friday's fancies #49: dress yourself.

nothing makes me happier than wearing black & navy together [well, except for wearing brown & black together, probably]. that's why i would happily don this navy frock with black tights, black shoes, & a black clutch. because that's just the way i roll.

this week's friday's fancies theme is dress yourself, so that's why i pulled together a collection of items that remind me of, well, me. navy is - by far - one of my favorite colors. my love of pearls dates back to my college days. t-strap shoes have a special place in my heart. studs? i'm in. the coming of cooler days makes me happy simply because it means i'm allowed to wear one of the coziest clothing items ever: tights. and sometimes a bolder lip is easier to pull off if it's in gloss form. that's why all the items below represent me. and i'd happily own any - or all - of them.

dress | earrings | clutch | shoes | lip gloss | tights

it's true: right now i'm unemployed. so when justin & i get dressed up for an office christmas party, it will be his. but i am so excited, because that will mean i'm finally getting to meet all of his coworkers!

no shopping allowed | fragrance frenzy | TSC | around here lately | living near the beach | to listen to | home as a sanctuary

link up: friday's fancies \ {long distance loving}

on home as a sanctuary.

thinking of home as a place of sanctuary, as a haven, isn't exactly a new idea, is it? 

still, i feel driven by that idea. i light candles. i try to keep things clean [as clean as a procrastinator can]. i arrange objects on our tables, knick-knacks from our lives that remind us of happy times, of memories. 

i put our tea kettle out on the stove top, even though i still haven't used it yet. i turn on specific lights when the sun starts to go down - the type of lights that make the room glow, rather than harsh lights beaming down from the ceiling. 

and though i do these things, i know we still have a ways to go before i walk through our front door & feel completely at ease. but, i think that this transition period is one i'll look back fondly on. the time we were building our home, making it really ours. filling it with our favorite things, alongside the things that are just requirements of our daily lives.

and don't even get me started on what it'll be like when we get our first married christmas tree. this week, we've observed tinsel-covered trees from outside our neighbors' windows. that glow they emit, that warmth they promise... it's heady, it's intoxicating. and, well, christmas tree smell... need i say more?

soon i hope to share images of our tree. in our house. our living room.

and then i'll walk through the front door & feel that feeling, smell that smell. and i know it'll be like walking into a safe haven, a promise of reassurance & comfort.

photo: mahogany teakwood \ instagram

to listen to.

WHY AM I THE ONE | fun.

LAST YEAR | best coast

THIN LINE | honeyhoney

HO HEY | the lumineers

STARS (HOLD ON) | youngblood hawke

RUNAWAYS | the killers

THE KING AND ALL OF HIS MEN | wolf gang

DON'T SAY OH WELL | grouplove

GOLD | wake owl

AT HOME | crystal fighters

LET'S GO | matt & kim

LLOYD, I'M READY TO BE HEARTBROKEN | camera obscura

WHERE THE KIDS ARE | blondfire

FOREST WHITAKER | bad books

MICHICANT | bon iver

FEARLESS | taylor swift

COME OUT, COME OUT | i was totally destroying it

PUT THE GUN DOWN | zz ward

what are you listening to? i'm about to add some christmas tunes to this list...

photo: wrightsville beach \ instagram

on living near the beach.

since moving to wilmington permanently nearly one month ago, i've been dreaming of heading to the beach, bundled up, with a warm drink to wrap my hands around. actually, i've been dreaming of it much longer than only one month, but finally, two days ago, it actually happened. 

we drove up, snagged a [hopefully legal] parking spot, & made our way out onto the cool, drafty sand. true, we only remained long enough to snap a couple photos & remark on the peaceful nature of the place, but it seemed to be an indication of what we have to look forward to in the coming months - the summer months. what will it be like to trek to the beach any day of the week? to lie out on the sand with a good book on a slow saturday morning?

that is something i cannot wait to find out.

until those warmer days, i guess we'll be occupying ourselves with tasks such as acquiring a parking pass [and continuing to get our house together]. but, it's something to look forward to, for sure.

photo: wrightsville beach \ instagram

around here lately.

