The Cake by Hannah

A small town girl spreading kindness like buttercream frosting

Editing Your Instagram Feed

Heya cuties! I am SO pumped about today’s post. If you are remotely involved on social media, you know a pleasing feed is one that is consistent, cohesive, and uniform. I have played with my feed for years now, circa VSCO days to now Lightroom + a preset. Trying to nail the perfect look that really captures a bright, colorful, poppy, but also crisp aesthetic has been difficult.

But I found it y’all!

And, like anything I share about on here, when I find something I love I want to tell you about it! A few weeks ago, Paul and I sat down to strategize my blog and feed. I decided I wanted a new preset but wasn’t sure which one I wanted. Like, there are a gazillion to pick from. How am I supposed to sift through them all to pick the ONE I love most?

Dani Austin Presets have completely transformed my feed. I LOVE how vivid and crisp they are. And, because I love it so much, they have even created a code for you to get it for your own feeds.

You can use HANN20 at checkout to get 20% off your order. 

The Presets

I own this one, the Dani Austin Preset Pack (3 presets included). I use Poppy the most, but depending on the location and lighting, I use the other two from time to time. I love how crisp and bright my photos look with her settings applied! This pack is only $49.99

She also has a Blogger Preset, which she deems the perfect simple preset for any blogger. This set is true to color and crisp! AND, it’s only $19.99. WHAT A STEAL!

So, maybe you’re reading this and are like, “Han, I literally don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t have Lightroom. Not a problem! It’s so easy, y’all. Like, I mean it. You simply need to download the Lightroom App to your phone, and then Dani has simple steps to follow once you buy her presets to get it on your phone and use. Once on your phone, you just copy her preset photo’s settings and paste it to your own photos. She also has guides to tailoring the presets to your photos (because it’ll almost never be perfect by just pasting). You sometimes have to adjust exposure, colors slightly, etc. But, from someone who is terrified of anything complicated… I promise, this is so not complicated.

If you own a business, want to be an influencer/blogger… anything. Then, having a solid social media presence is key and a cohesive feed it VITAL. I even use these presets for all of my clients now, too!

Do not forget to use my code! 

‘Hann20’

Before and Afters

Original- No Preset Added

First Look: My Wish-listed Items from Icon Sneak Peek N SALE

Happy Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2019, y’all! I know, I know. You’ve seen 8 trillion bloggers post about this sale at this point and you’ve got to be thinking to yourself, “WHAT IS THE FREAKING DEAL?”

I get you. I have been there before. BUT LISTEN TO ME. This really is the best sale of the year across the board (IMO) for ALL STORES. You are getting access to the upcoming fall season’s new arrivals AT RIDICULOUS PRICES. It’s not last season’s stuff… it’s what just hit the floor. HOLLA!

You will be seeing “Early Access” all over the Nordstrom site for the next week. You’re able to see the sale items and their prices, but you can’t buy them yet unless you have a card. People with the Nordstrom Credit Card get to shop the sale items first. The benefit: Sure, you get first dibs and can guarantee the items you love don’t sell out before Public Access (Which starts July 19th). However, here’s the deal. 90% of the stuff that sells out gets restocked by Public Access. It’s just the truth. Second, we don’t do credit cards (other than one for gas and other random stuff that helps build our credit). So, I actually don’t -like so many other bloggers- shop the N Sale during early access. There’s truly NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. We just opt to wait because we aren’t willing to budge on a credit card.

But, drum roll, I rounded up a bunch of my top pick items from a lot of different Icon Status influencers who got a first look earlier this week AND assembled them into outfits for you. This is truly just a first look round-up. I will have a couple outfits I assemble and buy for real that are my TOP must-buy items. Note, also, that the colors shown in the outfits below aren’t necessarily the colors included in the sale (PINKIE PROMISE I WOULDN’T PUT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS TOGETHER, AS IS).

I am all about picking items that can repeat and be worn multiple ways, so you will see pieces used more than once (or things that could easily be used interchangeably within the different outfits. i.e. swap one jacket for another, pick one bootie for multiple looks, etc.) Have fun!!!

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How Do I Start Counseling?

