Learn to Love Me: Part I

There has been a string of bloggers recently filling out "The 36 Questions That Lead to Love" and I thought I would follow along so you all can get to know me even more. Sometimes I like to keep my life private but as a blogger, I feel like the more open I am, the more people realize there is a real person behind the screen. These questions come from the study that says if you answer these questions with another person, you can fall in love with anyone. The questions are in three parts and then the fourth part is that you're supposed to stare into the other person's eyes for four whole minutes! Intense! 

Obviously we cannot do the fourth part but over the next week or so, I'll be breaking up the questions for posts. When I worked at Jumonville, we did a similar exercise during staff training and I have to say that the partners I had still hold a special place in my heart, because of the closeness this activity really makes you feel. So let's dive in! 

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

My Seton Hill girls. I've been missing them so much lately and I would give anything to be sitting around a huge circle table in Lowe Dining Hall with all of them again.

Would you like to be famous? In what way?

I don't like how much we pry into the lives of famous people, so no, not really. But I wouldn't mind being remembered for my writing and/or designing. 

Before making a telephone call, do you rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

Sometimes, depending on who I'm about to talk to or what needs to be said. Most definitely with phone interviews but not if it's just a casual conversation.

What would constitute the "perfect" day for you?

Oh, man. My favorite kind of days are the ones that I can truly enjoy because I don't have to do anything the next day, so I can just relax and not stress out about what needs done soon. So I guess I need a perfect weekend haha! But the perfect day right now would be one that involves warm weather! Preferably on a boat just lazy river style, with a good book and/or great company.

When did you last sing to yourself? To anyone else?

Myself? All the time. I sing while getting ready, while cooking, when I'm bored, always. To other people? Sort of by accident in a boot camp class last week. Sometimes the music just moves you!

If you were to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you chose?

This probably sounds conceited and shallow, but body. I like the maturity and wit that comes with age, so I'd be okay with being a bit more forgetful but I hate that an aging body slows down even the feistiest people. 

Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

Not really. But I (unfortunately) feel like it will be untimely. Hopefully that's just because I'm paranoid.

Name three things you and your partner have in common.

(I'm assuming this means the partner of the activity, but we'll say they mean life partner.) MJ and I are both fiercely independent, introverted-extroverts (yeah, that's a thing) and great judges of character. 

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

My education. I'm especially grateful that my mom worked for a college for so long that it allowed me to go to undergrad basically for free, which allowed me to go right into grad school. I wouldn't trade those six years of higher education for anything in the world.

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

Honestly, nothing. When I was younger, I used to wish that Eric and I had more siblings, but now that we're grown up, I wouldn't change a thing. I think other kids in the family would have kept us from being as close as we were which would be sad.

Tell your life story in as much detail as possible, in four sentences.

I was born and raised in a small town outside of Pittsburgh and led a very active life. I went off to college at Seton Hill University where I earned my BA in New Media Journalism and Communication and where I met my boyfriend, MJ, whom I've been with since 2009. After graduation, I continued my education at Point Park University where I earned my Masters in Public Relations and Advertising, also during that time I was living right in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh and started this blog! In 2014 I started my own greeting card business, Marion Claire Stationery, which has always been a lifelong goal and is named after my grandmothers. (Queen of the run-on sentence right here.)

If you could wake up tomorrow with one quality or ability, what would it be?

Patience with myself. I honestly am so patient with other people (seriously, I'm told almost every day how patient I am), but I wish I could give myself that same patience. I'll give other people way more time than they deserve but then expect me to get results and get things done, like, right now. 

Stay tuned for part two!

Fill out these questions yourself in the comments - I'd love to read them!

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?

Chels Wears: Winter Layers

Belt & Cardigan: Target | Hat: Charlotte Russe | Chambray, Jeans & Scarf: WalMart
Ring: Old Navy | Flannel Shirt: thrifted | Leg Warmers: WalMart

Well, if you were here yesterday, then you know last night we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at one of Eric's churches for some people in need. And it went great! I'm so proud haha I was really nervous that there wouldn't be enough food and that the turkey would be awful, but everyone was fed and loved it! This was the first time I ever cooked Thanksgiving dinner and figuring out how to cook a turkey was a learning experience, to say the least. Now I feel like a real grown up.

