On Forgiveness When It Totally Sucks

Recently, I was trying to sell a ticket to one of my school's football games. Students get discounted ticket but I wanted to sell it for more. Tickets were going for six times as much as we paid for them, so I figured if I could get double or triple, I'd be very happy. To me, it would be an excuse for a little shopping trip or a few meals out with friends. 

However, as I was chatting with people trying to find a buyer, I met a girl who didn't like the price that I was hoping for. But she didn't just not like the price. She decided she didn't like me. And she made that very clear to me. She attacked me with her words in all the places it hurt. 

She told me I was selfish.

She told me I wasn't a real Christian. 

She told me I wasn't a kind person.

All things that I regularly worry about myself. I'm human + it's easy to feel like I'll never be good enough. It's hard to have someone confirm those inner doubts to you. 

But then I remembered:

This girl doesn't know me. And I don't know her. She doesn't know what kind of impact her words are having on my heart, but I don't know what kind of an impacted heart those words came from. I can't imagine what kind of sadness and stress someone must be living in to lash out over the price of a football ticket. 

And so I'll pray for her. I don't mean this in a proper Southern lady way where I actually mean that I'll gossip about her to my small group (although I admit, I did vent about the occurrence to some friends). I mean that I'll actually try to love her. 

I don't want to. I want to reply with all of the angry, defensive words that appeared in my brain scarily quickly, like a reflex. 

But I will try. Because if Christ died for me and my sins, the least I can do is forgive a girl who's trying to wade her way through all the hurts in the world just like I am. 

And ticket girl? In case you're reading this...let's get lunch. I'll pay. 

A Popsicle Date!

Confession: I really, really don't like coffee. I don't even want to like it. I think it's totally ridiculous to spend $4 a day on a drink + it scares me to think about relying on something to get me awake in the mornings!

But you know what I do like? Popsicles. 

There's a place near me called Hyppo Pops that sells super fancy popsicles in the coolest flavor. My personal favorite is the mango champagne but I'm also partial to the key lime pie and the orange cream when it's dipped in chocolate. Yummyyyyy. 

Soooo if you and I were to get together and chat about life, we would not go on a coffee date. We'd go on a popsicle date! And here's what I would tell you. 

+ Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the little details I have to take care of. Like about a minute and a half ago, I remembered something that I had to do, and I've already forgotten it again. I have a lot going on in the next few weeks and it's all I can do to do the bare minimum! But I'm working hard to take time to myself and to practice self-care.

+ I wish I had more time to read these days! I reserved a book at the library and didn't even have a chance to go pick it up before the time expired. And a few weeks ago, I took two books out of the library and only made it like five pages into one! How sad is that? I think once things calm down a little bit I'm going to buy a book or two for my nook and practice carrying that around with me just for moments when I'm waiting around. 

+ I've really had a hankering to go camping lately! The weather is just starting to cool down (just a teeny bit) here in Florida and it makes me want to spend allll the days (and nights) outside. If only we didn't have such busy weekends, I know I could rally some friends to make a weekend trip of it. 

+ I've been hearing God's voice so much over the last few months that when over the last week, he's been quiet (or I've been worse at listening--it's more likely the latter), it's been pretty hard to handle. Last night, my sorority had a prayer night and I just didn't even know what to pray for; I've been so overwhelmed by details.

+ On a less serious note, what is with restaurants in college towns giving out free food all the time?! Moe's gave out free queso two weeks ago, a pizza place gave out free pizzas, last night Krispy Kreme was giving out free doughnuts and coffee AND BJ's was giving out free pizookies! I mean, I'm not arguing with it, but I don't know that it's the smartest business decision since college students will literally just go in to take the free stuff and leave.

What would you chat with me about if we went on a popsicle date? Also, equally important question: what kind of popsicle would you have?

A Typical Day in My Life

I've decided that some of my favorite posts to read are those in which a blogger will talk about their daily life, what a normal, super typical day looks like. It's easy to choose to mention only the big events or the exciting news, but I think it's easiest to get to know someone by seeing what they're day looks like. So today, I'm linking up with Brave Love Blog again to share what a typical day in my life looks like. 

7am: I wake up, roll out of bed and get ready for my day. Usually I try to tidy up my room a little bit and pack my bag for the day before making breakfast. I really, really love breakfast so usually I'll make eggs or pancakes with fruit or a mash of bananas and peanut butter and granola. None of my roommates are up at this time so I'll usually just enjoy a leisurely breakfast and check email or bloglovin' or sometimes I'll watch a little TV.

