Monday Mayhem: Puppies and Kitties

This week I decided on something like rainbows and gumdrops. I feel like this transition from Spring to Summer has been rough (at least in Portland). Many of my friends are going through hard times and I can't lie, there's not always a smile on my face when I wake up. So, in order for some smiles whether or not the transition has been hard for you, dear readers, here are some adorable pictures.

Enjoy!

all dressed and ready

don't worry baby

artsy

peekaboo

oh my gosh, yes

reading

one of my favorite blogger's new kitty

What automatically brings a smile to your face?

xoxo

My Eight Weeks: Week 6... House and Home

Last weeks goals:

1. Continue to communicate only positive thoughts towards others. It takes a while to break a bad habit and positivity needs practice. Goodness this is harder than it looks for me!

2. Write down at least one positive or beautiful thing you experienced/saw each day. I'm working on my morning pages which I'm trying to be more positive in.

3. Put $2/day toward credit card bill. Because less debt = happier me. Done.

4. Go on two friend dates and one artist date. Always fun and makes me feel less lonely. Done and done.

5. Go on two 20 minute walks. To invigorate body and mind. Forgot that one.

6. Bake vegan pumpkin muffins. Because if I treat my taste buds I treat myself! Nope, but I did make cupcakes!!!

This week's goals:

1. Finish attaching cloth to bulletin board and hang it.

2. rearrange living room 

3. put up 3 posters 

This week's goals are small-ish but they are in line with the theme this week on Sometimes Sweet and I think they may just be accomplishable!

What are your goals this week?

xoxo

Her Own Little Space

Today I helped my dear friend (bestie duhh) Nicole (yes, she is the face behind House of Leaves, sheesh, don't wet your pants!) set up her little space in a nice little antique mall in the Hollywood district.

[sidenote: I was driving through said Hollywood District today and a song that talked about the Hollywood sign, clearly the LA one, came on. Almost fitting, but not quite.]

Anywho, we started with a little trip to an ever so special place full of magical beings called Wal-Mart. Unfortunately Mr. Ghetto was not there, but plenty of other crazy things were. We quickly made our purchases and continued on to pick up her stuff and take it over to the space.

When we got there we put together a clothing rack and then I put together some wooden shelves like the Handy Manny (Handy Manny's girlfriend?) I am! 

Some photographs...

write those prices!

don't worry, that's the declaration framed...

I'm a big girl now!

corner of a lawn chair I sat in while she set up the goods on the shelf

The finished (for now) space.

If you live in Portland or are going to be visiting any time soon and like to shop vintage/antiques/fun things (duh, of course you do) then you should check it out!

1969 NE 42nd Ave.

 • 

Portland, OR 97213

She's probably going to make herself a cute little sign here soon but until then just go down the stairs, straight past the cash register 'til you can't walk straight anymore (cases of stuff that say "we open cases!" and then take a right and it's on your right!

I'm so excited for her, you have no idea.

Plus I got lunch (dinner?) and gas money AND a chance to build! Awesome!!! Oh yeah and friend time I gueeeeeess. ;)

Alright, I'm going to go listen to the thunder now.

xoxo

Comfort in Cupcakes

Dino, car and rainbow sprinkles

Some might feel it is no small act of blasphemy to say what I am about to say next, but I'm going to go for it anyway.

Sometimes box made cupcakes are better than specialty/gourmet ones.

I know it's a hard concept to grasp right now with cupcake shops showing up everywhere, but honestly, sometimes (most times) I'm a simple girl and I just want something that tastes of childhood. To me, Betty Crocker box made cupcakes are the things dreams are made of... and Prego sauce makes the best comfort spaghetti every time.

What's something simple that you like better than the newfangled version?

xoxo

Today's Inspiration

Why We Write 

There are many things which resist naming,
Ant that is why we write.
We write because language is slippery,
And the truth is.
We write because
The light we have to see by
Is always shifting

Never forget that writers are prophets.
We speak in tongues.
We testify.
We are for each other a believing mirror.
Our words make us visible.
Our listening makes us heard.

Never forget that writers are soldiers.
Our writing is the long march,
The walk into time.
Each word is a drum.
We sound it across great distance,
Reaching one another and ourselves.
Every poem is a day's march.
A celebration more necessary than water or wine.
Every poem is a drink of blood.

Never forget that writing is an act of courage -
Not on the days when it is simple and we discount it.
NOt on the days when it is hard and we write like sand.
Our words are torches.
We pass them hand to hand
And mouth to mouth
Like a burning kiss.

