Summer Treat...

I have a confession to make. I have a slight obsession with a meal. The love affair started several weeks ago when I was living in a hotel for the week. Obviously, I had to eat basically every meal out. That in itself was disgusting and I probably gained a temporary 5lbs that week. By day 2, I was completely over ordering all my meals, so I decided it was time to start getting a little healthier. The Chickfila 50 feet from my office was not helping my cause. But I was pleasantly surprised when I went out on a whim and got the fruit and yogurt parfait for breakfast in lieu of the chicken biscuit {I know...there are tons of people booing me right now}. Anyway, it was delicious and I got it for breakfast the rest of the week.

Now that I'm settled in, I've began making my own version and treating myself to it for breakfast or maybe if I'm craving something sweet.

{Sorry for the bad pictures...the SLR is in my car} A mixture of fat free vanilla yogurt, low fat granola, strawberries and blueberries...

Absolutely pure heaven. Go make yourself a bowl. You won't be disappointed...I promise!!!

Summer List...

I've spent the whole weekend being lazy by the pool, soaking up as much sun as I can. I'm not going to lie...I feel like I live in a resort. Yesterday, a friend from college came to visit for the day and she said,"who needs a vacation when you live here?" So on the weekends, I pretty much stay in vacation mode.

While I haven't done any shopping in quite some time, I've compiled a list of things I would like to have before the summer is over.

I have Stella and Dot earrings almost identical to these, but in my opinion, you can't have too many pairs of simple designs like this. The other day, I had on a pair somewhat similar and a girl in my condo randomly said to me, "those earrings aren't By Boe are they?" Well they were, and that convo started a fun friendship. The point is, it has been my experience that something simple like this will really actually amp up an outfit.
Last Saturday we were at the pool and this extremely stylish 50 something man was sporting a pair of these. Now, I've had my eyes on these for some time, but just haven't bit the bullet and purchased yet. Since he was part of our marathon round of cornhole, I felt comfortable enough to ask if I might be able to try them on. I did and fell in love. He then proceeded to start telling Ry how men are to buy women lots of gifts. It got awkward. I walked away. And I'm pretty sure I'll be the one buying.

And to pay homage to my old residence, who doesn't love a pair of jean shorts?? TOTALLY KIDDING!! I actually like the top here!!

Party Over...

You have to be grateful for the type of friend who will call you out on your pity party. I really wasn't even having one, probably just sharing a little too much, when I got a message from a friend asking if I'm ok. And the answer is, Yes, I'm just fine! Big life transitions bring those tye of moments.

Anyway, she has a knack for pulling me out of my funk {remember the time I went through the wet hair and mismatched outfit phase...it was her who brought it to my attention. Funny story actually}.

So, this one's for you Hines.

A post with some bright cheery rooms...just what I need to jump start me. That and my trip to the pool for the afternoon that I'm about to make.

Another one....

If you've been following my blog , you'll know that every now and then, I post a heavy one. And by that, I mean that its not a picture perfect snapshot of life. Let's be honest here, life isn't always lived through rose colored glasses. In fact, I think it rarely is. That is the beauty of blogging is that it is an escape from this harsh world and a way to be positive when negativity is coming at you from every angle.

Anyway. Tonight, my heart is starting to sink a little bit. You know the times that you are just on cloud nine and the whole time in the back of your head you're just waiting on the bomb to go off? You know that moments that are so perfect only last a little while. What goes up, must come down. Its the law of gravity and the law of life. Its filled with good times and bad ones too. Easy times and hard ones too. But outside of the peaks and the valleys are the bits of time that are neither horrible nor wonderful. They're merely life. That everyday mediocre, get through the day, make it through with a few laughs and go to bed happy.

The last year was spent mostly in the pit for me. All that time, I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting to climb out of that deep dark despair. I kept waiting on my time to shine. Waiting for something decent to happen to me. I wasn't even asking for excellence, simply something positive. Time went on and everything stood at a stand still for a while. And I one day realized, I was no longer in that pit, but rather, simply driving on the flat land also known as every day life. For a while there, I was okay with this. At least it wasn't where I'ld been before. And so, I became content with what most would call normal.

And then out of nowhere, opportunities started coming my way to be able to live out my life long dream. To live in a city full of life. A big city busting at the seems with energy and people who are on the same journey in life that I'm on. Not that there is anything wrong with the way that most people my age I know live, but I can't relate to my friends who are married with kids. Believe me, I want that life...eventually...just not now. I would imagine that most people think I must be some type of martian for saying this. Its the southern way of life. At 26 years old, if you are still single, go ahead and send in your picture to the company who manufactures the card game Old Maid. But I refuse to buy into this. I really am glad that I have the freedom to live out the dreams I've always worked towards. To be able to up and move in a heart beat to pursue these dreams. To have the world at my fingertips and have no idea where or who I'll end up with. Its exhilierating just thinking about it. And that is just me.

