Around Here // June 2014

Life is weird lately. I got home from my BIG, EPIC TRIP almost a month ago now, which is nuts. I still feel like I'm readjusting to normalcy. Life tasks like cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes seem especially tiresome, and all I want to do is seek out small adventures. On the one hand, it feels like summer is this magical time when all my friends are home and want to play, while on the other hand it feels like adulthood is gaining on me fast. I've been feeling some serious financial stresses this month, and I've been avoiding them like my life depends on it... Which is dumb, because in fact my life partially depends on FACING those stresses, right? Oops. 

I want to tell you all about my trip. I want to answer questions like how I managed to snag 8 plane tickets and 4 bus tickets for about $1.2k and how I packed for a 6.5 week trip to varying climates with a tiny carry-on. I want to craft exciting things and revamp my lifestyle so that I am more fulfilled on a daily basis. I want to do all those things, but mostly I'm just overwhelmed by all those things. I read this post about balance at The Thinking Closet today, and remembered how insightful Lauren is -- I totally relate to the challenges she talks about. Right now, I need to catch my breath. 

More than anything, I think I'm in denial about my own feelings, and I'm desperately afraid of the future. I'm finding my day job miserably boring, I know I need to spread my wings and job-hunt, and I have the reality of student loans breathing down my neck. It's a stressful time. To avoid those stresses, I've been socializing a lot, spending time in the sunshine and generally ignoring them altogether. Maybe not the wisest choice, but I'm working on it. Sometimes, it's hard not to think that growing up is overrated. 

How do you deal with stresses? Gimmie yo insights! Please? 

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New Year's Eve Bash

I don't know about the weather where you are, but it is pretty miserable here in the mitten state. This "polar vortex" as they're calling it, has got me feeling like I've been transported to Antarctica... As I type this, the RealFeel temp is -19ºF. Yikes. My car is literally buried in snow... I'm at least half-afraid that it is never going to start again, hah.

So while I'm cozied under my warm blanket with skeins of yarn stacked up beside me, I thought I'd share some photos from the New Year's party boyfriend and I threw this year. The lighting wasn't great of course, but that's the nature of nighttime photos. 

Scott and I had been debating between going out and staying in for NYE this year, when a few friends started asking me about our plans. I realized that thanks to Christmas, I happened to have several of my oldest friends in town all at once -- a rare opportunity that I couldn't not take advantage of. As we've all gotten older, most of them seem to have moved across the country, which is great for vacation planning, but sucky for party throwing. ;) So with mere days to spare, I decided to throw what I dubbed the "last-minute, low-key, super-chill NYE party." 

I believe we wound up with about 10 guests, give or take. We spent most of the evening playing Cards Against Humanity -- have you ever played? It's like the dirty, politically-incorrect version of Apples to Apples, and it is HILARIOUS. None of us had ever played before, which actually made it pretty fun. I won, in case you were curious. It's all about knowing your audience! ;) 

I whipped up a few glittery NYE decorations at a slumber party with my old college roommates the night before the party, and otherwise just left my Christmas decor out. My pallet tree, star light garland, and a strand of twinkle lights wrapped around the breakfast bar served as our "mood lighting." I put out cheese and crackers, pineapple and grapes, Christmas cookies and treats, chips and dip, and pretzels, along with the stash of liquor that's been hanging out in our freezer for months. I also made a quick punch with cranberry juice, ginger ale, pink lemonade, and pineapple rum -- yum! 

I snagged some adorable (and delicious!) mini cupcakes from a local bakery, and made these quick cupcake toppers! I'll post tutorials for those glittery garlands and star toppers soon, promise. They're crazy easy, which is perfect for party decor since I never have time to decorate for such things. 

How is the new year treating you so far? So far, so cold for me... 

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Baby Shower Photo Board

HO-LEE COW, internet friends. It is almost half-way through October and I swear that time is flying by faster than ever. I'm in my last semester of undergrad and I am in this weird state of denial/disbelief/panic that I'm graduating in a matter of months. The workload is insane, the impending job search is daunting, and the emotional weight of it all is surprising! After posting a bouquet of flowers mentioning a recent "emotional breakdown," I talked with my best friend who said, "This always happens senior year! I cried all the time!" So if you've been there, or you're there now, I empathize! ♥♥

A couple of weeks ago, another friend recruited me to help with one of her best friend's upcoming baby shower. She wanted to put together a photo display of the baby girl's parents, and had bought a cheapy trifold from the drug store. We tried decorating it, but the longer it sat in my apartment, the more I hated it, so I started over. 

Stuff You'll Need: Bulletin Board, Push Pins & Thumbtacks, Yarn, Mini Clothespins, Washi Tape, White & Patterned Cardstock, Double-sided Tape/Tape Runner, Paper Trimmer, Wooden Hearts, White Paint, Foam Brush, Sequins, Glue

I snagged the bulletin board on sale at Hobby Lobby for $10 -- score! I had everything else on hand, which made this fun, cheap, and pretty easy! Most of the photos were old school 4x6 prints from film; remember those days? ;) I left a few as originals, but scanned most into my computer to crop and resize them (often old film photos mean a lot of poor composition). I printed them as 2 photos per piece of 4x6 photo paper, with a small white border.  I double matted the 4x6 photos on white cardstock, then patterned cardstock. I pulled all the patterned paper from my scrap pile. Since the 2x3 photos had the white border, I only needed to mat them on the patterned paper. 

