my happy weekend.

hello, friends!

how was your memorial day weekend? fun, i hope. mine was wonderful. i worked saturday, but was lucky enough to have sunday-tuesday off [monday being my birthday, & tuesday being my normal day off]. 

on sunday i met my ma in new buffalo & spent the day with her. we got brunch, walked around & went to a couple shops.

on monday, adam and i drove to milwaukee. i really love when we're able to take mini road trips - we can take our time, stop at garage sales, get a snack, etc. it's the best. we found this 50's restaurant on our way to milwaukee, and just had to stop & take pictures. 

once we got to milwaukee, we went paddleboating - my favorite! after that, we watched their memorial day parade & then got dinner/drinks. it was a nice, relaxing birthday.

on tuesday, adam & i spent the afternoon at the beach.

it was a happy, happy weekend :]

30 before 30.

there are approximately four days until i turn 25. 

the dreaded 25.

to be honest.. i've totally been freaking out about this whole age-change thing. i'm going to be a quarter of a century & i really feel like i don't have much to show for it. therefore, i decided to write a list. a list of things i need to do before i'm 30, because 30 is only five years away. and five years is gonna fly by.
so here we go...


*30 things to do before i am 30*

be a hippie at a three day music festival.

learn how to use a sewing machine.

visit new york city.

skydive.

take couples' dance lessons.

sell one of my refurbished pieces of furniture.

learn how to play the guitar.

visit italy. or live in italy. or both.

get engaged.

take a graphic design class.

go hiking.

take an all-american cross-country road trip.

own my own studio, office space and/or business.

swim with dolphins.

walk for a cause.

pay off two of my three student loans.

learn my body [what i can/cannot eat].

try acupuncture.

go on a hot air balloon ride.

have a health regimen.

read one book a month [60 in 5 years].

scuba dive.

learn time management.

get a puppy.

go to mardi gras!

become fluent in a language [3 semesters of italian doesn't count].

see the beatles 'love' show.

complete a juice cleanse.
get a tattoo dedicated to jeremy.

forgive.


i will be documenting each item when it is completed, so that you guys will be able to follow my journey :]

do you have a 30 before 30 list? i'd love to see what is on yours!

terrifically thrifty tuesday!

last tuesday was an amazing thrift day.

it started off by visiting a free market on morse with my friend stephanie. the market was open to the public for drop off & pick up - so both stephanie & i brought a couple bags of stuff to get rid of. at the market i ended up finding a brass lamp, some old photography assistant books, a creativity book & a huge bag of paint/linoleum chips [they were free - so why not?].

 the lamp is so perfect because it's so industrial looking & at some point, we'll be able to take it apart to put something cool inside the glass :]

after the market, stephanie & i went to the thrift stores i normally hit up every tuesday. i found 'middlesex' [which i've been dying to read], a beautiful black and white storage box, a vintage scarf, a blue bell-sleeved dress & a teal leather purse.

grand total? 

$13!

have you thrifted anything good in the past week? i'd love to see pictures!

music monday.

happy monday, friends!

this week's music monday is brought to you by beach house. they have a new album that's fantastic - and this is the first song off of it.

enjoy <3

beach house ~ myth

current obsession.

well, the good news is summer is just around the corner. but the bad news is that i'm not ready for it, at all. when i decided to do some 'window' shopping online to find inspiration, i found a common theme - neutral.

the color isn't very summer-y - but the items i found were so fresh and bohemian, that i couldn't help but love them anyway.

white squirrel ring via etsy / tribal tunic from modcloth / feather cushion from le souk

leather butterfly chair via pinterest / go outside print from modcloth / leather 

tote via pinterest / love table cards via etsy

what's your current obsession for this season?

recap friday.

what a week this has been! 

the weather has been absolutely gorgeous - hence the oberon ;)

my monday & thursday outfits. can you tell how excited i was that it was monday?

my beautiful friend kate from live inspired. and these are some pictures i took of her last week. 

