so if you're one of my real life friends or follow me on twitter, you've probably been seeing a lot of posts revolving around my family.  part of the reason  johnny and i moved to texas is because my family moved and my family is my everything....

and part of the reason it was so easy to just pack up and move is because until we figured out what we're going to do or what part of texas we ultimately want to live in, we had somewhere to live...

with my parents.

yes that's right...i'm about to turn 30 (6 more days!!!) and i'm back at home...but can i let you in on a little secret?  i was super excited about it...i mean i spent so much time at my parents house back in illinois that for me this wasn't that big of a deal.  it meant instead of forcing my new hubby to watch every show on bravo i had my mom...perfect right?  

well it has been about three weeks since we got here and i'm not ready to kill anyone...yet.  all the things i thought would be annoying or difficult to get used to haven't bothered me...but the past week i have felt...unbalanced.  

back in illinois i worked full time during the day, did mrd at night & did hair every few weeks.  i loved having multiple jobs...it helped me managed my time, kept me on my toes, and really just kept me sane.  back in illinois i also had a car....which did not make the trip to texas with me...honestly i'm surprised it  lasted as long as it did, but not being able to leave the house whenever i want has started to make me crazy.  and while i have wanted to have mrd be my full time focus for so long, i'm finding it hard to do all mrd all the time, since i've grown so used to having at least 2 jobs at a time.

so i had my few days of feeling lost and unbalanced and had to snap out of it and design some pieces that make me happy...and while i think some of you are afraid of my bigger mrd's, nothing makes me happier...can we please look at this pic??  that is pure joy on my face!

even though i've been making pretties for a while now,

it's still crazy to me to see something that i've made 

in a store or a magazine.

i never even really dreamed something like that would be possible...

and now i can't wait to dream even bigger!!

so a big fat thank you to 

Southern Lady Magazine

for including mrd's "blissful bloom clip"

in your nov/dec issue!!

sometimes you need a change...

you need to breathe in fresh air, spread your wings, and fly...

it's so easy to get stuck in what's comfy...

what's "normal"...

and while that may work for some, i just get bored...easily....

i get antsy and anxious and want to try something new...

but packing up my whole life and moving somewhere new never really crossed my mind.

and then my family moved to texas this summer...

my parents who were stuck in "normal" and have lived in illinois their whole lives

made the decision to move...and they actually did it.

they spread their wings, and they jumped, not knowing if there was anything there to catch them...

and they landed just fine and started fresh.

so after johnny and i got married we surprised my parents in texas for a little visit,

and when we got back home something didn't feel right...

we both looked at each other and knew that we didn't belong in naperville anymore...

it was time for us to fly...

so, johnny transferred national guard units and without giving it a second thought we moved to texas...

no hesitating, no second guessing, no doubts...

lets just say that packing day sucked....

it was like 40 degrees and raining and i had to guard truck to make sure no one stole my shoes....

can you imagine how horrible that would have been??

 above...all the layers we shed when we finally got to texas

below...the huge smiles we had from shedding said layers

sometimes you need a change...

so we held hands...

smiled...

and embraced our "new normal"

be pretty~melis

so in the midst of crazy party planning and condo packing,

i realized that i didn't post the rest of our elopement pics...

and some of these are my absolute faves!  

so enjoy the rest and stay tuned for our 

1920s party pics from our 

reception/going away party we just had!