California One

I am currently packing up to get ready for a pleasant, long road trip down the west coast.  I am looking forward to the beautiful Pacific Coast.  Hopefully we will steer clear of any tsunamis.

Here's the plan.  Hood River, down to Portland then taking highway 1 along the coast all the way to San Luis Obispo.  From what I hear it's delightful drive.  I cannot wait to see all the green and experience the clear air.  Not to mention I haven't been to California since I was six!  Also, I'll be meeting the majority of Erik's extended family which is terribly exciting.

It makes me think of the Decemberists song..

Take a long drive with me
on California One, on California One.
And the road a-winding goes
from golden gate to roaring cliff-side,
and the light is softly low
as our hearts become sweetly untied
beneath the sun of California One.


I will be sharing my journey for the next week!

Finding some sunshine

                               http://vicjspot.blogspot.com

I've been such a Debbie Downer lately.  I think it has to do with the time of year.  It's a little disappointing to get excited about warm weather only to be hit with another winter wonderland or a whole bunch of rain.  Also, school has never been the best during the Spring semester.  Christmas break doesn't provide the kind of rest that Summer break does, so once you get halfway through Spring semester, you're pretty much ready to go postal.  It's difficult to constantly be working you butt off.  Eventually motivation goes out the window.


I found a neat website that is specifically for those who need a little encouragement.  The Bright Side Project's motto is to bring you sunshine every day with themed giveaways and witty repertoire. We hope to inspire you to stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful.   They offer daily giveaways in all shapes and sizes based on the monthly theme.  March is the month of adornment, so they're giving away really neat cosmetics, clothing, accessories and home decor.  I really love going there and checking out the pretty things they have found to give away and it's fun to write in, hoping to win a little something.  Nothing is more exciting than free things :).

Discouragement

I am easily discouraged.  I get started on projects and suddenly realize that maybe it's stupid, perhaps someone won't like it or there's simply not enough time.  I get frustrated when something doesn't work the way I had envisioned.  I get fed up with trying to make something work and it just doesn't.  I want to be successful.  I want to be creative.  I want to be great.

Sometimes I just don't know how.

Etsy sent out a great email featuring an article about how to not get discouraged with your work.  I want to share it with everyone because I think it will benefit many.  Not only does it apply with running your own business, but it can apply to anything you do in life.  You cannot be happy with what you're doing unless you include elements such as purpose, grace, courage and love.  How many of us get stuck in a 9-5 job that we hate.   Perhaps if you adjusted your thinking, your purpose, your attitudes about money and what makes a happy life things could change.

Be encouraged.  This to shall pass.

Modcloth: My guilty pleasure

Beautiful clothes almost constantly tempt me.  Ever since I was a little girl I loved putting my outfits together (even if they didn't match) and putting on a dress for absolutely no reason at all.  I continue to have the same attitude about the way I dress and still love to wear dresses whenever the weather permits.

ModCloth is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.  Not once have I purchased anything from there, but I often scan the website for hours.  One of the best parts is the vintage clothing they sell, so if you don't want to purchase brand new items, you don't have to!  Also, Modcloth tries to keep up ethical business practices and do what they can to keep a healthy and sustainable environment.

These beautiful clothes have a sense of elegance and simplicity about them.  I love the popular pastels that seem to be cropping up in clothes this spring.  They're so pretty and timeless.

It's Monday...

It's Monday.  You can tell it's nearly spring break since most of my classes have reduced in size.  No one really wants to go, everyone is discouraged.  It appears to be a really terrible semester for most people.  And after this darn flu and being out of school for nearly a week, my grades are suffering.  I got a 73 on my Organic Chemistry test, a result of not really caring about that test.  I have a serious case of senioritis and I'm still a year away from graduating.  This could be a difficult year..

On a happy note, I made another trip to the craft store yesterday.  Since I've been sick I pretty much plowed through a good chunk of my supplies so I had to restock a little.  I'm so excited to get to work on some new projects.  They include sets of dish cloths, something neat with wine bottles (which will be a surprise for later when I actually figure it out) and soap, at some point.

My bedroom is incredibly boring in comparison to the rest of my house.  I have a beautiful comforter but never really had much to put on the walls.  I've been looking at these cute little yarn wreaths that people have been making like crazy lately, so I found a tutorial over at Take Heart and made on myself!  It's currently above our bed and I'm awfully proud of it.

I think my favorite part is the little felt flowers.  I'll probably add a few more elements to the wreath, but for now I just wanted something on that empty wall!