LINKS

cat versus human - matt is such an animal lover, like cat versus human's guy. i love that about him.


Louis CK, Jesus is Trending

Indie Jane's puppy profiles

Swiss Miss, beautiful swear words

Meg, i believe



Before a little site called pinterest granted me access I used to blog. Now I'm pinning all the things.

Enjoy.

blueprint prints for valentine's day

Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day shared these adorable and giant valentine's last week. They reminded me of the customized prints on A Beautiful Mess. So I thought it'd be fun to personalize one or two for the upcoming lovey dovey holiday.

And it really was! A project that I don't have to leave my couch to do, that I can do while watching skiing, heck yes! I did my desaturation to get close to similar levels. The second photo had already been processed through vscocam so I think there's an extra hightened exposure causing the blur there. It was taken the morning Matt and I made the engagement officially, official with a ring and a proposal. 

I didn't go as big as I could, just 18x24". But we'll be moving someday and probably won't get muchg of a chance to hang them. What am I going to do with two 18x24" prints? I'm not sure, but it sure will be fun to see them in person and gift them to Matt.

ps. holy crap! A blog post, a real one, where I actually did something with the cool stuff I saw online. Not original content but something cool anyhow.

I consume a lot of media.

Sam

A self-confessed tv junkie since the age of eight. I follow 100+ blogs. I'm falling in love with podcasts. I have enough books to fill a room. I receive, by choice, oodles of emails every day, yes oodles. Add to that facebook, pinterest, instagram and twitter what I'm trying to say is:

I consume a lot of media. 

It is starting to become slightly exhausting and overwhelming. (or always has been) I want to share so much of what I read and see and yet never quite get to posting what is so wonderful about each thing because there is always something new to consume and discover.

I don't know how to break it down. Of course, I want to go out and read the latest well-articulated thing, see the cutest outfit, pin a great idea. Yet.. What do I take away from that article? Who will I share it with? Am I going to wear that outfit or ever get to pet that cat? Will I get around to try to make those cool wine bottle glasses?

I don't think so, because soon I'm on to the next thing. Vicious cycle. I said to Matt on Monday, sometimes I feel like a link hoarder. No lie.

Anyway, I want to share some of the things I'm reading and maybe make this a more frequent occurrence.

How To Be An Administrative Assistant | Thought Catalog

Twenty-Seven by Adriane Quinlan | The Awl I now want to read all the things written by her, particularly this with a big box of tissues.

attraction and expectation by meg. I've basically already read all the things written by her. I suggest you do the same.

Meg's post also lead me to Motley Mama. Who seems to have some great content I might peruse. It seems there was a lot of hoopla on her blog last week. I can't even imagine. Truly, I can't, particularly concerning abusive relationships. Makes me ill. It's one of those times that I wish I hadn't learned about a particular "school of thought." It's hard to comprehend. Though as I continue to think on it, maybe it helps me understand that gap between what I believe. as a liberal, agnostic. and what others less conservative than Zoe believe.* It also makes me incredibly grateful to be surrounded by intelligent, self-sufficient, and empowered women.**

This post about defining yourself on social media. Particularly topical to this post, my first read of the day so possibly why I'm writing this now.

*I guess there are things more concerning than link hoarding.
**The oxford comma making a reappearance?

Lulu

things

elise's excited stamp

stamp shop.

It's been a weird month money wise. A baby shower and a wedding that had me spending more than usual on fun, fun gifts. Family in town  had me up late into the night on two separate occasions and craving grease in the morning and all through the day. Adjusting to being responsible with my cash and not spending wily-nily, although there's been some of that going on.


Which is really, what I'm here to tell you about! All of the lovely things are making their way to me!

the shine project : let the world see you shine tee

 david's tea: the fall collection

elise JOY: stamp shop "today is"

elise JOY: stamp shop "get excited"

Sometimes a girl wants to spend a little money. #consumerism.

August

Do you ever feel that the beginning of August brings with it the beginning of fall? It's no wonder with the Target aisles full of dorm room swag, Mead 5 Subject notebooks and pencils. As a kid of educators and a lover of school myself, August quickly ramps up with back to school festivities and then the fresh start of school itself.

