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On Saturday morning Nate and I took a little trip downtown for a coffee date. We went to a local place that we’d heard a lot of good things about. It had the best vibe – just a few little mismatched tables, lots of art on the walls, good music playing in the background – oh, and delicious coffee and donuts! You probably know all about it if you follow me on Instagram or Vine! Nate has only recently started drinking coffee (what?! I know!) and is now obsessed with it! I’m such a nerd about the simplest things – like Saturday morning coffee dates – so I’m pretty excited he enjoys them now too! I did a little daydreaming as we sat there sipping coffee and eating funnel cake donuts (yep, that’s a thing). I thought about how much I’d love to sit in that little shop with my laptop working on my blog, on an online shop, networking, creating – doing the things that I love for a living. What would that look like?

What if I came up with a plan and executed it? What if I actually worked toward my dreams, no matter how impossible they seem? What if I quit giving myself a list of reasons why I can’t and told myself that I can?

I’m still going to daydream during weekend coffee dates.. but from now on, I’m going to work hard toward making them my reality.

What do you daydream about?

Nate and his Dad after Nate’s first marathon in Cincinnati.

Hi friends! I want to share something with you all that’s very near and dear to my heart. As most of you know, my Father-in-law is currently battling a rare form of cancer (read about his story here). You may also know that he used to be a marathoner. Nate took up running as a way to follow in his Dad’s footsteps (pretty literally, I suppose!) and found a passion for it that he never dreamed would be so strong. He has a pretty lofty (and inspiring) goal to use his love of running marathons for an amazing cause – to raise awareness and money for a rare form of cancer that gets very little attention or funding – Cholangiocarcinoma.

I won’t spoil the details for you! You can read them all over on his blog. I promise you’ll think he’s a crazy person when you read what he plans to do, but if anyone can pull it off – I know that he can! If you feel inclined to support this cause in any way please contact me via email. We are going to need a lot of help from around the world to make this happen!

It’s important that we work together to make sure that all types of cancer receive the same attention, care, and funding. A diagnosis of Cholangiocarcinoma is almost a certain death sentence as of right now. We want to change that, and with a little bit of help we hope that we can spare other families the pain that we are going through right now.

FOLLOW HIS JOURNEY AND HELP RAISE AWARENESS
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I’ve found a lot of blog posts, designs, photos, and recipes to love this week. Are you ready?

Favorite Newly Discovered Blog Of The Week:

Kyla Is Inspired

I discovered Kyla’s blog through one of my lovely sponsors having featured her as their fashion icon of the month. I think I might have a little bit of a crush on her because she looks just like Jessica Paré, aka Megan Draper on Mad Men. Am I the only one that thinks this? Anyway, she’s absolutely stunning and I’m happy to add Kyla Is Inspired to my list of favorite new blogs! You’ll love her style and all of her inspiring posts!

Lovely Links For You To Check Out:

You need to read this bit of advice – it may save your life!

You probably have all the ingredients on hand to make this delicious looking bread. I’m thinking of using Nutella instead… mmm.

Have you seen Wake-Up-Lovely’s new blog design? Oh my, I am smitten! Chantilly and Christie did such a fabulous job creating it!

If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting Paris I think you’ll really want to check out these gorgeous photos. Nate and I have been day-dreaming about where we might go on a trip overseas in the next 2 or 3 years, and Paris is high at the top of my list!

And lastly, Carly has made a little announcement regarding Ugglebo Clogs that kind of makes me want to empty my wallet. Too bad I don’t get paid until next Friday!

Have a great Friday my friends! I have some exciting plans this weekend and I can’t wait to share!

Nate ran his first marathon on May 6th in Cincinnati. He had been training for it since the beginning of the year, and it was a little bit surreal that all of that work building up to one single day came and went in the blink of an eye! Though it probably lasted a little longer for him while he was running in the 85 degree heat! When he first told me that he was going to run The Flying Pig Marathon I wasn’t sure how serious he really was. But over the course of the months leading up to it I realized that he really meant business.



We rode up to Cincinnati on Saturday morning the day before the race with my In-laws and our nephew, Ethan. Both of his sisters and their families headed up a little later in the day. We got Nate registered for the race and browsed through all of the booths that were set up downtown. It was a little bit like a giant indoor fair for runners!

The race was brutally hot in the mid 80′s. Basically the only type of weather that Nate hoped to not have to deal with. There was no cloud cover and the route had very little shade to offer, if any. His parents drove him up that morning for the start, which was around 6:40AM. They came back to the hotel and we all went down around 10AM to grab our place on the sidelines to watch him finish. He didn’t quite make the time that he had originally hoped for, but he finished! I am insanely proud of him. When I think about what would happen to me if I tried to run 26.2 miles I just, can’t even go there. I would not make it guys. And he made it in the heat, sun beating down, with a horrible migraine.

After the race we (his posse^) all went to find and meet up with him. Traveling through huge crowds of people with that many kids in our group proved to be interesting. Especially with 3 flights of stairs and 2 strollers! We had so many signs made for him that we didn’t even have enough people to hold them up! He definitely had quite the fan base cheering him on!

Other than the heat, it was a beautiful day overall. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but Nate’s Dad is a runner. He ran this marathon three years ago and another one in Louisville the next year. He hasn’t been able to run for any substantial amount of time since being diagnosed with cancer last year. Nate ran this race for him, and the minutes after they saw each other were the sweetest. I’m so glad I was able to capture that moment.

Nate – I couldn’t be more proud of you and the dedication you’ve shown to yourself, to your Dad, and your family. Running may not seem like that big of a deal to some people, but I can see how this has changed you. I love that you’ve found something to strive toward and that you only want to keep getting better at it. It’s an inspiration to me, and to everyone who knows you! I love you so much.