keeping the focus

I've said it time and again. I'm terrrrrible at keeping up with this blog. Sorry folks! Having a full time job and being a real person in a real city has proven to be a little hectic to start, but I'm quickly getting the hang of it. New apartment, new "roommate" (hi honey), new workplace, new clients, new habits.

We moved in at the end of July and immediately bought all the essentials. Here I am, sitting here, telling you that we purchased all this random stuff the week we moved in just to fill the voids of the space we had here. This is the only thing I tell people who are moving/just moved to avoid doing. "You'll end up with a bunch of sh*t you don't even like," I would say. But here I am.

the opposite of our house.

The place was bigger than we thought it would be and with an absence of WINDOWS on the walls (basement living to the fullest), I began to panic a little. We bought mainly kitchen essentials because cooking is like totally our thing. We bought bookshelves because someone has a lot of books, and that someone is not the girl writing this blog. We bought the cheapest coffee table we could. We swooped in and got the hand-me-down-and-free dining table and chairs from his old house. We have yet to do anything with said dining table and chairs besides put a lot of junk on it. BUT... we bought a small rug for under my lovely couch, both of which I actually love. Those can stay for awhile.

My bedding mixed with Jeff's mattress was like heaven on earth the first night we got to sleep in the apartment. Other than that, the bedroom is bare. BARE, Y'ALL. I am having a mini crisis just trying to figure out what to do with it, so I resorted to Pinterest (per usual). Just to remind myself that did have a general look/feel of this place in mind when we found it and moved in. Sometimes this process needs to happen before things get really weird and you end up with some red paper lamp.

I bought one last year at this stage. It's currently behind me.

1. cozy home with pretty things.
2. coziest bedroom with neutrals and nothing crazy
3. awesome desk for doing awesome things like this blog and a secret project I've started in the last month or so. oh, and we are totally getting a desktop just like this wood one. Talk about a *big girl desk*

Let's make a list of adjectives just like in middle school. Just so we're on the same page.

I want our home to be:
cozy, comfy, pretty, inviting, welcoming, light, textural, colorful, fun

Having only two windows in the front of the house (thankfully this is the bedroom) and zero in the main living area has proven to be a little tricky. While we have great recessed lighting, I think lamps are going to be the savior here. Let's hope.

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the pretty

Today being my only day off this week definitely merited some online window shopping to the usuals. By usuals I mean the "I just realized I'm broke and can't afford anything other than this" stores. Harsh realities y'all. I found a lot of patterns that spoke (sang, rather) to me, including this skirt, this Zara dress (never have I ever found something at Zara?), and this dress. Spring is coming, you guys. It's about damn time. We deserve it. I had more snow days that I've had since 2006. Many a fire were made, many a comfort foods were eaten. Christmas is a distant memory. The dresses are practically leaping out of my closet.

Aside from online window shopping, I did my fair share of Pinterest. By Pinterest I mean "staring blankly at the scrolling iPhone screen and tapping." Most inspiring and warm fuzzy generating were the ones of peonies (one of the most perfect things on this planet), and beautiful places in France, because... Hello, France. What I would give to transport to Paris right this instant and have a chocolate croissant. My local bakery just isn't cutting it anymore...

A seemingly Greek town just getting some sun. Pastel buildings, bright blue water, whitewashed everything. In reality, I have no idea what that is. All it says to me is "you belong here." I'm down...

This week also marked a week where I actually tried to start sketching again. It lasted for two days. Such is life.

But I did find some inspirations along the way. Someone I've admired from afar (in a totally uncreepy way, guys) since my brief stint on tumblr (ain't nobody got time) - bouffants & broken hearts. She definitely knows what she's doing.

Watercolor is a thing of the past for me, but maybe I'll find some inspiration once the weather warms and things start looking alive again, as opposed to crunchy, dead, withering plants. One can hope! Experimenting with sketching and watercolor could be a fun little proj to try out... The second my deck is free of clutter, dead plants, snow, and dirt, I'm absolutely sitting out there with a cold beer (or wine!) and getting some pretty things made.

To the weekend I go (actually I work tomorrow and Sunday, I don't remember what a weekend actually feels like?)!

bill clinton

It started yesterday when I searched "peach blazer" on Pinterest for some outfit inspiration for my new precious baby. Then it quickly snowballed into "omg I love peach. I like actually love peach." I do this with, um, everything. It's just a phase. I also had a pancake phase last week... And a donut phase on Monday (4 donuts, 3 donut holes, in the span of a 9-hour work shift). That's beside the point. Check out my boards. Peach is everywhere... And just so you know - it's almost earned a spot in my top 3 color category (first place: neon coral, second place but close runner-up: mint {obvi}).

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