It's done!!! You may have seen my posts for the last few months on the progress of our pallet wall. Wait no longer - we are finished and I am OBSESSED.

Here's the quick backstory. We bought our first home in September of 2018. We were super lucky because it didn't need much work at all - we mainly re-painted and just gave it our "touch". Since we've only been here for about eight months, we still have a laundry list of items we'd like to customize and change about our home, but I'm really proud of the progress we've made so far. 

First, I'd like to outline the process of creating the pallet wall. Then, I'll show the "before/after" photos as well as my inspiration picture!

​We (and when I say "we", I fully mean Ryan for most parts) started by slowly collecting pallets and basically ripping them apart. If you're not familiar with what pallets look like, they're these guys and you can pretty much find them anywhere. (Behind department stores/grocery stores, Facebook Marketplace, etc.)

They all come in slightly different sizes (widths, thickness, etc.) but that was okay for us. We thought the variation would add to the interest.  Once they were all torn apart, we set them up on a tarp to estimate the amount we'd need to fill the entire wall.
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Then, it was time to stain! We have tons of stain colors in the garage because of all the projects we do. We decided on various hues of brown and a couple grey pieces. This took quite some time a) because it was a pretty giant stack of pieces and b) because we wanted to make sure the stain was totally absorbed to prevent having the smell in our bedroom. Yuck.

Next, it was time to lay everything out in a general plan of what it would look like on the wall. This part required a decent amount of flexibility because a lot of the pieces ended up being re-arranged once it was time to put them on the wall.
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Then, Ryan nailed in vertical pieces of wood to the wall (over the studs). We figured it would be a better bet to secure the pallets to the vertical pieces as opposed to nailing all over plywood.

Next it was time to nail the pallets to the vertical pieces! Each row of pallet pieces is the same height to keep things more consistent. We quickly realized some pieces would need to be cut to be able to perfectly fit into gaps or against the adjacent wall.

Finally, all the gaps were filled and it was done! I purchased new, white, textured curtains to brighten and heighten the room. Honestly, the space is awesome and I'm so glad we took on the project.

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Obviously not our furniture, but here's an idea of the way the walls/windows looked originally...

I'd say we came pretty close! Go, us!

I love the holiday season. If I could start decorating the day after Halloween, I would. There's something about the warmth and spirit in the air that makes this time of year so special.

Ryan and I moved into our first home at the end of September and we've been talking about hosting our first holiday even before that. It was important to us to welcome our families for Christmas this year (and we hope to host many holidays to come!)

We started prepping on the 23rd. The menu consisted of three kinds of lasagna (traditional, vegetarian, and gluten-free), beef tenderloin with a red wine and shallot reduction, sautéed mushrooms, parmesan green beans, salad, and bread. We wanted to make sure we wouldn't be stuck in the kitchen all day on Christmas, so got as much done as early as possible. I also made sure the table was decorated on the 23rd as well. I wanted to incorporate calligraphy wherever I could to add a personalized touch and a bit of elegance. 

Overall, the day was great. We had the fireplace going from noon on and filled the house with our closest family. We're thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday and welcome the New Year with health and happiness.

​Here are some photos from the day! Enjoy!

After Ryan and I got married last November, we visited Newport, Rhode Island for a mini-honeymoon. We quickly fell in love with the New England area and vowed to visit other towns and cities close by. Knowing our one-year anniversary was around the corner, we started brainstorming locations and decided to go with Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Our "must have" list included a drive less than five hours to somewhere in the Northeast region, included clam chowder, a harbor town, and walkable shops. Needless to say, Portsmouth checked off all of the points. Here's a quick recap of our weekend!

Thursday:
I didn't have school Thursday or Friday due to Teachers' Convention, so we left around 8am and arrived by lunch time. We decided to go to the River House Restaurant, which featured views of the harbor and a cozy atmosphere. Lucky for us, it was Restaurant Week in Portsmouth, so we made sure to take advantage of the opportunity. And even luckier for me, I was so, so pleased to see so many of the restaurants accommodating with a gluten-free menu. I've been GF for about six months and was very thankful for the availability at bars, restaurants, and breakfast cafes. Post lunch, we walked around the shops and got used to the area for a few hours. Later, we checked into the Sheraton, which was barely a quarter mile away from the downtown area and got ready for dinner. 

Thursday's dinner, which was likely my peak of the trip, was at The Oar House. If you're ever in the area, GO THERE. It had low, wood beams from the ceiling, weathered wooden floors and cozy nooks. We enjoyed a fair share of mussels, scallops, and a bottle of red wine. 

Friday:
Portsmouth is only a few minutes away from Maine, so we figured we would stop in for a few hours. We headed to Lil's Cafe for breakfast, where I got GF toast with avocado and Ryan got a sausage and egg sandwich on a biscuit. 

After breakfast, we drove around and visited a historical state park, which was a battleground site, as well as a lighthouse.

We worked up an appetite and decided to stop for a light lunch at Surf. Here, we split clam chowder and a spicy tuna sushi roll while enjoying a cocktail. 

After our quick bite to eat, we devoted a few hours to walking around the shops. We got some Christmas shopping done (already, woohoo!) and enjoyed our time together. 

Before heading back to the hotel to relax for a bit, Ryan was dying to get some oysters at Row 34. I'm always down for a glass of wine and snack, so it didn't take much arm-twisting to get me here!

Dinner on Friday night was at The Dolphin Striker, another local, cozy spot. We enjoyed dishes from the featured Restaurant Week menu.

Saturday:
Before heading home on Saturday, we stopped at Popovers On The Square for a grab-and-go breakfast. This place was AWESOME and the perfect final meal for our trip. We began our (long, traffic-filled) journey home to NJ and reminisced on the solid weekend. 

Thanks so much for reading!