Goals for a New Year

I'm making this my motto for the year. It applies to so many aspects of my life right now it's scary and exciting at the same time. Things will change this year, big changes, drastic changes and I think I like that. Already things are changing in certain areas of my life that I did not ask for and I'm not happy with. I will be the first to admit I don't do well with change, at least not immediately. It takes time for me, but over time, as I've been told before, I am very adaptable. I'm trying my hardest to see the silver linings here, but I think I might have to make some extremely hard decisions this year.

All that being said, making the hard decisions for myself means I'm being honest, and it means I'm the one creating the life I want, and not one that is dictated by people that are under the misconception that they can use me for their own means or gain.

I started out this year on a good note, making my goals I'm about to share on January 1st and feeling like this was going to be a good year, and now I'm tired and I'm angry. But I have been learning that anger is a powerful emotion that should never ever be ignored or stifled. It means there is something vital to our soul's happiness that is not being expressed, though learning how to express anger in a way that is powerful and productive is an art. Learning to channel anger into creativity and drive to get the things you want most in life is a challenge I'd like to take on.

For now I'm going to continue a tradition I started back in 2013 of sharing memories from the previous year, and goals for the new year.

15 Memories of 2015:

1 Re-wrote my entire novel

2 Finished Calling in the One

3 Reconnected with someone I hadn't seen in 8 years on Facebook, and now we're dating.

4 Went to Aftershock Music Festival in October

5 Consistently kept up yoga and found a wonderful friend in my yoga instructor.

6 Started archery in August
7 Got my first bow
8 Celebrated 3 years at POI
9 Went to Universal Halloween Horror Nights
10 Tried dating on both Match and Eharmony (neither went very well)
11 Sent Norman Reedus a fan letter :)
12 A friend from high school passed away
13 Spent Thanksgiving with the new boyfriend and his family
14 My mom got herself a new car after being car-less for most of the year
15 Had someone to kiss at midnight on New Years eve


16 Goals for 2016:
1 Finish my novel (I feel like I've said this every year since 2012, but I'd really like to finish it this year. It's so close to being done it's frustrating.)
2 Find an agent for my novel
3 Move into my own place
4 Start the sequel to my novel
5 Keep up my dream house posts monthly: boards by room
6 Share excerpts from my novel on this blog
7 Pay off more debt
8 Get enough of a raise to move out on my own
9 Be consistent with my French lessons
10 Buy new pieces of furniture for my new place
11 Complete my gallery wall in my hallway
12 Buy my own Enagic water machine
13 Do a handstand in yoga
14 Visit the beach more often
15 Ask for what I want (I need to get more comfortable with this)
16 Follow my passion planner

Holiday Inspiration

I can't wait to get a tree this weekend and decorate my apartment for Christmas. I think putting up the decorations is one of my favorite things about the holidays. Here are some gorgeous ideas I've collected for this holiday season.

Potterybarn

Bryan Rafanelli

Bronson van Wyck

Horchow

Carolyne Roehm

Pinterest

Just for fun follow this link to find out what your tree style says about you.

2015 Goals

Happy 2015 everyone! I really do feel good about this coming year. These last two years I've felt have been really tough for everyone, and I think the universe has been preparing us all for some amazing things to come!

For the past few years I've been listing memories for the past year and new goals for the new year. So this year it's 14 memories from 2014, and 15 goals for 2015.

14 Memories from 2014:

1. I turned 30.

2. I went to Vegas (for the first time as an adult) to celebrate my birthday.

3. 2014 Winter Olympics.

4. Lost a great member of the office where I work.

5. Gained a new, and very dear friend at work.

6. Got Invisalign.

7. Got veneers on my teeth! (Look for before and after photo post on this soon)

8. Went to a design fair in Santa Monica.

9. Became the party/birthday planner at work.

10. Went to Disneyland for Halloweentime (first time for me. It was awesome!)

11. Bought a sketch from the sketch artists at Disneyland. I've always wanted one.

12. Won 1st place for our office Halloween costume contest.

13. Started writing half an hour a day at work.

14. Changed my hairstyle and color. I love being a redhead!

15 Goals for 2015:

1. Finish my novel by April 30th.

2. Get a laptop.

3. Start learning French on new laptop.

4. Get a raise for my new position at work.

5. Pay off my two credit cards.

6. Continue dream house posts on my blog.

7. Send out novel to agents before my birthday in July.

8. Get a new loan to pay off more debt and lower payments every month.

9. Do a hand stand in yoga.

10. Furnish my room with new pieces, and make my room more livable.

11. Continue to keep my room organized. (It was a mess that I had to clean up over break.)

12. Clean up my bike (that is just sitting on the balcony) and get a cover for it.

13. Follow the 7-week program in Calling in the One and meet my husband.

14. Write a YA retelling of Mansfield Park for NaNoWriMo.

15. Visit the beach and Santa Monica at least once a month.

And my overall goal or mantra for the year is to write every day. I don't care if it's just a sentence. I want to write something, even if it's not on one of my stories, and just my journal.

