Wisdom Teeth

so, I had my wisdom teeth removed Thursday, and since then, mainly due to a pain killer and/or just pain induced haze, Ive discovered a few things:

1,512 minutes of Gossip Girl: no explanation needed.

AmandaCatherine Designs: wow, this girl is truly talented.  i kept seeing her work on pinterest, but i never took the time to source the artist. not only are her prints great, they're affordable! I've chosen these four to immediately find a home in my dining room after my next paycheck.

i take on too much: I'm not some crazy, over-achiever who can function on a starbucks and 2 hours of sleep, but i over extend myself because i truly believe that i can do what i say i can, and then...and behold, i cant. lately, i don't feel like myself in a few areas. i feel like I'm not giving all that i can give to all the areas i should be giving it to. do you ever feel like that? i don't know exactly what I'm missing. balance? dedication? more drive? less drive? on to J.Crew...

J.Crew New Arrivals: proof that there is a God, and he wants me to be happy. i have a confession, i am currently a good 10-15 pounds over my usual weight, which then puts me about 30lbs from my ideal weight. enter: j.crew. listen losing weight to be healthy is great and so is being able to run 657374 miles, but being able to fit into whichever and whatever outfit i want is better. for me.

a new project that has me super excited: i was recently given control of a project at work and could not be more excited. while, the content and i have no business working together, i am good at few things: creating and managing systems is one of them. ill take whatever i can in whatever format i can get it. more details to come! hint: it involves me participating (by participating, i mean walking. maybe even quickly.) in a bi-weekly 5K. the things we do for success. 


i don't know how it is possible, but i am even more thankful for my parents: but dear God, its time to go home. how do people live with their parents after the age of 18? move out, people.

hope y'all have a great Oscar Sunday!
xo
raa

dr.pepper at 9:30am

i just woke up on the RIGHT side of the bed this morning.
...despite a little angel love that decided she wanted to squeak every toy, open every drawer, and bark at every car that drove by from 9pm-2am. i woke up around 11pm to her with her head stuck in the middle of a hanger. did that stop her from chewing on the middle of the hanger? no. she just kept on-a-going. she makes the best of her situations. {i tried to take a picture, but that little doodlebug was too enthralled with the flash of the camera to sit still. in her hanger.}

i have to admit that i missed the premier of Bethenney. was it amazing? I'm sure it was. i love her. i love her honesty, and most importantly i love the love she has for her little nugget.

I'm on a scarf binge right now. i stopped at Target this weekend. i was impressed! they had some great options, all around $14.99. Liz at Sequins & Stripes did a post on scarves today as well..i liked her picks too! i think I'll be rewarding myself with one for bringing my lunch all week. {confession: its only a three day work week for me as i have oral surgery on Thursday, but still. three days eating in adds up!}

<if i had an IPhone, this is where I'd insert a cute instagram picture of the Target scarves...>
i found these pictures online {seriously, why does Target.Com suck so much?!}

i really don't think these do it justice. i think when i make my purchase...ill be taking a picture as well.

bringing my lunch has been made much easier with these two things:
1. Kraft Fresh Take: i had a coupon for this, so i tried the Rosemary & Garlic flavor...so so so good! i used about 8 tenderloins, really, you could used so many more. i wish i would've because they were soo good! if you go to Kraft.Com, you can score a $1.00 coupon. you will not regret it! you just open the package, put your meat inside { it gives you directions for fish, pork, or chicken!}and bake! i always have to cut my baking time in half because I'm dealing with an oven from 1970.

2. Uncle Ben's rice bowls: these little rice bowls are super cute. i try not to buy small portioned foods because they're usually twice the size of the larger size to pay for the cute container, but i had a coupon, and it makes mornings so easy when i can just throw it in my lunch box and not have to worry about sorting into servings. {its the little things..again}

so, i kind of took you on a whirlwind this morning. sorry. {I'm not really that sorry}

i hope y'all have a great Tuesday! only TWO days until FSU vs DUKE! Go Noles!

xo
raa

price adjustments: yay? or nay?

