Weekend Adventures: Gem Jam + #SPSH2015 Outgoing/Incoming Mail!

An impromptu trip to Phoenix and Dragon and a lot of $$$ later, I came home with these beauties!  I've had most of these on my list for quite some time and now, these babies are mine!  I got a Selenite that had the most beautiful colors when you hold it in a certain way.  It's amazing!  I also picked up a small Desert Rose.  I had never heard of it until Caroline and Contessa showed some on their YouTube channels and I was so smitten, I knew I had to have my own.  This one was calling my name!  I also picked up a few Black Tourmalines, a couple of Rose Quartz pieces, a few baby Citrines and another gorgeous Lapis Lazuli.  The big purple one in the center is a beautiful polished Amethyst that - no joke - vibrates in my palm.  That has never happened before!  Usually I feel a little sensation like heat or a loving feeling but never vibrations like this before!  I wasn't planning on getting anything from the bin  it came from (because they were bigger, more expensive stones) but once I picked this baby up, I knew I HAD to have it!  She's beautiful!



My boyfriend and I accompanied Lauren to the Sara Rachele show at Smith's Olde Bar on Saturday. That's Chandler on the drums!  We had a great time and Chandler played amazingly (as always!).  Lauren's parents joined the fun, too!



On the left is the package I sent out and on the right, I have the heart tags from my incoming Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt package!  I know I've posted a preview of some things I sent out on my Instagram but I cannot wait to share everything!  The package I received was an amazing set of goodies from Melina and I can't wait to post the photos!  She sent the cutest things and I'm so thankful!  I can't wait for my swap buddy to post her items :)

I hope you're having a great week so far!  What did you do this weekend?

Weekend Adventures: Farm Things

 

This past weekend, I accompanied my friend, W, to a farm in North Georgia to pick up some farm-fresh things since the weather keeps postponing local farmers markets from happening.

While up there, we saw the most ominous looking nuclear power plant.  We had to ask the lady at the farm what the heck it was since we know nuclear power plants are usually stationed near running water (like rivers or the ocean).  She told us it's a coal plant and that sometimes it looks a little scary when it's starting up for the day.  What's the first thing we thought?  "We have GOT to film that!!"  Of course!

Next, we made some farm friends!  I snapped the cute little calf while it was feeding in the cage.  Just a note: the smaller calves are put in cages during feeding time ONLY.  That way they won't get bullied out of eating.  Once they're large enough they can eat with their cage-free friends.

The turkey approached us rather aggressively but it didn't try to harm us, it seemed a little...stressed out.   My friend, W, was suddenly struck by the turkey's anxiousness so she started to talk to it in her soothing voice.  Once the turkey calmed a bit, she tentatively went to pet it and it let her!  She continued to pet it while talking to it and it eventually became so relaxed around us that it sat down and curled up next to her.  It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

All in all, it was fun impromptu trip to the farm and I know I'll be going back with as many cameras as I can fit in my car because there are so many great things to on the way!

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Adventures

For my Gratitude Journaling, I'm trying something new. I got insanely inspired by Michelle's Get Messy posts so I decided to try and illustrate items that represent some the things I was grateful for that day - starting with Friday.  I didn't want to make them too text-heavy but I did fill out Saturday and Sunday with some text after I took the photos to explain, you know, things like why I illustrated a 1.75 liter bottle of Grand Marnier* and why there's a random Ron del Barrilito bottle** just kinda hanging out on Saturday's page...
I'm having fun with the illustrations but I don't think I'll be able to keep it up much longer.  Things are about to get pretty hectic around here!

How was your weekend?

*The Grand Marnier was a Thank You present from Lauren's parents.  As one of my Maid of Honor duties, I did the envelope calligraphy for the invitations.  It was so much fun! :)

**My aunt is in town from Puerto Rico and we sipped on some Barrilito Saturday night.  Yay bonding! :)

Weekend Adventures

While I don't mind moving, packing stresses me out. I mean, like, A LOT.  I always get hyper-aware of all the stuff that I have and it makes me feel really bad.  But I don't think I'm the only one, right?  At least with that awareness comes the hidden treasures of what you have, exactly, and it's like finding new stuff all over again!