I also found this on pinterest for some great ideas for goals for the new year:

First day of Autumn

I'm so excited for Fall this year because it's been so damn hot this Summer! I'm ready for boots, and sweaters, and rain, and hot chocolate, and Halloween, and is anyone as excited as I am for the Once Upon A Time premiere this Sunday?!! Yes, I know it has nothing to do with the weather, but well, the theme is Frozen this season, so maybe it kinda does. What's your favorite thing about Fall?

2014

via

 

I'm not big on resolutions. I am big on goals, and I love lists. This same time last year I made two lists: 12 memories of 2012 and 13 goals for 2013. I think I'm making it a tradition. Here are my lists for 2013 and 2014.

 

13 Memories of 2013

 

1 Joined Match (and so did my boss)

2 Fell in love with Stephen King

3 Moved to a better apartment

4 Joined Yogaworks

5 Won 3 competitions at work-and I never win anything (one involved wrecking a book)

6 Started a 5-year journal

7 My little brother graduated from High School

8 49ers went to their first Super Bowl in 18 years (they lost, but still)

9 Witnessed the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination

10 Started a short story exclusively on my blog

11 JK Rowling published a novel under a pseudonym

12 Justin Timberlake came back to music after a 6-year hiatus

13 Started using Invisalign (and I have plans for veneers!!! I'm so excited!!)

 

14 Goals for 2014

 

1 Go skydiving (really, I'm serious)

2 Start learning French

3 Finish my novel

4 Find an agent for said novel

5 Plan a trip to Florida to see World of Harry Potter

6 Pay off medical debt (damn teeth)

7 Finish my blog short story

8 Build my own jewelry collection

9 Finish Invisalign in time for my 30th birthday (no more gap!!)

10 Read more classics

11 Continue my Design Binder

12 Learn more self-love

13 Continue working with my neuroreflexologist (This guy is awesome!)

14 Meet my husband (I know. But I thought I'd put it out there in the universe.)

What goals do you have for this new year? I think the biggest two on this list are finishing my novel and learning French. I want to do those things so badly, my own slow progress and procrastination drive my crazy. Loving myself is a big one too. How will I ever meet my husband if I don't love myself? Oh, and I'll be turning 30 this year. I figure I should do something big, but no plans yet.

Happy Friday everyone!

P.S. Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien! (He would've been older than Bilbo in LOTR today.)



 

Winter

 

Winter is here, though it's already felt like winter for most of December, even over here in warm, sunny California. The air is crisp and clear, and jackets are a must. We've even had a week of 50 degree weather (yes, that's 50 degrees during the day) already. Today is my last day of work before I'm off to a 5-day Christmas weekend and, minus the cold snow, that list above sounds perfect.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! May your days be merry and bright!

The Guest House

 via

 

I've heard this poem from two of my yoga instructors in the last month, the second time being just last night, and I think it's perfect for Thanksgiving. Be grateful and open to those changes in your life, good or bad. You never know who or what you  might be making room for.

 

Have a lovely Thanksgiving everyone!

What it means to me to be American

I’ve been giving some thought this week to what it means to me to be an American. It is all I’ve ever known. I’ve never been outside the country with the exception of a short trip to Mexico when I was in high school. I do know I was extremely grateful to be home when the plane set down, but that might have had more to do with my relief from nausea from food poisoning. (I don’t recommend getting food poisoning in Mexico.)

The novel I’m working on right now is fantasy, set in a world of my own creation. I noticed early on that I had inadvertently given my main characters a strong sense of duty. They have a job of protecting people, which they take very seriously, and I’ve realized this is something that has been deeply ingrained in me, something that is very American. I’m sure there are others who might disagree with me. My brother has said before that we’re one of the only countries that pays for advertising to encourage people to enlist in our military services. Or maybe we are the only country that does that, I don’t know. (That lack of knowledge sadly seems to be an American thing as well. In my opinion, America is a very ignorant country, but I’m making an effort to focus on the positive right now.)

