hey y’all! i was sick yesterday and took the day off work. so needless to say, i'm busy playing catch up today in the office and can't squeeze in a sec for a real post. BUT, i do want to invite you to join me in fatmumslim’s photo challenge for august! i've never done one before and had already vowed to take more pictures, so here's my chance! follow along and see how long i stick with it: @lauraleighwyatt on instagram!
it’s no secret that alex loves the olympics, so it shouldn’t be too hard to guess today’s friday five theme. the OLYMPICS! today, we’re spotlighting 5 things i'm digging from around the globe to celebrate this huge worldwide event!
1 | i've seen so many vintage-inspired prints around the interwebs, and i'm especially loving this one!
2 | butter london has gorgeous metallic polishes in all shades, so get your olympics on with the full monty, diamond geezer, and the old bill – lbh, the USA only knows how to go for the gold!
3 | i've always loved her state necklaces, but would you sport the USA around your neck? maya brenner has definitely found her niche with these adorable pendants. you can even have the diamond placed on your hometown! …wonder if i could get away with layering 3 states?
4 | i'm really loving this american flag scarf. wouldn’t you pay $200+ for it? pshhh. it’s too hot for that mess anyway! at least it’s cute!
5 | how adorable are these ballet flats from j.crew? the elastic is similar to the carolines by tory burch, which are super comfortable. and i would assume these are as well!
so that’s it for me, ladies and gents! i hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the opening ceremonies tonight! i'm linking up with my favorite, alex and sweet lauren today for “friday five” and “high five for friday”.
let’s focus on the positives…
a smooth 'chute opening (image via)
a gorgeous view (image via)
an unforgettable experience (image via)
these people aren’t scared! (image via)
ok, so my palms got sweaty just looking for pictures. have any blog friends been skydiving? was it an amazing experience?? i need to know! i need a few reasons why i shouldn’t chicken out! if you're like me, and are curious about the statistics, this article put me at ease somewhat.
now tell me…
where's this tuesday taking you?
you wanna link up? just grab the text in the box up there, and paste into the html source section of your blog post! -- and leave me a comment below letting me know you did!
i received my dress (pictured above) this weekend and am SO pleased with the design, fit, and quality of their merchandise. not only do they offer excellent customer service (which is always a big deal in my book), their clothes are adorable and affordable! my dress is out of stock right now, but i'm sure based on it's popularity, it'll be back soon! weee! it’s FRIDAY! and for the first time in weeks, we'll actually be in town with NO plans whatsoever. isn't that the best? if i have any idea, i'd say here's what’s in store: redbox(es), dinner in, yoforia, a little gym, a lot of sleep, and lots of kitty snugs. so since the weekend will be pretty low-key, my friday five consists of a few things worth mentioning from this past week:
1 | meeting with contractors! as you can see in my previous post, all i've had on the brain is interior design. we've found a house that we really like and has great potential, but before we decide if we should buy it, we seek out an expert opinion to ensure we can make it awesome (within a reasonable budget). it's really exciting to consider that some of those pins might be made into a reality! 
2 | the sweet sweet girls over at versei reached out to me, and we've got something special coming your way next week!
3 | andrew, john, and i joined a kickball team a couple of weeks ago, and we had our first game this wednesday. we took a chance joining a random team, and i have to say that we really lucked out. everyone on the team was SO nice, and even though i am the opposite of a good kickball player, i still had a blast! i had no idea that this was such a big deal with such a huge following!
4 | caprese salad. mom and i made a big batch(??) last weekend. i made more for andrew and myself monday night. now, i'm planning on making more this weekend. i love this recipe from the pioneer woman. that balsamic reduction is really amazing!
5 | lastly, i just want to mention that my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the shooting last night in colorado. i pray that the power of community and the nation's support can help them overcome such an unbearable tragedy.
i hope everyone had a great week and has an even better weekend. i might have to join miss a.liz for her weekly dance party this afternoon!
per usual, i'm linking up with my favorite, alex and sweet lauren today for their own “friday five” and “high five for friday”.
andrew and i have 2 great friends getting married the first week in august in roanoke, virginia, and of course, all i've got on the brain is "what am i going to wear?". i'm sure andrew will be excited to find out that i'm thinking of wearing a dress i already own! here's how i'm thinking of styling it:
1 | older dress from the j.crew outlet. i believe it's called the bridget dress in the "poppy" print. i love the pretty colors in it and how it looks like the flowers have been painted right on the dress. i wore it to my friend, emily's wedding almost 2 years ago. (happy almost anniversary, girlfriend!)
