Project365: are you in?

Day 15

There once was a time where I blogged everyday... it was early 2000s and LiveJournal was "da bomb." Or some such.

Since then, my dedication wavered and I wanted to get back into logging my daily life. I've seen many bloggers and twitter and instagram friends participate in some version of Project365. The goal is to take a picture everyday and then to look back once you're done and see what you have accomplished that year (or how you've grown or changed, etc). There are many versions. I freestyle, no daily or monthly themes, just whatever moment I happen to capture that day. Some follow daily theme lists. It's really up to the individual participating.

I wish I did this last year. It was amazing and scary all at the same time... and an absolute blur! Going into surgery for the third time last year, I made a promise to myself: take a picture every day and blog it. I haven't failed yet. Although, I am a little behind in blogging the photos. :)

You can check them out on my tumblr account: inthequeencity365.tumblr.com

Do you participate in the 365 challenge? If so, please post your links! Would love to check them out. How do you do it? Following a theme or free style? What platform do you use to share your photos?

Personal

I’ve been pretty absent from this blog, or any other for that matter. Life happens, both good and bad. To quote a friend, “in the grand scheme of things, no matter how crappy, life is pretty impressive.” And there’s so much truth to it. Last year was amazing, I married my best friend and the process took over my life temporarily. But I also had three surgeries, one minor and two pretty major ones that slowed me down to a complete stop. I’m still healing from the one in December but the doctors think this one was the last in the series. Now we’re trying to figure out how to pay for all these surgeries, along with other financial demons.

I’ve also been faced with learning the same lesson I’m forced to learn every year, that there are people out there that are two faced and I shouldn’t trust everyone that comes along. But my Pollyanna self believes the best in people and sometimes ignores the worst. One day.

On the brighter side, I met some amazing people that I am proud to call my friends. I got to travel some, both for business and pleasure. My father was able to walk me down the aisle and I finally have a picture of both my parents and myself for the first time in my life. I’ve recently got a promotion at work and am more than excited about the new challenges ahead. And most recently, I spoke in front of a crowd of about 100 people without puking (a win in my book).

I’m so so so thankful for all the wonderful people in my life, for all the things that happened to me (both good and bad), and most importantly for my amazing family.

Thanks for reading. Not sure what direction I’m going to take this blog in next. There are no more excuses in not updating.

Cheers!

Happy 4th of July!

taken at the USNWC, transformed with Diptic

We went to the US National Whitewater Center to watch fireworks for the third year in a row. Most people fight for space around the water but we run straight for the hill on the back end of the park. There's nothing more magical than to lay down in the soft grass and watch the sky explode above you.

Before the fireworks, we enjoyed a great band called Langhorne Slim. Turns our they're pretty popular.

I liked them so much that I recorded a few videos, enjoy!











Happy 4th of July!

Oh, July!

Can you believe it's July already?! How is it that half the year is over? There's so much left to accomplish!


My bff recently started a new blog and we must be on the same wavelength because she said, "I love the idea that the best camera, is the camera that you have on hand, whether it’s an iphone, point&shoot, whatever." How true! Honestly, I forgot the last time I took out my Canon s95 because I already had the iPhone in hand.


I have a confession to make, I'm obsessed with my iPhone. It's all kinds of fabulous! One of the greatest things is the ability to edit pictures on the fly, something that a regular camera cannot do.


My all time favorite app is Instagram so my hope is to share a select few favorites from each week.


Here's a handful of my favorites from the past couple of weeks...






fingertips




carnations










fishin'



Happy Friday!

Building a Closet: The Walls

Originally, we were going to paint the walls of the closet before we put in all the units but after feeling a little lazy (and cheap) about it we decided not to do it.

But a part of me still wanted funky colors to adorn the walls. What's the point of building this beautiful space and not going all the way?

A few weeks back, a friend of mine decided to paint an accent wall in her Uptown apartment. The white walls were driving her crazy. She has never painted and thought it was only $20 or so to do so. My eyes got wide and I went into a 20 minute dissertation on the initial investment and first steps (like locking away her cat for the duration of the project). Another friend chimed in and mentioned that it cost $5000 to paint her tiny condo.

At that point we realized that we killed her dream of a fun colored wall... And then I remembered hearing about "apartment wallpaper" and that she should Google it, also known as temporary wallpaper.

Then I realized that it would be perfect for the closet. No mess to clean up and no need to spend money again to repaint to a bland off white color when it is time to rent/sell the house!

I found a company named Tempaper and fell in love. The following three samples are due to show up on our door step this week:



Marrakesh - Ruby Slate



Edie - Frosted Teal




Edie - Lemon Ash


Which one should I pick?