{$23.47}

yesterday i had the inclination to go to goodwill after work to do some thrifitng.

i've said before that i refuse to pay full price for a good frame when i can

buy them at goodwill and spruce them up for super cheap!

well much to my surprise i hit the JACKPOT yesterday!

i found these 5 frames, 2 sets of 2 matching and 1 smaller one,

plus this rad chair that will eventually be my desk chair all for $23.47!

now all i have to do is add in some spray paint & fabric into the mix.

ummm... SCORE?!!  i don't think i could buy 1 good frame for $23.47.

well maybe, but for reals!  two of the frames even have awesome blue mats

that i can use.  my plan is to finally print some of my own photos and frame

them in my house.  believe it or not, i don't have any of my photos printed

in my house.  what's up with that?

next month i'm super sad to say that e will be moving out, but i'm going to try

and cover up my sadness of her missing with the creation of an actual

office where i can work on my photography and these things are just the start!!

i'll be posting the finished products in the next month or so.  stay tuned...

{happy.friday.friends}

and get out there & do some thrifting!!

via volume twenty five

inspired by my coffee

thank you caribou.

now i want your coffee everyday just because of the cup.

i can't afford your coffee everyday.

i seriously just looked at it all day at my desk yesterday.

wait... it may still be on my desk inspiring me today.

love.this.cup

enjoy!

excuse me if i smell like double dutch apple...

i have fine, thin, straight hair.  now one would think that when fine, thin, straight hair gets wet there would be no problem in brushing said wet hair, right?

wrong.

this head of fine, thin, straight... now wet hair... becomes the epitome of tangles.  i'm talking straight disaster folks!  you don't EVEN want to see me try to figure out something to do when i get out of the pool or ocean.  it's the bane of my existence.  not really, but that sounded good for some dramatic flair!  all this to say that conditioner is a must in my daily routine unless i feel like pulling my hair out of my head and really... i'm just not into that. 

i've had a love/hate relationship with conditioner my entire life.  love = me being able to brush my wet nappy head.  hate = greasy fine, thin, straight hair by high noon.  dumb.

well while vacationing this past week with the lovies, i remembered they use their own suave "hairspray" after bath time and the light bulb went off!

it's a miracle folks!  shampoo and a little bit of this yummy smelling goodness is the magic formula!  not only can i get a brush through my hair, but it also has so much more body now and doesn't get so greasy throughout the day!  an added plus, in case i pull a "did you hear about the morgans?" moment and spray it in my eye, it's tear free!! (remember i'm clumsy)

hallelujah!

i just thought i'd share in case anyone else out there may have this problem or you passed by me and noticed that i smelled like double dutch apple.

{happy.monday.friends}

aw

{a little bit of random inspiration for your monday}

{the civil wars - behind the scenes shoot with jeremy cowart}

just call me grace...

sometimes i wonder how i can be a dancer.  dancer's are defined by their poise and grace as they move across the floor.  my clumsiness baffles me at times... and let's not even talk about my mindlessness.  sometimes i really start to wonder about myself.  i feel like i'm constantly running into things, dropping things, spilling stuff, and the list goes on and on.  i remember my dad saying a lot when i was younger,"way to go grace" when something like this occured and then i just had to laugh.  i thought i would share just a few examples from my life lately...

{clumsiness - example 1}

 i had the joy of going on a hike with some friend's this past saturday (photos to come.) before we headed out on our 6 mile hike, we did what all smart girls do and headed to the facilities.  well, i should have learned by now that it is never a good idea to place your keys, cell phone, wallet, or anything for that matter on top of the good ol' TP holder.  i finished my business, flushed, and while gathering my belongings from said TP holder, i ALMOST dropped my keys in the toilet.  yep... "wohhhh that was a close one" i thought to myself, went to grab my wallet and yes, you guessed it... my clumsy self sent my trusty wallet for a swim.  i totally freaked out.  seriously... i can't tell you how many things i have dropped in the toilet in my life time.  cell phones and all!  so nasty.

