Tuesday, April 8, 2014

all alone in a big ol city.

i lived alone from 2008-2010. for 18 glorious months i was the (only) head of my household. it was a chapter i didn't plan for, with a roommate quite literally moving in the middle of the night. i was scared. still somewhat new to chicago, i wasn't seriously dating anyone, i had a very very small group of friends, and all of a sudden i found myself 23 years old and living by my lonesome for the first time in my life.

i had about an hour long commute on a bus and a train to work, i would walk/run (in fear) the half mile from the el to my desk, a desk that was located in an office, in a homeless shelter, in a not so great neighborhood on the west side of chicago. have you ever been to a homeless shelter? you probably have. and you were probably so grateful to leave after you were done volunteering. i don't blame you. it's depressing. and emotionally draining. and downright scary at times. my job was very much all of those things. but i loved it. and i loved going home. because it meant that for the rest of the evening i didn't have to worry about those 63 souls who were down and out on their luck, drug addicts, pregnant and HIV positive, mentally ill....whatever horrible thing you can imagine happening to you or someone you love, had happened to them. and i was forced to be grateful for the job that i had, the little apartment that i could afford and humbled by the fact that i was so fortunate to have the life that i did.

i was still worried i would be lonely. i was worried i would get bored. but in those 18 months i was anything but lonely and bored. i learned about myself just by puttering around, making my own food, drinking wine by myself (that hasn't changed), watching documentaries and listening to books while i cleaned. it was peaceful. in my teeny apartment, in the middle of my adopted city, i learned that my own company was enough. i fulfilled me. and what a wonderful lesson to learn at the age of 23.

Monday, April 7, 2014

well, hello again.

i have woefully neglected this little blog in the last few months. and it's for all the same reasons anything gets ignored: work has been crazy, life has been busy, trips were taken, boxes had to be unpacked, etc. etc. etc. it kind of blurs together, doesn't it?

we are settling into our new place - and are so excited that two of our dear friends are coming at the end of the month! they will be our first overnight guests, and i can't wait to show them around charming winter park. we used to spend every single weekend with them, and we haven't seen them since our wedding, so we're pretty excited!

these two nuggets. xo.

polly in the wild.
i recently spent a long weekend in new orleans celebrating the sweetest bride-to-be, becky. we had so much fun! any city that prides itself on the 9283982983 ways it cooks shrimp and the fact that you can walk into a bar and order a big gulp sized gin and tonic and then jump in a cab, with said big gulp gin and tonic in hand, is okay by me.

new orleans - bachelorette - party


becky's shower is also coming up and so i offered to fulfill a bridesmaid duty by ordering the invitations.  i've mentioned this before, but i love paper. in my dreams i own a little shop where i spend my days designing and printing invitations and stationary. i happily took on this task and scoured the internet for the perfect invite. with the approval of becky's MOH, i ordered the below invitation. i wanted to make these extra feminine so i ordered a blush pink envelope that matched the invite, hand addressed all 50 of 'em with a gold sharpie, and because my personal motto is "everything is better with a monogram or a bow" i tied tulle bows around each invite. i'm quite proud of how they turned out.



bridal shower-invite-etsy-DIY


invite: etsy
printing: lydia's. if you live in the fredericksburg area and are getting married, throwing a party, in need of personal stationary...they are the best
blush pink envelope: paper and more
polka dot tulle: leftover from my wedding. i love that stuff.