Today’s post is by Carleigh, and I am so grateful for her willingness to be open about her experience with counseling. I personally have also seen the power of counseling for personal breakthrough and freedom, and I can’t encourage you enough to see one yourself. There is no shame in seeking health of any kind. Nobody questions fixing a broken wrist or an off-set jaw. Nobody thinks twice about seeing a doctor when you have a cold or the flu. We are here to use this platform to shed light on something that IS NOT SCARY despite what the world has made us believe. To shed light on something that brings hope, beckons freedom, and can change your life. No matter how healthy or heavy you are in this season, I hope you are as blessed by Carleigh’s vulnerability as I am. I hope you see the benefit in seeing someone who can help you process what you are feeling and facing. There are seasons for seeing a counselor weekly and others where, like annual or quarterly check-ups, you maybe just need one once a month or every other. You and your counselor can decide together! xoxo, Hannah 

Happy Thursday, friends. Carleigh here. Today I want to talk about a topic that is very personal to me: counseling. While the topic of mental health is getting more attention and becoming more common to talk about today, I would say that there is definitely still a lot of shame and uncomfortableness around the subject. But I wanna shine a big ‘ole spotlight on counseling and say “This thing is awesome!! Everyone should do it!!”  Since there’s not one perfect person in this world, we could all use a little help… and that’s exactly what counseling is for. 

I chose to go to counseling, because I pretty much reached a breaking point in my life where I couldn’t do anything, felt lower than I ever had, and was having panic attacks that I couldn’t get a handle on. I was isolating myself more and more, and never felt like doing anything. It put a strain on pretty much every aspect of my life. I didn’t really understand what was happening to me, but I could see how it was negatively affecting my life in ways I wasn’t okay with and I wanted it to change. I ended up being diagnosed with anxiety and depression by my counselor, and part of my time in counseling was spent trying to understand what those things even meant. I needed someone to explain to me what those illnesses were and connect them to how I was feeling. I also knew that I wanted to get better, both for myself and for those around me, and I knew that I couldn’t get there by myself.  

If you think you’re ready to talk to someone but have zero clue where to begin, I get it. It’s scary enough to talk about the hard stuff, and finding the right person that you can trust with the hard stuff is almost enough to make you not want to do it. My advice is this:

  1. Find someone that you feel comfortable talking to. Only you can decide who that person is. Start by asking around if you’re comfortable with that. Ask a friend or anyone you know that has experience with counseling if they can recommend someone. Ask your church if they know of a local counselor or if they have a program themselves. If you don’t want to ask anyone you know, just google counselors in your area! While there is nothing wrong with going to counseling, it’s understandable if you don’t exactly want to run around advertising that you’re looking into it. For me, I wanted someone that was a professional, qualified to help me, and that I wouldn’t run into at the grocery store. That is what I needed, but it may not necessarily be what you need.
  2. Give it a chance and some time. Once you find someone, just go and try it out. If you don’t feel comfortable with that person, find somebody else! Keep searching until you find someone that you trust will help you in the way you need.
  3. Study the difference between psychologist, therapist, and counselor. There are some different approaches, and depending on what you think you need, one may be a better fit for you than the other. Biblical counseling is a great place to start, but a licensed Mental Health Counselor also has the education and ability to diagnose and assist medically as well.

If it feels like you’re the only one that is going through something or needs help, let me lovingly tell you that you’re wrong. I have been there, and so have so many others. If walking into a counselor’s office is a scary start, then begin with a mentor who can direct you toward a counselor as you feel more ready. But, if we can encourage you in anything, start talking TODAY. Remove the duct tape that has covered your mouth in fear and start talking with someone you trust. Counseling is a wonderful thing that has changed my life for the better, and I’ll shout that from the rooftops if it encourages someone to give it a chance. Take care of yourself friends, you deserve it.

xoxo,

Carleigh

Tips to Freshening Up Your Home

Hi, hello, hola, and happy Tuesday!

This summer, my goal was operation FIX EVERYTHING IN THE HOUSE THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. As first time homeowners, we’ve had so many things to keep up with from regular maintenance  to an unexpected cave under our driveway due to bad drainage, a toilet that needed fixing and re-working, a shower whose handle fell off and our water ran non-stop for hours, a broken garage door… LOL. Homeownership is wild, y’all. But dang do I love. As we’ve knocked out the things that needed to be fixed, like the cave, we’ve also slowly been crossing off cosmetic fixes around the home that make it feel fresher, newer, and less “frumpy.” Our home was built in 2004 and the previous owners did a TON of updates. We are one of the few homes with hardwood floors & nice tile and new appliances in the neighborhood, and I am really thankful the previous owners did that before we had to.

