Saturday

I wish I were here:

[Mt Hood Meadows]

Snowboarding with my roommates on opening day at Meadows!

 Instead...I am working in the lab.

Sigh. The life of a grad student :]

xoxo

Summer Grows Cold

Trees.

Anyone that talks to me or follows me on Instagram

will know that I am dumfounded by the trees here.

I have never seen such colors!

Truly amazing :)

i must say, Oregon sure is beautiful.

As expected, i do miss seeing the sunset over the Ocean 

on my way home from the lab,

but this commute to/from work makes up for it:

 Taken bright and early from the OHSU Tram

xoxo

DIY Dresser resoration

I found an antique dresser that I literally began dreaming about.

I thought about it for months, 

& when my birthday rolled around,

Ta Da!

The dresser of my dreams!

Then there was the dilemma:

Paint it? Leave it? Lacquer it?

I finally decided to paint it.

At first I thought I would do a shabby-chic type thing

& paint it distressed white.

So after the [lengthy & torturous] process of paint-stripping & sanding,

my very talented uncle agreed to help me paint:

But then, I decided that I wanted my dresser to look like this instead:

The hard part being the precision.

I tried painting the white on the drawers over & over,

....& failed, over & over...

Until my lovely sister gave me painters tape!!
[Duh!]

Let me tell you, it saved my life!

& I ended up with this beauty:

[this was me showing it off at my going-away party, hehe]

Here are a couple more views:

look at the perfection of those drawers!

I even got all fancy with the top!

painter tape is awesome....


DIY Dresser Restoration
Total cost: $40
Dresser: Gifted [Thanks J&J!]
Paint stripper: $9 [local hardware store]
Primer: $9 [local hardware store]
Electric sander: Borrowed
Brushes & paint: $20 [Lowes]
plus some frustration and hard work,
& I have the most amazing dresser EVER!

xox

Slippery Slope.

The blogs have been piling up.

It's true.

& the more I don't blog, 

the more things I should have blogged about,

the farther I am behind...

& the more I don't blog!

So, the cycle ends here.

I got some good advice, in these words:

"You don't have to blog about everything,

its your blog, write whatever you want,

it doesn't have to be sequential or even important,

just whatever you feel."

So...I am back.

xox

All you need is LOVE.

Hello, hello. I am quite aware that it has been way too long
since my last blog post.

& the more I procrastinate, the more events I need to post about!

So, lets go back in time a little.

to the wedded bliss of my dearest friends [& roomies!] R&S :)

[hold on to your socks, its going to be a lengthy post!]

I can say with complete certainty that it was the most 

beautiful, genuine, absolutely fantastic wedding I have EVER been to.

Not that I would expect anything less from 2 people who are so in love with life 

& so in love with each other
[in a way that the rest of us could only ever hope for].

Lets start with a little history:

R & I became quick friends in college over a love of Napolean Dynamite.

"Friends" rapidly turned into best friends, sorority sisters,
roommates & travel-buddies.
She stayed by my side when many others did not....
which is something I will never forget.

R&S are both amazing people

which makes for the amazing couple that they are.

Spending 10 years together, all throughout the turmoil of highschool, 

college, cross-country moves
& the drama of our college's small greek system,
they finally made it to the alter this last August.

& I couldn't be happier for them.

May their future be as blessed & beautiful as their wedding was:

So, here is my interpretation through pictures of their 

Rustic Vintage Inspired Farm Wedding:

Lets start with the [to die for!] venue & decor:

The whole event was held at the groom's parents farm 

(AKA Mac's Farm- THE most amazing wedding venue EVER]:

The beautifully lit reception in the woods could not have been more etherial:

Tablescapes and decor were attended to for 2 days prior by family friends:

small personal touches were added to everything, like the chalk creations by Brittany

& the key/lock R's parents have owned for years:

i helped create the clever-cute table cards ;)

Antique vases & doilies were scavenged months in advance, & the runners were homemade:

The stunning flowers came from a local flower farm :)

The menu consisted of delicious BBQ and a wide array of fancy desserts:

Oregon honey was jarred for gifts:



Moving onto the blushing bride...
i was privileged enough to do her hair and makeup on the big day...

Her dress was a flowy-chiffon halter which oh-so 
perfectly matched the ambiance of the day:

& the shoes! The shoes speak for themselves...



& then there was beautiful couple....

[Check out the amazing dance floor they built...with a tree in the middle!]

& I must say that the wedding party was truly a good time!

Bridesmaids wore vintage-inspired floral mismatched dresses 

& groomsmen wore mismatched grey vests.

the boys.

the boys & the bride...

the girls.

my outfit.

[my dress was Free People, shoes Steve Madden, 

& i made the flower fascinator out of a faux flower, lace, and old ring and feathers]

me & my lovely walking-partner:

Me & the Bride

me & the groom:

& then the party started...

[SO much fun!] 

Bug made an appearance!


OH how we danced...

& did i forget to mention the BEST wedding crasher EVER?!

& lastly, a very special Thank You to Anna and Brit 

for the perfectly lovely photos :)

LOVE IS ENOUGH.

xoxo