Talulah Grace woke up especially clingy this morning, and it broke my heart. she does this form of begging that is beyond precious, and she has now figured out that getting dressed equals leaving. she stands on the corner of the bed and hurls her body at my back while I'm getting dressed and looking in the mirror. its so pathetic, but so so cute. am i a bad mama for thinking her distress is so cute?

moving right along..to the Gap. this weekend everything in the store is 20%,30%, and 40% off! so the striped dress i posted about yesterday...down to $38! you bet your britches, I'm going in for a price adjustment. I'm sorry, i am that customer. in my defense, ill be purchasing the navy and white one too {and maybe something else if it catches my eye...} do y'all think that's tacky? i bought it on Friday, and now its down from $54 to $38...that's $16 towards another purchase in the store.

this post is going now where in a hurry.

hope y'all have a great Thursday!

xo

raa

seventh ave

my home is truly where my heart lies. i love my house.  its where my little baby nugget talulah grace spends her days, its what houses my clothes, where all my junk lives, where my first grown girl set of furniture stays (half way paid off!! whew!) and where my bed stays that keeps me warm and comfy. its my home.  the truth is, i could make anything a home. I'm a natural born nester.

nesting is a characteristic that i got from my mom. we moved all over and often when i was growing up. my parents always made sure my room was done first so i would feel safe and comfortable.

my home is always under going transformations. here are current pictures.{pictures i found on my NOT iPhone from a long time ago} I'm happy, but i don't feel finished and i cant say I'm completely satisfied. i rent and i don't know if I'm here in Tallahassee for the long haul, so I'm cautious to paint and truly invest the big bucks in my current living situation.

if money, time, and effort were endless, my home would resemble these pictures. until then, they serve as inspiration. when i decorate, it is important to remind myself to do the best with what i have & where i am. with that being said, if there is a rich man out there looking to live in a very girly house with no decorating budget, all you need to do is call me. 

Kitchen:

Living Room:



Bedroom:

whew. two posts in one day. I'm exhausted. 

xo

raa

*all images via pinterest  

Coulda Shoulda Woulda

maybe I should make this an every Wednesday post. {maybe? i cant even commit to a weekly blog post. THIS, mother, is why I'm single.}

Coulda

...and did! this dress is amazing. its a ponte knit, so it doesn't cling. i pulled the tags off as soon as i bought it and wore it that night. i paired it with leggings (its not too short to wear without, but Ive given up shaving my legs & couldn't find any clean tights. cute.) and a leather jacket. my next plan is with the Gap pink blazer Ive been bragging about. Ive already allotted $50 from my next paycheck to buy the navy/white stripe.must.have. c'mon March 1st!

Shoulda*

Gap. again. seeing a trend? once a gap girl always a gap girl (vomit.) i bought these jeans in the lighter version, which, by the way, is so unlike me. big girls should always wear dark. you wont ever catch me in stone washed. home girl has morals. I've gone back FIVE separate times to buy these, and to no avail. they're even sold out online. ONLINE. i was even going to buy them FULL PRICE. nope. what a travesty. 

Woulda

if i was a size 2, i woulda bought these babies. I've said it once, and ill say it again. Old Navy rules. I have had the best luck there lately.now, i probably just jinxed it. S.O.B. i just love a colored pant. (Except khaki. ugh) could you picture these with a striped tee? a black blazer? a fun scarf? yes, yes and yes! and for $35? go to your local Old Navy and scoop these up!

*shoulda: I've noticed a characteristic that is foreign to me. being nervous. i don't consider myself a hesitant or nervous person. however, in the past month, I've missed things due to nerves. now, i didn't miss the jeans because of nerves. id never let my nerves get in the way of clothes. life issues? sure. it is something that i am trying to deal with. life is short. way too short to be unhappy or living with unease about a decision you made because you were nervous. four words: easier.said.than.done. {but I'm trying!}

hope yall have a great Wednesday...99cent taco night here in Tally!

xo raa 

Happy Valentines Day!!

xo
raa

hold the front door...

new Coton Colors attachments?

yes, yes, & yes. happy Friday to me!

the ones I'm eyeing:

{all images via Coton Colors website}

i encourage everyone to stop what you're doing and scoop these babies up! while i have [one of] my wreaths on the front door, i no longer put attachments on there...I've lost three to wind! with that being said, there is still plenty of room in my home for new attachments with 1 wreath inside, 1 cork board, and 1 cookie jar [I'm kinda really into ANYTHING and EVERYTHING Coton Colors..]

*note to self: do a blog post on the amazing company that is, Coton Colors!

xo
raa

happiness

does not come natural to me. i wish it did, but it doesn't.

 it is a choice i have to make. every day. and for the past few days (i think it was the full moon/missing a few medicine doses. justkidding.) i have not been making the choice to be happy. I've been ugly to people (admittedly, i think some deserved it, but my delivery could have been better.much better), I've been quiet and disengaged. Ive wanted to change my phone number & deactivate social media.

then today, i woke up, and caught myself talking to myself in the car (which is a sure sign that I'm in a jolly mood.)

i took a second and browsed through my pinterest board titled "Happy Things." instead of the usual Friday Five, i wanted to post {a few more than} five sayings/quotes/items from that board:

seriously, what was life like before pinterest?

on one more trying-to-be-happy note, yesterday i came home feeling down, and i remembered this little nugget never cares if i had a bad day or if i said something i should not have said. she is always THIS excited to see my car pull into the driveway. love is unreal.

i hope ya'll have a great weekend. 5 oclock could not come fast enough, and heres why:

-here in FL,the weather is supposed to be amazing. high of 53? hell.yes.

