Everything Has Changed

I am in Newport Beach, CA for the week and I spent some time tonight in the recording studio with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Peter. Even though it's 1AM, here, I am dying to share this with you! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording/filming it!

FandA,

Whit

As Long As You Love Me

Some of my earliest and happiest memories are with my father. It would be late at night and we would be standing in the middle of our family room. He would be holding a pretend microphone in his hand and would announce to our imagined audience, "Welcome to the Starlight Lounge, performing a song tonight is...Whitney Tessers!" I would sing and then he would sing. We would sing Disney duets. And it was magical.

I grew up performing and I loved every second of it. Still, I never felt good enough. There's always someone better than you, right? In college, my dreams of being in some kind of musical major never panned out, and I started doubting myself. Yet I missed being on stage. And I felt more and more guilty in the fact that I wasn't sharing a talent my Heavenly Father gave to me. 

I have always been too concerned about what people will think of me and my singing when I share it. Those thoughts have always held me back... 

But not anymore. I miss it too much. So I'm sharing this video for me, and because I had fun making it. And, of course, because we all know how much I love Justin Bieber.

Here is to doing things for yourself and not caring about what others think.

FandA,

Whit

Now and Then

October 2010

A lot can happen in two years. There are many moments in which I stop to remember what I was doing exactly one year ago, and then two, and three, and so on. I've done this for as long as I can remember.

October marks the month that Cory and I first started dating. This morning I was reading the journal I kept of that month and our newfound love (pictured above). I thought I would share with you exactly how I was feeling two years ago:

October 26, 2010

"It feels so right, everything feels so right. I honestly believe Cory is the one. I scares me because I thought [someone else] was the one, yet as I look back on the earlier journal entries when [he] and I were first together, I was VERY unsure. I wrote about how sure he was so soon, and how I just didn't know. From the very first time I hung out with Cory, I could not deny how good and right it felt...He told me that he could marry me tomorrow and never doubt his decision...Things with Cory couldn't be better."

And things have only gotten better since...

I'm so grateful for these past two years with Cory. I love that whenever I look back now, Cory will always be there.

What were you doing a year ago today? I'd love to know.

FandA,

Whit

All my lovin'

Scarf: Nordstrom Rack | Shirt: F21 | Jeans: Old Navy | Shoes: Steve Madden 

Things I'm loving right now:

The scarf headband

My bracelet from Paris

My wedge sneakers (yes, still!)

Being told that I'm beautiful by one of the five year old boys I teach at church

Making commission for the week at Kate Spade

Girls Night and going to haunted houses (my girls, V and Lo, are coming over tonight to go with me!)

The new show "Elementary"

My husband coming into Kate Spade to buy a necklace I'd been eyeing (pictures later!)

And of course, Tay Swift's new album RED!

Oh, and the album "Don't Panic" by All Time Low

Oh ya, and that I'll be going home to California in less than a week!

What are things you're loving right now?

FandA,

Whit

Giveaway Winner...

And the winner is...

Kate!

She chose the "Find the Silver Lining Idiom Pendant"

One of my favorites!

Make sure to email me your info at thethingsthatfall@gmail.com

Thank you to all who entered!

FandA,

Whit

Accomplished Dreams

Let's be honest, I'm an emotional person. Yet there are few things that touch me more than watching someone accomplish their dreams. Or, even more, when someone just goes after them, completely unsure of the outcome.

I tear up almost every other minute while watching The X Factor. I got choked up just this morning as I was watching the designers on Project Runway present their collections at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. It gets me every time I see a mother hold her baby for the first time. I cry when Taylor Swift stops in the middle of her concerts to marvel at the dreams she once had turned into a reality. 

That moment when someone realizes their dreams have come true is breathtakingly beautiful. Everyone deserves moments like that. 

Pictured above are some of those moments for me. Yet I have many big dreams that I'm still chasing. Sometimes it looks hopeless, but I'm going to keep going after all that I want. 

And you should, too...

FOREVERandALWAYS,

Whit

P.S. Only a few more hours until the giveaway closes! Good luck!

The Past...

The past is easy to go back to, but it is also easy to get stuck there. Last month, I found myself constantly going back - back to the days when things were carefree, when I hadn't grown up yet, and when I had a different future planned. I was going back to the places of my past, and the people that were once in it. It started to consume me, eating away at the life I had presently. The past, when looked at incorrectly, can be a very dark place. So you know what I did? I took a deep breath and began to let it all go. 

With every breath I live in the present, and with every exhale I let go of the past.

I'm no longer looking back...

FandA,

Whit

P.S. Only two more days to enter the giveaway!

Come On In...

Today, I thought I would invite you in and show you some of my favorite parts of Cory's and my home. Home decorating has become one of my favorite things to do, and TJMaxx Homegoods has become one of my favorite places to go.

Come on in and stay awhile...

This is the first thing I see when I walk in the door! Cor and I got this when we went to Paris this past April. It always brings me back to my favorite city.

To the right is our dining room. This is easily one of my favorite rooms in our place!

Cory bought this painting for me as my wedding present. I love it because no matter where Cor and I are currently living, I can always be reminded of my hometown in California.

