Moose

Epic fail for Miss Moose.

Several things/reasons have kept me from blogging lately. In general, I've been busy.. yet I feel like there isn't much of my life that's interesting enough to document on here. Silly, right? I know better... but sometimes creative waves ebb more than flow.

I also have been nannying often to save up money for Vegas and also a trip to Colorado next spring or summer to see my best friend tie the knot. Said best friend is moving to Colorado next weekend, so I've been spending time with her and was planning out her going away shenanigans.

I also participated in Relay for Life on June 11th-12th. It was an amazing time!! My team was the top team in money raising with nearly $7,000 raised :) So proud of Team Donate Life!

My plan is to start writing here again. I just need to figure out exactly what I want to do ;o)

From zero to YAY!

In an attempt to kick myself in the tush when it comes to reading, I began reading the book Social Lives by Wendy Walker. It seemed like a fairly "easy" read; chick-lit account of privileged adults and teens and the troubles of their lives.

I also began reading A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It's on my TBR list for 2011 and I've been looking forward to it. I'm quite excited by both...
Then I get two e-mails today from my library informing me that two books I had on hold are ready for pick up:

Beastly by Alex Finn

and

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Beastly is on my 2011 Movie Adaptations list, which is pretty much any movie coming out this year that I want to see that had a book predecessor.

My problem now is to figure out how to juggle all four books... I'm thinking of reading Beastly and Sing You Home now, and saving Social Lives and A Clockwork Orange for after since I'm not crazy far into either one of them as of yet.

Hooray for a good library "haul" (I use that loosely since it's just two books). Now the trick will be to stop watching Season 3 of The O.C. on DVD and read this weekend... and get other things done too, of course ;o)

30 Days of Lists days 1-9

A few of you asked if I was going to post my lists... I was hesitant to do so. This is my first attempt ever at any type of prompted journal and any type of "art" journal (aka a journal where I do more than just write as fast as I can when I'm really ticked off).

But, I figured what the hell. It's fun.. and I'm having fun doing it. So.... here we are with days 1-9 of 30 Days of Lists:

Day 1 - A Few Things About Yourself

*Shy and awkward
*Cat-mom
*Book worm
*Writer
*Cleveland Girl
*Wanderlust
*Soft on the inside <3
*Fighter
*Music lover
*Loyal
*Random
*Volunteer
*Activist

Day 2 - Things I'm Good At

Procrastination
Making salads
Obsessing
Dreaming big
Remembering/knowing weird/random things
Being a cat-mom
Being messy
Being organized
Being a mess
Trying my best

Day 3 - I Am Looking Forward To...

Vegas with my momma (just found out about the trip today!)
Relay for Life
Summer
Reaching my goal weight
Autumn
My ever after... whatever it may be...

Day 4 - Today's Playlist

Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Chrome - VNV Nation
Cinnamon - Ron Pope
Everyday and Every Night - Trailer Park Ninjas

Day 5 - Weekend Goals

Get Relay for Life FB Page up
Gather some courage...
Organize around the apartment
Finish The O.C. Season 2
Update blog
Develop work photos

Day 6 - Least Favorite Words...

Biscuit
Many words that are onomatopoeic...
i.e. crunch, sizzle, plop...
Panties
Moist
Irregardless

Day 7 - Blog Goals

Find a design I love
Focus on fashion some and a lot of home (design, tips, etc) and Books (subsidiary)?
One weekly segment
Other segments periodically
Update at least twice a week
Incorporate tumblr and pintrest

Day 8 - What's In My Bag?

Wallet
Check book
Coach coin purse - to hold gift cards
Planner
Pens
Chap stick
Lip tint
Rose Salve
Meds
Tampons
Inhaler
Book
Keys
iPod
GPS
Camera

Day 9 - Favorite Blogs and Websites

Facebook
Tumblr
Etsy
Youtube
Google Feed Reader (does that even count?)
Daydreaming on Paper
Goodreads
Lakewood Library Online
Amazon
Cleveland Craigslist

Not so much excitement, but I'm alive!

Once again I've been MIA. I have been trying to keep up on my feed reader though... trying being the operative word here. Yikes!

The reason for my absence: life. Babysitting a lot on the side to save up money for....

LAS VEGAS!!!

This girl has been to only four states, including the one I live in. This girl has had only one "major" vacation in her life (Disney when I was like 7 years old). So this is exciting. My mom and I are going with some other friends in October. Woohoo!

I am keeping up with 30 Days of Lists. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to get a really nice journal to use for it... but the old notebook with pages ripped out is working fine :) It's my first venture into any type of "art journal"... and it's interesting to say the least so far. Pretty much magazine cut outs and my own handwriting.

