24 before 24.

Wooo, it's my birthday! I'm 23! I thought getting older was gonna suck, but it turns out I'm the happiest, most inspired, and excited I've ever been. I've grown up a lot in the past year, and I'm excited to see how much more awesome I'm going to become. (Joking?)

So I jumped on the bandwagon and created a 24 before 24 goal list. This thing was so fun to create, I even decorated some paper with Washi tape and markers so I am forced to keep up with it.

 

1. Learn three new art forms

2. Plant a successful garden

3. Learn five songs on guitar

4. Create a craft room

• I feel like this is one of my biggest goals. The picture above is from my last trip to the craft store, and I've gone back for more since then! I'm kind of a hoarder of craft supplies, but I'm very organized, so not having a designated space to work drives me absolutely crazy. And it's not that inspiring all boxed away!

5. Use manual on my DSLR regularly

6. Organize the attic

• For the past few years, I've been buying random things for a house I haven't had. I mean, I actually lived in my own apartment when I started but I kept saying it was for my "real house" one day. There are boxes upon boxes in my attic that I need to sort through.

7. Build a doghouse and sew a bed.  Just because my awesome pup deserves it!

8. Read 10 books

9. Begin learning Spanish

10. Sew a dress

11. Save $2,000! This is also a huge goal. 

12. Learn to change my oil

13. Participate in a craft show

• The idea of doing this gives me butterflies! I'll beat myself up if I don't accomplish this.

14. Start a photo album of Corey and me

15. Take 12 jumping pictures with strangers

• This is random, but kind of a big deal for me. I'm very shy and awkward, but I love jumping pictures. So it's something I enjoy and something daring to try!

16. Quit using tobacco. Yep, I'm guilty.

17. Create a map board and pin at least 10 new places

18. Compose a recipe book

19. Take three new gym classes

20. Improve my credit score

21. Run a 10k

22. Can some kind of food. 

• Salsa, garden veggies, jam, etc.

23.  Sell 100 handmade items.

• I'm actually 23 down on this list already. Woop! I wasn't gonna count these until after I was officially 23, but it just made sense. Turning 23, sold 23 items, doesn't that make sense?

24. Watch all movies on the IMDB Top 100 list.

• It's actually top 250, but there is no way I'd commit to that! I'd rather make sure I read more than ten books!

So there you have it. I'll be updating every couple months on my progress and as I accomplish them! Have you ever made one of these lists? If you haven't, I suggest you do! Doesn't it feel freakin' awesome? If it doesn't, maybe you're doin' it wrong.

Wardrobe Wednesday: Back to Black.

I really try to incorporate more color in my style, but wearing black is comfortable to me. I mentioned yesterday I got this leather/suede vest, and I'm obsessed with it! It was originally $150, and I'll just say that I got it over 70% off. The lady at the store told me it was a popular Canadian designer and I was lucky to find the last one, so my decision making skills jumped right in and said yes for me.

Outfit Details:

Earrings: World Market

Bracelet: World Market

Vest: Peter Nygard

Ripped up t-shirt: American Apparel

Jeans: TJ Maxx

Boots: Forever 21

So my hair was pinned up in all these crazy braid twists as an attempt to get my hair curly without using heat. DON'T TRY IT! I had a crazy frizzy 'fro and looked straight out of the 80's. And not in a good way. I tried twisting it around a headband, but my hair is thick and that didn't work either. Boo. Looks like I'll stick to ponytails until my hair gets a little longer!

Birthday Wishlist.

My birthday is on Thursday, and in lieu of my new shopping problem I decided I'd go virtual window shopping instead! Last week during ModCloth's cabin fever sale, I placed my first order for three items. I got a gorgeous blue coat, which my fiance said I look like a smurf in, and two pretty dresses. Then, I went dress shopping with my mom and two sisters this weekend and ended up spending a little too much money on a badbutt leather vest. (You'll see tomorrow...)

In my money-filled and guilt-free world, these would be on their way to me:

Instant Awesome // Typography Print

ModCloth // Jonquil You Be Mine?

ModCloth // Collected Quotations

Nicola Rowlands // Wild & Free

American Apparel // Chiffon Blouse

 

Cute Streak Designs // Breaking Bad Poster

Herbivore Botanicals // Floral Facial Mask

I am such a big fan of Nicola Rowlands and Herbivore Botanicals, so those were the two things I KNEW would be on my wishlist. I'm also starting a collection of prints and posters to fill up a wall once Corey and I get a place of our own. And of course, clothes. Duh. Although I'm not actually getting anything on this list, it was quite exciting to make. Yay!
  

Music Monday #14: Sing the last song!

I don't know about you, but I was a total emo kid in high school. One of my favorite bands was Saves The Day, and I still listen to them quite a lot! (Unlike Taking Back Sunday, which is more of a nostalgic or alcohol-influenced listen...) I saw this video a couple years ago and had to look it up after just listening to the album version of the song.

