travel essentials.

It’s here! It’s here! The week is finally here! In just a little under 2 days I’ll be lugging my gigantic bag onto a flight to Dublin, Ireland. My European adventure with my little sis will have officially begun and it’s finally just setting in that I will be away from home for the next 6 weeks. Ireland, France, Italy, Greece & Switzerland….CAN.NOT.WAIT!

In the midst of doing insane amounts of laundry today, and starting the preliminary packing stages, I can’t help but ponder the perfect travel accessories. It’s kinda weird to admit it, but even with all of my travels in the past I’ve never used one of those neck pillows – is that odd?! Do those things even really work?? Worth the investment??

I’m certaintly on the hunt for the perfect bag to lug around all my stuff in while we are exploring all the cities – the one I took on my last trip abroad didn’t do the trick. What are your fav travel accessories? If you’re like my Mom you travel with your own bed pillow. What are your travel must-haves??

photo cred : bag {lola bits & pieces} swimsuit {madewell} sunglasses {bleu dame} scarf {mod cloth} camera {urban outfitters} dry shampoo {jonathan} book {cb smith} headphones {the future perfect} watch {kate spade}

a birthday weekend.

Last weekend, my adoring hubs took me on a surprise trip for my birthday. I had no idea where we were going, but even the idea of getting away from my desk for a 48 hour period felt like a dream.

Adam took me (with Bailie Bug in tow!) to the beautiful San Juan Islands for a stay on Orcas Island in the Deer Harbor area. We ate. We let the sun hit our faces. We walked amongst the tulip fields. We jogged along the winding roads in the morning dew. We even went on a boat ride to search for whales. Let’s just say the weekend was pretty dang close to perfect. It’s those quite moments when you realize how precious & beautiful life really is and how crazy lucky I am to have an amazing man in my life. What a great way to ring in year 29.

photo cred : {moi iPhone via instagram}

planes, trains & automobiles + a new hat.

Welp, I finally made it home and although I loved seeing my sisters, bro-in-laws, my parents & my in-laws, there is just something about coming home, isn’t there?? I absolutely love traveling but when it includes all 3 forms of travel + complete boredom (hence the hat photo while waiting for a flight) I can take it or leave it. Let’s just say I was pretty happy to put my head on my own pillow last night.

I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday and I’m looking forward to catching up on my emails, projects and stuff around the house. It’s gloomy today in Seattle (surprise, surprise!) but it’s exciting to see that everything turned green and bloomed while we were away.

photo cred : {moi iPhone using the fab instagram app – by the way isn’t it crazy that facebook acquired instagram for $1 billion?! WOAH! hoping my fav app doesn’t change much from what it is now as a result…}

frenchie macs.

As I gear up for my trip to Europe in early May I feel the butterflies in my tummy escaulating at the mere thought of getting back to Paris. It’s my favorite place in the entire world & 12 days of Parisian goodness is long overdue. I’m so excited to get back!

In looking at my pinterest page this week, I couldn’t help but notice my accumulation of french macarons reaching an all time high. I’m so drawn to the pretty colors and delicacy of this sweet pastry. Do you have a favorite pastry?! Where is your favorite place in the world to visit/be/relish?

photo cred: {via 1, 2, 3, 4}

travel day.

I took a much needed day off today to plan my upcoming trip to Europe. I’ll be taking off the month of May & most of June, and as exciting as this trip is, I’ve had a tough time lately setting aside time to actually focus on things other than work. I knew unless I dedicated a day on my calendar to actually planning out my trip, I’d probably NEVER make it happen!

So, as much as I feel guilty for taking a “monday” off, I can’t even begin to tell you how ecstatic I am to finally be sitting down to map it all out. My biggest plans? Source some new pieces for scout; stuff my face full of banana + nutella crepes; bask in the sun on the beaches of Mykonos; and take in every last drop of sister bonding time I possibly can!

