It’s certainly no secret that I love a good documentary. There’s something about seeing the way other people live that is beyond fascinating to me. And animal documentaries – like Disney’s Earth Day movies – cue the waterworks immediately. A few of my favorites this year have been Virunga (Academy Award nominee), Sexy Baby, Fed Up, and Tiny. When a friend recommended Tiny a few days ago I couldn’t wait to get home that night to watch. Tiny follows a young guy and his girlfriend over the course of a year while constructing a 120 square foot home on a mobile trailer. It also focuses a little on the tiny house movement.

Although I’m definitely not in a rush to downsize into 200 square feet, the ideas behind this movement are pretty inspiring. In the film they interview a woman that has been living in a tiny house for years. At one point she says something along the lines of “when your house is so small, the entire world becomes your living room.” Sold. Sign me up. The film also discusses how our society encourages consumerism. We’re encouraged to consume more of just about everything – food, space, resources. I’d love to be able to at least change my own perspective a little and to focus more time, energy, and money on experiences and less on stuff.

While searching the black hole that we call Pinterest for “tiny houses” I stumbled across this one. If this isn’t the most beautiful and inspiring 540 square feet, I don’t know what is.

Designed by Jessica Helgerson. Photography by Lincoln Barbour. Images found here.   Any other documentaries you think I should watch?

I’m fresh out of excuses for my life not being as productive as I want it to be. This blog has been on the back burner for nearly 8 months and yet always on my mind. I’ve been feeling a little restless lately with a running list of things I want to do and change. I’ve also accumulated an equally long list of excuses as to why things stay the same. And they are good excuses, let me tell you. Like, I only have three. more. episodes of True Blood Season 5. My loving husband told me, rather bluntly, a few nights ago that I needed to stop making excuses. “Tough love” he called it.  To be fair, the conversation was very encouraging and I know his ‘tough love’ only means that he truly believes in me. #marriage

I’ve done some reflecting about what I want this blog to become and here’s the conclusion:  I’m just gonna keep doing me. Take a minute, that was deep.

I want this blog to be a personal repository and a place to dump all the nonsense from my brain. A place where I can write about life, post pictures of things and experiences and to be able to look back in 5 or 10 years and think “Sweet Lord, why did anyone ever let me leave the house wearing that?” It’s a one stop shop for all my thoughts, favorite pins, pictures of trips, links..you get the idea.

I think I’ve just been overthinking it. There’s too much pressure to write great posts about amazing trips to places I only ever see on my screensavers and the picture perfect, dewy skin someone got from that $700 face cream. Disclaimer: I’m definitely not hating. If anyone wants to send me on a trip or mail me some face cream, by all means, I will send you my address. But for now, I’m just gonna do me and you keep doing you. You know the saying ‘If you build it, they will come’? I’ve decided if I write it, they will read. (They being mostly my mom and Ben). But maybe somewhere, in the depths of the internet, someone will stumble across this blog and be inspired, have a laugh, or learn something new. And that’s good enough for me.

on repeat.

i fully intend on wearing white after labor day. just so we’re clear. who’s with me?

all images via pinterest.

making// a list of restaurants to try in DC.
cooking// does apples with peanut butter count?
drinking// snapple diet peach tea
reading// Allegiant – the third Divergent book. Holy cow, I devoured the first two. so good.
wanting// more time in the day.
looking// out for rats when we walk the dogs at night. they are everywhere. gross. #DClife
wishing// for a good sale at JCrew. I’ve got my eyes on these.
enjoying// 2 weeks off with my husband in our new city.
liking// crisp DC morning weather.
wondering// what the heck I’m going to wear when I have to walk a mile to work in the snow.
driving// nowhere. our car is currently parked at Ben’s parents in MD until we can get a parking permit.
hoping// to have all my wedding thank you notes written by Thursday.
needing// some good city exploring shoes. any suggestions?
smelling// like a coffee shop; the only place we can get internet right now.
wearing// workout clothes. If you haven’t had a shower, people judge you less when you look like you’ve been exercising.
watching// Divergent, the movie. I’m not kidding when I say I’m obsessed with this series right now.
following// @pleasantpops – we took the dogs there after a long walk and everyone got a popsicle.
noticing// that museums are much less crowded on Tuesdays.
feeling// like I’ve deserted you guys. I’m back, I promise! Trying to set up our internet has been a challenge.
bookmarking// fall outfits.
opening// my computer – not often enough.
giggling// at some seriously good people watching.
feeling// inspired.
listening// to Beyonce. (have you seen the trailer for 50 Shades of Grey? I’ve been watching it just for the song.)

ps: happy national dog day! life simply wouldn’t be same without our two.
pss: see the last things i’m…. here.

