LIEBSTER + RM

holy shamoly i have a lot to tell you guys.

let me catch you up to speed:

// tay and i made a quick five hour visit to the er last wednesday morning.

he was experiencing some major stomach pain (i'm talking appendix...kidney stones...)

so they took a ct scan but didn't find anything! after a few hours,

the pain subsided and we headed home. it was the strangest!

nobody still knows what was wrong!

// tay's little brother cam came home from the philippines last sunday afternoon!

// i received my first order from brickyard buffalo! aren't these leggings so rad?

// a painted nest, a new pop-up shop launched on monday! i have been working

with them for about the last month in getting my products on their website!

they're so so great-and a giant plus, they're from utah (helping local business-woot woot!)

be sure to head over to their website to see other deals they have going on!

and while you're there, pick up an 8x10 print from the crooked nook, on sale!

// oh, and another thing not pictured: WE FINALLY FOUND A NEW APARTMENT!

it's a two bedroom, for when we are ready for a baby hawkins, and it allows pets!

and it's in the heart of SLC, we couldn't be more pleased!

// and finally, we are in michigan! i seriously feel like i am living in a hot tub.

it's so warm/humid here, my bangs are going to hate me.

can you say sticky forehead for dayssss?

but, in other news, ms kaylie nominated yours truly for the liebster award!

thank you very much!

so apparently the liebster award is given out to bloggers who have

less than 200 followers- it's a great way to boost your "blogosphere" with

those who are starting out and looking for a name for themselves!

so here are the rules:

 // thank your liebster blog award nominator on your blog

and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you. 

// answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself,

and create 11 questions for your nominees. 

// present the liebster blog award to other blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be

noticed and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have been chosen. 

// copy/paste the blog award on your blog.

without further adieu;

random facts

1 i love me some patterned pantalones
2 my nails constantly have to be painted
3 i was a synchronized swimmer in high school
4 oh and i was also in band #nerdalert (and my husband doesn't let me forget it)
5 i am an avid teacup collector, so if you spot some gems, holla at me
6 i get on pinterest at some point every day (addicted much?)
7 someday tay and i want to open our own boutique full of super cute clothes + home decor
8 i have never been out of the united states except to go through canada on my way to NY
9 i collected beanie babies until i was like 12 and have no idea what to do with them
10 i hate mascots of any kind. even at disneyland.

and here are the answers to kaylie's questions:

1 what time do you usually wake up? 
// typically i get up at 8, sometimes i snooze until 8:15, to get to work at 9

2 what is your favorite thing about blogging?

// my favorite thing about blogging is keeping up to date with friends

i don't see often, and finding great outfit ideas from fashion blogs

3  if you had to describe yourself using five words, what would they be? 

// oh geez..ha i guess i would say fun, creative, quirky, loving & a good listener

4 natural hair color? 

// not quite sure what she meant on this one, but i'll give it a go.

i currently do not have my natural hair color, i recently went blonde

(and am loving it! i highly recommend it..blondes do have more fun).

my natural hair color is more of a dirty blonde/light brown color.

5 do you do anything special to get ready for bed?

// haha it's funny that this is a question because i was just thinking about this.

i am such a freak when it comes to getting ready for bed.

i always have to pee before bed. even if i don't really need to, i make myself.

i absolutely despise having to get up in the middle of the night with pee cramps.

it's the worst...tmi?

6 right or left handed?

// oh just right handed, like the rest of america

7 favorite place to shop? 

// this ones's a tough one.

so many places i love to shop at are hit & miss for me,

that i have a ton of places i like to go to sporadically.

i'm a fan of target most of the time, j-crew but they are $$, so it's usually factory or really on sale.

forever 21 has pretty good stuff but it's a little overwhelming because they have so much stuff.

i love h&m but again, they're pretty hit & miss. 

i'm all about thrift stores too, i've found some real gems there.

8 favorite beauty tip?

// i would have to say my favorite beauty tip is something

i used to use a lot in nebraska when we lived there a couple 

of years ago..for some reason i had really dry skin then, and needed

an extra exfoliant for my face. i would mix together lemon juice and sugar,

which created a scrub that not only smelled fabulous, but got rid of

my dry skin! then of course, moisturize. now i'm not trying to be a beauty guru,

it's just something that worked for me, but if you're having dry skin issues, try it!

