Life Ramblings & Happenings

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends! We sure did. We took a trip to the beach where I got totally sunburned, but it was worth it! Anyways, I thought I'd share a few things on my mind in a bit more of a personal post! I used to do these a lot, and I miss them, so here we go!

1. Our new puppy, Lincoln, sleeps in the funniest and cutest positions! I can't get over it. When he's sleeping I should be working and getting things done, but sometimes I just stare. I seriously feel like I have a newborn ;) We had to put this stool here on the end of the rug (covered in a blanket in care of accidents) or else he nips at the rug. My house is a hot MESS!!

2. I ran out of vases the other day, after a surplus of blooms after teaching our workshop in Chicago, so I used our copper mug. Turns out I love it and will probably use it again even when other vases ARE available!

3. Speaking of our workshop, this cake for our styled photo shoot was EVERYTHING dreams are made of. Can you even handle it?! All those flowers are made of sugar. Absolutely incredible!! Made by Root Cakes.

4.  I cannot wait for these perfect-for-fall booties to arrive! I'll let you know how I like them when they get here (hopefully this week!) I can't believe they're under $100!

5. I love the cut of this dress so much!! Which color do you like better? Thinking of ordering it!

6. It was my mom's birthday on Saturday! I'm so thankful for her and everything she means to me, has done for me, and all of the valuable things she has taught me. I love you, mama!

7. We are taking Lincoln to California to visit my parents with us in a few weeks. We tried out his airplane carrier yesterday on the trip to the beach and he didn't mind it at all! Any travel advice with puppies is welcomed! He'll be sitting with us under the seat in front of me.

8. Just a few pictures from our time at the beach this weekend, because I can't resist. Lincoln really enjoyed the beach-- maybe too much. He ate a bunch of sand (WHY?!), found some sticks and even dipped his paws in the water. Definitely didn't know what to think of the lake's crashing waves though!

Other adorable romper cover ups, because mine is old:

This picture makes me laugh!

Sorry most of these things were about our pup...or am I?! ;) He's a big part of life right now, that's for sure!

What's on your mind on this Monday?!
xoxo

Michaela

interior design website / services / portfolio

Favorite Posts Over the Past 7 Years of Blogging

I've been working behind the scenes over the past few weeks to get my blog designer everything she needs to create a beautiful, easy to navigate new blog design for MND! I think you're all going to love it a lot. While doing some back-end things to make the navigation easier for you, I came across some of my very favorite blog posts I've written over the past 7 years. I can't believe I've been blogging for 7 years! WHERE has the time gone. I used to think it was hard to come up with post ideas, but the more you blog, the more easily they come to you. Sharing my favorite posts with you was a no brainer after digging them all up, so enjoy them below! (PS. It's okay to laugh at the ones written so many years ago!)

1. Almost No Heat Curls. Back in college, I did this hair tutorial that seriously blew up. This post has been viewed almost half a million times, thanks to Pinterest! Going back to find this post made me want to try it again!

2. Bundle of Hope. Introducing my family's English Cream Golden Retriever to the world!

3. Our Proposal Story. What a fun and sentimental post to look back on!

4. Of course all of our wedding posts! Happiest day of my life!

5. You Can Stand Under my Umbrella. A funny post I wrote while in college in Seattle. I cracked myself up writing this ;) Some of my earlier blog posts were silly and I love looking back on those.

6. Preppy Home Office. My first interior design project revealed on the blog! Still love how this office came out.

7. Shadowing Emily Henderson. Yep, that happened and it was awesome.

8. DIY chevron dresser reveal. I was living in an ugly college house and somehow I drew the short end of the stick and ended up living in the dining room of the home, which was advertised as a bedroom. Awesome ;) I remember being really upset at first, but then design ideas started coming to me. This dresser was one of the first things I did to spruce up the room and make it feel more "me". Though I don't like chevron anymore, it will always hold a special place in my heart!

9. The time I met Mary McDonald. What I apparently didn't write in this blog post was the fact that I actually rode the elevator up with Mary-- just the two of us-- to the event! In the elevator she told me I look like Denise Richards (I get that often) and we chatted for about 50 seconds. It was so fun!

