not a trophy wife

Week Ending in July Finds

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Have you looked at the calendar? Can you believe we are in the middle of July already? How did we get here? Anyone trying to remember the Talking Heads song? It’s hard to believe two weeks ago we were in Breckenridge doing this. And now my eyes are looking to August! My to-do list just grew by 99 action items! With this Week Ending in July I wanted to share a few finds and my absolute favorite purchase at the Nordstrom sale.  

week ending in July

Week Ending in July

Look what was in my inbox today? Can you believe it? It’s going to be here before you know it!

I bought this at the Nordstrom sale. I almost wore it out of the store (after purchase).  It is worth the money ladies!

Are sheet pan based meals the new crockpot of easy dinners? Here are a few sheet pan recipes.

With July in full swing here are some fun campsite recipes. My college-age son discovered camping this summer. For the rest of our family, I think a gas firepit is perfect for creating a glamping version of these campsite recipes.

This is a sneak peak of our DIY firepit.

week ending in July

We are spending our nights watching this series. We just finished season 3 and have to wait until next spring for the 4th season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Weekending | 4th of July in Breckenridge Colorado & Video

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Hi Everyone! We spent 4th of July in Breckenridge. Returning on a Thursday threw my work mindset into a bit of tailspin. Was anyone else thrown off with the 4th of July holiday in the middle of the week? Did you take a few days off on the front or back end of the holiday?

Our daughter was out of town. Our sons spent a day or two between their tennis coaching jobs and babysitting their four-legged siblings. That was the hardest part of our trip was the rental home didn’t allow our Bernese Mountain dog to join us for the 4th of July in Breckenridge.

This left my husband and me to tackle Mount Quandary; a 14’er in Breckenridge.  In hindsight, I wonder if our boys planned their work schedule to avoid the five-hour hike.

We spent five hours hiking Mt. Quandary in Breckenridge. It was a great hike, but it’s like hiking up the side of a rock quarry.  Rocks along the mountain on the final 1/3 of the way up and there was only one way up to the summit.

The altitude hit me with about 700 yards to climb to the top. I knew this because a couple “skipping” back down shared the approximate distance in between my gasps for air.

The photo below shows the warmer neck warmer I pulled over my head and ears  as we got closer to the top (it was windy and much cooler at the top).

Mt. Quandary 14265 ft

4th-of-july-breckenridge-colorado

Talk about a  feeling of accomplishment! We were psyched to finish. We hung out at the summit for a few minutes and met some girls from Minneapolis who had friends at our son’s college; so that was fun! In fact, we met so many people on the mountain from Minneapolis/St. Paul. And, the only reason we learned this was I wore my son’s college baseball hat. Everyone from Minneapolis recognized the purple and grey logo.

4th-of-july-breckenridge-colorado

But this guy had no problems navigating the rocky terrain.

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I ended up with a bit of a headache with the altitude, but water, Tylenol, and a nap took care of it. I could barely walk up or down the stairs the next day. #hurtsogood We celebrated the 4th of July with the annual Breckenridge parade along Main Street.

Applause and cheers accompanied the Summit County Mountain Rescue team and first responders. It was hard not to tear up a bit when the firefighters and first responders passed with their kids on and around the trucks.

4th-of-July-in-Breckenridge-Colorado-not-a-trophy-wife

 

4th-of-July-in-Breckenridge-Colorado-not-a-trophy-wife

And, here’s a little video from one of my favorite “floats.”

Favorite 4th of July Video

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WEEKENDING | Giveaway

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Hi everyone! It’s already time for another week of Weekending where I share a few fun finds and facts around the internet. Did I find you this week? Oh, and keep reading, this Weekending includes a Spa giveaway AND a Target gift card.

Of course, the first thing that sent shockwaves across our hearts and handbags was the news of Kate Spade. I first saw it on a blog and I grabbed my phone to check Twitter. Kate Spade was trending in a way we would never have imagined. I hope she found peace in all of those fun patterns, prints and colors.

Image result for kate spade images

Speaking of peace? What brings you peace? I found a fun new hobby this past year and it’s an expensive and frustrating one, but one that calms me. It’s my new camera. I love to play with angles and lighting and blurry background images. Heather was a huge help getting me started in the right direction. Now I take 98 photos of this…

Are you a camping family? We are condo campers. But I love the idea of camping and found the perfect   campfire-friendly recipes.

Maybe a staycation is more of what you had in mind? Check out these porch projects.

If you haven’t visited this blog in awhile it’s full of inspiration for printable projects.

Here’s a fun ombre tutorial.