8am: I leave for school. I ride a scooter everywhere (#collegetown) so it takes a little bit longer to get to campus from my apartment. I've learned the hard way that there's no way to get my hair to look good after the combination of wind + helmet hair from riding my scoot!

8:30am-11:30am: I have classes in this block of time everyday. Most days, I have organic chemistry, French, and then public speaking. Sometimes afterwards I'll go out to lunch with a friend but usually I'll go on and head home.

12:15pm: I take a ~20 minute nap here about half the time and that usually gets me ready for the rest of my day! I'll unpack my bag, make lunch (usually this is my big meal of the day and I'll eat leftovers for dinner) and plan out my afternoon.

1:30pm-5pm: Homework, studying, etc. Usually some Netflix in there somewhere because I'm human. I'm on a break from working at the lab right now because I'm waiting on some samples, but usually I'd work this chunk of time a few times a week. 

5pm-9pm: This chunk of time definitely varies depending on the day. Twice a week, I have an evening class (forensics!) and the other nights of the week I might have a pledge meeting for my sorority, a Bible study, or a meeting with my accountability group. It really depends. Usually I eat dinner somewhere in that chunk of time. 

9pm-11pm: If I don't have any big events, I'll usually use this time to study or blog or do my Bible study. This is a little bit more of "my time" so I try to do a little something fun or relaxing if I'm not too jammed for time. After that, I'll usually watch about half an hour of TV or Netflix before going to sleep and doing it all over again!

This is just a usual day--weekends and days that I teach kickboxing or have a sorority event look totally different and totally crazy! But it's all fun, for the most part. What do your days look like?

A Letter-Writing Wishlist

If there's one thing I really love to do in life (and there are many), it's writing letters. It all started when H and I started dating long-distance over the summer, and now over the whole year. 

It started out just being a piece of notebook paper stuck in an envelope, but as we've written more and more letters, I've found how fun it is to pick out the perfect card for someone. Now, I'm trying to learn to decorate envelopes a little more, from writing out the address in a beautiful script to adding vintage stamps.

Today, I'm linking up with the Brave Love Blog and I just wanted to share a little wishlist of mine, specifically for letter writing! Links are below.

better together card / hug you card / cactus stamps / mineral stamps / love mail rubber stamp / you make me happy card / know it all pencils / happy camper card / botanical stamps

Seen any cute cards lately? Any other things you're wishing for these days? Share them!

I Forget How Big I'm Blessed

Well, well, well! Things are looking a little different around here! I'm still working on getting everything totally together, but I'm liking the way things are turning out. I really wanted to make things feel a lot lighter and brighter to reflect the things we talk about here on the blog + I feel like the new colors are helping with that!

But on to my actual post for today, I just want to vent at you for a little. 

I've had my ups and downs in life. More so in the last few years. I know what it's like to feel so sad and so alone and so close to giving up. I know a lot of people can feel me on that one, right? But I've also been so so so blessed by God, especially in the last month. Like crazy blessed (so much so that I'm considering using #blessed. Not quite there yet though.). 

But there's something that's really been irking me lately, and that's when other people don't realize how blessed they are. Of course, I could go into all the cliches about how at least we aren't starving in Africa, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about all the little things in life that God gives us that we just plain overlook because we're too busy looking at the things that don't matter.

A few days ago, after a really emotional day (and week and month, let's be honest), I was driving home and decided to stop and take a short jog around a pretty area of my campus. As I was finishing up my run, I realized I was near an area of campus where bats spend the day and are known to fly out all in a swarm right after sundown. 

Conveniently, it was almost sundown. I'd always heard cool things about the bats at twilight but hadn't ever seen them, so I figured I would wait and see them. I found a spot, sitting on top of a fence and I watched the sun go down. (Picture below is from my instagram.)

 

And then the bats started flying out of those two houses there. Thousands of them. Now, I know this sounds super nasty, thousands of bats flying all at one time, but it really was beautiful in the same way as a big flock of birds. 

And after such a long day, and really a long series of days that have been beating me down, there was something so therapeutic about seeing a display of something so free. I laughed. Isn't it funny how God gives you just what you need, right when you need it?

But the thing that broke my heart was all the people around me, not noticing this amazing thing going on right above them. As the bats flew all around, people were looking down at their phones, driving home, focused on other things. I just wanted to hop down from the fence, grab them by the shoulders, shake them, and say, "Don't you see what you're missing?"