This year I don't want to rush into fall, because there a great few weeks of summer still ahead of me. TWO vacations! a birthday! a wedding! another boating weekend! delicious bbq & racing pigs! in seasons foods! it's all gonna be so good and I want to enjoy it all. I want to continue to work on my summer list. Look, we have yet to walk to get ice cream! There's lots yet to do.

vacation with matt to the upper peninsula
buy a bicycle and ride it. 
camp
pick blueberries
have a cookout for friends
picnic in the park
purge and organize the craft room and main floor closet and library
rock boat weekend
mini vacation with momma
do a picture a day
spend most of a day floating on a lake, at least once
fireworks
celebrate birthdays with love and fun and we still have matt's coming up
fresh, local, simple foods and dinners, hello lover august
grow our own stuff
wrap a light string around the apple tree
chicago in the midst of it
get out of the house once a day
walk to get ice cream
visit as many great lakes as possible
make a list like this
make a book to record it all

I'm not the only one trying to hold on to the last bits of summer. Sheenas' beautiful canola background calendar is now gracing my desktop.

Wanderlust is something I'm enjoying a few little bits of this summer. I enjoyed Port Huron and views of the Blue Water Bridge with my momma two weekends ago. Cheboygan last weekend was fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun on the boat, boa-!

heading to hack-ma-tack via the cheboygan river.

Next week I'm off to visit my bestest in ChicagoOak Park. We have grand plans of a real girl's weekend with wine and cheese on the porch, junk food and movies, wandering her town and two full days to catch up!

Then it will be Matt's turn. Five uninterrupted days of vacation in the Upper Peninsula, visiting family soaking ourselves in the lake, a trip to a waterfall or a mine may be in store, definitely some beers and really good food. Much needed relaxation, for reals. Then we'll be home to celebrate his birthday the next weekend. Plans are brewing.

Matt's birthd-eve 2011

I really want to enjoy every bit of it and make the most of the 23 days we'll both be home throughout the month. Make it my goals to enjoy the house, cook fresh food, open the windows and work in the yard a bit, sit outside and enjoy the last few weeks of summer. I think it can be done.

goodness, i love that font. found on elise' blog

her august list.

insta + links + senses

it's another lazy friday for me

as i stay cool, watch the olympic trials

& wimbledon and read blogs.

i love Joanna's collection of Nora Ephron links.
Michigan gymnast third after first day of Olympic trials.
both Kaitlyn & Kaylah shared Dorothy Parker dresses. add one those to the list of things i want.
this amazing story, wedding rsvp site.
i really appreciate meg's outlook on food.
Rachel and her guy Eric are celebrating two years. woot.

tattly's last for-ever. it's fan-tastic.

these monsters from anke panke are still holding strong.

three weeks later.

anticipating:  this coming weeks fourth festivities. boating on the day of. 50,000 fireworks in 50 minutes on the 7th. three days + the weekend off.

hearing: we've moved on to swimming olympic trials now. swim, swim, swim.

dreaming: of our vacation. days on the lake, exploring the up with my guy, adventures.

eating: about to be eating some delicious, delicious sushi. it's been too long.

drinking: lots + lots of water. i'm kind of getting the hang of this.

two cats.

one chubby orange guy named sam.

one full of a dangerously delicious 

ginger liquour, lime, vodka drink.

i woke up with a sore throat and have fighting sinuses ever since.

but i just can't blame the drink.

confession: i slept til noon. and it's after 5 now. Matt will be home soon. and i have yet to shower. couch potato for the win!

+ links + cats (in the meantime)

since a full blanks + insta + links post seems a little far off (i have 80 things on my to do list tonight & friday.) here are some links from a few weeks ago.

a lovely idea, could be very sweet for an anniversary.
flower seeds in the mail.
ha, ha maddie. there are some great shots this weekalways.
matt loves sandwiches, i'll be following this project closely.

catstagrams from last night. 

windows open. 

looking for a little zen as our biggest decision creeps up on us.

three venues to choose from.

i think i know.

but we're going to break down the numbers

do a pro/con list

and hash it out TOGETHER.

the wheatfield. her prints shine.

it makes my eyes pop open.

new desktop. no question.

blanks + senses + links + insta

  link up with lauren

 

1.  The best surprise ever would be if someone had invented a publicly available teleportation machine before this weekend and I could have stayed home and had a mostly relaxing yet productive weekend but also spent a couple of day eight hours away in Houghton with family. It mostly would have been the best surprise ever so that I wouldn't have stressed over the decision for weeks beforehand. I felt 50/50 the whole time.

