Recap of Austin

We just got to our hotel in Albuquerque, NM after leaving Austin this morning. About an hour away from Albuquerque, my butt was totally killing me and we were both feeling pretty dazed from being on the road all day. It's been a long day and I'm honestly feeling a little sick and short of breath- not sure if it's mental or not, but I'm laying down at the hotel while Corey has gone to get dinner for us.

Austin was such a great city, and I knew it was going to be because I've basically stalked the place online for the past couple of years! I have lots of pictures on my camera, but I will have to do a more detailed post later- when I'm feeling a little better. Instagram pictures will have to do for now!

The first four photos are from my phone, and the last four are from Corey's. Feel free to follow me on Instagram and see more of the fun we have on our trip! @kelseyfreak

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

<3

Honeymoon Destinations

We leave for our road trip early on Monday, and I am so so so excited! gkldhgkldhsgkls Y'all, this is my DREAM COME TRUE. It hasn't even sunk in yet. Or maybe I just don't get all giddy like I used to! I mentioned in my previous post that I like to plan out every little detail when taking trips. Once I led us to an arboretum in dead middle of Winter. It wasn't pretty...

Yesterday, Corey was like, "I thought we were just winging it on this trip and not trying to plan out every meal we're gonna eat!" Ha ha ha. I'm not dead set on doing any certain thing, but I do have some places in mind.

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The Brixton in Austin, Texas! Corey and I love the show Bar Rescue, and an episode featuring this husband and wife pair recently aired. Gotta check it out... and see if Tim thinks we're douchebags. We also have a few other places on our list thanks to Andrea from Strawberry Mohawk! ;)

Of course, there are about 100 things I need to see in Vegas. Hash House a Go-Go is one of them. Emily from Dashboard Diary posted pictures of the food they got there and I about melted! Sage fried chicken benedict... I wanna eat you. Now.

San Francisco's Thirsty Bear is known for their organic beer selection. Whaaat?! I'm in.

Voodoo Doughnut... You'll be the pleasant death of me. I've been stalking their doughnut menu online for two weeks now, so calories mean nothing at this point! I. Can't. Wait.

I'll keep the list short and post one thing I'm really excited about... Fremont Market in Seattle. We happen to have a full Sunday there, the only day of the week the flea market is open. And it's rated one of the top ten in the country!

I'll be updating here throughout our trip so be sure to come back and read about all the awesome times! And if you would like to meet up somewhere, just send me an e-mail and we will definitely arrange something! My e-mail is listed on my new About Me page.

Life Lately.

I had all these blog post ideas for this past week before we leave for our honeymoon, but after coming home from Asheville, I got so so sick. I had a high fever for a day, the next day my sinuses started acting up and I had a terrible headache all day, and now I'm left with a nasty cough. We had so much to take care of this week- Changing my name on everything, auto insurance changes, road trip planning, and a lot of things military related. It was quite a hassle to get all these things done while being so sick, but I'm glad that we're done now!

We printed out our itineraries for us and for family members.

Yesterday I opened a bottle of wine we received as a wedding gift from a friend and sat down to write thank you notes to everyone. We have received so much help from our friends and family to support the funds needed for our trip! My mom got me these cards and I love them. :)

We got Corey onto the Verizon plan because Sprint is such a hassle, and when he comes home it'll be much easier for me to get his phone cut back on. I left the store with my very first iPhone!

Now all that's left to do is pack, download new tunes, and finish looking up some neat places to visit. Whenever I go to a new place, I like to search forums for touristy and local things to see and eat. I always go with a list of places we just haaave to go to, and my list is ever so slowly growing!

 

First Day of My Life

Today I'm getting married.....

HOLY CRAP.

Okay, let's start over. Today I'm marrying the love of my life. The person who stood by me through one of the hardest things I have ever gotten through, who still thought I was pretty after drinking too much and crying until I fell asleep, who was worried sick about me when I didn't care about my direction in life. The person who has taught me to be patient, who has motivated me to be a better version of myself, who shares the same dreams.

When we started dating (the first time) we took a trip down to New Orleans. It basically looked entirely like the picture above. On our way back home, we stopped in Montgomery, Alabama to see the Civil Rights Memorial and Memorial Center, where I first proclaimed my love by writing "Kelsey loves Corey" on the digital Wall of Tolerance. Moving, I know!

 

I was totally heartbroken after we had broken up, probably because he was the first person to ever say he was going to marry me, whether he was serious or not. Little did he know! The second time we started dating, it was very different and much more real. You could say we progressed fast, but Corey has always been the realest person I know. I remember driving to Charleston one night to hang out with him while he was at drill for the Army. Over beer (for him) and wine (for me), we talked about everything from religion to politics to family and death. I get butterflies typing this, remembering how I felt about us, our friendship and the way we just fit together.

 

  The last time we visited Asheville, NC, we rented this tiny little cabin in the mountains. We ate a super southern breakfast buffet, walked around the city, drank beers and ate good food, and drove along Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a perfect little weekend getaway. So here we are a year later, going back to Asheville the night of our wedding!

It is honestly a little overwhelming to think about my life over the past couple of years. I'm not one to spend too much time reflecting on the past, but I can without a doubt say that I have never, ever been happier with myself. I've never been more content with life. I know that we have huge plans together and our future is what I look forward to each day. A future that doesn't involve double fisting whiskey drinks on Bourbon Street. ;)

Happy wedding day to the man that I love and adore!

This one's for you:

 

Outfit: Afternoon at the... Paperie?

This dress is called "Afternoon at the Paperie" Come to find out, paperie isn't even a word! I thought it was a French word for something, but I couldn't find it in any dictionary. I've also seen it looking at wedding stuff, particularly stationary. So I've concluded that it's just a fancy word and it doesn't really mean anything.

