Friday, November 28, 2014

gems for the win.

vintage necklace via cs gems | white blouse | faux fur vest  (only $17.99)| clutch (sold out) | wine booties (on sale for $35!)
when i saw this necklace on cs gems' instagram, i kept thinking of how easy and fun this would be to style. cs gems has vintage inspired re-purposed jewelry that they put their personal touch on. i've worn the necklace out and gotten so many compliments on it as it's so different! my eyes are now on these gorg earrings - hey lee! there's a stocking stuffer idea for you. 

or maybe i could sneak it into my own stocking. growing up we never had stockings, so excuse me if i go stocking crazy this year. 

i kept the rest of this simple as the necklace is such a statement piece. i'm loving these faux fur vests from target - i have the gray and white - the tan is still screaming my name. 

today, we're getting our christmas tree and heading up to hickory to see my maid of honor, danielle! we have a jam packed weekend coming up and i'm putting off the fact that this girl needs to make some time for christmas shopping instead of waiting until the week before like i usually do. 

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Thursday, November 27, 2014

i have a love affair with leopard.

striped turtleneck | plaid button down | dark wash jeans | leopard pumps (similar)

happy thanksgiving to you all! i hope you eat enough that you'll need stretchy pants this evening. 

after moving into the new house, i took the time to organize my closets (one for fall; one for spring) by maxi dresses, blouse tops, sweaters, lounge wear, & vests. not only did i do that, but i also have it organized by color. ocd, much? 

it's been so easy to walk in my closet, and see pieces that would go together. i do this thing where i throw something together, cross my fingers, and hope for the best. luckily for me, mixing plaid, stripes, and leopard actually worked here. i'm basically a combo of a leopard, zebra, and whatever animal exists that's similar to plaid. 

and with 4 inch leopard heels comes the inevitable - foot pain. sometimes i opt for flats just so i don't have to deal with it! however, i found sole serum - which literally makes these pumps feel like i'm walking on clouds. this stuff will come in handy this weekend when i see cole swindell at his standing room only show! i'm so excited i can't wait.


peace, love & happy feet. 
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Sunday, November 23, 2014

i'm moving to hilton head island.

i'm kidding. obviously. we just bought a house remember! and after this past weekend, we're finally sitting on the couch watching sunday football and i'm reminded i never want to leave.

kidding again. 

but anyway, the marriott monarch at sea pines resort we stayed at this past weekend was dreamy. i mean, there's grills, fire pits, shuffleboard, pool tables, foosball tables, and a two second walk to the beach. 

of course the resort also had outdoor hot tubs and pools - and even though they are heated, i didn't feel like walking the walk of shame shivering back to our suite room. 


hilton head island is simply gorgeous. this being my first time there, i was shocked at how relaxing this beach was compared to other beaches, such as myrtle beach, where everything is commercialized. 

no homeless people, no bearded guy trying to sell you something on the street, no rented umbrellas blocking your view from the ocean - you get my drift. 

the first thing we did on friday morning was head to the beach so i could run down and touch my toes in the ocean. the water was freezing cold. some reason i always expect the ocean to be a bubbling warm bath-water like experience and it never is. but, at a lovely 60 some degrees outside, i was happy to have my old navy blanket scarf. this thing goes almost down to my ankles!


also home to hilton head are this super scary dead horseshoe crabs. these things are gigantic! lance had the bravery to pick one up; meanwhile i'm backing up 5 more feet. anything that resembles a spider, i am not on board with. dead or alive. 

we headed over to the village area where we got to sit around a fire pit and enjoy a sweet water blue. hands down one of my favorite beers.

also, ignore my nails. i'm getting them done this week, i promise.


friday night, lee and i made our famous marinated steak and shrimp kabobs. after buying pounds & pounds of top sirloin, shrimp & veggies, we were pumped to have extra leftovers to take back home. last time we made these, i had lunch for three days after!

we slightly underestimated how much food people would put away. we only had two kabobs left; which were gobbled up for lunch the next day. that just means they were a success like always, right? 


the grill area of the resort was amazing and only aided in me wanting to pick it up, ship it to charlotte, and plant it in my backyard. these little bulb lights are my favorite and are stuck in my mind for my own future outdoor project.

on saturday, we rented bikes. 


the last time i was on a bike was probably eight years old. i wasn't known as a very "outdoor-sy" kinda girl back in the day. but the old saying - if you don't use it, you lose it - is false. i hopped on that thing and cruised all around bike trails and on the beach. we ended up going about 6 miles or so. 

