come on, get happy!

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it's the start of a glorious four day weekend for me! i've got plans for coffee dates, rock climbing, hitting the water park, getting my grub on at a food truck rodeo, spending time with my gal pals, church at summit, and making homemade pizza among other fabulous things. what are your plans? wearing white while you still can? (total myth, btw). 

i've found quite a few cool things on the web this week. here's my running list. 

a day in the life of i spy diy

just found this new blog and look how cute her little desk/studio are. 

roasted plums with vanilla ice cream. just stop. 

i just entered a giveaway to win a credit to this shop. i really want a pair of these. 

gold leafing. purty. 

a cute and quick diy. 

a verse for rest and peace. 

the video is stupid but the song. oh, the song. 

might have to make this pizza over the long holiday weekend. 

books and their matching bikinis.

beautiful and creative engagement photo shoot.

fun jewelry.  

have you guys found anything fun on the interwebs this week? have a great long weekend! i'm off to brew my second cup of coffee before i even think about getting out of my pajamas. 

girls who camp

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had the best weekend with my roommate and our friend megan. we went camping on black mountain, hiked linville falls, and didn't wear a stitch of makeup for three days. holler. 

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the weather was gorgeous. mid-70s during the day and at night it got down to low 50s. shut the front door. i could get used to that. 

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our friend megan was the best tour guide. she basically grew up in these mountains so she chauffeured amy and i up and down the parkway without needing any directions. i was impressed. i can't even drive home without turning my gps on. that's a joke but just barely. 

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on our way to the campsite, we stopped at the orchard at altapass. such a cool place. there was a band playing live music, lots of couples dancing, homemade jellies and jams and sauces for sale, ice cream by the scoop, and the most beautiful view of their orchards.

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our campsite was perfect. a nice fire pit to build our campfire and a pretty creek running right alongside. we set up our tent immediately and got everything situated before hiking up to roaring fork falls. 

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we were the only hikers at these falls. more opportunities to play in the water and not get caught. 

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then this happened. 

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cooking over an open fire. this is good. 

you know what else is good? s'mores. always and forever. 

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we had a fun time roughing it in the woods. and when i say roughing it, i mean it. i didn't have a cup of coffee for at least 24 hours. if you know me at all, your reaction should be shocked and impressed.

thank you tour guide, megs! looking forward to exploring asheville with you in october.

watch out. here she comes.

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i'm one of those people that, the second I walk through the front door, stuff is flying everywhere and i'm basically a tornado. bag/jacket/scarf/shoes/everything on the floor, hair up in a messy bun, I NEED WATER, eat a snack, sit on the floor or the counter for five minutes and contemplate the day... and the stuff i threw in all directions usually stays there for a hundred years. worst habit. i should really change this - maybe consider putting everything in its place instead, so i'm not trying to find it later? what a concept. 

-kelly ann from the flowerchild dwelling

i may not be that bad, but i love this quote. the minute i hit my door after a long day, it's off with the real clothes and on go the comfy clothes. my hair is too short for a bun, so it turns into a small nub at the top of my head. i scan the fridge for leftovers or eat candy from our pantry. check the email. rummage through my purse that is now on the floor where i dropped it. text my mom. what's on hulu?  think about being productive. continue to watch hulu. 

ritual or bad habit? neither of those really fit the bill. let's go with quirk. 

arm party!

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a few posts back i put up a picture of a bracelet i had made, and one of my readers commented that i should join the arm party. i like arms, and i like parties. it sounded like a good mix. i looked into it and found out that illy of much love illy and leonora of yellow heart art were hosting a sort of crafty pen pal exchange. the rules were as follows: sign up, get a partner, make a bracelet for them, get a bracelet in return. hello, arm party? RSVP for one. 

it wasn't long before i found out my partner was jamie from grey sky saturday. we emailed back and forth and got to know each other a little bit. we covered all the important topics like who our childhood crushes were. me: macaulay culkin. her: jonathan brandis (i had to imdb him, and i still don't know who he is). she lives in beautiful hawaii and likes to hike and shop and explore new places on the island. what she failed to mention is that she is an expert bracelet maker. check these bad boys out. 

