a love affair with paper

I've Got a New Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 23:24:00 +0000

Well friends, I finally did it. I made the move to WordPress, after talking about doing it for over a year now. I hope you'll come with me to the new A Love Affair With Paper. My first post is up - & I can't wait wait for you to join me. And don't forget to change your RSS feed/blog reader.

See you at the new blog!

Hello July

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 01:33:00 +0000

Hi friends. So it's been a bit since I last posted. I've been super busy with my day job & then coming home to work on my side hustle. Exciting news on that front - I just signed on a third client a week and half ago! Slowly but surely, I'm making my dream of becoming self-employed a reality. Maybe not as fast as I want. I had several really close calls with thinking I was going to be able to give my two weeks notice & then the opportunities fell through at the last minute. But, that just means that something better is on the way, right?

So this month is all about moving forward while staying positive. I also realize that I've only been at this for 3 months, which is really a short amount of time when you think about it. People work years in The After Five Club. I'm grateful for being on the cusp of leaving my job. So if you know of anyone who needs a rock star virtual assistant, send them my way. Some of my skills include: writing blog posts/other documents, social media management, and brand building.

I have more exciting news to share. I have a WordPress site almost all ready to go. I just have to tweak a few things & then I'll be ready to go live. I was fortunate to connect with Crissy, the founder/creator/superstar of Indie Biz Chicks.com and she completely set me up for a blog makeover. Many many thanks to her.

July you are on notice - I'm kicking ass & taking names (I'm not even sure what that means but I like it).

Time Flies as You Get Older & Handmade Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 00:07:00 +0000

5 more months left to the year...that doesn't even seem possible. I read an explanation for why time passes more quickly as an adult than when you're a child and I can't remember the specifics exactly, but it had to do with memories. When you're young, you experience all these first-time events (first kiss, first job, first child) which make lasting impressions. As we get older, we repeat these events & so the memories become less unique and less memorable.

Speaking of getting older...Monday, July 1st is my 37th birthday. Thank goodness I've been recently told I looked in my late 20s. Lol. We're celebrating by going to Ikea. I've never been before even though it's been here for 6 years now. So to say I'm excited would be an understatement. July is always a good month, birthday aside. My 3rd year blogiversary is on the 7th and M & I are coming up on our 11th Anniversary. So there's a lot of celebrating going on in the Nelson household.

Also wanted to share two of my most recent handmade cards. One for Father's Day & one for a friend who recently graduated from grad school.

I think I've said this before, but I have a hard
time making cards for the men in my life. Even
though this was simple, it took me a long time
because I had trouble picking out male
appropriate colors.

I dipped a paintbrush in my mist bottle (instead of
spraying it) & painted it on. Then I used an embossing
pen to write out both sentiments & added different
embossing powders.

This is the graduation card. I used my go-to craft
supply of choice - washi. Also, Heidi Swapp banners,
a cute Studio Calico wood veneer, which I colored pink
& a stamp.

I misted over some chipboard alpha stickers just
on the bottom portion of the card.

Have a wonderful weekend friends & thanks as always for reading.

Creative Project: Altered Journal Journal Round Robin 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 00:40:00 +0000

I wanted to share the latest spreads I made for the altered journal round robin. We're on the last round now so there will only be one more update after this.

1st spread.

Have to admit that I wasn't feeling this & I'm still
not. The washi tape background was supposed to
be something else that didn't work out.

I like this side much better but I wish
that the other side wasn't so colorful and busy.

2nd spread. I used this Color Shine mist & a Studio
Calico mask for the background.

Then I added a quote card, washi &
chipboard embellishments.

This weekend we'll be celebrating Father's Day by taking my Dad out for breakfast because we were busy last weekend with a work event for M. And hopefully going to see either Star Trek or Man of Steel too. What are your plans?

Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:30:00 +0000

Around here lately:

Having visitors. M's Uncle Jake stayed with us last week. He makes an annual motorcycle trip across the country & we've been lucky enough to have him visit 3 times so far.

And this guy. We think he lives right by our garage. He was sunbathing when we pulled up to our house & he was kind enough to stay still so I could take pics. But as soon as I opened my car door to get a little closer, he took off.

Getting back into my office this week to create. Working on altered journal spreads for the round robin I'm participating in.

Playing with mists and masks for this altered journal spread. And making cards in the pic below.

Receiving my first Quarterly Co. box from No More Dirty Looks. This service is pretty cool. You can pick from a wide variety of contributors like Chris Guillebeau to Pharrell Williams and once a quarter the company sends you physical items that the contributor picked out.

