Just in time for Christmas.

i hate to do another shop-related post, but wanted to fill you guys in on the deal i'm running on Groopdealz from now through Thursday! my popular pine cone necklace is 42% off, with discounted shipping ($2.75)! on top of that, it's guaranteed to ship in time for Christmas, so you can give it as a Christmas gift (it's ok to get yourself a Christmas gift too. just sayin') there's only a limited number available, so i'd snag one sooner than later.

i would be super grateful if you felt like sharing this deal on twitter/facebook/your social media outlet of choice (you can actually do it from the deal page itself when you hover over the photo). thanks guys!! i'll check in soon with a more interesting (less self-promoting) post ;)

the good life.

hey guys! i'm not sure why it's taken me so long to return to this space! it seems the longer it's been, the harder it is to jump back in because i just don't know where to begin. our new life in Portland has been pretty wonderful. i struggled with bouts of anxiety at the beginning (which i don't think was helped by our Breaking Bad marathons), but i feel like within the past month, i've started to find my rhythm and really start to settle in and feel like myself again. our house has started to feel more like a home (i wasn't really feeling it at first). there are so many amazing things about living in Portland, between all of the local farm stands/markets & amazing produce, endless mind-blowing (and reasonably priced) restaurants, gorgeous hikes, cheap/fun/unique entertainment options, the laid-back lifestyle, no sales tax(!).. and yea i could go on for awhile. yea, i would say it's a pretty incredible place to live & i get why Portlandians take so much pride in their city. i literally gasp every time i suddenly get a glimpse of majestic Mt. Hood. it's hard to believe it's real, that i get to live somewhere with so much natural beauty, and with such an appealing lifestyle.

i'm actually at 'home' (in Michigan) right now for the holidays. i get to stay a whole month because of my flexible work situation (i work remotely from Portland & am working in the office while i'm here). i'm learning to be more thankful for the flexibility, i think i generally take it for granted. i am a pretty bad complainer actually. anyway -- i am happy to get lots of time with my family and friends (and their cute babies). it's been so great being at my parents' house, especially with my brother here too. missing joel though, i will be very happy when he's back here next friday.. this is the longest we've been apart. need to get in lots of girl time in the meantime!

oh, hey.

hey guys, remember me? i don't blame you if you don't! it has been a really freaking long time. happy to report i'm alive and well in our new home in the Pacific Northwest. i have to say, Portland is a pretty amazing place to live & is slowly starting to feel like home, though it still feels pretty surreal that we actually live here. will tell you more about that soon but for now i just wanted to drop in to let you guys know about the special i'm having on the pinecone necklace in my shop this week.

that's almost 40% off you guys! (still trying to figure out if they say 'you guys' here..) there is only a limited quantity available & the deal will end on Sunday (the 27th). this is a perfect everyday necklace for fall - it goes with everything, is a comfortable weight & such a pretty antiqued bronze. the length is 27", but i am happy to adjust the length on request, just shoot me a message on etsy. find it here.

excited to be back to blogging! i've missed you all, for reals.

my bungalow dreams have come true.

like i mentioned in my last post, we finally secured a rental in Portland after quite a stressful process. the rental market in Portland is apparently extremely hot right now, some we talked to said it's the hottest they've ever seen it. this means places are snatched up immediately {and prices are hiked, wah wah}. people are even offering more than what the rental is listed for! ftw. so obviously this was not easy to navigate from across the country. luckily we have a couple of friends out there who were awesome enough to look at places for us. i think we had them look at six different ones, yikes. and we filled out apps for all of them, paid paid app fees, got credit checks done, corresponded back and forth via email and phone, even did a Skype interview, and crossed our fingers that something would work out. whew! it felt like we were buying a house or something. i can't even imagine what that process is actually going to be like.

in the end, we were approved for an adorable 1926 bungalow in NE portland. you guys, i'm going to live in a bungalow. in portland. is this real life? and it's on 1/3 of an acre with three garden boxes and a raspberry bush, oh and a garage converted into a studio space (which i haven't even seen photos of, hah). i am rather giddy about it. it was a really stressful process and i am so thankful it's over and amazed that we came out of it with such an awesome place (at least judging by photos & our friend's reactions since we haven't actually seen it). it's really crazy how it all worked out in the end.. i won't bore you with the details, but it feels very much meant to be, even though we will be spending more than we were hoping to.

and now i've already started pinning a million ideas for decor. we sold a lot, so we're going to have quite a bit of empty space starting out. and i know it's going to drive me crazy, but i'm hoping i'll be patient because we are going to have to buy pieces slowly. also have started researching the area and have already located a community garden, two farmers' markets, a New Seasons Market, and a Trader Joe's nearby. i am kind of giddy about all of that. if any of you just so happen to live in/be familiar with NE portland, please message me! it feels a little strange not even having been to the neighborhood we're living in, hopefully we'll feel at home there!

