Category Archives: Blog News

If Posts Were Years: Happy Centennial!!!

Today’s post is super-duper exciting because it is our 100th post!  WOOOOO! :)

In honor of such a lovely milestone, I have decided to share 100 things with you today! Initially I told Walker that I wanted to post 100 adorable pictures of Bo. When he laughed and moved on, I realized he thought I was kidding… so I am pretending that I was. Instead, I will share only 10 pictures of Bo along with the following: 50 random things about me, 15 of my favorite projects so far on the blog, and 25 project ideas for the next 100 posts.  That’s 100 things!

So if you have no interest in any of these things, you are better off closing this page now. Don’t worry, you won’t learn anything too important about me… just my middle name, my love for a certain snack food, and what I happen to be wearing RIGHT NOW. Oooooo la la!

For those of you who are thinking “Sure, why the heck not?!,” brace yourselves for a (mildly scary?) look into the mind & life of Erika West!

Let’s dig right in!  Here are the first 10 awkward questions I got to answer and embarrass myself:

1. Height? 5’4.” Although if you ask my mom, she will tell you that SHE is 5’4″ and I am only 5’3.75.”  LIES! ;)

2. What was your childhood nickname? My parents called me Bugs (due to my love for the bunny of the same name) and Akire (my name backwards and pronounced Ack-Ah-Ree).

3. What color hair do you wish you had? I have always wanted to do temporary pink streaks or something wild but never went for it.  I love being a brunette!

4. Who would you let eat crackers in your bed? Wait, why? Are people actually requesting this?! I guess friends & family would be welcome to eat crackers in my bed as long as they were Goldfish and they shared with me!

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Nope!

6. What do you think of hot dogs? They are a rare treat regret.  I try to stick to the Kosher All-Beef ones to stay safe but I have consumed a Dodger Dog or two in my day.

7. What’s your favorite Christmas song? Silent Night.  My mom sang this to me every night before bed even when it wasn’t Christmastime just like her mom did for her! :)

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? If mimosas are not an option (half kidding), then coffee, coffee, coffee!

9. Can you do push ups? Oh yeah!  I was doing about 100 a day before I got lazy.

10. Is your bathroom clean? I plead the fifth.

I wish we didn’t end on that one… oh, well.  MOVING ON TO 5 PICTURES OF BO!! Yaaaay!!

11. This is from the first weekend I brought Bo home after his adoption!

12. Bo’s first real snowstorm! He and Koda were baffled!

13. Bo and Me at Eaton Canyon

14. Beach Bum!

15. I know this has already made an appearance on the blog but I love it!

WHAT A MONKEYYYY! I love him! Shall we continue with more silly things about me?

16. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My skeleton key necklace that Walker got me for Christmas!

17. Do you like painkillers? Strange question… I have only had them once when I got my wisdom teeth out.  They did the trick I guess!

18. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? Haha no secret weapon! I am baffled that someone actually likes me enough to put up with me so I must have hoodwinked him somehow.

19. Do you have A.D.D.? No, I prefer the term ultimate multi-tasker.

20. What’s your name? Erika N. West

21. Middle name? Nicole.  And my confirmation name is Hope.

22. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1. Bo is so cute when he sleeps.  2. Can I call out of work today to read?  3. I hope no one finds out that I am watching The Bachelor Pad right now.

23. Name the last 3 things you bought: 1. Running Shoes (Couch to 5K biatches!)  2. Dog leash  3. Wine and tortilla chips

24. Who is your favorite TV chef? Oooh I like this one!  Walker and I are obsessed with Rick Bayless‘ show and Mexican food recipes. We’ve shown hints of our Sunday feasts on the blog.

25. You’re stuck on an deserted island with one other person, who would you want to be stranded with? Walker (as long as he could bring my family, Laura, and Bo in his suitcase)

Are you sick of me yet?  If so, let’s take a little intermission and highlight my 15 favorite projects from the blog so far! :)

15 Favorite Blog Projects!

41. You’ve won a major award and have thanked your family, who else would you thank? Would it be wrong/inappropriate/strange to thank my dog?

