The Unthinkable

Well, I did it.

I bought a Shabby Apple swimsuit.

I simply could not resist.  I was thinking about it for weeks.  And now that it's warm enough and there are plans to be at the coast a few times this summer.... I did it.

The Unthinkable.

Beautifully Unthinkable ;-)

A dreamy weekend

I've been so blessed this weekend.  Considering my test was complete on Thursday, I have very little work on over the next few days except my home and a few Father's Day projects.

The weather was delightful yesterday, so a 15 mile bike ride was definitely in order.

I always forget that Erik is a trickster when pictures are involved :).

Not to mention the fun downtown party for the annual Art Walk.

I so appreciate my town.  The community truly is a community that enjoys being together.

Late last night we saw "Super 8" which I thought was great.  I never tire of a good humans-treating-aliens-badly-and-it-smacking-them-back-in-the-face movie.  I wish I was that cool when I was in middle school.

And today, it was Farmer's Market, Yoga, a delightful lunch, tidying and reading.

The photo is a little dark, but now you have a nice view out one of my windows!  Doesn't my parsley plant look so sad?  I'm doing the best I can but since it's raining today, he isn't getting enough sunshine.

Those flowers came from the Farmer's Market today :).  So pretty.  I was able to pick them up for $5, which is not bad especially when I figure I'm supporting my local businesses.

And for lunch.

We had Lemon Asparagus Pasta which has become one of my favorites this Spring.  The recipe comes from the cookbook "Simply in Season" which is a World Community Cookbook, affiliated with the Mennonite Central Committee.   

The salad was some pineapple, blueberries and blackberries.  If you can get a hold of some incredible pineapple, spring for it.  It's worth every penny!

I wish you all a fabulous weekend!

Dear.16.Year.Old.Me

There is a powerful message today.

And it came at the right time.  Right when I was considering that ridiculous tanning bed.

I believe that this video completely speaks for itself.

Please watch it.

Centering.

Cherry Blossom Yoga Festival

I have mentioned before that I'm a yoga practitioner.  I have yet to make it a part of my every single day living, but it is something I have worked on for years.  Over this last academic year, I was taking a Power Vinyasa class at the Student Rec Center and the instructor was *amazing*.  I'm one of those get-deeper-than-just-fitness kind of practicers, so I try to find instructors who are focused on the mind as well as the body.  

I noticed some flyers at the Co-op about a month ago that featured a new yoga studio downtown.  And there was a coupon for unlimited classes for a month for $30 (quite a steal, in my opinion).  Then after reading an article about the new place, I realized the one who opened it was my yoga instructor at the rec center!  Fabulous!  And--it's closer to my house than work (which is already only 2.5 minutes away).  

Last night was my first time there and it was incredible.  I worked hard, but felt -- released.  Comforted.

I intend on making it a part of my daily practice.

Meet Me on Monday.

Here it is, Monday again.  So far it's been rainy and cold, but I've managed to accomplish a fair amount of duties.  I have new projects to share tomorrow, so check in again tomorrow to see some exciting new things!

Time for the Meet Me on Monday blog hop hosted by Java at Never Growing Old.

Questions:
1.  What is your favorite yogurt flavor?
2.  Ankle or knee socks? and on the same theme, white socks or coloured??
3.  How is the weather right now?
4.  Are you a fast typer?
5.  Red or White Wine?

Covering Up.

As a girl who grew up with a fairly conservative background when it came to clothing, I never quite got used to wearing a bikini when swimming.  My parents never let me wear one so as soon as I moved out of their home I purchased one.  Delightful as I thought it was, I felt utterly naked.  But with all the advertisements containing nothing but cute and sexy bikini tops and bottoms and frumpy one pieces, I certainly was not going back to the old ways.

Now I have admitted to myself that I don't care for being nearly naked in front of total strangers.  In fact, I would probably feel better about wearing nothing at all than wearing these little patches of fabric attached to strings.  Not to mention my lack of confidence.  My rear never does seem to get to a point of firmness and the cellulite doesn't leave completely regardless of lunges, so I end up wearing shorts over the bikini bottom anyway.

