life lately + currently

lately life has become a bit crazy... i've become swamped with showers, crafting, a birthday party for my nephew (that you'll see next week), wedding planning and discussing with Emily, the #august50 challenge, house hunting, fundraiser planning, blogging, praise team... all on top of regular ol' life. remember when i wrote this post about "handling it all"? well my plate seems a bit full right now and i'm ready to start shedding the unnecessary.

in my last life lately post i shared how it seemed like everything i was trying to do was failing. i was feeling emotional, discouraged, and all around down. and to be honest, i'm not sure it's quite worked out yet. when those kinds of feelings run my life, i usually heap on the projects and busy myself to forget about it. check. done. what's next? probably a moment where i realize i've been crazy, i'll scale way back and get back to the basics. i'm ready for that phase to hit.

sister + nephew after a great birthday party. ^^^

+  +  +  +  +

today i also want to do a currently post because these are my favorite types of posts to read.

currently i'm...

...drinking cucumber, lemon, and mint water. drinking it like nobodies business.

...watching big bang theory. seriously, why am i just catching on to this show?

...reading the series Hayley from The Tiny Twig is sharing about motherhood and her experiences. i'm not a mother but i want to be someday, and her story is so beautiful.

...eating unfortunately, a lot of cake. didn't you read that part up there about showers and parties and weddings? i'm a bit burnt out on the cake.

...excited for a lot! i'm excited that fall is approaching quickly, as it's my favorite time of year. i'm excited for the weekend we have planned in Tennessee. i'm super excited for Influence Conference!

...wearing the heck out of my stella and dot renegade bracelet.

linking up with Blair from Wild & Precious. 

hm online (finally!)

with the newly opened H&M online store, i find myself making wishlist upon wishlist whilst browsing the "home" section. seriously, with photos like these, how can i help myself?

all these goodies can be found here. my favorite section? the kitchen towels!

how to make: Hanging Word Decor

"gooooooooooood morning fellow crafters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! are you ready for a fun-filled day of hot-gluing, glittering, painting, and all around creating? well, get excited because today we are going to create magical goodness for your home!"

if i had a crafting talk show, i'm pretty sure that's how i'd want to start each show.... just saying.

but seriously? you know you'd be intrigued by the magical goodness part.

ANYWAY, last week i shared photos of Emily's bachelorette party and you got a sneak peek of today's craft. (haven't seen the pics? go look at them now. it's okay, i'll wait.) her wedding is going to be garden-y, rustic-y, antique-y yumminess, so i wanted to continue with that feel. 

as you may know, my current living quarters are tiny. our dining room, living room, crafting room, office, gym, and library are all in one room. so i knew space was going to be tight for the party and i wanted to keep it feeling open. but i also knew i wanted to have something fun at the food table/bar/gift table (see how multi-use i have to make things?)

insert hanging word art. normally i would make a backdrop, but i didn't want to make the space any smaller. the hanging word art gave the food table/bar/gift table a barrier without creating a barrier... you know?

anyway, how about i just show you the photos and get to it? 

fishing line, lace trim, grapevine wire, fabric flowers, command hook

  obviously you don't have to do that if your lace already has a scalloped edge.

ta-da! a fun decoration to hang over your table. of course, if you have a wall to work with, you wouldn't need to hang it from the ceiling. in that case i would use the command hooks on the wall and place my flowers so that they hid the hooks.

if you were to recreate this, what word would you choose? 

weekly truth, week 31

365, 07/22 - 07/28

 this open, clean-looking beach house looks so inviting and cozy for rainy summer days.

 white paired with cream, black, and green. modern colors, in a traditional room can look so lovely.

what a fun way to play up a door in a rental! it's not uncommon to have white doors, but it would be a happy surprise to see them covered in black, vinyl circles.

 white walls like an artists canvas. would you be so daring to use your walls to create art?

i never thought a big white box could look so lovely.

like the white walls above, this room is a canvas with a palette full of colors, prints, patterns, and all sorts of inspiration. white can be so perfect for an artists room.

the first color palette using white plays back to the swinging bed in this post, with earthy, natural colors. these shades are so perfect together.

*all paint colors are Sherwin Williams colors. this is not a sponsored post, i just really love their color selections.

my influence roomies

september 26th you'll find me at the influence conference. don't know what that is? 

have you been hiding under a rock!?

ok, sorry, maybe that was a bit harsh. 

i'm so, so excited to attend again this year (read what i learned at last years right here in this post) and i'm SO thrilled to be staying with the 3 lovely ladies i get to shack up with. before the conference i'm sure i'll share more but in the meantime i thought i'd introduce you to my roomies so you can get to know them and their blogs.

hannah from Little Words & Little Pictures

mandy from This Girl's Life

elise from Sunday Charm

aren't they all so gorgeous?! visit their blogs and you'll see that their hearts are even more beautiful.

also, i may or may not have stolen this idea from kerrie. so go show her blog some love too, yeah? she's got some awesome roomies as well!

#August50

today is the first of august and that means only one thing in the eyes of my hubby: #august50. don't know about that? last august i discovered a buddy of mine that i used to work with in high school (ahem, that was 9 years ago) was challenging himself to run 50 miles in the month of august. several other people were doing it as well and documenting their miles on twitter, using the hashtag #august50.

i mentioned it to KJB and he jumped in on the action. he's not a big "tweeter" but he does check his timeline every day to keep up with news and sports. surprisingly to me, he loved sharing his miles on twitter and found it motivational.

this year, he's challenging himself even more by doubling his goal: 100 miles in the month of august. and i've decided to join in the party as well. i'm not quite as adventurous as him, so i'm sticking with the original 50 miles. i'm also not much of a runner, but i plan to walk & ellipticate my way to the goal line.

will you join us in this challenge? post your miles on twitter using the hashtag #august50.