Rainstorms and Love Notes

I'm over the moon excited to introduce you to Ashley from Rainstorms and Love Notes!

Ask Ashley about her blog and she'll tell you Rainstorms and Love Notes is a lifestyle blog where she shares new recipes, writes about life and love, and talks about her obsession with binge-watching TV shows and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

She had me at recipes and binge-watching TV shows. Seriously. 

Ashley's married to a pretty cool guy named TJ. If you wanna know how cool he is, just take a look at her blog design because he's the muscle behind it.

And then while you're hanging out over on her blog checkin' out her sweet set up, you'll want to check out some of her recipes because she's a total wiz in the kitchen. She's got everything from banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, to a refreshing homemade chicken noodle soup, to shrimp & spinach fettuccine.

She's also full of insight... for instance, she'll tell you why that cute maxi dress in your closet may not be as innocent as it looks.

If you've got pets - or kids! - you know they come with a t-o-n of toys that can be hard to keep under control. As I write this, I have a green squeaky penguin to my left and a colorful braided rope to my right. Don't get me wrong - I love having a dog, and I can't imagine life without Maggie, but there are definitely times I've wondered aloud, "where'd all of this stuff come from?!" Ashley has an easy DIY tutorial that helps organize the mess into something that's a lot prettier to look at. Can I get an 'amen'?!

Basically, Ashley's pretty awesome. She regularly posts pictures of food and her cats on Instagram. Plus, she hangs out on Twitter and Pinterest. Mark my word for it, you'll want to follow Rainstorms and Love Notes on Bloglovin', so get on that!!

Twenty Four Hours

Trevor and I made a quick trip to Chicago this weekend that lasted all of twenty four hours. It was a whirlwind trip to celebrate a dear friend's birthday that we were able to fit in between endless hours of studying and a final exam that I have later today... but if you know me, and let's face it, I don't hide this fact, you know that I don't ever, ever turn down a chance to visit my favorite city!

Saturday was snowy which made for messy travel but picturesque scenes. We stopped at Millennium Park for ice skating and the birthday girl snapped this lovely shot. 

{Keep your eyes peeled: this photo is part of a project I'm working on to finish off an empty bedroom wall... coming to the blog soon!}

We stayed downtown, near Grant Park, at the Blackstone Renaissance... it was drool worthy. Marble floors, dark, heavy, thick wooden doors, views of the lake, and just look at that lush wallpaper on the bathroom walls.

After an "I ate so much food, I think you're going to have to roll me outta here" dinner, we hit up a comedy club and laughed the calories off. Or, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

A little bit of Starbucks, some of the fantastic strawberry orange juice that I had a few months ago, and a stroll through the park wrapped up our trip before we headed home in time to grab the pup and watch the big game.

After today's cumulative final, I have approximately five hours off of school and then another class starts. We've got eight months of this crazy schedule left before the real world swallows us whole but a weekend like the one we just had was just what the doctor nurse ordered.

How was your weekend? Who were you rooting for to win the Super Bowl?

Project: Do You #17

Today's Project: Do You post is going to be the last one. I don't know if I should be sad it's over or if I should be excited that everything's checked off!

Let's do a quick run down on how things went:

#1 - Read one book per month. Pretty darn self explanatory, right?

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I was doing much better at this before my wisdom teeth surgery at the end of June, but since then I've stayed active at home rather than going to the YMCA 3-4 days a week.

#3 - Run a 5K. I ran/walked The Color Run on Sunday with 5 other teammates. We did incredibly well - seriously, I'm so impressed! - and I'm ready to sign up for another one already! It was so.much.fun!!

#4 - Add another 2K to the vacation fund. This one went out the window when a house came into the picture. It would be silly to put money in a fund that we won't use until late 2014 at the earliest, especially because more money that we can put towards a house, the less money we'll be in debt to our mortgage lender!

#5 - Plan a date night ahead of time for each month. This doesn't take a lot of explanation.

