Forever Loverly

For the lover of all things lovely

progress really is possible

I can’t believe it’s been almost two months since my last post! Life has been absolutely hectic lately {but I’m not complaining}. In the past two months we celebrated my and the hub’s birthday, welcomed my little sister to the Aggie ring fam {and the world of  being 21}, visited our favorite place on Earth {yes, Telluride}, welcomed 6 {of our friends’} new precious babies to the world, worked {and played} quite a bit, and starting building our dream home! The change in the house from my last post until now is absolutely mind blowing. I just hope the rest of the project goes quick too! Believe it or not, but our current living situation of 600 square feet with two pups and two adults is a little overwhelming at times; but we are thankful for what we have, and I’m sure once we have more space, we will miss our tight quarters.

We are starting to make selections for the house and it is more overwhelming than I could have ever imagined! So far, we have chosen our kitchen appliances, plumbing fixtures, windows, interior and exterior doors {including my dream front door :)} and exterior brick color. I keep getting asked what the style of the house is. Well, I really have no clue how to describe it other than French traditional. I LOVED the architecture in New Orleans with the antiqued brick, iron work, and vintage wood. Then when we visited Paris I really understood where that NOLA French look came from and I fell even more in love. So, our home will be a mix of European antique with some newer more traditional flare {if that makes any sense}. Take a peek at some of the progress photos below and stay tuned for a decor inspiration post coming soon!

we cannot wait for pollan pool parties!  the perimeter of the house starting to take shape!i love a grand ole entry!view of the entryway hall from the back of the househouston, we have a second story!view from le pool de pollan! that is our master suite at the top!aghhhh it looks real! the gables really added some dimension!business in the front, party in the back!

out with the old

Well friends, it has been a while since my last post and I promise I have a good excuse! One of the main reasons I started Forever Loverly was to document our experience of building our first home together, as newlyweds nonetheless. The last six months have been a whirlwind of newlywed-ed bliss and a lot of planning. It seems like every time I turn around, we’re being asked how tall? how how long? how narrow? how wide? And the list goes on and on. I just want to ask how am I going to survive this?? It’s been a fun process thus far, but definitely challenging trying to balance working full time, designing, and spending time with family, friends, and the hubs {and sleeping}.

Our dear friends, Laura and Derek, introduced us to some “builder friends” of theirs about two years ago who build gorgeous homes in the Heights. We originally contacted Brooke and Lucas Brown of L&B Limited about remodeling our little 1955 ranch style home about a year and a half ago. They weren’t able to take on a reno at that time {whomp whomp} which made Wilson and I pretty much rethink everything about renovating. We realized that because we are in a flood plain {hello Houston}, we would have to add any addition to the home about 36″ above the existing structure, which is just a little awka-awkward in our opinion. Praise sweet little baby Jesus that Brooke and Lucas turned us down! About a year later, we decided that a full new build was quite possibly the best route for us; so we contacted the Brown’s again. We were immediately off to the races walking through some of their previous {gorgeous} builds, meeting with the architect, and designing our dream home. Because of the whole flood plain issue, we got caught up in permitting and FEMA issues a little longer than we expected, but February 6 we {finally} closed on the new loan and the house came down for Valentine’s Day! Best. Day. Ever. {and a little emotional day}

The house will be built on pier and beam due to the flood zone, so this week we got to see the forms laid and the shape of the house come to life. I talked Wilson into a pool {oops}, so our wonderful pool company, The Pool Man, got to work digging the pool yesterday! We have sort of a long and narrow lot, so we had to dig the pool before any foundation was laid for the house in order to get the digging equipment into the back yard safely. So basically, they will gunite the pool Friday and then it will sit until the house is almost done. When we start the final finish out on the house, they will put all the finishing touches on le pool de pollan! We cannot wait to entertain family and friends in our home {and pool parties}! Enjoy some of progress photos below!

 

sonoma weekend getaway

The hubs and I spent a few days in the gorgeous Sonoma, California this past weekend and it was so lovely that I had to share! After countless people telling us to beware of how awful the weather would be (apparently it is their cold and wet season) we were almost beside ourselves with joy that it was sunny with pure blue skies the entire weekend! Hooray! The only other time we visited wine country was almost two years ago in May. The weather was perfect and the vineyards were bright as could be. We stayed in Napa Valley and really only frequented vineyards in that little bubble so with just a day and half to spare this trip, we decided to experience something fresh and different than before (even though we absolutely loved Napa). Sonoma was the winner!

