diy

spring makes me super excited for the wonderfulness that is summer break. though i know i'll stay busy working, nannying my little cousin, and traveling, summer still allows SO much more time for fun things like crafting and DIY projects.  mostly, it's an opportunity for me to revamp my apartment.  i've already mentioned redoing a chair for my bedroom, but i have a few more things in my queue:

Like a variation of this yarn wreath from here

and a repurposed scarf like the one here

and a diy headboard for my bed

there are a couple other projects i need to dig out of the depths, but maybe they'll become something different altogether! 

p.s. on a similar note, i have a new obsession with pinterest, which is basically an online swatchbook of ideas, images, books, anything. if you're not on it yet, get on it! it's still in beta, but i have a couple of invites to share. as a lover of all things pretty, it helps feed my obsession with living in a beautifully lit, pretty thing-filled fantasy world. 

way overdue

okay, i'm way way way way way long overdue on a blog post.

but things are going generally well in this here state of colorado.

school's great--i couldn't have asked to be more prepared. meredith college was the best possible place for me to do my undergrad, and i'm so thankful for everything i learned there. and now i'm really happy here. i'm doing well in my classes (i think...as we really haven't turned much in yet, and currently i'm procrastinating on studying for a midterm).
i'm loving every person in my program. my cohort is AMAZING and we're becoming the best of friends. it's awesome.
oh, and i think i have an idea of what i'm going to do for my thesis and who my thesis advisor will be. i'm not going to spoil too many details because i haven't actually told my parents yet, but it's a start! and i'm excited.

last week i was very homesick. i'm not sure quite what it was, but i really needed my mom to be just a walk across campus away. thank goodness i have cousins an hour away (who seriously make things so much better) and great friends here who have helped to cheer me up. Seeing my parents 4 weeks from today will be the best thing ever. as will going to cornhuskin' and returning to mc!

in other news, my apartment is, well, a mess. it's seriously the last thing on my mind with all the school work i have to do. however, living by myself was the best decision i could've made. it's a total solace and it can be a mess if it needs to be :)

and....i got glasses. i'm still getting used to them. but it explains why i struggled with reading during undergrad. i'm hoping they help me out a bit here.
october is nuts and full of TONS of work....so i'm going to need every little ounce of help I can get.

happy october, happy fall, and please wish me luck through this crazy month!

a great day

i know, i know...i've been horrible with my posts. this week i've been dealing (quite frustratingly (is that a word?)) with red paint in an attempt to finish my apartment before classes begin. EEK! however, despite the lack of blogging, quite a lot has been going on.

1. i've made many friends who are all in my cohort at CSU - i think i even have more than i can count on 2 hands! wahoo!
2. my onyx band has collapsed somehow, so now i'm typing with a naked right ring finger as the ring is en route to my mother in NC.
3. so far i am loving my assistantship work, and i'm particularly excited about having a VERY legit office for this year!
4. i have a babysitting job on my calendar and (hopefully) have another job in the works!
5. i'm finally a legit CO resident as i received my driver's license in the mail today.

as for everything else, i have my departmental orientation tomorrow and then the real deal that is classes begins monday. this weekend will include red paint, coffee with a soon-to-be friend (more on that later), and lots of dancing at new west fest!

reeeeally long road trip...

this past weekend, my mom, dad, and i went on a veeeeery long road trip. it wasn't a huge deal or anything, but i FINALLY moved to colorado. and by "FINALLY" i really mean that i've wanted to move to colorado since my dad had a job change when i was in fourth grade. that desire was reignited after 3 summers' visits to stay with cousins in colorado...and it's finally been realized.

in order to get here, many, many hours of driving were necessary. on saturday we drove from nc to virginia (where, at one point, we went ~7 miles in about an hour and a half, thanks to all the buckeyes from ohio), to west virginia, to kentucky, to indiana, then finally to illinois. we really hadn't intended to conquer 6 states in one day, but thanks to some major hotel trouble, we eventually found solace in mount vernon, illinois at a very nice hotel. sunday we hit the road and spent some quality time with missouri and kansas. it was really fun to see the arch in saint louis and we had lunch in old town columbia home to mizzou. then, after kansas city, it was basically a bust. kansas was nice for about the first 17 miles, but then 400 miles later, it got a little old. oh but we did see a wind farm--that was exciting for about 3 minutes. and, legitimately, it was very cool to be chasing the sun on the border of mountain time at sunset, so daylight seemed to last forever. we did, however, have the pleasure to have some awesome mexican food in russell, kansas (hometown to bob dole...exciting, huh?) and a lovely night's stay in colby kansas, about 50 miles from the colorado border. before lunch on sunday we had finally reached colorado, and it was such a surreal feeling. it didn't feel like i had really even gone anywhere at that point, especially because i'd never had my own car in colorado.

