Awkward & Awesome

I've done one other post like this before and I was going to link to it but then I went back and read it and thought better of it. Unfortunately, I have a lot of all awkward, no awesome posts from my beginning years of blogging. And I'll probably look back on this one in a few years and think, why on earth did I think that was a good idea to post that? But in the spirit of being 'real' which all the online spaces are asking for these days (insert eye roll but also applause here... I have mixed emotions) and documenting even the not so awesome things more often, here I am. Sharing some awkward and awesome things that have happened recently.

Awkward:

+ I've been going to Parker's school with him for the last three days and working while he is in class. His entire class is back together for their three-week capstone course before match day so I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces. While I was walking down the hall I passed some of Parker's classmates and said hi. One of the guys responded by saying, "Hey, what's up?". My response: "Good." Smh.

+ Yesterday I changed into my exercise clothes in the locker room at the gym and went to put my hair up when I realized that I had forgotten to shave my armpits... Unfortunately, I didn't have a suitable alternative top I could wear so I opted for the stair climber rather than my normal workout bc so many of Parker's classmates were also working out. I did everything I could to keep my hairy pits concealed.

+ Y'all know I love Marco Polo and being in public this week hasn't stopped me from chatting with my friends during the day. Well, this morning our conversation was about something kind of personal and I realized that even though I was talking quietly, the little wall I was sitting next to had another student on the other side of it who was well within hearing distance. I'm very, very hopeful they had headphones in.

+ During lunch on Monday, my nose started to run a lot so I was wiping it with a tissue. Shortly afterward, Parker reaches over and kind of knicks my lip/nose with his hand and says to me in front of his friends we were eating with, "You've got something right there." I quickly swiped it away and didn't even want to look at what it was but I'm pretty sure it was a stray booger...

Awesome:

+ Parker and I have been able to work out and eat lunch together every day this week. I love getting to see him even just a tiny bit more than usual.

+ We went to get ice cream last night for a friend's birthday and WE FOUND A GRAHAM CANYON FLAVOR DUPE! It's my favorite, favorite, favorite flavor of ice cream that we previously thought could only be found at the BYU Creamery.

+ 45 days until we head to Utah to see family and 51 until VEGAS!

+ I had a rough couple of days the last few days but things are looking up. I'm oh so grateful for friends and family who deal with my crazy mood swings, my hormones, and my dramatics and that they love me through it all.

+ Survivor started last week and there's a new episode tonight. I am pumped!

+ My workout today included a move called an inverted row. I could do more of these this time than last time so I'm getting stronger. Seeing progress from hard work is fun!

+ The Bachelor comes on two nights next week. That's a fact that needs to be celebrated!

Life is good. What's something awkward and something awesome that's happened in your life recently? Please tell me I'm not the only one who has so many awkward moments every day.

xoxo, Chelan

Life Lately

A couple of weeks ago at church, the women in our ward were having a lesson/discussion on going through trials and hard things and what we can do to help combat feelings of doubt and I had the distinct impression that I needed to do better at writing things down. Y'all know that I'm passionate about documenting my life but I'm notorious for doing so in spurts. So I wanted to do a little life update because there are a lot of really fun things going on for Parker and me right now that I don't want to forget. And perhaps, when I'm going through something hard in the future, I can look back at posts like this and know that God's hand is in the details of my life - the good and the bad. He's always there to lift me up when I am feeling down and to celebrate all my victories big or small.

The only photo we got on our weekend trip last week to Snowshoe, WV.

Parker submitted his rank list for residency this week!!! What's that? When you finish medical school, the next step is residency. During the 4th year of medical school, you apply to residency programs in the specialty of your choice (dermatology, family medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, etc) and then get interview invitations from programs that like your application. So in addition to traveling for rotations this year, Parker also traveled around a lot for interviews. Then you rank the programs you interviewed at and the programs rank the applicants that they interviewed. Then an algorithm does its thing and matches applicants to residency programs. Here's a video that explains how the match works if you're interested. I actually found it super helpful because this whole process has been a bit overwhelming. The deadline for rank list submissions was this week and we feel very good about our list and also super relieved that that part is over. And now we wait! Match day is in March and we can't wait to find out what's in store for the next four years!

