#TamraIs30

Next month I will be celebrating the big 3-0! I have always loved giving and doing unexpected things for others, so I decided that in the 30 days leading up to my birthday I am going to do just that. I'll be doing at least one "Intentional Act of Kindness" a day until June 16th!

I want to BE KIND and SPREAD KINDNESS to others. The World needs a lot more of it! I think one little kindness spark will ignite a kindness movement, and I am just trying to get the flame going. I've seen lots of people do this kind of birthday celebration before but was originally inspired by Carlee a few years ago.

Recently, I've been reading Rachel Hollis' new book Girl Wash Your Face and let me tell you friends... IT IS SO STINKIN' GOOD. I've laughed out loud, I've shed a few tears and I've literally used my Praise Hands and said "YASSSS GIRL" out loud! If you haven't read it yet, you can get it HERE. There is a chapter where she discusses how we as women tend to not want to celebrate our birthdays because of the "disappointments" we are facing. We set goals (often ones we can't even control ourselves) and then fail to achieve that goal before the deadline we set ourselves and ultimately we fall into a sort of depression because we didn't reach a preconceived destination we made up for ourselves. Then that birthday turns into a reminder that "you don't have a baby yet" or "you aren't married yet". 

Ummmm, HELLLOOOO??? WHY DO WE DO THAT TO OURSELVES?!
I will admit that I've been in that boat in years past, but I am not anymore. Can I get an AMEN?! I AM HAPPY AND EXCITED to turn 30, y'all!

So for this kindness project, I will be using the hashtag #TamraIs30 on social media and would love for you to follow along and maybe even help me celebrate my 30th by participating! It doesn't have to be for the entire 30 days, but try to do a random act of kindness or two! It seriously feels SO GOOD and you will be so happy you did it! If you decide to participate I would love if you would let me know and use the hashtag as well!! 

TODAY is my first official day and will continue through June 16th (one day before my 30th!)!! I plan to do a full 30 day re-cap right here once this kindness project is complete. I can't wait to see what kind of impact this makes and ultimately the KINDNESS that is spread over the next 30 days. 

I have a lot of plans and ideas of things I will be doing, but would love to know if you have any suggestions for an act of kindness yourself! Maybe you've done this before?! SHARE your ideas below!!! 

I would love for you to HELP me CELEBRATE turning 30!!! 
#BeKind #SpreadKindness

XOXO,
T

**This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!

Tiny Home Bathroom Progress Update

Hey friends! Today I wanted to share the Tiny Home Bathroom with y’all!

 I am in love with the way this little bathroom turned out. It just makes my heart happy to see things updated and brought to their full potential. We wanted that simple, clean feel to flow through the tiny home so the bathroom looks very similar to the bedroom I posted about a few weeks ago.

If you missed that post, you can see it here.

We pulled the same white cabinetry and gold hardware in from the bedroom and added a Navy lower cabinet. Again, we wanted the whole tiny home (all 399 square feet.. HA!) to flow so we used the same wall paint in the bathroom. Please note that I do not have current pictures with the walls painted, so that will have to be included in the next update!

Browse more bathroom vanity lights on Houzz

I absolutely loved this light fixture and HAD to have it for this bathroom! It is super bright when on and lights up the whole space well! It was a splurge for the Tiny Home, but when you find something this pretty and in the down-scaled size you need... you just do it! You can grab it HERE.

My handyman husband did the subway tile back-splash around the vanity. We updated the faucet and PAINTED the counter tops. YES. That is PAINT… everyone that has seen it can’t believe it. 
You can get the same DIY paint kit HERE. 
Check out this transformation!!! 

BEFORE
See-ya Neva Sea Foam Green Counter tops!

Step 1 - Primer

Step 2 - Sponge Paint

Step 3 - Epoxy
CAN YOU EVEN?! It was an ALL DAY process, and the epoxy was extremely messy but I think the end product is TOTALLY WORTH THE HASSLE! 

I purchased the peel and stick subway tile HERE. This product had great reviews, but we found it to be rather complicated. About an hour into the process, we almost took down the two 12 inch sheets we had placed and said forget about it… but my husband is not a quitter. 😉

 We did stop for the night because it was just too much and he came back and finished it later (while I was at work!). In the end it does look pretty good and adds extra character to the small space, so for some cheap peel and stick back-splash tile… I would say it was worth it. 
(Just don’t ask my husband his opinion!)

From the beginning of this process, I’ve been saying we need to buy a new toilet and my husband always said what was there was fine. This little back and forth went on for about 3-4 months. Along came February 14^th and I get home from work to find this in my living room floor. At least he added roses and wine… right?! LOL… he is a MESS!

Here's a side by side Before and During picture to show the progress:

The end result will include the new flooring, installation of the new toilet, hanging the door and shower curtain rod, and a super cute shower curtain.

Hope you enjoyed the Tiny Home Bathroom “Tour”! See you soon!

XOXO,

T

**This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!

Tiny Home Bedroom Progress Update

I have been really bad about blogging this year in general… but I really have to show you a little progress on the Tiny Home! Today I am going to share the bedroom remodel so far. For the most part everything is completed, except the flooring and of course the final decorating.