So in search of new swimsuits, I have run across Shabby Apple's collection of swimwear.  Remember that dress I won?  Well they make swimsuits too!  It is incredible.  All are so beautiful and elegant, but most are nowhere near string bikini status.

Source: shabbyapple.com via Alexis on Pinterest

This one is beautiful.  I am a huge fan of olive colored anything.  And that bow is fantastic!

Source: shabbyapple.com via Alexis on Pinterest

And you can even wear pearls with these!  My favorite :).

I think it's a good reminder that as women, we do not need to look sleazy in order to be noticed or fit in.  In fact, one can look far better if one presents one's self as a classy lady instead of Victoria's Secret model.

Meet Me on Monday.

Here it is, Monday again!  Even though I just took a miserable test, I will continue to look on the positive side of things.  I am now over halfway done with Summer school and today I'll be cleaning up my house and finally getting some sewing done!  And..... some of my flower hair clips were featured in a treasury on Etsy today!

And now, for the usual Meet Me on Monday blog hop from Never Growing Old.

Questions:

1.  What is was the last piece of candy that you ate?
2.  Do you "read" in the bathroom?
3.  I can't stand when someone _________?
4.  Do you do daily, weekly or monthly grocery shopping?

A Random Friday

Happy Friday!  It is such a beautiful day!  After dreary weather that was highly reminiscent of February, it's finally sunny again.  Thank the Lord.

I don't work nor did I have to be on campus today.  In fact, I am writing this while still in my bed due to my lazy nature (and slight headache from the champagne I had last night to toast the new apartment).  I plan on actually getting everything cleaned up and organized today so I can finally post a few pictures of the new place.  Laundry and dishes will be caught up.  I will it to be.

I think I will also get started on the top I was mentioning yesterday.  I pulled out the fabric last night to make sure I had enough and I believe I do.

I may have posted about this before, but I have been testing the waters of Overnight Oats for breakfast.  I get out the door so fast in the mornings that unless I plan something the night before, I won't be eating until noon.  This recipe is from Fit Foodie Finds, a delightful blog by a girl in college who is living an incredibly healthy lifestyle.  I love her excitement over things such as grapes and almond butter.  It sure is encouraging :).  Anyway, this recipe is fantastic and quite delicious, not to mention nutritious.  I topped mine with some blueberries I got at the co-op a few days ago.  It's the first time I've done anything with chia seeds and I've gotta say, I love them.  I encourage you all to try out the recipe sometime soon!

No sleep tonight

Last night, after a long day of work and school I plopped sleepily into bed and what did I do?  I definitely  did not go to sleep.

I was designing tops for myself.

I have a whole bunch of leftover jersey fabric from my underwear escapades and I realized that creating a boatneck tank top that was red from the waist up and cream from the waist down would likely be exquisite.  I could hardly keep myself from getting up and cutting out the pattern at midnight.  

 Inspiration for this piece was way too much reading about Coco Chanel's obsession with jersey fabric and the film "When Paris Sizzles" that features Audrey Hepburn.  She wears the most delightful tops that seem to float.  

So we'll see how it turns out.  I would include some photos so you could see what I'm envisioning, but for some reason uploader isn't working.  Perhaps it's the torrential rain we're experiencing here today.

Blue is the new black

Finally, I am completely out of the old apartment.

12 days later.

So now it's on to getting a place for everything in this new space.  And trying to paint everything blue and white.

I'm interested in making some paper garlands for some spaces on the walls, like in the entryway along the arch.  Here are a few I've found for some inspiration.

This delightful garland from Creature Comforts is fantastic and would match the color scheme of my decor ideas.  And I have so much newspaper lying around (and books I can tear up from the recycling center) that it would be a cinch to create without wasting.

And then there is this one from Pam Garrison using coffee filters in various colors.  I love the floaty-ness.  And if I changed that little dash of pink to a blue that matches my paint, it would be perfect.  So pretty.  Not to mention all those coffee filters I have in my cupboard that no longer get used since I'm a French Press coffee drinker now.

And finally, what to do with all those elements that simply do not match what I want?  I don't want to just toss them, but we've collected all these random items for the walls.  I can always re-paint things like candle holders and the black furniture, but paintings and posters aren't so easily changed.  Hmm.  Decisions, decisions..