... i'm back, birdies, + sunshine.

ok wow. talk about blog mia.
oh, march… so ready to move on from you.

here in boston we had some lovely snow to start off the spring.
and my month was filled with house hunting {yay!}, working my butt off, hibernating from the cold, and spending time with family during a time of loss. and that left me with very little time for blogging.

but. there are SO many great things to come in the months to follow:
 - a new {home sweet home} section to begin my decorating fun!
 - my fresh new blog design from heart and arrow !! {coming soon}
 - some sunny new outfit posts outside!!
 - and a 30-day shred challenge starting april 1st. {i told myself if i blogged about it I had to do it… and now I have to do it, ugh} tomorrow i will be posting the deets - stay tuned if you want to join in!

but for now, enjoy some outfit pix not taken inside my garage!!!

bird top: bobbles & lace sample sale
faux leather leggings: love culture (no longer online), similar
boots: similar
feather & bead bracelets: alex & ani
raw stone bracelet: bobbles & lace sample sale, similar


xo and sunshine - heather

... liebster!

my new American Eagle $7 necklace, because it’s cute

so I’ve been blog m.i.a. for about a week

first a had a head cold that lingered for what seems like a lifetime,

and now I’m running around like crazy trying to catch up on everything I missed while in bed.

but in the meantime, I got nominated for a liebster award!

It’s basically an oscar for the newbie blogger.

so, I’m sitting here in a huge evening gown,

and even huge-r glass of reisling,

watching the bachelor finale {of course}

and I’m ready for my acceptance speech.

I was nominated by the lovely sarah over at ‘limited space organizing’

she’s an adorable, creative, beauty of a little lady

who lives in her own little blog-world

thank you, thank you lovely!

rules of the liebster award:

1. thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 other blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.

4. copy and paste the blog award on your blog.

my 11 questions from sarah:

1. (Obligatory) Why did you start blogging? there really is no one reason why I started my blog… I guess my blog title says it all, really to enjoy this life. read more here.

2. What is your favorite thing to organize? ok, let me start by saying I am the most unorganized-want-to-be-organized girl ever. I love love love the feeling I get after doing the dishes, or scrubbing the toilet, or cleaning my closet. I’m just the WORST at getting it done. I guess if I had to chose ONE thing to be my fav to organize, it would be cleaning my bathroom. there, I said it, I love to scrub a good dirty sh*tter.

3. What kind of friend/person are you? well that’s a loaded question… and kinda hard to answer about yourself. I would like to think my friends think the same of me as I do of them. and that’s a lot, because my friends are pretty awesome. {i gush about them here}

4. What’s your favorite piece of clothing to wear? my hubbi’s sweater {it lives in my closet now}

5. What is your favorite project you have done? I really enjoyed dreaming up & crafting our wedding invitations {here} – all our wedding projects were a blast and you can follow our rustic wedding journey.

6. What is the best piece of advice you can give someone? be nice. It’s never going to get you in trouble, it’s never going to hurt feelings, it will usually put a smile on someone’s face, and probably a smile on yours.

7. What is your favorite book and why? honestly, I unfortunately have not had time {or made time, rather} to read many books in the past few years… which is a shame because I really do enjoy reading. however, since I was in middle school my favorite book has always been The Giver. kinda sad because I can’t tell you at all what it’s about, been years since I’ve read it, but I know I LOVED it. and I will re-read someday & probably love all over again.

8. How did you come up with your blog name? wow. I have no idea. I knew I wanted to start a blog to help me define my life, and I just typed this one in. not really a lot of thought, but it just kinda stuck.

9. What is your favorite thing about blogging? my first favorite thing is reading other blogs created by such wonderful, inspiring women. Some of the blogs I follow are so beautiful, so touching, have brought me to tears, made me laugh out loud, have cheered me up, and made me want to be a better person. It’s so so amazing that this community can do that. my second favorite thing about blogging is the memories I’m creating… I really look forward to being able to re-walk my path.

10. If you could eat any food for the rest of your life what would it be? ice cream, hands down.

11. What would you do if someone gave you one million dollars to spend however you like? i know all the following is really cliché, but really wouldn’t everyone? shop, travel, buy a house, volunteer, donate, treat my fam & friends...

11 random facts about me:

1. I once got kicked out of a sub shop for carving my initials in the counter.

2. I feel guilty and have buyer’s remorse if I spend over $20 on any one item.

3. I have dreamed about being a mother since I was a little little girl, but now I’m more terrified than ever.

4. I have a birthmark that spreads across two fingers and my palm on my right hand, and my sister used to sing ‘strawberry fields forever’ to me & make me cry.

5. I can’t look a cat straight in the eyes; I think I was attacked by one in a previous life.

6. Eating is one of my favorite hobbies, but I absolutely hate to cook.

7. I have been planning my new workout routine since January, but have yet to get up off the couch {stay tuned for my 30-day shred coming in april, if a say it here then I feel like I might actually do it}

8. I absolutely HATE loose teeth. Don’t even know what I’m going to do when my future children’s teeth fall out of their heads.

9. I heart peppermint cookies & cream ice cream {yes, that’s a real thing. amazing}

10. I look horrific in the color red.

11. I love me some hot heels, but most days prefer comfy flats/boots.

my nominees:

1. Fancy Pants NY

2. FEST

3. Isn't That Charming

4. Liz Makes

5. Lynn + Lou

6. She Said He Said

7. Sparkles & Spit Up

8. Sweet Bliss

9. Teeny Hippie

10. The Cream to My Coffee

11. The Sweetest Engagement

my nominee questions:

1. (Obligatory) Why did you start blogging?

