Remember that time I did a little project?

Once upon a time, Nick moved into an apartment and acquired a desk from his mother to put into the little nook in the living room/bedroom area. Well. That corner acquired the desk, the unfinished headboard/footboard for the bed, all tools and computer parts and pieces, and a giant rug that was not being used. Unfortunately, I do not have any before pictures, but I took my off day last week to do this:

It was fun. I love organizing. Yay! Plus: Warsteiner book ends? Just sayin'.

Also, today is the last day for the giveaway. Please check it out! Ten awesome prizes and ten awesome winners!

Thursday Thoughts

1. I have lost 13 pounds. Considering I have been trying (not as hard as I should have) for about a year now, to really buckle down and get into shape + lose weight, I am really happy about this progress! Also, I am proud to say that I am doing it the right way. I eat when I am hungry, I stop when I am full, and I am involving a lot more physical activity into my daily routine. [Don't worry, I am not counting Lego Harry Potter ;) ] I was inspired by my job at PetsMart; about three weeks after I started, I noticed that I was feeling better about how I looked, and that I had even lost a few pounds, so I kept it up!

2. I have about 2309 books that I am planning on reading at some point. I got so many for Christmas, and have about six piled up on my desk to start tackling after I finish Harry Potter. Speaking of which, I have about three days to finish the Half-Blood Prince AND begin and complete Deathly Hallows before the movie leaves theaters completely! I don't know if this is possible, honestly!

1. & 2. Madeline Wickham's/Sophie Kinsella's The Wedding Girl and The Gatecrasher 

because, duh, I love Sophie Kinsella.

3. Richard Wright's Native Son

4. Laurie Halse Anderson's Prom [This woman is an amazing writer and 

one of my favorite YA authors]

5. Alice Sebold's Almost Moon

6. Laura Lippman's I'd Know You Anywhere,  which I asked for based on a 

recommendation from Danielle's blog!

3. I am still really worried about Guillermo, and will be calling the vet tonight if he doesn't pass the twist tie by dinner time (right before the vet closes). The way I see it, I would rather pay to have the thing removed surgically than to suffer a worser consequence later, whether that be losing him completely, or causing irreparable harm to his body. For those of you who are squeamish, you should move onto number 4 right... NOW. Because I am going to tell you that while he hasn't expelled the twist tie yet, he has pooped out a "Don't Spill the Beans" bean, a foil wrapper, and kleenex. Yes, I have to inspect, and yes it is gross. I hope you all still want to read after this. Anyways, I do not know how or why he has recently become a vacuum. File that under mysteries I will never solve.

4. I have ordered about sixty bajillion things from Amazon with my Christmas money, and I am impatiently awaiting their arrival. I was a little sad when they didn't come in the mail today. This is what I am going to happily come home to one night this week:

1. & 2. Elie Wiesel's Dawn and Day. Since I read Night, I haven't been able to

get the sequels out of my head! Sadly, they aren't available on Kindle, so I had

to purchase them.

3. A super pretty JAVOedge Kindle case! I can't wait to get this, and since 

generation two accessories are getting harder and harder to come by, I figured I

should snatch this up asap.

4. Madeline Wickham's/Sophie Kinsella's A Desirable Residence to complete

my collection :)

5. & 6. A pretty red (you know I love red) case for my LG Chocolate Touch +

car charger. I already have a car charger, incidentally, but this was a package

deal that was actually cheaper than buying the case solo!

5. Of course, lastly, don't forget about the giveaway! I am closing entries at midnight on Friday with the winners announced on Saturday morning, so hurry! 

source

Have a lovely New Year's Eve, everyone! <3

Wednesday Wonders v.9

These are just a few things that [mostly] have made me really excited the past week.5....

1. this pretty piece of art reminiscent of the ones i showed you here. 

lynzie posted this on my facebook and i think it's awesome. of course, neither

of us can take credit for this, but i am unsure of the site it came from! 

2. got this from Nick's dad for Christmas, and we have basically 

been playing it non stop since the 25th... we've already beat 2 years

and are well on our way to beating the third!

3. this pretty picture of candles that i took a long time ago. i recently 

found this on my computer and liked it!

4. NEW jeans. i love getting new jeans.

5. screen cap of my Google homepage. I love that you can change the skins, now.

This one is so pretty!

6. don't forget about the giveaway! only three more days to get your entries in :)

7. almost 100 readers... just ONE away! this makes me really happy + thankful!