So one of the items in my package was this RGB nail polish, called Too Red. At first, I was a
little hesitant. I do not wear bright colors. I'm a dark polish girl & anything that starts with too and ends with a bright color makes me cringe. But I thought a change was in order, so here it is. I'm still adjusting. You can't tell in this pic but it's a tomato-y red. And did I mention that it's really bright?

What have you been up too these days?

Creative Project: Altered Journal Round Robin 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 29 May 2013 23:56:00 +0000

Here are the latest 2 spreads I completed for my altered journal round robin. Hard to believe that we only have 2 more rounds left. And harder to believe yet, is that we're almost to the halfway point of the year.

I've rediscovered my love of washi tape. These
spreads are very simple.

I used washi, mists, acrylic paint, patterned paper,
a sticker & some chipboard embellishments

For this spread I used washi, mists, water colors, die cuts,
chipboard embellishments, stickers & the cutest
min wooden birds ever.

I'm not usually a fan of pink, but something about
the color screams spring & summer to me. And
I just felt drawn to use it.

Any weekend plans? M's Uncle will be visiting. He rides his motorcycle across the U.S. & we're his first stop on this year's journey. So we're looking forward to eating good food, having a belated birthday celebration for M with my family & of course relaxing. Have a wonderful weekend & thanks for stopping by.

Handmade Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:50:00 +0000

Just wanted to pop in and share two cards I made. One for Mother's Day & the other for M's birthday.

Used 2 different washi tapes for the strips. The
x's, o's & hearts are a roller stamp.

Used a pencil eraser for the yellow dots & made
the teal color from mixing acrylic paints.

Used some Mr. Huey mist in the background,
washi tape and stickers.

We celebrated M's 37th this past weekend by watching movies & eating good food. The Nelson's roll like that ;) The movies of note were Life of Pi, Cloud Atlas and Upstream Color. Upstream Color was really really good. It's classified as science fiction but if that's not your thing, trust me, it's more of a very unique, beautiful, yet slightly disturbing love story. Be forewarned if you are an animal lover that there are a few tough scenes.

Have any good movie recommendations to share?

Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:18:00 +0000

Taken in our driveway this morning on my
way to work

Around here lately:

Trying to find a sense of balance between my day job & my virtual assistant business. Not sure that balance even exists. At least not in my world. But that doesn't meant I know what else to call it or that I don't strive for some shape or form of it.
Wanting to create more but choosing shadow comforts instead (credit to Jen Louden for that term). Speaking of which, here's a card I made for my parent's 40th anniversary that I never shared:

Looking forward to seeing Sheryl WuDunn & America Ferrera tomorrow night. Even better, going with a good friend & getting to catch up.
Loving my boys

Do you believe balance can be achieved?

Creative Project: Altered Journal Round Robin 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:39:00 +0000

Today, I wanted to share my most recent altered journal spreads for the round robin I'm participating in.

1st spread

I used enamel dots, washi, Mister Huey's mists,
stickers, a Heidi Swapp tag sprayed with
her color shine & some patterned paper

For this page, I used 2 different patterned papers,
washi, some stickers and a die cut

2nd spread

This one used washi, paper, a Heidi Swapp
tag, several chip board stickers and a die cut

More patterned paper, the same washi I
used above, a Heidi Swapp frame misted with
her color shine & a bunch of die cuts & tags
layered over one another

What projects are you working on?

Creative Project: Project Life 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:10:00 +0000

For those of you who have been following my blog for a bit, you know that I participated in Project Life last year & that it was my first time. I became hooked and really LOVE this project. Though the time commitment is not for the faint of heart. This year I've decided to change quite a few things I did in the past in order to make it more manageable for me.

First, I've switched up the size of the album I'm using from a 12x12 format to a Studio Calico Handbook, which is 8.75x9.75. I find this smaller style to be much easier & preferable. Second, I've let go of the weekly format to documenting monthly instead. More than I'd like to admit, I found myself adding pics or ephemera for the sake of it in order to fill the slots. Going by month, means I'm only adding the stories that truly mean something.

Here are my 2013 title page and January's title page. I'm a little behind this year already, and with my new business venture (which you can read about here), I'm finding less time for creating. But that's a post for a different day. I am still enthusiastic about Project Life & am collecting my stories & ephemera diligently. I think that the new changes I'm implementing this year will really help out with playing catch-up.

Title page

January title page - that pic is
from a post card I received with my
annual OLW egg purchase.