#6 - Enjoy a weekend away with Trevor. And it was a relaxing one at that!

#7 - Shape eyebrows. I finally was happy with the shape a few months back... and I've been pretty happy since then, too!

#8 - Finish our wedding scrapbook. I know it didn't say this on the list, but this was a summer goal. Now that summer's over for me, this is done and over with as well. It's not close to being done, but there's just simply much bigger and better fish to fry. I still have everything I need and I may have a scrapbooking weekend with my mom sometime in the future, but it's just not high priority right now.

#9 - Travel more. I had checked this off a while ago and I've since planned another trip to Chicago with Whitney in a couple weeks. I'm excited!

#10 - Learn to say no more often. I put this on the list because I felt that I was kind of getting walked all over at work. I'm still sticking to my guns and saying no when I don't want to pick up extra shifts at the drop of a hat.

#11 - Make more time for crafting. I finished a table, a bookcase, and a dresser within the past week and they look fantastic. I'm also in the middle of finding stuff for a gallery wall {leave links to your favorite free printables in the comments below!!} Crafting is a nice relaxer for me and I'm loving it in my life right now!

#12 - Get out of my comfort zone more often. Rule number one: Nothing about starting an accelerated nursing program with 29 strangers or buying a house is within your comfort zone.

#13 - Share our wedding on the blog. So glad I did this!!

#14 - Attend a concert. Checkity, check. And, Trevor and I are thinking about going to Chicago for another concert the first weekend of October!

#15 - See a Broadway show. BOM was amazing!

#16 - Get hearing tested again/look into surgery. It's good to know where my hearing stands and what my surgical options are. I'm not planning on going under the knife quite yet, but I'm glad I had the appointment.

#17 - Bake someone a birthday cake. I totally didn't skimp on this one! The chocolate cake I baked for Trevor was pretty yummy!

#18 - Go to the beach. What's summer without a little time with your toes in the sand?!

#19 - Forgive. I honestly feel like I've become a better person and that this comes a lot more naturally to me now.

So that's that! The list is done! Are you sad to see it go?

How are your goals coming along?

You can recap my journey by reading all of my Project: Do You posts here.

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Mind Dump

There's been a lot going on around here lately so it's about time for a quick dumping of photos and ideas, right?

Last week, I joined Callie, Whitney, Sheryl, and Jane for a Girl's Night. We ate some yummy, yummy Mexican food and slurped down 2-for-1 margaritas. It was fun to sit around and talk for a couple hours. I love little breaks from life like that!

I've spent countless hours in our garage priming, painting, and sealing three pieces of furniture that I've been meaning to fix up for quite some time. I chose a soft gray for the table and a coordinating gray-blue for the bookcase and the dresser. I can't wait to show you pictures of everything all put back together! But thank goodness you can't see our office right now - the contents of the bookcase and dresser have buried the guest bed and a desk. Oops.

Slowly but surely, our house hunting is coming to an end. If our offer that's currently out there is accepted, we'll be new homeowners next month. If not, then we've agreed to give up the hunt until Spring 2015 - when I'm done with school and there's not three feet of snow on the ground. Pretty soon {aka, within the next week}, any accepted offer will have a closing date of right around when I'm starting school, so that may be a little bit tight time-wise. We are hoping and praying that good news will come from our current situation and that we will have a place to call our own soon. What's meant to be will be but sometimes it's hard to tell just what that is.


