Thoughts on Thursday!

Linking up with Nat and Annie today!

1. Prissy's Ponytails: After a long hiatus my Etsy shop is back up and running! You can check out the shop here! There are some fun new prints and I am still adding more to the shop. If you haven't yet tried fold-over elastic hair ties I suggest you do-- I love them because they fit nicely around my wrist and don't give my hair much (if at all) of a ponytail bump so I can take my hair down after work and not have to re-wash again if I don't want to. A quick spin with a curling brush and it's as good as new! 

2. The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up: I recently started reading this book about organizing your entire home and it's pretty amazing. I am not very far in but I was already inspired to clean out two closets in my house and get rid of all of the things that don't bring me joy. I ended up with two trash bags filled with stuff and it is a great feeling! Here is the description from Amazon:

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). 

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

VIA

Happy Thursday, friends! I had a two-hour delay this morning so my Thursday is off to a pretty good start! 

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

I cannot believe we are almost at the end of January 2015. As usual, time is flying by and it will be June before we know it!

Here are some things I hope to make happen in 2015:

Travel... 2014 was a great year in regards to traveling! I finally made it to Europe which has been on my bucket list forever! We also traveled to NYC, Pawley's Island, SC, Seneca Lake, NY, Atlanta, GA and finished the year off with a trip to Pittsburgh, PA. 2015 will hopefully be filled just as much travel for us with trips tentatively planned for Louisville, KY, Vail, CO and Las Vegas, NV (for me), a trip to the Pacific Northwest, and hoping to fit in a vacation with my family as well! I truly love traveling and hope to focus on it and do lots of it in 2015!

Venice, Italy


Seneca Lake, NY


New York City

Burger at BRGR in Pittsburgh

Read... This is something I love to do but sometimes I find myself opting for my phone instead of books... anyone else do this? Last year, I set my Goodreads (follow me!)goal at 30 books but only read 13. I set my goal at 30 again this year and I really hope I accomplish it. I've already read one book, Astonish Me, and it was so so good! It took me a little time to get into but I ended up loving it. I am currently working my way through Wild, which I have to admit I am not loving as much as apparently everyone else in the world. If you read it, please tell me it gets better! I have so many books on my to-read list! 

VIA 

Watch... I am totally watching Friends from beginning to end on Netflix! I am on episode four of the first season and I am loving re-watching all of these episodes... such a great show! I also want to start Jane the Virgin.. I haven't heard much about it but Gina Rodriguez was so beautiful and inspiring at the Golden Globes that I can't help it!

VIA 

VIA

Relationships... I want to connect more with my friends in more meaningful ways. Every now and then, G and I will FaceTime with our friends in various places across the country and it is always so much fun! I want to do that more and call more and write meaningful emails more. I want to attempt to physically see them and actually follow through with it.  Life is really all about relationships and if I don't invest in them what do I really have?  I want to do more activities around the city with G and I want us to spend more Saturday mornings being active and doing things together.. and less mornings being lazy! G works long hours and is out of town often, I don't work long hours but I do work a physically and mentally demanding job so it is often that we are watching TV while looking at our phones instead of talking and connecting on the weeknights. I want to change that.

I am excited for what this year has in store for us and I hope it brings us just as much joy, laughter, and adventure as the previous years!

I've seen most everyone's posts about 2015 and I am wishing you all the best of luck in making all of your dreams come true in 2015!