Monday Motivators!

Not to worry...I haven't gone the past few months with zero things motivating me each Monday morning. On the contrary, I've had so many great things going on, it's been hard to capture them in a simple post.

While we do have multiple things to be thankful for, excited about and motivated by, this Monday morning, I'd like to keep it simple. 

Every morning I wake up surrounded by some of the most important--and, yes, motivating--images I could ask for. All of our other pictures in our house are on the gallery wall, but the ones shown below are in our bedroom and office. They are the pictures that are closest to us and they are making me smile today, as they remind me of what's important and good in my life. 

Our "honeymoon" at the Chicago White Sox game, one week after our wedding.

The day we brought Monkey home.

The day we brought Apple home.

Ahhh! Sisters! Best friends!

Wedding day in downtown Chicago!

Mom & Dad

Baby sister & brother

This was me toward the end of the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon. I actually like having it there to motivate me, reminding me of what I'm capable of and what I want to do many more times in my life. 

I ran 11.3 miles on Saturday and it felt aMAZing. Excited to get back into some longer runs. Next half marathon is Nov. 1.

TRUE LOVE

Instagram Life – March 2014

March was a great month. It was the perfect combination of busy, and well… not so busy! We had weekends away, but we also had quiet weekends at home. We celebrated birthdays and holidays, as well as our 6 year anniversary. We got snow and wind chills below zero, but we also got a 60 degree day and more sunshine than we've had since October. Ohhhh March in Michigan…

I can’t wait for April. I can’t wait to welcome all things Spring, even if they do include showers. Cause April showers bring May flowers, right?! The month begins with a bridal shower weekend in Royal Oak, and the rest of the month consists of thrifting new stores, Easter weekend and maybe even a Tour de Westside to keep me occupied while Max is off saving the world!

Here’s my Insta March:

So many breweries were visited this month… Osgood kicked us off.

We saw some sunshine in our lives!

Took Max on a birthday bar crawl where we learned we have visited 22 out of 32 Grand Rapids area breweries

I dared to bare skin this month and forego tights. Such a rebel

Yoga has consumed my evening spare time

Gallery Wall was hung! More to come…

Reorganized furniture

First day of Spring!

Perfect Friday night dinner

Saturday night excursions to Menards!

Friday Five!

{6 years later, and still...}

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This week was bittersweet. On one hand, things are settling down at work, but on the other hand the madness is just beginning. My boss was promoted, but in turn that means I’ll have a new manager. Max was offered an amazing opportunity to go assist with the Joplin relief effort in Missouri for two weeks late next month. I’m excited for him but it’s going to be very strange without him! And this weather! I hate to beat a dead horse, but come on Mother Nature! You've had your fun. You've toyed with 50 degree days and sunshine then abruptly ripped it away and leaving us with snow and wind chills below zero. It’s enough I tell you! I look forward to our return to Spring-like temperatures this weekend!! So yeah, bittersweet week all around. A lot of exciting and somewhat nerve-racking changes…

Today is Max and my 6 year [dating] anniversary! Even though he doesn't think a “dating” anniversary is an occasion worth celebrating anymore now that we’re married, I don’t care. It’s not like we’re buying extravagant gifts and going on cruises to commemorate the occasion. I just like to use it as, another, excuse to go out to dinner. So, we both agreed on a new sushi place in Eastown that we've heard rave reviews about, Maru. Tomorrow the office renovation takes place! Can’t wait to get a fresh coat of paint on those walls and reorganize a bit. Spring it upon us (kind of…) and I have a major itch for change.

P.S. 100 Happy Days Challenge… why not give it a shot? Check it out here.

Friday Forte:

{experimenting with these iPhone camera lenses until I can afford a big girl camera}

{polka dot dreams & rose colored themes}

{new table for my favorite corner in the house (on mega sale – in stores)}

{can’t wait to dive into these bad boys!}

2nd Annual Birthday Scavenger Hunt

The 2nd Annual Birthday Scavenger Hunt commenced this past weekend. It was just as memorable as the first year. Although this year we did have a pregnant girl in our midst, and no fell asleep at the bar or was kicked out. I guess you can say we’re getting older… and more mature. But regardless, it was a blast! And I can’t wait to continue this tradition for years to come!

Last year’s extravaganza seen here.

{Eugene got a wife!}

{Rupert @ Rupert's!}

{birthday girl got the fish hook!}

{we rolled a 12... therefore 6 of us had to have 12 mini beers}

{haha}

{so many fake tattoo's!}

{that I promptly regretted when I woke up in the morning...}

Hunt & Gather

I can’t exactly recall when I learned about Hunt & Gather. I’ve been following them on Instagram for at least a year. I would look at my account and ogle their beautiful knick-knacks and eclectic furniture. Finally, last weekend I saw a table that I fell in love with and thought to myself “man, I wish I could go to this store”. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that I remembered it was a Grand Rapids store! I was so excited, I marched right over (on my way to yoga of course) to check out the inventory.

I tell ya, this store will definitely be added to my lineup when needing inspiration or looking for new gems for the house. The store is, to my surprise, extremely reasonably priced, and changes over inventory constantly. I had the pleasure of talking with Kelley, one of the owners, and I fell in love with the little shop even more! The first line in their About Me page reads “Hunt & Gather provides carefully curated items to help you and your family develop a vintage-modern and industrial-cozy aesthetic through exceptional design and familial customer-service.”

What’s not to love about that?! If you’re in the Grand Rapids area, check it out. If their taste isn’t yours, their puppy, Harper, and delightful conversation is reason enough to stop by J

P.S. Kelley and Troy’s Heritage Hill house was featured on A Beautiful Mess. Check it out!

{i got beat out of this table, but never fear, I got the one seen here!}