I am those people most of the time. I'm usually so wrapped up in the deadlines, in the checking-off of boxes that I don't look up. I can't even imagine how many blessings I miss. 

There's a song that I hear a lot on the Christian radio at home called "This is the Stuff. To be honest, I don't even really like the song, but ever since that night with the bats I've had this one line stuck in my head:

"In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed."

8 Things You Might Not Know About Me

1 / I absolutely hate any game that involves acting. Of course, this is on my mind because just the other night, my friends wanted to play fishbowl (a charades-type game--we're fun people) and I just poo-pooed the whole thing and decided to be a terrible sport because I can't act to save my life. It's stressful!

2 / I'm scared of moths. Not really any other bugs though! I mean I don't love spiders and roaches but they don't terrify me like moths do. And before you think I'm crazy, I have totally rational reasons for this in case you ever want to hear some gross stories. 

3 / I could live off cheese. I mean I might have some nutritional deficiencies eventually and die from that, but you know, I'd be perfectly happy with just cheese.

4 / I love online shopping...but I never actually buy things online. I'm always too scared that things will be the wrong size or unflattering or just not what I was expecting. I know, I know, I could always return things, but honestly, I have no idea how to mail packages and that sounds way too adult for me.

5 / New Year's is my favorite holiday. Probably because I LOVE making goals and resolutions all that. And it's just like an extension of all the glitter and festivity of Christmas! Plus champagne and staying up late. 

6 / I love riding on buses because I can fall asleep on them so easily! Not city/school buses so much, but like those nice charter buses that you get on long school trips. But I can't sleep in cars or airplanes very well!

7 / Even though I work at an ice cream store, I prefer sorbet to ice cream. My absolute favorite is the Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach sorbet, but of course it's not carried in any of the Publixes near me. 

8 / My least favorite part about living in Florida is the HEAT. Whenever I tell people I go to school in Florida, I get some sort of version of "Oh you're so lucky! It's like vacation all the time!" But NO. Where I live is two hours from the nearest beach and the whole town is a literal swamp so it's basically a den of mosquitoes and it's about as humid as Satan's armpit. 

Now tell me more about you!

Learning to Socialize as an Introvert

I've always been an introvert, but it's only been the last few years where I've really felt like being an introvert has kept me from doing all the things I want to do. Especially now that I've been to college and had to make new friends, I'm seeing that. It's one thing to accept that I'm not naturally a super outgoing person and it's another thing to stay home all day because of that.

This was part of the reason that I've decided to rush, this fall, as a sophomore. I was always afraid of going through rush, especially not knowing anyone. But it kinda sucks to be afraid all the time, you know? 

So here we are, with me, three days before rush starts, sitting in my room in my pajamas googling how to survive parties as an extrovert. Thankfully, there are apparently other people out there like me and lots of tips out there. So I've been collecting them + I'm sharing here a few that have been helping me lately.

+ Do not pretend to be an extrovert. Oh thank the Lord. There was no way I was going to do that successfully anyways. This tip was super relieving to hear but also to realize that it's totally true. Tons of people are introverts and they want friends too. I can be myself and still socialize with other people, especially since they might be just like me.

+ Focus on your strengths. While I may not be the chattiest gal around, I'm happy to listen to other people and ask prodding questions here and there to keep them going. My strategy is to try my best to ask really open-ended questions and show people that I'm interested.

+ Give yourself breaks, but like without spending the whole night in the ladies' room. But spending a few minutes alone here and there to take some deep-lung breaths can only help (as long as you get back out there!). This is not an excuse to drop off the face of the earth.

+ Consciously recharge afterwards. Sadly, Netflix doesn't usually count. It might be meditating or reading or going for a run or praying, but something that helps you deeeeeply relax.

If you're an introvert, how do you successfully socialize and spend time with others? Also, pray for me this week. It's a LOT of social time.

Blogging My Way

Well, here we are. It's been nearly two weeks since I've even opened my laptop and powered it on. Two weeks. I don't think I've ever done that before and I've done that now at least twice in the last two months. Everything feels foreign--the way it rests on my lap, remembering typing and trying to put words together in a way that I haven't had to attempt in nearly two months now.

I've missed blogging. But I also...haven't. Blogging is a weird thing. It's a hobby, right? Like jogging or knitting or whatever. But for some reason, with blogging, there are all sorts of irksome, unnecessary expectations. Blogging isn't just writing a post and clicking publish (if only!). Blogging means social media scheduling and 'networking' (ew) and SEO (double ew) and all sorts of things that frankly, I'm not interested in. 

