right here, right now

picture via
at this moment,
i am enjoying the quite,
i am grateful for the ache in my quadriceps,
i am loving letting the dogs out without a jacket,
i am worried about money,
i am looking forward to trying a new yoga studio,
i am turning 27 is 2 days,
i am listening to the soft pur of a cat by my side,
i am longing for a day in the sun,

i am hoping for restful sleep,
i am comfortable in my own skin,
i am content,
i am loved,
i am happy.

inspiration via

i'm not a "soaker"...

i don't care for baths. i'm more of a shower girl. i have no patience when it comes to taking a bath. to be honest i can't remember the last time i soaked in a tub. i hear people talk about relaxing in bubbles with a good book and glass of wine, and i am intrigued and envious. the thought seems so appealing in my head but the actual action seems so uneasy to me. i'm odd, i know.
while browsing through etsy the other day i came across this item which again made me wish i was a bath tub "soaker".

images and item via
*and the fact that this etsy seller (pegandawl) creates their products with reclaimed wood makes it even more appealing.

whew...we survived

this past weekend was spent celebrating the traditional "last single weekend" of one of my best friends, of whom i have mentioned before. the city of dallas holds an annual st. patrick's day parade, as many others do, which entails masses and masses of people gathering on a strip of street, beers in hand and clothed in green, to watch and cheer on a parade of home made "floats" as they pass by. well, the previously mentioned bride happens to love this little dallas celebration which prompted us to plan her bachlorette party around it. although the parade is held within a few hours of a saturday afternoon, we felt the need to make a weekend get-a-way out of it. we took a stay-cation and crammed lots of girls in a great, little, rented condo. we laughed lots, drank lots, laughed lots more and made sure the bride knew how excited we were for her.
i started a 'tradition' as a bridesmaid in another wedding last year where in i made a little scrapbook for the bride-to-be. i made up a list of questions about the bride and the couple and asked all of the wedding party to respond them. it turned out to be a very sweet and funny compilation of our thoughts of, and wishes for, our friend.

after i got the pictures and quotes put together in her scrapbook i asked zach why i never did anything like this for us and our memories (as if he was supposed to know). as i have said before, i am definitely not the most creative person in the world, but once i finally decide to create something i am usually a perfectionist enough to ensure that it looks decent. i do take more pride and joy from doing things for others, but i have decided that i need to take the time to create things for our memories. heck, our wedding and honeymoon pictures deserve a little more than an kodak envelope, don't you think?
i think the bride liked the final product...

wedding festivities

in a few weeks one of my best friends is saying "i do" and becoming a married woman. we have spent the past few months celebrating her and her upcoming nuptials. us bridesmaids hosted a shower at my house. at the brides request we carried out an "alice in wonderland" theme, complete with yummy snacks, decorative cupcakes and long island iced teas. we found most of our inspiration through lots of blog scooping and etsy shopping. here are a few of the pictures:

~the bride to be~

i just love weddings. i seem to be in the middle of that time in life when weddings are occurring in high frequency. all of this celebrating is lots of fun, in fact, i think we should all renew our vows every five years or so to keep the party going! :)

wish list

it seems that i have a slight obsession with chairs lately. if i had the amount of rooms necessary to house these occasional chairs i think i would open up a new credit card just to buy them.
here are a few which refuse to leave my mind:
the louis xv french arm chair

or this beautiful cained version

pictures via
i also like the idea of upholstering them with a bold patterned fabric


pictures via
the rounded, straight legged louis xvi chairs are a little less formal (in my opinion) and equally as beautiful

i could see them nestled around my dining room table

pictures via
this modern 'ghost' version is pretty cool too

picture via
i am also in love with the george iii faux bamboo chair

picture via
and, of course all of these lovely chairs would have to receive the one of a kind finish only Martin Painting Corporation could provide.
you see, i am obsessed.

change...

if you don't know already, i don't seek out change. i am definitely a creature of habit, establishing routines where ever i can. today one of my routines changed slightly. for a while now i have been fortunate enough to workout with a personal trainer (thanks again to the mom and pop). if you have read my blog before you know that i enjoy physical activity, i always have. although i enjoy myself while being active i am usually in need of direction/instruction. for example, i am not the type of person who can happily go for an hour run using my ipod and wandering thoughts to provide motivation. i wish i was, but i am not. so each tuesday and friday morning i truck myself up to the gym to be instructed by romina, our trainer. over the months she became more that an instructor. she provided the insight and knowledge i lacked regarding my body, my physical strengths and weakness, and pushed me to better my overall health. i could have never learned as much on my own. this morning was a little different. fortunately i still headed to the gym for my regular training session, only this time romina wasn't there to greet me. she has left to pursue other things, of which i'm sure she will have great success. i have a new trainer now, and i'm confident all will go well with her, but as i said before dealing with change is not my forte. romina's training and passion for training will be missed. her friendship will too. (although i do plan to pursue upcoming coffee or lunch dates with her)
this is us on new year's eve:


on another note, there is a different change taking place which i am very fond of. it's getting warmer around here, winter is fleeting and new green growth is spreading wildly. i love this time of year, as spring approaches. highs in the low 70's and lows in the 60's make for beautiful days. i hope to play out in the sunshine as often as possible for the next month or so, or at least until the true texas heat kicks in!

photo taken by my talented friend shanna

30 days of blogging: day 15, 16, 17, & 18...

blog challenge: day 15 - put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
(1) digital ~ by: slightly stoopid
(2) freeze time ~ by: 311
(3) takin it to the streets ~ by: the doobie brothers
(4) love will keep us alive ~ by: the eagles
(5) still water ~ by: dave matthews & tim reynolds
(6) homebrew ~ by: 311
(7) ten cent pistol ~ by: the black keys
(8) rusty cage ~ by: johnny cash
(9) two step ~ by: the dave matthews band
(10) best of me ~ by: ryan bingham

blog challenge: day 16 - a picture of yourself

i am not all that fond of having my picture taken, nor am i too fond of of the particular picture i just posted, however it does bring back wonderful memories of walking and laughing through the streets of new york city.

blog challenge: day 17 - someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
i am going to be a bit generic here if you don't mind. i can't seem to come up with a specific person i would want to switch lives with, partly because i am pretty content and happy with living my own life, and partly because i don't want whoever i chose to switch with moseying around, living as me. :)
however, if for one day i could suddenly stop having to worry about money i would be elated. in my professional life i am constantly working with money, collecting it as it comes in, distributing it, deciding where and when it should be spent and worrying about when the next payment will be delivered. in my personal life i am always worried about money because, to be frank, the economy sucks, things are expensive, and saving is hard. so if for one day i could "switch" to become someone who has all of the money that myself and my company could ever need or want i would most defeinately do so.

blog challenge: day 18 - plans/dreams/goals you have
*see blog challenge: day 11 & 8*