I'm currently working for Chipotle corporate doing customer service. When we were in North Carolina for a rotation this summer, I lost my job with Chatbooks. More on that here if you missed it. We were about to head to Denver and I desperately needed a job so I started frantically applying to anything and everything. The same day I applied to a random temporary customer support job listing, I got an email asking to interview me via Facetime for a job with Chipotle (which the job listing hadn't said anything about). Long story short, I got the job on the Friday that I applied for it and started the next Monday morning in Denver at their corporate office. When I tried to quit because we were moving onto our next rotation in South Carolina, they asked me to continue working but offered me the option of working from home which was the greatest surprise. My contract kept getting extended and now it goes through the end of March. It has truly been such a continual blessing and I'm so grateful to have a good job!! I've been able to work more than I could with Chatbooks and the pay is better so it all worked out in the end.

Parker and I have been working really hard at our goals for 2019. We created a budget and are doing really well at sticking to it. I've been a champ at meal planning and cooking lately and Parker has been a huge help with that as well since I've been working so much. We make a pretty good team if we do say so ourselves. We've also been going to the gym consistently since we've been back in Ohio and we are doing our best to get back into shape after taking too much time off. It feels good to take better care of our bodies!

We have some really fun things planned after Parker is finished with his last rotation mid April - some awesome trips with family and friends and I can't wait to share more about those soon. Gotta get those last chance travels in before residency starts and he has a real job with limited time off. First up is Utah & Las Vegas for Spring Break with family and we cannot wait!

Grateful for this crazy yet exciting time in our lives. God really is in the details.

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 14 | Happy Anniversary, Parker David!

I'll always and forever save the best for last and dedicate this 14th day of love to my husband, Parker. Happy 5th anniversary to my love, my best friend, my partner in crime, my everything. 

I've been super nostalgic this week thinking about the 5 years we've been married. The places we've traveled. The memories we've made. The things we've accomplished. The fights we've had. The trials we've overcome. The many tv shows we've watched lol. The degrees we've earned (and have almost earned!!) The cross country moves. All of it. It's been the best 5 years and I can't wait to see what the next 5 years will bring! 

I love you, Parker David. Thanks for making my life a dream come true! 

I hope you all have the most wonderful Valentines Day and that its full of love and chocolate!

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 13 | How We Wore It Series | Galentines

We are almost done with this 14 Days of Love series this year and I'm part relieved but also part sad. It's so fun for so many reasons: it forces me to be creative, it allows me to connect with lots of people, it causes me to reflect on all the many things I love and that I have to be grateful for.

For day 13 of #14daysoflove I'm sharing my love of the How We Wore It Series I do with my beautiful blogger friends. I know I say how much I love it every month but when you work from home and often don't have a real reason to get dressed up, it feels like a special occasion. This, too, forces me to be creative, forces me to get more comfortable in front of a camera, and honestly, it helps me feel pretty, too.

We are sharing our 'Galentines' Day outfits in honor of our lady friends today. I chose to keep it simple with some jeans, this cayuuuute pink plaid sweater, and some bedazzled flats that I still have heart eyes over every time I see them.

I've linked everything I'm wearing (the sweater was nowhere to be found online but its from LOFT Outlet and I linked some similar and super cute tops) HERE! 

Be sure to check out my gal pals and their Galentine's outfits!

Brittany Lowry

Twinnerpated & Co. 

Jordan Cidelle

I hope you all have the most lovely of Valentine's Days tomorrow and that they are filled with people you love and lots of chocolate!

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 12 | L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara

This mascara I'm sharing for day 12 of #14daysoflove is a new love for me. Prior to trying the L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara, I had been faithful to the same mascara for yeeeeeeears but I had heard good things about this one online and my sister loved it. I ended up getting some in my stocking at Christmas and I have been hooked every day since. 

Mascara is my favorite make up to wear. I prefer a lot of it so I need one that builds well but doesn't look super clumpy and this stuff fits the bill. This little guy has two steps: the white primer layer and then the regular black mascara layer. A few other things I love about this new find below: 

+ It. Does. Not. Fall. No flaking to create raccoon eyes throughout the day. There is 0 fallout. None. Zip. It's miraculous. 

+ It lasts forever. I wear the same mascara for three days. You read that right. Three days! I'll touch it up a bit in the morning and going back to the first perk I mentioned, no fallout. Even when you sleep with it on. 

+ Taking it off is fun (yep, fun!), easy, and mess-free. You get it a little bit wet and it literally slides off your lashes in little tubes. Gone are the days of scrubbing your eyes with makeup remover or wipes. There's no residue leftover and it doesn't pull out your natural lashes at all. 

It's truly a winner and you should try it. I've already got my friend Jordan hooked! 

