Lamps.com provided me with a product to review. All opinions are my own.

Can we talk about the situation that is my living room?

We've lived in our house about 3 and half years now and we've made some pretty good strides in the decor department.

We've gone from a random hanging light, vertical blinds, and nothing on the walls.

To this:


We've also swapped out the blinds for curtains (which you'll see in a bit).

And then we've kind of stalled. It's not that we didn't have ideas -we had plenty. It was more the fact that we couldn't make decisions on what we wanted our space to look like.

We got comfortable. So comfortable in fact - we lived with this for more time than I would care to admit.



The plastic lampshade broke off after being jostled one too many times of closing the curtains. But it still worked. So lived with it we did.

Until the nice people at Lamps.com decided to help us step our lamp game up. We were able to browse hundreds of lamps on their easy to navigate site all from the comfort of my couch.


I had a hard time deciding a midst all the choices but ultimately chose to upgrade to a similar style floor lamp with one distinct feature...

Adesso Remote Control Floor Lamp

 A REMOTE!

How cool is that? I didn't even know that was an option for lamps! I can sit on the couch and control my lamp with a press of a button. It has certainly been clutch when I'm already snuggled under the covers, ready to watch the latest episode of True Blood, Last Ship, or the Leftovers (my Sunday nights are busy).

Another thing I like about this particular style of lamp is that it will look good even when I decide to change things up in the living room - you might remember this inspiration board...


I dig the polished chrome look - so my new lamp can easily be incorporated and doesn't have to go anywhere. Win!

Lamps.com is a great site to check out for quality lighting and great inspiration. Their Instagram feed is also pretty droolworthy - definitely worth a follow if you enjoy seeing pretty things.

I made it through day 1 of no gluten. Surprisingly it was not that bad. By the end of the night I was jonesin' for my favorite gluten laced snacks- which for me is usually something like a Pop-Tart, powdered donettes, or bowl of cereal which are now off limits so instead I ate some strawberries with Cool Whip and called it a night.

My meals for the day looked like this:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and sugar free Jello. I only ate the Jello because the eggs made me gag - I made them a bit too runny and my palate just said no.

Snack: Mozzarella string cheese.

I didn't eat lunch.

Dinner: Sam's Club rotisserie chicken, baked potato, and roasted broccoli. I've never made broccoli before, I'm not sure if I'm a fan just yet, may take a few more tries before I can honestly say, "I like it." I really missed having a piece of jelly bread with my dinner. Sad face.

Snack: Strawberries and Cool Whip.

Can I just say thank goodness potatoes are a gluten free food. They are my favorite food group are going to be heavy staple the next two weeks. I already ate one for lunch today.

While I know that going gluten free is not some miracle cure and it definitely won't work overnight but I was a little bummed at how awful I felt yesterday. I kept joking with Chris that it must be the gluten leaving my body. My feet swelled up and my back was aching something fierce.

In other news, I finally got my hair after a year hiatus. Surprisingly, I didn't have to get much cut off like I thought I would. And my package from Wayfair just arrived. I can't wait to put it together and post some pics!

So Chris and I have decided to try a little experiment for the next two weeks (at least)...we're going gluten-free.

Cue scary, ominous tones.

I'm nervous, REAL nervous. I love food. More specifically, I love only certain foods. What can I say...I'm a creature of habit. I can eat the same thing without getting tired of it for months, even years. I've been eating oatmeal and toast every morning for breakfast for about a year and half now - I eat so many oats, I buy 10 pound bags from Sam's every two months or so. 60 pounds of oats per years, friends. And I'm changing it up!

You might be wondering why?

Frankly, we're tired of feeling like crap. We have zero energy to do anything and we pretty much feel sick all the time. Not a day goes by that one of us isn't complaining about a migraine, our joints, or something. I also stumbled across this article, 10 Signs You're Gluten Intolerant, and between Chris and I, we display 8 out of 10 signs. I've got rheumatoid arthritis/psoriasis and he's got fibromyalgia.

So we figured, why not?

If we don't feel any better, oh well. We will have at least not eaten fast food for two weeks and we definitely need to kick that habit.

