Chelsea Lately: So This Is The New Year

I really dropped the ball on blogging in December and I'm trying not to let that roll into the new year, so let's get all caught up! I have a lot of big plans for my business and this blog this year and there is no time like the present, right?

Listening: 1000 forms of fear by Sia on vinyl! Because my brother is awesome and got it for me for Christmas!

Eating: Leftovers. Yuck, I'm over having leftovers from the holidays in our fridge. Someone please come over and eat the rest of this ham.

Wanting to buy: At the moment, I'm all shopped out. Holidays do that to you!

Reading: Nothing at the moment, which is weird, but I've just been in a funk recently with getting into books. Recommend me a good one so I can get back in the grove!

Watching: The Walking Dead. I am obsessed. I said that I would never watch this show because I'm not a fan of zombies but so many friends have talked me into watching it. Around Thanksgiving I started (thanks to Family Video having seasons 1-4 on DVD) and just finished up watching the first half of season five online so I am all caught up and pumped for it to be back on TV in February. I have a total crush on Daryl Dixon (mostly because I love Norman Reedus already) he's such a badass and if he even gets killed off, I quit.

Drinking: No pop! (Or soda for those of you who are reading from somewhere other than Pittsburgh.) Eric and I gave up drinking pop and we've been doing pretty good at it since the beginning of November.

Wearing: Christmas presents! I love getting gift cards for presents. I know a lot of people hate it because they think it's a cop-out gift, but there is no greater gift to me than a shopping trip.

Losing Sleep Over: What my next step needs to be. I've been in Erie for a year now and I feel like it's time to either strive for something really great here or move again (which I actually don't feel like doing just yet). But I've been trying to leave it up to God, not stress about it and just roll with the opportunities in front of me. We'll see what happens!

Loving: Life. Even when it's not ideal.

Excited About: The possibilities that 2015 brings.

Thankful For: Memories of a sweet friend. Wishing she knew how precious she was.

What have you been up to recently?

Chelsea Lately: November Blogathon Update

Hello, everyone! I missed yesterday's November Blogathon prompt because I just, honestly, didn't have much to say about it. It was to talk about your hometown and there's really not a lot I have to say about Ellwood City. There are a couple new little restaurants that I like but besides that, not a whole lot is going on that I felt the need to comment on here. Now that I haven't lived there for a while, I appreciate the town way more than I did while growing up there, but I was not created for small town life. So moving on today's prompt...a currently post.

I really love doing these because sometimes bloggers focus a lot on what they want to write about and forget to mention what's going on in their lives. These kind of posts are my favorite to catch up with bloggers and so you all can see what I've really been up to outside of this little space.

Brunch for Eric's birthday | Flowers from MJ for our anniversary | Lots of snow in Erie | My cat, as a record

Remembering: College. MJ and I recently celebrated our five year dating anniversary and it has really made me stop and remember who I was five years ago. I was in my junior year of college, had just been crowned Homecoming Queen and was at the top of my game academically and falling head over heels in love. Seton Hill has such a huge part of my heart and I miss it more than I ever could have imagined.

Giggling About: My crazy cat. My brother, Eric, and I have recently started our own meme-like text messages to each other about her. Pretty much whenever we find her in weird places around the house, we send a picture to each other with the phrase, "don't mind me, I'm just a (fill in the blank)." Recent things she's been: shoes, guitar amp, record, burrito.

Planning: A Thanksgiving dinner! Eek! Family Video and one of my brother's churches have decided to host a Thanksgiving dinner for some local people who don't have a place to go for the holiday and it's tonight! Family Video (like every single one in the nation) always donates turkeys to local families in need but since our store is so small, we decided to just host a dinner instead and Eric was more than willing to allow us to use the church basement for the space. But since I'm the "middle-person" between Family Video and the church, a lot of the planning has been on me. Which is fine, but I hope everything turns out alright!