These pictures were taken at a nearby park while I was waiting for the turkey to finish up. This was also the quickest photo session that Eric and I have ever done because it was freeeeezing outside. I'm not excited about winter officially being in Erie, but snow makes for some pretty pictures and I do love layering! But so commences the quick photo session season. Hopefully we'll get good photos on the first try like we did with these ones. Not to shabby for (literally) the only photos we took.

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?

Thanksgiving Traditions with the Olivers

If you were here yesterday, then you know that I'm following along with Kristen's blog, the MRS and the MOMMA, and her November Blogathon posts this month. Since I'll be posting a Chels Wears post tomorrow, I decided to jump ahead and use tomorrow's prompt for today instead. Today's prompt was to write about your favorite fall recipe and I don't really have one, so I'm skipping it. However, Wednesdays prompt is to write about your fall holiday traditions.

Thanksgiving 2013 with my brother, Eric, at our uncle's house.

For as long as I can remember, we have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's siblings, which I really look forward to every year. My uncle is a great cook and gets everything together for dinner and since building his beautiful log cabin home, has hosted Thanksgiving. We always joke around that I will inherit the log cabin so I always like to think of how I would decorate or host these dinners many, many, many years from now.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because of the fall season, football and the food, but I really like getting to spend the time with my family, laughing and playing board games after dinner. Eric and I will be heading back home this year for Thanksgiving and since this is the first year in a long time that I do not have to work on Black Friday, we will be heading out to support some local Pittsburgh record stores for their Black Friday Record Store Day sales. And on Saturday this year I'll be selling my greeting cards at a local "I Made It! Market" in Shadyside. So this year, I'm especially excited for old and new traditions to happen!

What do you do for Thanksgiving?

Guest Room Makeover

This little makeover might seem a little plain, but hear me out. Since moving in with my brother in January, the guest room has been such an eyesore to me. Eric's house is connected to the church where he is the pastor and they, 1) don't really want us to paint, and 2) left us with awful curtains, so just getting those out of the room would have been good enough for me.

I don't think I can explain how annoying these curtains were. Like a weird purple-pink color with little rhinestones pasted on in random floral designs. Not to mention, Eric and I have had a bad habit of just throwing our leftover comforters on the bed in that room and there was nothing on the walls, so it was just bad. Nothing went together and we usually left the door closed so we weren't looking at the space. Now, it looks like this. (And the door stays open.)

The bed frame and vanity were already in the room, thanks to the church donating them to the house.

I painted this little pot to match the frames and added an old alarm clock for good measure.

Pinterest told me that having a wifi picture would be helpful for guests and I thought that was brilliant.
But I don't know if our neighbors read my blog, so no close ups of the picture I made for our network & password.

This chair and a desk were bought at a yard sale for $5 - the desk is in my room acting as an over sized nightstand and
is holding my records and record player so the chair needed a home. Perfect little thing for holding towels.

Found this set of frames at a thrift shop and was going to paint them all white, but really like how they turned out.

This page is actually from a book that Eric gave me as a joke for my birthday last year called, The Art of Entertaining.
This was the only page in the book about guests and I thought it was cute to add to the room.

I've been planning to do a room makeover for awhile and since a friend of mine is coming up this weekend, I figured no better time than right now. And since my experience in other peoples guest rooms has not always been the most comfortable, I wanted our space to be different. I always feel like people put too much of themselves in a guest room. This isn't an addition to your personal bedroom, it's a room that anyone should be able to walk into and feel at home. I hope that's what this room is like to our guests.

So, who wants to come visit?

Memorial Day Happenings

Top: The view from our seats | Left: Eric eating | Right: Selfie with my new flag scarf

So, Eric and I had a pretty uneventful Memorial Day planned until one of the regulars at the bar I work at told me about the Erie SeaWolves game. Mondays are dollar days, meaning everything is only a dollar and since it was Memorial Day, what else did we have to do? Since we've never been we thought it'd be a great first trip and it was! We enjoyed watching the SeaWolves play against the Altoona Curve (a Pittsburgh Pirates double-A affiliate team), drank some crazy cheap beer, ate hot dogs and soaked in the sun. 