Used gold embossing powder on the
bottom stamp

This is the album. I'm not sure how I'm going
to embellish it. I was thinking of using
chalkboard spray paint for cover.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Project: One Little Word 2013 - Jan Prompt

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:24:00 +0000

I am participating in Ali Edward's One Little Word class again this year. You can read about the word I chose for 2013 here.

For January's assignment we were asked to set 12 intentions & 12 corresponding actions to establish what we'd like to invite into our lives this year. Ali divided her 12 intentions and actions out by month, but I couldn't wrap my head around that idea, so I just numbered mine. I mean how could I possibly know what any given month would hold for me or what I would want to focus on? And even though she said not to get caught up on which month is which or be strategic about it, I couldn't get past the monthly labels, hence the numbers. We also included a title card along with a photo of ourselves and 4 "art" cards.

Here are my spreads:

Kept it simple with a mix of stickers, journaling and stamps.

I used gold embossing powder on
that Make stamp. Also ran out of the # 1
stickers so had to improvise using other stickers.

Anyone else pick a word for the year? What are you currently working on?

Welcome April & my 2013 One Little Word

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:16:00 +0000

Hello April. 2013 is flying by and I can't help but want time to slow down a little. I mean wasn't it just New Year's day like a week ago? I think that I also feel this way because it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I felt myself come out of hibernation. I typically look towards a new year with anticipation & excitement at starting over and this year was no different but that initial enthusiasm died rather quickly. And then I pulled my back in late January and I've been out of commission now for a little over 2 months. So April is really my New Year and my clean slate.

But as I said, I snapped out of my funk/rut a bit ago & exciting things are happening. Which leads me to my one little word for this year: SHINE. I chose this word because I'm tired of hiding behind fear, procrastination & excuses. Because I may be an introvert but that doesn't mean I can't stand out. Because I want to make things happen and share my victories. So SHINE seemed appropriate.

And per my usual tradition, I got my egg. And instead of writing a manifesto and then having my friend Caiti design it, I chose to just purchase her personalized graphic print of my word.

Check out Caiti's Etsy shop here

Finally, the new thing I added are these awesome customized flair buttons from Ormolu.

I plan on using these in my creative projects

Lastly, I want to share one of the exciting things that I alluded to above. A couple weeks ago after a particularly difficult day at work, I decided enough is enough and declared to M that I was starting a virtual assistant business. As of today, I have 2 clients, one of which offered me a job this morning! The first client is WhimseyBox and I'll be helping them build into a kick-ass resource for DIY and craft lovers. I'll share the second client after I get permission. So my plan is to transition from my traditional 9-5 and into this full-time. I am beyond thrilled about this new venture. And yes, I am still planning on starting a business for paper lovers.

Please share your 2013 one little word

and/or your manifesto. Or any big goals.

Creative Project: Altered Journal Round Robin 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:27:00 +0000

This past Sunday, I went into my office for the first time in probably 2 months, to work on an altered journal for another round robin. And it felt so good to be back creating. Even if I did pay for it afterwards with major back pain - it was completely worth it.

So today, I wanted to share the spreads I created in the first journal I received & share a little about this year's round robin. The participants are Mary, Janet & Andria. We agreed to to create 2 full page spreads in each journal, twice around, beginning with our own. Unfortunately, I was not able to
make my spreads so I had to send it on and will do them when I receive my journal.

I used paper, washi tape, chipboard stickers and regular
stickers for this

For this spread I used paper, a little gesso & blue
watercolor wash, along with more washi, stickers
& mini banners. I also used a cool
Ormolu barcode stamp
that says hand made

Thanks for stopping by.

Grateful For

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:34:00 +0000

Just wanted to share this
Origami towel swan at M's hotel in Denver

My last blog post was a little of a downer so today, I wanted to be more upbeat by sharing a list of what I'm grateful for. Also thank you so much for your comments, emails & texts regarding my back. I can't say it enough how much I appreciate & love hearing from you all.

Currently GRATEFUL for:

Physical therapy
Having M back home after his week-long business trip
Massages
Discovering new local shops
Friends who help connect you with like-minded peeps
Friends who offer advice & then hook you up with resources
Potential collaborations & current collaborations
Skype chats to brainstorm & catch up
My first iPhone (the iPhone 5 camera is incredible)
Returning motivation

Tell me what are you currently grateful for?

Life on Hold

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:50:00 +0000

This picture has nothing to do with the post but
it was too damn cute not to share.