Anxiously Awaiting: Upcoming craft shows for Marion Claire Stationery. I'm heading to Edinboro for one on Saturday and then doing two more in Shady Side on November 29th and December 13th. I'm hoping that these ones will do really well with Christmas coming up and my holiday cards being ready to go. Also, because the Shady Side shows will be the first two that are really in my "market" I'm hoping they will become a more regular kind of event and open me up to more "hipster-friendly" shows. Because to be honest, I'm a little hit-or-miss at smaller craft shows since they tend to draw an older crowd that doesn't always approve of my cheeky sayings.

Baking: Everything! (See: Planning) haha

Keeping a Secret: Eric's Christmas present! It came in the mail last week and I had to hide it with some other people's presents that I already bought (I'm ahead of schedule this year). But I'm reallllllly excited for what I got him. I saw it online thinking he'd like it but didn't buy it because I wasn't totally sure, then he sent me his Birthday/Christmas list and it was on there...so I swiftly purchased it.

DIYing: Some Christmas crafts for the house! Eric is allowing me to take over for decorating the house for Christmas and I've been Pinteresting a little too much lately. I've found some cute and easy crafts that I cannot wait to show off soon! I have a strict rule about not decorating until after Thanksgiving, but I'm allowed to prepare! This house was seriously designed just to decorate for Christmas, so I've got to do it justice.

What have you been up to recently?

Chelsea Lately: Fall Edition

I have really been awful at blogging lately and I hate to claim "busy" as an excuse, but that's all I got. I miss this community though, so I'm doing my best to prioritize and squeeze back in here. But, of course, it would help if you all knew what I've been up to since my last post. That's fair! If you're not following along with me on Instagram, get on it. It's my favorite app since becoming a smart phone user and best describes my day to day. Lots of greeting cards, lots of coffee, lots of my cat. Pretty much sums it all up. But here are some more fun things in between.

A lot of custom projects have come across my desk lately and I couldn't be more thrilled. The cards above have to be my most recent favorite though. They were made for a sweet couple and their little guy who is soon to turn one! I love this family and was honored to make these invitations for them for little Joshua's first birthday and baptism party. I like when clients have ideas and plans but also really enjoy when they give me free reign and that's what these guys did. For custom work, I always provide three different design drafts and then they pick a favorite and we make any necessary changes. So the final invitation really was a collaboration and I love how they turned out.

Besides custom work, I've been working a lot on my expanding greeting card line for Marion Claire Stationery. I recently realized eight new designs, four of which were these ones for the fall holidays. I'm almost ready to release my winter line, but want to hold off until November 1st if possible. I know that puts me behind in a typical retail sense but I really hate skipping over the fall holidays. Even though Christmas is really important, I wish we could give them all their proper amount of time.

I also recently started teaching a blogging class up here near Erie. It's really exciting to see blogging through the eyes of a newbie again. I have such a long history with blogging that I sometimes forget how exciting and interesting the whole concept is and it's fun to be able to teach a new skill to people who are all older than me. We've only had two classes so far but I've really enjoyed it so far and am thrilled to have been asked to lead this class!

And honestly besides that, I've been serving a lot of beer to people and renting out movies. I've been working so much lately and while it's good for the money, it really is tiring while trying to get my own business off the ground. There has been some good times with thrift shopping, and going to weddings too this fall so I can't say that it's been all busyness that's kept me away from blogging, but now that I'm teaching it to other people I feel like I should get back in the game!

What have you guys been up to?

Chelsea Lately: A Much Needed Update

Hi everyone! Wow. It has been quite the long break from blogging. So sorry to leave you guys hanging, but sometimes you just have to put your "real life" first, and since my last post, that was much needed. Since my last post, I was a bridesmaid in my two best friends' wedding, ran a sports camp at Jumonville for a week with my brother, I turned 25 (!!!) and went to my first craft show for Marion Claire Stationery and opened shop online! So a lot of great stuff has happened, but a lot of great stuff is making it's way onto the blog too. So here's a little catch-up!

Listening: Sylvan Esso. My brother introduced me to them a while ago and now I cannot get enough.

Eating: Nothing inspiring. I need to get back on my cooking game.

Wanting to buy: A new bike! This cruiser to be exact.