I’m sure this isn’t news to anyone, but moving is hard work. Last Friday night we  packed a 14 foot uhaul full of our things. Ben left Raleigh with the the uhaul around 5am the next morning, and my mom and I followed in my car. With the help of Ben’s brother (thank goodness), we unloaded our boxes into and piled them high into the new apartment. We saved our couch for last and quickly realized that it wouldn’t fit through the door.

Two hours, more than a few beers, a trip to the hardware store, and plenty of sweat later, we gave up the fight. We took the door off the frame and the legs off the couch and it wouldn’t budge. Luckily, Ben’s parents live right outside of DC and graciously let us store it in their garage until we can figure out what to do with it (anyone need a couch?). We determined that the only couch going through the small door was one that was disassembled. The only place I know where to find a disassembled couch in boxes is Ikea, so off we went. After much deliberation and cushion/nap testing, we settled on the Kivik. I loved the shape, it’s comfortable, and it didn’t cost a fortune which means I’ll feel less guilty if we decide it doesn’t work for us in a couple of years. Here’s my plan for our newest furniture addition:

couch // coffee table // pillows // garden stool // pharmacy lamp // throw // and obviously our home wouldn’t be complete without two large dogs

One of my most favorite bloggers, Amber, posted an article today that really hit home for me – “12 things you think you need in your life, but are only holding you back.” I could write for days about how each of the 12 applies, but #3 seems the most applicable to me at this very moment.

On the list of things I think I need but don’t, number 3 is:
Clothing you don’t wear, books you don’t touch, furniture that serves no purpose, clutter that fills a void.

Because we’re moving from a 1,400 square foot house with an attic and basement to a 650 square foot apartment, we have had to purge about 2/3rds of everything we own – seriously. And while the thought of getting rid of so much made me anxious and panicky, the process and outcome have been remarkably liberating.

I am certainly one of those people that holds onto things because of “potential” circumstances and “what if” situations. I also assign sentimental feelings to ridiculous objects that allow me to justify keeping them. (Am i sounding like a hoarder yet??) Here’s an example: I had somehow over the years acquired a waffle maker from my mom. It was a waffle maker we had at my house as a kid and despite NEVER having made a single waffle in the almost 3 years that Ben and I have been together, I had trouble parting with it.

I’ve really had to step back and figure out what our necessities are and how we can live more simply in a much smaller space. One of our packing rules was to ask ourselves, “If this went missing, would I notice within 6 months?” If the answer was “no” or “probably not”, it was donated.

We already feel lighter and we’re excited to enjoy the things we truly love without the extra weight and clutter.

Does anyone else have a similar problem? Or are you really good at purging and living simply? Share share! I need your advice!

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Let’s get real for a second – when I started this blog, I underestimated the time commitment. I had no doubt that it would be time consuming, but in reality, it often takes me at least a solid hour or two to come up with and write a blog post worth reading. And sometimes, at the end of the day, I just don’t have an extra hour. Our lifestyle is about to change drastically when we move to DC in a week (yay!), so in an effort to start fresh, I’m going to try and designate more time to the things I love; one of which is this here blog. That being said, my goal is to post more frequently and consistently once we get settled Ben agrees to let me be a stay-at-home wife (kidding).

In other news, we moved all of our stuff to DC on Saturday – both very exciting and very stressful. More on that tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

the forecast in Raleigh calls for rain for the next 5 days and our stuff has got to go.
so, the yard sale is on. rain or shine. if it rains, we’ll have things on the porch and inside.
in case you’re wondering, the only reason on earth i would let strangers into my house is because we won’t be living there in a week.

what better way to spend saturday morning than buying someone else’s junk, am i right?

517 E. Lane Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
starts at 7:30am
if you come any earlier, i’ll charge you double (unless you bring doughnuts)

If you missed the post from Tuesday, here’s what you should know:

1. We are moving to DC.
2. We are very excited!
3.We are downsizing from 1400 square feet (plus an attic and basement) to 650 square feet.
4. We have A LOT of stuff to get rid of.

We have a yard sale planned for Saturday, but the weather doesn’t look promising.  The yard sale pile is about 96% crap with a few cool things mixed in probably. Ben specifically requested that I mention that there will be beer brewing equipment available (ain’t nowhere to brew beer in 650 sq ft). Also available are lots of kitchen goods, books, some housewares, decorative objects, a few pieces of furniture, and maybe a dog or two depending on their behavior that day.

Keep your fingers crossed for no rain. Because this crap has got to go like yesterday. I’ll keep you posted (because I’m not just going to list my address on the interwebs for all the crazies to see if it’s going to be rained out).