things i'm lovin!

i love love love reading about different products, tv shows, etc that people really like because i feel like it's a real deal recommendation for me to try it! especially if there's been something i've wanted to try or a new website i've never heard about! anyways, it's been awhile since i've posted a 'things i'm lovin' post, so i figured it was time to clue y'all in on what's keepin me a happy camper these days!

if you're an online shopper like i am, you're probably familiar with zulily or joss & main, etc. well, although i love browsing these websites and seeing if there's a good deal, i don't find as many goodies on those sites as i would hope. especially since i'm not always on top of my game and will miss the really good deals (because they're good deals and everyone else apparently thinks so, too!)! with that said, my girl jen recently told me about jane.com and it's seriously my new jam! jane is a bunch of individual shops (mostly etsy) that will list their products (lots of jewelry, hand made kiddo stuff, home stuff, etc) and it's typically priced really well. it's seriously worth checking out! they have new items each day and there's a limited number, so ya gotta act quick! i just bought these darling valentine's buntings from jane because my non-crafty self just knew i wouldn't get around to making one before our vacay!

speaking of valentine's... tis the season for valentine's candy taking over my life! in the name of all things sugary, sweet tarts are my go-to these days! it must be the baby because i'm not typically a sugary candy type of girl (now, chocolate is a diff story...)! target just got their v-day candy out, so it's possible these will be a staple in our house for the next couple weeks!

i stumbled upon a couple blogs lately that have 100% made their way into my regular blogroll! i love finding new blogs that are informative or just plain fun to read!

angela lanter at hello gorgeous is my new go-to beauty blogger! she's married to matt lanter (an actor), so she's randomly going to red carpet events & such, but she's entertaining to read & watch (lots of videos on there lately) and she consistently introduces me to new products that i've never even heard of. love that!

my other new fav is katie bower at bower power. if you are a fan of young house love, you will 100% be a fan of katie, but for some reason, it took me years to give her a try. definitely regretting that now! katie posts about mom life & baby stuff, but mostly home stuff (she & her cute hub reno their house). i feel like we would totally be friends in real life, so that makes it fun to read and she has some seriously good ideas, too!

and, last but certainly not least... you may remember me posting about my dramatic mascara problem a few months ago! if not, you can read about it here & here. well, i am here to report that after about 5 months of using the maybelline colossal mascara, i can hardly remember how much i loved my lancome goodness! crazy, huh? and at about 1/5 of the cost, my wallet is in full agreement that it was a good move! since it's been several months, i feel like i can legitimately recommend this mascara to others now! the wand is thick like lancome or diorshow and it goes on great! it's definitely love at this point!

are you guys gonna check out any of things?? i strongly suggest you do... not that i'm biased or anything! ;)

jumpin on the emerald train!

in case you couldn't care less about fashion OR live under a rock... pantone named emerald the color of the year! so, expect to see a lot of emerald in stores soon! not gonna lie... at first, i wasn't super excited about this color. just seems a little blah compared to recent years (coral, hot pink, turquoise). but, the more i see it, the more i love it!!!

here's some inspiration for your hump day!

don't you just die for details? scallops are my fav too!! j crew, you've done it again!!!

can't you picture this fab target bag with some black skinny jeans and a bright white flowy tshirt?!

i am a sucker for reversible things. it's like paying half price for the item cause you really get TWO ways to wear it! these great reversible earrings are from stella & dot, of course!

gap flats. the two tone is amaze! love love love!

hope you're feeling inspired!! are you on board with the emerald trend??

house post 1 of 94378.

when my hub, grant, and i first decided we were moving to indiana after living in florida for 7 years, we thought we would find a house fairly quick. we moved into grant's parents spacious house with our 6 week old bundle of joy and settled in. after being in indiana for about 2-3 months, i was ready to start looking. i had an idea what side of town i wanted to be on, general idea of the type of house i wanted (split level, ranch, etc) and i thought the process would take a few weeks. oh, how ignorant i was.

after 6 (or maybe 7... i lost count) rejected offers, we FINALLY bought a house back in dec right before christmas. my initial plan of living with the in-laws for 4-6 mos max was out the window and the journey of finding our house was becoming less fun and more annoying. the house that we ended up buying is 100% an investment property. our plan is to own the home for a year (simply because we have to based on it being a gov't owned foreclosure when we bought it) and then flip it.

we are currently in the midst of a huge renovation on this presh lil house and hope to move in in 2 weeks!!! i'll def be posting some pics of the progress and of course befores and afters, but today, i'm stuck in a decorating rut and feel like perusing some my pinterest for ideas. the house is only 1100 sq ft, so there isn't a lot of space to decorate, but my motto is that everything has to be functional. and, if i have anything to say about it, it will! :)

so, here we go...

our couches are a very similar color, we installed dark wood floors like these and the walls will also be gray (not quite this dark, though).

this is EXACTLY what i'm feelin for the front door. robin egg blue door, ORB fixtures. love love love!

once we move in & get settled, we will be purchasing our first ever bedroom set. i. can't. wait!!!! we already picked out a fab cream/tan tufted headboard w nailhead trimming. it's gorgeous. we will have greige walls in the master bedroom and haven't quite figured out what kind of linens. we currently have this duvet from west elm and i do still like it, so we may change out bedding further down the road. 

isn't pinterest seriously great? i love that over the past couple years, i have dumped all sorts of ideas onto my boards, and now i get to put some of that inspiration to use! love love love!