Log cabin

I wouldn't mind taking a drive to wherever this is, and spending about a ...forever there. Or a couple nights.

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NEW obsession

Through my obsession with Pinterest, I stumbled upon another, possibly stronger one (at least when I'm in a shopping mood, which is a LOT lately). Her name is Sydney and she is just darling. Her blog is called The Daybook and her posts are always so uplifting, and silly. And boy, does she know how to dress. She has become my wardrobe overhaul inspiration. I can't seem to get enough ideas from her. She also makes me want to have my boyfriend constantly photograph me (and us, but mostly me) in adorable outfits, daily. I have to muster up a bit of self-discipline to move. away. from. the laptop. But I managed to let myself gather these photos to illustrate why I adore her so very much.

{All images are via}

Shabby Chic

So my mom reminded me of my love for Rachel Ashwell and her amazing brand, Shabby Chic today. I purchased a few of her books at our one-of-kind bookstore in New Mexico, but sadly, had to leave them behind when I moved to PA. But I can still indulge! Not only can we purchase her products to bring her simply unique style into your home, but she now has a blog, chalk full of inspirations that can help you discover your inner shabby chic. These are a few of my favorite of her inspirations (truly, I could spend hours looking at her work).

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She is a darling woman and such a design inspiration.

Love her!

Season of relaxation

I love fall. And this is the first fall in a looooong time that hasn't been ruined by having to go back to school. Not that those days weren't a blast. But I'm loving having this time to spend with the boyfriend, our families, and our friends. And I can't even tell you how much progress we've made on the house. (Well, I could, I will; I actually have taken a few pictures to share with y'all soon.)
Our days have been spent getting up, well-rested, around 8am (which was a struggle when I had to get up for work), making chocolate chip waffles, toast with Nutella (thanks parents!), etc. Then we watch the news, drink our coffee and decide what to do that day.

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Today, our day consisted of sleeping in, then helping his aunt move into her new house. I wasn't much help as most of the furniture was way too heavy, but it was nice to see his family; they're always a good time. I also noticed a picture of the boyfriend and I taken at his brothers football game hanging on the wall of family photos in his grandparents house. Such a simple thing. But it made me feel so...welcome, and accepted. I'm very aware of how I am perceived by his family. And even though it's been over a year now, I'm finally feeling comfortable and like I belong. It's a good feeling.
Anyways, I'm getting off track. When we were driving back today, after watching the end of the Steelers game at his parents house (ps- most of his family lives in the same town, within roads of each other, making all of these visits very easy), we drove home. Usually, I'm in such a hurry to get home or on to the next thing. But nowadays, I'm so relaxed. It was beyond nice to not have to hurry off anywhere and spend money or clean or paint or move something. All we had to do was come home, and eat at some point. We ordered out tonight but lately, we've been making dinners together. I even made a coca-cola cake from scratch the other night!

Recipe here

So needless to say, I love the fall season. It's become my season of relaxation.

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Enjoy it! 

(And those crunchy leaves, before the snow comes!)

Grownup Treehouse

So my mom sent me a link to this amazing article and slideshow about an aspiring interior designer. Like many recent graduates, she was having a hard time finding a job. Instead of letting all that creative energy and talent go to waste, she decided to make her own job, to the tune of a darling tree house in her own Brooklyn backyard. With a budget of only $400 (!) she was able to make a grown-up tree house, that she's currently insulating in order to be able to use it year round. Such an inspiration.

(And thanks, mom, for sending me stuff inspiration like this. <3)

Choose to be...

So the other morning, I woke up in one of those moods; when you're grumpy about anything and everything and have no idea why (or you have a good idea why, but don't know how to fix it, or you can't, you just have to wait it out). Then I checked my phone and had a message from my best friend asking for some ideas to brighten her days before she makes the move to Chicago. (It's weird how we have the same problems/moods/feelings around the same time. Or maybe it's not so weird.)
I suggested focusing on the small things that we are able to have in our lives on a daily basis. Like the people we love, the animals, the music, the food, etc.We have a choice- we can choose to be happy and thankful, or we can choose to stay in a grumpy mood and take everything for granted.

