happenings >> according to instagram

wade traveled most of last week. so i had a very girlie week!

 i caught up with friends, had a pedicure, gave myself a manicure, got a much needed haircut (bangs!), ate a full watermelon, went to pottery, finished our birthday invites and shopped a bit. i bought these mint skinnies & no picnic table will go unclothed again on my watch thanks to this tablecloth.

a little outdoor lighting DIY

one disadvantage to apartment living is the lack of a yard. especially for wade. poor guy. he's eager to help our friends work in their yards/gardens to make up for it.

i'm not complaining - we love our little apartment. we're way up in the trees - and our kitchen is almost entirely surrounded by windows. and w/ a quick trip to the hardware store - we now have a fantastic outdoor addition.

say hello to our updated front porch:

we used 8ft deck railing painted white to blend our terrace lighting into the current decking. with 6 screw hooks (3 at the top of the deck railing & 3 along the eave) & hanging lights the ones w/ built in roof hooks, this project was a snap!

and she will be loved. extra space is well appreciated when you live in a 3 room 500-something sq foot apartment!

my goal was to surprise wade w/ this little DIY while he worked the morning of the 4th of july! then i planned to set up a little picnic for us to enjoy! unfortunately, i didn't have the muscle to attach the railings to the old fence myself. even with the electrical drill. (see wade - I NEED YOU!) and the weather wasn't on board w/ my little plan either. i can't complain - we've needed rain!

so we moved our little picnic inside:

now to thrift more comfortable and more "me" porch furniture! :)

home is where the heart is ...

is anybody still out there? is anybody still out there? 
echo? echo ...

finding time to blog has been a bit of a challenge lately! sorry folks. but that's a good thing - life has been super busy/fun lately.

over the weekend, w+i went to visit my grandma in martinsville, illinois. i've shared about martinsville time and time again. it's my heart. :) especially now that grandma is back living at home.

grandma has been in a nursing home for the past 2 and half years. i'm so thankful for my mom & her sister AND early retirement for each of them! they are now altering months as grandma's full-time caregiver!!! we colored. we took a drive out to grandpa's farm. we sang christmas carols and we ate really well! we were even able to catch the first evening of the martinsville agricultural fair. 

where is home for you?

this week ...

back w/ a week 2 goal list!

pretty excited for this week. i'm off weds-friday for the holiday! tonight we're heading to a sounds baseball game w/ friends and then sticking around afterwards for fireworks. tomorrow wade and i are going to have a little 4th of july picnic/hike in the afternoon. and then we're heading to illinois for the weekend to celebrate my grandma's homecoming. yay! another big week.

how are you celebrating the 4th?

thurs-DIY: what's more american than baseball!?!

holy cow, people. how is it almost july already!?! time to make some july 4th plans!

wade and i are fumbling with ideas. i'm all about a hike + picnic. dear friend, - one of my favorite nashville blogs - recently visited burgess falls. looks lovely! wade however is thinking swimming pool. and with the weather forecast to hit triple digits in nashville for the next 7 days straight - he might be on to something! it's hot, people.

one thing for sure -we're going to a baseball game! the nashville sounds are playing the cubbies (okay the iowa cubs - not quite as cool!) and they are ending the game with fireworks! hotdogs, popcorn, $2 beer night, "peanuts, peanuts, get your peanuts",  the 7th inning stretch - can't get more american than that!

or can you?!? here's a little "all-american" DIY just in time for the holiday:

supplies:
- baseballs or softballs (old or new!)
- red, white & blue paint (i chose a navy + barn red for a bit of a vintage look).
- paint brushes

1 // paint your baseballs completely white. i brushed lightly over the stitches so that the red still peaked through.
2 // paint 1 panel blue.
3 // add your stripes in the remaining white panel. i chose thin lines - but you can make them thicker as well like a real flag.
4 // last but not least, add your stars in the blue panel.

add them to a basket or a bowl and you have the perfect little all-american centerpiece.

okay - your turn: how do you plan to spend your holiday?