our first few weeks together here in wilmington have consisted of lots of eating & arranging. job searching. 

using the map app to drive around. mailing packages. writing. dreaming. thanksgiving, with its horrible, horrible 

lemon pound cake that had to be thrown away. starbucks. 

you know, all the essentials.

photos: instagram

the sunday currently, volume 10.

the start of the christmas season is always such an exciting time! 

justin & i are planning to get our first christmas tree together soon.

today, though, we are grabbing starbucks & heading to the beach!

reading... or should i say, re-reading, twilight. i know, crazy right? the truth is, i genuinely enjoyed the books when i read them back in 2008. the movies majorly turned me off to the whole story [which made me sad]. but now, i am wanting to re-visit the books & see how i feel about them this time around. i have also decided on my next nook book, & i started it last night: les liasons dangereuses, by choderlos de laclos. yes, the book that provides the basis for the movie cruel intentions. i love that movie, & according to the reviews i read last night, the book is even better [big surprise]. i'm excited. 

writing, writing, writing. in ink & paper journals, in planners, via blogger, & on notepads. as far as i'm concerned, there is little better than brand new gel pens & fresh, crisp, never-been-written-on paper.

listening to the playlist i made this week, songs from wilmington, & brainstorming which christmas songs i'll add to it.

thinking about the purpose of this blog. 

smelling nothing. because sometimes my nose doesn't work. seriously. but on friday, justin & i bought the most delicious-smelling candles from bath & body works. yesterday, we burned mahogany teakwood for a while. yum. we both love it.

wishing for a beautiful first married christmas for justin & me.

hoping to find a job soon.

wearing cute & cozy pajamas, as well as a massive, soft blanket. 

loving everything. it's been a great few days in the christy household. lots of exciting things coming up!

wanting to hurry over to starbucks. i'm craving a gingerbread latte.

needing to see our family & friends. the two of us have been missing those crazy fools. ;)

feeling like i need to work out. doesn't this go without saying, considering the holiday we've just experienced? lots of food + no exercise = feeling gross. obviously.

clicking the sunday secrets. this one is my favorite this week.

now, go enjoy the rest of your thanksgiving weekend, folks. savor every last second. we will be.

a fragrance-frenzied wish list.

dior hypnotic poison | viktor & rolf flowerbomb | philosophy falling in love | tocca brigitte

to me, there is nothing like un-boxing a brand new perfume you've been gifted for christmas & immediately spraying it on your wrists, neck, & the scarf you're probably wearing. it's like an instant memory being made: from that point forward, every time you wear that scent, you're reminded of the christmas scene that was dancing before your eyes when you got your first big whiff of it. 

that's why i believe a fragrance is one of the best christmas gifts to give.

in the spirit of the christmas season now officially being in full swing, i decided to put together a little wish list of fragrances i'm craving. i tend to go for warm, sweet, musky, woodsy scents, & most of those pictured here fall somewhat in those categories. the only one shown here that i have not yet had the pleasure of dousing myself with, is the tocca selection. i once smelled it in an anthropologie two years ago, & i have never forgotten it. i tend to believe that means i'm meant to have it in my collection one day.

which scents are you craving for christmas?

friday's fancies #48: black friday, no shopping allowed.

i'm going to level with you here: i pretty much detest black friday shopping. and i've only done it once. 

it's something about the hoards of people going after the same items, the race to get it, the long lines you have to stand in at the check out... not being able to turn a corner without bumping into someone. to me, that just doesn't sound like a good time. 

here's where it gets interesting: that one time i went black friday shopping i mentioned above? it wasn't all that bad. [i'm starting to think i just hate the idea of this shopping phenomenon]. in fact, i got a nice polo button-down for a fraction of its original cost. but i did have to stand in line. for the dressing room. and to check out. 

here's where it gets even more interesting: justin & i may brave the crowds this year for some black friday shopping. at an outlet mall. i mean, seriously, what are we thinking? i'm choosing to believe that it'll be an experience & that we'll come out of it with stories to laugh at later. you know, like the lady who snatched a belt out of the hands of an innocent co-shopper. or the people who played bumper buggies to duel over the play doh set. we'll see. 

