Green Thumb or Just Dumb?

I remember in High School my Mom was always outdoors working on our yard, and as much as she would ask me to help her, I would do anything to stay out of the dirt. Back then I much preferred buying new shoes to getting my hands dirty. 

Now that I'm older and Mike and I rent our own home, interior decorating and remodeling has become something I actually enjoy. Living in the city is something I would never give up, but what I sacrifice in return is not having a yard to decorate or landscape. Luckily, Mike and I found an apartment in the fall of last year with a decent sized porch, which is rare where we live, and because we moved in after summer was over, we never utilized it in 2012. Now that Spring is upon us, we've been coming up with ideas of how we want to spruce up our little outdoor oasis, and greenery is one way we think we can make a huge difference. 

Now, I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing when it comes to gardening, but I decided to wing it. I ran over to Walmart this week and picked up a few cheap items to practice with. I figure if they work out, great, if they don't, no hard feelings. Except for from the plants, because I think they'll be a little peeved. 

I found some bright colored pots for less than a dollar each, two bags of soil for a dollar each, and I bought a dollars worth of twenty cent seed packets in random flowers. On my way out I spotted an herb growing kit for only four dollars, which I couldn't pass up. Just the thought of not having to buy herbs every time Mike and I cook made me giddy. Now I just have to make sure I don't kill them. 

My theory is that I just have to water these babies and try not to emotionally abuse them until they sprout. 

"Your brother grew 2cm this week. Why can't you be more like him?"

My Mom gave me some hanging plants for our porch which we hung, and I think they look beautiful, but really only because I didn't have to do any work. 

We just scored a few outdoor furniture pieces from an auction this week, so once those are refurbished, I'll post some pictures! 

Until next time, stay green! 

Sincerely, Aspen. 

Road Trip: Bucksport, Maine at Sunset

Now that the sun has finally decided to stick around, Mike and I ventured out on a little road trip to bask in the warmer temperatures. One of our favorite things to do together is explore, and something about long trips in the car together, jamming to hip-hop or sitting in silence holding hands, has become a piece of who we are as a couple. 

I grew up in Maine, but I have not even come close to seeing the entire state, which I love! It's exciting to venture just an hour or two from home to stumble upon a place you had never seen or heard of before. I imagine it's how those British kids felt when they found Narnia in the wardrobe...except there's no lions or witches trying to kill you...unless you travel far up north towards Canada. 

A week or so ago, we drove the forty minute stretch of road from Bangor to Bucksport, Maine. Mike went to school in Bucksport and it was so exciting to drive around the town while he pointed out where he and his friends would play (get into trouble), his old house and some of the places he used to work. Watching someone relive memories as they tell you stories from their younger years is almost magical in a way, it's as if you can see inside of who they are just a little bit better, and feel a part of the life they led before they met you. 

We stopped at a tiny little drive up restaurant where Mike started working his first summer job as a teenager. We pulled up along loads of other cars packed with Bucksport locals waiting for their orders to be called from the little screen window that fronted the building. 

Here's a photo of Mike's burger! 

After devouring dinner, and before heading back to Bangor, we grabbed some ice cream at a cute little parlor. As we walked up to the tiny window to place our order, I noticed that all of the employees were young, all being in high school or their early twenties, and it reminded me of all of those books you read as a teenager on the beach or poolside about the kids who work in a tiny shop on the coast of Maine during their summer before college and how they all fall in love with each other. I know it's silly, but it made me smile. 

I'm so thankful that Spring has graced us with her presence, and I'm ready for, hopefully, dozens more road trips across my beloved state through out the next few months. 

Until next time -  

Sincerely, Aspen.

Sickly Creative

Over the past week I've been fighting off a cold that has crippled me and left me in bed, and of course, this is the week that the sun has finally decided to venture out and re-inhabit the great state of Maine. Don't worry though, I'm much better now, although I will still be accepting 'Get Well Soon' balloons and care packages through out the month. 