So bottom line: Our craftsman style home is so cute and I love it. I literally am SO THANKFUL for our home. There just were some things I just couldn’t quite put my finger on about the exterior that was making it feel frumpy. Inside, there we things I knew were outdated or poorly done that needed to be fixed. But would you believe some simple landscaping, some tree trimming & some fresh paint gave our home a face lift?!  Here are my top tips of things we’ve done in the last few months that have made me L O V E every little thing about my home.

  1. Trim Trees & Bushes: We didn’t really know what to ask our landscapers in the past to do for our trees and bushes, and unknowingly… they were so overgrown. I knew when the ends of my bushes were obstructing our walkway that we needed someone, but when they were done I realized just HOW BADLY we needed them. Trimming in and shortening our hedges showed our home better and immediately made the “frumpy” feeling I couldn’t put my finger on start to go away. Then, we had our trees trimmed and raised… WOW. New freaking home. We have two fairly large trees in our front yard and the lowest branches were way too low. Y’all, it’s the little things! If you’re a first time homeowner without a clue about landscaping… hopefully this helps you.
  2. Trim: I would ideally pay someone to come give a whole fresh coat of paint on our exterior trim, but it’s just not in the budget right now. (Hopefully soon!) But, I grabbed a paintbrush and some of this white exterior primer paint (it matched our trim), and I took to the spots that needed it most. It made such a difference. I covered peeling spots and yellowy spots that had formed from where water runs down. I painted the frame around our door, too, and it truly brightened our home up! Paul immediately noticed it when he pulled up to the house from work that day.
  3. Pots on the Porch: Last summer we started this one, but it really does make a difference. Your home immediately looks fresher with some pots and plants. You can do this for as cheap or as expensive as you want!
  4. Power Wash the Exterior: We had a friend come and power wash our home, and it helped brighten it up without even any paint. This is something simple you can do that really does freshen things up!
  5. Flower beds: Ok, so this one is actually the last thing on my to-do list this summer for the exterior. Our “flower bed” is currently just leaves and mulch from years ago and it’s all got to go. My plan is to clear it out and refill with fresh mulch, maybe a plant or two, and call it a day. Mulch is SO CHEAP. I just need me a rake and a bin to throw all the crap in for this project. It’s really cheap but will make such a difference.
  6. PAINT PAINT PAINT: We FINALLY finished all the paint projects inside that I have been dying to do since we moved in. Do I have more aspirations? Sure… but these are the ones that mattered the most to me and I am so pleased with how it all turned out.We painted our guest bathroom, master bathroom, and laundry room SW Alabaster.
    Then, both bathroom vanities are SW Inkwell (it’s like a blue-black color).
    Then our doors to the bathrooms and the HVAC door in the laundry room are a beautiful mixture of SW 1/2 Stardew and 1/2 Uncertain Grey. It’s SO PRETTY.Eventually I would love to paint all the doors inside that color! Who knows, by the end of the week I just might take to our back door to the patio. Having these done truly took our home to a new level. It feels so fresh and like the renovation that was started before we moved in is complete without the ugly blue bathroom and mis-matched sea foam green that was our laundry room. O_0
  7. New Hardware: We had the classic early 00’s shade of honey cabinets with some cheap silver hardware. (Our kitchen is still that). But I bought this set of gold pulls from Amazon (the price is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD!!!) for our master + these for our guest bathroom to really transform it fully into the moroccan theme, and it’s amazing what new pulls on the a freshly painted vanity will do. It feels like a new build!
  8. GET RID OF “STUFF”: For real, I have been working on this for about a year, and it feels so good every time I fill up another bag of clothes or toss more stuff I just don’t use anymore. I encourage you to empty your closet and keep only what you love. Get rid of the rest to make room for more items you LOVE. Then, it won’t matter if all laundry is done at all times, because you will always LOVE what IS clean rather than hoping your only favorite top to go out in got washed in a load last night. You feel me?

I linked below the items mentioned + my next investments (lighting!). Love y’all and I hope this helps you narrow down easy fixes to freshen up your own home.

xoxo,

Han

The ’90’s Are Back

As you’ve probably seen by now, ‘90’s fashion trends are back and I am HERE. FOR. IT. Today I’m rounding up some of my favorite ‘90’s trends that have made a comeback and where to find them at the best prices. 

Neon

Mom Jeans

Platform Shoes

Hair Clips

Bike Shorts

Small Sunglasses

Shorteralls

Graphic Tees

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