Thoughts on graduation...

My graduation is impending (t-minus two weeks) and I have mixed feelings. I am so excited to be done with high school. It seems that each time I approach the end of an era (elementary school, middle school, and now high school) I look back at the underclassmen and don't know how I can be in the same school with them. We go through so much change, especially within the short four years of high school, and I feel so distant from the 15 year old freshman that I once was. I'm ready to move on.

But, college poses its own set of challenges. I don't really want to be a freshman again and I don't want to have my life sucked away by hours of studying. Though I'm glad that I'll be in the honors program at Colorado State, I do worry that the smaller and more challenging classes will be too much. Or maybe my participation in the honors undergraduate research program will take too much time. It will be a lot of work to keep my life in balance. I keep reminding myself not to not worry about it for now, that if it's too much then I'll "cross that bridge when I come to it" as my mom likes to say. For now, I'm trying to stay in the moment and focus on enjoying the end of high school and my summer before I worry about college.

Like almost every teenager leaving home I'm already suffering from home sickness. Okay, maybe that's not so normal. I love hanging out with my parents (I think they're pretty cool) and unlike many of my friends I love where I live, rain and all. This makes it way harder to leave. If only CSU could move to Washington! I'm darn happy here with my parents, my cat, my city, my friends, and my significant mister that I can't believe I made the choice to leave. The whole thing about simplicity is living in a way where you are choosing to be happy and I'm choosing to leave the things that make me happy. I'm keeping in mind the family I'm so excited to visit in CO and all the great opportunities and friends that await me. I know I'll find my place and that my happiness will step off the airplane with me in August, I would never leave it behind.

But I've also been peeking around at my options should I decide that my place is back here. It's nice to know I have options, even if I never utilize them.

At the end of 2012 I picked my word for this year: brave. It's time for me to live away from home, even if just for a little while, and prove to myself that I am brave and I can take on this challenge.

Enjoy today,
Addie

Tiny house inspiration of the week

Click the pictures for links

I'm loving this murphy desk- I'm hoping to DIY this one soon!

Adorable shelving.

A fold-up porch so I can take back the square footage normally used for a porch.

I'd love built in bench seating... maybe even a tiny booth

Enjoy today,

Addie

A box of clothes: gone

In my previous post My closet overfloweth, I told you all about my love-love relationship with clothes and my love-hate relationship with having lots of them. Though I enjoy having a full wardrobe with many choices, I recognize how much easier it is to get dressed in the morning when all I have are favorites. Every outfit makes me feel good and I never have blah days where I'm wearing something uncomfortable or something I just don't feel good in.

I do feel guilty about the clothes that sit in my closet hardly or never worn. So to them I say: it's not you, it's me. And then I send them on their way. I try to always buy quality clothes that will last, so what I get rid of often has quite a bit of life left in it. It's nice to know that though I didn't benefit from the long-lasting quality, someone else will.

Last time, I gave you a list of everything in my closet. This time, I give you a list of everything in the first box on its way out.

Box #1:

• 3 pairs of gloves
• 1 hat
• 1 pair of fuzzy socks
• 2 tank tops
• 1 pair of running shorts
• 1 sleeveless top
• 2 long sleeve tops
• 1 belt
• 1 old sports bra
• 1 pair of spanks (shorts to wear under skirts)
• 1 tankini top
• 1 bikini top
• 3 athletic t-shirts 
• 2 headscarves
• 1 bra

Grand total: 22 items

Updated closet total: 178 items

As of now, I'm not sure what my goal is. Ideally I'd like to reduce my clothes and shoes to 100 items, but college is getting in the way. While 100 items (or less) is completely doable in the mild Pacific Northwest climate, I have to account for cold and snowy winters in Colorado as well as really hot summers. For the next four years (minimum) I may have to keep a few extra items hanging around like the winter coat that I do not yet own since it really doesn't get cold enough here. I'll do my best to scale down as much as I can. Besides, I can only take to college what clothes will fit in a few suitcases. 

Enjoy today,

Addie