Two acupuncture sessions, one doctor's visit & 4 1/2 weeks later, my back is still pulled & I'm still in pain. So the next step is physical therapy. The good news is that it doesn't appear to be a spinal problem or pinched nerve. However, my doctor is concerned as to why I'm not healing. The bad news is my life has been put on hold, as my mobility has been severely limited/decreased. As in my days consist of going to work & then coming home to lay on the floor & then on the weekends just laying on the floor. Definitely no fun. And don't even get me started on work & how I had to postpone the starting date of my new job by a week & how much it hurts to sit or stand for too long at work.

This past weekend, enough was enough. I managed to venture out for some retail therapy but paid dearly as I ~~walked~~ hobbled around a very crowded place (with no convenient parking) in the freezing cold. But I greatly increased my crafting stash. There is a reason it's called retail therapy.

But back to life on hold. Since I've been reduced to laying immobile on the floor there has been:

No Project Life
No One Little Word
No exercising
No altered journal round robin
No handmade cards - sorry everyone who would have gotten V-Day cards
No blogging - because I have nothing to share (see all the above bullet points)
And NO creating of any sort

It's frustrating & kinda pathetic. And I'm increasingly getting stressed by all the creative projects I have to catch up on (first world problems), which is really silly because these are supposed to be things I do for enjoyment & relaxation. My friend Caiti wrote a great post about this & I think that I need to re-evaluate & re-prioritize my creative endeavors. I have this nasty habit of over-committing on projects or getting really excited only to watch my enthusiasm fade away relatively quickly.

Sorry for the complaining. I know that there are way more worse things than a pulled back. But this is my life & this is my reality at the moment & it sucks. Thank goodness for my incredible husband who has been diligently taking care of me & tending to my every need. I'm one lucky lady.

Have a great weekend my friends & thanks for listening to me.

Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Around here lately:

I started my new job this week. First item of business -
reading contracts. Not the most glamorous BUT
already a 100% improvement over my previous job

My back is still pulled so this heating
pad & these cushions have
been my life-savers

I joined my good friend Woz on her site as her "sassy
sidekick/creative director" extraordinarie (the last word is
mine not hers). Come check us out here if
you're looking for inspiration & creative endeavors galore.

Fixing up the sidebar to my blog
on recommendation from Diane's
Monetize Your Blog Class. I added
social media buttons & a categories
section. Also removed a bunch of stuff.
Still on my to-do list - move to WordPress.

What is your around here looking like?

New Years Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:05:00 +0000

I have been M.I.A from this spot because I threw my back out. It's been nothing but laying on the floor with a heating pad and moving only when absolutely necessary. M has been absolutely amazing - taking care of me & everything around here (nothing new about that actually). And thank goodness for The West Wing streaming on Netflix.

Today, I wanted to share the New Years cards I made. If you didn't get one from me, no worries, I'll be sending out Valentine's Day cards ;) While, I'm not officially participating in 52 weeks of mail this year, I will be making a concerted effort to send a few cards out monthly.

Have a great rest of the week & enjoy your weekend!

Creative Project: December Daily Album 2012 - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:06:00 +0000

This is the last post closing out my 2012 projects - I promise! Today I am sharing the second half of my December Daily Album. So happy & relieved to be done with all these unfinished projects. And ready to tackle all the new ones: Project Life, One Little Word & a new altered journal round robin.

Here is the second part of the album:

Gifts from M's Dad family

My last day of work

Homemade cookie from a co-worker

Some X-mas cards we received

Fun New Years stamps

Getting ready for the new year by doing some
soul-searching

X-mas movies

My parent's decorations & food

A snow storm

Trip to the grocery store

A handmade card from a friend

Wrapping presents

Corn chowder for X-mas Eve dinner

Dec 25th - dinner with family

Thanks again for stopping by!

Creative Project: Project Life Weeks 42-52

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 02:17:00 +0000

And now to close out 2012's Project Life. Whew! I have to be honest, I had kept up to date with it until the very last week. With the holidays & my unemployment (guess what I'll be back to working on the 28th! 2013 = new career & I couldn't be more excited!) which was really just a very extended vacation, I lost motivation. I found that when I have all the time in the world, I push everything off til the proverbial next day, because there's no sense of urgency. So week 52 wasn't completed until this past Monday.

As for this year - I'm looking forward to starting it again & can't wait to share my thoughts & process & what I'm doing completely different this time around.

Here are weeks 42-52 & the end page:

What do you do to get motivated?

