Tomorrow at this time I will be eating authentic gelato...in Italy. Fingers crossed that flying standby works out for me (meaning not only do I make it to Rome but that there is an empty seat in first class with my name on it- the benefits of flying on a buddy pass.) I will be spending a total of 10 days in Europa- a few solo days in Italy and a few days in Paris and Nice with my aunt. As my mom so accurately described my trip to the lady ringing us up at a used book store today, I am doing the Eat part of Eat.Pray.Love. Her inaccuracy is in what she failed to report-that I am also doing the Drink Wine part as well. I will be sure to upload some photos. Until then,

Ciao mi amici!

Well, actually, a bunch of changes. Besides what I have already blogged about-moving into a new house and being just weeks away from starting my career-a ton of other things are changing in my personal life. With all the big things happening in CTKland, I decided I needed a fresh start. I wanted a fun project in line with the change theme, so I am doing a little redecorating in my bedroom. Right now, my room is what you would probably classify as "shabby chic." Antique furniture, lots of paisley, and a mixture of pastel blues, greens, and yellows.

I have spent a few days looking for inspiration. Most of the rooms I am loving have bold colors and mixed prints. Lots of bright blue, green, yellow, and orange. Mixtures of floral prints, bird prints, and other fun patterns.














I also found some great duvets at Urban Outfitters.



And of course I perused trusty ol' Etsy for some bedroom decor. I love these pillows.




I also bought a ton of different pillows and shams at Homegoods that I am still deciding whether I am keeping them or returning them.


Clearly, right now I am all over the place with my color palette and style, but I will let you know what I decide. Have a great week!

A legitimate form of punctuation or a grammatical faux pas?

I have mixed feelings about the familiar dot and hovering straight line. I can compartmentalize my exclamation mark emotions into the professional and social settings.

In a social setting: I have a gender bias. When a guy uses an exclamation mark, I raise an eyebrow. When a girl doesn't use one, I think "wow, she is having a bad day." I try to use them sparingly, but with twitter, I find myself using a "!" at least once per 140 characters. Am I that excited? Am I really exclaiming something? Likely not, but sometimes a sentence just falls flat without a good ol' "!". Plus, everyone uses them so I don't want to be the girl that sounds angry, right? Apparently, I cave to exclamation mark pressure.

In a professional setting: This should go without say- No way Jose. As a newbie professional about to enter the workforce, I am fully aware that "!"s are a no-go. The only thing worse is a smiley face. I take that back. Use a winky face, and you might as well pack up your belongings and expect service of a sexual harassment complaint.

So just what is it about the "!"? (how is that for punctuation?) Are we texters/bloggers/tweeters/email & letter drafters just that much more excited than our predecessors or are we abusing the *shift + 1* key on our keyboards? Are you a victim of exclamation mark pressure?

I am attempting to stain a piece furniture. This is my first time, so I am trying it out on a bookshelf that a friend of mine made and sold to me for $10. It is just made of 2X4s, nothing glam, but I figure if I can stain it, and then cover the back with a fun fabric (so that you cannot see right through it), it will work great for a year until I splurge on some real furniture of my own.


I'll let you know how it turns out. Have you ever stained a piece of furniture?

I am happy to report that the Bar is finally history. Well, I say that knowing that I could very possibly have to re-do the whole thing in Feb. Yes- It seemed THAT bad.

However, for the moment, I do not have to wake up to study. THAT is something worth celebrating. (ching ching on the champagne glasses)

I moved into my new house. This is the first time I have ever lived without roommates. I feel like a real-life grown up now. What is a real-life grown up (?) you ask. Well it is one very different from a fake one that graduated college and took a year "off" (I call that year my hiatus year because I did nothing but lay at the beach and work part time. Tough life, huh?)

It feels kinda weird. It feels kinda good. I have a month off, and I think I may attempt a 2 week version of "Eat.Pray.Love." Translation: I am going to try to standby to Europe, quite possibly by myself, for a vacay with myself- this is all contingent on whether my friend PJ can come as well (and I really hope she can). I will keep the blogosphere posted.

I know this post is a bit of rambling (wo)man kinda post but my mind is going a million miles an hour right now. Unfortunately, my body is going about 1 mile an hour. After taking the Bar (it is 3 days in SC) and moving out of one house, then into another, and then on to attend a 3 day seminar type thing for the Bar, I am a bit of a zombie. I will collect myself soon. I promise.


In the interim, I hope all is well, dear friends.