If I never hear the word 'couch' again, that'll be fine.

It's borderline embarassing how addicted I am to finding a living room set for my new apartment. It consumes probably 65 percent of my thoughts throughout the day. What do I spend the other 35 percent thinking about? Eh, who knows. Work? Ryan? Margaritas? I should start keeping better track.

ANYWAY. My issue is that I have unrealistic ideals for my living room. You can thank Pinterest for that. In a perfect world, I'd like a gray sectional couch with a tall back (NOT a back rest made up of pillows) and deep set cushions...you know, something I can actually curl up in - not just sit in.

Welllll, I haven't had the best of luck. Any gray sectionals I've found and liked are close to $2,000 or more, and the top of my budget is about $1,500. Even that is pushing it. 

So now I'm expanding my horizons. I'm looking into brown. Dark brown, light brown, tan, taupe. And now a whole new can of worms has been opened and my Apartment Ideas board has been bombarded with color schemes around a brown couch, thus turning my inspiration upside down. First World Problems, right?

I'm telling you - someone needs to take my iPad away from me. The Pinterest app is TOO addictive! I'll let you guys know when I decide...at this point, I'll probably just throw my hands up and end up with a pile of pillows on the floor instead. XO

Summer time, I love ya.

Post-acadamia life is crazy. One second it's 7:30 a.m. Monday morning and it feels like your feet are tied to cinderblocks getting out of bed; then you blink and it's Friday afternoon. Every. Single. Week. Time flies when you're having fun (and even when you're not).

It's impossible to make time stand still, so I think it's important to make every day count. I'm the kind of person who always needs something to look forward to - otherwise life becomes this monotonous routine of eat, sleep, work, work, sleep, eat, work, work, work...work? Okay, great, you get the picture. If I don't have something to count down the days for, I'll go nucking futs.

Thankfully it's summer, which means there's SO much to look forward to: paid days off, vacations, weekends on the beach. Here's what's going on with me the next couple of months:

• May 24th - Tampa's Margarita Festival. Um, hello? Day drinking margaritas all day in a sundress on a hot summer day in Florida? Sign. Me. Up.
• May 26th - Memorial Day, aka paid day off of the summer #1. 
• June 9th - Kaylee and I can officially move into our new apartment. Since move-in day falls on a Monday, I don't think June 9th will be "the day" but we get the keys and we get to paint! 
• June 24th - Oh heyyyyy, it's my birthday. The big 23. And no, I will not be annoying anyone with a caption that reads "Nobody likes you when you're 23." I think that was played out after the first person who wrote it.
• June 26th - 30th - NYC with Ryan to visit his sister! I haven't been to New York in almost two years, and I've never been during the summer months. We'll be staying in Brooklyn and Long Island, and then probably one night in the city. Five days and four nights, can't waiiiiitttt.
• July 4th - Hello, it falls on a Friday this year, aka I get a three day weekend. Most likely on the beach. With hot dogs.

I'm hoping to jam pack my calendar a little more, but this is a pretty good start. Can't wait to see what the summer has in store. XO

Gettin' cheesy because I'm feelin' cheesy.

I love you for your kindness - in your eyes, in your actions and in your heart. I love you for your mind - your hunger for learning, for traveling, for doing. I love you for your dedication - to your job, to your dog (ahem, human), to me. I love you for your quirks - your awful jokes, your addiction to fantasy baseball, your inability to eat leftovers after three days. I love you for everything you do for me - when you give me a piggy back ride to my car a mile away in the pouring rain,  when you bring home cookie dough and wine from the grocery store, when you when all you want to do is make me happy. You're so much more than you give yourself credit for, and I can't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world that I get to call you mine. Thank you for all that you do for me, and all that you are. XO

Onward and outward!

                                  

                            

Okay, it's official. Kaylee and I signed our lives away to my first big-girl apartment (and by big-girl apartment, I mean an unfurnished apartment #studentlivingprobs) (I'll never hashtag in a blog post again).

ANYWAY. After a lot of going back and forth, wanting to save money but wanting my own space, we asked ourselves, "if not now, when?" and took the leap! Thankfully we both have really good credit, so fees were minimal. I was a bit nervous about a reservation fee/signing fee/deposit/etc., but so far there's been no surprises.

You bessssst believe I've been blowing up my Pinterest boards after the move became official. How could I not? I'm so excited to buy my own furniture and create my own little space. I even found myself thinking, "I wish I didn't have to wait another month to move out."

I stopped myself there.

I find that I spend too much time wishing time away. Wishing for Friday, for a weekend trip, for a vacation. Yeah, moving out is gonna be great; being closer to my boyfriend and to work will be awesome...but to be honest, I'm going to miss living with my parents. I'm going to miss coming home from a long day at work to a kettle of hot tea. I'm going to miss eating at the dinner table with them on weeknights and drinking coffee with them on the occasional Sunday morning that I'm home. I know I'm not moving far away or anything (20 minutes...let's get real here), but I want to enjoy every moment I can while I'm still here. After all, this could be the last month that I'm a permanent resident of my parents' house...forever. That's a crazy thought for me!

So here's to breathing in every moment; appreciating everything we can to the utmost extent. It's easier said than done, but I want to enjoy life - not wish it away. XO

Work hard, work harder.

I started this week with a full heart - inspired, motivated, ready to work. As I came into work yesterday morning, I felt myself deflating. I wasn't where I wanted to be, I was short, I was losing hope. I could feel myself getting distracted. I could feel my pipeline of business cards staring at me - laughing, holding rejection above my head. It's silly how inanimate have that kind of effect on me.

It took about a fifteen minute pity party for me to reverse the deflation. I picked up the phone and I started calling. I made conversation. I was politely rejected. I hung up the phone and dialed again. And again. And again. I stopped letting a plastic telephone and a piece of card stock define me, or hold me back for that matter. It was a fleeting 30 minutes with absolutely no luck, but I could feel myself trying.

Genuine success rarely establishes overnight. Whether it's working out, or a career move...it takes time and effort. I figure, as long as I can feel myself trying - really trying my best - then I'm happy. It's never easy, but maybe one day it will be.