drapery, treatments, curtains, or whatever you call it.

The drapes that were/are in the house right now were/are so outdated, all I want to do is rip them down and start over. We were able to get the kitchen ones done right away, luckily. The drapes that were up were a sheer lace that didn't offer much protection and were quite outdated, so Nathan and I trekked over to Target to find some that would go well with our pink tile. (Yes, it's in the kitchen too!)

Now that that's done, I keep finding ones that I want in all the other rooms... Which are your favorites?

French Tassel Window Panel, Serena & Lily, $22.99 (on sale!)

can I have one in every color?

Cotton Canvas Shadow Floral Curtain, West Elm, $39

Nautica Cabana Stripe Drape Panel, wayfair, $59.99 (ships free!)

Cotton Canvas Medina Border Curtain, West Elm, $39

Threshold Firework Border Curtain Panel, Target, $24.99

moving in.

Whew! What a hectic week it's been. Nathan and I moved in to our (!!) place last Saturday and it was exhausting.

My parents were able to come and help us move with their small trailer, which was more of a blessing than I could've imagined. The not-quite joke of the day was how exhausted that trailer was and what pros we were after the "month of moving" my family has endured. (Four complete family moves between my mom, grandma, great-grandma, and cousins will do a lot to you!)

We were able to get about 80% of our stuff in that day and Nathan finished his 20% the next day while I was out of town. We felt nothing but exhaustion as we sat on the floor for our picnic, enjoying the new chapter that had started in our lives.

As the week continued, we spent countless hours moving boxes, trying to keep our sanity, cleaning, and learning to live with each other. We may work well together as a couple, but we are still two completely different people! Nathan will never understand why I have so many coasters and I will never understand why I can't stack the pots and pans (because apparently they will scratch, he says).

But we are learning! And working hard... So far we've redone our patio, scrubbed out the kitchen cupboards and cleaned the hardware, scrubbed the bathroom floor, changed the drapes in the kitchen, and a whole page two of things already crossed off our checklist. Now if we could be that productive on wedding planning....

Before redoing the patio, but after 30 mins of weeding...

the (mostly!) finished after

A short funny about living together before I wrap this up? I woke up one morning last week to my phone ringing. I was waking from a dead sleep, so I naturally did not look at who was calling. I groggily said hello and heard Nathan reply back. It was odd to me that he was calling at 8:30 in the morning. "Where are you?" I asked him. "In the living room." Turns out, he had come into the bedroom at 8:25 to turn my phone from silent to loud, walked back to the living room, and called to wake me up. Nathan's reasoning? He knows I get cranky when I'm woken up and didn't want to deal with that. Sigh.. Such is a life together.

you know you're old.

I've had many instances in life where I've realized that I was growing up. Moving to college, paying bills, getting insurance, you know, adult things. But nothing had prepared me for feeling old like watching my middle sister graduate. 

I remember the day this girl was born, and she has always been someone - whether we were cranky with each other or not - that I could count on. I didn't feel old when I realized it had been exactly four years to the day since I had graduated high school, or when I realized most of my classmates and I had changed in drastic ways. I realized the moment I looked at her, sitting in her cap and gown, thinking that she had the entire world in front of her, and that everything she was thinking in that moment was probably wrong. (Sorry Kit!) You get it girl, you've got it all in front of you, and great friends and family behind you guiding you, and alongside you. Love you! 

furniture finds: pink bathroom

Nathan and I found a place this last weekend and we're so excited!  We'll move at the end of June - it seems like so far away.  Neither of us wanted to move in until we were engaged, so it's a pretty exciting time for us.  (I know the engagement isn't up yet - expect a post with all the details soon!)

The house that we'll be renting is GORGEOUS.  A two bedroom from the 50s with an adorable patio, faux fireplace, large kitchen... Fantastic.  The only downside to something built in the 50s is that pink tile was a BIG thing then, meaning our kitchen has pink backsplash (which will hopefully be redone before we move in) and the bathroom is pink.  Head-to-toe pink.  Pink floors, pink tile on the wall, pink and white wallpaper, and pink appliances.  Not sure what's going to be done there, so Nathan and I are trying to figure out how to cope.

We're thinking something along the lines of brown with the pink.  Most of our bathroom stuff now is brown, so it'd be less things to buy if we can just use what we have.  Here are a few things we're brainstorming:

What do you think?  Have you run into any similar problems?

psa: Hello.

This is a very important PSA that I promise will change your daily routine forever. Hello dental products are my new favorite thing in life.

I received two toothpastes, breath freshening spray, and a toothbrush in my #VoxBox from influenster last month and I couldn't be happier. I waited awhile to post anything on it because I wanted to get a real feel for how the toothpaste was in the long run. I can honestly say after a few weeks of consistent use, I'm never using anything else. 

The texture is a little creamier than most toothpastes, and it took a couple times to get used to that. It's made with no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, triclosan or dyes - and I can actually tell. I'm usually the last one to notice the taste of artificial sweeteners, but I notice that this tastes different because it doesn't have any artificial sweeteners. Awesome, right?

I'm using mojito mint currently! (Yay Target prices too, haha)

While the toothpaste keeps my breath fresh almost all day long, sometimes I eat onions (not raw) or drink too much coffee (not black) and need to freshen up a bit. That's where the spray comes in - LOVE. One quick spray (two if you're particularly garlicky) and you're done. Magically fresh and delicious. 

So glad influenster and Hello let me try their products. I'm never going back, thanks guys! #choosefriendly

for awhile.

Hello lovely readers!

Many of you have noticed that there's been a lack of posts, and when they do come, they're not consistent.  I truly, truly apologize.

Life has been crazy for the last few months.  I've been working on expanding Dankbar, which has taken priority after work and life.  Please forgive me during this time, and I hope you enjoy the posts that do come sporadically!


xx Taylor

I know, I know.

I hope this post is aptly titled. I know it's been a couple months since I posted. There's a reason for that - whether or not it's a good excuse is up to you.

About four I started my position at Yankee Eye Clinic (and Rosemount Eye Clinic, both branches of Vision Source), and it has been absolutely insane. I have a double position of optician and event planner and, let me tell you, it takes up all of my time. Whatever time it's not occupying is filled resting up from it.  End of year and beginning of the next is our busiest time, as it's when insurance ends and then begins again.  My normal schedule is definitely more of a suggestion of time I stay at work, so it's been a wild ride.  But a wild, exhilarating ride.

I've had a great support system of Nathan, my family, and my coworkers.  Who knew I could work with such great people?  I've had blog posts sitting in the draft folder, staring and mocking and judging, and so I took the chicken route and ignored them.  Whoops.  But here I am, starting fresh.

I'm not promising that it's going to be regular or great, but I'll keep writing.  It's a nice stress relief.  You're a nice stress relief.  So here we go, starting all over again.

Thanks for hanging and waiting on me.

xx