8. lastly, this is Guillermo. you all know him, right? i talk about him enough.

anyways, yesterday we took him to the vet to get his leg checked out before we begin

physical therapy. well. it turns out that they found something peculiar in his

belly when they did the xray.... a twisty tie. this is actually pretty serious, after considering

the ridiculous fact that he decided it was a delicious snack... it has potential for puncturing his

intestine, and if we aren't careful (this means giving him the correct foods to make it safe

to travel through his system) then he may have to have another surgery. 

please say some prayers/send us good thoughts! 

*silly guillermo...*

Bloggin' Ladies: Sandy a la Mode

Bloggin' Ladies this week is all about Sandy from Sandy a la Mode. She is so sweet, and the most helpful person to talk to! Please enjoy her blog + interview. BUT don't forget about the giveaway! I am closing entries on Friday at midnight, so get them in while you can!! Click here to find out more. 

on with the interview...! 

Name+Age+Site/Blog
Hi! My name is Sandy, I'm 27 and I blog over at Sandy a la Mode

Tell us something interesting about you!
I'm a Consultant and my job take's me all over the world! The most interesting place I've been with my job is Egypt!

Why did you begin blogging?
I began blogging as a way to document my journey in sewing, photography, baking, home renovations, and crafting!

How long have you been blogging?
My first blog post was written on January 12, 2010, so almost a year! My very first post on Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Cookies was inspired by the amazing Bakerella!

Who is your inspiration for writing/doing what you do?
Myself.  It's nice to have a fun little hobby on the side as a way to decompress from a stressful day at work!  But I also enjoy sharing what I've been up to with family and friends too!

Where do you get your ideas?As cliche as it sounds, I'm inspired by pretty much anything and everything!  I love taking pictures of time spent with family or weddings I attend and then blogging about it!  I love to bake for potlucks and work parties and I'll take pictures of the process so I can blog about it!  If I make something that I'd like to share with others, I make sure to take pictures of the process and blog about it!  If I see a cute bunny outside my house, I take a picture and a blog about it!  OK, I hope you get the idea.  ;)

What is something interesting about you?
I have one near sighted eye and one far sighted eye so I don't need to wear glasses!

Do you have any advice that you want to share with fellow lady bloggers?
Always be true to yourself in your blog posts.  Spend time on writing quality blog posts and do it because you love it and not because you want followers, comments, better statistics.  If you take something from another website/blog, make sure to give them credit for it.  

What is one thing you are looking forward to most in your future (blog or otherwise)?
I am looking forward to meeting some of my new blog friends in person at the Creative Estates conference in April!  

Remember that time I went to Bonnaroo? Twice? [image heavy]

Well. I did. WE did! And the time is drawing nearer for the tickets to go on sale, and for us to spend ridiculous amounts of money on them. This year is the 10th anniversary, and I am really excited to see what the lineup is going to be like. HOWEVER. Dilemma: I graduate in March, but since there will still probably be snow on the ground, the commencement is not until June. Bonnaroo and the graduation ceremony are on the same weekend. Why is this a dilemma? Because Nick and I have made a pact to go five consecutive years, and on the fifth year, we will have earned the privilege (and probably the $$) to rent an RV instead of baring the hot, hot sun. [If you were wondering, last year I got sun poisoning. I spent the entire last day shaking and chugging water. When we got home? I was covered in HUGE blisters and had to get a cortizone shot to take away the swelling in my face..] ANYWAYS. What would you do? To go or not to go?

Here are some pictures from the last two years...

on the drive there...

drying our sleeping bags after the torrential downpour

my feet/legs were CONSTANTLY this muddy

amazing tagging everywhere you looked

pretty Bonnaroo fountain painted a different color every year

Ted Leo + the Pharmacists 

roo bracelets

ted leo

Nick's sunburn!

pretty artwork that hundreds of people collaborated on. including us!  

mine, of course

nick's!

andrew bird

again

again...

closer..

really close

which stage (there is also what stage, that tent and this tent! this is very confusing)

band of horses

band of horses again..

again

again... 

again

again......

and again.. 

again... 

love this picture. 

the fountain in 2010! 

regina! 

again

again...!

I didn't take many pictures the second time around. I'm not sure why. But I won't let that happen this year if we go! Seriously, these were some of the best times of my life. I strongly suggest that you experience this if you can. ;)

xoxo S

P.s. if you made it to the bottom of this? I applaud you. Don't forget about the giveaway! Only 4 days left to enter :)