here's what's up.

contemplating: What to do with my hair. It's in this place where I'm really trying to be good and grow it out, but I also haven't gotten a trim in an embarrassing amount of time. I'm torn between just getting a healthy trim, or cutting the necessary inch or two off that would be needed to ditch the obnoxious leftover layers from my pixie cut. go.a.way. layers!

looking forward to: The rest of How I Met Your Mother! Can't wait to see how they wrap it all up.

thrilled with: All three of the dresses I ordered from Ruche. Haha, woops. I was supposed to narrow it down and return some, but I just can't. And won't.

bummed about: Downton Abbey being over. AGAIN. Ten months is too long to wait for another season of a fantastic show. It feels like we just got started up again!

reading: In Praise of Slowness and really loving every word. Amen to slowing the heck down!

anticipating: Some big life changes coming up mighty fast. Stay tuned for that.

coveting: These sandals for meandering on summer days, and one more dress for my collection.

eating: Mostly vegetarian these days! Check out these recipe ideas.

anxious about: Super long to-do lists, and money. I hate that :/

learning: A lot about website hosting, Wordpress, and what goes into website building. Stayed tuned about that too :)

And that's what's up. Have a good week!

leap into the ripe air

excerpt from I Will Wade Out by E.E. Cummings

Spring, where are you? Are you coming soon? 

It was in the 50's all weekend. I even washed dishes with the kitchen windows open! It was so glorious. Currently, we can see our grass. I don't want to get too attached because it's supposed to snow for the next two days. The words "polar vortex" have even been thrown around. Totally unacceptable. I hope spring is coming to all of us soon!

25's a-comin'

My 25th birthday is fast approaching. Whoa. Here are some things that have been catching my eye. I'm not usually a dress-wearer, but I've been realizing lately that it could be because I'm not thrilled with my current options. I think I need some casual dresses that are more my style. All of these would look great with a pair of clogs, no? :) I got an amazing (and very rare) Ruche coupon a few days ago, so I snatched up all three to try them on!

1. madewell tomboy workshirt (have it in green & it's fabulous) // 2. essie chinchilly. so great for any season // 3. a top I've been eyeing from H&M for quite some time // 4. farmer's market tank dress from ruche // 5. aftermath striped dress from ruche // 6. starboard striped midi dress from ruche

the ranch home: what's not to love?

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It all started when I saw Shiva's modern ranch home tour on Apartment Therapy. From that point forward, I think I was hooked. Most people would look at ranch homes and think they're just dull and dated. But lately I've been looking past all of that and seeing these homes as a fabulous blank slate. So understated and simple. Here's why I think they're so wonderful:

- Single floor living for a first house, or early on with small children: no gates, no laundry hauling, no vacuuming stairs. All wins.
- Because of the single floor living, they usually are extremely easy to open up. I long for a very open floor plan some day - great for entertaining!
- Easy to make additions as a family grows: Out the back? Off the side? On top? Garage? Sure. Whatever tickles your fancy.
- The front of the house is usually blah enough to be a canvas for whatever style landscaping you want to add. I've seen some pretty awesome privacy fencing, plantings, pergolas, and even wrap around porches in my research.
- Small: easy to heat, easy to clean, keeps one from acquiring to much junk, cozy.

So yes - one would initially have to look past shag carpeting, linoleum and those dark kitchen cabinets with the colonial hardware. But past that could be a bright, sunny, small, open, unique modernized ranch home. Maybe someday :)

clogs

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

In honor of loving things - I’ve been completely enthralled with these clogs lately (in Cognac or Bordeaux). Will and I are people who love our shoes. Each shoe purchase is deliberated over for what seems like months, and because of that, we are obsessed with nearly every pair we purchase. 

For the most part, we also love the other’s taste in shoes. Will wears the Timberland Earthkeepers, Clarks Desert Treks, these adorable Sperry sneakers… I love them all. And he loves my Madewell riding boots, my Clarks Fairfield “sneakers”, my Bensimon flats, my New Balance Minimus running shoes. But every once in a while, we are in very different camps. He hates my Sam Edelman ankle boots, which obviously makes me want to throw his opinion straight out the window. 

I’ve been really digging the look of these clogs with some cute skinny ankle jeans. I especially love it when the top is baggy and cozy. The clogs seem like a clunky, care-free way to add style and “dressiness” to an outfit. I’m not one for dainty shoes (I rarely wear heels), but these are tom-boyish enough to get it done. It’s like “I’m kind of frumpy and messy, but I still have stylish shoes - so there.”

If I ever got these though, I think they would quickly be on Will’s hate list and he’d want to toss them straight out the window.   ;)