January Mood

Come January, I always crave the feeling of embracing a clean slate. This January, it took me a while to get there, hence the very belated Monthly Mood post. I created this mood board at the beginning of the month, but could never quite get my thoughts together enough to finish the post. So although it probably would have made more sense at this point to just forget this one and move on to February, I thought I would take this moment on the last evening in January 2019 to reflect a little bit.

October Mood

Suddenly, fall has arrived. It hit me this morning as I drove across town for a hair appointment and a brisk wind swirled an assortment of fallen leaves across the pavement in front of my car. The still-saturated asphalt had that unique first-rain-of-the-season smell. I rolled down my window and breathed it in. I've been in a major funk these past couple weeks, but in this moment as I slowly exhaled, I felt hopeful and invigorated. As Anne of Green Gables famously declared, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

The One Where I Ramble About How I’m Blogging Again

So… two years later. It’s been long enough that I figured I needed to write a transition post before jumping back into regular programming. I never intended to stop blogging, but somewhere between trying to build my career, balancing that with other freelance jobs, family and social responsibilities, and living life, it simply became the thing that fell by the wayside.  One month became two months, which became six months, and so on, until by the time I realized so much time had passed, I felt like coming back to write a random post would just be awkward. 

For the first time in over a decade, I wasn’t actively blogging about anything, and I have to admit that at first, it felt freeing. I’m one of those people who tends to overcommit, overbook, and overfill my life with commitments to the point where even activities that I enjoy feel like a chore. Simply slipping away from this blog and having one less obligation demanding my time felt like the easy and obvious choice. 

Fast-forward two plus years and so much has changed. Last fall, I made the difficult decision to walk away from Erlūm, the knitwear line I’d co-founded and poured my heart and soul into for four years. As I processed that transition, this old blog starting popping into my mind. I missed it. And suddenly, I had room in my life again. But month after month, I pushed the thought away as I focused on my day job and made plans for the future. 

Introducing ERLŪM Alpaca

After so many vague allusions to my "new job," "latest project," "big news," etc., I'm so excited to finally be able to share this with you! The luxury knitwear line I've co-founded, ERLUM Alpaca, officially launched last week! ERLUM's debut collection consists of high quality, ethically handmade alpaca knitwear for women, timeless classics with a modern edge. 

2014: Year in Review

This post is overdue, but it's still January, and I just got around to taking down my Christmas tree, so that makes it basically New Years, right? One of the reasons why I love blogging, why I keep doing it even when it gets old, even when I struggle to find the extra time, is because I treasure the way it records the past, always there to remind me where I've been and who I was. So despite the fact that we moved on almost a month ago, I'm still going to talk about 2014. Quite honestly, it was a heartbreaking year for many amongst our family and friends and an especially turbulent one around the world. After this last year I certainly felt more than ready to turn the page over to a new chapter, but rather than letting the negative overwhelm the positive, I want to remember some of the highlights of my 2014:

An ALS Story, In Memory of My Grandmother

In an effort to further raise awareness for ALS in the midst of the Ice Bucket Challenge craze, I want to share the story of my grandmother, Penny Petersen, whose life was taken all too soon by this terrible disease. Along with her story, I'm sharing some of my favorite old photos of my grandma and some background on her life before ALS. (I wrote this with the help of my mom.)

New York City 2013

In March, we took a spontaneous trip to New York City, and even though it's been a while, I thought I'd recap our trip. Thanks to an expiring airline voucher and a handful excuses like March being my birthday month and Brandon's spring break, we thought, why not? I've addressed my obsession with New York before, but just to remind you, I am obsessed with New York. This was an unusual trip to the city for us in that we weren't visiting for any reason in particular and we weren't accompanied by any newbies so there was no need to hit the usual tourist attractions. We stayed at The New York Palace, which was undergoing some major renovations but still managed to fulfill my wannabe Gossip Girl aspirations. The Palace is located across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral and Saks Fifth Avenue, so we spent a good majority of our trip in this area, exploring the Upper East Side and Midtown/Central Park South. 