So now that the dust is settling and I'm finally figuring out this place, this dark cloud has started to move my way and is just waiting to rain on my parade. You ever feel like that? You ever feel like just saying to the man in red downstairs, "You know what. You aren't going to ruin this for me! You can keep trying as much as you want, but I'm not budging. So you might as well take your party elsewhere." I wish I could send him an email right now and let him know.

You think I'm crazy?? Well, my friends, its not insanity...its reality. And that reality is called spiritual warfare. Now, I'm not going to use this blog as a spiritual outreach. I like to keep it light around here. I'm passionate for my savior, but I'ld much rather talk about it that post about it. But this is one thing I do want to say. When you start to feel that dark cloud come your way...face it head on. Whip out the umbrella. Put on the rain boots. Because the truth is, its not going away for a while, but like every rain shower, eventually it moves on to somewhere else and the sun comes back out. And it will be sunny and beautiful again for a while, but you know that at some point, another storm will come. A tornado will come and wipe away everything. Lightning will cause everythign to get out of whack. Hail will come and put huge dents in things. But you always know that these storms are only temporary. And no I'm not talkign about the weather.

There, its done. The heavy post is over. More light ones to come...

Short and Sweet...

Hey Sweet Friends. Remember me? I know, its been a while. I just cant' seem to get my act together can I? Well, please be patient with me. Time seems to be moving at a standstill when it comes to having the finances up and running back to normal. A word to the wise: whenever you decide to up and move your life to a new city, make sure you've saved up LOTS of money. It takes time for you to get up and running on payroll and have all the extra expenses put to rest.

So, until probably week after next, I'll just continue doing what I'm actually used to at this point. No tv or internet. I must say, its quite refreshing. It has forced me to relax with a good book {Eat, Pray, Love ... to be exact} and go out and socialize. Both of which I NEVER did in Florida. I'm afraid I'll always look back on those days in disgust.

I can finally say that a year has come and gone since the heartbreak of 2009. What is the phrase, "in like a lion, out like a lamb" ?? This time last year, the world was over for me and now its just beginning!! What an amazing blessing. Thanks to all of you for putting up with me all this time. Thanks for your sweet words of encouragment. I'm beyond grateful for my amazing friends!!

Until next time...

Ikea...

It wasn't too long ago that a day with "nothing to do" really meant having NOTHING to do. Now, however, this phrase really holds no meaning. I'm actually having to LIMIT myself to only so much fun. Wait, I'm 26...is this too old to live this way? I really hope not, because I don't think I'm going to stop due to inappropriateness.

This morning, instead of just slothing around like I used to do on holidays, I decided to make a little trip to IKEA.

Ok ok, hold the reactions. I'm sure you've all either heard or experienced the sheer bliss that takes over the second you step off the escalator into several hours worth of a maze full of incredible home decor. Sure, the quality isn't always the best {hence the wobbly coffee table I will soon replace}, but the ideas flowing through that heaven on earth is enough to pull me back into the blog world immediately.

I snapped a few pictures on my phone along the way, so please ignore the poor quality, but rather enjoy several things that left me drooling.


This sink was unlike anything I've seen before. The actual "bowl" is really shallow and just perfect. Absolutely perfect.

REALLY going to need this for a new side table. REALLY about to make a purchase.

Currently obsessed with this color combo. I've actually seen this rug in several magazines prior and when I saw it in person, I knew it was meant to be. Pretty sure this will be in my living room very shortly.

This wardrobe was absolutley insane. Loving the color!!

Happy 4th...

OOPS!! No pictures of the condo. Its been an incredibly fun weekend without a moment to spare to do a photo shoot. Maybe today, I'll get around to it.

Rewind...

Friday, Ryan came in town for the weekend. We went with friends to an incredible mexican restaurant and came back to my place for a pretty crazy game of cornhole. I really wish I had taken pictures of that. I had ample opportunity because the next day, the boys played literally ALL day at the pool. We spent the day catching up on some much needed sun, the grilled out at Ev and Joe's and watched some really big UFC (??) fight. Personally, I don't get into watching people kill each other, but apparantly, I'm in the minority.

Then yesterday was another day at the pool, followed by a new favorite...unplugged in the park. This really fun venue has bands play every Sunday. The food is really good and you can bring your dogs. Mine stayed at home...four dogs would have been too much.

Anyway, it was so much fun. I'm pretty sure that I will be frequenting that quite a bit this summer!! And the best part is that it sits right off this HUGE park with an incredible skyline view of midtown...
Hope that all you guys had a restful weekend. Mine was fabulous and the best part is I have all of today still to relax!!