I was so excited to be featured over here.

How is the weather where you are this weekend? Denver will be pushing 100 degrees today!

Weekending Giveaway

Oh and enter to win the Spa Giveaway. Details here. Did I mention there is a Target gift card opportunity!

 

 

 

 

 

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Simple Backyard Updates

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Hi everyone! How was your weekend? I had a busy work weekend but got a few minutes to take stock of our backyard. Right now, our backyard is a pollen palooza. Last week we had a never-ending shade of  “tennis ball” yellow/green powder on our patio and flagstone.  Does anyone know how to stay on top of the pollen? I imagine our dogs are bringing it into the house too.  Especially this one who searches for fresh cut grass and mud puddles. Today is about sharing a few simple backyard updates.

Last year, after seven long years of project bids we finally had our backyard finished. It went from this

to this. Those photos are here.

And, then we had a fall, winter and spring that left the backyard largely ignored.

simple-backyard-updates

So with a weekend to take stock of the backyard we added a few flowers and cleaned it up (a bit). I found this concrete rectangular planter at HomeGoods. It was perfect for the corner of where the patio steps down to the walkway to the front yard.


I purchased my large, floral containers from Home Depot and Costco.

I like to buy an extra one and then separate the flowers into smaller pots. In the smaller (painted) clay pots the petunias take center stage.

The mint I planted last year took off this spring.

In fact, it grew so quickly I had to rearrange these concrete pavers I made last summer. That was such a fun, fun project!

Boxwood was a great addition to our backyard. It enjoys equal parts sun and shade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Busy Season in Denver Real Estate Market

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Hi Everyone! What are your plans for the weekend? Many of you know I am licensed real estate agent. And, the Denver real estate market is crazy busy! Multiple offers above list price and contingencies removed from offers. And, I love it! With the Denver real estate market in full gear, sometimes the photography is the only opportunity for out of state buyers to see the property before making an offer. Crazy, right? With buyers moving here from both coasts realtors in the Denver real estate market need a little something extra to promote the best parts of Denver; the outdoor lifestyle and our Colorado mountains.

Denver Real Estate Market

busy-season-denver-real-estate

Source: QuickPicTours

Here’s an overhead shot using drone photography. The FAA licensed photographer programs the drone to “fly over” the property. This is one of the still images from the drone. Look at that sky! This is just one of the new features we see in the Denver real estate market to give our listings the extra, “something.”

busy-season-denver-real-estate

Source: QuikPicTours

Drone photography captures amazing skylines and images of a neighborhood or the property. Of course, the drone caught the one thing I did not want in the lead photo. Do you see what I see? Needless to say, we are reshooting the home’s exterior drone photos.

busy-season-denver-real-estate

Source:QuikPicTours

My OCD side of my personality rescheduled a 2nd photography and video shoot for Saturday morning. As a Realtor, my priority is to net my sellers the most amount of money. And, the power of the internet and Realtor.com means the photography gets the buyers in front of the property (or a screen image of the house). What is the real estate market like where you live?

 

Oh and if you want to see my new real estate website click here. It’s simple and the about me is spot on! I have my logo in my sidebar too!

My next goal is to blend my real estate with the DIY and upcycle projects of my blog. I hope you catch a glimpse along the way.

 

 

 

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Week-Ending with the Royal Wedding & Funny British English Video

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I did something I have mixed feelings about and it’s all wrapped in a condensed, fast forward confession: I watched the Megan & Harry movie on Lifetime. I know, I know. Lifetime is a cable channel devoted to movie plots where the ex-girlfriend or husband goes off the rails into a mess of crazy inside a contemporary home with sleek counters and cabinets. But, this Lifetime movie, was a fun romp of their first days and months into their courtship leading to this weekend’s Royal Wedding.

Image Source: Zoosk

I watched the movie while tackling my craft/storage area in the basement and fast forwarded through some of the cheesier parts. But, the actors resembled the key characters. The actor who portrayed Meghan’s dad resembled her real-life dad. And, that’s before the dad drama earlier this week put him in the news.  And, the casting of Meghan and Harry was believable. I do love Harry in a ski cap. Here’s a peek into the actors who played the fan favorite Royal couple.

Crossing the sea to the United States, this week’s Week-Ending is all about the Royal Wedding mania.  Here’s a funny piece on CBS Sunday Morning about the difference between British English vs. American English. I wish we called our undies, knickers!

Royal Wedding with British and American English

Click grey box to play!

Alternatives to Royal Wedding Cake

Royal Wedding makes me think about cake. Here’s a list of sheet cakes if you want your own Royal Wedding cake (American style).

