I’m excited to share some photos from the mini-vacation we took this past weekend in Friday Harbor. We had an awesome time! It already feels so long ago, though…it’s kind of sad how fast all those feelings of relaxation go away once you’re plunged back into the “real world.” Oh well!

Friday Harbor is a charming town in the San Juan Islands of Washington state. You have to take a ferry to get to it (which I think is fun, although I’m sure if I lived there I’d get tired of it).

As we arrived, this is the view we were welcomed with! As the sign suggests, the San Juan Islands are known for being home to a lot of orca whales. I was really hoping we’d see some on our trip…but we never did. I guess this is early in the season for seeing orcas, so we decided not to pay for a whale watching tour. Next time!

We stayed at Friday Harbor House, a beautiful hotel right on the water, with views of the marina and the ferry landing from almost every room. We really lucked out with our room and got a corner room on the top floor! The location was perfect too--right in the heart of the town center.

The top left photo was the view from our windows (which were actually huge glass sliding doors). It was so gorgeous. I loved waking up to that view in the mornings! The rest of the room was really nice too, my favorite part being the big jetted tub. They also had bookshelves stocked with books you could read while you were there, and a fireplace!

We also got to eat dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, The Bluff, one night. The food was amazing!! And those glasses on the top left were made out of recycled wine bottles. I really want to try DIYing that. Ben said his burger was one of the best he’s ever had, and my chicken was truly delicious.

As far as what to do, we had a blast exploring the island and the numerous beaches full of driftwood. We never saw whales, but I did buy an adorable whale mug from a little boutique called Sandpebble, which I loved. I wish it was closer to me, because I seriously wanted everything in that store. We also saw lots of other animals, including deer, seals, a river otter, wild bunnies, and a coyote.

Some of our other favorite things that we saw were the lighthouses (we went to two), the American and English camps (from the Pig War--look it up, it’s real), and that awesome driftwood house we found hidden away on one of the beaches. We also drove to Roche Harbor one of the days, which was really fun as well!

All in all, it was a super relaxing and fun weekend. We totally want to go back to Friday Harbor in the summer and try some of the things we didn’t get a chance to do this time, like visiting the lavender farm (the lavender wasn’t quite in bloom yet) and going on a whale watching boat tour.

Hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into our vacay! And thanks to Friday Harbor House for partnering with me on this post. I would absolutely recommend staying there. We loved our room, and the breakfast they served every morning was super delicious!

Today I’m really excited to share with you guys a beautiful bedroom redesign (complete with before & after photos) and a peek into the whole process, from the team at Decorist. If you’re not already familiar with Decorist, I really think you’re going to love this company! From them: Our mission is to make interior design personal, affordable and easy. We spent a lot of time talking to women across the country, and what we learned is that most women have to be their own interior designers because they can't afford to hire someone. While they take pride in being their own designers, there are times when they need a little help pulling a room together, want fresh ideas or a second opinion (from someone other than a best friend :). We think of this as "bite-sized” help. I don’t know about you, but I think they hit that on the nail! I definitely can’t afford a full-fledged interior designer for my home--and even if I could, I wouldn't want to. I like to be the one in charge, and I want our place to reflect my taste (and Ben’s, of course). But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when I need some “bite-sized” help! Like the bedroom below. The client (Lauren) needed some help pulling together her guest bedroom, and the Decorist team did an awesome job of working with her vision to give the room a fresh new look. Huge difference between the before and after, am I right?

Here’s what Lauren sent them: Our guest room has no personality whatsoever; I’m tired of the bland walls, sleigh bed and pine furniture. I recently fell in love with a pair of vintage, bright pink Knoll chairs, and bought them on the spot intending for them to go in the guest room. But they didn’t work at all – too low profile, wrong style altogether. I want to build an entirely new look around the chairs, but don’t know how to get there. I want fresh ideas, and a plan so I know how all of the elements in the new room will work together. I’m going for a light and airy feel; there’s only one window in the room so it can feel dark.

And here are a few more “before” pictures.

From there, Decorist put together a design board to help Lauren envision how to pull the room together, as well as a shopping list for the makeover.

And here are some after photos!

It’s interesting to see the design board translate into a real room, isn’t it? I think it turned out so well.

That’s the chair that inspired the whole redesign!

What do you guys think? It’s fun to see how a design consultation like this works, isn’t it? Would you ever use Decorist’s services? If you need some help pulling a room together, you should definitely check them out--I think their rates are totally fair and affordable!.

Thanks to Decorist for partnering with me on this post!

You know how on Friday, I was worried that it would rain over the weekend? Well, I needn’t have worried…it was sunny and beautiful the whole time!! YAY. We had an amazing mini-vacation and I can’t wait to share the photos with you all later this week. But in the meantime, all that sun got me thinking about summer…and some things I want to get. The shopping bug has bitten me! I already got most of the things from my warm weather wishlist that I shared about a month ago--the shorts, the polka dot tank top, and the pendant necklace. Ben also bought me those red Superga sneakers for my birthday, and I’m planning to get a pair of Hasbeens this month. After that, these are the next items on my list! I’m calling them “essentials” because I figure I’m more likely to get them if they’re things I need. And I totally need these. Right?

1. Cute water bottle - $30 from bkr (actually, Ben already got me that pink bkr for my birthday too. What a sweetie! I can’t wait to start using it) / 2. Casual white dress - $114.50 from Madewell / 3. Lightweight Turkish beach towel - $48 from Serena & Lily / 4. Adorable bobbi pins (to keep windswept hair in check) - $10 from ban.do / 5. Colorblocked tote bag - $50 from Rouge & Whimsy / 6. New nail polish color - $8.50 from Nordstrom / A better quality t-shirt - $18 from Everlane / Whimsical tumbler - $14 from ban.do

What’s on your list for summer?? Have you bought anything fun lately? It’s kind of bad, once I let myself shop a little I just want more and more...I could have listed at least 20 more things that I have on my wishlist, but I decided I would restrict myself to eight. These are all so cute though, aren’t they?! I think the things I want the most are a cute white dress (doesn’t have to be the Madewell one, but I do really like it’s shape), and a stylish beach towel. I just love those Turkish fouta ones. I also do want to get some better quality basics for Ben and I. I don’t have the patience to hang dry everything, and so many of our tees have shrunk up in the wash to the point where they don’t fit well anymore. I’ve heard good things about Everlane, but have never bought anything from them yet. Have you? Do you have a favorite t-shirt company?

P.S. For an extra discount, visit here.

And we’re off on our mini-vacation! It’s been sunny and beautiful this whole week, but now that we’re heading to Friday Harbor, it’s supposedly going to rain on Saturday & Sunday. Boo!!! Oh well, I’m still happy to be taking an extra day off of work, and looking forward to some quality time with my sweetie. I have my fingers crossed that we'll see some whales too!

Photo via Pinterest.

Have a great weekend, my dears! I’ll see you on Monday.