Christmas Wishlist

I've seen a couple of wish lists out in the blogosphere & thought it was an appropriate time to create my own! (Appropriate time meaning I'm supposed to be writing an essay.) Some of the items are a bit more realistic than others.. in my mind at least. Anything's possible though, right family & friends!? Wink, wink...

wishlist by finderskeepersblog featuring a gray dress

1. Canon 5D Mark II- My dream camera. The video capability is incredible and all of my favorite local photographers & friends seem to use this camera with dreamy results.  My first purchase once I'm done with college and land a "real" job, I'm buying one of these babies.
2. Tickets. Plane tickets to the Washington coast? Sure! Fleet Foxes concert, front row and center? Lovely! I love tickets of all sorts.
3. Hunter boots. I've been aching for a pair and I've completely fallen head over heels for this salmon-colored pair. I'm also partial to the red, but I think the salmon would go with my wardrobe money.  If I don't get a pair for Christmas I might have to splurge myself!
4. Pretty velvet part dress. So pretty for ice skating, an activity Patrick and I do a lot in the winter! My 21st birthday is also around the corner so this dress would be perfect for a dinner date. I have a vintage black velvet dress I thrifted a while ago, but it doesn't compare to this silver one!
5. Ladylike gloves. I particularly love the little bows on this pair and the robin's egg blue color. I have a great pair of tan leather fur-lined 1950s gloves, but this pair would be great for a pop of color!
6. Prints. I can't get enough of prints right now! Printed dresses, printed tops, printed skirts, printed tights.  I'm into mixing and matching for interesting combinations.  I love the muted tones of this dress from Toast, it's very neutral and would be perfect paired with just about anything.
7. A boston terrier.  Sigh. If I had to pick one thing out of my wish list, I would want a boston terrier puppy more than ANYTHING! Patrick and I talk about our future boston all the time.  He/she even has a name already! I can't wait to be a mommy to one of these precious dogs.
8. Frye boots.  I've wanted a pair of these for a while.  They are so timeless, classic, and chic and only get better with age! I wish I could afford more quality items that I will have forever, but that will come with time I suppose & that's why vintage is so great! I would want dark brown, it goes with just about everything & will age well!
9. A designer bag. Chloe bags have my heart! They are so feminine and sturdy. This one would never leave my side!
10. Macbook. This will become a necessity sooner or later. Once we move out, we won't have a single computer! Well, Patrick has an old desktop and I have a laptop that crashes, but we will need a reliable one.  Macbook is the perfect solution.. I've wanted one since I was a sophomore in high school!

Black Friday 30% Off Sale!

Hey guys, I'm having a Black Friday 30% Off Sale going on through the whole weekend! Snatch your favorite before it's gone! Head on over to Finders Keepers right now & check everything out!

Bright & Warm

Boy, it's been a while! Sorry for the short absence, I've had quite a few things on my plate these past couple weeks! I found Patrick the perfect Christmas present, but I really had to do some hunting! I'm SO incredibly impatient when it comes to giving gifts; I kept BEGGING Patrick to let me give him his gift early but he refuses so we made a compromise and I let him touch it & gave him a hint! I'll continue with the begging, though, I'm not good at surprises.

We also saw Horse Feathers earlier in the week at an amazing venue, The Southern in Charlottesville.  My favorite venues are always the small, intimate ones.  We were 10 feet away from the band before the show- they were hanging out at the bar and we were sitting at a table (the venue is half bar/restaurant, half venue, but separated.. if that makes sense).  Saturday night we made another mini road trip to Richmond to see Joanna Newsom at the National.  We saw Joanna headline in Seattle with Robin Pecknold as the opening act, but the venue was so incredibly hot, and we had seats on the VERY LAST ROW (that's what happens when you let your boyfriend be in charge of tickets!) so we really couldn't enjoy her too much.  Luckily, for this show, we were lucky enough to be in the 2nd row, front and center! It was incredible and we met some really great guys who were also from Hampton Roads, and we all attend pretty much the same concerts! It's pretty rare Pat and I find people with the same music taste as us, so that was definitely a highlight of the night.

