happy "whatever age you are!"

technically, her birthday was yesterday- but i'm in the spirit of a double celebration, since you only get to turn twenty-something once!  so lindz, how do you feel, now that you are the age you are?  happy birthday week! xxo.

getting organized // office edition.

this february i committed to getting more organized.  when i made this pact with myself, i didn’t have an actual space in mind…it was just an overall, “get organized.”  i have plenty of things in my life that require a bit of tlc, so if the only thing i organized this month was my sock drawer, that’s okay.  & without the pressure of organizing a specific room/closet/etc., i’ve been much more willing to just start.  for example, during a day in my life, i organized my desktop folders and the first weekend in february, i took a giant step and organized my workspace. 

actually, this was as much organizing as it was simplifying.  since i scrapbook, i love to hold onto anything that holds a memory and that has potential to be memorialized.  that said, one can only guess how much crap i have.  a lot.  and i was sick of it. 

while a. and i were in pennsylvania the other weekend, we made a quick stop at ikea for some office supplies.  while they didn’t have a lot of organizational options to choose from, we stumbled upon this great find.  we then ventured to target for some drawer organizers and for about $60 (getting organized is not cheap), we stocked up on a few variations of different trays.

then i went to town.  i found half-finished projects and a lot of other stuff that could otherwise be recycled or donated.  i purged and organized.  & it felt great.  there’s a lot to be said about finding a perfect place for everything.  it’s so gratifying and cleansing.  no more huge piles or disheveled drawers.  just space.  and lots of it.  soon everything had a home and no longer were projects daunting or impossible to work on.  i was finally inspired and ready to create.

today, i still love my space.  i’m productive and eager to make beautiful things.  i’ll continue to collect little treasures from our day to day life, but with organization comes motivation & everything will quickly find a home- not a pile!

i hope you find motivation and inspiration this weekend!

painted letter valentines.

earlier this month, while in urban outfitters, i found some great metal letters.  and while i loved them the way they were, i wanted to do something a little different for valentine's day.  

after a quick trip to target and lowes, for stickers and spray paint respectively, the project started to come to life.  originally, i was hoping to go for a subtle blush and champagne palette but luckily for me, the only available colors were pink, pink, or fluorescent pink.   

this project took a few days to complete between the prep, paint and dry time.  but it was so worth it.  the letters have been gifted, received and everyone seems to love them!  who says valentines day to be either flowers or chocolate?  how about a fun decoration to adorn your house year after year.

supplies:
- letters
- spray paint
- heart-shaped stickers
- masking tape

the steps:
1. after cleaning off the material you're planning to use, apply stickers (these should be easy to remove so you're not fighting the adhesive after you finally have everything spray painted.) in the design you'd like to use.  my designs varied per letter since each had a different negative space. 

2. cover anything you don't want to paint with the masking tape.  in this case, i covered the hangy-thing (you know, for the wall).

3. in a well-ventilated space, spray paint your letters.  i used two coats of paint and let the first coat sit for a few hours before applying the second.

4. once the paint has dried com.plete.ly, begin removing the stickers from the letters.  these stickers were a bit more adhesive than i thought and i ended up using tweezers to help remove the stickers from the metal letters.

5. gift, hang and enjoy

i hope you and all your friends enjoy this valentine's project!  

stay with me.

{via}

i'm a sucker for valentine's day.  always have been.  growing up, my mom used to make it such a special day.  she'd send us upstairs while she took it upon herself to make dinner & set the table.  we loved this for two reasons: 1. we got out of a chore! and 2. there was so much anticipation for a pretty, festive table with little gifts for each of us.  she did this every year while we were growing up and continues to do it to this day.

celebrations such as this taught me about the importance of love.  finding love, embracing love, and celebrating love.  it's not only about romantic love- no, it's about recognizing the love that surrounds you, every. single. day.  & today is the day to publicly and openly share that love with others.  yay!

of course, now that a. and i are celebrating the holiday together, i want it to be magical.  while i try to downplay the day and all the fluff and lovey-dovey-ness, it is nice to have someone to celebrate with.  so to each of you, grab someone who you love.  a friend, your dad, sibling, child or pet and celebrate your love for one another.  make it special.  drink pink milk.  go surfing.  or skiing.  for today isn't about jewels or chocolate or fancy dinners,  it's about spending time and giving thanks to those who mean the world to you.

i'll leave you with one of my favorite lyrics from pearl jam's breathe: 

oh i'm a lucky man to count on both hands the ones i love. 

happy, happy valentine's day! xxo

a day in the life//feb 2012.

for as many pictures i seem to have, i'm honestly not very good at remembering to document the little stuff.  having my phone with me has helped me get better at remembering, but not always.  the other day i was reading this post and was immediately inspired.  

