Thursday, May 28, 2009

Empty Nest

Sunday night my youngest brother graduated from High School. It was the first time our whole family has been together for an event since Christmas so we were able to get some cute family photos. But it is just so weird that my baby brother is going to be living on his own! Not to mention that he is going to be the 7 hours from home and he leaves to start summer school in less then a month at Ole Miss. I am more in fear of how Mother Mary will be handling this because I cannot handle spur of the moment to trips from her. Hopefully she will visit Middle brother at Auburn and not head down to Florida.

Anyway she now proudly has an Auburn and Ole Miss sticker on her car.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

beating a dead horse

Do y'all ever feel like your life is going in a circle? I can honestly say that the past 9 months I have been living in Limbo. I feel like I tell my friends the same story over and over again - which I am tired of my own story! Work - work out - sleep - repeat. (sometimes I skip the workout - oops)

What has been the most frustrating is that I have been ready to move - SO READY - last summer I went to visit a friend living in Manhattan and ever since i have been dying to mover there. I want to live in that environment, the city that never sleeps.

In the consulting world it is typical to change projects multiple times a year - I have been on the same project for TWO YEARS and I am so over living in Tallahassee. I am ready to be closer to family and friends .... life. So when I was talking to HR I was in the process of rolling off the project that I am currently on to a project in Portland, OR but that all came to a screaching halt. I have been used and abused on this project. So Monday i finally stood up for myself. I asked to be put on travel. Well not all the way but some of it. I aske for half my rent to be paid and to be reimbursed miles. Which that ends up being about $1200 more dollars a month and I got it approved. I am having a dance party in my office!!! So I was extended untill the end of september (read: 13 monthes later then expected) and it seems like there is going to be more opportinites if i just hold on tight....

lovely lamps

Today I was browsing my reader (while I was supposed to be working) when I stumbled upon a profile of Christopher Spitzmiller at All the Best. Living in an apartment has me addicted to lamps. The over head lighting leaves a lot to be desired and I have been in search for some new lamps. Not that i can afford even the cheapest lamp from Christopher Spitzmiller i can still day dream. These red ones are great that Ronda has are so stinking cute!!!
or this silver in a similar shape in a room at Todd Alexander Romano:

Or even these pink ones....


Friday, May 15, 2009

Plywood.... who knew!?!

A while back Jennifer blogged about a lovely plywood wall. I must say that I hasn't totally floored by the idea until recently. Who knew that such an inexpensive material could be turned into something so chic!

I cannot remember for the life of me where I snagged this picture form but I think it is fabulous. The plywood is applied in squares with the grain altering. AND there are finishing details such as a floor board - and crown molding would be a must for it to look like a finished project and not just a DIY gone wrong. I was thinking maybe one wall of a study or mudroom.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Craft update.

A while back I talked about mimicking a paining that I found online. Well since I have a new camera I can now show you what I have done... YAY.

So this is what I painted:



I haven't decided what to do with them yet... or if i even like them but there they are.


I also was inspired by an Athens local artiest: Cecil Allie. I have been searching to find some of her art work online - but I have failed. She is known for her 'chicks' and flowers. It is folk art. my feeling on art is that it has to speak to you... that's it. It does not have cost a lot of money or be technically sophisticated.
Since I am trying to be especially frugal - I tried my hand at a C.Allie inspired artwork. It is a watercolor - and most of cecil's are acrylic and on scrap wood. But I tried.




My other find... yard sale find that is a 8x10 - I wasn't there early but people didn't know what they were missing and the owner didn't know what she had. So I snatched it up.... it was a single red guinea, but not just any guinea is was a Cornbread. Loud and Proud right on the front it displayed the name Cornbread.

I got this guinea for $5.00. SHOCK and AWWW.... I didnt negoticae the cost. Similar paintes are for same for around $200.00. Needless to say I was thrilled.




Cutting edge

.... Well kind of.

I don't know about you but I tend to be a few steps behind when it comes to the latest technology. I don't have a blackberry (I am getting one when i need and upgrade), I got an ipod 2 years ago - which was about 2 years after everyone else and i have had the same camera for 5 years - i used it for one. I haven't uploaded photos in years. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME! I got a new camera - and it is a touch screen. oohhahhh.

so here I am on the edge - new camera with a touch screen. I am going to test it out pronto!!

2 YEARS!?!?

My lovely co-worker (whom also went to my alma mater) proceeded to inform me that we graduated from college exactly 2 years and 1 day ago today. I couldn't help but feel a bit old. It is weird to me that college is becoming somewhat of a distant memory. I can no longer tell people in the workplace that I "recently graduated from college" because 2 years is not exactly recent.

I remember the day that I graduated college. I had my first job lined up and thought I was making a lot of money. I had all these plans. I had a boyfriend whom I thought I was going to marry. Boy how time can change things! I am now single and independent. I bitch at the taxes that get taken out of every paycheck. Paying rent each month is like the biggest kick in the balls.

If there is one thing about college that I could get back, it would be my impulsiveness. In college I would take risks without calculation. It seems that in these 2 years I have somehow lost that ability to take risks. For example, I would love to drop everything and move abroad for a year. If you asked me to do this when I was 21, I didn't/wouldn't have thought twice about it. In fact, I did study abroad and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Now the thought of moving abroad is too expensive, too risky, etc. etc.

So now it raises the question...is it possible to take 'calculated risks' or is it all or nothing?

Thursday, May 7, 2009

NOT OKAY

I work in an office with a lot of pregnant women. I can say that in my walk downstairs to cafeteria for breakfast this morning, I passed 3 pregnant ladies. It really pains me to have something against a pregnant person because I really want to be happy for them. However, it is not okay for pregnant ladies to wear empire waisted dresses that are not made for maternity!!! I realize that everything out in the stores not is a bit more "flowy" than it used to be. And I also realize that we are in a recession and people really do not want to buy too much.
I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture of this fashion feux-pa that was taking place but let me just try to help you visualize what I saw. She had on a dress like this, and it was almost like she was trying to squeeze a basketball underneath her dress. What she did not realize, was that her dress was not only pulling in the front, but also in the back. You literally could see her panty line and all the glory from the back!

I just want to say that there are several low cost options that would have been more suited than trying to fit a circle inside a square. Target and Old Navy make adorable and affordable maternity clothes. How cute is this!?

Old Navy: $24.50!






































































































Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Literally Smells

This past weekend I went to Prattville, AL to see my friends new life, home, job, friends for one of her wedding events.

All I have to say is.... I.COULDN'T.DO.IT!

First - not to be a snot - but the only people I talked to the entire weekend who had graduated from college were teachers. No one else.

Second - it smells. all the time. There is a paper mill in Prattville therefore the entire town stinks. My friends new house has a pool out bad were we enjoyed most of our Saturday and i could parly handle sitting out there.

Finally - every one is married with a baby on the way. As i have blogged earlier i am NOT ready for babies. The town is for people who want to live a 'simple' life. We went 'out' saturday to a bunker... cement walls..... yeah... enough said.