dear♥prudence

top 5 reasons why you should watch Sherlock:

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:51:00 +0000

today, i'm here to give you the top 5 reasons you should take a day and watch Sherlock:

1) its a British t.v. show, airing on BBC (where, Doctor Who also airs. clearly, they have impeccable taste in what types of shows to air on their channel. in addition to that, Steven Moffat who writes, let's be honest, some of the best Doctor Who episodes, also co-writes Sherlock). British t.v. shows = British actors which =s British men. aka, the best kind of men. (yes, that's a legitimate reason)

2) each season (there are 2 so far) only has 3 episodes. but they are intricate, long, exciting, quick paced episodes. this means, you can sit down and watch them basically all in one day. if its a Saturday. but it still is an investment of emotion which, let's be honest, is why we all get addicted to the shows we do, correct? - by the season finale of season one (aka, the third episode) i was going, "whaaaaaa? i want moooooore!"

3) its based on Arther Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (duh) and the Sherlock in this adaptation is just as witty and clever as ever. -- i love the twist BBC has put on it by setting the series in modern day. same Sherlock, same Watson, same 221 B Baker Street, different time period. love.

4) Martin Freeman. not reason enough? eff you, he won a BAFTA.

5) B-E-N-E-D-I-C-T C-U-M-B-E-R-P-A-T-C-H. (and here is where i go into my sub-reasons) a) um, he has the absolute best name in the entire universe. don't you want to watch it just to see who the heck Benedict Cumberpatch is? b) he is the perfect Sherlock. his portrayal is probably my favorite portrayal of Sherlock (sorry RDJ) c) he's British (again, a legitimate reason). d) he's up and coming, guys. he was in The Atonement and The Other Boleyn Girl but he also just did Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and War Horse annnnd he's in the next Star Trek film that's coming out. you'll thank me later when you're sitting in the theatre going 'hey! i know who that guy is!'.

there you go. 5 reasons to watch one of the most spectacular shows ev-er. i bet you want to go watch it right now, don't you? go do it. you can thank me later.

♥ ♥
{all photos were found on google.com/images. i do not own any of them or the rights to any of them.}

i love film.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:10:00 +0000

thought i'd share some more of my film photos with you. these were taken with a dinky little disposable camera and i love them.

{yes, those are all birds. BIRDS. and they were flying right. at. us.}

{clearly this was taken over the summer.}

{my favorite street in Texas.}

{me. at lunch. every single day.}

{a cool little spot my sister and i found to have lunch.

i love the shadow in this picture.}

{i love the sun ring on this photo.}

♥ ♥

my weekend will consist of the following:

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:58:00 +0000

what about yours?

♥ ♥

film photos.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:11:00 +0000

around Christmastime my gem of a coworker donated to my camera collection an Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 Deluxe (takes 35 mm film) and an original Polaroid camera (takes 600 film which, by the way, costs quite literally an arm and a leg to purchase. gag me).i was all sorts of excited to shoot with film and decided to use a roll of black and while film that i had hanging out in my room to shoot my Christmas and New Years with.
guys? love.

{h, tracking santa. he was up at the crack of dawn and was mapping out exactly where santa was and where he was going next. i love his innocent belief and wonder for life.}

{hi.}

new years eve:

i'm definitely going to be using more film in the future. its a lot of fun to not see how anything turned out until you've paid for it and have the tangible "evidence" in your hands. but i still have a lot to learn in a way of film. such as, a good place to get my photos developed. walgreens? yeah, not doing that again. ever.

♥ ♥

why i love tumblr.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:34:00 +0000

let me just talk to you about tumblr for a moment.tumblr is my fave.
absolutely.
i could probably sit all day and reblog photos that speak to me or rather, speak for me.and that's the thing about tumblr. you'd think that with me wanting to be a writer and all, i'd prefer words to express myself. but that's not always the case. i don't know what it is, but sometimes i will come across an image on tumblr that just resonates so deeply with me that its like the image was made specifically for me to see.
while some of what i post on tumblr is just silliness, most of it is an almost direct expression of my inner self; what i'm thinking about that day or how i'm feeling. my emotions can be described so beautifully through so many different images that sometimes, i feel like my words are completely inadequate.
in addition to that, there's an over abundance of fan-girling that can go on as well. while looking back over my tumblr, i realized i have posted quite a bit about star wars, doctor who and lord of the rings among other super nerdy things that i absolutely love.
that being said, i thought i'd share some of my latest favorite images with you. and maybe convince you to, if you don't already, get a tumblr.
without further adieu:

reblogged via.

created by risarodil.

reblogged via.

originally posted by riskybehavior.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

originally by.

reblogged via.

don't know where it originally came from.

reblogged via.

orignially posted by?

and those are just a few. really i could just spend all night reposting all of the truly lovely images that i find on tumblr.

see? tumblr is great. if you don't have one, give it a try! if you do, please leave your tumblr link below, i'd love, love, love to check yours out. (you can find mine here, if you so desire. but please, look at it on firefox not explorer. firefox shows it the way it is suppsed to be showed.)