As of today planning is in FULL force and if anyone has any advice at all – places to see, things to do, grub to eat – I’d LOVE to hear it! I’ve never been to Switzerland, Greece or the Czech Republic so I’m in need of lots & lots of advice!

photo cred: {kristina gill via design sponge}

friday find : take a guess game!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of thrifting through the slushy Salt Lake City snow with another vintage loving Seattleite: Miss Danae of Gather & Hunt! We were able to snag a cab from The Grand despite the snow accumulation and ended up spending the afternoon rummaging through one of the local vintage malls and Decades (only the most gorgeously fabulous vintage clothing store I’ve ever seen!). I’m obsessed with the details, so I snagged a few up close and personal shots of some of my favorite shop finds and I’m hoping you might be able to guess what each item is! ***Answers below : )

I also took home a new yellow enamel pitcher to add to my growing kitchen collection, as well as a super duper fun sequined top in my favorite shade of blue. Let’s just say it was one successful afternoon! I definitely could have come home with a whole heck of a lot more, but my suitcases couldn’t handle the extra LB’s!

Looks like a roadtrip out to SLC is in the imminent future!

Anyone wanna tag along?

Happy weekend friends! *JB

an ALT recap!

I never had the chance to attend summer camp as a kid and it has always been one of those things that kinda bugged me. I mean who doesn’t want to leave home for an extended period of time, eat non-stop junk food and return home with a bag full of memories and new BFF’s?! Ummm…hello! I do!

ALT Summit was most definitely the summer camp I never had, minus the uncomfortable sleeping bags & mosquito bites, PLUS a whole lot of partying, excessive amounts of glitter and nonstop fun!

Let’s just say, I had the time of my life!

I thought I’d highlight some of my favorite moments from the week as well as give you a glimpse into the awesomeness of ALT with some instagram pics. If you are a blogger, wish you were a blogger or just want to surround yourself with super inspiring women (and a few stylishly fab men), then you best get yourself to ALT next year!

Now for the recap!

CAT GOT MY TONGUE MOMENT: meeting jasmine star. this talented gal not only inspired me to follow my dreams, but to stick with them. upon meeting her i hope i ended up sounding more like a blubbering idiot than a creepy psycho stalker.

HIGHEST HIGHLIGHTS:

– finding some super rad ladies to share a last minute room with on Tuesday night! katie, brianne & brittni YOU saved me!

– the mini parties! 6+ rooms with different themes in each one?! an event designers dream!

– keynote session by ben silberman, the founder of pinterest. talk about inspiring!!! whoa!

– tiptoeing through the slushy snow with danae on our way back from thrifting.

– girls pow-wow on night 3 with amy, megan, colleen, amanda and erin.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

– ”  do one thing perfect. ”   – ben from pinterest

NEW BFF: the ladies of blog brunch. after many many months of tweeting back and forth it was such a joy to finally meet these gals in person!!

WORST AND MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: saving my laptop from plummeting to its death by allowing it to slam into the top of my foot instead. i then limped around on it all day before finally succumbing to going to an uber sketchy urgent care facility to make sure it wasn’t broken. good news… it wasn’t broken. bad news… my taxi driver ended up being totally off his rocker, nearly killing us both in a drive by screaming match with another cabbie…good grief!

HEY! I CAN DO THAT MOMENT: upholstery 101. oh my word! i learned SO SO much in this class, hilariously taught by the fabulously crafty caroline. goodwill chairs better watch your backs…i’m coming to get YOU!

BEST BITE: that crazy amazing strawberry shortcake of a dessert on thursday! not only gorgeous but SO scrumptious!

SPEAKER CRUSH: total tie. anne and ben. these two folks knocked my socks off with their unwavering inspiration! i think i teared up about 10,000 times between their two presentations. so inspiring!!!

MOST TALKED ABOUT PEEP: mrs. muffin! from the moment i met muffin i knew i adored her. we both ending up commiserating over our registration hiccups and her name kept popping up all over the place during the conference. makes sense…she’s a total riot!

HEY! I LEARNED SOMETHING TIDBITS:

– consistency and originality of content is key!

– editorial calendars are a MUST.

– backup all of  your blog’s content on an external hard drive on a monthly basis.

