Desirous of everything

CBS Sunday Morning! Or, What is a weekend?

2012-02-13T11:41:00.000-05:00

So you guys? This happened:

CBS Sunday Morning filmed our most recent Downton Party! And let me tell you, it was a festive one. Almost as festive as a wedding ruined by Spanish Influenza...too soon?

Plus, our party included two new die hard Downton ladies! Introducing....The impeccable Countess Jamilah who made her own fascinator for the event!

And the always lovely Lady Kate!

And as always, our fabulous hostess Lady Tammy outdid herself once again! Lucky for us, cholera did not break out during the party and half of the guest were not dead before they left the ballroom.

Look at that table! Did Tammy call up Martha to confer (since we're BFFs with her Majesty, Queen Martha now) or is she just that good? Answer: She's just THAT GOOD! In the words of the Dowager Countess herself, "All this unbridled joy has given me quite an appetite."

And what an eventful two hour episode it was! By the way, did anyone else notice the excessive repeat of outfits? Don't they know we are watching for the clothes? Well do not fear, the elegant ladies do not repeat outfits. So if you're feeling deprived please, feast your eyes below:

What can I say? We know how to wear a head piece.

This episode was so long and so eventful, I feel like I could spend an entire year writing a recap. So I ask you dear readers, what had you yelling at the screen? Vampire like funerals? Miracles happening in wheelchairs? Stupid people not understanding someone's dying death wish and believing in curses? (Seriously Matthew?!?) Bates and Anna in bed together? (Ewww...just, ewww.) Ladys running away with chauffeurs? Lord Grantham's INFIDELITY!!!?!?!? (I am so upset about this). Or just every time that big baby was on screen?

Leave me your lovely lady thoughts in the comments! And stay tuned about CBS Sunday Morning. We don't know yet when it will be airing, but I will share the news as soon as I know!

Yours & etc. etc.,

Lady SoSo

Surfing the eBook Wave. Guest post from author Jennie Walters!

2012-02-09T15:30:00.000-05:00

Hello writers and Downton Abbey fans! I'm please to have writer Jennie Walters guest posting today on her experience in publishing her own eBooks. Jennie's young adult series Swallowcliffe Hall is about three generations of girls who live and work in a grand English country house and since all of this crazy Downton Abbey mania, she's been noticing that a lot of Downton fans have been buying and reviewing her books. So how perfect for her to guest on this Downton loving writer's blog! Read below to hear Jennie's story on how she started surfing the eBook wave.

Thank you, Amazon, and thank you, Kindle. I’m facing 2012 with more confidence as a writer than I’ve had for ages – and all because I’ve released my Swallowcliffe Hall historical trilogy as ebooks. It’s been fantastic, a positive experience from the start. Sales might start falling off tomorrow but right now, it feels like my books have been given a new lease of life.

So here’s the story. The series was published in print about 6 years ago. I pitched the books as ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ for children, told from the servants’ point of view – my first heroine being a fourteen-year-old housemaid in an English country house in 1890, her daughter a reluctant kitchenmaid in1914, and her granddaughter staying at the house to convalesce on the eve of the next war in1939. An editor signed me up on the strength of three synopses and a few chapters and everyone seemed filled with enthusiasm. I began researching Victorian country houses in earnest, found wonderful quotes from contemporary servants’ manuals and etiquette guides to open each chapter, and enjoyed writing my first historical fiction.

www.jenniewalters.com

Unfortunately my lovely editor rushed to commission the covers before she went off on maternity leave, and we ended up with two girls staring glumly out of a sepia background; the third cover was a bit jollier but it didn’t match the others. With my editor away, there was no one to champion my series and, by the time I was writing the third book, it was obvious these were not going to be bestsellers. I was encouraged by my (few) readers’ reactions, but there were hardly any foreign rights deals, reviews or promotions from the bookshop chains. Even my bookmarks had typos. I felt a failure. I couldn’t tell anyone I was a writer; I didn’t have the right.

When ‘Downton Abbey’ was such a success a few years later, I suggested issuing the stories as a three-in-one collection with a more enticing cover, to tie in with the second TV series, but the proposal was vetoed. I knew, though, that I would spontaneously combust with envy and frustration if I had to watch another series of Downton without doing something for my poor languishing stories. So my agent got the rights back (because hardly any copies had been sold over the last few royalty periods) and suggested I turn them into ebooks. My first formatting steps were tentative but, encouraged by guidance and enthusiasm from fellow authors (thanks, Katharine, Sue and Anne) and by a stroke of luck in having a talented designer friend (thanks, Amanda Lillywhite, www.crazypanda.com), I persevered. I photographed a lovely old house in Dorset, trawled through family photographs and spent hours picture-researching on the Internet before sending the material to Amanda. Hooray! I love the covers she designed! They even match! Shamelessly, I gave the books ‘Downton Abbey’ tags wherever I could – the prospect of reaching an audience hungry for British nostalgia being too tempting to ignore – and waited to see what would happen.

www.jenniewalters.com

People began to buy them. Not in huge quantities at first, and I’m still not going to rival Amanda Hocking, but now I’m selling steadily in America as well as the UK, and to adults as well as teens. Readers are downloading the first story and going on to buy the second and third. I’m getting reviews – from people I don’t even know! One woman said these were the books she’d enjoyed most on her Kindle so far. She gave me five stars! And Wuthering Heights one! (OK, that is a bit odd, but I’m not complaining.)

What has helped me, I think, are three factors:

Firstly, I have been able to link my stories to something currently popular.

Secondly, I have been able to launch with a ready-made series.

Thirdly, the books can be read by adults as well as children.

Epublishing has shown me a way past the gatekeepers (bookshops with limited space, overseas publishers with full lists), straight to my readers. And the wonderful thing is, there’s no longer a two-week window in which the books’ fate will be decided by bookshops returning unsold copies and refusing to stock any more; Swallowcliffe Hall can be available for as long as I choose. Of course the downside is that millions of other books are up there, too, and it’s harder to make one’s own stand out. Still, at least readers can download sample chapters to see what they think (make that opening extra powerful, all ye e-writers!) and paying some time to marketing will bring results.

Now I don’t have to feel apologetic any more. I’ve been empowered, liberated. So thank you, Jeff Bezos, and here’s to an exciting new future for writers and readers everywhere!

Read about other writers’ ebook experiences at authorselectric.blogspot.com and find Swallowcliffe Hall on Facebook!

On Vulnerability

2012-02-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

Keetra Dean Dixon

I've talked about my crying issues on this blog before and the support from my readers about it has always been so encouraging, so first I want to start this post by saying thank you! I wanted to write today about a new discovery I've made about my crying which seems so obvious in a way but on the other hand is a total break through.

The other day, I started crying when telling my therapist a story that made me feel proud of myself. It was a good story where I overcame something I was afraid of trying and the results were totally positive.

And yet. I was crying while telling the story.

Because Lillian is so awesome (I should probably just start calling her Lillian when I talk about her on my blog now) she stopped me for a second and asked, why do you think you're crying right now? And of course my reaction was the same as it always is, "I don't know." The "I don't know" answer was a big part of the reason why I started talking to a therapist in the first place.

So, she rephrased the question and asked, "what emotion are you feeling right now physically?" I said that although I was telling a positive story, when I thought about it, physically I almost had the same physical feeling as I do when I'm embarrassed. And when I'm embarrassed I definitely cry.

But why was I feeling a negative physical feeling when telling a positive story? The answer is that I was feeling vulnerable. I was telling a story that had a positive outcome, but put me in a vulnerable position. When I'm embarrassed I feel vulnerable. And when I am angry or sad, I definitely feel vulnerable.

So what we figured out was that I cry when I am vulnerable. Because feeling vulnerable is an emotion I feel like I cannot control. Tears are my defense. Tears help me deal with this emotion.

Two changes of thought came out of this discussion. One is that if I recognize when I am feeling vulnerable, I might be able to start to have more control over my crying. If I mentally tell myself that I am feeling vulnerable right now, I will stop having the "I don't know why I'm crying right now," response that I've engrained in myself.

The other important thing however, is to tell myself that it is okay to feel vulnerable and that I like that aspect of my personality. That part is going to be a lot harder. Because I think that feeling vulnerable has to do with caring about what people think about me (still don't know why I'm so hung up on this). I feel like I shouldn't care what people think of me and then often shame myself for feeling vulnerable. It's sort of a vicious cycle.

For me, as I think is the same with most criers, I've come to realize that I feel vulnerability more acutely than other people. AKA I'm sensitive. I've always thought of that as a bad word. "Don't be so sensitive!" I will tell myself.

But sensitivity and feeling vulnerable make me a good writer. I have a creative way of looking at the world because I am sensitive and vulnerable to myself and others. I am a good listener and supportive friend. I am a compassionate person because that's just the way I'm wried. And I actually really like that about myself.

This Kristen Bell video has been making its way around the internet, and while I already loved Kristen from my deep love for Veronica Mars I love her even more now. And I see myself in her too. (Although I know I would not have that reaction to seeing a sloth, I have cried upon seeing dolphins though).

It's kind of a likable quality right?

I still want to feel as if I have more control over my crying. I still fee like it can hold me back at times. But I also want to be happy to be a sensitive person and am going to try my hardest to recognize when I'm feeling vulnerable and to then let myself know that it is okay.

Interview with Sarah Selecky creator of Story is a State of Mind

2012-02-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

www.sarahselecky.com

I'm so excited to share my interview with the ever inspiring Sarah Selecky today! Sarah is an author, writing instructor and yoga and meditation practitioner. I spoke to her about her recently launched beautiful eCourse Story is a State of Mind.

You just launched an online writing e course available for download called Story is a State of Mind. I love that title, can you tell us more about the meaning behind it?

