LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD.






i am thrilled to announce that i was nominated for the liebster blog award by the lovely ellie over at typographie. after some initial research and basically an overall understanding from ellie's post, i learned the liebster blog award originated in germany and it's focus is to showcase bloggers with under 200 followers. the word "liebster" is german for favorite, so this is truly an honor. i'm sure many of you have heard about this before, but if not, here are the rules:

Thank the person that gave you the award and put a link on your post to their blog.
→ List 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions given to you.
→ Create 11 questions for your nominees to answer.→ Choose nine bloggers with 200 followers or less to nominate.
→ Go to each bloggers page and let them know you have nominated them for the award.

eleven facts about me:

1 // i am both native american and irish.
2 // i literally dream of having tattoos including: illustrations of shel silverstein, beatles songs, and salvador dali. all of which have immense meaning to my life. however, i have none of these and probably never will. 
3 // i have a scar that stretches from the middle of my right eyelid down the side of my face from a childhood adventure. my eye makeup is never ever symmetrical. 
4 // i have traveled to three countries and only a handful of states but am considering a career for cross country traveling doing what i love most. 
5 // my guilty pleasure is all things vampires. from anne rice and from dusk til dawn to twilight ( see my trip to forks here ). but most recently, the vampire diaries. i mean, have you seen how beautiful those people are?! 
6 // i am a sucker for a good love story. and i will always choose any tear-jerker nicholas sparks book over anything else. oh, and every movie. 
7 // in my eyes, mumford and sons are the next biggest thing since the beatles. 
8 // i was almost a college athlete until a major back injury. i still enjoy throwing with my dad, if you've seen father of the bride, think their basketball relationship, that's us. 
9 // speaking of my parents... they are my strength and foundation. the most important aspect of my life. but i have excessive anxiety about the inevitable, which is losing them someday. 
10 // i am a very sentimental person. i keep everything. some of you might call that "hoarding." i'm okay with that! 
11 //  i am currently obsessed with the tv shows: castle, girls, and sons of anarchy.


eleven questions from ellie:
1) favorite movie // the labyrinth.
2) how would you describe your style? // all over the place. mainly classic or bohemian with a lot of men inspired pieces. 
3) how do you feel about technological influence in our day to day lives? // i will say this. i hate seeing a couple out to dinner and they are both glued to their phones. i am guilty of taking pictures and then being distracted by them. however, i started this blog to keep up with family when i moved 600 miles away and i have met so many inspiring friends through Instagram. and continue to every day! so follow me and say hello! 
4) what food is your favorite to make? // breakfast everything. i love extravagant weekend brunches. 
5) what's your earliest childhood memory? // singing beatles songs with my dad. i've loved singing ever since. 
6) what's your favorite thing to do with your best friend? // exploring a new city.
7) what's your favorite time of day? // sunset. the "magic" hour. 
8) do you speak the way you write? // sometimes. my mom calls me an old soul and my boyfriend constantly tells me i sound like a character from an old book. 
9) what do you do for fun? // head to the woods! i love hiking and camping year round. and documenting every adventure in-between through photographs. 
10) are you a layer-er? // i love layering. you can usually find me wearing a tank, thick socks over leggings, and an oversized sweater. 
11) what's your favorite subject to write about? // life. questions, frustrations and realizations. it's therapeutic. 

eleven questions for my nominees:
1 // who inspires you the most?
2 // what is your dream career?
3 // if you could be any famous figure for a day, who would you be and why?
4 // where is your favorite place on earth?
5 // milkshake or cupcake?
6 // what is your favorite quote?
7 // who is your favorite band?
8 // who is your favorite author?
9 // why made you create your blog?
10 // what is number one on your bucket list?
11 // what is your guilty pleasure?


and my nominees are:


thanks again ellie! and hope you will enjoy following along with a few of my favorite bloggers! xx



DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE.





we spent monday afternoon readying ourselves for our first nhl experience together. for any of you hockey lovers, like my family, after 139 days of the nhl lockout, we were ecstatic this day was finally here. my dad was kind enough to lend us his tickets for the night and even let carter leave work early! we parked near the arena and set off to explore a little bit of downtown nashville. we didn't last outside for too long seeing as the high was only around 25 degrees. but we did wander around cummins station and the frist center before heading into the flying saucer for lunch and an afternoon beer or three. afterwards, as the sun was setting over town we made our way to the arena. it was an exciting game against the st. louis blues however they beat us by 1 point in a shootout. still, we had the best time. 


PERCY WARNER.






i miss the spring like weather already. on saturday, the temperature neared the mid 50's and we jumped at the chance for an afternoon hike. i threw on my favorite wool socks and we set out to percy warner park. being in middle tennessee, there aren't exactly mountains near by, but the rolling hills will do for now. we hiked five miles with what felt like half of nashville. but i can't blame them for taking advantage of the beautiful day. one of our "resolutions" for the year is to hike somewhere new every chance we get. so until we settle near the smokies, we will be picking a local park each week to explore. are you a happy hiker like us? 

