moving time!

i ventured down to perdido key, florida this past weekend with some dear friends for a relaxing time at the beach. i got burnt (pale girl problems), enjoyed my bushwacker at flora-bama, and relished the beach i miss so, so much. and now, i'm settling into some time in birmingham after a crazy summer of working long hours and traveling across the country.

and to top it all off: i'm moving this week! i've lived in a beautiful, historic home in highland park for a year, and i am so grateful for that opportunity. that little house holds so many dear memories for me, and i'm sad to leave it - even if it is 3 flights of stairs to the front door (which makes moving a blast, lemme tell ya)!

i'm not going far. i'm staying in highland park, actually, and moving into a 2 bedroom apartment. less space to clean, cozy rooms, woohoo! it's going to be a long weekend of hauling furniture down the hill, but i'm ecstatic. i'll be back to regular blogging as soon as i'm settled in! i can't wait for a fresh start.

moving to birmingham {part 2}

great progress since my last moving update!

my bedroom hasn't changed and likely won't for a while unless i add a rug, so this is update will mainly focus on the living room. after some help from my darling boyfriend corey in assembling my new ikea furniture, and having my couch delivered & adorned with target pillows, i'd say the room has come a long way! the couch is actually not as dark as it looks. it's grey!

ugh, i love target. these pillows brought some interest and color to the room so effortlessly, and were a great price. i'm searching for some things to go on top of my fireplace besides books and photos. i know i'm not exactly an interior decorator, but i enjoy having a space that is put together, inviting and suits my taste. pinterest has been a great inspiration tool. and i know i need something a little better than one of my countless polaroid cameras on the fireplace, i'm just not sure what yet.

my next room to tackle is the dining room. at this point, i just need some chairs and some cute place-mats, maybe a centerpiece of some sort. it'll all happen with time!

moving to birmingham {part 1}

yes, its true! i've moved from tuscaloosa to birmingham - a mere 45 minute drive, but two totally different worlds! while i loved my tuscaloosa apartment, my lease was ending, and i got a job opportunity in birmingham. making the 100 mile round trip daily was beginning to take a toll, so i decided to take the plunge and move. so far, i'm incredibly happy that i did! i've been so busy in the past few weeks, but now my schedule will hopefully even out now that i don't have a 2 hour drive to make daily.

over the course of the past few days, i've purchased furniture, done a lot of packing and unpacking and organizing. all of my things are moved, but i've still got furniture to set up, details to work out and an endless "to buy" list. i'd like to document the evolution of my place, so i'm going to post some photos of how it looks today versus in a week or two.

i don't have a couch yet, but i have the living room all planned out in my mind. the makeshift chairs really bring the room together, right? i scored this wonderful rug from target and the side table is from ikea (tv stand + coffee table are getting put together tonight!). my bedroom is pretty much complete, though i'm thinking of adding a rug. and of course, i had to pick up a few cute plants for the front porch: sweet mint, calladiums and begonias!

stay tuned for more!

surviving summer heatwaves (& moving in at last!)

it's been such a busy week, but i'm finally done with all of my summer classes! so much has happened & i've only had time to snap photos on my phone. after i'm settled in this weekend, my sweet nikon will be neglected no longer. i've missed him so much (he doesn't have a name? i guess he's just mr. nikon)

• last weekend, daniel's parents came to visit! we ate out, went to see captain america & gave them the "tornado tour" since they hadn't been down to see the damage. daniel & i ate with his dad at the veranda on highlands in birmingham on monday night & it was the best meal i've had in a long time. lavender creme brulee = to die for.
  
• picked up the keys to my apartment on tuesday! aaahh! i've moved 95% of my things over there & i've been cleaning & organizing everything, helping my roommates get settled & whatnot. unfortunately they haven't painted our unit yet like they said they would, but i'm willing to look past it just based on the fact that i have my own place! i'm crossing my fingers that they'll get to it soon though. i know, i know - white girl problems.
  
• finished up my last summer class on wednesday! i'm very satisfied with my grades from the summer & i'm happy that i'm sort of ahead of schedule as far as my classes go. with luck (& if i don't triple minor) i'll graduate in december 2013 at the latest.
• um, it's sickeningly hot outside. the weather has been damn near unbearable. the heat index ranges between 110-120 degrees daily, i can barely even walk outside. in fact, i DON'T go outside anymore! all my moving has been done at night. forget hauling things up & down stairs when it's like an oven outside.
• daniel & i went out on a date tonight at big daddy's & then to the movies. we got some greek food & split an apple flavored hookah. shisha gives me a headache now (i feel so old saying that) but i still love going. for the record, crazy stupid love is adorable.
  