 

2.  I'm feeling a bit removed from memories so I'm having a hard time thinking of my most favorite memory .

3.  The hardest, but most worthwhile thing I've ever done was moving to New York and being on my own for 18 months. It was hard because I was alone. It was worthwhile because I was alone.

4.  The best part of my day is the downtime in the evenings when Matt and I get to hang out, sometimes we veg hardcore, sometime we make dinner together, but we're together laughing about something, usually the cats. 

5. Something I like that most people don't is ranch dressing on my pasta & rice, no doubt.

6. Something I am willing to fight for is peace & quiet & calm in my home.

7.  Something you might not know about me is my house had an ant infestation on the porch. It was the in the top 10 the bug guy has seen in 10 years and 3,000 houses. TOP 10.

good morning, these cups makes me nostalgic for new york.

Seeing: sunshine and a quiet house. thankful. the yellow pages that guiltily remind me i did not get a property line survey lined up for next week.

Making: 

Watching: three episodes of Glee, earlier today. I think three is my max.
Hearing: songs in my iTunes, i'm trying to clean out the music I don't like.

Quoting: 99% of life is mundane, so it's important to remember to enjoy the everyday.  -Amanda's dad.

Anticipating: Matt getting home and deciding what to do with the rest of our day, out and about or lazing about. and then the rest of our weekend. I have a to do list to tackle.

Loving: this lazy day. i needed it.

Feeling: ready for a shower.

 

 good afternoon, making the switch from coffee to beer on a holiday weekend.

elise's summer vacation book.
sheen is making jealous of summer foods that grows in (not even) June and not October!
beca of tumbleweeds will be featured on fab in two weeks, i can't wait!
Koubachi gives your plants a voice, I downloaded this app as soon as I discovered it! thanks swissmiss.
After reading this it was fun to see this Marc John's illustration a few blogs down. It's so true. I'm also basically allergic to "big talk too."
Um, yes: Win A Free Wedding!
There is some serious stamp love and developing going on out there.
This. Gorgeous lady. (bonus, a new blog to follow!)
Great cover. I was so proud to be supporting President Obama on my car that day. Reading Meg's reactions on twitter really brought it home too. (one reposted on the blog)

15 Great Tips for making a marriage last 15 years remember this gem too.
already prepping for the holiday season. 
I've never paid for a photo app, but I'm excited to try out VSCO cam after Amanda Jane's recommendation.

I'm going to need to remember this. This is a great post about working with vendors. It annoys me to now end that there are only two Michigan vendors on A Practical Wedding, and both over three hours away. I mean there have to be vendors out there, close by, that align with a Pactical and sane wedding. Right?! I mean, I hope so. I certainly concerns me.... side track.  So, I love that they end with:  

And if you find a vendor that totally has APW values but doesn't know about us yet, do us all a favor and have them apply for the vendor directory! Trust me, we all want to know their details.

Read more: http://apracticalwedding.com/2012/05/how-to-hire-wedding-vendors-photographers-caterers/#ixzz1vuuIUteM

good day, spent the day reading blogs (the reader had gotten out of control once again) and posting links here. 

the cats embraced the gloriously lazy day as well.

mostly Week in the Life 2012

they're back! I'm loving this spring like weather!

Ali Edwards spring edition of Week in the Life is about to roll out. I really liked participating last year and having the photos I collected from a wonderful week of summer.

I've been reading Elise's blog (which I can't really tell you how much I love!) She has me so geeked about Project Life, I think I'm ready to tackle Week in the Life hands on!

 week in the life, July 2011

In preparation I may take up Kinsey & A Beautiful Mess up on the challenge of taking ten photos a day and playing with my photos beyond instagram. I've already been making notes about the content and questions I want feature and address during Week in the Life.

catstagramming.

