I'm alive! I've moved and I don't have Internet yet so I'm typing this from my
iPhone, but I'll be back with some
Pictures and news tomorrow! Hope you all have a wonderful day :)

{Find the joy}

"I know there is poor and hideous suffering, and I've seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. I have lived the pain, and my life can tell: I only deep the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives. Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does. The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world. When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows." -Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

leaping 

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surprises

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cup of sprinkles

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Breakfast at Tiffany's

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time to yourself

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Staying in bed and taking it easy today. I'm feeling a little under the weather. What a great reminder to take the time to find the joy all around, no matter how desperate your circumstances.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

-C

{Words.}

A friend shared this with me a long time ago. She heard it first during Mass and ever since she shared it with me, I find comfort in repeating it to myself in times when I'm not sure what to do:

"Although I am immediately, and deeply powerless, I will pray with you and for you because your problems are important to me. I find comfort in the idea that our attention to a relationship or person is what counts- not the control over the outcome that we lack. "

I just thought I would share in case it would help any of you today.

-C

{Rainy Day}

Hi friends! I can't believe this is the first day all week that I'm posting, I don't know where the heck this week (or entire summer, for that matter) has gone! I head back to Cincinnati on Sunday and I feel like I just stepped off the plan in Houston. Time certainly flies, and I'm really going to miss my family. 

On a happier note, I am so very excited to move into my new apartment. Well. Actually. I'm not really excited for the moving part. Dreading, is more like it. But I am very excited for what is to come after I move in. 

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I'm loving this bedroom right now. It feels both masculine and feminine, warm and airy. Bravo.

I'm thinking, however, that since this place is going to be mine all mine, I'm going to indulge in the feminine just a wee bit. One day I'm (probably) going to have to live with a man who will veto my blush pink throw pillows and glitzy lamps, so I may as well live it up now.

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This paint color is what is going in my entire apartment. A million years ago my mom painted one of the rooms in our old house this color, and she used it again recently in the house we are currently living in. It's Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware and I'm in love with it because it's really neutral but still really light and airy. I love grey walls, obviously, but in an old, beat up, college apartment like I'll be dealing with that doesn't reflect a ton of light, I was worried it would look too dingy. I think this is a perfect compromise because there is still lots of grey in it.

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I love all of this tone on tone texture biz-nass. It's simple but effective. And also get's pretty pricey when it comes time to buy all of those different fabrics, so we'll see where I get with that.

The good news is, I'll be in this apartment until I graduate, so it's okay if I have to take my time with it and can't get everything together overnight. Remind me of that when I'm thinking of the 500 things I want to buy and am rocking myself in the corner because I have no money, will ya?


It's raining here and I've got a few hours before I have to go into work, so I think I'll make a cup of coffee and some breakfast and pop in a chick flick. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday <3

-C

{Just what I needed}

I had the most wonderful day off.

The first stop I made was at Bunaglow in Montrose. It's this sweet, adorable coffeehouse located in (you guessed it) a bungalow. They also sell clothes and great little gifts, like journals, books, stationary, etc. I walked in and immediately got all googly eyed and gaga. I love a good coffee shop.

I loved this little computer nook. 

lots of mixed patterns.

the front porch was one of my favorite parts.

I enjoyed a "blonde and sweet" coffee with a blueberry scone on the front deck

Scrumptious.

I sat for a bit and admired all of the pretty townhouses on the street, and then decided to move on to my next stop. This one was legendary. And it snuck up on me. See, I read about The Guild Shop online and thought it sounded like a really neat place to visit, but I had no hopes of being able to actually purchase something. It sounded like they had some pretty ritzy clientele, and though I may have just worked for 3 weeks straight, I'm still not exactly rollin' in the dough. But I went anyway, because I love looking at furniture.

When I first walked in, it was a room mostly full of clothes and jewelry. I marveled at the jewelry selection for a while but then I turned the corner into the houseware section of the store. I'm not even kidding, my heart started racing. There was SO much to see.

 I thought these mugs were so neat. I meant to snatch them up but I got sidetracked.

I kept moseying through until I found the room with the furniture pieces. And then I saw it.

 This amazing, perfect condition, bentwood chair. Just like the one I've been picturing in my head, drooling over on blogs, and searching for for months. I nervously checked the price tag.

$33.00.

what?

excuse me?

I found another variation of the bentwood chair at a thrift store a few weeks ago for $50.00 and it was in such poor condition that you couldn't even sit on it. The cheapest I've found them online is around $100 and even that is scarce. But it get's better. I later found out it had been reduced again for $19. NINETEEN DOLLARS. I carried it around the store with me for the next two hours because I didn't want anyone else to think they were buying it. I'm most likely going to use mine as my new desk chair.

lookin' all gorgeous with a saarinen style table

and a bench version paired with a desk

Sigh. I'm so in love.

I also scored an AMAZING coffee table, but it was covered with other furniture in the store so I couldn't snap a picture, and it was too dark by the time I get home to get a good shot.

But I'm antsy so here is a terrible quality photo of it. It's hard to tell what it really looks like, but the top is this really neat wood pattern and the legs are iron. It's completely unique and it caught my eye immediately. So I got it :). 60 buckaroos, y'all. I felt like I had just won the lottery by the time I left.

A few other things that caught my eye...

AMAZING farmhouse table for $120. I wanted to get it terribly but it wouldn't fit in my car and the lady I work for is already giving me a free dining table. But this baby was perfect. And such a STEAL.

library catalog. give this little number some tlc and prop it on some legs, and you'd be in business. (Pardon the yellow-ness of these pictures. I forgot to set the white balance on my camera)

 Here's some inspiration:

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lovely.

I loved this sofa because of how deep it was. Sitting on it made me feel like a little girl. It was super cozy and even though it's not normally the style couch I would go for, it grew on me more and more over the two hours I was there. I even considered buying it because it was priced EXTREMELY well at $198 and in amazing condition, but it wouldn't fit in the doorway of my apartment. Fooey.

All of my pacing around the store made me work up an appetite so after I left I stopped at Cafe Express for lunch

Roasted turkey sandwich and sweet potato fries. delish.

And ended the day with Ladies Happy Hour at Chelsea Wine Bar. You can't beat $1 Sangria.

it was the perfect day off :).

I just got home from work a couple of hours ago, so I'm going to enjoy a chick flick and some pizza and beer. Another wonderful way to spend an evening. I hope you all have a great weekend!

-C

{My day}

I can feel summer start to slip through my fingers as we speak. I was looking through my planner last night trying to figure out my schedules for my last week and a half here and I could feel myself develop several grey hairs. I feel like I just got here, and yet there are so many people I still need to see and things I need to do. And trying to fit that in with my crazy work schedule makes me a ball o' stress. 

BUT.

That does not exist today. It is my day off. My first day off in three weeks and by george, I'm going to enjoy it. 

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For now, I'm going to finish my cup of coffee and get dressed so I can hit the road :). I used to do this thing when I was younger where I would smile at ten strangers every day. That probably sounds creepy, but wouldn't it be nice if we all acknowledged each other's presence a little more? I'll have to incorporate that into my day.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. Talk to you soon!

-C

Hump day.

Hey everyone! I'm just stopping to pop in real quick and say hi. I'm about to head to work, naturally. Tomorrow is going to be my first day off in about 3 weeks and I can't tell you how excited I am.

Tonight I'm going to make lots of fun plans for my day tomorrow because I don't want to waste a minute! I'll definitely be including some blogging in my day :). I'm also picturing strolling through some antique shops, and stopping in a coffee shop for an espresso!

I hope you all have a wonderful day <3

-C

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