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Decide to be happy! No matter what is going on around you, choose to let yourself be happy and enjoy the moment(s). Don't wait for the bigger and better to come along- enjoy the now and be thankful for the bigger and better you have to look forward to. And if you need a little push, the best friend sent this to me to help me in my search for things that make me happy too.

Sixteen Ways to Treat Yourself

Happy Weekend!

Aaaand- Happy 20th Birthday to my brother!

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 Love you!

Faith

I am not a patient person. I'm aware of this- it's nothing new. But I'm currently waiting to hear about an opportunity and it. is. slowly. killing. me. Over the years, I've gotten much better at not sweating the small stuff, going with the flow and not worrying so much about anything and everything. But I haven't slept well, had several, almost daily border-line migraines, nausea and now, a weird rash on my tummy. This is a big deal; a potentially life changing decision that someone else is making for me. I've done all I can, now all I can do is sit back... and wait... It doesn't help that my season at the resort already ended but the boyfriend's hasn't. So instead of going to work together, or spending our days off together, I'm home alone, without a vehicle to get out and go anywhere. Instead, I slept in, ate like a hog, got sick, and a splitting, tear-jerking headache, and didn't get anything accomplished.

At the end of the day, I spoke to my parents (like I do every day) and my mom could tell that I was feeling it. She whipped it into mom-mode and gave me instructions to just calm down. Sweats (which I was already in), a cool washcloth on the forehead, mindless football and laying on the couch was prescribed. My dad recommended downing a fifth of scotch as well. (Love that guy.) But they both said that I had already done all that I could and whatever was supposed to happen would. Now it was time to let it go, hand it over to God and let Him handle it, like He always does.

 And that's what I did. And minutes after I did, my mom sent me a few precious and hilarious videos to cheer me up (which made me cry because I just love my parents so dang much) and my boyfriend, who took care of and put up with me all evening opened my eyes to the many directions that our life can go. It was like God sent these people to show me the way and remind me that everything is going to be fine.

While I'll still be checking my phone every hour (okay, half hour) today, I'll be doing it in between catching up on things I want to get done. I won't let it hold me back anymore. God has a plan for all of us, and I'm going to sit back now, and get excited about where it will take me next.

{All images via Pinterest}

Halloween?...!

I'm not sure how many other places do this (I'd never seen it until I moved back to PA), but around here, Halloween is scheduled. Our Trick-Or-Treat Night was last Thursday so I was a little thrown off by all the creepy themed shows and Bings home page. I totally forgot today was Halloween. I did have big plans to decorate but never got around to it this year (which just gives me more fuel for Christmas decorating!). But next year, and every year after that, I have some pretty cute ideas to get in the Halloween/Fall spirit. Here are my inspirations.

A different take on the traditional orange and black color scheme.

Can't go wrong with branch lights, baby pumpkins and galvanized anything.

 I really like baby pumpkins. :) And branches! Such an inexpensive free way to bring the outdoors in.

 Wreath made of colored burlap and an attractive bow. I really planned on making one of these this year...

Beautiful mirrors topped off with gorgeous mini wreaths to add seasonal flare to any space.

 I really need to find a sideboard/ old dresser to redo for the entry way so I can do cute stuff like this!

 Now this I actually plan on doing today or tomorrow. I have a $3 grapevine wreath and $5 garland to wrap around it. I'd say that beats those $30-40 wreaths you can buy pre-made. (And it gives me something to do!)

We didn't get a chance to carve any pumpkins this year, but this is such a classy version! Gotta love that Martha Stewart.

HAPPY

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{All images via Pinterest}

Dress the part.

