Cleanin' up my act.

After two weeks and two days of cleaning and lugging boxes, we will finally be out of the apartment tonight. Whew! It's been a long two weeks and two days. Moving is a dirty job. You wouldn't think that it would be, but it is. For two weeks we have lived around piles of our possessions. Clothes everywhere. Food in random places. No rugs in the bathroom. And some fantastic discoveries (sarcasm, there, folks). Being in a basement apartment has meant two things for us. Termites eating through the sheetrock walls. And mold. Weird fuzzy white mold on our bedroom furniture. Which brings me to a new line of thought. I just may feel a hundred times better once we are out of this place.

My body also feels dirty after eating out for two weeks straight. I need some fresh food. Some veggies and grains. Something non-processed. Some sleep. Some yoga. Some exercise. A good scrub-down. Oh, how I wish I could just lay back in a nice warm bath in that tub up there. Rest for a while. Eat some fruit. Isn't it lovely? So clean looking. Ahhhh.

But my tub doesn't look like that. Oh well. I guess I'll be off to scrub my furniture down with Clorox when I get off work.

photo via Veranda.

monday catch up

photo from shaded memories on etsy.

Went to the Biltmore House yesterday. I'll share pics with you if my girl M will e-mail some of her digitals. My aunt gave me two free passes. What a sweetheart. She has also been such a huge help in getting the house ready to move into.

So close to being moved into the house. They put carpet down in the bedroom this morning. I haven't seen it yet. But now we can move bedroom furniture, finally.

Looking forward to design series posts about porches and patios on Coco + Kelley. She just finished a series on work spaces. Tons of info and lovely pics.

Want to thank Michelle from Armas Design for the sweet gift she sent me and a few other blog readers. A beautiful print. I smiled about it all weekend.

Happy Monday all.

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I have a question.

How do you feel?

Yes. I am serious. How do you feel? I really want to know. Because I, pretty much, seem to always feel like crap. I am always tired. It takes a lot of work to make me not look like death warmed over. I had my blood tested for everything under the sun. They told me everything was great. I was a little low on vitamin D, but that's just cause I have some major road rash scars that I have been keeping out of the sun. No biggie.
There are people twice my age that feel much better than me. Its very irritating. I want to feel good. I want to have the energy to kick ass at life. But I don't. My friend, M, had a body scan done by the holistic doc. Sounds pretty informative, but I'm also pretty sceptical. She feels the same way. So, I seriously want to know. How do you feel? Really. Spill it. This life is too short for me to continue on like this.

this rockin print is from paperfunkpress.

Discussion with myself.

Good Me: "You do NOT want to eat a Krispy Kreme doughnut. really, you don't."

Bad Me: "Why not? One isn't gonna kill me."

"You know you will regret it. You know you feel like you have eat a tub of Crisco every time to consume one of those things."

"But those pretty polka dotted boxes are just staring at me."

"FUNd Raising is bad for your health. They aren't even the kind you like. You like cake doughnuts with no icing and those are the yeasty kind drenched in sugar icing."

"Maybe I should just smell of them."

"Forget it. You are going to eat the best pizza in the world tonight with your girl M."

"Oh, yeah! Blue Mountain Pizza!!! I hate sugar drenched doughnuts. You know I always feel like I have ingested a tub of Crisco when I eat one of those things."

Thank goodness for pizza with artichokes on it. Mmmmm.

Weekly Ring Envy

Hello and happy Wednesday to you all. Its rather gloomy here in the mountains. Rainy and very cold. Not very spring like. That's why I chose this pretty blue ring for today's Ring Envy post.

This ring, made by Wildflower Designs, is called "Passing Cloud". Isn't that sweet? For some reason it conjures thoughts of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet lying in the grass watching cloud shapes float by. (yes, I know. I can't explain it.) When I found this ring I couldn't stop staring at it. That shade of blue. The smooth organic shape. The depth and handmade quality. I think if it were on my finger while I was driving I would probably wreck from looking at it instead of the road. Its so classy looking and whimsical at the same time.

You know, if anyone wanted to buy me one of these rings from my post, I surely wouldn't object. Just saying. Or, if you buy one for yourself I would love to see a picture of it on your dainty finger. Really, I would.

Tag, you're it!

I just got tagged. The adorable (and way hotter than she apparently thinks she is) Amber, over at All that you have is your soul, tagged me as a Kreativ Blogger. How sweet! So what I'm supposed to do is give you seven things that I love and then tag seven other bloggers. Here goes.

