NEW HOMEware Haul

Like every little girl ever born there are only two things I look forward to most in life. Decorating my own home, and the day I get to skinny dip off the shores of Greece. Wait...maybe that last one is just me.

In my new video I run you through my recent home purchases that are going to influence the rest of the house. I hope you enjoy my color and style themes!

My Home Style Inspiration

We've reached the stage of no return when it comes to the house. IT'S DECORATING TIME! 

 Unless you can't tell I'm more than a little thrilled by this, and I'll try and give you a few insights into my plans.

 

Somewhere along the way I decided to call my new home The Lake House and a theme was born.

 

My goals for this house are:

 

1. Subtle but still noticeable beach theme.

 

2. Anything that can, will be glass.

 

3. Stick to a classic black and white color palette with blue being the accent color.

 

4. Flowers....flowers everywhere. 

I've already started buying things to decorate my home with. Although to be completely honest I've been collecting for my future home for years now. Hobby Lobby is now my new "Home Style" best friend, and glass buying enabler. 

Once everything calms down a little bit I will film a homeware haul where I'll show everyone what I've already collected to decorate with. Below are just a few of my photo inspirations that I refer to when deciding what to buy or not.

 

 

Found at suburble.com

 

Found at anthropologieway.blogspot.com

 

 Found at bobvila.com

Found at acultivatednest.com

Thank you so much for coming on this adventure with me! I look forward to giving random updates along the way and then a final home tour. If you have any new home owner suggestions or decorating suggestions in general, please feel free to share! (I can't do this all by myself)

The Cure for Everything

Painting should be the next Olympic sport. No really. I've spent two consecutive weekends painting and updating my "soon to be" kitchen. I'm exhausted, I can't lift my arm above my waist, and I clearly do not have the stamina to be a professional painter. All that aside I'm getting more and more excited everyday for this next part of my life. It's a tad overwhelming, but totally worth it.

Now that I'm home and achy all over it's time to pull out my cure-all remedy. I'm talking a hot cup of wonderfully spicy vanilla tea, and it's time I share this life changing recipe with everyone.

The Perfect Cup of Tea

Pick your favorite mug and fill it almost to the top with water. Then dump the water into a pot and set the stove on high to boil. While the water is heating add two peppercorns or if you're using a grinder, three twists of the grinder. If you're like me and you view life as The Spicier the Better three full twists...maybe four is best. Next find the best smelling cinnamon stick you can get your hands on and add it to the pot. Take out a teaspoon and measure out 1/4 Ginger and 1/4 Nutmeg into the water.

Let this amazing smelling concoction boil for five minutes. Once the torturous time has passed turn off the oven and add two bags of your favorite tea. Mine is Twinning's Earl Grey. While you're at it (to sweeten the pot...literally) add three teaspoons of brown sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla.

Once you've let the sugar and sweetness co-exist with your life changing tea for five additionally excruciating minutes, get your cup ready. Add your desired amount of milk to the bottom of the cup, and pour your tea over a strainer into the cup. Once you've fished your well used cinnamon stick from the pot add it to your cup to double as a stirring implement and aroma therapy. Now...very carefully, sit down and relax. The last part is very important.

Enjoy!

This recipe is borrowed and modified from the amazing Estée from essiebutton.com. You can see her Vanilla Chai Latte recipe here. Her recipe and tea are absolutely fantastic!

If you enjoyed this you will love my Tea Cup post. You can see it here!

 

The House

I've been a little absent on the blog lately. At first it was intentional and then completely by accident. You see...I bought a house. I'm really quite proud of it actually. It's an adorable little white house that's the perfect size and shape for me. 

If you're a home owner you know the buying process is exceptionally stressful and time consuming, so you will forgive me for my absence. 

This major step in life is usually paired with other life events like marriage, or moving across the country for "big" jobs. I have accomplished neither but this was the needed next step in my life.

What this means now is that you'll get to look forward to lots of decorating, DIY, and emotionally overwhelmed homeowner posts.

I'm very excited! I hope you enjoy some of the very first pictures of the inside. Consider these the before photos.

7 Reasons Why I'm a Catch and You Probably are Too

I personally cannot stomach online dating. I believe it's a great way to meet people, and loads of friends of mine have met the loves of their life online. I can't do it though, and meeting people in real life is challenging at best. It's almost to the point where you need a business card to advertise your availability and why you are in fact an excellent catch. Which leads me to today's post.

7 Reasons Why I'm a Catch and You Probably are Too

1. I can recognize when I'm being irrational and will eventually fix it. - Note: I did not say "I'm never irrational." There will definitely be irrational moments. I'm a human being with human emotions. There will be moments where I will be angry, or sad, or so happy I literally jump up and down with joy. If any of these emotions don't fit what you find to be the socially accepted norm at the time, give it a minute. I will see the light and apologize for the irrationality.

2. I make great hot tea. - This may seem like a small thing, but what it really means is I know how to relax. There are times in life that call for Netflix, hot tea, and a pizza. I LOVE those times and will embrace them to the fullest with you. Plus I have a special Earl Grey recipe that I save for only special people. *Insert winky face*

3. I'm not high maintenance. - Do you need to leave in five minutes? Great! Give me seven... I said I wasn't high maintenance not zero maintenance. I take care of myself. I have a few nice clothes and I splurge on over priced organic beauty products. I can also get ready in less than 15 minutes if need be. I'm well maintained when I want to be and couch potato when called for.

