we love going on walks

And I love capturing them. Walks are extra special when it's your 2-year anniversary. :) Happy February 28th to everyone, and Happy Anniversary, A. ♥

i heart catalina island

Cali over at PassionBird tagged me in this little game. I won't tag anyone this time around, but I would love to see everyone take part! Send me a note, so I can check yours out. :)

How it works:

+ open your 1st photo folder
+ scroll to the 10th photo
+ post the photo and the story behind it

Story behind the above photo:

In the Spring of 2006(?), my Mom, my best friend, and her mom took a ferry over to Catalina Island for a fun day trip. I love how easy and accessible this charming little island is for us Southern Californians! Our day was filled with shopping, sunning, lunching, mini-golfing, and plenty of gratuitous-teenage-girl-picture-taking. :)

I love how vividly I remember this day. Makes me want to go back asap.

it's outfits like these...

1, 2, 3, 4

...that leave me dying for Springtime. They're pretty yet casual and perfect for any sunny day outing. Thank you, JCrew. You make getting dressed so much more fun.

ready for spring sandals

Jaw drops.

Loeffler Randall






That second pair totally reminds me of my best friend - who turns 21 today! Happy birthday, Tala!!! Love you!

what made today great | 02.23.10

1. our apartment is sparklin' clean 
2. 60 min. power fusion yoga podcast 
3. found a new tea i love (good earth sunset red tea)
4. sprouts sells amazing wheat raisin bread
5. i posted my "about me" page - check it out!

so fresh and so...

If only I was cleaning a kitchen with one of these... (via seesaw designs)

Today is cleaning day. I wish this was something we did often, but I won't lie...it's not. I have a pretty type-A personality in many other parts of my life, though when it comes to my personal space/desk/room/apartment, it's usually a...well, a mess. I promise I have good intentions to clean - that counts for something, right? Hehe.

Well, once in awhile Clean Michelle takes over and I go bananas cleaning my room and bathroom (though my mom may beg to differ...). Today I'm in charge of tidying up our whole apartment, while the boyfriend is in charge of doing our 3+ loads of laundry. I just don't like doing laundry - isn't it the worst? Okay, just me. :)

But this wasn't always me. When I was little, my best friend and I would, for fun, clean her whole entire house (which was not small). I'm talking windex, vacuums, sponges, etc. Yes, her mom would sometimes give us $20 to split (score!), which we would then go spend on candy from the general store (another thing I wouldn't do today). Oh, childhood...hah.

Sophomore year (just last year - wow, feels like eons ago), my roommate would clean our entire kitchen and bathroom, top to bottom. We loved her for it, but probably didn't thank her enough. (Thank you, Carolyn!) Now I'm feeling like I need to get into that habit because having a sparkling clean apartment feels awesome!

Anyway, I've tackled the kitchen and bathroom, and now it's onto the living room and bedroom. I'm feeling the urge to organize the bookcase and rearrange our furniture, too...muahaha. Who am I?







Who knew I could write so much about cleaning?

the alexa

Alexa Chung for Madewell. Genius match-up. Coming soon.
(via wiksten-made)

hail to the chiefs

Seriously GLAM.
Chiefs of Enchantment.

the smell of roses

One perk of working for a company with an in-house floral team is that I can snatch up any of the 'used goods' about to get thrown away. Really though, how could I let these beauties go to waste?

I am very okay with this. ♥








P.S. Like the blog makeover so far?

snack break

A yummy afternoon snack break:
Tea (plenty milk, no sugar) + kind bar + a magazine

one word

Thank you to Bethany at milk money for this Over the Top blog award. You're too sweet. :) Playing along is fun, so let's get to it. In one word only (though sometimes one/two, hehe)...
 

