Deidre DeFelice

In the past couple of years there has been a major increase in the amount of people who are visiting the beautiful country of Iceland. Because of this, I started seeing more and more images of this magical place on Instagram and all over the internet. Naturally, I added it to my bucket list and I was recently lucky enough to land there during our 17-day honeymoon, which consisted of visiting four different countries. Iceland was our first stop and this blog post is the first of a four part series where I will be sharing with you the details of our unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

(By the way- all of the stunning images in this blog post were taken by my incredibly talented husband, Jordan Heid. Check out his website here.)

Let me start by saying how important it is to marry someone who loves to travel if you tend to have a wanderlust spirit like I do. One of our favorite things to do together is open up a bottle of wine, put on comfy clothes and sit at the computer researching our next adventure. (I recently shared some of my best travel tips here.)

We were having a night like that when we mapped out the timeline of our slightly delayed honeymoon. When you don’t have a wedding, you get to take a big trip. (Eloping is the way to go!) We found flights to Iceland on WOW Air for $100 one way (plus baggage fees). WHAT A STEAL. And that’s how we chose our first stop.

To keep this post from being entirely too long, I’m going to share our top 3 Icelandic experiences.

1. Snæfellsnes Peninsula

We took a three hour drive north when we arrived in Iceland and stayed in the most adorable cottage facing the sea.

There are many small villages, unbelievable waterfalls and stunning cliffs overlooking the ocean on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We found beautiful long stretches of uninhibited land that made the drive overwhelmingly picturesque.

While exploring the peninsula we even stumbled upon a national park where the entire ground was covered in bright green moss, black lava rocks were piled up and the mountains were showing off in the distance.

We literally felt like we had landed on Mars, or some other unknown planet! It truly was unlike anywhere else I have ever been.

2. The Blue Lagoon

Yes, this is probably the most touristy thing you can do in Iceland, but there is a reason people come from all over the world to experience it. There’s no way to describe this large geothermal pool except simply magical. The icy blue water was nearly 100 degrees while the outside air was close to 40. The entire lagoon is constantly producing steam and the large black lava rocks surrounding the water make you feel like you’re in a dream.

We decided to splurge and stay one night at the hotel right on the lagoon so we’d be close by and it’s such a stunning property that we couldn’t not stay here. The patio to our room was surrounded by lava rocks. Not a view you expect to see anywhere!

One of the perks of staying at Silica Hotel is the fact that they have their own private lagoon for hotel guests. We woke up the next morning to go for an early swim and had the whole lagoon to ourselves. I didn’t want to leave this dreamy place.

3. Sólheimasandur Plane Crash

45 years ago, a US Navy plane crashed on the south coast of Iceland and the plane is still there today alongside a beautiful black sand beach near the city of Vik. To get there, you have to hike for 45 minutes through a huuuuge field of black sand and although I got blisters on the way back and the cold wind was blowing the entire time, it was totally worth it! I can’t say I’ve ever walked through a crashed plane until now.

Everywhere you go in Iceland, you see these beautiful long haired “midget horses” (as Jordan calls them) roaming the land. On the way to the site of the plane crash, we stopped to make a few new friends.

The truth is, Iceland exceeded my expectations as far as the unique beauty of the country. The pictures don’t totally do it justice because I mean, there’s nothing like experiencing this place for yourself. A few things to consider when visiting Iceland: You definitely need to rent a car. This was fairly inexpensive, however the gas was about $10/gallon. YIKES!! Food and drinks are extremely expensive as well, so be sure to budget appropriately. We definitely had a night where we went to the grocery store and created a homemade cheese and charcuterie board for dinner instead of dining out. We also went to a local pizza joint one day because we knew that would be cheaper! Also, be sure and get your wine at the Duty Free store at the airport when you arrive. That will definitely save you money. Iceland is super tech savvy and we didn’t even end up exchanging any money into their currency because literally everywhere takes credit cards.

As you can tell by the photos, this isn’t a place you go to get dressed up and go out on the town. I hardly wore makeup, my hair was air dried most of the time and we spent our days here simply exploring a new country. So as long as you love the outdoors and a little road trippin’, you will love it here!

We spent four full days in Iceland and everyone asks if we would go back again. The answer is absolutely because it was too cloudy for us to see the Northern Lights while we were there and that is something both Jordan and I are dying to experience together. So we’ll go back, explore a new part of the country and hope to catch that glorious sight next time.

Now go visit WOW Air’s website and get your trip booked! I promise you won’t regret it. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for any tips/tricks/advice when it comes to visiting Iceland! Our second stop was Norway and I cannot wait to share that part of our adventure with you. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

 

I honestly always felt like I wasn’t “adult enough” to own a home and was perfectly fine being a forever renter. I’m horrible at saving money (because I would rather spend it on plane tickets) and proving all of my income is a little difficult in the beauty industry. So I stuck to renting and spent many years throwing money away (let’s not talk about it) while I rented overpriced apartments. I’m not sure how or why I was suddenly inclined to attempt getting pre-approved for a mortgage, but I’m pretty sure God gave me a little nudge this past August. I had to let my apartment building know by August 22 if I was renewing my lease even though it wasn’t up until the end of October. Jordan and I weren’t engaged yet, but I knew it would be happening at some point so I either had to commit to another year in 500 square feet or attempt to purchase something we could eventually start our life together in.

