Looks I Love: Wallflowers

Oh, how I love flowery walls. This decor trend probably isn't something I'd do right now. 1) I have enough floral patterns on my rugs, bedding, artwork, and accessories. And 2) we've spent enough time the last few months peeling wallpaper. But the look of floral patterns and murals on the walls is something that certainly makes me swoon. It reminds me of the garden frescoes found on the walls of houses in Pompeii—especially the ones with birds perched on branches. 

Decor Board: Sassy Spring-Inspired Office

Despite the looming snow this weekend, I've got spring on the mind. (Maybe because of the thunderstorms and 70-degree afternoons we've experienced lately?) I've also got office decorating on the mind since we're about to start painting mine. Yay!

Anyway, I keep seeing this pink and blue (and every other color) rug pop up on Wayfair. It reminds me of my office's gray rug with a lot more pink. It's so bold, lovely, and unapologetically feminine. And it inspired this office decor board that mixes crisp, colorful furniture (like a teal desk chair, daffodil yellow desk, and sunshiny coat tree) with pieces featuring a more whitewashed, farmhouse finish (that lateral file cabinet and adorable little tiered bookcase). A girly armchair pairs with a sassy pillow. A bohemian ceiling pendant light with a sleek, shiny desk lamp. An eclectic mix of art and a quirky black giraffe statue. I could see this tiny office painted stark white or almost-black charcoal. What do you think? 

See something in the room that you just gotta have? 

Shop the space on Polyvore.

Kitchen Inspiration: Homey, Neutral, and Vintage

Our kitchen's mini makeover is nearly complete. Wallpaper down. Plaster repaired. Walls painted. This weekend, I'm putting some initial decorating touches on the space. (For me, spaces and decor are always evolving.) I can't wait to share the big reveal with you guys. This is the most neutral I've ever gone in a room, but you can bet that it's not all white and gray and brown. ;)

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few kitchens that I found on Pinterest that ended up serving as a source of inspiration—whether it be borrowing colors or brainstorming decor details. Together, ideas from these kitchens sum up what I want my kitchen to be: Homey. Functional. A nice nod to the vintage feel of turn-of-the-century kitchens. A little farmhouse action—since we're in rural Iowa, after all. And some bits of color brightening up an otherwise neutral space.  

Inspiration 9.1.15: A Certain Kind of Woman

What kind of woman do you want to be?

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Inspiration 8.24.15: Peace comes from within.

Mondays are hard.

Especially on beautiful, sunny, breezy, 70-degree days.

(Wouldn't it be lovely if offices had screened-in porches

with comfy chaise lounges, wi-fi, and breathtaking views outside?

A girl can dream, right?)

Just a little reminder that amid all the hassle and hub-bub of daily life,

you can look inward for a sense of peace and contentedness. 

How were your weekends, lovelies?

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Inspiration | No. 9 | Enthusiasm

"There is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything. Negative people find their walls. So never apologize for your enthusiasm. Never. Ever. Never." - Ryan Adams

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Inspiration | No. 8

I love this. I'm not a naturally competitive person. I am who I am. I focus on building up my strengths, curating my interests, and indulging in my passions. I like to see people striving to be the best versions of their own selves - not struggling to emulate someone else's style, talents, or ways. It's one thing to be inspired by someone else or to borrow an idea and tweak it to make it uniquely your own. But don't compete. Bloom.

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Inspiration | No. 7

Does your life feel as good on the inside as it looks on the outside. I strive to make everything look lovely - lovely clothes, lovely decor, lovely lipstick, lovely etc. - but it's essential to create a lovely life on the inside, too. Have a lovely attitude. Have a lovely heart. Have a lovely imagination. When I feel lovely on the inside, the loveliness escapes and makes other things lovely, too. Try it.

Have a lovely weekend! :) 

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Inspiration | No. 6

It's that time of year where it's natural to reflect on the previous year with nostalgia. 

Inspiration | No. 5

This is so true. Keep this in mind - on campus, at your internship, in the workplace.

Have a lovely day!

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Inspiration | No. 4

This is very true. The more you use it, the more you have. The more I craft, the more I craft. The more I write, the more I write, the more I write. You just have to get started. :)

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Inspiration | No. 2

Just a little motivation for the first Monday of December: Make ideas happen.

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Inspiration | No. 1

What can you do that makes your soul happy? 

That you do. For you. By yourself. (...no friends, family, or significant other involved.)

For me, it's reading or writing. In quiet solitude or with folksy music or classical music or RainyMood.com playing in the background. Especially when accompanied by a glass of good beer or wine, or cup of coffee or tea.

Now you. Go.

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Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Summer is slipping away. My early mornings heading to work are quite chilly - sweater and scarf chilly. I'm in no hurry for winter, especially after a short summer. (It was still cold and even snowed in May!) So I'm hoping for a nice, long autumn with plenty of time for all of fall's festivities and beauty.  

