1 Photo

Our friends Dani and Craig got married on Friday. This is me with a few of my college girlfriends trying to take a "mirror pic" together. (Strange tradition we started???) Anyway, I failed miserably at taking any good photos the entire night... so I thought this was a funny one to share to sum up the evening. Sean and I didn't even get a good shot of the two of us. This is a trend we have going,..every time we get dressed up and look nice, we forget to take a picture together. 

Favorite Blogs

Cupcakes and Cashmere
I've been reading this blog for several years now. (I think I found it when I was wedding planning.) I love Emily's style, recipes, and home decor advice. She's like a modern-day Martha Stewart!

The Kitchn
It's kind of funny that I check out this blog everyday and then don't cook anything. But I do... I pin lots of recipes, and I've made a few. The recipes on the site are always fairly simple (read: Aileen doesn't completely destroy the kitchen making them), and they always have interesting articles about kitchen gadgets, organization, and cleaning. I also like the articles they share from sister site, Apartment Therapy, for home decor inspiration.

Wit & Delight
Kate Arends is the original author of this blog, and has fairly recently added a few contributors as well. I love the all-encompassing reach of the posts: fashion, food, travel guides, business/creative advice. This post and this one back in the spring were particularly inspiring and interesting to me.

Tomboy Style
Fashion, old photos, quotes from and interviews with awesome ladies, peeks at adventures to beautiful places and the occasional discussion on feminism... I just love all of it! And blog author Lizzie Garrett Mettler just announced a new project that looks very exciting for future wish list pinning! (We'll see if I'll be able to afford it in real life.)

Lucille and Found
This is my newest blogging discovery! I love everything about this concept... couple Adam and Mary saved up their money and quit their jobs to travel across the U.S. on a (mostly) unplanned trip in their restored trailer, Lucille. Also, they just got engaged... Congrats!

yepindeed
Of course, I can't leave out my local favorite and the creator of this November's #30for30 blog challenge. Without this blogger, you wouldn't be hearing so much from me this month! Thanks Gray for the motivation and inspiration!

What are some of your favorite blogs to read everyday?

*All photos are linked to their respective blogs, or I've linked to them in each blog title.

If I could have any other job...

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

~Mark Twain 

 Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do "when I grow up." But I think in a perfect world where opportunity was just thrown at my feet, the job I would want to do most would be a travel writer. If someone would send me places and I could just take pictures and write about it, I probably wouldn't even ask for very much pay! (Hey, as long as I can feed myself...) Does anyone know how one gets into that sort of thing?

Also, I just checked out the other local blogs in the #30for30 challenge before I published this, and it looks like I'm in good company! :)

How I Brighten My Days

Lately, my days have been brightened with just a simple breakfast and coffee with my love. Sean's work schedule has been a bit more flexible this fall, and it's been a joy spending our mornings together.

P.S. Sorry this post is late… Wednesdays are my busy day at work and blogging just wasn't happening when I got home last night.

Favorite Instagram Accounts

I love Instagram. I just joined over the summer... because we didn't get smart phones until then! But I think Instagram is my new favorite form of social media and probably my favorite thing about having a smart phone.

humansofny

I love Humans of New York. Just getting that little snippet of everyday life from regular people is so cool to me.

garancedore

Garance's blog is one of my favorites, and her Instagram shots are so lovely. She always has good fashion and life advice, and is the ultimate in French-girl cool.

katiearmour

A cute pug, classic style, and she is always visiting somewhere interesting.

thesartorialist

I always enjoy the style of The Sartorialist's subjects... so varied and interesting. And it's always fun to read his commentary/points of debate regarding fashion, photography and culture around the world.

scoutonmarket

One of my favorite shops in Louisville is Scout, and I just found them on Instagram! I gotta keep up with what's new at the store! (It's a great spot for unique gifts for the upcoming holidays.)

thisisglamorous

Ok, this one is almost too pretty... it makes me think to myself, "Is this real life?" 

rhinegeist

Rhinegeist is a brewery in Cincinnati, and I recently started following them. Their space in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is so cool, and I love keeping up with what's new with them through Instagram (so I can try all the new brews every time I visit my parents).

If I could live anywhere...

Today's #30for30 topic is "If you could live anywhere." I really love living in Louisville, but if I could live anywhere else I would choose Spain. If I lived there, though, I would want to bring all of my family and friends, so I could still be close them! I went on a summer study abroad trip to Spain in college, and it's one of the most beautiful and enjoyable places that I've visited. I stayed in Madrid for a week, and then spent the remaining four weeks in a town north of there called Segovia.

My favorite spot in Madrid: Parque Retiro

In Segovia, we stayed with a host family. The family I stayed with was an older couple, Alfonso and Lola. Their two children were grown and lived out of the country. They lived in an amazing apartment in the old part of the city, just a few blocks from the Plaza Mayor (the city center).

My street in Segovia: Calle Mal Consejo (which means bad advice, ha!)

I really loved the culture in Spain. There is very relaxed nature towards things that is so much healthier than the American workaholic attitude. They take time to truly enjoy the good things in life. The people are very straightforward, which can be a little harsh at first. But it's not personal and once you get used to it, it's actually pretty awesome! They have siesta which is a long lunch in the afternoon, that often involves a nap... which is always a good idea in my opinion. Most people go home for lunch in the middle of the day to eat their main meal with family. Most businesses and shops close during that time too.

A park that surrounds the city of Segovia with a view of the castle Alcazar

Another big part of the culture there is the night life (which is probably why they have siesta in the first place!). Everyone goes out at night: old people, young people, parents and children... everyone. And this is at midnight even during the week. It's a way of staying connected to the larger community, and it's really something that I enjoyed and admired about living there. Our host "parents" even scolded my roommate and I for coming home "too early" one night, around 2:30 a.m. So we learned to stay out later after that! ;)

Roman Aqueduct

I would live in Spain if I could choose anywhere because I truly enjoyed the way of life that I experienced while I was there. It seemed like the people there truly knew what to value in their lives: family, friends and neighbors, their beautiful, historic yet modern country, and delicious food and drink.

1 Photo

Photo by Marlie Rife/Sixpence Photograpy

Sean's sister got married last month, and just got the photos to view from their photographer. It was a beautiful day spent with wonderful family and great friends. This shot pretty much sums up Sean and I... just every single day: him acting goofy and me just cracking up. Enjoy! :)