2. What is your favorite easy & quick recipe?

3. What is your all time fav store to shop?

4. Favorite TV Show?

5. Comfy-est & Cutest shoes you own?

6. What is your guilty pleasure?

7. Biggest Pet Peeve?

8. Thing you are most thankful for?

9. George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

10. What is your FAV blog to follow?

11. What is your biggest dream?

again, thank you so much to sarah at ‘limited space organizing’ for the award

xo - heather

... long lost love.

ok, I didn’t get lost.
lately I’ve just been taking the long road.
life lately has been full of ni-quil, office hours, hubbi travels, sleepless nights, and stuffy noses.

and with all that comes lack of blogging.

so, looking through my camera, I came across pix from our valentine's night.
full of flowers & hearts & love & yummy food.
and this outfit complete with winter whites & favorite brites.

blouse: banana republic (old), similar

scarf: new fav from world market {first of all, LOVE world market – it was my first time ever in one when we visited florida and it’s probably a good thing there aren’t any in MA because I would probably go every day.} they don’t have this scarf anymore… but check out their awesome selection here.

skinny cords: old navy

boots: similar

watch: MK

and then there’s this delicious meal cooked by hubbi.
didn’t you know portion control gets thrown out the window on v-day?

... our rustic wedding: THE Dress

say hello to wedding wednesday. hello.

we all got together one day (not an easy task)

and explored j.crew, shared some time, had a yummy lunch, and found my dress.

oh, how that sounds soooo easy on paper.

after hours of searching online, i had a vision in my head:

wants: lace, mermaid/flare, fitted gorgeous dress.

do not wants: ball gown, satin, poofy.

so my mom, my sister, and my girlfriends gathered in the early morning - coffee in hand.

- to the first dress shop. It was very boutique-y, we had the store to ourselves, and I felt like a bride. {Probably tried on 10 gowns, one with a horse’s tail, one we dubbed the Alli-dress and we noted our favorites.}

- to the second dress shop. A discount off-the-rack more for prom shopping – in and out. {and I think my sister tried on a junior prom dress just for fun, she’s 31… no proms in her near future}

- to the third dress shop. Seriously, I swear there WAS a third but I guess that day was such a blur, I’m drawing a blank. mighty?

- and the last stop – david’s bridal {just to get an idea of what I like.} The sales woman grabbed the dresses I saved as favorites in my online account and we went to town. no, no, no, eh, no.

so the day was winding down, we were wrapping up, mamas had to get home to their little ones, and we had all our notes {on prob 40+ dresses} to pick-up where we left off on another day...

“we like this about that dress, hate that part… take the top from that one, and the bottom from that one, and the sash from that one, put them together with a different texture…”

one last check of the favorites to make sure we didn’t miss anything.

ok, I’ll try this one and this one and then we are out the door.

first one – big fat NOPE.

second one – very last one of the day – and the crowd goes silent.

‘mrs. carson’ hanger gift J

“I don’t hate it.”
"I mean, I actually like this one…"
"I guess there’s nothing I don’t like about this one…"
"I really love the seaming and structure. love the neckline. love the belt."
"It’s really comfy…"
"hmmmm… I think I kinda love it."

and it’s a poofy, satin, ballgown.
and it’s from david’s bridal.
and it’s on sale… wait, what? It’s on sale? … sold.

french bustle {classiest in my opinion}

moral of the story, you can search & plan & dream & imagine…
but when you have THE dress on, you will just know you love it.

to read more of 'our rustic wedding' journey... take a look at these past posts:

Save The Dates

Invitations

Welcome Your Guests

Keep Them Happy

The Ladies: dresses + shoes

xo - heather

... snow birds + song birds

as much as I’m SO ready for spring & sunshine

I can’t seem to break out the colorful clothes

maybe it’s because here in boston we are still surrounded by white.

so, I like to match my outfits to it & blend right in for a while.

and this fluffy winter white Free People “songbird” sweater did just the trick.

coooooooozy.

It also helps to snuggle up in something so warm

when your usual cuddle buddy is away.

the hubbi is currently riding the slopes in vail, co

AND relaxing in vapor caves {basically natural saunas}

photo he texted me – JEALOUS.

so cozy on up with your songbird, whoever or whatever that is,

and I’ll meet you on the colorful side.

sweater: free people songbird pullover

necklace: F21, old

leggings: cotton on, similar

boots

i almost peed my pants.

you guys are NOT going to believe this.

so, about a week ago, I entered a giveaway {one of the many in the blogging world}

and yesterday while strolling around my fav blogs, I came upon this:

BIG WINNER.

omg. Is that me? didn’t I get married? what’s my last name? why can’t I feel my toes?

at first I was confused and thought, there def has to be another Heather Chase in this blogspot world.

I even had to ask the hubbi if it was real life.

turns out, my entry went in under my maiden name and that Heather Chase was actually me, the Carson.

WINNER. WINNER. CHICKEN. DINNER.

(except the pulled pork was already in the crockpot)

I am so excited to work with Miss Whit!

I have followed her esty shop & blog, Whit Speaks, for a while now and was SO excited for her

announcement of her design company, Heart & Arrow.

my blog needs a new design like I need a bowl of peppermint cookies & cream ice cream right now.

{trust me, I NEED it}

and let me tell you, Whit is the girl to go to if you want a completely original, creative, beautiful blog design.

check out this girl’s portfolio… come on now. talent. talent. talent.

so, stay tuned for a new look. I’m on the waitlist for now J {this girl is busy!}

and, per Whit’s suggestion, have started a ‘blog design’ Pinterest Board – check it out.

don’t forget to also follow my personal pinterest boards & my blog pinterest boards J

xo - heather