I'm Back! (I think...)

Hello long-lost blog friends! I'm back after a very long break. This is my 12th post in 2012, which is a teensy-bit sad. In fact, it has been so long since I blogged that blogger has changed formats on me!

A lot has been going on since I last blogged- it was a busy post-grad summer for me. Where should I begin? I've lost 30 pounds this summer, so a lot of time has been spent working out and grocery shopping. (Time well spent.)  I am also thinking about moving soon, and the possibilities of decorating a new place have inspired me to start blogging again. I hope you'll pick back up with me and read along as I get my blogging mojo back.

Happy fall!

Graduation Day

I finished my master's degree & graduated this past weekend. It was a lovely weekend & I was very blessed to have a few members of my family in town to celebrate.  I am so grateful for their support during the past two years.  

Here are a few snapshots from the weekend.  We were lucky to have incredible seats for the large ceremony on the National Mall.

Our commencement speaker was Brian Williams from NBC.  He charged us to "take us [the country] somewhere."

My family gifted my with this beautiful bracelet. It has amethyst stones. I absolutely love it and know that I will enjoy wearing it each day.

I have lots of things i'd like to do now that I have "free time" again.  More goals & info on that is coming soon... but in the meantime, I am excited about a long-overdue vacation and a chance to catch up on my sleep!

Well Hello Again

Hello again, blogland. Waiting for my nails to fully dry from a fresh paint job seems like the perfect time to catch up on this blog a bit.


So much has been going on in my life this Winter/Spring. Between working full-time and wrapping up my graduate school obligations, "free time" has been a rare opportunity and obviously blogging fell to the wayside.  The great news is, today is graduation! I am hoping that this will leave more time to get to the other priorities in my life- and hopefully blogging again will be part of that.


Thank you to everyone who has said that they "miss the blog" or wish I would post again.  That was some of the encouragement I needed!  I have lots of great ideas about some things I can share with you all and lots of BIG changes to my small studio to share as well.


In the meantime, here are my outfits for graduation this weekend. I think a big occasion is a great reason to sport some new threads and I am loving these fresh spring/summer looks!  Obviously I am very into lace/ crochet right now...

polyvore set here

polyvore set here

Oscahs (typo intended) 2012

The Oscahs are still going, so I'm not going to speak to who won or how I felt about the show. But of course, I will dole out my opinions on the fashions.  Here are my favorites of the night in no particular order.

Esperenza Spalding.  She just looks so cool. I could never pull off something like this, but it looks so chic on her. 

Giuliana Rancic.  Love this dress so much! 

Gwyneth Paltrow.  I truly wish she'd done something different with the hair, but I still like the look. 

I absolutely loved this dress on Judy Greer. It is so modern and edgy.  And she looks phenomenal in it. 

Here it is from the front.

Leslie Mann.  This is a great cut on her and she did right by the ponytail.

I thought Livia Giuggioli (Colin Firth's wife) looked beautiful and her dress was very unique. 

Michelle Williams was definitely my favorite of the night, although her yellow Vera Wang Oscars dress will probably always be my all-time favorite. 

Octavia Spencer looked beautiful.  I could definitely see myself in a similar dress.  I thought the sparkle was perfectly executed. 

Finally, how great does Sandra Bullock look? The dress is so modern and fits her like a glove.

Carnival 2012 Recap

So it has been 21 days since my last post... yikes.  Of course I finally get back on with blogging and then I drop off the face of the earth.  Sorry, y'all.  I do sincerely appreciate the encouragement from my friends- blogger friends and real-life ones.  I am so thankful for all of you!


I wanted to post a quick recap of the Mardi Gras season.  I am a Louisiana girl at heart and I think Mardi Gras is officially my favorite holiday.  I had to bring the festive spirit to DC, of course.

My festive MG wreath.  I also added this sweet kitchen towel to my growing collection for the holiday.

Love him!


I baked these great cupcakes for one of my classes & folks at work: plain yellow cake (dyed MG colors) with homemade cinnamon frosting. That frosting is fan-tastic!