It was a great way to spend our first Memorial Day away from the traditional Ellwood City parade and picnic that we are used to. Maybe a new tradition? At least it will become a frequent stop during the summer. I didn't take many pictures because I'm horrible at remembering that I'm a blogger apparently. Hope you all had a great day. And of course, thank you to those who have and are serving. A special shout out to my blogger friend, Jess, who is in the Navy and who is an amazing young woman. I hope you had a wonderful day, sweet girl. Thank you.

Chels Wears: Casual Cobalt

Necklace & Bracelets: Charlotte Russe | Scarf: American Eagle

Vest, Shirt & Jeans: WalMart | Boots: URBANOG | Bag: Strawberry

So. Let's talk about this outfit. It's matchy-matchy, which I don't like. And it's one of those outfits that the majority of people would label as cute, but in fashion blogger world, we label as "everyday" or typical. So I'm a bit indifferent about it. I like it, but am more posting it out of the feeling of needing a Chels Wears post, not that I'm really in love with it or anything. I wore this last night on my "date" with MJ...and my brother. We went to Cheddar's in Erie. Which is poorly named for how nice it actually looks inside. I was highly misled.

MJ was in town for an admissions fair and I certainly didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see him, but since I've also be fighting the good fight against this little cold, I didn't really feel like getting dressed up. This is what happens when you know you're going to see your boyfriend of four years and you both are just going to stuff your faces and then go home. I have to admit that I'm seeing a lot less of MJ then what I expected when I first moved and that was apparent after being so excited to see him all week and then realizing we only got to spend like an hour together. We are officially back to long distance when an hour of his time is the best part of my week. Next month we'll get some more quality time in, my friends (Hannah and Wade) are getting married and we're making a whole weekend out of it. So while that's a month away, my bridesmaid dress is cute, so that'll make up for him seeing me in such a casual outfit last night haha

Five Things I've Learned Since Graduation

It has been one year since I finished my Master's degree. Technically, one year and two days. I am certainly not where I thought I would be when I was thinking about this point in my life last year. And to be honest, so many things have gone wrong this past year, but so many things have been sweet little blessings in disguise. Spoiler alert, this post gets a bit heavy. You are allowed to stop reading it if you only come to this space for the flowery and fashionable. Though I hope you keep reading. Here are the top five things I've learned since graduation.

Jeremiah 29:11 Chalkboard Print by Lily & Val.

1) Where you want to be is not always where you should be.
If I had it my way, I would still be living in downtown Pittsburgh. When my lease was up last summer, I cried. Literally. Downtown Pittsburgh might be the pits for some people and others don't understand why I loved it so much, but it was my own little slice of Heaven. However, if I was there now, I wouldn't get to have this experience of living with my brother. If you haven't caught on to this yet, Eric is seriously my best friend. We should have been twins, if only so he wouldn't have had to spend that first year without me. I wouldn't have the freedom to not be paying a ridiculously high rent payment every month on top of my student loan payments. I'm sure for those two reasons alone, I would have started to resent that location eventually and because I'm not there, it's still a little Heaven in my eyes. Do I want to move back? Of course. But now isn't the time.

2) No job is below you.
I recently took on another job of bartending just to be able to make a bit more money with tips and another little paycheck. Why? Because who doesn't want a little wiggle room when bills start rolling in? And while bartending is great, this job also has a waitressing aspect to it, which I have never done before. Do you know how awful people treat waitresses? Yeah, that's why I never waitressed before. Not like retail is much more glamorous, but at least there isn't half-eaten food involved. But not taking a job that most people would say is "below" me is stupid. Does it give me money? Do I technically get a workout in while at work because of how much running around I do? Am I physically able to do this job? Yes. So while I don't need a Master's degree to figure out how to put in an order for Chicken Alfredo and then sweetly hand it to someone, everyone could do with having a job that teaches you how to serve someone. Serving someone else and expecting little to nothing in return is honestly what everyone in this country should have to do for at least a year in my own opinion. I might as well get my year in now.

