Positive Thinking

There are just days that really suck. Today was one of them. Waking up early for a current program, dealing with one of the rudest people I've ever encountered, cancelled flights (for attendees, not me), etc. etc.

I had my internal moments of freaking out and nearly coming to tears, but pushed those aside when thinking of the big picture. That rude guy has got to live a really sad life to treat people like that. The cancelled flights were accommodated and they were very happy for our help.

And then, I blast music to make me feel better. The song "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" by Travis Tritt is one of my favorite pick-me-up songs. Yes, it's a pretty damn hokey country song. But ya know, sometimes the situation calls for it. The heart of the message is what I really love - it truly is a great day to be alive, so just push the other crap aside and enjoy it!

Now you can enjoy the song courtesy of this here YouTube embed:

Yes, It's True

It's true, I'm expecting...




...to fully love and continue buying Wine Cubes from Target! See what I did there? Tricked ya!

So I went to Target on Saturday to run the "normal" errands, and as Target tends to do, it sucked me into buying some things that weren't on my original list. Wine was one of them, and I decided to take a chance on the Wine Cube after hearing some decent reviews. I was delightfully pleased. I mean, hello, it comes from a spigot, so service is easy. Almost too easy, one could say...but that is one who is not me. Verdict: mmm, mmm, good!

Also on my Target list (actually on the list, for reals) was a swing through the accessories section to find a new pair of sunglasses. Whilst walking through, I spied these bracelets. WTF, these are like the bracelets I would crank out every summer growing up for me and my friends. I would then wear them until they were practically crumbling off of my wrist or ankle. And now Target is selling them as jewelry?!? I need to exploit this market and my bracelet-making talents and make some ca$h money!

This is weird, right? 

Please leave your orders in the comments section. :)

Fashions at the 2012 Oscars

The Oscars always provide a fun moment in the year for fashion. Now, let's get this straight, I'm definitely not a fashionista in any sense of the word (a vast majority of my wardrobe comes from Old Navy). However, I do enjoy seeing what the ladies decide to wear for "Hollywood's Super Bowl" (let's be honest, the guys have it way too easy, so I don't really count them).

Here are some of my favorites from this year:

Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen

I thought Jessica looked absolutely stunning! Great half-up hairdo and the embellishment on the dress is fantastic. 

Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli

I know some "fashiony" people were knocking her choice, but I really like it. It was reminiscent of the dress Nicole Kidman wore a few years back, but softer. The bow could've been a bit smaller, imo, but a beautiful dress. 

Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford

Simple, but elegant. And I loved the look even more when she took off the cape to later present an award. 

Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton

I love most of what Michelle Williams chooses to wear, and this was no different. She was on-trend with the peplum as well.

Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji

I thought Octavia did a great job with her choice. It fit her body perfectly and flattered her in all the right ways. 

And now for the WTF?!? moments:

Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace

I thought the dress was beautiful, but that damn leg pose just ruined it for me. Why the leg, Ange?!?

Stacy Keibler in Marchesa

Without the chunk of fabric on her right hip, I really think this could've been a winner. But alas...

Rooney Mara in Givenchy

 Her posture is atrocious, and I thought the fit was also poor. Seeing her during interviews was also bad...she just doesn't seem interested in being anywhere or talking to anyone. 

Shailene Woodley in Valentino

This dress is more suited for Carol Brady...aka in the late 60s. Just an odd choice for such a young actress. 

Little Ol' Me

Remember back in this post when I said I had also found some wonderful pictures of me? Well, friends, the time has come to share these gems with you. Enjoy!

Enjoying some Easter treats.

Catching fireflies in a jar. My eyes look crazy blue!

Young intellectual version of me.

Young intellectual, version 2

Apparently I used to have a "thing" with wanting to wear  coats meant for adults.

Red from head to toe...err, ankle.

Christmas with the cousins. I'm the cute one in the red dress in the back. 

And here's where we enter the awkward middle school years. Yeah, that's a skort, what of it... 

Obviously, there are soooooooo many more youth pictures of me, but these are just the few I unearthed at Grandma's house. Lordy, lordy...

Floral Stylings

I received a lovely bouquet of flowers from Jordan for Valentine's Day. However, a week later, they were starting to look just a little sad in their vase. 

So I decided to take a vintage "depression glass" type thing I got from my Grandma a few years back (that I've never used) and create something new. Isn't this a cute container?

My Grandma was also a florist back in the day, so I feel this project would have made her very proud. However, it made my kitchen a bit of a mess, but worth it for something fresh!

And here's the finished product! I love looking at it now and remembering my Grandma and my sweet boyfriend.

Oh. Em. Gee. (aka, I read The Hunger Games)

I think the this post's title says it all. I blew through The Hunger Games this past weekend, reading nearly all of the book on Sunday. It has been so long since a book has pulled me in and made it so I couldn't put the book down. Page after page, I just kept wanting more. Immediately after finishing, I put the second book in the series on hold from the library (yes, I use the Denver Public Library to its fullest, almost like my own free version of Netflix).

I can hardly even summarize my thoughts on the book beyond: IT WAS AMAZING! Read my friend Kelly's post from when she had read the book. WARNING: spoilers ahead!

What you can take away from this post: if you have yet to read The Hunger Games, immediately stop what you are doing, go get the book from the library (or purchase it, if you're into those sorts of things), and read it NOW! Stacey's orders...and let me know what you think!

P.S. The movie comes out on March 23!!!

Dreaming...

