Desk Darling

Hey y'all,

So sorry for the late post! Today was a bit crazy but I was able to find a dress for Formal on Saturday and I currently have banana bread in the oven so I call the day a success. I am really excited to link up with Rebecca, Dorothy, and Carlee for the #ShowUsWhereYouWork link-up.

I actually have two work spaces. The desk in my apartment for blogging, fiddling around on the internet, and life things and then my desk at work. I figured though that you guys care more about my desk at home. I actually want to paint and change my desk to match my bedding more and I am thinking some thing along the lines of this pin and Shannon's desk.

I just got this bulletin board so I have yet to hang it and I can't find the push pins I have so the board is not complete. Right now it has some of the Save the Dates/Invitations for the Weddings this year, some of my Senior Year photos and then a couple of things I need to get done.

 Where is your favorite workspace located?

While in college I loved heading to the library and grabbing a table so I could spread out all my work or find a table in a study lounge. Now that I am post-grad, my desk is in my room and I am either there, or I might move my laptop to the kitchen table or work on the couch.

 Do you prefer a sleek desk or are you an "organized chaos" person?

My desk drawers can be "organized chaos" but the top of the desk has to be clean since I love to spread out with my planner on one side, my to-do list, and then my work.

 What is your favorite kind of writing utensil?

I am a pen and pencil snob. I am just really picky. For my planner I use Sharpie Pens but I also like Papermate Flair markers. For everyday writing I like these pens and these ones.

Show us your calendar/agenda:

I love my Kate Spade Agenda!

What are you looking forward to most about spring?

I am looking forward to warm weather and spending nights reading on the porch.

What does your workspace look like?

Behind the Curtain: 52 Questions for 52 weeks

Hey y'all,

So one of my goals this year is to plan out more posts and really have great quality content. Well, on my break I stumbled onto a list of 52 questions and since Saturdays we are always running around I figured I would answer these questions one a week. Who doesn't want to peek behind the curtain like Dorothy did? 

via

Here is the list of questions:

1. What is your full name? Why did your parents give you that name?
2. When and where were you born? Describe your home, your neighborhood and the town you grew up in.
3. Tell me about your father (his name, birth date, birthplace, parents, etc.) Can you share some memories you have of your father?
4. Tell me about your mother (hers name, birth date, birthplace, parents, etc.) Can you share some memories you have of your mother?
5. What kind of work did your parents do (farm, salesman, manager, seamstress, nurse, stay at home mom, professional/laborer, etc.)
6. Have any of your family members died yet?  If so, what do remember of their death and what were the circumstances of their death?
7. What kind of hardships or tragedies did your family experience while you were growing up?
8. What are the names of your brothers and sisters? Describe one or more things that stand out in your mind about each of your siblings.
9. What were some of the family traditions that you remember?
10. Did your family have special ways of celebrating specific holidays?
11. Share a few memories of your grandparents.
12. Did your grandparents live close by? If so, how much were they involved in your life?  If they lived far away did you ever travel to visit them?  What was that like?
13. Do you have any aunts, uncles, or cousins who really stand out in your mind? Write something about them (names, personalities, events that you remember doing with them, etc.)
14. Where did you go to school? What was school like for you?
15. What were your favorite subjects in school? Why?
16. What subjects did you like the least?  Why?
17. If you went on to get a college or vocational education, what school did you go to? What did you study? What memories do you have of those years?
18. What do you see as your personal strengths?
19. What were some of the challenges you faced growing up?
20. What medical issues have you had to deal with throughout your life?
21. Was religion an important part of your family life? If so, what religion did your family practice and what did it mean to you? Is it still an important part of your life today? If religion was/is not a part of your life, why isn’t it?
22. Who were some of your friends in school? What were they like? What ever happened to them?
23. What foods do you like?  Dislike?
24. Where there two or three dishes your mother or father made that makes you smile every time you think of them?
25. How did you meet your spouse?
26. How would you describe your spouse?
27. What was your courtship like?
28. Share some stories about your spouse?
29. How many children do you have?  What are their names?  Share a few memories about each of your children.
30. What were some of the major community, national and world events you lived through?
31. How did some of these events change your life?
32. What are some of your life philosophies or life views that you would share with others.
33. What are some of the personal values that are very important to you? What have you done (are you doing now) to teach these values to your children?
34. Thinking of people throughout the world and throughout time. List at least 5 people who you would categorize as truly great men or woman. What did they do to be great in your mind?
35. List 20 or more things that make you happy.
36. List 20 things or more that you think the world would be so much better off without.
37. List 20 interesting things you’ve experienced in your lifetime.
38. If you could spend a day with any famous person in the world, who would it be and what would you do during your day with him/her?
39. What scares you?
40. Share a few of the deeply moving (spiritual) experiences you’ve had in your life?
41. What advice would you pass on about raising children that you learned from raising your own children?
42. What are some of your talents? How did you discover them? What have you done to cultivate and improve them?
43. What were some of the truly life changing experiences you went through. How did you handle them? In what ways did they change you?
44. What did you do for a career? Why did you choose to go into this career?
45. What were some of the jobs you had throughout your life? Were there memorable experiences you had with any of those jobs?
46. What would you consider as two or three truly significant challenges in your life so far?
47. What are some of the life lessons that you would like to pass on to your posterity?
48. How many places have you lived. Provide a brief description of each place you’ve lived and why you lived there.
49. If you could go back in time and do things over again, what would you change?
50. When all is said and done, what do you want to be remembered for? What are you doing now to make that happen?
51. What kind of health issues have you experienced?
52. What were some of your more memorable vacations?

