Dream House: New Orleans

One day I want a house in the New Orleans Garden District and this is what I want it to look like. A beautifully landscaped yard, a big porch, lots of antiques and old chandeliers, pops of turquoise, lavenders and gold... Sigh. Old houses are so much better than new ones. They just have more character.

OB-Sessions: Boho Glam

When you're young it is normal to experiment and play around with all different styles. I have experimented A LOT and unfortunately can already look back at some looks and say "What was I thinking?!?" I think it is important to fully define what you want your style to be so that you can make purposeful decisions when you go shopping. And, the style that I love the most and think most suites me is "Boho Glam". I think I've done well sticking to it with my last 5 or so purchases, but I've saved the looks above to my computer as sort of a reminder of what makes me absolutely OB-SESSED! They can also be viewed as part of my birthday list in case anyone needs any ideas... All can be found at freepeople.com :)

New Boots

Although, I have 3 pair of black boots, I still feel there is a void in my black boot selection. I have an over the knee pair, a basic flat pair and a cold weather pair, but I've really been wanting a short floppy pair. I like that these have 2 textures and a small heel. And, they're floppy but not too floppy AND have the option to not be floppy at all... I'm narrowing down my birthday list since my 22nd birthday is quickly approaching. Are these worthy? What do we think?

Stressful Week...

I need an escape... One day, I will have a back yard like this, but for now, I'll have to settle for Leah Land.

Words of Wisdom

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” -Marilyn Monroe

Fossil Springs!

We had SO much fun in Fossil Springs! Even though the hike was much more intense than we expected and every inch of my body hurts now it was so nice to take a little day trip to some cooler weather and explore the outdoors... 

This pic is from the parking lot. Scarlet was ready to go! We used the big mountain in the background to measure how far down we were throughout the trip.

 The hike was 4 miles down and then 4 miles back up!

 Scarlet and me at the beginning of the hike. All fresh faced and excited. Wait until you see me at the end...

 We were worried about Scarlet's paw pads during some parts with the really sharp rocks so we carried her through those parts. She had it made!

 Getting pretty far down!

 Once we got close to the water, the trail pretty much ended and we just had to hike through rocks. NOT and easy task.

 The beginning of the springs... So pretty!

Poor Scarlet only got scared once. She didn't know where to go from this rock so we had to go back and get her :(

 Rope swing!

 The water was so clear. Scarlet loved it! We sat here to eat our sandwiches and get some rest after our 4 mile hike. 

 Ed on the rope swing!

After getting a little rest we hiked another half mile or so through the rocks to the big waterfall. I chickened out of jumping. I mean this waterfall was HUGE. I think I need to start smaller and work my way up! We did swim under the wall where the guy is to the right into the "toilet bowl". That was super intense and plenty of excitement for one trip. Once you get in there it's like you're in strong rapids getting thrown about by the currents. And, there is nothing to grab onto. The wall goes down about 5 feet under the water too, so I'm not going to lie, I was pretty terrified at one point. But, we both made it out and are glad we can say we did it!

Look closely at the top left you'll see a guy jumping! Crazy!

 After hanging out at the waterfall for a bit we decided we better head back so we didn't get into a race with the sun. We knew the up-hill hike back was going to be tough so we wanted to allow ourselves plenty of time. This picture is of one of the steep rocky hills after we climbed it. At this point, I was contemplating how I might could get an airlift out.

We took several breaks to pace ourselves. Scarlet was finally starting to get a little tired.

And, this is me almost done at the end of the hike... 8+ miles later. You can tell by my face here that I'm dying. Ed was a really good motivator, though. We actually did the up-hill 4 mile hike back in less time than the hike in. Less than 2 hours!

That pretty much wraps it up! It might take me a while to motivate myself to do it again, but I'm pretty impressed with us for making it! Now, I just need a massage...

My Bucket List: Waterfall Jumping

It has been a while since I did a bucket list post, but now is the perfect time. Tomorrow, Ed and I are going hiking in Fossil Springs, AZ where crystal clear natural springs offer a beautiful oasis to escape the desert heat. There are rope swings and waterfalls and caves and "toilet bowls"! I plan on doing it all! I got this pic from another blog and it is of an actual waterfall in Fossil Springs. It looks like so much fun. Can't wait to check another item off of my bucket list! And, of course I will be taking pictures that I will share later :) Yay!

