smitten.

completely in love with with this gorgeous apartment. the colors are making me so, so happy on t his tuesday morning. 

tell me you love it, too. xoxo

mother's day weekend + committing to...

happy monday, friends! did you have happy mother's day weekends? i did--i went up to orlando to visit my mom, and spent the weekend hanging out with her, my dad, my brother, and the pupsters. i also did my laundry (yes, even at almost-27 i still tote laundry to my parents' house!), cleaned my disgusting car, thoroughly enjoyed some steak 'n shake, cooked mother's day breakfast for the fam, and drank coffee with my friend jenn. a good weekend, indeed.

also, have i mentioned that i love my mom? because i do. a lot, a lot, a lot.

speaking of mothers, before i get into this week's "committing to...", i just wanted to share these lyrics, which my brother, patrick, turned me on to. they're from a song called "the gambler" by a band called fun, and i think they're pretty amazing:

"it was the winter of '86, 

and all the fields had frozen over.

so we moved to arizona to save our only son.

now he's turning to a man, 

although he thinks just like his mother;

he believes we're all just lovers, 

he sees hope in everyone.

and even though she moved away, 

we always get calls from our daughter.

she has eyes just like her father's;

they are blue when skies are gray.

and just like him, she never stops--

never takes the day for granted.

works for everything that's handed to her;

never once complains."

beautiful, right? thanks, p., for the tip. 

and now, here's what i'm committing to for the week--but before i type this list, let it be said that i had a totally off-kilter second half of last week, so i probably just need to re-focus on everything i posted last week. sometimes we all need a little refresher, right? either way, here goes:

+ continuing to be healthy. (cold, stay gone! running shoes, you are going to get a workout!)
+ continuing to work on this.
+ making sure to be as productive as possible in everything i do. good choices, here i come. (thank you for the push in the right direction on this one, stephanie. i needed that.)
+ finding writing inspiration so i can be a better blogger (sorry for dropping off the face of the earth after last wednesday--again. ugh). this post gave me goosebumps; after reading it,  i immediately made the commitment to work on my writing.  thank you, jane. (the lyrics i posted above are also feeding this commitment.)
+ being clean in every area of my life: personally (house, car), emotionally, and financially.
+ going to the farmer's market this weekend and buying fresh flowers for my house. i love joy's farmer's market flowers posts, and i really love having flowers in my own apartment, so why not commit to buying some, right? (the orchid in the photo above is my parents'--isn't it pretty?)

what are you focusing on this week? xoxo--thanks for reading this rather random post!

{ photo by me }

moving forward by stepping back?

full disclosure: i have the unfortunate habit of being incredibly nosy. that nosiness has translated into some good qualities--i've become a pretty good listener, i think, due to my never-ending interest in people telling me all the little details of their lives--and some bad ones, the worst of which (aside from plain old annoyingness) is that i tend to become overly invested in whatever i'm being told. on top of my other unfortunate habit of tending to fixate (wow, i am a bundle of joy, huh?), this means that i often hang on to things way longer than i should--or care way too much.

so i'm starting to think i need to draw some boundaries, because lately i find myself getting wound up about things i'm hearing or being told and not being able to concentrate on what's actually important. i'm not sure how this is going to go, because, on the flip side, i pride myself on being a pretty caring, emotionally in-tune person. but i think i'm going to add it to my list of commitments for the next few weeks.

have you ever had to take a step back? did you find it freeing?

{ photo by alicia bock }

this summer...

i am going to take a page from the j.crew catalogue and dress exactly like this: soft fabrics, soft colors, relaxed shorts, natural hair and makeup. lovely.

p.s. um, it's hot here. is it hot where you are, too? where on earth did spring go?

yellow love + committing to...

every spring, these beautiful yellow trees--which i know as golden trumpets--bloom with a joy that's almost contagious. in sarasota, they're everywhere. i see them when i'm driving, walking around my neighborhood, even right outside my office window, and they never fail to make me smile. there's something about the bright yellow petals that just sing spring. (my parents have one in their yard--given as a gift by a friend when i was born, almost 27 years ago--and i think that's where my affection stems.) i wish i could bottle everything about these trees and keep them near me year-round, but i've realized the fact that they only bloom once a year, for such a short period of time, makes them even more special. hooray for nature.

and hooray for a new week--and a new month! i am recovering from yet another cold (seriously, is 2010 going to be the year i get a cold every month?), so i'm looking forward to feeling better, getting back into my exercise routine (i had to walk most of my 5k on saturday, much to my disappointment, thanks to not feeling well), and spending time with friends. and, as usual, here's what i'm committing to:

+ health. early bed. exercise. lots of water, fruits, and veggies.
+ being a better blogger and commenter. i totally sucked it up last week--so sorry!
+ finding my mom a really great mother's day present.
+ focusing super-intensely at work.
+ continuing not to gossip. i know this is the third week that i've posted this, but reminding myself of my little goal at the beginning of every week has been really helpful.
+ making sure my hands and feet are summer-ready--i.e., brightly nail polished--because it is officially hot here, and i will officially be living in flip-flops and sandals for the next six months.

what do your weeks look like? what are you committing to? please, please share! xoxo