This is a day in my life.  Sunday, February 12, 2012.

8:30am: i slept in.  today is the only day during the week i don't set my alarm.  i love waking up calmly and at my own pace.  it's finally snowing today.  i let radley out, boiled some water for my tea and stood by the window watching the snowfall.  i couldn't help myself and had to draw a little token of my affection towards mother nature.

8:45am: emptied the dishwasher and started doing the dishes.  i find if i don't get a jumpstart on the kitchen, it takes over our life.  also, i did a bit of baking saturday and had some final dishes left to wash.

9:10am: a. wakes up and radley gets excited.  he loves socks.  this pair he grabbed from the laundry basket and started prancing around the house.  he's so happy his people are awake and moving.

9:30am: an impromptu game of catch.

9:35am: time for breakfast.  after a small fridge purge, juice is on the menu.

9:45am: into the office for a desktop clean-up & weekly blog planning while a. finishes his weekly reading before his exam.  we ate breakfast (fresh juice and homemade banana bread) at our desks.  

11:00am: take a quick shower and get ready for the day.

11:30am: dressed and out the door for church.  this was the first time we've attempted to go/ been to church in forever.

 11:45am: on the road.  i love our car rides together.  

 12:12pm: church.

1:35pm: we get out of church and are starving.  head to panera for lunch.  we both had a soup and sandwich combo.  me: black bean soup with a mediterranean veggie sandwich, a.: steak chili with a southwestern flatbread.  when i can't finish my lunch, i usually pass them over to a., who has no problem helping me out.

2:15pm: onward to office depot for photo paper and ink and lowes for a new shower handle.  we love both office supply and hardware stores.  so a little extra window shopping is in order. 

3:30pm: on the was home we swing by an open house.  i'm totally that nosy neighbor and love, when possible, to get a sneak peak (& design ideas) into the lives of our neighbors. 

3:50pm: arrive home, let radley out and check on the marahmallows i made saturday.  they have to dry a lot so i cut them up and let them air out.  of course we taste-tested.  after an impromptu dinner part on friday, my no sweets rule was out the window the rest of the weekend.

4:15pm: while a. took his test and case study, i spent some time editing pictures and finishing up a scrapbook from november & december 2010.  

6:00pm: decide i better start making dinner, otherwise we'll be eating late again.  without using a recipe, i decide to make vegetarian stuffed peppers for dinner.  luckily there are plenty of ingredients in the fridge and cupboards for this to be a success.

6:15pm: a. rocks his test and case.  we open some homemade raspberry beer to celebrate.  he helps me prep some of the ingredients before heading back into the office to continue reading.

6:30pm: do the dishes while dinners cooking.  sometimes i feel as though all i do is cook and do the dishes.  then repeat.

7:00pm: dinner's ready.  i dish up, a. sets the "table," and we opt to sit in front of the tv to eat.  there's a new show on abc called, the river we decide to try.  totally up a.'s alley.  

7:30pm: since we've already had marshmallows, we dig into a yummy cake that a friend left behind from friday night.  the rest goes down the disposal so there's no more temptation in the house.

8:20pm:  we're enjoying the river more than we thought we would.  despite our better judgement, we watch another episode.  i need to blog, so i grab the computer and begin this post.

9:15pm: a.'s off to bed while i finish blogging.  i break to clean up the "table" and put the dishes away.

9:40pm: close up the house and turn off radley's "heater."

9:45pm: wash face, floss & brush teeth.  take vitamins, set alarm and head into a warm bed.  i just finished the third book of the hunger games and spend some time online figuring out what to read next.  generally, i try not to bring the computer to bed with me.  i just don't seem to sleep as well when the last this i see is a screen.  sometimes though, it happens anyway.  settle on and continue reading steve jobs biography.  

11:00pm: good night, sleep tight.

that's a day in my life.  totally cool and totally fun.  i'd love to do a week in the life since this is a great exercise to slow down, capture and reflect on all the little (and big) moments in your day.  to be honest, i don't know that this was a typical or abnormal sunday.  it was life.  hour by hour.  & a day that i know i'll love to remember.