Archives for March 2013

goal five: read 25 books

I think this goal is one of my very favorites.

For me, it’s the most satisfying, most productive, most enjoyable thing of all the things on my list. Because for me, reading is magic– there is magic in the stories, in the best ones at least, just waiting to be opened and connected with, and for this very reason, I keep reading.

I keep reading and reading and reading.

I can’t remember the exact point in which I became a reader. A real reader. The kind of reader that feels the magic. But I do know that it was some point after I graduated college. Crazy, right? It seems hard to believe that it took me nearly 21 years to become a real reader, but it’s the truth. If I had to pick a time and a place, I think it would be on those long T rides to and from work that I first started to believe in the power of books, to see the beauty in the stories.

Besides being a reader of books, I also happen to be a collector of them. I get that from my mother, and for this I am grateful. But being a collector means there are many books in my home that I haven’t even turned the pages of yet. They are waiting patiently on my shelves to be taken down and opened up. Those books up there in the photograph are a few from the unread pile in the collection. They are first up on my “to-read” list so I can place them into the read pile once and for all. As for the others, I’m going to pick them up as they come– choosing ones friends’ recommend, and even those that speak to me from the shelves of local bookstores. I’m not going worry too much about which ones I end up choosing in the end— as long as I read, I’ll be satisfied. {Also, audio books count, too, just to clarify. Books are books!}

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My 2013 book list {COMPLETE. 37 books. BOOM.}:

The Night Circus

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Stargirl

The Giver

The Hobbit

The Light Between Oceans

Where’d You Go Bernadette

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Tiger Rising

Tuck Everlasting

The One and Only Ivan

Divergent

Insurgent

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

I Feel Bad About My Neck- And Other Thoughts On Being A Woman

Beautiful Ruins

Wild

If I Stay

The Rules of Inheritance

Matched

The Art of Fielding

Me Before You

Seabiscuit

The Last Child

Eleanor and Park

The Handmaid’s Tale

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls

Anansi Boys

The Storyteller

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

Girls in Pants

Forever in Blue

Sisterhood Everlasting

A Thousand Mornings

Tiny Beautiful Things // Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar {ALMOST FINISHED!}

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And I know I’ve asked before, but if you have any favorites you think I should know about, send them my way, please and thank you. I’m always interested in hearing what you love.

All the books, my friends. All the glorious books.

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P.S. I made a favorite list once {and updated it recently}. You can take a look at it here.

for the love of instagram // printstagram giveaway!

Do you instagram?

Well that’s a silly question.

OF COURSE YOU DO.

I guess the real question should be: do you do anything with your instagrams? For the longest time I never did anything with mine. They would sit on my phone and become forgotten about {or deleted} over time. More recently I decided to post them to my blog in my snapshots series, which I like doing a lot, but still, after awhile they just become lost in the post shuffle.

Until now!

A few weeks ago I ordered some of my favorite prints from Printstagram and I am SUPER glad I did. The quality is amazing {thick paper, matte finish, excellent photo/color quality}, and I’m happy to finally have them {IN MY HANDS! ON MY WALLS!} to enjoy in my home. There are lots of different products to choose from for the keeping {framed prints, posters, mini-books!}, but I went with the classic squares. So much to looks back on, SO MUCH GOODNESS. I also ordered two books of mini stickers. Because, why not? Long gone are the lost memories.

{Well, they were never really lost, but you know what I mean.}

Anyways, lucky you!

Social Print Studio is giving one of my readers a $50 gift code credit to Printstagram {THAT’S AMAZING}.

See below for entry details!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment below and include your email.

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additional {optional} entries:
{please leave a separate comment for each additional entry}

+ visit the Printstagram website and tell me which printstagram product(s) you like best.

+ follow Social Print Studio on twitter OR facebook.
{one entry please}

+ Spread the word!
tweet, blog, or pin this giveaway
{and tell me which one you did!}

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Giveaway closed.

The winner is: Kate!