Our design concept/inspiration for the entire Tiny Home has been clean and simple. We wanted to go with more neutral colors and then add pops of color in the bedding, pillows, rugs, etc. Those items are generally inexpensive and easily interchangeable.

The bedroom is very tiny about 7 ft x 12 ft to be exact, but it has a lot of storage! The cutest little sliding pocket door offers privacy, but I think it also adds a ton of character to the space. I didn't have a picture of the pocket door closed.. but it slides into the pocket on the left side of the door frame in the picture above.

Before we were greeted with Oak cabinetry, wood trim, cream carpet, yellowing ceiling panels, and wall paper.

After a few coats of ceiling and trim paint, a new wall color, and painted cabinets… this room looks brand new. I love how much more open it feels just by painting the walls and cabinets.

I purchased the new wall sconces HERE. I decided to use mixed metals throughout the tiny home because I am not really a “matchy matchy” kind of person. Until you put a gray organizing crate next to a white organizing crate… then we will have issues. 😂

I have been dreaming of white cabinetry with these gold pulls for a little while now… and when we decided to take on this project, I knew this is what we had to use. I think the cabinet pulls were the first thing to get ordered after we purchased the tiny home itself. If it’s wrong to be so excited over new cabinet pulls… I don’t want to be right! You can find the exact pulls HERE.

Every inch of this place was utilized for storage… even under the stairs! Also... Sneak Peek of the flooring here! ;) 

We decided to go with the Levolor white plank plantation blinds to make the space feel larger when the blinds are open. These puppies are an investment… but we ordered these during the Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving and got a hefty discount. If you ever decide to update your blinds… make sure you do it when you can get a good deal!

Here's another Before/After to show you what we started with and where it’s at today…

BEFORE 

AFTER

This space is very small, so the end result will probably only include a bed, a rug and possibly some wall décor.

Hope you enjoyed the Tiny Home Bedroom “Tour”! See you soon!

XOXO,

T

**This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for reading!

Christmas in NYC - Part 2

I am finally back with the last half of our NYC trip… 

That took long enough! 😉

On Thursday, we slept in AGAIN and woke up to a little bit of snow which was so fun because this Alabama girl doesn’t see much of that! Then we took an Uber to Lower Manhattan/Tribeca area and did a bunch of touristy things!

We hopped on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. If you are going to NYC anytime soon... I recommend this unless you are actually going to the site. It was a FREE 45 minute round trip ride! She was gorgeous but that was the coldest boat ride I have EVER been on! 

My husband put Chap Stick on his cheeks because ‘frostbite’! LOL

We stopped by the Raging Bull on the way to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

The 9/11 museum was one of my favorite parts of the trip. 

The time and effort put into this museum absolutely blows my mind. It was laid out so well, so touching and more information than you could take in within one visit. Once you get through security and down to the actual museum, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The main exhibit did not allow cameras or photography, which is completely understood. If you ever find yourself in NYC with a few hours to burn... I highly recommend going here. 

After the 9/11 museum, we went to the top of the new World Trade Center at One World Observatory. The elevator is cool. The entrance is amazing. The views were breathtaking.

Then somehow we found ourselves in The Oculus, which was pretty neat!

 

Have I mentioned I love NYC?

After an hour and a half Uber ride back to Times Square… three restaurants turning us down because we didn’t have reservations… we finally found this pub. 

 

I’m not sure if it was because we were so stinkin’ hungry… but that food was amazing! Check out J's empty plate! The crowd comes out on Thursday for the weekend. We were not prepared for that many people!

After supper, we walked around Times Square, went to M&M World, and spotted the “18” on display for the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.

Friday started off with Starbucks, a walk to Macy’s for some shopping... 

the Empire State Building...

and some lunch at a Food truck. Then we headed back to the room to rest and get ready for Friday night in the big city!

On our walk to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular, we spotted….

The Naked Cowboy (it was seriously like 24 degrees.)... 

the beautiful Christmas decorations.

Then…. It started SNOWING. I don’t mean a little bit… y’all. It was COMING DOWN! We walked back around to the Rockefeller Center and experienced the Rockefeller Tree in the snow. 

It was an absolutely magical moment that I will never forget.

Then it was SHOW TIME! This was a check off the bucket list for sure! I have always wanted to see the Rockettes in NYC!

When we got out of the show… snow was literally EVERYWHERE. It was so pretty and I am so glad it snowed while we were there. 

I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie!

We had dinner reservations at The Strip House for our last night/belated 2^nd Anniversary dinner. 

Oh. My. Yum. 
After this, we may or may not have stopped back by Juniors for more Strawberry Cheesecake in bed…

The next morning we flew back home! It was a quick, magical, bucket list trip and I am so thankful I got to share that with my hubby! If you’ve never been… you HAVE to go!

When we got home, I gave Gypsy her Statue of Liberty souvenir… 

I think she liked it more than the fact we were back home!

Until next time…

XOXO,

T