Staying Creative.

via pinterest
Loving this list of twenty-nine ways to keep your creativity wheels turning. What a good list of advice to live by.

Some color for your Monday.

sources: 1, 2, 3
Corals, reds, pinks, and grays. A sweet but bright color combination, perfect for curing a persistent case of the Monday Blues- a chronic condition I just can't seem to shake! I hope you're starting your week on the right foot, here's to another day closer to Fall!

Finally Joining the Scarf Club.

via ban.do
This scarf from ban.do was practically made for a red-heart-lover like me. I could think of a thousand different outfits to wear it with; and that second photo might even give me the courage to try a bright red lip with it. But I'll admit that it took me way too long to add scarves to my list of Necessary Accessories, partly because I had myself convinced that it was totally unnecessary to own one for an Arizona winter. I'd roll my eyes at the stacks of silk scarves in the stores, and then come winter, be ridiculously envious of all the pretty scarves girls were wearing to add that little extra something to their outfits. It's another one of those "don't ask my why I was so stubborn" things. Last winter, I spotted a gorgeous scarf in one of the accessory shops out here, and it just about broke down my brick wall against scarves. I had it in my hands, ready to head to the register line, when Andrew reminded me that I thought scarves were silly (oh, but I didn't, not really, not this scarf!), and I put it back. It's pretty ridiculous how many times I thought about that scarf since then, woefully wondering why I would ever, ever leave it behind. I'm telling you, it was the prettiest dark blue with a floral print that I died a little over. But I told myself I'd missed my chance, and that was that.

This weekend, since I'm no longer anti-scarf, I decided the time had come to find one that I might love almost as much as the First One. We went to the same store, hoping against hope that they had something similar. And because I am sometimes the Luckiest Shopper Ever, I spotted MY scarf. It was the only one left, and it was clearance for FIVE DOLLARS. I hope my use of capital letters is getting my excitement across here, because I am seriously still staring at it in amazement every time I walk into my closet. The point of that whole story is that I have a new-found massive amount of appreciation for those beautiful things, and can't believe I wasted all those winters without them. Don't judge- I'm a changed woman now!

The Biggest Mirror. Ever.

via BDDW
Now that's a serious mirror. Seventy-two inches worth of a serious statement piece... wow. I don't think there's a single wall in this apartment that's even close to the size you'd need to hang something this massive, so I'll have to live vicariously through the website picture instead.

Herringbone.

via pinterest
With floors like these, I would be doing a lot of staring at their pure gorgeousness. And also a lot of tripping, over every little bump and dip, because I'm a total klutz- but it would be reallllly worth it.

Rainy Day Reading

via pinterest, original source unknown (?)
At the moment, we are having a wonderfully rainy afternoon- I say "moment", because it won't last much longer than that. This kind of weather is pretty rare here in Arizona, but our summers bring a few quick storms. Weather like this makes me want to find a big old blanket and huddle up with a few good books (it's still 90 degrees outside, despite the clouds and rain, but a girl can dream!). I thought I'd make a little list of a few gems I've read lately, just in case anyone needs some titles to add to their reading list.

The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls: This was one of those books that I picked up a hundred times at the bookstore, but never seemed to get around to actually reading. When I spotted it at Goodwill for fifty cents, it was pretty obvious that it would be coming home with me. I blew through this novel in just a few days, and am really glad I rescued it from Goodwill.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book I and Book II, by Maryrose Wood: I'm proudly head-over-heels in love with creative children's literature, and it's not uncommon for me to pick up a few books here and there that were probably intended for someone half my age. I've discovered quite a few favorite authors that way, so don't make the mistake of categorizing children's books as "just for kids"! If you've read and loved the Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket, or The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, then you'll really enjoy this series as well. It's still a work-in-progress, so be prepared to be checking the calendar for the release of the third book!

We Have Always Lived In the Castle, by Shirley Jackson: Another one that took me forever to get to, and now I carry it in my purse just in case I find an extra moment to read a couple more pages! Though I'm not quite finished with it yet, I can say with certainty that it is a perfect mix of mystery and eccentric characters for my liking. I'll hopefully finish it tonight!

I've always been a pretty serious reader, but four years of college made it tough to remember what it felt like to read for fun. I was pretty limited to the piles of assigned reading I had to tackle every semester, but having the free time for reading whatever I want has sent me on a huge book kick!

It's Only Been Five Months...

via: one of my old pins, via sfgirlbybay
I'll admit that my little blog-leave-of-absence turned out to be much longer than I expected. I finished up college (finally!), and discovered that somehow, having nothing at all to do after work was actually quite time-consuming. I won't make any claims to being totally productive in my free time these past few months, but I'm completely okay with that. Now that I've gotten it out of my system, I'm more than ready to get back to writing/blogging! Just for fun, I redid a bit of the blog, because you know I can never resist a teensy redesign. We have quite a bit of catching up to do, and regular posting should resume tomorrow. For now, have a relaxing evening and enjoy the last night of the weekend!

DIY Light Love

source: Design*Sponge, via Gabrielle Guy
How amazing is this DIY light fixture?! I spotted it over on Design*Sponge yesterday, and am in love. It was created by simple gluing rows of paper strips onto an old paper lantern. I'm seriously blown away, and tempted to make an attempt at this myself. There are brief/supremely easy instructions in the link, just in case you'd like to whip one up!

Elevated Dining

I spotted this amazing (or terrifying, depending who you're asking) dining experience on Jo's blog today. A company called Dinner in the Sky uses a crane to lift up this big table into the sky, and then three professional chefs whip up something delicious. I'm not sure that I would be able to eat anything, since even being on a Ferris Wheel feels like a brush with death for me! Still, it would be really neat experience for anyone who isn't heights-challenged like me. I'm sure there are some brave people out there!

P.S. I discovered that they do weddings, film screenings, meetings, and just about anything you can think of too! Imagine your boss telling you that the next conference was going to be in the sky- crazy, I tell you.

Fastest Week in the West.

Pinned here, original source: superbomba
I've totally dropped the blog-ball this week; we've been busy not working or doing homework of any kind, and I honestly have only been on the computer for a few moments here and there. The week has seriously flown by, and there hasn't really been a collection of minutes that I felt like cracking open my laptop and blogging. So far this week, we've spent plenty of time outside, in the already-hot sun. We've been to two baseball games (with two more planned this weekend), gotten sick from McDonald's ice cream (ugh, just ugh), went to the zoo with the ten million other people that apparently had the same idea, and just generally enjoyed our free time. Tomorrow we're going to pack up a lunch and picnic at the river, something we've been doing every now and then since we were very first together. I promise that I'll be back next week, posting regularly. Hopefully I haven't managed to lose the teensy handful of readers I might possibly have (or not!). Have a terrific weekend, and I'll meet you back here on Monday!