Clearwater, FL + Beach Essentials!

Hi friends! Today I wanted to share some pictures from our spontaneous little trip down to Clearwater Beach, Florida. My husband is currently in between jobs and had this week off before starting on Monday the 28th. SO being my impulsive self.. I decided it would be a good time to take a spontaneous trip to Florida. We’ve been calling it our “mini-moon” since our BIG honeymoon will be in April to Italy!

This trip we did nothing but relax, which is exactly what the goal was. We drank a lot of coffee, laid in the sun, caught up on some reading, and wandered around all the fun little shops in Clearwater. It was a great little trip! I wanted to not only share some of the pictures we took from the trip, but also some of by top beach essentials. These also include some of my absolute favorites right now so it’s kind of a two-in-one 🙂

Hope you enjoy! xo

1. JBL Charge + Speaker – Gotta have tunes!
2. The Lumineers’ new album “Cleopatra” is amazing. I listened to it non-stop on the airplane & at the beach. It such good chill and relaxing music.
3. Water! Been loving flavored sparkling water lately.
4. Reading material! I spent so much time reading this trip & it was so nice! I’m currently reading “The Power of Patience” By M.J Ryan > buy it HERE. I highly recommend it. It’s changing my attitude on life completely. One of my favorite quotes from the book so far: “Remember that everything has a season.. stop pushing for life to be different than it is. Winter takes as long as it takes, but it ends-and so does summer. That’s the law of nature.“
5. Some shade! I really like wearing a hat at the beach. Especially when reading! Sometimes sunglasses just don’t cut it.
6. ALOE! Keep that skin moisturized! I love this Fruit Of The Earth 100% Aloe.
7. Carmex, because duh. Best chapstick in my opinion! + Has SPF to protect your lips!

CHRISTMAS Decor Haul! Plaid+Rustic Style

YOU GUYS! Today is November 19th. Which means only 35 days until CHRISTMAS. Can you believe it? I can’t. We finally have snow in MN. This is actually really late for us! Usually we have a few inches around Halloween! It snowed pretty good on Friday night and I was instantly wanting to decorate! So much fun.

I moved into my own house with my husband in February; SO that means I had to get all my own Christmas decor! I was seriously so excited to pick everything out. Almost everything I got was from Hobby Lobby besides the tree (the obsession is real). 

I was looking all over Pinterest for some design inspo and came across so much plaid. And I absolutely fell in love. So my theme is what I like to call “Plaid+Rustic” You will see a lot of plaid materials, pine-cones, frosted snow, burlap, & natural elements 🙂

Hope you enjoy!!

xo

 

Our Wedding; 10.7.16

Hi! Today’s post is so exciting! We got all of our photographs and videography back this week & I’ve been looking through them ever since! I am so incredibly happy with how everything turned out. 10.7.16 was truly a magical day. I am so lucky to not only have found my husband, but to have such a loving and supportive system of people around me to help me plan and celebrate. I am so blessed. I hope you enjoy all the pictures and details of our big day!

xo

Our wedding video: Jaclyn & Everett 10.7.16

Photography: Ri & He

How To: Clean Your Wedding Ring!

Hi ladies! It’s been awhile. I was not feeling good for a solid two weeks.. I had strep throat that turned into pneumonia, but I’m slowly feeling back to my normal self.

Today I wanted to share how I clean my wedding ring at home. It’s a lot cheaper than taking it to a jewelry store, and works just as good in my opinion! Also; good news is you probably have all this around your house already! Easy peasy. You can do this for any type of ring, it’s gentle enough for any metals! 🙂

1. Soak ring(s) in warm/hot water for a few minutes
2. In a second small dish, mix hot water with a few drops of plain dawn dish-soap; make sure it’s original scent or unscented. 
3. Move the rings to the soapy dish and let them soak in there for another minute or two. Next, take a baby toothbrush (extra soft and small bristles) and gently scrub around the ring. Make sure to get under the gemstone, and the band!
4. Return the rings to the plain warm water for a rinse.
5. This part is important!! Blow-dry the ring on a warm setting to get off all that excess water. If you just let it air dry there will be water spots. Blow-drying it really makes it sparkle!
6. 

So there you have it! Easy, and much less expensive than taking it to a jeweler. I clean my rings this way about every two weeks to keep it nice and shiny 🙂

Happy Thursday! One day left, you got this!

xo

 

Fall Style: One Dress; Three Ways!

Hi friends! Welcome back! I’m excited about today’s post. This past weekend my husband and I went to the Mall of America & I found some really cute fall staples, including this rusty colored criss-cross front dress. I first fell in love with the color! So fitting for the fall season & it’s super soft and comfy!

I wanted to share three ways I wear this dress. Such a versatile piece to have in your wardrobe. Hope you enjoy!

Outfit deets:
Rust Flowy Dress – Express

Black Tights- Forever 21

Scarf- Mara Mi (any big chunky scarf would be adorable)

Black Booties– Just Fab

Sweater- Forever21

Tan Fringe Heels- Payless 

Delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread; Gluten Free!

Happy Sunday!! I’m still battling with being exhausted from having pneumonia. I started medicine on Tuesday & finally feeling a bit better.. but still soooo tired.

So far today has consisted of a nap at 10:00am (hahahah, so me.), grocery shopping, watching Age of Adaline (one of my FAV movies) & now I’m curled up on the couch smelling this delicious banana bread bake.

Even if you aren’t gluten free, this is a delicious recipe you can swap out for regular white flour if you’d like 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour
• 4-5 very ripe bananas, mashed
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

How TO:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture and chocolate chips into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for at least minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Slice and serve warm with a little butter! YUM.