Maybe it's the weather today or maybe it's because I haven't taken a "true" vacation in awhile, but I've recently been daydreaming about places that I really, really want to visit. Be it places I've already been or the ones that have been but a dream, they are constantly in my daydream thoughts. Here are a few that are on my travel to-do list in the near future (aka, before I die):

Paris

Source: studentsoftheworld.info via Stacey on Pinterest

Copenhagen

Source: epundit.com via Stacey on Pinterest

New England during fall color season

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

London

Source: fromeuropewithlove.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Greece

Source: awesomespaces.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Grand Canyon

Source: Flickr via Stacey on Pinterest

Bora Bora (or anywhere tropical, really)

Source: etravelblog.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Places I've already visited, but would go back to time and time again...

Napa Valley

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Chicago

Source: Flickr via Stacey on Pinterest

San Francisco

Source: Google Image Search via Stacey on Pinterest

Just Journalin'

As with most great things I come across these days, I was on Pinterest recently and saw a pin for a really cool product. It was the Q&A A Day 5 Year Journal, and after some price comparison between a few stores, I promptly purchased one for me and one for my sister on Amazon. Due to signing up for the Amazon Prime free month-long trial, I got the journals (and Season One of My Boys - seriously, one of the funniest shows ever!) just a day later - gotta love fast shipping!

I've never been much of a journal person, but the daily prompts make it very easy to get the thoughts free flowing. However, the thoughts can only flow for four lines - five years worth of answers do have to fit on one page! Some of the thoughtful questions that I've seen while paging through are "What is your mission?" (January 1), "Who loves you today?" (May 13), "Water, ice, or steam?" (July 1), "What famous person would you want to meet for drinks?" (October 18 - my birthday!), and "What is your dream vacation?" (December 20). Really, all of the questions are great because they are things that I probably wouldn't have thought of personally to get the writing process started.

I'm only just 11 days into this five year journal journey, but I am really enjoying it so far! I really can't wait to reflect on the journal as a whole at the end of 2016...holy crap, just typing that number is scary/crazy!

365 questions - 5 years - 1,825 answers*

*This is actually a tad incorrect. There is a page for February 29 (Leap Day), and since I'll hit two leap years throughout my five years, I'll technically be: 366 questions - 5 years - 1,827 answers!

Remembering...

One month ago today, I lost one of the people closest to me. My beloved maternal grandma passed away on December 3rd. She had been having a few health issues lately and had been in a nursing home since early Fall, but the news still hit me like a ton of bricks. She's not the first grandparent of mine to pass away (I have only one grandma left), but it's news that's never easy to take. With the passing of Grandpa E. and Grandpa W., and then just now with Grandma W., I can vividly remember all details of how I learned the news. Where I was standing, how the words were conveyed to me by my Mom, how I crumpled into tears each time. I was lucky enough to spend a little time with her before Thanksgiving, and I look back and am so grateful for that last moment to say hello to her, to hold her hand, to see her smirk and to let her know I loved her with my (now last) goodbye.

I've been dealing with thoughts about "why her? why our family? why now?" And I feel incredibly selfish to think these things because some people don't live 79 days or weeks or months, let alone 79 years. But I think it's only human nature (right?) to feel this during a loss. I tear up thinking that I'll never get to eat her cooking again, never hear her trademark laugh or see her beautiful smile, never get to ask her questions about her childhood (something that's recently fascinated me), never see her wearing one of her signature sweatshirt jackets, never watch her fill her giant brandy snifter full of Oreos to take to a family reunion (it was her signature "dish"). However, knowing that she's back with Grandpa now, as she's wanted to be ever since he passed, does bring some peace. Some of us in the family even joked that they were probably up in heaven bickering with each other like they always used to!

Writing about this has been incredibly cathartic. One of the other things that has been helpful during the grieving process have been the photographs discovered while gathering things for the wake and during the general cleaning process. Most of the pictures I saw in photo albums were ones that I never even knew existed. I found myself drawn to the ones of Grandma (and Grandpa) in their youth. I've, obviously, only known them as grandparents, but it was so wonderful to see them in the height of their youth. I obsessively poured over the albums and selected a handful to scan and save for remembrance. Here are a few of my favorites:

Grandma and 3 of her siblings. She's the adorable blond with curls on the left.

Grandma, the basketball star. Never knew about this talent. I also see so much of my Mom in this picture.

Grandma in 1950, at the age of 18.

Beautiful headshot of Grandma. I love her umbrella shirt.

Grandpa and Grandma on their wedding day. They got married on a Tuesday at 8:00 in the morning. Apparently that was how it was done back in the day.

Formal bridal shot. So beautiful.

In her element at the flower shop she owned with one of her sisters.

More recent picture of Grandma rockin' her ultimate signature sweatshirt jacket - the piano/music one!

Bonus pic: Grandpa and some of his Army buddies. I don't know if this was on his base in the US or over in Korea.

I love you, Grandma. I'll miss you forever...and I'm eating an Oreo for you! :)

P.S. During the photo browsing, I found some gems of me. Those will be shared at another time!

Stationary card

Wow, I didn't realize it's been a whole month since I've blogged about anything. Sorry to my few readers...if you're still out there!

It's a little past the Christmas holiday, but I thought I'd share with you all the lovely card I put together to send out to my friends and family. Due to a code for 25 free cards I got in a drawing on Kelly's blog, I used Shutterfly to maximize my money and card output! THANKS KELLY!

This was the Poinsettia Print Holiday Card. I'm sure most people take the opportunity with photo cards to show off their family, pets, etc. Since it's just me, and I felt it would be super creepy to have a solo shot, I opted for a nice black and white photo of the Denver City and County Building all lit up for the holidays.

I think it turned out quite nicely! With the great results, I'll probably use Shutterfly again for next year's cards. Nothing like planning ahead!