Ireland

Sometimes I forget about this ol' blog. Now that it's been over a month since we returned from our trip overseas, I figured it's high time I showed you some photos!

We seriously had the best time. While the trip sure had its share of stress and lack of sleep, we feel so grateful for all that we were able to see and do. Of course we only wish we had more time! Ireland is a beautiful, beautiful country. The neat thing about it is that while there are so many tourists who travel through every year, you can go see the famous spots and they still feel untouched.

Europe!

photo credit

When we got back from our trip up north, it dawned on us that we only had a month left to plan out our trip to Europe in September. That's right, we're going to England and Ireland in just a few weeks! We had been wanting to do a trip to Europe this year, and the fact that my friend moved to a town right outside London just sealed the deal. I cannot wait to see London and walk some cobblestone streets in the Cotswolds. I'm also dying to explore the gorgeous green Irish countryside that I've heard about so much about! We have our flights and hotels booked, but all of our activities are going to be a little flexible, based on what we want to see the most while we're there. If you've ever been to either country, I'd love to hear what your favorite spots are!

Summer vacation: 1000 Islands

Oh Mudlunta, how I love you.

A couple weeks ago we took a long road trip up to the family cottage in the 1000 Islands. It was an incredible week! We had a bit of rain, but that didn't stop us from enjoying our vacation. The best part of the 1000 islands is just being there. Soaking in the peaceful quiet of the river, spending time with family, reading until your heart's content, taking a ride in the kayak whenever you want to (even in when it's raining!), sailing in the open water. There's so much to do all the time, but somehow it's a slow pace too. I don't think I realized how much I needed the island. I needed that week off from work. I needed that quality time with my little family. But I think mostly I needed the break from life - a pause from the normal day-to-day stuff that tends to wear you down after a while. I was able to find some rest for my mind, and that is the best part about vacation no matter where you are.

To the Island we go

Tomorrow (!!) we are headed up north to Canada to stay in Michael's family cabin in the Thousand Islands.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be up there for a whole week - boating around the St. Lawrence River, enjoying the crisp clear weather, and just simply taking a break from life for a bit. It's been at least 2 years since I've had a full week's vacation from work, and to say I've needed it recently is an understatement.

It's kind of hard to describe how amazing it is up there, but it really is some kind of dreamland. The cabin is super old and rickety (occasionally we see bugs and mice), we shower in the outdoor showers, and we are either wearing a swimsuit or sweatpants 24/7. So I wouldn't exactly call it glamorous, but it is seriously the best vacation from the hustle and bustle of normal life. We will have no wifi or cell service, which I'm about 90% excited / 10% freaking out about. It will be good for me. To go whole days with no email, no instagram, no facebook, and just BE. I have a stack of books to read - The Paris Wife, The Guernsey Potato Peel Literary Society, and The Book Thief, to name a few - and for the most part I'll either be doing that or exploring out on the water. Cooper is going with us, and he is going to have the time of his life exploring the island, swimming, and running around with his favorite buddy Snickers. I. Can't. Wait.

I'll be posting photos on Instagram when I can, but I don't really know how often that will be. I'll for sure be blogging our trip when return!

>> Have you ever been to the Thousand Islands? Do you have any small town recommendations for exploring along the St. Lawrence River? Last time I was up there we went to Clayton, Alexandria, and Gananoque, but I'm open to exploring new places! I even thought about making the 2.5 hour drive up to Montreal since I've never been. Would it be worth it?

Roasted pepper, goat cheese, & basil pasta

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it's the weekend, amiright?! The weather here has suddenly cooled to a beautiful 80-degrees-and-sunny for the last couple days, which is unheard of mid-July in North Carolina. We have been eating out on our back patio in the evenings, exercising outside, and overall just enjoying the lack of humidity. It's been lovely. It also makes it especially hard to sit in an office all day, hence the strong TGIF emotions I've been feeling all day!

4th of July Weekend

How was your 4th of July weekend? Ours was fantastic. I loved that the holiday fell on a weekend this year! The weather was unbelievably gorgeous and unusually not humid, so we got to spend most of it outside and I have to say I loved it. I can't remember a 4th of July with such amazing weather!

