Ask Elizabeth Question: How do you keep going so strong when today there are thousands of blogs, unlike seven years ago when I began...I'm finding it hard to keep readers interested! How to keep on keeping on in an over-saturated and ever changing blog world. I loved this question so much because my first response was "girl I feel ya!" Blogging has changed significantly since 2010 when I first started blogging as well. Change is not necessarily bad but it is very different (and ... continue reading...
Search Results for: living room
An Unlikely Closet Makeover
Thank you Walls Need Love for sponsoring this post! Living, sleeping, and working in the same place can get a little crowded at times. And not for just one of us - we BOTH work at home. When I transitioned into Oak + Oats full time, we moved our office to our master bedroom. We knew we needed as much space as possible for our office. Over the year, that room has become the home for three (yes 3!) businesses. Oak + Oats, Bruce's job, and now Shop Oak + Oats. While I dream of a day when we ... continue reading...
Homeward Bound
I grew up in a family of six - the oldest of four children. I never thought otherwise until later in life. Our house was loud, fun, adventurous, and there was always someone to hang out with. Christmas morning the first one of us awake would run into each room gathering the kids and running down to our stockings. We would watch Christmas cartoons, make a huge breakfast, open gifts, play with all our gifts, and it was mostly just the six of us (besides a guest or two for Christmas dinner.) We ... continue reading...
Snapshots from Buena Vista
Over Labor Day weekend we rented an Airbnb in Buena Vista with some of our closest friends. It was so much fun. We rented a huge house with tons of bedrooms, living space, and a giant kitchen! It was perfect for all of us to gather and to share a vacation together. This year we've been all about renting Airbnbs and are totally sold - it is such a fun experience and totally way more affordable than all renting rooms in a hotel! If your planning a friendcation of sorts you should totally look ... continue reading...
Spring in Our Home
Spring in our home. The windows have been open for the last week non-stop (well, except last night when we thought the house was going to blow over because the wind was so crazy. ) The birds are singing, the sun stays out through dinner, and I've been making ice tea. We've been watching baseball, planning trips, and eating meals on the porch. I've been on a Keane, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, The Fray, Lifehouse, 3 Doors Down, Goo Goo Dolls, All American Rejects kick - so yes, all my favorite ... continue reading...
DIY Curtain Rods with Minted
We switched our master bedroom with our office awhile back. Since then we've been slowly trying to make our office feel more officey & our bedroom feel more bedroomy. I feel like it always takes us awhile to work on projects like these. We make progress but still have things left to do to the room. In fact, I'm kinda laughing right now because if I think about it, I don't think we have one room in our house that is fully completed. Maybe that is living in a house. Or maybe it is a symptom of ... continue reading...
Snapshots from Kansas City
It has been just about a month since I got back from my trip to Kansas City - my how time flies. I booked my ticket some time ago when my best friend called me from miles away to say that she was pregnant. It is funny how that works. You live in the same room, taking the same classes, travel the world together (literally), and pretty much breathe the same air for four years and then - BAM - graduation hits you. I moved back to Colorado and she moved back to Missouri where we married ... continue reading...
Blogging with my Lenovo All-In-One
When I first started blogging all I had was a little laptop and lots of random words swirling around in my head. As I've continued on this journey, a love for photography has emerged along with a million other little things. It is seriously humorous to me when I think about where I started and where I am now - I never dreamed I would be where I am today! It doesn't take long to outgrow your old ways of doing things in the blogging would - before I knew it I needed a DSLR, lightroom, and a ... continue reading...
Live Free, Live Brave
It was Friday Night, Saturday Night, and really any other night before this launch that I sat at my computer trying to do it all. I had a list to my side covered in little words that all needed to be crossed off, 20 tabs open with different articles & Pinterest pins on business/blogging/social media open, and a mind running deliriously too fast and directionless. Preparing for this launch brought out a lot of the achiever in me - and also a lot of the stress monster. I wanted great boxes ... continue reading...
Coffee Date || Volume 2
I scan the room to see if you are already here and I have a conversation with myself deciding if I should go the caffeine route or not. I end up picking the latte because this place always rocks the latte art and I don't want to miss out - I convince myself the coffee will help me be productive and I will not be tired tomorrow with my late night. You're there before I finish the conversation so we say the rest out loud - I guess 27 year olds can't hold their caffeine as well as our younger ... continue reading...
Five Tips to Rock Your Originality
Sometimes it is hard to live original in a world that tells you to try to fit the mold. We need to look like this, wear this size, act like this, blog this way, share on all the social media but don't be on it too much, buy new clothes but don't have too many clothes, be kind, work hard, make dinner every night AND keep your house clean, make time for everyone but don't be stressed out (make sure you get a good dose of self care), and honestly the list goes on. I know I am not the only one who ... continue reading...
Nemo Sleeping Bag
Camping trips fill up the majority of my memory bank from my childhood. I'm a Colorado native - grew up here at the foot of Pikes Peak, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Our family was a ministry family of 6 with a stay at home mom. Suffice to say, our vacation budget was not large but it was needed. My parents always found a way to get away. To bring us deeper into the mountains, make us hike for hours, open our eyes to the world around us, point out the constellations, and pack ... continue reading...
DIY Wedding Binder
My little sister is just got engaged this past month and is getting married in October. I am coming on two years of marriage this summer so it has been fun starting the wedding planning process again! As the big sister and Matron of Honor I have a lot of responsibilities - I mean this is my baby sister! It is such a joy to see her grow up and start planning a wedding and so surreal at the same time. It was just yesterday we were playing Barbies in the basement and performing weddings for our ... continue reading...
the evolution of a home
the evolution of a home. that is a thing right? at least it is in my place. i can dream up all these great rooms but it takes awhile to get them there. in fact, sometimes i don't like my original vision and i leave walls empty until something comes up. CASE AND POINT THIS WALL. i have been working on my kitchen for sometime now (ummm like ever since i moved in) and i just finally blogged about it because it felt a little more put together. it first started with sanding and painting all ... continue reading...
My shared office space
the office needed a little makeover ... badly. so i went on a little cleaning spree and created a space of my/our own. oh yes, this is THE office meaning it is mostly my husband's. he works from home and spends a good chuck of time chilling in this room. i love to sit with him when i have the chance but i never felt comfortable in it due to the lack of space for me and it was not too pretty. i needed my half to reflect me and his half reflect him/ still be super practical ... continue reading...
The Wedding Day Toasts
Bruce & I went back and forth on the whole toast/ speeches idea for a while. In fact, we didn't make up on mind until the rehearsal dinner! We loved the idea of friends & family toasting our marriage and future but we also didn't want the speeches to be long and awkward for our guests (because be honest, we can all think of at least one wedding that we tried not to fall asleep during the list of speeches - brother, sister, childhood friend, ... continue reading...
How To Have A Budget Wedding
It's been nearly 6 months since our wedding and I'm finally sitting down to write this post! When Bruce and I got engaged we quickly figured out our wedding budget. And it came in a good 25k below "average" according to my wedding magazine. That's crazy to me! Our budget was 7K and while that wasn't always easy to stick to, we put together a beautiful wedding that we loved and will always remember! So here is my how to plan a wedding on a budget taken from my real life as a bride on an ... continue reading...
remember: make the most of every moment
today at work i think i wrote the date at least twenty times & every time it got me.. i don't think any of us can be not phased when we say SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH... everyone remembers where they were seventh grade first block we never left our classroom the news was on & we all sat in disbelief as our teacher tried to explain what was going on because i lived so close to the Air Force base, we all went home as soon as they could get busses our ... continue reading...