My People

Via

Nearly half a year(ish) in the making, and this weekend is finally here.

My people are coming. To Wilmy!

(Another perk of living at the beach! :))

 

You've heard me reference them several times. (Like here, for example!)

They were a HUGE part of the reason leaving Charlotte was so hard. 

They define authentic, selfless, deep, rich, godly community.

We laugh and cry together, pray for each other and sharpen one another.

We all connected in a "2 Becoming 1" marriage Bible study course through our church in the fall of 2012.

Since then a LOT of life has happened:

1 marriage

2 moves to different states 

3 new homes

New jobs/career decisions/changes for all of us

1 church plant in the making (Charlotte/Matthews, NC peeps - check out Mission Community Church!)

2 baby boys

2 baby girls on the way...

[And all the little things in between.]

To say we have tons to talk about this weekend is laughable.

 

Via

These girls are more than my people. They're my sisters in Christ. And I love them dearly. 

Their arrival this afternoon can't come soon enough!!!

 

 All of us with our hubbies (minus Bethany who is taking the picture!) celebrating the end of our 2 Becoming 1 study.Love, love, love these folks. 

Happy [girls beach] weekend!

 

    Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Owning It [Part 2 + Linkup!]

After such a happy, positive, encouraging response to yesterday's post (y'all rock!), I decided to extend my "own it" list and invite all of you to share yours too!

Now that you know how I feel about owning it, here are some more things I get to (not have to...get to!) "own" in my life. I tried to stick with the present and not harbor on anything in the past.

Owning it continued...

- If I had to choose between clean or tidy, I hate to admit that I would choose tidy every time.

- I don't really like watching movies that much. Let's talk and catch up instead. :)

- When Mark and I go to Flaming Amy's, he gets embarrassed with how many containers of salsa I bring back to the table for myself. (Sorry Marky. Chips + salsa is the best snack in the world.)
- I'm certain that I'll always wish my parents were still together.

- I can't stop talking for my dog. (And neither can Mark. Or Hope, for that matter.)

- Speaking of Hope, I'm pretty sure both of us have had "baby fever" since we were basically babies ourselves. The "I want to get married" thing didn't kick in till years later. :)

- And still on the topic of Hope, it really bothers and scares me that she has been through so much medically, yet I haven't been to the hospital for so much as a scrape.

- Deep down...I never really minded my parents being strict because I've always known I'll be the same way with my kiddos one day.
- I stinkin' love my Prius.

- In some crazy, I-dont-even-get-it way, I've never struggled with confidence. And I wish I could give some of that trait to other people. I just want everyone to love who they are!!! Sounds so silly...but I mean it wholeheartedly!

- I'll drive you crazy singing the harmony to the radio instead of the melody. Whoops. Sorry.

- I'm a weirdly thirsty person. I drink a cray-cray amount of water each day.

- And I seriously prefer water over juice. 

- I'm Southern...but I don't care for grits or sweet tea. (Ahhhhhh! I know!)

- Yes I went to UNC-Chapel Hill. No, I don't care to keep up with college basketball.

- I can't wait to be a soccer mom...especially knowing that my hottie English hubby will definitely coach our team of kiddos one day.

- I think one of the best things Marky and I have done in our marriage so far is to adventure away from my hometown and start our own little life together in Wilmington.

Cheers to loving our lives in whatever state they are in...

to encouraging...

to loving...

to owning it!

 

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Owning It

Via

Own it. A two word life motto of mine that I adopted when Ensley and I lived together.

None of us are perfect. We don't have it all together. We have our quirks and our struggles. And that's quite alright. I believe that life is more about being a work in progress than a masterpiece. It's better to always strive for progress and grace than to always/only strive for perfection.

So own it. In whatever mess or stage you're in. Embrace it. Love it. Own it.

Here's a start...these are things I get to "own." Some serious and some not so serious. But I'm owning them all regardless! :): 

- Showering daily is just not my jam.

- I love Keeping Up with the Kardashians and can be heard loudly lol-ing at it from another room.

- I'm more of a black and white person than being good at gray area/moderation.

- I am extremely sensitive to [and passionate about] marriage/divorce/the meaning of marriage vows as a result of my own family.

- I love to sing and lead worship but I don't like karaoke. Never done it and don't plan to. Being the center of attention makes me uncomfortable.

