Wednesday, November 24, 2021

concerning wanderlust, changes, gandalf, and an overdue hello

Hello there. It's been a bit. I have had longer hiatus' this is true, but this break seemed soooo verryyyy long.  I found myself craving to post all month long but having nothing at all to say. It was like trying to sing a song you don't remember the words to. It just gets frustrating after a while. This week I felt the lyrics coming back to me though, and I'm happy to be blogging again.

actual footage of me heading upstairs to write this post

However, upon opening my blog, I felt it looked... unfamiliar. 


It was so boring. And too "perfect". I want my blog to feel like me and to be a relaxed, creative space. While I do enjoy designing blogs and banners and choosing colors etc., I don't want this blog to feel like a brand and that's what the past design looked like to me. Like an ad for a cookbook or something. So, I changed some things. Added a banner that I made myself and changed the name. Nie is a nickname my little sister gave me. Pronounced n-eye. Doesn't make sense. Origin unknown and unexplained. But it's mine and I like that. 

I have a lot of reading to catch up on from Autumn Ink, Ink Castles, N'rae Bends, and my new favorite, everglow. I'm having serious fomo. Also, it is was the 9th year of Hamlette's Tolkien Blog Party! And I missed it. Again. I've missed it the past four years. 

me logging on to blogger and seeing all of the blog party posts flood my reading list

Autumn is just a busy season for me. Sometimes I'm in my closet making no noise and pretending I don't exist. Other times I'm getting my soul sucked out by a certification program I never wanted to attend. It just depends what's on the schedule.

Lately, I'm being plagued by an intense wanderlust. I say plagued because I am indeed stuck in one spot at the moment. I so dearly want to see the world. The thought of getting old and never having seen mountains or The Blue Lagoon, a different night sky, or waterfalls, or people without American accents is genuinely terrifying to me. I crave an adventure so badly. I want to hop on a plane right now and get dropped off in Iceland with no plans and no idea how to read a single sign. 



Down to Earth is a travel show that looks at different places around the world that value sustainable living, environmentally friendly living, and or holistic health and I am obsessed. The first episode is on Iceland. By the 10 minute mark I was packing up my house haha. The very fact that Iceland uses 0% fossil fuels and even directs the 3% of co2 and hydrogen sulfide they release when using the power of the volcanic steam back into the earth so it can solidify and not harm the environment alone makes me want to be a part of that community. Not to mention the terrain. The mountains. Aurora Borealis. The cold beaches. Even the colorful buildings in the towns. It's like a fairyland. 

places I want to go so far
- iceland
- new zealand
- dark sky island (isle of sark)

Some other things that have been on my mind are... 

brown sugar soy lattes, the lord of the rings (when isn't it), this bag I want, hair care & growing my hair out, living my dream, watching old Barbie vlogs (yes, the Barbie), and this song.  

- from Nie

Monday, August 30, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week two) + something you love about your main character(s)

 other posts in this event 

introduce yourself
three facts about your work in progress 
your writing space 

Heyyyyy, it’s About the Author August week two prompt no. 6! I am quite excited to write this one, as I’ve JuST FINALLY At LASt fOr OnCe for CERTAIN found something in my main character to grip my teeth into. I hated Ichabod before, like, yesterday. He was so useless yet I couldn’t get rid of him because he is so iconic. When I decided to start really working on this project again, I read through all of my old notes, my original plot and it was like I was reading off pages of swiss cheese. Holes everywhere, everywhere. Which actually excited me. If I can tell what’s wrong I can fix it but I find it so frustrating when I dig myself into those holes and can’t find a way out or around or under. A new perspective was exactly what I needed. Did I need a two year long new perspective? Probably not but it’s fine. Here’s what I love about Ichabod Crane.





I. he is a self proclaimed folklore expert

   in Sleepy Hollow, most know that magic-folk, fae, seelie & unseelie etc. used to exist, but have long since gone extinct. Some deny their existence at all. Ichabod believes they may still wander in safe havens or less populated places. He blames humans for butchering the chances of fae and man existing together and believes that the world could benefit from a touch of that old magic. However, he has no idea what he’s getting into when he comes to the hollow. 

