Recent Reads, 9/40: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares

After the last book fiasco (okay, it wasn’t that bad, but…it was rough), this was exactly what I needed.
The perfect, meaningless palette cleanser.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is a super simple book. Less than 300 pages and fluffy as the snow that falls in the book.
If you’re familiar with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (I’ve only ever seen the movie…it’s a guilty pleasure), these are the same two authors of that book. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan take turns writing chapters…Cohn does Lily’s parts and Levithan does Dash’s. It makes sense, considering the premise of the book.

It’s a few days before Christmas and Dash is spending time alone in his favorite bookstore perusing books by his favorite author when he finds a red Moleskin notebook sandwiched between the copies. He opens and reads it and inside is a list of clues…dares, if you will. Dash is instantly intrigued and follows the clues, eventually getting involved in a little game of getting to know a complete stranger and daring the other to go to great lengths to get the book.
Dash is a bit pretentious and cynical, loathing Christmas. Lily is all about her family and the holiday season.
Ultimately, the characters need to figure out if all of the work is worth it, or if they are setting themselves up for disappointment. Can anyone be as good as the person you imagine in your head?

A nice fluffy story. I didn’t love or hate it. I stayed entertained mildly throughout.

This Week’s Greatest Hits

So, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo a day early with some of our friends. I had fun…like, a lot of fun.
Sitting on the back porch, drinking fruity beverages, and eating tacos…how can that suck?

Brad and I went for another rejuvenating walk this past Monday…I really want to do this as frequently as possible, but my work schedule and life in general has been crazy all week (and all the time). Anyway, things are finally FINALLY starting to bloom. I’m really trying to keep off the phone, but I kept it with me for this walk strictly for photos. I used this as my #renew entry for Becky’s Photography Challenge…I’m glad I took it and the blossoms always mean renewal to me…renewal of nature and of the seasons in your life.

This dog, Button, is the CUTEST girl ever. Her eyes are Precious Moments – style cute. I could pet her all day.

I enjoyed a little dinner with a former co-worker, Allison. We caught up on my old job’s gossip and just chatting in general. It’s always nice to keep in touch with acquaintances and stay social! Also, I’m freaking obsessed and addicted to Panera’s Greek salad. Add chicken and I’m sold. :)

Two things: I’m a dork who loves to post #selfieswithcoffee but it’s been a while. This is only my 4th iced coffee of Spring so far…it feels like less, so I guess saying 4th isn’t that big a deal but I drink at least one coffee every day and the first time I had iced coffee this year was about a month ago so… I just gotta say, I love iced coffee for the sheer fact that I can chug it. I had about 15 minutes of my lunch hour left and desperately needed a pick me up. It’s so nice to not have to worry about burning my tongue. I know that iced coffees will be more of the norm when the heat picks up, but I can’t deny a hot cup of joe…especially when it’s free and at my house and takes less than 30 seconds to make.

 

I want to make an effort not only to take and print more 4x4 pictures (I have a whole pack of photo pages dedicated to them, and I haven’t even used one yet for my book), but to play around with the Hipstamatic app. When I first got into photography, I really loved playing with toy cameras because they felt effortlessly cool. Purchasing and developing film can be super expensive, though, and the wait can be killer. That’s why, when I first got my iPhone back in 2010, I immediately downloaded Hipstamatic. I still download all of the paks they release, even the ones that cost money, but I have gone months without opening the app. It’s a shame because you can have SO MUCH FUN with it. And, much like my precious Holga or Diana Mini loves, you can play with multiple exposures. I love this picture above. Cali was enthralled by what was going on outside, so I got to take a picture of her gazing and a photo of what she could see.
It would be great to have more of these unexpected and fun pictures in my Project Life album.

This weekend promises to be busy.
My next day off is Tuesday and when I’m not at work until then, I have plans for all my free time.
Still, things feel good. It’s rough to be busy and tired, but I also feel very active and inspired.
Grumpy? Yes, absolutely. But sometimes that grump pays off.

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

2014: A List of Goals (UPDATE)

My first post of the new year was a list of several goals for 2014.
I shared what I had written in a notebook, and I’ll share that same photo again.

We are 1/3 done with the year, so I think it’s a good idea to look back and see how well I’ve done so far.

