lately: phone photos

1. the $135 couch I walked away from during my bi-annual thrift store adventure

2. some girly accessories covering our bathroom counter

3. a pretty (but faint) double rainbow on the way home from work

4. my new seating arrangement at work

5 & 6. how-to make a golden doodle fluffy, by mama essmann

7. first sunrise at work of the event season! totally makes the early mornings (somewhat) worth it.

my phone has been so-not-awesome recently. 

the phone photos are dwindling, that's for sure.

& iphone dreams remain on hold until august. le sigh.

good thing we have a raaaaad camera!

in the meantime, I keep taking pictures elizabethtown style,

which makes jared laugh, & that's kinda one of my favorite hobbies.

note to self

just a few reminders as things are about to get super busy all over again:

-stop throwing your clothes on the floor when you get home
just because you're tired & sore & probably still a little bit sweaty.
you won't pick them up again. just put them in the hamper. 

-stay inspired. & make time for inspiration, for goodness sake. 

-take pictures! then take more pictures! & stop making excuses to not take pictures! 

-plan adventures, but sometimes plan to let the adventures find you.

(rough advice for an event planner, I know.) 

-kick those anxieties to the curbbbbbb!

-in fact? RELAX.

-water the plants. 

-don't overwater the plants.

-speaking of plants, firmly plant kisses on jared's face whenever you want.

because you can.

-make new playlists. ones to dance to in the car, with songs that you can hum all day long.

-keep drinking all of jared's ginger ale when he's not looking.

pretty sure that he's onto you, but he hasn't said anything yet, so keep on chuggin'.

-oh, & don't forget to read. you have three books patiently waiting for your eyeballs' attention.

there's more, but you'll think of it later.

now breathe in some of that fresh & pollen-y spring air!

xo, self

financial peace

about how we ended up on a budget

1.       I AM SO BAD AT BUDGETING.

2.       you see, in kelsey-world, there is little to zero moderation. it’s all or nothing. that’s why I’m really great at diets. it’s total deprivation of “bad” foods. but when the diet ends & I’m supposed to go back to real life & then moderate myself. well - to put it simply - ha! same thing with money. I’m really great at just not spending money on ANYTHING. don’t worry about me, I’ll just eat the office kitchen’s coffee grounds! I’m also really great at spending money on everything if it’s “on sale,” regardless of whether or not I need it. hellooooo, target/loft/h&m. I basically go back & forth between these two extremes on a bi-weekly basis.

3.       this is why we’ve neither gone into the red nor saved any green in the last 1.5 years of marriage.

4.       is this really depressing? I feel like it’s really depressing. things start picking up with #5, I promise.

5.       I stumbled upon this blog, & was quickly drawn in to Eric & Kelsey’s tale of pursuing financial peace. we inquired, & my dad (who is an elder at our church) was really proactive about getting a financial class set-up at our church. the class started in mid-february, & we hopped aboard the FPU train.

6.       in a surprising twist, jared ripped through his superhero spandex outfit to reveal his alter-ego – a guy with glasses, a calculator & a file of receipts, who is great with budgeting. & 401ks. & investments. &… I’ve run out of fancy money lingo. I get dry mouth & my ears start ringing when people start talking too in-depth about money, hence my limited vocabulary.

7.       so, we’re on a budget. & we’re new at it. & it’s been a little restrictive, but it’s mostly been freeing. the biggest change so far is knowing exactly how much money we have to spend on groceries/clothing/everything each month. it’s already improved my relationship with our bank statements. we’re making eye contact now, which is a huge step for us.

8.       is it perfect? of course not. in fact, being a little over a month in, we are babies, in the earliest stages of learning & tweaking & feeling our initial growing pains. & for ME, it’s super easy to just let jared go on with his bad self & not get involved. because, if you remember back at #1, I AM SO BAD AT BUDGETING.