II. he is okay with being different

  due to his beliefs, Ichabod is often laughed at. Often. He doesn’t let it phase him. Instead it inspires him.

III. he is kind

  not a jerk. I’m a little sick of the mean angsty main guy who the world just DOesN’t understand. 

IV. he carries a notebook everywhere

  it’s admirable. But also quite funny. I can’t imagine carrying one with me and ACTUALLY using it, but Mr. Crane does.

V. he sees beauty in everything 

  the world is far more wonderful to Ichabod. Nothing is only as it seems, so he studies people the same way he studies plants and wings and the weather. With care.

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

I’m still a bit unsure on everything that he is. But I definitely know some things that he is not. He is not… 

utterly gorgeous. I am so tired of attractive characters. Get lost. Go stare at yourself in the mirror all day then. 

a sixteen year old who acts like a twenty eight year old. I would like to read more stories about young adults and after thank you. A lot of popular books push the TEENAGE everything and everyone but they make adult choices and act like adults and have adult relationships?? and it confuses me.

the center of all romance in the book. Call me crazy but I don’t think a book has to center entirely on love or have the main character be the center of all love be it triangle, circle, or square (get it ha) for it to be good. 

a character who has a horrible terrible parental relationship. Ichabod loves his parents oh my gosh crazy right?

Hopefully I’ll crack the code of his character soon and give him a heavy emotional and fundamental attachment to the story. Characterization is a huge challenge for me but it’s quite fun when it goes well!

Next I’ll share my writing routine ✨ 

Thursday, August 26, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week two) + writing goals

 other posts in this event 

introduce yourself
three facts about your work in progress 
your writing space 
a snippet of your writing

At this point, I’m not even going to address if I’m late. Because it’s getting a bit redundant. I’ve proven to the world I’m not good with deadlines, everybody’s thinking it, I’m just saying it okay let’s move on.

p.s. hi Brooke thanks for following! 

It’s way past week two in About the Author August and today we’re discussing prompt no. 5: writing goals. Which if I’m honest is a foreign concept to me. I tend to work on my projects for hours and hours every day for six months and then not touch it for another six months. Such behavior is frowned upon in most writing societies because while it may be creatively effective it is not productive in the least and at that rate my book will be published when I’m 100 🧙‍♂️ So, today I’d like to establish some writing goals for myself.

Soooo, how do I do that? 

I used this video to help myself set goals. I love Kate’s channel. She is so productive it scares me. Goals scare me too. If I say I'm going to do something part of me doesn't want to do it anymore. Very counterproductive. 

1: NaNoWriMo

    could this be the year I finally participate in nanowrimo?? I have been “planning” on doing nanowrimo for maybe like 7 or 8 years (I know. I know. My procrastination skills are off the charts) but I would either remember late in December “oh yeah nanowrimo happened” or start and then trail off after a couple of days of writing. However, I’ve gotten much better at taking action and prioritizing things that make me happy or interest me this year. I also have a full draft of sleepy hollow at my disposal which would help a lot even if I don’t plan on the story remaining the same as the first draft. I could at least get words on a page. This won't be an official GOAL goal, since I'm hopefully going to be moving over the winter but I could at least set my own word count goal of 20,000. It's a thought. 

2. blogging

    one of my greatest joys so far this year has been blogging. It's very therapeutic for me. I would like to continue writing posts and be semi consistent with them. I don't want my blog to turn into one of those commercial flavored, ad speckled, robot mommy blogs. I want my posts to remain genuine. 

3. freelance classes

    this is exciting. I'm looking forward to learning all about freelancing. I have an online program that I'd like to complete before I begin my freelance journey. 

4. go writing in a cafe once a month

    this isn't necessary but I imagine it would be quite fun. I've never gone on a solo coffee trip to write but I hear it makes it feel like you're out at work so it stimulates progress. I would like to try to go once a month. Maybe I'll find it very productive or maybe I'll be so worried people are reading what I'm writing over my shoulder and judging my first draft that I'll stare at my computer and pretend to type we'll see. 

