Five for Friday: Gray all the way

It's finally here!!! The fiance and I get the keys to our new casa today at 5 p.m., and I'm beyond ready to move into the space. Thank goodness our landlord has great taste and already painted all of the walls gray. After a few conversations, he and I seem to have the same aesthetic when it comes to interior design. So happy he's not the type of landlord who has an affinity for poop-green paint and shag carpet circa 1973.

Gray is such a versatile "neutral." You can pretty much pair it with any color and style, which is ideal for someone like me who tends to change her mind easily and often. What is your go-to wall color? Happy Weekend!

1. Eclectic + warm

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2. Pretty + contemporary

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3. Fun + bold

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4. Modern + sleek

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5. Feminine + classic

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Check out past Fridays here.

Five for Friday: Twenty-nine was divine

In a few hours, my Birthday Weekend will commence. The fiance and I will be on a plane to Colorado, ready to kick off my next year. I admit, turning 30 is a little scary. But the plan is to rock it out and embrace the gift of another year.

It's a little hard to leave 29 behind because it was an amazing year. I felt settled in Arizona, started my own business, traveled around the country, saw my family a lot more, started getting healthy and became involved in my college's alumni association. 

It's incredible the difference a year makes. Twenty-eight was full of transition and uncertainty, but it built a foundation for how great 29 was. So here's to 30 being even better and another 365 days of growing, loving, experiencing, laughing and learning.

1. Open for business

I really never intended to start my own studio, but it's been such a joy. Using my design skills in a different medium has been an incredible creative experience. The blog also celebrated its first Birthday this past year.

2. Adventure is calling

Working on a newspaper copy desk didn't allow me the opportunity to travel much, so I'm making up for lost time. Exploring the country (and world) is one of the best things a person can do for themselves, and I was blessed to visit California, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas and Washington this year, crossing off a few more from my 50 states checklist.

3. Family ties

I traveled home to Washington a few times this year, and even though the trips always seem short, I cherish the moments I do have with my family. Celebrating my nephew's first year of life and being home for Christmas for the first time in five years were some of the highlights of 29.

4.  Workin' on my fitness

One of the best decisions I made this year was getting back in the gym and eating better. I'm not big on the 30-before-30 types of things, but I am proud to say I've lost about 30 pounds just in time to turn 30. Continuing to make my health a priority definitely isn't going to stop at 30.

5. School spirit

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessed with my college. And through the Washington State University Alumni Association, I've had the opportunity to channel that love into organizing events for our local chapter and beyond and meeting fellow alumni. October will see me represent our Arizona group at the fall meeting in Pullman and attend college fairs here in the AZ to recruit out-of-state students to WSU.

Revisit Fridays of the past here.

Five for Friday + A healthier me: The moment of truth

Well, friends, the time has arrived for my first mud run. Tomorrow morning you can find me at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler getting dirty with a few hundred crazies. This journey to a healthier me is far from finished, but I can't wait to put the hard work of the past few months to the test.

I wanted to share my fave posts from the past few months in this edition of Five for Friday. Future topics will include fun playlists, nutrition and potentially training for a half effin' marathon! Thanks for all of the encouragement I've received via your wonderful comments and emails. They mean so much!

1. Back at the beginning

2. Where the magic happens

3. Sassy support

4. Mileage milestone

5. Thrice as nice

Find out more about my resolve to get fit then delve deeper into the Five for Friday archives.

Five (plus two) for Friday (on a Thursday): Technicolor sky

I'm peacing out early this week hence the Five for Friday today. But it's with good reason. The fiance and I are road tripping it to San Diego this weekend to cheer on our alma mater at their football game at Qualcomm Stadium. 

We're staying in a sick beach house with a bunch of our alumni group homies, and it's going to be one fun-filled weekend. We have a pub crawl in the Gaslamp Quarter on Friday, a huge tailgate before the game Saturday and Sunday will be spent searching for our livers, I'm sure.

In the spirit of travel and because I've been kind of a slacker around these parts (I'm working on a client's blog redesign), I wanted to share a few pictures from my plane ride back to Phoenix from my Montana adventure. (And I totally will post photos from that experience. It was everything I hoped it would be, and I basically want to move there, now).