It has inspired me though (along with Lauren who did something similar for her 30 Days journal) to use my Christmas 2010 TOAST catalog as a journal of sorts. Quotes, lists, reminders, etc. It's a HUGE work in progress... but I'm hoping I can turn it into something special.

My Bookshelf page is updated... not with much though... I've been addicted to watching The O.C. on DVD. And Greek on Netflix instant. I'm trying to make time each day to read though so I can pick up the pace again. I usually drop off a bit later in the year, but hopefully this will be my only slump.

I finally got my invite to pinterest and have been pinning like crazy!! I've also been working on making my tumblr more of a photo collage of this blog.

And in the interest of winter ending and hopefully soon (Go away, Lion!! Bring on the Lamb!!)... I thought I'd post one of my recent winter ensembles... so comfy!

Dress - Forever 21
Black cami - Thrifted
Belt - Came with a dress from Kohls
Leggings - Marshall's
Boots - Target
Necklace - H&M

Crazy blogger has gone crazy (busy, that is).

I know I've been MIA recently... it's just been a very busy and hectic couple of days/weeks and things may well continue to be busy for a while. I'm quite okay with this, overall.

I say overall because while it keeps me busy and the busier I am the more organized and productive I am, it leaves less time for doing fun lazy time activities such as reading large amounts of books (my goal is still 100 for the year, though!) and watching cheesy 90's and 2000's TV shows on DVD/Netflix Instant.

One thing I am VERY excited about is The American Cancer Society Relay for Life!

I am a part of Team Donate Life. Our goal is to raise awareness for organ donation as we raise money for cancer!
Our relay is June 11th and 12th, and we have such big plans for fund-raising and event antics.

On a more personal, free time type note I'm pumped for the 30 Days of Lists

And I'm hoping to come up with a fun, cute and portable way to be able to take it with me. I have a serious love for list making (seriously, it's even on my Facebook page under interests, haha) and my goal is to post my lists here on Moose as well.

I've been babysitting a lot more lately. It's a great side job for me and I may have even managed to pick up a good fairly steady gig for summer.

I have a long list of ideas for spring and summer clothing that I'm dying to try and hopefully purchase. I'll have to make my own look-book and post it up!

Also in the (hopefully) near future look for a new book post and a new I *heart* Etsy post!

Taken by Taupe!

It may only be February, but spring fashions are hitting sales floors and mailboxes (in catalog form, of course) full force. The trend of neutral colors and natural (or at least natural seeming) fabrics are popular again this year. And for the first time, ever, I am quite excited for this scheme in both my own personal fashion as well as home decor.

When it came to home decor in the past, I was really hesitant to go for anything in neutral tones because those tones were generally white or cream. I can't seem to keep anything that's white, well, white. Plus, I have black cat... super light fabrics and a super spoiled Miss Chloe Marie do not go well together no matter how often she's brushed and how often I de-lint and dust.

When it came to fashion... well the first point about me and the color white above stays true. I'm also quite pale (and quite proud of it). I also felt that darker colors were best for me because I tried to, well, hide my body because I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. Sound kinda silly? Maybe... but it's how I felt comfortable. I spent a lot of time in black, gray, navy, etc.

But this year... will be different.

Black and gray will still pepper my wardrobe, to be sure. Gray and brown will still make cameos in my decor. Of course using white and cream as well to accent in both areas.

My new color obsession is:

TAUPE.

Seem kind of... plain, boring, and blah? How about pairing it with...

Turquoise is a happy color!

Or a pretty shade of coral, perhaps.

Or maybe a pepper berry shade of red.

Maybe use some ochre accents?

Using one or two of these colors with taupe can make for pretty decor and pretty ensembles. The best part is that taupe, with any of these colors can be nearly any season. One could even mix two of the accent colors with the taupe for a really beautiful look.

[source]

The lovely blog owner at Creature Comforts created this pretty taupe and pepper berry color board.

Taupe with turquoise and red. Not entirely my style, but I really love how it works none the less.

Taupe, white and coral. Looks very fresh and clean and comfy!

What is your color crush for the spring season?

I heart Etsy - Vintage Sweater Finds

Cleveland winter. I generally don't mind it. At least until I have to go somewhere in it.

I'm sitting here quite comfy wearing a vintage Lacoste cardi that belonged to my Poppa, listening to Pepper Rabbit and drinking tea. Oh, and I just finished a book as well! Pretty much the perfect winter evening (minus that whole pesky up early for the hellish commute in lousy weather thing). Pretty much an ideal winter night. Add to that my love for sweaters and vintage. What better night for this post?