10.30.2013

life, lately.

things have been pretty quiet on this blog of mine lately, indulge me while i catch you up on my life as of late...

in early september (yes, forever ago) cory and i attended a gator football game in my lovely hometown of gainesville, florida.  we had an especially great time tailgating (but seriously, who could have a bad time tailgating??).  i even ran into some amazing old college friends i hadn't seen in years (never met a kimmel i didn't like) and had a great time catching up/reminiscing about the good ol' days!  the gators won (yay!), even though the rest of their football season has been less than stellar :(  oh well, maybe next year.

late september, we went to the bluegrass festival in downtown raleigh and had a rootin' tootin' good time!

been enjoying lots of fall fruits...

and fro yo dates.

someone turned thirty two on october 4, (hint: the person wearing a sparkly headband)...

and we celebrated with a redwings victory against the hurricanes!!
my bff dealt some devastating news (for me, anyways) when she told me she and her family were moving to the much too far away state of wisconsin at the end of october.  we had a very nice girls-only farewell dinner, and alice and i even traded socks and shoes!  

while i'm happy for my bff and the new opportunities coming her way... i myself have gone through the full cycle of the kübler-ross model for the five stages of grief:
1.  denial that this was acutally happening
2.  anger (not really, but i didn't really have time to wallow in this stage with such short notice)
3.  bargaining.  begging her not to go (or, at least leave alice with me. c'mon, at least?!?!)
4.  depression.  we are talking deep and dark.
5.  and finally, acceptance.

okay, maybe i'm being a bit dramatic...but seriously, i will definitely miss my dear friend and my sweet adorable alice.  on the upside, this means lots of face time and vacations to wisconsin (in the summer, of course).  good luck, raphael family!  i love you guys.

and finally, we visited the north carolina state fair last week for date night last week!  we rode a few of our favorite rides and stuffed our faces with fried cheese, corn dogs and pretzels.  we left in one piece and never contracted e. coli... which, in my opinion, makes for a pretty successful evening at the fair!

thanks for catching up with me... i'll try to not let several months to pass before my next post (again). ;)

10.28.2013

monster mash

halloween will soon be upon us, and cory and i have definitely been getting in the spirit around here with a little decorating and pumpkin carving.  we are ready and all stocked up with a bowl full of candy for the little trick-or-treaters (unless i eat it all before thursday, not kidding).
our pumpkins turned out pretty well this year if i do say so myself... cory went with a scary evil pumpkin, while i went with a more goofy, lighthearted approach (inspired by some people i saw at the state fair last week, except my pumpkin has more teeth, haha)!  all carved free handed, of course... we don't need no stinking stencils!
and one of the best things about pumpkin carving... roasted pumpkin seeds!  my secret ingredient is a pinch of chili powder in addition to the salt and pepper (it gives them a little extra kick)!

happy halloween!


10.02.2013

blank canvas

cory and i are in the midst of transforming our bedroom into a more refined space (i.e. it looks like two adults with at least some taste in interior decor live/sleep in this room).  while we've slowly done very "grown-up" things (like purchase matching bedside tables, lamps and shades, and coordinating bed linens) we still have just a little more work to be done.  over the past few weeks, this blank wall that serves as the background for our t.v., has been screaming at me for some attention.  it's time for some statement wall art!  and why go out and buy a big piece of already made art (for probably way too much money) when you can turn it into a fun diy project and, well... do it yourself.

above (from the ugly ducking house) is the biggest contender.  i have all the materials necessary minus the canvas.  i've never used gold leaf before, but i'm down to give it a try.  currently, the blank wall gets lots of western sunlight... and i think this would be absolutely beautiful with the light reflecting off the gold!

i pinned this (from the southern state of mind blog) a really long time ago, and still love the idea just as much as i did the first time i saw it.  my only problem is that this may give me nightmares if i wake up in the middle of the night still half-asleep and i'm staring into the arms of a giant octopus.  maybe this would be better suited for a living room :)

i've featured this idea (from a beautiful mess) on my blog before.  there are so many song lyrics that i hold dear in my heart... the only hard part would be narrowing down which one i would want to use.  either way, i will do this one day, whether it be for my sad lonely bedroom wall or maybe another smaller space. 

favorite. poem. ever.  by e.e. cummings.  how cool is this idea (from alisa burke), she simply used black shoe polish on a white canvas! voila, instant statement piece.

and finally, this antique mirror wall (from cupcakes and cashmere) would give me a great excuse to go thrift shopping on the weekends, but i'm just not so sure it's right for our bedroom wall (in a "i look like hell when i wake up and need one less mirror to be reminded of that" kinda way).

i'll keep you posted on what i decide to do, and the progress with this project.  which one is your favorite?  i'd love to hear some of your favorite ideas for a statement wall!