Budgeting: What works for us

Following on the tails of some discussion of budgeting in relationship on the interwebs I figured I would post what worked for us. I know it helps me when I read what works for other people.

This is my comment from Rachel's post, {living in sin} The Joint Checking Account.

When Matt and I had our budget conversation, partially assisted by your original post, thanks!, we sat down with our two paychecks for a month each and all of our bills (student loans, cell phones, car insurance/payments), plus adding to our savings. With that information we were able to figure out what we each were able to contribute towards the monthly bills (mortgage, utilities, cable, house taxes and insurance.) Because what we spend each month on groceries fluctuates we decided Matt would save receipts when he bought groceries and we’d total that up with what I spent* and we’d split the percentage.

One of the things that makes a joint checking account a hard sell for me is I use a Rewards credit card that I really like, I’ve had it for a while and racked up quite a few point. I can’t imagine changing from accumulating rewards to just using a debit account. (I’ve never not paid of my credit card in full at the end of a month.) Matt’s not as sold on the credit card rewards as I am, plus he likes the credit union he uses. I can’t change banks because of the mortgage, I received a discount when I purchased my (our) house.

I also learned that while I love playing with numbers and budgeting it can make Matt a bit uncomfortable. I was excited to sit down and budget last year, this year I’ll be more reserved and make less of a geeky deal about it.

Thank you for this post. It kickstarted a couple of questions for Matt and I as we enter our second year of living together and will be revisiting our budget again soon. This budget conversation will bring practical discussion of traveling, growing our family, wedding costs, possible business ventures we’re dreaming of, really where we want our money to go in the future and how to start that now.

One more thing, reading the Practical Wedding post this statement caught my attention,

“Second, marriage is about pulling together. It’s about building a life together, through thick and thin. When we don’t let our partners pay down our debt with us, not only are we not letting them love us and support us, but we’re also not letting them help-us-pay-off-the-damn-debt-so-we-can-save-for-a-downpayment-together (practical considerations, says the woman working hard to pay down her husband’s law school loans).” http://apracticalwedding.com/2012/03/combining-finances-marriage-wedding/#ixzz1qqQ9lDqs 

While we’re working to individually pay down our debt now I can definitely see our conversation next year moving towards the joint checking account and working together to chip away a debt to make those plans above become reality.

weekly rundown

i thought i might do a fill in the blank post again this week but Lauren and family are welcoming little miss Fern Winter. i wasn't so sure about the name Fern, not that it matters at all, but with the middle name Winter, well i just love them together. congrats!


just three pictures this week via instagram... linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged

so how was your week? i'm not sure where mine disappeared to, but i'm thankful it's the weekend! i need some sleep. i started reading The Hunger Games, and i've been reading it in to the late hours of the night. it's so hard to put down!

my boys

i'm debating whether i should invest some mulah in elise's blog 2.0 workshop. i got really geeked about the idea at first, but then i started to debate if learning wordpress design would actually improve my blogging direction (skills, regularity. "mission"). i need to keep considering this. i need to decide if i want to actually be a blogger or just enjoy blogs from an outside perspective.

packing up christmas last weekend.

just over 300 days until it's to unpack it all!

i am on pinterest. finally. i played around with it tuesday night. i'm excited to use it collect all the blog posts and beautiful images i've bookmarked over the last two and half years, or so, in a more visual way. and also revisiting those bookmarks to see what may be projects i'll actually do! do you pinterest? is pinterest a verb? have you found lots of images with no original source? in my first 10 minutes i found two.

smitten kitchen does it again, yummm!

scallion meatballs with soy-ginger glaze & carrot sesame miso soup

links:
a reaction from the oatmeal to SOPA/PIPA.
how cute would this little plant be for a vday gift. they have a hot stuff one too, hehe!
i love this dress, The Dainty Squid: what I wore; a modern little red.
two gems from meg this week.
pretty food.
you can always count on Bright.Bazaar for some great color!
BASIL. PESTO. HANDMADE. ah, kinfolk. you're delicious. it's far, far to long before we have any basil that looks like that that can be made into pesto. i've only ever made pesto in the food processor, so i'm kind of excited to try this.

blogging + Christmas music

Sometimes when I'm not quite sure what to blog about I find myself wandering through posts I started way back when. There are around 70 or so and some are over a year old. It's a little bit of nostalgia, and I like it. Sometimes I'm able to develop them into post, other times they are just a thought that does quite go where I expected.