I know so many writers who struggle with writing. They can't find the time, or it's hard for them to prioritize it in their life, or they're afraid of being terrible, or maybe they're afraid of what would happen if they actually DID write something good. Whatever the reason is for their resistance, the end result is unhappiness. When a writer isn't writing, he/she can experience terrible pain and longing. Yes, I am also speaking directly from personal experience!

What's interesting about this struggle is that it's not writing that causes the angst. It's how you think about it that makes you unhappy. For instance, maybe not writing makes you unhappy. Or you feel guilty about calling yourself a writer if you don't write as often as you think you should. Or you fear the quality of your writing.

All of these troubles are connected to your state of mind. But you can work with your mind -- the thoughts you have around your writing -- this is how you can create a healthy relationship with your work. That's how you'll write your story.

In other words, you have to learn how to get out of your own way. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned writer -- every time a writer faces the blank page, it's difficult. Story Is a State of Mind teaches you how to recognize and cultivate the state of mind you need for your work. And then it teaches you solid writing technique -- because once you're in that receptive state of mind, then you can really learn and absorb the craft.

How is this e course similar yet different than your living room workshops?

I developed this methodology - the arc of these lessons, the way I approach and discuss the readings, the timing of the exercises and how they all fit together -- over 10 years of teaching privately at home. Story Is a State of Mind uses the same arc, the same timing, the same readings and exercises. The content is almost exactly the same - students who study SSM will be studying with me virtually.

Of course, at my house, I'd pour students cups of tea, light candles, and create a really special place where they could write. Some of the exercises aren't easy. It's not all touchy-feely goodness in my writing classes -- there's also a lot of challenging work. That's why I don't like to teach in college classrooms -- I hate fluorescent lights! For creative work, I think you need to have an environment that is conducive to learning. So I spent a long time experimenting with technology to create a digital environment that is welcoming, inspiring, and calming. I recommend that students pour themselves a cup of tea and light a candle before they crack open each lesson.

The other element to SSM that's different from my living room workshops: the online community. The people in the private conversation group (only available to people who have purchased the program) are supportive, intelligent, motivated writers from around the world. The discussions they're having online are blowing my mind -- the community is an incredible resource. I love that the online format is making it accessible for writers everywhere to share their work: their excitement and fears, challenges and successes. I've been humbled to see how the online community is really flourishing.

What is one thing you hope students will take from Story is a State of Mind?

I created this course to teach people how to repair their relationship to writing. It's for writers who know they’re good, or at least have a feeling that they’re good at writing, but they fear doing it anyway. Or they resist it. I made it for writers who struggle with writing itself. Writing is one activity that could potentially give them so much joy! I want SSM students to learn how to trust themselves, and teach themselves to write often and write well.

How do your experiences as a writing instructor affect your own writing?

I'm a grateful teacher - I have learned so much from the generosity of my students. When my classes let me help them with their work, I also learn how to be a better writer. When a student asks me something like, "Why can't I find time to write?" or "Why is this point of view not serving the story?" or "Who should I be reading right now?" -- I have to look deep to find answers. Teaching has always been a deeply personal vocation. I teach from my own perspective, and my students know that. I don't pretend to know the answers for everyone; I can only recommend doing what I've tried myself. So in order to respond to a question honestly, I have to test my suggestion out myself first. My writing is intimately connected to my work as an instructor and mentor.

Along with being a writer, you are also a yoga and meditation practitioner. Can you talk about connections between your life as a yogi and as a writer?

Meditation and yoga helps me practice seeing clearly and being present. I have a tendency (as many writers do) to live in my head. I'm grateful for this in some ways (as a fiction writer especially), but an active mind can be a stressful thing, too. It keeps me up at night with to-do lists. It tells me that my new work isn't worth publishing. It gets me mulling over the past and worrying about the future. All of this gets in the way of my writing (and happiness!). Going to the mat is a way to remember that I feel better when I'm not caught up in all of those thoughts. When I'm upside down, staring at my ankles, trying to stretch my legs so my heels touch the mat in downward dog, I am focused on where I am at that moment. I'm not thinking about whether my writing is worth reading. When I'm meditating, watching my thoughts flutter and vibrate and come and go from my mind, I can see that they're just thoughts -- they aren't reality. And then I see that the content of those thoughts doesn't matter so much. And that's a powerful thing. That's how I can take risks in my work -- because if I don't think it matters so much, then I'm not as attached to it being "good." And that's the only way an idea will actually have a chance to get down on paper.

http://www.sarahselecky.com/this-cake/

Your short story collection This Cake is for the Party will be coming out in the US in the fall. Describe This Cake is for the Party in one sentence.

This Cake Is for the Party is a book about the pleasures, pitfalls and mysteries of urban life -- they're love stories.

If you're feeling totally inspired after reading that interview, I have even more exciting news. Sarah is offering a $25 discount on the Story is a State of Mind eCourse now until Valentine's day! Please use the coupon code SLICEOFCAKE and get writing! Thanks so much Sarah!

Week One Comment Challenge Check in

2012-02-07T06:13:00.000-05:00

Hi Comment Challengers! Today marks the end of the first week of the comment challenge. How are we all doing? Still keeping up on three comments a day? Has anyone missed some days or gone on a commenting frenzy and gone way over the three comment goal?

I'd love to hear your stories... in the comments of course!

I've been really enjoying exploring all of the blogs that have signed up to participate. And remember, there is still time to enter! You can enter any time before the 14th when we will hold the Giveaway for Elsie Larsons Blog Love eCourse! If you've contributed at least 42 comments into the blogosphere since the time you signed up, you qualify to enter.

I've attached the linky tool below for easy sign up and to explore the other challengers.

Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts on the challenge in the comments!

Downton Viewing Party Episode 5!

2012-02-06T19:37:00.002-05:00

Okay Downton Fans, now I'm not about to talk blasphemously about my beloved show, and I have been saying that it truly is a soap opera all along, but burn victim with amnesia who might also be trying to steal someone's identity? Or as New York Magazine put it today, "Downton Abbey just pulled out the stranger-from-the-past double-reverse-amnesia plot line on us. "

And I'm not sure how I feel about it! Downton's popularity throughout season two has been a little confusing to me. How come no one was paying attention when the elegant ladies were so diligently was watching it last year? Are they writing this season's plot for the reality tv crowd? Right now I'm just frustrated with this new plot line which the elegant ladies are calling the "Freddy Krueger Plot Line." Because not to be crude or anything, but really, this is what we have to look at now?

Quick show me some beautiful dresses to recover!

And speaking of beautiful dresses, we went "down stairs" for this week's party, but I still think we look fabulous as always.

Via Lana's Flikr

So what were your thoughts, readers? Too soap operay or just soap operay enough? What had you yelling at the screen. Did you all clink glasses when the war ended like we did? And just what was that tingle that Matthew felt at the very end?

Question.

2012-02-05T17:35:00.001-05:00

Is it weird that the sight of my bed looking like it belongs in a department store show room brings me so much joy? I keep going into the bedroom and just starting at it.

Clean flannel sheets and a perfectly made bed, it's the little things. #yearofjoys.

Downton Viewing Party Episode 4!

2012-02-05T06:31:00.000-05:00

Good morning M'ladies and M'lords. It's been some time since I've last recapped you all with the wonders of Downton Abbey. In preparation for tonight's episode, first here are my thoughts on episode number four and photos from the party at Lady Angela's home last week.

Oh man, was this episode a somber doozy. I think the opening scene when someone walks over Daisy's grave AKA her and Mary become psychics set the scene for the entire ep. I wonder if Lavinia dropped a tea cup or felt a chill? Hmmm??? Although I will admit, I do like Lavinia it's just, well I'm obviously on team Mary. Duh!

William using himself as a sheild over Matthew! Go grab your box of tissues now, I'll wait.

And what is the deal with stupid Doctor Clarkson?!?! I highly agree with the Dowager Countess "It always happens. When you give these little people power, it goes to their heads like strong drink." Seriously!

Poor Mary pretending like she isn't in love with Matthew and finally clueless Lord Gratham realizing what's really going on. Always the last to know, am I right?

Finally some comic relief!! Is this an instrument of communication or torture? Shrimpie??

Oh god, this is when it turns into a zombie movie, and I hate zombie movies.

Let's just talk about this shall we? More comic relief? Does anyone else feel like that's the world's biggest baby?

So I'd say this episode sums up that Mrs. Bates is pure evil, there is still sexual tension between Branson and Cybil, and Lord Newspaper Man is still pretty slimy. Also, Daisy is having a crisis. Poor Matthew, RIP but now Daisy will have a better life, right? Or will she just be riddled with guilt? Sticky situations all around!

Oh also, did anyone else notice his Lordship's card catalog?

So when do you guys think Lady Mary and Matthew are going to get together again? It has to happen right?

Looking forward to tonight! Will you be watching?

Sincerely yours,

Lady SoSo

This just might be my new favorite lunch

2012-02-04T14:41:00.001-05:00

Lentils with a dollop of 2% Greek yogurt. Boston bib lettuce salad with miso lime dressing, avocado and grapefruit. Here's how to make the miso lime dressing via Bon Appetit:

Miso Lime Dressing
Recipe:
Makes 1 Cup

1/4 cup white miso (fermented soy bean paste)
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
Zest and juice from 1 lime (plus more)

Blend all ingredients and 1/4 cup water in a blender until smooth.Cover and chill for up to 1 week in an airtight container. To freshen the dressing after a few days, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.

What did you have for lunch today?

How to be a better blog commenter

2012-02-04T13:04:00.002-05:00

Hey Comment Challengers! I'm over at comment challenge participant Suzy's blog today talking about how to be a better blog commenter. Please stop by and say hello, and don't forget to leave some love in the comments!