3) MJ is greater than the man of my dreams.
If you know MJ personally, then you know that he has three things in mind. Career. Family. God. Not necessarily in that order, but that's about it. From the beginning of our relationship, he has made it clear that he wants to be married and have a boat load of children, and I have made it clear that I don't want either of those things until I feel totally set and complete on my own and then after that, I'm all in. If you remember my 25 before 25 list, I wanted to get engaged this year. However, that was with the ideal in mind that I would have a steady full-time job and I would be living on my own before he proposed. Obviously he was on board for this, and we were on this track up until I was no longer employed by Dress for Success because of some unforeseen financial difficulties on their part. MJ told me on Valentine's Day about how he had planned to propose. Way to lay it on thick, right? And to make you love him more, it was going to be at the party for his parent's 40th wedding anniversary, which is the exact same way my dad proposed to my mom. Yeah. That would have been last month. But this man. THIS. MAN. My man has put me and my desires first, yet again. He knows I would not be happy being engaged without feeling complete on my own, so his dreams of a wedding and little family are set aside for my dream of a career. I am selfish and I do not deserve him. But I thank God for him everyday and always will.

4) I have the skills and power to make my dreams come true.
You guys, I am so excited to finally announce what I've been working so hard on! This Thursday, be sure to check back because everything will be explained, I will need your input, and I really hope that you are as excited as I am.

5) God has perfect timing and a plan greater than any of my own.
Thursday's announcement is a big deal for me and I don't think it would be happening if the mess of this year didn't happen. This has been a seriously rough road since graduation. From the high of graduating, to the low of leaving Pittsburgh, high of being employed by one of my favorite non-profits, to losing that job for reasons that I had no control over, to the mess of moving again to Erie, and struggling on the job hunt train, this past year has had it's great moments, but overall, it has just been rough. But through it all, I know God knows what he's doing. He has a plan for my life and while I choose my daily steps, he is guiding them and working in and in spite of them to make things happen. I trust in him to get it right when I am certainly messing it up. Is Thursday's announcement the end all, be all of God's plan? Probably not, but it is certainly his doing. I had this in mind for much, much further down the road in life and it has made it's way to the present. I also want to make clear that other ventures are not being let go because of Thursday's announcement, but they are on the back burner. This has made it's way to the front of my mind and for good reason and I'm putting my trust in God that it will work out.

Chels Wears: Grown-Up Easter Bonnet

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend and the weather cooperated with all of your egg hunting plans! Since Eric is now a preacher, our parent's came up to Erie for the weekend to dye eggs on Saturday (after Eric and I went to Record Store Day, of course) and hear him preach and go out to eat on Sunday. It was a great weekend! 

These pictures were taken by my dad at a local park that has just been cleaned up for spring and, fingers crossed, I hope that spring is really here to stay now! And although this outfit is a little dark for Easter attire, I wanted to wear the hat and this little boho look seemed fitting. I actually got every piece of this outfit from the Dollar General. Holler for a bargain! Since I always wore hats growing up, especially on Easter, I felt it only proper to bring that tradition back this year. Mom has always said I have the perfect face/head for hats, cannot blame her for thinking her only daughter is cute ;)

How was your Easter weekend?

If I Become A Hipster, Blame My Brother: 2014 Edition

This is what you wear when you wake up at 8am to go buy records.

Little bit chilly while waiting outside of Graham's before it opened!

Inside Graham's - great crowd!

As some of you may or may not know, Saturday was Record Store Day. And although my brother, Eric, and I are currently living near Erie and not the vinyl-loving city of Pittsburgh, we knew we had to still celebrate.

Eric looked up where to find some goods and we took an early morning trip into Erie. This year we were serious, too. We printed out the list of all the exclusive releases, highlighted the ones we wanted and hoped for the best. We went to a family owned place, Graham's Records, first (supporting the local economy is what it's all about, right?), and found a couple things we wanted and then headed to The Exchange in Erie on the way home. Although we both brought home a lot less than last year, it was a good experience for our first time doing Record Store Day outside of Pittsburgh. Graham's had a ton of old stuff that I would love to browse through again soon, like on a day where we're not looking for specific things, and The Exchange had some great new things and surprisingly still had a good bit of Record Store Day exclusives by the time we got there around noon. Although, if you know of any other places around Erie, please let us know! We're always up for exploring music stores and local businesses.

I also realized this weekend that Eric and I have four record players, we each have two. He has an awesome turntable that is in perfect condition from a rummage sale and one from our dad. And I have a cute little green portable one that Eric got for me at that rummage sale and the one I "inherited" from our grandma...aka, the one I stole from our aunt's house during Christmas time because she wasn't using it and said I could take it. Hipsters.

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.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

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?