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New Website Launch!

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Good, I hope! We're flying to California today with Lincoln (wish us luck!). I'm hoping it all goes smoothly and he doesn't mind being in his little carrier under the seat ;) Also hoping for some super nice flight attendants who will let us take him out of the carrier for a little bit. 

Today I'm really excited about showing you my new interior design website. The blog obviously got a makeover, but it was actually my website that first got the revamp, which then inspired the blog redesign! Now they flow seamlessly with one another in all the colors used, fonts, etc. 

My friend Lauren, of Elle & Company, designed my website and I just love it! It really does pay off to have a professional design your online home, because they pay close attention to detail, are super skilled at their own craft, have done this many times before, know how to use your website platform way better that yourself, etc. The best thing about having Lauren design my website, though, was that she was coming to it with a fresh set of eyes. I told her my vision and she ran with it. Just like interior design clients do with me, I wanted Lauren to develop my vision into something beautiful and functional. I love how it turned out! I'd love for you to take peek!




A favorite element of the website is my new logo, designed by my other friend Jenny Sanders, of Graceline Art & Illustration. Jenny designed our wedding invitation suite and I have the pillows she created on our sofa! Don't you love when you find someone who gets your style and is a kind creative entrepreneur?! I sure do! I love the flowing, yet simple nature of my logo. The deep eggplant purple color is a perfect accent, since as you know purple is my favorite color. I didn't want to use it overwhelmingly, though!


We included a Process page on the website so that potential clients can see a general outline of how we will work together:


On the About Me page I included a few of my favorite things, so my potential clients can get to know me even better. You can click on the images and be taken to blog posts about those topics! Of course Fixer Upper is in the mix ;)



My favorite page might be my Portfolio. It's always nice to see all your work in one place.



Lots of my favorite client rooms are are in my portfolio. You'll soon be able to click on the room title and visit the blog post where I explain the room and design decisions in depth! I'm really excited to be sharing a recent client project (her entire main floor!) on the blog over the next few weeks. The before and afters are INSANE, in the best way, of course.








I hope you like the new website! And if you happen to poke around it, let me know what you think or if you catch something that's not quite right. I so appreciate your feedback and support!


Have a great week!
Michaela



interior design website / services / portfolio
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Friday Finds: Favorite Posts Around the Web

Hey friends! It's Friday! We have a busy weekend ahead, as we're leaving for California on Monday to visit my family. We need to pack for us + the puppy and will be trying to spend some time in the sunshine this weekend, too! 

I thought I'd try something new this week with Friday Finds. I know a lot of you love the fashion posts on Friday, but this week I've just been feeling overwhelmed with stuff. Like, material things. I'm sure you're done hearing about the Nordstrom sale (sheesh, so am I!) and I never want you to think that to be happy to have to buy STUFF.  Yes, I want to be a resource for my lovely readers on home decor and my favorite wardrobe finds, but I don't want to overdo it. So I thought every few weeks for Friday Finds, I would share some blog friends' posts that I loved, beautiful home tours, or anything else that catches my eye. Do you like this idea?! If so, read on! ;)

- My friend Anna is doing a summer capsule wardrobe and I just love the concept of this, especially this week as I've been really convicted of consumerism in my own life. See week two of her outfits in this post!

- My friends at The Inspired Room shared 5 navy & white bathrooms and I, for one, am SMITTEN with all 5!

- Emily Henderson blogged about the difference grout color and tiles can have on your room. This is something I always go over with design clients who are doing a kitchen or bath, so it was fun to see a lot of my same thoughts formulated by Emily herself ;) My parents are going to be redoing their bathroom tiling in both the hall and master bath soon. I'm hoping to share that transformation here on the blog! In the hall bath, I think we're doing white subways, but laid in a herringbone pattern. I'm pretty sure we're going with white grout, as we don't want the eye to go right to the grout, but instead, the tile.

- I have a serious thing for cucumbers this summer. I was thrilled that Natalie blogged this delicious recipe! I can't wait to try it.

- Did you see that Chip & Joanna made over a new property and turned it into another rental for vacations in Waco?! It's SO stunning. One of my favorites yet! And guess what?! You can enter to win a stay there. You know this girl entered! Check out the house and enter here.

- Last but not least, do you feel like you need a little reminder to give yourself grace? Or a reminder that God has offered you His grace? You can enter to win this beautiful mug by my friend Kristin on my Instagram today! Don't forget to enter all of the giveaways on my instagram this week-- there was one each day.



Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Wish me luck traveling with a dog on Monday ;)

What are you doing this weekend?
xoxo
Michaela




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Fashion: Black Floral Dress, Booties, & Rose Lipsense

Happy middle of the week! I always love Wednesday's, what about you? Last night was Lincoln's first puppy training class and it was SO hilarious to see all the dogs trying the new exercises. Lincoln could barely focus because class was outside and he loves grass like something fierce...ha! Hopefully in 6 weeks we'll have a perfectly trained puppy on our hands ;)

Anyways, I'm super excited to show you a product that's semi-new to me. I've been using Lipsense for a few months now and decided not to show it off in a full post until I knew I really loved it. I don't like to show you things I don't actually use regularly or would buy again, so when I do share things, you can trust I really like it. Have you heard of Lipsense?! If you haven't, it's a lip color that stays on for 4-18 hours. Yes, it lasts up to 18 hours!! 

Alright, here's the scoop. There are 3 steps in applying Lipsense. You'll need the Oops Remover, the actual color and the gloss that seals the color and provides moisturizer. Before you read on, just know these pictures are funny and it's okay to laugh at me. My husband was dying while we were taking them. When applying Lipsense, you can't let your two lips touch one another, or the color will peel off before applying the gloss. So that's why I'm keeping my lips so far apart from each other ;)

1. I always start by cleaning my lips with the remover to be sure there isn't anything left on them. You need clean, dry lips to apply. 

2. Shake the bottle of color really well!


I just ordered Aussie Rose last week, so I was super excited to try it out yesterday! I have tried this color on before, because I bought it for my sister in law. It's the perfect shade of pink/red. It's really is a nice rose color!

3. After you shake the bottle, be sure to wipe the wand on the side of the bottle to get the excess off. You don't put this on like a normal lipgloss. You need to apply in thin, even coats of color. 

4. You will apply 3 layers of color, putting each on in THIN coats. I try to swipe from left to right, not going over the color once it's applied. Until it's dry, you don't want to go back over with more color because it will ball up and come off. After coat one, let it dry for 30 seconds. Do coat two. Let it dry again for 30 seconds. Coat three (make sure you get the corners of the lips and your waterline!) then let it dry again. If your lips tingle a little, don't worry. It just means your lips are dry. After you start wearing Lipsense more, this will mostly stop!

4. The final step is applying the gloss. You can't wear lipsense without the gloss, because it's what seals it. If you want a matte look, you can apply the gloss, then let it wear off or blot it off. But you do need the gloss initially. It also provides great moisture, since when you first put the color on, you might feel like your lips are really dry. Don't be alarmed at that! Just apply the gloss and you'll be good.

I love the color so much! It's not too red and not too pink. It's sort of a nice coral rose color. And just so you know, it DOES in fact, last a really long time. I've never worn it for 18 hours, because I don't want to sleep in it. But I wear Lipsense anytime I'm teaching a workshop and it lasts all day, which is about 10-12 hours. It's so nice to not have to think about reapplying lipstick! Don't get me wrong, I still use other products on days where it doesn't matter (I still love my MAC lipsticks ;)) but also love Lipsense. Aussie Rose is my third color. I also have Bombshell (super light champagne color, apparently Jennifer Aniston wears this one all the time!) and Rose Ice (this one is not my favorite-- it's too frosty for me, but I like mixing it with other colors).

In keeping things transparent around here, my friend Marci sent me my first color to try out for free and I liked the product so much that I've since bought my next two colors. So I really do like the quality and the colors are so fun! I'd love to know if you have tried / liked Lipsense!

I didn't buy a ton of stuff at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (because hey, we're newlyweds on a budget!) so I tried to find a few staple pieces. I got a pair of jeans and two pairs of booties-- one for fall, which I'm wearing below, and a pair of waterproof booties for our snowy winter. The last thing I got was this fun black floral dress, because I thought it was great for fall and I could wear it in winter with tights or leggings and a pair of tall boots. It's also under $30, so it didn't break the bank! I used my "fall wardrobe" budget early since the sale is in summer, so I won't be buying much come fall time. Maybe a sweater or two, but that's it! I'm trying to keep things simple and planning on donating a bunch of clothes I don't wear anymore. Less is more.

Here's my new, cheap dress :)



My husband cracking jokes while he takes my pictures ;)

 It's a really light weight material. I loved the billowy sleeves because they are airy, but not too large or bulky. At first I thought it'd be a little see-through, but I'm happy to report it's not at all. I even tested it in the sun!


