Green.

They told me St. Patty's weekend in Dallas was not to be missed. I mean, I've done St. Patty's celebrating in New York City friends, I'm no stranger to the craziness of this holiday. But hey, let's see what this is all about.

I stuck around, made some plans to tag along with Linds and Colin and their friends for the festivities. Which turned out started at 8:15am. Ouch. These guys don't mess around.

I wore a green dress. Green nail polish. Green Kendra Scott earrings. And my cowboy boots. Duh.

Greenville Avenue was all shut down in preparation for the parade and block party. We camped out at Stan's among lots and lots of green-clad St Patty's celebrators. Koozies were necessary. 

Colin and Linds. Very green.

We call this, the green slurpee. Yum. Just a taste before hitting the road - ok, maybe just walking a few blocks - to our next party location.

We met some horses along the way. They were not dressed in green. But we thought they should have been.

I must share the following photo shoot. 

Jessyca and Lindsey. And the kilted man. Lindsey was very sure she knew him from somewhere...

House party. Green beer. Green jello. Puppies. It was a good day.

I'm also not 100% sure where this lei came from. But it is now hanging in my cubie at work. Just a lil green reminder of my very green holiday. 

Love these girls!

Oh and another happy St. Patty's treat?? THIS gal was in town from South Carolina to celebrate her big 3-0 birthday. I met up with sorority sis Deborah, her husband FJ and their friends for some cookie cake and one more green beer. 

All that equals...

One. Long. (and very green!) Day.

St. Patty's Dallas style. 

Success!

painting project {the navy one}

Next up on my list-o-projects - a bookshelf refresh!

I stole this lil bookshelf from my parent's garage when I moved. I think it came from my Grandad's house, I'm not sure. But I do know it's just been hanging out in their garage for years and I could certainly put it to much better use!

I love that this shelf has really great shape. And maybe just a bit neglected. But tons of potential. Nothing a lil sanding and a fresh coat of paint couldn't fix!

I had a painting weekend with mom on the first nice weekend in February. We had all the windows and doors open to a sunshiney day and got to work right there in my apartment. Who needs a garage when you have a few pieces of wood for keeping paint off the floors and lots of newspapers? 

I decided on a dark navy blue for this piece. Semi-gloss this time around. 

However, after this first coat, it was not looking very dark navy at all. It was more robins egg blue. And I was quite skeptical.

So I decided to let it dry. Give it another coat. And cross my fingers that it got darker. 

If not? Well then I was prepared for another trip to home depot to get the color just right. I wanted navy!

Lucky for me, two coats of paint and a little time was all it needed to dry and darken.

I ended up being really happy with the color. And with the glossy finish.

I did have to let it dry for a few days before I could put anything on it though. Something about that semi-gloss finish made it pretty sticky. 

But once I moved it back into my room, I was totally in love with the way it turned out. The perfect shade of navy and the perfect size between these two doors.

Painting project #2, check! 

What do you think?! I think I'm starting to get really good at this game. 

Can't wait to share my next project! It has lots of character. And a good story. You know, my favorite kind of project!  :)

Slacker

I have been SUCH the bloggy slacker lately. Oops.

I really didn't mean to. I have lots of half-written posts...in my head...I think.

So in effort to get back to bloggy business.

And because I looked to my iPhone photos for inspiration.

Here are ten super important (read: random) thoughts of the day.


1. Date nights with my niece are my favorite. They are filled with quotable moments that I am sure I had ambitions of blogging at some point -

"We're going to do this crafty project, ok?"

Showing me how she can write her name - "Only in pink La La. Because it's my favorite. And it's yours too." 

"Let's have a tea party! With JUST the girls. They'll love it."
"This piece of cake is yours. It has sparkles too!"

"Oh La La, you are just magnificent!" Followed by an attacking hug.

After falling down and getting slightly upset - "Oh no Sloan...but can you still twirl? That's the real test if you're ok" - She immediately twirls away.

2. NY Mag is back in my life! Although, without all that time on the train, I find myself very behind in reading.

3. It's Girl Scout Cookie season! And these are my favorites...

4. I went to my first Mavs game a few weeks ago. I know, I know, what kind of Dallas girl am I? But now I'm hooked. So I'll be accepting invites / tickets whenever available. 

5. New Mizunos! In very bright yellow. But they were totally necessary after our muddy February 5K fiasco. Right??

6. My nephew Tyler is at such a fun age! He's starting to get a lil personality. He loves his big sister and watches everything she does. And just look at that hat! What a doll.

7. I would very much like a cuddley puppy. Mom says I shouldn't have one in an apartment. (and maybe because I don't spend a ton of time at home...) Whatever. She's not the boss of me.

Just LOOK at these lil schnoodles! I need one!

8. Guess who had a layover in Big D a few weeks ago?!? World Traveler Extraordinaire, Angie Away. We talked for 3 hours non-stop in the Hyatt restaurant at DFW. I miss her. Like, a lot.

Now submitting applications for social media guru's / travel-a-holics in the Dallas area. I know she'll love it here. :)

9. Me and sparkly nail polish are having a moment. Next time, lighter base color. Probably pink. The options are endless. 

10. I made guacamole a la Pioneer Woman a few weeks ago. For a girly night with my friend Kristen. It was really really yummy. And easy. And we ate most of it in one night. No shame.