4. I'm not afraid to get dirty (in a clean way.) - I grew up on a farm. If something requires all hands on deck, you've got me. If what you need means you might get dirty, count me in. I can fix a lot of every day things, and I have a vast knowledge of how to maintain pretty much anything. I'm actually really handy to have around.

5. I love myself. - It's hard to love someone who doesn't love themselves. No one can be expected to love someone else enough for the both of them. I'm not a Narcissist by any means but I have a healthy love for the person that I am. My self worth isn't attached to what others think of me.

6. I'm independent. - Somewhere along the way I learned that some people actually enjoy clingy significant others. I hate to disappoint you, but if that's the case I'm not the one for you. I can take care of myself and I don't need others to do it. I don't want someone in my life to take care of me, (that's what my family is for) I want to meet someone who compliments and completes my life not controls it.

7. I can pack really really fast. - This is a great skill I've picked up from years of traveling. I have a wanderlusting heart and the luggage to match. If you want to be spontaneous I won't slow you down. In fact you'd be hard pressed to beat me out the door.

You are a catch. Whether your list looks exactly like mine or 100% opposite, you are a catch too. Everyone is different for a reason, and there is someone out there for all of us. Maybe you've already found them, maybe you'll meet them tomorrow, or maybe they're just waiting for you to hand them a business card saying you're available.

Let's Talk About Passion

Do you ever look at someone and think, "I wish I loved anything as much as they love what they're doing right now."

I use to be one of those people. Well both of those people actually. When I was a music major in college I was completely absorbed in music. It was 24/7 of performing, analyzing, studying, and practicing music. I loved every minute of it, even when I hated it.

Yet I had days where I would be the other person too. I'd watch how other majors would get to spend their days and instantly get jealous. I mean have you ever seen a Computer Engineer correctly code something they've been working on for months? It's like witnessing a shooting star, rare and brillant.

I didn't always want music to be my life. Believe it or not I almost quit when I was 13. I was convinced that I was going to be an astronaut, but somewhere along the way music won me over.

They say if it's the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about before you fall asleep then you're in love. That was me and music. It's all I talked about, all I learned about, and all I wanted to do (besides sleep.) I was obsessed, and it was 100% just a honey moon phase.

My decision to make music my life wasn't taken lightly by any means. In fact if I wanted to make my life infinitely easier I'd just become an astronaut like I originally planned. I had to fight to study music at every turn. It wasn't just my parents I was fighting either, it was school counselors, professors trying to make sure it was the right decision, barrier exams that were nearly impossible to pass, and so much more.

To say it was a hard road is a bit of an understatement. Where I went to school you have to know it's what you want or you won't stay. My class started off with 75 bright eyed and bushy tailed freshman. It graduated seven. You read that right seven. A typical day was three plus hours of daily practice on top of 6:00am daily quartet rehearsals, along with several hours of required ensembles, all while being a full time student. If you weren't going to succeed they were going to make sure you'd fail. 

Fast forward four years. It's my last year of music school and I no longer eat, sleep, and breathe just music, it's now music education. I sleep more than I eat and I teach more than I play. I was no longer in the honey moon phase and now into the Dear God what am I doing with my life phase. (Enter Gap Year)

Forward three more years. I'm happy to announce that we are nearly seven years from the beginning of my journey into making music the rest of my life. I'm still madly in love with what I do. I'm no longer in a honey moon phase or a panicked I made the wrong choice phase, but in a comfortable this is what I love phase. I teach music and I can't tell you how great it is to talk about what you love all day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...it's worth it. Fight for your passion. Do what you love. The people/things that are making it a hard road are just there to help you. Think of it this way.

If this is as hard as it gets, you are going to OWN it.

My partner in crime affectionately named The Phoenix. My major instrument, the saxophone.

A Nashville Room-tine's Day

Valentine's day has so many names. Valentine's Day, Singles' Awareness Day, and Gal-entines Day just to name a few. As a career single woman I usually spend the day alone or on rare occasion with good friends celebrating in style.

This year was probably one of the best Valentine's Days I've had. Lucky for me I have beautiful single friends who (shockingly) choose to spend the day with me instead of chasing off their many admirers with clubs. This year my former roommate and I took Nashville in style.

One of my life goals was to visit the wonderfully hilarious Olan Roger's soda parlor. Cleverly named...The Soda Parlor. It's a beautiful place, and this year for Valentine's Day Olan had a special "I Vow to Like You" float for anyone who knew the secret code (it was on Instagram.)

The Soda Parlor is housed in a renovated Marathon Car factory. Along with being a hipster mecca we were lucky enough to visit on the exact day they were having a one day only gathering of local Handmade Small Business owners. Simply put, it was the right place at the right time.

We had gourmet food truck tacos for lunch and really, REALLY good floats from The Soda Parlor for dessert. Keep scrolling if you want to see my picture story from the day.

After such an awesome day it was great to come home and relax BUT THEN THIS HAPPENED!

Thanks to Emily for spending the day with me so I wouldn't be in a ball of depression on my floor lamenting my fleeting youth. It was definitely much better this way.