Living Room Update - New Coffee Table!

It is no secret that I am a tad bit obsessed with Pottery Barn.  Everything in that store is absolutely amazing!  Even my husband enjoys going in there - shh, just don't tell anyone. :) There are days when I walk in there simply for inspiration knowing full well that I will come out empty handed.  Torture? Emotionally yes, financially no.  However, I make it a goal of mine to find a similar look for less, after all, I am a bit of a bargain shopper.  Case in point, our new coffee table.

You may recall from my very first post (here) that wanted to replace our existing table with something more "us".  We purchased this table shortly after moving in to our new home nearly three years ago.  I wasn't fully convinced about the look but purchased anyway (lesson learned - if you don't love it, don't waste your money).

Once we purchased our new table, the old one quickly made its way onto Craigslist.  Surprisingly, the old table received great response and sold quickly. 

While buying a similar table from Pottery Barn can cause financial strain or bankruptcy, this one from World Market was an amazing deal.  I was beyond thrilled when we spotted this table a few months ago, it was exactly what our little home needed.  I quickly fell head over heels with the look and my husband with the
price, it was a win-win for us. :)

This table not only fits our style better but it offers a nice warmth to the room.  It is amazing how a simple change can make such a difference in the feel and look of a room.  I just need to work on a few accessories and this table will complete.  Please feel free to send me suggestions on ways to "dress" our new addition, recommendations are welcome! :)

Have you worked on any new projects you would like to share?  Feel free to share them in the comment section below.

Until next time,
Happy Girl

Monterey Bound

How was your weekend?  Did you get any projects crossed off your to-do list or did you embark on new ones?  We have done some major decorating in the past couple of weeks and I can't wait to share them with you.  But first, I thought I would finish this post I started three weeks ago and never got around to publishing.  Sorry for the extended absence.  It wasn't planned but I am back on track and with tons of material to share! 

My husband and I went on a little mini vacation this past weekend to one of our favorite places, Monterey.  This place is quite special to us - it is the place where he proposed a little over six years ago - and the place we continue to visit regularly.  We have so many amazing memories that we consider it our second home less the $700K mortgage.

To kick off our mini-vacation we began by grabbing a little lunch at our third home, Whole Foods.  I ordered the vegan whole wheat wrap.  It was light and just what I needed since I knew a day's worth of calories would be happily consumed at dinner :)

A trip to Monterey is never complete without a little shopping.  Our next stop was Del Monte Center.  I always manage to make my way into H&M (we don't have one where I live so this is a routine stop for us me).  They had very cute Spring clothes but nothing seemed to fit just right, you know what I mean?  I tried several cute pieces but the only item worth investing in was this cute blush pink blazer.  At only $20 bucks, I got a new blazer to add to my collection and a happy husband (who happens to be a tad frugal, thrifty, cheap).  After the shopping bug was out of our my system, we headed to the beach.

It was such a beautiful day!  The view was incredible and the weather was absolutely perfect!

I love spending my days with this guy, he is pretty amazing! He brings out the best in me and I love that about him. :)

Sorry about the not-so-clear pictures. I remembered to pack the camera but forgot the memory card - blogger in training.

 

We caught a pretty amazing sunset on our first day.  

We had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant where they serve an out of this world delicious eggplant lasagna.  The best I have ever had :).  Not to mention the marinara sauce, I am confident it was grandma's recipe.  Dessert was from Whole Foods...just another reason why I like this place so much.

Have any of you ever sampled Zico's chocolate coconut water?  I did for the first time while on vacation and I was pleasantly surprised.  This is coming from someone who doesn't really like anything too sweet.

Now, I think my husband will agree with me when I say that the highlight of our trip was definitely this little Mediterranean restaurant.  I had been wanting to eat at this place for a few years now but we could never get in because it was always so incredibly busy.  But not this time, this year we got lucky  as we were able to finally get past the door...sweet destiny.

Even before reading through their menu I knew I wanted an order of their famous hummus.  I would consider myself a hummus expert based on the amount I've consumed and this is by far the BEST.

Here is the famous hummus.  You should have seen my face when the waitress brought this to our table, sheer delight.

 And few seconds later...yes, it was that good!

This falafel wrap was out of this world delicious, too!

After a wonderful lunch we headed to the beach again for a little romantic stroll and to burn off some of those extra calories consumed during lunch.

Here I am taking a picture of my husband who is taking a picture of the waves crashing in.  May I add that he got splashed while capturing the photo to your left, it was quite hilarious (to me at least).

After two incredible days, we headed back home where this little one was anxiously awaiting our arrival.  She was so happy to see us after being gone for only a couple of days.  But then again, she gets excited to see us after being gone for a couple of minutes.

Here are my cool finds - blazer from H&M and this lovely top and bracelet from Express.

Tragically, our vacation is over.  Two days is never enough but we'll be back soon enough.   Feel free to let me know what your favorite place to visit is and share your experience.   Hope you enjoyed coming along with us!