We’ve been having such hot weather the last month, and it has made me want to spend all of our time inside in the air conditioning! But last week we finally got a little bit of relief, and I was jumping at the opportunity to pull out some fall clothes!
So I slipped on my Tieks, and Jordan and I went out for a morning walk to grab some coffee and enjoy our surprise fall day in August!
I have been obsessed with Tieks for a few years now. I love how comfortable they are, and that they go with every outfit! Perfect for slipping on for coffee and errands!
These Tieks have gone on many journeys with me, including two trips to Europe and a long weekend in New York City! Since they go with every outfit, they’re a perfect travel companion.
We’re back to warmer temperatures, but now that we’ve had a tease of fall I’m full on ready!
If you follow along with me on Instagram, you probably saw my post a few weeks back about my love of planners and really, all things paper. I admit it’s a fairly niche obsession, but even my friends who previously didn’t understand my paper-lust have started to come to the dark side!
So whether you’re already a certified paper nerd like myself, or a soon-to-be new convert, I’ve outlined below my very favorite, tried and true stationary products.
Personalized Stationary
First on the list is personalized stationary! I love sending hand-written notes, and what I love about these is that you can use them to write thank you notes, an invitation to an intimate dinner party, or just a quick note to your friend (which I love to get, because it’s so much more fun than the everyday junk/bills mixture! Ugh, adulting.). When I’m looking for quality paper products, I always go to Paper Source first. I actually used them or our wedding invitations, because I trusted them to make sure everything was perfect!
A Good Pen
All pens are not created equal – anyone who’s had one smear across the top of their perfectly worded thank you note can attest to that. My grandma gave me this exact Cross pen 15 years ago, and it’s still in perfect shape. I use it to write all of my special notes, because it writes smoothly and consistently. I know it might be bizarre to think of a pen as a small investment, but this one really is worth it!
Greeting Cards
I loooove nice greeting cards! They’re so fun to send and receive! I especially love really high quality ones that should really be considered pieces of art because they’re so pretty! When I need a nice card, I always go with Papyrus. I love their attention to detail. The cards themselves are beautiful, but they always have adorable matching envelope liners too! Since they’re on the pricier end, I like to save these cards for special occasions.
Planners
Choosing the right planner is a very personal decision since everyone’s organizational style and preferences vary widely. I have always had good luck finding great planners at Paper Source, especially since they have such a wide selection! I recently picked up my planner for 2019, and I’m probably a little bit too excited about it haha!
Congratulations to Autumn Krause, you won this month’s prize, which is a Paper Source gift card to jump start your paperie obsession 🙂 Please email me at kirsten.bell@thiscelebratedlife.com within 24 hours to claim your prize!
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Outfit Details:
Summer is only just beginning to come to an end, and I’m already so excited for Fall! The leaves changing, football games, hot drinks (I’m looking at you pumpkin spice latte!).
Sometimes dressing for season transitions can be tricky, since the weather can be a bit of a crap shoot and it’s easy to judge wrong and end up freezing or boiling!
That’s why I was so excited to see this jacket the other day at Old Navy. It’s the perfect lightweight jacket for this time of year, and of course I love that it’s pink! It also comes in tons of other colors for anyone who’s not as into pink as me haha!
I have a good friend who calls this type of jacket an “adventure jacket”, because it’s the kind of coat you grab when you don’t know what awaits you that day. I really love that, and I’ve totally adopted the phrase!
Where we live our days are still pretty warm, but we’ve had some cooler and rainy days lately, so this jacket has already really come in handy.
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A few weeks ago we left Charlotte with her grandparents for the weekend, and celebrated our second anniversary. As hard as it was to leave Charlotte behind, it was so nice to have some one-on-one time and also stay out past 7 pm (woot woot!). On the agenda? Dinner and drinks, coffee in bed, Sunday brunch, and massages! Such luxury!
We rarely eat breakfast at home, but I love breakfast foods! So going out to a nice Sunday brunch was extra special!
Every time we spend the night in Spokane, we make sure to stop by Madeleine’s Cafe & Patisserie. They have the best food (the croque madame is my personal favorite), and the ambiance of their cafe is perfect.
After brunch we took a walk around the park downtown, enjoying some fresh morning air before going to our couples massage (which was only slightly less awkward than I imagined it might be haha!). Overall it was a perfect anniversary weekend!
I have always loved Paris. I visited for the first time six years ago, and knew from the moment I stepped off the train that I was going to have a lifelong love of that city.
On this trip, Paris was the last stop on our journey. By the time we got there we had been traveling for almost three weeks straight with a toddler, and we were really exhausted. But all the same, that infectious romance of the city revived me!
Jordan, Charlotte and I spent our first afternoon exploring Notre Dame and taking a walk along the Seine. When we were about halfway home on our walk, it started to rain! That was one of the only rain storms we got the entire trip, and it was so fun! Charlotte and I stuck out tongues out to catch drops, and we ran from canopy to canopy to avoid getting completely drenched. That might have been my very favorite memory of Paris this trip haha! Charlotte and I laughing and shrieking as big drops fell on our heads, and soaking up a fun memory with my little family.
The next day we visited the Champs Elysees, popping into various stores along the walk to the Arc de Triomphe. Of course I stopped in Guerlain – if you caught my latest post on makeup, you know my obsession! Jordan and my brother-in-law then took Charlotte, and my sister and I enjoyed a really nice and leisurely lunch at Laduree sans bebe.
We ended the day strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens after watching France win yet another football match!
The next morning we set off for Versailles. I had only been to Versailles before in February, and while I knew there would be more tourists, I was still pretty shocked by the sheer volume. I really love visiting, but if you’re planning a trip I’d recommend going in the off-season. My sister and brother-in-law offered to watch Charlotte while Jordan and I explored the palace, which was amazing! Having Charlotte in that crowded space would have been pretty miserable so I really appreciated that.
My favorite part of the palace is the gardens, which weren’t nearly as packed as the palace itself. Jordan and I got a little turned around trying to find the rest of our group, because the gardens are so enormous! We were talking about how we could totally imagine these gardens being a perfect place for misbehaving nobles haha!
Our last day in Paris we made sure to visit the Eiffel Tower. My feet were killing me (we’d been walking 15-25,000 steps a day for three weeks, carrying a 25 lb toddler haha!), but I was determined to get the best view we could. Worth it!
The entire time in Paris I had been determined to stop into a cute little cafe, and on our last day the stars aligned and we made it happen! Charlotte was so interested in my cappuccino, so I shared some of the milk foam with her which she loved.
Next time, Jordan and I plan to visit France either in the fall or spring, and I can’t even wait! Until then, we’ll always have Paris.