10. The Lace Vase. This was one of my first blog posts to go viral. I think it had somewhere around 100,500 views! Crazy, because it was such a simple DIY!

11. Design Do's and Don'ts from Your Favorite Bloggers. This was a fun one to prepare because we got so much input from my favorite bloggers and designers!

12. Day on the Lake. One of my favorite days with my family ever. So fun and in one of my favorite places in the world!

13. My Story. In this series of 4 posts, I shared bits of my life that led to where I am now.

14. A Story of Grace & Call to Fully Live. This is the story of a traumatic event that happened in my college dorm room + how God performed a miracle in front of my very eyes.

15. Meet Lincoln! Of course, our new puppy's introduction had to be included!


Hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past! If you've been with me for all these years, THANK YOU. I couldn't have continued sharing for so long with my sweet readers. I hope to blog for many more years to come!

xoxo

interior design website / services / portfolio

Meet Lincoln, our Australian Labradoodle!

Happy Monday, friends! We had a pretty exciting weekend over here, as we picked up the new addition to our little family. You may have already met him over on instagram, but I just had to show you some of my favorite pictures of Lincoln from the past few days. I'm also answering a few questions I've gotten a lot since getting him!

What type of dog is he?

He's an Australian Labradoodle, which is made up of a soft wheaten terrier, lab, poodle and cocker spaniel. This breed was originally started in Australia, hence the name, and were created to breed a non-shedding therapy dog. That's why they have such an adaptable, low-key personality! 

Does he shed?
NOPE! One of the reasons we love this breed so much is because of this very fact! Especially in a small apartment, we couldn't have a dog shedding all over the place!

How big will he get?
He's a medium size labradoodle, so about 30-35lbs. The perfect size for this stage in our life, I think!

His ADORABLE copper name tag is by Jenna Scifres on Etsy!

Hiding out in his bed ;)

Where'd you get Lincoln and how'd you find the breeder? 

A few Saturday's ago I was at a parade in downtown Rockford, MI with a friend. Two adorable puppies and their owners walked by us and I thought to myself that I needed to pet them, but it was so crowded, I couldn't get to them in time. 30 minutes later, they came walking by us again and this time I made sure to get to them! (If you know me, you know I am obsessed with dogs and can't NOT pet them!) Upon meting them I asked the owners 1. what type of dogs these were and 2. where did they get them?! They proceeded to tell me they were breeders! I couldn't believe it. They were the nicest people ever and I could already tell they cared for their dogs SO well. So the next night, after exchanging numbers, we went to visit their home and meet the puppies. At the time they were 6 weeks old and they had 4 boys available. It didn't take much convincing of my husband, as he was pretty in love as soon as he held them!

Our breeders are Bainbridge Labradoodles in Rockford, MI (but Janet will fly a dog anywhere in the US). They're awesome and will be expecting a fall litter if you want to get a little buddy for yourself :) One thing I love about our breeders are how open they are. We were able to visit Lincoln multiple times before we picked him up, can text her with questions whenever we want, and they really start the training process from day 3 of their lives! He is incredibly well mannered and hasn't had any bathroom accidents in our house. #winning She also hosts pool parties in the summer for any past puppies to come get together at her house and play! I love that he'll get to see his brothers and sisters again.

Another sweet name tag for when he gets a little bigger by Jenna Scifres.

Of course we have a rug, a bed and his crate with his blanket, but back behind the crate is his favorite spot to lay ;) Or under the couch!

How's he been doing so far? 

SO GOOD! Because the breeders have already been working with the puppies so much, he's been so easy. He only whined one or two times at night before going to sleep and didn't wake up at all through the night to go potty. So far we've just had to take him out at 6am each morning. I count that as a success! He is also really chill, but loves to play. He naps hard and has the sweetest personality! We're trying to get him socialized by having friends come over and by taking him out a few places.

He already totally understands and responds to his name, is close to being able to sit, and we're training him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside. Yay for a smart puppy!

Lincoln Loves:
- his bacon bone

- sleeping under the couch

- his parents :)

- cheese treats

- napping

- chewing anything! 

- playing outside in the bushes and bark.

Lincoln Doesn't Love:

- wind (it's so funny!!)