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Friday Letters

Dear Keith and Holly, we miss you, we miss your friendship, and we miss Valpo. Our next visit can't come soon enough! Dear Lake Michigan, you're pretty darn fantastic, you know that?! I'm pretty sure we could visit you every weekend during summer and we'd be happy as clams. Dear work, it feels so weird to know that I only have two months of you left. I sure am going to miss my coworkers... Dear Nursing School, you're coming up way too quickly! I've got the vaccines and health history under control, but can you maybe finish my calculations course and order my med term book for me please? I just want to enjoy my last summer as an under-employed lady! Dear family, Trevor and I are looking forward to seeing you all for Christmas in July this weekend! We don't have our white elephant gifts ready yet but you better believe we're going to rock it! Dear household cars, I don't appreciate both of you breaking within mere hours of each other yesterday. Not funny. So glad Trevor could quickly fix mine and too bad the door handle had to break on Trevor's - I don't want to be that girl who has to open car doors from the outside! Dear Future, you have a lot of fun, exciting, and scary things for us in store. Please be kind and gentle!

Happy Friday! What do you have planned for this weekend?!

Linking up with Ashley

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Love List

After a long holiday weekend spent on vacation in Indiana followed by two LONG days at work {seriously, so many patients, so little time!} I finally have a day off to get stuff checked off my to-do list.

Maybe it's the looming tasks or the fact that I should be at the gym right now but instead I am sitting on my butt being lazy, but either way my blogging inspiration is nowhere to be found. With that said, I still want to be in the groove of posting often enough and I still want you to find new content when you visit You and Me are We so today's post is going to be lighthearted.

Here's my current Love List - what I'm crushing on, what I'm looking forward to, etc.

1) Next month, Whit and I are spending some time in Chicago. We're staying at The James and I can't wait! We'll explore the city and meet up with our mutual friend Maya!

2) Essie's Bachelorette Bash may have a permanent home on my toes - it's the perfect bright and cheery summer color!

3) It's officially raspberry season! Tomorrow, I'm heading to the same place I picked strawberries and I'm loading up on one of my favorite fruits.

4) This dress from LOFT is one of the most comfortable dresses I've ever owned. Plus, it's pretty darn lovely looking. Win!

5) BareMinerals to-go brush is making summer travel so much easier!

6) I submitted my resignation for my position at work in the Emergency Room because I can't keep it during school. I'm only freaking out a little inside because school is SO CLOSE! But don't worry - I'm not completely unemployed, I was working in the ER only as needed, I'm still working on the floor until the very possible last day I can before school.

7) Recently, I've become re-obsessed with this scent from Bath & Body Works - eucalyptus spearmint. I have multiple eucalyptus spearmint candles in our bedroom, a eucalyptus spearmint car freshener, eucalyptus spearmint oil for the oil warmer, eucalyptus spearmint lotion, and the list goes on and on. It really does help me relax and unwind, plus it just smells so fantastic!

8) Last weekend, Trevor and I visited the same friends as last year around this same time. It's so refreshing to have friends who are a perfect match for us as a couple. We don't have any couple friends near home, so it's a treat when we get to see these two.

What have you been loving lately? I'm always looking for fantastic new things to try!

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Friday Letters

Dear Trevor, thanks for being so patient with me these past couple of days, for filling my ice packs with fresh ice, and for calling the doctors in the wee hours of the morning when you'd rather be sleeping. Oral surgery sucks, but you're helping to make it much better.

Dear crunchy foods, I miss you! As soon as my mouth is healed, you and I are going to start a serious love affair!

Dear school, I'm excited to find out who my classmates are and where they all live! Here's to hoping we get the email that tells us more very soon.

Dear honeymoon friends, next week we'll be reunited and it will feel so good :) We can't wait to drink bottles of wine, swim in Lake Michigan, and laugh until our bellies hurt with you two!

Dear daytime naps, you're pretty great, you know that?!

Dear wisdom teeth, thank the sweet little lord baby Jesus that you're out and that I don't have to recover from this surgery again. This unexplained bleeding is throwing me for a loop!

Dear Trev, you're like SuperHusband. You've worked 50 hours this week, have taken care of me, made yourself dinner, and you haven't complained one bit. I should buy you a SuperHusband cape or something...

Have You Met Stephanie?

Have you met Stephanie?

