Currently Loving- February 2018

CURRENTLY LOVING- FEBRUARY 2018

February is notoriously known as the month of love. I jumped right on that bandwagon and started a month-long blog series called Sharing the Love. I wanted to showcase a few bloggers (home and fashion), YouTube channels, and Instagram accounts that I have loved following. If you missed out on that series scroll down for the links to those posts.

Favorite Home Bloggers

Photo: Addison’s Wonderland

Favorite Fashion Bloggers

Photo: Meghan Lanahan

Favorite YouTubers

Photo: theholdernessfamily.com

Favorite Instagram Accounts

Photo: Our Fifth House

BEAUTYCOUNTER

It’s no surprise to find this company on my list of current loves. I went deep with sharing the love during February in my Beautycounter Facebook Group. (Come join if you haven’t already.) I started promoting self love and even shared a product love of the day all month long. There were lots of the inspirational photos like the one above and just some general self-motivating thoughts for myself and my group of ladies. And the product love came from all areas of Beautycounter. We had makeup love, skin care love, and personal care love. Here are a few of those.

Makeup Love: Touchup Skin Concealer Pen

Skin Care Love- Nourishing Cream Exfoliator

Personal Care Love- Protect All Over Sunscreen and Protect Stick Sunscreen (Face)

Beth Moore

Photo: The Gospel Herald

Do y’all know who Beth Moore is? Well, I’ve been loving her since the first time I heard her Hairbrush Story. It’s both hilarious and brings tears to my eyes. Beth is a Bible teacher that goes around the country and holds conferences for (primarily) women who want to learn about Jesus. On Wednesday nights on TBN her program, Living Proof Live, airs for 30 minutes. She is so anointed, and I learn a lot each time I watch. She’s also a fellow southern woman, and that makes it fun to watch because her Texas accent is pretty thick. Anyway, I am always so blessed by her sermons, and I thought someone else might be too. I’ve always enjoyed her teachings and used to listen to her a lot. As it goes, I found other people to listen to, other books to read, etc. But this month I decided to play one of the sermons I had on my DVR and immediately remembered why I started watching her in the first place. She just wants people to love Jesus. And she’s living proof that a relationship with Jesus can save your life. I DVR the program every week, but there are countless videos on YouTube. Listen to The Hairbrush Story below.

Bathroom Progress

Totally unedited iPhone picture

Well, thankfully I don’t have a deadline for this project. I shared the before of the bathroom a while back. You can read that here. Then it snowed and stayed too cold to paint. I finally had a three day weekend to knock out the painting, and I did it! Here’s what I did:

  • painted the walls white
  • painted the vanity black
  • spray painted the gold cabinet handles silver to match the chrome fixtures
  • bought and returned 🙁 baskets that would have looked perfect but were too big

I’ve still got to:

  • get and hang artwork
  • buy and install shelves
  • buy accessories

I’m hoping this happens sooner rather than later. I’m hoping my spring break plans will bring me some inspiration and maybe even a few treasures to put in there.

SPRING BREAK PLANS

I’m going to WACO! You know why…Magnolia!

Photo: Magnolia.com

A while back, my mom mentioned that we should go on a trip since my dad and brother do their own thing. They always pack up and go to places like Philly, NYC, and D.C. And we decided that it was our turn. So we are loading up the car and road tripping to the great state of Texas.

I’m so excited! I don’t think I’ve had an actual Spring Break trip since I was a senior in high school. That’s sad, y’all. It’s been a WHILE since high school. I don’t even care if all I buy is a cupcake from the bakery. I have watched every episode of Fixer Upper, read the books, stolen my mom’s Magnolia Journals, followed every social media account I can, ….you get the picture. I am a huge fan of the Gaines family and can’t wait to take this fun trip with my mama! If you’ve been, I’d appreciate any tips and/or must-sees and dos.

February was a pretty fun month for me. Full of love, a little self-discovery, and exciting plans for things to come. Here’s to a marvelous March, y’all!

 

Favorites of 2017

FAVORITES OF 2017

Happy New Year, y’all! I’m pretty excited about the year 2018. I don’t normally get very excited about the new year, but there’s something in my soul about this year. I have a real sense of hope in my heart, and I believe that just means the best is yet to come.

But before we look ahead, let’s reminisce. Here’s a look at some of my favorite posts from 2017.

The First Post

Home Again– This was my first ever blog post. I was terrified to post it and put myself out there, but I have enjoyed so much of this journey of blogging. This will forever be one of the most special posts I’ve ever written. Even with all the non-decorating of the apartment. It’s fun to go back and see how far we’ve come from those first few months in our little loft.

Earrings

Crafty Earring DIY– I’ve never had a pair of earrings be so popular. And when people who don’t know I have a blog find out that I made them, they always want a pair. I wish I could make them for everyone. They are still so cute and fun to wear.

Mothers

Happy Mother’s Day– These two ladies are so special to Paul and me. We couldn’t do life without them. Like I said in the post, “Mother’s are extraordinary beings.”

Home Improvements

There were two really fun posts to share about decor changes in our apartment. When we first moved in I was still so in love with our blue ikat rug (still am), but it really didn’t fit, so I was thrilled when it dawned on me to swap the rug for the other one I loved that we had before the blue one. (Thanks to a little inspiration from none other than Joanna Gaines.) You can read about it the post entitled New(ish) Rug.

You can see even more of the rug in the Leopard Curtains post. Man was I proud to have made those myself, and I still love them. I realize they aren’t for everyone, but I definitely am not tired of them yet.

Celebrating 17, er, 7 Years of Marriage

That’s a joke between Paul and myself. We hit the 7 year mark in 2017, but we joked that it felt like 17 years together. That picture up there shows we were already acting 7 years married on our wedding day when we had a little tiff taking pictures in the 100° July heat. Despite a wedding day spat, we are still in love and still happily married. I was able to share a very photo-filled post about our wedding and how we were doing 7 years in.

New Job = New Classroom

Classroom Reveal– I got a new job this year teaching 3rd grade. I was fortunate enough to paint and make this room a space that I enjoy being in. It makes a difference when your environment is pleasing to you. This was one of the more popular posts and one of my top 10 Instagram posts of the year. Thank you for loving my classroom makeover as much as I did.

Beautycounter

2017 marked the beginning of my journey with Beautycounter. If you’re unfamiliar with Beautycounter go here to learn more about it. I signed on in October to be a consultant to help spread the mission of safer beauty. I’m happy to be Leaving My Beauty Mark.

Changes

Changes– I really poured out a bit of my heart in this one. It was a little deep. I know that isn’t for everyone, so I understand that a lot of people didn’t read it. But for me it still rings true. I am still not sure why I feel a season of change is in store for me, but I know that I feel hope now, so I’m expectant and in a good way and feeling like I might not actually be having a quarter-life crisis anymore. And doesn’t John Mayer just speak straight to your soul? I just love him.

Christmas Home Tours 1 & 2

Round 1– I was so excited to decorate for Christmas this year. With my need for change, I did things a little differently this year and couldn’t have been happier with how things played out in the decor department. 

Round 2– I found that amazing ribbon for my tree that took it up another notch, and I can’t believe I actually took it down already. I’m sitting here writing this wishing I could glance up and see it. Thank God for pictures.

Thank You

Thank you so much for following along with me this year. I am so blessed to have this little corner of the internet, and the fact that y’all visit me here every now and then means the world to me. I am so thankful for the support from you guys, and I hope you’ll stick around for the fun we’ll have in 2018. I can feel that it’s going to be a good one!

XO,

Elizabeth