I'm not even going to attempt to catch up

Wow - i've lived in Nashville almost 9 months and this baby has gotten absolutely no lovin'. Well, that's about to change.

To give you a brief rundown on the last 9 months:

- i moved here for a job
- said job didn't work out
- i met a boy
- he seems to be working out quite well ;)
- i got a bunch of other jobs i hated
- i finally quit them to be FREELANCE MARKETING AND PR (yay!)
- my niece, Avery Nicole was born :)
- i still travel all the time
- i started a garden
- my roommates are awesome
- and i still love Nashville :)

Just a few snapshots, you get the idea. Now that you're as caught up as you could be, i promise to return to the blog-o-phere.

Until then!
xo

DIY Decor

Since a new apartment is around the corner
(hopefully signing the lease at the end of this week!!! yay!!!),
i am just dying to redecorate.

Our living room is going to be black and white with accents of dark purple, maybe some grey.
Our kitchen doesn't have a lot of wall space - but will have a vino theme to it. Greens, redish-purples.
My bedroom will now be primarily yellow and grey - i've decided the dark purple wall (RIP) would be such a pain in the butt to paint back... i'm just not sure i can commit to it.

 So after many hours on Pinterest, and seeing Cait with Pretty&Fun post her upcoming decor inspiration, i decided i'd follow suit. Here are some of the craft projects i'm cooking up!

Redecorated Tray

this isn't the pattern i'm using. BUT, i found a plain unstained wood tray,

which i have spray painted white, and will be adding a black&white patterned paper to.
We'll be adding purple accents, and this will go on the coffee table in the living room.

Jewelry Organizer

A few old frames. Some paint. A staple gun, and chicken wire. And perhaps a few hooks at the bottom.
I'm making one for myself, and one for each of my roommates!

Old Frame + Chalkboard + Corkboard

Mine won't look like this.... but it was my inspiration! I took an old frame, and used chalkboard paint, scrapbook paper, and a cork board. You'll see :) This will either go in the kitchen or hall by the laundry room.

Those are just a few of the DIY projects i've got going so far.... i'll post pictures once they're done!

Also - i've got options for bedroom furniture.
This is what my comforter looks like. And the color scheme of my life, basically.

I also have a lot of yellow accents - cabinet, mirror, end table etc.
I have dark grey sheets.
And deciding on which grey to use for the walls.
(i'm thinking the 3rd grey for all walls, w/ an accent wall of somewhere between the 1st & 2nd. thoughts?)

Now my question in - white furniture (antiqued) or black furniture?
I feel like it could go either way... but that the white might pop more next to the grey walls.

Any other recommendations?

don't fight it

"don't fight change" was the advice i was given by my best friend in a brief gchat conversation today.

i had to think about it for a second - am i fighting it? am i trying to control this situation? and i can honestly answer - no. but let me give you some of the back story.

for those of you that aren't updated on my current living situation; i live in a lovely condo.

just a few shots of my room when i first moved in. there have been a few re arranges, nothing major. purple, grey and yellow are my colors, and i love that purple wall!!!!

but 4 months ago, my roommate (she's still my roommate in my head anyway) Ashlee moved to Haiti to be a missionary (learn more about Ashlee's mission here) - and she owns the lovely condo.

but it has been confirmed that starting September 26th, she will no longer own the lovely condo. This is great news - because we've been praying for God to work this situation out - because being a missionary in Haiti doesn't really mean you want to have a mortgage back in the states. So this is a good thing.

However, i do have to move out of my lovely home. with my beautiful purple wall that i love so much.

Although a possibility since Day 1, i was naive in believing it would never happen (something that probably falls in line with "that would never happen to me!" and the invincibility we feel as young adults). but it is what it is, and i have 13 days left in my little home.

living in Riverwalk brought a lot of firsts for me;
- first time having my own room (except living with my parents for a year after London)
- first time (and possibly only time, even though it has completely spoiled me!) having my own bathroom
- first time painting walls the color i wanted
- first time living alone - after fully believing i would never want to or couldn't handle it

i like my apartment. i like my walls! i like that i'm the perfect distance between McGregor and 41. i like that there is no gate in my community and i have a pool. i don't want to leave... i just dont want to! But it's next on the agenda. it came at a very interesting time in life, and i really am sad to give this place up, but i feel totally calm about it happening. Which only makes me more certain that it's all part of the plan.

living alone is something i never really considered, but just kind of fell into when Ashlee left. i fell into it a little more naturally than i thought, and i kind of love it some times. but i do believe i am built to live life with people, and being alone too much isn't very good for me. i feel it was an important part of my journey and growth, and i'm very thankful for this time.

but just like learning to live alone was an adjustment, learning to live with others again will be the same. after almost 3 years of my own bedroom, and 1.5 years of my own bathroom, going back will be very different. but i did it for over 20 years of my life, so i think i'll survive : )

i think my entire experience living in Fort Myers has been an important part of my journey... being forced into things i never thought i'd say yes to (ie, living in fort myers, living alone, etc).... and ending up loving them. So i have no doubt that this next part of the Fort Myers chapter, which most likely involves sleeping on a lot of couches, will be no different in the growth department.

i'm embracing the change. even if it's not the kind of change i thought i was looking for.
i guess it almost never is : ) and there's something kind of beautiful about that.

Tribute Post

As most of you already know, i am 5 days away from living alone.

My lovely, talented, thoughtful, fun roommate is leaving me.

Yes, i realize how dramatic that sounds.... :)

Ashlee is leaving for a wonderful reason. She's being completely selfless, giving up life as she knows it, and moving to Haiti to help the educational system through an organization called Reach Global. And at the moment, she's committed to two years.

Two. Years.

(if you read my last post, you're familiar with my fear of time commitment!)

My roommate is about to become a real life, full fledged missionary. And she's ready. She's not only accepted this calling, she's excited for it. I admire it so incredibly much. And i wish more than anything i could ship her a fountain Diet Coke and a place to take bubble baths.

We've had a lot of fun over the past couple of weeks. Photos to follow. She's sitting 5 feet away from me, and just said "wow, you're blogging!" (since i've been slackin these days).... and i don't want her to know it's a blog about her. Muahaha, so far my plan is working and she doesn't even know ;)

Last night we got to have a prayer commissioning service for her at our church (Summit) and then have some dinner and cake with close friends. Not to mention we got to end our night with Ang, enjoying a very nice bottle of wine and just chatting. I will miss these times for sure!

But in t-5 days we leave for the road. We're having one last roommate hoorah - we're driving her zippy little car back to Minnesota (prayers excepted..... mainly that i don't get a ticket driving that fast little thing!!). We're driving to Nashville on night one and allllll the rest of the way that day.

it's really far.

You get the drift. I'm currently doing my best to make as many awesome playlists as i can that will keep me motivated at 10pm driving through cornfields : )

But really, pray for Ashlee. Pray for her time there, for the people she'll be ministering to, and pray for her new way of life in Haiti. I'm going to miss her oh so much as a roommate and a near by friend and person i know i can count on and go to for advice, and as much as i hate the thought of her leaving, i'm so excited to support her in this journey. I've got to stop writing, because i'm not allowed to cry yet!!!

So cheers to you, dear roommate - i'll come visit Haiti soon ;)

And after all this craziness dies down, i promise to blog more. 

Well, i promise to blog more one week after that - because i'm being reunited with three of my best friends in CHICAGO for Memorial Day weekend slash Ashley's 25th!!!!!

me, ash, case, and kim.... circa Spring 2005. 

First picture i could find of the four of us together... Man we look rough. Get ready for much better looking photos. Until then, everyone be good!

xo