santorini blues.

it only took a year, but i finally got a plant for my office. this particular plant is one of the hardiest plants to have around (great for indoors, hard to kill), and even better, is widely acknowledged to be great at removing toxins like formaldehyde from the air. 

i am probably more excited about having a real, live plant than a person should be, but it makes me feel a little less cut off from the outdoors. even though i have a large window (which i am truly thankful for!), it doesn't open, so the feeling of being cooped up inside still weighs on my weeks.  and the pot...the pot! i love it. it is santorini blues, to match the santorini painting in the background. to match the general decor scheme of my office, which - when i stop to reflect on it - can best be summed up as "anywhere but here".

red dressed.

adventures in self-timer photography... i wanted a good shot (read: better than a picture of me standing in a mirror, holding my iphone) of the lovely, comfy dress my fella's parents gifted me at christmas. what better background than a concrete stairwell, right? (and yes. i do actually know how ridiculous this picture is.)

snowy woods.

sometimes, instead of bemoaning the cold and fighting the icy path, a girl's best option is to choose joy: to open her eyes to the beauty, grab her fella's arm and slide along with a smile.

snow.

when snow falls, nature listens.

{antoinette van kleeff}

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it seems oddly fitting to finish up my last week of this challenge in the same place i started it. even though when i started it, i had no idea i would be back a year later (and walking through slush in the darkness of early morning at that).  

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dinner last night was the pioneer woman's spinach artichoke pasta. pretty dang good, although i'm thinking the leftovers could benefit from a little time in the oven and a crunchy cheese crust? also if you're thinking of making this, unless you're a pro it does not go as quickly as she indicates, so have your warming lamp or your oven on to keep the different parts warm as you progress through the recipe!

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shoes on a wire and the evening sky.

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a friend started talking about pizza, and the lunch i got from the vending machine was a disaster {i know, i know, i should have expected that}. so a lunch-size pizza slice it was!

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screenshot to show my guy my new lock-screen was literally the only picture i took today. ha.

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made health[ier] peanut butter brownies for a treat.

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somebody found a cozy spot...

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visited grandma's new place today to measure for furniture and spied these two loveys in the big bird cage at the entryway. they have a male and female of each type of bird...

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i'm not going to proclaim any stance on the manti te'o situation {deadspin, espn} because there are just too many people citing people citing people in circles for me to think any of it is clear. but. that being said...this is pretty much the funniest jab i've seen so far.

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who actually created something she pinned? this girl! wahoo for that. i have lots of scrapbook material left over from when i fancied myself a scrapbooker (before i discovered photobooks!), and what's better to get in the mail than a hand-made card?? plus it puts those papers to use, so they aren't just sitting around taking up space.

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the extend of my wall decor at work. definitely planning on a bit more personalization at my new job!

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made this last night from scraps to replace the plastic one the machine came with. definitely a learning experience on piecing things together, and working without a pattern. enjoyed practicing the zig zag stitch though!

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 so. much. grass.

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sorry for the awkward bathroom shot, but this is really the only picture i took today. i was just trying to show my guy the new grey sweater i picked up at tj maxx, and since i have yet to download a self-timer app, this is what you get.

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this came in the mail yesterday... a little nervous, because i've been complaining for years about being monolingual, and wouldn't it be the worst if i tried this and was terrible?!

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group walk on new year's day...a FITting way to start off 2013. ha! i'm so punny.