saturday things.

things that have happened today:

sleeping in ridiculously late

breakfast for lunch at our favorite diner/second home

christmas shopping from the couch

things that need to/will happen tomorrow:

early rising & trudging off to starbucks

generating & publishing the sunday currently

completing all application materials

cleaning the house... well, maybe that can wait for monday...

And, I mean... maybe my inbox needs a little bit of attention. What do you think?

on the other side.

Well, I've made it.

There were times when I didn't think it was going to be possible; there were times when I couldn't-freaking-wait for the semester to come to a close; there were times when I got sad realizing that one day it would [hello, I'm a school nerd]. 

But now, I have found myself on the other side of a very trying semester. And as of now, I know that I have As in two of my classes - Cultural Anthropology & STATISTICS! Getting an A in Statistics is probably one of my bigger scholastic accomplishments. I am grinning from ear to ear as I type this, & - not to mention - a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Now, we're playing a bit of a waiting game, & I look forward to sharing more when the time is right. 

Here's to endings... here's to beginnings!

friday's fancies #75: just a little bit of sparkle.

By the time you're reading this, I will be completely finished with the Fall Semester. Through Statistics, Anatomy & Physiology, Cultural Anthropology, & Ethics, I'm not going to lie - tears have been shed, victories have been celebrated, & much, much has been learned. Now, pardon me while I take on my biggest project for the next few weeks: re-reading the entire Harry Potter series.

sweater | jeans | nail polish | boots

Since this will be a weekend comprised mostly of cleaning up around the apartment - & probably some Christmas shopping - I thought I'd interpret this week's Friday's Fancies theme as an opportunity for some sparkly nails. On Wednesday night, we also started re-watching Dawson's Creek from the beginning, so I have a feeling we'll be watching a lot of that over the weekend. And this outfit would be perfect for an afternoon on the couch in front of the TV. [Can you believe the coziness of that sweater?]

fireside reading:

- I'm going to have to dig through my closet & see if I have any shoes I could upgrade with some glitz, like Megan did in this DIY.
- Joelle's message of courage really resonated with me earlier this week.
- A must-read by Laken.

link-up: Friday's Fancies on {long distance loving}

around here lately: nashville.

I'll soon be sharing a Nashville Snapshot post, in which I'll share a few images I captured on our DSLR as we explore the city, but today I wanted to share with you some things I captured on Instagram. Neither of us had been to Nashville before, so this trip was exciting! I love the energy of being in a big city, & I can't wait until we're back in a hustling, bustling metropolis.

a festive corner in asheville, north carolina

pots & pans dotting the garland

rainy downtown nashville lights

the view from our hotel desk, where i sat working on statistics

inside of jack's barbecue on broadway street

outside of jack's barbecue on broadway street

it was cold & rainy almost the whole time we were in nashville

justin by the tree at our hotel - the omni

myself by the tree

charming restaurant for brunch

a coaster i loved in restoration hardware

taking it all in at the country music hall of fame & museum

another view of downtown nashville

a wall of gold & platinum

our favorite part of the trip - dining at loveless cafe

If you're interested in reading about the food we indulged in while on our trip, it's all here. We had such a good time on this trip, & now we're just counting down the days to our next trip, which will be home to Shreveport for Christmas!

all it takes is a cup of coffee.

Some days, all it takes is a cup of coffee. And today is shaping up to be one of those days for me, luckily.

My alarm kept going off this morning, & I kept pretending like I was going to get up. I kept opening Twitter, opening Instagram, then waking up, realizing I had fallen asleep staring at the screen of my phone. I watched 9 a.m. pass by, I watched 10 a.m. creep up on me. And with each passing minute, I started getting stressed. 

YOUR STATISTICS FINAL IS TOMORROW... GET. UP. 

ETHICS TOO. YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.

My inner cheerleader had taken the tone of a disgruntled life coach. 

But I stayed in bed, because I stayed up late last night, & I knew I needed just that little bit more sleep. That's something I've been trying lately - listening to my body, letting it tell me what it needs. Hungry even though it's not meal time? That means I need to eat something. So tired that I know if I get out of bed, I'll be grumpy for the entire day? Stay in bed just a little bit longer. It sounds counter-intuitive, I know, especially for someone who is always striving to be a little bit healthier, someone who is always striving to be a morning person. But I promise you, listening to your body works. And it goes a long way toward producing just a little bit more happiness in your daily life.

And, you know what? Sometimes all it takes is a cup of coffee. To get me going. To get me on the right track. To get excited about my tasks.