– if you intend to have guest bloggers or contributers create a “set of guidelines” for them so they know what you expect from them.

– use a pneumatic staple gun vs. an electrical one when upholstering furniture.

– never blog about products you wouldn’t use. your readers will read right through it. also, tell a story in relation to the product.

– it is SUPER important to pick advertisers/sponsors that reflect your brand.

– giveaways aren’t as easy as they look. make sure to get legal advice in relation to sweepstakes rules.

– have debriefing sessions with sponsors – you want it to work for you AND for them.

– cold emails aren’t successful. get to know your fellow bloggers via twitter & social networking.

– if comments section of your blog is driving you mad, try turning it off.

– use your blog as leverage for something bigger.

– do what you love. give it a fair shot. don’t be afraid to fail. then…try something else.

– NEVER eat lunch alone.

– look bigger than you are. a professional looking blog is tres important.

– one word: feedburner.

– if you have a killer idea, execute the bare minimum. don’t wait! you can always go back and add to it later.

PROUDEST MOMENT: trying an oyster for the 1st time. i know! it doesn’t sound that impressive but thanks to liv i actually overcame my fear and swallowed one of those slimy little suckers!

I MISS HOME MOMENT: on saturday i nearly fell out of my chair when i heard someone shout “it’s snowing!” sure enough – there they were – those BIG HUGE rocky mountain snowflakes that made my heart whimper: “i miss you colorado!“

I HEART VINTAGE MOMENT: decades. decades. decades. OH. MY. GOSH. This place made me feel like i had died and gone to vintage heaven…NO joke. the entire shop is so perfectly organized i almost called home to tell adam i’d found a new place to live.

MOST SHOCKINGLY RAD MOMENT: seeing all the attendees decked out in white at the winter wonderland party. it was quite the sight to see!

FAVORITE THING I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF: i may not always have the perfect thing to say, but if i put myself out there great things happen.

Yahoooooooo for ALT!

alt summit!

Phew! What a last 24 hours this has been! I woke up yesterday morning with plans to leisurely pack for my upcoming trip to ALT, blog a bunch of posts for the week (yesterday included!), clean house, eat healthy meals and actually go to the gym (woah!).

And then….DUN DUN DUN! I looked at the weather report. And then Southwest Airlines sent me a text message.  And then the twitter messages started flying and before I knew it I was hopping on a flight a whole day sooner than expected.

Uh yeah… Can you say total and utter madness?! Yes – I turned into the crazy packing lady with clothes flying everywhere, my house in total chaos (so much for that clean house goal), my poor husband being barked orders about which pair of tights should go and which ones should stay and my poor puppy dog crouching in the corner, ears down, wondering if the world was actually coming to an end.

BUT after what felt like absolute travel insanity, I made it to Salt Lake City late last night in one piece and revved up for what is sure to be one super AMAZING week! I’m so excited to actually be attending ALT (a super fantabulous blogging conference!) and so pumped to finally meet some of my fav design bloggers in person!!! I can’t wait to see what the next few days hold and I’m crossing my fingers for those buddies who are stuck in Seattle with delayed or cancelled flights….get here soon ladies! xoxo!

photo cred: {murray mitchell}

bow tie wednesday / 20.

The second I spotted this art by alister mackie I couldn’t help but wish it was hanging smack dab in the middle of my office. Alister collected the bow ties from London and Paris markets over many years and the end result is just totally GORGEOUS!

art cred: {alister mackie via show studio}

sunday dreaming / 27.

dreaming of…

paris details.

when i think of about paris my heart aches.

must. go. back. soon…

photo cred: {jenn elliott blake}

a year gone by.

I cried when I realized it this morning.

I cried from exhaustion. Joy. Remorse. Excitement. Relief. Complete astonishment.

