RICHMOND + THE ZOO ON FILM

This roll of film went with me to the zoo, when my dad was visiting last month, and then to Richmond for a day, with Douglas and I, celebrating our anniversary early. It was a fun roll. My favorite photos are from the Melody Inn Motel. We passed it driving back to Norfolk, and Douglas made a u-turn for me so I could snap these.

I lied. My favorite photo from this roll is the fifth one down, the one I took of Douglas mid-laugh. That picture is Douglas. I miss him. 

And if i'm saying that this roll is at all representative of the past few weeks in my life, I have to include these shots. Because they document the moment we found Soda Shaq. We love Shaq. We were psyched. This is us.

OUR TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Today is our two year anniversary! I could talk about him forever. But mostly I just feel so overwhelmingly lucky to have Douglas as my husband and best friend. In the past two years we've lived in three states, three different apartments, and have had so many adventures together. It hasn't been easy moving around so much, but it has been so amazing going through all of this together. It's very special to have these different times and places in our relationship to look back on.

We can't be together today because Douglas is away for about a month on the ship, but we spent the last two weekends celebrating in different ways. It's hard not being together today, but I am so proud of what he is doing. So much of what he have and what we have experienced has been because of Douglas's job in the Navy. Being away from each other so much is the most painful thing we've ever done and, of course, we would love to not be separated at all. But it's not forever. That's what we keep saying. And it will be worth it.

To celebrate our anniversary early we took a day trip to Richmond and walked around Carytown (and got our photostrips taken!), I made Douglas beef wellingtons and a chocolate hazelnut torte, we went bowling, and went to the shiny, new Dave and Busters in Virginia Beach. On top of that, we got to enjoy some time at home, doing mostly nothing, which is hands down our favorite thing.

I hope we always have new adventures together and always find that coming home together in the end is the best part. I can't wait until he is home.

*You can see and read a little about our wedding day here!

THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE // 8

1// Olle Eksell
2// Matou En Peluche prints
3// Moroccan rug
4// untitled by Silvia Grav
5// Mathilde Aubier art

MY TRAVEL JOURNAL // FLORENCE AND PARIS

I've kept a travel journal on every trip to Europe I've gone on with my dad. I collect bits and pieces, tickets and labels, throughout each day and spend a little time each night before bed and writing about the day we've had. I usually didn't write much for every day, but I'm glad I wrote down the little details I did. Looking back through the journal even two and half months after our trip, there are so many little things I don't think I would have remembered.

You can see all the photos from the trip I've shared so far here.

CINQUE TERRE // DAY TRIP FROM FLORENCE

We took a day trip from Florence to Cinque Terre, five villages along the coast of the Italian Riviera. When I researched day trips we could take, I saw photos of these places, and I knew we had to go and at the same time couldn't believe there was a possibility of being there in real life. So we signed up to take a tour there and did it. We drove to the coast on a huge tour bus, which was nice and comfortable until we started driving up the tiny, winding roads that go up the mountains - right along the tiny metal guardrails that would definitely not stop a bus from rolling down the side of a mountain.

But we made it! We started at La Spezia, then took trains to four of the five villages. It was all truly incredible. We walked up hundreds of tiny steps to look out to the sea, we sat on the beach, we wandered through the little towns crowded with colorful houses. We ate focaccia and gelato for lunch. One of my favorite parts was all the amazing plants, like that massive jade plant! They were all over. I also really appreciated this dog. He was walking around like he owned the place and then sat down to smell the coastal air. He is for real living the life.

Another favorite part of the day was the bus ride - we drove along the same motorway for most of the trip and saw several different towns. My favorite was Pistoia, a town that grows all sorts of trees - you could see the farms, with more kinds of trees than I can name growing in rows in endless fields. We also passed Carrara, the city with the famous marble quarry- Michelangelo used Carrara marble to carve David and other statues. It's definitely not like I knew of these towns before we drove by them. It was also a day of learning things I might not have ever known otherwise. And that's always a good thing.

MY LITTLE SHIPPING STATION

One of my favorite parts of having an Etsy shop is wrapping up orders and shipping them out. I always think it's really nice to get a package that has a little extra thought put into the wrapping, so I really wanted a cohesive, pretty way to wrap up orders. I got almost all these supplies from Etsy - the kraft paper tissue, thick bakers twine, black and white washi tape.

A few weeks ago, when I was reorganizing and cleaning my work room, I put all my packaging supplies into this old, wooden box for easy access to move it wherever I need it. I've also started writing more letters recently - with old friends who live far away. So it's nice to have some pretty little things at hand for that, too.

LOVE LOCK BRIDGE // PARIS

Though this is a famous bridge in Paris, somehow neither my dad nor I knew about it before this last trip. We came across it during a morning walk. I'm glad we didn't know about it. It was kind of magical to come across with no idea it even existed.

MY FIRST QUILT

I made my first quilt a few weeks ago! I have so many favorite fabrics from the ones I've gathered over the past few years, but there are only so many bags I can use. I wanted something useful for our home, that would make it easy to see all these patterns and colors that I love. So I dug up this tutorial I pinned ages ago (with no intention to ever actually use), and decided to try it out.

Once I got over my fear that nothing would even come close to lining up, it was a pretty enjoyable project (with the help of like fifteen Grey's Anatomy episodes). Once I had everything sewn together, the batting sandwiched, and my hand quilting done, I wasn't worried about the binding at all. And then I realized immediately I was scared of the wrong thing the whole time. Because my binding job is so, so wack. Especially on the backside. So enjoy these nice, not-to-close photos.

I do love this quilt, though. And the second I finished it and sat on the couch and covered myself up with it, I thought about making so many more really awesome quilts with all the fabrics I've ever loved. And then I thought about not doing that.

THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE // 7

1// Straw Castle Design patches
2// Travis and Maike McNeil's home via Design Sponge
3// Li Hui photography
4// Julie Patterson's home via The Design Files
5// Mr. E art prints

SUMMERY SHOP UPDATE

I updated my shop this week with some summery new bags, hair bows, and bow ties. I've been lucky to come across some really great vintage florals lately. And I finally made floral bow ties I have been wanting to make - so hopefully some guys are into those somewhere. Hope your day is nicer than the one we're having here - the storm is finally here. Have a nice night!