Lay Lady Lay.

its been a while since a puppy post.
she is so big,
but her "puppy personality" is my favorite these days.
i miss her being tiny, and i pout a little when i see tiny pictures of her... but i don't miss her peeing on the floor every day.
her favorite spot is in front of the window these days. (see pictured below)  if she's not posted up there she is sleeping behind the couch or under a table somewhere. so cute.
also her favorite activity recently is going to the "dog" bar.... where she currently has a couple of doggy boyfriends. She also enjoys playing "fetch- keep away" where she fetches the ball... then "keeps it away" from us. still working on the bringin it back to us part :)
I finally found my camera charger.. and am excited to take "real pictures" of life.
okay..
here ya go.

A closer look: G's Nashville loft

 

  Meet Ginny: (and Ginny's loft)

Ginny is one of my best friends, who is such a gem, and a treasure to my heart. (was that a pun?!)

I was so so excited when i got to go stay with her for the weekend after my birthday! She just recently moved to Nashville, and it was so fun to have her show me around and you know, make me want to move there and all ;)

Ginny lives in the cutest lofty apartment ever, and right in the heart of the city as well!  For just moving in.. i was so impressed with how settled and established she already was, I was so inspired and in love with her little place that i had to show it to all of you!

My favorite part is her eating area, the farmhouse table and rustic feel has always been a soft place in my heart, we spent an hour or two eating amazing food, and spilling our hearts out at that table.. and it felt so right. 

I asked G to share a little about her home:

1.Where do you find inspiration for your home?  

design sponge. apartment therapy. anthropologie. thrift and vintage stores. antique shops. flea mkts. pinterest. traveling/culture. etsy. grandmas. 

2. Where are your top favorite spots for furnishing your home?

Moving to a new city always leads to an adventure of where you're going to shop! I am still discovering hidden antique stores, and definitely finding places I will and will not go back to. Since moving to Nashville I have fallen in love with the local flea market. It comes the last weekend of every month - there are some really awesome deals and definitely one of a kind pieces. Southeastern Salvage is another gem - I recently bought some amazing trunks there. The trunks are new but look old and distressed. Southeastern is where our iron chairs, bench, trunk, and some random pieces of art are from. We (my roommate and I) also love TJ Maxx. TJ is so great because you can get some nice, bigger pieces for cheap. We really like to mix old and new and TJ helps us get solid pieces at a reasonable price. Other places I love: the local antique stores, anthropologie, world mkt, ikea, etc.

3. Whats your favorite piece that you have? Tell me about it.

Our yellow hutch! I am absolutely obsessed with it. I found it at an antique store that is a block from my house. It was a huge ordeal to get to our house though (maybe that's why I love it so much, we had to work for it)! It is solid wood, super heavy, and just beautiful. We live on the third floor so we bribed some neighbors with beer and they brought it up for us :) As much as I love that piece, I was not a fan of the antique spot - super overpriced and the owner wasn't very friendly. It has a sleepy poet setup, but not as sweet. However, I love the hutch and its detail - the knobs, the wired doors, the color. I have it filled with anthropolgie nick-nacks.

4. Whats your favorite thing to do in your home?

Entertain. I love having wine/girl night, dinner parties, etc.  We have a beautiful wooden table right in the center of our home.  You can look out the window and see the Nashville skyline.  I love lighting candles, playing music, and setting up platter of food paired with some good wine.  Even when it is just my roommate and I we always set our food up cute, and light the candles.  Something about the display of food makes it that much more fun.  Our home is super open, which i love! It reminds me of the flat I lived in while I was in London, so there are sweet memories attached.  Also, there is a fenced in backyard that has a grill, corn-hole (for us southerner), a screen for outdoor movies, and also an amazing view of the city!

I had so much fun staying in this sweet little home!

Thank so much Ginny for opening it up to me, and sharing your decorating tips!

love

C

Home Inspiration.

I love designsponge and their home tours.

This one caught my eye.

love all the colors and rustic yet clean feel.

for the entire post 

click here

 

all images  via designsponge

black is back.

black.

I have always been drawn to dark walls.  It makes a space feel cozy and intriguing.  A couple of years 

ago when Luke and I were moving into our house we had to paint the entire house. (due to some sheet 

rock work, every room needed paint! nightmare/dream)  Anyways one of the colors we toy'd with was 

BLACK!  It was nerve racking at first... because i had never seen it done before... (before the days of 

pinterest, and my obsession with design blogs) Anyways we ended up painting one of the spare 

bedrooms black.. and LOVED IT! It is currently the music room... and Luke uses it as a chalkboard 

when he's practicing... but its so fun.  I've been wanting to paint an accent wall or something.. but 

decided 2 days ago to do our guest bathroom!

