A Few of my Favorite Things

I’m feeling the need to write. or something. I’m doing absolutely nothing else. I’m not involved in any books right now (other than Hunger Games, but I’m waiting to read it with the Read Allowed Group...I don’t cheat), and I started a project, but it involves waiting for glue to dry. I feel like I’ve done enough of nothing today. So I’m going to have myself a cup of tea and share a list of current favorite things. Because that’s a good thing to do on a blog.

1) I’m kind of obsessed with the blog A Beautiful Mess right now. It’s been overly full of the writer’s dress shop projects lately, but that has only served to whet my appetite for vintage things. The nice thing is I’m rediscovering vintage things i already own, wahoo!

2) Another blog I’ve been following lately is Young House Love. They recently bought and started re-doing a new house and it’s very inspiring. Now that I have weekends off my list of projects has grown.

3) A trip to World Market last weekend scored some half-price water bottles. It’s nice ‘cause they’re glass, so that’s healthy and stuff. Also they’re cute so I find I’m drinking more water. (Hmm, I planned on linking a picture, but I suppose they were on sale for a reason, and they're no longer on their website)

4) I’m excited about gardening. I’ve been planning it out in my head and even on paper. These warm bursts that feel like early spring have me antsy.

5) Brian and I have be re-watching and re-enjoying Arrested Development. So good.

#6 For good measure. It goes without saying but Brian is my all-time Favorite. cheese, I know but still true :-)

Not favorite: the Ice Cream trucks already starting up.

2/18/11

I’m thinking I’ll take up journaling again. In some form or other. The thought springs from starting the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Who knows if I’ll finish it, I’m bad at reading non-fiction, and I'm just in the introduction. And I don’t know that I really want to be a writer...
I also read Neil Gaiman’s blog. And both of these things remind me that I spend a lot of time putting things into my head, but I never pull anything out. I spend so much of my day reading the endless subscriptions in my google reader, watching tv, looking at magazines, reading books, that I rarely take time to process it.

So, even though I don’t think I’m really a writer, I feel the need to take time to write, or at least process. Maybe that will be through some art, or maybe it will be while I’m working on some project, or maybe it will simply be washing the dishes with no extraneous noise, no podcasts or audio books, just taking the time to let my mind wander. And wonder. And maybe stuff will end up on the blog, and maybe it won’t. Because that’s not the point.

And now I think I’ll go wash dishes.

Note: When I say “writer,” well, obviously I’m writing. But I don’t think it’s my craft, my best way of expressing myself. I’m not bubbling with stories that must be told. I’m not a wordsmith. I’ll leave that in more capable hands. I simply use writing as a means of expression, not the means of my expression.

Inspired Bookshelf

I've been inspired. Over at Apartment Therapy last month they spent a lot of time talking about organization. Mostly I hadn't thought about reorganizing my bookshelves because the thought is a little overwhelming. We're running out of room on the shelves and one of the bookcases is kind of falling apart, and there are other parts of the house I would rather focus on. But then my attention was drawn to artist Stanford Kay. He paints pictures of books. Rather pretty artistic interpretations of stacks and shelves of books, often enhanced with other objects painted over the books.

And Inspiration struck.

What if I covered some books and painted over them? Eureka! A great way to hide some somewhat gnarly booksale paperbacks that have seen better days, yet are still classics, as well a Christian fiction series. So I scrounged some brown paper that had been used as packaging filler and covered a couple stacks of books. Then I busted out the acrylic paints and a sharpie pen and Voila!

Yes, I know. There are a lot of comic books on those shelves too. They would be a pain to cover, and I'm really not sure if I'd be allowed to anyway. So the plan is to put some pictures in front of them. That's a bookshelf tip I've seen somewhere I'm sure! And while I think I'll use some family pictures, if you're looking to do something similar check out Laura's print sale lasting till Valentine's Day. There's some beautiful pictures from Korea and elsewhere!

Hey! Look over There!

Rachel has joined blogland! And she is really a much better writer than I am, so go read her stuff! She writes about her time in the ER and about the wonderful food she makes, and I'm sure life in general. It's still pretty new, but definitely one to watch!

Oh, and Brian's been working on his site too, so now there's something to see there too :-)

And that's all I have for now. I'm being terribly lazy and ignoring the mess in the kitchen and the list of projects and simply enjoying my blanket, couch, husband, and the internets. It may be about time for some hot cocoa though...