♥ ♥

and so, we wait.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:45:00 +0000

you know, i always have wondered whether its more difficult to stand by and watch someone go through something, or actually go through that thing yourself. i think the answer can be different for everyone; while some people might be strong and able to experience great trials in their lives, others may be better at being there for those that go through trials and offering support. i may never know. last friday, my baby sister (literally a baby, just turned 18) was diagnosed with a Phyllodes tumor in her right breast.

it is a rare and aggressive tumor that could result in breast cancer and/or spread to her lungs, heart etc. while my sister has always been one of the strongest people i know, she has handled this situation very well and taken everything in stride. i have not once seen her act the victim in this or as "why me?" she has simply absorbed everything that is going on and moved forward.
now, having the walnut sized tumor removed is inevitable for her and could happen as soon as this weekend, but tomorrow is, in my opinion, the hardest part: the biopsy. tomorrow she will learn whether her tumor is malignant or benign and how much tissue is actually going to be removed during her lumpectomy. - you know in the 20's and 30's when the newspapers were coming up on a big story and they'd print two head lines so they'd be ready to sell the story immediately no matter what the out come was? the young newsies would sitting outside with their stacks of papes, waiting to hear the news on which head line to sell and hope they had bought enough of that particular headline.

that's what i feel like tomorrow will be like for my family. we'll be those hopeful newsies, waiting for the headline. benign or malignant?
no matter what the headline is for tomorrow though, i know we'll get through it because we have not only each other but so many wonderful friends and family members praying for us and wishing peace and comfort our way. and in addition to all of that, we have a merciful Father in Heaven who has a plan for my sister and my family and i know that no matter what's going to happen tomorrow and in the future, He'll give us the strength we need to bear the burden he has asked us to bear. we are not alone in this. i know that to be true.

here's hoping for a positive outcome tomorrow! and cc, i love you, baby! no matter what happens, you got this.

♥ ♥

to read more about my sister and her outlook on life as she goes through this and other life experiences, check out her blog The Freedom Blog. tell her i sent you.

hi, my name is annaleese and i'm obsessed w/ polyvore.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:10:00 +0000

until about an hour ago, i had no idea what polyvore was. then i found out and for the last hour (ahem, or so) i've been on polyvore.
i'm obsessed.

and to think i was making collages like these all on my own without the wonderful aid of polyvore. i will now and forever use polyvore for all of my collaging (yes i just used 'collage' as a verb) needs.

do you polyvore? if so, share your link below. i'd love to follow. if you'd like, you can follow me too!

Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:27:00 +0000

Synopsis: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My review: In short, I thought this book was beautiful. I immediately fell in love with the story and the seven kingdoms it takes place in. While in the beginning, it was a little difficult to keep track of which character was who, i quickly became acquainted with everyone and their place in Katsa's, the main character, life.
There was really only one part of the book that I felt I could have done without as I didn't feel it really had any relevance to the story, but other than that, I remained interested in the story the entire time I was reading. I appreciated the twists and turns the plot took and had a hard time putting the book down every time I had to stop reading. The thought of a Graceling (someone who is "graced" since childhood with a special skill) in and of itself made for such an interesting topic but the way Kristin built a story around it just made for an all around excellent book.
Aside from the story, I think my favorite part of this book were the characters. I had no problem rooting for the heroes and hating the enemies and I felt each character was very strong and all were very relevant to the story line. Katsa quickly became one of my all time favorite heroines. (Which is saying something because I'm super picky about my heroines.) And Po. Oh, Po! I think the world would be a better place with a real-life Po in its midst. But even the sub-characters, Raffin, Bitterblue, Oll - all were likable and easily found a place in my book-loving heart.
As far as the writing goes, I really loved Kristin Cashore's "voice". She kept things fairly simple even though the story had some complexity to it. She also did a great job with making the characters relatable (I'm saying that's a word!) even though they live in a different time and place. Her writing is very easy to read but I felt still had a certain level of maturity to it that helped keep up its YA categorization. And there's a little bit of everything in this book: romance, struggle, heartbreak, suspense, action, and growth. It really is a great story.

