while i was gone

{photo credit: dr. ellis}

a few things have happened while i was on blog break.

i participated in a holiday market with my friend emily, and it was the best market i have done thus far! tons of traffic and lots of other awesome vendors. looking forward to doing a bunch of new craft markets this new year!

{photo credit: me}

watched a few packers games. i am a newly converted packers fan thanks to my handsome beau. he explains all the things to me.

{photo credit: me}

decorated a teeny tiny christmas tree with my roommate.

{photo credit: me}

spent a weekend in charlotte with my best girls. we always have fun.

{photo credit: kelsey}

spent new years evening with this guy. we went out for early dinner and drinks with my family which was super fun. then we watched the clock strike midnight on our phones and said yay and called it a night. we are not big news years people.

{photo credit: picture this photography}

my brother got married to sweet hannah. sister-in-law gained.

lots of happenings! 2015 is off to an exciting and busy start. the week of my brother's wedding was especially busy with get togethers with the family, decorating the venue, the rehearsal dinner, and last minute wedding day errands. by 7:30 the night of the wedding, i was completely exhausted.

with that said, i think i want this year to be somewhat focused on simplicity/minimizing. i mainly think of these words in relation to my belongings, but i want these words to bleed into my personal life as well. i do like having activities throughout the week, but i find that i have a more clear mind when i don't have something going on every single night.

i would like to be more aware of creating a balance between planned activities and nights of rest. and when i do have nights with no plans, i would really like to be better at time managing my hours of freedom! (is anyone else really bad at that?) and when i do have planned activities, to make the most of them. community is so very important, and i am guilty of getting so wrapped up in my little world that i can lose touch with friends on a weekly basis.

does anyone else have a main focus for this year? do you guys set resolutions or focus on one main theme? i find that focusing on a particular word really helps me accomplish my goals. it just seems to allow room for trial and error (and success).

ok. enough rambling. off i go to do some reading. (another one of my goals this year: read more!) i am currently reading building a home with my husband by rachel simons. it's about her and her husband's home renovation but also about life and relationships and memories. it's my january book, and i am more than halfway through. i better pick up the pace if i want to finish it before next week!

happy monday, loves.

january mix

{photo credit: me}

better late than never, yeah? MUSIC.

january mix

10,000 emerald pools : borns

mikky ekko : pull me down

winter : holly conlan

kasper : sea wolf

comrade : volcano choir

to just grow away : the tallest man on earth

in your arms : chef'special

pompeii : bear's den

shuffle : bombay bicycle club

ways to go : grouplove

sugar

this video is super fun and cute. i just found it yesterday, and i love watching it! i got an itunes gift card for christmas, and i think i might know what my next song purchase is...

any good songs you're jamming out to lately? i need some new recommendations. i'm heading over to noisetrade to check out their newest free music. if you haven't been to that site, you MUST. it's the best thing on the internet. besides buzzfeed and this blog that is. but mostly buzzfeed because you realize at this point that i can't be trusted to post consistently.

happy hump day, y'all!

popping in

{photo credit: selfie}

i'm here! i'm alive! life is good. and busy. and i don't really mind at all that i've been absent from this space for three weeks. no offense to any of my awesome readers. i just realize that sometimes i need to live my life and unplug from the computer as soon as i get home from work. it's been a great three weeks "off duty".

i celebrated christmas with my family, got to see my dad for the first time since july (he lives in idaho), watched my brother get married to his lovely bride, gained a sister-in-law, celebrated 10 months with my guy, visited my best girls in charlotte, participated in my best craft market to date, drank lots of coffee, finished my reading goal for 2014 and started my new goal for this year, and found two pairs of really great jeans on sale for $30. thirty. not one hundred and thirty like some stores like to charge. #jcrewmadewellbananarepublic

life is feeling full these days, and i am very thankful. i hope to get back to more regular posting, but even if it's not as frequent as i intend, i'm ok with that. i want my posts to be genuine and not just words on a computer screen. i think one of my problems i that i don't know how to properly balance everything going on in my life. blogging tends to get pushed to the back burner because it's not absolutely pressing like other things are. (things like work. and relationships. and trying that new coffee shop down the street.) not that i don't enjoy blogging. i really do! but when i have to decide between a dinner date with my boyfriend or blogging about a cookie i ate at lunch, i'm definitely choosing my handsome man. can you guys relate? i think i have been reading posts about this here and there so hopefully it makes sense to you.

anyways, just wanted to pop in a say hi and a happy happy new year to you and yours! is it cliche to say 2015 will be the best year yet? i already know this answer to this. i'm just asking because it's polite. here's to 2015, the best year yet!