Happy Hour No. 8


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To us, Happy Hour is a time to sit back, relax, and catch up with friends. Itโ€™s a time to chat about everything and anything, and thatโ€™s exactly what we bring to DIY Playbookโ€™s monthly Happy Hour.
We want these monthly posts to be a chance to catch up with friends and bring just a little extra happy to your day. So grab your coffee (or champagne) and letโ€™s catch up!

Love It

Casey

  • After our flats post, I ended up getting these lace-up flats for spring. I’m so excited to start wearing them once the weather gets a little bit nicer. Stay tuned for an update on how we’re liking our new flats later in April.casey-work-11
  • I upgraded my hair dryer last year to this one and it was a game changer. How the heck did I get by so many years with my old, beat up one? This one dries my hair sooooo fast (granted my hair is pretty thin, but still!) Plus it’s not too heavy, so my arms aren’t tired after drying.
  • During the winter my skin can get incredibly dry, so I recently picked up this night cream from CVS. It’s thick and hydrating and my skin just soaks it up. I’ve never been a big night cream gal, but so far I’m loving it.
  • I’m so ready to start wearing spring clothes! I’ve got my eye on these sandals and may have to throw these jean shorts into my online shopping cart too!

Bridget

  • I scored this tank & this shirt at Target and I’m super excited to start injecting a little Spring into my closet. I’m making a conscious effort to buy items that are versatile and very “me” & I think these two shirts fit the bill. Plus, they were pretty affordable (in true Target fashion) so I’m excited to give them a try! <– I’m styling the tank tomorrow on the blog!
  • I decided on these $19.99 flats vs. these $65 flats for our most recent mission to find comfy work flats. I’m giving both an equal shot at work and collecting all my data so we both can report back soon.
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  • I scored this brown leather pouf at HOMEGOODS recently for $100. I’ve never seen a brown one there so I scooped it up immediately… even though $100 is usually a bit more than I’d like to pay. But then I saw a similar one on Wayfair for $200 and didn’t feel so bad about the splurge. Anyone know where to find affordable poufs? I remember how excited I was when we scored this one for my sister’s nursery at the Land of Nod outlet on sale for $35 (reg. $79), but honestly have never seen such a great deal since.
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  • After lots of searches, I finally decided on a barn door handle and installed it earlier this week. I can’t wait to show you the finished product on Friday, but until then… here’s the link to the best hardware I came across. The pulls are a bit pricey, but they’re specifically made for barn doors so it came with screws thick and LONG enough to fit through our 2″ door.

Link It

  • We were so honored to chat with Mr. Fix-It himself, Lou Manfredini, last week on WGN Radio here in Chicago. It’s always fun connecting with Chicago people who share our love for DIY so connecting with Lou and some of the listeners after the show was such an honor! You can listen to us at around 43:00 with this link.
  • Filing this kitchen makeover under “DREAM KITCHEN”
  • Good tips to style a fireplace mantle
  • Spending money on experiences, not things <—loving this idea!
  • Items to get rid of in every room in your house. Do you agree with this listletterfolk-thanksgiving-hallway
  • You guys know how much we LOVE our Letterfolk signs and although we wish we changed out the letters more often than we do, they bring some serious fun (and motivation!) into our homes. We bought ours here (and love them!), but our friend Mandi just started selling these similar boards for a better price so we wanted to give you guys the heads up if you’re in the game for your own letter board!minted_diy_playbook
  • Another sale alert! Our favorite place to buy art, Minted.com, is celebratingย 10 years by providing the best sales of the year (competitive with their black friday & Cyber Monday sales). Shop their amazing art selection here and be sure to use the following coupon codes for an even better deal:
    • Free Shipping = SHIPFREE
    • Buy 3+ Party Items and get 15% off your Party Purchase = no code necessary
    • $10 credit toward wedding stationery samples = 10FREE
    • Check out the DIY Playbook’s favorites here (in our Minted store).4th_birthday_DIY_playbook-2

The survey results are in from our 4th birthday week and we’re reminded once again how AMAZING YOU GUYS ARE! Wow, we could not be more grateful for all of your kindness and all of your ideas, advice, suggestions, & encouragement. We sat down at a coffee shop one afternoon and went through every single piece of feedback and discussed how we could take your advice to make the blog even better. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy days to provide such valuable feedback. You guys seriously rock!

The one new component from the survey this year was the “fun facts” you guys shared about yourselves. We were incredibly humbled by the amazing group we have tuning in everyday (including a corporate pilot, ballerina, professional opera singer….) How cool are our readers?! We were cracking up at some of the hilarious fun facts about you guys and it makes us want to hang out with each and every one of you in person. 

Casey Updates

I recently got back from a trip to Phoenix with my mom, sister, and grandma. We’ve been going out there every March since I was a kid to get some R&R and escape the cold of Chicago for a long weekend in the sunshine.

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It’s always such an easygoing weekend with my favorite women, but this year was bittersweet because my grandma is selling her Arizona house and moving back to Missouri full-time. We spent lots of time helping her pack up and ended up spending our afternoons looking at old family pictures and listening to stories from her childhood.

Here’s a gorgeous photo we found of my grandma’s parents before heading off on their honeymoon. My grandma guesses it was about 1918…

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Isn’t it stunning? I love how it captures their young love and the style of the time. Could you imagine being so dressy to travel today?!  I need to frame it and display it somewhere in our home. Still searching for the perfect, special spot. I’m away from home again this weekend, this time visiting Finn’s sister and her husband in Houston! We’ll be celebrating his 30th birthday and spending time in their new house. Can’t wait to catch up and explore Houston while we’re there!

Bridget Updates

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This month has been very busy with office projects. I swear almost every weekend I’ve spent planning, DIY-ing, or cleaning up after the mess in the office.
Don’t get me wrong I’m SO excited for the progress and am obsessed with the look so far, I just feel like it’s been extra busy around here because of the XL to-do list. The great news is that the project is wrapping up (kinda?) and hopefully I will get a little bit more free time back on my hands soon. Until then though, I still plan on shiplapping the back wall probably over the next few weeks. The other side of the room also needs some attention so I need to figure out what I’m going to do over there and then update you guys on the progress!

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But before I get into that larger project and that whole NEW mess, Matt and I are spending a little down time in DC for his birthday! It’s been our tradition to check out a new baseball stadium for his birthday for the past three years and so this year we are headed to see the Nationals’ Park, while also making a vacation out of the trip. Does anyone have any recommendations for the DC area? Tourist attractions, restaurants, bakeries, ideas of what to see/do…. we are all ears and would love your feedback! And as always if you want to follow along on our travels, be sure to follow our Instagram.

Bridget&Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.