Life Lately in Photos

Vacation planning & Fiesta collecting.

Snow scene from inside.

Snow scene outside.

Snow day Bloody Marys.

Bird watching.

Hermes stealing the plant’s water.

So, I have a little story to share this Friday that I hope will make you smile. I had some flowers delivered to my grandma and grandpa’s retirement home this week as a thank you for the Christmas gift they sent Chris and me, and also as a pick-me-up because they were both pretty sick over the holidays. Honestly, it wasn’t something I was planning on doing — I rarely send flowers. It was a whim after I saw a ProFlowers.com email advertising a special on their dozen rainbow roses. Considering the fact that I have hundreds of unread emails from ProFlowers in my gmail, it’s amazing I even saw the deal.

My grandma called me Tuesday night absolutely thrilled with the roses. She told me  it was the first time anyone had ever sent her flowers and that she took them down to the dining room so everyone in the home could see them. How cute is that?! She told me the flowers came at a perfect time because she and my grandpa are getting ready to celebrate their  wedding anniversary and my grandpa’s 91st birthday — two holidays I admit I would have let go by without a card.

The roses made her day — and how happy they made her made mine. All because I randomly opened that ProFlowers email. Don’t you love a good chain of events? I do.

Life Lately in Photos

Atop my dresser.

Sweet Hermes.

Anthro greyhound cookie jar.

My favorite mug.

We built a snowman!

Well, we survived the great snowstorm of 2014! In true Indiana fashion, we’re expecting rain and temperatures in the 40s this weekend, so all the snow will soon be a memory … and we’ll have a slushy, soggy mess on our hands. With the weather the way it’s supposed to be, the only plan we have is to finally go see The Hobbit. It’s definitely a good weekend to go to the movies! Chris always jokes that going to the movies costs him $50 because I have to get a big popcorn and a Coke (and sometimes a bag of Reese’s Pieces, too…). They’re a must, in my opinion!

What are you up to this weekend?!

Life Lately in Photos

Candles + Pandora French Cafe

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin!

Hermes hiding in my closet.

Entryway selfie.

How amazing is this?

Lots of rainy fall days this week.

Our burn pile is getting huge. Bonfire soon!

Happy Friday, you guys! This week was a busy one. On Monday night I had my floral design class, and it was wonderful! We learned how to prep and arrange a dozen long-stem roses, and it’s definitely not as simple as it seems. I’m really enjoying the yellow-red roses on my dresser! On Tuesday, my coworkers and I went to TEDx Indianapolis, and it was a super inspiring and thought-provoking day. Sometimes you just need something like that to lift you up out of your own little world and add a little perspective to your life. Besides that, it’s just been a busy week at work and at home — as this time of year always is.

This weekend I’m looking forward to relaxing and catching up on things like my Bloglovin’ feed, which has 179 unread blog posts waiting for me. What are you up to this weekend?

Oh! Anyone else watch the Pretty Little Liars Halloween special? Thoughts?! I thought Caleb’s sendoff was totally hokey. Like Hanna would actually tell Caleb to stay in Ravenswood with Miranda, a girl they had literally just met. But I’m glad they didn’t have those two break up! Makes me wonder how the two shows will be intertwined… Also, I’m glad Ali finally revealed herself!

Life Lately in Photos

All aproned up…

To make almond flour “corn bread” to go with…

Chili!

Bright and hot.

Pretty Indiana.

Super 70s estate sale finds.

Unloading the dishwasher.

Hermes looking handsome.

Glow.

I added some extra photos this week to make up for being 14 hours late on this post!

Don’t get sick. Don’t get sick. Don’t get sick. That’s what I’ve been telling my body all week, but my pleas didn’t work. I ended up with a stuffy head, sore throat, and throbbing sinuses, and when I woke up this morning I knew my body needed a day off. I called in and spent the day sleeping and marathon watching Pretty Little Liars.

I  cannot be sick this weekend because Chris and I have plans to celebrate our two-year wedding anniversary! Reservations have been made, and I have my heart set on being wined and dined this weekend. It’ll be an early bedtime for me tonight — and hopefully a fun anniversary celebration for us tomorrow. Fingers crossed I’m up for it!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Life Lately in Photos

Too cool.

Red velvet macarons I made for a Labor Day cookout. I used this recipe, but substituted 1 tablespoon cocoa powder for the extract. The filling is a cream cheese buttercream. Yum!

Hermes meets a bullfrog. (No bullfrogs were harmed in the taking of this photo.)

In love with our new rug.

Bath time with a Rose Jam Bubbleroon.

Hermes living on the edge.

Asked Chris to make Hermes a new scratching post. This 6-foot tree is the end product.

Lots of Hermes photos this week! Let’s face it, he’s the star of the show around here 🙂

Thanks for some great commentary and conversation yesterday on my Thoughts on Vintage & Secondhand Clothes post. I think the overall consensus is that thrift shopping and secondhand clothes are the best!