5. begin to build a writing portfolio

    this is a long term goal. Once I complete my freelance writing course I would like to build a portfolio of blog posts, articles, stories, copy writing etc. to show future employers.  

What are your writing goals? 

Friday, August 20, 2021

what just happened

 Remember when I was doing this event and I was posting throughout the week and I was enjoying my life? Me too. If I were to explain what the last week of my life was like this post would be illegally long and I would regret 90% of its content. It's far easier to show instead of tell. 

The Last Week and A Half of My Life

I wish this was a joke

me trying to deal with my neighbors constantly hate-texting me stuff that doesn't even make logical sense

me trying to talk to rental offices

me waking up at 4:30 am realizing I have to go to work

me when my sister's paycheck didn't come two weeks in a row

me taking a freezing cold shower because I ran out of propane

me driving to work

my idea of a home cooked meal right now

About The Author August will resume shortly as soon as I find my will to live again. 

Sunday, August 8, 2021

running wild in impractical outfits


This is an original tag created by Elizabeth @ Autumn Ink! I'm addicted to tags, they are currently the only reason I'm getting out of bed. So, when Elizabeth introduced me to this I was ecstatic. Using the list of locations, I'll be filling in the outfit I'd wear if there were no rules, no social standards, no concept of historical inaccuracy and no cops! (kidding. probably.) In addition to outrageous attire, I must bring along one different fictional/historical (my addition, I ran out of fictional characters haha) character to each new location. 

At the Beach



wearing: a mermaid tail. shells strung through my hair. not entirely out of the blue, but definitely impractical.
with: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. he'd probably believe I was an actual mermaid and then I'd be the source of a folktale. 

Car Wash

wearing: an astronaut suit. I'm afraid of car washes. 
with: Jules Verne.

University of Glasgow

wearing: a full suit of armor in the medieval studies class. 
with: professor Johnston from Timeline.

Abandoned Castle

wearing: very longgg flowy dres. 
with: Hamlet. he's cray cray. 

A Fictional Place of Your Choosing: Hobbiton

wearing: boots. a cape. dirty ranger clothing basically. 
with: Marian from BBC's Robin Hood

Picnic

wearing: fairy wings. 
with: Kylo Ren. who is also wearing fairy wings. 

Summer Road Trip

wearing: a romper + a cape. comfy but the cape spices things up and doubles as a blanket. 
with: the 11th doctor. that way it wouldn't be just an ordinary road trip. 

In the Woods



wearing: something made from leaves so I could blend in. 
with: Peter Pan.

Dancing in the Rain

wearing: a simple little dress.
with: all 12 of the princesses from Entwined. 

Paris

wearing: something super couture that models only wear on the runway. like outfit-art and I'd strut
with: the mad hatter. he's a stylish guy. 

In a cottage with a garden

wearing: a witchy outfit for sure. all greys and blues, layer on layer, scarves and handgloves. oh and I'd have whimsical makeup too. 
with: Morgana Le Fey.

Circus or Masquerade


wearing: a white and blue jester hat with bells like stars. 
with: Ariel from The Tempest. 

On the Moor 

wearing: Cathy's everything in Wuthering Heights (2009)
with: Heathcliff. pre meltdown. because he gets really scary after that. 

Bonus Question
It's the 20's (or some other era) and your husband's been mysteriously murdered. What's your outfit?

wearing: shoes that are four sizes too large, gloves, a hairnet, and a frock I'm planning on burning later that night. 
with: Sherlock Holmes. just for insurance. 


You can find the original post here with all the rules and info if you'd like to participate! Thanks, Elizabeth for such a fun tag! 