Extra Questions:

1. If a newspaper wanted to do a story about you, what would the story be about?
2. If someone gave you $100 and told you that you had to give it away, but you could NOT give it to your immediate family, what would you do with it?
3. Have you traveled to any place outside of your home country?  What was the reason for making such trips and what memorable things happen with some of those trips.
4. What were some of the popular fads during your younger years?
5. How did you spend your summers?

So today's question is: 

1. What is your full name? Why did your parents give you that name?

via

Well for safety reasons I will just tell you that my name is Jessica Lynn. I was actually the only child in my family not named after a relative so it is kind of strange to look at the family Bible and see my sibling's connection but not mine. My name is a mash-up of names my parent's liked. I mean my Mom liked Jessica and my Dad liked Lynn so here we are. I have had many nicknames over the years though including Messy Jessie, Jess, Jessica-Jessica, Jessie, etc. but I am very happy with my name.

Do you have a fun story behind your name? Want to take part in 52 questions in 52 weeks? Should I make a link-up for this challenge?

Weekend Shenanigans..

Hey y'all,

As I write this I am trying to get everything together for Monday morning after having the past week off. So sorry for the continued disappearance. This past week was crazy with house sitting, moving, a hair cut, meeting the new kitten, celebrating birthdays, unpacking, cleaning and more! So I hope you forgive me. Now onto linking up with Sami since this weekend was crazy busy!

FRIDAY. Friday morning after checking on the house/pet bunny I was watching I swung by my old apartment to do the final cleaning (my keys were due on Saturday) and I finished everything and said goodbye to my old place. It was so strange to think that I no longer lived there. It was my very first, one hundred percent me apartment and for nine months I learned a lot about myself as I transitioned to my first real job, including the fact that as one of four kids I need a roommate to balance me out. 

Saying Goodbye to My First Place

After all the cleaning it was time for tailgating for the Blake Shelton concert. My roommate's co-workers could not attend so we were able to get their lawn tickets and since I have never been to a country concert and I have loved Blake since Austin I was thrilled to go! After a run to Bojangles we spent a lovely time chatting and waiting for the doors to open. The concert was AMAZING! Jana Kramer and Easton Corbin were the opening acts but I was there for Blake and he did not disappoint. You can check out the set list here.

