Studio Apartment

Happy February break to any teachers or students. I am so happy to have this week off to relax, unwind, plan, and organize. One of my very first mid-winter break tasks was to finish getting my apartment together. I've been piecing it together bit by bit since I moved in last October. I finally am to a point where I feel really ready to share it with you. Enjoy the pictures. Click on any of the photos to get a closer look! 

First, a Panoramic shot of my living area. This is where the magic happens.

The entry way is the first space you see as you walk into my studio. It's pretty basic, a small shelf to hold my purses, scarves and boots, a shoe mat and a little coat rack. The shelf, the coat rack, the teal basket and the polka dot door mat are all from Ikea. The "Make It Happen" print is from Lara Casey's shop and the gold polka dot key tray is from Target.

I really enjoy that even though this is a studio apartment it has a separate room for the kitchen. This space is great because of the compact cooking area and the spacious eating area. I was able to bring my kitchen table that my Dad made while he was in high school. It's a great piece and the benches work perfectly in the space. I also love that I finally have a spot to hang my Warhol flowers print, and newly hung today a sweet little chalkboard and wire basket from Gabby. Lamp, ikea. Chalkboard, target. 

The bathroom is a bright little room. The largest challenge in here was finding a place to store everything. I ended up getting a wire shelf from walmart to put over the toilet to create some extra shelving. For the most part it works very well and makes everything very easy to access.

The living room is by far my favorite area of the house. It has my sitting area, my bed, my piano, and everything I really need. The walls are full of artwork and prints with sentimental meaning and things that inspire me. The very neutral pallet is calming but the vibrant blues and golds give the space some excitement.

The prints above my bed are taken by myself and my father and are framed in ikea ribba frames. It's special to me to see my photo(right) hanging next to one of his. In a way it helps me feel connected to my dad and something he was passionate about. The oil painting above the couch is a lovely piece I found at homegoods. I was so happy to find a painting with exactly the right colors and one that could take up a large portion of my blank wall above the sofa.

 The frame collage above my keyboard is another favorite of mine. There are pretty prints, inspirational quotes, and sentimental things all mixed together. The neutral colors help keep the frames united.

One of my other favorite pieces in the living area is the blue glass lamp. I bough it at target soon after moving in and I love how it looks on my thrifted side table. 

Bedding and pillows mostly ikea and homegoods. Lamp: target, sofa and chair purchased used, side table thrifted, frames either repurposed or purchased at ikea. Quote canvas and framed piece are both handmade. 

One non-pictured area of the apartment that I do love is the closet space. I have a large closet for clothing and an even larger craft/office area closet. Someday I'll share those but for today that's all. 

Hope you enjoy my happy little space. If you are ever in the area I'd love for you to swing by! 

54 Hours of Texas

Right between Christmas and New Years I took a trip down to Texas to see one of my best friends get married! I was lucky enough to be asked to be Danielle's Maid of Honor- and was thrilled to accept. The trip turned out to be a little crazy with all the winter weather and tons of flights were cancelled. I was fortunate enough to make it to Texas- but not everyone could. One of our good friends (who was also asked to be a bridesmaid) Alyssa wasn't able to come! It was very sad not having her there, and we missed her a lot through out the weekend.

Those of us who could, showed up around Thursday or Friday for the wedding which was on Saturday December 29th. My flights had to be re-booked and I thought I would have to spend the night in the Dallas airport! Luckily once I got to Dallas I put myself on a standby flight to Austin and (even though I was #13 on the list) I made it! I got into Austin close to midnight on Thursday. I was thanking God I made it there safely and in one day!

We spent the weekend at a lovely hotel right in downtown Austin. Everything was perfect about the hotel except the ikkicon convention that was being held there. Ikkicon is an anime convention for those of you who are unsure- and yes this meant tons of people in crazy looking costumes all over our hotel the entire weekend. It was kind of neat to have something so interesting to look at, but a little overwhelming, and WAY too crowded for my liking!

On Friday Meagan and I lucked out with some free time so we explored downtown a little bit. We had lunch on a rooftop patio of this excellent Mexican restaurant called Iron Cactus- I can't remember what I had but it was so delicious!

Friday evening was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We took a limo out to the church way out in hill country (about 40 minutes out of the city). The venue was absolutely beautiful and we had such a nice time doing the rehearsal and then at the dinner afterwards. I did notice however once the sun went down it got really chilly!

Saturday finally hit, and it was a little bit of a blur- like all weddings are. We woke up, walked to CVS for a few supplies we forgot to pack (razors) and then Meagan and I had some breakfast while the bride and groom met up for some one-on-one time. After breakfast we got all ready at the hotel and then took a ride over to the venue on a tour bus.

When we arrived at the location we got to see the bridal cottage (where we would be finishing up getting ready) When I opened the door I was blown away by cuteness- my pictures don't do it justice!

