tuesday

I was off work yesterday, spending the day in and out of a continuous nap and HGTV marathon, full of aches and coughs and sniffles and the never-ending question of would they love it or list it? My return to work brought a lot of instances that tested my patience and had me feeling like it was going to take weeks of coming in early and staying late to catch up. 

After an hour of over-time, I came home with a stiff neck and a need for a little inspiration. I'm not big on ~*~inspirational quotes~*~ because I find they can very quickly border on cliche ("Live, laugh, love," anyone?). However, after I headed to my Words to Live By board on my pinterest for a little wisdom and found the above quote that I pinned a few weeks back, I'm ready to take on hump-day with a new purpose and drive for excellence. 

What words inspire you?

not so ship shape

In my experience with lifestyle blogs, you see lots of photos of artfully organized rooms. Disheveled piles of battered buoys grouped together on a reclaimed-driftwood coffee table. Vintage children's books filed in rainbow order. Neatly-folded cashmere throws on an Navajo ladder in an airy loft. Those images are all inspirational, but does anyone's home look like that all the time?

I agree that blogs are an escape, and often where we want to show off the beautiful meal we just prepared, but not the dirty dishes it took to make it.

I'll admit, I aspire to make my living room look like a modern nautical retreat and my bedroom to look like orderly and vintage but unfortunately I haven't learned the habits to constant cleanliness... yet. My mornings start in a rush and end with me coming home with all the intentions to clean and organize and color code... and I usually end up starting a load of laundry, camping out in front of an On Demand marathon of Criminal Minds, and leaving it for tomorrow.

So here is my room in all its daily, messy glory. This entry is an attempt to hold myself accountable. I'm determined to put up photos of an after as soon as possible, and to get a list of habits together that will keep it looking ship shape, everyday.

What do you do to keep your living space as neat (and dare I say, as pin-worthy) as possible?

cheerio

My name is Christine, and I've been a Windy City girl my whole life. I've laughed at The Second City, ridden the ferris wheel at Navy Pier, eaten Garrett Popcorn, and swam in Lake Michigan. I've loved, laughed, and grown in this city. I've lived here for all of my 25 years, and my curiosity about all the secret brunch spots and neighborhood gardens never wanes.

This is my outlet to showcase things I love, but not all will be Chicago-centric. The things you will find in my little patch of the net include but are not limited to: pictures of neighborhood animals wearing embarrassing coats, tips for organizing jewelry, where to find the best Bloody Mary on the North side, photos of my daily life, thoughts that keep me going, youtube links of 90's slow jams (which goes hand in hand with memories of awkward first dances in middle school... #holler), awesome Happy Hour locations, things I'm lusting after, things I'm looking forward to, the location of the perfect place to people watch on a Sunday morning, and the top five things I'm loving about each week.

I'm hardly an expert. Just a girl living in a constant Windy City State of Mind.