1. Ahh…the books! I’m currently on book 9 of 40 this year. According to my Goodreads account, that means I’m 5 books behind schedule (but I’m 20% done, so that’s cool!). Yes, I had a month-long set back, but I am not too worried. I think the goal can still be achieved. As for the book club, it might not be the typical kind, but my friend Katie and I have created a little two-person book club. We’ve met twice and will eventually be meeting for our third book this weekend. So, yeah, I might be a little behind, but it’s a consistency in my life.

2. Well, I definitely looked into and completely immersed myself in Project Life. You can read all PL-related posts by clicking here. I look forward to printing my pictures each month, spreading everything out and playing! My love for Project Life has spanned into a love for all things paper craft. I love embellishments like Thickers, stickers, page tabs, ribbon, washi tape, various colors of pens and inks, stamps, etc. I’m also super thankful that I did this, because I love having something physical to look back on and reminisce.
The addition of the Project Life journal has only added to the love.

3. Organization…kinda? Maybe? Sort of? My nail polish rack is not hanging on the wall, but it’s filled with my polishes. The ones I like to use regularly are on the “lazy Susan” Brad made for me a couple of years ago. I keep a lot of polish in a bag I carry back and forth to Brad’s. That keeps me from being super-organized, but at least I know where they all are.
My room is a lot cleaner, but I still don’t have bookshelves or a clear desk to put things away. There are three tall stacks of books on my floor, threatening to fall over at a moment’s notice. I did do a lot of tossing and clearing, so that helps me from floor clutter. I am doing decently with putting clothes away as soon as they are clean and dry. Inhabiting two spaces makes this hard, since I tend to live out of a bag. I don’t have to, but I choose to.
When I have my own place, whenever that may be, I look forward to having tons of organization.
As for all the new paper/craft things I’ve acquired, I utilize the organizer Brad got me a couple of Christmases ago, and I have a big Hello Kitty bag that holds my PL binder, pocket pages, and a plastic container with my journaling cards.

4. I’m trying. I let late night inspiration slip through the cracks, and that’s silly. Even if it means grabbing my phone and recording something there, I need to do it more. There are also so many times I have an idea for something, anything, to write. Blog posts. Short stories. Little articles. Whatever. And I don’t do it.
I let my laziness get the best of me. Still, when I sit down and actually start to write, it pours out.
I need to remind myself of this when I’m feeling lazy.

5. This needs improvement. Technology, specifically my iPhone, proves to be a LARGE distraction in my life. It is always on me, meaning I play stupid games, check IG, and pretty much do everything else but what I should be doing.
Whether it’s entertaining friends or watching a favorite TV show, the iPhone often has my full attention.
Sometimes, and this is embarrassing to admit, I feel like I haven’t seen someone who I spent a whole day/weekend with in forever, simply because of this device. It is a wonderful thing. Truly useful, it’s a great camera, and it’s important to have a phone on you (if I didn’t always have it on me, I wouldn’t have saved myself from being locked out of the car with it running because I wouldn’t have been able to call my dad to get the pin) for any emergencies.
I love taking and sharing pictures, but the other things I do on my phone (I play 6 different life-consuming games) should be reserved for waiting room boredom, moments of insomnia, or me time.
Recently, I saw (and bawled, it’s so beautiful) this video and it’s SO IMPORTANT.
Please watch. It’s something I need to keep in mind every time I want to pick up a phone when the people I love are around. Except for taking pictures. They don’t need to be posted to Instagram right away.
How do you get candids or fun shots of your friends if you’re not even looking at them? EXACTLY.

6. My Project Life probably has more iPhone photos than DSLR photos, though I am proud to admit that I have used the camera much more lately. My father used my phone when we were traveling to VA, for instance, so I had to rely on the DSLR and the photos I took were breathtaking on their own without iPhone filters or anything. It’s a cumbersome thing to carry around, but I think it will help with staying off the phone as well.

And that’s how I’ve done so far, from January to April. I am pretty pleased that each goal was at least breached or is a continual project to be worked on. The goals I made aren’t outlandish, but they are still difficult at times for me.
This is satisfying. Everything is reasonable and within reach, I just have to let it happen.