Reading: Catching Fire. I promised myself (and others who peer pressured me) to finish the Hunger Games series this summer and it's been taking me a while to actually dig into this second book but I'm truckin' through.

Watching: Every movie on the Family Video new release list. Last night it was Under the Skin...which still has me thinking about it.

Admiring: Samantha, the owner of Broke Little Rich Girl. I'm so excited to hear about her success with the fashion truck and now she's opening a boutique in Lawrenceville and I'm so so happy for her for making her dreams come true and wish her all the best!

Drinking: Coffee and water. I'm trying to let go of pop and mom got me a Keurig for my birthday so more coffee than normal is in my diet.

Wearing: Shorts!! I am usually not a fan, but somehow my legs got tan this summer and I found some really cute ones at Walmart that aren't totally annoying with my chubby thighs. 

Losing sleep over: Nothing. 

Loving: Seeing my kitten chase a fly around the house right now. I hope she catches it though...and kills it.

Excited about: MJ to move north for good! He recently got a job at Edinboro and will be moving to Erie soon and I really cannot wait to live so close to him again! 

Thankful for: Summer living.

What have you all been up to!?

Currently...

I feel like I haven't talked to you guys forever since Fashion Week took over this space last week. So I figured that now would be a good time to do a "Chelsea Lately" post. Here's what I've been up to recently.

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Listening: The Lungs album by Florence and the Machine, on vinyl. Santa brought me this gem and I have been blasting it every morning while getting ready. It is perfect primping/ready to take on the day music.

Eating: Every recipe I've ever pinned on Pinterest. Seriously, like a real cook.

Wanting to buy: A bathing suit. More specifically, a one piece that has an actual bra in it and doesn't look like it was designed for my grandmother, and doesn't have one of those frilly skirts that are supposed to "hide" my thighs. Sexy one piece, why is this hard to find?

Reading: Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement. I'm only two chapters in and already love and feel overly emotional about the characters.

Watching: High Fidelity. I can never decide if I like John Cusack in this movie or not.

Admiring: Sarah from Coming Unstitched for writing this honest post about motherhood.

Drinking: Water. So much water. I feel like I'll probably drown soon.

Wearing: This American Eagle zip-up. So comfy. So bright. So perfect. Also, a lot of flats, which means I'm not wearing socks, which means it might actually be spring around here! Holler.

Losing sleep over: Everything and nothing. I make a list of so many things I need to do the next day every night before going to sleep and think, how am I ever going to get all of this done, but then just let God take care of it. Plans will work out, or they won't and I know I only have so much control over them so why worry about it all? Proverbs 16:9 is my motto.

Loving: The recent growth-spurt my hair is having!

Excited about: This weekend in the 'burgh! Getting to see MJ Friday and then bridal shower and bachelorette party for my girl, Hannah, on Saturday. This is my first time being a bridesmaid so I'm excited!

Thankful for: My brother. Honestly. There is no cooler person.

 What's going on with you all recently?

Chelsea Lately

I can totally steal that phrase right? I mean, it's my name too and Chelsea Handler stole the idea of having a talk show from me (Chelsea Tonight! is going to happen) ....maybe.

Anyway, since I've been pretty MIA recently and I didn't get to talk about what is/was going on too much during Fashion Week, here's a picture-heavy post to get you up to date on my life. Also, in between each of these pictures, please visualize me looking like a hot mess in a Mac lab at Point Park trying to design/re-brand the Pioneer Magazine and other miscellaneous things. Because, let's be real, that's what I've really been doing. Along with applying for jobs because I graduate in TWO WEEKS. Eek!

Went to the Pirates home opener with my parents and brother! Welcome baseball season - I looooove you!!

Red Beard's opened downtown - right between Verve and Six Penn. Expect a full review!

I got a free cake after waiting in line for 30 mins from CAKE BOSS! Yum! Thank you, Buddy!

WGF held their annual Equal Pay Day - good job ladies!

Went to Jumonville for a dean's meeting - excited for baby dance camp!

Eric talked me in to joining the PTS softball team for PSL. Our first game was yesterday, we won 21-7!!!

Spring finally came to Pittsburgh! I love you warm temps and sunshine!!