heather & olive

skyline views.

art institute lunching.

little goat brunching.

ramen at slurping turtle.

sitting on top of the world.

Another Monday, another weekend that flew by. Mine wasn't too exciting: I went to barre a couple of times, took care of a number of dogs and watched some of the Superbowl (but mostly scrolled through Pinterest while eating a plethora of snacks).

The highlight, however, was finally making Alison Roman's Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread. I had been meaning to make these cookies for a while (they're everywhere) and they did not disappoint. These cookies are the perfect combo of salty and sweet, and even substituting gluten free flour for regular didn't take away from their tastiness. Definitely add these to your cookie list.

I didn't mean to stay away for so long, but I have a good excuse: I sold my house!

Between packing everything up and celebrating the holidays, the past couple of months have been a total blur, but I'm so excited this finally happened. I put it on the market in the end of June and thought that it would sell quickly--there wasn't a ton of inventory in my tiny town and houses were selling at a fast pace, but mine just didn't. I definitely got frustrated in the fall (hence my vague references to being anxious for things to happen) and I thought multiple times of pulling it and trying again in the spring, but everything clicked in December. While bittersweet, I know the people who bought it will love it as much as I did.

The reasons for me selling are twofold: first, I really didn't need to be living in a four bedroom house by myself--it was just too much. I thoroughly enjoyed decorating it, but I had two rooms that went essentially unused. Second, I need to get out of the sticks. While I love the area and I love being close to my family, there is nothing going on here which makes things very tough for a single lady.

I have zero regrets about buying it--I spent a really great three years there and it allowed me to build equity and have a good foundation for my next move...which is yet to be announced. I plan on staying with my parents for the next couple of months while I figure out job stuff and I hope to move at the end of the spring. I will say my destination is in another state and one of my favorite places...so stay tuned.

Here's to 2018 being the year of new adventures. I'm so ready and so excited.

{ classic window display in Portsmouth }

Oh hey, it's me. It took a couple of weeks, but I think I'm finally coming out of the funk I was in during the beginning of the fall (daylight savings was another battle, but I've accepted that it's going to be dark when I go to work and dark when I get home).

I had a lovely Thanksgiving followed by a relaxing long weekend in Maine, and I'm definitely getting in the holiday spirit. On Sunday I did a little decorating and that (coupled with constantly burning a holiday candle) has made me excited for the weeks to come.

So here's what's been happening lately:

Black Friday:  While there were certainly deals to be had, I found the entire thing to be somewhat overwhelming. I managed to get 85% of my holiday shopping done (along with a few purchases for myself), which feels great but the whole ordeal almost seemed like it was too much.

Good eats: A couple of weekends ago, I paid a visit to my dear friend L. and her sweet family. We managed to sneak away for dinner and had the most delicious meal at Ledger in Salem. The restaurant is in a old bank building which makes for a super unique venue and the food was so good--I highly recommend.

Beauty buy: I was due for some new mascara (I know you're supposed to chuck it after three months but I always keep it for way too long and it ends up being gross) so I used the VIB sale at Sephora as an excuse to try something new. I ended up going with the Smoky Extravagant Mascara by Makeup Forever because 1) I'm all about extravagance and 2) it comes in a mini tube so I have a better chance of using it up before it goes bad. The verdict? I love it--it makes my lashes super long with just one swoop, and with two applications we're in quasi-fake lash territory. This will definitely be my new go to.

Recent reads: I need to devote an entire post to books I've read and loved over the past couple of months, but I'm currently reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles--while it's a change from my usual genre of creepy thrillers, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I'm adding his other book, A Gentleman in Moscow to my list next.

Fitness: I've been pretty good about going to Pure Barre a couple of times a week, but I really, really want to get back into running. I know I say this all the time, but it's the one exercise that always gets back in shape--I've just had the hardest time getting into a routine. I'm really going to focus on making this a priority, and will hopefully schedule some races in early 2018.

On tap:  This weekend I'm planning on getting the rest of my decorating done, and I have a fun visit to the tree farm scheduled with my brother and his family (after the requisite pancake breakfast, for strength).

Here's to being halfway through the week (and it almost being December!)

river views during a dog walk.

I went up to Maine for the weekend and it was just what a doctor ordered--a little time away always does wonders for my psyche. On Friday I headed north with my parents and I had a low-key evening with Chinese food and Stranger Things (I'm only two episodes in to the 2nd season but it's so good). On Saturday I stocked up on some fall essentials at Stonewall Kitchen and then we went to Portsmouth to meet my godfather for lunch at Surf (it was great to see him and also get stuffed on truffled lobster maki). We did a little bit of shopping and then had a low-key night with takeout pizza.

On Sunday everyone gathered at my parents' house to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had a fun brunch and then I transitioned my closet from summer to fall/winter (with much needed guidance from my mom and sister--it was just in time, too: the cooler temps have definitely arrived and sweater weather is officially here). Then some crazy storms rolled in and I lost power until mid-morning on Monday.

It was a jam-packed weekend but good to sneak away for a bit (especially before the hellish couple of weeks I have coming up at work).

And happy Halloween--I really don't care much for this holiday (I hate dressing up and get zero trick or treaters) but I'm excited that this means we're a little closer to Thanksgiving.

Once again, it's been a month since I last posted and I've neglected this little blog of mine. I'd love to say it was because I was doing all sorts of exciting things, but to be perfectly honest, I've been pretty down in the dumps. There's no doubt that I'm in a bit of a rut in my personal life, and I'm really trying to dig myself out of it but it's been tough. I have a vision of what I want my future to look like and it's been hard to look past the roadblocks in my way--this deserves a longer, less vague post but ultimately I'm trying to be more proactive about the things I can change and accept the things I can't.

Additionally, the state of the world right now is weighing heavily on my heart. The hurricanes, the California fires, the tragedy in Las Vegas and the subsequent responses have been distressing (and a clear reminder of the perspective that should accompany my own problems). I'm at the point where I don't want to watch the news at night because everything seems to be one awful story after another.

[As a (related) aside, with all of the crap going on in Washington right now, I was really happy to discover resistbot and cannot recommend it enough. It's super easy to use and I love the ability to so quickly contact all of your elected officials at once--I definitely plan on using it on a regular basis.]

So that's the state of my world right now. I'm going to work on getting out of this funk and will work on some better posts soon.

Onward and upward!  

I hadn't been feeling J.Crew Factory lately--everything seemed to look a bit cheap and be rather overpriced, but I was quite pleased with their inventory when I stopped in last weekend in Maine.

Here are a couple of the things I scooped up--basic staples, but I think they'll all get a lot of wear this season:

{ v-neck pullover sweater } I bought this in the Heather Dusk and Heather Olive--they're cozy and slouchy and I'll be living in them.

{ striped dress } I love this dress - it's a bit darker in person, but the length is great and it works with booties, sandals and flats. Warning: it runs weirdly small in the back--I had to go up two sizes and it's definitely not form-fitting, but super comfy and cute.

{ classic wool fedora } I'm not 100% percent convinced I can pull this off, but you can't beat the price.

{ ruffle-sleeve t-shirt } Basic with flair, I thought this was fun (and again, a good length for you ladies with long torsos.