If you're looking for a meaty book to snag your attention, I'd recommend this one. (Some parts of this book may not be suitable for younger readers).

Happy reading.

a mustache ron swanson would be proud of.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:47:00 +0000

and that's about it.

♥ ♥

yes, i do still listen to music.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

i can't believe that last year, music was such a big part of my blog and now i very rarely talk about it. that being said, i'm going to bring that part of my life back to my little corner of the bloggersphere.
so, here's what i'm listening to as of late:

artist: peggy sue

album(s) i've been listening to:+acrobats, +body parts and first aid, +fossils and other phantoms, +lover gone

peggy sue is a british indie pop/folk band. i first heard them at the kate nash concert that i went to in 2010 and have really liked them every since. i love their gravely, grainy, raw sound. they play all their own instruments and i think they write all of their own songs which makes me really appreciate their music even more.

artist:florence + the machine

album i've been listening to:+ceremonials

i really like florence + the machine because she is still somewhat obscure but there are still enough people that know who she is that i can mention her and most people will say "oh, yeah, i know who that is." basically, she is what adele was a few years ago. anyway, her music is just so resonating. it crawls inside my mind and provokes new thoughts and ideas. i find it inspiring to listen to someone like f+tm.

artist:lenka

album(s) i've been listening to:+lenka, +two

lenka's music is really quite fun. she's a lot like mika (whom i LOVE). her stuff is so easy to listen to. and its so catchy. i like to mix it with the likes of peggy sue, joss stone or john mayer so that i have a little bit of sweet and deep all in one listening.

what have you been listening to?

♥ ♥

a few reasons why its not good for me to stay up until 3am:

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:46:00 +0000

i buy stuff. observe:+polaroid 600 film in color and black and white.

(boo that they only come with 8 exposures. but seriously, what is with everyone selling the actual polaroid film for $100+ that's just ridiculous if you ask me. grrrrr. but fyi the film is cheaper on amazon then it is on urban outfitters. and don't even think) about looking for the film on the polaroid site because it isn't there... or at least i couldn't find it.)

+fujifilm instax film (a two pack, so it was a good deal).

(again, fyi, cheaper on amazon then on lomography. i didn't look at the actual fujifilm site though...)

+fandom t-shirts. specifically, these two:

(i cannot wait for them to get here. anybody else love redbubble?)

see? staying up late is expensive for me. yikes.

♥ ♥

until then...

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

i'm working on getting my wish list put together for this year. but until then, i thought you might enjoy these:

{via.}

i know i sure do. and if you don't, more for me!
happy wednesday, lovers. hope its a lovely one.

♥ ♥

my faves Christmas albums.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:19:00 +0000

isn't it ironic how daunting Christmas music can actually be? i mean, yes, Bing Crosby is incredibly nostalgic for me but, at the same time, can no one come out with new, original Christmas songs? or especially great covers of old classics? i mean really.so, yes, i'm a little picky about the Christmas tunes i will play during the Christmas season. but by being picky, i don't get sick of hearing the same songs by the same artists over and over and over again and when i do find an entire Christmas album that i actually like, its like finding that lost earring you've been searching all over for. GLORIOUS!
so, what do i listen to during the Christmas season? well, i'm so glad you asked. i've been circulating three albums this year and i've been really enjoying each album.

album: Home for Christmas

artist: *NSYNC

this album is one of my Christmas staples. i've been listening to it every year since 1998 and i probably will listen to it every year for the rest of my life. its just not Christmas without a little bit of my favorite boy band crooning to Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.

album: Christmas

artist: Michael Buble

um, who wouldn't want Michael Buble serenading them during the holidays? yeah, even his generic Christmas tunes make me melt like butter.

that man. oh.

album: A Very She&Him Christmas

artist: She&Him

this is probably the most quaint and charming Christmas album i've ever heard. it makes the holidays feel so cozy and lovely. i love, love, love Zooey Deschanel's voice and their spin on some of the traditional Christmas songs are a nice change of pace from what's usually played on the radio.

so, tell me, what are your favorite Christmas albums? i know the good ones are few and far between, but there have to be some out there, right?

♥ ♥

the time i met kristen chenoweth.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

thursday my mom, sister and i were at Barnes & Noble doing a little Christmas shopping when we saw an advertisement that Kristen Chenoweth was going to be at that very Barnes & Noble the next night. whaaaaaaat?! quickly, sister and i made plans to return the next night. next night rolls around and whe had decided to head to B&N right after work even though Kristen wouldn't be there for another 2 hours after that. we didn't want to wait too long. well, we got there, bought the cd she was signing and then were informed they were dividing everyone into groups and shuffling us all through like cattle. sis and i were group G. aka second to last group of the night.
to make a long story short, sis and i were at B&N until about 9pm (we had arrived at roughly 6pm) and we talked to Kristen Chenoweth for about 9 1/2 seconds. seriously. it was kind of a long night.
that being said, the 9 1/2 seconds that sis and i did talk to her she was absolutely lovely and adorable (which i told her) and she was just as nice and amazing as ever. i will forever love her.

