Away Message

Adam surprised me and moved up our closing from the 10th to this Tuesday. I'm in a mad dash in an attempt to get ready to drive back down to Virginia on Tuesday. We won't have internet immediately so posting will be light (errr.. non existent) for a little while. We will be broadcasting from Virginia shortly.

These are a few of my favorite (etsy!!) things!!! *singing*

Lately I have been obssessed with etsy.

I've been looking for a coffee table forever. I had actually given up the search when I did a random search on etsy and EAMESREVIVAL popped up. I picked out this table:


They're actually going to remove the gold thingies on the bottom, stain it to match my other furniture, and make it to fit my specifications (much smaller). I die. I even have a tray to put on top of the table so things don't fall through. I feel oh so grown up!

More Etsy Love:

4 Pack All Natural Essential Oil Soap Bars (Elegant Rose)- $20.00

LOVE LOVE LOVE the peppermint ice. It's tingly and oh so nice. My husband is a fan as well ;) Also check out her bath bombs. I'm into mint and peppermint- but the grapefruit is great as well. I'm not a bath person so I break them up and put them on the shower floor for a nice smell.

Wrap Skirt-Elegant Flattering Classic and Casual Asymmetric Handmade Skirt by Tasi Fashion- $59.00

Me and jersey have got something magical going on. This year I have bought so much jersey. You may also consider checking out this seller's:

Raglan Wrap Dress- $(I don't remember the price and it has sold- but I'm sure she can make another one)

I'm the worst kind of liar..

Soo... in my last post I imposed another shopping sabbatical. Ha! That lasted a few hours.

It was late. I was alone. I started looking on hautelook.com .. and BAM! Before I knew it I was ordering a must have item.

In my defense, it is like nothing that is in my closet. Nothing. And I have an extensive closet.

Tart Breanne Top- $49.00 (I had a ten dollar credit + UPROMISE gave me 16 bucks!)

It doesn't look like much in this photo. It's styled rather poorly and not being worn correctly (hautelook had it right, unfortunately they removed the photo). I love it.

Another self imposed shopping sabatical.

Today I was looking over my last seven months of purchases and have decided I have spent waaay too much. :) Sooo.. this blog is going to turn back into its old self consisting of the items I drool over and love (as well as some purchases). I'll also be blogging a little bit more about our new home and how we're decorating. I hope you stay tuned!

30 percent off at J. Crew

I'm sure 99 percent of you know J. Crew is offering 30 percent of on final sale items if you spend $150.00+

I have a confession.

I'm not loving J. Crew as much as I once did. Maybe it's because my style is becoming a little less preppy and a little more.. I don't know what to describe it at. What I've been buying lately consists of Anthropologie and designer ebay finds (DVF, Nanette Lepore, Butter By Nadia). I still like J. Crew- but some of my recent purchases have be disappointing quality wise.

My recent Anthropologie purchases (sorry for the small sizes!):

Everywhere Dress: Sold out


Midnight Petal maillot swim suit- Sold outSprinkled and Shined Tank- Sold out
Magnolia Blouse-Sold out

Bedroom Vision

Our bedroom staged:

My vision:

Living room: Vision

I just splurged on a new couch- but we've been saving for months to make this happen. I feel it's important to create a space where you feel comfortable and enjoy being in. After coming home from a long day of school/work Adam and I like to make dinner and watch a movie- sometimes I go online and Adam play's Wii or XBOX (we're so cool).

So.. Here is out living room (not our furniture):

These are the pieces I would *like* to put in this space (the only for sure is the couch. Adam has vetoing power on the rest):

I'm considering an ivory rug in lieu of the gray to help the space appear brighter. The curtains we are using will be ivory curtains- again, the space is small so we want it to be bright. I'm looking for a way to bring color into this room- someday Adam and I will be re-painting the space but not for a few years. We figure why fix it if it ain't broken.

Any color suggestions?

Bought our first big boy couch (and bed too!)

Meet Reese:

This is our new couch. Reese will be replacing our old, stained, dilapidated couch love seat. We're super excited- this is our first "big purchase." When we were in college all our furniture was from walmart of furniture clearance centers. To furnish our first place cost approximated $2500 dollars. It's a lot of money but that purchased: bed, mattress, dresser, couch, tv stand, dishes, silverware, plates, linens, towels, rugs, cutlery, pans, pots, cups... you get the idea. We were young people building a home from scratch.

Meet Portica:

Portica isn't replacing anyone, but she's beautiful. Our first "bed" was a walmart platform I bought for 79.95 +shipping. It was broken within six months. We used it until we moved out of the old Detroit apartment. For two years we were sleeping on our mattress and box spring. Classy. Since June (when the movers came to take our stuff) I've been on an air mattress. The air mattress is where I'll stay until August.

These were two of our "splurges." Adam and I sat down and discussed a budget to furnish our new place. After deciding we wanted quality over quantity I started shopping. I quickly realized quality is expensive. We decided to invest in a good bed and sectional. I can see this sectional staying with us for 20+ years as well as the bed. I consider them investments.

I'm currently hunting for a coffee table on craigslist and am relying on west elm for carpets, window hardware, and dining chairs. We're spending more than we would like we would like to spend zero, but as my dad once brilliantly stated, "your home should be comfortable." And he's as cheap as they come.
I'll be posting photos when the items arrive. Don't start holding your breath- they won't be arriving until late September/Early October.

I'm baaaack!!!!

Sorry everyone. I stopped blogging in February as the diet was getting to me. All in all I lost 30 lbs I've kept off for 4 months and am about to go at it again to lose the remaining 20. I also got REALLY busy after February.

What have I been doing since my last posts?

Well... Adam graduated Navy OCS and we moved from Michigan to Virginia Beach! Adam is currently deployed and I am in Michigan- long story. Short version: We bought a condo, the deal fell through ten days after closing (shady), so we bought a new condo we're waiting to close on. For the past seven weeks I've been living at my parents, sleeping on air mattress, and roughing it with only three changes of clothes (all of our stuff is in storage).

Other changes are I launched a photography business and am back in school for something totally unrelated.

Overall, things are great- I've been cutting down my shopping (that's really a blatant lie), but that doesn't mean I don't have things I drool over.

It feels good to be back!