Instaxy Delight

Super sleepy today from seeing Fiona Apple last night,who was AMAZING, but luckily I had already scanned some photos for you today. With DC in full bloom, my sweet little Instax seems to veer towards flowers and blossoms lately. On the day we went to the Tidal Basin, it was sort of overcast, which made it hard to get pictures, but luckily, I have some cherry blossoms near my apartment too. Looking forward to my first summer of freedom from thesis in three years and planning to take my instax along for some adventures.

Hot Then Not And Other Happenings from Around the Way

Just a few little snapshots from a lunchtime mosey last week. I don't know if it is the sudden shift from near 80 degree days last week to a 30 degree night yesterday or the crummy way I felt yesterday, but I'm feeling a bit off. Last week I had a huge burst of inspiration for blogging and today nothing. Isn't that a bunch of bologna?

Friday at Five/Random Thoughts

At long last, the weekend is here!  No big plans for the ole' weekend, but definitely gonna work on more planning for vacation budgets and at least one leisurely breakfast. You? Gonna enjoy the sun or hide in the great indoors?
Random Thoughts to Get You Through the Weekend:

• Still thinking how much fun we had riding bikes on the Tidal Basin. 
• Already a little too hot for me. 81 in DC today and it felt sweaty. Where can you live that cardigans are appropriate all year round? That's where I want to live.
• Wish my new balcony set was here already. I'd drink a gin and tonic and sit on my wee balcony.
• So frickin, frackin' excited! Mad Men is back Sunday! And no, I'm not going to a theme party for the premiere, unless the theme is "Sit on the Sofa in PJ's and Geek Out". If that is the case, I'm going to a theme party. 
• Probably going to get a tattoo this weekend. What to pick, what to pick...
• Who better to inspire a bouquet!? 
• Thinking of pulling the trigger on a pair of cheap colored jeans for summer fun. Wish these weren't so expensive.
• Thinking of making iced coffee at home. I know how to get crunk and it includes caffeine.

Have a lovely weekend! 

An Afternoon at DC's Cherry Blossom Festival

In a moment of sheer genius, R. and I took the afternoon off to play tourist and see the Cherry Blossoms yesterday.  We rented bikes from Capital Bikeshare, which we had never done before, but was awesome! I may or may not have had to give threatening looks to some kids on a field trip who wouldn't get out of my bell-less bike's way, but that is neither here nor there. It was so fun to zoom around the Tidal Basin that I can't wait to take out of town guests to do the same thing. Afterwards we rode around the National Mall, stopped to look at the carousel, and then rewarded ourselves with ice cream. The blossoms were lovely and I wish they'd bloom forever.

Instant Phone Photography

Images via Yanko Design

We all know I love instant photography. This post was originally going to be about the new Polaroid Grey Label instant mobile printer, which is cool enough, but then I started thinking that if they can make this, surely they could make a case for your phone that does the same thing. Apparently, I'm not alone in thinking this. How cool would this case be? I still probably wouldn't give up my Instax or my Impossible Project film, but this is pretty amazing!

Little Windows

Lately, my brain has finally, finally realized I don't have to worry about school anymore and I feel better everyday. Yeah, I still have to work full time plus (I usually do at least 50-55 hours a week), but evenings and weekends aren't all filled with that consuming dread of "SO MUCH STUFF TO DO-AHHH".
Here are a few little things I've been enjoying lately:

{Finally taking that Alt Summit class and drinking more water through bendy straws}

{Stopping to smell/photograph the roses... Or whatever these are.}

{Leisurely Sunday breakfasts and, yes, that is a crescent roll. Yum! }

{Continuing my love of tiny stuff by posing my Photojojo dinosaur on a pineapple }

What I learned from my Alt Summit class

So Friday night, after trips to Target and Trader Joe's, I took the Alt Summit plunge and took one of their online classes. It's not listed on there any more, but I took the "Content is King" class with Melanie Blodgett of You Are My Fave fame. It was a fairly short class, around an hour, but really got me thinking on how to have more original content on my blog. Though R. and I have talked a lot about things I should post, such as "How Much I Love Fun Socks" (see image above), it seems like I never really get around to doing as many posts as I want on things I really want to talk about.
 Here are some things I learned in the class:

Friday At Five/Random Thoughts

Maybe it's because of the sweet sinus infection I've been getting over (Too much of an over share? Maybe.) or because we traveled last weekend, but I feel like this week has been the longest. So on this Friday, here are some random thoughts:

• I did go for a decent walk/winded jog three times this week though, so that was good. (I know. Look out beach body, here I come.)  
• This weekend I either want to go out and do a ton of stuff or just pretend I'm on a TLC home show style deadline and whip my apartment into shape. Tough Call.
• Making budgets are lame, but not doing fun stuff because you don't manage money well is worse.
• I need to figure out why the coffee had grounds in it. Maybe it's time to break down and buy real coffee pot cleaner. 
• What the hell will I wear now that it is too warm for sweaters? Eternal question.
• *happy squeal* Going to see Fiona Apple next week!
• Gotta make some sort of delicious Irish dish in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Or drink Guinness. 
• Feeling inspired by Shoko's adventures. 
• Remember when ATM's used to let you get cash in $5's? Yeah, me too.
• I'd buy this if R. didn't think it would make us look like hippie dippy crystal lovers and if I wasn't saving money. (See aforementioned budgeting comment)
• Super jazzed to be taking this class this weekend. Looking out blogging world!