To actually get them done.

grub: the most important part of any road trip.

seasons eatings from loveless cafe!

If you've been stalking #siddastravellog on Twitter or Instagram for the past couple of days, then you'll be privy to the fact that we have had some interesting & wonderful food experiences both on the road to Nashville, as well as within Music City. I thought I'd share a bit!

On the road there, we stopped at Tupelo Honey Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina. I have been wanting to see Asheville since Justin & some of our friends visited back in 2011. I thought the downtown was charming, with its festive Christmas wreaths & musicians singing on the side of the road. The highlight of Asheville, though, was our stop at Tupelo Honey Cafe for an early dinner. Not only was it just about the coziest restaurant ever, with its dark wood finishings, twinkle lights, & garland drapings, but also, our food was delicious. Justin got a root beer infused pork chop dish, & I had the shrimp tacos. His was the clear winner, although I thoroughly enjoyed my side of goat cheese grits. We also shared a pimento cheese dip as an appetizer, which was top notch.

On our first night in Nashville, we had dinner at Jack's BBQ, which is an iconic stop along Nashville's Broadway Street. We helped ourselves to three different barbecue sauces - Tennessee, Texas, and Kansas City - to accompany our heaping plates of ribs, sausage, brisket, beans, coleslaw, & bread. It was a formidable meal indeed, & although good, we have found ourselves spoiled to the delicacy that is Carolina Barbecue, which we decided that we prefer. We are so glad we got to try Jack's though.

After Jack's, we walked down the street to Whiskey Bent Saloon, where we enjoyed an Apple Toddy, a Makers on the rocks, & some good country karaoke. The warm atmosphere & warm drink were such a festive treat!

The next morning, we trekked to 417 Union, which, as our concierge told us, is a place the locals love. Justin's biscuits & gravy were delectable, as was my bagel & lox. The war-time photos hung on the walls were captivating as well.

During a bit of a flop of a trip to the Nashville Farmers' Market, we stumbled upon a little crepe stand. As I had never indulged in one, we ordered a cinnamon sugar selection. We found out quickly that sweet crepes should always include Nutella & fruit of some sort, & have stored that knowledge away for another day.

Probably our favorite part of the entire trip was when we drove out of the city to arrive at Loveless Cafe. At first we balked at the hour & fifteen minute wait time, but the whole experience was well worth it. We perused the on-site shops as we waited, & before we knew it, our buzzer was going off, alerting us our table was ready. Here we enjoyed some of the fluffiest, most delicious made-from-scratch biscuits with fresh fruit preserves in peach, strawberry, & blackberry. The chicken fried steak, sausage gravy, hash brown casserole, & pancakes were spectacular. We talked about our experience at this place for days afterward, & we hope to one day return.

Now that my stomach is rumbling at the memory of all these meals, I think it's time to leave you all with visions of root beer glazed pork chops & hash brown casserole dancing in your heads...

a close call indeed.

Well, we thought my trusty MacBook was kaput.

It was our last night in Nashville, & I was getting ready to put together a little post about the food we'd experienced on our travels thus far. I got out of the shower, post-workout, & Justin told me my computer had crashed & wasn't re-booting. He tried for a long time that night to fix it [he's somewhat of a computer whiz, if you didn't know], but nothing was working. Our last hope was one of the disks my computer came with [which somehow I've held onto since I got this computer in 2010... a small miracle, folks], & luckily, it worked!

I'm so glad my laptop is back in working order, but that little interruption of services means that my blogging schedule was thrown off a bit, & with finals happening this week, I don't know if I'll catch back up for the next few days or not. We shall see, folks, we shall see.

Here's what you can expect coming up on the blog soon:

a food post from our travels

an around here lately post from our travels

some more posts where i just write, kind of like this one

mayyyyybe a christmas wish list post - i haven't decided yet

probably a friday's fancies post

... and, of course, the sunday currently.

I hope you are all having a fantastic week. Good luck if you're having finals, like I am!

the sunday currently, volume 64.

the view from our tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame last night

Good morning from a very cold & foggy Nashville! After I finish this post, I believe I'm going to head to the hotel gym, which coincidentally, is extremely nice. We have greatly enjoyed out stay at this hotel, & I think tomorrow we will both be a bit sad to leave.

