Life: Amsterdam

I believe I have grown to love Amsterdam. The city is kind of beautiful, except for certain areas...yikes, but the beautiful areas of Amsterdam definitely out number the bad. I think the number one thing that people think about when they think of Amsterdam, or Holland in general are the tulips. Tulips have always been my all time favorite flower so the fact that this country is kind of known for them, makes it all the more reason to travel and have an adventure there. I've been searching high and low on Pinterest for all things Amsterdam it makes my heart want to travel there even more!

The colorful bikes are another reason to travel to this European country. They come in a variety of bright colors that give the city a happy feeling when walking the streets. 

Like I said, the tulips are one of the many reasons why I would love to go. 

Have you ever had a passion to travel to Amsterdam?

Extra! Extra!

Spending the day in the fashion district is the perfect thing to do on a Sunday afternoon!! It's so hard to not purchase all the beautiful fabric that I'm seeing and feeling. (don't judge me)

What are you doing with your Sunday?

Goal: Work Out

My goal for this month is to work out as much as I can, when I have time. It's hard when I'm out in the sun for 8+ hours a day, standing and all I want to do when I get home is to take a shower and go to bed. BUT I'm going to make it a point to change my look out on this and tone up and just work on my appearance all together.

I've already started on some work out routines but it's just for my arms and legs, I would like to work on my core and posture. My posture has gone no existent and it makes me super uncomfortable with myself. I blame my many hours in front of the sewing machine and the heavy equipment that I carry at work.

Here are some of the work outs that I do in my room on a normal basis.

I just started with this one and I'm already seeing results. Can I just say how much I love Pinterest? It makes it so easy to search for the perfect exercise routine that I can actually do or work up to. 

These leg work outs have my legs killing and aching the next day. I know I stand for 8+ hours a day but this helps stretch them out and tone them a little bit more. The one that I haven't succeeded in yet is the inward box jumps, mostly because my balancing skills are terrible and I have yet to find an object that I can use that won't tip over. 

Here is my Pinterest board with some pins that I have collected over the past few months that I hope to work my way up to. 

Movie: Ever After

The "real" story of Cinderella told by the great great great(etc) grand daughter of Danielle De Barbarac. 

It's the classic story of Cinderella set in the times of kings and queens setting up their prince son to marry into spanish royalty until Danielle changes the way the prince images the world how he wants to live his life by finding true love, and not just by an arranged marriage. 

Danielle isn't just a peasant girl though, she was born from a French noblemen who marries a women with two daughters of her own...the evil stepsisters, except only one of them being evil in this story. Her father passes when she is a young girl and is later turned into a servant to her step mother. When in the forest one day, is when she mets the love of her life and little does she know....the prince of France. 

It's a beautiful story and I highly recommend this movie to any dreamer, artist, fairy tale lover of any age. 

Book: Fault in Our Stars

Currently reading this....

I'm only a few chapters into the book but oh my goodness, I'm hooked. Of course with all the excitement about the movie that just recently came to theaters, I have heard nothing but amazing things from it. I definitely plan on finishing the book first then a friend and I will be going to see the movie. 

Have I mentioned that I will probably be needing a box of tissues and a gallon of Ben and Jerry's? 

Has anyone else read or seen the movie?!

Wish List: Thread Holder

As my embroidery thread collection grows, my sewing box begins to look smaller and smaller which gets me to thinking that I think I need a special holder to display the threads. 

The one above mounts right to the wall, something that I don't necessarily like the look of unless I were to have my own studio but since of the lack of space I have at the moment, I'm willing to compromise. This one holds 60 spools which is definitely more than enough! 

If I had only known at the time that I had gotten my machine that my collection would have grown so fast I definitely would have purchased the holder with some starter threads that they were selling at the fabric store. 

lesson learned. 

Anyone else embroider or have a sewing machine that they use on a regular basis?!

Goal: Sewing/Embroidery

For my graduation from college, my grandparents gave me one of the greatest gifts I've ever received, sewing/embroider machine. It's the Husqvarna Viking: Designer Topaz 30 and it's perfection, I'm seriously in love with it.

I have created and sewn many hours on the machine and I will definitely have this machine for the rest of my life. What I haven't done recently is actually use it for embroidery. Sad. I know. That's what my goal is though in the next couple of months, to actually use it to all it's power.

There are a few embroidery sites that I seem to always go to when I'm in the mood to embroider. The first being, Urban Threads.  The site is a little strange for some of the items but they do have a lot of nautically inspired designs and raven themed designs that I can't wait to embroider on everything!

I'm kind of in love with both of these.

Not sure what I'll ever do with this one but I definitely need to. 

possibly a pencil or make up brush case??

I definitely plan on purchasing all these designs in the very near future and embroidering my life away for hours on end! 

How many of you sew or embroider?!