Girls Weekend in New York City

Back in April, my mom, sisters, and I got to realize a dream that we've had for awhile - spend a weekend together in New York. And it was everything we'd hoped it would be! It was a quick trip, but we had two full days to eat and tour our way around the city, and that was enough to do a lot. I flew in from North Carolina, and they drove up from DC and we met at our hotel on Saturday morning to drop off our things and get started on our day! We had the best time just being together, having girl talk and seeing bits of the big city. I think we need to make this happen more than once in our lifetime.

Hello!

Okay, so it's been a while since I blogged. Like over two months. I didn't really plan on taking an extended break from blogging, it just kind of naturally happened and I went with it. There's no reason for me to write a forced post if my heart isn't in it, amiright?

So I'm stopping in to say hello! And let you know that I will be posting some life updates sometime soon. I can tell you some of what I've been up to: working a lot (work has been pretty stressful lately, to say the least), playing with my puppy, enjoying the glorious warmer weather, and doing a bit of jet-setting (the above photo is from a quick trip to Ocean Isle last weekend). I hope to recap all of that in the next couple weeks! It's good to be back!

High 5 for Friday

I haven't done one of these posts in a while! I decided I'd do a low 5 along with my high 5. I'll start with the lows and build up from there.

This week's lows:

1. I found 4 gray hairs this week - eek! Feeling really old. I may have to start dyeing my hair in the near future.
2. I cleaned the whole main level the other night - vacuumed, cleaned the powder room, straightened up. Thanks to the Coop man, not even 2 days later it looked like it needed a thorough cleaning again.
3. This has been a looong week at work. I am so ready for a vacation.
4. The rain. And the cold. I am just SICK of it! So ready for spring to come and STAY.
5. Since we were out of town last weekend and got home late Sunday night, the laundry and grocery shopping have yet to be caught up on... I am thinking it probably won't happen tonight either, even though it should.

How I Use Pinterest

a pin from my "decor" board

For some reason, Pinterest is something that I don't spend much time on. It seems to be an addiction for a lot of girls I know. I have friends who literally scroll through Pinterest on their phones throughout the day and talk about spending their evenings getting lost on it. But for some reason, I rarely ever get on to just browse. I'm not really sure why, because I love some of the inspiration I get when I'm browsing. However, I think a lot of time it makes me feel lazy. I look at pictures of food that I really want to make in my kitchen or house updates I want to tackle, and I feel lazy just sitting there on the computer instead of doing those things. So for the most part I don't spend a ton of time just browsing on Pinterest.

BUT this is not to say that I do not use it. I think I might just use it in a little bit different way than other people do. Whenever I go to Pinterest, it is with an intent purpose. Most of my pins are not re-pins, they are pinned from things that I'm looking at out on the web. I probably pin at least one article or recipe daily. Pinterest has become a handy tool in my kitchen, for design inspiration, and for life. I think it is an awesome central location for idea sharing and it's crazy to think that just a few years ago it didn't exist! Here are some ways I use it to keep my life organized.

Cooper

So if you follow me on Instagram, you saw that we recently adopted a puppy! Meet Cooper.

He is a shepherd chow mix (we think) but we also think there are some other breeds in there. I think we will find out more as he gets older and more features and behaviors become prevalent.

26

image source

Today is my birthday! As of 8:07 pm, I will be twenty-six years old. Twenty-six whole years of living in this crazy world. In some ways, every year feels older. In other ways, every year feels the same. One thing that's changed is I don't get super excited about my birthday anymore. Is that just me, or is that adulthood? This is not to say that I don't enjoy the festivities. I love going out to eat with Michael to celebrate (we're headed to The Cheesecake Factory tonight!) and I totally wouldn't mind if someone threw me an awesome party.

Snow!

A couple of weeks ago we got a snow day. We never get snow here in NC! It started in the evening - tiny flakes slowly fell from the sky and covered our neighborhood. I know I said before how I'm not a huge fan of snow, but when you don't have to go out in it, it actually feels pretty special. I love how cozy it makes everything seem. It creates a hush among the otherwise busy streets, and everything just looks so peaceful.

