Wednesday, October 31, 2018

How We Wore It | Bold Fall Colors

We are back in action with our How We Wore It Series. We took a couple months off because life got crazy for all of us but I'm so happy we are back. And on the last day of the month, no less. This month we are featuring BOLD fall colors. I kind of cheated and wore a color that's not too bold because most of my bold-er clothes are either packed away somewhere or summery. I went with the mulled cranberry wine color which is perfect for fall & winter. My lips and nails match, too, so I was feeling pretty spiffy.

Be sure to check out my stunning friend's posts below!


Hat: Target
Sweater: Walmart
Shirt: Walmart (only $7.99 and it comes in so many cute colors!!)
Jeans: Lucky Brand
Shoes: Old from Target. Similar here!

Now show my beautiful friends some love!


Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Halloween :). 

xoxo, Chelan



Sunday, October 28, 2018

Weekend in Charleston, SC

Hey there! It's been a while. And life has been crazy as of late. But crazy in a good way, I promise. A week ago we wrapped up our time in Denver, CO and traveled to our next rotation in Charleston, SC. Charleston is as charming and beautiful as it seems and I think everyone should visit it at least once in their lifetime. It truly does beat all with its plantation style homes, shutters and flower boxes on almost every window, wrap around porches everywhere you look, and lantern style lights along the streets with actual fire in them. SO CUTE! From the moment we arrived, I knew I was in trouble and that I would fall in love with this city. I could stay here forever!

Parker and I went on the most fun date on Friday night. We went to dinner at Swig & Swine for some delicious BBQ and had some of the best chicken wings we've ever tasted. We're already talking about going back for more. Then we went exploring downtown at the Charleston City Night Market and the Charleston Waterfront Park which is home to the famous Pineapple Fountain. This park is what Nicholas Sparks dreams are made of with its pier that has swings on it. Like porch swings, so you can swing with your lover under the moonlight while looking out at the water. Does it get more romantic than that? No. It does not. After wandering around the cobblestone streets for a while and ogling at the stunning architecture we went to Kaminsky's for dessert. Parker got the brownie sundae and I got oreo cheesecake, both of which were divine.

Low-quality photo but the best quality date night! We finished the evening with one of our TV shows (who else is hooked on A Million Little Things already?) and some popcorn. Best date ever!

This weekend we also had the pleasure of hosting Parker's sister's family for a night and it was fun to show them around. We went to the Folly Beach Fishing Pier and spent a little bit of time on the beach itself. We had pizza and watched Hotel Transylvania. And we went for a little adventure through downtown Charleston to see some of the beautiful (and HUGE) homes.

Crazy boys went in the freezing water with their clothes on lol

This weekend was one for the books. Our time here is going too fast and I'm already dreading the day we have to leave. If you've been to Charleston before, what are the must sees while we are here? We want to do it all!!

xoxo, Chelan

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Trident Vibes at Walmart

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TridentVibes #CollectiveBias

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Friday, October 5, 2018

Friday Five: 5 Quotes To Remind You That Everything Will Be Okay

You know those days where you just feel like doing nothing? The days where it takes so much effort to simply get out of bed in the morning, let alone change out of your pajamas? I have those days more often than I care to admit. And some days I do just that - stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing productive. I had one of those days last Saturday, in fact. Parker had a conference and after I dropped him off I went home, crawled back in bed, and didn't move for the next 6 hours. It was glorious, if I'm being honest. But sometimes staying in bed all day can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self deprecation. Although it's relaxing in the moment, afterward I often remember all of the things I didn't do during my free time, and I beat myself up about it. Can you relate?

In honor of General Conference happening this weekend, I thought I would share 5 of my favorite quotes from past General Conferences that help me feel better about myself and remind me that I'm doing okay.

If you don't know what LDS General Conference is, it's a conference that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints holds twice each year. The leaders of the church share hopeful and inspiring messages of Christ and the gospel throughout the course of the weekend. It always leaves me feeling more hopeful, happy, and inspired, not to mention with a stronger testimony. I invite you to tune in this weekend for even just a few minutes and I promise you that you will feel happier because of it! You can watch/listen by clicking HERE!


This full talk can be found here!


Find this full talk here! This one is particularly great for mothers and women in general.


This full talk can be found here! Such an inspiring message!

