books books books

Update on 2012 goal #1.....read at least 15 books.
 (I read 40).

I figured I'd make a list of all the books I read and maybe even get some suggestions from yall for this year's books!??!!

 Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

The Plantation: A Twisted Tale From A Demented Mind by Frank T. Stoppa

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Love Wins by Rob Bell

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattilo

Fit To Be Tied by Bill and Lynne Hybels

Behaving Like Adults by Anna Maxted

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Step on A Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Cross by James Patterson

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Swimsuit by James Patterson

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory

Is Everyone Hanging out without me? by Mindy Raling

The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory

The Queen's Rival by Diane Haeger

Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell

My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock

Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man by Steve Harvey

The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger

Your First Year Teaching and Beyond by Ellen Kronovitz

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

LA Candy by Lauren Conrad

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad

Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad

50 Shades of Grey by EL James

50 Shades Darker by EL James

50 Shades Freed by EL James

Single in the City by Michele Gorman

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Cracked by Tara Logan

Spying in High Hells by Gemma Halliday

Bridesmaid Lotto by Rachel Astor

Gamble on Engagement by Rachel Astor

The Wedding Wager by Rachel Astor

Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis

summer reading

This summer I have been doing a lot of reading.
At first, reading was a goal of mine. I wanted to read 10 non-school related books in 2011.
Then, I wanted to read 15 more in 2012.
So far I have already surpassed that number and it's only June.
Now reading is more of a favorite hobby. One that I had forgotten about in the midst of school. Having finally graduated and now having way too much free time on my hands, I've falled back in love with books. The library has even become my favorite spot again.

So what have I been reading?
The current books on my selves (and library card) seem to be from one of 2 categories: Tudor era (Henry VIII of England) and comedy. 

I'm not entirely sure why, but ever since my trip to England (back in '97) I have been extremely interested in the Tudor reign. My interest was especially that of his wives and in particular Anne Bolyen. As I've gotten older I think my interest in that era is due to a couple things. One, to think that one lady changed the fate of an enitre county (and perhaps even ours) is astounding. Due to the lust and manipulation of Anne Bolyen, England completely changed it's country's religion from Catholic to Protestant, which many countries are still fighting about. The other reason for my interest in this subject is somewhat silly. For whatever reason the Medieval era seems romantic. Definitely not romantic as in love (because let's face it love doesn't exactly mean beheading your wives) but more in their style. The clothing style. The architecture style. It seems goregous and (that word again) romantic.

While my roommates have had a little fun in teasing me for my constant Tudor books, here are the ones I have so far read.....

The Constant Princess is about Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon. It follows her as a child, destined to become the Queen of England, through her adulthood (and marriages to 2 Princes of England) and ends with the trial of marriage.

The Queen's Rival is about Henry VIII's first serious mistress, Bess Blount. The first woman to ever give him a son.

The Other Boylen Girl is probably well known due to the movie. It's the life of Mary Bolyen (future Queen of England, Anne Boylen's sister).  While the movie wasn't my favorite, a co-worker had been reading this book and told me that it was pretty awesome and much more informational than the movie had been. So of course, intrigued I picked it up at the library (and thus an obbession had begun..haha).

Mademoiselle Boylen is the book I am currently reading. It follows Anne Bolyen's life starting as a little girl.

The Bolyen Inheritance is another Philippa Gregory book and I loved it. It told the story of Henry VIII's 4th and 5th wives (Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard). It also told the story of another Howard woman.... Lady Rochford (Anne Boylen's sister-in-law).

Then of course, there are the more light-hearted books that have had me actually laughing out loud.

Bang Bang is actually a pretty good book and I had asked for it for my birthday (thanks Steven!!). While Chelsea Handler is insanely inappropriate and hysterical, just a warning she talks about sex and drinking a lot.

While wandering through Walmart one night, I ran across this book. The cover alone told me I would enjoy it and I honestly did. It is a little like Chelsea handler (only without the drinking and as much sex talk). Samantha Bee is extremely funny (if you didn't already know that from Jon Stewart's show). The only thing I didn't like was how randomly her stories were placed (and sometimes caused confusion since the timing was off).

Okay, who doesn't like The Office? Amazing show. Amazing cast. Amazing writers. So when I found out "Kelly" from The Office (and co-writer) had her own book out, I again asked Steven for it. It wasn't as funny as I had hoped, but it was interested to see how she grew up and got started in her career.