Saturday, August 7, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week one) + a snippet of your work in progress

 other posts in this event 
introduce yourself
three facts about your work in progress 
your writing space 

Prompt no. 4 in About the Author August is to share a snippet of my work in progress. That is easier said than done, because this story is one I decided to put my energy into plotting rather than writing. I tend to want to write scenes that I can see very vividly and I’ll work on those until they get to maybe 2nd draft level and then I realize I didn’t develop the actual story and I get overwhelmed and pick up a new project. So in order to avoid that unproductive cycle, I disciplined myself to plot instead. I actually really enjoyed it. Seeing the scenes connect and entwine was so fulfilling and exciting. I did write a few scenes here and there but they are outdated, scrambled, and very short. It took me a wwwhiilleee to choose which one to post. A lot of them had spoilers and that's just not allowed.

I finally settled on a scene I'm not sure will even be in the completed story but I think depicts the characters fairly well. At this point, Ichabod and Caitriona decide to lure the horseman to them in an effort to determine why he is haunting Sleepy Hollow. You also see Crispin's (the horseman's) obsession with Catriona. As far as quality writing goes, I'm not in love with the way this scene is written, it's fairly straightforward and blech but I like the happenings. I like the tension, the fact that Crispin gets to show an emotion other than rage, you see the protective side of Ichy (I legitimately refer to Ichabod as Ichy throughout my notes). Hopefully it's not too dreadful. 





🍁
the horseman comes to visit

Ichabod positioned the door so that the smallest sliver remained open. Inside the wardrobe, his breath and heartbeat were amplified. They absorbed into the dresses that draped over him and back onto his eardrums. 

Thump-thump. Thump-thump

His sword reflected moonlight onto the door in a strip that shivered with his trembling hands.

    "Can you see?" whispered Catriona. Though she hadn't yet lit the candle, she tip-toed across the room.  

    "Yes," Ichabod said, resting his brow on the cold wood and watching her billowing skirts as she unlatched the window. She pushed it open, letting in a crisp chill that could whip your spine into shape. She placed the stub of a candle on the sill, then halted. Ichabod shifted, his joints already complaining.

    "What is it?" he asked, squinting into the treeline outside. Catriona shook her head lightly, as if she were bothered by a fly. She lifted a match to the striker. Her hand shook so hard she couldn't place it. She tried again, smudging her palm with soot. Ichabod stepped from the wardrobe. Her brown eyes glittered like freshly polished wood under her furrowed brow.

    "I can't get it," she trembled, missing the box again. Ichabod draped his hand over hers. It folded like a flower closing up, but still it shook. She blinked at him as he lead her fingers to the striker and drew the match down. It spat sparks and ignited.

    "You can do this, Catriona," he said, their hands still holding the match. "You've faced him before, a dozen times. And you did it alone. Now, you have me and I reckon we make a pretty good team." Caitriona's jaw clenched and she drew a breath in that sucked the flame toward her. Though there was a smudge of that wild fear he'd seen in her that first night in the garden, it was shaded with something else. Determination. "Alright, Mr. Crane," she said, leading their hands towards the wick, "a team."

The flame licked to life and Ichabod retreated into the wardrobe. He re-positioned his hand on the hilt again and again trying to anticipate the best way to charge if need be. Catriona stood at the window with her hands stitched together, breathing slow, long breaths. They waited. Through the mist it was hard to see anything but the tops of the trees and the stars. Ichabod watched more and more wink to life. The candle's wax bubbled down the sides and dried on the sill. They must have been there for over an hour, but Ichabod did not dare speak and Catriona kept her eyes on the treeline. Ichabod rubbed his eyes. Perhaps he would not come. Perhaps he was too angry with Catriona for lying to him. If that were true, it would be best to meet Abraham in the barn where they could formulate a plan. Ichabod placed a hand on the wardrobe door to open it when the stoic, solid figure of the headless horseman strode into view.

Ichabod tore his hand away from the handle so fast he hit himself. The scent of cinnamon filled the room, thick and hazy. Crispin's uniform was in pristine condition down to the shine of his leather gloves. Medals polished, collar starched. Ichabod's eyes traced round the cravat that was pulled up instead of folded. All that shone was a heavy shadow but as the candle flickered he thought he saw the rough edge of torn skin in a sick shade of blue.

    "Catriona," said Crispin. His voice was softer than Ichabod had expected. It was not rasping and pained as he had imagined. It was full of… emotion. So much so that he could imagine an expression for each of his words. "You know the light offends me," the horseman finished.