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here we have the beautiful and elegant beaded square knot bracelet. i love these colors! it looks very complicated. i'm not sure i could make this on my own. in fact, i've already given up in my mind.

up next is my fave of the two. look at this! just look at it. red ball chain, tan cord and string, and a gold hex nut. genius move, jamie. believe it or not i didn't own a wrap bracelet until now, and i am in love with this design. 

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jamie packaged my bracelets up in a cute kraft box with these origami stars. this girl seriously outdid me. have i ever tried making origami stars? no. do i think they're sweet like candy? oooh, yes.

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a big thank you to jamie for these sweet handmade bracelets! i will rock them and give you all the credit. also, now that we're practically life best friends, can i come visit you in hawaii? mmmkay. 

go check out all the other fun arm parties! linking up here and here.

raleigh farmers market

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a post with more pictures than words is in order being that it's monday and all. my friend carrie and i took a trip to the raleigh farmers market on friday. it was fun. it was colorful. i did a lot of taste testing. let's get started. 

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why does it look like i have bed head and i'm wearing huge sunglasses to cover up the bags under my eyes? because i do and i am. 

garbage bowl of vegetables

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i was recently reading a health and food blog that used the phrase "garbage bowl of vegetables" and for whatever reason it stuck with me. i mean, who says that? health nuts, that's who. i'll take one garbage bowl of vegetables, please. tempeh fries on the side. 

i'm no health nut. i definitely eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies and all that, but my cravings are a little more near the top of the food pyramid if you know what i mean. i'll take one garbage bowl of brownies with brownies on the side, extra hot fudge, make it snappy. 

i don't know why, but the mental picture made me go crazy hungry for the kind of salad that consists of every kind of vegetable you can fit into a bowl and still have room for feta on top. 

so i went shopping in the produce department.

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ingredients:

carrots

celery

green pepper

chick peas

black olives

edamame

cucumber

feta
sugar snap peas

baked chicken breast

dressing of your choice (i use light italian)

preparation:

wash things. chop things. throw em in a bowl. sprinkle with feta. add some dressing. yumyumyum.

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the beautiful thing about this salad is that you can add whatever vegetables you want and leave out the ones you don't have a taste for. beets would be a good addition, and they would add a really pretty color. radishes and tomatoes, too. i use green peppers because they're generally cheaper than red, orange, and yellow, but, if you have an extra $2 to spare, spring for the sweet, colorful ones. 

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this salad is kind of a new obsession. i'm weird. you can say it. it would be one of the nicer words people have used to describe me. 

hometown recap

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the beginning of a new week is hard. there's the dreaded monday, waking up to an alarm set hours before anyone should actually have to get out of bed, putting on real clothes, etc. starting a new week is really difficult when you've just had a really great weekend. 

as i mentioned i my previous post, i spent the weekend in southern pines with my family and two of my girlfriends. we had a blast. i told you guys i was going to document our trip, but, alas, i left my camera in my desk at work and didn't feel like driving back to get it before heading home. i've pieced together some images from the world wide web and some instagram pics that chelsea took. i promise will make good on my promise, though. promise. 

on friday evening, i drove straight to my dad's new place. he lives within walking distance of downtown so we took a nice evening stroll down to the wine cellar for happy hour. it was such a nice night and we sat on the outdoor patio and talked for a while. we decided that since it was time for dinner and since we were already downtown, we might as well make an evening of it and dine out. 

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we walked a block away to ashten's and nabbed the last table in their "formal dining room". i felt very informal in my jorts and baseball tee. i thought they would at least place us behind a wall or a huge flower pot to shield me from the other diners, but we got a table right next to the front entrance. i made sure to use my napkin as a bib. 

on saturday, i went yard saling with my parents. i scored a few good finds, but the real treat was spending half the morning with my parents in the car. riding with my parents is a mix between an amusement park ride and a site seeing tour. the gps is shouting out directions, there's random braking, pointing, u-turns on one way streets, rolling stops. i sat quietly in the back seat drinking what i thought might be my last cup of coffee. 