What's your beauty fav right now? 

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 11 | My Friends & Marco Polo

Last year my friends and I "reconnected" over the app Marco Polo (it's like a walkie talkie app but with video rather than just audio). When I say reconnected I mean that we would talk a few times every year via group texts, sometimes send each other funny things on Facebook, and about once a year we would have a group Skype session. Ever since we all joined Marco Polo we have talked almost every single day. And it's a highlight of my day every single day. And as a result of these chats, we even got to get together twice last year!

I casually mentioned one day that Parker and I would be spending some time in Charleston and that my friends should come to visit and the next thing I know, Tessa responded by saying her husband thought she should go and she started looking at flights. From there, Breanne and Jordan also talked with their spouses to see if they could make it work and the stars aligned and everyone was able to come. We had such a blast! Rather than recap our trip (I'll save that for another post along with a video) I'm just going to quickly share some things I love about each of these special friends of mine.

Breanne aka Breezie. We've known each other our entire lives. Literally. Our dads were besties in high school and coached basketball together when we were kids (they still coach together even now). Breezie is one of the few people who understands my love of my childhood because hers was much the same - traveling around with the basketball team, believing that the 'stats girls' were our best friends, and collecting the stars that the dance team wore and putting them by our eyes at basketball games. Every Friday night during basketball season after the games we would beg our parents to let us have a sleepover. These sleepovers consisted of us watching Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan version of course), making up dances to the soundtrack of Parent Trap (#8 was the BEST and its still one of the best soundtracks of all time), and eating cinnamon toast in the morning with the grossest mountain of brown sugar we could build. Great times. I love Breezie because even though we went through some periods of time in our lives where we weren't super close, I can always, always, always pick up where I left off with her. It's like we revert to our childhood selves and laugh until we cry. She is so wise and smart and such a good listener with the best advice!

Tessa. Tessa and I became best friends in grade 6. We were in the same class and had been dancing together for years and I think that's about when we did our first tap duo (which we did every year after that). We lived together for a time in college and she pretty much brought Parker and me together <3. She brings out my silliest self and makes me feel like I'm super funny which I love. She and I also revert to our immature selves when we get together (sorry to everyone who had to be around us during our tap company rehearsals at BYU lol we could not be trusted to take anything seriously). Tessa is also such a great listener, she's creative, quirky, and so, so funny!

Jordan. Jordan moved to Cardston the summer before grade 10 and I'm so glad she did. I wasn't her biggest fan at first (don't worry, she knows this) because I was jealous. Another dancer moving to town to steal my spotlight? lol But I'm so glad we got to know each other because my life has been better every day since. Jordan is a ray of bubbly sunshine. She never has an unkind word to say about anyone. She gives the most genuine compliments that make you feel like a hundred bucks. And she's the most self-aware person I know. I aspire to be more like her!

I'm so grateful the 'dark ages' are over (what we call our time without Marco Polo) and that I get to learn from and connect with these amazing women every day. I'm so grateful to have such good friends!

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 10 | Music

Being a dancer, music has been such a huge part of my life. I used to share little 'music Monday' posts every so often and I loved doing that because I always got such great recommendations in return. So in honor of the Grammys today (are you watching?) I'm sharing my love of music for day 10 of the #14daysoflove. 

All time favorite song: Drops of Jupiter by Train. 

I remember in high school someone asked me what my all-time favorite song was and I didn't have an immediate answer so I did some real soul searching and settled on Drops of Jupiter. At that point, I didn't know the song well but I always enjoyed it when I heard it and I decided that if I was going to tell someone that was my all time favorite, then I better commit. So I listened to it over and over and over again until I had every word memorized and I still can't tell you what its actually about but it's my all-time favorite. The part where there are eight little violin notes is the BEST! 

New (to me) songs I'm loving: 

Atlas: Two by Sleeping At Last 

Yellow Lines by Brendan James

Calling Me Home by Emily Brimlow

Into The Unknown by The Lighthouse and The Whaler

Religion by Colton Avery

In My Head by James Bay

Shotgun by George Ezra

And every single song on Ben Rector's latest album called Magic. SO GOOD!

What is your all-time favorite song and what are some songs you're loving right now?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Days 8 & 9 | Tortoise Shell & Opals

Oops. I let this thing get away from me yesterday but it was such a busy day and this was one of the easier things to let slide. So for days 8 & 9, I'm sharing two loves to catch up: tortoise shell and opals.