If my main hobby was running, and I loved running, I could just go out and go for a jog and enjoy it. If I don't feel like reading hours worth of online articles about form or buying five hundred dollar shoes or running a marathon, I don't have to. There's nothing keeping me from just...running.

But blogging is an odd beast. It's so all-or-nothing. All I want to do is write posts and read other posts and have people read my own, but it seems like I can't without all these other requirements. 

I'm pretty sick of all the rules that we as bloggers put on ourselves and each others. There is a certain place for analytics and "niches" and things like that, but it's not for every blog, you know? I'm ready to take a little more organic approach, focusing on the community more than the stats.

So I'm back. I'm focusing on making blogging a hobby that fills me up instead of drains me. I want connections, not just comments (but I like comments too ;). I want to build relationships, not just a readership.

P.S. If you're a blogger and you've ever taken a long break like this, you probably know how weird it is to get back in it. Don't hate me if I'm a little inconsistent as I get in this. :)

Baby Steps to Minimalism in Your Beauty Routine

Baby Steps to Minimalism is a new recurring series about my efforts to cut out things in my life that are neither good for me nor making me a happier human being. Join me!

I am not a minimalist person by nature. I love to shop and I love my stuff. I do. I'm not a huge fan of uber-minimalist interior design or fashion. I love color--lots of it. But there comes a point when having more things doesn't make me happier, it somehow makes me less so.

I know this and I know that you know this. It's nothing new. But how can we tell which things make us happier and which things leave us wanting more? I think the answer is to experiment with it. One of my unofficial goals in 2015 is to cut out things that aren't good for me and/or making me happy. If something isn't doing either of those things, there's no reason to keep it in my life. 

The first thing I thought of was my beauty routine. I've never been someone who loves being in the shower or playing around with makeup, but yet here I am taking long, hot showers and wearing a face full of makeup, every single day. It definitely doesn't make me happier to wear lots of makeup and spend thirty minutes getting ready in the morning + I'm pretty sure it's not doing me good.

I'm challenging myself to try these little itty bitty baby steps into minimalism + I'd love if you'd join in!

+ Take shorter, cooler showers. Obviously, this'll seriously cut down on the energy that your shower takes and it'll keep your skin + scalp from drying out in the winter.

+ Use one (or more) fewer items in your daily routine. Plus people will notice more when you do fancy up! Maybe even take a day off of makeup here or there. On an average school day, I wear foundation, powder, liquid eyeliner and mascara (and bronzer/blush/eyeshadow about half the time). My goal is to forego the eyeliner (or at least stick with a pencil) at least a few days a week and save those last three items for special occasions. 

+ Take a few days a week off from straightening, curling or blow-drying your hair. It's so good for your hair and makes getting ready so much easier!

+ Just buy less. Whenever I see something in the beauty aisle that looks cool (or oh my goodness, smells good) I tend to just buy it. Half the time, I use it once or twice and then it sits in my cabinet. Now I'm trying only to buy new products when I am totally or almost out of what I have.

+ When possible, use natural products. I haven't explored this idea too much but I've heard about using oatmeal or honey on your face and baking soda and apple cider vinegar in your hair.

Why minimalism? Less attachment to beauty items helps us be more comfortable in our own skin. Plus if you ever had the chance to go on a jungle exploration trip, you can start worrying about buying a plane ticket instead of how you're going to survive without your hair dryer.

What do you think about this whole idea of minimalism? Would you ever try any of these things? 

It's Time to Take a Break

(Unsplash)

Well I guess the title pretty much says everything. 

But still, it's pretty ironic how my last post was telling you how I'm changing around my schedule + fine-tuning my days to make time for my priorities. But the really funny part is that I've found out that blogging...isn't. At least right now. 

We're all busy. There's nothing especially good or bad about that, it just means that we have to make choices on a daily basis what matters enough to warrant our time and what doesn't. 

So this is just to say that right now, blogging is not how I am choosing to spend my time. I love blogging. I love connecting with my readers. But when I blog on a restricted time-budget, I spread myself too thin + I end up throwing out mediocre posts riddled with grammar mistakes to you. And I respect myself, this blog and the process too much to do that.

I will be back. Soon. 

Please don't leave. Leave me in your feed...I'll show up again soon. It may be a week; it may be a month. But I can't wait for that day. 

I'll be making a (better) effort to comment + connect with all of you. If you're not a blogger, feel free to comment or email me at allie@callmesassafras.com so we can keep in touch during this time. 

