I Would Live There // 01

I got the idea for this potential series from Anna over at Door Sixteen, which is a great design & lifestyle blog that I have been following regularly for awhile now.

The internet is full of beautiful spaces and homes that make me just want to pack my bags and move in. I guess the next best thing would be to get some inspiration and make my own apartment look like this, but sometimes it's more fun to just imagine yourself there already.

I love this house tour that was featured on The Everygirl not too long ago (another awesome blog that I've been really into!). It's bright, white, spacious, simple and so so pretty, which are all of my dream adjectives for a home. Hopefully someday I can check all of those off of my own list. For now I'll think about Ashley's gorgeous Houston Townhouse.

Images Source

Have a great weekend everyone! I hope to be productive- maybe some (gasp) Christmas Gift Shopping?

My Portfolio

This will be a short and quick entry- I'm just writing to say that I uploaded my official portfolio to my Box account for your viewing pleasure! It's not perfect and I will be changing it up and hopefully making it nicer and fancier as I add and subtract to it! I am welcoming any and all advice.

OH AND... I am no longer a student with AIPOD and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I sort of feel like a loser for "dropping out" but I don't think it's the right learning environment for me. So, putting together a portfolio without anyone to really review it is sort of scary, which is why I would love advice and criticism!

More on my decision later?

PS- I LOVE Box! It's such an easy way to share files and make them easily downloadable for you guys to use/see! I hope to be creating more downloads and freebies for you soon!

Links I Love

1. 14 Signs Your Perfectionism is Out of Control according to the Huffington Post

2. Strategies for Awkward Business Situations- or awkward situations in general- from One Woman Shop

3. Simplify and Pare Down Your Goals with help from Elsie & Emma from A Beautiful Mess

4. I LOVE this Super Warm Herringbone Scarf for the chilly weather from this amazing Etsy shop!

5. Celebrities read Mean Tweets on Jimmy Kimmel... is it mean to say those tweets are hilarious?

If I had a third bedroom

We've only been in our apartment for about 9 months, and I seriously can't believe how much stuff we've aquired. It's unreal. Moving here was a breeze even though we had random things in several places, but there wasn't much to move besides bigger furniture items. But when we eventuall move out of here... oh man. I'm not excited. We're actually going to have to get boxes and probably a bigger moving truck unless we want to make a milion trips.

But that's another worry for another time.

I am looking forward to the day that we have a 3rd bedroom that we can use as an office/guest bedroom (a.k.a. another bed for Dom to sleep in when I want a good nights sleep in our bed alone). I'm always Pinning office ideas because I think they can be so functional if you're a person that's on their computer a lot, like me. It really helps to have a separate place to work than on the couch or in bed. Plus, it could house all of my "projects" that seem to always be ongoing, and curently preventing me from eating dinner at our dining table. You can tell who wears the pants in our house- not Dom, not Julian, not me... the "projects".

Here is a basic moodboard of what I would do with a third bedroom:

Source list from left to right, top to bottom: 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.

Some things seem sort of random, but I guess overall I'm picturing lots of white and navy blue with punches of gold and turquoise. I love the acrylic trend that's going on right now, so the chair and wall shelf represent that. I'm also picturing a huge cork board for a hands-on pinboard for ideas and reminders. There are a few different fun fabrics that could be incorporated in lots of ways- pillows for the bed, curtains, maybe framed as wall art- and I'm really interested in learning more about mixing patterns and different fabrics to see what works in real life and what doesn't.

I'm "asking" for tht desk for Christmas, so if I get it I'm definitely going to make a little office corner in my bedroom to start out with.

Do you with you had a specific room in your house or apartment? I think my second wish would be for a cute little porch to decorate for holidays and to sit on in the summer.

Simple Compliments & One Woman Shop

I’m answering the question “What is the best thing that you routinely hear from clients, customers, or readers?” as part of One Woman Shop’s My Favorite Feedback series. Want to participate? Look over the guidelines on One Woman Shop by November 14!

The answer to this question is simple- the greatest thing to hear from clients is “I LOVE it!” But not just any old, “I love it”. It’s when you can really hear how excited they are. I guess this is my favorite thing to hear because I’m new at this whole being-a-designer thing, so validation and minute compliments are seriously the best to me. I’m really passionate about designing and the things I create, so I feel like my work is an extension of myself, and when someone compliments my work, I feel like they’re complimenting me.

Do I sound like I crave affection? Cause I do!

What is something you love hearing from your clients or blog readers? No matter what your profession is, there must be some compliment you love getting! Or maybe you love criticism?

Don't kill me for saying the C word...

It's never too early to start thinking about what you're going to get your loved ones for Christmas. I don't know about you, but right now I'm crunching numbers, making a budget and thinking about who gets/needs what. A few years ago I went crazy on some people's gifts (ahem, Dom) and then didn't have enough to get other people I love the things I wanted to get them, and I spent way too much in general. Now with a little one, he's top priority for the biggest and best gifts and largest part of the budget.

Since it's about time to start thinking and buying for others, I was thinking about the things I want this year, and I've come up with a little list of what I want this year. It feels sort of weird to make a list of things that I want- I feel like a child saying it- but honestly if you don't ask for anything that you really want, you will end up getting a bunch of things you don't need. So this is my "list".

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12

What are you asking Santa/loved ones for this year? Is there anything on my list that's similar to something you want?

A Little Bit of Halloween

So, Halloween is over and the real fun begins- candy binging. Julian looked amazing and he had such a good time visiting all of our family and staying up later than normal. he was such a good boy- we had seven places to visit in about two hours. He was literally bouncing off the walls of the Hilton where Dom works (we visited him at work)- running around the hotel lobby pointing at the huge lights hanging from the ceiling and touching things he shouldn’t have touched. He was a huge hit!

"A doting mother smiles at her pensive child" -Olivia Bauso

A fun-filled Halloween with him should be a satisfying way to end the month, right? While I realize this, I feel like I dropped the ball where Halloween is concerned. I barely decorated (my one strand of borrowed Halloween lights pooped out after one night), didn’t carve my two (TWO!) pumpkins, didn’t buy any candy (I doubt we would have gotten trick-or-treaters to our apartment), and didn’t do any fun crafts (even though I Pinned dozens, probably). I kept promising a how-to for Julian’s amazing Peter Pan costume, but the only time we were able to get outside to take some good pictures, it was freeeezing! And by the time we got him dressed last night, it was dark here in Central New York. That combined with his hummingbird-like speed last night doesn’t make for any good picture-taking opportunities.

Peter Pan making The Hilton Garden Inn his Neverland

My priorities must be all wrong, I know. I should have just enjoyed the moment rather than trying to capture the picture of the lifetime. Ugh, I can’t stop being sad. But we still got some decent in-motion pictures good enough to share.

Ready to take flight? I think so.

Note- Dom’s friends were at the Hilton, so combine the three of them with me, my sister and best friend Morgan, that’s six people that were trying to get one picture of this boy. He was like a celebrity and we were like his paparazzi- which probably made him want to run from us even more. I’m surprised he didn’t punch us or knock our phones out of our hands and stomp on them a-la-Llamar Odom.

Next year I'm going to make an effort to make some more memories leading up to Halloween, and focus less on getting a good picture and adhering to a strict visiting schedule.

So, here’s to another month down and one month closer to the end of another year that is going by way. too. fast.

PS. This month I’m sponsoring Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet- one of my favorite blogs! Be sure to stop over to her blog and show some love!