Cheers to 2013!

We rang in the new year with our first night spent at our new house! It doesn't get much better than that! I've decided that this will be the year of living life and chasing dreams. (And hopefully lots of blogging in between!) Happy New Year, dear blog readers! Cheers to you! 

xoxo, Bri

Anniversary Picnic at the Beach

We topped off our anniversary weekend with a picnic on the beach. This little outing was inspired by my desire to use my new picnic basket. After regretting not buying it a couple years ago at a Macy's in Hawaii, my mom surprised me by hunting it down on eBay and giving it to me for my birthday! (It's Martha Stewart, in case you're wondering. If you'd like to pick up a cute picnic basket without the eBay hunt, here are a few other cute ones I found!) 

Our only other picnic we've shared in our 7+ years together was in St. James Park in London on our honeymoon. Now that we have our very own basket, I definitely see this as a new tradition and am already envisioning many more picnics in our future! It makes for such a sweet, memorable, and affordable date!

Our Second Wedding Anniversary

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I am so blessed to be married to the smartest, funniest and coolest guy I know. We had so much fun celebrating at the coast over the weekend and trading our cotton-themed gifts this morning.

Photos by Chloe Murdoch / Find more photos from our wedding day here

Graduation + Guide to Annapolis

A month ago, Brandon and I traveled back to Maryland with his parents and grandparents to attend his grad school graduation ceremony. We had such a nice time catching up with friends and revisiting all our favorite spots from the time we lived there. We even made time for a day trip to the Eastern Shore to visit the quaint little town of St. Michaels. Another fun surprise was that on the weekend we visited, Downtown Annapolis had been transformed into a movie set! We kept hoping for a celebrity sighting, but no such luck...

A Weekend in Carmel

A few days ago, I got back from a lovely weekend in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, celebrating a very special birthday for my mother-in-law. We shared lots of family time together while relaxing at this cute little inn, eating at some great restaurants, and wandering through boutiques and art galleries. On Sunday, we took the fabulous 17 Mile Drive from Carmel through Pebble Beach into Pacific Grove. I love to travel, but there are few places in the world that I find more beautiful than the California coast! And it never ceases to amaze me how much of it I've still yet to explore after growing up here...

Outfit Details:

Day 1: Kenneth Cole navy pants, Jason Wu for Target blouse, Calvin Klein navy patent heels, Kenneth Cole rose gold watch, Kate Spade New York cocktail ring Day 2: Jacket from a random boutique in Annapolis, Banana Republic white tank, Rock & Republic jeans, Michael Kors riding boots, Kate Spade New York bag Day 3: J.Crew Minnie Pant, J.Crew chambray shirt, Anthropologie sweater, Michael Kors riding boots, Kenneth Cole rose gold watch, Cole Haan sunglasses 

P.S. In case anyone who saw my Lost Dog announcement last week has been wondering... little Rocky was found wandering through a neighborhood after five days of being lost! He's now home safe and sound, and more spoiled than ever. :)

Since I've Been Gone { 3 Weeks In Instragrams }

Well hello again, blog! 

Since I've been gone, I...

- Made candy cane macarons for my Maryland friends.
- Not only mailed out our Christmas cards, but added envelope liners cut from wrapping paper. (FYI: Your favorite design ended up being my favorite too, but alas, none of our photos worked in it. So I went with design 7 and ended up loving the old movie vibe!)
- Said goodbye to Annapolis, Maryland, where B and I lived for the first year and a half of our marriage.
- Drove through Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and right back in to my beloved home state, California.
- Felt overwhelmed by reunions with family and friends.
- Spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day sick in bed.
- Cuddled with my family's three dogs, and welcomed two new puppies into my life. (My brother's mini Rottweiler, Rocky, and B's parents' little Frenchie, Oliver.)
- Received some fabulous Christmas gifts.
- Added some great ornaments and Santa mugs to my vintage Christmas collection.
- Basked in the warm sunshine on the Central Coast.
- Went to bed at 10 PM on New Year's Eve.

