Skirts and Turquoise

I got crazy last night and wore a cute little skirt to choir practice. Not that wearing cute little skirts is crazy, just that I usually wear jeans. Because they are easy. With jeans you don't have to worry about leg hair or wind. Jeans are low maintenance.






That turquoise ring is one of my top five favorite pieces of jewelry. My dad found it metal detecting a number of years ago and gave it to me. He's found some really lovely things over the years. I kind of love that particular hobby.

While I like the femininity of the outfit, I'm trying to get away from such young looks. I still have tons of flimsy tank tops and skirts that I bought in my early 20's that I now feel make me look like a little girl...or maybe a mid-20's woman trying to look like a little girl. Anyway, this ensemble gets a B-.

On Mental Health

My mind is going in about a thousand different directions these days, but I've been really concentrating on focusing my mind to gradually improve my health in all aspects: mentally, physically, and spiritually.

I didn't really intend to do this at first. It just started out with me acknowledging and defining my issues with anxiety (mental) at the beginning of the year. I read this great interview on Yes and Yes with a woman dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks. While I do not suffer from panic attacks, I have come to realize the past few months that many of the issues that I struggle with emotionally (irrational fears, discomfort in social settings, inability to relate to people, etc) really all stem from chronic anxiety. I have been working consistently the past three months to recognize these issues and combat their negative influences on my life, and I can't believe the difference it has made. My concentrated effort to confront irrational fears especially has lifted such a great weight. Simple tasks like going to an exercise class alone or auditioning for a choir or asking for help at a grocery store are no longer insurmountable feats.

I had no idea how important mental heath is. I've just been running around thinking that all I need to do to be healthy is eat some broccoli and move around every now and then. WRONG. Being able to interact with your surroundings is so hugely important to a healthy lifestyle. I now know this. Yaaay, me!

I hope to never again let fear and anxiety keep me from achieving my goals or enjoying my life. I've just got to keep it up.

Outfit Posts...Will They Last?

Lately I've been kind of tired of my whole "look." Maybe it's because I started following fashion blogs (A Beautiful Mess and Adored Austin are two of my all-time favorites) and am constantly seeing the beautiful outfits that these women create. Whatever the reason, I haven't felt as pretty or comfortable in my clothes, so I think that it's time to re-vamp my wardrobe. I've been a little befuddled on how to do this until it hit me- I'll do my own outfit posts so that I can step back and objectively somewhat objectively critique why some things work and others don't. We'll see how it goes.

Yes, these were taken with Photobooth. Tripods and timers are way too complicated for me.

Yesterday's outfit is a prime example of what's been irking me. It was comfortable and not particularly unflattering, but it was 100% boring and left me feeling uninspired. I was pretty happy with my hair, though, and will probably style it like this much more often. Over all a C-. Better luck tomorrow, old girl.

A Very Lovely Life

It seems crazy that March is almost over already...there is so much that has been going on, not to mention so much coming up in the next few weeks! The first couple of months of the year were not great for me emotionally, but I feel that the clouds have finally parted and my life is full of sunshine. I really do have a very lovely life.

Perhaps this change of attitude is due to steps that I have been taking to like myself more. I have really stepped up my workout routine and started eating well, resulting in weight loss and better self-image. I've been getting more sleep, drinking less, and (the real kicker) quit smoking. Yes, dear readers, I feel that enough time has passed to inform you that it has been a full 22 days since my last cigarette! Feel free to throw me a parade. I was going to wait for the 3 week mark to say anything, but I've really been wanting to write about how much better I have been feeling. And, though I was never more than a social smoker, not smoking really does make me feel so much better.

So, all that just to say that things are looking up. I am making plans for the rest of this year and hope to have good news to share in the next few weeks (anticipation!)

For lack of a better segue, here are some pictures!

my first pool day of 2011 :)

St. Paddy's Day at BWW

new tattoo...for turning 25 and for loving my life (sorry, Mom and Dad!)

Deep breath...and now for the plunge. Have a great week, all.

Fun with the AE-1

Nice Texas weather = busting out the AE-1. My friends have been good sports letting me steal their souls with my vintage camera.

chillin at The Saucer

beers in the park

I'm still learning how to use this monster, but I'm getting better. I now know to pay more attention to the film speed because some really cool shots got ruined by being way washed out. :(

I can't wait to take the camera to the Rangers Opening Day. My soul collection's gonna be huge!

