Cozy Holiday Linkup / Favorite Things Friday

Earlier this week, one of my favorite bloggers Nicholl shared that she and Neely were hosting a link up for today.  Considering that Wisconsin get completely dumped on with the winter weather this week, Nicholl and Neely's "Cozy Holiday Linkup" was just the thing I needed!

(Also, since these photos pretty much also represent everything awesome that happened to me this week, I'm linking up with Lauren like always as well.  Even if it's not my top 5... because let's be real, narrowing down 5 favorite cozy things is impossible... it's pretty true to my original Favorite Things Friday posts I was doing way back when and since I used to link up then, I'm stretching the rules and doing so again.)

Ok, without further ado... Rikki's Favorite Cozy Things that Happen to be Posted on a Friday.  Or something like that...

I wrote this post as the wind whistled outside, a pie was in the oven, the girls were sleeping in a little ball on a stool in the kitchen, I was wearing a fuzzy sweater with fuzzy socks and leggings, and I was singing along to Christmas music... if that doesn't spell cozy, I don't know what does.

Happy holidays, friends!  I doubt I'll get around to writing this weekend but you never know.  If not, have a wonderful weekend!

It's Friday (Friday)

Am I the only one who sings this ridiculously annoying song in her head every single time she thinks about writing a Favorite Things Friday / High Five for Friday post?  Yes?  Moving on then....


As always (or when I have time to write these Friday posts) I'm linking up with Lauren!

1.  Did you see the announcement yesterday about the new Facebook page?  Still getting it 100% up and running but give it a look and like it if you feel so inclined!

2.  I'm finishing my second week at the new job and I confirm every single day that it was the right move for me to make.  Of course I miss my friends and coworkers from Kentucky and loved the work I was doing there.  But I am constantly amazed by the good work being done by my new employer and know that I will be able to make a huge difference by utilizing my talent here.

3.  Likewise, I've been living in my new apartment for just over two weeks and I still love it here too!  It's finally starting to look like a real home - as long as you don't look in the disorganized closets or ignore the stack of packing supplies about a mile high in the garage.  Plus I'm still missing a dining room table.  Anyone feeling generous and want to contribute to the "I really like a table that's a little out of my price range right now" fund?

4.  More than me liking the new place, my cats freaking love it.  They spend hours every night running up and down the stairs, chasing each other from room to room, and exploring closets.  Seeing them settle in makes a huge difference for me.

5.  The best thing about the last two weeks?  Getting to see my friends and family on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, I'm not making the trek to Minneapolis to celebrate my best friend's birthday this weekend like originally planned but just knowing that all of my favorite people (minus my little sister) are just a short drive away is a huge relief.  Already feels like home.

Happy weekend everyone!

Warrior Woman

I know I haven't been writing much lately and I apologize.  I don't have much to say.  I'm wrapping up my last week here so I've been busy but I don't really have plans made for the next chapter either.  I mean, I have a job offer but am still waiting for paperwork to come back so it's official, I have an apartment but I've never seen it (special thanks to my mom for taking a day off to do that for me!) so I can't really start planning how to decorate things, a moving company is most likely doing all of the packing and loading of my stuff... nothing is really happening even though a major life change is about to take place.

Everything is just in a holding pattern.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not good at sitting still so it's driving me crazy.

When I get stressed I suddenly feel the need to take on the world, all by myself.  For some reason, I think I'm a warrior woman who can accomplish everything on her own.  This time though, because of the aforementioned holding pattern, I have nothing that I can accomplish.  So instead of just driving myself crazy, I'm driving everyone around me crazy.

I know from past experience that one of the best ways for me to snap out of it is to literally put myself together - get up in the morning, take a hot shower, do my hair and makeup (not something I do every day - clearly this is not a fashion blog), put on a "strong" outfit, and face the world head on.  So this morning, I went to my go-to warrior woman work outfit.  I can honestly say it's making a difference.