Dining room updates

The day I photographed the first floor, we actually made some changes in the dining room so it's been looking a little different from what I originally showed you. For Christmas my parents got me these Pottery Barn shelves, and I am in love with how they add some character to the room! I love being able to display my wine glasses instead of having them hidden in cabinets, and displaying them here also gives me more cabinet space in the kitchen. It's a win win all around. We also turned the table, which gives us some extra walking space from the living room to the back door. I think the room looks better without everything lined up down the middle. It's not so straightforward, and has a little bit more dynamic to it. What do you think?

Organization tip: Holiday cards

I am a forgetful person, but for those who know me, a lot of the time I probably seem like I have it all together. The reason is because I set myself up for things so that when I do forget (because I know I will) I have a backup plan. If I need to run an errand or call someone on my way home from work, I put a reminder in my phone for the time I know I'll be leaving. I write myself notes and lists and leave them in conspicuous areas so as not to forget important things. If I have to bring something with me when I'm leaving the house, I'll put it right next to my purse so I won't forget it when I walk out the door. I find when I don't have things prepped, I waste time and money, and I don't like that.

One thing I've started doing recently is having birthday, wedding, and baby cards at the ready.

First floor details: Before and After

I suppose I should have posted the "before" photos before posting the "after" photos. Oops. Here's what the foyer and living room looked like when we bought it, with some of the seller's furniture in it. From these photos, it's a little more obvious what kinds of changes we made, and I'll give a little more detail about what we did. There aren't any huge changes, since the house was fairly updated and kept up well, but I always like to see befores and afters, so here we go!

Foyer before:

And after:

Etsy faves: Baby Edition

I don't know about you, but it seems like every time I turn around, someone's pregnant (not me though. this is not an announcement). It's officially baby season for more and more of my friends, and I have to say I love it. This is a round-up of my favorite baby item shops on Etsy should you need a gift for a sister or friend who is expecting, or for yourself! Since I'm always looking for more Etsy shops to support, feel free to add some of your favorites in the comments section.

Cairtree

Cutest onesies ever.

Arrow onesie $16

I am a warm weather person.

This weekend we are heading to Beech Mountain like we do every year with Michael's family. We get to stay at a beautiful mountain house overlooking a (usually) snowy valley, play in the snow, sometimes go skiing. And every year I have to convince myself that it's going to be fun. I have to "gear myself up" for it, in a sense. I don't like cold weather. I hate being bundled from head to toe to the point where I can't breathe or walk. This is probably due to the fact that I feel like I never have the right gear for it and always end up with cold, wet extremities. I don't like driving up the mountain in our little Prius when the roads are slick. I had a bad experience skiing once, and while I've had some good ones since then, it's still not my favorite thing. I'd rather sit by the fire drinking coffee and reading a book.

Home tour: part 1

So I finally took some time to snap some photos of our house this morning! This tour is just of the first level, and I'll do the upstairs in another post. There are a lot things we still want to do, but I wanted to get a snapshot view of things as they are right now. We want to buy a big sectional couch for the living room, so that is going to change things a lot. We are still looking to try to figure out exactly what we want but I'm hoping to pick one out soon. I'll have to post updates as things evolve! (Confession: I actually made some changes in the kitchen and dining room today after taking these photos, so I'll have to share those with you soon!)

What I'm thinking about 2014

So many bloggers out there are picking a word for the new year, and I think it's a really neat idea. I actually thought I might try it out this year, since I didn't set any new resolutions. However, I haven't the slightest idea what my word for 2014 should be. I felt a little weird coming into this year, like some big things are going to happen but I have NO IDEA what those are because no big things are really on the calendar! It's a strange feeling to be anticipating something but not know what that something is. Does anyone ever feel that way?

There are some things that are looming but we don't know exactly how or if they're going to pan out:

Weekend update

This past weekend was low-key but pretty amazing. There's something so nice about cozying up on a cold and rainy January day, not feeling like you have to go anywhere or do anything fancy. We were able to catch up on some things around the house: putting up curtains in the dining room, adding some shelves in the garage and finishing up the workbench (Michael), and re-organizing the kitchen pantry (me). There are several other cosmetic changes I still want to make to the decor of our house, but sometimes you just need to do the things that no one will notice but you. It feels so good to have all of my food organized with everything in its place and a clean kitchen to start the week off with.