we're baaaaack

phew!  nothing like a month off, some warmer weather, and a whole hell of a lot going on to get things back in gear around here!  i say warmer, but we're still waking up to sub-40 degree mornings.  still, the sun is frequently out and we have almost accumulated an entire week of days over 70 degrees if we put together the sporadic ones we've had here and there.  small victories.  in a few months i know we'll by dying for cooler air.

you may notice the blog has gotten a face-lift.  when i started this blog it was my intention to keep it pretty impersonal.  though obviously we'll still keep parts of our fascinatingly esoteric lives to ourselves, don't be shocked if there's some unfamiliar subject matter that starts to wander in to the blog here and there.

steve and i finally have a new home!  and while we're not quite ready to shout it out to the rooftops yet and let word spread like the contents of an upworthy ted talk, it's definitely going to entail new levels of keeping in touch.  accordingly, posts might get a bit more candid, as we'll probably be using this blog to keep family and friends updated on our experiences, and i may actually dive into the realm of sharing thoughts opinions etc.  i have another blog to which i tended to keep my more opinionated ideas restricted, but i'm growing a little tired of managing all the bazillion different portals of my internet-self.  hopefully loosefromthezoo can become the go-to for internet-beckyness.  and of course whatever steve feels like suggesting i throw in here too (maybe someday he'll write a post... this is not a guarantee).

the photo above was one i snapped while we were at a rest stop in the upper peninsula this last weekend.  we hit the UP (that's U. P. "yoo-pee" for the less than michigan-savy readers) for my dear love, former roommate, and future bridesmaid paige's wedding in iron mountain.  it. was. a. blast.

and let me tell you it's not every place in the world where you can stop at a highway bathroom and also immediately check out a deserted beach on lack michigan.  the great white north is a pretty amazing place.

i'll post more details and a couple photos (sadly too few, as i was on bridesmaid duties and couldn't snap away with a camera) of paige's wedding in a post or two here.  but for now i'm announcing our return to blogland and happy to say we've got quite a ride ahead.

brb

steve circa 1993

i'm busy, but i still love y'all.  xoxoxo.  be back soon!!

blogging ahead

despite the fact that we bought this cake to celebrate bill knapps day, which was january 18th when we decided to eat bill knapps cake and nap, i'll post this picture in honor of national chocolate day today.

perhaps it was one of my mentally unarticulated goals for the new year to put a bit more priority back onto my blog.  i'm not sure.  but lately i've been feeling a real urge to get this place back on track.  my free time comes in sporadic bursts these days, and to be honest, we don't have a whole lot going on at the immediate moment.  i'm too chicken to head out for cute photos in the snow (in all fairness this is like super ultra mega cold snow).

if you wanted an accurate run down of our day to day activities you'd hear things like "doing a lot of laundry, but leaving it unfolded."  Or "watching netflix and cracking a beer."  Or "simultaneously doing dishes while cooking chili."  Or "petting the cat and talking to steve."

we're just not all that fascinating at the moment i suppose.  but that's ok, it means i finally have a chance to get my tush back here and blog!

but on that note, you may not see my word count sign offs as it will be impractical to reconcile with scheduled posts.  no worries, however, i'll be sure to keep you updated on my writerly exploits.

so now what?  i just told you how boring we are.  so let's look ahead!  tally ho!  i'm going to start pre-writing blog posts to keep this place fresh when i get busy again!  make ahead meals so to speak.  and to compound on the forward thinking most of these posts will be varieties of future plans!  we do have a wedding after all, and a lot more than that on the horizon as well!

taking a digital hike

i'm very honored to be guest blogging today over at www.cupcakesncouture.com.  be sure to pop by amy's blog to say hello!  here's a direct link to the post as well as a pointless selfie in case anyone's forgotten what i look like or whyever.

fantastical possibilities

first off, allow me to apologize to all the lovely bloggers whose posts i've been missing lately.  things have simply been too crazy for me to spend a lot of time frolicking through the blogosphere.  what "things" none of you ask?  allow me to present them in list form:

1.  three. digit. page count.  ok, i know i talked about this one already, but next time you write 106 possibly coherently connected pages i'll let you tell me to shut up about it.  i'm damn proud of myself (proud enough to swear on this blog, which i try not to do).  i'm not sure if i'm proud just for the quantity of content alone, or the fact that a tiny quiet little part of me thinks some of it is actually sorta good.