- Hope has always been and will be the more fun sista. And I'm 100% cool with that. :)

- I still struggle with fears as a result of "daddy wounds" and sometimes that plays out in my own marriage.

- I have never been nor will ever be a runner. I just don't think running more than 2 miles is fun...

- ...but wanna walk and talk for like 6 miles?! Best girl talk time ever.

- I wish I were more generous. I feel like I can always work on that.

- I still love Britney. And Justin. And especially the era of Britney & Justin together.

- I'm not competitive.

- I'm not career driven either. I never wanted to be more than a classroom teacher. And I chose that as a job for 4 years because the truth is -- I can just plain old own the fact that I've always dreamed of being a stay at home mommy to a lot of kiddos. Some would say that it's not ambitious enough. And that's okay with me. :)

Own it! Will you share some of the things you get to boldly and courageously own?

  

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Weekending

We had a fabulous weekend in my adopted hometown again -- Mount Airy, NC.

The occasion was an engagement party for Nicole and Skyler. I'll keep it short and sweet and share with pics! :) 

 Lizzie and me

 With our bestie bridey!

 Handsome men

Amelia has an extremely entertaining (and sleep deprived) vacation every time we head to Mount Airy too.

 On the left...how Mark really feels about all my picture taking. :)

We also got our bridesmaid dresses for Nicole's wedding this weekend, and they're aaamazingly perfect. I didn't want to take mine off after I tried it on yesterday! And--no shame--I'm pretty pumped to own my first Amsale gown. Can't wait to wear it all day on October 18th!!!

Hope you loves had fabulous weekends too...see y'all tomorrow!

Happy Monday!

 

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

 

In My Bag

 

I like big purses and I cannot lie.

Here's a little peek into what I carry around with me 24/7 [and why!].

1 | Purse within a purse?! It might sound odd, but I keep this clutch inside my bag at all times. It holds the lip stuff and cardholder (3 + 4), so whenever I want to "downsize" for a date night or something of sorts, I just grab the clutch and go!

2 | My Old Navy shades in an old pink Juicy case that I love. Because it's pink, of course.

3| Various lipsticks and glosses...all different shades of pink!

4 | Tory Burch cardholder (similar) I got in my stocking years ago. It holds all of the important stuff! We charge everything to our US Airways card and pay it off in full at the end of each month, so there's no need for me to carry around a big wallet!

5 | Didn't know that little gem was in there till I dumped everything out! I think a little girlie tossed it in without me knowing. I'll be returning that tiny clip today. :)

6 | Pure Barre sticky socks...duh! Often times there is more than one pair of these floating around in my bag. LTBing is part of my everyday, so I have these on standby at all times.

7 | A classy ziploc bag filled with coupons and gift cards. Works for me!

8 | My Maybook [2014 calendar] and another classy item: pens and highlighters in a rubber band. Listen, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I can't wait till I get home to color coordinate the events in my calendar. I need those highlighters all the time, okay? ;) [Want an even weirder peek into my brain? Here are my highlighter color codes...pink-me, green-Mark, yellow-both of us/special events, blue-blog.]

Not pictured [because I was drinking from it and forgot to put it back in the picture] | My Epic water bottle! Wilmy locals, this needs to be your jam. $12 for the lovely green water bottle, and you can swing by Epic and fill it up with infused water anytime. Unlimited. I frequently fill mine with jalapeno water or green tea! Cheers to that!

  You can link up your bag too over on my twinnie Tara's blog! Thanks Tara! xxxx
 

 

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

I Heart Urban Walls

Thanks for yall's sweet and fun feedback on my girly master closet yesterday! I so loved putting it together all by myself -- it definitely feels [and looks] like my space.

 

Urban Walls Little Hearts

Can I fill you in on a little something though? The inspiration behind it all started with the Urban Walls little hearts. You might have noticed that I love hearts. So when I saw these decals, I knew I wanted them to be a part of our home. And what better place than my closet?! Seriously.

All the supplies! (And some unnecessary ones.)

Putting the heart decals on the wall was a piece of cake. The "hardest" part was measuring everything out evenly (only because math isn't my strong suit ;)). But with a ruler, a good glass of red, and a pencil...I had all I needed. I didn't touch the measuring tape, scissors, or painters tape! 