 American Apparel cardigan, Tulip dress c/o Tulle, light pink Microfiber Tights c/o We Love Colors, belt from thrifted dress

The semester is coming to an end quickly and I've been in a bit of a fashion rut.  I find myself in jeans or leggings and an oversized cardigan most days, comfort seems to take control when exams, papers, and projects near due dates!  Luckily, Tulle saved the day and sent me this wonderful floral dress.  At first, I was a little hesitant about ordering such a bright dress in the end of fall, but I figured that I needed a little more color in my life, plus I've been looking for a light printed dress to match these tights! (Can I just say that from the second I put these tights on, they easily became one of my favorites.. so comfortable, warm, and sturdy!)  I can already tell the dress will become a staple because I wore it three times last week.. that's probably breaking every fashion law there is but rules are no fun anyways!


My binders and books appear to be frowning at me right now so I suppose I ought to get back to writing this paper.  Have a wonderful week, and since I probably won't be around until then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for so many things in my life right now.. perhaps I will do a Thanksgiving post on that.  Also, since I'm only posting about once a week or every other week, you can also follow me on Twitter or ask me any burning questions on Formspring!

I had to include that picture of Patrick, it's pretty rare I get a genuine smiling picture from him because his first response in front of the camera is to either make the weirdest face possible or pretend to be a U.O. model!

Human

Last week was rough for me. I honestly had a little bit of a meltdown. All that's been on my mind lately is graduate school, even though I don't even apply for another year, but every move I make right now will affect if I get into grad school or not.  Since I transferred to ODU from a community college with a degree, my GPA starts over at a 0 meaning I have to work super hard to get my GPA where I need it.  Grad school is competitive enough as it it, but with my major, only about 20 students are accepted to each school with over 100 applicants. If you don't have a certain GPA, forget about it.



 coat via Buffalo Exchange in Seattle, vintage pocket watch necklace, dress Style&Co, Hue tights, Steve Madden boots
I got back my scores from my midterms and in all honesty, I should have been elated. I aced all of them, except for one. Audiology. The subject itself is very, very interesting, and I love learning the science the anatomy of the hear and how sound travels through the ear and how we test hearing. It directly relates to my brother (who is deaf and has a cochlear implant) and I actually completely understand the material.  However, I was warned about the teacher's testing style but didn't think much of it.  The wording was awful and it was like he was trying to throw you off. There was material on the test that many of us didn't think he even went over. And I got a C+. And I cried. Yes, I kid you not, I cried because I felt like this C+ would keep me from getting into graduate school and I obviously couldn't keep up with the material and maybe I should just quit now.



It's times like those that I think about how incredibly lucky I am to have Patrick. He is there to tell me not to be so hard on myself, to believe in myself, and to tell me that I have what it takes and corrects my wording from "if I get into grad school" to "WHEN you get into grad school."  When I get stressed out about my future, I am comforted by knowing that no matter what happens school or career-wise, I will have the most loving, compassionate man by my side. There is no better feeling in the world.

Guest post at Upside of Wonder

Hey folks, I did a guest post today for Amanda at Upside of Wonder!  Stop by & check it out, and leave Amanda lots of wishes to feel better!

First ever couples costume!

Happy belated Halloween! I didn't realize until a few nights ago that I had Sunday night off, and Patrick and I decided last minute we wanted to dress up this year.. a first for us! Usually I work on Halloween, and it's not really my favorite holiday anyways so I don't mind too much.  We waited and waited and finally, yesterday afternoon, we realized we didn't have costumes so we went thrifted but found nothing! So we came up with the idea of Lumberjane & a tree! So, so corny, yet we didn't spend a dime! I'm just wearing all of Patrick's clothes & he's wearing...  a cardboard box!

We had a really relaxing evening, we sat around a bonfire in front of his house with his family until an awkward neighbor joined so we went to trick-or-treating with Patrick's little brother for a while and the funniest thing in the world happened.. this little girl came up to Patrick, stared at him for a minute, and says, "What are you? Cornhole?" I lost it and started crying from laughing so hard.. and thus, Patrick has earned a new nickname!

Afterward we went to his grandparent's house. They are two of my favorite people in the entire world.. so, so, so sweet.  Patrick's grandmother is SUCH a doll! She acts like she's still in the 50s.. just so, so polite and sweet and always saying the cutest things! They just celebrated their 53rd anniversary and went to the Bahamas, which is where they went for their honeymoon! They took pictures of all the grandkids on the cruise (I think there are 12 or 13?) and for Patrick's picture they made sure to bring one with both of us in it.. they just always make me feel so welcome into the family! I hope Patrick and I are as cute as they are after 53 years together!