Life is Grand- No Sarcasm Intended

I have an amazing husband. These past 2 weeks have been tough on me- school, work projects, and some personal blockades have come my way. However, these challenges have all been smoothed out so Josh took me out to celebrate! He praised my writings, complimented my hard work, and just treated me like a queen! It's easy to get caught up in your own problems and forget that your attitude spreads to those around you. Josh could feel my anxiety and instead of ignoring it or letting it bring him down, he takes me out to a nice dinner followed by The Office and Parks and Recreation. I did have homework to do- but it was almost a pleasure! Marry a good man, it won't solve your problems but it will certainly help you through them.


*Em*

It's Me!!!

Drawing by Hilary Emerson Lay

English Verse

Purchased a new book and now I'm enjoying it! It's a cold morning in Florida- I've got a hot tea and my reading glasses are out!

My Reading List!

Margaret Drabble
Eats, Shoots, and Ladders
The Crucible
A Dash of Style- Noah Lukeman
Dorothy Sayer
Charlotte Perkins Gilman- Yellow Wallpaper
George Elliot-Mary Evans
Thomas Hardy
How To Marry an English Lord 
Carol McD. Wallace

Julian fellows
Park Lane -Frances Osborne
Booth Tarkington

An Emily Fave!

Hammocks! They are fun, funky and make the best photos!



         

Crockpot Kitty!!!

Daphne loves boxes

An Emily Fave!

BUBBLES!!!!

Bubbles are fun for all ages. They provide the most simple of pleasures. Watching them dance in the wind and trying to eat them(even though you're 21). It's simply relaxing and a blast!

Best tea in the world!

My husband and I were at the mall and walked into a store called Teavana. This is store is loads of fun! You can make your own mixture of loose-leaf tea's! We blended the Blueberry Kona Pop and Pineapple Kona Pop- I love them iced! This is definitely our newest hobby!

What you'll need!
1) Loose-leaf tea- we got ours from Teavana for about $20 (for a very large quantity) but I'm sure you can get them at your closest farmers market or Whole Foods.
2) Tea Ball-ours is from Publix for about $2.50
3) A favorite mug!- Mine is from a thrift store, I found a set of 4 Star Wars Mugs for me and my husband to enjoy! $4.

Instructions
* 1 tbs of tea leafs placed into the tea ball- or just pack it in!
* Seep tea ball for 5 minutes
*Sweeten with any sweetener to taste
*add any embellishment if you want!- Blueberries, Mint Leaves, Pineapple skewer etc.
* Serve Iced

My Bookshelf

My favorite element of the apartment is probably our bookshelf- it's the only part of the house my cats can't destroy...yet! I put all of my fragile, funky thrift store items on it and only keep the books I absolutely love. There is a store near my house that takes used books and gives you credit to get more books (it is a great idea), so I only keep the books I absolutely can't live without.

*Em*

Finally! Boots in Florida!

Well, it's finally nippy in Florida! Time for my favorite boots! 

Krispy Kreme & Ocean

There is no better start of a day than an early morning trip to Krispy Kreme and a drive to the beach with my husband! <3

Buttons!

I recently bought a box buttons at a thrift store, I've never been much of a crafter- but these were so adorable I had to take them home. During the football season I go to the in-laws for games, and nobody hates football more than me. So, I got these buttons for my mother-in-law, sisters, and me to take up a project during football season! We gathered some buttons and made this for my mother-in-law to put into her craft room!

Poll #1

I'm going to start a poll, my first one was "What is your favorite type of book genre?"
The winner- NON-FICTION! Who knew?

My Amazing Find- Books!

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/index.php

The hyperlink listed above is fantastic! Type in your favorite book and it will list 20 others similar to it. :) you must do this! I plugged in Kate Chopin's The Awakening and it gave me some very intriguing titles!

An Emily Fave!

Braids! I love the feminine appearance of braids. They are simple, elegant, comfortable, and perfect for all seasons! A few of my personal favorite styles I've worn! The last 4 I did myself! I looked up step-by-step instructions one day when I got really bored and just kept trying until I was successful!

An Emily Fave!

Emily Fave

FLOPPY HATS!!!!

Love Clean Towels!!

We have to keep hampers of clean clothes off the floor because Daphne and Maris both LOVE to lay on clean clothes. Well, we left the house and a hamper was placed on the dining table in the hopes that they wouldn't notice it.

