FTC

I have a funny little story about my best friends and I, 

or "FTC", as we like to refer to ourselves. 

It's a silly little nickname really, 

something we came up with several years ago while road-tripping back from a wild weekend in Vegas. 

We got to talking about how nice it is to share an affinity for the luxuries in life - 

food, travel, fashion,

why don't we just call ourselves the Finer Things Club? 

We had a good laugh about it, 

but the term kind of stuck. 

We try to live up to the name as much as possible, 

considering that we're all in different stages of our lives and don't even live in the same state. 

To us, the term luxury doesn't always have to be synonymous with spending a fortune.

Sure, we can all appreciate a ten-course meal at a Michelin star restaurant,

but we can be equally as pleased to spend hours in the kitchen, 

mocking up a tasting menu of our own as long as our friends are by our side.

In fact, that's how we decided to spend the holidays several weeks ago,

taking advantage of the short time we had together.

We researched hundreds of recipes, matched up some wine pairings to each course, and even crafted up an official menu. 

We were delighted to see how well everything turned out! 

It was a beautiful night that I'm hoping to recreate in the very near future.

Because in the end, laughter is all that matters. 

That is the true luxury of life. 

Love these girls so much!

Project Kitchen : Before and After

Hi guys!

Hope you all had a great weekend. 

As I mentioned last week, the husband and I finally finished our kitchen renovation project. 

We did the big reveal during a little housewarming party for some friends and family a few days ago,

and got great reviews!

Such a proud moment for us, because this project was definitely a LOT of work. 

Being the overachievers that we are,

we thought doing the whole thing on our own was no big deal. 

Boy, were we in for a treat! 

And when I say we did it all ourselves, I seriously mean it. 

No contractors were hired during this whole process. 

We designed, built, and decorated the whole room all on our own!

Like with any major project,

there are bound to be glitches and delays in the schedule. 

This kitchen was no exception. 

Let's just say that our patience was tested more than just a few times,

but I suppose now that it's all done and I can stand back and admire our handiwork, it was all worth it. 

So. Without further ado, say hello to our shiny new kitchen:

As you can see from the before and after shots, 

we pretty much tore eeeeeverything out and started with a blank slate. 

First step was to demo - my personal favorite!

I had no gripes with take a sledgehammer to those stinky old cabinets. 

Once the walls were bare, we started on the electrical. 

Those bulky industrial lights had to go, 

so we tore them out, recessed the ceiling and installed canned lights.

Next step was to install the cabinets. 

I'm not sure exactly how many hours we spent at IKEA during the design process, 

but it was definitely more than a dozen!

After we signed off on the final specs and {gulp} handed over the credit cards,

it was time to take all those boxes home and put everything together!

In typical IKEA fashion, the building wasn't the tough part..

(a few screws here, a couple of pegs there, boom you're done),

what stalled the process was the actual installation into the kitchen.

Yeah. Not as simple as the "easy guide video" made it look. 

Once the cabinets were in, it was time to apply the counter tops. 

Disclaimer: if your husband comes to you and suggests pouring your own concrete, 

do yourself a favor and politely decline. 

Although I LOVE the way the countertops turned out in the end,

that was probably the most trying part of this whole process. 

Once that was done though, it was all easy sailing. 

The backsplash and floor tile were purchased from Bedrosians. 

The husband did an excellent job with the herringbone pattern - turned out exactly how I wanted!

All appliances are by Samsung, and were purchased from Best Buy. 

And as for everything else,

I have a feeling it will be constantly evolving. 

I love the mixture of modern and vintage throughout the room.. I think it gives the kitchen character. 

A major thank you to the main man in my life,

without whom this project would have simply not been possible. 

I'm so lucky to have a handy man like yourself in my life. 

Xoxo!

Almost There

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 

Well, this is really the home stretch guys!

Construction for the kitchen remodel is finally over, 

and the only thing left to do is to add the finishing touches. 

I've had this idea of my dream kitchen planned in my head for so long,

and it's simply surreal to see it all come alive. 

These are just a few pieces that I feel would make the perfect additions to our shiny new abode. 

The huz and I are doing the big reveal tomorrow afternoon,

during a little housewarming party that we planned for a few close friends. 

I can't wait to show it off,

not only to them, 

but to all of you too!

Pictures coming real soon, promise!

Memories

I'm not gonna lie,

I've been dreading writing this post. 

Because writing down something that makes you sad,

just makes it that much more real. 

But I've decided to address this situation like a bandaid. 

Share it (aka rip off bandaid),

and move on (aka heal). 

As you've probably already read in some of my previous posts,

the mister and I recently got back from a trip of a lifetime. 

Eighteen glorious days in Europe. 

"Yeah, we feel reaaaal bad for you Natasha"

I know, it sounds pretty much perfect,

and it was,

except for one minor glitch. 

Day Sixteen. 

We're on the train from Amsterdam to Brussels. 

