photo a day

I'm attempting to take a photo every day this year. I'm hoping that by setting this goal and doing a monthly round up instead of doing "___/365" I can take the pressure off in case I miss a day (or forget to save part of my Snapchat story). So far, one month in, I feel pretty good about this project. Happy last day of January!

meet the cats!

Meet the cats. Spooky, Whiskers, and Mew. 

Spooky... (aka Booky or "The B.C.") is king, basically. He's 16 & our oldest cat and we wait on him hand and foot. He gives the best head butt cuddles and is always super excited whenever we come home from work because he knows his people are back.  

Whiskers... (aka "The Kitten") is my cat. (Spooky is Justin's.) He loves sleeping on top of the hot water heater, and on top of the furnace in the winter. He gets jealous if we feed Booky before him and is always first in line for cat nip on the scratching post. 

Mew... (aka the girl cat or "Baby Girl") is the most entertaining of all the cats. She hates when either of tries to give her any attention whatsoever. Her and The Kitten are best buddies. We think she's scared of the Booky Cat. She's always the first to tell you when she's hungry, and the first to try to escape upstairs whenever we try to open the door. 

They're our fur babies. We treat them and love them like our actual children. #catmomforever 

wednesday

I do love coffee an awkward amount, that's for sure.

And sunshine. The last few days have been gray and overcast and snowy and the sight of sunshine this morning immediately made me smile. 

And today is my Saturday. Nothing on the agenda except reading and knitting. Love it. 

i love postsecret

I have been reading postsecret since middle school. For years, my best friend and I waited up until midnight on Sunday just to see other people's secrets. If there wasn't an update by the time we got up, whoever got up first sent a text: "Frank is a douche." Every Sunday morning I look forward to postsecret updates, and getting to take a look back at classic secrets from the beginning is always fun to see which ones I remember. These postcards from this week are inspiring me to experiment with color and play with paper. A+

methods of self care

So far I'm learning this year that if you don't feel good, you're not going to do good. Take care of you. Shower because you haven't showered in three days, wash the pajamas you've been wearing all weekend, organize your living space. 

Take care of the basics first. Then focus on doing what makes you happy. For me, that was making a big cup of tea and crawling into bed to read East of Eden last night. Then when my mind couldn't focus anymore, I put earphones in and listened to music while I worked on a new knitting project. 

I slept better last night than I have in ages, and that says a lot to me about the ways that I treat myself on the daily grind of life. Self care is so important, and feels so good when you actually allow yourself to do it. 

happy wednesday

I stayed up way too late last night knitting. (#grandmastatus FOR SURE) But I'm excited about new projects, and new ideas, and all of the inspiration I'm feeling right now. 

I started knitting a "scarf" (that might actually just become the first section in a huge blanket... We'll see how ambitious I feel) and am so amazed how fast and easy knitting is. Pick it up when you wanna work on it, and set it down when you don't—these are my favourite types of projects. 

While knitting, I've been listening to podcasts. Currently in my queue is the entire Coffee with Chrachel feed, and the last couple week's worth of Elise Gets Crafty. Coffee with Chrachel is hilarious, and it's so good for background noise to work to. Justin always asks me what's so funny before he sees that I have headphones in and says, "Are you laughing at that radio show again?" Always, babe. Always. 

I've gone on and on Elise's podcast before. She just started season 3(!!!) at the beginning of the year and I'm always excited to listen to her and her guests "talk shop" or creativity or inspiration/motivation. 

I also got two new (to me–thanks thrift books!) books in the mail yesterday. East of Eden by John Steinbeck, which I've read about half of before in the past and just never got around to finishing before I had to send it back to the library. I'm excited to dive in head first again. 

The other book I got is Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. I've heard good things about this book and its sister Creative, Inc. I'm excited to read this and learn more about running a small business and the freelance when I read Creative, Inc. 

