Friday, June 29, 2012

Style Obsession: Flower Crowns

I absolutely love the summer. I love everything about the smores, the long days, the bon fires, camping, and the fact that everything is green and pretty! I am pretty sure that my love for summer has influenced my love for flower crowns!  I don't think they are just for weddings, but would look great with a flowy top or tank and maxi skirt combo! They are all the rage this summer, and I don't mind hopping on the band wagon. Here are a couple of my favorites, along with a diy flower crown that I just might make soon! 







1//2//3//4//5//

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

A few of my favorite things lately

I just got home this past Saturday from co-leading a girls middle school group at my churches youth camp! It was very very fun and I have been recuperating day by day.
While recuperating I have noticed a few of my favorite things around lately! 
 My husband got me this destination necklace from Urban Outfitters as a gift for our one month of dating! He wrote me my first love letter ever and said the necklace was a promise to take me to Paris one day. I know, I know! It was a pretty fast move for someone who just started dating, but now that we are married it is a daily reminder of how much he loves me. 
Finally got my favorite painting ever by The Black Apple! It is hanging above my work space in our office area. I am kind of obsessed with it.
I FINALLY got the Design*Sponge at Home book as a gift and I am so so excited about it! It has amazing ideas, most of which I have already seen on Pinterest. However the massive range of DIY's in the back of the book are amazing and the ideas on how to make a house a home are endless. Even my husband thinks this book is cool! It's definitely a winner for us! 
Peaches are my absolute favorite fruit! So happy I finally get to enjoy them! 
I finally got my initial mug from Anthropologie and have been using it all around the house for a variety of things. Also love having my new last initial on my planner by Much Ado About You
I have been listening to Sucre on Repeat. Loving the song Troubled Waters!
They were also featured in this months issue of Relevant Magazine, which was awesome to see! I am pretty sure  it is my album of the summer.
What is your album of the summer? 
I made some of Elsie Larson's Mini Notebooks a while back and I have been filling them up ever since! It is probably one of my favorite things to make, since I can't go out and buy a gazillion notebooks to fill with lists and ideas all the time.
Don't we all just love notebooks? 
I have recently and FINALLY experienced a rush of creative inspiration. I think all I needed was a week not focused on myself, but on others. Isn't it amazing how much serving people does for our hearts and minds? 
I think I am going to start doing one thing a week to really help someone or brighten their day, just as a reminder that this life is wasted if all I do is for myself. 
What causes you to be inspired? 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Thinking about...

...friends and all of the good times I have had. 
So thankful for what life has been bringing as a result of the love found in friendship. 
I have recently had several good friends move away, which is both terrifying and sad.
Growing up is really hard, but the beauty is noticing the best friend I have in my husband.
I am finally able to look back and appreciate the old friends that have gone, the new friends that are coming, and the friends that will be here forever. I will never ever forget 
the memories I have had with old and dear friends alike.







All of my friends have lit up the world for me in one way or another.
cheers to you.


Pictures from here: 1//2//3//4//5//

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Favorites: Beauty Products

So excited to share with you a few of my favorite beauty products! 
I have recently been getting into makeup, wait what am I saying, I love makeup!
I have been a Clinique girl since I was 13 (when I first started wearing makeup) and since then been totally hooked. However, in the past year I have branched out to MAC cosmetics. I have always admired how they view makeup as paint and the face as their canvas, but never really thought to "dive in" to a purchase. Over the past year I have accumulated some MAC products and Clinique products that have changed my skin and look in a very good way!  At least I think so. Maybe you have thought about trying them but have been nervous? Have no fear,  my friends!




Fear not friends, this is not as bright as it looks, even if it does look like something Niki Minaj would wear (bless her love for pink). This lip and cheek color in Lazy Sunday is actually really amazing. When I first got it, the consultant put it on my eyes, cheeks, and lips (with a sheer sparkly gloss over the top), and I fell in love. Definitely becoming a daily go to for me!


Okay, so I used to not paint my nails at all, till all of the sudden nail color got huge again. Also I am not going to lie that watching loads of Mad Men made me want to 
"take better care of myself", so I started painting my nails red like Joan's. This red nail polish is the best I have ever bought in my life. This color is from their sailor collection for summer, and is totally worth the money. I waited 2 weeks to reapply, and had only one nail starting to chip! It dries completely in about 5-10 minutes, and it only takes 2 coats to look like this! 
What is your favorite nail color? 
Much Love
@

Home Decor Part 1

Ever since moving I have been incredibly hard at work at making our new place a home!
I have been up to several DIY projects including a couple from pinterest and a few blogs that I love! Welcome to our house! 



Polaroids from my wedding, a magnet from my mom {gifted to Gus} and L-O-V-E magnets from my dear friend Shelley. 



Saw a jar filled with cupcake holders on Pinterest and decided to put to use one of the jars from my wedding! 




These are another reason why I love Seattle so much.
They are dried flowers from Pikes Place Market!


Handwriting and phrase from Wedding Chicks Instagram account. Check it out! 


I found an old cork board in our shed. Covered it with old Nancy Drew pages, painted the sides and added sticks and a tissue paper flower, attached a clothespin to a tack, and added a S and a dream catcher. I love what you can do with cork boards!


Kinsey of Sincerely Kinsey posted an adventure map DIY on her blog that I loved.
I found this map at a coffee shop in Spokane for $3.00 and painted the phrase from my favorite movie, UP! on it. We are going to pin little music paper hearts on every place we visit during our marriage. Love it! 



When we were on our honeymoon we went to loads of antique shops! One in particular had a ton of super cool vintage postcards, so we stocked up on all the cutest ones! I love how they looked framed.



