Ah fall.

Where the leaves change + the weather gets crisp.

At least that's how it is for almost everyone where else in America this time of the year, but here in Nevada, were still hitting the triple digits.

No matter the triple digit weather, autumn is my favorite, and I'm definitely in an autumn state of mind.

Speaking of fall, today I wanted to talk about my love for home decor + show you some of the beautiful floral inspiration that I've come across.

First things first, I wanted to say thank you to BloomNation for even asking for my input on how I incorporate floral inspiration into my home + what kind of floral eye candy works well for my style. BloomNation is an online community marketplace for local florists, they cater to all your floral needs by handcrafting beautiful unique bouquets. You can type in your zip code to search local florists & choose the bouquet of your liking through their website.

If you would like to learn more about BloomNation + what they do please click here. Other wise, read on! ;)

If you are just now learning about my blog + myself, allow me to let you to tell you a little about me + my life. I am a proud military wife of an United States Airman. We've been stationed in Nevada for 2 years now, and we've been in our apartment for about a year. In the past, I have bought the "cheap" decor, thinking it would be easier on our wallets, but I wasn't thinking long term, + I'm still adding new things to our apartment to make it more home-y to this day. The great part about decorating is being able to express yourself, it's like clothes for our homes + besides it's great to find new ways to add a bit of your own personality to your home.

A lot of people don't know where to start, especially in an apartment because you're limited on what you can + can't do. I did a post before hand on what I find easier to make your home feel more like a home, I didn't include flowers, but I sure should have, flowers add a since of class + wholeness to your home. Whether it be real or fake - what ever your budget allows, flowers help your home feel like home. You can add them to your living room coffee table, side table, your dining room table, in the kitchen, or in your bedroom + guest rooms. I am partial to sunflowers, they just seem so happy + full of life, which is my philosophy for life, live it to the fullest. I've decorated for fall + have incorporated my favorite sunflowers. Most of my decor, I have pre-bought. I try to use what I have, or what I can find on sale, for at a good price.

I have shopped in: Ross, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Home Goods, Kirklands, + Kohl's. My tip is also, if you like something, buy it. That is if you cannot DIY, or it cost that much if not more DIY-ing it.

I love fresh flowers in the fall + in the spring, my bouquet for the living room has sunflowers, mums, + more. It definitely is fit for fall + beautiful eye candy. It's the perfect balance of fall + decor which incorporates my favorite flowers!

Now what are my top 5 favorite floral decor eye candy? I list them below! (In no special order, they're all great!)

1. French Country Cottage had very beautiful antique + charm about her fall decor that was simple, yet so timeless.






All rights for these photos go to the French Country Cottage Blog



2. Home Stories A to Z had her fall decor + floral inspiration that felt just so feminine and pretty! I just fell in love with it all. Call me OBSESSED.






All rights for this photo go to the Home Stories A to Z Blog.



3. Jones Design Company is hands down one of my favorite blogs + she gives out a free fun autumn printable in her home design tour blog post! Her home decor just felt so fresh + beautiful.






All Rights for this photo goes to The Jones Design Company blog.



4. Inspired By Charm is my top favorite...I might be a little biased because sunflowers are my favorite, but can you really blame me? I mean look how gorgeous!






All Rights for this photo go to the Inspired By Charm blog.



5. Pinspiring Fall Floral Decor DIY - This pin I found gorgeous + very easy to remake for your home, even if you're not a huge DIY-er. It tells you step by step how to make the vase + you can pick out different flowers to your liking. :)





All rights for this photo + tutorial go to U-Create.

Story Of Our Apartment + How To Make Your Apartment Feel More Like Home

When I said yes to marrying my husband knowing he was going into the Military, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew I loved this amazing man and I would've followed him to the moon and back if he asked. The wedding planning part was a rush, I was stressed out because his schedule wasn't wrote in stone and you never write it in stone, we didn't know what tomorrow would hold, but we were excited to find out.

When I said I do to my man in uniform, it went by in a flash, before I knew it he was on his way just days after our wedding to our first base in Nevada. Of course we had to get an apartment, or live on base, but there were no houses available at the time for us, so we were wait listed. We ended up getting a 2-Bedroom in our first set of apartments. To say it was small would be an understatement. We both agreed, long-term we needed something at least a little bigger, or at least a more open floor plan.

Fast forward months and months later, we finally signed the paperwork for our new apartment and moved in. It had the open floor plan we wanted, a little more money than our old apartments, but it definitely has felt more like home since we've been here (a little over a year). Not only does the floor plan work well for us space wise, but design wise it's nice as well. I love to put little personal touches on it and I have upgraded a lot since we first moved in.

I wanted to post a few tips + favorite things that I have learned when making an apartment feel like home.

Lots and Lots Pictures + Picture Frames

These both can be decorative and personal. My favorite thing to do is buy the frames I really want with a coupon or when they are on sale at Michaels. Of course I shop else where like Home Good for frames, but honestly I have found out here, Michaels has different but similar styles so they match without all being the same boring patterns.

Decorative Pillows

These can be a little pricy depending on the type and where you find them. I love to mix match patterns and colors that are within my color scheme, but be-careful of clashing patterns. Take photos of different ones, or if they are in the same store match them up right then and there! when all else fails, find out the stores return policy.

Candles

Get candles that remind you of thing you like. I'm just a tad obsessed with anything coffee/espresso smelling, so generally I always find some kind of coffee candle to keep my home smelling like a small quaint coffee shop.

Monograms

This may just be the southern girl in me, but I have found no matter if it's our last name, our initials, or just a simple first letter of our last name, this personalizes all throughout our house.

