goal #15 - visit spain

friends, goal #15 from my 30before30 list is underway.

well, i mean it's not underway in the sense that i'm currently achieving it but...tickets have officially been booked.

the husband & i will be spending 13 days in europe at the end of september, and the last week will be spent in spain which i am thrilled about! yes, i do realize that september is like, eons away. but what can i say - we're planners.

i posted some images of spain a few months ago, but now that things are "official" and i can say things like, "i will be in spain in several months", i feel like the travel posts are more warranted, yes?

pssst. also travel related:

would you spend a day apart from your significant other while on a trip together? for those days when you want to go eat gelato and people-watch in the fancy part of town & he wants to, you know, do guy stuff? read more about that in this link.

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backyard goodness

it was almost exactly one year ago that the husband & i finished working on our backyard at our previous house and it's strange to think about the fact that we've moved on to fix up the backyard in our forever home. and by strange, i do of course mean wonderful.

we try to spend lots of time outside and love hosting parties so i'm itching to get started on creating an environment like we had before. except this time around, we have about 6 times the space to fill up - that can be good and bad.

we found our last backyard chandelier in warrenton last year but unfortunately had no luck finding one during this year's trip. so we've been watching craigslist for a spray paint-able gem & are dusting off our packed up lanterns and seat cushions.

these are some images that have been inspiring me to get some lights strung, a pergola built & some sangria in the backyard:

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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.

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see more photography inspired posts here and here.

images that inspire: {spain}

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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.

images that inspire: {home edition}

my dad has always had a huge, wall-sized map in his home with pins in places that he's been.

i've always wanted one too-

my dream reading nook-

clean, simple, comfy-

i've wanted a bookshelf ladder since beauty & the beast-

perfectly rustic-

yes. just, yes-

mini green subway tile-

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looking back at this post, it seems like all of these rooms/homes have an international flair, no?

i think most of them fit perfectly in paris, spain, maybe italy?

images that inspire: {northern lights}

goal #23 on my 30before30 list is to see the northern lights.

now, i realize that's a little bit out of my control. just because i go to a place where they regularly appear doesn't mean they'll necessarily show up for me - i know that. but, dammit, i will try my hardest to see them.

i'm slightly nerdy,  so learning about why these beautiful lights show up in the sky was really intriguing to me (energy charged particles colliding with atoms! imagine me pushing up my glasses with my index finger right now), and now i just have to be able to take it in for myself.

i've been collecting these images the past several months & they just take my breath away every time i look at them, so i want to share them with you.

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all of these pictures were taken in alaska, which is where i'm eventually hoping to see them. within the next few years, we'll be going on an alaskan cruise with the full intention of crossing #23 off! it helps that my brother and his girlfriend live in seattle, where we'd have to depart from, so we'd get to spend time with them too. 2 birds, 1 stone.

i don't want to be one of those people who is so consumed by taking pictures of something that they lose sight of actually getting to enjoy it in person. you know those people, right? i usually find myself wanting to poke them and say, "look at it!! and not through a lens!!"

have any of you ever been to alaska? 

(see my full 30before30 list here)

images that inspire: {greece}

#1 on my 30before30 list is to go to greece...i've wanted to go for as long as i can remember, and my jealousy spiked a little bit when my dad sent me a text saying he was in athens. (he's known that ever since i went to italy a few years ago, i checked that off and my sights immediately moved to greece.) and then when i saw traveling mama's beautiful posts on greece, well. that was it. i just had to put together an "images that inspire" post dedicated to it.
because we all need 9 more reasons to go to greece.

right.

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where have you been dreaming of visiting ever since you were little?

(see my full 30before30 list here)