ink blots

 If you take a peek at my sidebar, you will find a link to the new journal class I just signed up for, called ink blots.  It starts tomorrow & I'm sooo excited.  I'm so ready to start journaling again.  It's so therapeutic.  Just the very act of picking up a marker/pencil/pen/paint brush & putting it to paper makes me happy.  I bought washi tape online (for the first time ever! eep!!), ordered a few hand carved stamps (will do a separate supplies post), and got a new moleskine sketchbook.  It's nice to have a place to go to talk to other crafty girls, to get inspired, and have daily prompts.  The first assignment, "Lesson 0: Teacher's Pet", is the one you see above.  We were to journal what we hoped to get out of this class.  I think the best part about taking a class like this, if not meeting/interacting with great girls, is the positivity.  The online creative community has a way of making you feel excited about the littlest things, which is so nice in this negative world we live in.  After a rough day, we can come home & soothe the mind/spirit with colors, and happy imagery.  There are no rules & no one to please but yourself.  The nicest & most supportive group of girls live online (well part time anyway!  ;) .....and I can't wait to get messy & make something pretty with them!

Oh, Nutella.

 ...it all started when I asked Lilly what she wanted for breakfast for her birthday.  "Nutella pancakes?," is what I knew she would say, but then, I didn't get it.  Now I do.  I totally do.  I always assumed that I wouldn't like it.  I've had hazelnut coffee, and thought it was super disgusting, so why would I like a hazelnut spread??  I'll tell you why; because it tastes like frosting.  The kind of chocolate frosting you would expect if Jesus handed you a cupcake.  Oh.  My. God.  Well, needless to say, a jar of it always remains in the cupboard (half empty).  Even KC loves it.  If you haven't tried it yet, you should.  You can justify it as being "good for you", because it has nuts in it.  Right?  Well, the package is pretty if nothing else.  Did I mention that it tastes like chocolate frosting?

dear Spring, i Love you.

Have you guys been LOVING it?!  All that snow this Winter has made such lush and floral trees this Spring.  They are absolutely gorgeous!  And the rain.......such vibrant hues & intoxicating smells.  I just adore taking walks in this lovely season, sprinkles or sunshine.  Get out and enjoy it before it gets too hot! xoxo.

a book review: Hector and the search for Happiness

A book review!  I don't think I've ever done a book review on the ol blog before.  This is exciting!  I just got done reading this book called, Hector and the search for Happiness, by Francois Lelord.  It was a good book.  Did I choose it for the cute cover?  Maybe.  But I liked it.  I didn't love it, but it was still good.
The book is about a psychiatrist named Hector, who becomes unhappy, and traveles around the world in search of happiness.  He interviews friends & strangers about what makes them happy.  The story is cute, and the happiness lessons are good.  What I didn't like about the story is that it was mainly what makes people like Hector happy. 
But all in all, it was a quick, fun read.

reward myself for my accomplishments

One thing I am learning, that is a huge motivator, is rewarding myself.  I have a lot to do.  A LOT to do.  So having something to look forward to is a great way to push myself.  It's usually something small, like Starbucks, or watching my favorite show, or maybe even a new candle or body wash.  It's ok to treat yourself for accomplishing something.  Sometimes I get so overwhelmed when I think about everything that needs to get done, so I don't do anything, feeling so guilty.  You have to tell yourself, "one step at a time, don't compare yourself to others, & you are only human".  So you ran errands all day and you were too exhausted to clean when you came home?  So what.  You spent your entire day off running errands (not to mention making breakfast, lunches, and dinner, feeding the animals too, and being pulled in a million other directions...)!  So relax.  Don't bite off more than you can chew.  Focus on one thing at a time, and give yourself a break.  Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar!    :P
Tell me, what motivates you?  What do you reward yourself with???