Project Life: April Layouts

It took me one afternoon of coffee and New Moon to finish my layouts for last month.
I am very pleased with the work I did for these layouts…it’s fun how many options you have, even if you’re using the same photo pocket pages over and over. You get to personalize it and make it your own and it’s just great.
Part of me is bummed that I didn’t wait until this past Saturday, which was National Scrapbooking Day.
All sorts of fun events, sales, and hashtags were going on. I still contributed a few of my layouts to the cause, but it would’ve been fun to spend the day (which was otherwise completely lazy and not busy) scrapping with everyone!
If you’re in need of some inspiration, check out the hashtag #NSD10K on Instagram. There are so many inspiring layouts, from Project Life style to good old-fashioned paper and picture.

Anyway, on to my layouts!

I’m really glad that I purchased these page dividers that correspond with my Sunshine Edition core kit.
While the dividers themselves aren’t strong enough to flip a page in the book, they add some organization between the months and they are just so darn cute. I added one to the past three months and this particular one went well with the flow of the pages. April was a good month for memories, so I’m excited with this simple beginning!

 

I ADORE the color scheme of this layout. I wish I had gotten the whole page together.
On the top, you’ll see photos from when my sister and I got lunch at a local place during the week before her big move.
We drove past this old market that is still open (Maria loves the way it looks, can you blame her?) and it helped me narrow down the colors I chose to journal and decorate with!
I also unintentionally did a lot of Diptic and DblCam work on the first page, and I’m glad I did…I love two photos in one!
I’m also trying to get comfortable putting stickers on the pictures…you can’t go back once you do, but I don’t regret placing that “Don’t Forget” sticker on the top right photo, it holds a small memory that I’ll be glad to have. The Road Trip layout was a first for me. Yes, there are a couple of journaling cards on the left, but the entire right side is photos. I took so many, and I didn’t want to leave all of them out! I had fun using the Fiskers Paper Trimmer my friend handed down to me to make all of the pictures fit into each slot on the page. I use this device at least once a month, for cutting paper that I want to use instead of journaling cards or trimming annoying pieces off of pictures, but it was soooo useful this month. Usually, I use a corner rounder punch to mimic the look of the cards, but I liked keeping the whole thing rectangular this time around. You don’t lose much rounding corners off, but I like the way these look.

Again, I really wanted to utilize as much pictures as possible. Journaling is super important to me for PL, but I wrote a lot about the trip in my actual journal, so I didn’t feel the need to rehash or even decorate each page with cards.
The two 4x6 cards on the right are perfect as is. Besides, the pictures themselves tell a story.
Again, I used the Fiskers to even everything out. I love the look of the photos in the journaling card pockets.

I print A LOT of photos each month. Usually at least 75. I definitely don’t need that money, but I usually get a discount the more I print, so whatever. The final layout for the month has a bunch of random (but pretty/memorable) pictures to close the month out. Four journaling cards tell the stories behind each photo, since they aren’t cohesive.
And, as I mentioned in the previous layout post, I broke out a super tiny bit and added two 3x4 cards from a small pack of We R Memory Keepers cards that I have. The core kit I use doesn’t have any horizontal designs (I suppose some can be turned that way and no one would know, but then the other side would be wrong), so I took a deep breath and stuck these suckers in there. They helped tie that page together and it still looks nice and matchy.

So those are most of my layouts for the month!
Hopefully, when I post May’s layouts, I’ll find a better place to take the photos and more natural light to play with.
The pages tend to get a bit glare-y, so they are hard to capture if too much light hits.
It’s a process, and you learn all the time!

Buzzfeed’s Tell Us About Yourself(ie)

There’s no denying my love for Buzzfeed. From the super fun quizzes to the pictures of cute puppies and the news updates, who wouldn’t love it? It’s all the good stuff of the internet in the same place!
They have an ongoing Q&A they give to celebrities and I thought, just for fun, I would do it too!

What’s your wallpaper on your phone and/or computer?
I have a pretty picture of donuts on my phone and the quote “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” by Karim Sedikki as my computer wallpaper.

When you walk into a bar, what do you typically order?
I usually like to try a new beer I haven’t had yet. That, or whatever is on special. I’m not picky.

Who is the last person who called or texted you? 
Brad is the last person to do both.

What’s the one word you are guilty of using too often?
Definitely “Like”.

What is the last thing you searched for on Google?
Letter Pressing. Still don’t know what it is.

When is the last time you went to the theater?
Several weeks ago, to see Divergent with my sister.

