Volunteering at an Animal Shelter

Thursday, January 28, 2016

I stalked Last Hope Animal Rescue for a good year.  I wanted a cat, and I wanted one bad.  Or a dog, I wanted a dog too.  I just wanted something to cuddle with and not feel so lonely.

So finally, on a cold day in February, I filled out the Volunteer Application and faxed it out to Last Hope.  I didn't wait long.  The Volunteer Coordinator for a PetSmart location contacted me the next day.  The very store was one I visited the summer before, stalking Last Hope per usual.

January Jams

Monday, January 25, 2016

Come back Sundayyyy...if Butch Walker wants me to come back, he's got me.  Below are a list of some of the tunes I obsessed over this month.  Oddly enough, I started listening to "Changes" by David Bowie a week before he passed.  I was exiting my building when the lyrics popped into my head and I've been listening to it on repeat ever since.


#1 Summer Jam - Butch Walker
Quotable Lyrics:
And it's never been so weird
To be at the bottom looking up
And I went into this movie of blood and guts
Thinking I was the shit, I was all grown up
And I wonder, if you wonder, what we could be

50 States Challenge: Virginia

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Ten Reasons I Moved Back to Pittsburgh

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

1. Because these two (my brother and his fiance) are getting married and I wanted to be there for all of the planning and special moments that lead up to them saying, "I do."
Photo by Jenna Hidinger

What Happens When You Don’t Hear Back From Someone You Were Just Texting as Told by The Office

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

You've been texting someone non-stop throughout the day and their replies have been pretty much within a few minutes of your last text.

How to Grow Your Hair...and Donate it Without Crying Too Much

Monday, January 11, 2016


February 29, 2008                                                                       May 1, 2013                                                    August 23, 2014

It started out as a way to "make a change" after ending a relationship.  Sidenote: why do we always think changing our look makes some dramatic statement about how we've "changed'?  Always the one with long hair, I wanted to chop it off and get rid of it.  This was a massive deal for me; I've cried over more haircuts than skinned knees, breakups, and any other sad thing you can think of.  In fact, I rarely get my haircut.  It's much more like a yearly pilgrimage destined to bring forth the waterworks.

Life With Grandpa: Food Obsessions

Friday, January 8, 2016

Living with my grandpa meant feeling free to indulge in many ridiculous eats.  While Grandpa is not a very adventurous eater, we both took comfort in sharing some of the basics.  Cakes, cookies, donuts, and cinnamon rolls were always found in the house with the excuse that he was buying them for me.  It wasn't unusual for us to boil up some corn on the cob right before an episode of Big Bang Theory.  We enjoyed the occasional Arby's meal and a dinner out at Applebee's.

Top Ten Resolutions I Have For 2016

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

The Broke and the Bookish's Weekly Top Ten Tuesday is about New Year's Resolution!  Head over to check out their list and other awesome book reviews.

1. Successfully publish one short story.

2. Apply to grad school!

3. Cook a meal at least once a week, and not just the same old stuff.  Going to try throwing in some new recipes, for better or for worse.

4. Volunteer with new organizations.

5. Exercise at least three times a week.  (Sidenote: I personally HATE this as a resolution, but exercise is the only thing that keeps my system up.  Coffee/caffeine doesn't work for me, but working out really keeps me awake and functioning.  So yes, it's on this list for that reason alone.)

6. Focus on expanding my Instagram shop with my cousin, Shop Your Way Through A & J.

7. Cut down the procrastination.  Seriously.  This is unfortunately one that's been on my Resolution list ever year and probably will be for the rest of my life because I'll procrastinate on fulfilling this one.

8. Get organized and actually use my Planner throughout the whole year.

9. Grow my blog.

10. Stop being so shy.  I'm so concerned about what everyone thinks of me that I dumb myself down to keep from offending someone.  There's being polite and then there's being borderline anti-social, so I think I'm going to knock that off in 2016.


Happy New Year's all!!

Stephen Chbosky is Haunting Me...Sort Of

Monday, January 4, 2016


I stood on the corner of Fifth and Meyran Avenue, sipping contentedly from my surprisingly delicious cup of Chai Tea from Bruegger's Bagels and waiting for the light to change when I looked up.  I shouldn't have done that.

Looming ahead of me, but slightly to the left, was the building he used to work in.  I looked all the way up the massive tower and immediately his name flashed before my eyes.  I tugged on my off-white knit cap, fixing it to cover my ears but really wanting to pull it over my eyes.  I'd done such a good job since that second week when I discovered he'd studied here to distract myself from the thought of him.  I've walked up and down this street so many times, but this was the first time I stood on this corner and looked at his building from this angle.

Maybe, he walked down this street and sat in Bruegger's and drank tea while studying.  His form crossed the street in front of me in a million different patterns.  Talking with fellow students, discussing theories with faculty, or just hurrying from one building to the next.  He wasn't here anymore, I told myself.  I'm always chasing his ghost.

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