One of the big items on my to do list while in Nashville was to visit Reese Witherspoon’s store, Draper James. I follow the store on all social media platforms and I am always double tapping the posts! I love the Southern lifestyle and fashion style that Reese and the store has. The store is super cute and I want allll of it! I took lots of photos for you guys, so keep scrolling. 🙂
When you think Nashville, you should automatically think country music. We tried to do as much touristy music things you could do while we were there. On Saturday night we got tickets to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry and to our surprise Brad Paisley was performing that night as well! We picked a good weekend, because it was the 91st birthday of the Grand Ole Opry so they definitely put on a good show. If you have ever heard of Prairie Home Companion on NPR, the program is very similar that they put on. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, stalked tried to find Taylor Swift, and hit a few live music bars. Keep on scrolling to see what we did!
Continue reading “But we keep cruising, can’t stop, won’t stop moving”
My college roommates and I decided months ago to go on a trip during Fall Break. They are all teachers, so they had a few days off in October for a girls weekend. At first we started to throw ideas out there like to see a movie, sleepover at someones house, day trip somewhere. Then someone suggested we actually go somewhere- a place none of us have ever been before. Somehow Nashville came up in conversation and we all agreed that yup, this is the adventure we were looking for! It is a city that none of us have been to before, a few of us are obsessed with country music, it was in driving distance to my one friend who moved down South for a job, and it is below the Mason Dixon Line, aka my favorite place to be. We booked our flights a few months ago…but it was a last minute trip. The hotel was booked very last minute, we had no plans of things to do once we got down there, but we knew we just wanted to have fun with each other.
Packing for a weekend getaway can be hard because you want to pack multiple outfits for just a short amount of time. I’ve made it easy and put together a list of outfits that I wore on a girls trip to Nashville. While my friends overpacked for this trip, I came prepared with outfits already made for our trip.
denim // white t shirt // denim shirt // booties
I highly suggest wearing layers on a plane, especially when traveling to the south. I wore jeans and a basic white t-shirt with my denim shirt for warmth. I also wear my biggest shoes so I don’t have to take up room in my suitcase.
We weren’t sure of our plans for Sunday morning so I packed a dress just in case. Can’t go wrong with a Lilly Pulitzer dress and Tory Burch flats. I recommend packing a nicer dress or two just in case you decide to go out to eat at a nicer place.
black jeans // top // booties
Our first night in Nashville, we got dinner and drinks at a rooftop bar. Can’t go wrong with black jeans and a striped top!
white jeans // top // shoes // bags // sunglasses
Trying to find an outfit that is cute in photos and also practical for walking around all day can be a little tricky! Can’t go wrong with white jeans and a brown sweater or long sleeve top.
September 30th was the last day at my first job out of college. It has been an amazing experience where I learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes and grew as an employee as well as a person. The beginning of the summer season, deep in my gut I knew my time was coming to an end at that job. I have always worked since I was 14, part time and full time, but this was my real first adult job. While I knew my time at my job was limited, the next challenge was how to tell my employer. Then I needed to make my plan for what happens next once I quit my job. Due to the nature of my job, it was not fair for me to quit in the middle of summer when it is the busiest time of the year. I gave my employer two months notice of my leaving, which is rare to give that much time for the employer to find a replacement. I found a template on Google and just changed the words around to fit my needs.
Funemployment sounds like a lot of fun! And it can be if it is planned out correctly… I thought I would share some of the steps and planning I had to do before I put in my resignation letter.
Let’s Look At The Financials
Before I decided to quit my job, I had to consider the financial consequences that followed. A lot of questions went through my mind before I handed in my resignation letter, and a majority of them had to deal with money.
This life change made me reevaluate my spending habits and how much I need to make a month to pay my bills. While I was still working I made a list of what I spent money on and came up with ways to cut back spending. No more buying coffee or buying food instead of cooking! These small changes made significant changes in my efforts to save money.
Financial Goals
Everyone budgets money differently and has different priorities when it comes to spending. This life change made me look at my spending habits differently and discover new ways to save money. With my next job I plan to put more of my paycheck into my savings to be able to move out and afford an apartment within the year.
It is day three of my funemployment and this whole not setting an alarm is fantastic! I also haven’t washed my hair or made any effort on my appearance the whole weekend and it is a nice break to be lazy for once. The main reason I can enjoy my funemployment this much is because I took the time to make plans financially and got a new job with a start date giving me some time off before I started my new adventure.
