These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Life has been very busy for me lately & free time is almost nonexistent, so I have been forcing myself to take the time to enjoy all of the little things that tend to go unnoticed during all of the hustle and bustle 

Below is a list of a few of my favorite things right now!

FAVORITE # 1:

My new J. Crew toothpick pants in black!

The last time I bought pants for myself was probably 4 years ago. They were a pair of jeans at Banana Republic and my weight has changed a lot since then

Parker is always commenting on how baggy everything I own looks on me now

and I have to agree

but what he doesn't understand is how infuriatingly difficult it is to find pants that fit a petite person!!

Do clothing companies not believe that short people exist?! 

More petite options, please!

Anyway...I found these pants during J. Crew's Columbus Day Sale and decided to take Tom and Donna's (from Parks and Rec) advice to "Treat yo' self." 

These pants are suppose to be ankle length, but on me they are almost the exact length I need for just normal pants

FAVORITE # 2:

Coming home from work on a Saturday night and finding a sushi dinner waiting for me!

yum!!

+

my favorite beer!

FAVORITE # 3:

My friends!

Brooke & Joey are moving to New Orleans soon, so we are spending as much time as possible enjoying our impromptu, late night get-togethers 

Last Saturday they came over after my shift at work to watch the second half of the LSU/Florida game 

& then we took the pups for a late night swim in the pool

<3 them so much!

FAVORITE # 5:

Noah and the Whale's album The First Days of Spring

This album is absolutely devastating and I simply cannot stop listening to it on the days where I'm feeling low

The First Days of Spring was released in 2009 and it chronicles the breakup of Laura Marling & Charlie Fink.

Now, I'm never one to wish unhappiness on anyone, but I can't imagine life without the beauty of this record that was born from heartbreak so deep that an entire album was made about it.

On my worst days, this is the album I press play on to help fuel my melancholy 

My favorite songs are (in no particular order):

- Our Window

- I  Have Nothing

- My Door is Always Open

- First Days of Spring

- Blue Skies

- My Broken Heart

"Well it's four in the morning, things are getting heavy

and we both know that it's over, but we're both not ready

And you're talking like a stranger, so I don't know what to do

And I'm calloused and I'm cruel to everyone but you."

*cue the tears*

ALSO!

Another album I can't stop listening to lately is Fire on the Vine by Bryan John Appleby.

It's fantastic and his voice just melts my heart

My favorite songs are (in no particular order):

- Backseat

- The Words of the Revelator

- The Lake

- Glory

- Honey Jars

FAVORITE # 6:

Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara

There are literally no words to describe my love for this mascara

FAVORITE # 7:

my pups!

Benny and Leo have been the only cure to the horrible anxiety I have been suffering from lately.

Just one, very slobbery kiss from them and my racing thoughts and crippling fears seem to slow down and disappear for a while

<3

FAVORITE # 8:

Cooler weather!

We've had a few days this week of the most perfect upper 70 degree temperatures and downright chilly low 50 degree nights

It makes me want to snuggle on the couch with a hot cup of green tea!

FAVORITE # 9:

My favorite quotes that I read this week:

"I'm afraid I'll never finish college. I'm afraid I'll finish college with student loans I can never pay back. I'm afraid I'll get a degree and won't be able to find a job in that field. I'm afraid I'll get a degree, get the job I dreamed of, and hate it." 
- A Mental Illness Happy Hour

Yes. Yes. Yes. and YES!

These fears keep me up at night, terrified for what's to come after my December graduation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"If you marry me you need to know I might stay up till 3am because my thoughts will wander through my mind. I might be in bed with opened eyes and a drum beating within my chest. There might be nights my heart bangs so loudly you wouldn’t be able to sleep.


If you marry me you need to know there are going to be mornings I am going to wake up with a bruise mind and purple thoughts. My lips would be sealed together and words wouldn’t exit my mouth. There are going to be days when my quietness can scare you. 


If you marry me you need to know there are going to be days when my soul changes colors, and you wouldn’t recognize me because the one you met is lost in darkness. 
If you marry me you need to know there are going to be days my words will shake and my lungs will break. There will be days you’ll become my time capsule and I might fill your mind with all my thoughts and you might feel like there’s a bomb ticking inside your head. 

If you marry me you need to know there are going to be days I am going to love too much..."
- Alexa Evangelista

I read this quote earlier this week and just said, "yes!". Finally! Someone has put into words the feelings that I sometimes feel. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Sometimes, it is the smallest thing that saves us: the weather growing cold, a child’s smile, a cup of excellent coffee."

 -Jonathan Carroll

Perfect quote to end this favorites list with! 

Some days, its the tiny details of life that help us keep going and moving forward into tomorrow.

Friday Night: Pizza, Beer & a new TV

Friday's are always one of the best days of the week

and this Friday was a particularly awesome Friday!

(how many times can I say Friday?!)

To start, I had the day off work 

I went to class in the morning and then came home and napped all afternoon with the pups until Parker came home at 5:00

We had plans to have a relaxing date night at home making a homemade pizza, but Parker suddenly needed to go out and buy a new TV

So off to Best Buy we went...

and back we came with this 50" monster

Size comparison:

our old little 32" versus our new 50"

It's enormously beautiful 

To be honest, I had never even thought about how small our TV was or what a crappy quality picture it displayed before today

It was just what we had and I never questioned it

but now, with this new 1080p 120Hz smart HD TV, I can not understand how we could even see the picture on that minuscule 32" 

Once we had our new toy all set up, we finally got around to dinner

We stuck with our plan to make our own pizza

just, minus the relaxing, fun couple activity part

My hangry (so hungry that I become angry) level was rising by the second

We raced around the kitchen slapping everything together in a hunger-filled daze

Before:

After:

Mine is made without cheese because I am lactose intolerant

"Cut faster P, or I'll cut you!"

Hanger is real, people!

It was honestly SO good

&

so cheap and easy to make

We will definitely be recreating this meal more often

We paired the pizza with two really great beers Parker picked out

Check out his blog to see our thoughts on them!

http://parkersbeerpicks.blogspot.com/

Also, a big thank you to Parker for being so sweet & surprising me with my favorite mascara!

As I said before, it was an awesome Friday!