- his collar (keeps itching it haha)

Lincoln's Parent's Love:

- his soft ears

- his light eyes (hoping they stay light or go blue!)

- his playful spirit

- all his adorable napping positions

This face is my favorite!!

That's our little guy! I'll do a post about him once a month or so in case anyone is interested in his growth! If you have any questions, just let me know.

xoxo

interior design website / services / portfolio

The Short List 4

Hi everyone! Happy Monday. I hope you enjoyed your weekend celebrating your fathers. I shared a little about my dad here, if you want to take a look!

The Short List series is back! I'll be giving you the scoop on what we've been up to lately-- what we're reading, watching, eating, etc. If you want another topic added to the mix, just let me know and I'll add it next month.


What We're Watching: Well now that our favorite shows are taking a break until fall (Designated Survivor and This Is Us) we have been watching lots of The Office on Netflix. Neither of us have seen it all the way through, though we've both seen most of it, so it's been a good time. We just finished FRIENDS also. I've seen that a couple times through all the way, but my husband has never seen it! (I couldn't believe it, so we fixed that!) My husband is really into House of Cards and I, rather shamefully, watch The Bachelorette. Not super into this season yet.

One show I really like is Married at First Sight. Sort of embarrassed to admit this, but it's so interesting! Essentially it's arranged marriages by experts and the show follows the 3 couples they paired together in marriage to see how the grow to love each other (or not). This is the fourth or fifth season and it's crazy that some of the couples actually stay together and are so happily married now! Does anyone watch this?! Please tell me I'm not the only one ;) 

What I'm Loving: 

1. I've been LOVING the peaches from Trader Joe's recently. SO GOOD! Might need to make my peach cobbler soon.

2. Summer! I think Wednesday is the first official day of summer, but it's been warm temps here for a few weeks now. I feel so alive in the summer! ;)

3. We had a great Bloom Workshop last week in Traverse City, Michigan. Our mini workshops are always some of our favorites, so we might just be adding another workshop to the fall!

4. These flat sandals:

5. This adorable beach tote:

6. I'm also obsessed with tassels right now. This white tank is affordable and you know how I love a cute white top! It goes with everything :) Pair it with my favorite chambray shorts and outfit complete!

What We're Eating: We've been doing Blue Apron meals once a month for the past 3-4 months and it's been really fun. Three meals will be on my door step this Tuesday and I can't wait! It means I also don't have to do a lot of grocery shopping...win!! If you want a referral to get your first order of 3 meals FREE, comment with your email address! I'll send you a referral asap.

What's on My Desk: This last week I was working on some decor for a client's playroom. We're starting with pillows. I came up with 3 options for her. Which is your favorite?! 

SHOP: neutral textured / navy pillow / floral / coral herringbone rug  (comes in a bunch of colors!)

SHOP: neutral textured / coral pillow / neutral lumbar 

SHOP: neutral textured / embroidered blue / home pillow


Looking Forward to: My husband turns 28 on Thursday...holy cow!! I'm looking forward to celebrating him with some friends!

What We're Reading: I am a very slow reader naturally, but I haven't been spending a lot of time reading recently. That's what happens in the summer I guess! I'm still trying to finish the last few chapters of A Broken Way. I really want a fun chick flick novel to read at the beach this summer though, so I'll take suggestions!

That's my short list! Answer some of these in the comments so I can get to know you better :)

Thanks for reading!
xoxo

interior design website / services / portfolio

June Goals

I took an unintentional little blogging break for a few days and that's because it was sunny and beautiful here + I just had to spend the time at the pool and around town with my husband! We had such a fun weekend. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I had my small group girls over from church (they're in high school) and we watched A Walk to Remember. You know why?! Because they hadn't seen it or even heard of it! Can you believe that?? Needless to say they loved it :)

Anyways, it's June! That means it is time for me to think about some new monthly goals and reflect on last month's goals.

- Launch my new interior design website and blog revamp! Can't wait for this-- it's long overdue. I think you'll really like the updated look. So this is half done! My new website is live here (haven't officially "launched" it yet, but will be soon with some fun giveaways!)

- Finish the book I'm reading (The Broken Way). Just a few more chapters to go!

- Have a blast in Texas with my family next week celebrating my sister in law's graduation from Baylor! We had a great time!