I'll see you all soon (figuratively, on the internet)!

Catching Up (+ Grateful Heart #3)

(Death to the Stock Photo)

Oh man guys. Classes are kicking my butt. Not just classes, but just the sheer options of things to do that take up my time. I've joined a gymnastics team, been going to mass, joined a Bible study small group, and have been working out all the time. I even tried out playing racquetball with some friends the other day! 

I've had so much fun with lots of new activities, but naturally, life on campus is a totally different ball game when it comes to time management. So this is my official word to you that I'm not going anywhere, but if I miss a post here and there and am quiet on social media for the next few weeks, know that I'm just learning how to plan out my time (so that I don't have pages of calculus to do an hour before it's due). 

So today, just to get back into the swing of things, I'm recapping a couple things that I'm grateful for. I've actually had a sort of stressful/funky day between an exhausting social event, a lot of school work and not feeling too great. But that's all the more reason to focus on the things that I'm grateful for!

+ A thriving community of active people. I didn't realize until I got here that my school is a campus of people that just love to be busy. People are always planning events and get togethers and adventures and there are always things to do (and if not...I've still got more calculus to do). 

+ I can tell I've really been growing in a positive way, away from anxiety. School has pulled me out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. I moved to a new state, by myself, where I knew not a single person. It's been hard, but I've done it and I'm proud of myself. 

+ A whole host of things that have gone right when they good have gone wrong. All of my classes (except one required class) are really good. I love three out of my four professors (and the other one is still just fine). My roommate and I get along great. I'm finding a community within my Bible study group and the church that I've been going to.

That last one is what gets me. Even when I have a stressful night like tonight, it calms me down to remember that in the grand scheme of things, my life could be so much harder. 

And on that note, I'm going to get back to calculus. What are you grateful for this week?

Grateful Heart #2

(Unsplash)

As a pessimist by nature, gratitude is often the last thing I want to do. These days, I can choose to let myself be consumed by anxiety about my future (starting college next week!!) or I can recognize all the opportunities and fun that this time in my life provides. Usually, I'd totally choose the first option, but why not, just once, choose the second? Right now, I'm grateful that...

+ I got to see H this morning, for the first time in over a month. We've gone (and will go!) a lot longer without seeing each other, but it was still so nice to be together. We made breakfast together--pancakes and bacon--and just spent time together. 

+ I also spent time with my best friend today, which was so nice. I love all of the girls I hang out with in the summer but because I only see them two months out of the year, we just aren't as close. But this girl + I can chat about literally anything, even though we haven't talked much over the last few months. We have good feel talks.

+ I'm wrapping up a design that I'm really happy with. This gal is bold and fun and I feel like I'm making her design reflect that. I'm so excited to share it with you in the next few weeks!

+ Starting school means so many exciting opportunities--including a chance to grow. I struggle with anxiety, especially in places where I don't know people. But I've learned that I can prevent a lot (but not all) of my anxiety just with my attitude. I know it'll be hard to make new friends + settle in a new place. But it's so going to be worth it + I know I can do it.

What are you grateful for this week?

Snippets 04.

Snippets is a series where I share recent photos that I have taken--snapshots of my life. I share what I'm loving about my life lately.

ONE. The beach has been so beautiful this year (and yes, this is where I live). I've really enjoyed the windy days where most people stay home and the beach is quiet and cool except for a few kids flying kites. On wavy days like these, I just want to show everyone who says lakes are boring/not like oceans. Look at those waves! They may not be oceans waves, but we still surf in them.

TWO. I don't think I will ever take for granted how lovely it is to live in a forest. Even though the bugs can be annoying (and sometimes half the size of my head), it's the most beautiful area around. My house is in between a nature preserve and the beach, which means I literally get the best views on either side of my house. There's something just so wonderful to me about all the green, all around me. I love it!

THREE. In this mornings, I've been running up and down the stairs to the beach. I love the beach on wavy days, but I especially love the beach when I have it all to myself. Sometimes I'll walk down to the shore, take off my running shoes and just stick my feet into the water up to my ankles.

FOUR. Enough of the outdoors, look at my hair! I've been itching to dye my hair turquoise or green but before I take the plunge (and freak out H!), I decided to test it out on just the tips of my hair. Personally, I'm obsessed with the color. I didn't bleach it first, so it's sort of mixed with the brown of my hair and I really, really like it. Should I do my whole head? Just a couple more inches? Suggestions please!

