Have you taken any photos recently that you love but don't know where to post them?

Just give them their own post! Even if the photos don't go together! 

And then come back and leave the link to that post in the comments! Because I want to see your lovely photos too!

Isn't photography wonderful?

I was looking through my archives and found a post that I absolutely love. So I decided to bring it back to life.

I was doing this a while ago, and I'm happy to say that it will be returning every other Sunday!

 Zentangles:

I've been doodling like a mad woman. I call it doodling, because that's what it is to me. It is doodling in a controlled, artistic format. And this doodle is called a Zentangle. 

Oh my goodness. I first discovered these a about a year and a half ago and fell in love. 

This was my first ever Zentangle. Like I said. It is just glorified doodling!


This one has things from some of my favorite books.


I love Zentangling because it doesn't have to be perfect. I messed up so many times in this one, but it still looks great!


I like to put my Zentangles in a circle shape. It gives me a set area to work with when I'm drawing. And I like the circles because I like to hang them up in my room. Like this:



Cute huh?

But you don't need to stick to the basic circle if you aren't into that. You can Zentangle however you want.

And this started out as a complete scratch paper and turned into one of my favorites. I think she looks like a fortune teller!

If you aren't sure you can handle something this complex to start with, I recommend just drawing random lines and filling each in with a different doodle.


This one is one of my favorites. All I did was trace the outline of a CD a few times and filled in all of the blank spots. So simple, and yet so awesome!


And this one was done the same way. I just traced four circles. Think Zen Diagram Zentangle.


And for this one I just filled an entire piece of paper with circles and squares of different shapes and sizes.

Zentangling is so easy. Even if you don't feel like you have an artistic bone in your body, I guarantee you can do this. It just takes some patience and practice.

To start, I just outline a random design on a piece of card stock paper. I use a fine point Sharpie because it makes everything stand out so much better than pencil or pen! When you start, it will look something like this. A little cheesy? Don't worry, once it's finished, it will look awesome!

Every so often, I'll get in a mood to Zentangle and pop one out like a warm and yummy toaster pastry. And the past few days, I've been in a Zentangling mood! A few things have been getting me down, and losing myself in the small intricate doodles really helps me.


This one was signifying how I was feeling. The heart is black and hard to read until you get a closer look. Then you can see the ache that is there.

And while I was searching the internet for fun new doodles to use in my Zentangle, I saw a lot of people who incorporated faces into their designs. So I tried it. I LOVE how it turned out!


I am very thrilled with this one. It's my favorite of all time.

You should all try Zentangling! It's SO much fun! I would love to see any that you come up with!

Saturday was the first time in ages that I left my house for no reason other than to take pictures.

I've been rushing around so much that I haven't had the time or the gumption to get out and do simple things that make me happy.

Like take photos.

And what is even more sad. I borrowed my parent's beautiful, fancy camera, and this is the first time I've used it.

I've had it for nearly a month.

Sad.

So I've come to a conclusion. I need to stop going so fast and take time to do some of the little things I enjoy.

I've hated that I haven't had very many photos to post on my blog lately. I plan on remedying that as much as I can.

If I want to be happy, I need to stop worrying and make it so. 

One little thing at a time.

Hey everyone! I'm here to announce the winner of my 400 followers giveaway!


Congratulations to...


Tara

You are the winner of a header and two buttons designed by me for your blog!

And to those of you who didn't win, I want to let you all know that I'm opening a shop. I will be selling personalized Headers and Buttons just for you!

All of the information is below and you can find it again in the "Design Shop" tab at the top of the page.

With Photo: $20.00

Without Photo: $15.00

Bundle One: $26.00

Bundle Two: $21.00

I can't wait to help you personalize that wonderful blog of yours!

As I was growing up, there were a lot of things that I looked forward to when Summer finally came around.

No school. Sleeping in. Waterslides. Trampoline camp-outs.

But one thing that I always loved was our libraries Summer Reading Program.

There were activities and prizes that you could collect if you read books during the Summer. 

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been posting about books a lot lately. Something about Summer makes me want to read. I think it's just been something that I've enjoyed since I was young. 

And being in a place where I still don't know many people and the heat gets so intense that you don't want to leave the house for fear of heat stroke and dehydration, it's so nice to be able to sit in a comfortably airconditioned house and read a new book.

So I've compiled a list of books that I would like to read this Summer.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley

The Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Capt. Hook by J.V Hart

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason

It's going to be an awesome Summer!

What are you going to read this Summer? Do you like any of these books? Do you not like any of these books? Are there any other books you'd like to recommend? Let me know!

He's pretty much perfect.

Have I ever said that before on my blog?