- Take lots of pictures at Magnolia Market to share with you, try something from their new bakery (no matter how long the line is!), and get one souvenir from the shop. Hopefully I can control myself ;) My business partner, Ashley, is also flying in because we just might have a special little meeting with Magnolia. Hopefully we can share more soon! Our time at Magnolia was amazing. I shared this post here about our trip, but Ashley recently got her film scans back from our time and they are even MORE beautiful so I'll share those soon!

- Clean out our garage. This sounds so boring, but it really thrills me. I might have a problem ;) My husband did this a bit...yay!

- Try some new recipes on the grill since the weather will be nice. Didn't quite get to use the grill yet (we've been gone a lot this month!) but we DID grill with friends at our air bnb we stayed at over Memorial Day.

- Blog some client design projects! This also includes taking final reveal pictures of a client's house that is finished. I blogged about a client project here! Still need to get those reveal pictures done :)

- Pray more with my husband. We've been a little better at this this month, but can always improve!

- Send some friends who live out of state encouraging notes. Ah! I dropped the ball. Moving this to June!

- Go on our Memorial Day lake getaway trip with some other couple friends!! Can't wait for a little R&R. This was the best weekend!! Highly encourage you to find your people and spend quality time with them!

- Stop comparing (looking at you, Instagram). Replace comparison with giving and serving. I think I did A LOT better with this in May. I didn't check my instagram numbers for the whole month which was really healthy. I always want to work on improving this.

- Send some friends who live out of state encouraging notes.

- Pick my dad out a Father's Day & birthday gift then ship it off to California! I wrote about some Father's Day gift ideas here. We also want to Facetime with my parents on either of these celebrations.

- Help my brother and sister-in-law create a gallery wall of wedding photos in their dining room.

- Try some new recipes on the grill since the weather will be nice.

- Have a wonderful time at our Bloom Workshop next week in Traverse City, Michigan! 

- Get into a routine of working out 3 times a week. This is going to be hard for me because I just hate working out...I wish I was kidding ;) But the gym is in our complex, so it's ridiculous if I can't make it there!

- Make meals for 3 couples who had babies at our church.

- Celebrate my husband's birthday!!! (First married birthday for him-- so fun!) I want to bake a homemade SOMETHING for him...please send me recipe suggestions!

- Spruce up our patio for summer.

- Follow along with the Romans bible study on She Reads Truth.

***

What are some of YOUR goals this month? Let's keep each other accountable!
xoxo

interior design website / services / portfolio

Gift Ideas for Father's Day

The fact that Father's Day is coming up is crazy to me! That means we're halfway through the year, guys. How did this happen?! Though I won't be spending Father's Day with my dad this year, I will definitely be sending him a gift! A few actually, since his birthday is 2 days after Father's Day. I had to share this really cool way to preserve a bunch of favorite memories for my dad. 

My dad owns his own business and often works from home, so when I found this wood block that came with some printed pictures, I thought it'd be a fun way to dress up his office. 2016 was a big year for our family-- both my brother and I got married months a part from one another! So I knew displaying some moments from those two days + some favorite memories over the years would be great. 

I even browsed the site and got some really good ideas for our one year anniversary, coming in September! It's safe to say that if I ever need to print images or give a gift with pictures, I'll be heading straight for Artifact Uprising. The quality is so good! Here are just a few pictures of what I got. I love this picture of my dad and I dancing at my wedding!

Artifact Uprising is offering 10% off gifts for dad with code GIFTDAD.

My parents' favorite place: Kauai!

Family pic from our wedding:

So many good memories:

Here are some other ideas for your old man incase you're on the hunt!

DETAILS
one / two / three
four / five / six
seven / eight / nine

Last year we got my dad a pair of Sperry's and he loved them. They live in California, so he can pretty much wear those year round! My dad also wears ties a lot, so that's always a safe option. I've gotten him a few chambray shirts before and they are some of his favorites. When I saw this one above, I knew I had to include it since it was such a hit for my own dad!

Don't forget about the Artifact Uprising discount for Father's Day!

Hopefully these gift options help you in your search. Happy Wednesday!
xoxo

interior design website / services / portfolio