Since I don't plan to share an actual picture of my outfit, here's a sampling.  Let's be real, none of this is what I'm actually wearing because my outfit has been hanging in my closet for quite a while but I tried!

Warrior Woman Outfit by rstarich featuring hue tights

(What, what!  My first Polyvore.  Still not a fashion blog so don't expect many more in the future!)

While it might not look like anything special to you, it makes me feel like I can take on anything.  Do you have a go to Warrior Woman look that helps you put a new attitude on when you're stressed?  I'd love to know what works for you!

Can't Live Without It...

I came across this article on Apartment Therapy weeks ago and bookmarked it as a future blog post. As I was laying on my couch this morning, really not wanting to get out of bed for work, it came back to me.

For someone who grew up in the same house for most of my life (we moved there when I was four), I have lived in a lot of spaces. Dorm rooms and on-campus apartments in college, apartments after college with interesting roommate situations, my graduate school apartment that I (at least in my opinion) transformed from an awkward one-bedroom to a functional space, and multiple apartments here in Lexington. I hate the process of moving but I love trying out new neighborhoods, making new spaces feel like home, so I tend to move a lot. My biggest fear, once I pay off enough student loans to consider buying a house, is that I'll be sick of it in about a year.

My current place, although small, is probably one of my favorites. It suits my lifestyle and checks all of my required boxes. My "must have" list grows and changes with every new place. I can tell you after living in my second apartment in Lexington that my former must have list wasn't discriminating enough.

New Apartment Unveiling: Living Room

Welcome back to the apartment!

Today we're looking at the living room area. This area saw a lot of furniture re-purposing, as well as a few key additions (and a few yet to come) so I'm excited to share it with you.

Let's start with sharing Charlie's new favorite place in the apartment before moving on to the actual space, shall we?

The girls' beds are tucked under the chaise lounge. While Charlie also really likes climbing to the top of the bookshelves - you'll see them later! - she's taken to napping in Lady's cat bed underneath the chaise for hours on end. There have been Saturdays where she only comes out to eat and then climbs back underneath there. Too cute.

Ready to see the rest of the room? Click the link below!

New Apartment Unveiling: Bedroom

Welcome back to my apartment, friends!

Today we're doing a quick little walkthrough of the bedroom.  Wait, you're asking, didn't you say you live in a studio?  Yes, I most certainly do.  Remember when I asked you to weigh in on how to arrange the place?  Well I've set up the floorplan like so:

This means that there is definitely a bedroom side and a living room side.  So like I said, today we're taking a look at the bedroom.  Click the link below to read more and let me know what you think!

New Apartment Unveiling: Bathroom

Now that the apartment is finally settled, I'm excited to share it with all of you! I'm sure my mom is happy too - I've made her wait to see pictures until it's all done. Not that my place is that exciting - I didn't paint any of the walls beyond the basic apartment off-white, even though I could have, but I do think I have a unique sense of style and an amazing ability to re-purpose and reuse furniture! As I'm sharing my spaces, I'll try to point out the new uses for things.

Today I'm sharing my bathroom with you. So without further ado, click below to see the bathroom unveiling!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday, friends! I am bound and determined to make this a better week than last. Not that last week was necessarily bad, it just wanted great either and I could use a great week.

Now for a quick recap of the weekend. I'm linking up with Kati again for a "Good, Bad & Ugly" style recap. It's nice to link up on things like this - helpful knowing that other people are out there sending positive thoughts my way as I deal with my uglies!

The Good - All around, it was a good weekend. My apartment is finally settled (or as settled as it can be right now!) which means I'll be doing more apartment unveilings in the next couple of weeks. The weekend was full of doing stuff around the house, spending time with friends, and watching the Olympics. The cats were certainly happy to have me home a lot!

The Bad - It's going to be another busy week, ended by a very long drive again. So much road tripping for me lately! But the road trip is for a very good reason so I am in no way complaining about that!

