brunette.

please forgive this horrible picture. but i knew you were all dying to know what i decided about my hair. it's officially brown. bonus: you can see my cheerful yellow wall behind me!

more tomorrow on all the fun i had this weekend. plus some other stuff. cheers!

to be blonde or not to be?

about every two months i decide that i want to dye my hair.  the problem?  i can never decide what color.

blonde?

or brunette?

(yes, that is peanut butter on my spoon!)

there are pluses and minuses to both.  i've been both.  i don't really think blondes have more fun.  and i don't really think that brunettes are more mysterious.  i do think either is better than the mousey blond i've inherited (no offense, ma!).

ahh, weekend!

it's friday afternoon & i'm ready to avoid working for the rest of the day.  somehow i charged through the morning and got SO much work done!  all that's left for the day is creating some logos for a friend & some hawkeye designs (speaking of which - 22 days until the season officially begins!).  i'm looking longingly out of the window wishing i was outside - although i hear it's unbearably hot & it's starting to get cloudy.  could it be more rain on the way?

i've been looking through my favorite blogs & getting caught up on what's going on in wedding world and design world.  each time i do, i get inspired and jealous.  some of these girls get PAID to blog about what they find on the internet - where do i sign up?

this weekend is very unusual for me - you see, i usually work two jobs on saturdays.  this saturday however, just one!  in a few weeks, it will always be just one because the studio is closing for our off season.  whooooo hooo!  so what will i do with my afternoon off?

i've been thinking about baking something delish for about two weeks.  so i'm going to get that done and officially break in my oven with some homemade delights!

after a very successful trip to chicago with my mom & seeester - officially finishing moving into my condo.  i'm creating an official ban on boxes on the floor in the living room because i have a shelf! {and, not to brag, but i also have a new coffee table that doesn't have a drop of nail polish on it!}

sunday i'm painting.  painting!  it's such a hard decision to choose what cheerful golden rod-y color to paint, but i must say that i am also jealous of whoever gets paid to name paint colors.

(p.s. it just started to downpour.  flash flood!)

also on my agenda: finding a dress to wear to the bff's rehearsal dinner; jewelry for the bff's wedding; finding a cheap kate spade planner via ebay; finding a roommate....so much for a quiet, relaxing weekend!

what are your plans for the weekend?

pretty, pretty, please!

i need this in my life.

{via}

i've spent most of the week alternating between my greatest music love - dashboard confessional - and country.  the two genres don't exactly go together, but i'm finding so much peace and comfort in them i just don't care.

for those of you that were worried about my insomniac problems - i think i'm over the hump and will begin to function at a normal frequency and schedule this week.  i will hopefully kick my whoppers/chips and salsa/popcorn diet and return to chicken, broccoli and assorted other healthy options.  my goal for this week is to make myself like cottage cheese.  we'll see.

it's a rainy day and that translates into a quiet, productive day at the studio.  i'm working on helping a friend brand her bakery business, hawkeye shirt designs and re-branding our ZW things.  hopefully i'll get a lot done and won't feel bad when i don't attempt coming to the office on monday.  i do, however, wish i was still at home cozy in my bed watching a movie and drinking hot chocolate.  my house is coming back from the crazy, messy house that it was and becoming a beautiful home again.  on the agenda for tomorrow?  laundry, a deep scrub to the whole house and family dinner.

with all the branding i've been working on, it of course makes my mind wander to my own brand.  when i left the new york stationery show i had a huge goal of taking my own line to the show this year - now that i know that would mean i would really turn into an insomniac during wedding season in order to get all of that together, which means i won't be pushing myself to get it done this year.  but it is my goal to launch the brand in the next three years.  i need to take the opportunities that i have here in the ic to go back to school and keep learning about paper & the joy of stationery at the center for the book.  i need to learn more about letterpress.  and i should probably take some business classes.

instead of focusing on my regrets of moving home & the people that i left behind, i need to remind myself why i did move here and how much happier i have been since doing so. i can't control anyone's destiny beyond my own.  yes, i do worry and care about the people down in mo - but they don't define me and i don't define them.  i can cry and pray for them, but ultimately they have to want to change for themselves - not the other way around.  as much as i want to shake people into reality and out of their pretend world they've created for themselves, i can't.

dashboard confessional is probably the only kind of music i can listen to all day and not get sick of because of the lyrics that relate to my life in some capacity everytime i turn them on.  last night, driving home from a wonderful evening downtown filled with good wine, good food and gelato this line struck a particular chord with me:

"all our fears fall on deaf ears tonight" - i couldn't have said it better myself.

in other news - look at these fabulous invitations! 

night 5.

so, i haven't been sleeping well. this time last week, i was in a schedule. bed at 10, up at 8. repeat. since sunday, i haven't been asleep earlier than 2 am...and still up by 8. and when i am sleeping, i wake up about once an hour. i look like i was punched in both eyes. i am craving sleep like i crave sushi. i don't think i've wanted anything more in my life. does anyone have any suggestions? i've tried tylenol pm. i took two last night without any luck. i'm starting to think if i don't get a full night (read: 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.) soon, i will need to put into a medically induced coma so my brain can function normally again.

obvi, i have a lot on my mind. it's always something. boys. money. puppies. roommates. the bachelorette. work. brides. babies. i really wish that my brain had an off switch. if it did, it would be in the off position for approximately ten weeks. that's how long i think i need before i feel like a real human again.

my insomnia isn't productive, either. in fact, it's counter productive. all i do is eat. and watch tv. my house looks like a boy lives in it. dishes everywhere. food on the counter. i am so embarrassed i can't even look at it. i come in, go to my room, put on sweats and somehow manage to get in the kitchen and out without looking at the growing mess. if only i could motivate myself to clean when i'm not sleeping. this place would sparkle.

the other problem is that all i can hear is crickets. we have a little bit of a cricket problem at work (read: infestation). and now, at home, all i hear is their constant chirping. it might put me in a loony bin. crickets might be the grossest, smelliest insect on the planet. i would much rather have ants (which is what i will have if i don't clean my house tomorrow).

all day today, all i could think about was my bed. now that i can go and snuggle under my beautiful covers with the ceiling fan on, all i do is lie awake. it is SO FRUSTRATING.

i need sleep.

ampersand.

what i can tell you about my wedding is that i want this to be there:

{via}