I love filling this side table with fresh flowers (sunflowers are some of my favorites!), a little cheetah print, and great books. My father in law bought me the french cookbook, and I found Alice in Wonderland and Shakespeare's Tragedies at antique shops.

Gotta love the kitchen candy jars!

Bathroom decor – guest bathroom on top, my bathroom on bottom.

My Mama and Papa (grandma and grandpa) bought this for us for graduation, and I love it. I am so proud to be a BYU graduate.

I love my leopard chair that sits in our bedroom. Can you tell I love leopard? I also love it when there's none of Cory's clothes strewn over it.

I absolutely love my vanity set. I went to an antique shop with my best friend, Lizzie, when I visited her last month in Dallas and put all these pieces together. It's one of a kind, and reminds me of how much fun we had together.

Finally, my favorite room would have to be my walk in closet! It's the only room that is ALL mine ;) 

What are your favorite pieces of your place?

Four more days to enter the giveaway!

FandA,

Whit

New Kicks

Top: TJMaxx | Jacket: Macys | Pants: TJMaxx | Shoes: Steve Madden | Sunglasses: Kardashian Collection

These wedge sneakers are my new favorite things in my closet.

I can run and jump and look cute, all at the same time!

Yesterday was the first Saturday in a long time that Cor and I got to spend the whole day together.

Working on Saturdays is one of the downfalls of retail, but it has really made me appreciate the Saturdays I do get off.

Cory and I spent all day lounging around and then finally decided to get ready around 3 in the afternoon!

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings, drove around downtown Atlanta, and watched a scary movie.

What do you do on your days off?

 And have you entered into the giveway contest yet?

FandA,

Whit

 

Head to Toe

As soon as I tried this outfit on at work, I knew I shouldn't have.

Because then I had to have it.

I'm wearing Kate Spade from head to toe.

I. Love. My. Job.

And how cute is my husband?!

Thanks, Cor, for taking all these pictures!

I know how much you love to ;)

He is wearing a Forever21 sweater, True Religion Jeans, and Creative Rec sneakers.

Cory also took me on a date, tonight, to see Pitch Perfect.

It's so good, I want to see it again! And download the soundtrack.

Speaking of music, I'm obsessed with Taylor Swift's newest song "I Knew You Were Trouble".

If you haven't listened to it, you should.

It's just that good.

Hope you had a Happy Wednesday!

FandA,

Whit

Seeing Spots

Today was my first day at Kate Spade.

I'm in heaven. 

I'm also in trouble. 

I want everything in the store. And I mean, everything.

Above is what I bought today.

*black stud earrings, dotted tights, and dotted pumps*

I couldn't help it.

The discount is too good.

And everything is just too freaking cute.

We all know where my paycheck will be going...

FandA,

Whit

Just Isn't Right...

As some friends and family know, I quit my job at Pandora Jewelry to move on to bigger and better things.

*ahem, Kate Spade*

Let's just say that my parting wasn't on the best terms.

I showed up today, for my last day, and found this posted in the back room.

 

Apparently my manager didn't want to acknowledge that I had both the highest UPT's (units per transaction) AND the highest sales for the week...

Whoever holds the grudge holds the poison, right? ;)

You know what else just isn't right?

This.

 

This just isn't right. Period.

But getting woken up at 6AM by one of these clawing its' way up our bathtub drain?

That's just so far past not being right.

 I am so glad tomorrow is a new day. Night, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite! 

*wink, wink*

FandA,

Whit

 

Home of the Braves

Cory's brother, Jay, is visiting us this weekend and we went to a Braves game tonight. This is what I looked like on the outside at least for the first couple innings:

And this is what I felt like on the inside the whole time:

Do I know what is going on? Ever? 

Do I know what people mean when they start chanting OUTFIELD FLOP? At least, that's what I heard. Apparently it's INFIELD FLY...

Do I know why people start wearing their baseball caps inside out? Rally cap? WTF?

I sit for hours bored out of my mind until something, never related to the playing of baseball, happens.

The most entertaining part of baseball games, for me, is when two men get into a fist fight ten rows ahead of me. Tearing each others' shirts into little shreds.

Or when a child is helplessly crying on the concrete steps because his foam finger has broken in half.

Or in tonight's case, when hundreds of beer bottles, water bottles, popcorn, peanuts, even a sneaker get thrown out onto the field because of a poor call by the ref.

Oh, and when I can (in my BF, Lo's words) "Chop it like it's hot". I really enjoy "chopping it" anywhere, but most enjoy it on my husband's head.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Here's a few more pictures of tonight...

FandA,

Whit

All Of Them Are Gold

Moving across the country this past June was hard. 

I realized that growing up is hard, too. 

I missed the people who know me best. I felt like I had no place in Atlanta. I cried. 

I cried a lot. 

With all the free time I now had, I began reconnecting and catching up with old friends. 

And then I started making new ones.

And you know what I realized?

Everyone has something they are dealing with right now. No matter how it may look from the outside, no one's life is perfect. The only thing we can do is be there for each other.

Lifting each other up.

I am so grateful for all of my friends, old and new. You have helped me in more ways than you probably realize. I am so grateful for you. 

Make new friends, but keep the old. But the way I see it, all of them are gold.

AandF,

Whit