DesignLoveFest's Dress Your Tech | My Favorites

I'm such a fan of a fresh start, and there's something about a new desktop background that kicks me into gear on Sundays and gets me excited for the work week ahead. DesignLoveFest, one of my favorite blogs, has a series called "Dress Your Tech," highlighting downloadable wallpapers for your computer. They're the best I've seen, and I love that there's always such a variety, yet all of them stay true to her aesthetic (clean, fun & minimalist).

Here are some of my favorites, starting with the one I'm rockin' now.

Happy week, everyone! Xx

Download here at DesignLoveFestDownload here at DesignLoveFest

Download here at DesignLoveFestDownload here at DesignLoveFest

Download here at DesignLoveFest

DIY Instagram Photo Wall

Instagram is a hobby of mine, so when my friend Chrissy told me about Artifact Uprising - a site that creates physical photos & albums from your Instagram photos - I was super interested. She showed me her cute wall of Instagram photos in her Boston apartment and I fell in love. I needed to do the same.

I ordered 25 prints of my favorite Instagram photos from Artifact Uprising, and within a week, they were in my apartment. Talk about some serious Insta-ception.

Take a look at how I transformed the space above our bed into an intimate peek into our day-to-day lives. I absolutely love it. Waking up & seeing some of my favorites moments - lovely meals, views from my most memorable travels, and snapshots of the mundane, but interesting - is the absolute best.

I recommend taking a look at the website & seeing how you can transform your favorite photos (whether it be in designed photo albums, books, wood calendars; you name it). Sometimes it's great to move from the digital to the physical.

Before

After

A Day in Astoria

I was a bit overdue for a day trip to Astoria, so today, I met Katie, MA & Lizzy up in Queens for a girls afternoon. Our first stop was the flea & food market - it's an awesome (and very manageable) market with tons of delicious, local food options and some quirky stands. By the end of our two hours there, I managed to consume strawberry basil lemonade, cucumber mint limeade, an Asian cabbage pancake with noodles, a few bites of a deep fried rice ball & a few too many samples of salsa. Needless to say, I was a happy girl.

After we felt satisfied by our food choices, we made our way down to the different product stands. I ended up at a jewelry stand called We See Stars and purchased two midi rings that I'm LOVING (one is gold and the other is rose gold - perfect for stacking).

After scouring the market for a bit longer, we split ways, and Katie and I decided to hit one more shop: Lockwood. This place is such a hidden gem for gifts (and adorable clothes, jewelry & housewares that are pretty impossible to pass up). I left with some constellation socks for Brandon and nail stickers with lovely pastel colors & geometric patterns, but I definitely wish I left with more... the candle selection was ah-MAZING.

Sock It To Me - Men's Constellation

Museum Nails - Paint Strokes with Gold

Katie & I were feeling quite indulgent, so we capped off the day by getting mani/pedis at Athena's Nails in Queens. A hot coral for my toes and Essie's "Marshmellow" on my fingers, and I left feeling like a million bucks. It was an awesome day with great friends, and the weather couldn't have been better. Days like this make me love summers in New York. 

Hope you have a great week, all! Xx

Steep Your Soul: Maya Angelou

Super Soul Sunday is one of my favorite weekend rituals. Brewing my morning coffee & snuggling under a blanket with my windows wide open - with Super Soul Sunday on TV - always starts my Sunday off in the best way possible. It's uplifting & inspiring, and gives me incredible food for thought for the week.

Oprah often references Maya Angelou in her show, so when she passed away recently, I turned to Oprah's content to learn more about her life & her messages. I ended up on Oprah's YouTube channel, watching video after video with Maya, and her words really hit home with me.

While all of her messages are worth sharing, here are a few that brought me chills in those videos:

• "Love may be the energy that keeps the stars where they are. Love may be the energy that keeps blood flowing through our veins. It is the reason for everything good."
• "It's such an amazing understanding to think that the "It" which made fleas and mountains, rivers and stars, made me. What I pray for is humility. That there is something bigger than you and I. I would like everyone to think of a statement by Terrence: "I am human. Therefore, nothing human is alien to me."
• "When you know better, you do better. Don't hold yourself hostage for who you used to be."
• "When people tell you who they are, believe them."

I'm hoping I can embody some of Maya this week.

Xx

100 Happy Days

I've recently been intrigued by the #100happydays challenge. It's quite a simple challenge, really - basically, all you need to do is identify one thing a day that makes you happy... for 100 days. Doesn't seem that hard, right? Well, according to the website, 71% of people who start the challenge fail, and most of them quote a "lack of time" as the main reason. These people simply did not have enough time to find something that made them happy.

So, I'm giving myself this challenge to identify one thing a day - just one thing! - that makes me happy. It could be a cup of coffee, my comfy couch after a long day of work, a bright blue sky, a cute dog I pass on the streets - whatever! If it makes me smile, I'll document it.

I'm already a week into the challenge, and I've had so much fun taking photos! It's crazy how conscious you become in finding the good in every day when you're forced to take a photo of it. I've come down with the flu the past few days, so a lot of my photos have been of soup, tea & my bed. It's all good, though - you can still find the good when you're sick. Especially when you have a cute guy making the soup for you. :)

Keep up with my journey on Instagram here!

What do you think? Could you be happy for 100 days in a row?

Hey There, '14

I've always loved fresh starts, and New Year's Day is a favorite of mine. 2013 was incredible - probably one of my favorites yet. I moved to a new job that challenges and excites me every single day, Brandon and I moved to a wonderful apartment in Chelsea, and my relationships with him, my friends and family have strengthened and continued to grow. I'm so insanely lucky. It was a great year, and I'm looking forward to what 2014 will bring.

To kick it off, I wanted to set a few resolutions. here are a few of my simple goals:

• Practice the act of gratitude 
• Wake up early and take time for myself 
• Eat something green every day
• Plan a trip (on my list of places: New Orleans, Thailand)
• Workout at least 3x a week
• Read a book a month

There they are. Now, all I have to do is focus on them. Here's to an abundant & adventurous '14!