lovely&lively: INSPIRED.

music [hear playlist].


the style/creativity/expressiveness of others [whether it be a designer, your timeless grandmother, a girl at the grocery store, blogger, etc].

culture [i've never felt as consistently inspired as when i lived in jerusalem, surrounded by so much beauty &culture].

past decades [why can't we still dress like they did in the 40's &50's? the women were soo beautiful, &they dressed like... women &they were proud of their curves].

movies [seven pounds, dan in real life, the notebook, life is beautiful, yes man].

we are blessed to live in a beautiful world, where we have the opportunity to literally learn or find anything we could imagine in seconds [depending on your internet connection]. if we let ourselves, the smallest flower or cutest little pair of mismatched socks can inspire us.

above are a few of the myriad of things that inspire me. it was fun for me to try to pinpoint what inspires me- to dress, to care about my appearance, etc... also interesting to think about the many factors that have helped my fashion sense evolve over the years [thankfully, ask my mother].

finding our own personal inspiration is of utmost importance, whether we are trying to find our style, define it, alter it, simply enhance it, revamp it altogether, or any other angle. we need inspiration; it is where everything noteworthy begins.

we will be judged by our appearance. it is an unavoidable fact of our society. so why not use that to our advantage? as women, we have power we do not even realize we have. so find your inspiration, get inspired, and get out there &get it girrrl.

&tell me, what inspires you? it may just inspire me!:]

lovely&lively.

i have been trying to think of the perfect name for my new blog segment on fashion... i was inspired while working on a card for someone i love very much [who is both]... and i came up with lovely&lively. i like it because it address traits on the inside &out! and i want to focus on both in my blog, as they undeniably go hand in hand.

so i will officially be posting a new "lovely&lively" post every thursday. that means... first real one tomorrow!

sad.

i'm going to have to buy a new camera. but this time it will have to be less than $100 since... well, no need to explain.

any recommendations? thank you please.

weekly fashion plug.

i want to start a segment of my blog focusing on practical fashion, worn to empower. and by fashion i mean looking your best, dressing to fit your body type &body shape, feeling fabulous in your clothes, and working with what we have & learning how to put together outfits when you can't always shop at anthropologie. not to mention doing so in a classy way, without revealing an unnecessary amount of skin. we don't all look like this, or have the ability or desire to dress like this on a daily basis:



nor would we like to. we are different, unique, and every one beautiful. we need to embrace who we are &learn how to look our best so we, most importantly, FEEL our best!

i am intrigued by fashion, style, &fit. how the exact same woman can simply change the way she dresses &she can literally be transformed into a more confident, empowered, strong, &beautiful woman. so many girls &women do not realize their potential &they become complacent with the way they look, whether they be an squirmy 14-year old, a multi-tasking mother of 4, or a beautifully-aging empty nester.

every woman, regardless of age, size, financial situation, or even desire, should grant herself the right to look HER best. to not judge herself against others, but to look her best &by doing so, feel confident and inspired.

i am going to post an entry once a week with something along these lines. i'm not exactly sure what it will be or what this may transform into, but i do know this is something that is important to me& i hope that in some way i can inspire.

please comment &let me know what you think! i would love to hear your ideas:].

0049.

camera still lost. i even felt prompted as to where it was... NOTHING.

made homemade pizza tonight. our fave. we both popped a ranitidine.

invictus- i am the master of my soul.

church tour tonight. why am i soo lucky to have the tRUE gospel in my life + the cutest missionaries who come over &set up a "family mission plan" with us??

for my job i work 8 nights in a row &then get 6 off. right now i'm on day one of six. &OH SO bored already. what to do, what to do. here is one of my activities.






yes, that's a band-aid on my face. for medical not cool purposes. &i love how pleasantly skeletal i look in that last pic!

love is in the air! [&snow]

it is snowing in tuscaloosa, alabama &has been ALL DAY. this is a b i g deal here. everything has been cancelled/shut down. including the university of alabama. that means... SNOW DAY! dan put on his silly snow pants &i put on 4 layers &we tried to play in it a little. it's not sticking once it hits the ground, but we managed to make a few snowballs:].

i'm getting so excited for valentine's day. i've been working on valentine's &gifts &getting everything ready. i am going to make toffee &strawberry cheesecake! i even made valentine's for dan to take to the ninos he tutors but they will have to wait since school is cancelled! [they will be SO ecstatic about the pencils].

my camera is pretty much gone for good. i tried to use our last one, thinking just the screen was broken... but no luck! UGH! i feel like we are missing out on so many memories forever captured.

:[

sunday funday.

sundays are so much fun. we use every excuse to not leave the house. today we made flounder in the rotisserie &scalloped potatoes. not to mention a surprisingly delicious banana milkshake.

the tuscaloosa ward is amazing. everyone supports &cares for &loves each other. such the cutest myriad of people. soo much love. our goal for this year is 120 people to attend sacrament meeting.

saturday was worth mentioning. dan studied for approximately SIX hours. all the while i made valentines crafts/decorations for the house. they are soo cute, &i am dying to share. but is it so sad that...

WE HAVE LOSTEN OUR CAMERA little coco trixie. why is this such my luck? 1st camera... stolen in tel aviv. replacement... just broke one day. 3rd camera [our big investment with insurance &everything]... just disappeared one day after taking pictures of our lovely mozzarella &ham sandwiches. SERIOUSLY??! why?!

back to takeovines day [that's what i'm so stuck on calling it because my other cell phone didn't know valentines was a word &only said takeovines so i just stuck with it]. i made a love collage in our kitchen (you're probably in it), found my pirates of the caribbean valentines from last year [why did i buy those?] and made some to give out, made a couple fun cards, &CLEANED. best day in the life of a WOMAN i'm pretty sure.

favorite quote from last week:

patient to me: "i like you. you remind me of someone off scrubs."

i took it as a compliment.

dan always buzzes his hair real short &i trim the back &stuff. so he trimmed it tonight &i wanted to be a part of all the fun so i cut real short bangs and i look like i'm seven. might be really crooked and funny. i don't mind. now dan is a marine & i'm a rag doll. the best.

i made curtains. they are cute.

the other day we were driving back from the basketball game &these two moto-cops stopped behind us waiting for the train &we could hear them GOSSIPING about us having IDAHO plates!! it was the funniest. so then one of us pulled up next to us &dan yelled "ROLL TIDE FROM IDAHO" out the window &they literally had a full conversation through the window... probably both going 25 in a 45. we were so tickled.

rachel taylor orr is coming to alabama. I KNOW. i'm the luckiest. to visit her sister. but i get a little too:]]].

we are happy.

the end.

update: i hauled cornelius mac around to get some awkward iPhoto pics of the decor. i just wanted to share:].

on our coffee table<3.

our paper lanterns from ashlot's wedding. they are so cutesied out for every holiday. these are my favorite so far.

this is my candle creation in the making. in five years the wax will be built up all the way to the top in different colors &it will be TIGHT. &that's a glimpse of our love collage in the back! when dan saw it he said: "let's keep it up all year.." i know. i love him.