wearing - 23/50

headband - Urban Outfitters // shirt + necklace - Old Navy // shorts - American Eagle // shoes - TOMS

Look! An outfit post! 100% made possible by my younger sister who is willing to stare at a bright white wall on the side of my parents' neighborhood grocery store in 92 degree weather while I jump around. She's a keeper - Thanks, Lissy!

It's almost midnight & everything that I start typing is either about apartments, missing Jared or food, so I'm just going to pull the plug here. Lis & I are watching some Scrubs, Season 5 goodness & pajamas sound really great. Happy weekend, everyone!

iphone does - the DC apartment hunt

Oh my gosh. It's Friday. Not only is it Friday, it's almost the end of June. HOW.

I took a little trip up to DC for 30 hours apartment searching, which was a fine excuse to see that husband of mine, peek into his new job & take the occasional detour on M St. On my drive up, I realized that I hadn't been into the city since we made the decision to move & OH MY GOSH WHAT IF I HATE IT. But I didn't. I loved it. Still. More? Whatever the level of love, I'm so ready to be a part of it.

 

We went to Arlington & back into the city & round the round-a-bouts 72 times attempting to get off on the correct street. We saw scary apartments & apartments we'd like in 12 years. We met dogs & potential neighbors. We ate salads because of my continued Whole30-ing (not an easy choice in such a delightfully foodie city, let me tell you) & drank a LOT of iced coffee. We probably used 96% of our data for the month thanks to Google maps & spent 30 minutes at a time walking hand in hand while both on the phone with various property managers.

At about 3pm, we got to the point that Jared just pulled the car over into what we were fairly certain was a legal parking spot & just started walking up & down streets that we'd like to live, calling any "For rent" number we could find. Every 30 minutes or so, I'd start getting panicky, & Jared would talk me down. Because no, Kelsey. We aren't going to have to live in our car. & I would look at him, my favorite human, & peace would swallow me. We've got this.

Jared's transition to DC has made time crawl, but at the very same time, this impending move has us racing against the clock. The dark cloud of where will we liiiiive??? has taken over my every thought, as demonstrated by these three paragraphs on that very subject. I lay in bed with my laptop till 1am every night, over-analyzing hundreds of Craigslist ads & rabbit trailing onto random realty websites. I've caught myself rationalizing way-too-expensive neighborhoods & considering way-too-teeny studios, only to swim back up to the surface, take a deep breath & remind myself that in a little over a month, me & that favorite human of mine will be in the same city, breathing the same air in the apartment that is perfect for us right now.

So, I've just got to trust. & be patient. & wait for the peace whale to swallow me whole, over & over again.

[I'm dangerously close to being behind by 3 outfit posts... Working on it. My camera is having an attitude problem, which is simultaneously frustrating & $$ scary. Lovely timing.]

four good things

1                          2                          3                          4

APARTMENTS - With our move to DC a little over a month away, apartment hunting online has become my new obsession hobby. It's a rotten business that has to be done, even when it keeps you up way too late, makes you want to cry & most definitely will not end in an ivy covered building. 

IPHONE CASES - My Rifle Paper Co. iphone case cracked recently, & even though it's going to have to stick it out until we get new phones in October, I'm still dreaming of picking out one of my friend Kelsie's wildflower cases. They are absolutely dreamy AND available online. She's basically a crafting goddess.

KIMONOS - This adorable trend will have come & gone by the time I have found a kimono that I'm willing to commit to. I have gone shopping at least three times for the express purpose of purchasing a kimono to lounge in, only to end up with new socks, earrings & a tshirt at the end of the trip.

BREAKFAST - I hate breakfast. I always have. But this Whole30 thing is making me realize how important it is, so I'm scouring Pinterest for breakfast options that I can make in advance, freeze & reheat fast in the mornings. Lara Bars are also doing the trick, although I think I'm technically cheating by eating those daily. THE DRAMA.

[p.s. see some more good things on my pinterest]

bethunes on the move

I have been nearly bursting with this (non-baby-related) news & I'm so glad it's finally time to tell the world:

Jared got his dream job! We are moving to the District!

A few weeks ago, we decided it was time to take a leap & with every ounce of our beings said yes to DC. Yes to moving our things, yes to saying many goodbyes, yes to some long distance relationship-ing. With every yes that we said, excitement, anticipation, a little bit of wariness & a whole lot of "finally!" sank deeper into our hearts. I am just so proud of Jared - So thankful for him & amazed at how he is fearlessly forging this new path. Myyy man.

So, though it may only be four hours away, we are incredibly eager to meet our new city & welcome this new adventure together. Together. Our time away from each other has been nothing short of painful, & this has been the wackiest season of our marriage thus far. I'm fairly convinced we could be moving to the middle of nowhere, & I'd be thrilled, so long as it meant that I could hear Jared neurotically clipping his fingernails from the bathroom twice a week, wake up to him singing Italian arias in the shower & hold his hand during our evening walks. DC is a bonus - He is my home.