Let me inform you that I knew absolutely nothing about loan types, interest rates, escrow accounts, closing costs, or anything else associated with buying a home when I started this process. I learned a ton and luckily worked with some of the most amazing people who I couldn’t have done this without. Thankfully, my mother was one of the first people I told when I decided I was going to attempt this whole process. She reminded me about a close family friend who is a Senior Loan Officer at Flagstar Bank. Her name is Alisa Copas and I will never purchase a home without her. She knows her stuff. And trust me, you need someone who knows what the hell they’re doing if you want to successfully make it to your closing date. (Not to mention she was always quick to answer all my ridiculous questions and my 234 texts per day.)

I learned that employment history and credit score are two of the most important things when it comes to getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Luckily, those are two things I excel at. I’ve had the same job for almost 6 years and I never pay anything late. PHEW. I thought they would see my savings account and turn me down immediately. HA! That was not the case.

I am lucky enough to know a badass realtor here in Nashville and I always knew I would use her if this day ever came. Jennifer Stadler is with Fridrich & Clark Realty. She’s a Nashville native and genuinely loves what she does. Oh, and she is dang good at it. I’ll never buy (or sell) a home without her, either. Using the right people is key and I like to think I had the home buying dream team. 🙂 (I didn’t get paid to say that. They are just the best. You can use them, too! You’re welcome.)

Once I got my pre-approval, Jennifer immediately started searching for houses. I was in that tricky price point that many young professionals in Nashville are after so we didn’t have a ton of options. My list of requirements wasn’t huge, but I really wanted to be close to the part of East Nashville called Riverside Village, have an updated kitchen and bath, hardwood floors, and space to eventually create a glam room for me and a small photo studio for Jordan. Jennifer always reminded me, “You probably won’t get all of your boxes checked” but I crossed my fingers anyway.

The night before we were going out to house hunt, Jennifer informed me she had eight houses for us to go see. Before we left to drive around the next day, two or three were already under contract. Ugh. Welcome to the Nashville real estate market. That morning I got a text from my mother. She of course had been looking online at houses and sent me one that she said, “looked like a good one!” It was already on our list but I wasn’t that excited about it for some reason.

Four houses in and we hadn’t had too much luck. We were on our second to last house and it happened to be the one my mother had mentioned. After one quick walk through, I heard Jennifer say “Well, looks like you just got all of your boxes checked.” And she was right. It had everything on my list, and then some. The location was perfect, it had an updated kitchen and bath, hardwood floors, an all weather sunroom, partially finished basement with a fireplace, and a one car garage that will make the perfect office/glam room/photo studio one day. And it was in my price range. We both knew this had to be the house. And apparently my mother knew, too because of course she had been praying about it.

Jordan was out of town for work at the time, so he got a video tour and trusted that I could choose our future home wisely. I was about to be out of the country for two weeks visiting Greece so I had to act quick. As I told you before, I was mainly stressed about this whole thing because I’m bad at saving money. Alisa got me pre-approved for a 3% down conventional loan to keep my cost due at closing as low as possible, but I still knew I needed several thousand dollars to make this happen. I asked Jennifer if we could ask for the seller to pay some closing costs and she informed me that never happens in Nashville because the market is so competitive. We decided to try it anyways because we had to start somewhere and we knew there would be a counter offer. Six hours after stepping foot in the house, we had a couple glasses of wine and I put in an offer for full asking price with the seller paying $5k toward closing costs. Jennifer was sure we’d get a counter offer in the morning and she said, “If she accepts this first offer, it will be God.”

I barely slept that night because I was thinking about every possible way I could come up with enough money for all of the closing costs if the seller wouldn’t pay any. My heart was totally set on this house so I was determined to somehow figure it out. I kept my parents in the loop because I swear their prayers get to God quicker than mine. Jordan calls it “Linda’s Hotline to Heaven”. HA!

Right around noon the very next day, Jennifer called to tell me I was about to get a new address. The seller had accepted without a counter offer. Like, what?! That just happened?! She actually agreed to pay $5,000 towards my closing costs. Oh, and she wanted to meet us. HOW CUTE IS THAT. I knew with the Nashville market the way it is, this truly was a God thing. But I still needed more money than I had to get all the fees covered and the rest of our down payment. Luckily, I had Jordan to help and turns out we had gotten engaged during this process. Since we quickly decided to elope, we could use part of our wedding fund from my parents to help with the down payment. (See why eloping is such a great idea?!)