skinnies | earrings | clutch | shoes | top | bracelet | watch 

[the watch is a bargain - perfect for people who like to stack a lot of things on their arms].

if we knew what was good for us, we'd probably just call it quits, stay at home & online shop all day, i'd get dressed up in this badass outfit, then we would go to a party at our friends' house. of course, this is all hypothetical, as i do not own said outfit [and probably will never own those shoes, let's be honest], & we have just moved to a new city & have no parties on the books to speak of. [although i'm pretty sure we have a work christmas party coming up, which i am very dorkily excited about!] so for now, i'll settle for the workout pants & tennis shoes i'll more than likely be sporting today, because that just means it's time to shop for a beautiful, sparkly, magical christmas party dress! [dork status confirmed].

psst: be on the lookout later today for a fragrance-frenzied wish list. can you guess what it will feature?

link up: friday's fancies \ {long distance loving}

thank you.

justin, thank you for the encouragement to dream big. 

for endless hours of brainstorming on what i should do with my life. 

for pushing me to pursue bigger & better things. 

for being hilarious.

family, thank you for our wedding. 

for giving me a job. 

for unconditional love, which is the best kind.

friends, thank you for phone calls. 

for heytell conversations. 

for random & meaningful photo text messages. 

for standing in my wedding. 
for loving me.

bloggers, thank you for words of wisdom. 

for inspiration. 

for tiny peeks into your life. 

for comfort, commiseration, hope. 

for friendship.

-----

this year, justin & i will be celebrating a quaint thanksgiving in our home, alone. we are cooking up a big feast, which is sure to feed us for days after the main event. and considering this is the first time for either of us to cook on this scale, i'm sure there will be a story or two to come out of this adventure...

see last year's thank you notes here.

what's in my makeup bag + video.

as i discussed in this week's volume of the sunday currently, last week i was experiencing some major bloggers' block. for that reason, one afternoon, i plopped down in front of my laptop & was struck with the sudden inspiration to revive my beauty-video-making. 

for those of you who don't know, i am a huge proponent of the youtube beauty community. i watch beauty videos during my workouts, in the evenings, in the mornings while getting ready... long story short, i watch them a lot. 

and since i put out a monthly love list, i had started incorporating a video into my posts. however, when i went back home to shreveport to finish planning my wedding, i had to leave my macbook with justin in north carolina, causing the videos to take a seat on the back-burner. but now... they're back!

e.l.f. eye shadow palette in netural.

wet-n-wild color icon palette in sparkle til morning.

benefit 10 powder.

mac mineralized skin finish natural in medium.

urban decay all nighter long-lasting makeup setting spray.

nyc smooth skin bronzing face powder in sunny. 

laura gellar blush n brigthen in honey dipped.

e.l.f. tinted moisturizer in porcelain.

e.l.f. blush & bronzer duo in blushed & bronzed.

e.l.f. blush in blushing rose.

e.l.f. blush in candid coral.

e.l.f. blush in pink passion.

rimmel london fix & perfect pro primer in 002.

prestige brow perfection shaping studio in light to medium.

estee lauder double wear light foundation in intensity 2.0.

milani eye tech liquid eye liner in black.

e.l.f. mineral infused mascara in black.

estee lauder sumptuous mascara in black.

hard candy glamoflauge heavy duty conealer in light.

mac paint pot in painterly.

maybelline instant age remind dark circle concealer.

garnier skin renew anti dark circle eye roller in light/medium.

revlon colorstay eyeliner in black.

revlon colorstay liquid foundation in nude.

mac eye shadow in all that glitters.

mac eye shadow in espresso.

ecotools limited edition beautiful expressions kabuki set.

neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup in natural ivory.

l'oreal voluminous carbon black mascara.

e.l.f. wet gloss lash & brow clear mascara.

into watching vlogs?

check out my corresponding what's in my makeup bag video here or just click below to watch.

wilmington snapshot: hugh macrae park.

today - in a burst of newfound productivity -

i got up early, had a cup of coffee, & set out to visit hugh macrae park 

[one of the things on my wilmington before-the-end-of-the-year bucket list!]

i've been thinking about this park
& the jogs i would take there for months now.
when justin was interviewing for jobs here,
i would drive around & try to orient myself.
as i drove down oleander, i would always spy
little snippets of a walking trail, framed by pine trees,
 & i would think to myself... 'there's my park.'