Today marks a year. 365 days ago today I said goodbye to the only career I had ever known. I spent 6 years in school to become a registered nurse and a year ago today I walked away. The decision has not been an easy one, and there isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not really scared and frightened by that decision. I left stability. Colleagues. Security. A routine. But for a really really long time I knew that nursing, although incredibly rewarding, was just not where I wanted to exist. Was I happy? Kind of. Was I satisfied on more days than not. Sure. Was I comfortable. Pretty much. But was I the real, true me? Absolutely not. And THAT didn’t sit well with me.

On the day I left nursing I honestly had no idea what the future held for me. I knew I needed something different, but I didn’t really know what that might look like. I knew that my creative ambitions were screaming from my insides but translating that into something successful and just as rewarding seemed like the impossible. 2 weeks after I made the decision to not settle until I found that certain something that fed my soul in an honest and truthful way I took a trip. I packed up a crazy large backpack, said goodbye to my husband and puppy dog and left for 7 weeks. At the time the decision felt really selfish, greedy…maybe even wrong. But my intention was simple: find me. Find what really makes me happy. Find out why for so many years I’d felt hopeless, sad and lost. I set out to open my ears and my eyes to all the things my heart had been saying for so long, to really listen. To really see. And this I felt was a selfless decision, because in my gut I knew it would make me a better person not only for myself but for those who loved me.

I slept in. I watched French music videos to the point of verbal and choreographic memorization. I ate an amazing amount of pastries. I stared at art. I walked and walked and walked. I teared up at the beauty that is Europe. I sang. I grocery shopped. I rode trains. I drank yummy wine. I explored. I laughed with friends and family who visited me. I spent money. I wrote a travel blog. I practiced my French. But mostly I took pictures and wrote. I used my camera to open my eyes to all the things that really inspired me. The things that made me feel alive. And I wrote to hear what my own voice had to say.

Writing and photography never were as important as they were during those 7 weeks. I honestly and miraculously found myself while looking through my camera lens and while writing til’ the wee hours of the morning. I had found the answer I’d always been searching for for so long, and although it scared the crap out of me, I came home and pursued that answer. I started my own business and leapt into the craziness of being an entrepreneur. For the first time in my ENTIRE life, I listened to what MY heart was telling me. Not what anyone or anything else was telling me. And today, I celebrate that. I celebrate being me and for the first time really living.

Thank you to everyone who has supported, pushed, and loved me during this past year. Thank you for not calling me crazy to my face, or telling me to run back to a career that seemed a lot more logical. Thank you for loving me enough to wish the very best for me and for my future. Thank you for cheering me on and for hugging me during those moments when I was really scared. Thank you for being proud of me – this life alteration would not have happened without your support. Thanks for celebrating with me today!

P.S. How crazy fitting is it to have Vanessa & Tony’s wedding featured on SMP today to mark the occasion?!?! So proud of where this past year has led me!

P.S.S. If you’re interested in following the travels the helped me find my way start by clicking here.

year gone by photo captions:

september: moonlighting with paper. realizing that i was suffocating without a creative outlet. jb papier was born.

october: my trip to europe began. i snapped pictures of everything i could. big ben was one of my fav shots.

november: being alive in paris.

december: when i really started carving out my new business. took the leap of faith and admitted that i was ready to start a new journey.

january: bow tie & bustle was born. participated in my very first styled shoot. bun in the oven concept.

february: gathered an amazing team of wedding creatives for montmartre shoot i dreamed up while in france.

march: very first big time feature for my lil’ business on green wedding shoes.

april: vanessa & tony’s wedding in cabo san lucas. my first BIG design and first international destination wedding all wrapped in one.

may: drove a farm table from denver to seattle. started thinking about launching a vintage rental company. scout. was officially launched on august 6th.

june: headed to beverly hills to get my learn on at coordinator confab.

july: felt like a full fledged blogger after attending blogshop in the bay area.

august: one of MANY projects in august: ann & jon’s wedding day.

photo cred: {personal pics and mo hines photography}

featured on SMP!

Today is a good day. A REALLY good day.

When I first started my event design & styling biz I only had dreams of one day making it to a feature on Style Me Pretty. Style Me Pretty is major. REALLY major. It’s the most popular wedding blog out there, dripping with only the most gorgeously detailed weddings imaginable. It’s the place where every wedding creative I’ve ever met dreams of having their work featured. And it was a BIG dream for me when I started this new business.