But if we do feel better (and I'm really hoping we do) - this could mean a lot of good things for us -like maybe not having to take so much medication and being able to enjoy our daily lives. That would definitely be a plus.

So for the next two weeks - no bread, doughnuts, oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, waffles, buns, Pop-Tarts, ice cream cones, fast food, or fun  gluten.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and if you're gluten free, tips and tricks would be appreciated. I didn't go crazy at the store this week buying gluten free this and that, just mostly sticking to proteins, vegetables, and fruits, But I'd love to hear any recommendations you might have. Thanks!

Happy Monday!

I think Mondays are only happy in the summer - or when it's holiday.

After viewing Facebook this morning I feel like my weekend should have been spent head to toe in red, white, and blue, in a pool/on a lake/engaging some kind of water activity, eating copious amounts of BBQ, and watching/setting off fireworks. Seriously, is it just me or does every holiday seem bigger than before? I know I've read articles about how parents feel that have to celebrate every holiday with perfect Pinterest crafts, Elf on the Shelf, etc.? But many of my friends are without kids. I don't know - maybe I'm just being a a bit curmudgeonly but it just seems like so much work to enjoy something.

Despite my little side rant just now, I didn't spend the weekend on the couch with the blinds drawn - that was only Sunday. I did manage to make it to the Cardinals game on Saturday with my entire family. Unfortunately, we lost in the 9th inning. But it was still a great game - saw back to back home runs! We then BBQ'd back at our house.


Today I'm hanging out with my friend Emily - were headed to lunch and then crafting. Fun times. The rest of the week will be spent in workshops and hopefully putting together the TV console for the living room. Pictures to come soon!

Going to the pool about 3 days a week. It has been far more enjoyable than I thought it would.

Trying to not start the back to school countdown. It's JULY people! I'm guessing only about two more weeks until the anxiety laden dreams begin. I will always worry about missing the first day of school due to oversleeping.

Planning a 5th of July BBQ after the Cardinals game. I'm thinking cheesy potatoes and pork steaks. YUM!

Starting to pull together a plan for really decorating the living room. I've learned over the past three years that I have decorating paralysis. I'd rather not do anything out of fear of making the wrong choices. But I will fear no more! I pulled together an inspiration board and I think I'm going to make the first purchase towards this design tomorrow...that sweet-ass fireplace TV console from Wayfair.
Itching to go shopping - birthday month is fast approaching, so I must hold off. I can't wait for all the coupons to start showing up in my inbox.

Waiting ever so patiently for Erin Condren to launch their notebooks. Somehow I've earned $40 to spend through referrals and I'm giddy!

Wanting to be more active - it is so tempting to lay (lie?) on the couch all day and I may have indulged myself a time or two already this summer.

A pretty low key week passed on by. It was highlighted by...

The lazy days of summer are definitely here. I spend my mornings reading blogs, the afternoons at the pool, and the evenings just hanging out with the boyfriend, cooking dinner and watching the Cardinal's game.

Life is good.

What's making life even easier is this little guy...



This is the first summer in probably 14 years where I'm at the pool multiple times a week in a bikini - and 14 years ago I didn't have to worry about shaving, like, at all. Now, my legs, underarms, and other areas (ahem) need daily attention. #ladyproblems

The Venus Snap razor makes shaving easy even if I forget to shave or miss a spot because I just toss it in my pool bag. Its small size makes it convenient to take anywhere. The cute little case even has holes in it so water can't get trapped. I'll definitely be able to pack #inasnap for my float trip in a few weeks.Hooray for lighter bags when I travel!

I've always loved Venus razors and was excited to try the Snap -I was surprised at how smooth my legs felt after shaving, even with no shaving cream. The razor has built in moisturizing strips so I won't have to use additional products for a smooth shave. The handle is tiny and did take a moment to get used to but with the textured grip I wasn't scared of cutting myself.

As the saying goes, "less is more." The Venus Snap is able to deliver the same silky, smooth shave as a full-sized razor without using additional products and in half the packaging.  Win-win in my book!