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chelsea arrived around noon, and we hit the ground running. we stopped at a few places downtown including a resale shop, the ice cream parlour (for afternoon candy and fries), swank coffee shop, and the mockingbird then headed over to goodwill and scoured the racks for treasures. just as we were finished at gcf, amy texted and said she was in town! whoop. we met up with her at the wine cellar for moscato. 

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by the time our glasses were drained, it was nearing dinner time so we all headed back to my parent's house for ribs. my older brother kelsey was in town so we had a very full table. it was nice to have so many of my favorite people all in one room sharing a meal together. we kind of don't take things too seriously so there was lots of reaching across the table to reach the bread basket and laughing (at each other) between bites.

ames, chels, and i had plans to go see to rome with love at the sunrise theater downtown so off we went again. woody allen? annoying. but the movie was fairly enjoyable-ish. 

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on sunday we went to church, ate lunch together, took some awkward family photos with my college-bound brother, explored a bit more around town and then we all headed our separate ways. it was such a lovely weekend. the right amount of busyness and relaxation. all i know is that i want it to be friday again.

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i hope you all enjoyed your weekend! what did you kids get into?

hometown

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i'm heading home this weekend for a little r and r. i haven't been home in what feels like months, so i'm excited to see my family and visit all of my favorite spots including swank coffee. this will be the last weekend i see my little brother before he heads off to college. i'm getting a little sad just thinking about it. good thing my roommate amy and my friend chelsea will also be joining me tomorrow for some girl time!

i love my sweet hometown. i love going home for weekend visits. we moved to southern pines when i was nine, so i have basically grown up there. it holds such sweet memories for me. like when my brother surprised us at christmas and came home from being stationed in las vegas. or walking to my first real job at the local library only blocks from our house in downtown. there was learning to drive stick shift, my little's brother's first day of school, birthday party games in the backyard, my first one mile fun run, dates with my dad, sleepovers with my girlfriends, holiday parades. 

i think a lot of people can agree that there's something special about your hometown. there's a little pride that swells up in your heart. you become a little territorial. in your head you're thinking "whatever, joe schmoe. my hometown is way cooler than yours." unless your hometown is like chicago or san francisco in which case you win hands down. and, in which case, why haven't you invited me to visit?

hope you guys have a fun weekend wherever you are and whatever you do! my goal is to take pictures of my trip home and show you guys how cute southern pines is. i always take my camera with me and then it stays in my bag all weekend while i'm out frolicking around. i might have to resort to tying a string around my finger to help me remember. 

xoxo

p.s. on a rando sidenote, i just signed up the the color me rad race in october. i'm so excited i could go run a 5k right now, but i wouldn't have people throwing color on me so it's just not worth it. 

notes to self

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"SWITCH IT UP! 

we’re more than half way through the year and one thing is certain… i’m most excellent at sticking myself in a happy-go-lucky-comfortable-RUT!  seriously, joy… your routine has become 100% routine, and i mean that in the most uncharming way possible. even your cat is bored with your morning tea, afternoon doldrums, and evening real housewives.

halfway through the year.  dang more than halfway through the year.

this isn’t about big goals or lofty resolutions… it’s more about the day to day.  switch things up.  get out in the world and try your best to see it differently.  yeayeayea… see things differently.  be more present.  downward dog, yadda yadda yadda. but how do you actually make this happen?"

read the rest over here!

good words to live by brought to you by joy the baker.

talenti

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i went shopping this weekend and bought this. 

it looks really good on my hips. 

august mix

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i am on the move this month! this weekend i'll be in charlotte hanging out with my ladies, home the following weekend to visit the family, a much anticipated wedding in raleigh the next weekend and then a road trip to burke county (think hunger games) with my rooms to visit a friend of ours and go camping.

i like these plans very much.

*august mix*

pink champagne : lovedrug

fineshrine : purity ring

collapse : mutemath

sebastian : reptar

into giants : patrick watson

always like this : bombay bicycle club

bye bye baby : bay city rollers

1957 : milo greene

too close : alex clare

on top of the world : imagine dragons

soon or never : punch brothers

you can't hurry love : the concretes

thunder clatter : keegan dewitt


what are your august plans, kids?

p.s. i think there are only like 50 some days of summer left. #byebyesweatandhumidity. (if i had twitter).