this weekend was such a treat.
we celebrated valentine’s day early on saturday with coffee at one of our favorite stops & surprise dinner reservations in a town nearby.
luke spoiled me this year with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in brown paper packaging from flora & a box of colorful macarons from a downtown macaron shop. i treated him to local coffee roasted by our friends, two nice button-up shirts & a gift card to his favorite coffee shop. sweet & simple gestures on this extra special day.
i also managed to tackle a handful of areas within our home that were in need of extra attention.
i reorganized our canning closet & purged our guest bedroom closet. i also tackled our china cabinet, letting go of a few dishes & only displaying items that get the most use within our home. my office is even getting a little fluffing with a new desk & the addition of woven sheer curtains.
it feels so good to make space in our home to just live & enjoy each other. i can promise you, i’m no minimalist. i love beautiful things, cozy corners, a stack of well-worn blankets & family heirlooms, but the act of purging & reorganizing is such a refresher to the space we love dearly.
a celebratory weekend spent at home was just what we needed. it feels so good to start our monday having spent a little time picking up & planning for the week ahead.
wishing you all the best in the week ahead!
how was your weekend? are you tackling those organizational & purging projects? please share!
love,
natalie
lots of good stuff happening in our neck of the woods.
currently…
– we are packing up & leaving once again for the great state of texas. we’ll drop by austin & then hit the road for san antonio. i can’t wait to spend a little time on the river walk! i also plan to check off a dream from my bucket list & finally pay a visit to magnolia market! do you think i’ll see our sister, joanna?!
– luke & i are revealing our huge secret in less than one week! eep! make sure to mark your calendars & come back here next tuesday, february 9th, for all the details!
– my midwest friends, join me at the cutest shop ever, poppy, for a fun pop-up craft party in columbia during t/f weekend! we’re going to sip on coffee & mimosas, enjoy great conversation, munch on cute cookies & craft! it’s $75 per person – all supplies included. we can’t wait to spoil you with a swag bag, too. head on over to my shop right HERE & register!
– i am in the thick of parenthood, y’all. it’s getting serious. my friend, megan, even said she was legitimately concerned for me when i finish the show. i mean, who will i cry & laugh with late into the night? in other news, i think i need a braverman tee.
– in need of some valentine’s day-inspired party ideas? i am over at shindig paperie’s blog sharing the scoop on my diy galentine’s day chocolate bar! head on over right here to see all the cute details!
– there are a few spots open in just a couple of days to sponsor my blog! click HERE to check out all of the details. i am so grateful to all of you who support our adventures & i know sponsoring this space will assist in building your own business dreams! thank you!
– tonight i am making these chicken enchiladas from skinnytaste’s blog (do you follow her stuff? she’s great!). i need to purchase her cookbook asap. what are you making for dinner?
what’s happening in your neck of the woods? let’s chat! xo.
love,
natalie
i giggle at the fact that i am about to write an entire blog post about jeans. but truly, if there’s a fiber that defines the every day around here, it’s denim. also, i am a firm believer in finding something that i love & sharing it with you, my dear readers.
since beginning my #dressinhappinessdaily project (see here for more details), i have found that i feel my best in pieces that are made well. sometimes this is reflected in the price & other times i strike gold at the thrift shop.
as my personal get dressed project progressed, i found that jeans from old navy & target just were cutting it. they didn’t fit well for my body shape & they often sagged after only an hour or so of wear. so i traded in my poor fitting, inexpensive denim for a couple of well-made, pricier pairs of jeans (i personally love j.crew & 7 for all mankind).
about a year ago, my friend told me about denim therapy, a company that repairs denim. you mail in your piece, they repair it for a fraction of what it would cost to replace your beloved denim & then ship it back to you. i tried it out & was hooked.
just recently i sent in my two pairs of jeans that were ripped & worn from years of wear.
the repair is faint & will last for many more wears to come.
more importantly, it’s a remedy to our culture of buy & toss consumerism. i can’t tell you how many articles of clothing i’ve gotten rid of because of a rip or hole. i believe such companies, like denim therapy, point us to a solution that our parents or grandparents lived by – wear & use your possessions until they are threadbare or broken & then take them to a skilled craftsmen who can stitch a patch or repair the damage so that that well-loved piece can surely last several lifetimes.
i hope to continue breaking my habit of cheap consumerism for a practice of contentment & well-made goods.
just a note – denim therapy didn’t ask me to write this post. but like my friend who shared her wealth of knowledge, i thought i’d share my love for denim therapy, a company that is surely making a difference in our purchasing practices.
have you used denim therapy? how are you shifting your habits from cheap goods to well-made pieces? please share!
love,
natalie
p.s. i must add – it takes several weeks for denim therapy to receive your package, fix your belongings & ship them back. don’t expect a quick turnaround time. i quickly learned this & thought i would pass along the information.