Friday Favorite

My best friend is just that.

The. Best.

Not only am I already impatiently awaiting summer,

[lets be serious, who doesnt love baseball, beach days, and warm summer nights]

but she just shared this gem with me;

 and now I'm day dreaming of warm LA nights,

chatting on her back patio with delicious adult beverages.

[here]

Quotes

"Considering life's brevity,

we should travel abundantly, with great enthusiasm."

-Peter Megargee Brown





[here]

Rainy Day Finds

Today was a rainy day in Wisconsin.

While I sit in my hotel room putting this post together,

I'm wishing for some couch time under a warm blanket with my best friend and a cup of tea.

Sadly, there's no couch that will accomodate two friends whom live in different time zones.

Instead I've settled for a warm bed and some style inspiration.

I'm sure you've heard, but Pinterest is all the rage right now; here are some of my style finds.

Loving this causal yet cozy chic outfit...

but I'd spice it up a bit with these Kate Spade beauties.

[here]

Talk about a gorgeous and versatile clutch.

[here]

Black skinnies. Boyfriend shirt. Accent clutch. Great heels.

[here]

Classic.

You simply cannot go wrong with black chucks and an amazing black leather bag.

[here]

I've recently been on the lookout for some great leather skinnies.

Paired with chucks and a tee (dont forget a great bag) for a casual look.

Or jeans and sparkles for a night on the town.

[here]

What are you favorite finds?  Pinterest or not.



Tumblr Love

Recently I've fallen (back) in love with Matchbook Mags Tumblr.

Here are a few of my recent favorites.

[here]



[here]

[here]

Prefection

Here are some of my finds that make my heart happy....

[here]

Paint the island green...I'd be even more in love.

[here]

[here]

[here]

Quotes

Quit your job.

Buy a ticket.

Get a tan.

Fall in love.

Never return.

Sucker

A few years back, my other half spent three months in Madrid studying abroad.

Throughout her travels she got me this lovely little jewelry dish.

[which happens to be featured on the banner of her blog]

And so was born my love/addiction for jewelry dishes and trinket trays.

I have far too many. I can think of seven off the top of my head.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for the things I love and a good deal.

Here are a few of my favorites from Etsy.

[here]

[here]

Anthropologie just happens to be one of the best places to find such gems,

[aside from hand picked ones brought back from Europe]

especially because most of them are found hidden in the sale section for less than five bones!

And while were on the topic of Anthropologie, here are two of my current loves from there.

How cute would this be full of fresh fruit and berries on the kitchen table?

[here]

And this little guy. We go way back. I've had my eye on him since I found him in

my local Anthro months and months back. But at a nice price of $68, I'm waiting for him to go on sale.

Hopefully he doesn't find another home before then!

[here]



Friday Favorite

One Day

I'll actually get back in the groove of blogging regularly.

For now, every time I think I'll be able to, I will undoubtedly get distracted.

In just a few short hours I'm headed south for a friends

gorgeous beach wedding. It couldn't be better timing, I'm beyond

excited for a mini vacation, the beach, palm trees, drinks and a nice tan.

As you can read here, I'm easily lost in the world of Pinterest.

I've been wanting to share some of my favorite pins,

but since my mac hates to publish photos on blogger,

I'm stuck sharing a bunch of links.

Enjoy!!

• Adorable aprons, possibly a DIY???
• Where can I find this mouthwatering summer fruit!?
• Green+lace+TOMS. Love.
• I want a house with a perfect kitchen to which I can invite friends for coffee and use this cuteness
• My perfect kitchen will be this exact shade of green
• I need to learn how to make this asap
• Art
• Looking to buy me a gift? I'll take this!
• Yes please.

And so it goes

Two years and 5 days ago was an awfully cloudy rainy thunderstorming day.

It was the day my roommates and I began the "rest of our lives."

Today some of the most important people in my life 

are walking across the same (or similar) stage, only today 

is a sunny beautiful spring morning. 

Congratulations to all of my favorites of the Class of 2011

I love you all.

Come What May

come what may

is my new obsession love on tumblr.

here are a few of my favorites

(Diana how much do you love that ring?)

what do you love on tumblr? do you have your own?

share with me!

I just cant stop

Pinning.
Its been a while now since I found Pinterest and my obsession hasn't slowed down in the slightest bit.

Yesterday Sherry over at Young House Love wrote a post confessing her
new found love/obsession with Pinterest.
I am so so so happy to have found Sherry's Pinterest board.
She has seriously amazing ideas, incredible style and is a great source for inspiration!

I've had a draft of my written confession for a similar love
sitting on my blog waiting to be written for a few weeks...
the problem is, every time I go to write it...
I get sucked in by endless amazing pins and forget all about my post.

Here is a tiny tiny glimpse into the lovely things I've discovered on Pinterest.

Are you on Pinterest or have you not yet discovered it?
If you're already on Follow me!
If you're not. You are seriously missing out.