He visited for the weekend and it was probably the most perfect weekend ever.

It was mostly spent at home watching movies and curled up together.

There is nothing better than watching Lord of the Rings and Star Wars with the guy I'm in love with.

His visit was much too short.

Watching him leave was so awful.

But knowing that I'll see him again in a few weeks makes it feel so much better.

I love you, Kevin.

Thank you for everything you do for me. 

I can't wait to see you in July!

Over the weekend, I hit 400 followers.

That astounds me guys. You are all absolutely incredible and I can't tell you how much it means to me!

In thanks to all of you who follow me, I am going to have a little giveaway!

One of you will win a personalized header...

...and two buttons... 

Designed by me specifically to match your blog!

All you have to do to enter is:

1. Be a follower of my blog. This is a giveaway to thank my followers. So obviously if you aren't in that group... you shouldn't enter. (But if you want to get in on this action, just follow and problem solved!)

2. Leave me a comment telling me what you did over the weekend!

My posts about my weekend are coming soon! 

Thank you again to my wonderful followers!

Have you ever had one of those periods (not the bloody kind) in your life where you are just swamped and every free moment is dedicated to something unexpected?

Like travel and jobs and visitors and new projects.

That is my life right now.

Did I tell you all that my parents let me borrow their fancy camera for a month? 

It's a Canon. With three different lenses. Very fancy.

I've had it for almost three weeks and I haven't even pulled the thing out.

That's how crazy my life is right now.

And my boyfriend is coming to visit me. He'll be here tomorrow! Gotta say, I'm really really excited!

I'm also very stressed.

As such, I'm going to take a break from blogging this weekend. I'm going to enjoy my time with my boyfriend and take pictures and do the things that I'm too busy to do.

But don't worry! I have a lot of great posts that will be coming your way starting next Tuesday! 

Be on the lookout for these awesome posts!

- Book reviews for the Harry Potter series and Ender's Game in my typical video format. (And likely Matched. I'm almost finished with it.) -

- Photos and stories from my weekend with Kevin. -

- And even an awesome giveaway! -

Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will!

Have any of you ever had beignets? 

As soon as I found out that we were heading to Louisiana, this was on the top of my list of food that I wanted to try while in the Bayou.

We went to this adorable little coffee shop called the "Coffee Call" just for the Beignets. And goodness gracious! They were amazing!

Alyson and I got an order of Beignet Fingers because they were easier to share than the traditional style. They were so incredible and so messy!

If you are ever in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; The Coffee Call and their Beignets are a stop you should really make! The shop is so cute and the food is yummy and affordable! I'm definitely a fan!

I'm feeling very trapped.

Trapped in a life where I don't see much in the future.

It's not all bleak, there are great, amazing things on the horizon; but when it comes to a the way I feel about myself, the future looks very bleak.


I am terrified that I will always be stuck in a dead end job.

If I had a goal to work for, I might feel differently. I have no idea what I want to be. I'm up, I'm grown. I should know by now. But I don't.

There is nothing that I can see when I look ahead except worry about paying bills and dread every morning when that alarm clock goes off.

I don't want to live my life like that.


I don't want to feel like I'm locked in a life that I don't want. I want to move on to bigger and better things.

But I don't know how to proceed and that scares me more than anything.

I'm trapped. I just want a peek outside the door I'm stuck behind and glimpse what lies behind it. Hopefully it's something much better than where I am now.

The entire reasons we went to Louisiana was because Akilah won a sweepstakes to the Bayou Country Music Fest! Thanks again Budweiser! You gave us a great trip!

There were so many amazing acts. We really only caught four of them though. We just couldn't bring ourselves to sit in that awful heat for the earlier acts. Sorry guys.

I know what you're thinking. We live in Vegas. Heat should be something we are used to.

Well, we can handle heat, yes. But we definitely don't know how to handle humidity. 

So we only went to the later, big time shows.

The length of my hair is blowing me away. I know that it's long... but holy luscious locks, Batman! 

 Tim McGraw was definitely the best of all of the concerts in my opinion. He is so good looking and such a great entertainer.

Sugarland and Kenny Chesney were also amazing, but Tim McGraw still won. 

Thanks again for the tickets Budweiser and thanks to Akilah for inviting me along! You're the best!

New Orleans was such an interesting city. We only spent a few really late hours in the French Quarter our first night in Louisiana, but it was still incredible how much history and personality this place has.

We walked down Bourbon Street while we were in the French Quarter. It's like the Las Vegas Strip of the south. But without the gambling and a bit more chaos.

The entire area was so fun to explore. The buildings were old and lovely. I really would have loved to see it all in the daylight. The history that all of these buildings had was so neat to see!