My mom had this "lying around her house", so naturally I put it to good use in our home!


So proud of finding this little guy at Salvation Army in little Moscow!





When I saw the picture heart idea on Pinterest, I put it to good use in our old place above the mantle. Now that we have dreary white walls in our bedroom, I thought it would be perfect to add some color with our favorite wedding photos!
Definitely one of my favorite things I have done in the house for sure, so far.
I will be posting more tomorrow for sure. Till then, hope you are inspired!
Much Love
@


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A Day at the Beach

A Day at the Beach

This summer I am dying to sport the retro style at the beach! With a trip to North Carolina in the future, and hopefully a trip to the Outer Banks, I am hoping to sport a cute little red retro bikini, like this one from H&M! I am completely obsessed with Turban Headbands, and love this one from H&M, along with these cat eye sunglasses. I love the little bit of humor in the bag from MadeWell, and these sandals are a staple for any summer wardrobe! You will always see me wearing either red or black nail polish, and these two bottles have never let me down! I will of course be listening to Lana Del Rey this summer along with a few of my other favorite female artists. Hope this inspires you to think about where you are going to draw inspiration for your summer wardrobe! 

Committed Desires Part 1: The newlywed life that was never expected

I have been thinking about starting a posting series on being a newlywed. I wasn't going to do it, but I was recently encouraged by a blogger that I have followed for a while to dive in, so I am. I think before I start talking about my life with Gus, I think it is important to share who I was before him.
I honestly don't remember what it felt like to be single, but I do know that I don't regret any of the time I spent single. I grew up in the church. I was always taught that there is an order to life. You graduate high school, date around, go to college, date around, then finally get married after graduating, and have babies. I however, skipped the dating part of that order. It's not that my parents didn't allow me to date, I just didn't have anyone around me really worth dating. I decided very early on (I think I was 12 or 13), that I was only going to date one person and get married. I wasn't going to put myself out there. I am a very passionate, all-or-nothing, type of person. When I go after something, I put my all into it. I knew myself, and I knew I could ruin myself in the dating scene, so I didn't date. 
It was not easy, ever.
There were several insecurities, fears, doubts, etc. that were constantly pulling me in opposite directions. However, being single taught me that relationships were a gift, not just something that happen to those who are attractive enough to find someone just as attractive as them. I held on to dear life to the verse that says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart. Commit your ways to Him and He will do this." (Psalm 37:4, NIV)
It was the only thing I have ever really trusted God about whole heartedly. He definitely pulled through (as you know), and Gus was incredibly unexpected. When I met him I had gone through a whirlwind of trials at music school, and was doubting myself and my life. I was ready to pack my bags and go on a mission trip for the rest of my life (not kidding or exaggerating). I wanted the abundant life, even if it meant never getting married. At the time I met Gus I had no idea we would date. I just knew I thought he was the most attractive guy I had ever met, and totally out of my league. 
A year and a half later we got married, which was awesome. I definitely did not date or get engaged the way I told everyone that I would, or the way I ever believed I would. I set my standards, expectations, and morals high, only to let them control me to the point that I am still crashing and burning daily.
Everyone will tell you to set your standards, goals, expectations and morals super high. Be above reproach, only settle for what is the best, etc. etc. I say that this is true and great, but only to a degree. I believe there is a healthy level of expectation, but you need to be expecting God will give you what He sees is best, not what you view as the best. Marriage is not about any type of fulfillment, it is about displaying the covenant Christ made for us. If you have set your standards and expectations in a high high place, they may be out of reach. Are you putting people in a box, not letting the Lord teach you things because you aren't meeting anyone perfect enough for you? Are you constantly fighting with him/her that you are in a relationship with, because he is not doing or saying what you see him doing and saying in your head? I would encourage you to commit those expectations to the Lord, instead of let them rip apart your life. I believe that although it was awesome for me to not date, I set my expectations way too high, because I believed I deserved a picture perfect life. Not that my life being married is not amazing, it just isn't always happy and pretty and filled with roses and chocolates. I want to share about newlywed life because I don't think the truth is being shared enough (in context of the grace of Jesus Christ), and I think setting expectations too high going into marriages is one of the main reasons marriages are failing so quickly in America. Praise the Lord that we have Him, and Gus and I don't ever need to worry about our marriage ever failing. I am very thankful for the gift of marriage Christ as given me. I hope you all feel blessed in your life, and stay tuned for more in this series. 


Iphoneography: life update










It has been an absolutely insane past few weeks. Nothing but crafting, working, school, and catching up with people! It has been nuts in a good way, and I am sad to see it over.I am excited for is my blog makeover that is coming soon, an office makeover, my first set of outfit posts, lots of playlists for summer, and some up and coming DIY projects! I am also finally prepped and ready to start my blog series on being a newlywed. Before I got married I felt like there were so many people not sharing enough about marriage and what it is really like. I was recently encouraged to start discussing more about my life as a newlywed (and if you are getting married) and all the things I have the blessing to learn and grow in. It is amazing how much love changes lives! 

I am also really excited about my friend Alaina's lifestyle blog Bows and Tails, where she is sharing her journey becoming a mommy! She has great style and I am excited to see her posts, DIY projects for her new place, and the development of her nursery! It is really cute so make sure you check it out, especially if you are a new mommy!

Be sure to stop by often! As June starts to end I will be come less busy (which means more time to blog) and also have huge changes still in the works! You will see my advertisements popping up in lots of places, a blog face lift, special series on beginner gardening and sewing, outfit posts and new products in the shop! It is going to be an exciting summer! Very very excited!