Creative Project: One Little Word (Dec)

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:54:00 +0000

Today I wanted to share this past December's One Little Word creative prompt/assignment (for Ali Edwards One Little Word 2012 class). I have signed up for this class again this year & will be doing a post soon to share my new word & January's prompt.

For December, we were invited to reflect back over our experience with our word (mine was possibility) & then to wrap up the year by writing down our feelings & facts - to basically debrief & to create closure.

Here is my completed worksheet:

By the time December rolled around, I was more than ready to say goodbye to my word & to 2012.

What are you saying goodbye to?

Creative Project: December Daily Album 2012 - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:46:00 +0000

Around mid-December, I shared the cover, spine & inside cover of my December Daily Album & then never shared the rest of the album. In an effort to close out all my 2012 projects, this week's posts will be dedicated to those projects. I am splitting this into 2 separate posts (so as not to inundate you with pics).

Title page

Panera's chocolate pecan babka bread

Batman movie night

A card from a dear friend

Cutest handmade card from a friend

Decorations at the Statehouse

Do you have any unfinished business from last year to take care of yet?

Five Fave Books of 2012 & a Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Last year, I asked my friend Linda to join me in a guest post listing our 5 favorite books. You can read that here. I enjoyed the post so much that I decided to make a tradition of it & asked Linda to participate again, because of our shared love of reading, her book reviews & her choices, which are very different than mine. Please share your favorite reads in the comments!

I’m Linda and I blog over at Curious Notions and vlog in collaboration at Totes Awesome Channel. Last year I wrote a guest post for Danielle listing out my five favorite books read in 2011. I’m honored that Danielle invited me back to write a post for 2012. I love sharing my thoughts on books! So here’s my list for 2012.

My Favorite Books of 2012

Just Kids – I think the post I did on Just Kids on my blog was the only book review I posted in 2012, which is an indication of how special this book was to me. I read this book because it came highly recommended by Ashley. It is Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s love story. I’m not one who buys into the concept of soul mates but couldn’t classify Smith and Mapplethrope’s beautiful relationship any other way.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog – I set out to read this book when my favorite book blogger blogged about it. I loved the title so much and when Vishy mentioned that it may be one of the top novels he’s ever read, I ceased reading his review to nurture surprise. I did enjoy his very thorough post after finishing the novel and wanting to prolong the magic. Three of the characters you follow closely in Elegance of the Hedgehog are a suicidal eleven year old, a misanthropic hotel concierge, and a wealthy Japanese tenant. For how flawed these two are, I found myself falling for them. I enjoyed the novel for its charming plot and dialogue and loved the vast and often philosophical questions considered by the unlikely duo(s). I must warn you that when I finished reading this book, I felt a sense of loss, so deep that it was hard to concentrate at work.

Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement – I have a weakness for pop psychology and what I call “brain books”. Social Animal sets out to explain and demonstrate what motivates humans and how they achieve and define success. What I loved about this book was the unique approach. It is nonfiction told through a fictional couple, Harold and Erica. David Brooks, the New York Times columnist and author narrates the story of Harold and Erica from birth to death and traces social and biosocial phenomenons through their fictional lives. It was a pretty entertaining and informative read.

Stumbling on Happiness – I never thought I’d say this book would be one of my favorite nonfictions, but it certainly is one of my favorite nonfictions in 2012. I tried reading this book 3 years ago and gave it up. I tried reading this book again in 2011 and gave it up. I tried for the third time in 2012 and loved it. I kept gravitating to this book because Daniel Gilbert has become a thought leader on the science of happiness. I continuously found references of Stumbling on Happiness in my other readings and online on blogs and articles. I don’t know why his writing did not captivate me the first two times but his style made me chuckle during the third attempt. More importantly, his book was so dense with studies and facts that I had to take notes while I read to retain the fascinating conclusions. Our brains play a lot of tricks on us that lead to us misjudging what would make us happy.

Almost Like Being in Love – The first four books I listed aren’t actually light reads so I thought I’d pick my favorite light read. I was at the library one day and they didn’t have on hand any of the books I wanted to read. I started trolling Good Reads and my friend Alex and I had a strong overlapping tastes. He gave Almost Like Love five stars on Good Reads and the library happened to have a copy in its stacks. I could not put it down! It is “chick lit” but the story revolves around two gay men. (Insert obvious joke about genre here.) Travis and Craig fall in love senior year of high school. They move away from each other for college and lose touch eventually. Twenty years later, Travis decides to seek out Craig. The story is told through emails, post-its, menus, school assignments, and the like. It was a charming and funny read. I sighed and giggled out loud while reading this book.