isn't she gorgeous?

hope your weekend goes splendidly, friends <3 

hello.

it's been nine days since i last posted.

in blog time, nine days is a looooooooooooooong time.

i'm sorry.

can you ever forgive me?

after i posted this, i really didn't know what to do with myself. i was a little scared & a lot nervous to see what people's response would be, so i just sort of stayed off my blog for a couple days [real mature, i know]. but luckily, the response was positive. a lot of people said they admired my chutzpah, and a lot more people said they too have felt some of my worries and concerns. my post also spurred this by kate from live inspired, and a friend from high school [whom i've unfortunately lost contact with] even came forward to tell me some of her own concerns. she knew what she wanted and wanted to change, but was content with where she was right now at this point in her life.

how refreshing.

maybe i just need more contentment in my life. 

anyway, hello.

i'm back.

stay tuned for more posts, soon :]

music monday.

today's MM is passion pit's new song.

enjoy!

passion pit ~ take a walk

things i'm afraid to tell you.

[via]

you should know that i reinvented this blog for the sake of keeping the posts creative and consistent. i decided i didn't want to bombard anyone with personal stories or problems, because i want this to be a positive and inspirational site for everyone who reads it. and it has been, for the most part, and i have been so humbled by all the response i've gotten. sometimes, however, people get so caught up by what i'm posting, they don't realize i'm a normal person with normal problems - they have misconceptions that my life is all pictures, clothes, thrifting and diys.

while i wish this were true, it's not.

this post is something that i have been trying to write for over a month. i've started it about four times, but each time i get afraid or forget exactly where i'm going with it, so i just hit the delete button. it finally took two [one/two] brave blog posts to push me to write this for the fifth time - by joining the 'things i'm afraid to tell you' movement.

ready? deep breath.

lately, i have been seeing and hearing friends, coworkers and high school acquaintances getting engaged or having babies. it's really been throwing me for a loop. while i am so happy for them, i just can't wrap my head around the fact that i'm we're at that age where all of that is finally acceptable. i'm not ready. or maybe i am, and i'm just too scared. i don't know.

i compare myself to others more than i would ever like to admit. it's one of my worst flaws. other people's clothes, lives, money, education, relationships, pets, homes, jewelry, experiences - i wish i had it all. 

sometimes i don't know who i am. i mean, i'm almost 25 - shouldn't i know by now? i dream that living somewhere new, or experiencing a new culture will help me learn about myself more, but what if it doesn't?

my health has been a huge concern for me lately. i went to the doctor for the first time in almost five years, and it was so, so scary. it's going to continue to be scary, because i have more tests and appointments to go to. i hope i find courage.

i have been very weary about my career path as of late. you know the saying 'jack of all trades, master of none'? well that's how i see myself. in my creative life, i am a doing photography, blogging, event planning, designing, etc. i think i'm good at it all, but i also think i'm not great at any of it.

sorry if this was a downer post, but i am glad i got all of it off my chest. if you took the time to read this, thank you. and if you decide to do a post like this, please tag me in it - it's hard to lay all of this on the table for anyone and everyone to read, and i would love to give you support.

anniversary.

tuesday was a very, very special day.

adam and i have been together for two years.

<3 

to celebrate this day, i asked an amazing friend of mine to make some playing cards. sounds weird, right? well, he loves to gamble and we both love to play games [cribbage & euchre especially!], so cards are perfect. to make them even more perfect, i put together 52 things i love about him and put one thing on each card. to top it off, jess came up with a romantic design that fits both adam's and my style.

  

a few of my favorites are:

i love that you love root beer floats as much as i do.

i love that we finish each other's sentences.

i love when you sing.

i love that you can't wait to get married.

i love that i feel so safe with you.

i am so glad that i ordered these. they're amazing & super cute.
he loved them. & i feel like the best girlfriend, ever :D

*if you like this idea & want to order some for your honey, email jess!*