Looking forward to a new year filled with possibilities. A clean slate. Every year I pick a word to be my focus for the coming year. This year, I resolve to be fearless. If you had to sum up your outlook on 2012 in one word, what would it be?

Happy Belated New Year!

P.S. Dear new followers, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you make me smile.
Welcome, and I hope you stick around! :)

Winter Road Trip { A New Chapter }

Today we load up all our stuff and embark on our second cross-country drive in two years... this time, headed in the opposite direction. Right this second, my life feels chaotic, surreal, messy, exhausting, somber, exciting and so many other things all at the same time. This most recent chapter of life has been so strange and hard for me to explain. Sometimes I'm tempted to say it's been the worst chapter of my life so far, and sometimes I absolutely want to call it the best. It's definitely been the hardest, the most confusing, and the most challenging. Someday I hope to sum it up with more wisdom and maturity. Really, my only Christmas wish is a moment silent and still enough for some solitude and reflection. But for now... here we go! Goodbye, Maryland. Hello, California!

^ We're actually going to be in a giant Budget truck and my 2006 Mini Cooper, with craploads of boxes rather than a Christmas tree... but, I'd really prefer if you picture us this way. It's much more stylish and quaint. ;)

P.S. I sincerely apologize for my sporadic blogging lately. The next couple of weeks will be insane, and as much as I'd like to post all of the fun gift guides I have lined up, I can't guarantee whether I'll post all of them or none of them. But I do promise that no matter what happens, I'll make it up to you! Also, some blogging advice: Don't ever start a blog series when you're in the middle of moving. And some life advice: If you can avoid it, don't ever make a cross-country move the week before Christmas.

P.P.S. If you have any recommendations of restaurants, shops, and sights worth seeing along the 40 in between Virginia and California that you think would make our trip more fun, let me know please! Maybe I'll snap some Instagrams there for you! :)

Words for Thanksgiving Weekend

Quote Image Source ; Other images taken on my phone

Gone to Look for America: (Mount Vernon, Virginia)

Last week I had the pleasure of introducing another one of my best friends to the East Coast. We made our way through Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and even Delaware, relearning what we vaguely remember being taught in American History class once upon a time. Along the way, we also took a lot of pictures and ate a lot of good food. Our visit to George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, was a highlight, as it was a first for Brandon and I as well.  Experiencing the beauty of that area during those last days of fall foliage was so special and awe-inspiring. Looking through my photos of Mount Vernon, I found them kind of Thanksgiving appropriate, so I thought I'd share them today.

Just finished baking a pumpkin pie and making cranberry sauce from scratch for the first time. Looking forward to celebrating my second Thanksgiving married to Brandon, but also hoping this will be our last one on our own! Hope you all have a lovely weekend! :)

Interior Design Bingo -- Day 3: Storage

When I hear the term "storage," I think closets.  So, for day three of the Interior Design Bingo challenge, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to share a story about my current "closet" situation.  As you can see, it is a little bit out of the ordinary.

My husband and I currently live in the basement of a home that was built in the 1800's.  Due to the heavy rain we experienced all summer long in this part of the country, including Hurricane Irene, we dealt with some flooding and resulting mold problems that destroyed half of my wardrobe... and most regrettably, shoes. For about a month and a half now, I have been dealing with dry cleaners, cobblers, and insurance agents, and although my closet has been cleaned, I am just not comfortable putting my stuff back in there and risking the items I saved being damaged. Since our place doesn't have any other closets, I created a temporary one out of boxes and set it up in our dining room. And since we are moving in six weeks, I'm trying to make the best out of the situation and consider myself already packed! I have to admit though, I really look forward to having a real closet again... And someday, I would absolutely love to turn the below inspiration into a reality and repurpose a beautiful piece of antique furniture into a shoe closet! A girl can dream, right? :)

Left / Right

My dream closet would be a walk-in (I've never had one before) with the above shoe display case, little cubbies to hold my handbag collection, and all matching velvet hangers! What would your dream closet look like?