Also, if you haven't signed up for the comment challenge yet, there's still time! You can sign up any time before the 14th. Please click here for more info and happy commenting!

Jumpsuit Friday Global Domination!

2012-02-03T19:18:00.001-05:00

Hey Jumpers! Angela and I are back this week with a very exciting skype guest, my sister Rachel!! Click below to watch us interview Rachel about her jumpsuit and please ignore the part where it gets all speedy all of the sudden- don't know what happened there. Unfortunately the Skype quality isn't as high as our regular vlog quality, however I know a true jumpsuit fan will be able to overlook it, that and the weird beeping noise...it's totally worth it because Rachel is hilarious and Angela and I just might say the words "Jumpsuit Friday Global Domination" in unison- no that was not planned, didn't you know that jumpsuits make you psychic?

Erika couldn't be there for our Vlog, but that doesn't mean she forgot about Jumpsuit Friday! Remember when I bought this jumpsuit? Well, turned out it was too small. My loss and Erika's gain! Look how she rocks that polyester! She looks like she's ready to host a fabulous dinner party in that outfit does't she? Can I get you some hors d'oeuvres?

Thanks for watching everyone! Let me know if you participated in Jumpsuit Friday today on the JSF Facebook Wall and remember, keep jumping!!

Clean Eating Days Four and Five

2012-02-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

Oh Thursday. Yesterday was the hardest day this week to make dinner. I think when I'm not doing the cleanse in the future, Thursday will most likely be designated go out or take out night. Has anyone else been thinking lately how awesome a four day work week would be? Yesterday so totally felt like Friday! And I felt like cooking dinner would have just been easier knowing that the next day was Saturday.

No matter though, in the spirit of the clean eating challenge, cook dinner I did! I made a pumpkin shrimp coconut curry and added leftover brown rice pilaf from yesterday. I've really been enjoying incorporating leftovers into my meals this entire week, it feels great to know I'm not wasting food.

Here's what I did based on the Bon Appetite Recipe: I didn't have any broth so I used water. I also still didn't have onions, so I omitted them and I used more squash then the recipe called for and different kind of tomato.

Pumpkin-Shrimp Curry with Leftover Brown Rice and Carrot Pilaf

Recipe:

Pumpkin-Shrimp Curry

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
1 Tbsp. pressed garlic
Grape tomatoes halved
1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree
2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 butternut squash, roasted and diced
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
About a cup of brown rice pilaf.
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in gape tomatoes and pumpkin puree; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add water, coconut milk, curry powder, and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Add butternut squash, shrimp, rice and lime juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm.

I didn't get a picture, but mine looked something like this:

via

All in all, I felt like the curry came out okay- I wasn't blown away, maybe it would have been better with onions and vegetable broth...and halfway through, while roasting squash to add this happened:

There is a ton of grease on the bottom of my over and it started smoking. I need to spend the weekend cleaning my oven :( The apartment still smelled like burnt this morning. I also didn't take the leftover's for lunch since we don't have a microwave at work! And knew I had to eat the curry hot. Luckily I have free healthy lunch here and ended up having sauteed spinach, ratatouille, Manhattan clam chowder (I ate around the white potatoes) and cucumber and tomato salad. It was delish!

For breakfast I had oatmeal and didn't even really notice eating it without sugar, and an orange. And for a snack I had yogurt and fruit.

Please stay tuned for a Jumpsuit Friday post later today! We have a brand new vlog with a very special guest lined up, I can't wait for you to see it!

Behind closed doors

2012-02-02T06:10:00.000-05:00

Look what Alex found in the back of our closet yesterday morning:

I think they're secretly best friends when we're not around. Also, the back of the closet is Queenie's special place! I CANNOT believe she let this happen.

Clean Eating Day Three!

2012-02-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

My favorite thing about this week of clean eating so far has been how easy it's been to put half of the dinner I prepare into Tupperware immediately for lunch the next day. Like I mean before I even sit down to eat! That way both Alex and I don't go crazy on portions during dinner and lunch is all packed and ready, just like that!

Even though I am extremely lucky to have a free healthy lunch program at my school, and it does feel a little strange not using it this week, I'm finding that bringing my packed perfectly portioned lunch every day has really helped me avoid that 2PM OMG I want to take a nap so bad right now! syndrome. So I might just stick to it! We'll see...it's so nice to know that if I forget my lunch one day I can very easily continue to eat super clean and healthy. I am so, so thankful for our lunch program.

Tonight's dinner (and therefore tomorrow's lunch) consisted of brown rice pilaf, and stir fried baby bok choy and tofu. It came out amazing. I used the Bon Apetit Food Lover's Cleanse again for the recipe, but didn't add any onions or scallions (cause I'm all out) and used safflower oil for everything (since I didn't have sesame oil). And I didn't add "mizuna" cause I don't know what that is. Has anyone ever cooked with it before?

The flavor was still extremely abundant! I've found that these Bon Apetit recipes might seem a little overwhelming at first since they use a lot of ingredients. But look at what you already have and follow your tastes- these recipes are a great base to cooking healthy and really yummy meals. Oh we also had leftover beet soup with dinner, I think it was even better the second day.

Tonight at dinner Alex said, "we should just do this all the time." And I think I have to agree. I know there will be days when we go out to eat for fun or get take out because no one feels like cooking, but following this cleanse has felt really natural so far and something I can definitely see myself keeping up with.

Hello February!

2012-02-01T07:33:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited that today marks the start of the February Comment Love Challenge! If you've signed up (and if you haven't here's how) the challenge is to comment on at least three blogs a day until Valentine's Day. Participants will be keeping track of their commenting- and if you reach the minimum goal of 42 comments, you qualify to enter the giveaway to win the Blog Love E Course For Bloggers, graciously donated by A Beautiful Mess!

This is the first giveaway that I'm hosting, so it's been really exciting to watch as the linky tools participants grow every day! You can sign up for the challenge any time in the two weeks and we encourage you to click around on other participants and comment there- I've already discovered some awesome new blogs, yay!

So what are you waiting for? Go HERE to sign up, grab a button to display in your side bar, and happy commenting!

Clean Eating Day Two!

2012-01-31T22:10:00.001-05:00

It's 9PM as I type this with another day of clean eating in my belly! Here's how my day went with my earlier schedule. Except for breakfast I followed Day two of the Bon Apetit Food Lover's Cleanse.

Woke up at 6:00, breakfast at 7:30. Hot cereal with blueberries, walnuts and a cup of coffee again.

9:00 Arrive at work and make myself a cup of Early Grey tea via everyone's favorite cruel mistress Flavia. Does anyone else have this machine in their staff room? I have a love affair with Flavia pretty much every day. Sometimes she's can be cranky though.

10:30 Snack of a rye wassa cracker with some goat cheese. Delish! And just what I needed to tide me over until lunch.

12:00 Lunch! Spinach salad with shallot walnut dressing, cannelloni beans and tuna. Very filling, I actually didn't finish the entire thing, but could have used a little more dressing.

2:00 One very sweet and very juicy braeburn apple and one more wassa cracker with goat cheese.

7:00 Dinner! Tonight's dinner included left over lentils from that big pot I made on Sunday, grilled salmon on the foreman (I made extra fillets for lunch tomorrow) and beet soup which was the culinary highlight of my day! I'm pretty new at cooking with beets because I didn't like the flavor for a very long time. Too earthy. Even now that I've developed a taste I still don't enjoy beets on their own in that large of portions. So I was a little skeptical of this soup. However, not only was it super easy to make but extremely tasty and I added some of my own flare to the recipe- something I almost never have the confidence to do! The original recipe is from the Bon Apetit Challenge, and here is how I ended up making it:

Ingredients:
3 beets scrubbed, trimmed, unpeeled cut into cubes.
Left over sweet potatoes from dinner last night!
One shallot thinly sliced
3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth (I had a little of each left over so ended up using both)
1 celery stalk with leaves, stalk chopped, leaves sliced
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1Tbs low fat Greek yogurt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Place beet wedges in bowl and cover with 2 cups broth; cover bowl with paper plate and microwave on high until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and chopped celery stalk and leaves; cover and cook until almost tender and translucent, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Add beet mixture and 1 cup broth to shallot mixture; cover and simmer 4 minutes. Mix in ginger and cayenne pepper. Transfer to blender; cover and puree. Season soup to taste with salt, pepper, ladle soup into 2 bowls (save the rest for tomorrow.) Top with yogurt.

And enjoy!

Thanks for your comments everyone on my last two clean eating posts, your responses have really been inspiring. And if you found this blog through Sometimes Sweet, welcome! I hope you'll stay for a while.

I'd like to encourage you to check out the Comment Love Challenge I'm hosting with some blog pals starting tomorrow if you haven't already! Seems like clean eating challenge participants would be perfect for this positive blogger love challenge. And did I mention there's a giveaway involved? Click here to check it out, and thanks!

Clean Eating Day One

2012-01-30T20:27:00.001-05:00

It's 8PM as I write this and I'm feeling full, happy and not overly tired. Maybe it's just an excited mindset about starting something new, but I have to say I've felt really good all day long. I took pictures of breakfast and dinner but forgot lunch and after school snack. Today I followed day one of the Food Lover's Cleanse and they are not lying about it being for food lovers. The flavors for every meal were amazing, and really not at all difficult to prepare! I'm definitely going to incorporate everything I ate today into my regular rotation in the future.

Monday's I go into work an hour later, so I found I wasn't terribly hungry between breakfast and lunch, but tomorrow I'll have to eat breakfast a lot earlier so I'm planning on bringing a morning and afternoon snack for the day. This is what today was like:

Woke up at 7:30 around 8:30 ate Bob's Red Mill Five Grain hot cereal with walnuts and blueberries. I had a cup of coffee with a splash of half and half.

