What We're Into: 8/4

If you look at the post before this you're probably thinking, “You haven't posted anything in so long! WHAT THE HECK!?” Yeah, we’re thinking the same thing. We can't believe it's August already and summer seems to be less fun as an adult because we have to work and have responsibilities and everything, ya know? Anyways, Ray has been super busy planning her wedding that is in September and working on moving into an apartment. While A has been helping her along the way as a bridesmaid and doing her duties of designing all things paper and helping prep the pre-wedding fun. We haven’t forgotten about the blogging world! Here are some super cool things we can't seem to get our minds off of...

Cat videos. Because just when you think you've seen them all, you haven't. This one in particular is the bomb.

Thankfully glasses are always in style thanks to Warby Parker, now that both of us are now “4-eyes.” These sunnies have us dreaming of a forever summer!

Speaking of cats… Philly opened it’s second cat cafe this year, called Kawaii Kitty Cafe in Queen Village, and it’s PAW-some (#sorrynotsorry for the pun) Complete with a full coffee bar, delicious pastries, and of course lots of furry friends to cuddle up with while you sip away! You can also pick up some of A’s greeting cards (cat edition) in the shop!

Target ain’t just for suburban moms! Center City opened a Target Express last week, and we have yet to check it out, but nonetheless excited to see that big red bullseye grace the city streets.

Let’s face it– everyone’s a plant lady these days, so why not use them to decorate your room/apartment/house? Monica over at East Coast Creative has a fun little DIY plant cozy that’s instant decor to jazz up your house and your plants!

Stick around for more fun posts in the near future!

#bloggersforever

Liebster Awards

What a surprise to open our inbox and find a Liebster Award nomination from the lovely Julia over at Philly with a Fjallraven! The Liebster Awards are a little recognition and encouragement for bloggers, and a way to connect us all together by discovering new blogs. So we have to answer 11 questions that Julia created and nominate 11 other bloggers with 11 questions of our own. Here goes!

1. Coffee or tea?

Ray: Tea for me! SO MANY VARIETIES

A: COFFEE. That’s not even a question… next!

2. What is your favorite meal of the day?

Ray: Breakfast/brunch! Who doesn't love a stack of French toast or big ole plate of cream chipped beef on toast?

A: Breakfast (or brunch)! You can either go sweet with some French toast, or savory with a classic omelette and home fries.

3. What is your favorite place that you’ve traveled to and why?

Ray: Poland for sure. Being able to experience the culture, food and beauty of such an amazing country.

A: Probably LA - It’s warm (with no humidity), full of cool design inspiration, and land of the best and cheapest tacos I’ve ever had!

4. Which blogger(s) do you most admire?

Ray: Bri Emery over at designlovefest. I'm constantly keeping up with her through Instagram, Snapchat and of course on her blog. She's the founder and editor of designlovefest living in LA and everything she creates for her lifestyle blog is fun and exciting. Check out her latest designs at Target!

A: I may be biased because I’m her design assistant, but Monica over at East Coast Creative is a superhuman— she’s a blogger and designer, a DIY and home decorating expert, and a full-time mom, so, busy to say the least. She’s a highly motivated lady with a million and one awesome ideas!

5. When did you start blogging and why?

Ray & A: We started blogging last summer as a way for us to express our interests and create something fun for others to read. Post college, we were bored and job-less, so we put all our efforts into starting Ray & A, and are so glad we did!

6. What is the last book you read?

Ray: Looking for Alaska. If you haven't read it yet, get your hands on a copy and prepare yourself for late night readings plus deep thoughts about your life choices and experiences.

A: Let me just dust off my bookshelf...

7. If you could meet anyone (past or present) who would it be and why?

Ray: Adande Thorne, aka Swoozie on YouTube. His life stories are hilarious and he always stays true to himself. Still waiting for him to look at the Snapchat I sent him back in March…

A: Probably Jimmy Fallon. I actually just want to hear him say “EW!” In person...

8. Are you a morning or night person?

Ray: Hmm. It depends! It's quite difficult to get out of a nice comfy bed in the morning, but I definitely cherish sleep. Weekends are when I'm more of a night owl.

A: I’m an (after 8am and coffee) morning person!

9. For April Fools’ Day, have you ever pulled a prank and what was your best one?

Ray: I was able to prank my mom two years in a row and twice in one day with the same prank putting a rubber band on the sink sprayer. You think she would have learned to check after the first time… Hehe

A: I took one of those little clear rubber bands and put it on the handle of the sink sprayer… and was my mom ever MAD.

10. What was your latest blog post about and where do you get inspiration?

Ray & A: We did a DIY post on how to repurpose old Altoid tins into little storage kits for travel. They’re such great little containers, and it’s a shame to just throw them away, so we thought we’d make them useful!

11. What is the number one thing on your bucket list?

Ray: To travel somewhere I have never explored before! I love experiencing new surroundings.

A: Go to Rome with nothing but a sketchbook and a suitcase. Okay, I guess a passport too...

Here are some bloggers, creatives, and boss IGers we’re nominating:

Renée from Renée Nicolo Photography

Monica from  East Coast Creative

Jess from The Craftery

Melissa from design equals love

Emily from Land and She

Olivia from Laura Olivia Photography

Erika from Lark & Lace

Rachel from The Crafted Life

Chaucee from Streets and Stripes

Camille from Positive Publicity Blog

Kendall from Buttons and Blossoms

And here are our questions:

1. City or Country person?
2. Cats or Dogs?
3. What’s the most challenging part about blogging, and why?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be?
5. If you could throw any themed party right now, what would it be?
6. When and why did you start blogging?
7. What’s your dream job?
8. What are you binge-watching on Netflix right now?
9. What’s your favorite fashion era?
10. If you could be an expert on one subject/topic, what would it be?
11. What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

#liebsterawards

NEW YEAR'S HOPES AND GOALS

We can’t believe that 2015 is already coming to an end as we’re getting ready to welcome in 2016. This past year we both graduated college, Ray got engaged and started her new job post college and A finally hit the West coast, went to too many concerts, and got a new cat! Things have been crazy, but good!

We’re both excited for the New Year and what is to come, but instead of striving for resolutions which we forget in a week or two, we have some New Year's hopes and goals.

FOR US PERSONALLY

Ray
+ Stay grateful — Life is never perfect and goes exactly the way I want it to, but there is so much to be thankful for everyday. It's not a bad life, just an off day.
+ Explore! My goal will be to travel somewhere new once a year when I am married. I love seeing new sights and taking in new environments. First stop (hopefully) Montana!
+ Stay calm — I need to remember that making a mistake isn't the end of the world. Each mistake is the opportunity to learn and grow from it.

A

+ Live more purposefully — to really think about why I do what I do, and do everything to the fullest!

+ Travel more! There’s so much to see out there, and so little time (and money), but it's possible, and something I want to strive to do more of.

+ Invest more into friendships — so easily overlooked, but oh so important!

FOR THE BLOG

+ Expand and grow our audience to more awesome readers like you!
+ Spread the word about more local businesses.
+ Support and get to know more bloggers!

FOR OTHERS

+ Show more love. No matter where you’re from, who you are, what you believe, everyone is worth so much more than we can imagine. 
+ Embrace creativity! Whether it’s writing, making art and music, cooking— let your creative juices run wild, it’s good for you!
+ Have compassion. It is so easy to get caught up in life and think about what is best for ourselves. If we just took more time to acknowledge others and be willing to help, the world could be a brighter place.

Now that we’ve shared our hopes and goals for the New Year we would love to hear from you about yours!

#freshstart

Photo: http://vsco.co/temicoker/