She blogs over at Bourbon & Glitter and hosts a party link up every week. If that doesn't ring a bell, you're sure to have seen a photo or two or nineteen of her trusty sidekick, Hawkeye.

Hawkeye and Steph live in Chicago and were kind enough to send email after email recommending places to eat and shop when I was in their city last week. And you know what? I didn't even get recommendations from my own real-life friends like that! Steph rocks, hands down, and that's all there is to it.

If her suggestions weren't enough, she posted this pin-worthy post full of summer cocktails, each one looks better than the last. 

Peach sangria? Check.

Peach martini? Check.

Sorbet mimosa? Check.

And, I'll take one of each please and thank you.

Here's what she wants you to know about her -
I'm Steph and I blog over at Bourbon and Glitter! I wish I could give you a quick description to sum up everything you'd find on my blog, but I just can't. It's everything from making goals to making cocktail cupcakes recipes each month to making 1000 jello shots. In my blog, as in my life, I never take anything too seriously. I like to think that sometimes you'll learn things, find some recipes you like, get some ideas for bar crawls and costumes (two of my very favorite things) but mostly you'll just see a lot of photos of my fur baby, Hawkeye, and posts making fun of myself. Sure there's an occasional serious post and I can be overly theatrical, but I want you visiting my blog for the same reason I like to write it - pure fluffy entertainment with a hint of humor and sarcasm just to make you smile!

She's also a die hard Iowa fan {did you catch that when you learned her dog's name?!} and will defend her Alma Mater 'till the end. I like passionate people and Steph certainly is passionate, if nothing else. If I had to describe Steph in two words they would be fun & real. I mean, really, anyone who posts about cocktail cupcakes (by the way, you need this recipe for your Fourth of July celebrations next month, I promise!) and shares honestly about why sometimes she can be a mean girl {hello, loyalty!} is cool in my book. The blogging world has it's share of fake women who edit their lives for their readers but you won't find that with Steph. Heck, she shared one hell of a breakup with us earlier this year! When you visit Bourbon & Glitter, you get what you see and Steph never feels the need to apologize for it - and she shouldn't!

If you didn't know why she's awesome, you sure as heck do now! All that's left to do is to follow her on Bloglovin and Twitter so what are you waiting for?!

Another reason she's awesome? She's giving away an Amazon gift card to one of you lucky ducks!

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Friday Letters

Dear work, please stop calling me and asking me to pick up shifts. I get that you're understaffed but it's finals week and I'd love to pass biochemistry - your guilt-tripping isn't helping! Dear Trevor, thank you for being such a wonderful husband. I'm so excited for you to return to the working world in a week but I sure am going to miss coming home to clean dishes every day. Dear Mom, I'm blessed that I can spend Mother's Day weekend with you walking an American Cancer Society 5K in honor of our loved ones. You are truly my hero and you've set such a great example. I love you to the moon and back and can only strive to one day be an amazing mother to my little ones like you have been to our family. Dear weather, these 40-degree days suck. Bring back the 70s. I won't even say please and thank you because it's almost the middle of May and I'm sick of your antics. My manners have run out, just like my patience. Dear nursing school, I'm not going to have any fingernails left at the rate we're going here. I'm so ready to find out what my future holds! Dear readers, thanks for being patient as I've only been able to post a couple times this week. School will be over soon and I hope to be re-inspired and full of things to share with you!

Happy weekend! What do you have planned?

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H54F

Welcome to another week's recap! While you're here, don't forget to enter to win a Starbucks gift card and some ad space - there's still time left!

This week has been pretty darn good compared to so many of the past recaps. Wanna see why?

1) Holy amazeballs. Trevor got a job offer this week. I don't have too many details to share at this point, but we know that he'll be working just a short commute from where we live now {yay - we don't have to move!} and he's working for a company that likes to promote from within. He really likes the company and this job is the best out of all of the places he had applied to the past nine months. I am so relieved that he has a job and that we can finally be a two income household again for a little while until school {possibly} starts up for me again in October.