I got to work at 10AM and made myself some green tea. At 12:15 I ate my lunch of salad with miso lime dressing and lentils with Greek yogurt. It was filling and oh so delicious and I didn't feel super sleepy like I usually do around 2:00!

At 3:00 I went down to the staff room fridge for my pumpkin smoothie after school snack. I got home at around 6:15 and by 7:00 this was on the table:

You're looking at black cod with caramelized onions and apples, steamed kale and roasted sweet potatoes.

Seriously, so good! Also, I was excited to use the bamboo steamer I got for Christmas to easily steam the kale, mmmmmm.

Now after I write this blog post I'm planning on packing my lunch and snacks for tomorrow. What's on the menu? Spinach salad with white beans, tuna, and walnut oil dressing and wassa crackers with goat cheese and apples for snacks.

Until tomorrow, happy eating everyone!

That was the best episode yet!

2012-01-30T16:18:00.000-05:00

Stay tuned for thoughts and photos from last night's episode, but first- it's here! The Elegant Ladies on CNN International answering that age old question: Why is Downton Abbey so Popular?

Yay!

February Comment Love Challenge!

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but I sort of live for comments on my blog. A blog comment lets me know that someone is actually reading what I wrote and that someone actually liked it enough to say something about it. I mean, that's kind of a big deal right?

But as a blog reader, I also understand that sometimes commenting can feel hard. You read a post, you enjoy it, then must click to your next unread post because the unread items in your reader is starting to overwhelm you. I try to comment on blogs when inspired, but realize that I might be over thinking it. While a witty and well thought out comment is always appreciated and noticed on my blog, the quicker "I really enjoyed this" or "thanks for posting" comment, brings me joy too! I've also noticed that once I get a few comments going on a post, the comment section often turns into a new conversation and almost a subpost of what we're all commenting on! Pretty cool right?

That's the beauty of commenting! Comments will always stroke the blogger's ego, but the real purpose of comments is to start a conversation.

Which is why Desirous of Everything along with the blogs Edison Rex, One Lonely Apricot and Tamara Like Camera, are excited to launch the first ever Comment Love Challenge for February 2012! I was originally inspired when reading about this type of challenge in the Kids Lit blogoshpere created by Mother Reader.

So are you up for the challenge? Here is how it will work. When you link up below, your blog will appear on the first four blogs and creators of this challenge. We encourage you to follow all of these blogs if you do not already! Adding your blog to the linky tool means that you are ready to participate in the Comment Challenge which starts February 1 and ends on February 14 just in time for Valentines Day! Get it? Comment Love??

What do you need to do? Comment on at least 3 blogs a day for 14 days straight. The purpose of the link devise below will encourage participants to comment on fellow participant's blogs. Discover new bloggy friends and start conversations. However, you are allowed to comment on any blogs that you like.

But wait, there's more! Keep track of your daily comments for the entire two weeks. (We're using the honor system where pen and paper work just fine) At the end we will feature the blogger with the most comments and hold a giveaway to win a copy of Elsie Larson's Blog Love E-Course! for all participants who reached at least 42 comments! Graciously donated by A Beautiful Mess for this challenge!

Since four blogs are hosting this challenge, your blog will be seen in the link up below by a lot of readers And we guarantee that you will get comments on your blog!

Two weeks will hopefully put us all in the habit of becoming daily commenters and who knows how this great little world we call blogging will grow from it?

Sign up below to enter, grab a button to post in your side bar:

spread the word and happy commenting!

Prepping for a week of Clean Eating

2012-01-29T16:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I went to the grocery story and now my fridge looks like this!

Isn't it pretty? I'm all set to take the clean eating challenge this week (have you signed up?) and have decided to loosely follow Bon Apetit's Food Lover's Cleanse for at least one week. This cleanse doesn't entirely cut out sugar since there is a lot of fruit, but there is no refined sugar or refined breads or pasta. I spent yesterday making homemade apple sauce and carmelizing onions (although I'm afraid they may have come out too salty due to a typo in the recipe). Today I made a huge batch of lentils to keep in the fridge and made two of the same lunches one for tomorrow and I ate the same thing today as a preview. I ate it up before I got a picture but it was from Bon Apetit's day one lunch- Lentils with Greek yogurt and a butter lettuce salad with AMAZING miso lime dressing. As Alex put it, I could drink the entire jar. But it shall be used in reasonable portions through the week instead. I found lunch very filling and also prepared pumpkin spice smoothies (which included some of my home made apple sauce) for snacks tomorrow!

I was happy to use my time on Sunday to get some prep work done ahead of time to make the rest of the week easier. I hope to take pictures of my meals tomorrow so stay tuned for an update!

Speaking of totally unrelated updates, I was on CNN International this morning!! They haven't posted it online yet, but don't worry, I will be posting it here as soon as the do- promise!! I'm very happy with all of it and can't wait for you guys to see it too.

Who's watching Downton tonight? And anyone else taking on Danielle's challenge? Let me know what you're up to in the comments!

What should I bring to a potluck?

2012-01-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

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This week's viewing of Downton Abbey will be at the Jumpsuit Queen's abode herself, Angela's apartment! I'm very excited about this since Angela was absent on Friday and JSF was just not the same without her. Sorry, no vlog this week. But I'm all in a tizzy because I just received this ~~email~~ letter by post from Lady Ang, and don't know what to bring!

Good Evening Dear Friends,

Your presence is requested this Sunday at the Halsey Manor Convalescent Home. I am almost recovered from consumption and am certain I shall be prepared to host our Downton Abby gathering by Sunday evening.

As my home is extremely 'cozy' and the kitchen hardly deserves the title, I request that you bring a dish to share with our group. In America I believe this is called a 'pot luck'. I shall prepare a dish of something called 'yams,' an exotic root vegetable from one of our colonies on the African continent. You may elect to bring an appetizer, protein, vegetable, or desert. I shall also provide wine and spirits. Feel at liberty to arrive any time after 7:30, for dinner at 8.

Ring apartment #4 and then wait for me to *gasp* come down to greet you, as there is neither intercom nor buzzer (nor apparently, doorman).

I am,
Yours & etc etc
Lady Angela

Any favorite potluck recipes that I should try dear readers? Or should I say, what would Mrs. Patmore cook?

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Oh and also, I know what you're thinking, and you're right, we don't play around with this elegant ladies stuff.

And speaking of elegant ladies, CNN is supposed to be airing the Downton piece tomorrow at 10AM! That's all I know right now. I asked if it will be available online and she said they can definitely post the piece and will keep me posted. So stay tuned m'ladies and m'lords!

I am, yours &etc. etc., Lady SoSo.

Cross between Jo March and Cameron Frye

2012-01-26T07:52:00.001-05:00

Okay everyone, confession time. I have not written any words a day towards my WIP, let alone 500 since January 12. That's 14 days, which is a long time. I'm at page 170 with no idea how to end this crazy mess I've created. I just don't know what to do.

And what have I been doing while not writing? I've been keeping up with blogging but only thinking about exercise in the mean time. My mindset being, if I go exercise today, that will be time wasted where I could have been writing. And then I go home and don't write. I check Facebook a MILLION times, watch tv, and eat not especially healthy food.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm depressed, because that's not really how I feel. It's more like I feel stressed. I keep thinking, if I just had two weeks off where I could stay home and write all day I could finish this thing! Or, if I just had an entire weekend with no obligations, I could almost finish this thing! But deep down, I know that's not really true. I know what I have to do is wake up early tomorrow and write 500 crappy words because it will make me feel really good about myself. And maybe blogging about this will make me do just that, or maybe it won't...

While on the subject of complaining, I really want to do a two week cleanse (that doesn't involve fasting or weird shakes) just eating whole foods with no white flour or sugar and not drinking too much, but I don't know if I can do it! My friend Lana showed me this really delicious looking 2 week food lover's cleanse that was featured in Bon Apetit, but it looks like a ton of work. I would love to hear your opinions on this problem readers! Does this cleanse look worth the work or do you have a suggestions for something easier? If you already eat this way, will you come over and cook for me? Or at least tell me how I can do it? I'm just feeling like I want my mind and body to feel a lot better than it has for the past month. I know I have to change something to achieve these very attainable goals, but how do you start when you're stuck in inertia and malaise?

Basically I'm feeling like a cross between Jo March and Cameron Frye. Does that make sense?

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And to end this kind of random post on a positive note, I just discovered Weheartit so I'll leave you with this, which I will DEFINITELY post again when I'm in a more positive place.

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**Whoa crazy update!** So, I wrote this post last night and wasn't sure if I wanted to post it or not. This morning I woke up with a writing plan and then read about this awesome challenge going on at Sometimes Sweet! Sweet synchronicity!

So this is what I'm going to do. I'm putting aside my writing until March 1. I'm going to spend the rest of January and all of February focusing on healthier lifestyle habits. And while I'm getting healthy, all those writing ideas are going to start simmering- I just know it. Come March 1, I'm going to read my draft from start to finish and then finish those last 30 pages.

Now, I'm not saying this plan is set in stone- we all know how I feel about changing plans, but that's what I think I'm going to do. Going over to sign up for the SScleaneating challenge, let me know if you do too!

And now, I think it's appropriate to post one more time, Bastian riding his Luck Dragon and giving his bullies hell.

48 Questions

2012-01-25T13:43:00.000-05:00

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That's one question, now here are 48 more. First saw this on The Blue Eyed Owl and then at Dragonflight Dreams. Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00.

2. How do you like your steak? I don't eat steak very often but I just recently started eating it medium rare as opposed to just medium.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Descendants. Really loved it.

