Friday's Fancies | Winter Birthday Style

What better way to celebrate my birthday than by putting together a winter inspired outfit? You know how much I love snow (and these boots), so a winter birthday outfit is right up my alley.

the look : left to right 
AllSaints Elgar Cowl Neck Sweater  |  Kate Spade Sailor's Knot Hoops  |  Fur-Collar Puffer Coat
Sorel Conquest Carly Boot  |  J Brand Rail Jean Skinnies

A girl can never have enough tall winter boots to tromp through snow banks with, or maybe even wear while making snow angels. I cannot say enough how much I love, and miss, the beautiful winter snowfall. I'm even hoping to get a little snow for my birthday this year!

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Birthday Eve of the Big Three-Oh

Well. Tomorrow I turn the big 3-0. Yipes! That number still sounds a little scary to me, but don't tell my husband that. He's been 30 something for a little bit now. I don't want to make him feel like an old man. A couple days ago he said that he doesn't want to be married to a 20-something anymore. Lucky for me, I'll fit the bill tomorrow. Whew. Thankfully he wasn't trying to leave me and was only hinting at the fact that he's okay with my age. I think I've got a keeper. :)

I guess I'm probably not going to meet that silly goal, that everyone and their brother sister sets, of having kids before I turn thirty. Unless the gestation period for a human pregnancy has been shortened from 9 months to a few hours. Ready, set, go. Nope. Not pregnant. We're still not homeowners either. You know what though, I couldn't be happier be turning 30 surrounded by lots of people who love me. That will have to be enough for now. Life never seems to go according to my plans anyhow. It's probably better that way.

Speaking of plans. Someone made plans for my big birthday this year. Plans that involved some sneakiness, and also plans that involve some cold temperatures and snow. I was notified of these plans only a few days ago, and now I couldn't be more excited to be leaving my twenties. Getting older is always more fun with people you love. Now let's hope mother nature doesn't play any games and that these plans do come to fruition.

Goodbye January, it's been nice knowing you!

The Magical Boardwalk

Maybe it's just the small town girl in me, but there's something energizing about carnival rides. I suppose it mostly reminds me of warm summer nights spent in a funnel cake stupor at the county fair. Those nights marked the end of each summer in my small northern Michigan hometown. The sounds, sights, and smells take me to a carefree world. They still do.

After our relaxing day spent hanging out on Daytona Beach, the guys were just about ready to leave. I had only one thing I wanted to do before leaving though. It involved lights and a ferris wheel. Thankfully we lingered until dusk, so I captured a few rushed shots of the colorful lights. The sight was glorious. I could almost hear the sounds of a lively fair midway playing in my mind. If only I would have eaten that funnel cake we spotted earlier in the night.

The sights, sounds, and smells of the boardwalk captivated me. I could sit and watch the ferris wheel lights all night long. Call me easily amused, but I sometimes live on the border between real life and a world of enchantment. I have a hard time walking away from beauty. Whatever that beauty may be.

Life Is a Beach

Hey friends! Did you have a nice weekend? We spent our Saturday doing touristy things at Daytona Beach, because my husband had a good friend from Colorado in town. After hearing mixed reviews about Daytona Beach, all three of us were all pleasantly surprised to have really enjoyed our day.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was warm and not too hot or humid. Always a plus in my book. We did just a little research on Daytona Beach, but mainly just enough to get us there. We knew they permitted driving on the beach, so our plans consisted mostly of picking a parking spot on the beach and relaxing for a while. There was plenty of birdwatching, football throwing, and sandwich eating involved.

The boys played catch with the football for quite a while, and I snapped a few photos while enjoying the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Driving on the beach wasn't allowed on the beaches where we used to live near Tampa. The sand on Daytona Beach was packed enough for driving in your car or cruising along on a bicycle. Next time we visit, a cruiser bike would be our transportation method of choice.

After getting our fill of the beach, we headed over to the boardwalk area. We wandered past hotels, shops, and restaurants on our way to the pier. I spotted a place that sold funnel cakes, but none of us had an appetite. There were even little shop windows located along the pier that sold french fries, pizza, and shave ice. Next time we'll have to visit with empty stomachs.

Have any of you been to Daytona Beach? I know we'd like to visit again soon. Hopefully we get a chance to visit before the hot summer months are upon us. The winter months are my favorite time to visit any tourist destinations in Florida, because there are smaller crowds and the temperatures aren't hot enough to make you melt.

Hope your week is going swell!

The Sunday Currently | 15

yesterday | Daytona Beach, Florida

reading today I'll be finishing up The Poisonwood Bible, and then I'll be looking for my next read. I keep hearing that Gone Girl is a good one, so maybe it'll be next. That or Little Women.

writing I haven't been in the writing mood lately, but I just might try and tackle a few blog post drafts today.

listening to the sound of the washing machine run through its rinse and spin cycle. There's nothing like the sound of a clean apartment. Ha!

thinking that our visit to Daytona Beach yesterday was a lot of fun, and next time we really need to rent beach cruisers and ride alongside the Atlantic.

smelling Bounce dryer sheets with febreze.

wishing for another trip to the beach soon. We really don't get there often enough.

hoping that we'll have visitors again sometime before this summer. I have a tough time convincing people to visit us during the summer months. Gosh, I wonder why...

wearing purple fleece pajama pants and a gray t-shirt. It's time for some weekend house(apartment)cleaning.
loving that we really don't live all that far away from Daytona Beach.

wanting another cup of coffee... especially after watching Dangerous Grounds on the Travel Channel. It will make you appreciate good coffee. I'm also wanting to hang the west elm curtains that I just purchased.

needing to eat something for lunch.

feeling thankful that my husband could visit with his friend this weekend.

clicking on some other Sunday Currently posts... and who knows what else.


** Catch up on past editions of The Sunday Currently... read them all here

... link up your edition of The Sunday Currently with Lauren

Buckets of Organization

A couple years ago I shared the storage problems of our last apartment kitchen. It had very little cabinet storage, but we came up with an affordable and functional solution for our tiny kitchen. Thankfully our current apartment has plenty of kitchen storage, so that's not the problem this time. The office area, on the other hand, leaves a little to be desired in the storage department.

We tucked the desk into a nook near our balcony, and we realized there are very few places to hide all of our my crap computer desk necessities. If there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's having all our little odds and ends out for everyone to see. Call me modest, but I like leaving the inner workings of our office space to our guests' imaginations. Nobody needs to see that stuff!

Our computer desk does have a small drawer for hiding things. It's perfect for things like bills, pens, a couple of cords, and notepads. However, that drawer isn't large enough to store away all the pens, pencils, highlighters, and scissors I've managed to accumulate over the years. I even threw away handfuls of old pens and pencils when we moved! How these little collections manage to grow so large is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with my hoarding tendencies?

Apartment living has its challenges, and we're no strangers to having limited storage. Enter Ikea fintorp rails, hooks, and buckets. Those nifty little buggers create storage in the least likely of places. They don't look too bad doing it either. We hung one rail with three galvanized buckets, and that gave us plenty of places to store the little odds and ends that won't fit in the computer drawer.

Ikea sells the fintorp rail and accessories as a kitchen storage item, but nothing says you can't use those items in your office. I'm even thinking of using a couple in our guest closet to hold some of my craft materials. They have no limits, those fintorp rails. Use them anywhere.

We still have a little work to do before the office area is completely organized. It's a good start though. There's a reason I didn't show you the floor to the right of our desk. I have a basket down there, and it's full of picture albums, coupons, and spray paint. No one ever said it's perfect in here. We're a work in progress.

How do you solve your storage problems?