iPhone and Sneak Peeks

Yesterday we spent the day loading up way too much furniture and driving way too far to haul it into our new place. Luckily we had my uncle and my stepdad to help us. I don't think we could've managed otherwise! We had a 12' covered trailer, a 16' trailer, the backs of 2 trucks and my Xterra. And we were very picky about what we took, too. There's still a ton of stuff in my Nana's basement! We were driving to load up stuff yesterday and I passed by a yard sale with the most gorgeous antique ornate pink couch, but I was unable to pull over in time. I called my mom to run down there to check the condition and price, and 15 minutes later she called me back with a new couch and a ridiculously low price. I was elated. She also told me they had a gorgeous vanity and other things, so I hopped in my car and went over while Mike and my uncle loaded up our stuff. I found 2 designer chairs (not that it matters to me because I can't even remember the guy's name. Eep!), a white vanity with mirror (super distressed and old and awesome!), and a white side table for my side of the bed. I added up everything on the stickers and I asked the gal what she'd take and she quoted me about 40% of the price. 60% off, yes! We loaded everything up and then set sail for Nashville. Now everything is in our house and we've slowly started piecing it together. Today we're going to get stuff to hang a faux-wardrobe, paint all the walls that aren't brick, and then maybe figure out our internet situation. Right now I'm at my parents since we came here after work last night. We've got a lot of driving to do today so I'm trying to schedule a few posts before heading out since I'm not sure when I'll have internet again!

Above are a few sneak peeks of the place, as well as some photos of my birthday. Read: my birthday outfit (the black), a dress I picked up (the white), birthday veggie sushi, and then a few of the process of stripping, sanding, priming and painting our dining room set. Doesn't Mike look like a chimney sweeper?! They (the table/chairs) turned out A LOT brighter than we intended. Oops!

Anyway, off I go! Hang tight while I try to figure out when we'll have internet! I promise I'm not a totally awful blogger! :P

PS; I haven't posted an outfit in 2 weeks! Man! I promise I've whipped up some doozies. And by doozies I just mean stuff that I haven't previously worn a million times. I think. We'll see! I'll share them soon!

Movin' On Up!

If you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, then chances are likely that you know we have decided to not move to Wilmington, North Carolina. ::breathe:: Okay, it's not because we don't love it, and it's not because it's anything shy of the perfect little town, but on our most recent trip earlier this month we realized just how many independent boutiques already exist. Two of them were identical to the shop I hope to open, and there were several others I didn't get to go into. So while the demographic was awesome, it's just not a good business plan to go into a flooded market and try to survive. Upon our initial heartbreak, we thought about other places that my shop might flourish. Then I realized how much I missed living in Franklin. I was tired of seeing the same faces and same places always, but I've officially been living outside of Franklin for 11 months (whoa!). I miss it. I do. Immediately we started researching houses and rental properties to move back. Downtown Franklin has the perfect area for a boutique, and there isn't anything quite like it existing already. The only problem: rent is insanely expensive! Also, Franklinites tend to be rather snoody and conservative. (Read: very snooty!) Still, they have money to burn. Of course I'm not thinking of a brick and mortar for several years, but I felt inspired by the area so we've opted to stay put a little while longer. Maybe for good, maybe for a year or so. Who knows!

We wanted to live in downtown Franklin, the Belmont area of Nashville, or East Nashville, but everything that came up was a bust. We walked around homes, called and emailed tons of people, and nothing worked out. But apparently my relentless internet scouring paid off! I found a factory-converted-loft in downtown Nashville up for rent! The timing was perfect. The price was perfect. And it was just neat! I immediately emailed the lady, set up an appointment for the next day (yesterday) and Mike fell in love with it right away. We drove up to Nashville yesterday for the day. We viewed a home in East Nash and it was just... awful. Then we headed over to the loft. We were early so we ran into a gal that would be our neighbor so she talked to us, showed us around, took us down to the loft available and the gal that was living there invited us in, told us everything there was to know about it and we were SOLD. We loved it. Other people showed up to see the place and that's when we knew we had to make a decision fast. Mike practically met the landlord at her car when she pulled up! We definitely weighed the pros and cons, and while it was a whole month earlier than we had anticipated moving, we put in our application because it was too good to pass up.

We spent the rest of the evening at Merissa and JT's house, and then we stopped by Bryan's work in Franklin on the way home. We woke up this morning to good news: The loft is ours! We go sign the lease tomorrow (my birthday!) and then move in this weekend! We're very excited and glad to have found something that appeals to us, in our price range, in a new part of town. I'll definitely share more photos as we decorate and such, but the next week will probably be just as hectic as this past one, even though I didn't even do anything! Please hold tight!

Here are a few listing photos of the space! The curtains on the lofted bed are my favorite! The porch you see is a community porch (there are 8 lofts in the building) and everyone is very much an artist. There are painters, guitar restorers, woodworkers, etc! It's like the coolest artist community ever and Mike and I are so excited to move in! The gal above us has her Masters in Sustainability and she rips old wood from barns and builds tables and mosaic countertops... all that jazz! As for the loft, we'll be decorating in a much different manner, but the best part: it is SO twinkle-light friendly! My dreams are coming true! I can't wait to go get the keys tomorrow! Hooray! Happy birthday me! :P

(the photos are awful listing quality, i apologize!)

Thanks to everyone who kept their fingers crossed for us! xo

Royal Red Wine

(Preface: I'm writing this late on Monday night and it'll be posted on Tuesday so just keep that in mind when you're reading!)