What's going on in your life these days? Aaaand, should I dye my hair?!

Weekly Goals #38 + August Goals

(photo)

I've said it before and I'll say it again--I can't believe it's already August. I know I say that every month, but this month it's even more of a shock since for the last six months or so, college has felt so far off--"in August". But now August is here! I move in two weeks from today which is just crazy exciting and scary and I'm going to stop writing about it right now because I'm freaking myself out. 

How was your weekend? I spent my weekend with family, sailing and rollerskating with friends (yes, that's actually something people do regularly in southwest Michigan). On Sunday, I leave to go back to NC (aka work is over!!) and then less than a week later I move in! Lots going on around here.

Last Week's Goals:

+ Exercise 120 minutes. I think I got this one. I went for an hour long walk one day, swam one day and rode my bike one day, but I'm not positive on time. Just so you guys know, I'm aware that two hours of exercise a week isn't adequate (especially when it's half walking!) but for now, I'm choosing to spend more of my time working and with friends. Once I'm home and settled into school, I'll be exercising a lot more (hopefully). I chose not to run the 5k because all of my friends were working + I didn't want to do it on my own. No worries, though.

+ Find a new podcast. I fell back in love with This American Life and started listening to NPR's All Songs Considered and Scientific American's 60-Second Science. Both are great!

+ Comment on three blogs a day. Again, I didn't reeeally keep track and I know I missed a day here and there, but I generally did a good job of keeping up with my feed.

Last Month's Goal:

+ My big goal for June was to continue my lettering so that I could sell some pieces at the fair in my town. I did some lettering this month but the pieces I chose to sell were largely digital art and so I didn't spend as much time on hand-lettering as I planned. But really, I'm fine with that. My goal more morphed into getting pieces ready for the fair and I did that!

August Goals:

+ I'm choosing not to make goals for this week since I'll be wrapping up work + my time with Michigan friends and I'd rather just go with the flow this week. So...August goals!

+ Stretch myself for college. Figuratively of course. I'm definitely an introvert and while I can make friends pretty easily when I try, it's hard to make myself try sometimes. By the end of August, I'll have been at school for two weeks. At that point, I hope I've settled in a little bit with friends, activities, classes and etc. 

+ Finish all design projects currently open before school. This could be tough since I'm still at the beginning of some projects, but I'd like to finish those up soon so that I can take the first month or two of school off from design.

What are your goals for this week/month? Any tips on getting ready for college?

Goodbye July: a month in favorites

(Death to the Stock Photo)

Can you believe it's August already?! I feel like I say that every month but especially this month, it just feels crazy. May both feels like yesterday and a year ago. Funny how time can do that.  

July has (obviously) been the busiest month of my summer. Between working full time, working on four design projects, designing a tattoo, selling my stationery at a craft fair and H coming to visit, I've been going-going-going, but doing all good things! I can't wait to see what August will bring (namely, college!).

I've mentioned it before, but I got a new laptop at the beginning of the month, which is fantastic. My old one was dying a slow, agonizing death. But the one thing I haven't figured out/gotten productive enough to try to figure out is transferring my iTunes library. So I just haven't quite been as focused as usual on music. I've been using spotify, 8tracks and songza (my three fave music sites--pandora is a close fourth) for the most part. Trending in my head these days are the 60s, but also soft acoustics. So good. A couple good playlists from 8tracks (with the exception of the first, the titles mean nothing):

Songs to Dance to / 60s rock

Self Portrait / acoustics

For When Words Aren't Enough / indie folk, singer-songwriter

This month, as I mentioned a few days ago, I largely read books I wasn't totally interested in as part of my library's adult reading challenge. I did however, really enjoy two books this month. One, called The Poisoner's Handbook was just amazing. It's a story of forensic medical examiners in the Jazz Age and different cases involving Prohibition-era wood alcohol and poisons. Very, very interesting if you're at all into medicine or chemistry (or even just US history!). The second was Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Although the main part of the book is super well known (everyone dies one at a time until there are..none. You guessed it.), I still thought it was super well written and I never suspected the ending. 

This month, I focused more on design/my life than I have in the past. I'm constantly tweaking, but I'd love to hear what you think. Do you like more design, life/productivity, music or science posts? Anyways, I really enjoyed the first installment of my new series, the Color Files, starting with Tangerine. Ever since I got my tablet, I've been obsessed with digital handlettering, but in this DIY Design, I showed you how to make a font from your own handwriting. Finally, I always enjoy a good Missing Links (science for normal people) post. This one features articles on jellyfish that age backwards, the possibility of printing a human heart and a mind-blowing infographic on the depths of our oceans.