2 | cute clutch that hasn’t been found yet! send ideas my way, s’il vous plait!
3 | skinny gold belt. i'm wearing more of a mauve color in the pic above, buuut i seemed to have "misplaced" it, so we'll just go with gold for the sake of convenience! no link necessary; you can find these almost anywhere nowadays.
4 | i'm not much of an orange gal, but i really like the style of this bracelet from j.crew. i need a little extra color, so my ensemble isn’t so champagne/gold - not to be confused with ivory/white. don't think the bride would approve!!
5 | since my hair is longer now *yay!*, i think i'll attempt a low-maintenance updo - nothing too fancy! i'll channel my inner pink lou lou, and see if i can pull it off. maybe a trial run beforehand is in order? if that doesn't work out, i'm sure i'll stick with my old standby – big curls and volume!
6 | lastly, ma shoes! i bought these shoes back in october, and have gotten SO much use out of them. they've got a little more spunk than your usual nude pump, and i feel ultra fancy in them! i got them through ebay (big shocker, i know!), and they're pretty uncomfortable after a couple hours. pain is beauty, right? they're higher than they look in the picture, so i'm sure that plays a factor in their [un]comfort. maybe i'll try some of those foot petal pad, things?
so that's where i am, in my mind, today! getting ready for a fun night out with good friends and some dancing with my husband!
where's this tuesday taking you?
you wanna link up? just grab the text in the box above and paste into the html source section of your blog post! got it? leave me a comment below if you linked up, so i'll know if y'all like this whole idea!
this weekend, andrew had a few friends in town for a bachelor party, and i took it upon myself to head out of town. it was so nice to spend a low-key relaxing weekend with my family, and i even squeezed in a little pool/party time with some much-missed friends! here's a few snaps from around my parents' house:
it’s no secret that i like digital design: sometimes i take my little inspiration/friday fives/what im loving wednesday boards to an extreme. my job has taught me so many tips, techniques, and new programs, and i'm really fortunate to have picked up on them fairly quickly. i'm really lucky to have a job that i love and that challenges me every day (and not in the "my jobs really sucks and is really hard" way, but in the "think of something NEW, FRESH, and CREATIVE" way). so today, for my friday five, i'm sharing some design tidbits that i use every day and can't live without:
1 | i realize that i'm very fortunate to have access to the adobe suite every day at my work. this is my second job that has provided these programs to me, and just having access to them every day, along with some trial and error, has taught me just as much as any class could. *mental note: take a class on adobe suite. i use fireworks, dreamweaver, photoshop, and illustrator every.single.day. whether i’m blogging or not.
2 | i've always had a fondness for fonts. my work computer and home laptop are stocked full of fun fonts (a lot of which i've never ever used, but still love). i've listed some current favorites - which will change next week, i'm sure. i think for most of these if you google the name, you can download them for free. confession: i've never paid for a font.
3 | never underestimate the power of inspiration. i'm a big fan of looking to those who are bigger/better than me to learn and grow. everyone i work with is really good at what they do, so i'm constantly learning new things. for blog and design inspiration, i love looking through kelly/fabulous k's awesome designs. she's definitely one of my designer role-models, AND she's really sweet - she always tweets me back!
4 | quickly followed by #4, knowing that i'm still a beginner. i do tend to get "down" sometimes when i see awesome designs and think "man...i wish i could do that". us beginners need to stand back, relax, and realize that we're learning all the time. i can't expect to be an expert right off the bat. design success, blogging success, career success: these all take lots of time and energy -- just gotta put in the work!
5 | sweet friends who are my guinea pigs. i've done a handful of designs for friends, and i'm really thankful that they give me a shot every now and then to practice on them! save the dates, wedding invitations, blog designs, even christmas gift tags - i really do enjoy putting these things together and working with my girlfriends to design something that's "just perfect" for them. ps. head over to alex’s blog and tell her how much you love her new design!
ok ok! i'm hopping off my soapbox! if you have some tips for design or a cute blog/website that you draw inspiration from, i'd love to hear about it!
like every other friday, i'm linking up with my favorite, alex and sweet lauren today for their own “friday five” and “high five for friday”.
happy weekend!
