Before and Afters

I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. Again. I had another weekend of updating things (and crossing stuff off the list)...

The first of the "updates" being our apartment. I went from being "homeless" to "living in sin", as a woman seated next to us last Sunday night at Fritti, so eloquently put it. When I say "woman", I mean someone who was roughly our age. Keep drinking your vino, ma'am. You sound more and more profound with every sip. Bless your heart.

The second thing that was updated was our dining room wall color. The lovely couple who lived in our apartment before us were a bit extreme with their color choices, but hey, Sherbert Orange beats plain ol' eggshell walls any day. And like my mama always says, if you can't beat them, join them. After much thought  I decided on gray stripes (okay, I went on Pinterest for five minutes and also had a lovely gallon of gray paint lying around). The boyfriend had some input...."you can choose, vertical or horizontal". Little did he know at the time, either answer he gave would be the wrong one as he was tasked with measuring and putting the tape in it's proper spot. If you remember from previous posts, he loves this kind of stuff. My nerdy little engineer...he even got out his MacBook Pro and booted up his AutoCad (nerdy engineering software) to input the wall dimensions and ensure the lines were perfectly spaced before taping. I love when he gets all intellectual.

I painted. After all...like I've said before...I'm the creative genius here. All I have to say, "Damn, we did good". Maybe my true calling in life is interior design. Lord knows I've tried about everything else.

Here is the before and after. I think this classifies as an "outrageous wall color" and if not....skip ahead to the end of this post.

Before

After

So the next 'before and after' for the weekend involved a trip to the beauty shop. A few weeks ago during my bi-monthly trim, my beautiful, wonderful, talented stylist told me her husband accepted a position at Ohio State and would be moving at the end of June. Losing another good one to Ohio State...first Urban Meyer, now Robin from Crimpers. Ugh. After tearing up, I did what anyone else would do in my position, book another appointment to color your hair. Let me be so bold as to share with you a secret....I haven't had my hair colored professionally in roughly 2 years. *Gasp* At-home hair coloring kits. The shame. The horror.

So I settled on ombre. The trend sweeping the hair world where it's dark at the top and light at the bottom. Some people have been trending this way for years....on accident. They just couldn't keep up with their hair color and had some nappy roots. Here it is - my attempt at trending (and crossing #11 off my list!).

Before 

After

Warning - tangent ahead: Fashion trends are a funny thing, drawing inspiration from nearly anything. I never thought the grunge look would reappear, but hey, it's totally acceptable to roll out of bed, not brush your hair, and walk out the house. Sometimes I wish I was a "hipster" allowing me this ability. However, I don't know many (or any) who own the amount of J.Crew cardi's that I do, so it looks like I have to wake up early to do my hair and makeup, and throw on a summer dress and wedges before exiting the premises.

Ok, sorry about that little bout of word vomit. It happens from time to time. For those of you who "skipped ahead" to find out about the outrageous wall color, get ready...here it comes. But first, a story.

Me being the wonderful and generous girlfriend/roommate that I am, I decided to surprise the bf when he came home from his work trip to Miami just a few days after moving in. I went to buy paint based on our new sheets, which were based on our new curtains for the master bedroom. The wonderful paint specialist helped me pick out the exact color. Relaxing Mint. Sounds lovely and quite refreshing, right?

Unfortunately for me, I didn't take into account the walls were eggshell, not pure white...so the color was a bit skewed. The walls don't really match our sheets nor our curtains. In fact all 3 of the colors look totally different. Oops. Pictures don't really do the walls justice, so I'll leave them out and wrap up this post. I'll just say this, "It looks like paint for a nursery", and call it a day.

Stay tuned for a recap of my birthday weekend...

Until next time,

L

Welcome to Your Late Twenties

19th - 2005

So my birthday month is finally upon us. Yes. I said birthday month. When your favorite holiday is your birthday, you're entitled to a whole month.

