Winter Wishlists Link-up!

The holidays are coming and it is my all time favorite season (hooray for sweater & scarf weather)!! Because I love this time of year so much  I even feel happy when looking online at clothes I can't afford, and decorations I only wish I were talented enough to make! Plus I am extra excited because my boyfriend is letting me get a faux WHITE Christmas tree this year. I am going to decorate it with white twinkly lights and plenty of colorful ornaments...very 'blogger chic' and very non-traditional & I love it. I am allowed to do this faux-tree-thing on one condition: we still have 'real tree' decorations scattered through the house so it smells like pine needles and sap inside (without the actual mess?!) DEAL!

Below I have compiled some wish-list items as far as home décor and wardrobes are concerned. I have never done a blog "link up" and I would LOVE to take this opportunity to see your wish-list boards! Link up below and let's get inspired by each other, eh?!

Home Décor Wishlist:

 

1// Smile and Wave 2// A Beautiful Mess 3// Today You Inspired Me 4// Poppytalk

 

Fall/Winter Wardrobe Wishlist:



1// Ivana Revic 2// Shop Hers 3// River Island 4// asos 5// Fashion Jot 6// Helmut Lang 7// Tory Burch



Meanwhile, in Buffalo...

Since moving home to Buffalo I have had quite a few realizations:

#1. People should really stop hating on Buffalo! I mean, I used to do it too. But why? The city has amazing restaurants, a vibrant music and theatre scene, plenty of fun pubs and bars, art galleries, a new waterfront, and did I mention the pizza and wings?! There is really no better place for pizza/wings than Buffalo. Trust me.

#2. Family is everything. While living away from home is something I am so glad I did, and will likely do again someday, there is no better feeling than being close to my family right now. Seeing my niece growing up, being able to go to my parents' house for dinners, having my sister close to me...this is the best perk of being back at home.

#3. Seeing my friends! A funny thing has happened since we've all graduated from SUNY Fredonia...(almost) everyone moved from Rochester to Buffalo! It's amazing. Just this past weekend we had 25+ of our closest friends here for a halloween party. It was the first time we had visitors in our new home and it couldn't have gone better!

#4. Being here with Jake. We have been together over 5.5 years and have seen a lot of ups and downs together. We have moved, lost jobs, moved again, gone (and continue to go) through financial obstacles, but through it all we have maintained love and respect for one another. He still surprises me every day with the sweet things he says and does for me and I feel so blessed to have him here with me. Since losing my job, Jake stepped up right away and found a new career here in Buffalo which is going really well for him so far and this past weekend when we had friends over for a Halloween party he had the best ideas for costume contests and games to keep everyone having fun. I couldn't have done it without him...he is my better half! :) 

#5. Lower rent / bigger spaces! Our new apartment is our favorite EVER and we can't wait to continue decorating until it looks like 'us.' Right now there are a lot of blank walls and semi-empty rooms but that's the fun of it! We can take our time and slowly create the space we have always wanted. I've been pinning home decor wish-list items like a mad woman for months and can't stay away from Etsy, CB2 Urban Outfitters, and Ikea for decorating ideas. I also love the blog www.aBeautifulMess.com for decorating ideas along with their food and drink recipes and style advice!

Now...If you need me I will be frantically applying for marketing, events management, promotions, and management positions throughout the Buffalo area ;)

Happy Monday!

chicago...

...you're breaking my heart! why the violence? why the crime? ...

this has been something weighing heavy on my heart since i fell in love with chicago during my work-training last year. the city is beautiful, vibrant, young, fun, and yet it can be so dangerous. anyone knows not to travel to south chicago. why? gangs, violence, gun crimes...anyone knows that on any given night someone (likely many) will be shot, people will die.

since the beginning of 2013 there have been 40 deaths in 30 days. did that sink in? 40. deaths. now imagine if that were happening in your city. imagine for a moment that the deaths were not black-on-black gang crimes but rather white people walking home from their private schools. THEN would people take notice? one example getting media attention this week: there was a young girl killed in south chicago who was simply standing under an overpass to take shelter from the rain with her girlfriends after school. she was shot in the back by a drive-by shooter and she died later in the hospital. she was an honor student and she had just performed at president obama's inauguration in washington, d.c. as a majorette in her h.s. marching band. (article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57566690/teen-girl-who-performed-at-obama-inauguration-killed-in-chicago-shooting/).

i don't mean to get so heated, and i know that race is such a sensitive issue and i don't want to offend anyone...but this is something that our country needs to recognize.

what can we do? how can we put an end to this? i don't know. i suppose no one really knows what to do or else these these things wouldn't continue to happen. i know that every city has dangerous 'spots' and i know that not all violence will cease to exist...but this? this is just too much.

maybe some profound idea will come to me, but in the meantime i simply hope to bring awareness to these tragic occurrences. so yes, my twitter will likely be reflective of these crimes. does it scare you? make you sad? then let's do something about it!