What was your favorite post that you read or wrote this month?!

Grateful Heart

(photo by Death to the Stock Photo)

Today in my editorial calendar, I had planned to write a post to go with the Grateful Heart linkup on Ember Grey. It's a linkup where anyone can share posts that share their gratitude at the current moment. So that was my plan. And then a monster sinus infection invaded my life. I spent my night cradled a roll of toilet paper and blowing my nose every five minutes while taking NyQuil religiously every four hours to no avail. Last night sucked.

And so I wasn't feeling like blogging much at all, especially a gratitude post. But you know what? I'm up for a challenge. 

Things I'm Grateful For

The inspiration I receive from the blogging community. I really, really love looking through my Bloglovin' feed these days and just admiring all the wonderful thought that goes into the posts. There are so many beautiful + well written blogs out there and I'm glad that I've been able to discover them!

A flexible boss. I already talked to her today about work tonight and she was totally nice about it--telling me just to do what I can and not to stress out about it.

Khan Academy. Okay, sounds silly, I know. I needed to refresh on my calculus II material since I'm going into calc II or III this fall but haven't taken a calculus class in like three years. I thought I was going to have to pay for a refresher course, but I've found that I can take a quasi-course for free online! Yay!

MY LEFT NOSTRIL JUST CLEARED. I'm not even kidding, this is the best thing to happen to me all day. You never really appreciate breathing out of your nose until you can't.

Alright, that may be all I can manage right now. But still! Even that little list cheered me up a little. 

What are you grateful for?

Currently...

Reading / a weird variety of books for my library's adult reading program. I'm supposed to read a book each in the romance, mystery, western, sci-fi, fiction, non-fiction and historical genres. This week, I'm trying mystery with an Agatha Christie novel. Big yays for trying new things!

Listening to / the same songs over and over again since I'm having trouble transferring my iTunes library to my new laptop. For some reason only like a hundred of my five thousand songs will transfer! Poop that.

Working on / getting in a fitness routine. It's so hard sometimes! I went on a run with my younger brother this morning and he made fun of me for being slow during approximately 98% of the run.

Eating / string cheese, oddly enough. Well I suppose it's not that odd since I'm a huge cheese person. I like to pretend it's kind of healthy?

Hoping / that work isn't too insanely busy during our village-wide barbecue on Saturday! But it's usually our biggest night of the summer so I should stop hoping. 

Watching / House, which is my go-to show when I'm not in the middle of another. Ever since I finished the finale of Orange is the New Black (which was phenomenal--it gripped at my soul, you guys), I need a new Netflix show to work on. Any recommendations?

Loving / my tablet! I swear, I don't know how I lived without it. It's totally a cheapie, but it works just fine for me. I use it every night at work, for taking inventory, for tracking our cash flow and for checking off cleaning tasks and such. And then I also use it for my hand-lettering, and of course, Netflix.

Hating / the weird influx of flies around my house these days. I live in between a forest and a lake, so naturally it can be quite buggy. And with storms rolling in the last few days, it's gotten sooo much worse. Every time I open a door, at least six flies come in and I have to spend ten minutes going all samurai on them with an old flip flop. 

Wanting / allll the cute cards in the world! Like this one or this one or this one or this one. Especially after looking through all the cards on Treat, I just want to send a card to everyone in the world!

Writing / lots of tweets! I feel like I've been missing out on conversations with you and my other readers and I'm trying to be more active on Twitter to keep up with you!

Planning / just the beginning ideas of a future collaboration/blogging group! Sound interesting?

What's going on with you these days?

6 Good Things Right Now

(photo by Nick West for Unsplash)

Guys I've been so pouty today. My head hurts, my room is messy, I miss H and it's everyone's fault but mine. Even though he only visited me for five days, H leaving has really thrown me for a loop and I'm still in that short-term depression stage that comes right after visits in long term relationships. Sigh. 

Anyways, I'm gonna be an optimist today and talk about a few things that are awesome right now, even when a few things aren't. Really, life is pretty good. 

1. I got two really exciting hand-lettering jobs. One is making hand-lettered chalkboard signs for someone's 40th birthday....

2. ...and the other is even cooler. I'm working to calligraph a design for a girl's tattoo! Ever since I saw the tattoo that Rebecca Caridad did for her brother, I've loved the idea and I'm so excited to work on it!