4. What is your favorite TV show? You mean besides Downton? Right now I have two- Parenthood and Revenge (so trashy! Nolan is my favorite.)

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Hawaii.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Coffe, oatmeal and green tea.

7. What is your favorite food? I have no idea. Everything that's bad for me. I love cheese and salt.

8. Foods you dislike? Bananas.

9. Favorite place to eat? I don't know if I have a favorite right now, but we just went to Vinegar Hill House last night and it was extremely delicious.

10. Favorite dressing? Balsamic vinaigrette.

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? I'm one of those New Yorkers who doesn't own a car, but that doesn't mean I don't want one, like so many New Yorkers claim.

12. What are your favorite clothes? You mean besides jumpsuits? Tights, skirts with pockets and cardigans.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? I've been really wanting to go to Italy lately.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? I try to be 1/2 full but sometimes I get all 1/2 empty. Is anyone ever really just one of these?

15. Where would you want to retire? Hawaii.

16. Favorite time of day? Early morning.

17. Where were you born? New Brunswick, New Jersey

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? I come from a non-sport watching family. Luckily, so did Alex.

19. What is your favorite fragrance? Right now, this Tocca Montauck candle that I got as a Christmas gift.

20. What is your favorite face cream? Oil of Olay. Everyday.

21. Favorite baby/kids products? Books!

22. People watcher? I'd say so. Aren't all writers?

23. Are you a morning or night person? Morning.

24. Do you have any pets? Queen Pretty and Murdock!

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Mainly just that CNN was at my house on Sunday :)

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A lifeguard at Cape May beach.

27. What is your favorite memory? My wedding.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? I used to be a dog person...but now, I'm really truly a cat person.

29. Are you married? Yes.

30. Always wear your seat belt? Duh.

31. Been in a car accident? Knock on wood- no.

32. Any pet peeves? Please don't walk super close behing me on the sidewalk- go around me!

33. Favorite pizza toppings? Usually just do plain. But I love peppers and onions.

34. Favorite flower? Daffodils.

35. Favorite ice cream? Tie between mint chocolate chip and rocky road.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? I don't really go to any- except when I'm in California I try to eat as much In N Out as possible.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None!

38. From whom did you get your last email? From @novaisawesome replying to one of my tweets!

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Steven Alan.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Buying a TV was slightly spontanious, but it had to do with that exciting news I just shared.

41. Like your job? Yes. But lately I've been craving time off to work on my writing and blogging goals.

42. Broccoli? Yes and cooked this way.

43. What was your favorite vacation? Toss up between Vienna where Alex proposed or our Honeymoon in Kauaii.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Alex, Dustin and Viktoria.

45. What are you listening to right now? Elaine reading Where The Mountain Meets the Moon aloud to 8 and 9 year olds. (Shhh don't tell, I'm writing this at work!)

46. What is your favorite color? Blue.

47. How many tattoos do you have? Zero.

48. Coffee drinker? Yes, I love coffee!

I'm having angry thoughts

2012-01-24T07:44:00.000-05:00

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I had an anger epiphany in therapy the other day that I thought I'd share with you guys. Now, I know what I'm about to say is nothing ground breaking and you might have heard it before, but for me, today, something clicked. Here it is:

When someone says something to you that makes you angry, they are most likely angry about that very thing in themselves. Instead of reacting in anger, why not stop for a second and ask them, "are you upset about that?"

I know that I have a hard time confronting someone when I am angry. Usually in the moment I will think an angry thought in response to something that someone said that made me mad. Sometimes I will say that angry thought (which is not good)- usually I won't (which is even worse). I usually keep my mouth shut for two reasons a- I don't want to say something "mean" and b- I don't want to get in a fight.

In the past my only way to wrap my head around these situations was to let it go, pretend like nothing happened. Because I'm not talking about one of those extremely intense angry moments where someone calls you a name or insults you blatantly, I'm talking about those little sentences that can slip into conversations. The passive aggressive ones that the speaker might say as a "joke," but that actually hurt. My response has always been to think did they just mean what I think they meant? Keep talking like nothing is wrong. Or my response will be to say an angry thought, which usually results in an argument or at the very least awkward tension.

Here's my example. As a writer, one of the worst traits I struggle with is envy. Sometimes I feel like another person has to fail in order for me to succeed. I am not proud of this trait and it can come out as anger. If a friend got a book deal I could congratulation them and then say something like, "well, my book's just too literary, they don't publish quiet literary books anymore." I am not directly saying that my friend's book didn't deserve to be published, but it sure sounds like I am, doesn't it? It sounds like I am not acknowledging how hard she worked to achieve her goal.

The person could respond to this by ignoring it and pretending like it didn't mean anything, or with an angry thought which I would probably have an equally angry reaction to.

But then when you look at that exchange in the new ground breaking way, what I was really saying was "I don't feel like it's fair that I haven't been recognized for something I really love too. And maybe, I feel like I haven't worked hard enough to reach my goal." My friend thought I wasn't giving her enough recognition with that comment, but I was expressing my anger about not being recognized either. It had nothing to do with her achievement, just the unfairness of the situation. I wish that I could have been recognized too.

And here's the great part about it. After talking about this for a while, I couldn't help saying, but people shouldn't be able to get away with saying things that make others feel unappreciated. It's not right to make others feel unappreciated even if you're feeling that way too.

You can still tell the person this! Asking them if they're upset about something they said doesn't mean they get away with saying it. After they explain how they are feeling, you can say something like, "that's good to hear actually, because at first I thought you didn't think I deserved the attention which hurt my feelings." You can tell them that they said something that upset you without accusing them of anything. You can still understand where they're coming from, and maybe if they hear this enough, they will stop saying those hurtful things because they will understand better how they sound when they say them.

I just feel like this way of looking at things changes everything for me! I think I often tell myself when in situations like this to "forget about it, don't take it so personally," but that is not the answer. What does "taking it personally" even mean really? The answer is, they're angry about something and don't know how to express it (just like me!) try to help them out.

And now that I know this, it can be applied to EVERYTHING! It all comes down to the "angry thoughts." When I find myself wanting to say something mean or angry, that should be a trigger that the person I want to say it to is upset about something. I can use this technique at work with children, with Alex, with anyone, it really feels liked the best way to respond to your own and other people's anger.

I have a really hard time identifying when I feel angry. When my therapist asked me how I was feeling in that moment, it took me several tries to come up with an actual emotion. I kept using language to describe how I was feeling but never saying a word that was an actual emotion, it was as if my mind drew a total blank and I didn't remember what any emotions were called. Finally though, I laughed, becuase this has happened to me before and I said, "I was feeling angry, wasn't I?" She told me that often when counseling families, she will tell children to tell their parents that they are "having angry thoughts" as a way to help them express their anger. She acknowldged that this is sort of a funny thing to say and can also defuse the situation a little bit. And it could be a really great way for me to recognize when I'm feeling angry. I pretty much never think "I am feeling angry right now," but I have "angry thoughts" all the time. When I recognize that these thoughts are happening, I am now going to try saying, "are you feeling upset about that?" and see what happens.

Does anyone else respond to anger in this way? Would love to hear how you deal with projection.

For King and Country!

2012-01-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

Hello Downton fans! I'm here to give my thoughts on last night's episode, but first I have to tell you something crazy. I got this email on Friday:

I’m a Planning Supervisor at CNN International. CNN is producing a piece on the popularity of Downton Abbey. I read the NY Observer and NYT articles about your Downton viewing parties and was wondering if you’re having a viewing party this Sunday and if you would let us come film the party?

And then this was me Sunday night:

It is all so surreal! We had a great time, and the producer and camera woman were so nice and cool that we all felt pretty comfortable really quickly- we'll as comfortable as you can feel when a CNN is at your house. They were there for two hours and filmed us eating dinner and watching the show. Then both Tammy and I talked to the camera! Tammy talked mostly about the amazing Edwardian meal she prepared it was so exciting! And delicious. Here she is below:

Finger's crossed that they show me talking about my blog and say the name of it on CNN. I won't be surprised at all if they don't have the time to fit it in, but I made a point to tell the producer about my blog and how much it would mean to me, and then that's all you can do right?

I have to admit I had a weird panicky moment on Saturday night which sounded like this in my head:
"I want to be noticed for my writing. What if this is the only thing I'm ever noticed for? It's not what I want!" I felt very out of control having these "gate keepers" give me attention but not necessarily the gate keepers that I want noticing me.

After talking about it with my cousin who's in PR and my mom they got me thinking straight. My cousin told me- just make sure you talk about your blog. Tell them you want them to mention it. It's something you do have control of. And I made myself do that and it was great. And then my mom said that these things are not related. To think that way is to give myself unnecessary anxiety over a really fun situation. Which is true. By Sunday, I was determined to be confident about mentioning my blog and doing a little self promotion but to overall concentrate on having fun and enjoying this truly unique experience.

I think I was able to pull that off! Did you guys watch? What did you think about this scene? As Mrs. Hughes said "I may not be a woman of the world but I don't live in a sack!"

Dismissed without notice or character!

Or this one?

We were watching with the closed caption on (because we get too rowdy with yelling at the screen a lot) and started singing along, even though we didn't know the song. And then when Matthew walked in it was gasps and cheers all around!

I did notice the Dowager Countess didn't have that large of a presence in this episode but I did enjoy her line about living in a second rate hotel "where the guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave." Cousin Crawley got what was coming to her, but then I felt bad for her in the end. These characters are so multi layered! That's what makes them so good.

Oh, also, I'm mad at Branson for being a misogynist. Sybil's work is bringing "hot drinks to a bunch of randy officers??" How dare you sir! And seriously, what evidence does he have that she loves him? I'm starting to feel like he's manipulating Sybil!

