four day weeks are my favorite.

this weekend i’m headed to party arty at the nelson atkins. excited for the art, the drinks, and an excuse to wear fake eyelashes.

if you know me at all, you know that i come from a family of avid coffee drinkers. lately though, i’ve been craving tea instead of coffee in the mornings. i’m freaked out by this a little, but i welcome the change. it’s hard to become over caffeinated with tea, so my body is loving me for it. this has been my go-to this week.

last weekend was a devastating one for me. i haven’t shared until now because 1) i didn’t want to seem dramatic 2) i was still a little sad 3) i didn’t want it to seem like i was blaming anyone. the hard-drive that all of my europe pictures were saved on after i switched computers + cameras was wiped by accident by a family member. i do still have about 30 images from my semester abroad and i know that i will always have the memories, but the sentiment attached to those images was greater than i imagined. i’ve come to terms with it and now more than ever am motivated to make another trip across the pond very soon.

to twist the knife a little further, this movie that i’d ordered pre-wipe arrived in the mailbox. it was cute. a little cheesy, but cute.

i also discovered and fell head over heels for this blog a few days ago with breathtaking images of europe.

recently i’ve been (not-so-seriously) thinking about what life might be like if one day i decided to go freelance. i’ve always found a great amount of knowledge as well as a healthy dose of reality both here and here.

if you have made it to the end of this one, you’re a real gem. wishing you a happy weekend!

a few nights ago i headed downtown for a sushi and wine night with the girls. we don’t see each other as often as we’d like to, but when we do get together it’s as if we never skipped a beat. our convos are pretty much always filled with weird intimate details and crazy stories that come from having lived together all through college. most onlookers would neither understand nor want to understand. we think we’re hilarious.

among many topics, stress and anxiety was one of them. would you believe that 5 out of the 6 of us described having bouts of anxiety and panic attacks throughout our days? um, what? we are 24 years of age. sounds like we all need one big chill pill.

i’ve decided that my anxiety has to do in part with the fact that many aspects of my life are in a bit of limbo right now. i’m having a really hard time with not being able to be in control of it all. uncertainty drives me bonkers!

i’m slowly making my way through this book, and it has introduced me to meditation and breathing techniques that i’m really starting to look forward to each night. i’ve also been eating whole foods, cutting down on the caffeine, working out (kind of) regularly and trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night because taking good care of my body is really one of the only things i DO have control over.

just last night i was sitting in bed, heart pounding with this sense of urgency to do something, who knows what. i’m usually a pretty calm-and-collected kind of gal so, at the risk of sounding like a crazy with this post, i felt that it might be a grand idea to turn to you all and see if you’ve encountered times in your life like this and what the heck you do to kick stress to the curb. do tell!

photo source (typographic element is my own addition)

this weekend was me officially pressing the reset button of life. those indulgent meals and unproductive afternoons in front of parenthood (why has no one ever told me how wonderful this show is?) were all fine and dandy during the holiday season, but i was feeling a major urgency for normalcy and routine.

so, i packed up all the christmas decorations, shopped for groceries that were good and green, made it to church on sunday and cleaned my place from top to bottom.

right now happiness is fresh sheets on my bed, a journal full of ideas, and a new pair of lululemon wunder unders. let’s show these new years resolutions what’s up this week, shall we?

hey 2012, i liked you.
you were the first time i’ve ever lived all by myself.
you were a new blog design and a rebrand that feels exactly like me.
you whisked both my siblings off to create new and exciting chapters in their lives.
you were a new way of looking at my health (love you, juicer).
you had me traveling to new places.
you were taking risks – like going on dates with people i’d never met before.
you were the year i caved and got an iphone…and a twitter account.
you were rediscovering my love for live music.
you were finally learning how to curl my hair.

2012 was, more than ever, a year of personal growth and discovery. i took the last week off of blogging to get down to the very core of my hopes and desires for this next year. i’ve never been one for making new years “resolutions” that i know will not be kept, so i have decided that 2013 is going to instead be a year full of intention and action. my personal life, professional life and this blog of mine are all going to take on a bit of a new direction.

2013 is reaching out to others and loving in a big way.
it’s creating, creating, creating.
it’s going after exactly what i want.
it’s becoming wiser, gentler, more patient, more inspired, and more self aware.
it’s experiencing real joy in the smallest of details in daily life.

do you have specific intentions for the new year? i hope you were all able to bring in 2013 in style! i am so looking forward to connecting with you throughout the next year.