 

July 4^th is a holiday I’ve always taken for granted.  It’s one that belongs only to America; a holiday that, for the majority of Americans, means fireworks and barbeques and spending the day in the summer sun, relaxing. This year marks the 237^th year since Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman were appointed to draft a formal declaration of independence, severing the 13 colonies from British rule. I’ve just recently read that declaration. I must have read it in school at some point, though I have no memory of it. I think I’ve heard Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, or Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech more often than the Declaration of Independence, and I’m only beginning to understand parts of the Constitution and its amendments.

But I do know this: we may be a young country, but the freedoms our country affords inspire people. I don’t think so many foreigners would immigrate here if that wasn’t the case. I do know that we are one of the only countries with a government that allows its citizens the freedoms offered in the Bill of Rights, especially ones like the right to bear arms, or freedom of speech. I read an article about a woman in Cuba who has been arrested multiple times for speaking out on her blog about what it’s really like to live in her country, and the injustices of the Castro regime.

I also know that I am blessed and truly thankful for the fact that I was born in America; that I will never have to think twice my ability to choose who I want to be and how I want to live my life. That, in the simplest terms, is what it means to me to be American.

Wishing you all a very Happy Fourth of July!

Hello 2013

 


I got this lovely idea to make lists of 12 memories from 2012 and 13 goals for 2013 from both Lux and Lace, and Going Home to Roost, and decided to make my own:


12 memories from 2012:

1 Got a new job
2 Attended my first writer's conference
3 Started making jewlery and launching it on Etsy
4 Fell head over heels for Jeremy Renner
5 Started rewriting my novel
6 Experienced the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic
7 Celebrated my golden birthday at Disneyland
8 Discovered gluten-free baking
9 Started practicing yoga
10 Saw one of my closest friends get married
11 Went to a movie premiere
12 Got a new car


13 goals for 2013:

1 Read all the books I own (instead of buying so many new ones)
2 Finish a final draft of my novel
3 Start writing book two
4 Start learning French
5 Continue practicing yoga on a regular basis
6 Pay off debt
7 Go to see the world of Harry Potter in Florida
8 Start a 10-year journal
9 Celebrate life, instead of trying to fix it
10 Put myself out there (and I'm referring to dating)
11 Move closer to my job
12 Put together a design binder for my dream house
13 Get back into creating art regularly

Happy Holidays!

 

 

Wishing you all a very happy First Day of Winter, and a very merry holiday season! This is my last day of work before a week and a half long break. Super excited! I can't wait to spend my holiday sleeping in, wearing warm, comfy clothes around the house, watching my fill of Chirstmas movies, and listening to Christmas music until I can't stand it anymore. And, of course, you can't forget the food. Lots of yummy, yummy food...

 

What will you be doing on your holiday break this year? Traveling? Working? Spending time with family? Whatever the occassion, I wish you a safe and blessed time. I'll talk to you next year!

 

 

(image via Pottery Barn)

The Season's Upon Us

 

This is my new favorite for a very feisty Christmas. It's the Irish in me :)

Being Grateful

Be Grateful by Simply Sal Boutique on etsy

I am so thankful for my family and friends, the roof over my head, my steady job, my dependable car, and for the many freedoms I often take for granted that I have in this amazing country I call home (and yes, I am really feeling that grateful).

Have a very warm and blessed Thanksgiving!

Rachel Ink

Don't you just love the simplicity of these notecards? I think they're gorgeous and the artist, Rachel King Birch, has an amazing variety of other cards, customized address labels, and tags, all in her original ink artwork. And you can also pick your own set of 10 assorted cards.

I love this one for Halloween:

And I think this one is my very favorite:

But don't take my word for it, check out the rest of her shop, Rachel Ink, on etsy.

Independence Day

I hope you're all having a wonderful day celebrating our country's Independence! I find this ecard particularly funny because of how much my life, especially at work, has revolved around the foods I don't eat lately. I won't get into it too much right now, but I went on a 10 day cleanse with some of my coworkers and the destructive power of the food we eat was greatly emphasized. I already knew these things, but it's always good to remind oneself of one's bad habits.

Anyway, I do have a new job, hence the extended lack of blogging lately. I'm enjoying the people I work with immensely and finding that I've managed to find a pretty awesome company in a niche of interior design I never thought I'd like, but am finding that I do. I got lucky. Or perhaps luck has nothing to do with it. The only thing I can find to complain about it is the drive. The drive home is nothing short of torture on Fridays. So my goal is to move closer in the next year. I'm thinking I might be there for a while...

More on all that later. For now, have a great holiday and I'll be back soon!

Four Leaf Clover Earrings

etsy listing

etsy listing

I'm making some special pieces for St. Patrick's Day for sale on my etsy shop for $30 each. The first is shaped completely by me out of plated copper wire (except for the Swarovski crystals, of course) and the second I used already made ear wires.