The Ugly - I am so mad at myself. After working so hard to grow my nails out for the wedding, I've gone back to chewing them off again when I'm stressed. It has more to do with the fact that I haven't been painting them every night because I haven't had the energy but I'm still disappointed in myself. Maybe saying it out loud will help break the habit again. I trimmed them down yesterday and painted them, hoping to break the cycle. Wish me luck!

Favorite Things Friday

It's Friday again already?  Wow.  As always, linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk Blog!

1. The sky outside my new apartment's balcony during a storm is wicked. Seriously. Every single time it storms I wish I were a real photographer so I could capture the moment accurately.

2. Living downtown and walking to work means no more "I'll just stop at the store for x, y, and z" on the way home from work. At least, not in the car. I've eaten at Shorty's, Lexington's downtown grocery store, but I've never shopped there until yesterday. It's so convenient, they have everything I could ever need, and the prices are surprisingly comparable to the chain stores, especially when figuring in the time and gas savings.

I had also never been to their wine shop before yesterday and I will definitely be back. Excellent prices (most bottles under $20!), helpful staff, and wine tastings every Thursday. I think they just created a repeat customer!

3. The walk to and from work every day is a "favorite thing" unto itself. Even though it's hot, it is so nice to start my morning and end my day with a walk. I'm walking at least 1.5 miles every day (for people who actually work out, I am aware this isn't much, but I'm not one of those people) through the greatest neighborhoods. The old part of downtown, complete with a park, then into the entertainment district, passed the courthouse, and finally to my building.

For anyone not in Lexington, keep in mind that's only about a 6 block walk. It's just that downtown has some distinct areas and I'm lucky to go through all of them!

4. The blog redesign is a huge favorite. I think most of the glitches are worked out - at least the biggest ones - and I am loving the clean design that my friend Lindsay created. It's obvious that she knows me well because the blog is very "me" now. It matches my every day design style and I love that! What do you think? Do you like the redesign?

5. Five is still a secret to all but my real life, close friends. Could I just come up with something else to make a favorite instead of holding a place for this one? Yes. But when the secret is the absolute favorite thing going on in my life right now, it's worth leaving you all hanging.

New Apartment Unveiling: Lighting

A few people (mostly my mom…) have been clamoring for photos of the new place. It’s mostly unpacked and I’ve been acquiring things to round out the design over the last week but there are a few finishing touches – like hanging the photo collage and unpacking those last few boxes – that are preventing me from taking “final” photos. Instead, I’m going to unveil the apartment little by little as I finish up those tasks.

Today, I want to brag on the lighting a little.  Mostly because I lit the apartment with four new lamps and spent... under $100!

Want to read the whole story?  Click the link after the photo for more!

Favorite Things Friday!

Is it really Friday again?  I mean, this has been just about the longest week ever but still.  Where is the time going?  July is almost over!

Without further ado, here are my top five favorite things this week!

1.  My sister and the new hubby will be spending the night with me tonight.  Them, their 47 lbs dog, their cat, me, and my cats.............. in a studio apartment.  Should be interesting but I'll take any time I can get with them!

2.  My girls are really loving the new place, which is making me happy.  They spent lots of time like this...

They love watching the world go buy and while the world looks really really small right now because we're really really high up, the girls don't seem to mind.

3.  Speaking of being really really high up, the view from my apartment is awesome.  Last night, I snapped these photos following one of the many storms that have blown through this week.  Note the cool shadows from the sunset, the rainbow, and the view itself!

4.  In preparation for creating a photo collage wall, I've been going through old pictures.  My best friend and I take a lot of pictures and seeing them all made me miss her dreadfully.  We're working on finding a weekend that she can come visit because we haven't seen each other since April but even if it doesn't work out due to the fact that we are both ridiculously busy, it's so awesome to know that she's even trying to come see me that it's definitely worthy of the number four spot.