So what were your thoughts on this eventful episode? Will keep everyone posted when I know more about the CNN piece!

Jumpsuit Friday Vlog #3!

2012-01-21T08:36:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great jumpsuit Friday this week! Here is vlog #3 where we have special guest Erika in her Pineapple jumpsuit! And as an added bonus, I may or may not utter the word crotch.

Don't forget to become a fan of the Jumpsuit Friday Facebook Page!!

Martha Stewart, Elizabeth McGovern, Patricia Morrison and...me!

2012-01-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

The Times article is out everyone! And while my picture did not make it into the story :( I have even better news to report, I am quoted DIRECTLY AFTER Martha Stewart! As in, the journalist called Martha and then she called me. As my mom put it, Martha and I "are totally biffs now." ("biffs" = "BFFs")

In case you are a new reader to this blog, you might not know this but, I LOVE Martha Stewart. I wrote a blog post once where I referred to her as "Her Royal Highness, Queen Martha." That's how exciting this is!! Read the quote below:

The eminently crafty Martha Stewart, 70, does not prepare special props or foods for watching “Downton,” but the show did engender a recent craving for cucumber sandwiches on white bread.
“I’d never seen Season 1 because it wasn’t on at a convenient time,” she said. “But then I got sick — I’m never sick — so I locked my door, uploaded the entire series onto my iPad and watched all seven hours. I was so depressed when it was over and I had to wait for the next season, but whatever flu-ish symptoms I had were gone.”
For Sarah O’Holla, 29, a librarian at the Village Community School in Manhattan, “my British obsession started last year when I woke up at 4 a.m. to watch the royal wedding,” she said.
A friend brought back a feathery fascinator headpiece, which she now wears for “Downton” viewing parties. The guests are other librarians and teachers who already had a tradition of reading Brontë novels together and formed what they called the Elegant Ladies’ Club (although the viewings now include one man). “We all have the same level of obsession about the show,” she said, “and we like any excuse to dress up.”

Here's my blog post about waking up at 4 a.m. and my Elegant Ladies posts!

And get this, directly after me, Jim Morrison's widow Patricia Morrison is quoted! (She watches Downton while wearing a tiara). I feel so honored to be included in this article!

Ultimately this has been a really fun and exciting experience for me, and thanks for all of your well wishes yesterday on the New York Observer article! And because I can't resist and in the name of Jumpsuit's everywhere, I'm planning on writing a thank you note to Aimee Lee Ball and telling her about Jumpsuit Friday- a girl can dream right?

The Great Matter

2012-01-18T06:09:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting to share this news with you all because I wanted to make sure it was really, truly going to happen first, and at this point I'm 95% sure that it will. Last Tuesday, I received this email:

Dear Sarah,
I write for the Styles section of The New York Times and am now working on a piece about the obsession with “Downton Abbey.” I came across your blog and would love to speak with you about the viewing party for the second season premiere.

Um, yeah. I know!!!! I totally FREAKED out! I'm mean, what is this, Julie and Julia or something?!?! Then I spoke to her over the phone on Wednesday. It was delightful and felt more like a conversation with a friend about something I'm currently obsessed with than an interview with the New York Times. Then, on Friday, I received and email with the subject line "Request for image/The New York Times" asking if they could use this image in their story.

Wait, let me think about it for a second, um...YES!

So it comes out tomorrow in the Thursday Style section- go check it out! And stop back here for my full analysis of the entire situation.

**UPDATE I just got an email from a writer from the New York Observer about Downton too! ~~Will keep you all posted on the news!~~ HERE IS THE ARTICLE!**

And if anyone reading this right now found my blog via the Observer article, welcome! Have a look around, and stay awhile, so happy you stopped by!

Downton Abbey Viewing Party Episode 2!

2012-01-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

Our second Downton Abbey viewing party was a success! Everyone dressed to impress and this time Baroness Bitsie and Lady Tee Tee cooked a traditional Edwardian meal of soup, game, fish and roasted vegetable. It was amazingly delicious. And thanks to the 17 degree weather we were even able to have a fire! I think the pictures say it all, so enjoy!

Potato leek soup, cornish game hens and arctic char.

Lady So So, Lady Tee Tee, Baroness Bitsie, Branson, Lady Sybil in her harem pants and Lord Dee Dee.

Did you all watch? What did you think?

On hiatus

2012-01-16T05:48:00.000-05:00

I've decided to put the Desirous of Everything sponsor ads on hiatus. I'm not sure for how long, but February will mark one full year of hosting sponsorship ads on my blog! It's been really fun, I've met a ton of new friends from it and had so many amazing guest posts to share with you guys! But right now I'm feeling a little burnt out. I'm going to take a break from it and see what happens. I'm pretty positive this break won't be permanent so bear with me. (I just had to look up if it was "bare" or "bear" with me. Apparently "BEAR with me". "Bare with me" means to "get NEEKED with me").

I love having pretty little buttons in my side bar though! So if you would like to trade buttons let me know. I'll keep yours up indefinitely if you do the same for me.

Thanks everyone!

Bragging Rights

2012-01-15T13:41:00.000-05:00

Guess what guys? I am having one of those long weekends where nothing creatively productive seems to be getting done. I'm behind on my writing (since Thursday) don't have any blog posts scheduled for next week and am not keeping up with my reader and commenting and sharing the bloggy love.The further I get behind on these things, the more down on myself I become and the more impossible it feels to catch up. I hate waiting for that "inspirational moment" to come, I like to believe that there is no such thing, but man do I need it right now.

I have come to the conclusion in this four day slump that if the first thirty pages of writing a novel are like falling in love, the last thirty pages are working yourself up to a big break up that you know is going to suck, and you have to do it, but you keep putting it off (four days and counting.) These last thirty pages are taunting me! Should I just stop now? Take a break, reread my draft in about a month and then write the ending? The thought has crossed my mind, but I'm pretty sure that I won't feel fully satisfied and be able to truly relax guilt free from my writing break if I don't have a finished first draft.

Blargh, blargh, blargh.

So, while feeling super blarghy, I came upon this post by the always inspiring Mother Reader called Not In Need of Improvement. Her theory is that every January we all focus on becoming better which often leads to feelings of failure and makes it hard to feel good about ourselves (see above rant for proof of that). She writes:

So I thought I'd give my blogging buddies a chance to share something about yourself that you like or do well. Not promotions or book deals or Ultimate Grand Supreme wins, but a little something like this:
My eyelashes are so long that they brush against my glasses if I wear mascara - which I don't need to do anyway because they are so dark and thick.
Yeah, that felt good. Real good. Now it's your turn to brag a bit. As you work to improve your commenting habits, exercise routine, organization skills, time management, book promotion, social media platform, etc... what can you feel good about today?

Ready? Here's mine:

I love tearing up the dance floor. Strangers often compliment my dancing at parties, I'm that good.

I have to admit it was harder to come up with a compliment for myself than a complaint, but it felt good to sit and think for a bit. So take a minute, and tell me yours in the comments! Love you guys!

Jumpsuit Friday Vlog 2!

2012-01-13T16:41:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday the thirteenth everyone! We have a very special second JSF vlog for you all this lovely Friday afternoon. Click for more jumpsuit enlightenment and laughs (and possibly a shout out to Michelle Obama) and enjoy! Also, we've created a Jumpsuit Friday Facebook Page! Become our fan and we'll love you forever. Happy jumping!

xo
Sarah and Ang

Become a fan of Jumpsuit Friday! Click Here

Sheer terror

2012-01-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share this little home movie clip that my sister shared with me (she's the younger one in the video with the adorable hair cut.) I have to say that I still watch scary movies this way!

Also if anyone has any idea what in the world we are watching please tell me!!

Good book alert!

2012-01-11T06:47:00.000-05:00

I haven't written about a book I've read in a while because I just haven't been inspired to. But about half way through an already favorite author of mine, Frances O'Roark Dowell's Ten Miles Past Normal, I thought, I've got to tell my blog readers about this book!

This was the exact passage that gave me that thought:

The Jam Band idea seemed crazier to me every time I thought about it. I could understand why we'd otten so excited about it at first. Being in a band is one of those notions that sort of seizes you. It's like when you're a kid and decided to put on a play or have a carnival in your backyard. You spend forty-eight to seventy-two crazed hours devoting your every waking minute to making it happen, and then, poof, all of a sudden you run out of steam and your big idea dies a quiet death while you sit in front of the TV watching ancient Saved by the Bell episodes.

That's the kind of writing that makes me love young adult literature so much. That is the kind of writing that makes me think, I want to write a book just like this.

Ten Miles Past Normal is about high school freshman Janie who's having a hard time transitioning from middle school, where she had a nice group of friends, to high school where she barely has any classes with anyone she knows. She also has the burden of getting rid of a weirdo farm girl reputation after an unfortunate goat poop incident. Luckily Janie has her super smart best friend Sarah to rely on, but the more I read on, the more I'm suspecting their friendship is about to change. Sarah has the idea of joining the after school jam band to get closer to a boy they both have a crush on, but immediately decides it's not for her. Janie decides to stick with it, and suddenly, for the first time ever, the two friends are starting to have different interests.

I'm loving the plot of the two girls having a crush on the same boy. I totally remember doing that in high school! It's super fun to be silly and obsess over that boy together and non threatening because you both don't realistically think you will ever have a chance with the boy (he's probably a junior and way too popular). However, what happens when you actually start to know the boy?? Oh the drama!

If you're looking for something to read, I highly recommend Ten Miles Past Normal. All this talking about it, makes me want to go finish it right now! Happy reading!

Guess who just bought two more jumpsuits?

2012-01-10T05:54:00.000-05:00

There was a time in my life when I thought that four jumpsuits were all I would ever need, but after the success and fun of our very first JSF vlog, I decided I needed more jumpsuits in my life!

