INSPIRED BY.

Back in the day, circa 2012-ish, I used to share a lot about what inspires me.  Everything from images and scenery to quotes and people, music lyrics and my favorite links around the web.  Over the last few months and as I scroll through my instagram feed most days, I miss the days when we posted more real-life moments and less edited poses.  More of what speaks to our souls and inspires us creatively.  For some reason, we've allowed social media to define our idea of reality when it's usually so far from it.  Not always, but often.  I'm just as guilty of not only doing it, but allowing it to shift my mindset as well.  Anyway, I love to take to the blog and not only write heartfelt posts, but I want to get back to posting what's inspiring me.  So, back to the basics and a new series -

I N S P I R E D  B Y.ONE. // I'm currently working on re-styling the chest in our bedroom.  It's where I keep my jewelry box, a lamp, and usually a candle.  We have a horse print above it now, but I'm loving the idea of a minimal piece of art and a vase full of fresh flowers.  The color of the chest above is also making me want to repaint our nightstands...again.  We just painted them white about a year ago (they're both family antiques), but this moody, dark grey is giving me all the feels.  There's so much of me that loves clutter - think the 'It's Complicated' kitchen, but, the other part of me loves clean surfaces and minimal decor.  Balance in everything, right?TWO. //  Not giving up my white denim anytime soon!  I love to "break the rules" and wear white all year long, however, I will shift to more creamy neutrals rather than all bright white.  Something like this camel sweater and white denim combo is typically my go-to.  My rule is I buy/invest in 2 great sweaters per year and anything other than those two has to be under $100.  I'm loving this one and this one!THREE. // 'Tis the season for Fall dinners in the backyard!  Our favorite time of year.  Now that the time has changed and it's dark earlier, we love to turn on the string lights and take our dinner outdoors.  We have a long, farmhouse table on our back deck that we often dine around, but this photo is making me want to throw a linen tablecloth over it and cozy it up.  I also just purchased these candle holders (I've been waiting on them to come back in-stock for months!) and they'll be the perfect addition to our al fresco dinner!FOUR. // Everyone told us when we were renovating @thelovelycottage that we would inevitably have a few regrets once we were finished.  Keeping that in the back of our minds, we tried to be intentional about planning for the future and going ahead and doing every possible thing we could think of/afford while renovating.  Well, they were right.  My one regret thus far - built in bookshelves.  Or just having a great place for a bookshelf in general.  I'm not sure there's anything cozier and as my book collection continues to grow, I would love to have a beautiful place to store them all.  Don't worry, I'm working on figuring out a way to make this happen as we speak!I'll be sharing more of what's inspiring me on a weekly basis right here, so stick around, hang out and if you want to - let me know what's inspiring you at the moment below!  I say it often, but I mean it, thankful for you and thanks so much for stopping by!XX,MegP.S. - All images above (and most likely the ones to come) will be from my Pinterest page, so be sure to follow along there and head over to find sources!