Happy Hour No. 28


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.Casey's January 2019 recap

These monthly posts are 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 about our January 2019!

What Casey Loved This Month

  • Earlier this month on Insta Stories, I asked for your recommendations on the best tanning products for both face and body. You guys gave me soooo many awesome options, but I ultimately went with this one for body and these tanning toilettes for face. Everyone did agree that you must use this mitt when applying the tanning foam, and it has been a game changer. Love the color and I’ve been reapplying 1x per week.Chasing Slow Book
  • I devoured the book Chasing Slow this month and I absolutely loved it. Such a good read to create the life you want and to slow down and enjoy the process. Plus, I love a book written by a fellow blogger!Brooks gray gym shoes
  • My mom got these gym shoes for Christmas and I’m obsessed. I’m trying to get back into working out and these have been great. I’ve also been wearing them as I run errands on the weekend because the gray goes with just about everything!

What Bridget Loved This Month

healthy eating with food sensitivity test

  • Matt and I took this food sensitivity test to kick off the new year. We sent in our blood samples and received a list of foods we were slightly, moderately, and highly sensitive towards. I wouldn’t say either of us was expecting any high sensitivity foods to show up, but you just never know and we thought this would be a good way to make sure we were eating foods that were making us feel our best. I’m happy to report all of our sensitivities were on the very low range! This information was very beneficial and allowed us to re-examine our diets a bit.
  • I dished about these $25 jeans, well technically they’re JEGGINGS, on Insta Stories a few weeks ago! The feel of yoga pants, but the look of jeans, what’s not to love?! A lot of you have reached out and said you also bought them and LOVE them. The price just can’t be beat, especially for such a versatile and comfy pair of pants. (I actually bought this style too because I loved them so much).
  • Bridget enjoying a cup of coffee in her home
  • I bought this sweater on super sale after the holiday and have literally been wearing it on repeat. It’s currently on sale for $22!
  • We splurged on this new tripodย & this tripod ball head after lots of research. We’re still learning to navigate this new photography staple but are loving it so far!

Link Love

Casey’s January 2019Snowflakes are kisses from heaven

I cannot let this month pass by without saying thank you for the support both Finn and I received from the post about our recent miscarriage. It was the hardest blog post I’ve ever written, but I feel so strongly about sharing our story. The day the post went live was an overwhelming one with so many amazing people reaching out to share their stories of infertility, miscarriage, and just general words of encouragement and support. I read every single word sent our way and felt (& continue to feel) so loved.

It also made me realize that I need to be better about reaching out to friends/family/acquaintances when they’re going through a tough time. I often feel like I don’t know how to say the “right” thing in those circumstances, but simply saying you’re thinking about them is all that is needed. This journey has taught me that I want to share all of the love we’ve received with others who need it too.

Cold and fluI also spent most of the month sick with a sinus infection, ear infection, and bronchitis. I never really get sick as an adult, and these sicknesses hit me like a ton of bricks. I was down for the count for a good 2 weeks or so. I’m just so eager to heal and feel better, and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to do just that in February!

Bridget’s January 2019Black and white kitchen cabinets

This month has been pretty busy, yet uneventful at the same time… is that even possible?!ย January meant it was time to get back to work full-time and the start of a new semester in the classroom is always an extra busy time.

At the same time, we’ve been working behind the scenes to try and get our kitchen finished. We’ve been waiting on a few items and coordinating contractor schedules to put the final touches on, which has proven to be a lot more time consuming than we imagined. The end is in sight, but I know waiting for the final reveal has been a lot more drawn out than I ever wanted. My sincere apologies, I promise I’m just as eager to reveal it as you probably are to see how it all comes together!

Demo'ed half bathroomBut the good news is that now that the kitchen is almost done, our plan is to transition onto the half bath that is off of our kitchen. It’s been demoed since the beginning of October and we’ve made close to zero progress on it since then (blogger fail).ย  The kitchen became more mind and time-consuming than I anticipated. Making decisions (or doing work) for the bathroom seemed overwhelming at that time. But now, we’re ready! Well, maybe not totally ready to dive back into the mess, but ready to get our bathroom back. Casey and I tackled the tile a few weekends ago and I’m already loving the direction! Stay tuned for more details…

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.