Do What You Love + You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life

Fashion/Style posts are back on Because I Said So! I hope you are all just as excited as I am. A quick shoutout to my youngest sister Carol for being the cutest little blogging assistant and for doing my make-up, helping me put together outfits, and helping me be less awkward! #whatdoidowithmyhands

P.S. My eyes really are THIS blue--they change between green and blue (sometimes depending on what I wear)!

Sidenote: I single handedly chose the COLDEST/WINDIEST day in South Louisiana to shoot this outfit. It's a good thing I had this coat on hand! It's been in my closet since I was a Junior in high school!

Jeans, heels (or flats), and a nice shirt is my go-to work outfit. When it's cold outside (and that's rare), I add a coat! 

Speaking of work, have I told you how much I love my job, because I LOVE MY JOB. The people I work with, the city I work in, the clients I interact with. Everything. If you had asked me a year ago where I saw myself in five years, all I would have been able to come up with is umm..married, hopefully. *Way to aim high, Allison*

I definitely wouldn't have seen myself working at a creative agency and one of only 5 employees. I never thought I'd actually get paid to do what I love.

When I got "let go" from my other job, I constantly got asked "what do you want to do?" a million different times, in a million different ways.  I'd reply, social media or Facebook/Blogging. Because quite literally, that's what my dream job was and something I believe I'm good at. That would usually trigger the answer of "well find something different" or "good luck with that."

I ALMOST believed in that lie. But now, I'm a firm believer that if you visualize something, it can come true. I kept my dream alive--that I could work in a creative industry and do what I love. Fast forward a few months, and that's what I do for a living, in the cutest little city ever. 

Stay true to who you are and don't settle. Don't do it. I can't imagine where I'd be had I settled. Hold out for your dream job, because take it from me, it's out there!

This post started out as an outfit post about what I'd typically wear to work and turned into a little nugget of wisdom. I think I even re-inspired myself! Happy Friday everyone!

Photography c/o Captivating Moments Photography

Shop my look!

There's No Place Like Home

I wouldn't be house hunting if I weren't also watching endless amounts of HGTV and pinning all of the DIY tips and decor on Pinterest, right? Just go with me on this one. 

Needless to say, I've been doing a lot of both. After experiencing my first "house-heartbreak" last week, it's been sort of a therapy. 

Here are some of my go-to shows for inspiration:

1. Fixer Upper. This goes without saying, really. I think everyone is obsessed with this show (and if you aren't, you probably haven't watched it). I binge-watched the entire first season on Netflix in about a three day period of time. Hook. Line. Sinker. 

I love Chip and Joanna--the things they stand for, their family, and of course their designs. They are one of the most entertaining couples on TV and I feel like I know them personally (#goals)

Can they come find Josh and I the perfect fixer upper for our first house? Waco isn't THAT far away!

Source

2. Home Town. Y'all. The pilot for this show came on yesterday and I'm obsessed with Erin and Ben (they are freaking adorable).  They are taking Mississippi by storm and flipping houses in little ole Laurel, MS. 

I've spent a lot of my twenty-four years in Laurel, MS visiting my Mimi (hey Mimi!) and both of my parents grew up there, so I think what they are doing to help the community is long overdue and downright amaze-balls. My Mimi says she knows them, so it's like we know celebrities, right? Plus, they were mentored by Chip and Joanna Gaines. Do you need any other reasons to watch it? I really hope it gets picked for a full season!

Source

3. Flea Market Flip. This show teaches practical lessons in a game show setting. What I've learned: almost anything can be bought for very cheap and reimagined into something else--it just takes a little elbow grease and a lot of IMAGINATION. 

I may not know what my future house looks like or where it is, but at least I'll know how to decorate on the cheap and how to paint the cabinets if the need arises! 

What are your favorite home improvement shows? 

When Your Dream House Is a Nightmare

I'm going through phases in my life right now where everything is changing and I'm learning so much. Things they don't teach in college (BUT TOTALLY SHOULD!) Rather than stick to ONLY posts like "What's on my iPhone" (I really should do a more recent one) and #ootds, I want to share what I'm learning with y'all--it is MY blog, after all.

With that being said, as many of you know, Josh and I have been house hunting for about a month now. House after house was too THIS or too THAT. I didn't think Josh and I would EVER agree. And then Monday afternoon rolled around. 