1. Right now I am totally loving a new recipe that I got here. Its a chocolate chip bundt cake and it is flippin amazing. I made one weeks ago and I have been craving more ever since.

2. I adore the way my three year old niece says ditn't. as in "No, I weely ditn't." Along with that goes a very matter-of-fact expression on her darling little face.

3. I love Holden Beach, NC. Can't wait to get back there in May. So restful.

4. Getting inked. Yes. I love getting tattooed. I have at least six hours worth of ink in my body. I would have much more, but its kinda costly. My tattoo artist tells me that I'm a weirdo because I love the way it feels. I think its sort of therapeutic. I leave feeling like I've bled out some of my negative emotions.

5. I love graffiti. Don't yell at me about property defacement and disrespect and all that. Some of these writers (as they are called) are amazing artists. If you don't believe me, check this out.

6. I love the new Roberto Cavalli ads. They have such a cool feeling to them. Very glamorous yet laid back at the same time. I tried to snatch one of the pics to post here, but they are firmly glued to the website.

7. Swimming. I love to swim. I don't get to do it very much anymore, though. I used to lifeguard and I would swim laps for an hour at a time when no one was around. Swimming is like meditating. You have to focus on breathing and nothing else. Oddly enough, I actually dream about swimming a lot.

As you can imagine, this is a very short list of things I love. Barely scratches the surface. But these are some of the first things that came to mind.

So, now I have to tag some more peeps. I'm not sure I even know enough to tag. If you care to join in, I pass the Kreativ Blogger award to P, saipua, Shannon Fricke, chicsensibility, Michelle, apartment34 and Lobster and Swan.

I won't be around tomorrow, but I hope you have a great one.

Help Me, I'm Drowning!!!

Yo, chicas. I am crazy busy. Trying to get moved. Trying to eat something besides McDonald's every day. Trying to make posts when I should be working. I will be a little sporadic this week. But I got tagged by a darling fellow blogger, so I have to come back and do that cool stuff! I'm pretty stoked that someone noticed me. So, I'm going in search of a chef salad. Talk at you later.

Ahhhh, spring.

I am really craving a breezy porch and a glass of tea right now. This week has been so crazy and busy. I've been working every evening on the house we're moving into. Last night I ate supper at my moms house and then just passed out on her bed. I was so tired, I just couldn't make it another step. Thank goodness this house has a porch to set on. I have missed having a porch so much.

Aren't these photos beautiful? I love the river rock path on this one. Makes me want to just sit and breath in the flowers and herbs. It is officially spring here. The peep frogs are out in full force. The sound of peep frogs and the sight of daffodils always says spring to me. What sights, sounds or smells mean spring to you?

photos from Country Living.

Weekly Ring Envy

Alls I can say is "Holy Wow!!!!!!!" All rings from Curiosite. Please go check it out. Prices range from $90 something to way up in the thousands.

Shoe In.

Apparently, somewhere in Chicago, there is a genius creating shoes. Well.... actually..... creating the soles of shoes. Why have I not seen these before? Why?
So, this genius goes by the name of Annie Mohaupt and her rockin' shoe bottoms go by the name of Mohop. These awesome shoes have little rubber loops up the sides for you to lace ribbon (or whatever you can dream up) through. Basically, you get to design your own shoes. And you can change them as often as you change your mind (or outfit)! These are perfect for summer. Heck! they're genius.
You can check out the website here, or the Etsy store here.

Cookie Monsters!!!

This week is turning up to be crazy. I'm trying to get moved out of an apartment. Trying to get the old house I'm moving into ready to go. Trying to get my furniture out of the way before the termite farm in the bedroom decides to open up like the gates of hell and unleash the swarm. I am tired. I have paint speckles on my hands. And I ate a whole sleeve of thin mint girl scout cookies yesterday. And then I came home exhausted and made cinnamon rolls. And ate two of those! Popped three acidophilous and went to bed. Whew! Wish me luck. If I make it, I'll try to post some pics of the joint soon.

..............

Leaving you with the only thing that makes me feel slightly comfortable today. A soft pastel colored Akris dress from Neiman Marcus. Hope your weekend brings rest and comfort.

Oh, I wish

My hair just happens to grow at a crazy fast rate (compared to most). Which is a blessing if you are a really random person who changes her mind a lot, like me. My hair has been every length and style you can think of. However, I have never permed it and it has never been colored (except for some cool stuff I did with Clorox and a little toying around with some crazy colored streaks). For the most part, I adore my hair short. Really short. As in, long in the front, short enough to spike in the back and on top. I LOVE it short. But every once in a while I get to wanting long hair again, which leaves me no choice but to go through all the stages that I HATE (i.e. mid length) to get there. And I am soooo close. Its hitting my shoulders now. By this time next year it should be half down my back. But Oh, How I Wish......... how I wish it was easier than this. How about you? Any "hair tonic" tricks?

