Bowties

This weekend was super fun!

It was my little brother's birthday. My family went over to his house and spent some time with him, his wife and my nephew. It was lovely and my nephew is just the cutest. He's pulling up on things now without help, it's so much fun to watch.

And then out to dinner with friends and got some possibly really exciting news about graduation stuff. I've been friends with these people for forever and it's nice to be out with people you love. 

We all look possessed in this picture because boys don't know how to use the camera

Then, Sunday I took pictures for my friend's son's first birthday. His theme was old man so there were lots of mustaches and bow-ties. I allowed my mustache hatred to take a vacation for a day. I haven't had time to process any of the pictures yet, so the one below is just an iPhone pic.

She gave him his very one little cake. It was amazing.

I had a great weekend that properly prepared me for the crazy week ahead. In a couple of days when I'm in a lack of sleep fueled melt down, maybe this post will bring me back to sanity. Or, maybe I'll just take a nap. We'll see.

BSTW vol. 11

This adorable boy and his french bulldog. Their instagram is amazing.

I love love love this amazing bracelet. It's got the whole world inside!

This adorable store that sells treats as jewelry and phone charms. I'd love to have this, but I know I'd break it off in my phone.

Perfect pairings as done as Pantone chips, awesome! There's plenty more where this one came from :)

The luckiest man ever cuddling an adorable womat.

Little girls from the '30s reenacting the Wizard of Oz

Amazing article on productive procrastination, it works, people!

I tried to dye Chico green

For St. Patrick's day, I attempted dying Chico a festive shade of green. I looked at some tutorials online and talked to my friend Becky about how to accomplish this. Despite Becky's suggestions, I went with the food coloring in water with a spray bottle method.

I must admit, he hated it. But, he hates most new things. Think how proud he'd feel walking the halls of the school and sitting on the front desk green! Green for his family's (kind of) heritage, representing us like a real man! Green for all the world to see!

But, the dye didn't stick to his little needle-y hairs. And he was trying to run himself on my leg and shorts the whole time. I had to hold him by his collar so he couldn't run off and wipe it on the grass or the porch or the other dogs. 

The final product looks like this:

So, I tried. And failed. But, here is the proof that I attempted to green my dog for St. Patrick's day. Go me and especially, go Chico.

Ah ha! vol. 8: Today

{I can't find the original source, if you know it, please let me know}

Do you ever do that thing where you find yourself scrolling through your instragram feed deleting every picture of your "old life" because it's so disgusting to you that you can't imagine ever having to look at anything you did "before" ever again?

No? Only me?

I often forget that I'm on a constant timeline of change and growth. I forget that I only have today. I can't change the past and I can't live in the future. Today is slipping through my fingers because I can't let go of past mistakes and I feel like I have to berate myself for past decisions I'm ashamed of. Which is completely ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous with my brain but not with my heart. You feel me?

The past year has been amazing. I had a moment last spring in when I realized most of the decisions I'd made in the year before that (and the 10 years before that) were insane. I realized I was a liar and that I was worrying way too much about what everyone else thought of me. I didn't know who I am. I didn't know what I think about anything. Without knowing, I tailored my answers and opinions depending on who was around me. The scary thing was, I really thought I loved that painting you love and I really thought she is a raging bitch until someone made an opposite compelling argument. This last year, I've learned I don't know (and knowing doesn't mean I often say "I don't know"). 

Boyfriend is a saint. He's gone through a lot of this with me. Because I often don't know what I think. But I do know I love candy. And I love my dog and contrary to what my mother has told me about myself my whole life, I'm mostly an extrovert and I need to be around other people most of the time. And I'm not extremely negative and I'm an optimist (a lot of the time, I have my moments-graduate school has brought out my worst many times) and everyone is just doing the best he/she can and I don't have to live up to what my mother thinks she wants me to be. I have to worry about being who I need to be. And I'm excited for the future but also so scared. 

You know what, I'm pretty awesome and I have to stop telling myself what a horrible failure I am. It's just not true. I think my best quality is my fiercely loyal friendship. I'm open to loving my friends almost to a fault. Which has been a little of a downfall to me lately. But, I've learned. I've grown. I don't want to be someone's caretaker. I deserve better. I've worked my ass off for where I am. Like really worked it off. I've cried and I haven't lied to the best of my ability. And it's been amazing.

