Words of Wisdom

I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite quotes with you all. I'm not sure who to give credit to for these, but I've had them written down in my notebook for a while and enjoy reading them often. They provide me a bit of encouragement from day to day.

"You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling"

"Sometimes just the act of sharing a painful secret can relieve some of the pain"

"Follow your heart and you'll never get lost"

I hope that these will give at least one of you a boost in life as they have done for me lately.

Ten Things Tuesday on Wednesday, Etsy Edition!

All of the things you'll see below are from one of my favorite websites, Etsy! I'm a huge fan of buying handmade & I hope you are too. Enjoy!

1. super cute children's book

2. I neeeeeeed these for my room!!!

3. Awesome San Fran Print

4. I also need this for my room, in white, please!

5. and this

6. totally ready for dress weather!!!

7. can you guess? yeah, this chalkboard would be for my room as well. 

8. I've never had a macaroon and these make me want them in every color!

9. after regretting not buying a spoon ring when I saw them in the Charleston market, I'm definitely getting one next time!

10. who doesn't love a cute frenchie bath photo?

Road Trip

I've been on a little vacation/road trip since Thursday and have missed my little blog quite dearly. My trip took off Thursday morning when I headed down to Jacksonville (North Carolina).

Frodo rode along with me because I was taking him to do a trial run to see how well he would live with my dear friend Brittney. So far he is loving being the only child & is a great fit for Brittney. It's not that we wanted to get rid of Frodo, it's just that there are several dogs here at my parent's house and he craves so much attention. In addition to that, Brit just bought a house & wanted a dog. I saw it being the perfect match, so I made the offer since she's always loved Frodo. I would never allow him to go live with anyone I didn't trust and I'm pretty sure Brit is one of the only people I would ever let take him.

Okay, so on to the trip. I got to spend lots of time with the wonderful Stoll family. I got to see Kristen & Laura...two of the sweetest people I know. Met a few new people, which is always great. I wish I could've stayed longer but I'll be returning in a few weeks to make up for it. I stayed in Jax until Saturday morning. That morning I made my way down to Charleston, South Carolina, to see Richard. We wandered around downtown and ate lots of great food and went through the market a couple of times. It rained all weekend so we watched scary movies and old cartoons for a majority of the time. We took a trip down to the aquarium since Richard has never been (?!?) and it was quite fun. I love animals, especially sea life. My favorites are always the seahorses and the jelly fish. It was a great trip & I can't wait to go back. Monday afternoon I headed to Charlotte, as my last stop, to see Ashley and Ryan. My Mom & I made her some tiebacks for her curtains as well as a cute little plastic bag holder for her kitchen, which were both made out of some left over fabric she had given me, I was so excited to give them to her. I also always look forward my free therapy sessions with Ash and Ryan. Haha! I finally returned back to my parent's house this morning & caught up on some much needed sleep. I returned to a freshly painted room, which was super exciting (Thanks Mom & Dad!).

Be looking for a Ten Things Tuesday on Wednesday, since my eyes are getting too heavy to put that up tonight :]

Help Japan!

Are you wondering how you could help the tsunami/earthquake relief for Japan? There are many organizations that are accepting donations. I prefer this one....not only do I get a cute shirt to show my support, 100% of the profits are given directly to Global Giving to aid Japan. $20 plus $5 shipping and you've made a difference. You've helped Japan as simple as that. After living in Okinawa for a while, this disaster has pulled on my heart strings and brought many tears to my eyes after barely making it through some of the footage. Click here to pre-order your shirt from Respire Apparel now!

Ten Things Tuesday

It's that time again!

1. Sally Hansen Insta-Dry nail polish is my favorite brand. They have so many awesome colors!

2.super cute pillowcases

3. animals that are dressed like people

4. i'm falling more and more in love with paper lanterns

5. City & Colour 

6. pet mice/rats 

 

7. this girl's awesome chest piece

8. If you want an awesome granola recipe, try this one. It's so yummy!

9. Operation Tomodachi (which means "friendship" in japanese). Please donate to help Japan!!! 

10. Natalie Dee

Momma Makeover

My mom is always asking me to pick out clothes for her so tonight Jamie and I forced her to go to Old Navy for a mini-makeover. We didn't want to change her style too much since she likes to be comfortable. She picked out a dark wash pair of jeans and a tan cardigan. She also got two t-shirts that look great with both the jeans and cardie. We though the pink striped shirt added a little pop since she typically goes for a floral or basic shirt. You can't really go wrong with a cardigan or a nice pair of dark wash jeans! All we need now are a few accessories and she'll be good to go! Lookin' good momma!

Sometimes Fashionable

I thought this outfit was too cute so I had Jamie take a picture of me so I could share it with you all. It's not very often that I feel very "fashionable" but I believe this outfit qualifies. Not the most flattering photo of myself but you get the idea. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Belt- Forever 21

Tank & Cardigan & Shoes - Target

Jeans- Charlotte Russe

Project Remodel - Desk

Since moving in with my parents, I have basically taken over the right half of the house. My brother recently moved out and I am slowly, but surely, moving into his old room. (Thanks, brother, for leaving so much CRAP in that room!!! & a big thanks to my parents for cleaning it out!) We are redoing the entire room from floor to ceiling. New ceiling fan, painting, hardwood floors, etc. I already have the entire room pictured in my head and can't wait to get it the way I want. Brother left behind this desk and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it & paint it. My mom found it at a yard sale a few years back and it'll go with my new room perfectly. I only took one before picture since I almost forgot that I was going to make a post about it but you'll get the idea. I thought a dusty pink color would fit right in with the gray walls and my white/gray/yellow bedding. Next, I think I'm going to make my own curtains for the room since I'm not too sure I'll find what I want in the store for a reasonable price. Then, eventually I hope to turn the room I'm currently in into a mini living room. Okay, here we go!