be more thrifty

I wanted to include this in my resolutions this year for so many reasons.  First, to save money.  I have become a lot more aware of my spending habbits over the last few years, and I am tired of spending ridiculous amounts of money on things we don't love or use often.  I feel like holidays, for one, have gotten completely out of hand.  These kids (and us) are becoming so spoiled, ending up with mountains of generic stuff that we don't even appreciate.  I can't help but wonder how harmful this will be in the long run for our family.  I'm really begenning to rethink gifts, and want to start making them really unique and thoughtful.  Another reason to become more thrifty is that it is so much fun.  It's always neat to go into a thrift store with an open mind, and see what's available.  Once I got a fantastic olive green velvet vintage couch for $30!  Incredible.  And if you know how to alter clothing, this can be a great way to find vintage fabrics, and borrow pretty details from clothes that aren't quite right.  Also, thrifting is so eco friendly.  Forget all the packaging and polution!  It's a win win win....yay!

50 follower giveaway.......yay!

Here are a few photos of what you will get.......



....I didn't want to photograph the whole package, because I wanted an element of surprise, and also because I'm a last minute gal & I knew I would gather up a lot of little things to stuff into the box before I ship it off.  So sorry that things have been slow moving on here.  It's really difficult to do regular internet activities like blogging without regular access to a real computer.  :(
I'm grateful to be able to borrow computers, and such, but they just aren't the same thing, you know?  My iPhone4 is so amazing, but mobile blogging sucks.  It's like texting, which is weird.  And trying to insert a photo to a blog post is really frusturating.  Plus if I want to go back and edit, it's nearly impossible from a cell phone.  It's nice to use my parent's laptop, but they have their own personal settings that work for them, but are irritating to me.  Little things, like internet explorer instead of firefox (spell check....hello!), and allowing access for importing something from the clipboard.  I'm looking a gifthorse in the mough, I know, but when fun & awesome things like blogging become difficult, I tend to choose something else (like Glee on Netflix).  Definately looking forward to having a computer in the house!
Enough complaining, this is about celebration.  If you like what you see, and wouldn't mind being surprised with a few extras, please leave me a comment with contact info (like an email address), and tell me what your favorite springtime activities are.  I will choose a winner on Sunday May 1st, at 10am central standard time.  That gives you about 2 weeks to enter.

Package includes:
* a cupcake cookbook (used, but fairly new, and in great condition)
* a brand new 14.5 oz. pineapple orchid scented candle (my favorite!) from Bath & Body Works
* a cute package of my personal scrapbook supplies (a little destash, including a woodgrain stamp)
* japanese cherry blossom mini bath products with a cute floral purse size mirror
* candy, stickers, and other random tidbits      ;)

50 followers!

Yay! I have secretly been waiting for this moment for a while now. Pretty things have been rounded up for a coffin confections blog reader giveaway!! I'll have details for you fantastic people soon, with a photo of the goods! Eeeep! It's true that I actually have more than 50 followers, if you count my Facebook and Bloglovin followers, but since my Facebook followers are my friends anyway, and I only have about 5 Bloglovin followers, I decided to just stick with the google friend connect number. It's the one I see on my blogger dashboard, and the one I stalk constantly to see if I get a few new readers. I try to check out each new reader to see if they have a blog so I can return the favor and follow them. My appologies to my newest readers for not being able to check you out right away....it gets a little tricky only having an iPhone for Internet. I will see who you are soon though, I promise!
A huge thank you to each and every one of you who reads my blog! It really means a lot to me that people care about what I have to say. So don't be shy...follow me if you don't already. :)

30 before 30

It's so sad not having a computer at home. I feel like my blogging life has taken a major backseat. I suppose it's good for me to take a little blog break though and focus on things like, housework. Still. I hope these short & sweet little posts will tide you readers over this spring while waiting for that magical piece of technology to arrive. It's amazing the things we take for granted isn't it?!
This is a list my boyfriend and I did together. We turn 30 about 2 weeks apart from each other, at the end/beginning of the year. Hopefully we'll get to cross a few things off before our birthdays. :)

...just testing out mobile blogging...