I always carry my point-and-shoot in my purse because you never know when the opportunity to capture an image will present itself. And if you couldn't tell, I heart taking sky pictures, which is maybe why some of my fave photos ever were taken from an airplane.

I let my imagination take over while editing these. Hope your weekend is just as colorful!

Get your Friday fix here. Or check out more of my travel photography here. Or be rad and do both.

Five for Friday: The sky's the limit

Two weeks, hours of fun in the homeland and four loads of laundry later, I'm back in the mutha effin' house. Our boat trip to the San Juans was incredible, and the fiance and I may have found our wedding venue!!! Pictures of it all coming next week. As for this weekend's agenda, we're celebrating our fave AZ brewhouse's 10th birthday Saturday, and I'm trying to convince my better half to see "One Day." Wish me luck.

In the meantime, I can't think of a better way to delve back into blogging than the photography of Eric Cahan. The dude from New York is a genius, and I'm in love with his "Sky Series." Capturing sunrises and sunsets on camera is pretty much an obsession, and I'm completely inspired by his work.

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Friday is the best day of the week. See why here.

Five (times two) for Friday: Setting sail

It's time to kick off my summer/fall adventures with a trip back to the homeland. I'll be spending time with my family by the day's end before heading to the San Juan Islands for our annual Boat Trip. I can't even begin to convey how stoked I am to get back to the San Juans. We didn't make it last year since the fiance didn't have vacation the first year he was at his new job.

Not only are the San Juans absolutely stunning, but they have a special place in our hearts. The fiance and his family vacation there every year and have adopted me in their tradition after we started dating. So it seems fitting to get hitched on our favorite island. We're going to check out two venues in between boating, hiking, camping and wakeboarding.

These are some of the pictures I took from our trip two years ago. If you're ever in Western Washington, do yourself a favor and get yo ace to the San Juans.

Get your Friday fix here. Head over to the studio to check out more of my photography..

Five for Friday: Racking up the miles

The next few months are full of adventure ... Just the way I like it. The first trip takes the fiance and I to the San Juan Islands at the beginning of August. We're going to check out a few more wedding venues (yay) and spend time on the boat with family and friends. If you ever have a chance to visit Washington, try to see the San Juans. You won't be disappointed.

Next on the agenda is a trip to a state I've wanted to visit for a long time: Montana. I'll be spending Labor Day with one of my best homies at Flathead Lake. We're even thinking of going skydiving. My Dad really wanted to see Montana, but didn't get a chance to before he passed away, so I'll be making the journey for both of us.

I can thank my college's football team for the chance to visit San Diego and Colorado. The fiance and I are piling in an RV with some of our alumni group friends for a road trip to watch the Cougs play San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium in September. And the stars pretty much aligned for the trek to Colorado in October. WSU plays at the University of Colorado on my birthday, which also happens to be the same weekend as the Great American Beer Festival. Oh. Hell. Yes.

Finally, a travel roundup wouldn't be complete without a stop in Vegas. As part of my journey to a healthier me, I've started running again. And I'm a firm believer in the saying "Go big or go home," which is why I'm training for my first half marathon in December with my amazing Lil Sis from my sorority. The race is billed as "the World's largest nighttime running event" and sounds incredible.

Whether it's around the United States or in Arizona, traveling is important and necessary. Do you have any fun trips on the horizon?

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See why else Fridays rock here.

Five for Friday: Even more pretty pins

This weekend is going to be way chill (and most likely devoted to picture editing) considering the past few and upcoming have been and will be non-stop go, go, go.

I'm still in full-fledged love with Pinterest and thought it would be fun to share a few of my fave pins from this past week. I'm thinking of turning this into a series because there are soooooooooo many pretty images out there.

Hopefully your weekend is just as gorgeous.

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Get your Five for Friday fix here.

Five for Friday: Pinterest interest

Sorry to leave you hangin'. It's been quite the whirlwind week. I was so blessed to partake in Major League Baseball's All-Star Week here in the AZ, hence the reason for my absence. As a lifelong baseball fan, it was a dream come true. Pics to come next week.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some of my latest inspiration courtesy of my Pinterest page. Pretty sure the virtual pinboard has turned into a full-blown obsession (right behind Words With Friends of course). Are you on Pinterest or do you prefer to chronicle the things you love the old-fashioned way? However you choose, here's to an inspiring weekend.

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Visit the Five for Friday archives here.