9.       but we’re doing this together. prayerfully & with a whole lotta grace. it has been such an awesome reason to talk money as a couple. talking finances is usually scary & boring & puts at least one of us in a bad mood. but this has allowed us to break things down, get priorities/goals set, help us feel like we can be in a good place, & really, let us dream a little! I’m amazed at the discussions that have started with money management & ended with what type of bird feeders we’ll have at our first house, or how many pairs of shoes our first little baby will actually need.

10. in conclusion… well, there is no conclusion. we still have 6 weeks left of our class & then, you know, a lifetime of conscious budgeting decision ahead of us. but all of the life altering changes heading our way are a lot less scary now. it feels like we’re equipped. by God’s grace, we’re equipped with financial wisdom & spiritual peace, & it feels a little bit like the big life altering changes can bring. it on.

& that’s how we ended up on a budget. invigorating, right? ;) I'm telling you this because it is scary. & it is HARD. but we're doing it. & maybe just maybe, just like me stumbling upon the williams' blog, that's precisely what you needed to hear.

xo, kelsey

sunday best

there's a funny thing about living in one city/area for most of your life.

there are certain locations that are photographically(is this a word?)... overdone.

jared's university campus is one of them.

but there's a reason, & it's because it is truly beautiful.

& on yet another rainy sunday afternoon,

we found beauty in its covered archways, too.

it's been a busy past few days, as the event season gears up at work,

& life kicks back into action after a very short & quaint winter.

I took a half day on friday & we spent march 23rd in our swimsuits on the beach...

which was definitely a first.

a weekday afternoon off had me the tiniest bit excited for the switch to my tuesday-saturday event schedule,

where we get to sneak around & play on mondays while the rest of the world goes to work.

so it's been a great weekend!

 we got to go dancing with jared's parents, 

who are becoming quite the impressive ballroom dancers. it was so much fun...

although someone is a little too competitive to enjoy himself if he's not the best dancer in the room.

not a bad problem to have, though, because my man can dance.

we're slowly but surely finishing downton abbey, disc by disc on netflix.

it's consumed our evenings during the past few weeks, & while our addiction is full-blown,

so is our to-do list, which has been totally neglected as we follow the crawley/grantham drama with bated breath.

we only have one disc left of season 2!

what do you do once it's finished???

oh, that's right.

you go see the hunger games without reading the books 

& decide you must read the entire series immediately.

happy rainy sunday from virginia.

xo, kelsey

sunshine on a cloudy day

there was a crazy, thunderous downpour this evening.

which is fitting, really.

it's been one of those weeks where even though there's been actual sunshine & flowers all over the place,

it hasn't really been all sunshine & flowers.

nothing huge.

nothing ghastly.

not even anything to vent about.

okay, except that the stupid bullfrogs that live in the pond outside our bedroom window have begun mating-call-season again.

seriously, this is the symphony outside our window every. single. night.

flirty spring weather with the windows flung open all day & night has abruptly ended as of march 19th.

try to tell me not to wake up in a bad mood. no really, try. 

the truth is, that it's kinda weird having a rough week when one of my "hobbies" is...

well, writing about my week.

it's life.

there are things.

happy things, sad things, annoying things. 

my things.

& these things filter into different categories in blogging.

item: things to photograph

item: things to discuss 

item: things to hint at 

item: things to announce 

item: things to write about, but not right now

item: things to never mention

item: things that weigh heavily on your heart, & sneak out even in the chirpiest of posts

item: things to revel in

item: things to boast about

item: things to reflect on

& while there is a definite level of conscious picking & choosing,

I'm here to say that even though the happy posts & photos are easiest to share...

things aren’t always chirpy. 

things aren’t always bright. 

but that’s refreshing & a little fantastic. 

because otherwise, I may always be hoarse & sunburnt.

it's march 21st, 2012.

& I, kelsey bethune, am having a little bit of a rough week.

& here ends the complaining, from this moment forth,

because my man came home with flowers & a knowing smile,

which I consider to be sunshine on a cloudy day.