{clumsiness - example 2}

my sweet friend agreed to head with me to weight training class last night where we got our butts wooped!  in this lovely class we use the torture tools long resistance bands with a lot of our moves.  for one move in particular you stand on the resistance band, hold the end handles, raise them above your head, while squatting (see...i told you it was torture)...  well here's the tip folks.  make sure you're standing on it before you pull on it... all of the sudden i heard this big slap and the back of my leg was burning... oh yeah.  it totally popped my leg.  don't worry though.. i don't learn from my mistakes the first time.  i totally did it again.  i felt like an idiot and totally had to laugh at myself.  i'm sure all the women behind me got a good laugh too.

{mindlessness - example 3}

i got inspired to try new laundry detergent at target a few weeks ago.  while perusing all of my "free & clean" options, checking out how many loads each one said you were able to get out of it, size, cost, i settled on one that looked to be a great deal.  bought it, washed clothes for about a week,  got this crazy rash, and narrowed it down that it must be the new laundry detergent.  e mentioned that it was kinda milky, but i just thought that's how this new one was... fast forward a week later and i went to wash a load of clothes and noticed in small print on the front *fabric softner* that's right.  we had been "washing" our clothes in fabric softner folks.  hence the horrendous freakout my skin had to it. 

welcome to my everyday.

i tell you though, it sure does keep things interesting.

{happy.tuesday}

{dis·ap·point·ment}

i really don't like this

word, but it doesn't care,

it comes anyways...

i'm 95% sure that the class i signed up for at light factory scheduled to start next week has been cancelled due to lack of interest.  they want to combine the class that i signed up for with another night and none of the other nights they offer the intro class work with my schedule due to prior commitments. 

when i got the email yesterday from them, i totally felt all the wind blow out of my sails.  i was completely disappointed.  i picked up the phone and called my sweet mama & she gently reminded me "everything happens for a reason."  i would love to say that my disppointment quickly turned into hope, but that wasn't the case.  i went to dance to dance it off, but the feeling just lingered as i got in my car to drive home and was still there when i woke up this morning.  unfortunately i tend to dwell on things & this one keeps brewing just reminding me of all the other disappointments in my life recently and some other big ones in the past. 

so i'm asking you guys... 

how do you deal with

disappointment in your life?

{ps -- i'm still alive, healthy, & totally in love with life, and completely believe there is a plan and this has happened for a reason, but just want some input from the good ol' blogosphere}

{happy.thursday}

aw

i promise i mean well :)

do you ever wonder if you come on too strong to people?

that they might feel like they're under interogation?

sometimes i wonder if that's how people feel around me at times.

it's just that i want to know your story,

know where you come from, what makes you tick...

i want to get down to the meat of who you are

& honestly i think sometimes that freaks people out.

my apologies to anyone who i might've offended...

sometimes i forget that not everyone is an open book like me. 

i promise my intentions are good & i mean well!

{happy.friday}

aw

ps -- we're getting our 1st "winter

storm" down here in the south.

here's hoping for some snow flakes!!

don't forget to enter to win!

click HERE to enter

the giveaway ends at midnight tonight!!!

the winners will be announced tomorrow morning.

{aw}

this weekend i decided to add

some new flava' to my house

a lovely new picture from world market

to brighten things up... now to decide where to hang it

hmmmm...

french pressed coffee anyone?

come on by & i'll make us a pot

& we can sit down & discuss life :)

and a little accent of red for the couch

as well as a red floor pillow to enjoy in front of the fire!

my home now feels a little cozier!

{happy.sunday}

aw

it's official...

i'm taking a much needed

blogging hiatus

be back sunday!!

sorry for being m.i.a.

feeling slightly detached &

lacking inspiration...

but don't worry..

i'll be back soon

so today i'm enjoying this & taking every lyric to heart

listen by clicking here...