2)Trevor's birthday was last Sunday. I ended up having the day off of work and we had a great day! I baked him a chocolate cake {from scratch!} and frosted it with peanut butter chocolate frosting {also from scratch!} and gave him a few gifts. I love planning little things like that for him... it's how I show my love.

3) We signed up for YMCA memberships this week and I am so excited! I've already signed up for a SimplyFit class on Wednesdays and a Saturday morning Zumba class that starts in June. I'm thinking of signing up for a spin class, too, but am a little nervous. Do you recommend a spin class or am I digging my own grave by signing up?

4) On Monday I went out for sushi with two lovely local bloggers - Whit and Maya. I've actually known Maya since I was a little tot {remember this post?} and Monday was my first time meeting Whit. Maya now lives and works in Chicago - as of TODAY! - but Whit and I will definitely get together again soon and add a few more bloggers into the mix as well. Who can say no to sushi and blogging?!

5) Hi, I'm Sara and I am addicted to The Gnarly Whale's Chocolate Strawberry Lip Balm. Oh, it's divine!

How was your week?

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Have You Met LB?

Have you met LB?

She blogs at LB in Wonderland and is new to the blogging scene. She has jumped in with both feet, ready to get 'em wet!

Here's what she wants you to know about her --
I'm LB and you can find me over at LB in Wonderland. I blog about being a new city gal, my adventures with life and love, appreciating the little things in life and bunch of other fun stuff. I am a fun loving, optimistic and generally hot mess of a person. You can often find me eating way too many sweets, being an awkward photo poser & dancing around (often to no music). My goal in life is to make people smile as much as I can. Hope you stop by Wonderland-I'd love for you to follow along!

Before you go much further, you should learn five new things about LB. As she mentioned, she's a recent transplant to Boston and has written a lovely ode to the events that happened during the Boston Marathon. She's not always so somber! Take the post where she talked about what she finds sexy in a man {be still my Ryan Gossling loving heart!} or her latest "What I Wore" post featuring a mint blazer. She's also well rounded, reflecting on what she wishes she'd known in college and about her time in New York City.

Today's your lucky day, readers! She's giving away a $10 gift card to Starbucks and a large ad space on her blog.

You're sorely missing out if you don't head over to LB in Wonderland! If that's not your style you can always follow her on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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The Gnarly Whale

One of the best parts of blogging is the relationships you build and this post is some serious proof of that. I met Ashley when we realized we only lived half an hour from each other.

One lovely afternoon last fall, we met at an Atlanta Bread Company between her house and mine and talked for hours. We have so much in common, from our husbands, to our interests, to our in laws.
It's nice knowing that there are genuine bloggers out there who really are as wonderful as they seem on screen. Ashley is definitely one of those!

So that's the reason that I offered my space for the day. She's a great blogger and a wonderful business woman who is doing all the right things for all the right reasons. She'll explain more in a bit, but she and her husband have a business (The Gnarly Whale) making some fantastic beauty products. Yes, I've tried their products (hello yummy coconut lip balm!)... and no, I'm not getting paid to say that. Their business has evolved from a dream to a reality and I couldn't be happier for them! And the best part? You can help their next dream for The Gnarly Whale come true. Keep reading, and you'll see what I mean!

__________________________________

I'm Ashley from The Gnarly Whale - an all vegan, eco-friendly minimal-ingredient bath and body shop. Today Sara was gracious enough to let me share our story about our company and our dream and I am SO excited to do so. This business is what I do - day in and day out - and to be able to share something I'm so passionate about is truly a privilege for me.

The Gnarly Whale launched in October 2012 from a dream that I was unsure I would ever fulfill. I approached my husband about starting it as a hobby, needing something else to focus on while I was designing and consulting. By the end of the year, we both realized it was never meant to be a hobby. It was never meant to be a small side project. Instead, it was meant to change our lives and restructure our dreams. And that was exactly why I'm here today, sharing our story and even asking for your help after you get to know us.

