ChelsChats – June: Life & Blog Update, Things in my Shopping Cart, Things I Love + Giveaway
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Hi hi hi. Hey there. It’s me. I’ve got ALL the things to catch up on and lots of random favorite things I’ve been wanting to share, so it’s time to sit down and chat it up. So many good things to talk about, so I’m just going to jump right into it because…SO MANY GOOD THINGS TO SHARE.
Life Updates
- ICYMI (which I’d be surprised if you did because I’ve shouted it from every rooftop possible) I am OFFICIALLY 12 years cancer free. I had my appointment last Friday and passed with flying colors. Barring funny x-ray results, I am in the clear and good to go for another year. The whole process of going to my appointment (and leaving it) was a little hard, but it gave me a MUCH needed reality check and taught me a valuable lesson. You can read more about how that whole day went for me here.
- After finishing our Pergola last month, we decided to tackle our second backyard project and finished that up a couple weeks ago. We decided we couldn’t leave a giant hole in our backyard where the apple trees used to be for the rest of the summer because #dogs. So, Dustin and my brother have spent the last few weeks digging out the corner, evening out the ground, and building a firepit! It came out SO cute and I honestly cannot believe that a year ago, that corner was filled with overgrown, stinky, rotten apple trees. Dustin is working on putting together a post with instructions on how we built our Pergola and he’ll follow that up with a post on the firepit for anyone who wants to tackle their backyard this summer.
- I got to spend a weekend up in the Big Cottonwood Canyon in the cutest cabin with some of my closest Utah friends for a girls trip. I’m SO grateful for Instagram and this crazy blog thing because of the amazing friendships that it’s allowed me to form. I seriously am not exaggerating when I say that if I didn’t have the friends I have made through blogging, my only friends in Utah would be my sister and my sister-in-law. (I mean, that wouldn’t be a problem, because I LOVE my sisters, but you know what I mean.) Anyway, I got to go on a little getaway with my friends. We started the night eating dinner and sampling some of the most DELICIOUS desserts at Last Course – a dessert only restaurant in Draper, UT. My favorite was the Upside Down Apple Caramel Pie – it literally tasted like monkey bread with apples and caramel and all the goodness. After we finished eating, we drove up into the canyon and took some dreamy photos at Silver Lake before settling into the cabin for the night. We ate snacks, painted our toes, and watched the Greatest Showman. The next day, we spent the morning sitting outside and enjoying the peace of the mountains before spending the afternoon in Park City, taking photos and eating the BEST Mexican food I’ve ever had. Seriously, the best fish tacos in the world – so check out Crystal Park Cantina if you are in up in the area. (And if you need more recs about what to do or eat in Park City, I’ve got a whole weekend guide right here.) After grabbing an ice cream, we headed to an event at one of my FAVORITE boutiques, My Sister’s Closet. It was such a fun way to end the weekend and I am so grateful for good girlfriends and good food and good clothes. Here are some shots from that weekend:
Blog Updates
- IGTV! When Instagram came out with Instagram stories, it took me FOREVER to get on board with it. I was super annoyed that they were copying Snapchat and I resisted for the longest time before realizing how great of a way it was to connect with my friends there. So, I’m trying my VERY HARDEST to not be mad about IGTV. I’ve been chewing on doing more video content/focusing more on Youtube for a long time now, but it’s always intimidated me because it’s so hard to grow on there (algorithms, yo.) I decided I’m going to focus on putting my video content on IGTV for a while and see how it goes before reverting back to the Youtube idea. I actually bought myself a new camera specifically for vlogging/video content and I’m feeling SO excited about creating more video content with it. I’ve already uploaded my first episode of Makeup Monday and I’d love it if you checked it out! You can watch it here!