Friday Favorites

After a long and stressful week

(many of them as a matter of fact) 

I'm excited its Friday.

Here are a few of my favorite things that got me through the week.

• Lonny -- Lonny Mag is full of inspiration. I love sitting with a cup of coffee and "flipping" through the virtual pages.  
• Little Green Notebook -- another of my favorite daily blog reads. Jenny's posts are truely inspirational. Not to mention the latest features one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Gossip Girl. [Be sure to check out this post too! What a brilliant way to save some bills.]
• Adele has been getting me through many stressful days [weeks] of work lately.
• As I've recently been having numerous photo uploading blog issues, I've become even more jealous of Angie's blog design and amazing photography skills.
• Letterpress business cards on Oh Happy Day. I love love love the "Maggie" design.

Anything special planned for this lovely weekend?

One Day Without Shoes

In just twelve short days

an event will take place that warms my heart.

One Day Without Shoes

founded, promoted, and sponsored by

[here]

On April 5, 2011, millions around the world

will go barefoot in support of the millions of children

in the world who have never had their own shoes.

How will you be spending April 5th? 

Where will you venture out without your beloved shoes?

Visit OneDayWithoutShoes.com to learn more.

If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard about TOMS yet,

visit their website or founder Blake Mycoskie's blog.

Blake is one of the most inspiring people I've ever heard of.

His business ventures, big heart and determination are astounding.

weheart it wednesday

As I was perusing through weheartit for my weekly dose

of inspiration, I usually look for multiple pictures

to share with you each week.

Not this week.

This week I only made it to page three before I found

all the inspiration I need to make it to Friday,

and before I fell in love with this photo.



[here]

In case you haven't noticed,

I love anchors.

Longing for Zara

Spring is finally starting to bloom and I am more than ready to shed

my winter wardrobe and slip into fun bright new items.

During a visit to LA last July I was introduced to one of

my most favorite (read: most dangerous) stores.

ZARA.

As soon as I walked through the door I knew it was bad news for my bank account.

Luckily, there is a Zara in Philadelphia.

But it's just not quite the same as the Promenade.

Here's a few of the things I'm lusting after this season.



Happy Birthday

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain.

It's not something you learn in school.

But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,

you really haven't learned anything.

-Muhammad Ali

My friendship with my bff is one of the hardest things to explain. 

At the same time it's the easiest thing to explain. 

It's one of the most natural things in my life.

There's no reason to explain our friendship. It just is. 

Today is my other half's twenty fourth birthday. 

We've been friends for fourteen years, and she's the most amazing person ever.

She is an extremely gifted writer, always knows what to say, knows me better than I know myself, and has the best style.

We've never lived in the same town, same state, or even the same time zone.

There's exactly 2,708.5 miles between our homes.

She inspires me to be a better me, to be proud of who I am.

I wouldn't be who I am today without her. 

Happy Birthday Molly, I love you.

To get a little tiny glimpse into the life of my best friend

visit here, here and here.

Friday Favorites

I thought I looked forward to weekends in college.

If only I had known what I was in for. 

Friday has become my favorite day of the week by a long shot.

Heres a few of this weeks Friday Favs.

• I cant help it. I'm undoubtedly in love with Britneys new song.
• tumblr. Particularly that of my other half.
• Summer. I simply cannot wait for summer dresses.
• House Crashing on YoungHouseLove. (Mainly the green hutch in the entry way, If I could buy that house just to get the owner to throw in the hutch, I would.)
• St. Patricks Day. All things green. All things Irish. Shamrock Shakes. 

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend as much as I plan to!

xox

Etsy Favorites

Just this past Friday a friend and I were discussing our weekend plans...or lack there of.

And how a weekend with nothing planned always unintentionally turns into the busiest two days of the entire week.

After a week long sickness I was hoping to relax and take my two days off to work on getting better,

no such luck, this weekend was no exception to the rule.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and is ready for the week ahead.

Here are a few of my recent Etsy fav's to get your week off to a good start.

[here]

[here]

Always Love Turns 1!

One year ago tomorrow I published my first blog post. 

I had gotten my tonsils out three days before and was in a pain medication enduced haze,

but I just HAD to start my blog right then. It couldn't wait.

[here]

I've spent some time lately looking back over old posts,

and its interesting to see where I was just 365 days ago,

and how much I've grown and accomplished since.

In 2010 I wrote only 75 posts.

So far this year I wrote 67 in January alone.

This year is going to be a great year.

I can feel it.

Here are a few of my favorite posts over the year:

-Hands down best YouTube video in a long time

-A few good friends

-Philadelphia: This is Where I Call Home

-My best friend guest blogged about the Happiness Project 

while I galavanted in Puerto Rico

-Current Loves: Flowers in Newsprint

-What I was (still am) thankful for at Thanksgiving 2010

-Some of my favorite quotes here, here, here and here

-The best advice I've ever been given

-Skinny Love

-One day this will be framed in my home

And dont forget to leave some love on Always Love