whoo-hoo!

last weekend my sisters were in town. it was great. we went to the apple orchard (photos to come soon, i hope, along with 231 other posts that i want to share), celebrated my sisters recent engagement, and....celebrated me finishing up graduate school! all around a big whoo-hoo weekend. lots of family time, and lets to celebrate. 

however. once they left, i realized something.

i have felt off beat for several months now and i realize now that  the reason why i have been in a funk and feeling so off lately is... because they aren't around.  my yin to my yang, the cream to my coffee. the sweetness.  i no longer have my best friends to call at any instant and say, hey, let's go to the mall, want to get your nails done? want to go walk around the lake? it is so sad. yes, i do have that great husband of mine. but, there is nothing that compares to girl time, especially when that girl time is with sisters. it is not the same. so i am coping okay over here, you know being the only one left in this great state of minnesota. well, the great state of minnesota that is only kind of great because the sisters are no longer here. and winter is coming soon. and that is all around kind of depressing. but let's not get ahead of our selves yet...

because chad and i are leaving on our super duper fun road trip tuesday evening. we're venturing out west! and sleeping in the back of chad's truck! (read more here)

but we are pretty ecstatic about it. it is one of those trips were we are living on the edge, not planning a whole lot, and hoping that is all works out. i mean, we're young enough right? it is no fun to plan out every last detail. so we are not. we are packing some tupperware bins for clothes and food and hitting the road. i cannot wait. this trip is the first trip of me basically being a fully graduated master degree student. yes, those two years spent working and reading a million different papers and research studies and venting on this little space, has almost come to an end. all of those long days and early mornings, filled with coffee and tears, is done. i am hoping that it is going to "hit me" soon. i still feel slightly crazy like most graduate students do. but, the other day chad say, hey you seem like your normal self again, and i thought, i do! i finally feel sane! finally! it is paying off. and we get to kick out the feeling of freedom with a cross country camping and hiking adventure. i would say that is a great way to celebrate.

not to drastically change the subject but, i recently was sent these new specs from firmoo and am slightly obsessed. they are going to be great on our trip because we will be spending lots of time in the car and in that time in the car i will be reading lots of fun books, not related to school. with cute glasses. so even if i have not showered in a few days.. i got the glasses to cover those eyes and help me feel cute. go check out their site because right now you can get your first pair free! yes! free! just pay for shipping. :)

back to what i was saying about our trip...if you are wanting to follow along on our adventure our west, we will be posting some photos and tweets  @heathermariebee & @ckirsebom, #LifeInTheRange (we are taking chad's ford ranger truck, aka, the truck/newly created camper)

wish us luck! 

outfit details: shirt// target skirt// madwell  shoes// nordstrom glasses c/ o // firmoo 

ten reasons why i love my chambray shirt

1. it is something quick that you can throw on on those mornings where you just don't know what to wear

2. chad has a chambray shirt so sometimes we can be one of those awkward couples and match ;)

3. you can dress it down and wear it to the park with friends

4. or dress it up and wear it to work 

5. you can add any accessory to it and it only helps make you better ;) i.e. scarf, statement necklace, etc.

6. it goes with any color pant, blue jeans, black pants, olive pants, maroon pants - any pant!

7. it can go under a sweater to give your outfit a whole new look

8. it almost feels like a baggy t shirt because it is so worn in and comfortable

9. i am obsessed with clothes that have buttons, and my chambray shirt has several (including a mismatched one that i love!)

10.  though they are everywhere. i just love the look of this classic shirt that we stole from the 90s era.

why do you love your chambray shirt? how do you wear it ?

dress: whats in my closet

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closet is a woman’s sacred place. to some it might be a simple area for storing outfits and wardrobes, but some girls often consider this place as their fashion treasure chest. and whatever is hidden inside defines the personality of the owner. so without further ado, i am going to share to what’s inside my closet, in response to some emails i have received asking where to shop/where to find the basics.

1. clothing – i have a wide range of clothes and dresses to wear for all types of occasions. for day to day wear, i usually go for the simple t-shirt and jeans so i got some shirts from Gap and jeans from Madewell. i’m very particular with the gap brand because their styles are usually geared towards the young adult bracket and i like wearing it because it makes my look always up-to-date, its reasonably priced, and usually cut very well. not to mention they have lots of stripes, something that i love ;)

as for the gowns and dresses, i own some dresses that were made by ann taylor, roberto cavalli, and some of my favorites are from michael cinco. these dresses differ from styles and function and can mostly used in formal gatherings.

and the most important accessory... the bag. i have a few purses but mainly use my classic coach. as i have shared before i am a quality vs. quantity type of person, so i rather go with a few higher end leather items compared to cheaper varieties. 

2. shoes – i have a wide collection of shoes from Nordstrom and most of them are suitable for occasional events. i also own about 3 pairs of boots, (fryes and hunters are my favorite!) for my daily use and some running shoes from saucony.

3. keepsakes – i love keeping things that brings me back beautiful memories. like my wedding gown for instance, i really like looking at it over and over and relive all the moments i had at my wedding day. my dress was my mom's but before deciding to go with hers, i was considering getting my wedding gown from TheGreenGuide which is premier bridal site online and here is one picture of the gown that i adore! i love the beading the dress has. a wedding dress has such a story to tell about the wedding day itself. my favorite part is the green guide has great dresses with a reasonable price.

so, there you have it. some of my favorites shared with you. what items do you value in your closet? what about your keepsakes?
**this post was sponsered by TheGreenGuide but all thoughts are my own**