(yes, i had to lean across the table to be in the picture with her. they weren't letting anyone on the other side of the table. rudes.)

in other news, i had a root canal last week. that was not fun and i hope to never do it again because other than the fact that i could do without drills drilling into my teeth, i hate it when my cheek and lips are numb for about 5 hours and i look like Sloth from The Goonies.

what's new with ya'll?

♥ ♥

temples and lights.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:36:00 +0000

while i was in st. george, my cousins, sister and i decided to go to the lighting of the lights at the temple. they did a wonderful little ceremony and then as we all sang Silent Night, all the Christmas lights came on. it was beautiful.

unfortunately, i didn't get any photos of the lights! why? i don't know. because i obviously wasn't thinking clearly.
but i did quite enjoy myself.

♥ ♥

red rocks.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:33:00 +0000

you know what i love about st. george? it has mountains (sorry texas, but that's something the west will always have on you). but not only that, they are red. there is just something about the red rocks of southern utah, that heal me and make me feel content, full, and happy to be alive.
can you blame me?

st. george, ut has to be one of my most favorite places in the whole entire world. where's yours?

♥ ♥

why, hello there blog!

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:45:00 +0000

i'm baaaaack! and can i just tell you? st. george was absolutely lovely. i snapped the above photo in a place called Ancestor Square. all the leaves were changing and the air was growing crisp. love. love. love. it was perfect.
i hope you all had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving. i sure did.

♥ ♥

another picture to distract you from my lack of words.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:04:00 +0000

1. sooooo excited about the hunger games. like, i can't even... yeah.

2. i'm leaving for my home town today! 9 days in the beautiful surrounded-by-red-rocks st. g, utah. yay. yay. yay.

3. i'm liking this photo-of-attractive-man-and-update style of blogging lately. the one you see above is josh hutcherson who is going to be portraying peeta mellark in the film adaption of the hunger games. i found him on tumblr too. *sigh* isn't tumblr wonderful?

4. i hope you all have a WONDERFUL thanksgiving full of friends, family and food.

5. i don't really have anything for number 5, but i felt there needed to be one...

♥ ♥

hello, jim sturgess.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:07:00 +0000

{via}

a. i haven't blogged in forevs.
b. i went sugar free this week and at this moment in time i sort of feel like i want to stab someone with a rusty fork. i'm looking forward to the time when i no longer have these sugar cravings.
c. i'm going home for Thanksgiving in exactly 3 days. here i come, cousins!
and d. i found the above adorable picture of my love, jim sturgess, on tumblr tonight. love. love. love. no? (oh and that's why i haven't been blogging much. because i've been spending all of my time on tumblr. yes, i am addicted.)

♥ ♥

i'm hungry for more hunger games. (okay, that was really bad.)

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:17:00 +0000

i'm sure you've seen these smeared all over the world wide web, but i don't care. they are far too perfect not to share a little more. and just in case you weren't able to find them yourself, i've added where i found them. supposedly they were distributed to select different websites and i couldn't even find them on google. enjoy! and happy friday to you all.

{via}

okay so, even though i'm beyond stoked for woody harelson to play haymitch (he'll be awesome!) i'm not digging the long hair... who is with me?!

{via}

can i just say, Cinna looks perfect. i mean so does everyone else, but he is exactly what i pictured. exactly. however, i am nervous for lenny kravitz to portray this character... should be interesting.

{via}

you all know him as "the boy with the bread" but to me, movie-Peeta will forever be "the boy who i casted". and no, i'm never going to shut up about the fact that i called it long before his name was ever announced.

{via}

you can find cato's poster here and gale's here.

♥ ♥

this is all i want to share today.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:27:00 +0000

♥ ♥

instantly perfect.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:55:00 +0000

ever since i got my fujifilm instax mini i've been going crazy in the instant photo department. i love, love, love the photos it takes. they all come out with just a little bit of a vintage-y look which is a perfect reflection of the original instant photos: the polaroid. here are some of my faves that i've taken thus far:

do you have a favorite camera?