R E A D I N G Mockingjay aloud to Justin while he drives tomorrow. We did this with Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows a few years ago. And in other news, by the end of this coming week, I'll be reading Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone!
W R I T I N G one of my very final to-do lists for this semester. As of now, it includes "Ethics Final" & "Stats Final," & I think it's going to stay that way. We're in the home stretch, folks!

L I S T E N I N G to the She & Him & Michael Buble Christmas albums when I get home, I've decided.

T H I N K I N G that I'm so glad we got to take this trip to Nashville. It's been so relaxing! And so much fun to explore a new city.

S M E L L I N G nothing. My sinuses are acting up, big time! 

W I S H I N G we could stay here for a couple more days. Alas, Wilmington is calling!

H O P I N G  that I am never in a tiny plane being piloted by Don Draper. That was my dream last night, & it was a weird one.

W E A R I N G pajamas.

L O V I  N G the deal we stumbled upon in Macy's yesterday afternoon - I got a pair of shoes that was originally $85, for $17! Amazing!

W A N T I N G to get our Christmas shopping complete soon.

N E E D I N G to get our Christmas shopping complete soon.

F E E L I N G a little tired, despite going to bed early & sleeping in. Must be all the Nashville excitement!

C L I C K I N G my school website. Because, you know, finals. They're going to be complete this week. 

What are you doing? Link up & share below.

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this week's posts:

the sunday currently, volume 63.

a love of houses.

on creativity & its timeline.

on the seriousness of selling yourself short.

off to nashville.

friday's fancies #74: party-time!

friday's fancies #74: party-time!

Greetings from downtown Nashville! We arrived around 9:30 p.m. last night, ushered in by fits of pouring rain & fog. To say that I am happy we made it here safely is an understatement, but now that we're safely tucked into our hotel room, I'm really enjoying being in Music City for the first time ever. As I peer out of our 14th-floor view of the skyline, I already know this city is going to be one I'd like to visit again in the future.

dress | shoes

This week's Fridays Fancies theme is Party Perfect, & I think, with the addition of some opaque black tights & rich red lipstick, the above would more than fit the bill. Being surrounded by Christmas trees, tinsel, & warm, inviting light in the lobby of our home for the next few days definitely has me in the spirit to attend a festive fete. And happily I would, donning the frock above.

fireside reading:
- On Monday, I guest-posted over on 702 Park Project, sharing my favorite homes.
- This post by Sarah. That's all I have to say. A million times, this post.
- I thought this post from Jen about affiliate links was interesting. I think that blogging is such a personal, individual thing. You have to decide for yourself what's right for you: using affiliate links, accepting sponsors, etc. But it is the sole choice of the blogger, you know? Why should I care if someone earns commission if I click on a link or watch an ad? They've put in the work, I like their blogs & YouTube channels, so why would I not want them to benefit from it? That's my stance on the matter, at least. I let them do them, & I do me. Everyone wins.

link up: Friday's Fancies on {long distance loving}

off to nashville.

Today, after a quick pop into my Ethics class, we will be on the road to Nashville! 

I'm bubbling with excitement: another new city to explore, another reason to pull out our DSLR & click-click-click, another lineup of restaurants at which to sample the local fare. Eeeee!

Care to follow along on our journey? It will be documented on Twitter & Instagram. Or you can simply stalk the hash tag #siddastravellog.

photo taken on our honeymoon in portland, maine

on the seriousness of selling yourself short.

I am guilty of something.

On its surface, it doesn't really seem that serious. Maybe just a blip on the radar, maybe just producing a couple of turned heads or shuffling feet or shifting eyes. Maybe producing a little bit of disappointment among my loved ones. Maybe producing just a little bit of disappointment within myself.

But it's there. And it manifests itself through weeks of silence in my ink & paper journals, months of practical silence here in this space, as I mask myself with photos & outfit boards & not-really-writing that I tend to put out when I'm falling back into this detrimental behavior.

It's nothing serious - nothing to be scared of. But, it's there. And then again, it manifests itself through a closing-off of myself. Through a sort of denying, a sort of squelching of identity. A forgetting of who I am, what I like, what I'm meant to do. 

I am guilty of selling myself short.

And, you know, maybe it is something serious. Maybe it is something I need to work my hardest to eliminate from my life. Maybe it is something worth fighting.

We only have one life to live here on this Earth, & I don't know about you, but I'd like mine to be the best, the fullest, the most-effort-given kind of time there can be. And that kind of time doesn't happen when you feel as though your all is not worth anything, or that your all is not enough. 

So, I'll fight. I won't let what I'm guilty of win. Because it simply doesn't deserve to.