 Outfit Details:

Dress: ModCloth

Belt: Thrifted

Bobby pin: c/o ModCloth

Shoes: Journey's

I ordered this dress during an amazing sale and have sadly never worn it until now. It's not something I would normally buy (...it's not black) but since it was at such a great price I couldn't turn it down. I kind of have a problem with buying things just because they're cheap. But now I'm glad that I own it and can't wait to wear it more often!
  

I have a little post scheduled for tomorrow, but I'll be fairly busy during the coming week. I'll try to get some posts in before I leave for our road trip. If not, I'll be posting with updates and pictures along the way! Have a good weekend!

   

Recipe: Clean Chocolate & Peanut Butter Oat Clusters

** I seem to be getting a ton of page views from Pinterest for this recipe. I just wanted to put it out there that I also post other healthy, simple recipes on my blog, along with my adventures in thrifting, crafting, and style! If you're interested in seeing this, just follow my blog by clicking "Join this site" on the right hand side of the page or clicking the "f" button under my picture to see my posts on your Facebook feed! :) **


 Last Friday was National Peanut Cluster Day (as if you didn't already know!) so I thought it would be a good excuse to break into the baking world. I wanted to keep it simple and healthy, and the one recipe I found and altered to my liking didn't even require baking! Lucky me!

 

All you need is:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I used chunky for more texture)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

That's my kind of recipe! Four ingredients!

Start by boiling an inch of water in a double boiler, then place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and milk into the bowl and stir until everything is melted.

Remove from heat, and add your oats. Stir well until the oats are fully coated.

Line a baking sheet and use a tablespoon to drop the oat mixture into clusters.

Refrigerate! I waited 35 minutes.

If you know me, I am NOT a baker or chocolate maker of any kind. This has always kind of bothered me though, and I'd like to start changing it up in the kitchen. I eat "clean" almost all of the time, but my biggest downfall is dessert. I'll eat boring plain chicken and veggies every night of the week and be okay with it, but if someone puts ice cream in front of me, you'd better believe I am going to eat it! With chocolate syrup! So it's nice to know that I am capable of making a healthy dessert. :)

This recipe makes 14 clusters. Each cluster contains 75 calories.

Engagement Pictures

A couple weeks ago, Corey and I met with a photographer to take some engagement pictures. I was pretty nervous because I am really awkward around strangers. I have a lot of photoshoot ideas in my head but none that I have ever acted out, and some of them revolve around old barns. I thought this would be a great opportunity, but when it came down to it, I chickened out and just kinda went with whatever he directed us to do. Oops! I still like the way they turned out, and our families especially like them.

I can't believe I'm about to be MARRIED! Sometimes when I'm falling asleep at night, I can't stop thinking about how much my life has changed for the better.

 

Gotta Get Down On....

 Friday, I'm pleased to meet you once again! It's a really great day for me because I can finally say that both of my shops are now open on Etsy. Last week I opened my long awaited vintage shop, and this week I punched Procrastination in the face. Now I've opened just the beginning of my handmade shop.

Right now I only have a handful of simple things, but there is going to be so much more headed that way once our great American road trip is over! I have so many ideas built up in my brain and I can't wait to make them a reality. I don't plan on spamming my blog with tons of business-y stuff, but I love that this is a place that I can reflect on later and a place where the rest of the internet world can watch me grow into a more creative soul.

I also love that this blog can be a place for me to inspire others into becoming more creative and sustainable. I've thought a lot about the content of my blog and I'd like to improve it A TON. I am so super into being crafty, but I'm also super into being healthy and having less environmental impact.

I would like to combine the two. I don't know what that makes me, or what my so-called "niche" is, but all I think is that it must be a really good one. If anything, all I want is to inspire other people the way that people constantly inspire me.

 That reminds me, I need to e-mail a few words of love to some of the bloggers that I adore the most. Have a good weekend!

  

A Simple Self Portrait

I'm working on getting a new layout, and for the one I have in mind I need a photo of myself. I looked through pictures but decided to just take a fresh one. The first time I tried, I got all dressed up, then my camera died.

I took these a couple days ago, in a four dollar tank top and some plain ass hair.

I think I'll end up using the second photo, or maybe the first, you tell me! I actually had fun doing this and I think it's something I'd like to make a habit of. It would be cool to do these a couple times a year and see all of the changes (like my hair and tattoos and possibly wrinkles or other awesome things) that happen as you grow. Saweeet.

DIY Ideas

Fabric Wall Map // Being Brook

In my 24 before 24 goal list, one of my goals is creating a travel map so I can pin all the fun places Corey and I have been together. This tutorial looks easy enough, and it looks so cute when finished! Although I would probably use solid fabric for my own.

Beginner's Skirt // Shrimp Salad Circus

I'd really like to sew my own clothes one day, and this is a great introductory tutorial on an elastic skirt. I will definitely be doing this!!

Natural Exfoliating Scrub // Making Nice in the Midwest

I'm all about some natural skin care, and this exfoliating scrub is so simple to make and doesn't have any harsh ingredients to mess with my sensitive skin!

Cat Toe Shoes // Kittenhood

Kate from Scathingly Brilliant did a guest post on Kittenhood that I am so tempted to try! I have a pair of black flats that I wear all the time, and this would be such a cute way to make even the most boring outfit a little bit more fun.

Simple Scarf // A Beautiful Mess

I love the DIY ideas I'm constantly getting from A Beautiful Mess. Their blog is probably my favorite thing to read on a daily basis and always gets me full of inspiration!

Have you seen any awesome DIY tutorials online recently? I'd love to see!