Jana Kramer from our seats on the lawn

Blake's enterance

Yes that is Blake in a cowboy hat and a mullet.

SATURDAY. After checking on the bunny again, it was time to catch up with tPr and have lunch/our usual stop at Barnes and Nobles. After that I headed over to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up the kate spade new york bedding in Little Star for my room and almost left the store not finding it. A lot of the past season kate spade bedding is on clearance right now at BB&B and so when I was looking in that section it was only past collections, luckily I took a second pass and found the Little Star bedding in a Full/Queen right next to some other customers. SCORE! It is perfect and you will see it in my new room in next week's post. Then it was time for teaching Sunday School (it is my last week with some of my preschoolers who will move on to the kindergarten class next week) and going to church. A quick run to Aldi and my roommate cooking greek chicken for our second roomie dinner finished off the night.

via

SUNDAY. More pet sitting, then babysitting, unpacking/organizing more of my room, cooking steak for roomie dinner #3 and then babysitting again rounded out the night/weekend. 

Here is to the start of a great week! How was your weekend?

Max & Lilly when I visited my parent's house this week.

I'm obsessed with the new kitten Lily!

WILW & OHP: July 10

Hey y'all,

The whole day off in the middle of the week last week has thrown me completely off. So, today is Wednesday and I will hopefully be back to the swing of blogging. This week I am loving....

...Despicable Me 2. On the 4th, I spent time with friends going to see it and then a fun cookout. It was the perfect way to spend the day (I even got to sleep in).

via

If you love Minions I think you should read this Buzz Feed article on 15 Reasons We Wish We Had Minions. Or this pin that helps showcase the various Minions.

via

So now you all know that I love Despicable Me/Minions and yes I am excited that next December the Minion movie comes out!

...I have another planner now in the mix for decisions. I found the 2013 & 2014 Planners by PlumPaperDesigns and I think I will end up with them in the great Lilly/Erin Condren planner debate. The Plum Paper planners have the option of format similar to the EC Life Planner but they have lines! I am one of those people who loves to write on the line. They are also personalized and only $30! Less than the Luxe Lilly I was eyeing or the Life Planner.

via

...the countdown to move in day is 24 days! I am still slowly packing but I visit my parent's next weekend to grab some more boxes (and see Max the cat) and really get in packing mode. It is so strange to think that I move so soon!

...speaking of packing, I have been watching my Gilmore Girls season DVDs and I am almost done with season 5! I really hope I can stretch them to move in day but they are great to put on and watch while cleaning/packing. I just finished the episode where Luke & Lorelei break up and the ribbons are around the town. It is also Logan time now which I don't love.

via

...making my Christmas list. Y'all might think it is strange, but when you have relatives on both coasts, you get used to making your Christmas list early so that it can be sent to them and the gifts shipped. We used to draw names in July so I am used to having the list made by August. I will share the list soon!

...reading. I am back on the reading bug bad, and good considering according to Goodreads with my goal of 113 books I am about 8 books behind. However, thanks to NetGalley I have found some really great books and so far this week I have already read two books and I am half way done with two others!

...If you didn't watch Jami's episode of Extreme Weight Loss last night I highly recommend it! Jami's story had me crying and I recently found that she started a blog.

...these pinterest finds:

via

via

via

via

via

via

via

via

What are you loving?

Weekend Shenanigans....

Hey y'all,

Sorry for the bit of a bloggy hiatus over the past few days but my weekend was pretty non-stop. I would love a few extra days to lounge around but in the professional world, summer is a season not a vacation. 

Onto the re-cap. So, Friday evening began with leaving work and heading to downtown Raleigh for yummy Italian food at Cafe Luna with EC, LW, and CW from work. 

Cafe Luna
via

After dinner, we headed over to watch a performance of Giselle by the Carolina Ballet. It was a great show and none of us had seen a performance of Giselle so when we spotted the Groupon for $20 tickets we grabbed them. 