We put our dresses on- and helped Danielle into hers and then the pictures began. Their photographer took so many pictures of everything- it was really nice, but my cheeks hurt after all the smiling! Here are a few I snapped on the sidelines before the wedding of Meagan and I. 

The ceremony was beautiful and so was the reception- I don't have many pictures from that since I was a little preoccupied ;) Here are a few of the grounds and a couple of the bride and groom after the ceremony!

They looked so happy together- and you could just feel their love emanating from them the entire weekend. I feel so blessed to have been able to be apart of their wedding. More importantly I am excited for one of my best friends to have married such a wonderful guy and her true soulmate. I am thrilled for their long future together!

After the wedding and reception we headed back to the hotel- and I made arrangements for my 4:00 AM cab pick up! I went upstairs, cleaned, showered and packed, and took a 2 hour nap before waking up to head to the airport. My flights home were pretty forgettable- considering I slept almost the entire way. While I was awake for a few minutes I snapped this shot from the window. (I think it is NY)

It was certainly a whirlwind trip to Texas and back. I wish I could have spent more time down there exploring the city, visiting with the newly weds, and seeing their new apartment- but alas the holidays are a crazy time! I am hoping to make it down to visit them sometime "soon" and by soon I mean hopefully this year. 

Congrats again to Danielle and Sean Arnold! 

Halloweens Past

Happy Halloween Everyone! Tonight I am not really doing anything fun to celebrate the spooky holiday. In fact I don't even have a costume this year, it's kind of sad. Some of you might know that when I was a kid I was never allowed to participate in trick-or-treating, or really anything Halloween-like. So when I got to college I started actually dressing up for Halloween. The past four years I have managed to make plans and dress up, but this year no plans, and no dressing up. :(  So in order to commemorate the day with costumes I have decided to post pictures of Halloweens past.(aka 4 years of college)

Freshman year I dressed up as Barbie! (Every little girls dream- haha)

Sophomore year I dressed up as a French Maid (the non-trashy version)

Junior year I dressed up as Baby Spice of the Spice Girls (Left to Right Scary, Sporty, Baby, Posh, Ginger)

And Senior year I dressed up as Daphne of the Scooby Do Gang! 

So as I said before- Happy Halloween to all! Hope your holiday was full of fun and lots of costumes! Crossing my fingers I have an occasion to dress up for next year!

4 Simple Goals: Photography

If you remember a little while ago I posted about 4 simple goals I wanted to accomplish before 2013. Here is one of what I am sure will be many follow up posts to come. Since I started these goals I have spent a lot more time just enjoying life. Taking photos of the beauty that surrounds me, and even trying new recipes(post on that coming soon). I highly recommend setting a few goals to complete before the new year, so far it's been nothing but rewarding! Happy Fall everyone!

I like the changing leaves

this was my day.

A Day for Dad

A few days ago on August 31st I celebrated my Dad's birthday. Most of you know he passed away when I was younger, but I still like to take time throughout my year to think about him and celebrate his memory. What better day than his birthday? I asked my mom if she had any suggestions on how I should celebrate: she suggested taking some photos, eating strawberry ice cream, and watching Star Trek. I decided to try and do all three things!

First I tackled photos... I remembered he took tons of photos of nature and fireworks, there were no fireworks in sight so I decided to go spend some time outside with my camera. I drove down the road a bit to Bald Eagle Stat Park. It was the first time I'd ever been there, and it was really nice, I'd like to go and explore more. Maybe do a few trails! When I first got close I found a small boat launch area and decided to explore there. I began walking around and found a big black snake! It made my heart jump... I am clearly terrified of snakes, mostly because I don't know how to tell what kinds they are or if they are dangerous. I didn't get a good picture of it, but it was about as thick as my fist. It slithered away and I snagged a few pics then searched for a more safe place to eat my packed lunch.

Summer Inspiration

Have yourself a very Ugly Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! This week I have really been in the Christmas Spirit, Family time, Shopping, Movies, Food, Pictures, and most of all Ugly Sweaters. Our Second annual Ugly Sweater Party happened this past Sunday and it was a smashing success! We were sad not all of our original party guests from year one were able to attend, but we were excited for our new comers, and gladly welcomed them into our tradition! 

Here are select photos from the evening (most taken in front of our tacky photo backdrop!)

Enjoy the ugly- try not to throw up!

<3

 Kissing Kitten: Josh & Alyssa

 Glitter & Glitz: Audrey & Gabby

 The Christmas Lick: Justin & Kate

 Awkward Couples Pose: Danielle & Eric

 Reindeer Games: Brian & Danielle

 Snowball Fight: Kelley & Danielle

 The Ladies:

 The Men:

 The Family:

In case you are wondering who won the categories... here they are:

Ugly Sweater Champion: Alyssa Magee

Most Festive Sweater: Eric Glynn

Most Creative Sweater: Josh Lowery

Best head-to-toe outfit: Alyssa Magee

We had a fabulous evening full of food, fun, 

and rating videos of fireplaces on youtube for quality. 

Thanks all for reading, Merry Christmas!