 

 

and now it quite officially is.

i'm looking forward to many-a-jog there,
as well as many photos taken of the beautiful, serene surroundings.

photos: hugh macrae park \ iphone

the sunday currently, volume 9.

well, to say this week was not a good one for writing & blogging for me, would be an understatement. i really hate when i have weeks [or months] like that - where i feel almost no inspiration whatsoever - but i'd be lying if i said it never happens. usually, i try to at least put something out there, even when i'm not feeling it. but this time, i decided i'd rather put up nothing at all, rather than, well, half-assing it. i'm already feeling better about the coming week, already writing things down, scribbling away on ink & paper. and i'm happy about that.

what do you do when you experience writers' block? bloggers' block? 

please share your tips on getting re-inspired.

reading [you're not going to believe this, but...] still the happiness project. 
writing a business plan. yes, you heard right. more on this in the coming weeks.
listening to sporadic rain & cars zooming down the road. i hope it rains all day.
thinking that i am so grateful that diane taught me to knit a couple of years ago. i've made a scarf this year that i'm absolutely obsessed with. it's cream & thick & so soft. i wear it absolutely all the time. it'll definitely show up in my november favorites post.
smelling freshly brewed pumpkin spice coffee. it's over in the kitchen, & i'm in the living room on the couch, typing away at this post. when i finish this sentence, i'm getting up to get it.
wishing i could find a little bit more motivation from day to day. i would like to find a job soon. not having one is harder than i ever thought. it's not just endless free time.
hoping all of my big plans have a way of panning out. i'm actually excited about them.
wearing my favorite black stretchy pants [that need to be replaced - they are really long & the bottoms have begun to rip], along with a black shirt. oh, & the hairstyle i was sporting yesterday. it was one of those fall-into-bed-already-asleep nights last night. which means i didn't remove my makeup & my face feels gross right now.
loving how my new blog design is coming together, & the fact that i'm doing it myself. i've decided the new design will go live at the beginning of the new year. i'm glad i'm giving myself time to perfect it before putting it out there [i'm usually an impulsive person - i've almost instituted the new design already, even though i haven't gotten it exactly the way i want it].
wanting to get the house completely clean today, including all the laundry washed. if you know me, this is a big feat. laundry is my least favorite chore, of all.
needing to drink about twenty gallons of water today. i feel so dehydrated... just from not drinking enough water. also: needing to go to the grocery store today. and clean the house. also, needing to loosen up.
feeling a full-body soreness. i guess the combination of working out & not sleeping well at all takes a toll on your body after a while.
clicking the sunday secrets. and the purl bee for inspiration for some more knitting pieces. i've also been doing a lot on pinterest lately.

photo: yesterday's happy soup \ iphone

what are you doing?

our wedding in photos: a prelude.

with today marking our one month anniversary of marriage, i wanted to share some photos from our wedding weekend. i've grappled with how to write about our wedding here on the blog, since i know just how many pictures, details, & memories i have to sift through & try to categorize in some fashion. 

since i have a seemingly endless supply of talented friends & family, there were photos upon photos taken with iphones, DSLRs, etc. and on top of all of that, shana & brit from shana burke photography were there to professionally capture some great images. with this overwhelming number of images came a lot of stress, trying to decide which images to share on my blog, which to keep private, etc. so i've decided to just share them as i see fit, with no real rhyme or reason. the photos in this post today are taken by me, my mom, my dad, or my sister. after shana gives me the disc with all the photos she & brit took, i plan to create a big ole wedding photos post, including the images my talented friend, lindsey, captured. i'm really excited to share those posts here, but they are a long time coming, as i want to make sure they're well put-together.

thus, i've decided to start off the coverage of our wedding with a little prelude, if you will. these images capture some of the quiet moments after we arrived at nottoway, before all the festivities began. the venue for our wedding was very significant for me, & i savored all the moments spent there for our wedding weekend. 