Well, we're moved out... and in. Sort of. We moved the last of our "furniture" from the townhouse today and back to my hometown. Most went in storage and what could fit in our tiny room went. Currently I have 2-5 dresses on each hanger, and the same goes for cardigans. They're also doubled over so I could fit two short bookshelves in my lower closet to house packing stuff, etsy goodies and books. It's amazing how much you can accumulate in such a short amount of time. And how hard it is to go from 1200 sq feet to maybe 150!

I'd be lying if I said it was all bad though... I'm excited to be back here for multiple reasons. 1) No rent! 2) A set daily schedule for both Mike and myself. That includes work! And gym! 3) No Target or Mall to suck the life out of my bank account! 4) Plenty of rural areas to explore, document, and share! 5) It means we get to move out of state so much quicker!

Plus, our room is so cute! Of course by cute I mean girly and shabby chic and awesome, but Mike doesn't mind. He's such a stellar guy! The room was a pale peach prior to us moving in but good thing it's one of my favorite colors!

Oh, but about this outfit! Right! This is the dress I ordered from ASOS a while back! It's marked down from $80 to $50 and also comes in hot pink. I love the blue color and the sheer fabric. The shoulders are what sold me (though the back is divine!). I ordered a size up just to be safe as it was coming from the UK and it's much easier to fit into something and take it in rather than to let it out, but much to my dismay it's still ill-fitting (I really hate online shopping!). The bust is way too big so I'm going to take in the neckline just a bit around the back to hold it up and then take in the waist ever so slightly. Then it will be the perfect dress. I can't wait to pair it with all sorts of colored tights. I liked the maroon personally but truth be told: I was wearing them when the dress arrived so they stayed on! But I think even the mustard yellow would look lovely!

I like that it can be dressed both up and down so I'm looking forward to trying different combinations of it come warmer weather!






Mike and I have been getting way too into the UK series Skins. We've already finished season 1 on Netflix and we're powering through season two now. We have to wake up insanely early to head back to Spring Hill. Mike is dropping me off at the house and he's heading to Cool Springs to meet up with a fellow photographer and to have coffee, chit chat about "the biz" and whatnot. I'm excited he has found someone who shares similar interests and someone he can learn from. Afterwards he's going to come back to the house and help me clean, steam clean the carpets, etc. Phew!

Right now I'm sitting on our cozy bed with a 50 foot ethernet cable coming from the living room where I'm stealing internet. Hopefully we can sort out the router tomorrow night and get proper internet so I can respond to the overwhelming amount of emails sitting in my inbox! If you're waiting on me to email you about designs or sponsorships, they're coming! :D

I have a couple of sponsorship spots still available if you're interested! It's not too late! Check out the SPONSOR PAGE or email me! Okay! Huge update, done! xo

PS; I'm so tickled y'all loved this week's mixtape playlist! I love hearing that others grew up to the very same songs! I'm excited about next week's, too! :D

Apple Cinnamon Streusel

This was my outfit from Wednesday. I can't believe it's already Saturday and I'm only now posting it. Of course with the stress of the move and packing and driving and day dreaming about that sweet little home in Wilmington, I barely have any time for anything. Not to mention all the design work I need to finish! Anyway, I found this old frumpy cardigan in Mike's car (yikes!) and decided to pair it with these maroon tights. Something about these tights has me hooked lately! I'm so loving this color! The dress is an old Wet Seal frock from years ago, and the shoes are about to have seen their better days! The headband was a lovely gift from Erin of Sunshine & Carousels! (Look! I'm wearing a different headband for once! Huzzah!) I think I actually liked this outfit!

♥ wet seal dress, forever 21 bag + belt + cardigan, target flats, hue tights ♥

Speaking of daydreaming about houses and home decor, someone (hi!) seems to be slightly mistaken when they think we're moving to Wilmington in March, because we're not. North Carolina will be much later in the season... as we're shooting for the end of summer... but all is subject to change of course. March, however, will bring about a wonderful adventure with wonderful friends! Miss Susannah and her beau, Chris, will be driving down from their windy suburb of Chicago to roadtrip with us back east! They need to experience the magic that is Wilmington! (Seriously.. convince them to move! Apparently I'm not persuasive enough!) Anyway, I cannot wait! It will be such a fun week!

Right now we're trying to piece together our house. Seems Pipkin took a liking to the bathroom cabinets... and the wall... oh, and the door, too... as they all have remnants of her little paws and jaw. It's going to be a nightmare to try and fix but here goes nothing! Hopefully that $700 deposit does us some good! We took our biggest load of furniture on Thursday (and got caught in the snow/ice!) and now all that is left is our bed, bookshelf, tv stand and random odds and ends. I've been sleeping horribly lately as our bed is in our living room downstairs! The dogs bark at every instance of our neighbor slamming their door (won't miss that!). It also doesn't get dark enough for me to sleep comfortable. I'm so ready to be back in a house with a stable bedroom and less of a chaotic mess! Moving is such a headache!

♥ don't you love mike's silly "kaelah" face?! ♥

Today Mike and I are venturing into Nashville to swing by and pick up the prize for February's giveaway! We're also picking up his last check from REI and I'm meeting my friend Elle for some coffee and chit chat! Then we're meeting up with our friend Justin for dinner and after I'll go back to work! Hopefully tonight will be as lucrative as last night! Wish me luck! xo

PS; Doesn't apple cinnamon streusel sound delicious right now?!

Weekend Moving

this weekend i am moving into a cute little condo in north orem and i am so excited!! i want to start over and get some really nice furniture and some cute decor to decorate our new little place. i am in LOVE with the above picture and have bedding that resembles the colors. all that is missing is that GORGEOUS and completely perfect black tree decal. i want it!

happy friday! everyone have a good weekend...i'm just going to be moving... :( bleghh..