This totally awesome photo came from Serena Nguyen's Flickr stream.

Weekly Ring Envy

This, my sweets, was my very first ring crush on Etsy. I have envied this beauty from ES Designs for quite some time now. It is called the "Shoreline" ring and I'm sure you can see why. Little dapples of shimmer, just like the remnants of the last wave on the sand. I adore this lovely. Truly, I do. How nice would it be to have a little vacation wrapped around your finger? And this ring would look fabulous with just about anything.

It particularly makes me smile right now because my vacation plans have been made this week. Yay! After not going anywhere last year, I can't wait to get back to Holden Beach this May. I'm so excited. I wish I had this ring to wear with my new bikini!!

Fuzzy navel

When I was a little girl my bedroom was painted a warm peachy color. When I got old enough to choose my own color, however, I remained true to every shade of blue. Years later I have come back around to recognize the color apricot/coral/peach/sedona sunset to be a very warm and soothing color. It is a color that carries almost any other color very well. It can be played up or toned down. Back in the 80s and early 90s there was this huge trend around here to decorate in a native american theme. Think old-school Home Interiors of aztec prints and babies in papooses. There was peach and seafoam green EVERYWHERE. Blechh! Who knew back then that those colors could be so refined and beautiful? No one that I knew. That's who.

photo from Traditional Home.

XOXOXOXO

photo from ShadedMemories

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. They're promising us seventy degree weather tomorrow here in the mountains. I think my mom and I will be making a trip to Asheville to do some "loafing", as they call it around here.

Oh, sweet cherry blossoms!!

Some time back, I ran across this cool little neck thingy on Etsy called a tie tie. It looked very much like a celtic knot, except with an Asian flair. I was just enthralled. It was so lovely and simple and the colors were beautiful. And it was made with fabric!!

This bottom photo is of a tie tie like the one I instantly added to my favorites list. Is it not gorgeous? It comes from a little shop on Etsy called Little K'reation. (actually, its listed under tidabeads if you are searching the site) So pretty. And she has tons of positive feedback.

My tastebuds are weeping.

My mouth is watering after finding this blog on Creature Comforts. Cannelle et Vanille. Wowsa! What eye candy. Like, literally. Food photography always makes me sigh with delight. I can only imagine eating such exotic looking delicacies. Speaking of which, its lunch time. I'm not sure that I can pretend that my Carnation Instant Breakfast (for lunch) is nearly this delish.

Weekly Ring Envy

Good morning, lovelies. Or more like good mid-day. Its been kinda crazy here at the shop this morning, so I'm just now getting a chance to share with you my ring crush for this week.

This adorable ring is made by Melissa. You know, from Melissa Loves. She has such a sweet Etsy shop called Lucky Life. She also makes necklaces, like the cute as can be "Ellie" the elephant necklace. Check her out.

This ring, which is called the "Andrea", just spoke to my heart this week. I am one of those people who lets things get to me. Things that probably shouldn't get to me. Life has a way of stealing your joy whenever you will let it. But there are few things that make me feel truly at peace more than seeing someone smile. A real smile. One from the heart. And then that makes me smile. And this is why this wonderful ring makes me smile. It reminds me to lighten up and feel the joy in my heart. Not to mention, it would look fabulous with a cute little summer sun dress.

In like a lion...

Welcome to March. This morning was covered in 8 inches of snow. Its cold. Its wet. If it freezes back tonight it is gonna be one royal mess. But the sun is shining. If I close my eyes and ignore my freezing feet I can almost imagine that its warm outside.

So, I'm not just showing you a picture of a really hot chick in an expensive (for me, anyway) bikini to depress you. I am showing you this pic because I have a question. Hear me? I have a question and I really want an answer. Help me out, homeys. See that sexy, vicious, fabulous shark hanging from her neck? Do you see that beauty? Yeah. Well. I want one. I want that shark. I want one for my own neck to hang over summer tank tops. I want it bad. I'm sure that, once again, it is way out of my price range. But I WANT IT!!!!!!

PLEASE HELP ME FIND IT SO IT WILL STOP HAUNTING MY THOUGHTS.

Thanks. I love you. Truly, I do.

Oh yes, and that hot chick is, of course, from here.