This year I was hopeful to finally get a year to myself. You see, I'm a summer baby and up until my 17th birthday, I never had to worry about sharing my special day with anyone. My wonderful childhood bestie whose bday was 3 days after mine always celebrated the weekend after, which I appreciated (Thanks Moo - if you're reading this). However, starting in college I found people with the same birthday as me, give or take a few days; Aubrey, Megan, Christian, Sean...and I've celebrated with them all. This year, my birthday is being overshadowed by not one, but two old farts people turning 30.

20th - 2006

Welcome to the irrelevancy of your late twenties. It's all downhill from here.

No, this post isn't going to be about me spinning into some quarter life crisis about my age. We all know by now, I simply like to talk about myself.

Before we get too far in, I'd like to thank my Dad & Stepmom for already sending me birthday money. I'd like to thank my baby sis for furthering by bow collection with some new additions. My mom for giving me her credit card number..."Yes mom, I swear those ten pairs of shoes were the only things I ordered for my birthday". Finally, a shoutout to my main squeeze for my first two presents: The Wizard of Oz DVD, and a textbook. I know what you're thinking...why the EFF would he buy you a textbook? Well, it happens to be a beginner's Italian book. It looks like someone will be teaching me some Italian y'all. Grazie!

21st - 2007

Now, because I happened to find my college laptop and promptly copied all photos onto a 32gb zip drive, let's briefly take a trip down Birthday Memory Lane. Friends, feel free to send me any and all long lost bday pics of me. Preferably dancing on the bar at Pounders (birthdays 19, 20, and 21). Don't ask why documentation of my 23rd is missing - 23 was a terrible birthday and I'd rather not relive it. Say hello to all my fellow Gemini-birthday-buddies!!!

22nd - 2008

So now here we are....the big 2-7 and my late twenties just beyond the river bend (what's up Pocahontas reference). Since I'm such a fan of lists *cough cough why you're reading my blog in the first place* I'm going to make this year one to remember.

 Here is my list of 10 things to accomplish during my 27th year. 

A list within a list....how fun! 

1. Move in with a guy - for the first time ever! 

2. Travel out of the US for the first time since Spring Break 06...I can't believe it's been so long!

3. Take a minimum of 27 hot yoga classes this year.

24th - 2010

4. Give up booze for 27 days straight.  Gasp. Yes...I need to plan this one carefully. I have a packed schedule with weddings, bridal showers, holidays, & bachelorette parties.

5. Put $27 from each paycheck into a special fund - then do something nice on my 28th birthday.

6. Be more adventurous. Live a little more. 

7. Find something you absolutely love to do, and do it with all your heart. Become the best at it.

8. Make at least 27 meaningful connections - new friends, coworkers, Junior Leaguers, etc...Didn't y'all know, a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet. 

9. Work on your communication. Reconnect with people you've lost touch with and do a better job of staying in touch with people who are important to you.

10. Lose 27 inches or lbs..whichever comes first. 

25th - 2011

I know. I know. That last one is kind of a doozy. Let's just say, that when I graduated from college I was 40lbs lighter. I don't know how binge drinking, eating like shit (especially at 2am 5 nights a week), and never working out kept the lbs off, but it did. The stress of grad school and a rocky relationship tacked on 25lbs. As I've grown older (and started taking vitamins, working out more, eating better, and drinking less alcohol) I gained weight. So I'm going to do what I need to do to "tighten". Insanity, P90x, spin classes 5 days a week, Pure Barre...I'm willing to try it all. If you have suggestions, let me know which one works the best! 

26th - 2012

For those of you who want to help me celebrate my special day a.k.a entering into the dark and depressing abyss of my mid-twenties, let me know. I'll be at the Braves game Friday June 14th hoping to either get on the jumbotron or catch a home run. Here's a sneak peek at some of my early bday presents....a Holeman + Finch burger, Friday Night Fireworks, *hopefully a Braves win*, and ice cold beer. Festivities involving champagne, dancing, and more champagne will be happening on June 15th at The Havana Club here in Hotlanta. As my eloquent facebook invite states, I will be dancing until my heels come off. Hope y'all can make it :)


Until next time,

L