    "Yes. But your darkness frightens me," answered Catriona. Ichabod was impressed by the steadiness of her voice as his own knees bobbed. She moved to pinch the flame.

       "Then I would have you leave it," said Crispin, grasping her hand to stop her from extinguishing it. Catriona stood still and the headless horseman cradled her hand in his, continuing to hold it. Ichabod felt his fingers pulse against the sword's hilt. Finally, Crispin released Catriona's hand. "You lied to me," he said, quietly.

    "I did," replied Catriona.
    
    "You tore my heart out and you flaunted it in my face with that… boy."

Catriona nearly turned her head towards the wardrobe but caught herself just in time. Instead, she looked to the floor. "I was afraid," she said. There was a long pause wherein Crispin stood still as stone. His chest did not rise or fall with breath. His body did not move with any life at all. 

    "... of me," he said finally. "I am sorry." He turned to leave, but Catriona caught his hand.

    "Wait!" He froze. "If you would only tell me what you are here for," she said, gripping his large glove. This was it. Ichabod strained his ears. "What it is you need to do, I could help you." Crispin teetered ever so slightly, as if on a precipice, towards Catriona and then to the woods. He could not have shown more confliction if he had had a face. He placed his other hand on Catriona's, cupping her wrist. Ichabod got closer.

    "No need, Catriona," said Crispin, and he let her hand fall. "I do not crave heaven, for I have already experienced it through you," and in three strides back he was enveloped by the mist. The sound of Goliath's hooves pounded in Ichabod's ears, mingling with his heartbeat. Catriona turned to Ichabod, eyes wide. 

    "He's given up," she said. Ichabod shoved the wardrobe door open. He shook his head.

    "No." There was an edge to the horseman's words as he had retreated. "He's let go of all need to be good," Ichabod said. 

Caitriona blew out the candle and clasped the window shut. "Then we must find my family," she said, "before he does." 

🍁🍂🍁🍂

Does anyone have some sort of guide they follow for how to properly write dialogue? Because I need that in my life. I feel like I'm always guessing at proper formatting. 

Monday I'll be opening up week two with my writing goals! 

p.s. I posted this after 12 am so YES okay? fineeee I was late two days in a row. shoot me sue me. 


Friday, August 6, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week one) + your writing space

 Other posts in this event
introduce yourself 
three facts about your work in progress 

me realizing I couldn’t write this yesterday

Did I post this on time? No. Was it because I didn’t pay the WiFi bill? Perhaps. It could also be argued that I did not post yesterday because I was DYING. I woke up at 4 am for work. I left the house at 4:30 AM FOR WORK. I waited for the truck to arrive for 2 HOURS AT WORK. ERGO, I woke up at 4 am for NOTHING. 

But we are not here to discuss my inability to function. We are here to discuss WRITING. It’s prompt no. 3 in About the Author August and I’ll be talking about my writing space.

I don’t have one.

Okay thanks for reading guys!

not my house. let’s just say my house is wayyy more shabby chic. a phrase which here means hideous.

In all seriousness, I don’t have a special writing space. It would be cool if I did though. I imagine a large window and a desk with a rollie chair and my notebooks around. In reality though, I write at my kitchen table. It’s where I do my blog posts and my creative writing as well even though I do have a desk in the living room. I mostly use that desk for work stuffs like my freelancing or my Etsy shop. Neither of which are in motion right now they exist in a special place in my mind (: 

It’s a little white table with two hard uncomfortable wooden chairs. The pain of sitting in them keeps me motivated. The sunshine comes in and brightens the whole kitchen. I also like the view out of the window. I can see the woods behind the cornfields and right now the corn is in that deep green stage where they look like some made up plant. I usually make some coffee or a cup of cinnamon apple tea and listen to music there as a write. What’s in your writing space?

Tomorrow, I’ll share a snippet of my writing!


Wednesday, August 4, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week one) + three facts about your work in progress

past posts in this event

It's post no. 2 in About The Author August! Get excited and welcome new follower, Elizabeth to the cult club! 