-sarah and i are branching out and trying a new sunday brunch destination. details & review to follow.

- the Tallahassee Junior League's Whale of a Sale  is this weekend. i was super bummed that i missed the pre-party last night, but i will definitely have my eye out for some treasures tomorrow afternoon!

xo raa



because its my birthday...

i will not feel guilty for posting another youtube video..

i know everyone has seen this video, but it always makes me smile, and since its my birthday, i wanna smile!

hope yall have a great tuesday
xo
raa

this is kind of how I'm feeling today: alittle tired, alittle mopey. i think its coming off a great birthday celebration and finishing the first book of The Hunger Games has me in a bit of a daze. in truth, theres a lot going on, and its probably time to sit down and deal with it all, but...i don't wanna.

i couldn't really gather my thoughts, so i decided to leave blogger up, and when/if i formed complete sentences or thoughts, id write them as they came.


things that made me happy today:


the moment where you think you're out of your medicine and you find some stashed away in a pretty monogrammed pill case used just for emergencies like this.


literally feeling hungover from The Hunger Games. I read it in 5ish hours, and to say I'm obsessed is a gross understatement. i brought the 2nd one to work, but I'm too afraid to read it here out of fear that i wont stop. it was soooo good. i know its meant for the reading level of a 13 year old, but uh uh, my college degree & i enjoyed every second of it.

realizing I'm  beyond blessed by the people in my life. this weekend, i celebrated my 23rd birthday {a few days early...} with friends + mom & aunt Kathy. it was so much fun! we truly had a great time. i was blessed with amazing gifts. gifts that were so me, so thoughtful, and so fabulous. {post on birthday loot, maybe, coming soon!}



the moment where you finally see yourself as other see you. homegirl needs to get back on the elliptical and in a hurry. woof. {at least my hair looked good--see below}

big, fabulous hair. but not iPhone picture quality. {GIVE ME YOUR PHONE, MA!}

the moment where you know something is missing. a new TV show to be exact. lets face it, a lot of things are missing from my life, but this one i can pin-point & solve. it (finally) dawned on me when a man friend stopped by the house, and he walked in and heard The West Wing booming from my upstairs TV, and asked "of course, your show is on..." enter: Downton Abbey. damn you bloggers, you've sucked me in! I'm debating joining Netflix for a month just to catch up on season1.

having a dad that is retired is really great....sometimes. I'm pretty sure hes pulling out pieces of his Mercedes, so he can come down to where i work and have it repaired. this seems to happen around lunchtime. therefore, I'm going on week 2 of lunches with my papa.

blah. i just want to go home & read Catching Fire (the 2nd Hunger Games book)

hope y'all are having a better start to the week than I seem to be having...
xo raa

hello Friday! so good to see you!

oh, i just don't know a better day than Friday. i looove Fridays. this Friday is exceptionally exciting because it marks the first day of birthday celebrating! although my birthday isn't until Tuesday, Tuesday is a work night. I'm old & could not imagine making plans that went past 8pm. so yay for the freakin' weekend, baby! (song lyric reference, anyone? anyone?)

its not that i don't have five things I'm loving this week, but...I'm lazy. its almost time to skip over to happy hour, so i wanted to do a quick post on my birthday dinner invitations & how i plan to celebrate:

as much as id love to send invitations and cards via snail mail, invitations and cards are pricey. {note: i do send thank you cards the old fashion way} enter: Cocodot.com

for this weekend's dinner, i chose the invite below

Cocodot make sending invites and cards so easy. The only difficult part is deciding which amazing design works for the occasion {they also do special collaborations, this month they have LuLu Powers...they are pure perfection!}. there are so many great options. after you've decided, you just customize the greeting and information. Next you upload your contacts from your existing email's contact list { you can even send via facebook message!}

this was a card i debated sending out for the holiday season. i ended up not sending out personalized cards due to budget issues + talulah & i were not camera ready in time...#badmama

this was a card i sent to a dear friend when i forgot it was her birthday! {worst. friend. ever}, but this serves as a perfect example of using Cocodot to send something so beautiful, so quickly. technology is amazing! oh, did i mention? its FREE to send online.

ways that i plan to celebrate this weekend:

