Meet Natalie of Thoughts By Natalie & Nellie Magazine

Ladies, have you met Natalie? This feels like a silly question, as I'm sure you have heard about her! But if you haven't, you need to. She is the Editor in Chief behind Nellie Magazine, the heart and soul over at Thoughts by Natalie, and a true joy in the blogging community. She not only has been such an encouragement to me in my writing and blogging story, but a true earnest powerhouse that inspires women to honestly pursue beauty apart from comparison, true balanced and healthy living, and style as an extension of self expression. Before you even continue scrolling down go see her latest project Nellie Mag (which is having a week of giveaways right now!)

Meet Natalie

"Natalie is a writer, editor and blogger who lives in north county San Diego with her hilarious and charming husband Brian and their very scruffy adopted pup Maggie. A lover of the written word, avocados, beach picnics and champagne, she believes that beauty comes from who we are—not what we look like—and lives life accordingly."

What Natalie Writes About

Beauty & Style // fave: Skinny Jeans &  Hair Tutorials

Wellness & Recipes // fave: How I've Learned to Love Exercise

Blogging Tips & Career // fave: Blog Planning 101

Friendship & Marriage // fave: Making Room of Inspiring Relationships

Travel & Home // fave: Ways to Look Stylish While Traveling

Ask Natalie // Video Series

I have been an avid reader of Natalie's work for quite some time now. I found out about Natalie's blog through my friend Karen, who is one of Natalie's best friends. Natalie first drew me in through her pieces about body image and true beauty when part of Wonderfully Made. And honestly, I haven't stopped reading her work and following along since. I love that Natalie, countless times, stands up for what she believes in, even if it is against the world's standards in terms of beauty, or faith, or topics like abortion ad politics. She's worked with writers like Allie Marie Smith, has been a part of the Darling team, and is also a friend of Anne's (who is one of those people who I've also gotten to know and love through writing since moving to Colorado, and in fact who I found through Natalie's blog!). And yesterday, Natalie, Anne, Aubrey and I found ourselves enjoying chips and guacamole table side in Larimer Square. World's colliding--right? This girl's a keeper, and has big things ahead. I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

photos courtesy of Natalie Lynn Borton (and Anne Taylor's iPhone)

Giveaway | Weekender Tote & Darling Issue No. 4

Today, Natalie and I have partnered to bring you a fun summer giveaway! Remember that wish list from yesterday? Well, you get the chance to have two items from it, all in the name of summer--because we love it so. We are giving away this orange striped MidiQueen Weekender Bag and a copy of Darling Magazine's Summer Issue. Go over to Thoughts By Natalie to comment and find out ways to enter! The winner will be announced next Friday, July 19th. >>Take me to the giveaway!

Over at Thoughts By Natalie

Happy Saturday, lovelies! When my friend Natalie asked if I'd be willing to guest post on her blog, Thoughts by Natalie, while she is in Massachusetts for summer vacation, I knew exactly what I could share! Natalie writes a lot about wellness, healthy eating, and vegan dishes, so when she asked more specifically if I had any DIY projects to share, I thought that our raised garden bed DIY would be fitting--especially since organic and straight from the garden is the healthy and fresh way to go.

Here is an excerpt from the post...

"Maybe you've hesitated to plant a garden because you live in the city with more concrete than soil to contend with, or you feel like your thumb is no hue of green in the slightest, or you think about planting when the season has passed, or you have no idea where to even begin...And perhaps with just a bit of direction, or just a bit of encouragement, you can be on your way to your own little farm, starting with a few veggies and herbs. A garden to call your own. The very fist step in your garden ventures, is to create a home for your plants to be nourished and to grow..."

Read the rest of the post HERE. 

Patriotic Romper Style

Last week my friend Natalie shared her Shorts Story as part of The Love Yourself Linkup. I could totally relate to Natalie's shorts sentiments. Something Natalie wrote really stood out, especially so as we women try on outfit after outfit and spend many a battle in fitting rooms across America: "clothing is meant to fit me—not the other way around."

Thoughts By Natalie | Keeping it Natural . & No Makeup Makeup

This past week, I went make-up free for most of my California vacation. I was swimming nearly twice a day, so I found it a bit silly to put on blush or mascara. Let alone dry my hair. Coming back to a Colorado summer, I want to continue to embrace the make-up free, freshly tousled look that I adopted while soaking in suds and sun. The truth is, I feel most beautiful and myself this way. And haven't always felt that way, but I can honestly say I am more and more as I grow to learn and love my true beauty.

Cat Eyes, a Mirror, and Dresses

Eyeliner has never been my forté, but after reading Natalie's post on her cat-eye crush, I could not resist trying the latest trend. My eyes are rather deep set, so liner always annoyingly leaves smudges above my lids ad doesn't seem to stand out. Also, somehow, by the end of the night, my eye liner seems to disappear. Most likely because it rubs off on my eyelids as I blink and what not. After a recommendation from my sister-in-law Morgan to use cream eye liner with a brush, my eye lining problems have become less and less. Morgan always has stunningly done up eyes, and I've always wanted to try her lined look (but never have due to my smudging/liner disappearing problems). Cream eyeliner has proved, for me, to be the easiest to apply, and the most long lasting--especially when paired with an eyelid primer. So with brush, eyeliner in a jar, and primer, I gave the cat eye look a go when I went out for a glass of wine last night with my girlfriends. 

Center Knot | inspired by thoughts by natalie.

I am all about dressing with ease. Perhaps that is why a large portion of my wardrobe is dresses. Boom, Pow! Slip one item on and--done! So when I saw an ever so easy and clever styling tip from Natalie's instagram, I was instantly loving it. Simply an oversized tee with a center knot! I love the look with a high wasted skirt or over a dress, to add a bit of laid back comfort. The vintage v-neck tees from Old Navy are my all time favorite, mostly because they are ridiculously soft, shades of heather, and affordable (and ladies, right now you can buy two for $7.50).

In celebration for St.Patty's day, and the little bit of Irish blood I got from my Grandma Pat, this middle knotted style is my go to today, with a very green pencil skirt. How would you style this center knotted inspiration from thoughts by natalie?

thoughts by natalie. giveaway

One of my favorite blogs, thoughts be natalie, is having a really adorable giveaway! A set of you're such a peach notecards by Lindsay Letters is up for keeps. I love snail mail, how about you? You should go enter this little treasure of a giveaway--over here (and don't forget to tell your friends!). And here are some ways you can use little notecards and other means to stay in touch with your far away friends--over here.

Wander over Wednesday.

I have some more DIYs in the line up for you, to be shared soon. My October is finding itself busy (and it has been beautiful outside, so we have been riding bikes and picnicing at the park more often than not). In the meantime, wander over to these links for some inspiration this Wednesday...

photo source

• This is such a cute idea, perfect for reusing old t-shirts, and wonderful if you are loving chunky necklaces like I am. Wander over and see how to do this project at I still Love You.
• Wander over to Thoughts by Natalie for some soul loving. Read her article Finding our Unique Kind of Beautiful. You're sure to find more ways to remind yourself you are cherished, loved, and beautiful when reading the content of Natalie's blog.
• Windy days may find you hating your bangs, if you have them, so why not braid them and rid yourself of crazy wind blown fringe. Wander over to A Beautiful Mess for more on how to get the braided bangs look.
• Wander over to Happily Grey for Fashion Sense and Style, and a bit more on how to empower women to overcome poverty.