currently

{photo credit: me}

wearing: my pajamas which consist of an old t-shirt that my boyfriend was giving away and a pair of teeny tiny shorts that my friend chelsea gave to me a few birthdays ago. i have bedhead. #iwokeuplikethis. that is not hard to believe.

reading: cinnamon and gunpowder by eli brown. i found this book at a thrift shop, and the cover alone won me over. (i do admit that i judge books by their covers. guilty.) the year is 1819, and famous chef owen wedgwood has been kidnapped by the infamous pirate mad hannah mabbot. in order to keep himself alive, owen must create delicious and exotic feasts for mabbot every sunday using what meager and tasteless supplies he has on the ship. it's part adventure, part food book. i'm digging it so far!

anticipating: camping next weekend with my roommate and our friend megan. we went two summers ago, just the three of us, and we're at it again. we went primitive camping last time and none of us got a good night sleep as we thought every noise we heard was a bear/psychopath coming to eat/murder us. we're paying the $15 to set up shop at a designated campsite this year. hey, smores.

listening to: carry you back home by john hiatt.

eating: can't get enough chicken caesar salads lately. i've never had such a strong craving for lettuce before. so that's new. i've been ordering them out at restaurants and buying ingredients to make my own at home. they're both comforting and relatively healthy (minus the fatty salad dressing and copious amount of parmesan cheese) so i'm indulging.

up to today: driving home to the pines. i am stopping by one of the markets where i sell my art to deliver a new display that i've been working on. i found this old wooden drawer at goodwill and immediately thought it would make a great jewelry stand. i sanded it down and painted it a light blue-green and then added some hooks and wiring to be able to hang my necklaces and earrings on it. i'm happy with how it turned out! i hope it looks good in the shop. i will also spend some time with my mom and step-dad while i'm in town. perhaps a coffee date is in the works? always coffee. that's a given.

what are you guys currently up to? tell me all the things!

parker and otis

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one of my favorite things about living in durham is the variety of unique shops and restaurants we have. there are so many great local boutiques and coffee shops and eateries within a 10-15 minute drive of my apartment. parker and otis is a gem of a place in downtown durham that combines the best of the shopping and eating worlds. if you asked me to recommend a great breakfast/lunch place in durham, this place would definitely be on my list. their food is super fresh, super local, super delicious. they have a huge variety of chocolates and candies, a great coffee bar serving up local roast coffee, and the best assortment of gifts and cards. i went this past saturday morning for breakfast and ordered one of their huge and fluffy cheddar cheese biscuits along with their breakfast BLT on sourdough. so delicious. if you are ever in the dirty d (as we so fondly call this awesome city), do yourself a favor and stop by parker and otis!

{photo credit: me}

{photo credit: me}

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no plans, no problem

{photo credit: me}

starting last night and all throughout the day today i've been feeling on the verge of getting sick. nothing major but my throat is sore and scratchy, i've been sneezing off and on, and my head feels heavy. i have no plans tonight but to read and catch up on a few things that i can do from the comfort of my bed. in my pajamas. with wet hair. 

it's nights like these, the slow and easy nights, that i cherish. since coming home from vacation and working a lot this week, i feel like this chill night is just what i need. in fact, i feel exhausted when i go a week without a night or two of peace and quiet. it recharges me. anyone else like that? 

one thing i plan on doing while browsing pinterest (because that is DEFINITELY something i can do in my pajamas with wet hair) is listen to this rad girl's august playlist. you should too. 

happy thursday, y'all! it's almost the weekend. 

weekend in wisconsin

hello! i've been MIA since the beginning of this month, and i only have a good excuse for about four of those days. that leaves eight days unaccounted for. how about i make it up to you with pictures? lots of pictures?

i just got back from a long weekend in wisconsin with the boyfriend. he was born and raised outside of milwaukee and moved to raleigh around the same time i did about 4 1/2 years ago. one of his good friends from back home asked him to be the best man in his wedding so i went along as his date and had a chance to meet his family. what an awesome trip! his family was really great and welcomed us into town with a cookout complete with delicious brats straight off the grill. wisconsin knows how to do it up right.

i didn't take as many pictures as i hoped to. we were so busy with activities and hanging out with his friends and family that i forgot to take more pictures. i guess that's a good thing though, right? having such a good time that you lose track of where your iphone is? i'm going with it.

it was really sweet to see dan interacting with his family and good friends. they love him so much, and he was super happy to spend time with them. i just love to see him smile. it makes his blue eyes even bluer if that's even possible.

thanks for a great trip, wisconsin! i'll be back. you have the most delicious creamy custard, and don't even get me started on your cheese curds.

{photo credit: me}

{photo credit: me}

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{photo credit: dan}

{photo credit: nice lady}

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{photo credit: ben}

august mix

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a new month already?! time, you're killing me. my roommate and i are heading down to southern pines to start our fun girls weekend. so looking forward to some quality time with my best ladies. hope you guys have a wonderful weekend doing whatever it is that's on your agenda!

august mix

plage : crystal fighters

cayucos : cayucas

all of the stars : ed sheeran

gratisfaction : the strokes

colours : grouplove

seaside : wake owl

in my arms : jon foreman

mercy : mr. little jeans

little bit : perrin lamb

geronimo : sheppard

love never felt so good : michael jackson and justin timberlake