Ten Things Tuesday

1. Lately I've been obsessed with North Carolina and all that lies within. 

 

2. these super cute scrabble pillows

3. hello kitty blanket

4. circus cupcakes!

 

5. Victoria's Secret fleece zip-up wrap 

6. frenchie puppies still get me every time

7. obsessed with this whole album

8. there are FOURTY-THREE different recipes for pizza here. they all look delish!

9. anthropologie dress

10. Katamari!!! I love this game. 

I finally checked out some news feed on the damage done to Japan. I've been avoiding it because I didn't want to see how bad it really was. My eyes filled with tears. I feel such a connection to that country after living there for six months. The death toll just reached 1,833 and there are still 2,369 missing. My heart is breaking.

Okinawa did not get hit with anything from this, thankfully. Check out a map, we are quite a bit away from mainland Japan. Matt & all of my dear friends are okay, for those of you asking.

My flight has been postponed once again. They put out a waiver for people who do not feel they should travel through Tokyo at this time and are issuing new tickets if requested. I'm not quite ready to leave and I don't really feel comfortable traveling with everything that is going on there right now.

Please keep that beautiful country in your thoughts.

BFF

I don't have many friends that I feel like I can open up to 100%. Honestly, unless you bribe me with cupcakes or drag information out of me, I usually don't let you past what is on the surface of my emotions. I keep a lot bottled up inside but there is one person that I can always turn to if I need to spill my guts. I'm so thankful to have her in my life. I would probably have lost my mind already if it wasn't for her. When something goes wrong, she always has a great solution. When I need a super honest opinion, she will definitely give me one. When I need an awesome shopping buddy, she's there. I can tell her anything and everything without hesitation and that is something I will always treasure. Need a good joke or a song to describe your life? She can come up with one at any moment and will make you laugh until you cry.

Jamie is definitely my best friend:

THANK YOU, JAMIE! 

You're awesome!

Check out her super cute new blog by clicking here. 

Sunday is her birthday, so run on over and leave her a birthday comment! :]

To my other dearest best friends, don't think I forgot about you. 

There are a few more of you that have a special place in my heart. 

Raw

One of my biggest fears seems so silly when I actually say it out loud. Maybe because I can't really explain it (even though I'm getting ready to attempt to). I'm terrified of being alone. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I can't remember a time when I was actually single for a long period of time. I have always felt the need to have someone there. Security? Probably. I'm challenging myself to be alone and be okay with it. To not lean on anyone when I'm feeling weak. To be genuinely happy with only myself. Once that is accomplished I may let someone in, but not until I have reached that moment. I'm still not sure how to tell if I've actually made myself happy but I'm sure I'll figure it out as the time goes by. Right now, I'm only concerned about myself. Selfish as it may seem, it's true, and very important at this moment. You can't really love anyone until you love yourself, right? At least that's what I hear.

In the mean time, this is one of the little dudes that will keep me company...I miss him being so little...and i definitely miss my hair being that long & big & awesome...

Okinawa, you'll have to wait.

 

I postponed my flight by a week. I'm just not ready to leave. I didn't want to pack and I definitely didn't want to fly for twenty-some hours. I love North Carolina. If anything has my heart, it's definitely this state. As much as I miss beautiful Okinawa, it can wait.

A step in the right direction

Doing things without other people's opinions has become quite difficult for me. That is something hard to admit because saying "I don't give a shit about what other people think" is the typical and cool thing to say. Well, here I am...I'm saying it...I care what other people think. A little too much. The other day I did something that I've wanted to do for a long time but I have put it off due to the opinions of a few people and my slight fear of needles. I got my nose pierced. I like it. I think it looks cute. For once, I took a step forward and really didn't care what anyone else said about it. I did it because I wanted to and I wanted to make myself do something despite what anyone else thought. This is a step forward for me. From now on, I'm doing things that I want to do. I'm not just talking about piercings, this in fact is about way more than piercings. It's about me choosing my own path in life.

Cheers to a new start!

Self Improvement

I have been working on quite a few things to improve myself in the past couple of months. This month I have taken a few steps backwards and I currently need something to pick myself back up. Blogging about my goals may make me feel more obligated to stand by them, especially if my friends and family are aware of what I am trying to achieve and check in on me every so often. This list may be short and seem simple but these are things that I struggle with on a daily basis.

• Follow (and write down) a daily schedule
• Wake up by 9:30am and go to bed by 10pm
• Cut back on naps
• Accomplish one personal goal each day, no matter how little it may seem (walk the dogs, buy someone a gift, fill out a scholarship application, etc)

So if you've read this and you talk to me sometime in the near future, I'd love it if you'd ask how it's going or ask me what my personal goal of the day was to see if I'm keeping up with it.

Do you have any self improvement goals that you've been working on and would like to share? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Ten Things Tuesday

1. gray and yellow color combination.

2. cupcakes in ice cream cones!

3. these Toms 

4. Fujifilm Instax Mini

5. this sweet frenchie print

6. Scottish Fold Kittens

7. cute tutorial on how to make pompom flowers

8. Ham and Cheese Sliders... nomnomnom!

9. rug from Ikea

10. super cute closets turned into offices