Have a lovely weekend! 

Mini-Squirrels

Images via SuAmi on Etsy

Confession: I love tiny things. Doll house furniture?  Adorable! Toys from quarter machines? Where's my quarter?! After trying to explain to my mom over the phone how completely adorable these were, I thought "Hey, maybe you should share their adoreableness with the world!". So, here ya' go! If I had an extra $48* dollars to spare, these would be mine. I'd pose them all over the place! 
* Yes, that price made my eyes pop out too, but then I realized how long these probably took to make. Not to mention the strain on ones eyes. Yowzah.

(Found via Grace Bonney on Twitter)

Mental Vacation

Image via philhaber on Flickr

Normally when I think of vacations, I prefer to visit cities and not beaches. Maybe I'm getting old or maybe I just really need a break from the constant running around that life has involved over the past few months, but I'm super excited for the Outer Banks trip that R. and I are planning for May. I spent a good chunk of last night doing some research and looking at hotels, not just because I'm an obsessive planner, but also because just the planning put me in a mental state of vacation. I've never been before, but R. used to go with his family every summer and I'm so excited to see some of the places he's talked about. Don't get me wrong, I'm still making about a million and one plans for our four day trip, but I'm going to try to control my inner busy bee* and just go with the flow for once. May, you can't get here fast enough!
*This is how my brain wants to plan this trip: BIKING!LIGHTHOUSES!FLYING KITES!PICKING UP SEA SHELLS!EATING AT EVERY RESTAURANT!TAKING 500 PICTURES!

New Camera, New Stuff to Learn

Hello! Sorry for the unannounced blogging break from last week. Sometimes you just need to break from your normal routine to feel more refreshed. Anyhow, I finally pulled the trigger on a new camera last week, finally settling on the Sony Nex-C3. After a visit to my local Ritz camera to try out options and doing tons of online research, I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't interested in a carrying around a 4lb. DSLR. Overall I'm pretty happy with my choice, if not wishing there were more actual controls, rather than on screen switchable options. This is my first foray into micro four thirds and I'm really loving some of the results I'm getting.  Since I've finally upgraded beyond my advanced point and shoot I'm thinking of taking an online class through Nicole Gerault Hill, whom most of you know through A Little Sussy. I've read a lot of positive feedback about them and think it would be fun. Here are a few of my practice shots from this weekend. Do you know any good online classes or would you recommend a real life class?

Happy Birthday, Raven!

Even as kids, he would always be the one to pose in the picture. I still have a lot to learn!

Today is my brother Raven's birthday. He's an amazing artist, convinced kids at school into thinking his middle name was Pizza, rode bikes with me every summer, would skip classes to go see movies with me, and is one of my very favorite people in the whole wide world. Happy Birthday, bro!

Gotta Get a Grip

Yeah, this photo is in no way staged, I'm really that obsessive.

Last week R. told me he read an article that said people should really only use Vaseline for their lips because it seals in the moisture you naturally have, while other chapsticks just make you feel that your mouth has more moisture. I already sort of knew this, but then I walked into my bathroom and saw my Chapstick bowl and realized I needed to get a grip. I've been working on breaking my habit since Saturday and you have no idea how many times a day I have to smack my hand away from diving into my purse for a chapstick. Here's an article I found online after some obsessive googling on how to keep your lips moist minus chapstick. In the grand scheme I guess this isn't the worst habit, but I'm curious if I can break this small, silly habit.

Netflixin' It

Since finishing my thesis, R. and I have been making a point to get our $8 dollars a month out of Netflix. Both of us really love movies, but for so long my thesis guilt wouldn't let me sit down to watch one. Since I've been done, we've been working through our giant queue. Here are a few we've watched recently, that I give two thumbs up to. Do you use Netflix? Any good suggestions?

From Top Left: Charade, The Parking Lot Movie, The Odd Couple, Vertigo 

 (Charade Image via Minimal Movie Posters)

Friday At Five: Confessional Edition

Image via me on Flickr

On Fridays, I always think back on my week. Usually though, instead of thinking of fun things I did, I end up thinking of lame, random things I did. This time, I said, "Let's put it all out there:
1. Eat cereal for dinner. Twice.
2. Watch 30 minutes of the E! True Hollywood Story: Lindsey Lohan. Yeah, at the end I was rooting for her too.
3. Think mean thoughts about a guy I met who had smarmy sort of smile. I also didn't like his blazer.
4. Stare so hard at squirrels with my little green binoculars that my contact popped out.
5. And just today, I got irrationally anxious about my new camera, which I thought wasn't working.... Then I realized I hadn't put the battery in. Genius!

 Happy Weekend! 

Girl Crush: Diane Kruger

Image via Just Jared

I have been a serious Diane Kruger fan since Inglorious Bastards, but even more so when I read that she doesn't have a stylist. Whenever I see her on the red carpet, I always think she makes great choices. Normally, I like a fairly modest fashion choice, so this look goes outside of what I normally like. From the hair to the jewelry though,  I call this look a winner.

P.S. I almost called this post "I See Your Bra and I Like It", but that sounded too pervy, even if it did make me laugh.