Vanessa & Tony’s wedding was quite simply amazing. Not only did I get to create a design and coordinate the day from start to finish, but I got to witness two of the most important people in my life commit their lives to one another. The entire wedding was one of those “out of the body” experiences and today feels much of the same. Today Vanessa & Tony’s wedding is being featured on Style Me Pretty and I could NOT be prouder.

I also am SO SO SO stinkin’ grateful for the photography brilliance of my dear friend Mo. Monica captured Vanessa & Tony’s wedding in the most genuine way…she really captured the beauty that is Vanessa & Tony and I’m so grateful for it!

Head over to SMP today and check out the feature here! Don’t forget to view the entire gallery here to get all the little details!

photo cred: {screen shot from style me pretty}

Event Design, Styling, Floral Concept + Coordination: {bow tie & bustle event design + styling} Wedding Photography: {Mo Hines Photography} Flowers: {Mazarte Florals} Calligraphy: Letters By Ellen / Venue, Catering + Make-up: Cabo Surf Hotel / Paper Goods + Invitations: bow tie & bustle event design + styling / Bride’s Hair: Mandi Rhodes / Wedding Dress: Jim Hjelm / Wedding Cake + Desserts: Cabo Surf Hotel

celebrating love with burritos & bikes.

I woke up this morning realizing how little I’ve shared in the past couple of weeks about my day to day life on the good ‘ol blog. As I mentioned a couple days ago, I’m in the midst of launching a new personal blog (details coming soon!) and I think in the mean time I’ve just kinda put the personal posts on hold. But WHY? Life is happening and I love capturing it, so why not chat about it?

So as a means of sharing some personal stuff, I thought I’d share pics and details from our amazing anniversary trip to Fort Collins last month. Adam and I got married 2 years ago in the adorableness that is LaPorte, CO and stayed at the gorgeous Armstrong Hotel. So now, it’s kinda our thing. Yep, EVERY year we plan to head back to CO to ride bikes, eat yummy food and stay at the Armstrong – cause it’s just FUN!

I think it’s SO IMPORTANT to celebrate the love in life, and I’m so excited to know that no matter how crazy life may get, Adam and I will always prioritize us around August 30th.

P.S. Debuting the new red do’. I’m kinda loving the red!

Riding bikes while in downtown Fort is such a blast…minus when you’re getting yelled at for riding in dismount zones and when you can’t find anyone to snap a decent pic of ya. What do you do? Get creative.

Wedding Cake. Champagne. The Armstrong. It doesn’t get better. I was SO excited and quite honestly flabbergasted when Adam surprised me by remembering to order our anniversary cake. I was teary eyed when he told me cause it meant so much that he remembered. In the midst of all the wedding craziness in August…it totally slipped my mind. Oh, how I love this guy. AND almond poppy seed cake with raspberry filling.

One of the things that Adam and I miss the most about CO is the burritos. NO JOKE. Colorado has the BEST burritos EVER! Our fav breakfast burrito place of all time is Burritos & Co. in Denver (58th and I-25 for my CO peeps), but for lunch or dinner or anytime in between it’s: BIG CITY BURRITO. Their potato burrito on jalepeno cheddar is the best thing that has ever happened to me…no honestly – I hit up that place so many times in college I’m surprised it didn’t turn into one big burrito! They are best!  Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that they provide a million and a half hot sauces to drizzle on top of your burrito. It’s all about the details folks…the details.

And then as if to say “welcome home Seattleites!” it rained. Not a ton, but enough to make you fall in love with the smell all over again. Colorado rainstorms are by far the best I’ve ever experienced. They smell amazing, they actually make noise, and they fulfill their purpose & then go on their merry way vs. the Seattle lingering drizzle which is just total BS.