5.  Can I keep number five a secret still?  Yes?  Good, because number five is actually by far my favorite thing about this week but I'm not ready to talk about it yet.  Suffice it to say that there is a number five.

Linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk Blog

DIY Chandeliers

In the course of this whole move, I've been trying to make my very small space as stylish and practical as possible on a tight budget.  Thank goodness I am rather good (if I do say so myself) with DIY projects.

Because it's a studio apartment and the space is wide open, I wanted to come up with different lighting options for the two sides of the room.  The "living room" works best with floor and table lamps, which means I was looking for a ceiling solution for the "bedroom" - specifically something extremely girly.

After searching for days for an affordable chandelier option with no luck, I googled "DIY Chandelier" and hit the jack pot.  These are my favorites thus far - Which do you like best?

1. Gus And Lula   2. The Sweetest Occasion   3. 10 Rooms Design   4. Lisa Roy Muskoka

Can you believe those are all do-it-yourself?  Now I just need to decide which I like best!

Saturday Simplicity

Haven't done one of these in a while.  This is my life right now - not simple in the least.  Hoping to have it all straightened up by the end of today... otherwise, I might go insane.

Hope your Saturday is as productive as mine!

I'm Back!

Not having internet, followed by a week of wedding madness, has completely ruined the good blogging cycle I was in.  But have no fear, I'm back and ready to share all sorts of neat things with you guys!

Couple of quick updates before my lunch hour ends.
- The move is progressing nicely.  The only room that is in the least bit organized is the bathroom but it was nice to have an organized space to get ready in this morning so I'm ok with that.  Pictures to come as I finish things up!  Expect the first batch of photos this week sometime.

- Being home last week was so crazy busy, nevermind that I completely forgot to do / pack / bring back with me half of the things that I was supposed to do, but it was wonderful to be home.  I described the last few days of my visit as "wedding-themed summer camp."  It's was surreal and I feel like I came home with a whole new group of friends.  I have to say, my little sister sure knows how to pick great people to be in her life!

- The wedding itself was perfect. My sister and her husband (I think I've referred to him as her fiance more times that I can count today - I'll get used to the change!) are off on their honeymoon.  I think they thought the wedding was as perfect as the rest of us thought.  Photos to come, I promise.

- The new blog design should be up and running in the next couple of weeks.  I am so excited for the change - just have to get my "designer" a few more things that she needs, and probably give her lots of glasses of wine as a thank you for helping me redesign the blog completely redesigning my blog with a sad level of input from yours truly, and it'll be live.  Woo whee!

Ok, back to work.  The to do list couldn't possibly longer after being gone for more than a week.  I am so tired that it's hard to keep moving today.  Maybe tonight I'll just sleep and let the unpacking take care of itself.

Early Morning Musings

My girls and I are very used to being alone.  Just the three of us.  A little person-cat family with habits all our own.  Not really all that different than a person-child family.

Every morning, sometime between 4:00am and 6:00am, Charlie (the baby) wakes up, crawls up to my chest, looks lovingly into my face and lets out this truly pitiful, questioning “MEOW” that I have come to realize means “Mommy, is it time to get up and play yet?”  Typically, I pat her head until she snuggles into the crook of my arm and we drift off to sleep again.  At least until she wakes up a few minutes later and repeats her morning ritual.

Lady Bug (the older sister) will sleep as long as I sleep.  She harrumphs her way onto the bed every night, sprawls in the small space between my left side and the edge of the mattress, and falls asleep with her head rested on her paws.  Most mornings, I wake up to her squished between me and the edge of the mattress, sprawled to get the best angle of the fan, with her head on her paws – in absolutely the same position as the night before.  She meows a little meow at me and snuggles in until I’m ready to get up.  Lady knows that when I am ready to get up, the world will start moving very quickly around her and she relishes quiet moments like this.

