my favorite designer: amber interiors & a giveaway

So I have about 5 favorite interior design bloggers. One of the top ones is Amber Interiors. She has a fabulous shoppe and I drool over it constantly! She is doing a giveaway and I've been dying for one of her batik pillows for a good year now. Fingers crossed!! Head over here for details if you want to enter to win as well. Be prepared, however, to fight me for it! If you do win by chance I will probably hate you forever!! You can also check her out on instagram! Can you tell I'm obsessed?

WHAT I'M WEARING: the perfect midi dress + forever 21

One of my favorite places to shop for clothing is Forever 21. I'm trying to reign it in because so much of what they sell is trendy and cheaply made. It works good though for changing tastes and to add some of the trends into a wardrobe at a fraction of the cost elsewhere. Sometimes they have some very classic and timeless pieces that I just can't get enough of. Here is one of them--the Striped Midi Dress!

Source: forever21.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Seriously, I can't say enough good things about this dress. It fits loose enough where it needs to, its forgiving, I love the print, its modest, inexpensive (only $17.80), and can be paired with a blazer, denim vest, denim jacket, army jacket, floral scarf, flip flops, wedges, sandals, converse, booties, you name it! It can easily translate between fashion styles (hipster vs. preppy). Get it here or in stores! Love trends when they are modest too! Thank you midi dress and skirt!

Go check out my pinterest page for more of my fashion choices!

How to create a focal wall via Emily Henderson

Here's a great "how to" video on how to create a focal wall with art. Some awesome rules to keep in mind, like the 2/3 rule. She also has great tips with the gallery wall like filling the entire wall, having your larger piece in it off-center, and using different sized pieces. What do you think? Did you find it helpful? She's one of my favorite designers/stylists.

I wanna be...

I feel like one of those people who has mad potential but never goes anywhere.  I'd probably classify myself as a wannabe. In high school it resulted in no best friend or really close relationships and only being average at everything. Yes, I did excel in academics to a degree but I didn't have that much competition in my little rural school. If I'd grown up in a city like Eugene where we live now I don't know what I would have done. I'm sure I would have needed to choose one area and push myself in that direction. Instead I did some of this and that. One of my many regrets about my teenage years is that I wish I would have chosen one or two things and done great things and really perfected it and stuck with it throughout life.

This may be a part of my individual personality, to not commit to something 100% or get obsessed with some hobby. I would however like to feel like I have more things in life that I am good at and can put more of my mark on.

So, I've decided to start a first of a few new series to help with keeping blogging going this time around. It will help me to figure out what one or two things I want to really grab ahold of in life and which things will always just live on my "Wannabe List". My plan right now is to focus on one thing each month. I'll learn more about it, try it out, see if it's worth keeping around, and report.

Here's a list of things currently on my "Wannabe List" (aka bucket list of sorts):

• Cooking--baking has never been a strength and expanding my culinary skills in general. I've always wanted to go to culinary school.
• Painting--watercolors, oils, mixed media.
• Sewing--knitting, embroidery, and jazzing up my sewing skills in general which will require me to get my sewing machine fixed to start).
• Fashion Designer
• Interior Designer/Design Blogger
• Dance--ballet, modern.
• Swim--took lessons as a child and I think did well, but i have this fear and anxiety with my face in the water and taking breaths as a swim. I don't know what the problem is. I'd love to use swimming as a form of exercise.
• Sailing--this is a huge dream for me. One I will actually get to try out in July! It has been on my bucket list and Ryan actually gave me the chance to do it as part of my Christmas gift this past year. The sailing season in Oregon is shorter I presume so we had to wait until July. I'm hoping if I love it to start sailing lessons immediately follow as an early birthday present maybe? 
• Surfing--I've gone a few times but need to commit to it or just get rid of my board. I hate having to get up so early in the morning for the best tides or to wear a wetsuit and go in the freezing waters. 
• Kayaking--perfect for Oregon life.
• Reading--I've never been a good reader and so I just don't do it for pleasure very often.
• Rock Climbing
• Lobbyist
• Local Politician
• Soccer player
• Musician--violin, cello, guitar. Vocalist. Sunday night Ryan was playing his guitar and I told him that in a dream world he'd play his acoustic guitar and I'd be the singer and we'd write songs together. I don't know why I put perfection limitations on myself because this one is actually possible. Not professionally but for our own and maybe the enjoyment of our family and friends possible.
• Masters, PhD in something. I've never been able to commit to an area. I used to think it was law and I'd go to law school, then it was just political science (which is what my bachelors degree is in). Lately I've been considering Early Intervention because of my passion for it as a result of Gavin's autism. The next step for this would be GRE and applying by spring of 2014.
• Consultant
• Professor
• Photography

I'm sure there's more. I'll add to it as they come. Some, most are really achievable and practical things. I just have to decide and put my mind to it. That's really the biggest hurdle. Are you to same way? Lots of big dreams and no follow through? How have you overcome those hurdles?

back from the dead

I believe its been a whole nine months of departure from this life of blogging. I'm guessing no one has really missed my infrequent and subpar antics, but I will say, at times, I have missed writing. I definitely realize that I have little documented of the past 9 months and so for that I'm a little sad. Nothing exhilarating or life-changing has occurred, but I guess many little moments, miracles and memories have and those have meant all the world to me as we trudge through the tough stuff life brings.

So, here's to waking from the dead!

*image via here.