2012 is nearly over.

is that dramatic to say? that 2012 is nearly over, when it's not december yet? oh well, i've been known to be dramatic here & there. really, i know this is one of the most cliche phrases ever, but i'll say it anyway - this year has gone by so quickly. 

it's making me start thinking of which goals i want to focus on for 2013. i'm hoping that by the end of december/2012, i'll be able to have 5 goals crossed off my list (i realize that's not very much time, but i'm working really hard on it!).

so, since accomplishing goals has obviously been on my mind, i figured should ask -

do you do new years resolutions? if so, how often do you actually accomplish them?
last year on new year's eve, the husband & i went out to dinner and started talking about the things that we wanted to accomplish in 2012. he set his mind on 4 main goals and is very close to accomplishing all of them, which is great! me, on the other hand, not so much. but now that i've gotten the hang of things and set a timeline up in my head for some of the things on my 30before30 list, i think i should be good to go for next year, and then the next 4 years after that.

maggie's mighty girl life list is the one that got me motivated to start my 30before30 list. some of the goals on her list that i love are:
ride a camel in the desert,
make a peaceful living space,
institute chocolate and champagne wednesdays (what a great idea!),
set foot on all seven continents,
and sleep in a treehouse (that's on my list, too!)

source

what are you going to work on for 2013?

weekends were made for...



lots of family time, hangin' with furry friends and human friends of 18 years, sunny bike rides, and the start of christmas decorating at our house.

as of today, the husband & i are officially 100% done with christmas shopping, which i'm so excited about. i get beyond giddy at the idea of giving my favorite people gifts, getting creative with gift wrap & holiday cocktails!

obviously i'm in the holiday spirit - hopefully you are, too.

(ps. all of this holiday spirit does not mean that i'm excited about the idea of christmas music. i hate christmas music, you guys)

portraits

i've never been very good at taking photos of people, but it's something that i'd love to be great at. when i actually try to get out there and use my cameras for something other than instagram snaps, it's usually focused on something like architecture - and typically only happens when i'm out of the country (soon to change!). but my dad is an amazing photographer who has taken lots of beautiful portraits throughout his life, and i've always been really inspired by his work.

so, because one of my 30before30 list is to master taking photos the way i picture them in my brain, i wanted to share some inspiration i've come across in the past few days.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

see more photography inspired posts here and here.

weekends were made for...

hosting some of my favorite people at a pre-holidays/fall party.

the weather really cooperated with us and it was perfect outside - it actually felt like fall! remember in this post a few weeks ago, i posted some inspiration for a fall party? i tried to do at least a few of the things from that post, and it turned out really well. at least i had a good time.

(these photos are from a few different cameras, so please excuse the size difference everywhere!)

i know this is a lot more pictures than what i usually post in my "weekends were made for" monday posts, but...i just couldn't pick my favorites!

it's bittersweet knowing that we'll be leaving this house fairly soon, because there's really nothing that compares to hosting some of your favorite people & spending hours in the backyard. especially when you're hearing the guys somehow turn a game of ladder toss in to a gambling fiasco, or when marshmallows end up all over the patio due to failed s'mores experiment. for the record - almond joys + marshmallows + graham crackers = heaven, apparently.

speaking of s'mores, i've been able to check off a few things from my fall to-do list!  so far, i've been able to check off 'have fun with pumpkins' - we have 2 painted pumpkins in the backyard currently...you can see a tiny peek of one in the 3rd picture up there, and the other one here. and thanks to the party this weekend, i can cross off s'mores making. i've been wearing plenty of scarves, too...which means that all i have left to be officially done with the fall to-do list is to bake something pumpkiny (any recipes you want to share??) & make it to the drive-in theater with the husband. i think that's doable.

i hope your weekend was filled with as much goodness as mine was! i'll be back later this week.

images that inspire: {spain}

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

one of the goals on my 30before30 list is to visit spain - why wouldn't you put that on your list, right?

so  i'm really, really hoping that this is in the works for summer of 2013. otherwise, i'm afraid i'll be staring at these photos for years to come. i love the idea of really late night tapas + wine, seeing one of my dad's favorite places in the entire world [granada] & hearing a language that i've grown up speaking, but having it sound oh so different!

have any of you ever been to spain?

psst. see the greece-inspired version of this post here.

and my full 30before30 list here.

weekends were made for...

this weekend was filled with art shows, late night movie dates with my man of honor, lazy hair, fluffy friends, and somehow lots of leaves? it seemed like all the leaves fell off of our trees in a 2 hour time period. i also luckily got to fill my weekend seeing some of my oldest friends over a wine-and-pasta-filled dinner. oh, and...scarf weather? i've been asking for it, especially since wearing more scarves was part of my fall to-do list, so i won't complain about how cold my toes were this morning when i woke up.

oh ps. today is my last 1:00-10:00 work day! 

i'll be back later this week with an update on one of my list goals. hint: it has to do with spain.