This full talk is available here!


You can read this full talk here!

All graphics are from the incredibly talented Alexa Zurcher. I've been following her blog for a long time now and she's one of my favorites! I'm excited to see what graphics she comes out with after this weekend's sessions. 

What's your favorite inspirational quote or General Conference talk? Share it in the comments below so I can be inspired by YOU! If this post inspired you at all, feel free to share it with your friends. You never know who might be having one of those days and need a reminder that everything will be okay. 

Happy conference weekend!

xoxo, Chelan

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Fall Decor That Doesn't Suck

I'm really trying to embrace the fact that it's October and that everyone else is so happy about it. This is one of my least favorite months of the year but if it's your favorite, happy October! I'm excited for you! With it being full on fall now, I figured I would share some fall decor that I've seen on Pinterest and while online window shopping that doesn't suck ;).

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

And here are a few shop-able items for your own home. Just click on the photos for the details. It's kind of sad that we don't have our own space right now to decorate so I'm living vicariously through these images. Don't even get me started on how sad I am that I won't get to decorate for Christmas this year [insert 12 crying emojis here]. I may or may not have already started pinning Christmas things :). One month until Christmas music/decor becomes acceptable! Wahoo!!

I get a commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.



What's your favorite fall home decor trend? Are you into pumpkins? I personally am always on board with plaid not just during autumn but year round! 

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo, Chelan

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Weekend in Provo

We've had some crazy travel plans, as you know. We drove our Santa Fe from Ohio to Montana, then to Oregon, then to Bear Lake, then to Provo. Then we bought a Honda Civic off of Parker's brother while in Provo. We drove the Civic to North Carolina and left the Santa Fe in Provo while we were out east. When it was time to come west again, we put the Civic in storage and flew to Utah to pick up the Santa Fe. This meant we got to spend a weekend in Provo before driving to Denver and boy was it ever fun! I didn't realize how much I'd missed Utah and our old stomping grounds at BYU. We mostly based our weekend around the food. Here are a few of our favorite places:

+ The BYU Creamery - get the kids meal. It's $5 and you get a burger, fries, a small (but refillable) drink, and a small ice cream. If you don't get the Graham Canyon ice cream, you aren't living. It's the main reason I was excited to visit our alma mater... ok, there are a few other reasons but this is a big one. 

+ Cafe Rio - Having not had Cafe Rio in Ohio we had it twice this weekend. Always hits the spot. 

+ Tucanos - super expensive but the pineapple may just make up for it alone. It was actually supposed to be a 'boys only' lunch but I weaseled my way in there and the other wives did, too. Worth it. 

+ Sodalicious - I want to franchise this place and just have it in my own house. Parker got The National Parks and I got Key Lime (Caffeine free Diet Coke with fresh lime and cheesecake). Cheesecake and pop?????? Are you kidding me????? It was amazeballs.

+ Marinara's - We stayed with Jared (Parker's brother) and Marin, and they fed us breakfast everyday. Every time it was incredible. Marin wants to own a restaurant someday and whenever she gets that up and going it'll be a raving success, I have no doubt! 

We connected with friends from our time at BYU by going on a double date with Carson and Taelyn Crosby. We went to Boondocks and somehow our 250 tickets turned into 1500 tickets. We may have inadvertently stolen some child's summer's worth of tickets... or the lady was just really, really bad at math. Either way, it was a blast and we made ourselves sick off of the candy we bought with our earnings. 


Parker and I got to see my bestie, Tessa, and her family while we were in town, too, which was a treat! Catching up with best friends that you haven't actually seen in so long is so, so fun. We played code names and Parker and I dethroned the reigning champs. Sorry if this rubs salt in the wound, Tess ;). Also, Tessa and David Wilde have the cutest child ever, ever, ever. Well done, you two!

We happened to be in town the weekend of a BYU football game which was a blast! I may or may not have gotten chills during the fight song once or twice... It was so nostalgic!! And I still wish I was as cool as the Cougarettes. 


Hanging out with Bailey (Parker's sister) was so fun, too! She lives at Liberty Square, which Parker and I both lived at one point during our undergrad careers so it was fun to visit there, too. I loved hearing about her freshman year adventures and the boys she's having to fend off already. Not surprising at all.