We thought we found THE house! We loved it so much that we made an offer Monday night and it was accepted Tuesday afternoon--go us! The inspection was scheduled for Wednesday. 

(Spoiler alert: If you didn't already guess it from the past tense writing, the inspection didn't go well--or maybe it did, you be the judge)

Today, I walked around my "dream" house listening the inspector list problem after problem--how dare he insult my dream house. I already knew where I was going to put the couch and what light fixtures I was going to buy. I know that's literally the worst thing you can do but, I couldn't help it. 

My dreams began to crumble as I heard words like "powder post beetles", "electric not to code", and "you'll need to get a plumber in here".

My dreams were about as crumbly as the foundation.

Needless to say, we walked away from my dream house--me with tears in my eyes. It was so perfect, so charming, so completely WRONG. But it's better to find out when we did. It turns out, because of the beetle problem, the house wasn't even supposed to be listed!

If you learn one thing from this post (and I hope you do), I'd want it to be this: don't EVER buy a house without getting at least one inspection. 

What did I learn from this experience? So much.

• Don't judge a house by the cosmetics. (I don't ever think I'll get the image of the beetle infested wood out of my head)

• Make sure your contract has a clause in it that says the whole sale is contingent on the inspection. This will protect you and your deposit. We were able to get ours back because of this clause.

• All of the cliches. Everything happens for a reason. When one door closes, another one opens.

• My dream house is still out there somewhere; I can feel it!

• It's SO important to get a house inspection, y'all. I can't stress it enough! Can you imagine if we bought the house and were stuck with a sinking foundation, illegal (dangerous) wiring, and beetles that were chewing the house down to a nub? 

We dodged a serious bullet today and now it's backing to the drawing board.

P.S. I dare you to google "powder post beetles" YIKES!

House Hunting 101

One of the BIG things happening this year for me is buying a house with Josh. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage was the first step, hiring a realtor was the second. House Hunting is it's own monster.    So much #adulting! Here are few things to keep in mind while hunting for your dream house:

1. It's just paint.

Or cabinets. You can change paint for fairly cheap and you can paint the cabinets if replacing them isn't in the budget. Unless the house has lead paint or asbestos behind the walls, keep an open mind! 

I know (believe me!) it's so hard to envision the perfect white kitchen when you walk into a house that has navy blue walls and orange counter tops. But, with a little elbow grease and A LOT of watching HGTV for inspiration hard work, you can have your white kitchen.

2. Compromise is key.

This can be tricky. Unless you clone yourself, buying a house for two people with similar, but different tastes is going to take compromise! It helps to go into the "house hunting" process with a list of must haves and deal breakers. As you continue to search, you might find that what was once a "deal breaker" is something you can compromise on for the time being.

3. Be patient. 

The worst. It's like trying to sleep on Christmas Eve as a child! Exercising patience is NOT one of my strong suits. I want what I want when I want it--and that's NOW. After crossing house after house after house off the list because it was too THIS or too THAT, I started to get discouraged.

But, finding your dream house doesn't happen over night people. Be patient and persistent. This applies to even after you've found your dream house and are waiting on seller's to accept or reject your offer!


Do you have any tips for house hunting? Let me know in the comments!

Worth Writing In Pen

Let me preface this by saying, I love planners. I always have two on hand. At work, I use a Google calendar, but I would rather write everything down twice than do without my pink Day Designer planner.

With that said, I only write things in pencil. After all, you never know when you have to reschedule your othordontist appointment or move your workout form Monday to Tuesday because you just weren't feeling it. And I hate scratching things out--I'd almost rather buy a whole new planner! 

After having dinner with a sweet friend of mine yesterday, I realized that there are some things worth writing in pen. 

Girlfriend dates are so so important to have! Ones where you can literally talk about anything and everything over a glass of wine (or two) and a mani-pedi. These are worth writing in pen. 

Get togethers with friends that you haven't seen in a good month or two, but you pick up like you just saw each other yesterday. These are worth writing in pen. 

Dinners where you talk about the hard things: family drama, relationships, wedding planning/future planning (because it can be STRESSFUL), and religion. These are worth writing in pen. 

Don't neglect taking time for the friends in your life.

That time is worth writing in pen. 

All the Things We've Seen and it's Only Monday

There's been a lot of "adulting" going on around these parts lately and I can't say that I hate it. Ever since I made my resolutions, things have been fast tracked. Throughout the course of about a week Josh and I have:

- pre-qualified for a loan on our future home

- started house hunting with an actual realtor

- gone ring shopping

- found out our credit scores (I don't have one), so...

