inspired + thankful.

Happy Monday! For those of you enjoying a day out of work, I'm envious ;) I'm not so lucky! I thought I'd spend today's post focused on this week's theme for Friday's Fancies to give you plenty of time to brainstorm! On Friday, we'll be sharing our interpretation of gorgeous outfits from across the blogosphere and pinterest. You can see a few of the outfits which have been rocking my world as of late...

Quick side note: this week is extra special because it marks the 52nd week {count it--a year} of Friday's Fancies link-ups. To top it off, the beautiful color crush outfits from last Friday broke the all-time record for most posts in one week. I seriously count my blessings every week for all of you! I can't wait to see what this year brings :) One thing is for sure: I know it will be incredible!

{images via my pinterest style inspiration board: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9}

If you'd like to hop on the mailing list for Friday's Fancies, shoot me an email! You'll get advanced warning of what's up next--and you'll meet a lot of wonderful bloggers in the process :) Any questions whatsoever can be directed my way via email--I'm happy to help!

The other piece of news I'm pinching myself about this week you can see here...

After my blog disappeared into thin air for a day last week, I was afraid I would lose you all forever. Low and behold, las week was the week during which I hit this big milestone. For my followers new and old, thank you for making my day brighter one comment, tweet, email, repin, instagram, and post at a time. You inspire me more than you'll ever know. I may not get to comment as much as I like, but never think your comments go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Enjoy your Monday--especially if you're still enjoying your weekend. Otherwise, distract yourself and create an outfit for Friday ;) Have a fantastic week!

friday's fancies #59.

Who is happy it's Friday?! {ME!} I always anticipate 12:00am on Friday because it means the weekend is almost here...but more importantly, it is Friday's Fancies time again! This week, the theme is color crush, which meant it was my chance to indulge in my recent love of purple. My high school used this color as one of its own, so I was clothed from head to toe in purple for nearly eighteen years. I strayed away from the grape hue for quite a few moons, until recently that is. I can't get enough of the punch it packs--and only wish I could have the outfit below to do it justice! I'll just keep dreaming...

1) The grape-colored glory, which is this Alice + Olivia Caprice Cross Back Dress, is simple, stunning and just plain gorgeous. I adore the waistline and only wish I was daring enough to pull off that plunging v-neck!

2) I chose this Derek Lam Albertine Clutch because it kicked this outfit up a notch. It gives a nod to the classic side I love without being too, how shall I say, boring ;)

3) I didn't want to distract from the killer neckline of the dress, so I opted for a dramatic pair of earrings! These Belle Noel Black Leather Pyramid Stud Tassel Earrings might get caught in my curly locks, but for this outfit, they were a no-brainer. 

4) Though I could never pull off these Jimmy Choo Patent Leather Sandals in the cold of winter, I can in my Friday's Fancies. I also thought they mimicked the cross back of the dress beautifully.

5) I have an affection for anything Wizard of Oz-related, so the name of this BaubleBar Yellow Brick Road Bracelet had me at hello. The bracelet also created a pleasant contrast between the black of the clutch and the purple of the dress.

Infinite amounts of gratitude coming to each and every one of you linking up this week :) Your posts definitely inspire me to try harder, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. {psst: Don't forget to use your blog name in the "title" box, so your post gets you all the credit you deserve.} Please email me if you'd like to join in the Friday's Fancies fun--I would love to have you join the family! Until Monday...

shining light.

{cv} and I will be embarking on the home design process soon, so I have been engrossed in finding inspiration. My pinterest is quickly filling up with cheery, sun-filled photos of homes I would love to call my own. One common theme {cv} spotted after peeking over my shoulder at my pinterest boards is my love of bright and happy spaces. Here are a few of my favorites...

{discover here: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8}

I know it's not necessarily realistic to have lots of light in every room, though it would be amazing if it was. My goal is to find places in our design where we will attract the most light. If you have any advice on that front, I'm all ears. For those of you who are already homeowners, I'd love to hear about your favorite sun spots in your home. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited to do it! See you back here for Friday's Fancies tomorrow :)

i'm back.

For just over 28 hours, this little blog of mine went off the grid. In those 1,680 minutes, I received countless emails, tweets, texts, and calls of support, which made me realize why I started blogging in the first place. When Michelle started the twitter campaign and posted on her blog last night, my fear turned into hope. After a crazy post in the Google help forum, a twitter frenzy, and a random email to a mysterious google address which only warranted a form response, magic happened. This little blog reappeared :) My heart feels at ease again--except that it is fuller than it ever was before. 

I also learned in the midst of this blog disappearing madness that you can back up your blog--and that was the first thing I did when I got back into my blog. Follow Chelsea's helpful hints and back up your own! The thought of losing the 14 months of blood, sweat, and tears that I put in my blog was sickening. Losing those memories was my worst fear in the midst of the madness. Thankfully, I have those memories back and they're now saved on multiple computers so I don't ever lose them.

What did I learn from all of this? 

BACK UP YOUR BLOG. NOW.

I owe you all so much for helping me through those 28 hours of terror.

And for those of you who noticed I was gone, thank you for caring :)

Above all, I love each and every one of you.**

**Not that I didn't already know that, but I'll never forget all you've given me!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you did to bring me back :) I'll be back to normal programming tomorrow...and Friday's Fancies will be here in full force on Friday, don't you worry!

P.S. Blogger--though I didn't enjoy the heart attack, I do appreciate the lesson in backing up my data. Oh, and thank you for not really deleting my blog. Next time, just freak me out by deleting a single post or something...