I'm inspired by this vintage photo-

The woman in saddle shoes is perfectly sassy!

I couldn't sleep last night.

After hours of tossing and turning, I finally threw up my hands at 4:00am and gave up my desperate attempts to sleep. I knew operating on 2 hours of sleep would seriously mess with my head today, but sometimes your body simply fails to care.

So here I am- its almost 8am and already I've cleaned, gone grocery shopping, showered, done my makeup, and made my boyfriend a homemade cheesecake I've been promising him.

I'd say that's darn productive for only having slept from 2am-4am!!

I doubt this boundless energy will last me all day, but with a whole new day on the horizon I'm optimistic on what could possibly be in store.

Happy Friday everyone!

Enjoy the weekend!

(FYI: my cheesecake doesn't look nearly as pretty as this picture- but its the taste that counts!)

Whenever I have a bad day there are a few things I can count on to cheer me up...

1. Having my sweet puppy Tirzah cuddle up to me when I take a nap on the couch.

2. Listening to the Beatles (I'm currently playing "Here Comes the Sun" as I type)

3. Playing games that take my mind off whatever it is I'm upset about.

4. Getting down on my knees in prayer and telling God EXACTLY how I feel.

5. Having my favorite boy come over and make me laugh as I rest in his arms.

6. Having a good cry... or ten.

7. Venting to my best friend over the phone.

8. Wearing my sweat pants

9. Putting on my favorite pair of shoes as I chill in my apartment

(Christian Louboutin shoes just have a way of making me feel pretty) And yes- wearing sweat pants and 5 inch pumps are a sure way to make me feel happy.

10. Ice cream, smoothies, or any other yummy desert

11. And of course crappy TV shows that serve no purpose.

What do you do when you have a crappy day???

Summer in Arizona- my enemy

Its official- summer in Arizona has arrived!

I almost cried when I saw my car temp read 105 degrees this afternoon.

I suppose I should have expected summer to rear its ugly head eventually, after all it is June, but I dont think my body is ever prepared to bare the heat of hell.

So today I finally broke down, open my summer wardrobe, whipped out the shorts, gathered together all my "barely there" tanks, and loaded my freezer with yummy fruit pops.

I'm ready to take on the heat- but make no mistake, I will be complaining about the heat from

now till August.

*SIGH* Arizona sometimes you can be so cruel!

Pig Pen and I are Soul Mates

Sometimes life gets messy. Yes, believe it or not sometimes my humble little apartment looks as if an angry tornado has swiftly swept through it leaving nothing but a trail of dirty dishes and various articles of clothing strewn about. And while my mess bothers me on occasion- mostly I don't mind it. Whether its my car, my apartment, my closet, or my health... things just have a tendency to get a little messy in my neck of the woods. I like to think of myself as the real life "Pig-Pen" character from Charlie Brown

I sometimes plead with the Lord to make me different- to change my habits, tendencies, quirks, and physical well being... but guess what? He seems to always reply with a resounding NO. I'm starting to get the feeling God doesn't want to change me or my messy surroundings, but rather He desires for me to find peace within the mess. He wants me to find "Emily" amidst the chaos life throws my way. And He wants me to somehow look beyond my circumstances and into His heart.

So to all my fellow "Pig Pen's" out there- together lets learn to love our messiness and find peace at our core.

I cry everytime I hear this song... it simply melts my heart.

Lots of New

Ok its officially been too long since I've blogged- but I promise now that finals are over (Wahoo!!) I will be a much more attentive blogger.

So much has happened in the last few weeks that its literally all spinning around in my head like one big jumbled mess... so instead of recapping everything thats happened, I'm simply going to tell you about the new and greatest love in my life....

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!?!?

She was given to me as a birthday gift from my parents this last Saturday, and I couldn't have been more surprised. Now let me not give you any false impression that I actually know how to play her, but with my background of playing an acoustic guitar I've been able to fiddle around as I learn all the new switches, buttons, and knobs she comes with. Even more exciting is that I have a lesson coming up with a woman who's been playing the electric guitar for 15 years, and I'm hoping she'll be me new instructor. I probably shouldn't mention her name here on my blog, but here's a picture of her playing in her band...

A woman rocking an electric guitar while performing barefoot- now thats a woman ater my own heart!

Oh and here are a few pictures of my Birthday morning

(excuse the bed hair, glasses, and lack of make-up)

Last night a dear and adorable friend of mine shared a new music video with me, and we both agreed we want to be this girl....

She's so darn cute... its rather annoying to be honest.

Its that time of year again.... finals time (yuck!).

And while I should be busy studying various types of bacteria, viruses, and mixed cultures, my poor brain is begging me to stop. I keep day dreaming of sitting curled up in some cute coffee shop with a good book in one hand and a hot cup of black tea with steamed soy milk in the other. Although I love nursing, I swear my microbiology class is going to be the death of me.

"Only two more weeks"... that's what I keep chanting over and over in my mind, but somehow it brings little comfort. Instead I've been finding subtle little ways to procrastinate- like blogging for example. But no matter how hard I try not to study or think about studying, the weight of my looming final exam simply won't dissipate. I guess I must suck it up and get it done....

Wish me luck (I'm gonna need it!)

PS. Forgive me if my blog posts are few and far between during these next two weeks. Once finals are over my normal blogging maddness shall resume.

I Heart Design

Two years ago God unexpectedly reached into my life and changed my world. Among those changes was my future career path. You see, as I left home for college four years ago, I thought I had my life completely planned out. I was and always have been moved by the arts, and therefore it made perfect sense I would declare my major Interior Design. Growing up, I was always redecorating and rearranging my room to fit my current mood, and I couldn't wait to spend my life doing it for other people. Little did I know I would eventually change my major to nursing and follow in the footsteps of my mom and sister. And while my heart for nursing grows bigger everyday, my passion for design still burns deep inside. My humble little Arizona apartment has now become the canvas on which I paint. My home is filled with things that inspire me, colors that brighten my soul, warmth that emanates to all who enter, and a crazy ecclection of nic-knacks that each tell their own beautiful story. My apartment is much like me in that it is forever changing and morphing into something new- but it will always remain the place that makes me feel "at home" in the chaotic world I live.

Here are a few pictures of rooms that move and inspire me....