hey, so when we have our own place...

This is how I begin ninety-nine percent of the things I say to Mitch as of late. Sooo, when we have our own place, can we get Netflix? When we have our own place, can we throw parties just because? Heyyy, when we have our own place, can I be in charge of decorating?

If he's not sick of it...he's a saint.

But what can I say? I'm a planner. I'm a woman. AND I'M ME. I love to nest even when I have no nest to nest. Such is the burden I bear. Sighhhh.

Anyway, all that to say that I'm obsessed with these birch tree wall decals and we will have them (heyyy... sooo...) when we have our own place.

I want you.

mishmash: november

In the spirit of echoing everyone else in the world, it's November!

Can you even believe it?

There's something always strangely exciting about starting a new month; perhaps it's the thought of a new beginning, the possibility of a fresh start. Whatever it is, it's already put a spring in my step.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I ordered these earrings from an Etsy shop called Milk Money. They arrived early last week and, yes, they are perfect! I thought about taking a picture of them on my ear(s?) but, to be frank, was too lazy. Anyway, they look just as lovely in person as they did in the picture and I am beyond pleased. Seriously, Milk Money is a ridiculously fabulous little shop. This was my second time ordering from Bethany, the creator, and she was sweet enough to give me a 15% off discount for being a repeat customer. Yes! Even without such a thoughtful gesture, Bethany genuinely seems (from the little information shared via her Etsy profile) like she has a love of people and creating (something I really respect). Oh, and she's speedy -- I got the earrings only a few days after I placed my order! As someone who's notoriously impatient, I love this.

I think these will be my next two purchases (and very soon...I just can't help myself):


Czech glass bead stud earrings - I actually bought these for my friend Kelley's birthday back in May, but I like them so much, I want a pair of my own.

We Make A Great Pear locket ring - ummmmmm...LOVE this.

Oh, Milk Money, you are so adorable that I don't even mind spending the little money I have on your pretty things that make me feel pretty in turn. :)

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween weekend! Mine was spent in Nacogdoches with Mitch and some friends, tailgating (Saturday) and recovering (Sunday). Neither Mitch nor I could come up with any great costume ideas, so we were pretty lame. To be fair, however, our friend Hogan was dressed as a male hula dancer and there was really no way anyone was going to top that.

Currently I'm trying to find a way to get the pictures off this camera. Halfway to Nac I realized I had forgotten mine, but luckily I was able to borrow Hogan's...which means I don't have the right cord(s) for uploading. Damnit. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet. I'm really hoping I can figure this out myself without having to drive (an hour away) to Hogan's.

Oh, and I wanted to share a link I saw yesterday on a blog I read, My Teacups in Peony. Apparently The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click/donate daily so they can get enough free food donated for all the abused and neglected animals they take in. All you do is head over to their website and click on the purple box that says, "Click Here to Give - it's FREE!" One click provides roughly enough food for six animals, and you can visit/click every day! Anyway, I'm totally an animal (read: dog) person, and this really broke my heart. I've already visited yesterday and today! I'm so glad Nicole posted this for others to see.

All right, back to the task at hand: figuring out a way to get these damn pictures uploaded to my computer. Happy Monday, y'all, and happy first day of November!

mismash: october

I have been having a very terrible, no-good, oh-poor-me two weeks.

People have turned out to be selfish, inconsiderate, and flat-out rude, and I don't take too kindly to being treated so poorly. Rejection sucks, yes, and I've been throwing myself plenty of pity parties, but I need to be a big girl and move the hell on. I'm not great at endings. I guess I'll just have to get better.

Work has slowed down considerably since picture day season is officially over (boo), and I'm quite bored (not to mention purposeless-feeling). I'm already fighting off the wintertime blues, and it's only October (and lately the weather has been so bi-polar and consequently so have i rings too true).

Sooooo today I ordered these earrings from this super adorable Etsy shop to cheer myself up.


Seeing as how I've had all this free time, I've finally been able to finish up a few books I'd been working my way through. For the record, Nabokov's Lolita is a. slow, b. longgg, and c. one of the creepiest, most uncomfortable books ever. I'd heard people and my professors make references to this novel for years, so I finally bought it and thought I'd give it a go. In a nutshell, it's the story of (and narrated by) an imprisoned child molester who had fallen in love with his landlady's twelve-year old daughter, etc. It's so awkward and I keep accidentally bringing it with me to middle school sports shoots. That's not okay.

I did, however, recently finish an incredible book called Thin is the New Happy by Valerie Frankel.

Amazing.

I know it sounds silly and cliche, but this memoir has literally changed my life. Val had spent her entire life (since she was 11!) as a chronic-dieter, completely obsessed with her weight and suffering from bad body image issues (story of my life). Anyway, she decides to give up dieting and decides to deal with her emotional baggage, confront the demons in her past, eat when hungry, stop when full, and simply work out to remain healthy instead of focusing on dropping a dress size. Ummm...totally inspiring. And, okay, those may seem like the most obvious things in the world to do, but something about this book and her words clicked with me and changed the way I look at myself. I'm psyched to be on day 4 in a row of working out simply because of the good I know it'll bring to the one body (and mind!) I'm ever going to get. Val, I repeat, you're an inspiration.

I'm not even kidding, read this book.

Now that it's (already) Friday (afternoon), I'm (begrudgingly) off to tackle production and shipping (ie. the parts I don't enjoy about my job...I would much rather be out at shoots all day). But here's to a happy weekend?