Words...

I love words. I don't go a day without hearing a phrase, lyric or quote that catches my attention. A lot of the time the words come in the form of lyrics or from tumblr. I think that I like to try and define my life and emotions with words, and I also love to relate to the words I come across.

Lately some amazing words have come along and I wanted to share them with you :)
I heard this the other day, not sure where, but I texted it to myself to save. I thought this photo from Seattle was the perfect place to put it :)

I'm in a really weird phase right now where I am so eager to be independent, yet scared to death to be out on my own. I think it's a transition most people go through in their 20's, so I'm hoping it works itself out :)  
Elise from Enjoy It has some amazing new prints in her store, and when I saw this one I couldn't believe how perfect it was. I know this is a very easy quote to relate to, but going into my Senior year of college I cannot think of any advice more perfect. I bought it immediately, even though I have been on budget (the real world is expensive, i.e. not living at home).

Anyways, I can't wait to hang it over my desk at school, it will be a constant reminder to ENJOY IT, and not wish it all away.

Do you have any favorite words? Leave me a link, I'd love to check them out :)

A Year Ago Today : Month of June

THEN: June 2009

- Home in Alabama for the summer... sweating.

j

 - Beach trip with my two favorite boys :) Such a fabulous trip before Nick left for the Navy.

- Spending so much time with my friends

- having all 5 generations of Sam Adams' in the same room, one in a belly (not mine just for clarification) :)

NOW: June 2010

 - Living on my own for real, no cafeteria, no adults, just me and a 40 hour work week. I'm LEGIT!

 - Loving my two guy housemates, even if I do have to clean up after them A LOT :)
 - Hanging out with other interns and getting to know the area!

- Finally feeling like I have things figured out, but not letting my guard down, I know things are constantly changing.

- Very content and happy, not much more I could wish for.

How was the month of June for you guys? Any big changes? Any milestones?

Hello Seattle... I love you

... so this weekend I headed off to Seattle with my roommates. I haven't been since March so I was excited to see it in a new season :) I also got to meet up with my blog friend, London, whom I had never met in person before. It was soooo much fun getting to hang out with her. We went to Ikea and picked out some candles and vases for her upcoming wedding, and went to this amazing vintage maps store! I can't wait to get back over and hang out again soon.

The rest of the weekend included lots of boy time with my roommates. We explored Pike's Place, EMP and walked almost all of Seattle.

 

There happened to be a marathon Saturday morning as we were headed down to the market, I snapped this photo cause I thought the phrase was hilarious. 

 

 Pike's Place Market is amazing if you haven't been. It's not a typical tourist attraction because the locals are the majority of people down there. It has a great atmosphere and is so colorful.

  

The lake or Puget Sound was beautiful. I had always been in Seattle during a rainy week and it was never this clear.

The last photo is of Mt. Rainer. I had also never been able to see the mountain so clearly until this visit. It's so huge and intense, I hope I get to go explore the area one day.

Overall the trip was amazing. We even went to some grunge punk rock show where we got to hang out with the locals and listen to music until we couldn't hear anymore. I really love Seattle, and I hope I can live there one day!!

Dorm Room Decor

... I know I'm not in my dorm room this summer, but I miss it. I also don't think I ever shared it with you guys. I tried to cover my walls with bright fun colors, all of the art is either something I made or bought of etsy :)

Below was right over my bed. I hung my jewelry on the wall with clear stick on hooks inside Elsie's wall frames. They peeled off very easily when I had to take them down. The rest is a lot of my art from a design class I took Sophomore Year, as well as a Story People print my mom gave me. 

This is looking up at a paper crane mobile my friend Laura made :) She rocks! She just used some of my scrapbook paper and colored embroidery threads, oh and an old coat hanger.

Then this is my bed. I got the bed spread from Bed, Bath and Beyond, it was kinda expensive but I've had it all 4 yrs of school. The monogrammed pillow is something my mom made for me, I think the sham was from Pottery Barn. The other pillow cases are DKNY and Hotel Collection... I have a pillow fetish.

Here is a picture from later in the year when I made a fort around my bed... it was magical... a must for anyone who has been on the fence! hehe

Above is a little peek inside my fort, sigh.... I miss my fort.

This was my craft desk, placed in front of my nice big windows. I got that desk for $15 last year, and yes it meant there were 3 desks in the room, but it worked, haha. 

Here is my school desk area :) Oh and where I spent way too many hours on tumblr and etsy. I made a design out of saved bottle caps on my wall, and most of the art is mine. However some of my favorite artists are up there, such as London, Elsie and Vera.

 

Last but not least my closet, or just my clothes, organized by color of course :)

Luckily I get the same room next year, but I still had to take down all my stuff for the summer. I'm trying to think of some creative ways to change up the space so it feels new and fun!

xoxo Samantha

Parker P!

This is my puppy Parker, he is 4.5 months old :) I haven't seen him in a few weeks, he is back home with my mom. I won't get to see him until December, maybe November, and by then he will be about 90lbs... yikes!

