inspiration board

I couldn’t agree more with this quote. The instant we feel “comfortable” God challenges us to embrace change. This past week has been busy, full of the change I am talking about, overwhelming and lots of fun all at the same time. I called my mom Tuesday morning, as I normally do as part of my morning routine – for no reason in particular. Just our routine morning chat. However, this particular early Tuesday morning was more out of a I feel a little lonely feeling?  Or even homesick (I use this term loosely). She reassured me that I must continue to embrace every moment that life sweeps my way. Sometimes those moments are good, and some are bad. Some of socially eventful, and some are lonely. Some will strike up feelings of JOY, and some pure self-pity –not going to acceptable in my book b/c I have to many blessings to be grateful for. Mom’s words that morning reminded me of this, and I voted (for myself) that I was going to skip down the street with my head held high. So I encourage you to live by Walsch’s words, and step out of your comfort zone and let life play out in real time. Along with this comes social awkwardness, tears, solo meals, walks alone and lots of “me” time. However these feelings are always accompanied by new friendly faces, confidence, a stronger relationship with the Lord, smiles, laughs, life lessons and lots of memories. Comment if you have a chance, in what ways do you find yourself stepping out of your comfort zone today? I pray for your strength and courage. Remember your roots AND fly (aka Mom’s words to me!)

At night I lie in bed and watch out the west side of my window as the planes fly in over the Hudson en route to LaGuardia. One after another the file in, and they never stray from their course. They follow the same path. One…two…three…four…five…si…s…I wonder into a deep sleep. This reminds me of when I was little, the first school night after a long and playful summer. I could not find peace inside my anxious little seven, eight, nine year old body. My mom would try to comfort me, I could not sleep, she’d tell me to count all the little sheep in my dreams. I don’t really remember if it worked, but I eventually dozed off into a deep sleep. 

I look around at the walls of my apartment. I see what I (we) have done in just a weeks time, and I feel a jolt of inspiration to go out into the city, yet again, and continuously paint the charm of city’s uniqueness on the inside. 

I have been stuck inside all morning-besides a short gym training session this morning-because I have been waiting on the cable man to arrive. He is just now done. I am headed outdoors (with my camera). I have an agenda. I’ll be back soon with some photographed inspiration for you. 

xo. happy friday my lovely readers.

Back with more for all my lovely readers, family and friends when life allows for more “down time”. 

Happy Monday!

xo! julie

\

Finally we took her inside for a change of clothes, water break and a whole lot of AC + a cold stone floor.

And when it was all done we got to see her new addition to her dance bag :: dance foot undeez by capezio for modern, lyrical and jazz dancers

and for now, it’s a wrap!

We luckily managed to dodge all traffic as we scooted all over the city. Why? Wasting time until we took two special girls to rendezvous with a camp friend at the airport.

Our first stop…a late lunch. Can you see the smile on that girls face on the far right?

For those familiar Houston junkie friends of ours, you’ll recognize this outdoor patio and instantly identify the restaurant.

Houston’s is a all-time favorite. Nothing quaint and special about the location, but the food is fabulous. We passed on the spinach-artichoke dip it is not a summer figure friendly dish, but definitely indulged in other scrumptious delights.

You can see it in our smiles…

And afterwards. Shopping at Phipps and Lenox. Then to top it off a quick trip to Bodies :: the exhibition @ Atlantic Station.

The poster does this exhibit NO justice. It is full of fun-filled facts. Like :: We do not yawn due to a lack of oxygen. In fact, scientist do not know why we yawn. AND If all of our muscles worked together in our body we could lift approximately 10 tons. The exhibits are all REAL. Like REAL human bodies donated to the “sciences”. The most fascinating to me was really seeing the intricate details God used as he knit us together one by one. It really puts a look of awe on your face. The high ticket price is worth every single penny.

We gave our visit two thumbs up!

And finally the real reason we drove almost two hours…to pick up  another camper at the airport. These two gals are Colorado camp friends. One from Alabama and one from Texas. The reason the be at the airport…meeting another camp friend from Indiana.

They made a last minute sign (hence the lack of creativity) and decided to try to throughly embarrass their welcomed guest. Unfortunately these two girls beauty required them to keep the sign rolled up the majority of there wait. They unfortunately were receiving request from randos claiming, “I am Mark, I’ll be whoever you want me to be”. Even and old man walked over, while the sign was not visible, saying, ” Who are your hear for? I am looking for somebody here to pick up somebody.” Really? These girls are 17 years old. Come on. People these days. You see it all at the Atlanta airport. All walks of life. All sizes. All heights. and ALL STYLES.

and finally the real Mark arrived. 9:30 PM. It was a long day, but we were entertained by their laughter on the way home.

Now for a side note :: I am taking advantage of every single moment I get to spend with my sweet sister and Mom these days (and Dad, brother, sister-in-law, friends, and extended family). As excited as I am about going to NYC, I will miss seeing there sweet faces whenever I like. Even Birmingham was only a short two hour drive away. My family and friends are a wonderful blessing in my life, and they mean the world the me. With that being said, Mom and I would like to issue a weather advisory in the upcoming weeks. There will be Flash Flood Warnings streaming from the Deep South to the BIG Apple. Why? Tears. Lots of tears. There will be tears of laughter, memories, anxiety, excitement, and fear all wrapped in one car. The BIG stuff will be delivered, but us two are going to spend quality time together road-tripping it up the East Coast. With some wonderful and exciting stops along the way. But just FYI…beware of flooding. Seriously. Oh, this is so so bittersweet.