So I know I've preached about cleaning out my closet and getting a whole new wardrobe before, like a while ago. Well, when I was on one of my (rare) cleaning/organizing/purging kicks recently, I went through my clothes and filled up a (as in only one) large shopping bag of clothes I'd like to get rid of. Then I proceeded to fill (to the point of almost toppling over) my new clothes rack, thanks to our lack of closets. I haven't worn half of that stuff in months, some a few years. Why do I feel the need to hang on to that crap? I think because they remind me of things in my past. Like friends I've lost touch with, days I could re-live over and over, and things I just don't do anymore.
It's time to grow up, and move on. While I loved those days (and hated others), I need to let go. I need to dress the part. I want to be a successful, independent woman. Someone who can take care of herself, and others. Someone who radiates confidence, and therefore, beauty. I want to contribute something, and make a difference, not just blend in anymore. I want to juggle a million and one things, well, and never give up or break down. I want to be motivated every day (or almost everyday) to go out, do or see or experience something new. I want to be healthy and energized. I want to be an inspiration, not forgotten. I want to be proud of myself. I want to be good.
I feel that the first step, besides getting my head in the right place (which seems like it's pretty close) is to get rid of my inhibitions and things that are holding me back. While I don't have a whole lot of control of a lot of things right now, one thing I can control is how others see me. And most importantly, how I see myself.
I have been thinking about this for a couple days now, and I can't shake the feeling-not that I've really tried. I just kind of expected it to go away, like all of the other times I thought I was ready. Which makes me think it's not going to go away. Until I do something about it. And while it scares the you-know-what outta me, it's crazy exciting. I think I'm ready for a major change. Someone is telling me that it's time. Doors are going to open when I start allowing myself to get through the fear keeping them closed.  The next free hour or so I can find, I am getting rid of the majority of my clothes and making room for the new, continuously growing, and inspired me.
Here are my current inspirations.

{All images via my Pinterest, which helped spark my new found epitome.}

And PS- yes; this includes finally finding and sticking to a workout plan... it's gonna be a busy winter.

Clean house

You would think not being in school would free up a lot of my time, and allow me to keep up with organizing and cleaning the house. Not only have I not gotten into a cleaning routine, there are things that haven't even been unpacked yet. And being the Type A personality that I am, it's giving me an eye twitch. But most of the time, even my eye can't muster up enough motivation to make me want to clean after working until midnight 6 days a week. Instead, I sleep in, catch up on my DVR'd shows, then tidy up enough to keep me sane, and I get ready for work. The vicious cycle continues over, and over, and over.

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Luckily, the resort closes a week from today. And I honestly cannot wait to put on my sweats, pull my hair up and get cleaning! I found an amazing series of checklist's from Martha Stewart a few weeks ago and printed them out to attempt to keep up with every day, week, month, season, etc. They cover every aspect of your home and includes things like preparing for winter and summer, maintaining the refrigerator, freezer, closet, and so on.

 {Images via}

Of course, I'll have more time to do so once I'm not working as much this winter, but I'm hoping to get in a routine (like my mom's "Thursday" cleaning days growing up) so that when spring rolls around and it's time to get back to work, it'll be as natural as sleeping and eating. Needless to say, I can't wait.

Happy Cleaning!

Fall boots

So it's been getting a little chilly around here! And in response (and preparation), I bought myself some shoes from Target, which I usually don't do. I've really never even been that into shoes. But they were an amazing deal and the shipping wasn't terrible so I couldn't pass them up. Especially since, even though this is my third year in Pennsylvania, I still do not have weather-appropriate shoes for all four seasons.
Here's are my inspirations for the purchase (that I couldn't be happier with!)

These were only $19 and are perfect to wear to work these next couple of weeks as the season comes to an end and weather keeps getting colder.

Now these are not something I would normally wear but I was really drawn to the rustic and classic look. Which lead me to make a purchase I've often thought about but never had the guts to do.

 

These are, by far, my favorite shoes. I wear them with anything and everything, even sweatshirts and hoodies. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever had. I should've known- my Memphis-born mother was been trying to get me to buy some since I could wear shoes. Well, I love 'em yall! They look darling under jeans but can also be worn over skinnier jeans, or with shorts. And they were a whole $15.

Now I didn't get any of the knee-high boots, I think I'd better try them on first, so I decided not to get my first pair of those online. I'm still on the hunt... and I had to share these fall boots, and the outfits!

They're just too cute.

{All images via my style board on Pinterest}