Can I tell you something?

The first time I tried Stitchfix I loved a few of the items, and hated some of them. I really loved this pair of jeans they sent but they were out of my budget even. So I sent it all back. 

I was really tempted to buy something just so I wouldn't lose the $20 styling credit but I just didn't love anything enough to keep it. 

That's when I went back to my stylist. After each fix you get to review your items and leave your stylist comments. So that's what I did, I gave some detailed feedback and changed my pricing on items to send. 

And because I believe in second chances, I tried Stitchfix again! The second time around I got some great stuff in my fix! They ended up sending 4 shirts and a skirt. I was very specific to my stylist, and requested more shirts and not pants. Since I was still losing weight at the time, I also adjusted my sizes ensuring I would get things that fit. 

I was so pleased with my fix that I ended up purchasing two of the items they sent. I think the key was giving feedback, and really being specific to my stylist. 

Here's a few things I love about Stitchfix; 

• It works at your convience. You choose the date you want your fix.
• There's no membership fee, only the $20 styling fee that gets applied and credited towards anything you buy.
• You can be really picky and specific, and they welcome that! They want you to get your best fix! 
• It's fun to have someone else shop for you!

This is such a fun way to try new clothing. It's fun to have someone else shop for you, while you can stay home. It's brought me out of my comfort zone and helped me try new things. 

If you're looking to try Stitchfix too I invite you to try it and sign up under my referral link here.  

As a disclaimer, I get $25 when you sign up. 

Let me know if you try it, I'd love to see what's inside your fix! It's a happy mail day when your Stitchfix box arrives on your doorstep! 

Paleo Taco Salad

For the last few months my family and I have been trying out the Paleo lifestyle. We still have to cut out a few things before going full fledged but so far I've been loving all the new recipes we're trying. 

I've been using the Practical Paleo cookbook. 

This is one of the recipes from that cook book. If you love Mexican food, I really think you'll love this one too. It's basically a taco without the taco shell. 

I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. 

1 pound ground beef or turkey, brown the meat. I used my homemade taco seasoning to spice it up. 

For filling my salad I chopped up cilantro, one avocado, red and green peppers, 2 tomatoes, half a head of lettuce, three green onions. 

Build your salad with all these, squeeze limes on top and Enjoy! 

My Homemade Salsa

I love Mexican food. It's my all time favorite. I've been making salsa since I was in college, I've been perfecting this recipe for the last few years. Here's my salsa recipe, and it's my fave.

Andrea's Homemade Salsa

1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes (no salt added)

1 red onion chopped

1 bunch of red radishes

1 handful of cilantro chopped

1 lime juiced

1 jalepeno pepper (seeds & all)

Put all your ingredients except the cilantro & lime in the food processor and pulse on medium speed until all blended. Once blended add in the cilantro and lime. Taste, add salt if needed. I don't usually add salt but you can if you'd like. If you'd like less heat take out half the seeds of the pepper. 

Community is my Heartbeat.

When I first moved to Phoenix almost five years ago, I was newly pregnant in a new city. I didn't have many friends, everything was about starting over and making new. I was also a pastor's wife at the time navigating a new church and new youth ministry. 

I joined a online ministry for Pastor's wives, there I was able to meet other women like me and get connected with them. Eventually I started leading an online group for pastor's wives each month. Community has always been important to me. If I didn't have it, I sought it out. I love building authentic relationships with people. 

When I became a mama, I didn't have any friends around me that were moms too. There were no young moms in my church, I didn't have any young mama friends around me. I was navigating a lot all on my own and trying to find my place and figure out what kinda mama I was going to be. 

For the longest time I prayed that God would bring Godly women and mothers into my life. Ones that I could relate to, share my story with, and ones that we could live life together. He's done that in so many different ways for me. Some local, some online friends, and church friends. I think the heart of community is just to do life together, to know that someone else has your same interests, is going through the same thing too and you can come together. 

I'm so thankful for the friendships God has brought my way in the most unexpected ways. This is why I am so thankful for Thrive Moms. Their heart is my heart. To see mamas connected to each other. Encouraging each other, seeing them live life together and supporting one another. 

Today Thrive Local launches! You guys, I'm so excited for this aspect of Thrive. It's my heartbeat! it's theirs too. You can visit Thrive today and search a map and find a group in your area just for you and other moms too! 

For my local Phoenix mamas there's two in the Phoenix metro! I'm leading a group and I'd love for you to join me as we connect and share life with one another.