Rainy Day DIY

Ever since I was little, watching episodes of Trading Spaces on TLC, when the network had some substance to it, I have daydreamed of interior design concepts. If you see my childhood bedroom, you will understand that I was not always the most talented little designer. But I constantly fantasize about my dream apartment, a balanced assortment of vintage and modern, neutrals and colors. Now that I've started the (horrible, stressful, no good) apartment-hunting process for next September, I am going through a manic period of mental design blueprints, all day, err day. Lately I have been absolutely obsessed with Buzzfeed's DIY and craft pages. They are all just so cute! And I shall make them all for my new apartment!

I haven't always been the most crafty. I'd be the kid with glue smeared all over her collage. I'd use the thickest marker so the coloring would take less time. But I am ecstatic about making my space truly mine. My friend Allison and I decided to make colored mason jars. It came out a bit streaky, but I'm proud of mine.

I plan to use them as vases on a sleek IKEA bookcase in my bedroom. I love pink, purple, and coral colors for the flowers, since I think it makes for great contrast. I tend to pick out neutral fixtures, so pops of color like these are just what I need. The best part? Allison and I had a lot of fun while making these. And I can't wait to go onto my next project.

Adorable & Adoptable

Anyone who has ever met me ever knows that I like (love) (am obsessed with) cats. I really love dogs more, but no need to get off topic. Recently I have been volunteering at Last Hope in Wantagh, NY. Last Hope is a shelter that has done great for the community by rescuing death-due, abandoned and stray cats and dogs. Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of foot traffic through the shelter, resulting in an extremely low adoption rate. I am making it my mission to assist with the marketing and PR for this shelter in order to bring potential adopters in to the shelter. Not only is this a cause I am extremely passionate about, but also it has the capacity to guide my career direction, which lord knows I need. I took some new photos of the kitties in hopes that the circulation of these images will draw in prospective pet owners. This had nothing to do with the fact that  I want to play with cats all day...that would be weird, right?

My Reason or Rhyme, State of Mind.

For those of you who don't know me, let me give you a bit of an introduction. My name is Rachel. I just finished my third year at Northeastern University, where I am studying Communication Studies, a degree which has left me with still  no idea of what I want to do with my life. I have an abnormal affinity for cats and dogs, and my cravings for cheesecake are unending. I am leaving in a little over a month to study abroad in Prague, and then after that I have mere months before I graduate, become a real person, and must begin reaching my potential in a career path still unbeknownst to me. I have decided to start a blog as a means of self-reflection, in hopes that I can become truly passionate about something that isn't my dog. That being said, here are some of my goals for this blog:

• I shalt not litter the blog with mindless rants. I shalt only blog about experiences and feelings worth sharing.
• I shalt not fall far behind on the blog. I know this will never happen. That is not the right attitude. The blog must prevail!
• I shalt actually take the time to write content for the blog, rather than just posting images. I have always done photography as a hobby. I love film the most. I haven't photographed in quite a while though, and I am hoping that with this new outlet for my work that I will have greater motivation to take pictures.

So you see, it's pretty simple. I just want to hone in on myself, express what is truly important, and love doing it. I want to document my reactions to what I see abroad over the next several months and I want to record my journey into unofficial adulthood. And most importantly, I want to post cute pictures of cats.