Daphne

*Em* 

Rare Days of Wonder

Sometimes the universe just takes your troubles and helps you out. I experienced this today! I have really fallen behind in 1 class- last week I had 2 midterms, 1 presentation, and a test. All of these due dates resulted in my slighting another class. So, I had decided that instead of getting lunch I was going to buckle down in the Library and catch up on 3 homework assignments.
Well I had finished 1 assignment and got an email! An email from the heavens! My professor cancelled class. So now, I'm sitting at home about to start the assignment. I procrastinated to blog and discuss my great luck.
Don't you love these types of days!?

*Em*

PostalPix- Maris & Daphne

I have recently discovered http://www.postalpix.com/ from one of my favorite blog-A Beautiful Mess- they created a collage of photos using 4x4 Instagram photos. I created my own little montage but it is still extremely small. I definitely plan on adding to the collection as more pictures are taken! This is my newest addition- their new 2x2 grid photos!

Librocubicularist

There is nothing better then reading in bed. There are 3 books I read every year- The Awakening, Wuthering Heights, and Frankenstein. Most of the reading is spent in bed- covered in my Mickey Mouse blanket with a glass of iced Passion Tea (it's Florida- Iced Tea is what we drink)

Perfume- Cleopatra

I recently purchased this perfume from Anthropologie- $15 in the small bottle. Not only do I absolutely love the scent but I love a vintage bottle. Spray bottles spray too much or too little- with these you simply dab wherever and go! Cleopatra was my personal favorite- clean, fresh, featuring a hit of romance. Perfect! I do not see myself purchasing a new scent for a very long time.


*Em*

Thrifty Anthropologie looks!

I am a great lover of Anthropologie- but I can't afford to furnish the entire house with their wonderful stuff! Over a few months I collected enough things from thrift stores to closely emulate the Anthropologie styles! I will be posting pics- where I got them and their price. These posts will soon be under the title title of Thrifty Looks! Become a follower of my blog to see when I add this series of Thrifty Looks!

*Em*

I stick my tongue out at you!!

Daphne




*Em*

Daphne and Maris

*Em*

Best Books of All Time

This a list of my favorite books in no specific order- It would have taken YEARS to decide which was my absolute favorite. But these books are the absolute best books. 

• Frankenstein- Mary Shelley 
• Mary Barton- Elizabeth Gaskell
• Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
• Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte 
• North and South- Elizabeth Gaskell 
• Death Comes to Pemberley- P.D.James
• Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
• Persuasion- Jane Austen 
• Irish Autumn- Margaret Evans Porter
• Sweet Lavender- Margaret Evans Porter 
• Mrs.Dalloway- Virginia Woolf 
• The Awakening- Kate Chopin 
• A Room With a View- E.M.Forester 
• Dubliners- James Joyce
• The Yellow Wallpaper and Short Stories- Charlotte Perkins Gilman 
• Anything Shakespeare 
• Harry Potter
• Medea- Euripides 
• Phaedra- Racine 
• Selected Poetry- William Blake
• Eurydice- Sarah Ruhl
• Lyrical Ballads- Samuel Taylor Coleridge & William Wordsworth 
• The Turn of the Screw- Henry James 
• A Vindication of the Rights of Women- Mary Wollstonecraft 
• Hippolytos- Euripides 
• Lord Peter Whimsy Series- Dorothy Sayers
• Past Imperfections-Julian Fellows

                                                                                              *Em*

My perfect morning!

After a long week full of deadlines, I was finally able to enjoy a Friday morning. I slept in until 8:30! Instead of sleeping my morning away, I spent it with family- my aunt, Maris, and Daphne. We went out for a breakfast of spicy chicken biscuits! Afterward, we had planned on going to a thrift store- but decided to go home and relax for a while and then I was off to work. With classes, papers, presentations, and work its easy to focus on the chaos, but I have people around me that keep loving my hectic life. Everyone should pick a morning and enjoy it with friends, or enjoy the solitude!

  *Em*

Daphne got tired of writing

She tried to help mommy write a paper!

*Em*

Favorite Thrift Store Finds- At Least Presently

Peacock Picture 

Home Sweet Apartment 

Flower Pot

Retro Side Table 

Marushka Doss

Carnival Glass-Fawn 

*Em*