2.  i'm planning a wedding.  it's rough.

3.  we're going through the necessary steps to get steve's car replaced (we're very lucky that my parents have been nice enough to hold onto my dad's old SUV for us to buy on the cheap).  the '95 monte carlo named herman simply doesn't get our vote of confidence to make it through another winter.

4.  wait, where are we going to be living in 8-12 months?  seattle?  charleston?  houston?  wait... MAUI might be an option?  what?!  could we really stand to live on an island 1/80th the size of michigan with roughly 2500 miles between us and the mainland?  could we stand to live with ourselves if we passed up the opportunity to move to freaking maui?  hold up self, this opportunity doesn't really even exist yet, but still.  all this madness makes it pretty hard to try and plan a honeymoon.  i don't even know what airport we'd leave from.  ugh.  first world problems times twelve.

5.  work is difficult.  sometimes i am given tasks that require taking information at face value and completing them without understanding why.  i am a stressed out, nervous wreck when this happens because i have no confidence that i am completing a task correctly unless i have a concept of how it fits into the larger goal at hand.  it's actually a fairly serious liability sometimes.

hope everyone is still rocking away.  doing my best to keep checking in.  we're hanging in there dreading looking forward to the upcoming holiday season, winter weather, and a whole lot of changes heading our way.  if we could just fast forward to thanksgiving 2014, i think we might actually get another couple days to relax.  any advice for trying to get through it?

word count:  32,035

guest blogger: meghan of meghan silva lifestyle blog

thanks for checking in while i'm out on vacation this week!  please welcome meghan, today's guest blogger!

meghan is always coming up with amazing new posts about beauty, blogging, and staying inspired (along with recipes, DIY, and more... she pretty much does a little of everything)!  and she's a total sweetheart to boot!  be sure to go visit over at her blog, i promise you won't regret it!

blogger faves

i always love when people leave comments on my and other blog posts with the URL to their own blog!  i follow a LOT of different blogs and i love seeing the diversity of tastes, passions, interests, and ideas floating around the creative zones of the internet.  i think i'm going to start sharing with my readers some of my favorites on a slightly regular basis.

to start off, i'm going to share with you the big 3.  the top 3.  the 3 blogs on the internet i would be saddest to see disappear.  here they are in order of preference:

3.  the locals (formerly copenhagen street style)

i follow a lot of different fashion blogs, but street style blogs are my absolute favorites.  i consider myself to have a pretty solid handle on my own personal style.  i love some fashion blogs because they really fit with my own fashion choices and offer great shopping inspiration for new pieces to fit my wardrobe.  

this is so far from the case with the locals.  street style blogs like this one feature really avant garde fashion choices on everyday people.  they challenge you to push the envelope with everyday style and teach you how to balance casual with couture.  it really helps me feel like i'm a step ahead of certain trends, and it's a great reminder that fashion is creative... not imitative.

2.  lang photographers (formerly underagedandengaged)

the mormon mommy blog has it's own magical little niche of the internet.  out of all of them, i enjoy following the lang family the most.

maybe it's the constantly sunny arizona weather around them, maybe it's the fact that stacie's references to profanity and dr. pepper make them seem the most relatable.  maybe it's because they are both unreasonably good looking, or maybe it's because they have two hilarious daughters with hipster names like ivy and lola.

i think what i really like most about this blog is the way stacie writes.  there is something about her sense of humor that really reminds me of myself.  i like to imagine in another life we may have been friends.  either way, this family is a riot and so inspiring to watch as they all grow up together.

1.  honestly wtf

in my opinion, honestly wtf is as good as blogs get.

the blog is a mish mash of pretty much everything that i enjoy on the internet.  it has editorial fashion shoots, orignal art, interior design, hair inspiration, recipes, crafty tutorials, but what ties it all together is its focus on extraordinary photography.  honestly wtf has an ever so slight edginess and artsy feel that i just don't get from other blogs that deal with this range of content, such as a beautiful mess.

because it has such a range of posts, it's difficult to put this blog into words, so i highly recommend you check it out.

and there you have it.  the creme de la creme of the blogs i follow.  so if you find your looking / reading list in a bit of a rut these are the places i recommend you start!