Thanks Linda for the great recommendations! And now for my list:

What You See in the Dark- This novel sets two interweaving stories together about the making of Hitchcock's Psycho and a small town murder. So beautifully written and the author focuses on the characters sense of quiet desperation- a young Latina singer looking for romance and fame; an actress wanting more; a lonely and bitter mother... The book read like a Hitchcock film where every word is precise and every scene is detailed and full of symbolism and suspense. Be prepared this is a tragic story.

It - I know that people either love or hate Stephen King. I am a huge fan. His stories are about the characters first and foremost and I think he has a lyrical gift. It tells the story of seven kids who discover the source of evil killing children and adults in a small town in Maine. The story moves back and forth between the character's childhood and the present as adults. This is a hefty book and I know that criticism was pointed at the numerous flashbacks & detail that could have (or should have depending on your taste) been decreased. However, I feel like all the detail really added to the story and it never felt overbearing to me.

The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy): A Novel - The first book in this trilogy was one of my favorite books of 2010 & I couldn't wait to read this one. It did not disappoint. This is not just a story about virals (in the simplest definition, vampires) but rather about humanity, love, friendships and what humans will do to survive and make sense of the world.

The Age of Miracles: A Novel - This is a story of the slow ending of the world as told through the viewpoint of an 11 year old girl. The science fiction aspect is just a backdrop to the coming of age story and I was grateful for that. The novel focuses on the struggles of the young girl as she watches her parents marriage fall apart, her best friend pull away & of course there is a love story.

Thunderstruck - This is the second book I've read by Larson and just as the first, this was fantastic.
This is the interwoven stories of two men at the turn of the 20th Century- one who is working tirelessly on wireless communication & the other who commits murder. And it's just brilliant how they connect in the end. My only criticism would be that sometimes the detailed scientific explanations were a bit too heavy for my taste, although it was all fascinating.

*Disclosure - I am an Amazon affiliate member & I will receive financial compensation if you purchase any of the books above. So please purchase & help a lady out. Lol.

I must have been in a dark mood, seeing that all my fiction picks had rather dreary and haunting subject matter. I read 34 books, 17 of which were non-fiction.

I hope you discover a new author, genre or book from our lists. Or perhaps you've read one or some of these & disagree with our opinions. I'd love to hear what books you'd recommend or thoughts on any of the books we chose above. And thanks again Linda - can't wait to see what your picks are for this year.

Creative Project: Project Life Weeks 31-41

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:20:00 +0000

The last time I posted about Project Life was at the end of August. Eep! I actually have kept up to-date with it, but I took a blogging break for a couple months & then when I did return to blogging, it was sporadic. I had debated whether or not to share the rest of the spreads & finally decided to do it because I love this project & because I want to remain consistent & see it through to the end. I'm looking forward to starting it again this year & can't wait to share my thoughts & process & what I hope to do differently.

So without further ado, here are weeks 31-41 & I'll be back in another post to share the rest.

Thanks for stopping by! Tell me what projects or goals are you working on this year?

*Project Life was created by Becky Higgins & is a simple, fun & unique way to document your life

Happy 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Happy 2013 friends & hello New Year!

I was all set to write a post recapping the ups & downs of 2012 but as I found myself focusing solely on the lows, I decided to forget it. Yes, last year was difficult (on a personal level, I "failed" to accomplish any of the goals I had set) but I'm grateful for all the good in my life & I'd rather just move forward. I want to concentrate on the clean slate & fresh start that a New Year offers, rather than dwell on the negative from the past.

We are not quite back into a regular routine. With M working from home & me being currently unemployed (by choice), our days have blurred together. Our tendency is to stay up late (as in a 4 a.m. bed time), so we're trying to ease back into a more normal schedule. Slowly. That's also meant several weeks of major hibernating. I've been away from all social media and as you know I haven't been blogging. So its going to be a slow transition back into the real world.

It was a relief to say goodbye to 2012. I am looking forward to starting another year of Project Life (still debating whether to share the 20 something layouts I never posted on the blog or calling it good), finishing up the last 3 days of my December Daily, and going on my fourth year of one little word. Plus other creative endeavors. I hope you'll continue to join me on this journey.

Wishing you all a fabulous 2013!

Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Around here lately:

Having time to myself while M is traveling for work

Saying goodbye after 7 years

Working on my December Daily Album

Getting ready for 2012

Waking up to snow this morning!

What is your right now looking like?