sorry for the wordy post, i'm just a wee bit excited!

oh, hi.

wow, i don't know if i've ever gone this long without blogging! wanted to let you all know i am still alive and well. finding it hard to keep up with the blog world while i prepare for this enormous transition that is just around the corner. but i definitely miss it and feel very much out of the loop. come tomorrow, august 1st, it will be moving month {we leave august 24th}. i had to pause for a moment after typing that and stare blankly at my screen. you guys, it still doesn't seem real and i guess it just won't until we're there. i have lived here {in the mitten state} for nearly my entire life, and i am moving 2,400 miles away. i just can't wrap my head around it. but i will say that, though the moments of overwhelming sadness/shock/i feel like balling my eyes out are starting to hit, overall i am still feeling really excited for this new chapter. there is SO much to look forward to.

thought i'd share a few of my favorite instagrams of life since you last heard from me. it has been rather full. we have had a 4-day yard sale in the hot, hot heat and moved out of our house & into my parents. we've traveled to the Denver area for my friend's wedding {for which i was a bridesmaid & joel played music} & then to Manitou Springs for some majestic sight-seeing at Garden of the Gods & Pike's Peak. i finally figured out my work situation for after the move. we visited my sister & brother-in-law (and their new pup) across the state and spent a weekend up north with my in-laws. we sent out a bajillion emails to prospective rentals in Portland, filled out multiple applications, paid multiple fees, stressed the freak out, and THANK THE LORD, secured a place to live (woot woot - more on that later). with LOTS of time spent with family and friends in between, some good memories for sure. there has not been a dull moment during these last days in Michigan. hopefully the rest will be just as sweet.

stuff.

wow, have i been a terrible blogger lately. my mind has been going all sort of directions and apparently keeping up this blog has not been one of them. this season has been going so fast... we have just over two months before we make the big cross-country move. doesn't seem possible. in the meantime we have much going on (and much to plan & figure out, including a place to live in portland). in the last few weeks, we've helped my sister & brother-in-law move, traveled to Asheville for our anniversary (more on that soon), had a grad party for Joel, drove to the U.P (Escanaba to be exact) for a college friend's wedding, on top of trying to start packing, starting to inquire about rentals online, trying to sort out work transition stuff, etc etc. let's just say there's a lot to figure out yet. oh yea, and there was that time that joel helped open up for Eddie Money at DTE.

strangely, i am staying very calm lately, despite the garage sale coming up in 2 days that we are not all that prepared for and the move into my parents' house next weekend that we are definitely not prepared for. it'll all get done, somehow. and once it's done, we will be off to Denver for my dear friend's wedding and then to some very exciting, long-awaited travel plans (in celebration of Joel finishing his PhD). 

photos from our trip to the beauuutiful oasis that is the U.P. this weekend. we will miss it dearly. 

this my friends, is shaping up to me the most eventful, epic summer of my life. in mostly good ways but also chaotic ways. and eventually heart-wrenching ways. i got a tiny glimpse of the flood of emotions to come last night when we were watching real world portland (did i just admit that publicly) and the roommates were all saying their goodbyes in typical dramatic fashion to people they had known for what, 3 months? i was painstakingly reminded of the fact that i will be saying goodbye to friends i have know, oh just 10, 15 years and oh yea, the most important people in my life (second to Joel), my family. ok that's enough of that. i'll check in soon with more happy thoughts, on Asheeville. 

this guy.

is now Dr. Joel Lane. yea, he's my husband. 

though I wasn't able to watch him defend his dissertation (which was now two weeks ago by the way, I've sucked at blogging), i was able to creep on him from afar while chillin' in his office. and i got to join him in the conference room afterward where his dissertation committee told him that there was absolutely nothing he needed to change about his dissertation, that he did a brilliant job. he astounds me. at our celebratory lunch afterward, i encouraged him to sign the check Dr. Lane (which he says he will never do again unless the waiter deserves it). i am pretty freaking proud of this guy and all of the blood, sweat and tears that went into this insane accomplishment. it took an incredible amount of hard work, sacrifices, challenges, sleep deprivation.. the list could go on and on. seriously, it is mind-blowing, i could definitely never do it. 

i am still in shock that his years of being a student are over. i will admit, it has not been exactly been easy being the wife of a PhD student, we have definitely had our challenges along the way (sidenote: loved this honest post about marriage from Lauren today). but i am so grateful and hopeful for our next season. a grand adventure awaits :)