{weekend update} bonnaroo!

in centeroo w/ nekos, ellen + tessa
of black and white and loved all over
{source: nekos barnes}

lots and lots of new music on my mind this monday morning following a fantastic (as well as dirty + hot) weekend at bonnaroo. while i of course loved catching the shows on the main stages (um - mumford and sons - yes please!) ... my favorite stage by far had to be the sonic stage. it gives fans the chance to see the performers in a much more intimate & rare setting.

my all-time favorite performance was definitely songwriter and clawhammer banjo player abigail washburn. she's illinois-born, nashville-based like me. and though i didn't realize it at the time, i first heard her sing at my sweet friend samantha's wedding a little over 2 years ago. as part of her new record city of refuge release tour, abigail joined w/ producer tucker martine (the decemberists, tift merritt, mudhoney) on the sonic stage saturday morning to share a short set.

{source: abigailwashburn.com}

almost 10 years ago, abigail washburn was preparing to move to china to attend law school in beijing university. before moving overseas, she embarked on a road trip down the east coast to study the banjo and was offered a record deal. talk about a quick change of plans! :) she now mixes american folk music + bluegrass w/ chinese folk music.

check out abigail washburn's npr tiny desk concert to learn all about her fantastic journey:

music city!

nashville is always all about music - but this week it's OVER THE TOP. we've earned our nickname "music city" w/ both CMA music fest and bonnaroo in town. i'm about to jump head first into the madness for the CMT awards tonight. then saturday, wade and i leave bright and early to catch the final 2 days of bonnaroo.

{the cmt awards!}

both present the perfect people watching opportunities. here's to fanny pack clad rednecks ... followed by smelly bra-less hippies!

hopefully i can find time for a good ol' blog post in between!

{photo courtesy: whitney bell}

hello summer!

asos just sent out a fantastic little email titled "hello summer: festival fashion" which reminded me that i haven't told you about the fun little plans we have for the weekend after next.

we're heading to bonnaroo, people! :)

yes - we will probably regret it in post. i went a few years ago - and it nearly killed me (and my car - mysterious missing bumper incident). gah. a little too much heat, too much dirt, too late of nights, too many bra-less hippies and too many drugs. i kid! i did not participate in the drugs (though yes - i know that's what bonnaroo is known for.)

it's also known for it's wicked lineup. just a sampling of this years lineup:

wade has had the bonnaroo itch for a couple of years now. but let's face it - we're newly weds, we're budgeting, and we're not able to shell out 200 buckaroos a pop (that's a lot of dough no matter how much incredible music we get to hear in 4-days!). but we're not ones to pass up the opportunity to volunteer a couple hours and then spend the rest of the weekend checking out the amazing lineup!

and that is exactly what we will be doing! pretty stoked.

(we're volunteering w/ the natural resources defense council - specifically the no more mountaintop removal campaign. learn more here.)

now to check out that "festival fashion":

{click to shop}

{shop} bugs!

apparently tennessee is about to be hit by a major cicada infestation. the 13 year cicadas are coming! think alfred hitchcock's the birds but w/ less (intentional) eye plucking and BIG BUGS. sick-ada! (yes - i just came up with that!)

only a tiny bit better than the real thing ... anyone brave enough to wear these magiciada earrings from modcloth:

{click to shop}

i would so rather be attacked by these lovely bugs any day:

{click to shop!}

1 // anthropologie petite critters cards
2 //anthropologie watercolor peony wallpaper
3 // ruche fluttering on a rose necklace
4 // modcloth dragonfly dress
5 // my lavaliere @ etsy birds and the bees ring
6 // urban outfitters butterfly rug

and just because ...

away we go ...

wade and i heading out of town for the weekend w/ friends faith to camp near monterey, tn. and i'm so excited for a little getaway. i think we both need a vacation.

point and case ... wade has been on the road traveling all week. his flight didn't arrive until midnight last night - so for the most part i've been planning for the weekend (plus cooking dinner for our neighbor post-surgery, cleaning house, prepping for our first official meal swap on sunday and so much more!). this morning i was going through my loooooong packing checklist w/ wade when he looked at me and said - "do we even have a tent?". woops! luckily we were able to borrow one. {can you say birthday present?}

this is not how our campsite will look. but a girl can daydream:

{source}

have a fantastic weekend, friends! :)

you know what saturday mornings mean ...

... RUMMAGE SALES! thrilled that spring is springing!

{source: we♥it}