There's absolutely nothing I hate more than being trapped indoors, because I go absolutely mad. After about six straight hours roaming around YouTube in bed, I stumbled upon a tutorial on how to turn an old t-shirt into a tank top. That one video sparked two days of me rummaging through my home to find every old t-shirt Mike and I own, so that I could turn it into something useable again. 

Cropped tanks and braided racerback tops have been big for awhile, especially around festival season, and since Maine is becoming home to more and more festivals during the summer, I figured this would be a perfect way to make some items that I could work into my wardrobe without going out and buying new pieces. 

Here's a few of the tees I chopped up. 

Some of these are just old junk tees that I slept in or used to work out, others are a little more sentimental. As you can see, my very first Red Sox shirt is now a muscle tank crop top, and I can't wait to wear it to a game this summer! Also, one of my Dad's old tour t-shirts was made into a loose fitting crop top, and I'm so glad it came out the way it did. It's a shirt I hadn't worn in years because it had faded and looked funny on, but now that it's restructured, it looks like something you could pick up at American Apparel for thirty bucks. 

This is definitely something I'll keep doing, I could barely stop myself from disassembling every shirt I owned. I think a trip to GoodWill or a local thrift store is in order. 

Bring on summer!

Sincerely, Aspen

Introduction to Insanity

I suppose this is where I introduce myself. My name is Aspen Victoria, I am 23 years old and I live in the beautiful state of Maine. Now that the formalities are over, I can tell you that I love sharks, have a fear of silence and am crippled by the cuteness of any puppy. That pretty much sums me up. 

Just kidding, I'm a girl, you can't do that. 

For most of my life I felt bad for myself, and I hate to admit that. I woke up every day dreading what would go wrong rather than being excited about the things that could go right, and further more, not looking for the good in events or people, but picking apart those events and people until I couldn't bare to think about them. I was one of those people, yes those people, who thought that nothing was my fault, and anything that came my way was out of my control. I wish I could go back and punch myself, but then again, the new me wouldn't do that. 

My opinion on life, and myself, changed when I met Mike (my boyfriend of two years). Now I know that "they" say no one can change you, and Mike didn't, but he did make me take a look at who I was and I realized that I wasn't at all who I wanted to be. Mike helped change my outlook on life with his positive energy, forward thinking and caring composure, and I thank him every morning when I wake up with a smile on my face. 

Are you gagging yet? Hold on, there's more. 

Mike and I started a company in 2011, focusing on marketing businesses in our area as well as spreading the word that the city we live in is an amazing place with so much to offer. It sounds boring, but it's the most amazing thing I think I've ever done, and it brings me joy every day to be doing what I love with the man I love. 

Okay, now you can barf. 

Although I love our business, I find it hard to settle myself on one thing. I have so many hobbies, and so many interests, that I can barely keep my mind focused on one thing before I'm running for the next. I think I take after my Mom in that aspect, that woman is on more committees, has started more businesses and organized more events than I think one person should physically be capable of doing. She is one incredible woman that I consider my best friend. 

My Dad is a rocking guitar legend from way back, who now owns a recording studio in Vermont, and I grew up wanting to be like him in so many ways. I write music almost daily, and I may be too terrified to perform in front of anyone now, but I plan on working through that this year. Mike, my boyfriend, is a drummer, or as he calls it, a "musician". (Just kidding!) My Dad always told me growing up that he would support any man that I fell in love with, as long as he didn't play the drums. (I guess guitar players have a thing against drummers. I think it's because drummers get more chicks.) Luckily, my Dad and Mike get along really well. 

My other passion, is fashion. (Not rhyming, surprisingly). You may think, "You're a girl, of course you love shoes and makeup!" Well, I'm different! No, actually I'm not, I just obsess over fashion at a much larger scale than most women would ever admit. I've had big dreams to start blogging and making beauty videos for a long long time now, but something's been holding me back. My goal for the year of 2013 is to bust through those insecurities and force myself to do the things I've wanted to do for all of these years. 

I think that's all I can put into words now, and if you made it this far, what's wrong with you?

I'm joking, this is riveting stuff, I don't blame you. 

Until tomorrow, or next week, or four years from now when I find this by googling myself...

Stay fly.

Sincerely, Aspen