I've loved the tortoise shell pattern as long as I can remember. My mom always had tortoiseshell sunglasses growing up so I automatically gravitate towards it when picking out my own sunglasses. It's classic and will be in style forever, I think. It's almost like an understated leopard print so it's practically perfect. When we were in Charleston, there was this darling city market downtown that had a bunch of vendors and as soon as I saw these earrings, I knew they had to be mine. I wish I knew what the gal's shop's name was that I bought them from so I could link to it but I no longer have the packaging. These little beauties are super lightweight so they don't hurt my ears and they spruce up any outfit or hairstyle.

Opals have been something that I've gotten into in the last 5 years or so. My wedding ring has a pearl (which has fallen out again, curses) but a close second pick for me would have been an opal. My mom gave me this pretty opal ring a few years ago and I wear it every day. The colors are so pretty and it reminds me of the summer, the ocean, seashells, and mermaids.

And here are some lovely tortoise shell and opal items you can shop simply by clicking on the images!

Are you a tortoise shell or opal fan?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 7 | Ruffles

We are halfway there, folks. This week has gone by super fast and I'm having so much fun with this series again this year. Today I'm sharing my love of ruffles - whether its a ruffle hem like I shared in this post, a ruffle at the bottom of a skirt or dress, a peplum, a ruffled sleeve. I love them all!

When my friends were visiting us in Charleston, SC this past November we spent some time shopping because duh. What else do you do on a girls trip?! And I found this jacket that just screamed my name. We all agreed that it did and I couldn't leave without it even though I really didn't have any spending money lol. It's one of my favorite things I own and I can't wait to wear it again soon - it has been a bit too cold for it recently. It's super versatile and can be worn pretty much any time of year which I love. Isn't the peplum darling?!!

 So much awkward. I need to learn how to pose lol.

Also please look at how beautiful my friends are. Love them so much!

Here are a few ruffled items I'm currently crushing on. All super affordable and adorable at the same time. WIN!

Are you on the ruffle train with me?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 6 | Games

For day 6 of #14daysoflove I am sharing my love of games! I grew up in a games family. We play games on games on games when we visit family and it's my favorite! Board games, card games, we love them all and we are super competitive no matter the game. Parker and I have found a few games that are two-player that I can convince him to play every once in a while so today I'll share those along with my favorite family games.

My mom and sisters and me playing my favorite card game ever... NERTZ!

Two-player games:

Cribbage. This one is a classic card game that I used to watch with complete confusion as my parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and all the older people played crib. Since I thought it was an 'old people' game I didn't learn how to play until later in life but it's a great game for two or three players. This one is a staple on all camping trips and next to the pool in the sun.

7 Wonders Duel. This game is a card/board game combo that is a two-player version of the game 7 Wonders. Parker and I love this one and when we first got it, we played it all weekend long. Seriously. All weekend. Round after round. And guess who won each round. Parker. Only recently did I beat him for the first time. It was a proud moment for me.

Settlers of Catan. This game is technically for more than two players but we looked online and found instructions on how to play with just two participants. This is another one that we binge played for an entire weekend and I lost every time. Parker is too smart and can anticipate my every move. Very frustrating but seriously fuels my fire to try again. I MUST WIN!

3+ Player Games:

I'm going to be completely honest with you and let you know that I am absolutely physically and mentally exhausted so I am simply going to list our favorites and if you have questions about any of them, let me know! I'm happy to explain!

Card games - Nertz (aka Dutch Blitz and can also be played with just two players but its more fun with more people), Up & Down The River, Cover Your Butt, Scum, Pit, It Came To Pass, Stones, Rummi, 

Dice games: Greed, Left Right Center, Tenzi

"Board" Games: Aggravation, Anomia, Clue, Settlers of Catan, Ticket To Ride, 3 For All, Camel Up, Wits and Wagers, Code Names, Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle, Harry Potter Clue

This Christmas my family also played a lot of Jackbox TV games and they were so fun!

I've created a super simple list of all of these on Amazon if you want to give them a try. Click HERE to access that link and shop!

Are you a gamer? If so, what's your favorite game?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 5 | A Million Little Things

I love TV. Love it so much. Probably an unhealthy amount. My current favorite TV show is A Million Little Things. I was a bit nervous to watch it at first because I didn't want it to be another show glorifying suicide. But the first episode was one of the best pilot episodes of any show I've ever watched, in my opinion. And every episode since then I've loved.

I also LOVE the font they used for the series title. lol I say that every time I see it.

