Behind the Scenes with Chevrons & Stripes

Today’s BTS girl has lots of ch-ch-changes going in her life — and all exciting ones! If you read her blog, you’ll know all about Sarah’s big move back to New York for school, but if not, I’ll let her post below tell you all about it. Sarah, who writes the blog Chevrons & Stripes, also happens to pen one of my favorite profile series in blogland, “The It List.” And, I was lucky enough to do a little blog swap with her and participate in it! My own post on her blog will be up tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out her BTS below and be sure to head over and ogle the pretty interiors inspiration on her blog. Take it away, Sarah!

The Maldives – My dream honeymoon destination! Chico, Chile – I’ve always been fascinated by natural wonders like these marble caves in Chile.  I’d love to see them in person!
Islamorada, FL – We lived in Florida for almost a year and kept hearing amazing things about a little resort in Islamorada called Cheeca. Though we planned to go several times it never ended up working out and I’m still dying to go.
Marfa, Texas – The art addict in me has always wanted to make the trek out to Marfa to see the Judd Foundation, the Chinati foundation, and of course Prada, Marfa.
Chiang Mai, Thailand – I need to attend one of the floating lantern festivals. Can you imagine? They’re so gorgeous!

1. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald – It’s on my list to re-read one of the classics and though it was long ago, I remember loving the Great Gatsby. Must read as a refresher before the movie comes out!
2. Good Bones, Great Pieces, Suzanne and Lauren McGrath – now that I’ve officially settled on my new career path (interior design), I’m devouring as much design-related material as possible before I start school full-time in the Fall.
3.The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin – everyone who has recommended this book to me as described it as life-altering!
4. Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson – this one has been on my list for way too long now…

1. Enjoying married life
2. Taking more trips
3. Finishing school / starting my own design business

1. Getting back on the health bandwagon. It can be really hard finding your way in a new city and Evan and I are still figuring out the scene in Miami. In order to get ourselves out of the house we have found ourselves eating out WAY too many nights a week. I’m excited to get back to cooking healthy meals once I return to NYC and above all, to start exercising again. I’m really looking forward to getting back to soulcycle, which after all these years is still my favorite work out!

2. Gearing up to be a full-time student again. I’m beyond excited but also admittedly a bit scared. I remember as an under-grad in art school the late nights, the long studio classes followed by double the work at home… I hope (and think that I am) still cut out for it but plan to ease in by taking one class over the summer before the madness begins in the Fall. Hopefully it will make the transition that much smoother!

On the other side of the coin, I am in fact dreaming about starting my drafting course in June! That probably sounds a little nerdy, but it’s true. It’s the first step in pursuing a goal that took me years to even realize I wanted to accomplish and I’m so excited to start on a new path, one that finally feels like the perfect fit.

It was honestly pretty random. I had been thinking about starting a blog and agonizing over the name for at least a month. My friend finally said, “list some things you like.” I rattled off a few things that happened to include chevrons and stripes – and there you have it!

My mom has always served as my biggest source of inspiration. She’s an insanely driven business woman in a man’s world (her industry, that is) and she never stops going, going, going! In addition to running a business, she manages to find the time to get away every weekend with the fam, take piano lessons at 7 AM and above all, she has great taste! Growing up, she surrounded us with good design and I think that has definitely helped push me towards my career choice of interior design .

This is such a hard one because I have so many things I want to achieve that I haven’t yet checked off the list. Right now, I would have to say finding Evan (my fiancé). I don’t think any does or ever will understand me quite as well as he does. He’s motivated, intelligent, funny, a little dorky (like me), and I’m so proud that I will get to call him my husband next summer!

We have a family summer home in Bridgehampton, NY and it’s definitely my happy place. There’s nothing more relaxing than a quiet beach. Because our house sits so close to the dune, there’s even a gentle rocking motion from the waves and it’s literally like being rocked to sleep! I’ll be getting married out there next summer so it will be an even more special place for us afterwards.

I started my blog last September right before we moved down to Miami. At the time, I felt like I needed a project that would not only keep my friends and family in NYC up-to-date but one that would also help me network with new people. It has definitely been super helpful for both! Now, it’s hard to imagine not having C&S as a place to go and store my latest inspiration. What started as a side project has grown into so much more and I couldn’t be more excited to see where it leads me next. After all, it led me towards my new career and that in and of itself has been life-changing!