One of Steven's cousins introduced me to Jenny Lawson's  (also known as The Bloggess) blog last year. It was kind of love at first read. She's insane. And amazing. And her book was everything and more. Everytime I opened it I laughed my ass off. I even had to start reading it in opposite rooms from my roommates because my laughing would interrupt their tv time. Plus they constantly gave me funny looks for laughing so hard at a book. But her short stories are wonderful. And so is her blog. Just one question......when is the next one coming out?!?!?!?

What have you been reading this summer??

-kel

PS- Thanks to my pal Christen, I was introduced to Goodreads.com (where you can see all these books and others I intend to read). If you haven't checked it out already, you should! And then let's be friends!

pinterest project #1

One of my "25 before 26" goals was to create 5 things from pinterest. I figured that this would be a good way to actually get crafty instead of just "pinning" pictures. 

For the first "pinterest" project I decided to make a jewelry holder, which I found here.

 Like any girl, I had some already, but I felt like they weren't adequate and they also seemed to hide what I had, meaning that I often times forgot about them. This idea (which paired well with the framing my necklaces) seemed to be the perfect solution and even saved space).

 

Making it was super easy too!

I bought a large plate (pizza size), bowl (smaller), and a candle stick. I also needed glue (I used "Dots" which are really used to easily adhere pictures to paper) and paint. 

 First, paint.

Then once it dries put glue on either side of the candlestick and attach it to the large plate (bottom) and bowl (or smaller plate) on the top.

Let dry.

Add your jewelry!

 

Volia! 

I put braclets and watches on the top, earrings with hooks on the edges, and rings, necklace pendants small earrings, and broaches on the bottom. 

Now I can see everything and I can more easily pick what I want to wear from day to day.

 If you make one, please share pictures, I would love to see your take!!!

-kel

restaurant #3 (and a lot of rambling about bubble tea)

So remember those "Stellie points"??

                                     (A/K/A Steven and Kellie's guide to fine dining in Jacksonville). 

                                                                       Too much?

Last night Steven and I tried a new place down the road, Bowl of Pho. Never personally having had Vietnamese or Pho, I was excited. The place was actually really cute and what totally made my night was that they offered bubble tea!!

(Nerd moment......).

So a couple of years ago I caught onto this bubble tea phenomenon and decided I had to try it. I'm not really a big fan of tea, but I was hoping this would change things. So I went online and looked up places that offered bubble tea. There were only 3 places in Florida and one was 6 hours away, but happened to be my hometown. So a few months later when I travelled home to Pensacola for the holidays, I went on my search for this new craze. Of course, by the time I got my entire family there to try this amazing new delight, I found out it had closed. Talk about major let down.

So then, a couple years later.....bubble tea is everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Maybe this was a lesson in patience, I don't know.

But last night, I got my fill of bubble tea for the week. And I was ecstatic.

Oh and it was also cool that we got to try a new place. I feel like this 25 before 26 goal is helping Steven and I to be a bit more adventurous as a couple. At least when it comes to food.

And the Stellie combined point for this new place? 7.05 (you know, in case you were wondering).

-kel

Ps. in case you want to follow along, I typically post pics up on instagram, so follow me. (kelzify)

stellie

We're a very ambitious couple.

For real.

We spent Saturday night dancing the night away (in Steven and Kellie fashion....which others might deem "embarrassing", but we see as fun/entertaining). Hey- we even got our picture taken (see above).

Sunday we made a "fort of sorts" in the living room and watched tv all day on an air mattress. That was also the day we decided we should start rating movies. The new Rogers and Ebert if you will. Only our rating system will be called "stellie points". (Which is also the name of our restaurant rating system...see below).

Again, we are very ambitious.

One of my 25 before 26 goals was to try (at least) 25 new restaurants.

Steven agreed to help and this past weekend he sweetly offered to take me to a new place. We chose Big Dawgs (which is the 2nd new restaurant on my goal list so far). Then he had a brilliant idea to rate the new restaurants so we'd know if we ever wanted to go back.

So the "Stellie" point system began.

(By the way, Big Dawgs (in case you were wondering) got a 5.2 combined score from us).

Other than making crazy/awesome career choices this weekend, we also got to hang out with Steven's sister and boyfriend, who were here for a day or two. I'm pretty sure this weekend would count as one of the best in a long time. And I needed it. We caught up, ate and drank too much, danced, ordered late night food, watched tons of tv and movies and just had an amazing time.

xo

kel

25 before 26

Last year I made my "24 before 25" list.