Decorate the tops of your mini clothespins with 2 little strips of patterned washi tape. For decorative touches, glue some wooden hearts onto flat, metal thumbtacks with E6000 glue and let them dry. Once they're dry, use your foam brush to paint the hearts white. I also glued sequins to push pins (groups of three worked best) and let them dry. 

Dry-fit the photos on the board, then stick a plastic push pin at the end of each photo grouping. String yarn from thumbtack to thumbtack (more taut than loose), and start adding your photos with the clothespins. You will probably need to adjust the yarn once your photos are added. You will want the board vertical at this point, so the photos can hang. Adjust your yarn and knot it onto the thumbtacks. Wrap the excess yarn around the thumbtacks, and either glue the end in place, or tuck it under the thumbtack. 

Once you have all your photos on the board, start filling the empty spaces with hearts, sequins, and details! I printed out "Welcome Baby" and the baby's parents' names on white cardstock (the font is "Happy Phantom"). "Welcome" and "Baby" are double-matted on solid and patterned cardstock, and the names are matted on just patterned cardstock, with the "&" stuck onto a pink washi tape covered wooden heart. The "Welcome Baby" pieces are stuck to the top of the frame with glue dots, and the names are pinned on using push pins. 

The bottom corner has photos of the sonogram and an adorable pregnancy photo, with the baby's name printed, matted, and pinned to the board! I love how it turned out, and more importantly, the board was a hit at the shower! The baby's parents are planning to put the board in the baby's room, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't think that was pretty bossy. ;) 

What do you think? Have you made photo display boards for a party before? I may or may not have had four giant trifold boards at my grad party... 

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Washi Tape Mini Album

I have had this little square album for a longggg time, and finally got around to throwing together an album! Now it's been a long time since I scrapbooked, and I promise you that THIS album is ridiculously easy and will come together quickly even if you're not so experienced with the scrapbooking. ;) 

Stuff You'll Need:

Mini Album (blank), Lots of Washi Tape, Tape Runner, Photos, Black Pen/Marker

Start by counting your pages and printing photos to the size you need. My album was 4.25"x4.25", so I printed my photos as 3" squares with a white border around them. Let the ink dry and cut out your photos. 

While your photos are drying, decorate the album front and back with patterned and solid washi tape. Try to use colors that go together, and break up lots of pattern with a few solid color washi tapes. That said, don't be afraid to layer patterns that work! A small polka dot over a floral print, for example. Put tapes all the way to the very edge of the covers and overlap the tape ends on the inside (you can see this above). 

I filled my album with "selfies" of me and my boyfriend! All I wrote in the album was the year and event or occasion that corresponded to each photo -- nice and simple! Stick your photos down using a tape runner, add a strip of washi tape, and write whatever you'd like! You can see above that I did the washi tape/text in two different ways. Mostly depending on the pattern of the washi tape, I either stuck the washi tape on top of the photo, or underneath it. 

Slap this together for your own coffee table or for a sweet and thoughtful gift! 

Are you a scrapbooker? How do you like to use your photos in your home? 

P.S. - Don't forget to enter my first ever giveaway here! You could win a huge soy candle in whatever scent you like, with a ring inside that could be worth up to $5k!

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Fitz Family Reunion

Every summer, my mother's extended family throws a big picnic and golf outing to reconnect and remember that we're family. My mom and a few of her cousins were in charge of planning the whole shebang this year, and I threw in my services here and there to help pull everything together. I honestly only talk to maybe half of the attendees at these reunions, because let's be honest, I don't know my mom's cousin's kids like, at all. Let alone her cousins. I always have a good time, because who doesn't like chowing down on picnic food, watching kiddos whack at a piñata, and participating in a water balloon toss that (almost always) degrades into a water balloon bombing? ;)

I took this as an opportunity to flex my photographer muscles and snap lots of pictures. Of course I forgot about my camera until the picnic was half-over, but I was still able to capture some sweet memories. I got a number of posed photos (the large family photo above is a tradition) and a bunch of candid shots. I still feel weird creepily snapping photos of unknowing people with my telephoto lens, but truthfully, those moments make the most genuine and charming photographs. I love the photo above of my great aunt and great uncles trying to figure out that camera... 

My mom caught that goofy shot of me clownin' with boyfriend and my favorite uncle, all of us lookin' like rockstars of course. ;) Then we have a fellow photog at the party... A fun party activity that I'll share more details on soon... And a precious moment of genuine laughter captured during a posed shoot. I love that. I love the slightly varying expressions on each person's face, revealing their subtle differences in personality. Plus this weird foggy effect happened in my camera, which I totally dig. Makes it seem sort of dreamy.. 