Visiting Friends/Family: Momma Gert

This past weekend my momma came for a little visit to California! She arrived on Tuesday of last week but before I could see her, I had to get through two days of work. It was definitely worth it because on Thursday, it was her birthday! We spent the day in the happiest place on earth, Disneyland of course! We had breakfast at Carnation Cafe and dinner at the Blue Bayou. It was all around perfect. 

She left yesterday and I miss her already! Hopefully I'll be able to visit her and home some time in August!! 

Life: Summer Uniform

When I'm not in my work uniform, which is only about 2-3 days a week or less, I mostly wearing an outfit like this one. It's easy to throw on and go on adventures that might be taking place or a trip to the store where nike shorts aren't always socially acceptable. 

Purse | Shirt | Shorts | Shoes

What's your go to outfit for your days off?!

Movie: A League of Their Own

This is in the top 5 of my all time favorite movies! 

A League of Their Own takes place during the war where the women worked in the kitchen waiting for their men to come home when a women's baseball league started up; the girls play when their men  are at war to distract them and get them away from their day to day lives. The Peaches are the team that the movies focuses around with Tom Hanks who plays their coach. 

It's the perfect movie to bring in the summer/baseball season or really perfect any time of the year. It's currently on Netflix so I suggest you watch it right away! 

Wish List: J. Crew

J Crew has some serious must haves at the moment and these are the four items that are on my list! 

1. Crab Top: Oh goodness. With the 25% off sale that's happening right now, this is definitely making me want it even more. This top would definitely remind me of home(Maryland)while I'm living in California. 

2. Jeweled Painter Tee: I'm all for jewels, stripes, and navy blue. This top covers all my favorites all in one so, why not? 

3. Strapless Jumpsuit: The price kind of hurts my heart but I've never seen anything so perfect. It's definitely an item that I have never really worn before so I'm willing to step up my game and dare to be different with this item.

4. Short Sleeve Sleep Set: I've been looking for the perfect sleep set because lets face it, it's time to get rid of the high school event and vacation spot shirts and boxer shorts that I've been sleeping in since high school. You know, have a more "grown up" look. Plus, you can get them monogramed. 

What are you loving in the new spring collection?!

Goal: Job

It wasn't until my senior year of college that I truly knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I always knew I wanted to do something with photography, of course, but what would I really be happy doing with it? Archives. Working with archival photographs and newspapers is something that made my heart so happy throughout my last year of undergrad. For my senior thesis I worked with a collection of Enchanted Forest slides and negatives dating back to the 60s and 70s which was all around amazing.

This wasn't the end of it.

For one last internship and an experience that I will never forget. I got to work as an aid in my high schools art department. All throughout high school I spent the majority of my free time in the art room. It was there in those rooms that made my creativity grow and my love for art grow. They encouraged me pursue my life as an artist. One of the projects that I worked on was to get together slides of photos from when the school was separated into two different all girls school in Baltimore; these photos were dating back from the 20s and 30s. I thought I died and went to heaven when I was handling these photos. It's also pretty funny seeing the different styles of clothing and hairstyles from then and comparing them to today.

What really sparked my interest of archives? Shannon Perich   She was my History of Photography professor my last year of college and she was definitely one of the most amazing and inspiring professors I ever had. She works for the Smithsonian at the National Museum of American History and has put together many shows. Her main interests of research are focused on William Henry Fox Talbot and Richard Avedon; two amazing photographers that I get inspiration from. If anyone has seen Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn, Richard Avedon shares many characteristics with the photographer in the movie.  Shannon's love and knowledge for photography and the history of photography definitely shows in her teaching. 

Now working with the Walt Disney Company has inspired me to work in their archives. It combines to of my loves and passions into one. 

 

What is your dream job? Are you living it right now?

Adventure: Las Vegas

Yes, you read that title right. A group of friends from Disney and home decided it would be an amazing idea to go to Vegas for about....48 hours. No seriously, we were there for a little less then 48 hours actually but they were the most exciting hours of my life. There is nothing else like Vegas; it's definitely a whole new world and I felt like I was on a different planet. 

You know how they say that New York is the city that never sleeps? Yeah I think they mistaken that for Las Vegas. We arrived in Vegas at 12:30am on Saturday, the traffic from LA was terrible, and didn't back to the room until 5:30am. There was so much to see and still so much more to see that we didn't want to miss a thing!

The Dream Team. 

My first real night club experience was definitely something that I will never forget. 

Has anyone ever been to Vegas? What did you see, do, experience?!

We definitely plan on going back sometime very very soon!

Life: Creativity

One of the main focuses of my life that I've been trying to do more of it being creative. Going to art school kind of wore me out from being creative. The time has come now, being out of school for a year now, to get my creative juices flowing again. First I started with painting with oils but I want to expand that with water colors. Second is thinking of new ideas of what to make for my little company.