3. Work is going smoothly. The 4th of July week is the very peak of renter season in my town on Lake Michigan and naturally all of those tourists flock to my ice cream shop at night to cool off. Good for business but not for my stress levels, so I'm glad that things are calming down a little bit.

4. I'm having a lot of fun working on my note card + print line (which will hopefully be out in the fall). I'm constantly scanning Pinterest and the internet for short, new quotes. I really like using short, simple maxims that you can remember easily. Some of my favorites for prints are...

"Good things take time."

"Wherever you are, be all there." (Jim Elliot)

"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." (Teddy Roosevelt) 

5. It sounds a little mean, but now that H isn't here, I have more time to read. Seriously, just trying to look on the bright side! I'm currently reading Revenge Wears Prada, the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

6. My tablet. It's an Android Venue and Android drove me crazy for a little while but now I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed. I got it as through a Dell promotion and it cam free with a laptop I was going to buy anyways. It's so much fun to use it for my hand-lettering and keeping my documents organized for work and all. Also, Netflix is so much better on a tablet than on an iPhone. Yay!

What good things are going on in your life?

Why Long-Distance Relationships (Sometimes) Rock

(This picture has nothing to do with this post, but it looks kind of pretty right? Taken in Marseille, France.)

Welp. Sometimes life has a way of getting ahead of you. I had glorious plans for my blog this summer--I was going to get back to posting (nearly) every day, commenting on all my fave blogs (I promise I'm reading, just silently) and staying in the game. 

But I kind of forgot that I sort of have stuff going on. You know, life. I promised a June Recap on Wednesday (umm, like five days ago). But H came to visit and we had five glorious days of pretending to be tourists, eating yummy food and having feel-talks. 

Having H come visit is and was so wonderful. He's my best friend and the one who knows the most about me in the whole world. So obviously, having him 800 miles away from me two months out of the year and 450 miles away for another 9 months of the year sucks. But long distance has been really good for us in a lot of ways.

We form separate lives. In North Carolina, H and I have a lot of mutual friends, which is great. But sometimes, I just want to go shopping and he just wants to watch movies and drive around with the boys (or whatever they do). 

We've learned to communicate more effectively. We both work a lot and because of the service around where I live, our phone calls are infrequent and often cut off in the middle. Hearing his voice is so much more special to me now that I don't get to hear it all the time. 

We've learned to trust each other, so much. The first time we lived apart, I struggled with jealousy about a certain female friend of his (who, by the way, was totally on the prowl). Since then, we (meaning I) have learned to trust him and ourselves and our relationship. 

Lastly, receiving handwritten cards and letters = the best. I think that's self-explanatory. There's something so familiar and homey about getting them and recognizing his weird handwriting and the way he never dots his 'i's.

Also, I have more time to catch up on Netflix without date nights. Kidding. 

Anyways. Rambling over. 

This has been a sappy post about H, thanks to my dad for buying him a plane ticket to visit me and to H for loving me. Love you poopface. Sorry for writing a blog post about you without asking you first. 

Desktop Wallpaper: Yosemite View

GUYS I'M SO EXCITED. H is coming to visit tomorrow! And it's only been two weeks since I've seen him so that's not really a huge deal, but I'm really excited to show him around the town where I grow up and work and live for part of the year. It's one of those places that I know inside and out and it's so dear to my heart. And naturally, H is so dear to my heart and I just need him to meet my town.

I've actually gotten sort of obsessive about it--I've already made a detailed itinerary for what we're going to be doing for the next five days--cherry picking, pizza at my favorite place, bike riding, visiting the state park, going to the beach, walking in the 4th of July Parade, going to the Tabernacle (church) with my family, etc. It's a big deal! So already, I can tell that July is just going to be swell.

But June was pretty great too! Among the highlights, I graduated, went to California and settled in Michigan for the summer. Tomorrow I'll recap June a little more thoroughly, but today I just want to share one little bit of my California trip (since apparently I'm never going to get through all my pictures).

The natural beauty in CA was just gorgeous and this was one of my favorite spots in Yosemite. I know it's not a particularly creative shot but guys. It was impossible to take an ugly picture.

Even more than just the view, I love the story behind how these mountains came about--through rivers and glaciers freezing and melting over thousands of years. What a great reminder that good things really do take time. 

To download, just click through on the picture and save the full-size photo which is linked. Then set it as your desktop background!

Enjoy the wallpaper and the rest of your Tuesday!