1. My "found treasure" Mockba messenger bag
2. My "found treasure" random collection of flags
3. Kiki, the cutest kitten in the Universe
4. Exploring Atlanta's Westside Provisions 
5. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams - my most favorite combo ever: Salty Caramel + Vanilla
6. The most delicious smoked chicken

How was your weekend?

Weekend Adventure: No sharp objects, please!

It's that time again!  The busy season at work.  And once it picks up, it doesn't stop for about 2 1/2 weeks or so.  Somewhere in there, the photo above happened!  My clumsy self decided to get really clumsy and I almost cut my damn finger off!!  Luckily, I didn't have to get stitches, but still - how could I be so careless?!!

I probably can't say anything else about this for a little while but know that all is well!

If you want to see a bloody collage of my injury, click here!  :)

I hope you're having an awesome weekend!

Maid of Honor Duty: Crashing President Snow's House!

Saturday, I felt like I did some hardcore Maid of Honor stuff: I got to attend the dress fitting with Lauren and her Mom!!  It was awesome!  The dress is gorgeous and I can't share it right now (for obvious reasons!) but I want to so bad!  It's gorgeous!!  :D

As a treat, Lauren's Mom treated us to lunch at the Swan Coach House.  It was definitely an experience for me!  I wanted to take photos of the dining space but I thought that would be in bad taste, so I kept my phone locked in my purse (for the most part).  The fun part came after dessert when we went to check out the Swan House grounds.

You might remember the Swan House from a little movie called The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  That's right - the Swan House was used as President Snow's house for the film so it was only natural that we tour the grounds, right?!  Luckily for us, they were having an open house, which meant we could enter...FOR FREE!!!  What a pleasant surprise!  Too bad we weren't expecting it or else I would've had my Nikon at the ready for photos galore!  Instead, we used up what little iPhone battery power we had left to take as many photos as possible!

The Swan House was like a mix between the Henry B. Plant Museum and The Biltmore.  I definitely need to go back with the old man so we can take proper photos.

Later on, Lauren, Chandler and I played the craziest game in existence: Dicecapades!  Arm wrestling, push-ups, sit-ups, drawing, math problems...you name it, it's in there!  It's definitely a lot of fun but after a few cocktails, the last thing you want to do is a math problem!

How was your weekend?

Check out my best Victor's pose here!
Check out Lauren's photos here!

Happy Monday!

Weekend Adventures: Dino-corn + Summer Swap!

1. American Dino-corn is ready to paarrr-taaayyy! // 2. I accompanied the old man on a photo walk adventure around Alpharetta and snapped an Instax of this alterations place that has been there forever! // 3. My super sweet summer swap with Marisa! // 4. Some Rifle-inspired watercolor experimentation

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We celebrated the 4th of July and it was...hilarious!  My dad took over pyrotechnic duties (as usual) and lit up the sky for us to enjoy and it was a lot of fun.  I got to showcase my Baby Whisperer skills with my Dad's girlfriend's daughter's daughter - try saying that 3x fast!  I keep being told I'm great with kids and while I enjoy hanging out with kids, I don't see any in my future.

Marisa and I also did a Summer Swap!  Here's her post with all the items I sent her!  I sent her some Instax photos, some watercolors, a dinosaur (!), a cute little pouch I picked up at H&M, some camera stickers for her journaling, the flyer for my sister's store opening and some other little odds and ends that I thought she would enjoy!  :)
She sent me a Quartz with Amethyst (which I'm charging on my window sill), an address book - which I was totally planning on getting (!), some wonderful pens and pencils, a flower, bow tie stickers and some other super-awesome stuff!  I flipped out when I saw the 9 of Swords tarot card in there because: 1) That particular deck has a unicorn theme, 2) How did she know I'm learning the tarot?!, and 3) It's a sad card, apparently.  I feel like it is representative of her current situation and it could also be representative of mine at the same time.  Weird, right?!  More on that later...