Giselle

Saturday began with a trip to the gym since I am still working on running my first 5k NEXT MONTH! I am still not where I should be but I started training a bit late and in the middle of the busiest season of work but am running about a mile and I still have four more weeks to go! After a trip to the gym it was time to get some reading done as I finished the book, Burning Blue. 

It was an interesting story described as "How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?

When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.

Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty."

After reading and some laundry it was time to head to church where I co-lead a class of 4&5 year olds while their parent's attend "big church." Typically I would go to the service following my class but my Mom and baby sis, kDi were in town to see Sister Act: The Musical  so I met up with them for dinner before the show at a German bakery/restaurant called the Guglhpf Cafe.It was great to eat German food together since it is so hard to find a good German restaurant.

via

After a delicious dinner, it was an hour long chat with one of my best friends, some TV then off to a 21st birthday party for one of my sorority sisters. 

The Birthday Girl, JP, RM and I

Sunday morning began early with some babysitting at 6:30am-2:30pm. After that long morning with little sleep watching a four year old and an 18 month old (talking 5 hours of sleep) it was time for lunch and a nap. After that, it was finishing laundry, making some dinner and back on the road in the rain. I drove into Raleigh to visit with RM and her roomies to see Identity Thief. It was hysterical and I am glad I made the journey for the $2 ticket and fun times with friends.

Sunday night ended with watching some of the ACM's present Tim McGraw's Superstar Summer Night. I am a huge fan of Tim so it was great to relax for a bit and listen to some great music.

via

And other news from the weekend, Caitlin and her sweet husband are expecting! There is so much joy and love going on with my friends it is such a fun time to log onto Facebook to see engagements, weddings, and little ones! God has blessed everyone so much and it is a constant reminder of the plan He has laid out for us.

What was your weekend like?

Navy+Interior Designs=Oh, How Pinteresting

Hey y'all, 

I think I have spilled the beans on all the things I am loving including my new blog design, K's engagement, and my splurge on my Kate Spade book clutch so I thought I would link up with Michelle for the first time with "Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday." It appears though that all my pins are saying I'm loving interior design and the color navy.

some midweek laughs

My next cooking adventure.

Top 5 Tuesday

Hey y'all,

I am so excited to be linking up with Rachel again. Her blog is absolutely one of my favorites and I love the link up of Top 5 Tuesday. Filled with great themes it is always so difficult to narrow down my choices. You can see in the eye-candy one there were lots of honorable mentions on my list. But furthermore, this week was focused on our most worn items. I would have to say that currently my most worn items would be my work wardrobe for my retail job but apart from wearing that about 30 hours a week here are the items I have been wearing constantly this summer.

Top 5 Tuesday by janeaustenprepster featuring camisole tops

Typical Summer Outfit
Featuring: Hanes White V-neck, Aeropostale Grey Cami, Chinos from Target

1. V-necks. I love a great v-neck t-shirt to wear with anything from skirts to shorts to jeans. It's the perfect basic and easy to dress up with a pashmina or fun colorful skirt. I tend to get mine in a pack in the men's department by Hanes or grab more fitted ones from Old Navy and Forever 21.

2. Nike Tempo Shorts (Norts). No surprise, these are the most comfortable shorts to workout in, run errands, or just hang around the house. I also love Champion's running shorts as another option. I have a lot of options from prints to solid colors.

3. Camis. I wear camis under everything. I don't know about you but I love a more modest look so I put camis under most of my shirts to add length on the bottom as well as if I have a deep v-neck shirt on it is great to feel comfortable.

4. Chino Shorts. If I have to be a little more dressed up but still casual and comfy I grab a pair of chinos. My favorites are from J.Crew, Gap, and Target.

5. Sandals. I alternate between my platinum Jack Rogers and my Rainbow Flip Flops. I can say that I am usually wearing sandals though since North Carolina weather allows one to have nice weather for most of the year. 