Today, Lady Bug got up a bit before me.  When she realized she was up a little early, she climbed back on the bed and laid her head on my leg, waiting patiently until I got up and turned the bathroom faucet on for her morning drink of cool running water.  Charlie ran circles on the mattress, twisting and turning, rolling around to rub her head on the cool sheets, meowing and whining as if it was the greatest injustice that I was not yet ready to get up and play.

To be greeted by my babies every morning is a wonderful thing.  Every single day, I wake up knowing that where ever I am, I am home.  I may not have a husband or children, but I do have my own little family.  In the next four days, we will switch apartments again – this will be the fourth apartment Lady has lived in during her three short years of life – and then pack up the car to drive north to Wisconsin to see the family and celebrate my little sister’s wedding.  The girls will be with me for every step of the way, calming my stress and allowing me to calm theirs.  We will experience virtually the same morning ritual that we always do, only we will be in my parents’ basement instead of our own bed.  We will wake up every morning and have a bit of quiet time before the rest of the world intervenes.  It’s moments like these that I live for, that keep me grounded when the world seems a little too crazy for comfort.

Color Inspiration: 50 Shades of... Purple?

I hate how busy I am right now.  Combining busy-ness with lack of Internet, it means the blog is being put on the back burner.  I have so many things I want to write about.  The good news is that next week I'm on "vacation" (aka - the week leading up to the greatest wedding ever) so maybe I'll have a little more time to blog.  Let's hope I do.  I don't like neglecting my faithful readers.

Ok, back to the point of the post.

Last Wednesday, I showed off my Warm Watermelon inspirations.  Friends from college will attest to the fact that I was obsessed with anything pink at that time.  I still love warm, bright tones but I'm not as into the bubblegum pink anymore - thank goodness.

I've now moved on to purples.  My current apartment is almost all greys and purples.  The new apartment will be even more greys and purples.  One of the writers for Sex and the City once described their philosophy for decorating Miranda's house as making it look like a soft bruise - or something like that - and apparently I liked it because my house is the same way.  It's my philosophy that as long as it's in the purple family, it matches so at least it's not lavender on lavender or plum on plum or whatever.

Today, I needed a little bit of purple in my life.  It calms me.  I planned to wear a white linen shirt dress I just bought but didn't want to stick with the white belt that came with it and the predictable pumps that I originally paired with it.  Instead, I applied my purple-matches-purple philosophy and came up with these accessories.

Everything except the nail polish is ancient. 

• The shoes, as you can see, have been worn to death but I love them.  If I remember correctly, my mom purchased them for me while I was still in college... from Sears.  
• The belt was a rummage sale find that an old roommate left behind when she moved out.  
• The necklace is Lia Sophia but was purchased while I was still in college.

Do they all actually match?  Probably not.  But the necklace has all of these shades of purple in it, the shoes aren't touching the belt and the nails are just finger nails, afterall.  So I don't care.

It's really livened up the basic white shirt dress.

If I were any good at taking photos of myself, I'd share the whole ensemble.  But alas, I'm not.  Sorry to disappoint.

(Let's also take a moment to see the larger view of the picture above... Yep, more purple).

Favorite Things Friday

Hey friends!

No theme this week because, quite frankly, I'm too tired to be creative and theme-y.  Instead, I'll stick closer to the High Fives for Friday format that Lauren at From My Grey Desk uses.  Sorry if that disappoints in any way.

1.  I'm moving to this building!  (Also, my post from yesterday didn't publish somehow and it's a fun and interactive one so keep scrolling and enjoy yourselves.  At this point it's already a little outdated but it'll do!)

 2.  My baby sister gets married TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW!  Ah!!!  Way back when they got engaged (two years ago) I planned to write a post about them and it never happened.  Expect wedding posts soon.  Because really, after I move next week, that's all I'll be thinking about for a good week!

