music monday.

here are a couple of my favorite halloween-esqe songs to get you in the trick-or-treating mood!

happy halloween!

witchy woman ~ the eagles

monster ~ paramore

thriller ~ m.j.

pinterest finds.

sorry things have been so quiet around here lately. i've been working a lot, which makes me, well... lazy. but i am never too lazy for pinterest. so what better way to justify this obsession, than to show off my favorite pins?

framed sheet music. [idea: sheet music to 'i wanna hold your hand' by the beatles, hung in the master bedroom <3]

apple cider margaritas. yum!

i think i'd wear this scarf every single day... looks so comfy.

lego cake! 'nuff said.

have a pinterest? follow my boards! :]

jessLC pop up shop!

a couple months ago, i connected with jess constable about her upcoming pop-up shop in chicago. i have been a follower of her blog and a lover of her designs for a while now, and thought that helping her out for the day would be fun.

and i was right!

i worked with jess and her assistant, melissa, on bringing the jessLC feel to the booth we had at the FashionChicago show in millennium park. we talked, sold, laughed and played with the jewelry and scarves. jess' pieces look beautiful online, but they look even more beautiful in real life. the necklaces caught the light perfectly, the bags looked so chic and the bright i-pad cases caught everyone's attention.

both jess and melissa are so sweet, sincere and driven. jess started her designing business at the age of fifteen and has been expanding and perfecting her skills ever since. melissa is going to college for fashion marketing and working three different jobs/internships. it was so amazing meeting them!

below are some pictures from the event. to see more, visit my facebook page!

     

if you're interested in learning more about starting your own business or just have questions in general, feel free to browse jess' amazing blog or contact her! if you're in the area on november 3rd, feel free to stop by the 'business in the city' event too! :]

i love fall.

pretty sure fall is the most wonderful time of the year - sorry winter, but your cold weather and snowy-ness docks you a couple of points. our fall has been unseasonably warm, so i have been able to get out and do a lot of walking, beach reading, & fun fall activities :]

 

 

 

addiction [part two]

an hour ago i finished the last book in the hunger games series. i laughed. i cried. and i've been walking around the house like a zombie ever since.

i'm seriously contemplating rereading them all over again.

guest blogger - kate fodera from live inspired!

I suppose I should start this post off with a small introduction because that’s how all good things start, isn’t it? You have to know who the person is to even care about what they’re saying :]

Like Tabitha said, my name is Kate and we met waaaay back in the day when we were young hooligans in college (Side note: young = 2 or 3 years ago and hooligans = talking out of turn in Italian class. We were rebellious, what can I say?).

I started my blog Live Inspired when I decided to up and move to Nashville. I have a bad habit of wanting a steady stream of change and spontaneity in my life and my sudden move to Nashville was a product of that. I moved with an acquaintance and it was by far the best decision of my life. Neither of us had a job, we had to find an apartment in 1 day, and I was in a city where I only knew my friends' second cousin. You might be asking yourself, “What? Why does this seem like a good thing? Sounds pretty irresponsible to me.” and you’re right... It was. But that’s how I knew that I could put on my big girl pants, make friends out of complete strangers, and ‘make it’ on my own.

I’m lucky. I have a supportive family and a great group of friends, but there’s something about seeing who you become when all of that (okay, most of that) is stripped away and all you have is yourself. You find that talking to random strangers at your local Starbucks isn’t as scary as you think it might be. You find that when people tell you, “Stay off of _______ street at night” - you stay off of ______ street at night. You find that if you need to work two jobs to afford Smart Ones frozen dinners, then you do what you have to do.

I thought I knew who I was before I moved away, but sweetheart, I found out quickly that I hadn’t learned a gosh darn thing. By writing my blog, I found that I truly express myself best through words. There’s something about the elegant string of phrases and syllables that just expresses who I am and who I hope to become. I was able to take my life, turn it upside down, and see things for what they really were through fresh new eyes.

For me, that was moving to Nashville and recording my thoughts and emotions online for the world to see (and by the world, I do mean the 30 people who regularly read my blog). I was able to learn what it was like to get lost and have to find your way home without a GPS, make new friends by saying, “I just moved here” and eating new foods (I would do anything for some sweet tea and a biscuit right now).

I was inspired. I felt new. I felt refreshed. I felt like I had rediscovered what it felt to be alive and what being alive truly meant. It meant not knowing who I was. It meant not knowing if I would make friends. It meant working hard for what I want. It meant following my heart whether that took me to Nashville or took me 5 minutes away from my hometown.