TUESDAY TUNES.






here's a little bit of what's been playing around here. i've been turning my itunes or pandora on shuffle basically and just enjoying it all. this week i'm feeling some meaningful, gut-wrenching tunes. i think it's all the mushy-future talks carter and i have shared lately. believe me though, they're of the good kind :)  enjoy! 



01 // "give me love" ed sheeran 
02 // "winter trees" the staves
03 // "seen it all" jake bugg
04 // "emmylou" first aid kit
05 // "never let me go" florence + the machine

LIFE IN NASHVILLE.





tomorrow marks one month here in nashville. while our stay has always been in our minds as "temporary"... i think we expected to be settled in a home of our own by now. what can i say? life happenend. as soon as we made it to town, i spent nearly two weeks with the flu, then there was christmas, my birthday, new years, and my brother's birthday. there is no question about it, this has and always will be the busiest few weeks for my family. but what does that mean for carter and i? 

when we left charleston so abruptly, we were under the impression that a job was available in the town we are looking to live in. but every week, it's pushed back just a little bit more. it's difficult to find a job while living in another town. even more so difficult to find a place to live while not knowing what our income will allow. thankfully with our savings and considering we are looking to rent, we should have enough for the first few months. 

so this is where we are at currently. working long hours, cleaning and organizing and house hunting everyday. and spending our weekends together. we have taken advantage of the sunny days and spent them hiking throughout several nashville parks. and we have also gone on a few little dates of our own. it's important to spend that time together, just the two of us. 

TUESDAY TUNES.





with the new year beginning means time to start marking my calendar for upcoming music festivals. carter and i have both always loved camping and being outdoors. mix in some of our favorite bands and you've got a nice weekend getaway. my dad enjoys calling us hippies. here's a few of my favorite bands we enjoy seeing.


01 // "howlin for you" - the black keys
02 // "go outside" - the cults
03 // "what you want" - john butler trio
04 // "pumped up kicks" - keller williams
05 // "franklin's tower" - yonder mountain string band

SANTA'S REINDEER TOUR.






over the holidays my mom booked a tour at the strickland place farm for an evening of christmas festivites. we picked up my four year old niece* and headed north in search of reindeer. by the time we reached the farm, the sun was setting and the temperature was quickly dropping. savannah was shivering and wrapped up in a blanket but ecstatic by all of the twinkling lights hanging from the barn. we grabbed hot chocolate, got our picture taken with snowflake and waited for the tour to start. 

we learned about the history of the farm that belonged to the strickland family. back in the early 1900's, one of the strickland men built and ran a general store on the corner of the farm. pepper's general store still stands today stocked with all of the authentic items from years passed. my favorite were the vintage cameras lining the shelves and the mini gas station built out front. we also walked around sonny's toy store which included thousands of toys from 1900 thru the 1960's. my mom pointed out toys she remembered from her childhood and it was neat listening to her stories. before leaving the farm, we got to feed the reindeer graham crackers and while noticing savannah sneaking a few bites we realized it was time for dinner. 

i had so much fun sharing this experience with my mom and watching the excitement savannah felt seeing actual reindeer. it put a little extra holiday spirit in all of us right before christmas. 


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PART l.






a few days ago i celebrated my 25th birthday here in nashville with my family and friends. the day felt so surreal from sun up to sun down. i was still recovering from that nasty flu that i subsequently passed along to others in the house, sorry fam! however, i woke up to one of my favorite songs playing, happy birthday, by the beatles and was smiling from ear to ear. 

i really can't express how happy i was to be home. my dad brewed coffee and we ate a light breakfast together. carter and i spent the morning birthday shopping at a few of my favorite stores before heading into nashville to meet my brother and his girlfriend for lunch. did i mention, IT WAS SNOWING!!! it was as if every christmas and birthday wish from years passed had waited until this day and it was perfect! we grabbed lunch at the pharmacy in east nashville. while the boys enjoyed a beer or two, us girls went for milkshakes and orange dreamsicles! our meal was delicious and i could have taken more tator tots to go :) when we left, we enjoyed the heavy snow fall... the pictures do absolutely no justice whatsoever. we spent the rest of the day relaxing until going to dinner and a movie later that night. 

i am so thankful for carter and my family who made me feel so loved and my day feel so special! 
and thank you all very much for the well wishes and comments. i appreciate each and every one of you.


ps... do you see that incredible cake my mom had for me, complete with a buzzlightyear ring?! and my dad came out with a red velvet cake too! they are just the best, i tell ya. but they better help me eat all of it...