If you aren't familiar with the show, it's about a group of friends who's 'glue' (the one friend that kind of brought everyone together and holds them together) commits suicide and none of them know why. They didn't have any inkling that he was struggling so it was quite a shock. The show follows this group of friends as they learn more about Jon's suicide and what they learn from it about themselves and each other. It's so well done.

I love every character but Gary is my favorite. He is funny and says exactly what I'm thinking needs to be said every time. I think I would act a lot like he does if something like the premise of the show happened in my life. I love Gary's storyline with Maggie. She's probably my next favorite character. Actually, I don't know if that's true. I love them all so it's hard to choose!

Anyway, do you watch A Million Little Things? And if so, what are your thoughts? I can't wait to see how this season ends and how they keep the show going!

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 4 | The Color Blue

When coming up with something to share for Day 4 of the #14daysoflove series, I thought about the color pink which has been catching my eye a lot recently. But then I felt like blogging about the color pink was a betrayal of my actual favorite color which is blue. So I'm sharing my love of the color blue today.

I'm not sure what it is about it. Maybe because it's a calming color. My mom's favorite color is blue. My dad has blue eyes and I inherited those baby blues. I love the sun and a bright blue sky. Pools and the ocean are usually blue and we all know that's my happy place. My family was very involved in Cardston athletics and schools and blue and white were our school colors. BYU's colors were also blue and white. I bleed blue. My childhood home was blue and white. My wedding colors were red, white, and you guessed it, blue. It's probably a combination of all of these things and more that make it my favorite color but it makes me happy. If I had to choose a favorite blue it would be navy. It's so classic!

And that's about all I can really say about my favorite color so here's a photo of my favorite blue shoes lol. 

Queue 'I'm Blue' by Eiffel 65. What's your favorite color? 

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 3 | Podcasts

I've chatted about my love of Podcasts before so this shouldn't come as a surprise or be anything really new. However, I have added a few new podcasts to my list that I love and I have a couple of specific episodes that you should listen to because they are amazing and worth every second.

+ Cultivate A Good Life by Becky Higgins & Becky Proudfit. Becky Higgins is the owner and creator of Project Life (the scrapbooking method I use and loooooove). Becky Proudfit is her hilarious cohost that also works with Higgins but I'm still unclear as to what her exact job is aside from the podcast... Anyway, they are a ball of fun and oh so wise. I've shared so many specific episodes with my friends since these two came out with their podcast in November because each one is valuable. They talk about all sorts of things but all under the general umbrella of cultivating a good life and recording it - which is Becky Higgins' motto for her business.

+ Scrubbing In with Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad. Y'all know I love me some Becca and Tanya time. I wish I was best friends with them in real life. Their podcast always makes me laugh and simply uplifts my day. They have such fun guests on and talk about all sorts of things. They often talk about Grey's Anatomy (hence the Scrubbing In name) and its fun to hear about their dating lives. They are the sweetest friends and they make me want to be a better friend.

+The Ben & Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast. I'll be honest and say that this one is hit or miss for me. I usually like it. But sometimes Ben and Ashley just drive me bonkers. They have little things they say that get on my nerves but I do love hearing the latest juice about people in the Bachelor franchise and their recaps of the episodes are solid.

+ Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher. I've referenced this podcast before on my blog and I haven't listened to it a lot recently but there are a couple of specific episodes that seriously hit home to me. The first one I'll share today is episode #45: How to Leave a Legacy. If you listen to any of these podcasts I've listed, listen to this one episode. It is beautiful and encompasses how I feel about documenting. I also love her very first episode. I remember picking this podcast out of the blue because it's advertised as a business podcast and I don't think I'm a businesswoman at all. But something about that very first episode was super inspiring. I've linked to it here if you want to listen!

+ Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe. I didn't love Kaitlyn when she was on The Bachelor or as The Bachelorette. But since she's come out with her podcast, I have been a faithful listener and I've loved almost every single episode. Yes, she can be a bit crude sometimes but for the most part, she is real, hilarious, and has awesome guests. Whether it be people from Big Brother (you know I love me some BB), other Bachelor nation friends, or other people who I had never heard of before the podcast, I've enjoyed it all. I love her conversations about social media and confidence and the Canada/Alberta content always makes me feel at home.

I have a few others that I listen to here and there as well but are there any I should add to this list? What are your favs?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 2 | Nasal Spray

This might be the weirdest thing I've ever posted but I promise I have a point. Today I'm sharing my love of nasal spray. And to explain it, I'll have to share a bit of a back story so bear with me.