We arrived Friday afternoon, checked into the hotel and headed straight to the Sonoma Square. It is a perfect little square filled with adorable shops & boutiques, fabulous restaurants, and even a few of the cutest little tasting rooms you ever did see. My sweet friend, Jane, recommended El Dorado Kitchen for dinner and it was scrum-diddly-umptious! The entire menu is sort of the “farm to table” with an uber fresh vibe and the decor is Fixer Upper meets Restoration Hardware. So basically, to say I was obsessed is an understatement. We had a lovely experience and I highly recommend the tortilla soup, pork belly, and apple pie tartine.

At dinner on Friday night, I enjoyed the most refreshing glass of Brut Rosé; and what do you know? That glass of rosé came from a vineyard just a few miles up the road at the lovely Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards. We beelined to Gloria Ferrer bright and early Saturday where spent most of the morning basking on the sundrenched patio that overlooks their vineyard and drinking flight(s) of bubbly. Pure perfection if you ask me. After (a little too much) bubbly, we went into town for pizza at Mary’s and she did not disappoint. We walked a block to walk off a calorie or two, and back on the vineyard hunt we went. We read great reviews online about Buena Vista Winery and decided to try it out. Imagine a French chateau circa the mid 1800’s with a babbling brook, green vines and bulb lights for days all nestled into the most magical little piece of land. We tasted the premium wine flight (the Pinot Noir was my fave) inside and then enjoyed a glass of bubbly on the gorgeous terrace. I could have stayed all night. As we were heading out, we ran into one of Wilson’s friends from college. Naturally, I was commenting on how cute the riding boots were on the toddler he was holding when Wilson was like  “I know him! That’s Pete!” Such a small world when you really think about it! We stayed and chatted for a bit with Pete, his gorgeous wife, Molleigh, and their adorable girls Collette & Camilla (name game strong in this fam). After our run in, we decided to head back to the hotel for a little r&r, room service, a movie, and more champs.

Sunday morning we drove back to San Fran over non other than the gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge. The last time we drove her, it was so foggy and you could hardly see a few feet ahead of you so this was a real treat. We drove straight to the famous Lombard Street (yes, we are tourists). If you haven’t seen or driven down Lombard, it is a San Fran must do! My bestie, Taylor, recommended that we try brunch at Sweet Maple, a cozy little breakfast spot in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Apparently we weren’t the only ones with this idea (or maybe it’s that Sweet Maple is ranked super high on best SF brunch). We waited for about an hour and boy, was it worth it! Sweet Maple made me wish it was socially acceptable to eat breakfast for every meal for the rest of my life! I highly recommend the morning tacos,   the deep fried french toast, and the mimosas! Duh! Then off to the airport we went, full bellies and hearts after a perfect weekend together. Enjoy the photos and get to Sonoma the next chance you get!

 

Xoxo,

Stephanie

MAC Master Class

One of my best friends, Ashley, and I spent a much needed girls day this past Saturday at a MAC makeup class led by resident trainer, Cory Hiratzka. Cory’s celeb clientele include one of my faves, Kourtney Kardashian, along with Gulianna Rancic, Kris Jenner, and Pink just to name a few. His work has also graced the runways at New York Fashion Week on the beauties of Monique Lhullier and Christian Siriano.

Needless to say, Cory was ah-mazing not only at painting faces, but also at teaching us how to work his magic.  It was so much fun to learn tips and tricks of creating a smokey eye and how to transition from a day to night look without completely starting over. I started using the MAC 170 brush to apply foundation a few weeks ago and to say I am obsessed would be an understatement. It helps my foundation go on so much smoother and I do not feel like I lose any product with application. When we started the class, I told Cory that I am pretty married to eye shadows with a shimmer. I don’t know why I have always gravitated to the shimmer, but yet I always love looks that are more matte on other girls. Cory didn’t fail when he introduced me to Saddle, what is now going to be my staple shadow. It’s matte and the perfect color to build off of. As for lips, my current go to is Yash. It is a fabulous peachy nude and can flow easily from day to night. One of the girls in my office introduced all of us girls to it, and we have affectionately renamed Yash to the Ciaravino Nude since we are all wearing it now.

Enjoy our transformation photo (eek!) and click the collage for links to my favorite products!

Xoxo, Stephanie

Image Map

 

hello {blog} world!

It’s finally happening! I have dreamed of starting my own blog for quite some time now, but for one reason or another, I have made excuse after excuse and never followed through. One thing is for sure, I am so thankful for my wonderful hubby, Wilson, (you will hear plenty more about him soon) who continuously pushes me and motivates me to follow my dreams. Without him, Forever Loverly would still be just a small little thought lodged somewhere in my brain that we all know is way too full of ideas!

My hope and prayer is that Forever Loverly will speak volumes to all those who happen upon it. It will be my creative outlet to share my thoughts on marriage, decor, beauty, and all things lovely! Enjoy!