Flair

If Office Space took place today, Jennifer Aniston's character would have so many choices when it came to jazzing up her work uniform.  Enamel pins are seriously the biggest thing right now and I'm not complaining, because the variety is awesome and they're kind of like tiny affordable pieces of art. There are so many amazing pins out right now that it was really hard to narrow down my wishlist, but I somehow managed.

1/2/3/4/5/6

If you click a source, make sure you check out the other pins (and merchandise) these great shops have to offer too.  Now go get yourself some flair!

A Whole Lot of Walking To Do

One of the things I really love about my new job is that I get to go on court runs almost daily, getting me out of my office chair and up moving out in the fresh air.  I've been trying to walk on my lunch hour too, because our office is really centrally located and I love admiring the old architecture and imagining the town in all its former glory.  Let's not forget that good for my physical and mental health, too!  Back to that old architecture, though.  The town really is fully of lovely old buildings and I've been trying to snap some photos when I'm out walking.  Here are some of my favorites-

This my view walking back from Circuit Court.  I love the brick sidewalks and arched windows on the side of the building.

I shared this photo on my Instagram awhile ago.  This grand old building used to house a dinner theater where my grandma took me to see my aunt act in shows.  There's still a theater across the street and a school for the performing arts, so I think this small section of town is considered the theater district.  The street here is glittery, but it doesn't show in the photo.

There's a great cemetery behind this gorgeous church, but I haven't gotten to explore that just yet!  I think it's actually where the town's founder and namesake is buried.

Before you actually get to the square of town, there are the most grand old houses proudly standing on the hill.  I think a lot of them are apartments and offices now, but a few are still private homes.  I can't even imagine how amazing the interiors must look!

These last few photos were all taken on the same street and are especially close to my heart, because I used to live on this street.  This house is my favorite, partially because of the great statues along the front.

 Nearly all of the houses on this block of the street are lovely brick Victorian homes.  Again, I think most are now apartment buildings.  One used to be a bed and breakfast when I lived there.

This is the building where I used to live, the first apartment Donnie and I shared.  We were up on the top floor in a one bedroom apartment with hardwood floors, two great balconies, and even a separate dining room.  This is where he proposed to me, where we got our first dogs together, and where we rested after working extra hard to save for the place we now call home.  So many memories!

Relax & Unwind

Hey there, sweet readers.  I really need to get my blogging act together, because it's an important part of my self care and I'm still feeling that anxiety I mentioned last week.  I have had my anxiety in check for quite some time, so it's extra shitty not being in control right now and not being able to pinpoint what's causing it.  True story, I had an anxiety attack while watching Jessica Jones last week. A fictional television show that I typically enjoy triggered something in my brain that just turned me into an utter mess.  Another day, I felt the familiar tightness in my chest upon receiving a text message from a friend.  It wasn't even a negative message or someone I would dread hearing from.  It's all completely irrational and irritating as hell.  It's the worst when I'm alone with my racing thoughts, but as mentioned in that previous post, music helps to calm me down. I didn't make the playlist below, but it's perfect for listening to in the evening when I'm trying to sort of shut my brain off or at least slow it down and unwind from the busy day.  Everyone needs this sort of playlist sometimes.  

As for this anxiety nonsense, I'm really feeling over it.  I've spent a bit of time having myself a pity party, but now I'm ready to get to work on a plan to kick it's ass right out of here.  Part of that plan definitely involves music, keeping up with this blog, a whole regimen of self care, and, once I've been added to Donnie's insurance, getting myself to the doctor.  If you've made it through my rambling on about my mental state, you probably could really use this relaxing playlist.  Enjoy and remember to take care of yourself!

Easter Hopped Right By!

Did this year's early Easter throw anyone else off?  It was here and gone and we just barely managed to dye eggs and put together baskets.  The decorations for my favorite holiday never even made it out of the attic and I totally flaked on making a basket for Donnie.  The Easter Bunny did remember to come visit the boys, though, and they had their usual egg hunt at my grandparent's house, so that's really all that matters.  Next year, though, I vow to be better prepared!

Daft Punk Is Playing At My House

I've been a big stupid mess of anxiety lately and music helps me to calm down and sort of turn off my brain for awhile.  Upbeat pop and dance music seems to especially help and I've been revisiting a lot of songs and bands I haven't listened to in ages.  Daft Punk is one of those bands and their videos are just as amazing as their songs.  This video is one of their older ones, but it's my favorite!

Airplanes, Outer Space, and Cherry Blossoms

For this year's birthday adventure, Oscar chose to visit the Air & Space Museum in D.C.  I always love visiting our capital, but was especially excited to go when the cherry blossoms were blooming. The city was unbelievably busy and we had to wait in line at the museum, but we managed to never feel too crowded and really had a great day.  This isn't my favorite museum in D.C., but it wasn't my birthday adventure and I did really enjoy getting to see some uniforms and memorabilia from the golden age of air travel.  This post is a bit photo heavy and I would have taken so many more photos, but I forgot to grab my actual camera!

Six Years of Sweetness

My not so little Oscar recently celebrated a birthday and is now the big six.  Despite having an epidural that made me pretty darn out of it, I remember Oscar being born so well and it certainly doesn't seem like it was six years ago.  He was a happy baby and I always joke that he was born smiling.  He really was a great baby and is growing into such a neat kid.  He's incredibly compassionate, shy, and a bit of a worrier, all things I think he may have inherited from me.  He's also a lover of all things Star Wars (See below.), Legos, and wildlife, definitely his father's influence all the way. 

May my children always be impressed with my store bought cakes and mismatched decorations comprised mostly of their toys.  Seriously, though, we have so much fun with our little low key parties and the boys enjoy seeing a table full of their favorite things.  We followed up Oscar's party with the usual birthday adventure, but I will post about that tomorrow!

Musical Monday

Andrew Bird makes the kind of music that is perfect for curling up with a cup of tea and a good book on a cold and dreary day.  There's just something very calming about his voice and how the background instruments manage to always compliment it perfectly.  I'm not sure I can even articulate how I feel about Fiona Apple, except to say that I was sixteen when her album Tidal came out and it was one of the most beautiful albums I had ever heard.  I still feel that way.  She's one of those artists whose emotions just completely come through in every song and always hit me right in the heart. These two are such a perfect musical combination and this song makes me feel a little excited about music again.  Happy Monday, all!