Somehow we are almost done with January. I'm gonna ride the inspiration wave for as long as it lasts. 

cold hands, warm heart

Today has been a very cold (but very good) day. (and I am obsessed with Snapchat, @annagutermuth)

currently, january edition

finding inspiration in the details lately

wearing my new-to-me high waisted jeans every chance I get

feeling a cold coming on (wop wop)

drinking my weight in red gatorade

savoring my morning cup of coffee

wishing that it would warm up... this extreme cold is getting really old

teaching myself the purl stitch

searching for the perfect easy hat pattern 

sketching ideas for a 2016 scrapbook

feeling inspired to play with paper again

waiting for a thrift books order to come in

snuggling with the cats every night

craving deep fried tacos from our favorite mexican place

counting down the days until spring (68 days!)

full circle

Today I received and accepted an apology that I had kind of come to the conclusion I was never going to get. I had already absolved him of his wrongdoings in therapy seven years ago. But it sent a shiver down my spine, reading those words, "I am truly sorry... I just wanted you to know I regret what happened." 

Choosing to let all of it go now. I can be at peace finally. My PTSD will always remain, and will probably act up from time to time, but I don't have to let it run my life. I am free. I am free. 

...and the weather gets weirder

We're on day two of extreme cold and now it's snowing. Yesterday it was 3* and it felt like -15*. Today it's 5* & currently feels like 0 outside. Justin and I have tomorrow & Wednesday off and apart from I really need to go get a new pair of work pants, I think our plan is to hunker down and hibernate for the next couple of days. Stay safe out there, friends!

wisconsin winter at its finest

We've had rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice all in the past 48 hours. The kind of stuff that makes roads slick and dangerous. There were a few people that slid into the ditch by where I work this morning. It's cold again. The high for tomorrow 9* (FAHRENHEIT!) and the low is -4*. Have I mentioned there are only 71 days until the first day of spring? 

awesome quote

Saw this quote on tumblr the other day. Made me think of CHOOSE and how every day I get to change stuff and learn something new. Happy Thursday! I'm finishing up my coffee and then I get to go to work! 

*quote graphic created with the A Beautiful Mess app for iPhone 

good things

This typewriter is seriously improving my penpal game. I wrote a letter to a friend, a love note to Justin, and a few new pieces for a mini book once I get some photos printed. Game changer for sure. I just have a to get a new ribbon so I can type in black instead of red all the time. 

Coffee. Always. I'm trying to finish off my peppermint mocha creamer and I always shake it really good so I get the foam on top. Good stuff. 

Trying to take a picture every day and so far I'm 6 for 6. I can't wait for the end of the month to make a photo grid of all the pictures. 

Halfway through this week. Happy hump day!

happy (month) calendar

In 2015, I set a goal to take a picture on the first of every month and label it "happy (month)" to make a calendar for 2016. I love the way they look all together and can't wait to get my calendar made.

good will does it again

Before Christmas, we had an ugly sweater contest at work. I promised everyone at work that I would win, and I was right. My prize was a $10 gift card to Good Will. Yesterday after work I went looking for the perfect thing to bring home with me. I found this typewriter for $10.55. I have to get a new ink ribbon for it, but otherwise it works perfectly. Best 54¢ I've ever spent. 

happy sunday

saturday

Golden morning light & empty coffee cups—inspiration at its finest. 

one little word 2016: CHOOSE

Choose is the word this year. My word. I saw this post on tumblr (read it until the end, I promise it's worth it) and it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

 "Is love a feeling? Or is it a choice?"

It's a choice, 100%. It's one choice in the thousands of choices we make every day. This year, my goal is to choose every day. Choose love, choose peace, choose family & home. Choose my battles, both professionally and personally. 

This year: I want to strengthen my photography business, aka get it back up off the ground again where it's been for the last three years. I want to get my butt back in therapy and conquer my demons (and that means I need to tackle the overwhelming task of hoop jumping that comes with getting health insurance). I want to find an exercise regimen that works for me. I want to have more dance parties. I want to live a better life. 

I choose choose. 2016, show us what you're made of.