Our time at home during COVID-19 has been marked by home projects. Y’all, I have reorganized, cleaned out & painted every square inch of our space. It feels incredible!
We finally wrapped up our bedroom remodel, which has been in process for months. WE LOVE IT. It feels like going to bed & waking up in a tranquil spa every morning.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The only item left in this space is our bed, which was my great uncle’s – I love it’s simple style & size. The rest was sold & replaced with what we knew we’d love for years to come.
As I shared the process of our remodel on social, so many folks commented on how much my style has changed. I do believe there has been an evolution of growth in what I gravitate towards (I started this blog when I was 19! Let’s hope my style has changed, ha!). But my style has also grown with my budget & what I can afford to purchase for our space.
For so long, I pieced together rooms with yard sale or thrift shop finds & pieces handed down from family. I love a good thrifty find & our home still has a mix of old & new, but this time around, with a bit of expandable income saved up, I knew I wanted to wait until we could purchase exactly what we wanted.
For our bedroom, I knew I craved texture, pattern & neutral tones with pops of blush. I am very thankful that Luke loves what I pick out & doesn’t mind a hint of pink in his room.
I fell in love with this wallpaper, which was the inspiration for the entire space. It reminds me of our travels with a bit of a modern feel mixed in.
One addition to the room was my vanity corner. We only have one bathroom in our home, which presents many problems when we’re trying to get ready & off to work in the mornings. A friend had an idea to put a vanity in this corner where I could get ready each morning & it works beautifully.
Another upgrade was removing the old carpet & putting in hardwood flooring. Due to our budget, we decided to go with engineered hardwood from Lumber Liquidators. We have that style of hardwood throughout our entire home & it’s held up so well despite our rugged farm life, ha! To make it extra cozy & provide more texture, I placed a rug beneath our bed.
Finally, we added a full-length mirror to an empty corner on the far side of the room. I used to have a dorm style mirror on the back of my closet door so this feels like such an upgrade!
Here are all of the sources for our bedroom:
+ Wallpaper
+ Paint: Ultra White by Valspar
+ Manufactured Hardwood Flooring from Lumber Liquidators
+ Vanity
+ Vanity stool
+ Round wall mirror
+ Rug
+ Bedside Table Lamps (similar)
+ Bedside Tables
+ Dresser
+ Full length mirror
+ Cranes artwork
+ Pendant light
+ Sheets
+ Linen Down Comforter
+ Quilt & Shams
+ Throw pillows (here & here – similar)
With this project wrapped up, we’re finishing our dining room & workout room! I cannot wait to share those spaces with you soon!
love,
natalie
This blog post is in partnership with ALDI.
Friends, I never knew I could cook so much, but here we are making dinner from home every single night. If you’re like me & looking for a new meal idea that uses staples from your pantry with a few fresh ingredients added in, I’ve got just the recipe for you!
This week on the menu, I knew I wanted to make something that would leave me satisfied yet balanced. I purchased quite a few vegetables & fruits from ALDI on my last big grocery haul along with Fremont Fish Market’s frozen tilapia – unbeatable quality, a great value & a family staple within our home!
Which can only mean one thing – fish tacos in a bowl!
We love deconstructing tacos into bowl form for dinner with white rice, fresh vegetables, lime juice & oven baked fish, but this week I was craving something a little more decadent.
I’m not big on kitchen gadgets & appliances, but I purchased an air fryer from ALDI almost a year ago & it’s proven to be an essential within my kitchen. It takes any meal idea from simple to decadent yet cuts calories without eliminating taste.
I mixed a little panko with flour, seasonings & egg, coated the fish on both sides & placed each filet in the air fryer for ten minutes. It was divine!
Here’s the full recipe –
Decadent Black Bean & Mango Fish Taco In a Bowl
Serves 4 / Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
4 Fremont Fish Market Tilapia filets
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup Chef’s Cupboard Panko Bread Crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 package sliced fresh mango, chopped
3 bell peppers in a variety of colors, chopped
1 can Dakota’s Pride Black Beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup & 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Friendly Farms Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 cups rice, cooked
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Thaw Fremont Fish Market Tilapia filets under running warm water. While fish is thawing, mix together flour, Chef’s Cupboard Panko Bread Crumbs, 1 beaten egg, paprika, lemon pepper & salt. Place fish filets in panko mixture & coat both sides. Transfer filets to the air fryer & cook for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, turning once halfway through, until fish is golden brown.
In a separate bowl, mix together chopped mango, bell pepper, black beans, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup lime juice (reserving remaining lime juice for yogurt sauce), olive oil & salt. Put to the side.
In a small bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro & salt to taste.
Fill a large bowl with 1/2 cup white rice. Add mango & black bean mixture to bowl along with tilapia & a dollop of Greek yogurt sauce. Add pickled onions & a squeeze of lime for an additional pop of flavor!
Enjoy this bright & delicious, decadent fish taco bowl when you’re in need of a little boost & a whole lot of flavor!
This recipe is even better the next day as leftovers so make sure to double your ingredients so you can enjoy it a second time!
Let me know if you get creative in the kitchen this week with your ALDI haul & try out my go-to fish taco in a bowl recipe! What are other ways you love to use ALDI fish? Comment below & let me know!
love,
natalie
In such a time as this, I thought it at a good call to make a big batch of elderberry syrup.
We take 1 tablespoon of elderberry syrup daily to boost our immunity & it’s a fraction of the cost when you make your own.
I know there are many local options for purchasing dried elderberries (I would love to grow our own elderberries – it’s on our list for next season!), but I most recently purchased a big bag from Amazon. Here’s the link – 1lb will last you quite awhile!
I made a couple of quarts of syrup & divided them into smaller jars with plastic lids for freezing. I’ve even seen folks freeze extra elderberry syrup in ice cube trays & then store the cubes in freezer baggies, which I will definitely try once I get my hands on some trays.
Here’s my go-to recipe. Let me know what you think!
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Serving size: 1 tsp for children & 1 tbsp for adults daily
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups water
2/3 cups dried elderberries
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup raw, local honey
Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to a medium-sized sauce pan except honey.
2. Bring to a boil. Cover & reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes until liquid has reduced by half.
3. Remove from heat & allow to cool.
4. Once you’re able to handle the heat of the liquid & pot, use the back of a wooden spoon to crush the elderberries.
5. Pour through a strainer into a bowl.
6. Discard elderberries & allow syrup to completely cool.
7. Once cool (honey will not mix as well in warm liquid), add in honey & stir well.
8. Once mixed, pour syrup into mason jar or freeze in ice cube trays.
Elderberry syrup will last up to three months stored in a tight-fitting lid mason jar in the fridge. Shake well before using because honey will settle at the bottom. Enjoy!
love,
natalie