I’m back in Michigan now, but I wouldn’t have traded that experience for the world. I am who I am today, as I’m sitting in a bakery writing this blog post, because I up and moved without knowing what would happen tomorrow. The unknown can be thrilling if you let it be.

to read more of kate's amazing posts, visit her blog and facebook page!

addiction.

it's official. i have a very serious addiction. it's something i haven't been able to give up or live without for the past week. they've been keeping me up at night and have even started to get in between a. and me.

i'll give you a hint: they're about two inches wide and about 400 pages long.

oh, and there's three of them.

give up?

the hunger games series!

it's been almost a week & i've finished the first two books and am now starting the third. they're so good.

at first, i was skeptical to start this series because of my past experiences with them. the harry potter series was my first love. i read each book in about a day and continuously reread them after that. when the production of the books ended, i was able to look forward to the release of each movie. but now, there is nothing to look forward to - the series is over. the twilight series was next and during a time in my life when i needed it. i hung onto everything single word in those books and [though im embarrassed to admit] they took over my life. the movies, on the other hand, did not because i was extremely disappointed in them. now that im reading the hunger games series, i can't help but worry how the ending will be, or if the movies will be any good...

okay that's my geek post of the week. what are you guys reading? do you ever get as entrapped in a book [or series] as i do?

house tour - living room edition!

after about four months of living in our new apartment, we are finally able to show off our living room! we came from a much smaller apartment with a lot of hand-me-down furniture - so it's taken us some time to find everything that we wanted. but it has finally come together :]

 

a. and i bought these couches last year - they are micro-suede and super comfy [but attract cat hair :/]. we found the television stand at a garage sale, and the ottomans on craigslist for a steal. my refurbished rocking chair is in the corner, and our new cream shag rug is on the floor.

 

my refurbished bookcase is placed in between the two couches, offering a bright pop of red that you can see trickled throughout the living room - especially in this striped crate and barrel pillow.

 

i placed two stacked crates next to the rocking chair, to provide a sort of side table. the lamp was coated with two coats of red paint, and was stripped of the lampshade and bulb to create a more industrial look.

 

i set two more crates behind the love seat to create more dimension & to show off our vintage books and one of our vintage globes.

 

both of the items above were found at garage sales. the vintage tray is an amazing cream and gold color, with a portrait of washington d.c. in the 1870's. they don't make trays like this anymore. the birdcage was in really bad shape when we got it - so i spruced it up with a couple coats of white paint.

now that our living room is finished, we are working on our dining room - so expect to see another house tour post in the future!

design*sponge book signing.

remember this post? well.. since then, i pre-ordered and received the book in the mail, and had rsvp'd to the book signing! on tuesday, i had the pleasure of being able to attend the design*sponge book signing event at chicago's downtown anthropologie.

this is me [hi!] waiting in line to get my book signed. the line wasn't too bad, though - they provided champagne & cupcakes!

THIS is the lovely and wonderful grace bonney, founder & editor of design*sponge. she was so pint-sized.. i could have put her in my pocket!

yeah, that's me [with my hair looking red for some reason] just talking to grace - and her just signing my book. no big deal.

and this is the final product! 'tabitha - thanks so much for reading! <3 grace b.'

i'll say it was a very successful night :D

p.s. if you want to catch design*sponge in action, visit their website to see if they're coming to a city near you! also, check out today's episode of the nate berkus show!

live inspired.

that's kate [she's pretty much amazing]. that's me [when i was blonde and skinny - sigh].

i have known kate for about four years. we met in an italian class our sophomore [or junior?] year of college. she was kind, loud, and extremely funny - i instantly liked her. we had another class or two together, graduated and then parted ways. i stayed in michigan for a bit & then moved to chicago, while she moved to nashville.

kate has recently moved back to michigan - where she has been keeping busy with her great job and her amazing new blog, live inspired. live inspired inspires people to find the good in the little things every single day. kate posts inspiring and thoughtful stories on her blog, while posting smile-worthy pictures and quotes on her facebook page. i love being able to check my facebook daily, and seeing a positive message. kate asked me a couple weeks ago if i could write a post about my journey through work struggles and my new photography business. so i did! it was way fun writing about what inspires me, in hopes of helping people find what inspires them.

and now, i am happy to announce that kate's amazing optimism will be gracing the pages of this blog! she has graciously obliged to writing a lil' blurb about herself and her journey - including her path to her new blog. so stay tuned to see her post, and in the meantime, check out her pages!