We wish we could have seen everyone and done everything in the area. The things we did get to do were so fun and I was really sad to leave. 

Thanks for a great weekend, Provo! You will be missed!

xoxo, Chelan


Saturday, September 22, 2018

Friday Five: Fall Favorites

Helloooooo everybody! I bring you another Friday Five. I had every intention of doing this every week but then missed last week because of the craziness of going to Ohio for the weekend last minute and it got away from me. But I am here with a new Friday Five today featuring my Fall Favorites since it is technically the first day of Fall today.

Let me start with a little disclaimer. I don't like Fall... I am a summer girl, through and through. I don't love pumpkins. I don't love oversized sweaters. I don't love the browns and oranges and mustard yellow colors. I don't love Halloween. I don't like the cold weather. I can hear you all gasping from here. But I can respect those of you that do love those things and I am happy for you that it is fall because I know how much joy my favorite season, summer, brings to me. One thing I do love about fall is that with fall comes the anticipation of the holidays. It is taking everything in me to not start pinning Christmas decor too soon. Must. Not. Peak. Too. Soon. With that being said, I wanted to share some of my favorite fashion finds for fall that I think you will love:

I get a commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post.

5 Sweaters: I'm loving puff sleeves like this and I'm loving the speckled trend right now!
5 Skirts: I'm loving the windowpane plaid patterns and this style and color is so classy!
5 Pairs of Shoes: I need a pair of black booties and I've got a crush on these!
All of these beautiful fall finds are on sale for 40% off now through Sunday so buy yo'self somethin' nice! What trends are you loving for fall? My mom is predicting velour sweat suits are coming back and I'm like PLEASE NO!! Can we all make a pact to never let that happen ever again?

xoxo, Chelan

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Airbnb Round 3!

If you've been following our dramatic saga of Airbnb mishaps, you already know that we were kicked out of our first reservation days before Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas. It was all super dramatic and unnecessary but it happened, nonetheless. You also know that we fled to Ohio to spend the weekend with family and that was a treat, as always. What you may have missed is that when we got back to NC and settled into our new Airbnb for the week, we got to stay there just one night before we were kicked out again! Why? Because it flooded... Queue the worst Monday ever.


When we left our Airbnb in the morning it was still raining but the house was dry. We ran into a few washed out roads and had to navigate around them to get to the clinic. After dropping Parker off at about 8 AM, I had a couple of errands to run before I headed home. Whilst running errands (and going to 4 different stores to find what I needed bc everything was sooooo picked over in preparation for the storm) I had a mishap with Aunt Flo that I will spare you the details of but I will say that I was highly emotional and it was not the best way to start out my day. Once that was taken care of and I finally found what I was looking for all over the Triangle, I headed back to the Airbnb at about 9:30 AM. It had stopped raining and the sun was starting to shine through the clouds so it looked like my day was going to turn around, right? Wrong.

I opened the door to our room and noticed that the carpet was a little splotchy and it hadn't been before. I took my first step into the room and *squish*. Water. Everywhere. All of our suitcases were on the floor and open so the tops and bottoms were wet. No one else was home. Parker wasn't answering his phone because he was in the clinic. I was panicked! Not to mention that Aunt Flo makes me a crazy person. I Facetimed my dad because what else do you do in a crisis? But he was on his way to work, not to mention in Canada so he couldn't do much to help me other than to tell me that it would be alright (which really was very helpful, by the way. Thanks, Dad!).

Luckily, the lady we were staying with actually was home and she happened to wake up shortly after that so I let her know about what was happening. She was MUCH more helpful and apologetic than the last Airbnb owner which was a nice change. She offered to put us up in a hotel or help us find a new Airbnb. We ended up simply getting a refund from her and then I packed up our stuff again and headed to the library to find us a new place to stay.

I'm happy to report that we have spent two nights, incident free, at our new place and it is warm AND DRY! The owner is nice, this place is beautiful, and I am ready to move on to the next rotation.


Someone shared this quote on their Instagram story recently and it was exactly what I needed to hear. Monday morning I had a moment where I thought, “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” as I sat there and cried. Lots of bad things have happened in the last month. But lots of good things have happened, too, and I’m trying my hardest to focus on those good things otherwise I’ll surely lose my mind. What’s something happy that has happened to you recently? I need some happy news!

