Creating a Home

This is something I have been wanting to write about for a long time.  This blog has sort of evolved from a mismatch of pinterest and outfits to really focusing in on the things that affect young single Catholic ladies and I am not complaining.  It is this beautiful challenging time that involves alot of transitions, unknowns, decisions, and joys.  One such thing is choosing how and where to live.

Without going into too much detail I moved to Pittsburgh last October with a job, a one bedroom apartment and a roommate.  Since then I have moved into a four bedroom house, gained another roommate and gotten two other job offers but still have the same job...for now.  One thing that has become very important, especially since moving is cultivating a home.

So often creating a home goes hand in hand with hubby and a litter of children, but why can't us single gals also talk about cultivating a home of love and joy?

I have tried to be purposeful, despite large ever present loan payments, to create a home with pieces and spaces that I love, and I hope my roommates love it just as much as I do.  Arranging furniture to be warm and inviting, adding pieces that inspire joy, religious articles that point back to Him, plants that bring a breath of fresh air, and a flow that just works.  It is by no means perfect but a home is an ever evolving space with things, people, ideas, hopes, dreams, and sometimes even failings flowing through it.

Cozy corners. 

Much of the furniture in our home has come from thrift stores, hand me downs, and trash day but somehow all comes together as if we choose them out of a magazine. Just a few weeks ago one of my roommates and I were discussing how much we disliked our kitchen chairs and would love if we could change them.  Wouldn't you know that not three days later on trash day there were three nearly perfect condition chairs that were just sitting in the trash on the curb.  I like to think that the Lord also wanted us to have a beautiful home that worked with our budget.

We recently had our home blessed and hosted the priest for dinner even more emphasizing that the definition of a home doesn't necessarily include a traditional nuclear family but also can include three single ladies striving for sainthood and their vocation.

I have seen it all over instagram (@avcrawford and @ymgal13 I am looking at you) this creating of beautiful living spaces but I say to all of you ladies keep on creating.  Create homes you love living in. 

A sink overflowing with dishes normally means a night laughing and chatting with friends.

Nothing better than a summer evening on the patio.

Big Kid Adventures: Suit Shopping

So I started suit shopping yesterday.  No I don't have an interview yet but I knew it probably wouldn't be easy to find a suit and I would probably need to get it altered.  Unfortunately I was very very right. 

Did you know that very few places sell more than two or three jacket options?  The only places that I looked at that had more options was Macy's and The Limited.  

For the most part I only tried on the jackets because I knew that would be harder than the pants.

I quickly learned that one button looks horrendous on me and I need two. 

See a little bit better..

Finally good enough to try on a pair of pants with it even though still not a winner. 

No matter what I am going to need to get the jacket altered.  I have un-proportionately large arms so I need to get a size up which makes everywhere else big.

Any suggestions out there for where to buy suits.  I really don't want to go high end like J.Crew or anything?  Also I need opinions--is it professional enough to wear a different color jacket than pants like the last picture?  What color combo would you suggest if I really really dislike black?