I just love that the cops try to stop it, all the while saying, "You guys sound great!" then letting them finish their song. After that, they even stick around and buy a CD! Ha ha ha. 



I would still like to get "stay what you are" tattooed somewhere on me, as a reference to my favorite album by them. :)

Wardrobe Wednesday: Mean Muggin'.

Man, I procrastinated again. Are you really that surprised? Luckily it's only January and I still have 11 months to get on board. I ended up having to take these at work today, which is kinda cool because y'all can see where I spend most of my time! The lighting is really awful in there, so once I get better at manually adjusting I plan to have a post with all the details of my job.

Outfit Details:

Shirt: Unknown, it's pretty old!

Cardigan: Target

Jeans: TJ Maxx

Boots: Target (gardening section)

 If you didn't assume, the hat is not part of my outfit, just part of an order for NASCAR I was working on today! Hope you're having a great week so far! :)

Music Monday #13: Things just don't grow.

This week I'm posting yet another band hailing from Sweden, First Aid Kit, that consists of two lovely-voiced sisters. I first noticed them when they covered "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by Fleet Foxes and later discovered they've played live alongside Bright Eyes, Lykke Li, Jack White, and even Fleet Foxes. Exciting! Anyway, here's a beautiful song to brighten your day.

Etsy Finds: Vintage

Since I'm constantly browsing Etsy or Pinterest, I thought it'd be cool to start a little segment on some of the things I come across. This past week I've been looking at lots of vintage so I'm gonna share some of the things I'd love to scatter around my future household!

Geometric Coffee Cup // Hindsvik

Siamese Kitty // Green Onions Vintage

Happiness is Still Homemade // Lisa B. Retro Style

50's Metal Lunchbox // The Motherload

Floral Fabric // Meggy Leves

The things I would to do that fabric... Man, compiling that list of beautiful things really makes me want to put a dent in my bank account. I'll hold off for now, especially on that $45 coffee mug and saucer. A little overpriced, I'd say. The Motherload's shop is probably my favorite off this list. She has a WWII era half apron for only $15, and if someone doesn't snatch it up real quick, I might have to give in a purchase that thing!

What about you? Have you found anything tempting on Etsy lately? I'd love to see!

Life Lately: Mountain trip.

I mentioned before that Corey and I planned a trip with some of our friends to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for New Years. It started snowing on our way in, which was awesome! After we got settled in and ate dinner, we climbed in the hot tub. I've always wanted to be in a hot tub while it's snowing!

 

 

 The next day, we ate breakfast and had morning mimosas (and poinsettias), drove down to Gatlinburg and walked around the town. We ended up buying a bunch of stuff form a local artist, then somehow ate lunch at the only restaurant in town that doesn't serve alcohol!

 

(I'm totally in love with that candid picture of us!)

On the eve of NYE, we discovered that chocolate syrup and peppermint schnapps go perfectly together. I didn't get a picture of the action, which probably is not very classy looking anway, but it's safe to say that none of us were truly ready for our actual night out the next day!

 

On our last morning there, the boys went shopping and us girls stayed home and went on a walk. Sounds backwards, right?! We got them to stop by the store and get supplies for shish kabobs. Then we rushed into our taxi van to get downtown! Idiotic craziness ensued.

 

I took almost 500 pictures, but I think these about sum it up. I did realize it's hard to take a picture with my friends without making silly faces. Seriously, probably half of the pictures I took are of at least one of us making a dumb face! Overall, it was a great time. I'm really looking forward to 2013. There's so much happening this year for me, and I'm really excited! :)

Wardrobe Wednesday: Put a ring on it.

On Monday, Corey played hooky and stayed home with me. We ran some errands and ate Moe's outside since it was over 70 degrees. Later we walked down to the lake to snap some outfit pictures. This was my first time having him take pictures of me, and this is about the only one where I don't look super stiff! Too bad my dress is all bunched up!

After taking a bunch of weird pictures, he asked if I would take a picture with both of us. Of course I said yes, but it came out really dark so I wanted to take another. Fortunately I did, because as the timer was going off he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes.

(In the first picture you can see his hand in his pocket, where he got too nervous!)

I sort of knew this was coming, but I had no idea when! After eating Moe's, I was super full and feeling lazy so I didn't really feel like taking pictures anymore. He kept insisting and saying we didn't have any time later in the week, and asked probably 10 times throughout the day when and where we were going to take them. I honestly didn't catch on at all, probably because I had my own nerves of him taking pictures of me!

Since we first started dating, my life has done a 180 and we are in such a wonderful place. I'm super excited to see what the future holds, and I wouldn't want anyone else's hand to hold along the way.

Outfit details:

Dress: vintage

Bandeau top: local boutique

Necklace: Target

Shoes: Journey's