To us, Happy Hour is a time to sit back, relax, and catch up with friends. It’s a time to chat about everything and anything, and that’s exactly what we bring to DIY Playbook’s monthly Happy Hour.

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 let’s catch up!

Casey

• I just purchased these black heels for our Christmas card photos and I love them! They’re not the most comfortable, but are any high heels? And the block heel definitely makes them comfier than most heels! I’m hoping to get lots of wear out of them for upcoming holiday parties.
• This striped shirt is another new addition to my fall wardrobe. I decided to channel my inner Bridget and go with the stripes & vest look…and I love it! This shirt is incredibly soft, flowy, plus it’s only $42!
• I’ve always heard praises for turkish towels, and I decided to see what the hype was all about. I purchased these hand towels from Amazon and I’m in love with the tassel detail. I have one hanging in our guest bathroom as a hand towel and I think it just elevates the entire room!
• I just started binging the show, Younger. Do any of you guys watch it?! I’m obsessed and have already blown through the first 2 seasons. Such a funny, feel-good show.

Bridget

• The bump has really grown over the past month so I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for non-maternity items that I can wear during and after pregnancy! I bought this super comfy bulky sweater for under $40 and LOVE how cozy it is. H&M has such great affordable sweaters out right now.
• Our “gender reveal” pics were so much fun to shoot and as always, I felt overwhelmed with all the love from you guys! I got a lot of questions about this shirt in these photos. It’s $19 and comes in a ton of colors. I tied the side to make it a bit tighter around the bump, but I’ve worn it to work and on the weekends un-tied too. Pregnant or not, this blouse is a great staple for fall, winter, and spring!
• I did cave and buy some maternity jeans — this pair and this pair on sale. One pair rides below the belly and one above so I’ll definitely report back at which style I like better later in my pregnancy.
• And when I saw this classic blouse (non-maternity!), I knew it was perfect for the holidays — sold!
• My favorite Kendra Scott necklace broke while I was wearing it last month. I was so bummed. I brought it into the store to see if I could get it fixed and much to my surprise, they replaced it for free!!! The KS team said if their items ever get damaged or tarnished, they are always willing to replace them. How sweet is that?! And did you know that you get a discount on any Kendra Scott items if you purchase them during your birthday month? What a great company, I just had to share!

Link Love

• How to properly give credit in the blogging world (yes, yes, yes!)
• How adorable is this DIY buffalo check pumpkin? We know it’s a little too late for Halloween pumpkins BUT we think this easy project could be perfect for a Thanksgiving tablescape.
• Work smarter, not harder.
• A gorgeous big-boy room that we are bookmarking for a few years down the road. 😉
• Mandi’s spaces are always stunning and this modern kitchen is no different.
• Crate & Barrel and Reese Witherspoon = the perfect match.

Casey’s Updates

While Bridget was working hard on her new house this month, I had a much slower month…and I loved every second of it!

I’m a big fall lover, so I spent a Sunday sprucing up our building’s front porch with pumpkins and planted mums. There’s just something about this season that gets everyone so giddy for those crisp, sunny days! Even though it hasn’t been super cold, Finn & I have made lots of soups and chilis over the past month. I know you guys are interested in seeing a few more recipes on the blog, so I may have to twist his arm to share some of his favorite recipes with all of you.

We also snuck in a quick trip to NYC over a weekend, because there’s just nothing like New York in the fall. Finn & I are big planners, but we actually booked this trip last-minute on a whim. With no weekend plans, a sunny NYC forecast, and credit card points just begging to be used…we decided to ditch Chicago and head to New York for a weekend. It was nice to get out of town and spend some quality time just us two.

We ate our way through town (pizza, lobster rolls, cookies, bagels!) and even went to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. To combat all of the food, we logged about 60,000 steps in our 2 days there, walking all over the island of Manhattan. A great weekend away just us two.

Also on my mind…the holidays! Which may seem crazy, but in the blogging world, we’re always thinking ahead. In fact, you’ll see our Christmas tree on the blog tomorrow! 

I spent a big chunk of the month prepping for our holiday shoot…wrapping “gifts”, gathering holiday decor, and shopping away. We ended up renting out an amazing loft space in Chicago to shoot our tree, annual Christmas card, and content for our upcoming gift guide. It was a long, but amazing, day and we cannot wait to share everything with you soon.

Bridget’s Updates

What. A. Month. If you’ve seen any glaring typos in my post, please forgive me. I feel like I’ve been doing everything on my to-do list at a speed of 100 mph because of the overwhelming amount of things I have going on (yikes). If you haven’t noticed any, please thank Casey for tediously editing my mistakes and making me look way better than I am! #shesthebest

This month was INSANITY but oddly enough, so exciting at the same time!! We moved out of our old house and handed the keys over to the new homeowners (shedding some tears along the way).

We moved into the basement of the new house and unpacked what we could to “get by” over the next few months.

We made SO much progress on the rest of the house. New can lights, changing out all the old outlets, a mudroom makeover, priming the entire upstairs, picking out paint colors, organizing the garage, we have been extremely busy every night and weekend of October but have gotten so much done. Looking back at the month seems like a blur, but it’s so exciting watching our new home sweet home take shape. We still have quite a bit of work to go, but we’re ahead of schedule and feeling SO, SO happy about how far we’ve come.

Honestly, I could not have done it without my parents’ help. My dad has been there almost every night (after work!!) and every weekend. There is NO way a fraction of the work would have gotten done without him. I love working with him and learning from him.  I don’t know how I could ever repay him for all he’s done.

And the same goes for my mom. She’s been right by my dad’s side doing everything and anything she can. Landscaping, cleaning, organizing, lifting, washing, DIY-ing. If it needs to be done, she’s doing it! I hit the jackpot with these two and feel so grateful for both of them. Thank you, Mom and Dad, I’m so lucky to have you both!

But the help hasn’t stopped with those two. My amazing in-laws, sisters, uncles, cousin, and friends have also been willing to help whenever they can. Not to mention Matt, who has been a DIY rockstar (who knew he had it in him?!). He’s a natural! Even though the month has been stressful and a little overwhelming at times, I can’t help but focus on the amazing support network that has made this progress a reality.

Stay tuned this month for LOTS of progress posts, I can’t wait to share more details about what we’ve been up to. I wish I could be sharing them sooner but I just can’t keep up with the progress!

Bridget&Casey