This post has been a long time coming, and I decided it is time to finally reveal a room I have been working on for a few months now. This little space on my floor has always been an awkward space that gets filled with clutter and was a room with little purpose. I always called my office, but I never actually spent any time in there. With the upcoming move, we are all looking at the rooms in our house to see how we can update them. This project is not 100% finished at the moment, but I am really happy how it turned out so far. I still need some of the trim to be painted, a few books need to go away and a good vacuum, but this space has completely changed!
The last time I touched this space was back in middle school when we first moved into the house. I chose baby blue and brown as my colors and I promise they were the “in” colors at the time!! The dark brown made the space look smaller and things got lost in the space. The artwork on the walls was mix matched and the space was just so blah.
Everyone knows my obsession with the TV show Fixer Upper, and after a few episodes one day I saw the magic of a fresh coat of paint. In the basement I found some paint from a left over project and started to prime over the brown color. Of course I started to paint at 8pm and was up all night covered in paint on a Friday night.
I started by removing all of the furniture from this room to start fresh.With everything out of the space, it was easier to envision what I wanted the space to look like. At first I wanted to paint the space white, a complete opposite of the dark brown that was there before. The space gets very little natural lighting so I needed to stay away from dark colors. I then decided on a Behr Ultra Eggshell color that wasn’t completely white but still had a bit of color. 
The cabinet is something my parents have had since before I was born! It was painted pink for my baby room and last year I painted it grey to match my guest room. I decided the guest room was overwhelmed with furniture and decided to bring it out here. I am not sold on its current color and will probably paint it again. Just haven’t decided what to paint it yet.
The mirror was a last minute purchase at the town rummage sale. I walked past it and I needed it. I knew it was what the space was missing. The mirror opens up the space and allows the natural light to bounce off the walls. Did I mention this mirror was only $5?? I spent days in HomeGoods trying to find a good mirror or statement piece that fit my budget. Just another reason why you should always shop in thrift stores, GoodWill or antique stores to find a piece no one else has for a reasonable price. 
This became my new favorite wall! I knew I wanted to create a gallery wall above my desk. I took every piece of artwork I had and put them in a pile on my floor. I decided to go with a black theme with my artwork with bits of color. I framed the post card you get with Kate Spade purchases and put up my artwork that matched. Again, I wanted this space to be simply so I tried to add a gallery, but not have too much crowding the wall.
The desk is my Great Aunt B’s that has been in my family for a long time. The desk is not practical at all and no one wants it- but how can you get rid of a family heirloom??The desk is in amazing shape even though of its age. My mom suggested we paint it white but I love the small details, even the water marks and fading over the years. 
Desk Accessories
One of the hardest parts of not being in school anymore is not going out an buying new school supplies every fall. Not being a student did not stop me from going to Target to pick up a few supplies though. I love the chic office supplies Target always has and purchased the Oops eraser for some desk art. The clip board is from the dollar bin at Target from earlier in the summer and the planner is also from Target.
This planner is from Target and only $12! I was going to get my usual Lilly planner, but I needed a planner ASAP one day and this one ended up in my shopping cart one day. It reminds me of a Kate Spade one but only a fraction of the costs. It has each day separately with times, to do lists, and some cute quotes. Since I am no longer a student, this is all I need to keep track of doctor appointments and lunch plans with friends. 
Like all adults, I now pay bills. I try to pay everything online and set up automatic payments to avoid fees or headaches. I got this little organizer for a few dollars from Target and I like to put all of my monthly bills in it so I know what I still need to pay. Even though I am new to adulting, I still have a handful of bills that need to get paid every month. If I don’t stay organized, they would never get paid!
When I first came home from college I had boxes of books from college. In this space I wanted to have them on display. I worked really hard in college and wanted to put a small fortune of books on display and not hidden. My mom helped me one day to put the books away in the bookcase and she now understands why I was so tired in college. I was always reading a book and then writing a paper on it!
This little side table is for added storage since my desk doesn’t really offer it. To prevent over crowding on my desk, I have my pens, markers, and a small filing system for my paperwork on here.
One of my biggest priorities before I started this project was downsizing. I got rid of everything I could, I donated office supplies to my job and tried to have very little on my desk. It is amazing how much more room I have when I no longer have 10 of the same thing or a desk drawer stuffed with extra post it notes!
I will continue to make changes to this space, fix the trim and add my personality to the space more, but I love the results so far!
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