Speaking of staple items, these earrings are one of those for me. I recently got them and I just love the shape, the size (not too big or heavy) and the gold color. They're under $50. Kendra Scott jewelry will always have my heart.



Cute zipper detail on the back of the booties...


These are my fall booties. I haven't bought new booties for two years, so I thought I could this year! I highly suggest sizing down 1/2 size!! I'm usually an 8 and so that's what I ordered, and as soon as they arrived, I quickly discovered I needed a 7.5. These are the 7.5 and they fit great. I would probably be able to wear a no-show little sock with them, too. If you're thinking of ordering them, I'd buy both sizes to try out, along with the little socks, and see what you think. Nordstrom has free returns, so it's no problem to send them back!

Another favorite detail of the dress is the top lace up. I don't like to wear too revealing of clothes, so I assure you this isn't a very deep v. It's just right for a little extra something.


Dress / Vince Camuto Booties (order 1/2 down) / Kendra Scott Earrings / Lipsense: Lips by Marci- join her Facebook page and then you can message her to get your discount!
In case you wanted to pick up a few fall staples, here are just a couple favorites that are still in stock (hopefully...they go out so quickly!)

And now the exciting part of the post! I'm giving away a lipsense starter kit, which includes the remover, gloss and a color of your choice on Instagram today! I'll be posting it around 12pm EST, so head over there to enter. ALSO! If you order lipsense from my friend Marci, mention me and you'll get 10% off + free shipping. 
My posts are so long this week...I'm not sure if that's good or bad ;) Have a great day! Thanks for reading!

xoxo
Michaela
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New Pillows for Our Sofa + Caitlin Wilson Textiles Giveaway!

I thought it was about time to show you some summer touches in our home, seeing as we are halfway through summer now! Where does the time go?! I'm super excited to show you some our new pillows for our sofa for a few reasons! 

First, pillows are one of the easiest ways to update your space on a budget. They also do WONDERS for adding texture, color, and pattern to your space. I can never understand why people don't have pillows on their couch ;) My husband is one who throws all the pillows off the couch, except for the one he's using, when he plops down...and that's fine with me, but during the day while I'm working, you can bet the sofa looks just like this. Karate chopped pillows are my jam. They just make this little apartment of ours look more put together than it actually is! Mess on one side, perfectly chopped pillows on the other...that sounds about right ;)



The other thing pillows do is make a living space feel inviting and homey. And I'm all about creating a warm and inviting environment for us + our guests. I loved the pillows we had before, and will be keeping them to change out every now and again, but these watercolor floral pillows have me swooning big time. They have just the right softness, while still providing a pattern that mixes well with our lattice print curtains and work well with the seaglass colored accent pillows.


Lincoln insisted he get in on the photo action ;)

The final reason I'm over the moon with these gorgeous pillows is because this watercolor pattern was designed by my sweet friend Jenny of Graceline, who designed our wedding floral pattern, envelope liners, and did all of our calligraphy!! How special is this, that now her work is also on our sofa?! Jenny did this GORGEOUS collection of floral pillows for Caitlin Wilson Textiles, my favorite textile designer, and the result is stunning. Gold zippers, linen fabric, perfect attention to detail. I would expect nothing less of these ladies! 

Our wedding invitation suite (see more here):

Our pillows:



I love how recognizable Jenny's beautiful art and illustration is! I can tell something is her work from a mile a way.






DETAILS | similar coffee table / sofa with a chaise-- thank God it's slipcovered because we may need to order a new slipcover after Lincoln's puppy stage / wood sign -- custom piece, they take custom orders! / curtains -- on sale now! / similar garden stool -- under $30 / gold moroccan pouf / rug 



I can't even handle this last picture. The hairs in front of his eyes kill me!! Look at that blurry tail wagging!


Okay, want to know the REALLY exciting part about this post?! Not only does my couch look really pretty with these pillows, but one of yours will look equally as beautiful with the Graceline Collection for Caitlin Wilson Textiles soon! That's right, the next giveaway are these gorg pillows!

One lucky winner will get to choose 3 pillows (either in blush, gray or navy) for their own home. You can enter the giveaway on my Instagram. It will start around 12pm EST.



Do you like the pillow combo in our living as much as I do? Hopefully this sparked some inspiration for minor updates in your home that bring you joy!

Happy Tuesday,
Michaela


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