My Current Color Crush

Have you ever gotten a color stuck in your head? I know if I have a T. Swift song in my head for days, the best way to shake it off is to just listen to it. Somehow listening to the song that's stuck in your head makes it un-stuck. It seems counter-intuitive, but it always works for me! With that logic, I figured the best way to get a color un-stuck from my head is making a blog post about it. I'll let you know if it works.

Anyway, for some reason I can't get this chartreuse shade outta my brain! I've been planning for a while to use different neutrals, blues and blush in the living room of my new loft, and in the back of my head, I keep thinking I'll add in a little chartreuse. Merry and I toured the loft a couple months before our lease began, and when we got to move-in day, I was pleasantly surprised our hanging kitchen lights are this exact color. (Which is probably why I've been thinking about it... because it was Inception'd into my brain.)

So, here's a little mood board inspired by Mrs. Meyer's and my current favorite summery shade:

Links: (1/2/3/4/5)

I love how this color can feel young and vibrant, but in small doses, it can also feel sophisticated and modern (lookin' at you, West Elm rug!) I've also had to talk myself out of buying that Target candle (number two) about four times by now. P.S. If you're local to Springfield, MO, you can get the Capri Blue candle (number three) at The Market — it's one of the pretty things pictured in "The Dos and Don'ts of Burning Candles."

Leaving you with this lamp (also from West Elm) because, well, just look at it!

Heart-eyes emoji for days! Any colors you've been loving lately?

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Letters are Forever

My dear friend, Lindsay, surprised me this week with some sweet snail mail. It wasn't anything that required a box or a bow; it probably only took her about 5 minutes and 50 cents. She simply said she was thankful for our friendship, but getting that fun little letter in the mail was the highlight of my day.

It's really amazing how much a teensy sacrifice (5 minutes!) can mean to another person. Lindsay's letter didn't say anything earth-shattering or groundbreaking, but it was note-worthy. She reminded me that I should make a point to start writing some letters, myself! Ink on paper adds an extra-special touch to a message by making the communication more intentional.

Lindsay could have told me she was thankful for our friendship via text, Facebook, email, Skype, or Twitter, but letters are forever. Love you, Linds!

P.S. Is this blog post forever?
P.P.S. Nick Warnock let me borrow his 50mm prime lens for this post, and I'm enjoying learning how it works!

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Adventure Fund

If you have a Pinterest board that has the word "adventure" or "wanderlust" in the title, then this post is for you. After dreaming about these images, I decided to DIY-myself a jar and see how much change I could save.

I read that the TSA makes over $400,000 a year from change left at checkpoints (whoa.), so I decided my pocket change would probably add up faster than I'd expect. In fact, my aunt and uncle once bought a fridge from change they collected over time! I'm inspired.

I put two lines on the side of my jar with washi tape, so I'll see my progress and celebrate once I reach a goal! Decorating the jar was easy as pie, and I'm glad I did because now I feel more motivated to put my spare change in the special adventure fund, complete with zig-zaggy goal markers. It's very official.

Here's to saving some change and going on bigger adventures! I'm thinking Paris and Milan. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Clearly, I've already saved at least enough to get to Branson.

Au revoir, ciao, bisous, sayonara! 

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Keeping Christmas Green

Christmas is coming! If you're like me, you've bought about 2 gifts so far, and you're getting ready to start the marathon shop-til-you-drop-and-wrap-a-bunch-of-presents challenge. I recently learned that wrapping paper, ribbon, and shopping bags account for about 4 billion tons of trash each year in the U.S. 4 billion tons! Here's my idea on how to keep Christmas green:

I wrapped these gifts in vintage scarves. The bonus here is not only do you have a pretty, uniquely wrapped gift, but it's a 2-fer for another present! This idea is great for any friend who drives a Prius or carries a reusable shopping bag to Whole Foods.
...Or anybody who likes scarves. So, basically everyone.

Each of these presents are books (gasp! I'm sure you never could have guessed that.) Scarves are good shapes for wrapping books or other small items. If you're wrapping an item that's larger than a scarf (like a Swiffer or something), you could reuse anything (e.g., yesterday's newspaper) for a recyclable gift-wrap. Other ideas include: leftover tinfoil or saran wrap.

Okay, just kidding about those last two. Happy gifting!

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Keep Calm and Yarn Bomb

So, the Springfield Art Museum got bombed… By yarn!

Yarn bombing is apparently a thing, who knew? I didn't, so I learned about it. Here's some fun facts about yarn bombing: 

It is also referred to as guerrilla knitting or graffiti knitting, and in some jurisdictions, it is illegal. The sculpture in front of the art museum was yarn bombed by the IdeaXFactory in Springfield. They were invited to do this installation, so no need to scan the mugshots for these knitters.

Trees are commonly bombed. Often, yarn bombers will create materials in a studio or home and then transport them to the location of the installation. 

Yarn bombing is thought to have been originated in Texas in 2005. 

However, Americans aren't the only ones who enjoy guerrilla knitting. On June 11, 2011, a Canadian woman founded International Yarn Bombing Day. 

The installation had lots of fun little sections, and it would make for a good game of "I Spy." This bacon and eggs part was my favorite. 

My friend Lindsay came with me to check out the sculpture post-yarn-explosion. She's inspecting the installation in this photo.

While I was viewing the installation, I ran into a woman who worked on it, and she said that over 20 people had helped put it together. They put a lot of hard work into creating something to make people smile, and I think they did a good job! Go ahead and Google Image search yarn bombing. You'll be glad you did.

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