I'll be sharing three (okay more than three) facts about my work in progress, a sleepy hollow retelling. I'll set the mood with some pictures from my story board. One of my goals with this story is to have a good balance of the wild, beautiful, and pure & the dark, viscous, and gore. It tips very easily to either side because it's a beloved well known tale that has such dark elements. And I've taken the liberty of making it even darker. Like I feel like gagging sometimes reading my own scenes. I'll apologize to the future editor of this story now. Sorry. 

a candle in the window is significant as this is how a certain character accidentally hails The Headless Horseman. 

I aim for Sleepy Hollow to be lush, peaceful, and beautiful but burdened by the haunting of The Headless Horseman. 



there may be severed limbs and needles with thread involved.


there are more than one spirit frequenting Sleepy Hollow in my story. 



the horseman's steed is a Friesian stallion named Goliath. they're huge and terrifying and gorgeous.

cinnamon is prevalent in my book because The Headless Horseman uses it to cover the scent of his rotting flesh. i know. i'm ill.


If any of you are familiar with Irish folklore (I know for a fact two of my readers are), you may know of the Dullahan. An ancient spirit with no head who rides a black horse. He is traditionally male, but there are some versions in folklore with a female Dullahan (ummm career options ladies, just saying). He also has a whip made from a human spine. If he calls your name, you die. The original Headless Horseman was, I believe, derived from this mythological creature. Mine will also be heavily inspired by the Dullahan. At some point he acquires a whip from a horses spine. I considered giving him the name-saying power, but decided against it as I do not want him to be ALL powerful, just absolutely terrifying. 

I realized that I already covered my favorite genres to write in my introduction post. oops. So, tomorrow I will be skipping that prompt and jumping to my writing space! 

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

#abouttheauthoraugust (week one) + introduce yourself

I changed some things around my blog. I want it to evolve with me and I recently leveled up soooo obviously it has to too. I really like the new header, it's simple and pretty. The quote on it is from Peter Pan and it is one of my favorites. I think it defines my journey well. Also, I reverted the unknown back to draft because it was doing more harm than good for me at the moment. Sometimes goals inspire and sometimes they feel restrictive. I may reaffirm my intentions and repost it, who knows? 

Today, I stumbled upon THIS:


This is from Jameson Smith's blog, lovely whatsoevers. It consists of a series of questions about your current wip and writing journey. This is the 3rd year of About the Author August and you can participate on instagram or your blog. I have been searching for tags or blog parties to participate in, so I'm very excited for this one! Each week there are five prompts which can be done in any order or all at once. If you write, consider participating in her event!

Now, on with the show...


I'm Miranda. I've been writing stories since I was about 9 years old. The earliest tale I can remember starting was about an elf prince who was searching for a MaGiCAl necklace. Then I ditched that one to hand-write a book about a semi-celtic island infested with strange grey beasts. There was a lot of blood and these old people who sat on mushrooms. But don't worry, I think my writing has improved over the years. 

I hope to start working as a freelance writer within the next two years, that would be a little dream of mine come true. I've also had a goal to blog more often in order to improve my writing skill to prepare for that and to help me with my creative writing as well. 

I like writing because it helps me to get my point across as well as humanly possibly as I can edit and edit and edit and edit until my thoughts make sense. I like creative writing because I can express myself with no limits, expectations, or guidelines and I have the opportunity to create a story with the messages and storyline I would like to read. In short, writing helps me express myself and to keep dreaming. 

Most of my writing projects are in the genre of fantasy or historical fiction but I have started writing a sci-fi short story before as well. I have three main stories I go back and forth between currently, though if I'm being HONEST, I haven't written in a hot minute. Like a really hot minute, super spicy. 

