11.30.2014

thanksgiving in the mountains

With the powers of Jared's full time job & my part time job combined, we knew pretty early on that a trip home to our families for Thanksgiving wasn't in the stars for 2014. Fortunately, some of Jared's coworkers planned a little cabin getaway in the mountains, & were sweet enough to take us in as part of their Friendsgiving feast. We had a truly delightful and delicious day. Without further ado... A LOT of pictures of our Thanksgiving.
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What better way to spend Thanksgiving than in the mountains of Virginia in a historic log cabin, right?
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Duke, along with his giant brother Triton
(who moved just a bit too fast for my camera to properly capture)
spent the entire day feeding my puppy fever.
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Backyard view
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Will made apple cider mimosas for breakfast & MY, did they hit the spot.
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I mean, that neck.
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My handsome love, whom I am the most grateful for.
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Jared & Matti take the canoe for a spin, & all I hear as they turn the corner is Jared singing, "JUST around the river beeeeeend..."
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Party trick.
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Our dinner programs. LEGIT.
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2014 has brought us so many twists & turns, & as much to grow into as we have to be thankful for. Incredible things, really. Holidays without my father-in-law's Mexican dishes gracing the table in some capacity, or my parents' dogs, or a family viewing of Elf in the evening are something I'd like to avoid for... well, forever. You just can't substitute for family. But we are so grateful for friends & pups alike & their invitation & hospitality that made for a wonderful stay in the mountains.

I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing. Let the most wonderful time of the year commence!

11.29.2014

wearing - 40/50

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jean jacket - American Eagle // top & coated leggings - Madewell // wedges - Old Navy

I'm 100% embarrassed that my day-after-Thanksgiving post is an outfit, not 45 things we're grateful for, a list of traditions, or the 17 tasty dishes we wish we could say we made for our Thanksgiving feast. Alas, I'm on a tight schedule with these outfits, & after a two trips to various parts of Virginia this past week + a full day at work, my eyelids are barely staying open.

So, on a week where gratitude is highlighted in a life where there is much to be grateful for... I am thankful for jean jackets, caramel corn, the new Star Wars trailer, & a sleeping husband on the couch next to me who almost made it 3/4 of the way through Elf before conking out for the night. It's a good, good life.

11.19.2014

wearing - 39/50

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coat - Old Navy (similar... but also totally different) // scarf - Joules // black jeans - H&M // boots - Old Navy (similar)  // socks - Jared's sock drawer

Don't let my smiling face fool you. I was actually snarling. Yesterday's high was 35 degrees, but the weather app enjoyed it all too much when letting us know that it actually felt like 25 degrees at 2pm.  It's supposed to warm up again next week, but coming home to a serious cold snap made us finally put it together & accept that 1. our new city is COLD & 2. we walk everywhere. It's going to be a fun winter.

But with this scarf around my neck, I just might survive. ISN'T IT PRETTY?? It's also the same size as the throw blanket on our couch, making it the stuff dreams are made of. One of the very first sartorial realizations we made upon arriving in London was that blanket scarves were everywhere. Which made sense, because it was fairly chilly/windy/rainy/exactly like the movies the entire time we were there. Buying a scarf in London & Paris was on my to-do list, but I had a pretty specific plaid in mind that I couldn't find anywhere. Truthfully, this scarf isn't the right plaid either, but when we wandered into Joules in Bath & I realized how soft & blanket-like this scarf was, I knew it belonged around my neck. Or draped across my entire body on the plane ride home. Or completely covering my head, neck & shoulders in yesterday's terribly windy weather.

I'm going to try really hard not to make these last 11 outfits a catwalk of my coats & scarves buuuut... No promises.

11.14.2014

aaaaand we're back!

Yaaaaay for front facing iphone camera quality at niiiiiiight

Hey there! Bonjour! All those sweet hellos!

We are BACK from our incredible & exhausting & comprehensive & gorgeous & insanely fun holiday to London & Paris. I can't believe it has come & gone! We left with Halloween decorations everywhere & came back to Christmas music. The weather is also decidedly frigid now, here in DC, so hi, winter? I guess?

You probably aren't surprised that I never did pop in to blog but good golly, was I unprepared for how difficult it would be to access wifi over there. Not complaining - It was actually great fun to have such an intense break from phones & texts & 24/7 social media access. But if you were someone I was supposed to be emailing at some point over the past 10 days... Well, I'm almost sorry. Mostly sorry because I'm a bad adult. Partially not sorry because EUROPE. 

I took over 1900 photos while we were abroad, & I haven't even taken the card out of my camera to start sifting through them. We both came home & went straight back to work the next day, so that vacation-from-vacation most certainly didn't happen. I don't like to use the "adventure" word (because it's right up there with "vintage" & "bohemian" *shiver*) but it seems more accurate than "vacation" in terms of this trip. We truly didn't stop moving & saw nearly all the things, so I'm cherishing this moment, on the couch, drinking apple cider, catching up on Olivia Benson's latest feat... Ignoring laundry.

I'll be recapping our trip just as soon as I get things organized, & sharing some tips we collected & wished-we-had-known along the way. But for now? Cider.

11.01.2014

this month - november


TRAVELING - To London & Paris! Sorry, had to shift things around & get that out of the way, because everything else will refer to that, basically ;)
EATING - A picnic (or two?) by the Eiffel Tower. Pinch me.
DRINKING - High tea & a lot of champagne. Then we'll get home & I'll be drinking nothing but juice for two weeks. #detox
PRACTICING - using what little tiny bit of French vocabulary I have stored away & not freaking out 100% of the time we're abroad.
MASTERING - packing my 55L backpack, three times once this trip is all said and done. Yeesh.
LEARNING - new cities! I mean, the learning will never end.
PLAYING - whatever music or sounds will keep me asleep on the plane.
FINISHING - a book I literally (har har) started in June.
READING - as many guides to London/Paris blogs as possible to figure out where we should be eating.
WATCHING - allllll the people!
WALKING - in the light, thanks to Dr. Scholls. All hail.
WEARING - a mostly black, navy & grey wardrobe the whole trip, which made packing so much easier.
COOKING - breakfasts every morning. So happy to have kitchens in our Airbnb apartments!
WORKING - the day after we get back. lol. 
WANTING It to be time to walk out the door to the airport... But also to soak up every precious moment of this highly anticipated trip. Ah!

 Whatcha doin' this month?

wearing - 38/50

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top - The Limited // jeans - Madewell // pumps - Target // hat - Cotton On (similar) // lips - Nars, Fast Ride

As a very loud bang! of an end to what became 2014's quietest month on the blog, I am ever so pleased to formally announce that we are heading to London & Paris with our besties, Amelia & Andrew, for 10 days, & AH! WE LEAVE THIS SUNDAY! Cue running around like crazy people, trying to pick out proper attire/shoes & buy last minute travel stuff & then make it all fit into a backpack. We have become absolute crazy people in the past week. In what can only be descrived as a darling twist of irony, both of our jobs have required more of our time than ever over the past two weeks, & suddenly, after waiting for this trip for SO LONG... It's here, & I'm not even close to ready.

All of that to say... Here! Have an outfit! I'm going to try REALLY HARD to post while we're gone, but I'm choosing to make my life all sorts of easier by leaving the macbook at home. I make zero promises on the blogging front. However! Please feel free to follow along on our adventures over on Instagram - We'll be sharing our European holiday under the hashtag #bethulombsjumpthepond. Yes, we have a faux joint last name. The love is real.