Wooded Walk & Writing, Writing, Writing...

Hello and happy Tuesday lovely ladies and generous gents.

I'm just posting about life over here, so here are a few updates! Of course, it mostly involves reading, eating, and walking around!

From a walk I went on with my dad - what a beauty!

Husband makes me coffee every morning and sometimes, it's just a masterpiece!

One day last week I had poptarts for breakfast and...

Spaghetti Os for lunch! The 90s looked good on my desk ;)

I have been writing in The Little Gratefulness Diary (from Flow Magazine), everyday for a few weeks now. It's a 29 week thing and I'm loving it! Oh to write something you're grateful for every day. To stay positive and happy and grateful! Also, I'm trying to calm down (do the !! give me away), and relax. Learning to meditate. I'm also using calm.com app and site - it's all great so far.

I bought a typewriter! Isn't it beautiful? From the 70s and looks brand new! It has a few quirks when typing, the spacing goes a little wonky but that's okay, adds to the charm!

I've begun a few projects that I'm really excited about -- I'll be sharing some in a post soon!

Lucky Charms! With extra magical swirly diamond marshmallows. Just eating my way through the 1990s over here!

Been reading Gala Darlings Radical Self Love - I for one didn't know how she was until her book came out and some of the circles I follow on instagram were very excited. I looked it up and thought it might be something I would like. I read and loved Girlosophy as a teen and I hoped this would be like an adult version! I was a little skeptical, new agey things, lots of pink glitter girl warrior stuff. But I can take things away from anything and am so far enjoying this book! I'm even trying a bit of tapping (EFT) which I'm not saying works but it's a type of meditation and as I said before, I'm working on meditating! Keep you posted on all that I read! I'll have a post soon to wrap up June, too (it was kind of a sad month, to be honest).

I'll try to be posting more often. I don't spend a lot of time running around, or at least as much as I'd like to, going on adventures and finding new places. I do spend a lot of time writing and reading, so I'll just try to start sharing more on those things - it's who I am after all!

Let's meditate! And love ourselves and write about what we're grateful for every day! I would also say let's cook and eat healthier and less processed, but did you see all that terrible 90s food I posted?

It's raining again here, it's been a very rainy summer. I kind of don't mind it because you know... I sort of love the rain! I do wish there was a tad more sunshine. It rains pretty much some every day and I would LOVE a few more thunderstorms. 

Have a lovely week!

Goodbye May, Hello June!

May sort of went by quickly and I'm not sure I ever posted!

Unfortunately I only read one book (gasp!) last month, which doesn't really qualify for a mini review, given the book was only 60 pages.

I read Very Good Lives - JK Rowling's commencement speech from 2008. It was fantastic! I got my Mom and Dad to read it as well. I gave it 5 stars for inspiration, motivation, and all around healthy thinking and reading.

Here are a few pictures to wrap up the month of May.

Books I bought new in May

All books I got in May! Kindle represents End of Days, which isn't posted above, oops

Started reading Magonia. It's pretty good. I'm enjoying doing a lot of reading and writing outside. Except four our neighbor that smokes. And, he must be stressed lately because he's smoking every 5 minutes.

Went on a walk with my Dad. We keep trying to go on more but, busy times and lives!

Been having some stunning sunsets

 My Dad spotted this gorgeous moth and we observed it for a good ten minutes. Iridescent wings, black underneath makes him look spray painted white, fuzzy head. Just beautiful!

 James and I finally made it to Dinosauria at the Detroit Zoo. We got stuck in 30 minutes of car a line a few weekends ago, they weren't letting any more people in to park. So we abandoned and when we finally made it, it was busy but manageable. Didn't realize it would cost $5 a person but we had a great time. We ended up with free ice cream, too!

Admiring my London books collection

 Was pretty excited when I saw Bella Grace was out a few days early. I bought it immediately. Trying not to blaze through it as fast as I did the previous one. Halfway through. Savoring. Inspiration, motivation, peace.

 More time outside

 Though it's missing my newest succulent from my dad (outside soaking sun) I've been enjoying this corner of my desk. It's got a light, simple feeling to me. At least, compared to the rest of my desk and home and life. See my new bookends? They were bought and brought back from Malaysia (by a stranger)

Happy Days

Good Morning!

It has been a good past week. First, I put in my two week notice at work! Here is my quitting outfit and face! Though I don't have a full outfit picture. We only have one small mirror. I wore a beautiful brocade skirt, it's pale mint with grey dots and the high waist is a grey and white scalloped, wide elastic.