The blessings didn’t stop there. The seller, Elaine, was a sweet older woman who happened to be downsizing to a condo in Florida. She left us all of the essential things that she didn’t need anymore. The garage was stocked with ladders, painting supplies, tools, brooms, shovels, etc. She left us porch furniture and all the wicker furniture in the sunroom (which I gave a little DIY makeover to!) and the best part is that she gave us a brand new grill as a closing gift. My jaw hit the floor.

 

 

 

We closed on September 25 and left five days later for our elopement trip to California. When we got back to Nashville, we moved into our new home as a married couple. I’m honestly still in awe that it all worked out the way it did. Like I told you before, it was a total God thing. There’s just no other explanation. My advice to you? Quit renting as soon as you can. Real estate is an incredible investment and purchasing a home is a huge life accomplishment.

With the right people by your side and a faith in God, literally anything is possible.

 

I’m not afraid to admit that I spent my entire twenties doing literally whatever the hell I wanted and I truly wouldn’t have it any other way. From girls nights to spontaneous trips to quiet nights in, I could make plans without having to worry about anyone but myself. It might sound selfish, but I personally think that’s exactly what that time in life is for. You figure out who you are, what you want and where you’re going. I dated plenty during that decade, but none of the guys were worth actually changing my lifestyle for.

I was thirty when I met my husband and at that point I was still existing as the typical single girl in Nashville,  planning adventures and hitting up happy hours with my girlfriends. Once I realized that this guy actually was worth making some changes for, I was stuck figuring out how to balance it all and let me tell you what- this was not an easy task. No matter what type of change might occur in your life, whether it be a new job, starting a side hustle, or suddenly finding yourself in a serious relationship, it’s easy to forget that just one change can affect many other areas in your life. Between God, my job, friendships, blogging, and finally meeting my now husband, there are a few things I learned about balancing it all.

1. You Can’t Please Everyone

This was a tough lesson for me to learn because I’ve always been the person who has a hard time saying no. It might be my slight FOMO problem, but mostly it’s because I take after my father and was born a people pleaser. Disappointing someone is like a knife in the heart to me, so you can imagine how I felt when I started turning down girls brunches, hiking trips and dinners. I always swore I would never be the person who ditched their friends as soon as they started dating someone and I made every effort not to do that, but I still had to say no to certain things in order to make enough time for my relationship. Seven of my closest girlfriends in Nashville are still single (and they are all major catches if you know a good single guy) so I really had to start doing some major weekly planning in order to still make time in my life for each of them. But when it comes down to it, you have to be okay with the fact that you can’t please everyone. It’s been the hardest thing for me to get used to when it comes to finding balance. Luckily, when you have friends who understand and see you trying, everyone eventually adjusts to the change.

2. Something Might Suffer For Awhile And That’s Okay

Usually when you experience any type of new and exciting life change, it suddenly becomes your first priority which means another area of your life might get put on the back burner. Guess what? That’s perfectly okay. It’s kind of like when you purchase a new jacket and it’s suddenly the only one you wear. Eventually, you remember how awesome your other five jackets are and you put each one back in rotation. When I first met Jordan, my extra time all went to him and I didn’t write a blog post for months. I was okay with it at the time, but eventually he started encouraging me to write more because he knew it was something I genuinely enjoyed. Once I started getting a little better at balancing everything, I started writing again and I couldn’t believe the amount of people who told me they were glad I was back to blogging. It made me feel amazing. (If you were one of those people, thank you for the kind words!) I didn’t give up what I loved, but I took a small break and because it’s important to me, it made it back in rotation. Sort of like my black leather jacket. 🙂

3. Adding An Extra Thirty Minutes To Your Morning Routine Does Wonders

I could easily be scrolling on Instagram for an hour and not realize that I just spent an hour of my day scrolling on Instagram. That is entirely too much time to devote to social media in one sitting. I am one of those people who is mostly attached to my phone and because of this, I have found myself wasting precious time in the middle of the day staring at my phone instead of doing something productive, like writing a blog post or catching up with an old friend. Do you have a bad habit of sleeping until the very second you need to be getting ready in the morning? Try waking up thirty minutes earlier than normal and doing something during that thirty minutes that you don’t want to spend free time later in your day doing, like scrolling on Instagram or reading a magazine. You might be thinking, “You want me to wake up early just to play on my phone?” The answer is yes. Every morning I give myself 20-30 minutes to drink coffee and scroll on Instagram. I get all caught up and then have more time during the day to be productive and not be tempted to sit on my phone during any free time I might have. I mean, let’s be serious I still do that sometimes, but adding thirty minutes to my morning routine was a game changer.

I am definitely not the master of balancing everything in life, but the past year has taught me how to maintain what is important to me while adjusting to a huge life change. With that big change has come plenty of little changes, but once you alter your routine for something major, the little stuff is a piece of cake. You got this.