For the Love of Bows

Southern Bow Boutique

I absolutely adore bows, especially in the summer time. They are my favorite way to dress up a lazy hair day. I usually find myself sticking to a solid color bow, but lately I can’t seem to resist the patterns. This past Memorial Day Weekend, I rocked my festive American flag bow, pictured above. I’ve found quite a few online bowtiques (see what I did there?), but my personal favorite is Southern Bow Boutique! Her bows are as cheap as $3.99 and that’s where all of the ones pictured above come from. She even has some cute Lilly prints too!

If you’re looking for some bow hairstyle inspiration, check out these!

Now go get yourself a pretty bow! Enjoy!

–Shae

Southern Charm

I had the best time this weekend at CHAMPs for Mott, an event for work that took place at Zingerman’s Cornman Farm in Dexter, Michigan. If you’re in the area and planning a wedding, I totally recommend the venue. I wish I could wear the outfit I wore to the event this every day. A tulle dress and cowgirl boots? It DOES NOT get better than that. Anyways, I got lots of asks about the dress, so I thought I’d do a quick blog post on the outfit. My Ivory Ella Dress is from an online boutique, Space 46. I absolutely adore their bright tulle skirts, but I couldn’t pass up this dress that can be worn both as a dress or skirt! Best news is, it’s still available online (go get one!). It’s super easy to recreate this look, just pair it with a long necklace, your favorite cowgirl boots and a denim jacket and you’re set! -Shae

Dear About to Graduate Shae..

A letter I wish I could have given myself the morning before I graduated.

Dear Shae:

You are about to graduate. Literally. You are about to wake up and dad will already be awake. The first thing he will say to you this morning is “we made it little bit”. You’ll laugh and love that he said “we”. You’ll rush to the shower wanting to hop in before your mom. After your shower, you’ll try your best to hide the dark circles under your eyes that are still lingering from the stressful end of the semester. You will take a few attempts at eye-liner, shrug and think you’ve never been able to put it on anyways. After you finish running the straightener through your hair for the 100th time, you’ll hold a long gaze in the mirror trying to embrace this moment. You’ll look at your white dress, white nails, and put on your graduation cap for a sneak peak. You’ll grin a little and start to get teary. Before you can let fear resonate, dad will yell to hurry you along, him knowing you have every intention of grabbing Starbucks before being dropped off at checkin. You’ll yank your cap off and rush to the car.

You’ll make it to Starbucks in plenty of time to meet Cornelius for a final undergraduate coffee date. When you see each other, you’ll hug longer than usual. Over coffee and bagels, you’ll talk about the ceremony to come and avoid too much talk about jobs. You both know today is about past success and not about the future. You will arrive at graduation jamming to WVAQ with Cornelius. Because, duh, you couldn’t imagine any other way to go out. You’ll check-in together and then be forced apart by the alphabet.

You will wait in the auditorium, looking at all the decorated graduation caps and embracing the excitement. You’ll listen to people talk summer plans and future jobs. You’ll get a little knot in your stomach at the thought of having zero responsibility starting tomorrow morning. And then after many, many minutes of waiting… You’ll walk across the big stage. Thankfully, you’re not going to fall, so let that worry go. You’ll get your diploma and after you sit back down in the squeaky auditorium chair, you’ll think.. “I can’t believe this is real. What’s next?”

I’m not going to lie to you. We’ve always been real with each other.. The next year of your life is going to be challenging. You’re going to experience every emotion possible and you’re even going to want to quit. But spoiler alert: you’ll never give-up.

As you begin this journey, know right now that you’re going to have good days and you’re going to have some bad too. You’ll get homesick, it will take you three months to find a job, you’ll lose someone else to cancer, there will be family issues, you’ll fight depression, you’ll miss college and your best friends a lot, and there will always be stressful days on the horizon.

But please, cling tight to the good. You will have a great job, you will find a church you love, you will make some new friends, you will get to reunite with your family, you will eventually see a paycheck again, you will stay involved with Make-A-Wish and you will always, always get by. And best of all, you’ll experience it with your best friend.

So stop worrying. The fear you feel right now is only going to hold you back

And a year from now, you will look back and feel happy for every ounce of struggle you had to endure, because you finally understand that even though you’re not sure what you’re dreaming of, you’ve never stopped searching and that is an accomplishment in itself.

God will place you right where you are meant to be. Now wake up and go graduate, Shae. You’ve got big things to go after.

Love Always,

Yourself

Move Wellness Ann Arbor

Recently, I had the honor to be asked to take some classes at Move Wellness and share my experience.

Any 20-something understands that trying out a new gym or studio is never an easy feat. For me personally, I get a little jittery about finding my new spot, what the instructor will be like, and what my body is in for. But at Move, I felt right at home.

The first class I took at Move Wellness was a barre class. I arrived a few minutes late and had to rush into the class. My instructor was super understanding and made a spot at the barre for me, bringing me my equipment and welcoming me into the class. As I got settled, I began to take in my surroundings. Wow! The studio is absolutely beautiful. My favorite is the large windows that allow for the room to be overcome by natural light. It makes for a great atmosphere.

Overall, I would give the Total Barre class a 8/10. It was great. The instructor was fantastic, the class was small, and she came around to correct posture, moves, etc.

The second class I took was a Shred 60 class and holy sweat, man. I loved this one. It was 60 minutes of cardio and getting that heart rate up! We also did some strength training with the TRX. I will tell you, this class was not easy. The entire time my mind was quitting, but the instructor pushed us on and kept reminding us that we can do anything. It was just what I needed on a Wednesday night.

Overall, I would give the Shred 60 class a 9/10. It was a fantastic calorie burner!

The atmosphere, staff, cleanliness, and equipment get a 10/10. From instructors to the juice bar, everything there is perfect!

If you’re in the Ann Arbor area I encourage you to check them out. They offer yoga, total barre, pilates, gyrotonic, bootcamp, yoga, massage, wellness coaching, and shred. And best of all, the first class is free. 😉 Learn more here: http://www.movewellness.com.

Now go Move.

-Shae