Honorable Mentions: Flowy Skirts and Tops. During the Summer there is just something great about airflow in your pieces of clothing, flowy and Simple is really my moto for clothing in the summer.

The Webster Miami for Target Top

xhilaration for Target Skirt

What are your most worn items? Link up with Rachel!

Peace and Blessings,

jDl

Erin Condren Life Planner (or how I organize my life after college.)

THE VLOG IS FINALLY WORKING!

Hey y'all,

So on Friday right before work a wonderful package came to my door. It was my Erin Condren Life Planner. Here are a few pictures and my first ever vlog(if it ever works) which compares my Lilly Pulitzer planner with my new E.C. Life Planner (excuse me looking crazy/wearing my UNC hoodie and my lazy eye. I decided to film Sunday after working from 4am-1:30pm so I was ready for a nap before dinner.) I am also linking up with Meredith of The Tichenor Family blog for her Life Planner Link-Up.

Well let's get started.

The beautiful box as delivered by FedEx

Upon opening.

IT'S HERE!

The really cute (EXTRA) stickers with my name on them!

My Life Planner. It has my full name on it so for safety I covered up my last name.
 It is the Taffy design with my own colorway of pink and navy.

This week!

The notes section is where I put the ruler provided.

The extra goodies.

Vlog

(excuse my rambling)

Also, yesterday right before I posted my Liebster Blog Award, SHF of The Chronicles of S nominated me as well, so instead of doing even more facts, I am going to answer her questions.

1) If you could live in any city, which one would you choose? 

A big city in the South most likely. Think Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Charleston, etc.

2) What is your wardrobe staple?

A perfect fitting  pair of jeans.

3) If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?

Hmmm. Probably all of my sorority sisters since I miss them terribly especially my Big whom I haven't seen since October!

4) Blackberry, iPhone, or Android?

I would love an iPhone but I currently have a non-smart phone after my last one got lost in the library during Finals in December. Less than a year until I get to upgrade!

5) What is your favourite unofficial holiday (e.g.: Ice Cream Day)?

Besides my Birthday and half-birthday, I would probably go with the date my sorority was founded since I think Phi Beta Chi has truly shaped who I am and influenced a large number of my friends and experiences over the last 4 years.

6) Which magazine(s) do you read every month?

I currently don't have any magazine subscriptions. I however do love on rare occasions to glance through Glamour, Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmo, Southern Living, and a few more.

7) Where is your favourite vacation spot?

I love the beach. I especially love small non-commercialized beaches like Topsail, NC and the Outerbanks. Small and quiet is the way to go for me.

8) What is (or was) the most interesting class you've taken?

I loved a lot of my classes at UNC (minus calculus and chemistry) so I will write down a few I loved. Introduction to Museum Studies, History of the Medieval Church, Art History of the Illuminated Manuscript, Victorian Literature and Contemporary Issues, 19th Century British Fiction, Medieval Art in Western Europe, Gender and Imperialism, and many more.

9) Which of your birthday parties has been your favourite?  What was the theme?

I loved my 18th Birthday. We went mini-golfing and it was perfect weather considering my birthday is in January. I actually have never really hated any birthday except for ones that fall on Superbowl Sunday. 

10) If you could guest star on any TV show, which one would you choose?

THE CHEW! I would love to be on What Not to Wear or Say Yes to the Dress but not as a guest star. If you have never seen The Chew go to Hulu and watch an episode. Basically it is a cooking show every afternoon at 1pm et. on ABC with hillarious personalities like Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, Daphene Oz, Mario Batali, and Michael Symon. I mean, yesterday's episode was about State Fair food and they had a butter cow. Come on.

11) What & where is your favourite building (e.g.: the Getty Museum in LA)?

This is really hard after living in Europe since there are many gorgeous buildings and churches. I would probably go with the Louvre in Paris, France. I love the mix of contemporary glass features and the original architecture of the time it served as a royal residence. 

As always if you have any questions or concerns email me or write a comment!