• drink a few lots of white grape martinis
• stay out past 10pm {be home by 11pm instead. nothing good happens after 12am. talkin' from experience}
• take talulah grace on a long walks & out for ice cream
• get my hair cut {i did this earlier this morning. best feeling ever! I'm excited to have layers to hopefully help with volume. bigger the hair, closer to God.}
• finally breaking out my hot pink Gap blazer that I've been saving for a special occasion
• not feeling guilty about having zaxbys for lunch today {its the little things, folks!}
• donate $25 to Planned Parenthood

i hope ya'll have a great weekend

xo raa

coulda shoulda woulda

don't you love sex & the city? some of my favorite sayings have stemmed from the show. i was too young to drink cosmos with my girlfriends and watch each new episode on hbo. thanks to TBS i caught up on all six seasons and fell in love. {in my defense, i did watch the sixth season on hbo like a big girl}

this post doesn't have anything to do with sex & the city (although, note to self: do a post on fav sex & the city episodes). it has to do with the things i  coulda   bought (and did!), things i  shoulda bought (before they sold out and the loveliness disappeared forever..ish) and things i  woulda bought (if i didn't need to have a roof over my head and food in mine & talulah's bellies)

*these arent all recent buys. i do have billz to pay.

coulda

the pink, croc graphic image planner. i lusted and lusted and lusted after this planner. I've loved graphic image for a loooooong time. and much to my surprise, i got an email today exclaiming SALE! between the sale and Kappa Prep's 20% promo code, i was one happy lady.

shoulda

its not so much that these are sold out & not available, but they're pre-order. pre-order just throws me off. i don't know, its as if I'm allergic to it. these j.crew cafe capri are divine. i want to wear this with a black & white stripe tee. or y'know, anything.

woulda

i love the Michael Kors Hamilton bag beyond words. i have the basic large Hamilton in tan, and i was even in a monogamous relationship with it for over a year. I’ve worn the same bag for such a long time because i loved it so much. it’s now being rotated out between the new bag seen here. i was content with my two purses. two is more than i had for so long,but then i saw this purse. the Hamilton. in pink. in ostrich. i have a habit of obsessing over certain bags. the two in rotation are prime example: i literally obsessed until everyone around me gets tired of hearing me talk about the bag and write the check for me (& some type of sale/good luck is usually included.) *sigh*

two posts in one day? you. are welcome.
xo
raa

stripes + plaid

announcement: FEBRUARY IS HERE!

today I'm wearing a silver sparkly striped tee & a red plaid scarf. i feel just simply, fabulous.

i guess I've been alittle absent as of late; i don't know if its absent or just absent minded.

i don't know if you've seen this video yet, but it made me laugh out loud when i saw it. shes darling!

*disclaimer: i promise I'm not some weird YouTube junkie. i don't spend my time commenting on videos and getting into arguments with strangers. i notice that happens alot. I'm not that person.yet.

lately, i have had the good fortune of stumbling upon some pretty fantastic blogs. good fortune in the sense that i am constantly being inspired by women daring to do what they love. bad fortune in the sense that i want to spend all of the 15-17 hours i spent awake reading said blogs. since i know my mom is going to ask: here are some of the ones that I'm speaking about: The Southern Eclectic, Sequins and Stripes, Urban Grace, and Design Darling just to name a few.

i love February because its the month that celebrates two of my favorite things: my dad & love! i love love. i may not be very good at falling into it, but i love it none the less. {also, my birthday happens to fall in February as well. ill be happy to send you my address if you'd like to send gifts. the Lilly Pulitzer Lifeguard press line is out. just sayin' :) }

in addition to beginning the month of love, today is National Signing Day! apparently (i say apparently because I'm not going to sit here and act like i know enough to put my two cents in to football. every girl on facebook is, apparently, watching ESPN with the attention i usually give to people.com announcing a new scandal.) FSU is going to have a pretty AWESOME recruiting class, and I'm all for anything that makes football season alittle more enjoyable. there is nothing worse than living in a college town when the team loses. everyone acts like a bunch of crybabies. by everyone i mean, the boys i try to have conversations with at bars.

and finally, another reason February rules (other than my birthday. as mentioned above, Lilly Pulitzer's lifeguard press line is out. can be shipped to my house at any time) Matchbook's Anniversary Issue is out!!! it is BEYOND. the ladies (and contributing gentlemen) did a great job. i always enjoy it, but this issue is out. of. control.  because i don't want to copy anything without permission/I'm too computer illiterate to post it on here. see these pages for instant satisfaction: pages 16-17 "Beat Generation" pages 40-42 "Audrey Hepburn re imagined for a new age" but really, all were great. from Ryan Gosling (yummy yum yum), The Little Black Dress, 50 reads for a Matchbook girl. In the infamous words of Rachel Zoe (and overused by fashion junkies everywhere) I Die.

I'm trying out some new fonts. i don't think my mom can read my current one very well, even with her cute little Vera Bradley readers. {she hasn't admitted to it, i just have a hunch.}

xo
raa