Since some people are starting to take interest in participating in Jumpsuit Friday and there seems to be a lot of confusion on just how to get a hold of a jumpsuit, I thought I'd share with you my way of finding jumpsuits.

Basically my preferred method is to type "Vintage Jumpsuit" into Google shopping and click through the pages for hours. By searching for jumpsuits this way, you get a combination of different online stores to choose from. I've noticed that Etsy comes up the most often this way. You can also narrow down your search by adding a size, however, a lot of vintage items go by measurements since sizing was different back in the day. I also like to narrow down by price too, and decided I wasn't going to pay more than $40 for a new jumpsuit.

So, here's a sneak peak of what I just ordered! Can't wait until they arrive! I hope they get here before Friday!

Vintage 70s Turquoise Floral Jumpsuit from Spun Sugar Vintage

Vintage 80s Avant Garde Jumpsuit from Kasi Found This Vintage

War makes early risers of us all

2012-01-09T14:21:00.002-05:00

M'Ladies and M'Lords,

via

That was the Countess's first quotable line in Season 2 episode 1 of Downton Abbey, and maybe the most confusing, next to the "Guns at Lucknow" line- who else took out their phones and started Googling?

Our Downtown Party was a success thanks to our fabulous hostess and of course the very satisfying first episode! First, the outfits. Unfortunately, we forgot to tell Lord Dee Dee to wear his tux. He was very upset.

And now, the analysis. Here are parts that had us yelling and hooting at the screen:

-First and formost, Carson's non heart attack, and Edith's complaint about him spilling the wine on her dress! What a bia. If Carson dies, I will be beside myself.

She has evil in her heart.

-And speaking of Edith, way to ruin a farmer's wife's life! What is her deal??? Honestly, I feel sorry for her and her stupid, sorry life.

Molesey, please.

-Eww. Molesey. Is he the new Thomas? Ewww. Just eww. Way to go Anna for refusing him though.

-Although, for the first time evs, I'm starting to get annoyed with Bates! I feel like he's using his "good man" loyalty as an excuse to be uncommunicative and not have any balls! Stand up to your evil wife! Do it for Anna, she's willing to "live in sin" with you!! (Yeah, she said that).

You're not a young man Grantham.

-Lord Grantham needs to take his uniform off and get over himself as well. You're too old to go to war. It will kill you and make Cora a widow. You can not handle those trenches (how impressive were those trenches by the way?) Stop thinking about just yourself, for once in your life! I know Lord Grantham is usually very accommodating and unselfish, but really the being a soldier thing is all about his ego and nothing more.

-And you know he's going to find out about the scandal eventually- Carson almost spilled the beans! Is that what gave him a heart attack?

So, those are the main things I can remember from our wine fueled, cheesecake eating evening!

Did you watch it too? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Sincerely,

Lady SoSo

500 Words a day first week back

2012-01-09T06:35:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else having a hard time coming out of the holiday break and resuming their old productive ways for the new year? I have always been one to advocate for vacations of all kinds, but this time around I can't seem to remember how I managed to write and blog every day and go to work! I'm starting to regret taking a break because I'm having such a hard time recovering from it, and I felt like I was really on a roll there for a while. Maeg over at Edison Rex, just wrote a post about letting go of "musts and shoulds" this year and embracing "what ifs and what would happens." And I'm trying to take on that sentiment too while still staying true to my writing process.

All I've been wanting to do lately is read blogs, watch tv and movies on Netflix and hang out with friends. Which I have been doing, and have been trying to remind myself that it's okay to want these things. There's probably a reason for it right? I would normally blame an instinct to hibernate in January, however Saturday's creepy 60 degree weather (yes, I found it creepy not awesome) kind of negates that theory.

Sometimes you just need a break though I guess. On Sunday I woke up early and refreshed with a list of blogging and writing goals that I wanted to accomplish before heading to a Downton Abbey Season 2 premiere party (that recap post will go up later today I hope!) And after plugging away at it here and there I reached those goals. Including completing my first week back at writing 500 words a day. Behold the puffy stickers.

Sometimes a few days of laziness and guilt is just the trick to get me producing. And no one ever said writing a novel and being a blogging superstar would be easy :)

Current WIP stats: 44,459 words and 166 pages of my first draft written
3,956 words written this week
7 new puffy sstickers stuck on my calendar!

Downton Abbey Season 2 premiere party!

2012-01-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Today is the day I have been waiting for for almost a year, the premiere of Downton Abbey Season two! And I am lucky enough to have a group of elegant ladies and one dashing lord to celebrate with tonight as I'm going to a Downton Abbey viewing party! Before I reveal to you all my fabulous outfit, complete with a British fascinator (I think Lady Sybil would approve) here are my thoughts on Downton Abbey Season 1.

The scandal of Pamook and Lady Mary is so so good. And really, even scandalous for 2011 standards! The suspense of whether Lady Mary's reputation will be ruined for good over it is killing me.

On a similar note, everyone's favorite is Maggie Smith's Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, but I think I love her the most when she decides to forgive Lady Mary for her mistake. That, and when she sit's in a swivel chair for the first time.

My favorite characters are:

The Dowager Countess for her one liners and scathing looks.

Lady Mary- She is so mean and pretty evil, but I love her because she's also smart and believes in true love.

John Bates- the epitome of generosity and trust and so Mr. Darcy-esque, especially when there is the whole wine stealing scandal.

Lady Sybil- For being a rebel feminist who wears pants and helps her maid become a secretary.

Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes- are tied for no nonsense tough love types (my favorite!)

Matthew- for being so anti class and not realizing when he insults his valet or whatever. And for being a romantic.

Anna- for being so kind, loyal and hardworking, and knowing exactly what to do when your boss wakes you up and asks you to move a dead body in the middle of the night.

Cora- because I love the way her and The Dowager Countess are true pals. Plus, she's really pretty for an old.

The characters that I HATE the most are (as in I love yelling at the screen whenever they are on, so I actually love them):

Daisy- really she is just so stupid!

Isobel Crawley (Matthew's mom)- for being such a know it all. I know she is a good person and I should probably like her, but I'm constantly sighing and yelling "ugh, shut up!" whenever she says anything.

Lady Edith-Just as evil as Lady Mary and yet so not as cool about it. Plus, I hate her ugly face. There. I said it.

Thomas- Ugh, just the worst!

O'Brein- Because I love yelling "O'Brein!" angrily at the screen. And her curly bangs are ridic.

All images were taken from the Downton Abbey page on PBS.org. Hop on over for more Downton fun, including a What character are you? Quiz- I got Anna!

Are you watching the premiere of season 2 tonight? What will you be yelling at the screen? Let me know in the comments!

Jumpsuit Friday Vlog!

2012-01-06T15:49:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since we've celebrated Jumpsuit Friday on Desirous of Everything, but Angela and I have been keeping it going this entire time. And today I am so excited to share with you guys our very first JSF Vlog!

Which, by the way, my dad suggested we do a while ago, and actually used the word "vlog." Pretty cool huh? Thanks for the idea Dad!

Click to listen to us talk about our fabulous jumpsuits in detail and how wearing a jumpsuit is the perfect way to end a long week!

Thanks for watching!

Why do they always pick the worst frame to freeze?! Please watch it because we look way less blurry and way more pretty when you do.

A Public Service Annoucment

2012-01-03T16:23:00.000-05:00

via

It's January 3rd everyone and you know what that means? Yesterday, Alex and I took down the Christmas tree and all of the decorations.

I might be a little Christmas cheer fairy from December 1- January 1, but after New Year's Day I have a strict NO MORE CHRISTMAS policy. No exceptions, no regrets, no nonsense.

I'm sorry, but stretching Christmas into January is just depressing, and really kind of offensive to Christmas. Yes, I'm talking about Christmas like it's a person, deal with it.

I'm not going to lie, seeing our Christmas tree laying on the dirty, cold, curb waiting to be picked up this morning, tugged at my heart strings a bit. But that is the cold hard reality of New York City in the winter time and it is time to deal with it. Christmas is over. Welcome to January.

And don't forget about all of the space we now have in front of our window! And how clean our floors are after sweeping two times in a row. And our tree is going to be turned into mulch to use in parks and ball fields or something!

As Alex dragged the tree out of the apartment and down the stairs, I couldn't help calling out "bye tree!" but a treeless home really is the best way to start the New Year. And don't forget stockings, Christmas cards and chachkas people. Seriously. Is it offensive to use the word chachka when referring to Christmas decorations?

I will now spend the next, probably four months or so (because people are crazy!) complaining about Christmas lights still on on people's houses and Santa statues still on display in front yards (Alex delights in pointing these things out to me and then watching me seethe).

So, what I'm trying to say here is this: if you are one of those keep the Christmas decorations up until April people- GET IT TOGETHER! It's the least you can do for the sake of humanity and the least you can do for wonderful, magical, special, Christmas. And the least you can do for me.

I get it though, I really do. I was dreading taking down the tree all day long. So here is my advice to you April people. Have a good attitude and enjoy all of that space when you are finished! Really it's just a matter of starting, and the next thing you know, you're done. Put on some non-Christmas music (I recommend disco) and get to it! Then you get to sit on your couch and look out your window and rub your slippered feet around on your clean floors to your heart's content. That's what I did at least, and you should too!

Thanks for listening to this ~~rant~~ PSA.

New stickers for a new year

2012-01-02T11:53:00.001-05:00

And this time, they're puffy! Another reason not to go virtual with this project. Can you imagine if the internet had puffy stickers???

PS- If you're thinking of starting your own sticker calendar this year- for whatever projects you're working on, I love this simple website. And please, let me know if you do in the comments!

Second New Year's Day!