42. Current worry? Making ends meet… always!  LA is a pricey town!

43. Current hate? Fakers and inefficiency!  GET OUTTA HERE.

44. Favorite place to be? Home :)

45. How did you bring in the New year? Meeting and hanging out with Walker’s aunt, uncle, and little cousins.  So much fun!!

46. Where would you like to go? Australia/New Zealand, Italy, France, anywhere tropical… wait, who is paying for this? Because I have more…

47. Do you own slippers? Strangely, no despite the fact that I just bought 36 pairs of them for Laura’s bridal shower!

48. What shirt are you wearing? When people hear I live in LA, the thing they are most jealous about is the weather.  Yes, it is going to be a sunny 99 degrees today but I work in a 60 degree machine room.  So I wear winter clothes 5 days a week… and spend the entire day shivering.  I am wearing a red sweater.  Boooooo.

49. Do you burn or tan? TAN BABY TAN!

50. Favorite color(s)? Pink!! And perhaps turquoise or mint!

Moving on to a more interesting and adorable subject with 5 more pictures of Bo!!!

51. Water Safety Bo! (Pre-Kayaking on Castaic Lake)

52. Best buddies at the puppy beach <3

53. Ready for lunch!

54. So very serious.

55. The ultimate Bo glamour shot!

Boooo I’m sad that part is over.

56. Would you be a pirate? Not a very good one.

57. Favorite food? Goldfish Crackers and bacon.  Not necessarily together. ;)

58. What songs do you sing in the shower? Before Walker moved in or now?  There used to be a lot of show tunes but I don’t want him to leave me!

59. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Fire!  Fire safety week was terrifying.

60. What’s in your pockets right now? Nada.

61. Where are you? In my living room on my cozy chair! :)

62. Best bed sheets as a child? Purple? My bedspreads were always fun but my sheets were boring.

63. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Maybe it isn’t the worst but I pulled my inner thigh in ballet and it hurt like no other… until I pulled my quad on the same leg a year later.  Basically my leg is still stiff and I have never quite recovered.

64. Who is your role model? My mommy!  She is the most amazing woman so I have tried to become a replica of her in all ways except: 1. She hates those select-a-size paper towels but I love them.  2. I am 25 and she is 29.

65. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2 but we have no cable!

In case you were curious, we have Hulu, Netflix, and a sexy antenna for TV watching. Speaking of sexy, here are 25 project ideas for the NEXT 100 posts (some are pretty attainable and others are from a “wish list” of sorts).

25 Projects Ideas for the NEXT 100 posts!

66. Shower Curtain
67. Living Room Lighting Solution
68. Kitchen Table Revamp!
69. New Coffee Table
70. Re-grow Grass!
71. New Living Room Cozy Chair
72. Update Our Photo Album
73. Art Above the Desks
74. Refinish/Replace Outdoor Table
75. Display Jars in the Kitchen
76. Sort Through Garage and Sell Stuff $$
77. New Desk Chairs
78. Outdoor Lanterns
79. Fix Gate so Bo Can’t Get Hurt
80. Indoor Herb Garden
81. Clean Up/Weed the Patio Walkway
82. Desk Hardware
83. Plant Something Out Front
84. More Skeleton Keys!!
85. Bathroom Magazine Rack
86. Frame Walker’s Tree/Sky Photos
87. Hanging Plant Outdoors
88. More Flea Market Finds!
89. Fun Hand-Painted Interior Gate
90. Backyard Fire Pit!!
I could go on forever!

 

Finally, here are the last 10 questions…

91. Favorite flavor of ice cream? This is like asking someone what their favorite compliment is… how do you choose? I guess I would say my favorite standard flavor is cookie dough but I also have a love affair with the various Ben & Jerry’s pints (specifically Red Velvet).

