Am I becoming a runner?

The past few days have been pretty exciting! It was a beautiful weekend in St. Louis, and I got to spend a lot of it outside. On Saturday Matt and I hung out in the city all day to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We munched on awesome Mexican (festive, I know) and had one, two or maybe three too many cocktails, and just spent the day enjoying the weather walking around and hanging out outside most of the day.

However, our weekend started with a nice five-mile St. Patrick's Day run. Well, run/walk. Matt and I had talked a little about getting into running together, but this was our official debut as runners, and I was very nervous. I've done a few 5Ks, and I've done okay. There were lots of walking breaks, but I always finished. So I agreed to doing this one. I've been working out pretty regularly since January after all. Then we found out it was five miles, not a simple 3.1. And the nerves followed right away. I really didn't feel like I was in that good of shape yet, and I didn't think I would have the attention span to run that long. I was wrong.

The race went great! I ran the first three quarters of a mile, which might have been a new personal best. I really am a true beginner! At a little over a mile, I started having some tummy trouble and we had to take a bathroom break. I felt a lot better after that, so after Matt had a beer mid-race, we were back to pounding the pavement. We finished in a little over an hour and ran way more than half of the race. The high I felt as I crossed the finish was so worth the nerves and the stomach ache. I suddenly had so much confidence in my abilities and I could tell that my hard work was paying off, even if I haven't seen much evidence on the scale. And I got to enjoy an ice cold beer after. What could be better than that?!

When I say hard work, I mean it. Breakfast smoothies have become a way of life for me. It's a long way from breakfast sandwiches on the way to work.

Then, today, Matt and I decided that we are going to run a half marathon this October. I really did gain a lot of confidence this past weekend! I was so so motivated all afternoon and started doing research on training. I couldn't wait to get home, change and hit the Katy Trail for a three-mile run/walk. I expected to run maybe half the route, and hoped that maybe, just maybe I would run a full mile without stopping. At 3/4 a mile, I was feeling awesome and started to smile as Fleetwood Mac came on Pandora and I knew I was going to run a full mile. Not only did I run a mile, but I ran a whole quarter mile past that and only needed to walk the next tenth a mile before I was off again. I ended up running 2.8 of my three-mile run. I'm so sore and tired, but so so so proud of myself and feeling more confident than ever about the fact that I might actually run a half marathon in the foreseeable future.

I had to share my accomplishment with my Instagram friends, obviously.

I just can't believe I ran a full mile for the first time ever. This might seem minor to most, but my god it's an accomplishment for me!

Looks of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day weekend! I love this holiday and my family has done it big for St. Paddy's day the past couple years. My Irish relatives, the McNultys, walk in the Dogtown Parade on March 17 every year regardless of the day of the week. Dedication. The parade is made up almost exclusively of "clans" from around the area. Each group decorates the float the morning of the parade, and it's so fun to get the whole family together, be creative and have a few beers before the real fun begins.

Once the parade gets going, you don't want it to end. It might be the quickest hour of the entire year for me. My family gets cases and cases of green beads to throw out while we're walking, and there's really nothing like having thousands of people waving and yelling at you for your beads. It's quite the confidence boost.

Long story short, I am a huge St. Patrick's day fan – mostly because of the fun and family but I also love to wear green and love having an excuse to wear entirely too much of it for one day.

Direct Quote

When I lived and worked in Brussels, I was feeling inspired by all I was doing and learning. When I had a slow day at work, I'd scroll through Tumblr and stumble upon the best quotes. I made sure I wrote them down on a sticky note so I would see them everyday.  I still have that sticky note, and I love reading through it. Although I'm in a much different place two years later, I feel like a lot of the quotes still apply to me. Here are some of my favorites:

Wanderlust Wednesday: Beaufort, S.C.

This past October my parents and I went on vacation in South Carolina, and I absolutely fell in love. The beach was so refreshing in the fall, the mossy oaks lining the roads were so romantic and the cities were unbelievable. Savannah was so unique and Charleston was unbelievable. If I found the right job, I would move there tomorrow.

One unexpected stop on our trip was Beaufort, S.C. I applied and interviewed for a job there over the summer and needed to see it in person. It's so much more beautiful than I imagined. Beaufort is everything I pictured when I thought of a sleepy, southern beach town. Gorgeous plantations, quiet streets, fun restaurants with locals drinking and laughing on any given night. I was so in love, and I think I might still be. Tell me again why I didn't get that job?

 Low Country Produce was a must visit. The natural light and the color scheme of the store are incredible.

 The day ended with the most perfect sunset. How could you not fall in love?

If you're in the low country, I would definitely recommend a visit to Beaufort. It will be a quiet and relaxing day of sightseeing compared to the hustle and bustle of Savannah and Charleston.

Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic for JCPenney

I stumbled upon Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic line on a Christmas shopping trip. I walked around the store pointing out every item "I just had to have" for my nonexistent apartment. The name of the line is a pretty accurate description of the items you'll find. It's hard to be anything but happy while browsing. What's even happier? A lot of the line is on CLEARANCE!

This headboard is everything.

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Spring is here!

After what felt like an eternity of snow and ice and bitter cold, the weather finally got its act together just in time for daylight saving. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I couldn't be happier.

I think I spent more time outside Sunday than I have in the past two months. I embarrassed myself at the driving range, went for a three-mile run and soaked in every single second of chill-free air and glorious sunshine.

And work when the weather is nice is just great. Everyone is so happy and silly and talkative. It's so hard not to be happy the past few days. And then, at 5 p.m. Monday, with the sun still shining like it's early afternoon, I took off my jacket, rolled down the windows and cranked my Postelles Pandora station all the way home. That night I even took a trip to Target just to drive with the windows rolled down.

I could seriously get used to this and it better stick around for at least the next ten months. Now that snow days are a thing of the past, this girl will never wish for snow again — except for December 25 of course.

Loving lately

There is the cutest little t-shirt shop in Columbia that I loved passing while walking around downtown. I would gawk and giggle at the clever and sassy shirts hanging on the wall, and I've even designed a few shirts of my own at the store.

One of my favorite parts of the store was the Columbia or Missouri-centric shirts the store sold. I was so tempted to buy every single one of them. Today I saw the cutest Como shirt while scrolling through Instagram. It's below with a few other Show-me-state shirts.

This one if from my sorority sister, Robyn's, Etsy page. She is really cranking out some great monogrammed goods. This is one of my favorites.

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