{I loved your comment, Kate. Hope you do end up doing something like you said–
the minis are awesome and your idea is totally adorable. ENJOY!}

snapshots // currently…

Just a few things about life lately:

T H I N K I N G  A B O U T : my seventh snow day today. SEVENTH! The part of me that grew up in Syracuse, NY thinks Boston is being a big ginormous wimp. The part of me that loves summer vacation is getting stressed and disappointed. The part of me that enjoys sleeping in thinks these days off are not so bad. Mostly, I’m just going with it. Telling myself that time off in the summer is a luxury that not everyone gets. And that school in June is hardly school at all at that point. More like one fun, sunshine-y party with a bunch of seven year olds that love you to the moon. I can handle that for sure. I always get weary of letting the littles go at the end anyways. They make their way into my heart and I always feel like I want to keep them.

R E A D I N G : The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s only my 3rd book this year, so I’m slacking for sure. My goal is 25, which means I’ve got to get moving on the reading front, but this book is crazy long and was a little hard to get into. It’s picking up, so I’m confident I’ll finish it– and I’m motivated to keep going with all the great recommendations I got from friends + bloggers. Have you ever read it? What did you think?

L I S T E N I N G  T O : A lot of The Shins radio on Pandora. Also, Ingrid Michaelson radio never lets me down. Are you a Pandora listener? It’s my favorite because it introduces me to so much new music that I would never have found on my own. I’m hoping to make a spring playlist soon to share on the blog. Something upbeat + happy to put a little skip in your step.

W A T C H I N G : Girls. I just love it with all my heart.

W O R K I N G  O N : Knitting. I was able to get some good practice at casting on and learned how to knit and purl with the help of my cousin last weekend. Haley is a serious knitter and she came to Boston {with her little baby Hope!} for the North Shore Yarn Crawl last Saturday. I tagged along and picked out some yarn for when I get really good and am ready for my first project. But for now, I’m just practicing little squares. It’s getting easier so that counts for something!

D O I N G : The couch-to-5k running program. I started it last week when the weather was nice {using this app} and am really confident that I can for real make this happen this time around. I am not a runner, but I want to be. And I hope to become a healthier version of myself in the process. So, here’s to trying. And to feeling pretty motivated about being successful, too.

L O O K I N G  F O R W A R D  T O : Easter at home. I just can’t wait to be with my family in the little town I grew up in. I’m also excited for the chocolate and the cupcakes. Always a good time. Always delicious.

M A K I N G  M E  H A P P Y : The fact that the end of ski season is in sight! Zan has been gone most weekends being the ski bunny that he is. We’ve been pretty good at making more time for each other during the week {going out to dinner or spending time in the kitchen together}, but I’m excited to spend spring and summer weekends with him again very very soon.

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P.S. I have a really sweet giveaway in the works for tomorrow. It involves instagram {YOU LOVE IT} and will be my first official giveaway ever, so be sure to come back and check it out! I think you’ll be excited about it too!

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OH! and I got the idea for this post from my sweet friend Mary.

do it yourself: fun with fonts

Anna’s Handwriting ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

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As many of you know, I’m a big supporter of adding typography to posts/photos, as evidenced here and here {and here and here and here}. I could go on, but you get the idea. For me, it’s a fun way to play around with graphic design + adding a touch of text makes it a little more personal and unique. Up until recently, most of the text on my photos have been fonts I have downloaded {for free} from here and there around the internets. Then when I got my Bamboo Tablet, I started to experiment with writing on my pictures in my own handwriting using a stylus pen.

Yesterday I had the best time playing around with a new app I downloaded called iFontMaker, which basically helps you turn your own handwriting into a font. It’s $6.99 for any of you iPad owners {iPad only, unfortunately} and is basically THE MOST FUN ever. Worth the money, in my opinion, for sure.

It’s super easy to use, too– you only need your finger and your iPad and you’re good to go. You can make as many fonts as you want, download them for just yourself, or share them with the world. I made the four above in under a half hour yesterday, and BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (!) I’ve made them available for free download. All you need to do it click on the links above.

SO! Download away!

ENJOY + HAPPY MONDAY!