I replanted my fern over Spring Break.

Lonnie sold his Datsun truck.

It is officially spring but it has been softly snowing here all throughout the week. Winter just doesn't want to let go.

I made a Springtime list, like MAV over at 3191milesapart.com did.

My list includes:

getting out of bed and getting going

eating less processed foods and more fresh fruits and veggies

photo walks and adventures

painted nails

bluegrass and folk music

getting back into painting

bright pink lip butter

yoga

more time spent outside and camping trips

This week was crazy busy. I was swamped with projects. I wanted this post to be submitted by Monday, but that obviously didn't happen. Oh, well. It is what it is.

"It is what it is" has been my attitude as of late. If I let myself get stressed out over every little thing that doesn't go as planned, I would have already gone crazy by now. This semester has been pretty tough to keep up with, and I've been having to take life day by day in order to hold on to my sanity. I'm realizing a lot about my work ethic and what things work for me when it comes to getting things done. (I love to-do lists, by the way. I have to lay out everything in front of me and take it step by step, marking off tasks as I get them done.)

I'm going back home tomorrow night for a summer job interview on Friday. I really hope it goes well. Even if it doesn't, I'm excited to have the chance to spend Easter with my family and to have one last visit before I'm home for good for SUMMER BREAK.

I am starting to get so pumped inside for summer. I am ready for bare skin, warm sun, blueberry picking, and lake trips.

Good things are happening, and I am so excited to finish off my first year of college.

We wrapped up the Photography portion of my art class today. This means I have more photos, and I am going to take even more this coming week to finish up my final project by next Friday.

lonnie's house and guinea pigs.

My boyfriend Lonnie got guinea pigs. Well, Lonnie got a guinea pig and named her Zoë(first picture). Then, he got another guinea pig and named her Zena(second picture), because he did some guinea pig research and learned that guinea pigs work best with friends. When Lonnie finds a new interest or hobby, he does all sorts of research on it and meets people(online via forums or in real life) who are also interested in it. He does something all the way or not at all. There is no in between.

Anyway, when he originally got Zoë, he built her a cage(last picture). Then, since getting another guinea pig, he built a bigger, temporary cage to house the both of them(third picture). I was pretty impressed by the first cage. I like that Lonnie does things all the way or not at all and I like that he is handy and creative. He can make so many wonderful things, and as a maker of sorts myself, I'm glad to share that love with someone.

Also, Lonnie learned that new guinea pigs can be handled better by wrapping them up in a towel and then feeding them(first picture. the towel also stops them from pooping on you.).

Lonnie is also currently obsessed with guns and shooting(fourth picture, taken while messing around for my photography assignment. gun is not loaded, obviously.). I find it somewhat interesting(at least as opposed to his other obsession: cars), and he is going to take me to the shooting range so I can learn more and learn how to shoot. We also have a camping trip planned for when it gets warmer out and alongside that, we had a long conversation the other night about our shared desire to get healthy and active. We will both start eating like guinea pigs(fresh fruit and veggies!), and Lonnie will try to convince me to start running with him. We'll see.

breaking.

I am home on Spring Break! I literally just finished a last couple of assignments for school an hour ago, so my doing-absolutely-nothing break officially starts now.

The weather is perfect. I arrived just in time for the warmer weather to finally hit. It was so nice today, I pranced around in a dress without a cardigan or leggings. Bare skin exposed to the sun feels so good. (My poor pale legs could use it, too!)

The pictures used in this post are just some things that made me smile when I paused to look at them.

I got that tealight holder over the summer from Target.

I laughed out of joy when I saw my kitty sleeping in the basket of warm laundry. It just makes me giddy.

This weekend I have been getting settled back into the flow of being home. This week, I should have plenty of free time to play catch up. Catching up on some blog posts that I have floating around in my drafts. Getting ahead with school work. Catching up with old friends. Doing some much needed sketching, journaling, and creative dumping. Catching up on various television shows like GIRLS and Kourtney and Kim take Miami(I know, I know. Trash TV. But hey, it's Spring Break! I'm young! Give me a break). 

river arts district.

Lonnie and I took a photo walk around the River Arts District so that I could get photos for my first Photography project. The project was about line, but I was more drawn to color. Oh, the woes of being a painter at heart.

But in all seriousness, I think I did a decent job at the point of the project. These aren't all the pictures I used in my project, and I didn't use all of these pictures: these are just my favorite ones.

The River Arts District is basically a hub of super old buildings that are spray painted and falling apart which all sorts of artists have turned into studios. There are painters, sculptures, glassblowers, ceramicists, you name it. Lonnie and I walked up and down a street with mostly restaurants and bars, so we didn't explore many studios. Last semester, Samm had an interview with one of the artists who works in a studio in the District, and I went with her then to see it. It was an incredible experience and I wish I got pictures of it.

The River Arts District is so unique that it's hard to describe in words. It's just full of art and color and noise and inspiration. I'm not one for shooting urban settings, but I was non-stop inspired while working here. I was wide-eyed and I couldn't stop finding things that caught my interest.

It was the perfect day, too: sunny and really warm for February. I ditched my winter coat. Lonnie and I stopped in this bar/restaurant called The Junction for a mid-day snack. We split an order of fries and the best cinnamon bun I've ever had in my life. I'm not kidding.

I'm so happy to just have gone out on a day trip with Lonnie to explore a new place, because it's my favorite thing to do together.
I'm really excited to see where the rest of my Photography projects take me.

curing the winter blues.

Some little things making me smile:

1. A "Forget Me Not" coffee mug I got from a thrift store, and filling it with coffee as a pick-me-up on cold, windy afternoons.

2. Samoas. Girl Scout cookies in general. But mostly, Samoas.

3. The Chrysanthemums that Lonnie got me.

I am clearly looking forward to spring as I search the everyday for warm, sweet, and colorful things to get me by in these hardest days of winter.

I know my posts lately have been inconsistent and minorly slacking, but I promise I have a few "out of the dorm room" posts coming up. I've just entered into the Photography portion of my basic level art rotation class. At the same time, we are making the switch from Illustrator to Photoshop in my New Media course. I have been in a photo funk of sorts, so these two things could not have come at a better time.