On Turning 30

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great weekend full of fun and relaxation. I was lucky enough to spend mine celebrating my 30th birthday and I feel fully ready to take on my 30th year.

To kick things off, I chowed down on some of the most delicious cookies in Charleston (courtesy of my sister!). Later that night, Jason and I grabbed a delicious dinner at one of my new favorite restaurants in town which included a quiet stroll there and back - ah the perks of finally living downtown. The rest of our evening was full of Netflix and cuddles with our fur babies. 

Saturday we spent the morning doing some yard work (we planted some Star Jasmine that I'm hoping will grow along our fence). Later that day we caught a matinee of Beauty and The Beast and then had a delicious dinner of Fish and Chips.

Now that I've had a few days to adjust to my new decade I thought I'd share 30 things I've learned in my brief 30 years of life so far. 

1. Live every day to the fullest
2. NEVER pass up an opportunity for a great meal 
3. Traveling is a gift - if you're lucky enough to be able to travel do it with an open mind and as frequently as possible
4. Life is too short - never take it for granted 
5. Never take your health for granted 
6. Never take the health of your loved ones for granted
7. Say "I love you" every time you feel it
8. Always try new things - and try to do so without fear
9. Few things are softer than dog ears....
10. Except for maybe cat ears
11. Paris really IS always a good idea... but so are so many other lovely cities on this amazing planet
12. I want to live in a Nancy Meyers film 
13. When in doubt, a "Little Black Dress" is always appropriate 
14. Make a decision, then make it right - excellent advice from my Grandad that I find truer every year
15. Your time is too precious to always say "yes"
16. If you don't ask you'll never know - wonderful advice from my mom that I try and live every day
17. Along those same lines, try and have the courage to go after what you want
18. Sing often 
19. Always work on self improvement - constantly challenge yourself to grow personally and professionally 
20. Count experiences, not possessions 
21. Encourage and support those around you - there's room for everyone to be successful 
22. Read often
23. Always stop and smell the roses
24. Don't be afraid to fail - but do be afraid of not learning from your mistakes
25. Pay yourself first - very valuable advice from my dad that couldn't be more true
26. Surround yourself only with things you love
27. When in doubt act with compassion
28. On that same note, always opt for empathy - you never know what someone is going through 
29. Never stop learning.... take every opportunity to learn something new (big or small)
30. And last but not least, I still have so much left to learn

Until next time,

Audrey

My Unintentional Digital Detox & What It Taught Me

I'm back (again)! In my last update I shared that I put both this site and my YouTube channel on a temporary hold while Jason and I put all our energy into updating our guest house. It feels fantastic to be one step closer to achieving the goals we set out for when we moved to Charleston and I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. I'll be sharing a complete before and after reveal soon :).

In the meantime I want to talk about my unintentional digital detox and what it taught me. My hope is that this post will encourage a larger discussion as well as a new series. In this series I will discuss little tweaks I'm making to live a happier, healthier, more well-rounded life. 

Before I jump into what I learned from my digital detox, I want to say that I encourage everyone to take part in one at least once. Even though my detox was entirely unintentional (and I probably wouldn't have tried it if not by accident first), I am so thrilled that it happened. Also, I am in no way vilifying social media - I LOVE social media - I just think it's good to take a step back every now and then. Below, I've outlined a little more about what I learned these past few weeks and how I plan to implement it in my life moving forward.  

In today's world digital overload is just a click away and because it's so integrated into our daily lives it can be difficult to realize how dependent we've become on it. From Instagram to Facebook to Twitter and more, access to countless perspectives, tips and advice has never been easier. We're constantly inundated with the latest and greatest around every corner and I have to admit that I'm personally torn by it.

On one hand, there's no denying that social media and technology alike make it easier than ever to learn something new, expand our horizons and interact with new people from all over the world (which is fantastic!), but it can also mean digital fatigue.

Just as we can experience a constant stream of inspiration and motivation that pushes us to achieve our best life, we can also become so overwhelmed that it's difficult to start. In fact, during the last few weeks that I've been away from social media I've experienced a renewed sense of focus that has allowed me to streamline my goals in a new and refreshing way. Not only have I been able to really set in place a plan that I feel confident will help me achieve these goals, but I've been able to re-evaluate them and narrow in on a few that I want to be my top priorities for the coming weeks, months and years. As my 30th birthday draws closer I'm feeling a renewed sense of self that I'm excited to share with you all in a post soon. 

Now, I'm not saying that this is all from my digital detox (I'm sure some of this would have happened on it's own, just maybe at a slower pace), but I am excited for how liberating it all feels. 

To hang onto this feeling I've vowed to take a daily detox challenge in which I turn don't look at my phone after 8 or 9 at night. To do this, I simply switch my phone to airplane mode and put it away 'til morning. I know this may not seem like a lot but I can't tell you the difference it's made.

Even though I was never one to browse my phone in bed, I have to say that not feeling pressured to check up on Instagram (especially after the new algorithm really messed it up!) or what's going on this very minute in the world has helped calm my mind and allowed me to sleep better. Instead of becoming amped up on social media right before bed I now have a few hours to truly unwind and prepare my mind for a restful night's sleep.

If this is something you already do I would love to know how it makes you feel. Do you also sleep better? What other changes have you noticed? Also, if you start doing this now I'd love to know how you get along. Let me know in the comments down below and thank you so much for following along.

Until next time,

Audrey

Happy #NationalStripesDay

Happy National Stripes Day! As if J.Crew couldn't get any better, they recently declared March 31st #NationalStripesDay and I couldn't be happier about it. To celebrate, I've rounded up some of my favorite posts dedicated to the striped shirt. I've also linked some of my favorites below if you're in the market for a great striped tee that will last for years. 

• This striped shirt and skirt combo I wore in Charleston last December. 
• To show how versatile striped tees can be I put together a quick styling video with my favorite ways to wear stripes year-round.
• One of my favorite outfits to wear is a striped tee, blazer and jeans like I did for this post back in NY.
• In one of my first posts here I shared why I love the striped tee along with a ton of inspiration pics. 
• This transitional look is one of my favorite ways to style the striped tee into fall and winter. 
• Back in NY I paired a striped tee with classic separates for the perfect late winter look.
• Unsurprisingly, the striped tee is a year-round closet staple for me which made it the perfect addition to my "10 Wardrobe Essentials" post here.
• Naturally, my favorite striped shirt was one of my "5 Most-Worn Items" of 2016.
• This look is one of my faves from last year because I got to partner with my lovely friend Robin on my transitional dressing tips - which of course featured the striped tee. 

Until next time,

Audrey

I'm Back! Where Have I Been?

Happy Wednesday and it's so nice to be back! Before I jump into the "why" I've been gone so long I want to apologize for the radio silence, and thank you all for following along.

Now, where have I been? Well, after returning from the Caribbean Jason and I have spent just about every waking moment renovating our guest house - a cute little unit in our back yard that's just one of the many reasons we love our house so much. Rather than spread the work out over weeks and maybe even months, we decided to dive in full force and complete the work in one fell sweep - that way we could re-direct our entire attention to our main house.

We're finally nearing the finish line now so I'll be back to posting and filming regularly. Also, I took tons of before and after pics so I'll be sharing those soon. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day. 

Until next time,

Audrey