What inspires you?

Yesterday at work, we got to talking about what inspires us. I consider myself to be quite a boring person. I don't have any super exciting eccentric hobbies or anything like that. My job offers a creative outlet for me, so when I get home I usually just relax on my comfy couch in my comfy clothes with Ed and Scarlet and watch some good ole mindless television. It's how I unwind. 

So, at first, trying to figure out what inspires me was a little difficult. I'm not a reader or an artist or an outdoors girl... So what is it that gets me excited and inspired? Then it hit me. I love old architecture and history... These are the main inspiration behind my desire to travel. When I think about all of the places I really love or really want to see, its the history and beautiful scenery of each place that draws me to it... Places I love: Oxford, New York, New Orleans, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, etc... Places I want to see: Greece, Switzerland, Ireland, San Francisco, Germany, Monte Carlo, etc. All cities/countries rich with history and beautiful surroundings. 

Even searching weheartit.com for inspiring photos got my heart racing. Why don't we take the time anymore to put all of those beautiful details into today's architecture? It seems like in the old days, buildings were looked at as works of art. I know it makes them more expensive, but isn't it worth it? Everything built these days is just so generic and boring... Blah!

Anyway, I hope these photos leave you as inspired as they make me... Enjoy! 

Attempting Meditation

Ok, I don't get too far into all this meditation thing and being "centered" and blah blah. I think getting too into all of that is bad for you and quite frankly I don't have time to be constantly thinking about how to find inner happiness. I already have a joyful happy nature, so I don't need all that.

That being said, I do think taking some time every now and then to completely empty my mind might do me some good. My mind is constantly on the move... Often in Leah Land. Leah Land is a fun place, but I'm starting to think that I need to try and get out of my head a little bit and take in what's going on around me more... Be more observant and clear-headed.

I got to talking to one of the girls at work about it the other day and she gave me some tips to help me clear my head. I have attempted it a few times and have had no luck. The more I try to think about nothing the more my mind wanders. The Free People blog just recently did a post, too, about doing one thing at a time. It's called "uni-tasking". Supposedly uni-taskers get more done than multi-taskers do and are more thoughtful of each activity they do. I feel like trying that will also help de-clutter my head. Since reading that post, I've noticed how much I multi-task even in my downtime. I talk on the phone, while surfing the internet, while watching tv. So of course I don't catch everything the person on the phone is saying. The uni-tasker talks on the phone with their eyes closed... I don't think I'll be going that far, but I think I'll atleast cut out surfing the internet while talking...

So, here's to simplifying, clarifying and observing. Not sure if I'll ever be able to think of absolutely nothing for an extended period of time, but I'll give it a try! I'll keep you posted on how its going :)

Sunday Brunch

Like everyone else, I'm thinking a lot about New York today. It is such a special magical place. I got to thinking what I would be doing right now if I was still living there. More than likely I would be eating brunch. Carmen and I loved to go to different neighborhoods and try new brunch places every weekend but we also had our go-to favorites that included L'Express, Cafeteria, Ritz Diner, Sarabeth's and Max Brenner's. 

Sunday Brunch was something I looked forward to all week. Each of our favorites were in a different neighborhood so of course they each had a completely different atmosphere. L'Express was the first favorite we found. It was close to our first apartment near Gramercy Park and was always packed with people. And, they had excellent french toast and bagels. Mmm. We also found Cafeteria in Chelsea pretty early on. We went there when we craved a Sunday cocktail with our brunch. They had the best wildberry mojitos! 

Ritz Diner was one of the 20 or so diners we tried during our year and a half long stay in New York. I loved going to old New York diners for some reason. But, Ritz was very close to our Upper East Side apartment, so it became our go-to place for french toast and grilled cheeses after we moved.

Sarabeth's and Max Brenner's were the places we went when we were entertaining guests. Sarabeth's was right off of Central Park and had amazing eggs benedict and french toast. Can you tell we had a thing for french toast? And, there is no place like Max Brenner's in Union Square. You feel like you've entered Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory when you go in there and of course the food is delicious. These places were a little more "impressive" to visitors than our regular spots, but I love them all equally.

For some reason, Sunday brunch in New York is so much better than it is anywhere else. Partly because you have infinite options that are all amazing. But, also because you can feel everyone sort of slow down, relax and appreciate the fact that they live in the greatest city on earth. I think it's time to start planning another trip...