I am absolutely in love with it! its perfect, it went from white to black.. and couldn't be better.  Here is 

my inspiration.... and I'll show you my final product in the next day or so!!

Source: designspongeonline.com via Charis on Pinterest

                                         

Source: bandanamom.blogspot.com via Charis on Pinterest

he's home, hallelujah.

It's not normal yet.

I don't think it will ever be like it was before.

Because it's better.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Glad he's home.

Glad it's summer time in Charlotte.

Thankful for this new season,  my heart needed it.

The winds have changed, the Lord is good.

photos from monday night, we walked to the park and swung on the swings :) i love our little street.
hope your week is sweet and filled with hope.
Cause a lot of times hope is hard to find, but this week is filled with it and it makes me so happy!
love,
C

Be mine.

Happy Valentines Day!

I have 2 Valentines diy's that i did this year.

One of which i got the idea from our friend Heather Whittaker

see this post-> here

Love Jars

So in the jar #1 (to the left).. it is filled with "our love"

let me explain:

Both Luke and I love little trinkets. shells, coins, charms, scraps of memories from material things... etc (you get the picture) So we tend to collect a lot of do-dahs... aka Clutter.

They are all (usually) sentimental... so its hard to just get rid of it... so why not collect it and put it together.. like a jar! (which im also obsessed with collecting)

So in this jar, are our wedding vows.. (from the scraps of paper we had them written on), coins & shells from our honeymoon destination, the necklace i gave Luke on our wedding day (which so happens to also be a message in a bottle necklace ironically) and a love note or two.

Now this jar sits nicely next to all the other jars i have collected in our bedroom, which include a love letter from each week before our wedding (about 3) (see photo below).

I think its a great idea for vacations and occasions! Its like scrap booking, but only way cooler. Saving movie stubs, wrappers and buttons from date nights or birthdays just got creative!

It's my small attempt at slowly de-cluttering my life.

yay

The other jar(jar#2) is my 'love you' jar.

in it i wrote lots of reasons why i love Luke.

To be honest, after i got done putting the slips in there.. i laughed a little.. because i thought, man, i am so romantic.

A somewhat conceited pat on my back if you will.

And then i thought about how in this gushy moment how easy it was for me to think of all the reasons why i love my husband. I mean i was watching a Nicholas Sparks movie, and was home alone. It was hard not to be a hopeless romantic.

But then i got to thinking how that this jar is mostly just for me.

Yeah, Luke will think its special, and he may even read every single one when i show him.

But really i think this jar is my challenge.

That anytime I'm annoyed, or frustrated, or feeling down I'll take one of the "love you's" out and remember and reflect.

Cause there sure are a lot of reasons i love that guy.

Some, are really silly and embarrassing, and some are serious and are things that changed my life. Either way i figure, that whether they encourage him, or encourage me, a little extra love in my life is never a bad thing.

other things i love: 'Redeeming love' I've probably read this book 10 times in my life, but it never disappoints, such a great book!

Jars, (i assume you've gathered that by now)

And my heart garland that i made last year, and ended keeping it up all year round!

Hope you can count your blessings today

Love

C

Monday

Happy Monday!

Last week was such a good, and eventful week.

Lots of hanging out, and spontaneous girls nights, and birthday parties galore!

I still find it so excited that i can do things on "school nights" Its taken me a while to realize that being grown up, and out of your parents house has lots of cool perks like that.

(And i've been out of my parents house for years now..)

Luke & I often have moments, when we are out of town, or going somewhere random where we talk about how crazy it is that our parents have no idea where we are or what we are doing...

(If you cant tell, i obviously was pretty sheltered and watched over growing up)

ahaha

Anyways, my point to all this rambling is... that just because its Monday, doesn't mean the fun stops on the weekend!!! It can go on throughout the week!

This morning, Mary Ellen & I went to Ikea, shopped around, and got lunch.

i love that place. the smell of cinnamon rolls is so comforting.

So i got the lamp i was wanting... and put it together all by myself.

I really love it... and pleased with this little nook now.

I know you all are probably getting really tired of seeing photos of my living room.. but, i don't really have anything else to take pictures of right now..

so.

oh well.

Being lazy for a bit, before i get some work done. Have a couple of haircuts to do before tonight. Then i'm hoping for a movie night with husband. It's been a while.

love

C