• my parents are arriving in town tomorrow with my furniture & other miscellaneous items. tomorrow will be dedicated to setting up my place, decorating & a family dinner!
• the next few weeks i'm going to have some great things to post about & i'm so excited. i'm currently in the process of choosing my baking recipe to break in my new kitchen. my room decorations are coming along great but unfortunately it will be probably another month before it's complete. i'm waiting patiently!
  

ps; if you're wondering who that adorable little pup is above, that's my roommates dog, wolf baby. he's an affenpinscher & he's only 9 weeks old; i'm looking forward to living with a dog since i haven't for almost 6 years. he's the cutest!

counting down the days

daniel & i went on a little fro-yo date the other night! lately i've been really stressed with school & finishing up my final projects for the summer semester. at the end of next week i'll finally be finished, & i'll have almost a month long break before my classes for fall start.

i went to michael's yesterday to pick up some baking supplies. i'm a sucker for cute cupcake papers & i couldn't resist picking a few up. i've told myself that i'm going to take a break from cupcakes for a while & bake something new, but now i'm being drawn back in... maybe i just need to burn myself out & then i'll work on breads, cheesecakes, etc., but for now i still have a lot of cupcake recipes lined up to try, & a lot of occasions to bake for coming up!

this weekend daniel's parents are coming to visit, & the beginning of next week marks my lease starting at my new place! i won't ~officially be living there till the 5th, but i'll be spending next week moving & getting ready to turn in my final portfolio for class on the 3rd, aka i'll be incredibly busy. on tuesday i'm picking up the keys & a new chapter in my life begins - my first apartment. lots of exciting updates & photos are to come in the next few weeks! cross your fingers for me!

islands in the stream

i've had all sorts of food cravings lately. first it was strawberries, then it turned into a white midnight magic from gigi's cupcakes. normally i'm not a sucker for most of the bakery cupcakes i've tried, but i'll pay good money for a gigi's cupcake any day. daniel was kind enough to bring me one home tonight right before we got down to moving business.

since i sublet my apartment from a friend, i had to move all of my things out before she gets up here to collect her furniture & whatnot. since i didn't know she was coming on wednesday until the other day, & i had class + other obligations, i basically had only today to move. moving in july alabama heat, however? hell no. daniel & i waited until 8pm & then started piling things into the car, & get this - one trip! JUST ONE! in my tiny toyota camry! safe to say i was glad - we accomplished the entire move in 2 hours exactly. trust me, it's absolutely thrilling knowing i'll be doing it all again on august 1st... except not.

i'll be done with my 2nd summer class as of thursday, & then i need to get busy planning my weekend!

love is great, love is fine

the rihanna concert last monday was amazing! the girls & i went to dinner at california pizza kitchen & then made our way to the arena. our seats were amazing - way better than i expected; we were literally right next to the stage. of course, the entire purpose of the concert was a benefit for the april 27th tornadoes that impacted my state & hometown. rihanna was very sweet, doing her own rendition of "sweet home alabama" & wearing an alabama football jersey for the final songs of the show. i've been meaning to do an updated tornado recovery progress report with lots of photos soon, i'll be sure to make that happen soon.

the next few weeks are going to be insane. last week i was busy with class, trips to birmingham & starting to pack for my move. next week, i am moving in with daniel for 2 weeks until my lease at my new apartment begins. i'm so incredibly pumped about this place, you have no idea! there is lots to do & lots to set up, so its going to be very fast-paced for a little while. my official move-in date is the 1st, but my furniture won't be here till the 5th, lol. honestly there is way too much going on & i'm going to try & enjoy this week before things get super hectic.

i just found out that the baking class i planned on taking this fall was cancelled, & you have no idea how sad i am. unfortunately, there was not a single culinary course that fit into my schedule that i could take instead. i don't think i've been this disappointed in a long time. so, i'm going to have to wait until spring. in the mean time, i'm going to keep up with my "new recipe a week" & experimenting on my own with baking techniques. i can't wait to get into my new apartment & break in my kitchen.