Tattoo Love

It's so nice to not be sick and not have to work for a couple days. I'm using my time to get back into my workout routine (spin class this morning...ROUGH!) and cook some tasty meals. Right now I'm taking a 30 minute break to watch TV and catch up on some internet. Once again I found a beautiful tattoo on Rock N Roll Bride that I am so jealous of, but would never have the cojones to get.

I have such a weakness for large, super-feminine upper-back tattoos. Maybe one day I'll have the guts to get one. :)

I Would Like To Take A Moment...

...to discuss how truly adorable my cats are.

They are best when they are sleeping. :)

I'm a total cat lady, btw. In case you couldn't tell. Crazy cat ladies represent!

On Illness

I have spent the past week languishing in the complete and utter misery that is strep throat. That is approximately 168 hours spent drifting in and out of consciousness while laying on the couch sipping fizzy water and watching The Real Housewives on Bravo. This is what it looked like:

Luckily, I got some crazy awesome antibiotics and am now looking more like this:

While I wasn't feeling 100%, this weekend Corban's company had a big to-do, and I was determined to attend, so I took a crap-ton of cold medicine (who needs weed when you can just get high on Tylenol AM?), washed my hair for the first time in 5 days, and shlepped my ass over to the Hilton where we all had a fabulous time dancing to top 40 hits and crashing a medieval-themed prom.

Seriously, we took their crowns.

The Quarter on Etsy

Corban's super creative and talented cousin, Janice recently opened an etsy shop called The Quarter featuring the most adorable hand-painted onesies. Someone needs to have a baby so that I can gift them this cutie.

Save this link for all those baby showers (or just babies) in your future!

National Margarita Day

Yesterday was my favorite holiday of the year.

How did you celebrate?

Geeking Out

I have been so obsessed with tattoos lately. I really need to geek out for a minute over a couple of tattoos that I am kind of in love with.

(images via Rock N Roll Bride)

How beautiful are these? So feminine and gorgeous. I die (that's me channeling Rachel Zoe.)

I've also recently been a little obsessed with working out. How weird is that? Who have I become!? I joined a gym last month (hello, New Year's resolution!) and just started taking yoga and pilates classes. It is so
painful
fun! I'm looking forward to the day when I can leave an hour-long class not feeling like I am going to die. Also looking forward to that pilates butt that I am going to have in my swimsuit this summer. :)

What are you geeking out over these days?

The Why

In order for you to keep moving forward on your big dreams you must have a substantial compelling vision. Your Why must be monumental. It must be something you care about so deeply in your gut that it will continue to propel you forward during your darkest hours. Your Why should keep you up at night ... Following through on your big vision will be hard. It will require you to do things that the average person wouldn’t consider. It might mean missing out on happy hours or working more than 1 job. It will mean pushing forward after a failure and continuing to have hope in the bleakest moments. It is in these extra tough moments that you will need to call on your Why to keep you motivated to keep going.

Nailah Blades

(via Polka Dot Coaching)

Valentine's Day 2011

Me and the mister pretty much fall in the middle as far as "people who celebrate Valentine's Day" go. He gives me flowers, I usually get him a small gift, and we have a nice dinner together. We just try to use the time to appreciate having each other and to acknowledge the effort that we each put into our relationship. It is always a lovely little private celebration.

Yesterday he sent me roses at work (red and yellow, his favorite and my favorite), then we came home and fixed a delicious steak dinner, complete with wine and a cheese/fruit dessert course. I spent the morning putting together some pretties to make our humble little coffee table a bit more special. :)

We finished the evening by watching Firefly and reading Lord of the Rings. Yes, we are hardcore.

Now it is the early morning and we are enjoying some tea together before we start our days. The windows are open and birds are singing. Such a pleasant sound.

Future Statements

We all know how embarrassing it feels to make a big statement about our future to our friends and family, and then have what we were hoping for fall through. So when the same thing happens to someone you love–they made a grand plan for their future, shared it with everyone, and then things didn’t work out–show them compassion, remind them reorganizing a dream isn’t failure, and keep being their biggest cheerleader.

Molly Ford

(via Smart, Pretty, and Awkward)

Getting Mail Makes Me Happy

I just received my Caitlin Shearer prints in the mail, and oh my lordy, they are so lovely.

She also included bonus prints! I can't wait to hang these in our bedroom (which, due to another bout of crazy weather has recently been festooned with additional handmade bunting and pillows...seriously, it looks like a carnival threw up in there...in a good way!)

Today is looking a little brighter. ^_^

P.S.-Who else is totally excited for the new season of The Real Housewives of Orange County? Anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller?