minus & plus

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Just when I had gotten into the groove of my office-less way of life, I got called back in to freelance at my old job for a few months.

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This was, honestly, perfect timing as my new ventures will definitely take a bit of time before they take off & I'm able to contribute to our finances again.

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However... My time has been hijacked. So much so that I feel like two weeks have passed in the last four days.

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But it's SATURDAY! YAAAAY!!!!

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But I'm alone, on the couch, watching Juno.

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Jared is off tomorrow, & I only work half a day, so I have a feeling our day will involve some of this early fall sunshine.

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SPEAKING OF EARLY FALL... Am I the only person that hasn't sold their soul to all things pumpkin just yet? It just feels too early. Not that I'm clinging to summer, because good lawd above knows I'm an autumn baby through & through. But good grief, NO, I do not want pumpkin in my coffee, butter or beer just yet.

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I did, however, muster up the courage to put my skinny jeans back on today & it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I imagined it would be.

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Also not as promising of a sight as I remember... Which is sad, because the mosquitoes are still biting & my legs are ready to be hidden away for a few months.

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Especially since I've invested in some fabulous boots for this fall.

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Inspired by my sweet friend Chelsea, who is turning me absolutely green with envy over on her blog as she spends the week at NYFW. I NEED NYC IN MY LIFE!

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But it brings back sweet memories of our fall trip to NYC a couple years ago. I can't believe it was that long ago! I would live that weekend over & over, Groundhog's Day-style, if I could.

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Completely unrelated, I want to put it out there that I just ate chocolate for dinner.

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That's good for my heart, right?

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Or is it my brain...

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Maybe just my well-being. Yep. *nods*

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Or maybe this is why I just wadded up my good-fer-nothing skinny jeans like they could feel pain & shoved them in the back of my drawer.

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You guys. It's September, Ellen Page is hilarious, & I'm pretty sure a bike ride is on tomorrow's agenda. Ain't no skinny jeans going to get me down.

This is a pretty weird post.

Minus & Plus posts were born in my attempts to find the silver lining to weird little negative things that follow me around. (Read more here!) Please feel free to jump on board the silver lining/rays of sunshine train with your own plus & minus posts, then share your link in the comments!

style // 01

 tank - gap // skirt - thrifted // belt - f21 // sandals - h&m (similar)

For the past year or so, we've been sharing our style in the form of Sunday Best posts since we tend to get a little gussied up for church. According to the poll you all so wonderfully participated in, you like the style posts, which was second only to "every day photos." While sharing style is kinda uhhhh... Pretentious? Egotistical? ... I get it. To me, sharing every day fashion is one of the best uses of blogging. Finding a style blogger who has similar taste, budget & lifestyle is a little bit like discovering gold, or remembering that you have a Starbucks giftcard when you're already standing in line.

I am hereby committing to style blogging (although I will not commit to once a week because ha!), & I think these are some fun facts to know if you want to follow along:

• Our clothing budget is super limited at this point in our lives. He's a student & I'm self-employed, & we're just fine with that.
• THUS! A lot of my clothes are a couple seasons old, thrifted or from the clearance rack of your favorite stores. 
• I peruse my favorite blogs (like The Daybook & Kendi Everyday) & websites (like Madewell & J. Crew) for inspiration & then go to the stores I can afford to make it work. You'll see a lot of H&M, Old Navy, Forever21, TJ Maxx, & the occasional American Eagle & Urban Outfitters.
• Also, you're going to see a lot of crossover. Like, I wore this belt in the last style post.
• My style is somewhere between classic, vintage, & preppy. Helpful, right?
• I know there's a lot of expensive wonderfulness out there, but all I really want to be able to afford is J. Crew.
• Dream designer of choice - Kate Spade
• I've complained about my derriere & tree trunk legs before, & these are the features that determine most of what I wear. So, fat-bottomed-girls, this is the blog for you!