And a huge thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and offered to help in some way when we were nervous about the hurricane turned bad rainstorm. It's been a beautiful reminder of all of the amazing people in our lives and we are oh so grateful. 

xoxo, Chelan

Monday, September 17, 2018

Smell Fresh Before, During, and After your Sweat Sesh with Gain!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SparkleWithGain #ILoveGain #CollectiveBias

Teaching dance, exercising, and just living in a humid climate mean one thing: sweat, and lots of it. Gross, I know but it’s simply my reality and it means we are always doing laundry. Introducing Gain Fresh Water Sparkle™ scented products exclusively at Dollar General.


The one thing I look for with laundry products is the smell - I want my clothes to smell amazing before, during, and after my sweat sessions, and Fresh Water Sparkle™ scented Gain products deliver that freshness for 6 weeks, from wash to wear!

Go to Dollar General TODAY to pick up these fresh smelling Gain products and don't forget to click on the below photo to get a sweet deal!


My laundry regimen consists of three products:

Gain flings!™ laundry pods 
These are the easiest lil things you ever did see! You simply toss one in before your clothes (add another for larger loads) and you are on your way to delicious smelling clothes. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the scent will rub off onto your hands and you’ll get little whiffs after you put the laundry in and it’s like a little sniff of heaven while you’re waiting for the laundry to finish ;).


Gain fireworks!™ in-wash scent booster

These may be my favorite product out of the three… simply because they give the laundry that extra boost of scent. It means I can go into my workouts confident that my gear smells good and I can leave knowing my clothes STILL smell good!


Gain Liquid Fabric Enhancer/Softener

I chose this third product because not only does it, again, smell amazing, but it fights static and leaves your clothes feeling softer than before. Static drives me nuts and I'm all about comfortable clothes these days so this one was a no-brainer.


Be sure to pick up some of these incredible Gain products from Dollar General so you can have great smelling clothes no matter how active (or not) you are. The more products you combine, the better your clothes, gym/dance bag, and home will smell!

Happy laundering! ;)

xoxo, Chelan

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Homeless in a Hurricane

As you probably have all heard by now, hurricane Florence is making its way to the Carolinas. Parker and I are currently in North Carolina while he's doing a rotation at UNC in Chapel Hill. At first, we didn't really think it was a big deal because we are about 3 hours from the coast and we heard that the most we had to worry about was lots of wind and rain with possible power outages here and there. The bigger the hurricane became the more frantic people around us became and the longer the lines at the grocery stores and gas stations became. The first moment I realized that this may be a bigger deal than I originally thought was when I was at Walmart and people were going nuts. There was no water available and the shelves were super picked over. So many people scrambling to prepare for the worst.

Last night we got an email from Airbnb saying that our itinerary for our current reservation had changed. We were being refunded for the rest of our stay and our new check out date/time was the next morning at 11 am. Not even 24 hours notice. We are literally homeless in a hurricane.

This morning after dropping Parker off at the hospital, I packed up all of our belongings and loaded the car. The girl we were staying with didn't say anything to us about any of this. She and I were in the same room for much of the morning while I was getting ready to go and she didn't even acknowledge my existence. The way it's been handled has been so unprofessional. I may or may not have closed the door a little forcefully on my way out.... whoops?

With nowhere to go today, I'm spending my time at the local library where I can blog, watch some shows, read, and apply to some more jobs (because the job search never ends...). We are hopeful that Parker will be able to get the rest of the week off as the rest of the students do so we can flee to the safety of Ohio to stay with family. Luckily, we have lined up a place to stay next week for the rest of this rotation and then we can move on to the next one. Hopefully, this new place doesn't flood or get blown away in the storm!
I wanted to share a few more of the details here just so I can get this all written out. It's been a pretty crazy few days and I'm sure we'll laugh about this someday down the road. I kind of already am because I'm so shocked! But we appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers! If you are in the Carolinas or Virginia, stay safe <3.

xoxo, Chelan

Monday, September 10, 2018

Currently Reading: The Visions of Ransom Lake by Marcia Lynn McClure

Happy Monday, everyone! I swear my social media feeds were blowing up this weekend with posts about how everywhere in this country had dropped in temperature and that it was feeling like fall for the first time this year. And it happened here, too. It was foggy and raining all weekend long and the fog still hasn't lifted. It's kind of eery to be honest. But it made for the perfect weekend to curl up with one of my all-time favorite books that actually puts me in the mood for fall.