Movie: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Such a silly movie full with imagination! It's the sequel to the first, of course, and it's just as wonderful as the first. A scientist creates a machine that makes food from water, kind of brilliant until all goes wrong and the machine starts creating cheeseburgers the size of buildings and ice cream piles the size of mountains. After the first movie the machine was thought to be destroyed, so they thought.  

The machine rebooted itself and starting creating food animals. Kind of scary and adorable at the same time. Go watch and see for yourself! It's currently on Netflix!

Reading: Harry Potter 3

Of course I have read the Harry Potter series a 101 times. Back in the Fall the series came out with a new collection of newly illustrated book covers. At first I was a little iffy about it because they have categorized as classics now and you just don't mess with classics...except maybe when the illustration is kind of amazing.

I have been reading them for the past couple of months,I got a little distracted but I'm ready to start again; I left off on the 3rd so that's where I decided to pick up. 

How many times have you read the series? Are you first collection of books falling apart yet?

Wish List: Lilly Pulitzer, Jellies be Jammin'

I grew up on the waters of the Magothy River for 23 years of my life, those were some of the best years....especially the summers. When I was younger my friends and I would get our fishing nets and go hunting for jelly fish(we were strange children). Once we would get the jellies in our nets, we would drop them on the burning hot pier for them to bake and stick, sorry PETA. We even made a little made up restaurant where we would serve "jelly sandwiches".

When this Lilly Pulitzer pattern arrived in their summer collection it brought back so many amazing memories. Memories that I love to cherish and remember. Here is my little wish list of different clothing and accessory items that I'm dying to have!

1. Gabby Shift Dress: You can never go wrong with a Lilly Shift Dress. They are a classic Lilly item that never goes out of style and that you can wear to years to come. & just look at the embellishments at the neck, too too perfect. 

2. Murfee Scarf: oh boy. I have a few of these already and they are the perfect pop of color to have neutral color outfit. This is a MUST HAVE.

3. Buttercup Scallop Hem Short: I have this style of short from a few years back in pink seersucker and I'm completely in love with the scallop hem. Scallops are the perfect addition to any outfit and they are super popular right now. 

4. Dusk Racer Back Tank: perfect with a pair of white jeans and silver jack rogers, I would wear this outfit to death! 

What are you favorite items to the Lilly Pulitzer Summer Line?! 

Goals: Reading Nook

The nook, the books, the chair, and THAT VIEW! 

Can you imagine ever going to work? I wouldn't be able to if I had a space like this; I would get so lost in am amazing book or just looking out the window for hours and hours at a time without a care in the world. 

First an apartment or a home, Second a reading nook.

I found this image of Pinterest and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write about it. When I look at this I can't help but think this is a room in Sarah Vickers and Kiel James Patricks house. Can you? I hope to someday have this little nook in my house...or even apartment. 

Here are a few others that I could definitely see myself reading and napping in for hours....

Do you have a reading nook in your home? If so, I'm so jealous. 

Extra! Extra! Viva Las Vegas

This is just a little sneak peak of whats come on the blog next week! This past weekend a group of friends and I took an adventure to Vegas. & what an adventure it was! 

Life: Sleeping Habits

I'm probably the worst when it comes to sleeping habits. I attempt to go to bed every night at the same time but some(most) of the time it doesn't always work out. Either work gets in the way because of the some times crazy hours I get or I have a million and one new ideas that go through my mind all day long. I blame the "creative" side of my brain for this; new ideas of what to get my hands on next whether it be something to paint, sew, photograph, or create...I'm always thinking of something. It gets in the way of when I want to sleep in the late hours of the night.

I've been searching Pinterest for some helpful hints on how to get a better nights sleep and ways to actually get to sleep.

I found this link on Pinterest that I might give a shot

Does music help any one else? Because Bowtiful Life posted a few days ago this Spotify list of music that she plays before going to bed.  

I'm going to give both of these a shot together and see what happens with the sleep that I sometimes don't always get around to doing.

Movie: Something Borrowed

This movie is inspired and based off of the book by Emily Giffin, a fantastic author who has written a number of books categorized as "chick lits", which follows the book "Something Blue"...which I really hope that they create a movie off of someday because that book is just as wonderful!

It's a story of two best friends that grew up together, went to college together, until Rachel goes to Law School where she meets Dex who ends up getting engaged to Darcy(Rachel's Best Friend). After  Rachel's Birthday they confess their love to each other but have to keep it a secret because you know, he is already engaged to her best friend. In the end Darcy finds out and the engagement is broken off....

Incase you haven't seen it, I will leave some details out. 

The cast is fantastic and the chemistry between all of them makes for some pretty fantastic acting. 

Ginnifer Goodwin....Rachel

Kate Hudson.............Darcy

Colin Egglesfield.........Dex

John Krasinski..........Ethan

Have any of you watched the movies or better yet, read the book(s)?! If you haven't, I highly suggest you do!