Project 365 | Week 47

Greeting from chilly Austin! It's been cold and wet all weekend. I've enjoyed spending a lot of time inside but did venture out a few times both Saturday and Sunday. I'm definitely looking forward to next week. There are only have two and a half days of work, and then my parents come down to Austin to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays with me.

Here are my pictures for Week 47:

322/365: Made it through another successful dentist visit

This and That

Just a little bit of this and that on this lovely Thursday evening.

Yesterday I discovered an interesting website called Histagrams. On the site, historic events are depicted as Instagram posts. It's a fun place to scroll through if you have some free time. As an American Studies major, I loved the Histagram about Paul Revere's famous ride.


Have you seen the new K-Mart Christmas commercial yet? It's been a little controversial, but I'm just glad bell ringing is getting more attention.


The Hunger Games starring cats? Well, why not?

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

Project 365 | Week 46

Happy Monday! This past week, we experienced the first real cold snap of the season, and I celebrated with a peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks. By the weekend, however, it was in the mid-80s, and I had the AC on in my apartment. Texas weather...you gotta love it.

Here are my pictures for Week 46:

315/365: Sunset at Target

Returning to Anne

As you may remember, one of my goals for this year was to reread the Anne books. (If you're not familiar with them, the books were written by L.M. Montgomery and begin with Anne of Green Gables.) This past summer I carved out some time to do just that — I returned to the world of Avonlea and Glen St. Mary, Anne and Diana, Matthew and Marilla. It was a trip down memory lane, perhaps when I needed it the most.

Growing up, I read these books over and over (and over) again. As I read them this summer, I was struck by how much my ideas on life and friendship and romance have been shaped by these stories. In fact, I still continue to enjoy "slice of life" books, movies, and TV shows more than almost any other. After all, isn't Stars Hollow simply a modern-day, slightly more quirky, Avonlea? (Rachel Lynde would get along quite handsomely with Taylor Doose, I think.)

The books I loved most as a pre-teen (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Island, Anne's House of Dreams) were still the ones I enjoyed now. Anne of Windy Poplars and Rainbow Valley were my least favorites once again, but they were still lovely in their own way. In fact, two of my favorite quotes (below) were from these last two books.

These books will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm so glad I took the opportunity to experience them again this summer.

Some of my favorite quotes from the Anne books:

"Humour is the spiciest condiment in the feast of existence. Laugh at your mistakes but learn from them, joke over your troubles but gather strength from them, make a jest of your difficulties but overcome them." (Anne of the Island)

"You've made me happy ... you are always making people happy. Why, whenever you come into a room, Miss Shirley, the people in it feel happier." (Anne of Windy Poplars)

"It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter." (Rainbow Valley)

Project 365 | Week 45

I hope all of you have a nice Monday. It was difficult to return back to work this morning after my fun weekend with Mom and Esther. They invited me to join them on their annual Houston shopping trip, and I enjoyed experiencing the church sale and the Nutcracker Market for the first time (even if both were very crowded). It was a nice way to kick off the Christmas season.

Here are my pictures for Week 45:

308/365: Best friends

Week in the Life 2013

Last week (Monday, October 28 – Sunday, November 3) I completed my second Week in the Life project. There was nothing really special about this week, but I liked that my family would be in town for the UT football game during this time. I tried to keep things as simple as possible; I used my iPhone camera for most pictures and documented my day in Day One, which I do almost every day anyway.

I'm still deciding exactly how I want to pull everything together. At this point, I'm leaning toward using Design F pages in my Project Life album (I took mostly vertical pictures with these pages in mind).

Here's a brief glimpse at my Week in the Life:


Monday | Cheerios for breakfast. Maxi dress day. Walking the stairs. Working hard. Spending time with Sammy. After-work trip to Walmart. Driving home. Sunset. Time for bed.


Tuesday | Good morning, Sammy! Morning iPad time. Brushing my teeth. Weekly one-on-one. Picking up chicken noodle soup at Jason's Deli. Working from home in the afternoon. Currently watching. Currently reading. Daily journal.


Wednesday | Morning blogs. Double vision. Chick-fil-A lunch. Working. Taking the stairs. Making a tuna sandwich. Ring those bells. Rainy night. Red Sox win!


Thursday | Boston Strong. Morning sky. Figuring out the office web cam. Lunch at Panera Bread. Office mascots. Setting sun. Trip to Michaels. Driving home. Getting crafty.


Friday | Skating + Cheerios = Good start to the morning. Morning light. Working. Trip to Sonic. Sammy tries to be helpful. Trip to Target. More skating. Sammy awaits our visitors (or watches a bug). On my coffee table.


Saturday | Breakfast with the family. Dad and his Sam cat. Half-Price Books. UT-Kansas football. Horns win, 35-13. Hook 'em! Checking out at IKEA. Enjoying Amy's Ice Cream.


Sunday | Getting ready for church. Packing up to go home. Mighty Fine Burgers. Target self-portrait. Christmas foxes. Apartment. Evening walk. Sunset. Folding laundry.

This is such a time-intensive project that while I'm always happy with the final product, sometimes the work involved isn't always worth it (for me). I may think about doing a day in the life in the future because that seems like a much better time frame.

You can read about my first Week in the Life project from May 2012 here.

Currently...

It's been a while since I've written one of these posts, so I thought today was as good a day as any. Currently, I am...

Looking forward to my Houston shopping trip with Mom and Esther this weekend.

Relating a little bit too much to this parody video of Taylor Swift's "22."

Trying to adjust to the time change last weekend. I don't like having the sun set at 6 p.m.

Living with books stacked here, there, and everywhere. We bought a new bookcase on Saturday, and I don't have everything arranged yet.

Wondering what I've done to make the battery life on my iPhone so awful.

Wishing Thanksgiving received more respect but still feeling drawn to Christmas displays while shopping.

Reading The Mask Carver's Son by Alyson Richman.

Preparing to say goodbye to my office BFF, Michelle. :(

Dreaming of Paris and London and Oxford.

Project 365 | Week 44

As I mentioned yesterday, I worked on my second Week in the Life project last week. I had a lot of pictures to choose from each day, so it was a little challenging to pick just one. However, it was much nicer than the weeks when I take too few photos.

Here are my pictures for Week 44:

301/365: Eating my morning Cheerios

October 2013 Round-up

Happy Sunday and end of Daylight Savings Time! Since we're already three days into November, it's time for my October round-up. Here are a few highlights from the past month:

• Enjoying a special "me day" on my birthday — exploring South Congress, visiting a vintage shop called Room Service, and treating myself to a nice, long pedicure.
• Watching gymnastics and figure skating on Universal Sports, my new favorite TV station. I've dreamed about having the station for several years, and it's amazing to have it just in time for the Olympic season.
• Visiting Brushy Creek Lake Park in Cedar Park for the first time.
• Eating lunch outside for a few days at the beginning of the month.
• Celebrating UT's victory over OU in the Red River Rivalry.
• Spending a long weekend with my parents in Missouri and Arkansas. I enjoyed staying at Big Cedar Lodge and visiting the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
• Working on my second Week in the Life project during the last week of the month.

Books I read: Romancing Miss Brontë (Juliet Gael); The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

Movies I watched: Funny Face & My Fair Lady (apparently I was on an Audrey Hepburn kick)

TV: Dancing with the Stars, Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, The Paradise, Downton Abbey (Season 3 DVD), World Gymnastics Championships, Skate America & Skate Canada, college football, World Series (Go, Sox!)

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About My Monthly Round-Ups
At the end of each month, I take a look back and write a post about the month's highlights, as well as what I read and watched. To see all of my round-up posts, visit this page.