9 all time favorite movie

// holy crap this one's hard too! i love movies.

if i had to narrow it down, i would say my favorite movie is either;

clueless, mean girls, or the little mermaid.

clueless, because my best friend lauren and i always quote that movie.

mean girls, because who doesn't love mean girls?

and the little mermaid because it's always been a favorite since i was little!

10 who is the one person you know you can go to with anything and why?

// oh this one's easy peasy. taylor, hands down. he's my very best

friend and we tell each other everything. a marriage has to be based on

communication and trust, so we always go to each other with anything!

11 what is something you're passionate about?

i wish i had a really great cause i could advocate for for this one, but i don't.

the thing i am passionate about is happiness.

we all have the agency to choose our happiness, and when something

gets in the way of that, cut it out. you only live once (yolo, for you kourtney k's out there),

so why would you have anything in your life that obstructs from that?

word.

tag, you're it:

natalie

julie

felica

lauren

madi

kayla

feel free to snag the questions kaylie had for me, or make up your own!

thanks for those who made it all the way through this post, props to you.

winner winner chicken dinner

oh hey guys

i have good reason for the delay on declaring the winner of the giveaway;

(at least it's not as long as the time we had to wait to learn william & kate's baby's name...)

tay and i have been making the (self declared) most ghetto slip n' slide

yah, we might kill all the grass, but it's fiiiine

but

c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s

to ms julie for winning the blog makeover giveaway!

email kaylie at kaylie.hooser@gmail.com to start on your makeover,

thanks for all who participated!

i've got some exciting news in regards to the crooked nook coming up next week;

we have been approached to sell on a new pop-up shop called a painted nest!

they launch their live website on monday-i hope you all will take a look!

one more

don't forget to enter to win a lovely blog makeover!

ends  t o n i g h t  at midnight! 

go here to enter.

i'm feelin 23

okay okay you guys knew that title was coming...#taylorswiftswag

i had a birthday on thursday!

and it was the most delightful birthday i've had in years!

tay surprised me with this puffin cookie jar from anthro i've been swooning over for months!

he's such a gem.

i peaced out of work early and met my sister who came down from logan.

we hopped over to target and my sissy bought me wedges as my birthday gift!

she's the best.  then we went and got our nails did (we had a treat yoself day).

Afterwards she went with me to my hair appointment where

i slowly but surely (3 hours later) became a blonde!

i'm still slightly undecided about it, because my bangs need to be fixed..it's like i'm wearing

clip in bangs that are completely the wrong color...

like bleach blonde barbie meets serena vanderwoodsen..

i'll put up a pic as soon as they're fixed on tuesday.

after my long and excruciating day of pampering myself, i joined tay's family

for dinner, then headed to the mall to visit tay at work.

afterwards we went to olive garden, because that was the only place open later than 9:00.

there was a stamp-it convention in town so the place was packed.

we were so stuffed + tired after that, we went home and crashed,

plus we didn't get home until almost midnight!

thanks to all of you who made it extra special!

so we decided to take tay's little brothers to the zoo (when i say little i mean 18 + 16)

in a continuing birthday celebration day. it was awesome-i hadn't been since i was like 10!

(tay and i were both disappointed that the lion drinking fountain was gone-what the crap?!)

we went to a spectacular bird show-if you go to the zoo anytime soon,

i highly recommend it, it's incredible! (you can see snippets on my vine/twitter)

and we can't leave out the adorable elephants-they're my favorite.

oh! and don't forget

to enter to win a free blog makeover here! giveaway ends on tuesday @ midnight so hurry!

the crooked nook is also doing a giveaway of almost anything in our shop here too!

winner will be announced wednesday evening.

GIVEAWAY SWAP! (Closed)

welcome to my new and improved blog!

(i know i've had you just chomping at the bit for the big reveal)

thanks to the wonderful

kaylie

my blog is finally lookin fresh--i'm kind of obsessed.

she's got a lot of talent, and is so willing to work with you!

if you're anything like me, and are slightly picky, kaylie is super awesome at being patient

and tweeking it to make sure it's just the way you want it!

be sure to check out the new "about us" section, too-that was my small contribution.

since kaylie started doing blog designing on the side, and since i've

opened my etsy store, we've wanted to team up for a giveaway swap for you all

and the time has finally come! here's the deets;

to win a free blog makeover

(basic package, click here to see what that entails),

all you have to do is;

+ follow kaylie on blog lovin here

+ follow her instagram 

+ be sure to comment below to qualify,

stating what steps you did!

if you want to see more samples of her designing and what crazy talent she has,

check out these lovely ladies' blogs;

riki

felica

kelso

rachel

tori

hannah

and don't forget to visit her blog to enter to win a free print, swaddle blanket,

or trinket holder from the crooked nook too! only 1 different winner of each giveaway.