- ...I applied for a credit card!

via GIPHY

While it kinda sorta terrifies me to think about growing up, getting married and moving out in the next year and managing my own household (the really scary part), I'm actually enjoying the fast paced speed of life right now. #fearless

Here's to a productive Monday!

New Year, New Goals

Nothing like waiting until well into the first week of January to make "new year's resolutions." Better late than never comes to mind. I WAS able to come up with my word of the year in record timing, so all is not lost.

I wanted to wait to post until I could really think about them this year instead of just stating the usual: workout and save money (which I honestly still need to work on).

Blog

1.  Post consistently.

I've struggled with this lately. Starting my new job and just being busy with life in general has this blog pushed to back burner. I think it's safe to say that you can expect to see 2-3 posts a week on Because I Said So. I'd rather post things that you like to read instead of random posts that you could care less about.

2.  Grow + Connect with Followers.

This translates to page views, social media followers and commenters. Go ahead and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat (aellzey) and Instagram if you don't already!

Personal

1.  Be healthy.

I eat like a child. Chicken nuggets, Lucky Charms, Quaker Dinosaur Egg Oatmeal (look it up and thank me later. It's the best!) to name a few of my favorites. These childhood favorites combined with ALL OF THE wine and lack of exercise have lead to unwanted weight gain. 

My office is doing a 12-week body transformation that started Monday (when I conveniently got a case of the stomach flu). I'm not saying I can stick with a super clean, strict eating plan for 12 weeks, but I'd like to give it my best. Cutting out sugary drinks and drinking water instead, only eating fast food, maybe, ONCE a week instead of 3-5x, and going back to the barre are all solutions I can start implementing now.

2.  Get organized.

Y'all. My room is a mess. It has a Holiday hangover--there are clothes everywhere and just STUFF in general scattered everywhere. It's driving me crazy (plus my mom has been bugging me to clean my room for the past few months). I think I'll start with a trip to Target to buy cute file folders--because a trip to Target solves everything.

3. Read.

I love to read #booknerd But I want to make it an actual point to pick up a book instead of going straight to Netflix (it may benefit my sleeping pattern). My goal is to read 24 books this year, that's 2 a month, which shouldn't be difficult. 

4.  Save.

Josh and I are looking to buy a house this year (and get engaged and married)! I've saved the most in my life thanks to this "house fund" and I want to continue saving at my current pace. In addition to saving for a house, I want to start contributing to my RothIRA and create and emergency fund--which unfortunately means I won't be taking that Target trip I mentioned earlier.

--------

My goals are broad for the year, but each month, I'll break it down. This month, I want to focus on these goals:

• Drink 64 oz. of water a day.
• Workout at least 3x a week.
• Reach 2k followers on Instagram 
• Go for a walk in the morning 1x a week 
• Hit my step goal 3x a week 
• Cook healthy meals at home (and get my sister to help me!) 
• Read 2 books! 

That's a lot of goals, but I'm feeling up for the challenge!

I Don't Know How It Gets Better Than This

Photography c/o Aperture Photography

This year is going to be big for me, I just know it. Other people know it too. In fact, Josh's mom told me a few days ago, that this is the year that we will most likely get engaged, get married, and buy a house. Does she know something I don't? 

It kind of hit us like a ton of bricks. Like whoa, that's a lot of REALLY BIG things happening in one year! 

2015 was the year for CHANGE--so much so, that my dad wrote a short story about it this Christmas (no lie). There are so many changes going on in a house full of girls--it's not even funny--well, actually,  sometimes it's hysterical.

For me specifically, this year had twists and turns that no one saw coming. Josh lost his job, I moved back home with my parents, and then I lost my job too. We both found new and better jobs, celebrated countless marriages and engagements, and started to plan our future together. 

So while 2016 will have tons of change too, this year's word is FEARLESS. I want to be fearless (also see brave, courageous, bold) in my career, my walk with Jesus, my blog, my health goals, and every other area of my personal life. 

This year, I want to continually embrace all of the change that will no doubt be heading my way, instead of being scared of it or even a little bit timid. 

I hope y'all will enjoy following along in my quest to be fearless this year and I so appreciate your continued support!

Here's to 2016--the year to be FEARLESS!