Back in September 2010 it was about finding my blogging voice, whether that's sharing a bit of what's been going on in my life (that's not my life, obviously, but I found it inspiring) or making sure you see these fun videos! I thought to myself, just because I'm late to the {blogging} party doesn't mean I can't have a great time. And I am, I'm quite enjoying myself.

And without further ado... let's get some Christmas music up in here!

It's that time of year when the world falls in love, every song you hear seems to say Merry Christmas, may your new year's Dreams come true.


And this song of mine in three quater time wishes you and yours the same thing too.

questions & senses & links

 link up with lauren

1.   A nervous habit I have is probably avoidance on annoyance. When I'm nervous I'll either avoid the situation or get annoyed that it hasn't been resolved. (If they'd just asked me...)

2.   Something that makes me sad is when other people are sad.

3.  Today I am thankful for a productive afternoon. We finally took care of our leaves, picked up my sewing machine, bought an iPhone, Heather's Restaurant for dinner, and Tim Horton's doughnuts for breakfast tomorrow! Now tv and veggin'. A Happy Saturday.

4. My favorite room in my house is the living room. It's where we fort, where we eat, where we snuggle, where we tv/movie/read/mac. That room gets a lot of love and we love it. I wonder what Matt's favorite room is and why... his answer: "My favorite room is the living room. That's where I can relax. If we were to get a comfier chair, it might be the library."

5.  I can't stand not knowing how best to respond to a situation or how I should act in the first place.

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would save it for our annual Christmas shopping trip that's just two weeks away!!!

7.  The last person I hung out with was, well if you don't count Matt...it was my bowling team, Split Happens, Thursday night. I was mediocre. It's all about the social wellness!
 

Craving: Apple Cider, crisp and refreshing.

Making: an advent calendar for December. I hope it comes out as I picture it.

Watching: Criminal Minds, backed up DVR.

Anticipating: the iPhone 4s making it's way to me.

Loving: the holiday season is here! don't you love that the holidays are there own season.

Feeling: ouchy, I have this sharp pain in my shoulder from a pulled muscle and there's no good way to soothe it.

Links

incredible map via hooray

Stop Motion Jelly Beans via Creature Comforts

Snuggling Kitties

Spreading Good Messages

Don't Miss Sweet Paul Holiday

some  really great and sweet things in gifted

dazzling luxury

Yesterday I mentioned how much I love dazzling luxury. 

It's a tumblr full of a beautiful images. enjoy.

And sometimes she posts kitties and you can't go wrong with that.

kitty

lavender. Rue de Barigue. coffee. sparkler. sparkler 2.

It's True

cosmic

You'd look snazzier in shades from Tumbleweed:

Enter to win a pair of sunglasses at www.talesofatumbleweed.com!!

This is entry for me so the competition is steep. ;)

These Peewee Herman Inspired Wooden Sunglasses are my fave.

You could steal them from me here.
( tumbleweeds )

Have a lovely Thursday. I'm pretty ready for it to be Friday. Matt's had secrets in the works this week, since our anni was last Sunday. I'm supposed to stay out of the house until 7ish tomorrow. Can't wait to see what he has planned.

beautiful videos

a ROOFTOP picnic {via kinfolk}


with a sweet JAR of JAM {via bright.bazaar}

Plum Jam from www.carlpendle.com on Vimeo.

Shabby Apple Outfits!

Shabby Apple did a fun contest on their facebook, create a collection of their items in honor of their sale. I couldn't do just one, so I did three!

dress.shoes.key.cameo 

Purple shoes = purple tights, with the bugle boy dress. 

I love the idea of the layered necklaces. When I first picked them I didn't realize they were from the same line. 

dress . necklace . shoes

i love the circus feel of this dress. i'd love to see it with bright blue shoes. 

kind of like this combination from dainty squid.

dress . shoe . earrings

And of course a dress from the Manhattan line. 

I've loved the Washington Square park dress since I first learned about Shabby Apple.