About Us

We're a husband and wife team doing what we love to do and hoping that some day, doing what we love will be enough to financially support our entire family. Our dream is to someday relocate ourselves and our business to Florida to open up a shop oceanside. We know that this dream will become our reality as soon as we can afford the cost of relocation and the cost of doing business in Florida where there are much stricter guidelines for cosmetic type businesses. Until then, we're focusing on growing our brand awareness and our current product lines.

About Our Brand

All of our products are 100% vegan and cruelty free. We’re tree huggers ourselves so we made sure that all of the ingredients used in our products are completely vegan and have not been tested on animals. Final product testing was also done on humans. Most of our printed materials (business cards, postcards, etc) come from recycled paper. We also use reusable packaging when we mail out our orders whenever possible. Our hope is to leave the Earth a little better than when we found it and provide our customers with a way to do the same.

In the almost seven months we have been open, we already have plans to work with an international retailer to carry our products and will be featured in two celebrity gifting suites this year: The Primetime Emmy's and The Cannes Film Festival. Our current product line includes: hair detangler, beach waves, body and face scrub, body spray, shampoo, and lip balm. In the future, we have plans to include a child product line, a pet product line, soap, skin care, and various other hair and body products in the future.

And here is how you can help us make all of this a reality. We've asked Intuit to grant our small business wish and we're hoping we can get enough votes to win the money to expand our product line, purchase better equipment to speed up our manufacturing, and to put towards the cost of relocation. All you have to do is take a couple of seconds, click the link, and vote once a day. And if you really think our story is worth it, share it with you friends. With your readers. With your family. With your neighbors or co-workers. Shout it from the rooftops if you like us that much.

Anything you do to help is appreciated. No matter how big or small of gesture, we're grateful for you even taking the time to get to know us and our dream. And if you'd like to connect with us further, we'd love to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Send us an email and say hello. Or even stop by our shop.

Thank you in advance for anything that you do!

- Ashley and Nathan

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Please click on the link above and vote for Ashley and Nathan. They'd appreciate it, I'd appreciate it, and it only take 5 seconds. You don't have to register for an account, you don't get spam emails, and you don't even have to enter you name. You DO get a feeling of satisfaction knowing you're helping a dream come true, and that's better than anything else.

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Home Tour: The Living Room

A couple weeks ago, my Little (Samantha!) designed a new living room based on a conversation we had and a few pictures I sent her.

I was so sick of our living room because it was the least "adult" room in our home. We haven't stepped foot in a living room furniture store - ever - so our couch was a (basically never used) hand me down from my grandparents and was so busy that it made me feel anxious just looking at it.

Ugly right? Yeah, you're tellin' me!

This is the inspiration board that Samantha (who is an interior designer, so she knows what she's doing!) created with our needs in mind. How great does it look?!

So I started my search for the perfect slipcover - and found this one at Kohls! I love the chevron that's in the weave of the material... I think it's a great little touch to modernize an otherwise blah-gray cover.

And the curtains? Found them at Kohl's too... on clearance... as bath shower curtains...

But they were the perfect color - even if they don't look like it in these photos, the color works perfectly with the other teal touches in the room from the pillows and accent accessories - so I had to buy a few and give them a try.

They were the perfectly length! They were an even better width! We have a GIANT picture window in the front of our home that needed to be covered. In the past, I had to use three or four curtains to cover it... but with the cloth shower curtains, I only needed two!

So I bought enough for the room, busted out my sewing machine, and got to work. What you see on the windows are the final product and in total, cost less than $25 for the whole room!

And, for good measure, here are a few detail shots of some of my favorite areas in the living room.

This photo was taken when we were in Colorado visiting a friend a few years ago. The color of the sky matches the color of the frame matches the teal accent color in the rest of the room. It's fantastic!

