Life Lately.

 My first project I tackled since the unexpected unemployment was creating my craft room. I cleared out the spare room, organized all my supplies that had been in boxes and dresser drawers, painted the room, fixed up a $10 desk from Craigslist, and started putting it all together. It's still in progress, but the most important part for me is having a place where I feel comfortable and inspired. I love having white walls and piecing in pops of color. Next project: Hanging a wall of screen prints!

I've been working on organizing and photographing my vintage collection for my Etsy shop. I changed the name, made my shop policies and now all that left is listing the items. (My favorite part...) I'm quite fond of the things I've found over the past two years, so going back though them, I want to keep them all! 

I've also started working with my sister's dogs, Jax and Baylie. Baylie is a total angel, but Jax is a little different. He comes off as aggressive but I think he just needs lots of love and attention, so mainly I'll be working with him.

The wedding is just a couple of weeks away (I guess I haven't properly explained our situation on here, but I'll get to that one day.) so I've been finalizing lots of the little details. I finally got the invitations printed and sent out. I've got my last trip to the florist today!

I found this book in a friend's shed the day after I lost my job, and it just felt right to pick it up. I'm still only on the first chapter, but it's very hands on. Answering lots of questions and then creating a "map" with the answers. It goes through many chapters. I'm trying not to read ahead to get the full effect, so I hope it benefits me in the ways that I'm expecting.

Mostly I've just been looking for any kind of inspiration. I've come across some amazing blogs, been reading magazines, and trying to remember the little things. Emily from Tea Tree recently had a post on motivation and getting inspired that really stuck a chord inside me. I used to tell myself and my friends these tips but over the years I seem to have misplaced that. I've been observing a lot more, and generally just feeling more about everything I see.

What's going on in your life recently?

Are you stopping to appreciate the magic in being alive?

To me, it's just important that you're trying.

  

Valentine's Day.

I'm a little late on posting the V-Day ventures, but so it goes. Corey and I went to one of my favorite restaurants ever, The Melting Pot, where we ordered the four-course meal of cheese fondue, salad, entree, and a dessert fondue. We got there an hour before our reservation in hopes of getting seated early. It didn't happen, but I got to enjoy a big ole glass of wine which is always nice! It also gave me time to experiment using my camera on manual... Which became quite a task in the dark atmosphere.

This photo looks really awful, but there was a wine room with vases full of flowers, if you chose to purchase them for your table. I really need practice!

For our dessert fondue, we chose the Flaming Turtle which is a combo of milk chocolate, caramel, and candied pecans. It was even flambeed at our table!

By the time we were finished eating, I had taken the belt off my dress and it hurt to laugh. I'm pretty sure his pants were unbuttoned, and I don't blame him because I was dying to take my tights off on the ride home! The price we pay for such a good meal, I guess?

He also got me this Morrissey print from Parlor Tattoo Prints on Etsy!
I absolutely love it!

I think this year was the first time I've had a proper Valentine's Day. The holiday itself isn't really important to me, but I like any excuse to get dressed up, eat a nice dinner, and show my love for someone!I hope you all had an equally awesome day as well! <3

Direction.

Welp, I'm back after an unintended hiatus. A lot has happened since I turned 23 last month. I know that life is a constant roller coaster and I'd like to say that mostly I'm efficient at riding them, although NOT in real life! About a week and a half ago, I lost/left my job. Anyone who has known me knows that I don't mind leaving a job- I will not stay with it if I don't like it. Working a dead end job isn't one of my priorities... I'm a passionate person, and I have a hard time faking anything.

When I brought up my 3 week honeymoon/road trip, it quickly became the talk of the office and warehouse. It got uncomfortable and dramatic, and I felt I had no other choice but to walk away. It has really hit me hard because I loved that job. I loved my coworkers. It gave me experience and it paid well. For the first time, I didn't dread going to work every day.

Even while I was working, I still dreamed of employing myself full-time. That's been a dream of mine for a long time, but I was finally getting to the mindset that I was going to keep working until Corey got back from deployment, was going to save all of my money, was going to focus all of my free time on building up my home business. (Mind you, it is still in the works!) Now my path has changed dramatically, and I'm just going to take it as it comes.

Anyway.

I didn't intend for this post to be me babbling on about losing my job and feeling directionless, but more about creating a direction. Sometimes it all feels hopeless, BUT IT'S NOT. Sometimes I don't know where I'm going, BUT I DO. I sorta pride myself on being resilient, and it's time to jump back in to life. I created this blog because I was inspired by other blogs, and because I know that I have something to offer. I may be lacking in the "content" department, but I think it's because I've read too many articles on blog content. I understand that my posts should interest my readers and attract new ones, but it should be what I care about.

When I first got into reading blogs, I was big on popular style blogs (I won't name names) but I quickly realized and resented how structured they were. They were just too "perfect". Obviously, if ModCloth sent me adorable clothes in the mail I would happily review them and wear them all the time. I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I've just been thinking a lot about what I want my blog to reflect. As I was falling asleep one night, I thought, "What are you stressing about? Just be yourself!" I'm not a structured person. I hate living by a schedule, I don't like a lot of repetition, and there are more important things going on than the color of my nails... Even though it is nice to have cute nails sometimes.

I need a new "About Me" page, since I wrote mine before I even wrote my first blog post. And lots has changed since I wrote that. I'd like a new layout. There is way too much going on on my page! There are going to be some changes coming up so please stick with me!

Also, I wanted to say thank you to all of my 18 readers! As that number rises, I do think about what you guys want to see and read. I hope to keep building friendships with all of the lovely girls I have encountered through Blogger. <3

   Woooo!

Arts and Draughts.

Last Friday, Corey and I celebrated my birthday by going to this thing called Arts and Draughts. They had a beer tasting, cash bar, live music, and the opportunity to roam around and see the art! Upon walking inside, we got our picture taken by the state newspaper.

And from then on, it's crappy cell phone pictures...! We felt a little out of place, so we went to the beer tasting first, of course. We each got a drink then walked upstairs so we could look down on everyone. Corey happened to be standing in front of these two sculptures and I thought it looked cool, so I had to get one, too!

Then we walked around the gallery upstairs, where I stared at furniture and pottery for a long time. Some of it dated back to early BC, and the chest drawers were from the early 1700's. So neat!

Creepy...

Then we headed outside to try Bone-In, rated one of the top 20 food trucks in the US. I've seen it around in different places, but never had the chance to stop. It did not disappoint! I wish I had taken a picture of the food, but after waiting over 30 minutes in the cold, we sat on the floor inside and ate it pretty quickly.
    

There was a bluegrass-y band called The Plowboys playing in a side room, and we sat in there for about 30 minutes. They were really entertaining, and sang a song about Dale Ernhardt which I never figured out if they were for real or not...

I also got a flyer for a monthly book club, which I'm thinking about attending a few times. We drank another beer, hung around for a bit and then called it a night. Overall it was a good experience and I'm glad we went!
 
On my actual birthday, we went out for dinner and then stopped by this new place called Keg Cowboy on the way home. I've been really curious about it because they do classes on brewing your own beer, and even sell the ingredients in the store. I got a glass of homemade mead and drank it hastily while observing that the decor looked like the job of a drunk college kid. (I won't burden you with the pictures.) I would really like the place if it got cleaned up.

Anyway, I'll end this with a slightly drunken, dirty mirror bathroom picture. Fun!

 

Music Monday #15: Working Titles.

Not gonna lie, I haven't cried to a song in quite some time. When I heard this, I got chills and soon enough, there were tears. I don't even know. I try to stop posting music from Sweden, but it's just not going to happen. :)