too many plans.

so...i went to work on my second, "make it your own" post. but then i realized that best friend had sorted laundry all over the floor, my closet was a mess and the trash was still in it's place. i don't think you want to see that ;) i'll be posting the next in my little baby series next monday, when my home is once again clean and photo worthy! for now, i've made this space my own with some clutter. great.

instead, i decided to do a blurb on san francisco. i'm headed back next week to spend some time with my grandma {shh! she doesn't know yet!}, and to spend some time in that gorgeous city by the bay. i've always loved it, and my heart catches when i see the bay bridge, think of powell street or the embarcadero. i'm sad that i live so far away now, but it's neat to know that there are so many other cities out there to explore.

i first visited when i was four months old, which was fitting, because i would be a bay area kid for roughly ten more years. after we moved {and i moved out}, i started making trips. it wasn't very far, and the theaters called my name. i ate lunch under the golden gate, and walked crissy field. i was introduced to amazing street vendors and tumbled my way down the filbert steps of telegraph hill. tip number one? throw away your map. i found these stairs by accident ;)

i've run up and down the hallways of city hall, toured a million coffee shops and had the best pizza in the richmond district. my camera fairly exploded with pictures of the golden gate, and i've lost myself quite a few times up and around all of those crazy hills {in a stick shift, no less}. san francisco was the place where i went to clear my head in college, and after the move to LA, where i took those who had never been. somehow, it never gets old. it's a place that's different every time you go.

what about all you lovely people out there? i left my heart in san francisco, but where have you left yours?

 {go here.}

 {bring your walkin' shoes.}

 {don't be afraid of the parking}

{change your life here}

making it yours.

i am not a fan of ikea. i know that there are a million different men/women/children that will swear by it, but honestly? i just can't. i find the furniture is a bit too stark, and all of the rooms are based on organization rather than the idea of bringing your own personality out through design. sure, i'll buy a bed frame {guilty}. but then i painted it and strung fairy lights over it and made it my own. you don't have to spend a ton of money to make something drab cute, you just need to spend it wisely.

due to my utter disdain for ikea, i thought i would dedicate a couple of posts this week to the subject bringing a bit of you through your space.

first up?
the room everyone wants to forget about. {the bathroom}

i like to keep my counter clean and neat, with only a couple of little tchotchke's. make sure the necessities {makeup brushes/soap} make an appearance as well as those pretty perfume bottles, and you can add tiny touches like toothbrushes in a mason jar. functional+cute. even though you might not want to brag about your bathroom, i promise. fresh flowers and candles? make it so much nicer. {and better than ikea. i'm not biased! ;) }

 {homemade pamela soap, seen in this post}

 {the versatile mason jar}

 {perfume bottles}

 {makeup brushes in glass jars}

 {little french flowers}

{everything together: girly/neat}

book signing.

this blog post is short because i am extremely excited. why, you ask? igettogotoabooksigning!!!!! okay, okay. a little slower now...i get to meet emily schuman of, "cupcakes and cashmere" and get my book signed. all with her signature gold pen, no less. and yes, i realize that the photo above makes me look like i'm five. especially since my messy room provides the perfect backdrop. i should stop watching "grey's anatomy" and actually clean it...

i'm going to fight traffic on the 405 at rush hour, and make sure my outfit is a bit more fashionable than skinny jeans and a t-shirt because this is kind of a big deal. i've seen my favorite novelist, so now it's time to meet the first blogger I have ever followed. i was reading a "glamour" magazine a couple of years ago, and she popped up as a blogger to watch. thus, i have followed her blog ever since. it's been so much fun/inspirational. she literally teaches me how to dress...and make pasta for summer. it's great.

what about you? who are your favorite bloggers?
is there anyone you would fight rush hour LA traffic for? ;)

yellow.

i have a favorite color...that's threatening to take over my life. most of the time i'll stick with neutral blues and creams, because i love the fresh and classic feeling the colors give a room. but i might have a not-so-secret obsession.

yellow.

i can't get over the color. it makes me smile, drags my pocketbook out of my purse and fills my fridge with unnecessary {yummy!} lemonade.

this week, instead of paying through the nose for skirts like this (got mine at foreign exchange!) or freaking my landlord out with painted walls, i decided to satisfy my love of everything yellow with a little natural coloring.

the result?
my house is oh so full of flowers.

 {the beginnings}

A Little Bit Broken.

I don't usually write blog posts on my feelings. Most often, they're about the fluffy/fun parts of Los Angeles, and the crazy extended family that makes their home up in the Bay Area. This week, however, I left my family in Tennessee. And that's no laughing matter.

It's roughly 2,004 miles from my front door to theirs, and sometimes I think I can personally feel every foot of it. Whoever came up with the term, "homesick" wasn't kidding. There's a pressure on your chest, and tears feel like they hide right behind your eyes. Sometimes I catch myself walking on eggshells around the office/home as to not jostle the delicate nature of my heart.

Is that strange? To be twenty-years-old, and completely broken over being so far away from home? It's a bit odd to come to terms with. I've washed the floors of the bathroom at work with tears that came too fast to stop, and listened to country music that strikes a sudden, hidden chord. I woke up on Monday morning much too early (I was still on Dad/Tennessee time), and watched as the sky bled colors of light blue and pink. It's beautiful, but different. And it hurts.

When I went away to college, everyone was missing home. We were all torn away from the people we loved, and thrust into a dorm with a hundred other girls in the same situation. It's different, now. At school, the other students go home to their families, and I hear people at work talking about plans for the weekend with siblings, or dinners with mom and dad. I'm happy for them, but there's a little chink of envy in my heart. I wish I could do the same thing.

I fought tears the whole plane flight back, and finally managed to let go once I found a note from my Mama tucked away in my carry-on bag. On the outside she had written, "Meg: Open in LA." She tucked in a little love note somewhere in Tennessee, and I was lucky to find it before I went to bed late Sunday night. She wrote about how much she loves me, and God's plan. It was her last line {paraphrased, here. some letters are too personal to share} that hit me hard. "God has a great plan for you...but I pray he always leads you home."

It's in moments like these that I realize the inevitable.
Sometimes, it's okay to be a little broken.

 {dad and mama}

 {a night out for live music//love the lady smiling in the background}

 {playing games at starbucks}

summer, 2012

i can't bear the thought that summer is almost over. even though i love the fall, it's going to be hard to leave the long evenings and 80 degree days. the beach just won't feel the same, and ice cream will step aside to make way for hot chocolate.

in the midst of my nostalgic sunday night (gave a tour to some friends at the ol' alma mater...weird.), i decided to go back through the photos of summer. i'll be in nashville for the remainder of the week, so here's a bit of beautiful california before this blog gives way to tennessee posts.

summer, 2012

 {best sundaes. ever.}

 {excuse the hair in my face//it was a bit windy}

 {treats on a saturday}

 {watching the US women's gold medal soccer game}

 {two of my favorite people at the el coyote}

 {malibu trip}

 {someone pulled the fire alarm...in 100+ degree weather}

 {dodgers game with the ladies}

 {this is the, "we just bought tickets to africa" face.}

 {getting ready for a trip home//ice cream for breakfast}

 {filling the vases with flowers//saturday morning tradition}

{love/hate relationship with the glasses: i love, best friend hates} 

{helping the family move}

{in love with old photos}

{iliad//favorite bookstore} 

{berry cake? success.} 

{new hairstyle during june gloom}