In order to calm my mind, I picked up some watercolors and attempted to try my hand at some Rifle Paper Co. style flowers.  I think I did a good job but there's always room for improvement.  I also need to develop my own style, but I'm doing that another way.  More on that later as well!!

I hope your weekend was fun and full of adventures!
Have a great week!

Instant Adventures #7

This past week has been a busy one! I'm glad we get a long weekend :)

1. While running an errand on a rare lunch break, I saw a pretty and old Rolls Royce
2. My Instax Minis from the day I went to Roswell Presbyterian Cemetery
3. You can barely see us but Cynthia snapped Lauren and I saluting while perched on a cannon in Decatur.  You can see more Decatur adventures from Friday night here, here and here!

I hope you're having an awesome weekend! 
Do you have any fun plans?

Instant Adventures #4

I felt like I was slacking on the Instax Adventures game, so I stepped it way up!

1. The roses by my mailbox that will end up in someone else's mailbox soon!  Here's a Hipsta of them
2. The pretty azaleas by my front door!  They, too, ended up in someone's mailbox!
3. The pretty bouquet from Lauren and Chandler's engagement brunch!  I took them for a walk the other day :)  Yes, they ended up in someone's mailbox!
4.The evidence of #3 going on a trip in my #outgoingmail post on Instagram

Since it's filming time, I tried out my Instax on my most favorite subjects: J and B from the camera crew!

5. Here's the first EVER shot of a person with my Instax Mini!  (kinda dark...)
6. J pulling his best Zoolander / Abercombie model face (still dark)
7. Playing with the brightness feature in the beautiful sun!
8. B being naturally charismatic and always awesome

Bonus Instax: Since J has a STRONG dislike of selfies, he wanted to capitalize on our fun photo op by taking a selfie of a selfie of a selfie.



Hope you're having an awesome weekend!
Happy Saturday!

Instant Adventures #3: A Surprise Party Adventure!

I'm a little light on the Instant Adventures for this past week because, well, there was a surprise party for my Mom being planned and preparations for Lauren and Chandler's Engagement Brunch...on the same day!  Needless to say, this weekend was wild and lots of fun!

1. The gorgeous bouquet I got for my Mom's birthday on Tuesday
2. A photo of our memo board at home with the very special addition of Lauren and Chandler's save the date + the heart garland I DIY'd



I did find time to make a cute heart garland for a certain someone's birthday that coming up in May!  I need to make 2, actually.  I've got two wonderful May birthday folks that need some hearts!  :)
I stumbled upon Alana Jones-Mann's wonderful blog and saw this pretty garland that I just had to make!  And this pretty heart backdrop and this marquee light heart and so many other awesome projects to try!

So...about my Mom's surprise party...My aunt had been planning it for a little while but because my Mom's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, my aunt held off the party for the weekend after her birthday - which led to hilarious sitcom-style anguish from my Mom because this was the big 6-0 for her and she wanted a big blowout!  But she was expecting it the weekend before her actual birthday, not the weekend after!
She complained to everyone that my aunt wasn't doing anything for her and I had to hear all about it last Saturday, which led to the impromptu visit to Lips on Sunday, the bouquet on Tuesday and a whole lot of secret-keeping.  Thankfully, she was definitely surprised!  I didn't take any photos (bad blogger!) but others took care of that for me!  The only thing I got was the cake - which I glad to order because that meant I could choose what the message was!  Heeeeyyoooo!



I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Happy Monday!

Creepy Hearts Club Adventure!

Some Creepy Hearts Club hearts went on an awesome adventure with their new friend, Erica!

Check out their fun adventure here!!



Thanks, Erica!
xoxo