Happy Hour No. 9


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.April Happy Hour! A Monthly chat with DIY Playbook about everything and anything. 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!

Love ItThese gorgeous tulips are the perfect spring flowers to have around the house, and I just love this sleek and stylish gold vase.

CaseyThese earrings are simple yet stylish, and add the perfect about of subtle bling to any outfit.

    • When it comes to jewelry, I’m pretty minimalistic. In fact, I often wear the same few things every single day. I just added these everyday earrings (in gold) to my repertoire and I love them. Just a hint of trendy, but still simple enough to be worn with just about anything. I also picked up this cuff bracelet and I love wearing it with my gold watch!
      Casey loves minimal jewelry. This watch and wristlet combo is subtle and cute.
  • Has anyone ever heard of (or used!) the product Baby Foot? It’s insane! My husband and I tried it before our Mexico trip in December and were wowed by the product. Essentially you put little booties on your feet and let them sit one night for an hour. Then a few days later all of the dead skin on your feet starts coming off…in sheets! It’s incredibly disgusting (& you have to wear socks for a week to hide your feet), but once the shedding is done your feet will be baby soft. It’s crazy and actually kinda fun. I recommend trying it out at least once. We just did our second round to get our feet ready for sandal season!Spring is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy your patio space. We're so excited to spend some time out on our patio soon!
  • We’ve busted out the grill for the season and can’t wait to start grilling on our small patio every weekend. I just got this veggie basket so we can do grilled onions and peppers. Really looking forward to those warm summer nights with home-cooked dinners on the grill.

Bridget

This casual yet chic blue and white plaid top is a new staple item for Bridget.

  • I splurged and bought this navy + white shirt and I LOVE it. I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of it because I can dress it up (even for work!) but also wear it very casually too (like jeans + converse casual). I’m working on a post for this staple so stayed tuned.
  • For Matt’s birthday, I got him this quarter zip* ย and this pullover*ย (*size down)… both for our upcoming trip to Iceland! He’s also obsessed with the super comfy shirts from this site so I surprised him with one of these too. If your +1 loves the Cubs & Joe Madden as much as Matt does, these shirts are definitely worth looking into.Dress down a nice top with a chic leather jacket like Bridget is wearing.

The perfect pair of sunglasses for summer - affordable and stylish!

  • I’ve been looking for a pair of cheap of sunglasses for the summer and I finally found a pair I liked.ย Definitely a steal at $14! I typically LIVE in my Ray Bansย (definitely worth the investment) butย sometimes I want to rock a cheap pair of shades, especially if I’m going somewhere where I’m afraid they may break or get lost in the shuffle.ย Bridget loves a good cup of coffee and a bright, pretty lip color.
  • Casey recently discovered this Sephora Lip Stain and has been insisting I try it! She says she puts it on in the morning before work and doesn’t have to re-apply ALL DAY! Then she told me it’s $14 so it’s now on myย shopping list next time I’m at the mall.

Link It

  • Congrats to a fellow DIY blogger, Sarah, on her growing family. We cannot wait to see this nursery take shape.
  • A small home packed with style.
  • A 3-day kitchen makeover you have to see to believe. (And for less than $5k!)
  • Are you making these mistakes when hanging art?
  • The most fearless DIY’er we know purchased a warehouse that she is turning into her family’s home! This home journey is going to be one to watch!
  • Obsessed with this copycat art.ย A $3,000 piece looks almost identical for a $12?!!
  • Salon Etiquette…definitely learned a few things after this read.
  • Our girl crush on Chrissy Teigen has only grown after reading this article.DIY Playbook got to takeover Like to Know It's Instagram!
  • Did you guys catch the DIY Playbook Takeover on @LiketoKnow.it.Home’s Instagram account last Monday? We had way too much fun and feel so grateful for the opportunity!

Casey Updates

At the beginning of the month, we headed down to Houston to visit Finn’s sister. She is quite possibly the sweetest girl on the planet, and always likes to do holidays and birthdays up big. Since it was just Finn’s 30th she greeted us at the airport like this…

Mike's sister greeted us at the airport with a special birthday surprise for Mike.

Can you even?! What an awesome surprise. We had an epic weekend packed with lots of food. I’m talking BBQ, tacos, grilled pizzas, and fresh sushi. So many memorable meals, but what made it even better was hanging out with family that we don’t get to see nearly enough.ย Casey and Finn visited Finn's sister in Houston.

I wore this romper for one of our dinners out on the town. It’s become a favorite of mine when traveling because you can just throw the 1 piece in your suitcase and you already have an outfit all put together! Plus, you gotta love the girly scallops! Pair it with a cute clutch, heels (these nude ones are my new spring favorites!), and jewelry and you’re good to go!Casey and Finn went out for Casey's 29th birthday celebration.

I celebrated my 29th birthday last weekend and Finn made it extra special. We started the birthday festivities with 5 courses of cocktails at The Aviary. It was insane (definitely an experience if you like trying new drinks!)

Then last Saturday I spent the entire day with my favorite people! Bridget, Finn, & I hit up a new Hawaiian restaurant called Mahalo and split this The Big Kahuna pineapple drink. It was delicious and a wonderful way to start my 29th year.

Bridget Updates

Bridget spent spring break in Washington DC.This month has been an EXTRA busy one. April kicked off with our spring break trip to D.C., and as evidenced by this recap post, we had an absolute blast!! I was so impressed with D.C. and can’t wait to go back sometime.

The Shiplap baseboard progress in Bridget's office is finally done!Right when we came back from D.C., like literally RIGHT after my bags were unpacked, I used the remainder of our spring break to finish the shiplap in the office. Although it made for a busy/messy end to the week, finishing this project was well worth it because now all of the big projects in the office are officially done. (Side note: Sharing a full post of this affordable project soon, but in the meantime you can see pictures on our Instagram page).

Bridget and Matt with family on vacation.The rest of the month was a bit of a whirlwind with our news segment and a few other smaller projects we’ve been working on. Thankfully there was still some time for fun and family. For Easter, my family got together for one of our favorite traditions — sunrise mass! We all roll out of bed and meet at North Ave. beach on Easter morning (around 5:30am) for mass on the beach as the sunrises. It’s such a gorgeous view watching the sunrise over the city, and being surrounded by my favorite people makes it even more special. This was Owen’s first Easter, last year we were celebrating his arrival with this Mother’s Day photo shoot:A Mother's Day photoshoot surprise for Matt and Casey's Mom.

How is he already here and crawling?!!

Baby Owen is already crawling!Today’s happy hour post marks ONE month left until I’m off for the summer… just writing that seems crazy to me! Where has the time gone?! I’m SOO excited for this time off because it gives me a chance to relax (my schedule has been insanity lately as evidenced by this day-in-the-life post) and then focus more on the blog for a few months. The countdown has officially begun!DIY Playbook was featured on ABC & News and we couldn't be more thankful for your love and support!

And before we sign off for the month, we have to stop and say thank you ALL for your endless love and support. After our news segment, we were honestly overwhelmed by all of the support we received and couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces because we felt so blessed. We’re not sure how we got so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing, positive, and supportive people but we never want to take it for granted. You’re amazing and fill our lives with such happiness, thank YOU!

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.