Comfy Decorative Rugs

I made the mistake of buying a cheap rug and let me tell you that rug had over stayed its welcome. So we invested in a rug at Home Depot. It's both super soft and even has a pretty pattern on it. Don't settle on this, trust me. Invest the money on one of your liking.

DON'T SETTLE

Lastly, don't settle on anything unless the apartment or home you want is just too expensive. That's another deal, but what I mean is if you can't DIY, invest in it. Make a home, not just a place to stay.

Top 5: Home Decor from Summer 2015

Hey y'all! I have compiled 5 of my favorite home decor pieces from a variety of places that have been in style for the summer season and that I have had my eye on all summer long. Beware: Some are a little pricey, some are cheap, and even some are on sale! Enjoy!

1. Aquamarine Mimosa Lantern | ZGallerie.com - There are 3 sizes (11", 18", + 35") to choose from. These beautiful crafted lanterns are morocco inspired and is the perfect decor alternative if you want more of a romantic and exotic feel to your home. Don't like the color? no worries! It also comes in: Mandarin, White, + Lemon. Candles not included.


2. Rustic Cowboy Boots Wooden Plaque | Kirklands.com - This adorable countrified wood plank design is more of a guilty pleasure for me to have - I was raised in South Carolina after all - I just love how it reminds me of home + my love for cowboy boots.


3. Aqua Welcome Y'all Mason Jar Wooden Plaque | Kirklands.com - Welcome your guests with a little bit of southern hospitality, whether you're on the west coast or east coast, this sign is sure to be a hit in your home!


4. Aqua Rooster Canisters (set of 3) | Kirklands.com - Label your canisters with ease to organize your kitchen using the chalk board panel, the roosters on top make your kitchen look inviting + so farm house chic!


5. Arrow 2 piece wall decor (set of 2) | JossAndMain.com - With the colors of biscuit cream + cast iron black this chic piece can be put in a variety of places whether it be a bar area, a gallery wall, or even above the bed, the options are endless! (I think this one has a time limit...Hurry quick before it ends!)

Growing + Changing in a Military Lifestyle

Let's just start by stating the obvious, I'm 23, married, and moved far away from home to our first base. I still get asked to this day why I married so young, like it's a bad thing. I've wrote a blog before about why I felt like it was right for me. I'm going to be going over that as well as talk about my experiences, everyone's is different, and until I married my husband I had no prior experience with being involved with the Military, honestly I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but life is that way with any choices. It's the enviable. We should embrace that, embrace change, instead of being scared of it. For me it feels like I have climbed Mount. Everest just moving so far away from all my family and friends, but I wanted to be on this journey with my husband, so I am.

I would like to state, I didn't get married just because he's in the military and I felt like I had to commit right away. I was never after a pay check nor was I after a uniform. A lot of "Military Wives" get lumped into a nasty category of being a gold digger and I'm not telling you that they don't exist, but women like me are not them. I'd like to think yes, I am a Military Wife, but I'm also creative, compassionate, forgiving, loving, and everything else in between. I'm a lot of things, so it wouldn't make sense to lump every military wife into a box and call it what you will. I got married because he was brave enough to ask me, and I was brave enough to accept.

Secondly, I chose this decision based on a lot of factors of where I was in life. Even though, I'm still pretty broke at least I'm happily broke with my best friend. I recall my mom telling me stories from when her and my dad were first married, and even though they had to share burger and fries, he got the burger, she got the fries, to sum up how poor they were, they were absolutely crazy about each other. I think it's a right of passage whether your broke, or rich, that you should have to struggle a little bit in the beginning, to even really appreciate how settled you will be later. It's impossible to appreciate something unless you know how fortunate you are. Love might not pay your bills, but I promise you it makes all the struggling worth it. At least for me on a really good day for us.

Thirdly, we both made sacrifices for this lifestyle, but the most important thing is that we've been in this thing together. We've seen the pretty and ugly parts about things in our lives while married. I know for me, he makes me the better woman, the better version of myself, and I feel like that is important for your relationship. There's always something to improve. We may have sacrificed a lot, but in the end we're learning to stand on our own two feet and that's something that I couldn't get home, nor could he. I know it was scary for our parents letting us come all the way out here, but you got to let us fly sometime, and I promise it won't be much longer till were soaring just fine. :)

And Lastly, Dreams change, life changes us and I decided to change my major and even though were both sacrificing things, were still chasing our dreams. We can still be married at a young age and go to school or go to work and make something of ourselves. It sounds sometimes impossible to have it all, but if you work hard for it, it will happen. Great things come to those who work for it and those who have the courage to ask for it. Nobody achieved any dreams by letting it come to them, you have to be a go-getter in today's society.

Speaking of change, we're at our first base, and honestly, it could've gone better. I personally think they stick young couples here because nobody wants to come live here in the desert, but it's great, because we've had the opportunity to do all the above and make some amazing memories despite being so far from home. Of course there have been bad days, long homesick, days, but I would go through hell and back for my husband. I've met some truly amazing people, and some not so amazing people here and back home, it's all the same, but in the midst of these last two years, I grew up. I outgrew people like shoes and clothing, and I embraced new friendships and family. I think I will always have bad days with my anxiety, with being far from home, and being my own worst critic, but I think I will also have just as many good days. I honestly feel so fulfilled about my future no matter where it takes us, and two years ago that probably would've scared the pee out of me, because my anxiety held me back so much.

So here's to making changes, growing, love, and happiness. For those of you who are struggling with yourself, just take a breath, look at the pros and cons. Nothing is worth stressing so much over that you forget what you have in front of your eyes.

XO