On a related note, I just received my pre-ordered copy of A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book! I have only had a chance to flip through the first couple chapters so far, but I am super smitten, as you can imagine. I am not sure why am I so surprised by how beautiful the whole thing is, but I was. Silly me. I hope I can develop bossy photography skills like those lovely ladies someday. Someday! 

Don't you just love beautiful photos? :)

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(more) Hawaii ♥

Hawaii is beautiful. To read more about my trip, see my last post, Hawaii in Instagrams! 

p.s. My buddy Jake pictured above is single, ladies... Any takers? ;) 

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Hawaii in Instagrams!

Well, (sadly) I am finally back in Michigan. Okay, just kidding, I am glad to be home sort of, hah! But Hawaii is so beautiful! Here is my attempt at sharing paradise with you, through a lot of selfies and Instagram filters. I've got more photos to come, but here is an overview!

I had never changed planes before (spoiled), and I literally had to run to my connection in LA and still almost missed it, so I was pretty stoked when my luggage made it to Hawaii along with me. I arrived in the afternoon, so we grabbed dinner by the beach, yumm... Then I passed out real early because there is a 6 hour time difference. ;) My first day, we shopped for bedding and food, and then we CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN. Okay, this was kind of a weak mountain. It was really just a paved uphile, mile-long path. But it ended with beautiful views! The pics above are me at the top of the mountain and my buddy Jake and I walking down the mountain. The next night we listened to a local reggae artist at an Irish pub (what) and drank some whiskey. I took a selfie beforehand because I felt real cute. Ya know what I mean? Pahaha...

I had never been snorkeling before, and Jake is in the Coast Guard. So homeboy can swim, and loves to snorkel. We went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, which is beautiful, but I looked like a floundering fool trying to snorkel while battling the waves. BUT LOOK HOW PRETTY! (That's the first pic here.) I mostly laid on the beach, toes in the sand, trying to soak up some sun and stop being the palest person on the whole island. At one point, we stopped at a scenic overlook along the highway, the Pali Lookout, but it was raining so we didn't stay long. Also, I discovered how delicious macadamia nuts are -- YUMMM... One grocery store had an entire aisle and a half devoted to solely macadamia nuts... I am addicted.

Our second hike was through the JUNGLE. We hiked out to Maunawill Falls, which seems to be more of a local-secret kind of a hike than the others. The trail was pretty muddy and took a good amount of concentration to ensure that you weren't going to lose your footing or twist your ankle. It was about a mile and a half out to the falls, up and down hill, over the stream a few times, jumping across rocks, and avoiding slippery tree roots, and culminated in a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole. There was a sausage fest of military dudes at the swimming hole when we got there, all trying to out do each other in terms of epic jumps... You could climb up to almost 60 feet above the water and jump off a cliff or swing off a vine into the water (whaaaat, crazies...) We got a lot of bug bites and really muddy shoes...but neither of us slipped once!

Jake had to work the last few days I was on the island, so he put me up in a military hotel, the Hale Koa, in downtown Waikiki. The second and third photos are views from my hotel room balcony, and the fourth is a banyan tree in the hotel's courtyard (such cool trees, seriously).

We went to the hotel's luau one night and ate DELICIOUS food, oh my gosh. I'm not even that into pork, but I looooove kalua pork. Good grief, so tasty. When Jake was at work, I drank a lot of mai tais and Malibu by the pool, trying desperately to be less pale. But I also used 70 SPF because I burn and am terrified of skin cancer. I still burnt my shins, oops... When he got off work we chased the sunset up to the North Shore (where I took this palm tree photo), but it was really cloudy, so it wasn't the BEST sunset I've ever seen...

Jake has been revisiting the emo music we used to jam to in high school, so he dragged me to a Circa Survive concert one night, where I got beer spilled down my legs and my toes crushed by enthused moshing teenagers, hah. I took one last photo of downtown Waikiki from my balcony before checking out of the hotel, and we climbed one more mountain before I went to the airport. Look at those baby cacti! This mountain was a bit scarier, but soooo pretty and definitely my favorite. It was really dry and gravely, so I slipped on the way down and scraped up my legs. I'm pretty tough though, if I do say so myself, so I totally laughed off my bruised bottom and bleeding calves, hah. ;) The last photo is another photo of the plant life at the top of the mountain, with the town below in the background.

There's more photos to come -- with less narration!! What have you been up to these past few weeks? I'd love to hear about it!

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Update from Hawaii!

Hi friends. :) Just writing to say that I'm in HAWAII! I flew in this past Wednesday (18 hours travelling, whaaat?) and won't be back home until Friday night, Michigan time. 

So far we've walked up a mountain to Makapu'u lighthouse, trekked through the jungle to a waterfall, hung out at beachside bars, eaten delicious food, and snorkelled in Hanauma Bay!

Follow me on Instagram for updates... I'm mostly soaking in the beautiful scenery, but I'm trying to post pics too! ;) 

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