to be honest...

i am having a spectacularly hard time getting my apartment in order. it seems that, over the course of the roller coaster school year, with its thrilling ups and many, many downs i completely lost control of the space. (one more up: just received official word that i am no longer laid off). there are things everywhere, and now despite the vast swaths of time afforded by summer vacation, i feel too overwhelmed to begin anywhere. so instead i spend hours of my free time looking at blogs, gathering ideas, and eventually, feeling inadequate. feeling that i will never get my home to look like those i admire so much, that there is no use to even getting started because i will never achieve the desired outcome. waaaaah.

that whiny doomsday feeling is now compounded by the fact that my boyfriend is definitely moving in this fall, and we have drastically different taste. so now every improvement or change that i make, there is a little voice saying "he is going to HATE this... he is not going to want to live here." boy oh boy, it would be a real treat to get out of my wacko head and spend some time out there in the real world with the rest of you! so this is my attempt to do so.

internet, here is my mess:


it's time to clean it up.

wish me luck.

heartland.

i'd forgotten about this print, but i was happy to find it again tonight, especially since we just returned from our midwestern mini-road-trip (stop at cracker barrel and all!).

buy it here.

i'm also really liking this new and slightly creepy print from artist lisa golightly. it's called "night swimmers."


hooray for summer nights, board games, back yards, mosquito bites, & the sound of fireworks in the distance!

compromise.

since kevin and i are contemplating moving in together, there have been a lot of design and furniture related conversations lately (all initiated by me, of course). where i lean bright and eclectic, he tends toward american traditional. we've had our fair share of polite disagreements.

i took a break from cleaning today to throw this together as a starting point. i'll pitch it when he comes home from work. we'll see.

more outdoor spaces

both from apartment therapy.

summer...

is HERE.

after a lazy recovery weekend of reading on the couch interspersed with all-day naps, i'm ready to get back to life. i am already anxiously looking to september and missing my kids, but i am so relieved to be a normal, non-stressed person again.

new plants in the fireplace:


tomorrow, massive cleanup (a whole school year's worth of mess).

domestic vacations.

photography from the domestic vacations collection by julie blackmon

as absolutely insane as my twenties have been thusfar, i feel like this decade is the calm before the storm... i can't wait for porches, lemonade, sprinklers, and even more insanity.

score!

after a year of lusting after this:

jonathan adler, starting at $495

and this:
ballard designs, $249

i have finally found these:

salvation army, $45 for a set of five

AND we're having an ice cream social tonight. best weekend ever.