Inspirational Monday

Wow! It has been a while! Between wedding planning and things getting busier at work, life has been pretty hectic this past month. To top it off, my cats went to live with Nate for the duration of my busy season at work. It really broke my heart when they left. I am so used to having them to come home to after work each day, that I felt pretty lonely for the first two weeks without the two of them. Why, yes, I am a crazy cat lady.

Next piece of crazy news: OUR WEDDING IS LESS THAN SIX MONTHS AWAY! Can you believe it? I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. We have all of the big stuff planned and done, but now I just have to focus on all of the little details... and, there are a lot of those. What I have been working on for the past week or so are the invitations. I wanted to finalize these now because these need to go out at the end of April, and I will have no time to work on them come March or early April due to my work schedule. Anyway, we are getting our invites from Minted.com. If you haven't checked out this site for any sort of invites that you need, you should! There are some super cute ideas. 

Also this month, Nate and I found out where he will be doing his clinical rotations during his third year of medical school. I will reveal where we are going a bit later when our plans are more finalized, but we are both really excited and happy about where we are going to end up! Hooray for no more long distance!!

Ok. So, since I've been busy, I haven't really been thinking about blogging. And, I can't promise how often I will blog in the next few months, but I am going to try because it is fun and it gives me an outlet for my creativity. So, onto today's post...

...I wanted to give you all a little inspiration for your Monday in this post. The beginning of a new week is always tough for me. I'm normally overwhelmed by my list of things to do during the week, and don't end up getting a lot done. The only good thing about Mondays, as far as I'm concerned, is the Bachelor! Is it sad that I plan my weeks around my television shows? Probably... but, oh well. Anyway, I hope you find these quotes inspiring and a pick-me-up for your week ahead.

Have a great week!

Cold Weather Clothing Essentials

Now that winter is officially upon us, I want to share my list of winter wardrobe essentials and, of course, model them in a look for you to see! I would describe my style as trendy yet simple. I love solid colored sweaters and jeans and love to spice things up with my accessories. I would also describe my style as girly, yet not in a princessy way. I wear skirts and dresses to work and special occasions, but you will rarely see me in a dress on a typical Saturday. So, this is MY list of essentials for a fun and stylish winter wardrobe.

My first essential piece is a good pair of skinny jeans. I get most of my jeans from American Eagle Outfitters. They are affordable and seem to fit me pretty well. I'm a little taller, so I always make sure to get the tall/long fit. If you love boots (tall or short), skinny jeans are a perfect staple to show them off.

My second winter wardrobe essential is a basic sweater(s). Solid colored sweaters go a long way in the winter time. They are easy to layer and normally look great with a bunch of different accessories. This cozy gray sweater that I am wearing has a few embellishments on it around the shoulders, but is otherwise, super simple and goes great with any outfit. I've worn this sweater to work with skirts, over-top dresses, and with my favorite pair of jeans. Being raised in Minnesota, I think I have enough sweaters to wear a different one every day of the month! 

My third essential piece is an infinity scarf, preferably, of the cozy knit, or plaid variety. These are super trendy right now, and for good reason. They are super cozy and keep you warm during those polar vortexes. This red scarf that I am wearing was actually hand-knitted for me by my brother's girlfriend, Hannah. I have been meaning to try hand-knitting myself ever since she gave it to me, but just haven't gotten around to it.

My fourth winter wardrobe essential: a chunky watch. I have two watches from Fossil and I love them. I received a white gold watch with a large face a few years back from Nathan for a Christmas gift and then I received the rose gold watch seen in these pictures this past Christmas from my parents. I just love how much of a statement these make! They are like a functional piece of art, in my opinion.

My last essential piece for your winter wardrobe are a pair of fashion boots. Whether tall or short, boots are so in these days. Plus, they look great with EVERYTHING! I am wearing these awesome rider style boots from DSW. I just love these ankle boots with my skinny jeans. They make this outfit look outdoorsy, but these boots also look so cute with dresses and tights (stay tuned for this future post)!

Well there you have it! My winter wardrobe basics! I'd like to take a moment to thank Nathan for, once again, nailing the photography! I'd also like to thank the sun for making a rare appearance on this cold January day! Lastly, I'd like to ask you - are there any cold weather wardrobe essentials that I missed? (Besides a coat) Let me know by commenting below!

Happy New Year!

Nathan and I spent our New Year's Eve evening (I had to work during the day) cooking a wonderful meal together with chocolate fondue for dessert, and watching Game of Thrones until the ball dropped. This is the second year in a row that we have had fondue on New Year's Eve and we think it is a fun tradition that we would like to continue. We are also celebrating 8 YEARS TOGETHER!!! Isn't that crazy?!?! Man, does time fly...

Before I get into the heart of my New Year's Post, I wanted to share with you my Holiday via my instagram pictures. It was a pretty relaxing and uneventful Christmas holiday, but that is what made it so nice. Follow me on instagram = emilym71815 for more pictures of daily life at King's Corner.

I wanted to start off this year on my blog with my New Year's Resolutions. Like many people out there, I am guilty of making resolutions every new year, and then not keeping them. So, I am hoping that by writing them down in the form of a blog post, I will be more accountable and keep my resolutions for at least a few months!

My first RESOLUTION: DRINK MORE WATER. For some reason, this is so hard for me! I have never been a huge water drinker. I get annoyed with how many times I have to go to the bathroom... maybe I have a small bladder or something. Anyway, I would much rather have some yummy, fruity juice than just water. My main motivation for this resolution is that I have found that I now get headaches when I am dehydrated. I don't remember getting these sorts of headaches when I was in high school and college. When I drink more water, I don't seem to get headaches as often. Water is also just really good for your health in general and I want to try to be a bit healthier in 2015. My plan to drink more water, which I actually started a few weeks ago, is to drink 5-6 cups while I am at work. In the morning I fill up my Camelbak water bottle (3 cups) and my tumbler (2 cups) and I make myself a cup of tea. I have to finish all of these containers by the time that I leave work. Then when I go home, I can drink my juice and milk and so on, but I don't have to focus on drinking water while I am at home. It has been working out great so far, so, I hope I can keep it up!

My second RESOLUTION: WORK OUT 2 HOURS EACH WEEK. This may seem a little pathetic, but I just don't have a good workout routine. I have struggled with this ever since volleyball season ended my senior year of high school. I was so used to working out in a group with my volleyball team, that it was really hard to motivate myself to work out on my own. My fiance, Nathan, is very active and is very good at motivating himself to go for runs and workout on his own. It is something that I really admire about him. I'm hoping to get better at this by setting this very flexible resolution/goal. I wanted this goal to be attainable and flexible. If I start out by only working out 2 hours a week, then I can either do two 1 hour workouts, or four 1/2 hour workouts, and so on... I liked the flexibility to start out with. I'm hoping after a few months of this routine, I can increase my time to 2.5 or 3 hours per week.

I am only making these two resolutions. I think they will both help me be a bit healthier in 2015 and help me look wonderful in my wedding dress come July!!

What are your New Year's Resolutions??