As I mentioned in my last post, June 10th was my boyfriend's and my one year anniversary of dating. We went to the Knoxville zoo and to see HAIM at the Mill & Mine where, unfortunately, they did not allow you to take pictures or videos. I just wanted to make a little post with pictures from the day.

This bear was very sleepy. 

If you look to the right of Cameron's right eye you can see the bear's head. It was a successful selfie. 

Red pandas are officially my favorite. They just lie around all day, curl up in little hammocks made for them, and they are so stinkin cute. 

These turtles were in love for sure.

You can kind of tell in this picture, but when this bird noticed me it totally bent one knee and tilted its head for a pose. 

                   

Ever since I was little I loved the otters. There's a picture of me when I was teeny tiny looking at them. We actually recreated it in the first collage. When we first went to look at them they were gone, and I was so sad. We came back a second time and there they were. I like to think they came just for me. We're bff's now. 

Baby gorilla! 

We were there just in time to see them eat. It was very cool. 

Da king of da jungle. 

nope.

The End! I wish I could have taken pictures of HAIM, but even so it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. They are so lively and talented. It was a great end to a great day. 

                                                                                                                                       photo cred: Reformation's Pinterest 

If I were to create a pie chart of how I spend my time during the summer, listening to/finding music would fill up most of it. Therefore, I will probably make more than one playlist a month. This one is a little more retro than no.1 and is good for those hippie moods that inevitably come with the territory of summer months. Hope you enjoy!

                                                        

The moment finals are over, I switch into summer mode. I want airy music and warm weather. I put some of my favorite beachy songs together that make me feel like I am sitting by the ocean (when I'm actually on a beach towel in my yard in Tennessee.) I have tons of songs I associate with summer, but these are a few of my current favorites. (p.s. This is a picture I took while in California!)

1 Radiate by Jack Johnson

2 Secretly Loving the Smell of Suntan Oil by Lullatone
3 The Wild Life by Vacationer
4 You & Me by Dave Matthews Band
5 Island Pop by Drama for Yamaha
6 Barcelona by George Ezra
7 A Summer Thing by Cayucas
8 I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore by Lucy Dacus
9 Forever, Always by Judah and the Lion
 10 Terminal by Jon Foreman
11  Palms by The Slow Club*

*not available on Spotify

2015 was a pretty great year. I hope yours was, too! I recently saw a post on one of my favorite blogs about an anti-bucket list. http://www.whatoliviadid.com/2015/12/anti-bucket-list-lauren-laverne.html
I thought it would be fun to share some of the resolutions I actually accomplished this past year.

• Started my photography business. 
• Tried being an art major.
• Made it through a week of no electricity from an ice storm. It stunk but I got to spend time with my parents and grandparents without tv. I loved just talking to them for hours. 
• Went home with a friend from school to New Jersey for a bit during the summer and traveled to NYC, Sleepy Hollow, Philadelphia, and Salem, Mass. 
• Met Jon Foreman!!!!!
• Saw Hozier live.
• Took pictures of the Avett Brothers for the paper when they came to my university. 
• Revamped my blog.
• And without sounding too cheesy, I started dating a great guy.

This year, Christmas was unnaturally warm. I live for the time of year when it gets snowy and cold, so this was a little heartbreaking. But despite the seventy degree weather, I think it was one of the best Christmases I've had. My family spent loads of time together, I got to catch up with friends, and I got to celebrate with my sweet boyfriend.

Often at Christmas time I get stressed out with all the traffic and figuring out what present to get my loved ones. This year, I actually relaxed and let my heart be light. I didn't put all this emphasis on decorating or giving the perfect gifts. I spent time with family and made a lot of memories.

Now that it's the new year, I feel obligated to make resolutions. To me they are mostly just wishful thinking, but I love to make lists. One of my resolutions is to make posts more often. So, to try to keep this resolution I thought I would share a few things I got for Christmas.

1. My boyfriend got me these adorable measuring spoons. Sadly, I broke one from my other set (RIP 1/4 tsp.) so this was a perfect gift. 2. I've had my eye on this cookbook for a long time. His mom got this for me, and we made something from it as soon as the holidays were over.  The photography is gorgeous and the dish we made was amazing. 3. My mom knows me too well. I go on and on about Penguin Cloth-bound Classics, so she picked me up their edition of Far From the Madding Crowd. 4. She also got me this Rifle Paper Co. phone case. As soon as I put it on my phone I couldn't stop looking at it. You did good mom!

My friend Ivy always picks out the perfect presents. She is also the queen of wrapping.
1. The most heavenly smelling body wash and moisturizer I have ever smelled. I used the Rose Jam yesterday and I decided then and there I am going to have to get more. 2. Super fluffy socks from Free People. They even have those little stickies at the bottom. (which is good for us clumsy folks) 3. Cleopatra perfume from Tocca. I don't know how to describe just how amazing this smells. It smells so fancy and powdery and like everything wonderful. 4. Interstellar. 5. Tea! Peach loose leaf tea. Bless you Ivy.
Be sure to check out Ivy's blog! http://ivychristian.blogspot.com/

This weekend I photographed a wedding (pictures to come later) and the venue had
so. many. pumpkins.

It was a cold, cloudy day so it was perfect fall weather. I have never seen pumpkins in so many different colors and shapes. Some of them were HUGE. I thought they were beautiful and the colors were so vibrant. They were basically begging me to take their picture. 

They were easy to work with; they sat perfectly still. 

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” 
― Henry David Thoreau

Is it time to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown yet? Because this really makes me want to!

I know it's kind of a fad now to take pictures like this, but it's a fad for a reason.
I think wood is actually very pretty, especially when you can see the rings. 

I saved the best for last...

The owners of the venue had the sweetest dog. He greeted me when I got out of my car and loved posing for pictures.

I went walking out in my yard the other morning because it felt cool like fall is supposed to and I was excited. I took my camera with me in case I found anything interesting and I did indeed. I'm no fungi expert, so I don't know the name of this little guy. I do know that there are a ton of them in my yard, and this was my favorite one.

I think I found it! It's called Russula if anyone was curious. 

We haven't raked the leaves yet, so I was able to get all the colors blurred in the background. 

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy...carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins..."  ― Rainbow Rowell, Attachments

The last time I went to TJ Maxx, I saw this little gem. I get really excited when I see "Grow Your Own" on the packaging. I feel so self-sufficient. You really cannot mess up, and you can never go wrong with strawberries. So don your sun hat and gloves, it's gardening time! 

I'm not going to lie, I wanted in partly because of how cute this box is. 

The package contains a flower pot, compost disc, and the seeds. I told you it was super simple!

1. Put the disc in the pot and water until softened and soil expands. 2. Sew the seeds. 3. Give it TLC daily.
(please not the reality tv channel) 

Make sure it gets plenty of water and sunlight, and you will have your own little strawberries.
The perfect thing in summertime!