(giveaway will end at midnight on Tuesday, July 23)

also a special thanks to those who contributed to my last post-it's been a really great insight.

TUESDAY

isn't that the truth?

i tweeted something out earlier today that i need some help on.

ever since i can remember, i've been one to...take things personally.

anybody else have that problem?

a friend of mine said that every girl deals with it, but i don't believe it.

any of you bright young ladies out there have any tricks of the trade you can share?

oh-and guys, i cannot wait to show you my new blog makeover!

it's in the works right now, and i'm even more excited for you all to get one of your own!

details coming soon.

as of lately

hey dudes.

did ya notice my instagram widget? >>>>>

super cool, right?

i ran into the tutorial from the lovely rylee blake a while back

and just got around to putting it on! you can find the tutorial here.

also, don't forget to follow me on my IG!

so the hubs and i have spent the last few days at our

in laws, since our land lord is here from nevada,

which means operation hide charlie.

hence one of the reasons we are finding a new place.

tay and his dad went fishing, so i'm just hangin out with mr charlie

while he watches the rain fall out the window

and i try to resist doing some online shopping...

and also listening to the most amazing song i found yesterday;

Foals – My Number

you can find it on my spotify playlist.

give it a listen, you won't regret it.

i also wanted to give you all a heads up on something exciting coming up-

my dear friend kaylie and i have teamed up to do a giveaway swap!

she will be featuring the crooked nook and doing a giveaway, and in return,

i will be doing a blog makeover giveaway! she's recently gotten into the business

of blog designing, and wants to share her talents with one lucky winner!

we are just putting finishing touches on things, then it will be up!

OH YEAH-and five days til my birthday-hollaaaa! the big two-three.

i love birthdays.

bangin'

oh hey guys.

the bangs are back-can i get a woot woot?

had an early birthday celebration on sunday with the fam.

they're the best.

oh and also this;

everyone

in my life is having babies.

#myturnyet?

fourth

happy late fourth of july!

i hope everyone had a lovely day off!

tay and i spent the day going fishing in the uintas with his family!

it was fun, and so nice to get away without cell phone service, computers or tv

just the beautiful fresh air and sights of the wilderness.

i caught one fish, tay caught 4 and his dad caught 6!

while we were there, my legs and face saw a little too much sun...

needless to say, aloe has been my best friend for a few days now.

ouch.

tay and i were so tired and in pain from the day's adventures,

that we didn't end up going to fireworks.

we went to the ones at the country club in bountiful the day before,

and we could see the ones from sugarhouse park from our house,

so i didn't feel too unpatriotic

i'm so grateful for this amazing country and the freedoms we all enjoy here!

oh, and can i say i am loving these storms?!

holy moly

holy crap guys, where have i been?!

oh, i'll tell you.

vegas.

in the presence of mrs carter herself.

it was un-freaking-believable.

it was literally 115 every day we were there...i'm pretty sure if i tried,

i could have fried an egg right there on the strip.

it was so, so fun to see tay's sister and husband and spend a few days with them!

since they live in california, we don't get together as often as we'd like.

vegas was so good to us, we had such a great time, and i got a haul in the way of shopping-

here are some of my favorites! the outlets there are pretty bomb! and of course the strip.

love, love, love me a nice pencil skirt-especially one on sale!

i snagged both these skirts for 50% off-score!

since my sunday selection was seriously lacking, it was a great find.

.....

so, as one of the highlights of the summer passes, here's what

we have to look forward to in the coming weeks:

+ my 23rd birthday is on the 18th

+ michigan in exactly twenty eight days-YAY YAY YAY!

can't wait to see my family and best friends-one of which just got engaged!

+ tay's little brother cameron comes home from the philippines in like two weeks!

also, our etsy shop just had a feature on blog that features moms/mom products,

which you can find the link to here, called momegranate.

take a peek-it's just about how we got started, what we do, and who we are!

it was so nice of the lovely ladies at momegranate to do a special feature on us-thank you!

i hope you're all staying cool! this weather is crazy!