It's my party.

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It's a good feeling to make it to the end of the year and look back on everything that has happened, everything you've made it through and everything that has changed. I, like most people, have my moments where I wish things were different, or better, or simpler, or clearer, but things always fall into place they way they're supposed to, so that's nice. I had planned to buy myself a smaller and more compact camera (much like the one above) for portability, but it hasn't happened... yet. There are so many options out there, so I'm having trouble narrowing it down, and for a moment I contemplated purchasing a vintage film camera, but now I'm not so sure if it'll be worth the effort to find film every time I need some new rolls and then to find somewhere to get the film developed at a decent quality. I may have to save that dream for a later date - a date when I have my own home with my own space for my own darkroom to develop my own film, myself. In the interim, I'm scanning reviews on various sites and taking recommendations if anyone out there has any.

Also, I guess it's worth mentioning, for the sake of mentions, that it looks a little different around here these days. The lovely Kotryna worked with me to help my vision come to life on this page, and I am a happy camper. I still have a few more things to add/update, but I was too anxious to wait until everything was picture-perfect-ready, or to wait until the new year, because clearly that would've made more sense. Ah well. It's my party.

In other news, I'm thinking of not going against the grain on New Years Resolutions and actually making some this year. They're underrated IMO, and I hate how much slack they get. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make changes, and the New Year is the perfect time for a fresh start. So what if you (I) don't stick to them? At least you (I) put forth an effort to do better.

A baby step is still a step.

♥

Til is see you again, love

This past Saturday I laid a very close friend of mine to rest. It was tough. It's the kind of thing you never expect you'll have to do, but when it's time to do it, you hardly feel present in the moment. It didn't feel real at first, but now reality is setting in so I feel the need to write about it - lest I explode.

Little Five Points

Just sharing some photos from this past weekend's visit to Little Five Points. *Note: Bang-On is a solid spot for anyone in ATL looking for customer printing on any kind of fabric. They're quick, reasonably priced and the quality is top notch.

♥

Shake Shack Atlanta

I mentioned in a few posts back how excited I was about Shake Shack coming to Atlanta. When I was in NYC a few years ago, I didn't know it existed, so I missed out on giving it a try. Since then, Shake Shack has popped up in various other states, but only on the East Coast (take that, In-N-Out), including the good ol' sunshine state right below me. I've traveled for food before, but a trip to Florida just for a burger spot was not in the books, so I sat waiting patiently and hopelessly...

THE WAIT IS FREAKING OVER.

They'll Hook It Up

This week I cleaned my apartment, tried an at-home waxing kit (which was a semi-success), got creeped out by an Elf on a Shelf, found the perfect red lip color for my skin tone and got myself hooked on the Hazelnut Iced Coffee from Chick-fil-a. The flavor's not on the menu, but if you ask for it, they'll hook it up.

Over in this neck of the woods

... Annnnd, cue the "December is here already?! How did that happen?! Where has the time gone?! 2015 is almost here! New Year New Me!" posts.

Call me a party pooper, but everything is right on schedule according to my watch (and according to the actual calendar, obviously). One of the Passion artists debuted a new song last Sunday (main hallway of the building pictured above), and the lyrics mentioned how the days are long, but the years fly by. It rang so true of life in general, but lately, that hasn't been the case over in this neck of the woods. I'm just looking for this year to be over already. I'm done with it. I feel like a student in class who's finished a test early and has to sit around and wait for everyone else to tackle that final essay on the last page (I was always good at the essay portions, fyi - it was the multiple choice that got me... too many options!).

On another note, I've got multiple calls and texts to return - some from the week before Thanksgiving. I always say I'll wait until the evening time, so I can actually talk to the person instead of their voicemail, but then I look up and it's 11pm.

Anywhoo, I'm off to Dollar Tree later for some cheap and cheesy Christmas decor. I want my apartment to look like a Merry ol' explosion went off.

♥

Perspectives change as time passes

1. My nephews' trophies. MVPs for the win.
2. Super oldie but goodie of me and my cousin.
3. The backyard of the neighborhood I grew up in.
4. The front yard of the neighborhood I grew up in.
5. My youngest nephew and his ex-bae.
6. Cruising through the skies on the way back to ATL.

Amicalola Falls

Easily my favorite part of last weekend's North GA trip.

♥

(Amicalola Falls)

Things I can appreciate about life

Last year around this time, I wrote a post on gratitude, and how I felt it was important to express it year-round. Well, a whole year has gone by, and here I am around the Thanksgiving holiday looking back at how often I really took the time to appreciate the people and things in my life. Appreciation is a funny thing. You can feel it, deep inside, sitting all warm and fuzzy within your body, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're showing it and/or expressing it openly. At least, such is the case for me. I'm working on that. The YouVersion app has a good reading plan on Thankfulness, and it's a quick read. When I fall behind, it's easy to catch up.

I wrote a post a little while back on the few things that made me smile that day, and I'm outrageously grateful for those moments. They may be small, but those moments are important. There's so much in my world I'm thankful for. No matter what's going on, I always have a laundry list of things I can appreciate about life - my life. As I sit here typing this post, my mother is in the background (all warm in cozy in my apartment), asking if I have corn meal in my kitchen. I tell her "no, probably not," and she takes it upon herself to check my cupboards to make sure. She's making quite a bit of noise, all while I'm trying to concentrate on writing this post, and lo' and behold she's found some.

"See! You don't even know what you have in this kitchen..."

I started to get slightly irritated because I wanted some time alone this afternoon, but I'm thankful to have her around and close, especially during the holidays when being near family just feels... right.

Burts Farm

We were on CP Time for the pumpkin patch. (About a week late)

Gotsta do better.

♥

(Burt's Farm)

North Georgia Mountains

This past week has been a rough one for me. These photos are from a last weekend's trip to North Georgia Mountains. My quiet before the storm.