I went to New Orleans over the past weekend to celebrate Mardi Gras. The trip was wonderful, I had a great time and I got to spend some long-overdue bonding time with some old friends.  I'm so glad I got to have that break.  I went to a Mardi Gras ball as a guest of my dear friend Kathryn.  It was, indeed, a ball! 

Please note the light-up partycup. Crucial.  Also, the ball was held in the Super Dome. Pardon my French, but it just doesn't get any more badass than that.


Lastly, I had to include this pic of my friend Meghan that she insisted someone take... then insisted on sending to me... of herself.  All while I was standing in the same room. It is Mardi Gras, okay, people? Alcohol and fun are must-haves.

Also, she caught those glasses off a float.  Amazing, amirite?


I am already impatiently awaiting next year's Mardi Gras season!

A Twist on What I'm Loving Wednesday

If you read other blogs (which, I'm sure, you probably do) you might have noticed that many other bloggers participate in "What I'm Loving Wednesday."  I don't think I've ever posted a "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post, but I do enjoy reading them on other blogs.  Today I've decided to do a twist on "WILW" and discuss five things that I really love about myself.

I know on blogs, it seems like every blogger has a near-perfect life.  Blogs, to some extent, are like family holiday letters- you tend to only announce or discuss the good things in your life and you leave the bad out most of the time.  That said, one "bad" thing about myself is that I am extremely self-critical.  I don't know how much I buy into astrology, but at least in this case, I am a "typical" Virgo.  Virgos are said to be very hard on themselves and on others.  I fit this description.  I've also noticed that my younger cousin (also a Virgo) is very critical of himself.  I try to work on this with him whenever I see him and point out all the things that make him such a great kid!  His mom is trying to work on it with him, too, because I told her that I saw this characteristic of myself in him.

Anyway, my self-criticism can be a big problem for me.  I even criticize myself for being overly critical. (I only wish I was exaggerating.)  The self-criticism can be especially difficult for me because when others criticize me, I tend to build it up and make it bigger in my mind, and I only add it to the criticism that I put on myself.  Do you see where this is going?

So in an effort to focus more on the positive, I'm going to list five things that I really do like about myself.  Please feel free to join in via the comments section and tell me the things you like about yourself!

1. I'm a really good gift-giver.  People tell me all the time that I am great at picking out gifts for them and friends often ask me for advice on what would be an appropriate gift for someone else they care about.
2. I'm a great friend (most of the time). Sure, I have my faults as a friend (who doesn't?), but in general, I work very hard at being a good friend. For example, I try to always remember & recognize birthdays with a card in the mail.  Even though I may not be in regular communication with all my friends, I always enjoy catching up with them and value them so much.
3. I enjoy volunteering for volunteering's sake. I really enjoy giving back to my community and to others just for the sake of volunteering.  I enjoy meeting new people in the process and learning about the inspiring things going on around me. 
4. I have very discriminating taste. This could go along with number 1, but it is different in some ways. I would say that I have very good taste (other people have said this, too).  I am usually pretty on-point with picking out things that compliment each other and that are appropriate and functional for the intended purpose.  This applies to decor and also to fashion or ettiquette.
5. I obtain & retain facts easily.  I enjoy learning everything possible about the things around me in my job and in my personal life.  I'm usually pretty good about remembering these things as well.  As a result, people often come to me for "institutional memory" questions or ask me to explain things.  Also as a result, I'm a pretty damn good trivia player.

Please share what you love about yourself with me in the comments or with a friend today! Don't forget to love yourself as much as you love all the important people in your lives!

White House Holiday Open House

Now that it is officially the end of January, I suppose it's time to post the pictures I have from visiting the White House over the Christmas holidays (!!!).  Yes, these are LONG overdue.  It's shameful, actually... but I wanted to record & share them anyway.  There's not too much to say about these pictures, but I hope you enjoy the beautiful decor of the People's House.

I love the whimisical colors of this tree, decorated with felt ornaments.

How incredible is this version of Bo, my all-time favorite first family pet?!

The centerpiece of the Christmas decor was the White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room, which featured framed service and honor medals from the U.S. Military in tribute and thanks to our troops.

Special thanks to my dear friend Catherine for accompanying me on this open house tour and taking these photographs.