pale september, i wore the time like a dress that year.

i'm a bit sad to confess i haven't been truly enjoying my favorite season this year like i should be. unless, of course, you count consuming mass amounts of candy and burning pumpkin and caramel candles around the house. oh, and i also have finally achieved my idea of the perfect strawberry blonde haircolor, which is quite autumn-like. but otherwise, i'm a total slacker. 

i could make all kinds of excuses about how busy i've been at work, how erik started a new job, and how i've basically just been in a nasty funk for the last few weeks/months — but in the end, they're just excuses. somehow all of september and half of october have already slipped by, and november's approach is quickly threatening; yet i still have only consumed one pumpkin spice latte, and spent minimal time basking in the finally temperate weather. so last weekend we made a point to get some pumpkins, a latte, and the camera and spend a few hours at a local garden/park to enjoy a bit of autumn. i'm proud to say erik was a super sport about all the pictures, even though not quite what one could call enthusiastic — but he did let me try and continue his "lessons." needless to say, after much coaching, he managed to get a few decent shots. but i still have my heart set on miss meaghan taking some real pictures of us one day :)

to make myself feel better, i also made a pot roast and pumpkin pie one night, and grilled pork loin, roasted acorn squash and homemade cranberry sauce the next. i think i deserve a few extra festive points for that. now if only the leaves in my neighborhood would start cooperating, perhaps my fall funk can finally lift.

outfits. his — plaid shirt, thrifted; grey cords, old navy; shoes, rocket dog.  

her — dress, dot tights and owl necklace, forever 21; boots, steve madden.

we even made a new friend. ;)

i hope you are doing a better job at enjoying the season than i am. here's hoping i can redeem myself on halloween... since we actually have something fun to do this year (yay!). stay tuned for costume pics. unless, of course, i become a slacker again...

peacefest.

I've been busy making a few crafts that my friends from Juja + Stone offered to sell on consignment for me at PeaceFest in Clarkston, MI coming up this June 4th and 5th. Putting all my pinterest inspiration to good use, I made a variety of flower/feather headbands, pins and necklaces as well as some yarn wrapped monogram letters + words. Excited to see how they sell... but I mostly just had fun making them :)  If you're going to be in the area I would definitely recommend checking it out, there's going to be tons of great vendors, food and music. Thanks again Tami for the opportunity to get me crafting again!

Here's a sneek peak at my goods..

gonna make a record in the month of may.

First I have to say, thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my birthday post. It's such a good feeling to know that you lovely ladies are out there to relate to and share with, whether it's laughter or tears. Even though I don't have the privilege of having my female friends physically surrounding me anymore (and I miss girl time like crazy, believe me), this blog helps me keep that feeling of connection that is so important to me.

Here's some photos from the day Erik and I celebrated my 24th... these were taken after dinner at River Walk downtown.

 

I was trying to teach Erik how to be a better photographer as every time I hand the camera over to him, he manages to take the most horribly composed, unfocused, unflattering photographs; and I think we actually made some progress (he took the two shots of me by myself!). But he wasn't really too amused when I made him take 20 shots of the same thing so that we could get a nice photo together... see the photo below, hahaha!

I can't believe how quickly May is flying by. My birthday was really lovely, especially thanks to my dear friends and boyfriend. Meaghan surprised me at work with these yummy chocolate mint cupcakes and some awesome vintage dishes, and we went out for dinner at the Rooster's Beak afterwards. (Have I mentioned how seriously thankful and blessed I am to have found such an amazingly kind and generous friend down here? I don't know what I would do without this girl.)

 Even more surprises ensued as Erik had a GIANT bouquet of gorgeous pink roses delivered to me at work (major brownie points), and Niki sent me a pair of tom's I'd been lusting over. I felt so incredibly spoiled! Honestly just spending quality time with these people is all the gift that I could ever ask for - I could kick them for spending too much money on me - but their gifts were so sweet and thoughtful, I was blown away. So thank you to everyone for making me feel so special and loved, I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you every day!

(Can you see why I seriously could not stop smiling on my birthday! :)


In other news, we've been having more wonderful weather and taking advantage of the lake as often as possible (especially when it's in the high 90s like it was this weekend, whew).

We decided to be a little "adventurous" and find a new lake spot this year. We stumbled upon this little cove tucked away and it has quickly become a "our spot."

Is it lame that I'm only 24 and such a homebody? We never go out to bars (might be different if our friends were closer), we'd rather cook at home and watch netflix or go to the lake any day. Honestly, that pretty much sums up our life... it may not be exciting, but I wouldn't change a thing.