Never forget to say thank you.
Every syllable is a grace.

-Julia Cameron

April and May Books

Oops, I forgot to put together the April books for a while and when I remembered I was already more than half way through May so I decided to wait and put both together...

The last two months haven't been AS productive reading wise as I would have liked them to be. I did get stuck for a couple of weeks on book V in The Dark Tower series and so that brought down my average a little bit. But after that I raced through book VI and then book VII! I'll probably do a post by itself about The Dark Tower series one of these days so I'll leave the rest of that info for later...

Here are the books of April and May

Inspired me to read and do the exercises in The Sound of Paper. Also inspired me to start my Morning Pages.

Sad but true. Not quite what I thought it would be but still decent none the less.

I picked this up at random and was incredibly inspired spiritually. It's funny how I am most spiritually inspired by Latin works.

Started it, stopped for a bit to read some other books, started again and finally finished the first week of May.

Better than Jenna Jameson's memoir I think. Probably didn't sell as many copies though. I remember Jenna's How To Make Love Like a Porn Star selling so many copies to so many types during my Barnes and Noble days.

Skimmed through really, trying to see if there was more information I haven't learned from other sources. I found a couple of helpful tidbits but don't know if I really want to keep the book.

Read through this in a couple of days. Definitely one of my favorites in the series.

So here we are, end of May, beginning of June and 25 1/2 out of 52. I counted the Suze Orman book as half because I didn't read it cover to cover and it wasn't really something that read like a self help, memoir or fiction book does.

What books have you read (and loved) lately?

xoxo

A fact about me: yellow

source

I don't know if I'm going to keep this as a feature or not but I was sitting, painting my nails and had a thought I wanted to share. So I searched for a picture and came over here to tell you a little story about me.

I'll start this off with something a tid bit obvious, I'm a redhead, well, not just a redhead, a strawberry blonde. Being strawberry blonde is a blessing and a curse, I have so many reasons for each but let's just focus on the one that has to do with colors and clothes. 

As a strawberry blonde I look GREAT, like amazing, (and modest) in some colors. Others, not so much. While some colors make my eyes and hair stand out, others make me look monochromatic, or worse, sickly. Guess what one of those colors is... yup, yellow.

Normally I don't stress too much about colors that don't mesh well with my skin and hair. Light pinks are hit and miss, so are some greens, creams and definitely oranges. Most of these colors I don't even find myself attracted to, maybe besides the creams, but my heart doesn't break when I can't wear them. This USE to be the case with any shade of yellow. Not anymore. Lately I've become obsessed with yellow. The obsession might be sticking because I just can't find a shade that looks good on me and as we all know we want what we can't have. All shades that I have tried thus far make me look washed out (like I need to look like I have any less color in my skin!) and like I need to make my next stop the hospital.

I try and try, still touch yellow things at stores, get jealous over gorgeous outfits on blogs that incorporate a pretty yellow sweater or dress... 

I buy yellow accessories that don't sit against my skin. I have a purse that is white and yellow and I just love that thing. It's the closest to yellow I had dared to get.

That is, until today. I, against better judgement and adolescent memories, bought some (cheap) yellow nailpolish. I've been wanting it forever but there were too things holding me back. First, the aformentioned inability to look healthy with yellow against my skin and second, oh second...

So there was this time, way back, I think junior high, maybe a bit before, when I dared tried yellow polish. I was sooo stoked because it was different and sparkly and yellow and happy. I put it on and the next day at school hoped to show it off. You know what the first comment about the color was, "It looks like you peed on your nails."

Really? I look like I peed on my nails?! I'm laughing in my head right now just remembering that comment. I don't even remember who said it or if I was in a bus or on the playground, I just remember being slightly embarrassed but also a little confused as to how my bright sparkly yellow nail color looked like pee. 

Looking back I should have told the kid to go to the doctor if his pee was sparkly or that bright. I, being in junior high, was not quick with comebacks, however, and still not ready to be a trendsetter, so I kept my mouth shut and took the sparkly pee off my fingers. And like all things negative in junior high I kept the mental note to never, ever paint my nails yellow again.

...

With that being said, today is a moment in Corey history. Not only am I wearing a pale enhancer against my skin, I'm doing it wondering if anyone else is going to say I look like I peed on my nails! 

You know what?! I don't care what anyone says! I love my pee colored nails!

xoxo