But the really. I have to remember all I have is today. This moment. And nothing in the past can ever change and the future isn't now. I don't want to miss today :)

Ah Ha! vol. 7: Procrastination

I've been having a hard time lately. Lots and lots of anxiety and panic, which makes it hard for me to do things which in turn adds to my anxiety and panic. Normally, this is frustrating, but right now I'm working on finishing my portfolio and I'm in a time crunch.

When I get like this, I get stuck in a cycle. The anxiety comes, then I have a hard time working then I beat myself up for not getting things done which makes the anxiety worse. In the past, I'd usually give up. But that's not an option for me anymore. There is no way I'm going to give up after the past two years of working my ass off, sleepless nights, money and sacrifices.

I realized, I only have today. I don't have tomorrow yet and what I did yesterday doesn't matter, it's over. In the interest of my sanity, I have to focus on what I can do right this minute. If thinking about the entire day wigs me out, I can take it a moment at a time. It's all going to be ok.

Sunny and Spring

Last week I was a little down (and extremely dramatic) and the weather was just making it worse. But, this weekend was great! The weather was mostly sunny and warm. People were out in the city and walking around and smiling.

Chico and I went to Oakland Cemetery, which is a cemetery, but also a huge park in the middle of Atlanta. It's awesome and old and great. There are tons of paths and trees and in the back is a huge field where I take Chico to run free. It was also really nice to be out and about with other Atlantans.

Sunday, I went to my brother and sister-in-law's house to hang out with them and my beautiful little nephew. I love that little man. He's so cool. I love the way he smiles and laughs and loves. He's crawling so fast now, it's awesome.

I needed this sunny weather and somewhat lazy weekend to recharge my batteries. Sitting in the sun with my pup and reading and being surrounded by nature (and dead people, let's be honest) was awesome.

Now on to finish my portfolio! Full steam ahead (or at least 8 hours of work a day, at least).

Movie Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

This isn't a horror movie, but it was an occasion where I rounded up a group of lady friends and convinced them to come to the movies with me latish on a week night. It counts. We went to see Oz the Great and Powerful. I love The Wizard of Oz with all of my heart and soul. I have red, sparkly mary janes and have had several pairs throughout my life, I collect (tasteful) memorabilia, I've read the books, I love love love it.

My expectations for this movie were very low. I had high hopes, but low expectations. Hollywood often messes up these epic types of movies and after being so disappointed with Alice in Wonderland, I assumed Disney may once again miss the mark.

Fortunately, I was delightfully surprised that this Disney remake (kind of) of an old and beloved classic was awesome. It started off black and white and went to amazing, bright colors. The story was pretty cool and the animation was amazing. There was a little girl made out of china which might have been the best part of the movie. Her character was soooo cute and the little sound effects made while she was walking was fantastic.

And, you can get this amazing shirt to represent:

So, see the movie. It rocks. The end.

This weather has caused Chico and me to lose the will to live

Has also lost the will to live because it's cold

You know that thing where you don't want to do anything except lay in the bed and watch How I Met Your Mother and you don't want to answer the phone or do your homework or speak to anyone because it's been cold and rainy for months and it's dark and terrible and you've lost the will to live and ennui has swallowed your entire soul?

Alright. All that is a little dramatic, but I don't want to do anything. I'm counting down the hours until daylight savings starts this Sunday. The dark and dreary weather is taking a toll. I've had all I can stand, and so has Chico. Probably mostly because I don't want to do anything and he gets bored laying around and listening to me whine. Boyfriend is probably also tired of it. He actually works outside in the elements and he really does have a good reason to have his soul swallowed by ennui.

I feel lazy and lack the motivation to finish up the last 6 weeks of school. I'm finishing my portfolio and getting things all wrapped up. I beat myself up for every second I don't spend working on school work, but I wake up in the middle of the night almost every night and can't go back to sleep so I'm tired. And cranky. And cold. (One of my friends told me it's senioritis, but I'm convinced it's because I'm a lazy loser who's a failure at life and being a designer)

I'm a big whiny blob.

And, speaking of blobs, winter makes me feel fat. Sigh.

Thoughts? Relating? Anyone?

PS: Thank you for reading my whine.