If you're thinking, "But what about JARED??!!" then you're in luck. Jared, in all of his gentlemanly glory, can be found over at The Beau Tie, his very own style blog. He's a lot better at this style thing than I am, so hopefully you (or your hubby or your boo or your future boo) will pop in over there!

All of that being said, I'm going back to watching The Mask of Zorro with that poor husband of mine, who picked up a cold on Day 1 of a very rare 48 hours off from work. We all know that soup from Panera & some Antonio Banderas are the cure for the common cold, amiright?

Happy September!

iphone does - last weekend

We've been up to our ears in paint & stain this week (literally, in my case) as we try to finish our new home office, & while it is OH SO CLOSE to being done... It isn't. Yet. But soon! In the meantime...We had such a great weekend that I forgot to bring our fancy camera anywhere we went - Which is refreshing from time to time. So, you get pictures from our iphones.

We spent a rainy Friday night at a block party put on by our fair city, & enjoyed a sweet walk home in the rain. We have a sort of bizarre obsession with the rain, so being stuck under a one-person umbrella was a perfect date. Saturday, I helped run an 80's concert at my former job (where I've been spending lots of my time as a contractor recently... long story...) & Jared was able to join me there, which hasn't happened in forever. Sunday, we had the pleasure of driving up to Yorktown to attend a high school friend's wedding. I had never been to the venue, which was actually delightful, & combined with this glorious mid-70's weather we've been given this August, it was the perfect ending to a sweet weekend at my lover's side.

It's Wednesday! & almost a holiday weekend! Chins up, everyone!

a little pool party

Last weekend, on a slightly overcast Friday, we helped my youngest sister celebrate turning 16 1/2 with a garden pool party - Because turning 16 in February usually involves cold, snow, cold snow & definitely no pool. My parents' backyard is perhaps one of my favorite party hosting spaces in Virginia, which is nice because I can drill holes into things & use a staple gun without hoping there isn't anyone looking. There's also a golden doodle that follows me around like a shadow & affirms my every decision, so that's an added bonus.

While dip-dyed streamers & mint balloons are fun, my favorite part of this little backyard soiree was (obviously) the s'mores bar, which later in the evening was made possible by my boy scout husband's fire making skillz. While I'm partial to a good caramel-bacon s'more, the dried apricots were one of the best ideas I've had this year. We may need to talk more s'mores talk on this here blog... 

In other & significantly less cutesy news, tonight I made twice baked potatoes (which were more like "Once Microwaved, Once Warmed in the Oven Potatoes") AND... AND! banana bread. ALL in one night. So, now I probably won't make anything of substance in the kitchen for the next two weeks because I'll just like, point to the aging banana bread on the counter & say, "See that? I made that. Eat THAT!" Housewife of the Year!

So, the other thing is that I finally converted to the VSCO way of life, & this is my first little test round of photos with the new editing program. Uhhh... It's a lot harder to adapt to than I thought, but that might have something to do with the fact that I downloaded it onto Jared's newer + way-more-fancy-shmancy-than-my-circa-2008 Macbook that I don't actually know how to navigate. It also may be the reason why Jared's hair is 50/50 white & brown in these pictures. Homeboy is definitely salt & peppering, but I somehow took it to a new level in these edits. I have a lot to learn, & you get to watch the process. YAY! Right??

Happy Friday, everyone!

the quest for new music

This past winter, I found myself googling "Christian artists that sound like Sufjan Stevens" with somewhat pathetic results. Jared & I began a quest to find quality, faith-led musicians creating the type of music we like - Mostly folk/gospel/bluegrass & some alternative/electronic. We KNEW these artists were out there, but we had somehow missed the memo. Armed with Spotify, the internetz & recommendations from friends, our collection of new music started coming together. Some of the artists we've listed are not exclusively "Christian" artists, but they've recorded a hymn here & there so they made the cut. We love us a good hymn or old southern gospel song.

We're sharing these in case there's anyone who is in the same boat we were, but I realize that some of you may have been listening to these musicians for years & years. Let us know who we're missing! This list is definitely not comprehensive, & we may have already started compiling Part II...