♥ ♥

p.s. tomorrow is the last day to enter my give away!

fall+pumpkins=love.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:52:00 +0000

there is something about fall and pumpkins that just make me so content with life. so, this weekend, we hopped on down to one of the local pumpkin patches and had a grand ole' time. there were pumpkins, gourds and squash everywhere! (as well as pony rides, bounce houses, and a hay ride. COZY!)(please ignore the seriously white balanced photos. something was wrong with my camera and i didn't know until i go home and uploaded the photos.)

fall is so cozy. i love.

what'd you do this weekend? and have you entered my give away yet? there's only one more day to enter. you can go here to do so.

go here to see all the photos from my weekend.

♥ ♥

so, these are my faves.

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:37:00 +0000

so, i'm on all sorts of social networking sites namely: tumblr, twitter, pinterest, facebook and this here blogger. well, because i'm at a loss for what to write today and i couldn't decided on a typography to share, i thought i'd share all of my faves that i found this week on the social networking sites that i participate on. i hope you're all excited. cause i am.

so, these are my faves:

...on twitter

{via @haleshannon}

...on tumblr

{reblogged from cambearpig}

{reblogged from sheshallhave}

{reblogged from thisdisappearingworld}

{reblogged from busybeelauren}

...on pinterest

{via}

...on facebook

{via}

happy friday, all!

♥ ♥

sponsors and a give away! CLOSED

noreply@blogger.com (anna) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:05:00 +0000

this month (my bloggerversary month!) i've got a couple of awesome sponsors on board and i'm really excited to share them with you. when i was toying with the idea of accepting sponsors, i decided i only wanted to help promote people/blogs/companies that i would really tell my friends and family about or use myself. so far, i've been very lucky to have come in contact with two sponsors who fit those molds exactly and one of them, mymemories.com, has even agreed to do a give away for my readers. (que clapping and cheering here.)

i'm really excited to be working with my memories. the day i downloaded their My Memories Suite scrap booking software, i stayed up all night making scrapbook pages, designing things for my blog and cute-ifying every picture i could find on my computer. seriously, i couldn't get enough.

at first i thought i might be limited to creating digital scrap booking pages (as it is a digital scrap booking software!) but the more i played with it, the more i found i could do. everything you see on my blog (that is in compliance w/ dear prudence) was designed using the My Memories Suite scrap booking software.

the software is so easy to use and you have the option of creating basic pages that have the template already designed for you:

or you can start with a completely blank canvas and design to year hearts content:

i think my favorite part about utilizing the My Memories software is the accessibility they offer. if you're not sure what you're doing or need new ideas they have video tutorials on how to use their software or create certain pages, they offer all sorts of freebies and deals and you can spend as much or as little time as you want designing things.

its truly a great product.

that's why i'm excited to announce that one of my lucky readers will win a free My Memories Suite scrap booking software that can be downloaded directly to your computer for instant use! (the software is compatible with mac or windows.)

so, here's how to enter:

+you must be a follower of my blog.

+you must visit mymemories.com and let me know, in the comments section, what your favorite digital scrap booking kit is (search all the categories on the left! there are so many to choose from!)

EXTRA ENTRIES (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

for one extra entry do any or all of the following:

+put my button (found on my sidebar) on your blog, follow my tumlr or twitter. please leave a link to your blog in the comments section or give me your twitter/tumblr name.

+like My Memories on facebook, follow their blog or twitter

for five extra entries, share my promo code: STMMMS6235, which provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the mymemories.com store. you can blog about this code, share it on your facebook pages or tweet about it to share it. (please leave only one comment for which of these you did leaving either your blog link, or facebook/twitter name). -- this code can be shared with everyone you know and used by all even if they aren't readers/followers of my blog.

good luck to all! give away closes on 10/25/11 at midnight CT.

♥ ♥
p.s. do you want to sponsor my blog, host a give away or have me reveiew a product? please e-mail me at readdearprudence at hotmail dot com!

dear♥prudence

top 5 reasons why you should watch Sherlock:

i love film.

my weekend will consist of the following:

film photos.

why i love tumblr.

and so, we wait.

hi, my name is annaleese and i'm obsessed w/ polyvore.

Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

a mustache ron swanson would be proud of.

yes, i do still listen to music.

a few reasons why its not good for me to stay up until 3am:

until then...

my faves Christmas albums.

the time i met kristen chenoweth.

temples and lights.

red rocks.

why, hello there blog!

another picture to distract you from my lack of words.

hello, jim sturgess.

i'm hungry for more hunger games. (okay, that was really bad.)

this is all i want to share today.

instantly perfect.

fall+pumpkins=love.

so, these are my faves.

sponsors and a give away! *CLOSED*

sponsors and a give away! CLOSED