Our bags will be packed for good at the end of July, & there are certainly a lot of goodbyes to say to this city that we have lived & loved in. I started a Norfolk bucket list, so we'll see how that goes, but time is already going by so quickly. We just realized this weekend that it's not unrealistic to start packing up some of the less frequented corners of our apartment. Packing up... to move! To DC! 

Hopefully this explains some of the blog silence recently. Things are getting cray up in here, but I'm really happy that things are set in stone enough for me to talk about this now. Excitin'!

this weekend we...

This weekend we...

• Ate our weight in frozen grapes. Seriously, if you haven't had frozen grapes yet, you're not doing summer right.
• Went to a dear friend's show & came home for a movie/cuddle sesh. I picked the new Jack Ryan flick. Jared was not impressed, but I kinda liked it. Apparently, Jack Ryan is a touchy subject.
• Watched the Cardinal's game with my dad, in which they so graciously won, just for us.
• Battled a weird summer morning wind while trying to hang streamers in my parents' backyard for my youngest sister's graduation party.
• Listened to Coldplay's new album & decided it was designed to be listened to only when you're supposed to be falling asleep.
• Made breakfast for dinner at 11pm, just because.
• Window-shopped for puppies online, since apparently the puppy fever & our impending move to a "Dogs allowed" apartment is getting to be too much to handle.
• Laughed a lot. But that's nothing new ;)

How was your weekend, friends?

wearing - 22/50

hat - H&M // tee - Cotton On // jeans - Old Navy // clogs - Rubi

& so begins the shortening of my long locks. I know it probably still looks long to most, but us long haired ladies take weeks to acclimate to losing even an inch of hair to a trim. 4 inches gone feels insane but ohhhh, so perfectly summery. The bangs were on a whim, but I think I love them. Just some fringey sass. This year has already been so full of unexpected twists - Why not throw a spontaneous haircut into the mix? 

I'm on Day 12 of my attempt to Whole30 my way through the month, for real this time. (May's attempt was mildly pathetic.) It's been the strangest process, but I must say that it's doing everything they say it will. I have asked the waiter to hold the cheese, I've had lime water in lieu of the delicious free cocktail being offered to me, I've said no to black truffle mac & cheese, I have read ingredients during every grocery store trip, I've taught myself to cook sweet potatoes & boy choy & the perfect poached egg... It's truly causing me to think differently about my food. On top of that, despite a maybe 1 pound drop in my weight, my body is really starting to transform. My point is - This diet? Cleanse? is crazy & I woke up craving Cheez-its, but I'm halfway in, & definitely believe in what it's doing.

This isn't going to become a blog about food & I'm desperately trying to not incorporate my current diet into every conversation I have (Just most! Kidding, kidding.), but in case you needed that extra push to start a change in your dietary regiment... Consider this a nudge.

& lastly... Once again, radio silence since last week's style post. I KNOW I KNOW. I was in serious wedding-land starting Thursday night of last week. Exhausting though weddings may be, I was so blessed to be a part of Kathryn & Nathan's gorgeous wedding day. I took all of Sunday-Wednesday to binge watch Orange is the New Black, catch up on laundry & try some new recipes... All in the name of relaxation. It was glorious, & I don't even feel bad. (I obviously feel bad. I hate posting two outfit posts in a row.)

But it's Thursday! Hallelujah!

wearing - 21/50

chambray - Kohl's // lace shorts, wedges - H&M // belt - j.crew // sunnies - Urban Outfitters (but also, they're Jared's) // nails - NYC's Hamptons Peach

The thing about taking outfit photos in a rose garden is that rose gardens require full sun. Kelseys do not require full sun, & in fact, try to avoid it. Basically, pardon my slightly wilted look in these photos. I was pretty over it at this point. A Grumpy Gus, one might say. It's still early June, so I'm still re-learning how to take on the humidity.

Heading back to Richmond this weekend for the wedding of the yeaaaar! Seriously, this weekend's wedding is going to be gorgeous, & I'm over the moon to be amidst some incredible vendors & the sweetest couple. & now, back to compiling another roadtrip playlist that will keep me entertained during the ride there & back. I can't deal with the Disney Pandora station again. Singing along with the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid is fun maybe twice, then it's just annoying & the Tarzan soundtrack keeps sneaking in... Things get weird when you roadtrip along, that's all.

this month - june

EATING - all the fruit, specifically blackberries.
DRINKING - more fruit, making up fruit + herb + water combos (favorites: strawberry basil, blackberry mint, lemon rosemary)

PRACTICING - patience. Always.

MASTERING - my forward fold... hopefully.

LEARNING -to use nail polish remover instead of chipping my polish off at my desk.

PLAYING - around with Whole30 compliant recipes.

FINISHING - photo & video projects that have been hovering for way too long.

READING - apartment postings, eeeevery day.

WATCHING - Orange is the New Black SEASON TWOOO.

WALKING - to work, rain or shine this month. Making that promise to myself.

WEARING - pants more often than I want, since my poor legs have already fallen victim to one night of savage VA mosquitos.

COOKING - out with friends who have more than just a fire escape.

WORKING - on freeing up space on the ol' iphone. Daunting, really.

TRAVELING - to Richmond for a very exciting wedding.

WANTING - more dresses in my closet.

 Whatcha doin' this month?