 Then, I immediately began writing! Because, that's why I'm quitting. To put all my energy into what I love and into what is my career. My Mom discovered a newer magazine by one of our favorite publishers, Stampington Collection (I actually emailed them for a job right out of college, they responded saying I was funny and they'd keep me in mind if they were ever in the area), called Bella Grace. With a copy in hand, I knew it was perfect for me! All about living life to the fullest, finding magical moments in the ordinary, being happy and positive. It's absolutely beautiful, the pictures and the writing. The pages have a matt finish that smell and feel great and will stand the test of time. Oh, I read it in a few days and was in love. I wrote a few pieces, just train of thoughts about different topics that mean something to me. I already submitted one this past Monday and am working on some others. Even if nothing comes of it for this magazine, those essays mean something to me and it's getting me excited and inspired to write more.

 I read this delightful, light-hearted child's novel this week. I've been eyeing it for some time and got it on a whim at Meijer (or I should say, my Mom did for me, she's sweet like that). It was exactly as I hoped. Charming, funny, sweet, and plain fun. I think I will get more books by this author.

 An order from amazon finally arrived this week! I bought two novels I've been wanting to read (newer ones, I don't often indulge in), because I had a gift card from my birthday from January! Bone Gap! Not a lot of reviews on Amazon but on Goodreads things are interesting. People either really love it or don't like it at all! Most people seem to think it's strange and wonderful. I'm very excited!

As you can see here, Luna is also excited for Bone Gap. Actually this picture is to show you the other novel I received. Greenglass House! Very exciting! A magical looking middle grade novel that takes place in winter. Perfect research and inspiration for the novel I'm currently working on! Plus that cover is gorgeous!

 I read this fun little book from Neil Gaiman the other day. It's a goofy, one sitting book. The Illustrations were just as fantastic as the story.

Full, mini reviews (as in the mini reviews I give as a recap) will be up at the end of the month for all the books I read in April. 

Now some extra pictures of what I've been up to!

Pretty tea at Starbucks. James and I go about once a week together, to work on separate things, together on our graphic novel, and to play card games.

 Coloring is meditation. I've had this beautiful adult coloring book, Secret Garden, for a few years. I don't get a lot colored at any given time, but I've finished a half dozen pages over two years and they make me happy to work on and to see. I have another one, The Art of Nature, which is beautiful in its own way. I'd love to have the Enchanted Forest by the same artist that did the one shown here.

 Here are the other two things I got in my amazon order! I am so excited for this spring and summer. To hike, be on the beach, exploring! Watching birds and butterflies, finding beach glass and fossils, collecting butterfly wings, feathers, pressing leaves and flowers and everything and anything else!

Lake Huron

Went to Lake Huron today, walked along the beach in it's winter to spring phase. Some ice left to be crushed by the waves. The beach was full of stones and broken concrete.

I got a few pieces of rock but I was happy to find a small bit of beach glass and pottery. Looking forward to more walks and more finds!

Some pictures from the Lake, and of clouds on the drive.

My bits and bobs from the lake look sad, but they look a lot more fun next to my Art of Instruction postcards! Which are beautiful, if you couldn't tell. Not sure what to do with them, except enjoy them and use them for inspiration.

Hello!

I'm hoping to share my life a little on this blog. I have many hobbies and things I like, and would enjoy sharing them on here. Here are some things I like and you can expect to find on blog:

• Books! Books so many books, books all the time. What I'm currently reading, pictures of books I own and want and maybe the occasional review.
• I like to go on walks and explore woods and beaches. I pick things up and put them in glass jars or vials (I always carry a few glass vials on me). Pictures of my walks, something I write while exploring, things I find.
• I enjoy decorating our small place with lots of stuff. Sometimes (most of the time) I'm very excited about pretty much everything. You can expect to see pictures and explanations of things.
• I'm a writer and I would love to share some of the smaller things I write on here!
• My cat Luna. Lots of pictures. And, stories.
• My husband may get a mention once in a while :)
• I greatly enjoy to craft and I am a bit sporadic in what I do and when. For example I do a bit of smash booking/scrap booking, I cross stitch and can make origami cranes and boxes. I also really enjoy just about all paper goods and play around with making all sorts. I dabble A LOT. I would love to be great at everything.
• Spring is coming so the husband and I will be out shooting our recurve bows very soon. I'll be getting amped up to show photos and talk about it. We've been very casual about it for the past two years and I'm not very good but, maybe this spring we'll get more into it and do it often enough to get some skill.
• I am a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society, so get ready for pictures of the sky!
• Also a member of Detroit Zoological Society.
• The usual: Food and coffee, I am indeed a fan of brunch.
• I watch a lot of TV
• All the new things I want to get into! I am always finding new things I like. There's so much to enjoy and I love to learn. 

Things I'm currently into:

• Birds maybe? I'm going to buy a bird book, flashcards and binoculars possibly this weekend!
• Sewing. I work in a fabric shop and am constantly falling in love with pretty pieces. I finally bought some, too. I made an infinity circle skirt and plan on making another skirt, a dress and a few more scarves -- all this spring!
• Plants! As in, I have an air plant and a succulent and I'm trying very hard not to kill them. I desperately want more.