First class. 

Giddy with excitement because the Thalys folks just fed us an awesome breakfast, 

(it's clearly the little things in life that please us). 

Everything is going perfect - 

we hop off the train and onto the metro,

in route to our posh hotel, in the center of Brussels....

And then I look up, and all I see is Erik's face turn white. 

At first I'm confused. 

"What's wrong? Are you choking on something? I told you to leave the rest of the croissant on the train!"

Long story short, it was at that time that we realized that we left our brand spanking new dslr, with over thousands of pictures taken in the span of the last 16 days on the train. 

The train that dropped us off and kept going to Paris. 

Obviously I don't have to explain how devastated we were about this sequence of events. 

We laughed. 

We cried. 

We begged anyone who would listen at the train station, the lost and found desk, the customer service line of every train company in Europe to help us. 

In a flash, thousands of candid captures were gone. 

So as much as I would have loved to share those photos with you,

I simply can't. And that sucks. 

But here's what we learned. 

What happened to us was unfortunate - a freak accident. 

But no one died. No one got hurt. 

We STILL had an AMAZING trip,

and the important parts are the memories in our heads, not what was captured on a camera that would soon be filed away on a hard drive anyway. 

I kept a journal throughout our trip,

and I captured some of the details that I wanted to look back upon in the very distant future.

In it also are some details that I would still like to share with you.. 

some recommendations of the places we visited, restaurants we dined at and people we met. 

I personally love getting tips from other travel bloggers,

so I figure I'll jot them down in the next few weeks, and hopefully they'll serve some purpose for anyone who's planning to travel to any of the countries we visited this time around. 

That's all. Sorry for the essay.

Maybe now I could move on. 

Where do babies come from?

I suppose it's only natural,

for people to wonder when the huz and I are planning to have kids. 

I mean,

we've been together for ten years,

married for almost two. 

We're pretty settled down,

having recently purchased a house in one of those suburban neighborhoods and acquired one of those family-friendly cars... 

So like I said,

it makes sense for people to enquire about when we're going to start popping out some nuggets. 

I'm not going to lie,

the thought of having children freaks me out. 

Like, REALLY scares the bejezus out of me. 

You see,

in my mind, 

I'm still a kid myself. 

But I'm guessing everyone feels that way...  

I know very few people who have actually been "ready" to reproduce.

But I've been mentally preparing myself,

and I think I'm getting pretty comfortable with the idea of starting a family. 

No, I'm not pregnant. 

But we have a plan.. 

so for all those wondering when you'll see some baby posts around here,

it might be sooner than later. 

Perhaps next year?

Who knows what's in the cards for us. 

For now,

I'm pretty comfortable just borrowing those two munchkins pictured above -

my nephews. 

So adorable,

and so fun to give back at the end of the night. 

Do people ever bug you about having babies?

How are your ovaries handling all this pressure???

Satisfaction

This weekend I ran my second half marathon.

Sounds pretty hard core,

right?

I'm going to let you in on a little secret though..

I hate running.

That's right.

You heard me correctly.

"Well, why would a girl who hates running sign up for a half marathon??"

Well..

because my name is Natasha,

and I'm a masochist.

Just kidding.

But seriously..

Every time I put on my running shoes I dread the next half hour, hour, two hours..

But let me tell you what I don't dread -

the nice shape that has developed around my legs and backside,

the surplus of energy I have every day,

and last but certainly not least,

the confidence I've gained since crossing that finish line. 

Running is all mental. 

I'm sure you've heard this numerous times before, 

and probably thought to yourself...

"bologna!"

But it's true. 

I ran my first half in 2010,

right before our wedding, 

and it was the worst experience ever.

I didn't get the time I wanted, 

and instead suffered an injury on my knee (as well as my ego). 

So I stopped running all together. 

It took me more than a year to get back into running,

barely,

and when my pants started fitting a little more snug than I'd prefer,

I decided I needed some motivation.

So I signed up for another race.

I was intimidated to face my demons by myself,

so I made the hubs sign up with me.

I told him to stop me any time he saw me pushing beyond my means, 

because that's what I do.

I'm my own worst critic. 

I yell at myself to push harder if I feel like I'm not performing up to par,

and in the end,

that's what kills me. 

I'm glad I can acknowledge this trait about myself now. 

Because it took a while to get here. 

So anywaaaaay,

keeping this in mind,

I eased into training.

Four consecutive months,

and a clear head on my shoulders, 

is all it took. 

I finished this race in two hours and three minutes. 

My personal record.

I slashed over 20 minutes off my time from the last race,

and I couldn't feel better about it!

If you've ever considered running a race like this,

I seriously recommend it. 

No, I'm not going to tell you that it's easy,

but it really is like free therapy.

Trust me, if I can do it,

you can do it. 

So what are you waiting for?

Celebrating post race, with some friends and mimosas at 3rd Corner.