Any fun plans this weekend? I have a whole lot of nothing planned, and I am really looking forward to it!

Life Lately in Photos

Farmer’s market haul. (Those blueberries were nothing short of divine.)

A crystal chandelier at the Kopper Kettle.

Also from the farmer’s market. I swear, they’re better than chips.

Hermes plotting his next move, Nikki hiding.

Got the ring out of my Diamond Candle and love it!

Lately, Chris and I have been purchasing all of our veggies and most of our meat at our town’s farmer’s market. Not only does our food taste 100x better, but we get out cheaper at the farmer’s market than at the grocery store.

We’ve been trying lots of new veggies that we’ve never had, like eggplant, kale, okra, chard, and squash. My mom will be SHOCKED when she reads all these new veggies I’m venturing out to try.

Besides healthier eating, Chris got a set of free weights from a guy at work, so I’ve added weight training to my workout routine. I’ve just been feeling good lately. I feel stronger and healthier, and I’ve been sleeping like a baby every night. All because of simple changes.

In the same vein, after a week of super healthy eating, I am so looking forward to our “cheat meal” this weekend! I can’t be good all the time…

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Life Lately in Photos

The BEST tomato cream pasta, compliments of Chris.

Evil kitty?

Or sleepy kitty?

Yellow rose petals.

White wine and chopped salad. Signs of summer!

May, my favorite month of the year, is here! May is just the best. The weather gets warm. Wildflowers explode onto the scene. The Kentucky Derby happens (this weekend!). There are tons of events and festivities around Indianapolis. And most importantly, it’s my birthday month! The cherry on top this year is that my birthday — May 10 — is the same day that The Great Gatsby comes out. Fate.

We have a full month of fun planned, starting this weekend with a visit from Vanessa and William. You might remember these two from their wedding, which I posted about last spring (can’t believe their one year is coming up so quickly). And I threw Vanessa’s bachelorette party a year ago this weekend.

We have no plans set in stone, except to watch the Derby, and I’m definitely making mint juleps! There’s an arts and crafts festival going on in our town Saturday that we might go to, but right now the weather forecast looks dreary (boo!).

What’s on your calendar this weekend?!

Life Lately in Photos

Guacamole-making.

Rosita is growing her first flower stalk. (Check out how much it’s grown in a couple days via this Instagram pic!)

Gotta love those small, one-street Indiana towns!

Waiting to be hung.

Playing with Hermes through the window. What a ham!

You guys, I’ve been trying to not write about the weather too much on here for fear of sounding vapid, but it was so gorgeous and warm this week I can’t resist. I made a point to do things outside after work each evening, including going for runs, light yard work, and eating dinner on the deck. The first truly warm and sunny spring days are always really refreshing for me. Weather-wise, they’re always my favorite days of the year.

TGIF! Chris and I have a bit of work to do this weekend, including going back to our old place, cleaning it, and turning in our keys. Other than that, we’ll be working around the house and hopefully finding time for some fun.

What are you up to this weekend?

Life Lately in Photos — Packing Edition

So, I know I usually do Life Lately in Photos on Fridays, but seeing as this is a weird week and we’ll be closing on our house on Friday, here’s a special edition of Life Lately in Photos…

Caught in the act.

Ugh, packing.

Hermes’ new friend.

Packing day lunch.

Boxes taking over our apartment.

Much needed mango margarita after a long day of packing!

Chaos would be a good word to describe life right now. Most of our possessions are packed away in boxes, waiting for the big move, which is slated to happen this weekend, but might need to be postponed due to the sellers experiencing a few unexpected snags with their new condo. Remember when I said on Friday that home buying is “long, tedious, drawn out, and frustrating”? This is just one more example of that. I don’t know how long I can live in our apartment, which is floor-to-ceiling boxes!

We packed pretty much all weekend, but did take a break on Saturday night to go out for Mexican. A big mango margarita was the perfect tonic after a day of hard work!

While I know that all this hard work and chaos will totally be worth it once we’re in our house, I still can’t help but feel that packing and moving is just the worst! Do you agree?

 

Life Lately in Photos

Snoozing kitties.

Weekly chalkboard menu.

Orchids.

Sofia Blanc de Blanc. Cute, but I didn’t care for the taste.

Angry lake + pirate ship at the IMA.

What’s up, Friday?! This week breezed by quickly, which is a-ok with me! This weekend I have all sorts of grownup things planned, like meeting with our insurance agent, laundry, cleaning, and taxes (ew!). It’s one of those weekends that needs to be dedicated to getting all of our ducks in a row. Hopefully Chris and I will find time to enjoy the, what’s forecasted to be, warm-ish weekend weather!

What are you doing this weekend?