Your Cell Phone?  green
Your Hair?  layered
Your Mother?  creative
Your Father?  active
Your Favorite Food?  bananas
Your Dream Last Night?  intense
Your Favorite Drink?  water
Your Dream/Goal?  longevity
What Room Are You In?  living
Your Hobby?  running/yoga
Your Fear?  sickness
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years?  loft
Where Were You Last Night?  couch
Something That You Aren’t?  tall
Muffins?  bran
Wish List Item?  puppy
Where Did You Grow Up?  oc
Last Thing You Did?  write
What Are You Wearing?  pink
Your TV?  nonexistent
Your Pets?  junior!
Friends?  missed
Your Life?  lucky
Your Mood?  calm
Missing Someone?  yes
Vehicle?  red
Something You Aren’t Wearing?  socks
Your Favorite Store?  anthropologie
Your Favorite Color?  white
When Was The Last Time You Laughed?  today
Last Time You Cried?  thursday
Your Best Friend?  loyal
One Place You Go To Over And Over Again?  outdoors
Facebook?  old
Favorite Place To Eat?  nordstromcafe 


And now for the 5 ladies I think have Over the Top blogs:

amy @ coffee talk

olivia @ everyday musings

courtney @ the hungry yogini 

melissa @ lovely little life 

rachel @ elephantine

with love

in wonderland

I'm already very excited to see the new Alice in Wonderland, and this movie premiere invitation (thanks to Cecilie for the blog rec.) reinforces how enchanting the story is and why I'm re-reading it at the moment. Let's all go see it together on March 5th. Ok, it's a date. :)

i heart polaroids

 (photo taken by A, in Austin)

The first real Polaroid I've held in probably 10 years. In my opinion, there's nothing more unique, personal, or authentic in the world of photo.

postlapsaria

 

Keiko Lynn impresses the heck out of me. She's a self-taught fashion designer, fabulously refined dresser, and she runs a lovely fashion blog. Her line, Postlapsaria, is full of feminine and funky pieces that I could see myself wearing 24/7. So, so pretty.






<3 RIP McQueen

new again

 

 

A's brother is a photographer, so we had a little photo shoot this weekend. The jacket is their Dad's from when he was in the French Navy. It's really neat to learn new things by discovering old things. This is just a reminder to not throw out my old clothes, trinkets, CDs (they'll be vintage soon, haha!), barbies, etc. Somebody will appreciate them someday.

cheese, please

We had some deeelicious eats in Austin this past weekend. I wanted to try every cafe/restaurant we passed on SoCo (South Congress).

+ Saturday farmer's market on 6th: Grilled cheese (brioche & fresh goat cheese)

+ Late afternoon wine bar: assorted cheeses, figs, toffee almonds, grapes, apple slices

meet saso

We had lots of rain, rain, rain today, which I loved being that I could admire it from afar, all cozy inside. We got home from Austin yesterday just in time to watch the Superbowl (Go Saints!) Austin was everything I could wish for and more! A and I had so much fun visiting with his brother. We seriously laughed all weekend long.

I can't wait to go back.

P.S. Like my new bangs? I got them cut last weekend as a salute to my turning 21. I needed a change! They're still growing on me...styling these bangs takes patience, haha.

milan

Seeing these gorgeous snapshots of Milan makes me want to jet there instantly. I've never been. I've never been to Europe, in fact, but (mark my words) I will fulfill that dream in the next year.

the big two-one!

So, where did we leave off? Ah! My 21st birthday! I have my wonderful boyfriend to thank for making every detail so me. Here's what went down:

+ mimosas (w/ Veuve Clicquot - the best!) & an oatmeal pancake for breakfast
+ packed lunches brought to the Dallas Museum of Art
+ out to dinner for sushi (fave) at RA & sake bombs in celebration of my two-one-ness

But get this, I never got carded! Isn't that a right of passage or something? It's ok, I'll fix that this weekend. :) The boy and I are taking a trip down to Austin as an extended birthday celebration. Austin is SO awesome, and I'm SO excited!

Have an amazing weekend, lovelies.







Sorry for the funky layout as of late...I'm trying to give the blog a facelift...soon enough!

coming soon

currently...

listening to...

vampire weekend, contra


watching... the deep end, abc


eating... veggie munch plates


reading...
alice in wonderland, a classic

Oh, also...I'm turning 21 tomorrow! Yep, I'm a Groundhog Day baby. If you don't already know, a groundhog emerging from his burrow, who sees his shadow, signifies winter will continue for 6 more weeks. If he doesn't see his shadow, winter will end soon. I always think I can will him into making winter shorter (you know, since it's my birthday and all), but I find that he usually doesn't care that I'm a year older on his special day. Jerk. (jk :))