with all of that being said, let's jump into the photos!

and happy one month anniversary to my wonderful husband!

it's overwhelming - even now, one month later - to look back over these images & remember the feeling of anticipation i experienced just before the wedding. justin & i are so blessed to have had such a memorable wedding weekend. we couldn't have asked for more. 

photos: nottoway \ iphone

to view some of the photos lindsey took, please see this post & this post.

a little piece of elliott smith.

justin & i were watching the texas a&m/alabama game while i was making this graphic. justin said, 'doesn't blue mean sad? why would you want to paint tomorrow sad?' it's funny, because i've always thought of 'paint tomorrow blue' as signifying hope, or beauty. kind of like painting a fresh canvas for the next day. but i can't ignore justin's question, because it makes sense. elliott smith is one of my all-time favorite artists, & he had a very tumultuous life. maybe he was painting tomorrow sad. are you an elliott fan? what do you think he meant?

photo: cross lake in shreveport, louisiana \ iphone

quote: from in the lost & found [honky bach] \ elliott smith

the sunday currently, volume 8.

reading not one thing! i haven't even picked up my nook since i've arrived here in wilmington - & when i did last night, the battery was dead. now i'm on a mission to find the charger. because i must [absolutely must] finish the happiness project this week. i'm writing it on my to-do list, which means it will be done.

writing not nearly enough. i found a little ink-and-paper journal that i had started not too long ago, to simply record my daily feelings. i think maybe i'll get back into that this week. it provides a lot of insight into myself.

listening to cars zoom by. we have a corner apartment on a busy road, so sometimes there is a lot of noise. i don't mind, though, because i absolutely love our apartment.

thinking that my new lease on life is going to be a lot more productive. and satisfying. and happiness-producing. maybe one day i'll write about the epiphany i had. but for right now, i'm just stewing in its new-ness.

smelling freshly-brewed pumpkin spice coffee. need i say more? i think i'll keep the pumpkin spice around until the day after thanksgiving. that's when i like to begin celebrating the christmas season. for me, the anticipation of listening to christmas songs, putting up christmas decorations, etc., is what makes it so special. plus, i love the fall time holidays, halloween & thanksgiving. i don't like the idea of rushing right through them.

wishing bad dreams didn't exist. last night, i had my first nightmare since moving here. it was horrible, & i am still tired, because i didn't sleep well. 

hoping that i can continue to have phone dates with my lovely friends. i got to talk to laura on friday afternoon, & i really think it made my entire weekend that much better. it's so important to stay in touch with your friends. and it provides a comfort & understanding like no other.

wearing a huge yellow sweater & black yoga pants. i know, charming. but i am about to get dressed, because we are going for breakfast, then hopefully seeing the new bond movie. i love bond movies. 

loving that i finished my scarf this past week. it is cozy & just how i wanted it to be. i probably could have made it a bit longer, but i'll save that for the next one. i am so glad diane taught me to knit a couple of years ago. i've really enjoyed being able to use a skill to create something!

wanting to get more christmas shopping done. justin & i bought our inaugural christmas present last night, & it felt SO GOOD to begin what is sometimes quite stressful. [i may not want to start celebrating christmas just yet, but there's no time too soon to begin christmas shopping, seriously.]

needing to have a good stretch. my body has been aching a lot lately, & my muscles are so sore. i think it's because i've been working out, yet neglecting to stretch. i should know better, really. i think i'll look up some stretching videos on youtube tomorrow.

feeling quite sore, like i said above. i do plan to remedy that this week, though.

clicking the reading list i've compiled of my favorite blogs. everything you'll find on that list is, in my opinion, the best of the best in inspiration & entertainment [why does this sound like a commercial? i mean this stuff, people!]. i was clicking through it last night & realized there are some bloggers i need to add to that list. so be sure & check it out later this week, as i'll try to add them tomorrow. something else i've been clicking? jenna marbles videos. they. are. hilarious. oh, & i'm not clicking the sunday secrets because i read them when they went up promptly at midnight.

what are you doing?