*my new favorite a tripod table from west elm

It was  a gift to me a few months back (a really awesome gift!), and I’d yet to have a chance to take it all in. The first thing I read, “Abrasive as it is, why are we so attracted to big city living?” I got to thinking…that is so true. Why would I limit my space so that I feel packed into under 600 square feet, just me and all my belongings. Why would I want to live in the hustle and bustle, stress and chaotic order of a BIG city. The next sentence read, “irresistible (EXACTLY!!, I thought it is indeed irresistible…) siren call of culture, trade, and society, including America’s most successful designers, who make all sorts of compromise and often sacrifice space to live this way” Kelly hit the nail on the head, it is like a giant “melting pot” everything and especially of all great things design!! It is inspiring to simply walk down the street, and knowing that my only “tamed part of the city” be the retreat I seek behind my closed apartment door, I am still okay with it. With that in mind, you learn to create your own little oasis in the teeny-tiny bubble of air space around you. I concluded that this could have an effect on my blog as well. A good effect, I hope. It might give a rebirth to my blog, with the variety around me I hope that the over stimulation of my brain can be channeled into somewhat organized thoughts right HERE! Low and behold, the very next page I read in Kelly’s book read this… (got me thinking again), “What makes a good decorating blog?” I like to dwell on the somewhat rhetorical questions in books before I actually read what the authors says, so I thought some more. I thought a lot about the blogs that make my do little back flips in the chair while in front of the computer when they have new posts. I thought deeply about what I liked loved about them, and I made a list of positives! Then I read on, “daily postings covering a wide variety of finds and inspirations, written about with enthusiasm and passsion (that’s KEY!) that both entertain and educate (Yes, we want to learn something!). And the best of all, they aren’t afraid to have a point of view”. That gives readers a way to related, learn, and feel enthusiasm themselves! So for me, this book was like a mid-year resolution read!! THINK creative and be INSPIRING!!! Why? b/c the best reads for me are creative and inspiring, they make my blood rush, and my heart beat real fassssst!

The view out of my soon to be window is fabulous, and for all those roof top dwellers who thought they had privacy…looks like I am going to be invading that now:

[i'm loving the astro-turf "green" roof]

I most definitely owe a BIG thanks to my 3 little helpers in search of this apartment. They were troopers, especially while sitting in a windowless leasing office for hours on end!

But like little kiddos they were rewarded with miniature bites of heaven thanks to baked by melissa

And later Mom and I found our candy store on the Upper East Side :: Samuel & Sons

“This is long a coveted source for the finest quality tassels, trimming, braids, gimp, fringes, and more, Samuel & Sons Passementerie is literally an institution — even though something of a secret — known only to legions of interior designers and decorators. Samuel & Sons is one facet of a family-owned company that began in business three quarters of a century ago as M&J Trimming, Based in New York’s famed Garment District, M&J Trimming has long supplied fashion designers, costume makers, interior designers, and craft enthusiasts with every possible variety of decorative trimming, and is one of the most respected names in the fabric and trimming industry today.”

Now I don’t know about you, but this is what I call a real “candy store”.

And with that, Delta took me home. At least the place I’ll call home for two more months. 

It is Friday, Father’s Day Weekend, and SUMMERtime! What are your plans? I will be back with lots of new pictures and summer updates soon!

xo

1 :: helping my sister-in-law with her 3/4 year old dance camp. there is nothing like cute girls decked out from head to toe in pink, pink and more frilly pink!

2 :: a little summer breakfast entertaining when you have lots of family in town for a visit [this was delicious]

3 :: numerous nyc trips

4 :: a “re”discovery of my paper obsession [on interviewer that i met with told me she would forever remember my GREEEN envelope-ha]

5 :: lots of on to go raspberry lemonade to assist in beating the 90 degree heat + humidity

6 :: wishing apple iphone was also served by verizon. but i am NOT willing to give up verizon’s service. despite what you might be told by the commercials on tv…verizons 3G network works better than at&t

7:: enjoying weekly pilates class without a guilt conscious telling me i have lots of more important things to be doing

8 :: finding that these wedges make my jaw literally hit the floor…ill admit i event tried them on. 

9 :: reminding myself that it is okay to take a chance – even go to the extreme and be a little “extra risky” you never know the loner envelope might take you a long way…

10 :: scouring design blogs, magazines, books, websites – using my design imagination to go ahead and make a home out of a really small space aka a nyc apartment

11 :: and last but not least, even a little suit shopping!! 

What have you been up to this summer?

images via [ballerinas  +] [spinach&cheese strata  +] [nyc  +] [paper source +] [crystal light packets +] [apple +] [pilates +] [tory burch +] [take a chance +] [niba rugs +] [theory +]