charleston, wv is a beautiful city! 

super old fashioned mcdonalds

meet me in saint louis!

kansas.......

more kansas...including a wind farm! though the windmills do look somewhat like crucifixion crosses to me....

chasing sunset

FINALLY!

so now, i'm here...getting settled in to my apartment in fort collins. putting together ikea furniture, finding other pieces of furniture on craigslist, and redoing many of the things i brought from home. thank goodness my parents are staying until sunday, because i've needed them for every bit of time they've been here to help with getting my life here together from scratch. next on the list is redoing much more furniture, some sewing, lots of paperwork, and making friends. preferably not in that order! stay tuned...

but i'll leave you with the view from my apartment patio :)

it's here, it's here!

today's the day, i'm off to great places...

mom, dad, and i are leaving this morning for fort collins--we have an estimated 26 hour, 1,719 mile drive ahead of us. we're planning on getting into town on monday around lunchtime. it'll be a loooong few days in the car, but the destination should be great!

we (mostly my dad) packed up most of my things on monday night and shipped them off in a "relocube", so we're just taking the rest of my clothes and a few random things in my car today!

expect great pictures (unlike this horrendous bb camera one) and details ahead, but for now i need to get the vacuum out for space bags!

nc--i'll see you on the flip side, aka at cornhuskin'!

bane of my existence

i'm at the point where really getting ready to move to fort collins. in fact, the subaru will roll out early in the morning on saturday, july 24th. that's less than a month away. and when i say ready, i mean, like, really ready. i'm ready for colorado weather, the mountains, starting my new adventures, and most of all i'm ready to be settled somewhere. don't get me wrong--there are things i'm going to miss about life in raleigh, especially my family, friends, and kiddos; however, this whole living "in between" thing is starting to get to me.

unfortunately, though, moving is not the easiest of processes. i've complained about moving several times a year for the past 4 years--into my res.hall room/apartment, out at holidays, out for summer, to/from colorado/denmark for 3 summer; nevertheless, none of those "moves" would i really call moves at this point. tracking down moving companies with good google ratings AND reasonable prices is difficult. furthermore, actually having an understanding of how many items i'll be moving without boxing up all my possessions. it's a process and it's very frustrating, but if i'm going to get to colorado, i'm going to need to deal with it.

thus, boxes and the life unsettled are the current bane of my existence. as are all my possessions. i have too many, but i really can't bear to part with them.

on a happier note, i'm freaking out less about my furniture situation since miss kellie and i did a little yard sale-ing last saturday morning. we were up at the crack of dawn, but we had some really fun finds. for me it was two $5 tables that won my heart. and i'm excited to make something fun out of them. i can't wait to repaint these tables and give them some beautiful character.

oh, and remember that desk my mom forgot about? check out this beauty. it's going to be a beautiful yellow marigold color. i'm so excited.

lackluster

tonight i talked grad school budget with dad. looks like i'm going to be eating beans and rice for the next 2+ years (at the very least). at least the fat tire brewery has free samples on a daily basis, so if i need a beer i can head over there for a free pint (once i add up the 4 4oz. glasses!). HA! but seriously...anyone know any kids in fort collins who need babysitting? because i'll be allll over that!

to continue on the train of depressing matters, i spent the weekend at the lake with no camera for 1 day, then a dead camera for the next. i will say it was nice to be removed from technology for a couple days as i read 1.5 books (this and this), but the feelings of lackluster persisted with storminess and an overall absence of energy throughout the weekend.

basically...i need something to brighten me up. hopefully tomorrow will bring some bright, cheery, happy colors and faces to put an upswing on this week. there's a light, i just haven't quite gotten there yet.