A couple pillows that grace the couch.

A couple more pillows and a better shot at the pattern on the slipcover.

And no living room in a newlywed's house is complete without the oversized wedding photo! This is one of our favorites from our big day and has been given it's own wall above a chair. You can see it through the front picture window out front because it's so big - it makes me smile!

Apart from the horrible quality photos, what do you think about our newly redone living room?


Samantha can create a mood board/inspiration board for you, too! She offers incredibly reasonable pricing (especially compared to what other bloggers are offering them for, sheesh!) - you can find details here. 

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New Ad Space + Promo Code

When I first started blogging, I had absolutely no idea what was right and what was wrong. Heck, I didn't even know the blogging lingo! Thankfully, I stumbled upon a group of women participating in a blog challenge who offered some great advice in my times of need. It was around that time that a couple of us started dabbling in blog buttons and link ups... I got the hang of it and I never looked back!

I was so clueless about how to gain readership, when to offer sponsorships, what to do about blog design, and how to find my own stride. You know what I could have used? A little help from another friendly blogger with good intentions. You know what I couldn't find? Just that - A little help from a blogger who had been where I was.

That's exactly the reason I decided to offer a new ad space, and with it, an opportunity to consult a friendly blogger who has been lost and confused about what is right and what is wrong when it comes to blogging.

I'm excited to announce that the Medium Horizontal spot grew a little over the weekend. It's still available for purchase, but it also has a counterpart! You can opt to buy a Medium Horizontal and Consult spot for $3 more which includes everything the Medium Horizontal spot offers, plus you get a Google Hangout consult with yours truly. Once we agree on a time to chat, I'll stop over at your blog and take a good, hard look around. I will jot down the areas where I think you can improve and the things that I'm impressed with. We'll meet up as planned, discuss what I found, and I'll share ideas that I think you can implement in your very own space to gain readers and create great content. All the while you'll be able to ask general blogging questions and seek out answers to the things you couldn't figure out on your own.

Other bloggers offer similar consults - some via Google Hangout/Skype, and some via email. They also charge at least five times more than you'll be charged here at You.And.Me.Are.We! I cannot tell you enough that I'm not starting blog consults to make money, I just really think that this is something I could have benefited from way back when and I see smaller bloggers struggling with how to grow and thrive. Bottom line: I want to help you as much as I can! Blogging is about a community, and I have every intention of cultivating that through this new program.

As an introductory price, use CONSULTME at checkout to get $2 off the total package. That's basically like getting the blog consult for only a dollar!

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to leave them in the comments below or email me at youandmeareweblog@gmail.com

I can't wait to work with you!

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I Love Bloglovin

We've all heard Google Reader is going to be a thing of the past in just a few short months and many of us bloggers are switching our focus from GFC and Google Reader to Bloglovin in preparation!

This week I'm co-hosting I Love Bloglovin with Lisette, Rachel, Whitney, and Krystal. Join us to find new blogs, gain new readers, and network!

In order to help bloggers transition away from GFC as the main way to follow blogs, Northern Belle Diaries and Postcards from Rachel teamed up to host I Love Bloglovin'. We hope you join us in meeting new bloggers, the new way...through Bloglovin'.

If you need a tutorial on how to import all of the blogs you follow via Google Reader (GFC) here is a helpful tutorial. Once you have all those blogs imported, you may want to organize them into categories using this tutorial.

Now, let's get the party started!

Have an image of yourself ready so we have your pretty face to look at (and not Inlinkz' little froggy) !

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Have You Met Samantha?

Have you met Samantha?

I'm part of the Bigs & Littles Blogging Network and was paired up with Samantha from Designer in Teal last month. Initially, my role was to be the "big" - to guide and advise Samantha in this crazy blog world... but our partnership is proving to be beneficial to both of us because while I'm helping her grow her blog, she's taught me how to properly use Google Hangout and was the inspiration behind our living room re-do. She's no longer just a blog acquaintance, she's a real life friend of mine and I'd love for you to get to know her, too.

