JueLie

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

July

• Color- Believe it or not, there IS such a thing as "summer gray". Normally, when people think of the color gray, they think "Winter," "Cold," "Sad," "Fog and/or Rain," etc. etc. So in the summer time, the color gray does become sad....because no one bothers to pay it any mind. But this summer, I have found myself wearing Summer Gray at least once a week. I have the perfect little Anthropologie light gray V-neck t-shirt and it is a staple in my closet. The gray is so light it is almost white and it goes perfectly with basically everything, including white. Now, when I think of gray, I do not think of cold sadness; I think of all the warm sunny days where I could walk around and change the color of winter.
• Book- I have come to realize how hard it is to pick a Book of the Month. When I have the time for "fun reading," the picking isn't so bad because I usually just talk about what I am enjoying that month. But this month, I don't really have a book because I've been spending all my reading time doing research. And packing. My family is moving in just a few weeks and that means the worst thing possible- my books have to go into boxes to be put in storage for a few weeks. I know. Tragic. But I have to admit, pulling them off the shelves and reinvestigating them has been pretty enjoyable. It's not that I *forgot* I own certain books but sometimes it is easy to forget how precious they were to you upon first read. So rather than me telling you all what book I think is good this month, I will tell you to go to your own shelves and rediscover the old goodies collecting dust from your youth. Give Little House on the Prairie a good stroll down memory lane, or better yet, bask in the White Way of Light with Anne of Green Gables just one more time.
• Song- One song that I have really liked since around November is "Anything Could Happen" by Ellie Goulding. It always puts me in a good mood and I love turning the volume up up and away whenever it comes on my Pandora or Spotify stations. Here it is for your enjoyment: Anything Could Happen

 

So in case nobody noticed, I changed the layout and design of my blog. It is much simpler and plain, but I think it is a little bit of fresh air. It doesn't feel so dark to me and although I am personally still getting used to it, I hope you all like it! If not, a reversal is totally do-able and even though I say all the time that I blog for me, I secretly like to blog for my readers too =)

 

 

Fresh

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      It is hot. I cannot think of a clever or sassy way to put it otherwise since my brain is melting faster than the icecaps. As the temperatures continue to rise (who knew that was even possible at this point???), I have spent an abundance of time inside. But I do have to suck it up and brace the heat a few times throughout the day to walk the dog, get the mail, walk to my car, etc. On each of these unfortunate occasions I always feel immediately miserable. Not in the "my life is horrible and no one likes me" way, but in the "Ew, I feel disgusting and need to go inside and shower for the fifth time today" way. I'm not a big fan of smelling like "outside" nor am I a fan of sweating. Really though, is anyone?

      As these refreshing thoughts are the only ones I can muster up right now, I couldn't help but apply freshening up to other aspects of my life. My family is moving very soon to a completely different state. Whaaat?!? Yea. It's happening. With the whole moving process comes the whole packing process which inevitably leads to the throwing out process. We have done so much de-cluttering and compromising and evaluating of what we own, what we want to keep, what we want to donate and much more. And as much as I love everything and hate to throw things out, the whole ordeal is actually a bit invigorating. I find that I have a little more closet space (Yay!) and a little more drawer space.

      So there's that. Now what? What other refreshing can I bring to life? "Hmmm," I thought. "Maybe I can refresh my blog a bit..." So that is what I am presently contemplating. Being on the Blogosphere means staying attune to other blogs in the world and my, oh my, are there a lot. Of course I don't want to go all commando on my readers and strip away everything but the words, but I think it is time for a slightly more refreshing look.

      I am finding that the background image, though fitting for my overall intended tone,  becomes more and more obnoxious and distracting. Yet, I don't really have any pictures in my blog posts; so if I take away the large picture, there might be nothing left but too many words upon words. And no one wants to look at that. Regardless of what I end up changing, I think the time has arrived for SOME change of scenery. What do you think?

      As I ponder this impending change, my dear readers, please try and stay cool and fresh in this suffocating heat. Drink lots of water, find some shade, and apply Dove's GO FRESH deodorant as needed =)

                                                                       Sincerely,
                                                                              Me

Tiff

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      When Audrey Hepburn had a Down Day, she went to Tiffany's. Or at least her character went to Tiffany's. Better yet, her character ate BREAKFAST at Tiffany's. It made her feel better about life, love and the general pursuit of happiness. Though it never had such a lasting effect as, say, looking for Cat in the pouring rain with a hot man by her side, eating her scone and drinking her coffee in front of the glimmering windows on the New York street corner always seemed to do the trick for a day in desperation.

      I have a place like that. I have two places, actually. Anthropologie would be the first. Barnes & Noble, the second. I don't know what it is about these places that automatically lifts my spirits upon stepping through their air-conditioned thresholds. It is something in the air, NO, something in the smell. The atmosphere. The people. The clothes. The books. The general lifestyle I wish I lived my life by. I could spend a lifetime in Anthropologie and I could spend even longer in Barnes & Noble.

      It would be schaweeeet if when I get married I could register at Anthropologie. I'm pretty sure that isn't a "thing" yet, but I'm hoping that maybe if I get the idea of an AnthroRegistery enough street credit, maybe, just maybe, someone with corporate authority will hear my voice.  In the mean time, I will just continue to strive to fill my closet accordingly.

      Don't get me wrong though. One does not need to shop at their store of comfort in order to feel alleviated from the burdens of life. I mean seriously, I am a poor college student. If I wanted to buy anything on my own at Anthro I would have to limit myself to a piece of thread in the SALE section. I am not ashamed though because if I could eat breakfast everyday in front of their handcrafted window designs, I would.

      I know I haven't said anything yet about the glorious relief achieved at Barnes & Noble yet, but fear not, for hear it is.....

....And then some....

Did you like my use of my Pinteresting just then?

      I guess what I am trying to say is this: It is prime and pertinent to have *at least* one place where you can go and smell and stand and look around you to feel a little better. If it is the gym, then I hope you are doing a little more than just smelling and standing around. If it is a cake shop, maybe just smelling and standing is all you should be doing. Be what it may, it helps, even if only for a little. It may sound too "first world problem-y" or too materialistic but I think there really is something to being surrounded by your passions.

      Sure, maybe I should go smell the inside of a Church more often. And who knows, maybe that will be number three on the list. But for now, my Cat is safe and sound and snuggled up on the couch. Life is good and, today, I went into Barnes & Noble and smelled.

                                                            Sincerely,
                                                                      Me