around here//springtime.

around here i'm soaking in spring.  i'm loving the bright pops of color, cool mornings, warm days, and longer hours.  there's something so revitalizing about all the regrowth.  now that we're sticking around san diego, i'm doing my best to learn about the plants and flowers in our area that i'm loving.  eventually, when we have our own little backyard, i hope to incorporate some of these springtime faves into the landscaping.

around here i'm celebrating my birthday a bit early.  i ventured out to a new restaurant with a few friends (also celebrating their special days) for a unique dinner at a farm-to-plate style restaurant.  we had so much fun sampling the different cuisines and catching up over our shared meals.  over the past week i've been reminiscing about my last 29 years, reflecting on life and dreaming & goal-setting for the future.  i'm hoping to be organized enough to share many of these thoughts before tuesday, but the way things are going these days, we'll see.

around here i'm totally enjoying my new job.  i'm working at a unique venue, planning weddings and other special events.  it's exactly what i've been looking for and as silly as it might sound, finding this job and loving what i'm doing, seems as though it was my final step towards happiness.  with everything together and this final piece in place, i'm officially content in every way.  and that rocks.

around here, i'm exploring our new neighborhood and all the trails around us.  we are surrounded by nature.  just when i think i have a grasp of where i am, i find new trails leading to new & beautiful destinations.  this is definitely my favorite.

while i've been away from this space more than i'd care to admit, i'm relishing in our new life in san diego and enjoying the way i'm spending my time.  the new job transition has put a kibosh in my schedule and i'm definitely struggling to regain my balance.  but in the time i do have and the time i make for myself, these new experiences are making me so grateful to be back.

favorite things: st. patty's day edition.

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top'a the mornin' to ya & happy st. patty's day!  here are a few spirited things i'm oogling over right now.

this year, st. patty's day will be rather mellow.  i'm spending the day helping my little sis train for her upcoming lifeguard test and tonight, i'll be joining my sister-in-law and some friends for dinner at a new restaurant.

i hope you have a great day celebrating your irish (or wanna-be-irish) heritage!

our newest home addition.

it's no secret i've been swooning over succulents.  i've always been a big fan, but now that we're back in san diego i feel like i can really start to incorporate them into our home.  i love that they are local, drought tolerant & bring so much color and character to any space.  also, if you're not afraid to look like a crazy person, you can take cuttings from common spaces (or ask friends for clipping from their plants) and regrow them without paying a dime.

now that our main room is mostly set-up, i decided it was time to bring in some plants.  most of our plants found new homes before the move, so in an effort not to spend a ton of money on a space we're only hoping to live in for a year, the grow-your-own-succulent idea really spoke to me.  so for the past couple weeks, anytime we traveled and i happened upon a succulent i liked, myself or my mom or sister would snag one.

i kept the cuttings on our back porch (some upwards of a week) until i had a decent collection.  then, repurposing some of our old office supplies (i found these white "vases" at ikea a few years ago in the kitchen wall organization section.  unfortunately, it looks like they're no longer sold online.), i filled them up with potting soil and some left over peat moss and planted the succulents.

we hung them in an empty space near the patio door & they are now one of the first things we see each morning.  i love them and am nothing short of obsessed.  they tie in perfectly with the succulent wreath that hangs on our door and as they grow, i know that they will never go to waste.

our almost-complete san diego home.

settling into our new home pretty much took over our lives.  living among boxes just wasn't an option.  so with whatever free time we had between work & other obligations, we unpacked.  slowly, but efficiently.  we purged so much stuff we probably should buy stock in goodwill.  eventually, we started seeing the light and our home went from this...

to this.  with most of the big stuff either out of the way or in it's new home, we started working on the details of the space.  finding a home for everything and getting things organized is my favorite part of moving.  a. & i are pretty systematic, so we were nervous we were going to lose a lot of our organization in this new home.  but found, as things started finding their homes, we found despite the new placements and minor tweaks, we could maintain our organization style with similar systems we had in place in new york.  & that is awesome. 

eventually, things were falling into place.  we started with the kitchen, doing our best to organize our most frequented space.  once the kitchen was settled, we moved to the main room.  as we arranged (& rearranged) furniture, we figured out where some of the smaller, more decorative items would live.  then, room by room, we continued with this process until eventually, our home looked like this.  

i'm so happy with this little space.  the bright colors, the natural light, having our furniture, our appliances, a place to enjoy meals & eventually, host celebrations...it's perfect for us.

we still have a ways to go until every room is complete.  right now, everything is livable and organized and i'd say we're about 70% settled.  once we finish our bedroom, office and two bathrooms, i may never leave the house.  it already feels so much like home.  & that's the final piece of this whole transition puzzle.

february via instagram.

february, like most months these days, seemed to fly by.  despite the chaos of our move and my personal lack of goal-oriented motivation, it was a good month.  we managed to fill our days with everyday tasks and in those not-so-ordinary moments, enjoyed some wonderful adventures around southern california.  

here's my monthly instagram collage full of these magical memories.

welcome back.

hello march.  i'm so happy to see you.  march, much like january, reminds me of starting anew.   the flowers blossom, the trees bud, and it seems as though everything around me is starting fresh.  and who doesn't love a fresh start?

i took a much-longer-than-anticipated blogging hiatus in february.  once that third week hit, i just felt like i needed a break.  so i took one.  then, all our home goods arrived and we lived in the chaos of boxes and unpacking for the past week and a half.  for the most part, everything is now unpacked and we have the fun part of decorating, hanging, and bringing it all together.  and i'm so happy here.

i'm setting goals this month, planning to share our new home and some recent adventures, working on a few diy projects and making time to enjoy the surprisingly warm spring weather.  i'll be around for a while longer, and for those of you who come back time and time again, thanks for bearing with me and your continued support!