Here's what she wants you to know about her -

I'm a newlywed living in Richmond VA. I am Virginia Tech Hokie through and through. I am an Interior Designer who LOVES teal! Also loves hanging out with my hubby Tim, shopping, Mexican food, pugs, mac and cheese, cooking, blogging and Jesus!

I blog about interior design and wedding inspiration, DIYing, recipes and every day life!

I am being completely honest that Samantha is one of the most genuine bloggers I've ever met. She's incredibly sweet and so enthusiastic about blogging... plus she has an incredible love for all things leopard. Her blog is full of wedding posts, home design ideas {like these DIY ideas to brighten up your walls}, and she even took some time to design a living room for me! However, if there's one post you need to read, it's this one. Why? Because she worked some serious creative genius to come up with that project! I can only lust over the end result. Really, no, really!

Take a few minutes to follow her on Bloglovin, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest - you won't regret it!

oh, hey! it's samantha's blog button! check it out!

Just a little deal for you...

I heard about Melissa's new adventure and I knew I wanted to help her get the word out. I co-hosted last week's Valentine's Day link up with her, so it's safe to say she's pretty darn fantastic! If you are looking for new design elements for your blog, take a few minutes to check out her work. Plus, if you keep reading, you just may find a promo code for a discount!
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Hello Everyone! I am Melissa from The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife and I am so exited to be guest posting today.

I have had some really exciting things happening lately and I can't wait to share it with the world, well at least the blogging world!

I have over 10 years experience with graphic and web design and do it for a living, so when I started designing some blog layouts for myself and some friends it came really natural for me and was actually super fun! I have been doing some designs under the radar for the past year and thought maybe it was time I made a small business out of it! What's that? A Business that I LOVE? SIGN ME UP!

So... I am happy to introduce to you...

Not So Ordinary Designs is a place where YOU and I can come together as a team and create something FABULOUS!! 

I will work with you to design an amazing fully custom layout, 

social media backgrounds, shop banners and so much more!

Click here to check out my portfolio, packages and prices.

A SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU!

Use the promocode 25OFF to get 25% off any package.

check this out!

Have You Met Meghan?

Have you met Meghan?
She's one of my favorite, favorite bloggers! In fact, she's so lovely that we teamed up {along with Meagan} for the Holiday Mixed 'Tape' Swap a couple months ago and I loved every second of it!

You may recognize her as being the blogger behind Shine On, however, she just completed a HUGE overhaul of her blog and is now known as
 

Here's what she wants you to know about her --

I'm a single, twenty-something, coffee-loving, social media-addict. I love and live in Seattle. I am a daughter, sister and friend. The EWU Eagles, Mariners and Seahawks usually have me pacing back & forth in my living room. Total sucker for a good book, and huge lover of animals.

Some more things I love...Twitter, Facebook, love, photography, chocolate, hope, Alpha Omicron Pi, the sun, the Space Needle, kittens, public relations, television, faith, sweats, Zumba, country music, spoilers, my family, ice cream, puppies, pizza & Pinterest.

Kind of makes you wish she were your best friend, right? She's got a little bit of something for everyone - she loves sports, has her own photography business, she is in the midst of losing weight {you go, girlfriend!} and becoming a healthier person, she loves The Bachelor as much as the next girl {Come on, you know you can't deny your love for Sean... or his abs!}, is a serious bookworm, and she can hold her own on Pinterest. Seriously, she's every bit as exciting and wonderful as she sounds - you need to stop over to The Book of Meghan and see for yourself.

If she and I lived in the same state, I know we'd see one Broadway show after another, eat some sushi, watch reality TV, and be blog buddies! You've got to check out her blog {really, you do} and you'll see why I can't say enough good about this girl!

While you're at it, follow her on Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, and Instagram!


check this out!