{happy.wednesday}

aw

social media revolution

some days i wonder why i have such a fascination with

blogging, twitter, & facebook... glad to see i'm not the only one

{a little fall goodness from my home to yours}

gotta love a cute little pumpkin

with some good advice

& our *favorite* coffee{happy.thursday}
aw

truth tuesday... & turkey chili

random, i know, but i'm in a total funk this week... ok, scratch that... i've been in a weird funk i can't get out of for about 3 weeks now. it's not like an "i'm pissed off at the world" kinda funk, but more of a fog that is lingering that i just can't seem to find my way out of.

i know, i know... this is my happy place and the truth is no fun, but honestly i have no idea what's going on with me & i just needed to throw that out there. i'm not even able to find my normal blog inspiration! eeeeeeeeekkkkk! i'm going to blame it on the sugar i've started eating again :)

it does NOT help that it has been cold & rainy here yesterday & today. i know we need the rain here in NC, but it is definitely not assisting in brightening my mood. so in an effort to lighten my spirits last night & enjoy the weather as it is, i made TURKEY CHILI.. and it was YUMTASTIC!!

e even said it was super yummy! i found this great website, simplyrecipes.com , yesterday while googling "turkey chili" & i'm very impressed. this recipe was a good one.

{enjoy}

aw

4 things i'm loving today...

1. anthro - little larsen posts earrings i totally splurged & bought these

pretty little lovelies at anthropologie last week. i love the red!

2. FAME! "remember my name!" e, her sister & i grew up dancing together with our mom's (& dads) watching our every competition & recital so it was only appropriate that e & i went with our moms & her sister over the weekend to see the new movie. with So You Think You Can Dance on the scene over the last few years, it was soooo amazing & inspiring to finally see people with an appreciation of the fine arts again. music & dance make my heart sing!

3. and continuing with my love for the arts, i'm headed tonight to see a chorus line that's in town. excited for a wonderful night out on the town with the parents & e

4. chocolate... who doesn't love chocolate?!? especially when it's DOVE dark chocolate with almonds... yummm!! today i got this lovely message in my chocolate wrapper that i will leave you with...

{inhale.exhale.smile}

{happy.tuesday}

aw

hypothetically

hypothetically, have you ever met a new someone so randomly and at the most unexpected time who captured your attention from the moment they walked into the door on that random tuesday night? introductions were made, conversation flowed so smoothly over common ground shared & you just felt yourself drawn to this person. you felt the spark of life emitting from their character & with every word they spoke you found yourself being drawn in just a little bit more, wanting to know more, not wanting the moment to end? finding yourself wanting to know their story, wanting to know where their passion for life stems from... and when the time came to walk away, you didn't want to go anywhere, didn't want the time to end?... you know...hypothetically speaking...

;)

morning rain + this picture from emersonmade

...seen on jenloveskev's twitter this morning...

gives me a strong desire to order some hunter boots today.

i think i need them

{need like a hole in my head}

but aren't they cute?!?

{happy.wednesday}

aw

hypothetically

hypothetically, have you ever had a person come into your life & later, looking back over the time you spent chatting, wonder how or why in the world your paths crossed & seemingly at the complete wrong time in life?? you so enjoyed the time & conversations while they were in your life, but then *poof* one day they disappear without warning... months go by, & one random day they cross your mind & you realize that you never heard back from them, & then you can't stop wondering where there are, what they are doing, & how they are, but don't want to cross any lines & be the one to contact them seeing as you were the last one to communicate with them? hypothetically speaking...

{just wondering}

aw

got a stinky sink?

so disposals kind of freak me off.

i feel like germs are just lurking down there.

ew. gross. freaks me out just typing that!

i've put lemon halves in the disposal before, but

while doing some mindless browsing with e yesterday at

bed, bath, & beyond she found THESE!!

i'm a sucker for anything like this especially when the price tag says $3.99.

if this will help clean my disposal & make it smell better, i'm all in!

so we bought them... we used... & our kitchen sink smelled lemony fresh!

{it made my sunday}