And what better to do in the rain but shop?! One of my fav stores in the world is on College Ave. called EsScentuals – very Parisian inspired, with tons of gorgeously wrapped soaps and dainty bottles surrounded by perfectly enticing vintage props. I found myself gawking at an Eiffel Tower looking stand only to be told it wasn’t for sale…bums! But I found some super adorable letters and got my french fix…yes! I also love finding cute gifts and souvies at White Balcony next door. It’s just one of those places where you can get lost for ours. Gotta love that!

Mama Said Sew is also a must see if you are the crafty type. They are filled floor to ceiling with the most gorgeous vintage fabrics and buttons you could EVER imagine. I have the hardest time leaving the place whenever I visit, and I couldn’t help snap a shot of my adorable boy waiting patiently outside while I browsed.

Did I mention we eat while traveling? Yeah. We. Do…A LOT! And one of my most favorite places to stop while in CO is Snooze. Snooze is absolutely the BEST breakfast I’ve ever had…this time we chomped on their breakfast pot pie, the pancake flight including a peach cobbler, sweet potato AND buttermilk pancake. YUMMMMMMMMM. My hot chocolate was also super duper tasty!

As a last minute anniversary gift I got Adam his very first big boy shave at a real barber shop. So much fun! The pic of him lookin’ like a mummy is my favorite of the trip. Oh and you just have to make a stop at BeauJo’s for yummy pizza…it’s kinda a no brainer.

Old town Fort is currently littered with these ADORABLE piano’s painted with pops of color and cute little illustrations. I begged Adam to play me a song at each and every last one, and lucky enough for me he agreed. Getting serenaded by your man is the best!

We wrapped up the trip with a quick stop at our wedding venue to snag a peek at our brick that lines the path to the ceremony site. Totally cheesy, but totally awesome all at the same time. I love knowing that a piece of Adam and I will always be in Colorado.

The entire visit made me miss those good ol’ rockies and the feelings of home. We had SUCH a good time and I can’t wait to go back next year!

photo cred: {jenn elliott blake}

inspired board # 7 : around the world.

photo cred: {map bunting via etsy} {wall mural via urban outfitters} {jo metson globe interiors via design sponge} {invitation suite by nothing but bonfires} {map pinwheels via etsy} {map wrapped favors via martha stewart weddings} {escort card display by enjoy events co.} {love globe via forget me knot weddings} {teak globe via hilda grahmat}

look what i can do!

Blogshop this past weekend in Berkeley was one of the best, most advantageous experiences I’ve had since following my heart and launching a new career. In the midst of starting up bow tie & bustle + scout. I’ve been really determined to continue blogging throughout the entire process. Blogging has become one of those things that’s extremely important to me with regards to inspiration, and self exploration AND is something I’ve found a ton of joy in.

I had ZERO clue how much of a creative outlet blogging could become, or how rewarding it would feel to blog on a daily basis. And it wasn’t until I attended blogshop that I realized my blogging could go to a whole new level visually once I learned the ropes of photoshop. I’m so excited to finally be feeling like I can make my blog feel AND look the way I really want it to : )

Thanks to bri and angela photoshop became something I was no longer intimated by, but rather something I was energized by. We learned how to create layouts, edit photographs (you know removing those less than desired skin blemishes), how to make mood boards (soooo excited to start creating them!) and how to make blog headers etc. etc.

One of the most exciting things I learned at blogshop was how to make an animated gif. In the most simple terms, an animated gif is: the best thing EVER. We were gifted cute vintage scarves on day 1 of blogshop (hand picked by bri herself!) and asked to create a little animation using our scarf. Check out my animated gif and new red scarf below! p.s. you’ve gotta click on the picture for now to see the animation…working out the kinks as we speak!

Oh and if you are even thinking of attending this amazing workshop by bri and angela…honestly, what is there to think about?! It’s beyond worth it!

I learned so many rad things this weekend, and am so excited to begin applying these new tools to my blog! I’m super excited in the new direction(s) my blog will be going in the coming months (details coming soon!) and I know my new photoshop skills will totally enhance the experience! Yay for blogshop!

photo cred: {all photos shot by the amazingly gifted photographer angela kohler at blogshop}