You simply peel off the backing and press those presh little stickers right on...and whenever you want to see them go, you can just peel them off when your fingernails. Easy peasy! I would've loved these during the college years too...hello, temporary wallpaper!

The other two decals I adore are the big heart (called "I Heart You") and the mini hearts. The mini hearts are 1.5" in diameter, while the little hearts that I used are a good bit bigger...4" in diameter. But beyond the hearts...here are more of my Urban Walls crushes: ice cream cones,  apples, and seeings stars.

Via Home Tour | Master Closet

I think the little hearts are the perfect size for my closet. Not too big and not too small. I love the way the gold has that foil/shimmer look to it too. I have to admit though...I toyed around with lots of different color ideas...silver, pink, mint, and light blue included! Urban Walls' variety in color options is awesome!

I can definitely see myself getting into another UW decal project someday. Little time consumed, lots of fun created.

And I confess: since putting these hearts up, I admit to standing at the foot of my closet door and staring for a few moments. If it's nighttime, I just switch on the lights for a hot second and gaze. And sigh. Guilty. [Insert Emoji with girl raising her hand.] :)

 

 Cheers to Urban Walls!

 

Full Disclosure: I was given Urban Walls product in exchange for this review. However [and as always] all opinions expressed are honest and completely my own.

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!

Home Tour | Master Closet

Welcome to the girliest room in our home! Before Marky and I got married, he had only one decor request: tone down the pink. From high school till getting married, my room was thematically light pink and dark brown--coordinating monogrammed headboard and all. Though I didn't mind making our master bedroom more neutral, I also gave myself full permission to girl it up in my closet.

 Just so you can see the dramatic difference... Here's the door to the closet from our master bathroom, which is clearly filled with my  

most favorite color combination [as seen ALL throughout our wedding]: gray and white.

Aaand open sesame! Ta da!! Girl land.

Helloooo, loveliness.

Dresses & skirts

 The bins above hold folded casual long sleeve and short sleeve shirts.

 I was pinspired to make that little "print" above with my gold foil pen. [Colossians 3:14]

Fall winter clothes in the back. Tops up above. 

And eventually I'll hang pants down on the bottom (though they aren't bothering me piled on that shelf right now. :))

 Been color coordinating the closet situation since high school. 

 I observed that I wear a LOT more neutrals in the fall/winter.

Bins above hold leggings (left to right) winter scarves, tank tops, summer scarves, more tank tops, and leggings. 

I'm in love with this rug from Rugs USA. Pink and purpley perfection.

And finally...my shoe wall. I put these shelves together by myself last Friday. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud. 

I had the day off and Marky was working...#nailedit. #Butreally.

Most of these are oldies but goodies. When I find a pair heels that doesn't hurt to wear, I won't give them up.

 Yes, of course there is a leopard shelf.

 Boots and flats at the bottom.

Little gold hearts make everything better! They couldn't have been easier to install as well. 

[Urban Walls post coming tomorrow!]

 And if you're wondering if I hogged the whole closet and left my hubby to a dresser/drawers alone, I didn't! 

His closet is right through that folding door. [He only has to bear walking through the girly room.]

 See! He still has plenty space of his own!

PROGRESS

- painted doors
- hardwood floors (previously carpet)

TO DO

- (more of a wish than a "to do") a mini chandelier instead of the standard fixture that's up there now 

- My OCD self would like to buy all of the same hanger for everything. But my frugal self thinks buying matching hangers when I have hangers that work perfectly already is ridiculous. We'll see who wins. [My guess is the frugal self. :)]

SOURCES

Paint Color: ?! Original to the house :)

Door Color: Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze

Gold Heart Decals: Urban Walls Little Hearts
Rug: Rugs USA Windsor Overdyed Rug in pink (it comes in more colors too!)
"Shoe Shelves": Wal Mart Ameriwood 5-shelf bookcase [$30!!!]
Lingerie chest: been in my room since I was little!
Baskets/bins: Target
Put on Love "Print": DIY; frame $9.99 from Michaels [buy one get one free this week!]

Cheers Y'all Home Tour Index 

Cheers to a bit of girly in my house full of neutrals! 

 

  Be sure to visit Taylor, my champagne sponsor! She's one of my fave DIY extraordinaires!