First, Before I Go Mad, my pirate story about a girl who is taken in (adopted by? did that exist back then?) a family with a history of pirate-hunting. She finds herself tangled in a war for the fabled Florin's fan, a map to a treasure with severe consequences. You can read a snippet here

Second, an unnamed story. In the ages after the djinn are extinct, The Sandman rules over the desert. He subdues and controls the population by imprisoning them in his palace where he puts them to sleep. They lay safely on the thousands of beds until their family can petition for their awakening. Seen as a bringer of mercy and peace to the people, The Sandman also offers to put to sleep those who are nearing death from illness or old age. They are preserved, forever living only in dreams. Saskia's brother Taj was taken to The Sandman's palace when he was a child so that he could be saved from a deadly fever. When her family's petitions for his awakening go ignored, she sets out on a journey to find the last djinni to save her brother's life. 

Annnd finally, my sleepy hollow retelling which is also currently unnamed. I won't describe this one here because it will be the subject of the next few weeks worth of posts! 

Tomorrow, I'll share three facts about my work in progress 🎉

Monday, August 2, 2021

lately I've been loving

 I’ve never done a post like this, but I love reading them. I'll take any opportunity to use something other than just words to describe my current mood. I do adore writing, but I can never seem to say EXACTLY what I mean. You know? 

Also, shout out to my new follower, McKayla. Welcome, welcome there's still time to escape. 

Enchanted 



Edward is such a charmer.


Nancy's storyline is beautiful. 

This is on my list of favorite movies. It’s not a very long list, mind you, it’s PRETTY exclusive. This movie always makes me happy and it is deep enough to make me think about my life too, which all great movies should. The messages: dreams do come true. never stop trying to make your life a fairytale, never settle. always honor your emotions. face real-life problems head on. It GENUINELY helps me to remember to DREAM BIG and be myself. 

Monk fruit sweetened coffee

Sugar makes me feel like I have cancer. So I’ve been drinking these sugar free plant based coffees and they are delicioussss. 

Little trips

My sisters and I have taken several little trips to the park, to grandma's (where we promptly ate her food, used her shower, and broke her laundry machine. true story.) and to the bookstore because why not? It's nice to get a change of scenery. 

Long flowing hair

Do I have it anymore? No. Am I bitter about it? Maybe. But I do have a new goal to grow my hair out and to keep it healthy this time so I don’t feel the need to cut it again. I have this thing about hair… I hate it. Hate how it feels, hate how it gets tangled, hate brushing it ehghhfkiheski it’s disgusting but so pretty what do I do. 

Falling by Emmy Rossum, Bridges by Broods & Someday from Thumbelina

All whimsical songs that make me feel like I’m somewhere special and free.

Going makeup-free

Mostly because I’ve started a new job and I can’t be bothered right now. But I forgot how nice it feels to wake up and not worry about makeup, to touch my face throughout the day, and to come home and splash water on my face without sitting there scrubbing every single eyelash. I still wear makeup but I think I'd like to do it less often.  

Being kinder to myself/ self reflection


This is difficult for me. I have a habit of being hard on myself, what can I say? But someone told me my feelings matter and I haven't been able to forget about that since. So, lately I've been testing that theory out. What would happen if I valued myself more? If I listened to myself more? If I cherished myself more? So far, only good things.

Giving my worries to God


Also hard for me. But so very rewarding when I can manage it. Thank you, God. 

Pumpkin

She’s my three footed cat and I adore her. She curls up very close to me every night, rolled in a swirl like a cinnamon bun. 

Lasagna

Kinda nasty but really good at the same time. Sometimes I just love food that makes me feel like my mom made me dinner again. Like soup or toast. Those mom-ish foods. 

Green Renaissance

Beautiful videos. Just stunning. My sister showed me this channel, and I instantly thought, "why do I watch anything but these?". They talk of life, love, loss, and they give you a new perspective which can be very hard to come by. 

Feminine energy


I've been getting in touch with it more. Realizing it has a great amount of value. More on this later. 

My journal key necklace

I have this fancy purple journal that has a gold heart lock and key that keeps all of the (blank) pages secret. I never use it because I don't like journaling. Sooooooo I strung the key for it on a necklace so I could live my childhood dream of being "that girl who has her secret journal key around her neck because her secrets are so secret." I just have to add the secrets.

Those are all the things I've been loving. What have you been doing, feeling, thinking, or NOT thinking? Do share.