My mom sent me these photos so I could see how big he has gotten just in the 3 weeks I've been away from him... it kinda makes me sad. I don't know how parents do it, I mean he is just a dog and I get all sentimental. I won't be able to pick him up or craddle him like a baby... but yea. haha

I love him, he is the best dog we have had in our family :) But oh is he a mess. That pink toy you see in some of the photos... he pulled all the stuffing out of it in about 5 minutes. Our other dog protects his toys, Parker destroys them...

Anyone got any cute puppy stories? I'm feeling sentimental today :)

xoxo
Samantha

Giveaway Winner

I decided to draw two names, because 2 winners are better than 1!

Daniii and Ashley W. you are the winners! YAY! Please send me an e-mail with your addresses :) indieandchic@yahoo.com

Also, I just added advertising information for anyone who is interested in the month of July :) I have a few more spots left!!

Thanks to everyone that entered, commented and became involved with my blog. I love meeting new blog friends :) And check back soon for more giveaways because I have a lot of "extras".

Hooray for a GIVEAWAY!

**Now Closed**

Hello loyal followers and hello newcomers! I wanted to do a sweet little giveaway for summer :) This is the Carmella ring, isn't she stunning? The ring is nickel free and the flower is large and bold, perfect with any outfit.

All you have to do is comment, say hey on this post. Leave me your blog address so I can get to know you better!

Want some extra entries?

1. Tweet about the giveaway, and tag with #indiechic
2. Become a follower of my blog!
3. Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/Samantha_A
4. Be a facebook fan: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Indie-and-Chic/105634269763?ref=ts

Dear Me at 16...

Dear 16 year old Samantha,

Savor these days of high school and don't worry too much about all the drama. Don't let the other kids make you feel like you need to fit in, I promise in college people will love your uniqueness. Oh, and that Senior who dumped you out of no where, comes back later and apologizes, and he doesn't stay that cute ;) Cherish this time with your mom, cause the closer you get to Senior year the more you butt heads, but don't worry she loves you a lot and couldn't be prouder.

Try out for drum major again, who cares you didn't make it last year, cause I'll tell you a secret, you lead the band in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade your Senior year. Oh, and yes, it does rain the whole time and your skirt does fly up on national television.

Don't worry too much about college, because you end up going to school at the most perfect private school, and yes you get a scholarship. Keep up with your organizational skills, they save you in college. Give a certain guy a second chance, because you end up being best friends. Babysit as often as you possibly can, because those kids grow to worship you and it will break your heart when you come home from college and they are all taller than you and can drive.

Hangout with as many different people as possible, don't judge people and don't whine and complain. Just be you, cause it pays off big time in the end. And at the end of the day it feels amazing to look back and know you got here because of being true to yourself.

Oh and don't forget to take that art class senior year, it will change your life.

Love your 21 year old self

Cliffdiving!

So this past weekend, I tagged along with my roommate and some other interns and headed out towards Moses Lake in Washington. It was a really boring 2hr drive, but the last 30 minutes made up for it. All of sudden we were driving through a ravine, and there were beautiful lakes all throughout it. It felt like a paradise. We ended up stopping at Deep Lake which is famous for its cliffs and the group I was with wanted to do some jumping.

Luckily we had stopped and gotten some floats, which was the best $2.50 I could have spent. I just floated down the lake all day and watched all the jumpers. It was the most perfect day, and I got to meet some new people.

I was so sore the next day though, haha. Next time we go we want to take the kayak, that would be awesome!

Poppy Love!

So my new love for poppies began with a dress at Macy's in their new designers section. It was 100% silk and the perfect summer dress.

(not the actuall dress I bought, but very close. mine is longer)

Now I cannot stop wanting everything to do with poppies!

(found here)

(found here)

(pillows found here)

(lampshades found here)

and this is what I am most excited about... making my own poppies for my dorm room. I'm also wanting to do some wall art embroidery!

(found here)

Hope you guys have a "Poppy" day :)

Music Monday : A Fine Frenzy

love A Fine Frenzy, and I have for a few years. I love that Alison Sudol is around my age and has redhair, haha so yes I am a little partial.

I love her style and her hair, she is wonderful. Oh and she has an amazing voice! Check her out and let me know whatcha think :)

Happy Music Monday!

Cute and Amazing :DIY Feather Mobile / Dreamcatcher

So my office at work is soo empty, mostly cause it's my first week and because I am only an intern.

I've been looking for creative ways to spice up my area, and that's when I saw a tweet from Elise to Elsie.It was the cutest feather mobile/ dreamcather. I knew I needed to make one. I'm going right after work to the craft store to get supplies

Here is the link

You can also purchase them here : Green Laundry

... and just like that

I have been inspired by the best blog and project ever. 3191 Miles Apart

It began with two women who had never met, who uploaded pictures of their kitchen tables to Flickr on the same morning. One from Portland, Oregon and the other from Portland, Maine. They began a collective blog where they for a year took photos each day before noon without talking to one another and posted them. The similarities are breathtaking. Truly inspiring.

And all their photos made me so happy. And I can take photos and I should more often. So I'm starting my own version of the project, solo of course, but feel free to play along. I'm going to take a photo every afternoon between 4 - 9 and see what happens. If anything it will make me bring my camera with me more :) I'll be doing this the 3 months I live in Washington state.

Below is their new project they are working on... eeeekkk!

I'm going to go take my first ones now! I'll be back! ... think I'll call this project Afternoon Joy