Seriously delicious you guys. Pretty sure the whole pan will be gone by tomorrow. You can’t even tell it’s gluten free!

Let me know if you try it out! 🙂

xo

Fall Weekend OOTD!

Hello! It’s only Saturday night, but I had quite an eventful Thursday & Friday, SO I’m calling that my weekend 🙂 I wanted to share an OOTD with you all! This was Thursday night. My sisters, mom & I road tripped up to northern MN to watch our favorite country artist Kip Moore play. It was amazing as always. If you haven’t heard of him PLEASE check him out. He’s beyonddddd talented and just an overall genuine, humble guy.

Friday night we headed back to Minneapolis, and went to his concert there as well! (we are obsessed.. yes.) We were lucky enough to go onto his tour bus with him and listen to his new album coming out in the spring (still convinced it was a dream). 

Outfit deets:

Off-the shoulder cream top: Forever21

Dark Denim: American Eagle

Necklace & Earrings: Target

Boots: Tj Maxx

Concert pictures:

Saturday Date Day + OOTD!

Ahhhh. Happy Sunday! Does anyone else wish there were more Sundays in the week? I’ve got my coffee, a candle burning, some Vance Joy playing (adore him) & my heart is happy.

Yesterday was the perfect date day with my husband & I just had to blog about it. We visited a small little city on the St. Croix river bordering Minnesota & Wisconsin called Stillwater. It’s one of my favorite places in MN. Its filled with tons of cute little boutiques, antique shops, bistros, & wineries. Best time to visit is in the fall. The colors are amazing! We were so lucky to have the perfect weather yesterday. 65 degrees and sunny on October 22nd in Minnesota is rare! Other years we’ve had a foot of snow on the ground.

We started out with a cinnamon mocha at the cutest cafe + studio + shop called Mara Mi. It’s my absolute favorite. It’s filled with the cutest wedding decor, scarves, stationary, italian soda’s and yummy coffee & pumpkin donut holes.

Totally obsessed with the aesthetic of this store. Everett was laughing at me because I was so happy just sippin’ my mocha and browsing all the cute stuff. After that we walked down to the river, watched the boats float by & people watched. I was amazed at how much diversity we saw! Many people speaking different languages. Stillwater is definitely becoming one of the biggest tourist spots in MN!

After that we got massages (amazing & so needed) & went to an italian cooking class! It was so fun! It was both of our first times going to a cooking class like this so we both didn’t really know what to expect. I definitely want to do it again! We are going to try to re-create the menu because it was so delicious!

Outfit deets:

Light wash denim: American Eagle

Grey Military Jacket: TJ Maxx- Maxx Jeans Brand

Blush Tank: TJ Maxx

Booties: TJ Maxx

Hope you guys enjoyed this type of post! What did your Saturday consist of?
Happy Sunday! Hope your day is filled with relaxation & coffee!

xo

 

HOW TO: De-Stress Naturally With Tea + Supplements!

Hi friends! This week has been longgggg. & It’s only Tuesday. Anyone else feel like this week is just dragging?!

I wanted to share something a little different today! Let me know if you like these type of posts 🙂 Lately I’ve incorporated some new supplements into my everyday routine & I wanted to share my experience with them!

• Natural Calm; Natural Vitality Magnesium Anti-Stress Drink

So I found this drink by researching TMJ treatments. I struggle pretty badly with TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) which is essentially major pain in my jaw, head, neck and back. It’s caused by a slipping disk where your ear and jaw connect. It also gets more irritated from clenching my jaw & grinding while I sleep which leads to really stiff and achy muscles. It’s seriously the worst thing ever… 😦 Anyway.. I was looking up some natural remedies and found out that Magnesium deficiency can really irritate TMJ. It then led me to this wonderful little drink & I’m so glad I ordered it. I was a bit skeptical because I hadn’t really tried any natural remedies yet for my TMJ. This comes in powder form & I like to mix it with 16 oz of cold water & some ice, however it says you can mix it with hot water as well. It tastes just like raspberry lemonade & I honestly feel amazing benefits when I drink it.

• Calms Nerves & Anxiety.
• Helps With Digestion
• Relieves Muscle Aches and Spasms. (This is a big one!!)
• Regulates Levels of Calcium, Potassium and Sodium.
• Prevents Migraine Headaches. (Also very helpful! I struggle with headaches almost everyday)
• Helps Prevent Osteoporosis (Healthy bones!)

I think this would have benefits even for people that don’t suffer from TMJ. I definitely feel more relaxed after drinking this. Not to mention I’m getting a dose of vitamins! I also sometimes throw in 250 mg of pill form Magnesium (below) 

I also wanted to throw in a few of my favorite teas. I’ve been more into tea lately which makes me happy! It’s definitely an acquired taste… but my goal is to someday move completely from coffee to tea! (wish me luck..haha) 

The Lipton Acai Dragonfruit Melon Green Tea is one of my favs. It’s super sweet by itself so I don’t need to add any sweetener to it. Everyone knows the amazing benefits of green tea! Add some acai & dragonfruit melon to it & it’s even better!

I also love the Biegelow I Love Lemon Tea. This one also tastes really good all by itself. I’ve been struggling with stomach aches lately and this really helps settle an upset stomach. Highly recommend!

The Yogi Skin Detox Tea is a good one if you like a strong tea flavor. I must admit it’s a little too floral tasting for me, but I know it has great benefits. I’ve tried it iced and added a sugar free crystal light lemonade packet to it, and it’s yummy!

No matter the flavor of tea, I always feel more calm & de-stressed when I sip on a hot tea in a cute mug ❤