and my thighs were killing me. good for them. they needed a good workout.

saturday night, we headed to experience some local seafood at skull creek boathouse. i got a parmesan crusted cod with green beans and their signature mashed potatoes. if i go to any new restaurant, i scan the menu for mashed potatoes. hands down my favorite food. lee and everyone else ordered the low country boil. 

theirs came with steamed sliced red potatoes. 

mashed potatoes > sliced potatoes. every time.


we had a wonderful long weekend and the only thing missing from this beach trip is my tan. 

i'm still pale as ever. 
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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

a tour of our home with nothing in it.

I promise I’m still here!

 

As many of you saw on instagram, we bought a house! And with buying a house comes a lot of work – especially when you have been sick like I have. Sick and moving and dust aren’t exactly a winning combination, but we are officially moved in and enjoyed the third night in our new house.

 

I wanted to post some “before” photos just for documentary sake at least, so I could compare once we have everything decorated how I see it in my head.

 

You know… sometime next year.

 

Homeownership is an expensive thing y’all.

 

Anyway, here are a few photos I snapped before the professional movers started unloading boxes upon boxes that piled into the living room. And by professional movers, I mean lee, his brother, and his dad.



One of my favorite things about the house is the catwalk that overlooks the living room. We’ve already learned the art of throwing (soft) things over the balcony to expedite the process. Many times have the words “hey lee! Can you toss me my blanket…” been said, only for it to fall on my head.



The master bath is huge! And I’m like a kid at Christmas with a mouthful of jellybeans over the entire master suite. Our previous owner did many upgrades to the home including extending the shower to include a full bench. but all the terrible 1970 inspired curtains in the house (including those huge ones in the living room) have got to go.



I have two big additional closets (not pictured). Are the angels in heaven singing yet? the previous owner also converted this attic space into a carpeted closet to include so many shoe racks. This is lee’s closet – along with my ever growing shoe collection housed in here as well. 

 


Our kitchen’s countertops are some kind of beautiful. I am in love with the granite and the pattern! And I admit, I was terrified of the gas stovetop and now, it’s another one of my favorite features of the home. along with our cute little breakfast nook that were picking up a little table this evening! 



On the opposite side of the living room is our bonus/gaming room which overlooks the back deck. Speaking of, the back deck is pretty spacious - another upgrade the previous owners built on. It just needs some TLC, power washing & a nice stain job. Future plans to screen in the upper part of the deck and leave the lower part open are already popping into my head. One project at a time, Amanda.


In additional to these rooms, we also have a downstairs half bath, three other bedrooms and two additional full bathrooms upstairs to go with those. Also not pictured is our garage that's attached to the house, the detached garage (in the picture above), full office, formal dining room and formal sitting room.

 

I have a lot of decorating to do.


and yes, we plan on having children in the waaaaay future which is why we chose a home with the bedrooms. right now we basically could play hide and seek with each other and would never be found. 

 

We still do not have internet in the house yet, so I’m posting from the blogger app on my iphone. If you’ve ever experienced that before, you feel my pain.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

our engagement pictures.


well if you made it all the way down here - you get kudos and a cookie. that's a whole lot of pictures. 

our engagement pictures were shot at a farm in oakboro, nc as the sun was setting on a 60 degree fall day. the weather was perfect because we both were clearly dress like fall and the week prior it was 80 degrees. what the heck october? 

and of course we had to pop a little bubbly. side story: a few months ago lee opened a bottle of champagne for me and it ended up flying up in the air to the ceiling! 3/4 of the champagne was either on his face, the ceiling, or the floor. he'd been scared to even look at a bottle since. but not on our engagement photo day. 

he man-ed up and popped the cork like champ! some of my favorite pictures resulted from that.

so we braved all of natures conditions. cows mooing every time we kissed, and dodging a cow pie every 3 feet. at one point they chased us! i mean a full on sprint which left me, lee, and the two photographer's in a full on run to climb the fence which i eventually fell off of trying to leap over. oh, the things you do for engagement pictures. 

anyway, speaking of cows, i promised you a photobombing cow & here ya go. 


but, not too close. those things were scary.

thanks for looking through our engagement and following along with me during this journey! so now my question is - which one should we use for save the dates?

i want to know which one is your favorite! 
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