Inspired by the looming fiery foliage and crisp air, I created this playlist full of indie and folk tunes to play as the soundtrack to Fall 2013. If you're pining away for autumn as much as me, give it a listen.

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. from jessica_thelovelyside on 8tracks Radio.

Words for the Weekend | 3.1.13

Miss Deschanel is one of my all-time favorite ladies who lives life on the lovely side.  She makes me laugh every Tuesday night during New Girl... (and scream out with glee when she and Nick finally kissed!)  When I need some happy tunes, I turn on the She & Him.  And she's a style icon when it comes to pretty clothes, hair, and makeup.  

So I was delighted to come across this post on Inspired by Charm, which rounds up some of Zooey's lovely and inspiring words.  Head over.  Check 'em out.  And then have a very lovely weekend!

Life Advice from a 90+ Year Old Woman

 

I rarely enjoyed my previous job working as a phone customer service rep, but once in a while I'd talk to someone really interesting, intelligent, or inspiring.  The terrible, awkward, and weird phone calls are so easy to recall.  So when a good one comes to mind, it's truly a special thing.  Going through some old papers today, I came across some hot pink post-it notes from one of those rare and wonderful conversations.

The phone call was from a ninety-something-year-old woman.  I helped her with whatever she called in about.  (I don't remember that part of the call.)  And then we continued to chit-chat for a bit.  She enjoyed talking to me because I was young and she didn't have many young people (especially young woman) to talk to in her life.  So she wondered if she could pass along some tidbits of knowledge that she'd gathered over her long lifetime.  Of course, I wanted to hear.  And I grabbed my hot pink post-its and jotted down her words as she spoke.

"Don't ever let anyone control you.  Don't let anyone tell you how to feel or talk you into something.  When you look in the mirror, like what you see.  If you fail at something, you'll come back from it.  Tomorrow is another day.  Don't let anyone change you or tell you how to be yourself.  Go out, travel, learn.  You'll never learn everything, but you'll know more than you did before."

Just doing some rough math, this woman would have been around my age in the 1940s.  I loved that she included the phrase, "Tomorrow is another day."  It is one of the famous quotes from Scarlett O'Hara of Gone with the Wind, which came out in 1939. 

Coming across those post-it notes today really made my day.  I wrote them down because I didn't want to forget the inspiring, insightful words of that lovely, ninety-plus-year-old woman. 

And now I've shared them with you. :)

We're often given life advice from family and friends.  It's not uncommon to receive advice from a professor, boss, preacher, or other non-related acquaintance.  But have you ever been given inspiring insight from a stranger?  I only spoke to this woman on the phone for a mere five minutes.  I don't remember her name.  We never saw each others' faces.  But her words moved me. 

Has anything like that ever happened to you?  If it has, I'd love for you to share.  Leave a comment telling me the story!

30 Simple Ways to Feel Lovely

A lovely reader recently tweeted at LU, asking that I write a piece about confidence and those "ugly" days that can make a girl feel so lost.  I love being given inspiration that knocks the writer's (or blogger's) block right outta my system.

We all have those days, don't we?  Perhaps it starts off when your hair just won't cooperate or it seems like you have nothing to wear.  You feel like sliding into your sweatpants, jumping back into bed, and pulling the covers over your head---hoping to not see the light of day for just 24 hours.  Often, it comes down to something more than a bad hair day and outward appearance.  Usually, it's emotion at the core.  Sometimes you just don't feel lovely.  Sometimes you feel a little lost.  Well, consider this your special pep talk from Lovely Undergrad.  I've rounded up my favorite ways to turn that frown upside down, to turn that slouch into a strut, and to turn a lost day of feeling "ugly" into a rescued day of happiness and confidence.

1. Coffee.  Studies show (forgive me, I misplaced the source---but I've read this all over lately in several magazines) that women who drink three cups of coffee daily are less prone to feelings of depression.  So roll outta bed, put on the coffee pot, and get some java pumping through your veins.

2. Eat breakfast.  Whip yourself up something special.  Or make your regular feel special.  Make a delicious omelet or French toast.  Or eat your cereal out of a pretty porcelain bowl with the fanciest spoon from your drawer.  Make the ordinary feel a little extraordinary.

12 Ways to a New Semester, New Year, New Beginnings

We're a few days into the month of January and I'm sure your social media feeds have been flooded with everyone else's New Year's Resolutions.  You either love or hate those three little words that mean so much.  But let's face it... we all love a fresh start.  And while we have a chance every day to change the direction of our lives, what better time to do it than in January?  Rather than come up with a list of sticky goals (lose ten pounds, save a thousand dollars, get a 3.5 gpa) I've resolved to make 2012 a year of revolutions rather than resolutions.  And I want you to join me!