I'm a re-reader of books. I have a terrible memory so even if I've read a book once or twice or even five times, I can still read it again and fall completely in love with it all over again. I forget the little details that make it so exciting when the heroine and her oh so handsome love interest fall in love. Their dreamy little tryst in an abandoned house during a snowstorm where they can't possibly make it back to safety or propriety alive so they have to wait it out in each other's arms to keep warm (while doing nothing further than impassioned kissing, of course. I like my novels clean ;)). The super frustrating parts where you know they belong together but one or both characters are being utterly and completely stubborn and not professing their love. This particular book is one of those I've-read-it-so-many-times-I've-lost-count books yet it still makes me giddy every time I read it. Every. Single. Time. 

I give you The Visions of Ransom Lake by Marcia Lynn McClure. She's been my favorite author since I was introduced to her novels in junior high as I mentioned in this post. Marcia's favorite season is fall and she does an incredible job of making it actually seem like a desirable season (I'm a summer girl, as you all know) and it truly does help me get in the mood for fall every year.

Please note... the cover is different now. This was the cover when I originally read this book for the first time so I have a special place in my heart for it <3. 

If you need a good fall romance novel with relatable, humorous, darling characters that will make you fall in love with them, their love story, and love in general, be sure to check this one out! It'll have you wearing flannels and scarves, sparkin' with your lover on the front porch, and baking pumpkin cookies in no time!

xoxo, Chelan




Friday, September 7, 2018

Friday Five

Happy Friday, everyone! I've seen several bloggers do some version of a "Friday Five" post before and they always look fun. So today, I'm sharing 5 things about me that you may not know:

1. I had snaggle teeth once upon a time. We're talking like shark teeth that grew in over top of my baby teeth bc my baby teeth wouldn't fall out no matter how much I tried to wiggle them.

2. Marco Polo is my current favorite app. My friend's and I have kind of reconnected on Marco Polo within the last couple of months and chatting with them every day has been SO FUN!

3. I stuffed my training bra in grade 6 one time. I grabbed a bunch of my mom's swimsuit padding things and put them in my sparkly purple training bra. Then I wore the biggest hoodie I could find over top of my shirt because I was soooo nervous about my new 'boobs' and I ended up not taking the hoodie off at all that day because I was too scared.

4. When we went to Bald Head Island last weekend I cooked a few real meals for the first time in over 3 months and I liked it. Did you read that right? I LIKED COOKING!

5. When I got married, I became very, very insecure. I expected the opposite would happen bc you know, you don't have to impress anybody anymore. But for some reason, and through no fault of Parker's, I lost a lot of self-confidence that I had had up until that point. I've come a long way since then and I'm still learning but I'm not exactly where I want to be yet. I'm also not sure why that happened and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what changed but I've talked to a few girlfriends about it and apparently they encountered the same thing. If you're married, did you experience this, too? And if so, why do you think that is?



Have a fabulous weekend, friends!

xoxo, Chelan


Thursday, September 6, 2018

Weekend Getaway to Cannon Beach

After I arrived in Portland, we took off to the coast for my birthday weekend. Parker and I knew that Cannon Beach was somewhere we wanted to visit while in Oregon and what better weekend to visit than my birthday, right? We packed up our camping gear and were on our way.

I was so surprised by how cute everything was! So many shaker siding clad beach houses, hotels, and restaurants. The little touristy town was absolutely adorable! We, of course, went to the actual Cannon Beach and saw the infamous Haystack Rock. We ate some good food, did a beautiful hike, and watched the sunset. The Tillamook cheese factory paled in comparison to the Amish country cheese chalet we love in Ohio but we'll do anything for some free cheese. We had our tiny two-man tent that was bursting at the seams because our oversized air mattress that I insisted on using (#glamping) was a little too big for it. Here are a few photos of our fun little birthday weekend getaway!

Can you handle the cuteness of this house??? I want to move in. 

Thanks for the birthday weekend adventure, Parker! And thank you, everyone else, for all of the birthday love that weekend. I felt so loved and I'm grateful for so many amazing people in my life!

xoxo, Chelan