3.  That nail polish from yesterday is still a high-five.  Seriously.  It's rocking my world.

4.  The blog address has changed - subtly.  I started the blog before I had two little munchkins (the photo is from the first day I had Charlie.  My how they have grown.) and never got around the changing the address.  So I've finally added the "s" officially instead of just having an (s) in the title.  I needed to make the change now because.......


5.  My dear friend Lindsay (why do I always call her that when I write about her?!) is in the process of helping me revamp the blog.  Stay tuned, friends.  I'm jazzed about the upcoming changes and am so happy she's forcing me to stop procrastinating.  Even if she is a total pain in my butt for adding one more thing to the to do list right now.


Happy Friday!

Behold, The New Apartment

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a love / hate relationship with moving.  Like, I love living in my new places and trying new parts of various cities but I hate packing and the physical act of moving.

So I've decided to move yet again.  In a week.  Two days before I leave to go home for my sister's wedding.  During the busiest work week for the year.  Sheesh. 

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably read my rants about my loud neighbors and the weird bugs I get in my current apartment and all of that.  I've done the pretty big, really old house with lots of character that costs a fortune to heat and cool for the last year so I'm changing to the opposite end of the spectrum.

I'm renting a studio in a high rise apartment building right down town.  In a building with an indoor pool and hot tub, one block from where I hang out ALL THE TIME and only 5 blocks from work.  Above the library.  (Which of course means more book reviews coming soon!)

Yes, downsizing is a little scary.  But I'll be saving money, will be in the heart of downtown, and have a killer view out my window.  You'll have to wait to see pictures until I'm all moved in an settled (exciting things coming your way, trust me!) but in the meantime, I need a little advice on this whole downsizing thing.

If you want to help with some furniture arrangement / give me some input on my ideas, feel free to click the link below.  If you'd rather be surprised, then don't.  Up to you!  (But really, I could use the help.)

Color Inspiration: Warm Watermelon

I have no been intentionally neglecting my dear blog after my meltdown last week.  In fact, I have about a dozen posts that I need to get to in the next two days - crazy things are happening around here!

Unfortunately we had a little incident involving a tiny little cat, a glass of water, and an internet router a few days ago so right now the internet is out at my house.  Considering that I'm moving in about a week (see "crazy things" above), I'm not worrying about fixing it before I leave.  But that of course means I only have internet access at work and work has been decidedly crazy as well.  Let me tell you, planning a move and helping to plan a wedding without the internet in this day-and-age* is pretty impossible.

Ok..... On to the point of this post.

All of my favorite bloggers do fun little vignettes about what they are wearing and how they got inspired.  I don't have that cute of clothes, nor am I good at taking pictures of myself.  But this morning I woke up with an a-ha moment and had to share.

My color inspiration for the morning was this beautiful nail polish that I just picked up for $1.47 at Walmart.  I'm obsessed.  It's my new favorite color.  I supposed we'd describe it as "Warm Watermelon."  It's the perfect melon color - and not the watered down, nasty fleshy pink watermelon.  The perfectly ripe, sitting out in the sun all afternoon, eating watermelon while watching fire flies watermelon.  Got it?

When I woke up this morning, I realized that I had shoes (Clearance $7 from Old Navy!) that exact color and a necklace I made years ago that was almost perfect.  I paired all of these with a plain white button-down shirt and black capris and wah la, it's a perfect outfit for a busy Thursday at work.






*I like how I say "this day-and-age" like I'm 85.  I'm obviously not.

Saturday Simplicity (New Collars and California Kitties Tags for the Girls)

It's been a while since I did a Saturday Simplicity post.  Probably because my life is far from simple right now.  So today I'm sort of going to do a SS post.  I say that because I really want to post more than a picture but that defeats the purpose of SS.  So here's the compromise.  The picture is below.  If you want the true SS experience, just stop reading.  If you want the full story (highly recommended of course!) and want to know where I got those beautiful tags for the girls, click the link below the picture to get the rest of the story!  (How's that for compromise...)