I shared my coconut cake here.

And, I bought myself a bouquet of flowers for the Week-Ending kickoff.

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Hearth & Hand Lantern

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The mountains and higher elevations south of the city are expecting snow. But you know what? I would drive in a mild snowstorm to get to Target. What is it about Target that makes it so much more fun to shop the aisles than their site? I mean I did not have the same reaction of the Hearth & Hand lantern when I was online.  Have any of you shopped the Hearth & Hand Collection by Chip & Joanna Gaines at Target? I was late to that party, but on a recent trip to Target, a black lantern, with the shiny, brassy handle caught my eye. That brassy handle would not have caught my eye from a computer screen.

But, like a few other things in the Hearth & Hand collection, I circled around the aisles to mull it over in my head.

And, if I am lucky my favorites are still there when I return.

I always return. And, I am so happy I did because I grabbed the last midsize black lantern at my go-to Target.

The black metal with the gold finish handle was the something new I was looking for to put on the sofa table behind a couch in our family room. With its glass sides and open-air top, it will be a decor staple.

And,  as if it couldn’t get better,  a few days later I noticed the side door latch.

This is what I love about the side door and the open air top. It makes it so much easier to access whatever I decide to put inside. I had a dozen lanterns a few years ago and they were so hard to reach the candles’ wicks or too narrow to use it for anything but candles.

The first few days I played around with what to store in this open-air lantern. I tried candles, Easter eggs bunnies. But I wanted something versatile enough I wouldn’t have to change it out for every holiday. Any my eye zeroed in on this little plant at a place in Castle Rock called the Barn. Does anyone know what type of plant I purchased?

With the open air top and side door, it’s so much easier to water than some of my previous lantern purchase. This Hearth & Hand lantern has found it’s forever home. I may have to go on a lantern search this weekend.

Sharing: Home Stories A to Z

Bluesky at Home

 

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Happy Mother’s Day & Photo Booth Fun

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Hi Everyone! Happy Mother’s Day! One of my favorite lines from a movie (which I can’t remember but I think it was Vince Vaughn), “You can’t spell mother without smother.” So let’s smother and hover over our children. Whether your children are toddlers or adults or four-legged children, wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day.

happy-mother's-day

We had a fun Saturday afternoon celebrating our niece’s college graduation. It was so fun to step into the photo booth with my son and his grandparents!  We laughed so hard between takes!

It looks like I am incapable of making a silly face! I am the serious one!

happy-mother's-day

In between errands, I grabbed a bouquet of flowers for myself. I love fresh flowers and it was a great excuse to pick up my new camera and take a few photos.

happy-mothers-day-flowers

 

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Boxwood is a Simple Spring Accessory

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HI everyone! It snowed this week in Denver! Can you believe it? We don’t complain about it in Colorado because we need the moisture. Do you have plans for Cinco de Mayo? We have plans for margaritas and tacos! Can’t wait! With a few rainy nights, I spent my evenings sorting thru my crap I mean decor. The unfinished basement holds all the out of season accessories. And, my favorite basement finds were the collection of boxwood that was packed away during the holidays. Boxwood is a simple spring accessory.

[Read more…]

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Week-Ending Fundraisers & Fun Finds

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Hi Everyone, How are you?  We have back to back fundraisers this weekend. This morning I am playing in a tennis tournament with one of my doubles partners. The tournament is a fundraiser to benefit kids in Ghana.You can read about that charity here. It will be a fun day of tennis despite the fact I have not picked up a racquet in a few weeks.

And, tonight we have an annual school fundraiser for our kids’ high school. With an open bar, I am sure we will bid on a few things. wink Do you attend fundraisers? I love the sense of community that is present at fundraisers. It’s nice to see people coming together to help others in need.

So here are a few things that caught my eye as we enjoy the week-ending in April.

Week- Ending

Lory shared a few ideas to update table decor.

If you have dogs you have to read these ideas on how to keep your home clean.

Are you an extrovert, introvert or ambivert?

Craving sheet cakes? Check out these low key cakes.

Do you have a prom in the family? Check out this list of prom hairstyles

Did you know Pottery Barn has these on their website?

And, I leave you with this song. A favorite song for week-ending.

 

 

 

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founder & contributor | not a trophy wife

founder & contributor | not a trophy wife

Home & Life Style Blogger. I talk & type about houses. I am a licensed Realtor. Every Home Deserves to Feel Special. About Me: Coffee. Sharpies. Contracts. Break a Sweat Every Day. Family. Just like our homes I am a work in progress!

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