Lately..

     As a photographer I don't have very many photos of myself. Also it seems that I mainly use my phone for "everyday" things since its always with me and carrying a DSLR around is a bit of a pain. So I feel that words might create a better image than my crappy phone photos but I'll include them nonetheless. May has started out with a bang. I've been really busy between my full time nursing job, planning our trip to the West coast for 10 days at the end of May, researching, purchasing and utilizing essential oils, seeing my family and getting together with friends, planning my very first real garden and starting my indoor herbs, getting as much sunshine as possible on those rare sunny days after a week of rain.

 

      I'm feeling so good and excited about life in general. Most of the time I am, I'm usually pretty optimistic. Right before we moved I was in a bit of a funk, feeling very trapped and down. Moving to a new beautiful environment has been so therapeutic. Partaking in "healthy practices" like yoga, clean eating, drinking lots of water and herbal tea and now learning all about essential oils always makes me feel really good as well. We have this one precious life here on earth, taking care of myself is a priority and I haven't always made that a priority in the past. I still love to indulge on certain foods, but I try my hardest to take care to cook from whole and healthy foods or to really read about what it is I'm putting in my body if its a processed food.

   Summer has also been at the forefront of my mind. The other day I was talking about it with Tanner (and this totally goes against what I just typed about eating whole and healthy foods) and I told him how all I want is to be floating in a lake on a 90 degree summer day with a bag of Cheetos. Hahaha I can't help myself. But I want hot days and cool water, warm nights and bonfires and star gazing and wet grass and sandy towels and grilled meat and bike rides and porch laughter. Give it to me. I'm ready.

A Sunny Easter Afternoon

     Easter Sunday was absolutely beautiful and perfect, finally a day that lives up to its name. Holidays in our family are always spent with as many members of our family as possible. After staying at my parent's house on Saturday night and dyeing Easter eggs, we got to see the Carlson side of the family for brunch and some afternoon sunning. 70 degrees and sunny, we spent the afternoon absorbing as many rays as possible after this hellishly long winter. 

  Baby girl loves her sunnies.

In the evening we went to the O'Shea side of the family. Apparently I forgot about my camera at this point in the day. I was so appreciative of the beautiful weather and seeing my family and the laughter and the food that my camera went on the back burner of my mind. So thankful for these days and for this life I've been given.

Apartment Tour pt. 1

     I took these photos about a week after we moved in and finally got these main rooms settled. A few changes have been made since then but here is the living room, dining room and kitchen! The green color in the living and dining room worked perfectly with the color theme I already had going on with the couch and pillows and what not. We are allowed to paint if we want but so far the only room I have real plans for is our bedroom. More to come on that. 

     Vintage charm is a fantastic element to have in your home environment, but vintage charm also comes with vintage problems as well. You have to accept that you will never get all the dirt out of the cracks between the floor boards, that the radiators will always have dust bunnies no matter how many times you vaccuum them, and that the cupboards probably need a decent amount of contact paper on the inside in order for you to feel comfortable putting your dishes in them. We've had to do a ton of cleaning and a good amount of communicating with our maintenance guy since we've moved in, but overall we love this new place. It feels like home. Neither Tanner or I had an ounce of regret or sadness as we moved from our old place to this new home. The neighborhood is a really nice area also. I have walked to my grandma's house and down to the little corner market on Como. There are a bunch of cute cafes and restaurants we have yet to explore but I'm looking forward to this summer when we can walk freely without bundles of jackets and scarves wrapped about us.

Goals: plants in every window. Since I've taken these photos I've potted some herbs, I'm starting to see sprouts!

We've hung a coat rack above the boot rack in the corner there. The brown wall is a hallway that connects back behind the kitchen, I'm working on a gallery wall there. 

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This side of the kitchen could use a little decor, but I'm still trying to brainstorm what I want to do with it rather than just digging through boxes and hanging up whatever I find. I've got a lot of picture frames and wall art that I don't have a space for yet. This place has such a different feel from our last apartment. I wanted to cover up the ugly walls in our old place. This new apartment has so much character and charm on its own that I don't want to suffocate it. The natural light and the woodwork really take precedence here. So for now we have several unpacked boxes with photos and frames that don't yet have a place. 

     Norman is the newest member of our little family. He loves the window sills and has most recently discovered all the different plants that he can try to eat and throw up. Many plants have been moved to the top of the book shelf since this discovery. He's a lazy and sweet cat who loves everyone. He also is proving to be very talkative in the wee hours of the morning when he thinks its time for breakfast. I've been sleeping through it the last couple of nights but he's been waking Tanner. We tried to let him sleep with us the first night, but he woke us up literally almost every hour of the night meowing or walking on our pillows.. etc. He just wanted attention but he ended up getting kicked out of the room around 4:30am. Since then he has learned that night time means he gets to stay out on his favorite spot on the couch.

     TTFN (ta ta for now for those of you who aren't fluent in Pooh Bear language, or Tigger rather). Once I get the bedrooms a little more fixed up to what I would like them to be I will do the rest of the apartment tour! I've also got a few ideas that I'd like to implement for our 3 season porch. Until then!

Waking up

     It's been a while. Life has been bright and energetic and busy and beautiful. I find myself going to social media less and being more present and happy in real life. Moving to a beautiful new place and creating my own homey environment with my love and our new cat has had a huge impact on me and really gave me a breath of fresh air. Not to mention Minnesota has decided to actually give us a little taste of spring and sunshine the last few days.

     Walks through our little Como neighborhood here in St. Paul with the sunshine on our backs. Walking down to the little corner market and buying pretzel buns. Homemade meals and Game of Thrones. Kitty cuddles. Laughter and hanging Christmas lights inside our 3 season porch. Neighbor dog barking at 6:30am and morning light coming through the window. The slow purr of our coffee maker and the smell of cozy morning goodness. Afternoon sunshine coming through our old windows and onto the uneven hardwood floors. Kitty sitting in the window watching the world go by. Tanner playing his guitar/banjo as I get ready for bed. Unexpected kisses and embraces. Hot baths in a leaky bathtub. Succulents in the window. Moments I have collected and want to cherish.