late love

Happy late Valentine's Day! I had a busy week and weekend so the MANY photos are just coming now. Dustin and I both decided to take the whole day off and I am so glad we did. We got up late, exchanged gifts, went to breakfast/lunch at Ithaca Bakery, and then lounged around and got ready for dinner.

This next photo is of all the goodies I got my bf. He has recently become a tea enthusiast so that's the theme I went with. The card reads "I love your guts!" ...do you guys say that dumb expression? He got me a gift certificate to a spa for a MASSAGE...! Dream come true. And yes, our cat is in the top of the photo.

We went to dinner with Dustin's boss and a co-worker of ours. We went to a downtown Ithaca restaurant called "Simeon's," which had an amazing list of Valentine's Day specials. These are some before-pics in the hallway of our apartment complex.

My meal; duck, rice and Brussels sprouts. AMAZING.

Our friend's sea bass dish , and Dustin with his lobster and salmon.

Filet!

 After we stuffed ourselves and lingered over some cocktails we walked down to a college bar for one last beer before heading home.

    

Did a quick photo shoot in an alley on our way out...and then I managed to fall on the stairs to our apartment. I should have known those shoes were too much. How was your V-day?

Outfit Details

Dress: Kohl's, Daisy Fuentes brand

(way too high) Heels: Kohl's, Candies brand

Purse: thrifted, Forever 21

Coat: Old Navy

-Lola

follow the north star

We had some good eats! This past weekend my family and I went out to dinner to a cute restaurant in Ithaca. This is a pretty big deal for us, as my mom and dad don't get out much, haha! All jokes aside though, they own a small fruit and veggie farm that's really busy in the summer and then they work hard to conserve money during the winter. So my sister and I bought them a gift certificate so they would have no excuse not to come out. It was a great time!

We went to "Northstar House," which puts a focus on fresh, local produce in their dishes; they actually buy veggies from my parents in the summer. I knew they would love this place! Unfortunately these are the only two photos I got inside...I guess talking and eating took priority over documenting.

Later on I begged my sister and best friend to trudge into the snow to get some outfit photos for me! While this may not be runway-worthy, I thought it was a cute ensemble and a good use of what I had. It's a wintry outfit perfect for a casual dinner with your parents, sister and grandma! My sister goes to Cornell University and these pictures were taken in collegetown...so we definitely got some stares from kids on their way to the bars. 

Outfit details

White long-sleeve shirt: Target

Maroon short-sleeve sweater: The Limited, thrifted

Birds necklace: online, so long ago it's been forgotten

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Kohl's, Candies brand

I think my parents are getting a new dog this weekend, so hopefully I will be back to post about that soon!

-Lola

the tallest waterfall

After our jaunt to the coffee shop last week we headed over to a beautiful spot in the Finger Lakes region, Taughannock Falls. These photos are taken from an overlook point, but you can also walk a gorge trail and end up right at the base of the waterfall. That trek is a bit more enjoyable in the summer. This past summer it was so dry that the waterfall was more like a trickle, and made for pretty lame photos. Today it was rushing and it was an awesome sight to see!

I may have dropped my sunglasses in the snow...

 My cute boyfriend Dustin, all bundled up!

It's actually "the highest free-falling waterfall in the northeastern United States," according to the website about the state park it's in. That makes it higher than Niagara Falls! We had a lot of fun visiting the site, even though we've been there a million times. What kind of natural beauty do you have in your area?

-Lola

winter adventures

So... I had a great weekend!

Which made Monday that much harder. But here it is, already Tuesday, creeping our way to the end of the week. And closer to... Valentine's Day!

View of Cayuga Lake from our apartment.

Another one of the many reasons I created this blog was to motivate myself to live better...to live MORE. I have a lot of clothes, shoes and accessories that sometimes I'm just too lazy to throw on...but if I have a blog that I take photos for, I think it will motivate me to use them! This theory goes for getting out of the house too. It's just so easy to stay in and watch TV on a day off...but this weekend I dragged my bf out of bed to "go get coffee." Which turned into a photo shoot. Which turned into a winter-wonderland-adventure photo shoot. I'm so glad we did it!

But first, on Friday, I had to do a  bit of maintenance. I hadn't gotten my hair cut or colored in SIX MONTHS! That is a long time. And my hair was nasty long. It was RATCHET! I love that word. And I also hadn't gotten my eyebrows waxed in who knows how long... they were ratchet as well. So I gave myself a little blogworthy makeover- and afterwards I felt so much happier about posting photos.

Before and after, via Instagram! 

We went to a cute coffee shop in town (not the one I work at,) that's located in the middle of an awesome residential area. I took photos of everything because the snow made everything so nice!

I loved this tiny little fence blocking the alley between two houses. And the coffee shop doesn't even have a sign in the front, just an awning and some benches! It usually has a chalk sign but the snow made that a little impractical.

I guess they did have two little signs on the side of the building. So cute! The place is called gimmee! coffee. Ohhh, and I forgot to mention, I love architecture and little details in buildings. So you are going to see a lot more posts like this one. I will post the next stop on our winter adventure trip tomorrow!

-Lola