day dream with me

I've decided that I'm not purchasing anything until I am happily moved into Portland so I can spend more money on fun things for the new apartment, but a girl can still dream! This list is a hodge-podge of sorts filled with little things that make my heart beat a little faster.

1. If you are in need for the perfect throw-on dress that still makes you look put together, look no further. THIS blue and white beauty is calling all of our names! You could even use it as a cute cover-up!!

2. I love THIS planner from ban.do. One of my biggest pet peeves is when you're asking someone how they've been and they respond, "I've just been sooo busy!" To which I always want to respond, "Oh are you??" (in my best Kristen Wiig voice...obviously) I'm  not a fan of people assuming their busy is more busy than your busy. WE ARE ALL BUSY! ok, rant over. So use this planner for irony and laughs only please. :)

3. Moving ooooon, another blue and white ITEM. Because of course.

4. Same as 4 but this one's a PILLOW so it's different. Also this throw pillow would look great inside or out.

5. How beautiful are THOSE gem hair barrettes? I maaaaay need to pick up one of those as my hair is growing out.

6. Can I have THIS dress in my closet please? Perfect for a cute going-out dress or just a day dress. The options are endless!!

7. Putting this in another post because everyone should read THIS book pronto!

What are you day dreaming about?

Why Knot {Read}: Scary Close

I don't consider myself an overly stubborn person, but I definitely have some stubborn tendencies. The most recent example of this was when my sister told me I NEEDED to read Scary Close and instead of getting right on that, I let it sit just to prove I didn't NEED to read it. When I wanted to read it, I would. (Yeah, obnoxious.)

Once I finally told myself I was being ridiculous, I picked up the book and finished it in 3 days. Guys. It was SO good. Donald Miller has a way of writing that doesn't sound judgmental but instead sheds light on his flaws and all of our flaws when dealing with relationships. I love how he has examples of the bad things he's done in relationships and why he knew he needed to change his ways. He wasn't saying. "I'm a perfect person and these are the steps you need to take to become like me..." 

Far from it.

None of us need books telling us we are horrible people or living our lives all wrong. But I think we all need books and people telling us how to better improve our lives and the relationships we foster.

Scary Close is one of those books that makes you want to take notes, share with all your friends and pass around like a special token. The whole book leads up to his wedding to his now wife and how he worked on being the best man he could be for their marriage. The whole time I kept wanting to see what he and Betsy looked like at their wedding and how everything panned out. The good news is, the wedding pictures are on his website to be viewed at any time and they. are. beautiful. 

If you are in need of a good book that will enlighten you and push you to be the best version of yourself, I recommend Scary Close. You can buy it on Amazon HERE or through your online retailer if you have a Nook or a Kindle. :)

Happy Reading!!

Sisters

I think it's truly unfair how little time we have to fully appreciate our sisters once you reach an age where you actually want to spend time with them. In high school, you take that time for granted and then, as the oldest, I was the first to move away and miss out on how great they were becoming. Now all three of us are rarely all together but when we are, it's really the best.

My sisters and I are all at ages where we look up to to each other equally, root each other on, and rarely fight. It's cheesy to say but I think we might be at the golden age of sisterhood. (Now all I can think about is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...) I enjoy spending time with my sisters and see them more as live-in friends these days. 

One of the major blessings in my life lately has been these several months of getting to know my youngest sister at her current age. I was away at school for most of her high school years and missed a lot of her recent development. Being home with her now has been such a blast and she is one of the wisest and funniest people I know. I will never take for granted this time at home where I've gotten to truly know my sister. 

Because of how close my sisters and I have become, saying good-bye all the time is getting increasingly more difficult. My mom and I drove to Yosemite and back last week to drop off my middle sister for the summer so she can change kids' lives as a camp counselor for 2.5 months. On the drive home we were reflecting on how the last three weeks since she got home from studying abroad were the last few weeks of our family ever living under one roof for a significant amount of time again. It's sad but also exciting so think how each of us is growing and creating a life even if it means we will be separated more than reunited majority of the time. 

God had a genius moment when he decided siblings would be a good idea.

Hope you have a great Wednesday and go hug your sister/brother!

The Bathroom Reveal

Remember when I showed the wallpaper plans for the downstairs bathroom renovation in THIS post? Well, we finished the bathroom about a month and a half ago yet I never got around to taking pictures of the finished product! I'm really proud of how it turned out considering how skeptical my mom was of the wallpaper at first. We were originally going to wallpaper the whole bathroom in the marble print but realized that would be a little much considering how small the bathroom is and how little light is present. Instead, we spent quite a bit of time going over the perfect grey color to compliment the marble for the back wall and I think it helps make the marble standout while also not making it seem like it's too much. 

One of the favorite parts of the room and the one that was the most recent addition was the distressed shelf. We wanted the room to be modern but also fit in with the rest of the house, which is more French Country. I scoured the internet for quite a while to find the perfect shelf and I found the right one on Etsy in the Blue Ridge Sawdust shop! Check them out HERE! They did such a nice job and the color of the shelf is completely customizable. 

To complete the shelf, my mom and I went to the Sutter St. Vintage Fair and we picked up all three of the frames for super cheap. We then went to our favorite store on Sutter St., Roost, and picked up the gold candle. We got the succulents, the little yellow vase and the "H" book at one of our favorite boutiques in Truckee! 

One of my favorite pieces though, is the frame of my grandma and grandpa taken outside a bar in Berkeley. They are so young and are looking at each other in the sweetest way. I loved being able to add such a loving touch to the room. 

And that's it! It was such a fun project but definitely not something I could do all the time. I commend all of you interior decorators out there!! 

All photos by Scott Allison Films. 

Here's the facts// wallpaper, candle, shelf. The rest was picked up at little boutiques!

Shades of Blue

Lately, I only want to purchase things in shades of blue. Blues are taking over my closet and I'm more than ok with it. This silk cami is from The Loft during one of their crazy 40% off sales and I saw that Kaitlyn from the Bachelorette wore it on the show last week! My mom picked it up in a darker blue shade as well because it's so easy to dress up or down. I also got the skirt from The Loft for grad school! I thought it was a fun twist on the pencil skirt. :)

Also, can we have an honesty moment here? 

I have no idea what direction I want this blog to take. I'm tired of feeling pressured to shop and save money (because honestly, I shouldn't be shopping at all but I do love to shop). I'd love to switch up the content on here a bit but I'm not sure what I want to write about and what you'd like to read! I have a few ideas up in the air that I'll maybe play around with but it may take some time. 

I miss being consistent on here but when life gets crazy, this blog definitely gets put on the back burner. There are lots of big changes going on in the next couple of months so maybe we should all sit back and just wait for me to process those on here. ;) You know I'm going to anyways... I always have allllll the thoughts during big and small life changes. 

So stick with me and we'll explore the next chapter together. :)