92. What do you consider the best invention in history? The interwebz! <3  Or maybe Goldfish crackers.

93. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope/think Walker does… but I KNOW Bo does!  He stares at me with those big brown eyes and I can feel the love! ;)

94. Do you wish on shooting stars? Absolutely! I dislike anyone who is “too good” or “too grown up” for that.

95. What is your favorite book? Les Miserables – the unabridged version! But the HP series does make my heart happy also.

96. What is your favorite candy? Depending on my mood, Skittles or Junior Mints!  But I would eat anything that isn’t black licorice!

97. Any regrets? I can proudly say I have lived life so far with no regrets. I truly believe that “When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did” so I will try just about anything once!  I have had to make hard decisions and maybe didn’t always make the best choice… but I try to follow my heart/gut and make smart decisions.  That’s the best you can do!

98. What was the last song you listened to on iTunes? Gypsy Queen by Van Morrison… Walker’s mom once suggested that maybe there was some Gypsy in my heritage and I totally embraced it!! So when we heard Gypsy Queen (which is an awesome song BTW), Walker said it made him think of me. :)

99. What were you doing at 12AM last night? Passed out cold… and probably kicking Walker and/or the dog.

100. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? “Is it Friday yet!?”

For anyone that made it this far, thanks for putting up with my nonsense!  I had a blast so really that’s all that matters (sarcasm of course).  ;)

On a serious note, thank you to all of you for reading what I am putting out there (x100!). There would be no point to all of this if I didn’t have so many wonderful readers.  I love you guyssssss and I hope you keep enjoying Our Cozy Cubbyhole!  <3

Xoxo,

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Linky-Linky Party Fun!

I decided to go a little wild and try something new today!  Liz @ According to L, a sponsor of Our Cozy Cubbyhole, was looking for a cohost for a big “Nice to Meet You” meet & greet blog link-up party. I love making new bloggy friends and I love giving you more fun blogs to read so I decided to go for it.  So without further ado, I will hand this post over to Liz:

“We all want our blog or business to become the biggest and the best. But this is road that you cannot forage on your own. There is an entire world of people who can help build and support you, and in turn, you can do the same for them. This is how I came up with the idea for this link party. The first Monday of every month, come here, link up your blog, social media and online shops in return for following those who do the same. Pretty simple return on your investment of a few minutes.

This month, I’m pleased to have partnered with these lovely ladies this month:


The rules to play are very simple. Follow along with your hosts. Link up in each of the appropriate categories. Follow along at least 5 other members in their various mediums. Share the party where you can – the more people that visit, the more opportunities we all have to gain fans and followers. Don’t link and run – no one likes a quitter. Unless it’s for smoking, in which case I totally support that!

 Grab a button or link back to this party and page!

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Interested in co-hosting?  Shoot me an email here.  (accordingtol1128 (at) gmail (dot) com)

Ready, set, meet!!”

 

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Dear Pinterest, Let’s Be Friends Again! Love, Erika

I don’t usually like to air my dirty laundry here on the blog but I will make an exception for today. Early this spring, Pinterest and I had a sad but necessary break up (it got ugly… there may have been tears).  Why?  Because I was spending all of my free time obsessing over it and I wasn’t getting anything done.

Now that I got my life back under control, I think it is time to try things again… but as friends this time.  We need a healthier, more balanced relationship. I was jealous of everyone’s Pinterest Challenge posts today so I’d like to get back on the bandwagon for next season. :)

So to kick things off, I went on a pinning rampage this morning so all of my boards are up to date with my blog content. If you like what you see here on the blog, please follow us on Pinterest as well:

And while I’m begging for friends, you can find all of our social media links on the top of the side bar.  If you enjoy reading, pleas like Our Cozy Cubbyhole on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check out our Etsy shop (which is fairly bare at the moment but I will get some things back in there!), or follow us on BlogLovin’!  We love you all! :)