What TV show should everyone be watching?
I would recommend Misfits to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

And what is your TV guilty pleasure?
I have no guilt about it, but I’ll say How I Met Your Mother.

What’s the first CD you bought?
This is a tough one…I’m thinking Hanson’s Middle of Nowhere. Which I had on cassette, as well!

What music are you currently listening to?
Lana Del Rey’s song “West Coast” on repeat.

What one food is hard for you to resist?
Pizza. It’s everywhere.

What movie makes you laugh the most?
Another tough one…Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the first thing to cross my mind because it never gets old to me.
So many good ones, though. Tommy Boy, Billy Madison, I Love You, Man.

What drives you absolutely crazy?
People who are just outright rude and nasty.

Pick one: Kittens or Puppies?
PUPPIES! No doubt.

New York or Los Angeles?
New York. I’ve never been to LA, but I just love the east coast.

Comedy or Drama?
I love a good mix of both…that’s life, after all!

Bacon or Nutella?
Bacon. No doubt.

‘80s or ‘90s?
I grew up in the ‘90s and it was great. Technology was around but not as heavily. And the shows on Nickelodeon ruled.

Hannah Montana or Lizzie Maguire?
LIZZIE. I miss it.

Finally: Tell us a secret.
I used to have a crush on Mike Myers (of Austin Powers).

SELFIESPLOSION:

 

This Week’s Greatest Hits

As Justin Timberlake has promised, it is now officially May! May is one of my favorite months. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue saying it. Yes, my birthday falls in May but so do many other fun things…the beginning of legitimately warm weather (hopefully), holiday weekends, cookouts, etc.

Brad and I went for a walk on Monday that was actually kind of life-changing. I don’t know how to explain it, it was just a walk around the neighborhood for a good hour or so, but it’s funny how one little thing you do can change the way you look at things or even change the whole course of your life in the best way.

Tuesdays and Wednesday were both rainy, windy days…and I just so happen to find that weather comforting and inspirational. On Tuesday, I had off work so I laid out all of my PL gear and scrapped all of April. I’m really proud of these spreads…they are my favorite of the year so far. A lot more pictures, but still plenty of documentation.

On my way home from work on Wednesday, I was overwhelmed with ideas. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the lack of food, or the fact that both of those things inspired me to get a Toasted Marshmallow cappuccino and a super sugary glazed and iced doughnut, but I was basically talking to myself in the car about all these thoughts. I shared them with my mom, and we both knew I had to write them down immediately. Funny enough, I stopped at Target for some necessities and ended up with some stuff from the One Spot, as usual, including this little mint notebook. It now houses just a few of my ideas, with more being added as often as they come.

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

Recent Reads, 8/40: Life After Life

You might have noticed that I haven’t written about a “recent read” in a while…that’s because this book took me OVER A FREAKING MONTH to read. I don’t remember the last time a book took me that long (especially without reading something else/giving up) but for some reason, I was dedicated. The official dates of reading this book?
March 21st-May 1st

For a while now, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson has been on my To-Read list. Aside from good reviews, it has an interesting premise. Main character Ursula Todd was born on a snowy night in 1910 and died before she ever really lived. Still, she was saved from the strangulation of the umbilical cord and is alive again. This begins a strange cycle of death and déjà vu throughout her life. When Ursula Todd dies, she lands back at another time in her life, the possibility of changing the course of things and a foggy knowledge of what can be done to stop the worst from happening.

This book features a lot of time-hopping and, because it took me so long to read it (I can blame work or spending so much time with Maria but honestly I found everything more interesting than sitting down and reading this book), I forgot some of the things that happened and got confused. Bah.

This book isn’t bad. Really. There are just some factors that kept me from enjoying it. For starters, it takes place in the early 1900s, and I’m not one for period pieces (you can get mad at me but it’s just never been something I enjoyed), I had a hard time understanding all the very old British terms, and it was just very slow.

Am I a little bummed that this book made me fall 5 books behind my theory? Absolutely.
But now I’m excited to pick up some new books, fluffy stuff for now, to catch up.
I turned on my Kindle for the first time since February and 23 books downloaded…
it’s been that long and I’ve been that crazy with downloading daily deals and special sales.

Now I can go through all of my unread books and have some fun starting something new. Will I catch up enough to successfully finish my book challenge at the end of the year? I don’t know…but we’ll let life do its thing.
Isn’t that more important, anyway?