Back when the sweet YW & leaders brought me the BEST homemade chicken noodle soup one of the many times I was sick. Bless them!

I used to get a cold every single month with my period in high school. That's how I knew Aunt Flo was going to visit - that little tickle in the back of my throat. It would turn into a full-blown sore throat, then make its way into my sinuses and then leave me with a cough that lasted about a week. Then I'd have about two weeks of health and happiness and the cycle would repeat. Every month. My family doctor told me I simply had a weak immune system and that it was common to be weaker around the menstrual cycle.

This stopped after high school and college was great. I still got colds every so often but it was a normal amount so I thought I was in the clear.

After I got married I started to get sick a lot again. Lots of colds, lots of long-lasting coughs that forced me to sleep on the couch because I didn't want to keep Parker up all night along with me, and lots of lost voices, and it continued to get worse.

When we visited Ohio for the first time at Thanksgiving, I felt great but about 3 hours after Thanksgiving dinner my throat started to get sore and by that night it was the worst sore throat I've ever had in my life. It was so bad that the next morning, my entire neck was sore and I had a hard time moving my head. That, too, went to my sinuses next, and then a cough that lasted until Christmas - when we went back to Ohio and guess what. IT HAPPENED AGAIN. The absolute worst sore throat ever. And it turned into a cough that lasted months - well into spring. After that, I was convinced that I was allergic to Ohio lol. But then we moved to Ohio and it was in the summer so no sicknesses and everything was great.

I started working at the dance studio that November and I can't tell you if it was because we were in Ohio during the winter again or if I was around little kids a lot or the combination but I started to get colds so often again. I was told that since I was working with children this was normal and that my body would get used to it and my immune system would get stronger. But year after year I kept getting cold after cold and a cough that would last pretty much from November until April. Not fun.

This last year after getting so frustrated with my body constantly being sickly (honestly I felt pretty fine but the never-ending cough was so freaking annoying) we thought it might be allergies or something so Parker told me to try nasal spray and it has worked mighty miracles. I haven't had a cold since. Every time I get even an inkling of a sore throat, I use some nasal spray and no sore throat for me. Any time I feel the least bit stuffed up, nasal spray. Shortly thereafter, I can breathe just fine.

I'm not a doctor, and I do have a little bit of a dry cough right now from the extreme cold we've been having here but this little trick has worked so well for me and I'm so grateful. If you get sick a lot, perhaps try this out to see if it works for you. The constant post nasal drip is what I think was causing my sore throat and then, in turn, caused my coughs so nasal spray has been a true blessing. And that's my testimony of nasal spray!

This is the stuff I use and its a life saver for me. Again, I am not a doctor so if you try this, it's at your own risk. That was kind of dramatic but I feel like I needed to say it haha. Amen.

Do you have any weird health-related or not secrets that you swear by?

xoxo, Chelan

14 Days of Love: Day 1 | Hair Accessories

We are doing it! 14 Days of Love is happening in 2019. I am super excited to do this again because #1 it makes me happy to talk about things I love, #2 I love hearing about what other people love, #3 it forces me to blog and get creative. So much love in February, right? Valentines Day, our anniversary, January is over! Love, love, and more love.

To kick things off with this series this year I'm sharing my love of hair accessories for Day 1. Hair accessories are so in right now - does that make me cool for saying that? Scrunchies are back and let me tell you that I have been wearing them since 2013 (there's proof on Instagram) so you're welcome for being a #trendsetter. Wow, I am on a high horse today. Headbands, looking at you Blair Waldorf, and hair scarves are all the rage. My Pinterest boards are swimming with hair accessories galore. I'll share my Pinterest board below so you can swoon along with me.

Today I'm sharing the most basic hairstyle with a cute scarf to spice up my rather plain jeans-and-white-tee outfit.

Let me also share with you a new trick I learned! This image is now a 'shoppable' image where you can click on it, and it will take you to a beautiful list of hair accessories you can browse through and idk maybe even buy if you're feeling up to it. Cool, eh? If you click on any of the images, I get the teensiest commission (we're talking cents) and it doesn't cost you anything. If you actually buy something from one of the items I've linked I get a few cents more commission. Affiliate links, people. Every cent helps.

http://www.shopstyle.com/shop/mcmurrac/43207730

Thanks for following along with this 14 days of love! I'm so excited! Now that I've shared something I love, your turn! What's your favorite accessory?

xoxo, Chelan