I had a lot of fun making them and I think I'll be putting up some necklaces soon as well so check back at my shop! I'm just learning how to shape wire so I'm experimenting with craft wire for now. Eventually, I'd love to use real silver or more expensive wire, but until then I'll just be having fun trying out new things with wire :-)

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 10p on CBS

Can't wait for this! Need I say more?

That time of the year

Architectural Digest Dec. 2011

It's Fall and Christmas is just around the corner. Wouldn't it be lovely to get away to a place like this? Absolutely gorgeous.

I've been busy with the usual holiday madness: buying Christmas presents, driving all over the place in hideous traffic, and planning ahead for visiting friends. Thanksgiving was nice. I hope yours were all lovely! We went to a family friend's house and the food was great, but I didn't overdo it, which is an accomplishment! And Black Friday was pretty hectic; I went to the mall between the morning and afternoon crowds, but got stuck in the Camarillo Outlet's ridiculously inadequate parking lot. That wasn't fun, but other than that it was a good day. Did any of you brave the Black Friday madness?

I also saw Hugo yesterday and it is an absolute must see! It was so great in 3D! Martin Scorcese is a genius! I laughed, I cried and was blown away by the amazing story of this boy named Hugo. 

I thought I'd be doing more writing this month for nanowrimo, but it hasn't been panning out well. But I'm okay with that. It's been so nice having a little break from worrying about my story and whether or not it will ever get published.

Other than that I joined a book club. We meet every month at our Barnes & Noble and my first book that I read was Little Bee, which I read in two days. It's one of those books you can't put down and the story will catch you off guard. I highly recommend it.

Well, I hope you've all been enjoying a very relaxing holiday weekend and I'll get back to you soon!

Temeraire and a Magical Halloween

I started typing up this post last month and never finished because things got a little hectic. I had all four wisdom teeth pulled (so glad I don't ever have to do that again) and three cavities filled. I had the top two pulled in two sessions with my cavities and, let me just say I do not suggest anyone do it this way because I think I would have rather had all four done at the same time. I haven't eaten much solid food in a month.

Then, some time in October, I decided, after all the rejections I was getting, that perhaps my dragon story really wasn't as ready as I'd thought and I needed to do more work on it. This stressed me out to the max because my unemployment will be ending in a matter of months and I had planned on already having an agent (yes, I know, I'm ambitious). Needless to say, I had to start rethinking my plan, but things rarely ever go as planned. It's part of life to learn this lesson, and it's also never good to put all your eggs in one basket. Just my words of advice for today.

Anyway, my story was stressing me out and everyone kept telling me to just take a break, so that's just what I've been doing. Halloween came up and this year was one of the most fun and entertaining Halloween's I've ever had. I dressed up as Lady Luck and also spent the two weeks leading up to Halloween helping my brother make a Max from Where The Wild Things Are costume:

We went to a friend's house party on Friday night and then went to the Magic Castle in Hollywood on Saturday night, which I had never been to. It was an absolutely awesome night and I wish to go there every Halloween because everyone that's there is totally into it just like me! We couldn't take pictures inside, so I can't show you any of it, but if you ever get the chance to go, you must! It's an amazing place!

And, before I update you on some of my recent reading, November is time for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which I also participated in last year. I'll be focusing on writing a story about a scientist named Jake who is the son of a killed CIA agent. After his mother's mysterious death he has to put the pieces together to figure out who killed her and his father years before. And then, in December, I'll get back to my dragon story...

 

I'd heard of this series quite some time ago and have never gotten around to reading them due to my YA obsession (this is an adult sci/fi series), but I finally bought the first three for my birthday. These are the first three in a, so far, seven book series, but I'm not sure I'll keep reading after book three. The books are very well written, but I'm just not sure they're my thing. Mainly, when I think of dragons I think of magic and there isn't any of that in these stories. The author studied the Napoleonic wars, in which time these stories are set, and are very much centered in reality. So the dragons are much like any other animal, with the obvious exception that they can speak and are just as intelligent (if not more) as humans. I would recommend them if you're really into historical fiction.

P.S. I most likely won't be posting much this month because of NaNoWriMo so have a lovely November!

Happy Independence Day

Wishing you all a cool and safe July 4th!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is the 41st annual Earth Day! Celebrate with one of these 5 tips from the go green blog. I think I might go take a walk on the beach with a plastic bag and pick up any trash I see.

P.S. I really like Google's art in honor for today! Check it out!

P.P.S. It's also Easter weekend! Have a lovely one whether with friends or family. I'll be treating myself to a Cadberry Egg. They're my favorite :)