- I’ve been stewing on some different projects/ideas that I’ve been wanting to bring to HTC for over a year and tomorrow, I’m going to the Build an Awesome Brand workshop, hosted by Allison Faulkner. I’m SO excited to go and hopefully gain a little bit of clarity when it comes to what I should be doing and where I should be taking my blog and business in the next year! I’ll keep you posted on what I learn and what comes from it!
Things in my Shopping Cart
This Chambray Wrap Top (40% off at Loft) – I’m OBSESSED with all things wrap styled right now because I think they look so flattering on every body type. This Chambray colored one at the Loft has been in my shopping cart for a while and now it’s 40% off and I think I’m going to the pull the trigger. It would look SO CUTE with white jeans or a pencil skirt for work and the neckline calls for delicate layered necklaces. So so cute.
These Black Skinny Jeans on sale for $38.00 – Black skinnies are a great option for those of us in offices that have a little bit of a flexible dress code (we’re business casual and can wear black jeans or dark wash denim.) This brand is great quality, so to be able to snag this pair at 40% off is a STEAL!
Little Red Sneaks – On sale for under $40.00. Do I need another pair of sneakers? Probably not. But have I wanted a pair of red sneakers for as long as I can remember? Yes. And I KNOW that this brand of sneakers makes great quality sneakers and that they are insanely comfortable. +add to cart!
This face cleanser – I just finished squeezing the last little bit of product from my BeBe & Bella cleanser and while it worked great for me, I’m ready to try something new. I’ve been on the hunt for a high-end cleanser (because skin care is ALWAYS worth the price) and I have heard nothing but great things about First Aid Beauty from my sister and friends. This cleanser has great reviews, so I’m definitely going to snag it when I place my next Ulta order.
All the lashes from my favorite lash house – HOL is having their first semi-annual sale on their lashes and I’m stocking up big time! I just got my eyelash extensions taken off because I missed doing my makeup and my lashes needed some air – and while I’m looking forward to getting back to my lash lifts and mascara, I’m also going to need some good falsies for those dramatic looks I’ve got planned! My favorite styles include Iconic, Siren, and Smokey Muse.
Things I Love
- This star map poster from Modern Map Art that shows exactly what the night sky looked like over Boston on the day we got married! It’s such a special piece of art in our home and I loved that I could customize the fonts, words, and colors to fit our aesthetics and to make it special to us. “The Brightest Star” is a line from one of the songs we used to sing to each other in college and it felt like the perfect line to use on our star map. We hung it over our TV to cover up the holes in the walls from the previous owners and I feel like it adds a nice touch of personalization to our room without being too in your face or bold. It’s minimal, clean, and sentimental!
- Last Course Dessert Bar – FRIEND IN UTAH, THIS IS A MUST-EAT! We had literally the most amazing experience eating all the desserts when we kicked off our girls weekend at the beginning of the month and I am DREAMING of their Upsidedown Apple Pie. We’re currently running a giveaway for a $30.00 gift card to their Draper or SLC location, so if you are interested in going out for a sweet treat on us, you can enter on this post.
- My Tenergy Humidifier! I shared last week about my journey toward incorporating more wellness into my life and how I’m working on removing my self-limiting beliefs that I can’t be healthy. I’ve been making some great progress in lifestyle changes and I honestly say that I DO feel that I have more wellness into my life. A huge component of that has been my new Tenergy Humidifier, which has added so many health and wellness benefits in to our home. Dustin seriously hasn’t snored in weeks and my skin feels great every morning. If you’re in the market for a new humidifier, check out them out on Amazon (they ship with Prime) and use the code “Chelsie15″ for 15% off!
Giveaway Time!
Just in time for this Summer’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale,
I’ve teamed up with a group of bloggers to give you a chance to win a $750 Nordstrom Gift Card!
To enter: complete the steps in the rafflecopter below.
The more steps you complete, the more entries you receive, and the better your chance at winning!
This giveaway runs until end-of-day 7/12 at 12AM EST.
Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!
*this giveaway is in no way sponsored by Nordstrom.
