Adorable Rolling Book Truck | Furniture Fetish

I stumbled upon this adorable piece of furniture on Pinterest today.  It's perfectly retro and I just have to gush about it.  The Flat Shelf Book Truck, available via School Outfitters, is a modern piece of furniture reminiscent of vintage school libraries.

Orange Couches (Yes, I got one!)

That's right.  I now have a gorgeous, bright orange, retro sofa in my ownership.  I'm sooo excited to find, settle in, and start decorating my own place.  My orange sofa is going to look fabulous with my pair of turquoise chairs.  To get my creative decorating juices flowing, I scavenged Pinterest for all the pretty orange couches I could find and rounded them up right here.  (My couch is at the very bottom!)

Gray + White + Yellow + Green Bathroom | My Next Place

So as I'm packing stuff up and preparing move, I can't help but get my daydream on about decorating my very own place.  I've procrastinating my packing with a little bit of Olioboarding to create inspiration boards for what I might do in certain rooms of my next apartment.  I decided to share the bathroom inspiration board first.

Moving Stage 1 | Purging Before Packing

So on this stormy April evening, I'm stuck up in the attic partaking in one of my least favorite activities: preparing to move.  I love the freshness of moving into a new place, but I hate the messy process of getting there.  And the first step in this process (as soon as I'm done procrastinating by blogging and watching Rules of Engagement) is a massive purge of everything I don't need.

Exciting & Lovely News

Hello lovelies!

I've got some BIG news for myself, this lovely blog, and my lovely life.  Big changes are happening!  I was offered (and accepted!) a web content writing position that I'm completely psyched about.  There's a little catch that I'm perfectly okay with. ;)  The position is in Cedar Rapids!  I'll be relocating from this college town of Ames in the center of the state to eastern central Iowa.  Nearer to Iowa City and the Amana Colonies.  Nearer to my handsome boyfriend.  And about the same distance to my family in my hometown.

Afternoon at Amana + Millstream Brewing Co.

This weekend worked out conveniently for me to spend Friday night through Tuesday morning in Williamsburg with the bf.  While I love the hustle and bustle of the college town Ames, I also enjoy a weekend away in a slower paced small town.  On Sunday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather by driving over to one of the Amana Colonies.  We hit up Middle Amana, where a lovely little brewery called Millstream Brewing Co. is located.  

One Does Not Simply Whip Up a Cheesecake

So because lately I've suffered some unbearable cheesecake cravings, the bf and I decided to whip up some cheesecake during my weekend visit to his town.  After a quick web search, he suggested this White Caramel Cheesecake from the blog Not So Humble Pie.  I skimmed through the recipe, drooled over the pictures, and nodded in agreement.  We figured... How hard could it be?

A Corner of White Giveaway Winners!

Happy Monday, lovelies!  

It's time to announce the two winners of A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty.  One winner was randomly selected from comments left on the blog post, while another winner was randomly selected from the tweeted entries.

And the winners are...

Ren, who said:

"Oh my goodness, I think if I could go absolutely anywhere I would go to Amsterdam. (Real world.)  Fictional? Hogwarts. Definitely. Also, I finally broke down and read The Girl Who Chased the Moon after passing it in the bookstores for months, and I ended up loving it! It wasn't quite what I expected."

And @cleartrampoline, who tweeted:

"Win a copy of Jaclyn Moriarty's A Corner of White from @TheLovelySide, check it out! http://www.thelovelyside.com/2013/04/book-giveaway-win-copy-of-jaclyn.html … #ACornerofWhite"

Congrats, ladies! I'll be in touch regarding your prize copies of the book.  Thank you to everyone who entered and stay tuned for another giveaway soonly!

My Hometown Bandstand: One of America's Most Beautiful Town Squares, Featured by Travel + Leisure

Pictured up above is myself sitting on the edge of the bandstand in the middle of the town square in my hometown of Oskaloosa, Iowa.  I love the bright colors and pretty patterns on the sides as well as the beautiful ceiling.  It's so gorgeous!  I grew up seeing the bandstand.  Parades circulated around the square.  And now I get to see the rebuilding and renovating of downtown Osky.  The bandstand is a symbol of my hometown.  So you can bet I was surprised when I stumbled across this:

Travel + Leisure thinks my hometown's square and bandstand is quite gorgeous, too!  The magazine listed Oskaloosa's City Square Park in their online list of America's Most Beautiful Town Squares.  Pretty flattering for a small town in Iowa to end up on the last.  I'm pretty psyched that it happens to be my hometown!

Pencil It In | Working the Pencil Skirt into Your Work Attire, Including 25 Examples with Do's and Don'ts

Starting this week, every Wednesday on The Lovely Side will be devoted to wardrobe, hair, and beauty content.  With summer internships right around the corner and interviews for real world jobs looming as well, I thought now would be a good time to delve into the world of office fashion.  

Sarah, a reader, recently emailed me asking about how to style a pencil skirt for her "somewhat casual, somewhat professional workplace full of fashionable co-workers."  She's been lusting after pencil skirts at several stores, but been hesitant to purchase one for fear of looking bad in it and not knowing what to wear with it. 

Coming Clean | My Favorite Soaps

I love soap.  Like, not just in a "suds up and get clean" sense.  But a special sort of excited sense.  I guess you could blame it on my sensitive, eczema-prone, allergic-to-everything skin.  I'm picky when it comes to what I lather up with.  (A bad soap doesn't just leave me wanting more... it can leave me with dry, cracking, rash-ridden skin.)  So when I find a soap that smells good, feels good, aaaand does good, I get all sorts of bubbly about it.

Reimagine | How I Reimagine My Living Space Decor & DIY Projects + 5 Tips to Reimagining Yours

In honor of the newly redesigned MSN for Windows 8, I'm sharing time when I've reimagined or redesigned an aspect of my life, blog, or career. Thing is... I'm always reimagining! 

I reimagine on a daily basis, but there's one thing I find myself reimagining more than anything else: my living space!  Reimagination is at the heart of my budget-friendly, crafty, creative, personalized decorating style and do-it-yourself projects.

Book Giveaway! | Win a Copy of Jaclyn Moriarty's A Corner of White... There will be 2 winners!

*** This giveaway is now closed.  To see who won,

click here.  Stay tuned for future giveaways! ***

Hello lovelies!  As promised, it is time for another book giveaway.  I'm currently reading (and giving away two copies of) A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty.  I haven't quite finished it myself, so I have no full review to offer.  I can say that I'm enjoying this original, creative, and lovely story so far.  Each time I pick up A Corner of White, I'm transported over the pond to Cambridge, England as well as the fantastical kingdom of Cello.  Since I read so much historical fiction, this modern-meets-fantasy novel is a refreshing switch of genres.