 Looking back on what I accomplished from this list, I only got about half of them done. Which kind of  disappointing because the year before I didn't accompish all my goals either. So this year, I put some of them back on in hopes of this year getting them marked off.
The ones I did do: travel to a new place (Tampa, FL), finish the Kellie and Steven year 1 minibook, go on at least 1 photoshoot (i did 2), go on a bike ride in riverside, make a minibook out of paintchips, have a picnic in the park, let go of grudges (still working on this, but I've come a long way), declutter home, save monet, finish Lost seasons, bike more, and fingerpaint.

Now for this year's list...... my 25 before 26 list:

As you can tell, most of my goals are oriented around the numbers 5 and 25. I thought it would make it funny and more fun this year.
And I already started....last night I went to a new exercise class with a work friend. I loved it too, can't wait to go back tomorrow!!

xoxo
kel

Last month, I made 7 goals.

February goals:
go to the gym more often (not done)
save money (done)
read 2 books (done...i actually read closer to 5)
find a roommate for march (if our current situation holds, then this is also done)
line up job(s) for the summer (currently one is in the works and the other is a go)
catch up with friends and pen pals (friends-yes, pen pals-no...i need to still work on this)
create/make cd swap lists/cds (done and done!!)

5 out of 7 isn't too terrible.


This month I am making 6 goals:

In March I will.......
continue to catch up with friends and pen pals
work on being on time
read at least 2 books
continue saving money
take lots of awesome prego pictures for my good friend Jen
lose some weight


What are your March goals?

xoxo
kellie

2012// goal 2

Goal 2 was written simply: document the year. To some this might seem a little too vague and in need of explanation. For me, it's the perfect summary. I usually hate vague, but for my goals this year, I felt it fit perfectly. This way, I can break it down in numerous ways.

So document the year..... I've already started in tons of ways.

1. a minibook.
After always seeing the cute minis on one of my favorite blogs, I decided that this year, I would try my own version (again). I had tried before in numerous ways (sketch a day, picture a day, journal entry a day) and none of them stuck. But Elise seemed to have a different approach. Don't do it every day, but document the large things, the good things. So I sat down and created a mini in which to document the big things.

2. journaling.
I use to journal like it was my job. Perhaps, it's because it was back in high school before I got a job... But nonetheless, I loved it. I know that it's a big commitment, but I am going to try journaling everyday for an entire year. They won't necessarily be large entries, but it will be something for me to look back on. And the best part is it will between myself and the pages only. So I cna be completely open.

3. 365 project.
I feel like this was more of a fad a couple of years ago. And I did try to do it then, but it was before I had a digital camera and before I had an iphone....both of which make this project a lot easier. (A lot of these photos are on instagram, so feel free to follow me to see the pics I'm making.... username: kelzify).

4. I even signed up for a journaling all year (52 ideas) class (which most of you have probably heard of).
Since I want to journal more and I have created the cute little (or not so little) mini, I decided that this little journal class would not only be fun, but a good way to broaden my journaling abilities. Plus, who doesn't get stuck and need some inspiration? I'm really excited to start and then add the pretty pages to my 2012 minibook!!

-kellie

Committed

This year, one of my many goals was to read at least 15 books. The first book to add to that list, is Committed. Last year, I read Eat, Pray, Love (same author) which I totally fell in love with. The same friend that lent me that book also let me borrow this one, so I happily set forth in doing so.

Now here's the truth (my truth) about the book.....Perhaps I had grand expectations for it since the first was so good (and I therefore assumed the follow up would be close if not better), but my expectations fell flat. Although I did get some good lessons and laughs from this book, it won't exactly go down as one of my favorites.

However, here are some awesome parts of the book that I did enjoy. And don't worry- no spoilers.....

1. The name. My sister and I had a good laugh over this. Perhaps Elizabeth Gilbert meant to do this (if you read this book, or even the summary, you'll know that she's not the fondest of the insutuion). However, my sister and I did enjoy the play on words.

2. Some of her facts and quotes were awesome. My favorite: "Plant an expectation, reap a dissapointment". Not to say you should never have expectations, but rather you should be careful what they are. Afterall, people are people, not our Savior, not our end-all-be-alls.

I agree.

And after looking up some photos, I stumbled upon this.....

Elizabeth Gilbert and her hubby, themselves.
Too cute.

Has anyone else read this book? If so, I'd honestly love to hear your opinion!

xoxoxo

kel

52 lists in 52 weeks// week 31

Happy New Year all!!

I can't believe it's 2012. I actually had put together goals (yea, cause apparently 1 resolution isn't enough for me) awhile ago, but my internet had other plans. Anyway... here are my resolutions, the first list of 2012 and list 31 in the series.

What are your resolutions?!?

Link up here (EDITED!)

xoxo
kellie