2012-01-02T10:22:00.000-05:00

How lucky are we to have a second New Year's day this year? At least that's how it feels to me! New Year's day is always spent in recovery for me. Every year I think maybe next year I should try not to be hung over on the first day of the year, and then every year, I am! Oh well! I know that this time of my life won't be forever, so it felt really good to embrace my hung over new year's day yesterday with out the worry of having to go back to work the next day- voila! Second New Year's Day! First New Year's day was spent watching Downton Abbey Season 1 in it's entirety, staying in my PJs all day long, reading horoscopes for the new year and laughing at funny pictures and stories from the night before. Like this one:

Me with my new year's eve and new year's day partner in crime!

Today feels fresh and sunny and definitely not as dizzy as yesterday! I am gearing up to get back into my routine after a two week break (yes, I know how lucky I am to have this and am forever thankful). So you know what that means? Back to writing 500 words every day until I hit at least 200 pages and finish my first draft.

As much as I've been talking the talk with you guys about how I write everyday now, I need to share with you all that I'm scared to get started again. I had one day of writing on the 29th this past week, but wasn't able to keep up with it. I allowed myself to write when I wanted to because I was on vacation, but now I'm not anymore, and it's 2012 and I've promised you all that I'm going to finish this manuscript and I'm a little scared that I won't.

I believe that I'm going to write every day, and I believe that I will finish, but I thought I should tell you all that doubt is still creeping in after all this time, all those words, all those pages and all my sharing. You know what that probably means? That doubt is always going to be there lurking around for me when it comes to my writing. and I guess I'm going to have to learn to live with it and beat it to a pulp now and then, like the bad ass I know I can be.

While reading through The Secret Language of Birthdays yesterday, my horoscope was actually kind of mean! Telling me that I had a difficult nature and lonely life! -which I found funny. One of the things it said about March 8th people was that my struggles weren't special or unique or something like that...so basically saying get over yourself you big dummy!

As much as I wanted to throw that book out the window yesterday, I'm going to take those words and work with them. I get it Birthday Book, you're giving me tough love. And I do love a no nonsense kind of person. So, guess what guys, I'm scared. But I'm going to get over it and keep writing this year. Hope you will too! And if you need some tough love right now too, here you go: "Shut up and go write!" Okay, okay, I'm going!

One last post for 2011

2011-12-31T16:01:00.000-05:00

via ex libris

I haven't made any real resolutions for myself except for this vague notion of figuring out an exercise plan that works for me in February, after I will have (fingers crossed) finished the first draft of my WIP. But I did come up with an idea inspired by The Creative Penn that Alex and I are going to try together.

One day a month, for the entire year we will both not go on the internet for a full 24 hours.

I'm still shocked sometimes that this is the sort of challenge I would give myself. I only ever used my computer for writing papers, Napster (those were the days) and a tiny bit of email in college! But fresh off of a week long unplugged vacation and I think this is something that will do the both of us some good. Plus, the next day, I can come here and blog about everything we did! It's a win, win right? I'm thinking of incorporating the phone and watching TV (which we actually use the internet for) into this challenge, but we'll see. Don't want to set ourselves up for failure. But basically I'm hoping for one day a month filled with things like trips to the park, movies or a museum, brunch or dinner with friends and lots of writing and reading. Because really, shouldn't resolutions be about doing more of something you already love to do?

I'm looking forward to a night with friends at our friend's bar where we'll be able to walk home tonight and dance in the new year. (I'm wearing my new lipstick of course!) And then a day of vegging out and rewatchig Downton Abbey season one again with my pal Bitties tomorrow. She's promised to make this and I'm gonna roll on over there in my PJs around 1:00.

Happy new year everyone!

I just bought lipstick for the first time in my life yesterday

2011-12-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

How do you even wear this stuff? And seriously guys, am I even putting it on right? Please give me all of your lipstick wisdom in the comments!!

PS- NARS Viridiana. I'm probably going to lose it in less than a week.

Seven Links from 2011

2011-12-30T11:32:00.000-05:00

I saw this idea originally on The Curious Pug and decided to play along (thanks for the inspiration Alycia) Here are seven blog posts from 2011 that fall into the designated categories below. And a big thanks to all of my readers for reading these posts! This has bee an amazing year in blogging for me. I feel like after blogging for a few years I've finally found my voice and with that came an amazing little supportive community. I hope you'll stay around for 2012, because I'm really excited to keep this space going. Blogging's become a part of my life now, and I don't think I'm going to be able to stop any time soon.

Most beautiful

Not to be all, "my life is awesome" or anything, but I really enjoyed writing my post about how Alex and I met, and the response that I got from readers really made me recognize that it was a beautiful thing to write about. I'm sure Alex will make barfing sounds when he reads that sentence.

Most popular

I couldn't have been more thrilled at how popular my posts about writing 500 words a day for 8 weeks were. And especially the first one that got the ball rolling. I think people really responded to my sentiment that trying something new is not the same as giving up. Thank you everyone for supporting me through this goal!

Most Controversial

Um, that would have to be my post entitled "Warning: This might be a controversial blog post." About not being sure if I want to have kids or not. Turns out though, that the controversy was mainly in my head and that followed by a "self imposed anxiety post" that got such an encouraging response from readers. These were the first blog posts where I feel like I really shared who I am with readers. Where I went a little deeper than the superficial. I didn't think it would be, but it was really scary to share like that on the internet. But then I realized it was also really fulfilling. I hope to write more posts like these in 2012!

Most Helpful

I was so excited to get feedback from readers about my "What I Learned About Blogging This Year So Far" post. This post lead to me meeting new fellow bloggers, which is always so exciting. So thanks for reaching out everyone!

A post whose success surprised me

My post about Facebook was something I'd had on my back burner of blog posts for a while and almost never got around to writing. I was so surprised and honored when it got such great feedback from readers. Thanks for starting such a great conversation in the comments guys!

A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved

When I decided to do a Gilmore Girls recap post, I got an amazing response! So then I decided to do another episode recap and kind of got crickets (except for the fabulous Courtney!)...anyway guys, I think this post is really funny (at least I crack myself up!) so please check it out if you missed it the first time around!

Post I'm most proud of

I am most proud of a post that was really hard for me to write. I lost my best friend this year. And as much as I've been able to focus on the amazing friendship moments I've gained with other and newer friends after this happened, I'm still not over this loss. I had trepidation about writing this post because I didn't want to feel like I was shit talking, but really just honestly reflecting on friendship, and best friends, and being an adult. I think that I was able to do that. This happened in May, while Alex was still in the hospital (how shitty is that?) and I still think about it at least once a day. Hmmm maybe a follow up blog post is called for in 2012!

All in all, this has been a pretty crazy year for me and I feel like I've grown up a lot. I'm looking forward to 2012 where I'll be saying goodbye to my 20's in March and continue working on my personal writing and just personal life fulfilling goals. This blog as been a great way for me to reflect on who I really am and who I want to be. Thanks for reading everyone, and happy, happy new year!

I want to go New Year's Eve outfit shopping!

2011-12-29T13:37:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking something in the vein of Downton Abbey "shocking" harem pants, no?

None but ourselves can free our minds

2011-12-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I've been putting off blogging about my Jamaican vacation. Does that ever happen to you though? While on vacation you're constantly thinking of all of the things you can't wait to share with everyone when you get back, and then once you're home, and people ask you how it was, all you can think to say is, "it was amazing!" Because it was, but that's not really conveying anything. Okay, so I'm going to try.

Jamaica was amazing. We rented a condo in the middle of Montego Bay for 5 nights and on our last night we splurged and spent it at the Ritz. This turned out this way due to my mixing up the dates with our condo owner after booking plane tickets, but I'm so glad that it did. I think I might do all of my vacations this way! Here's why. Alex and I decided that we are condo renting vs hotel (especially resort) vacation types. We rented a house on our honeymoon too. We love cooking our own food and really having the freedom to do our own thing. While staying in town, our condo owner gave us the number of a wonderful taxi driver who gave us a good rate, ate lunch with us on the road and liked to talk about politics and the economy and things like health care. It was such a great experience to explore Jamaica with Easton. We were also directly across the street from the truly amazing Doctor's Cave Beach. Where the snorkeling was even better than Hawaii. It was so serene and peaceful, and the colors!

Something else I discovered about how I like to vacation. I love having all of these days where it is just me and Alex and no one else. I completely unplugged every connection to my real life that week and while I would by no means like to do that forever, for one week it was heaven, and really made me excited to come home- especially when I was coming home to Christmas. Alex and I didn't even bicker the entire week! Something about vacation and slowing down really makes that happen. It was such a great way to end this really crazy year for us. We also spent most of our nights back at the condo, snuggled up on the couch watching TV and didn't feel guilty about that or like I was missing out on anything at all! I've decided that I love watching TV on vacation! Once it's dark outside, I'm heading in doors. Since we don't have a TV at home, it really did feel like a treat. And I also loved getting up early to really be able to enjoy the day, since it got dark around 6PM.

When we finally made it to the Ritz, we had a blast enjoying all the fancy amenities- and even got a couples massage right before leaving for the airport! But after about a day, I have to say it got old. Everything was so much more expensive than in town and felt a little bit fake. If we had spent the entire week there, not only would we have been broke, but I feel like we would have felt trapped in the resort and not seen as much of the country as we did. Taxi's at the Ritz were much more expensive. Luckily we still had Easton's number to take us to the airport for half the price of what the Ritz charged! So really it was a perfect last day and made us really appreciate our entire week and the great experience that we had.

The last thing that I want to share with you guys- one of the things that's been hardest to put into words, was getting to swim in the Luminous Lagoon. It is a part of Jamaica where the bay meets the ocean and a natural phenomenon called bio-luminescence microorganisms are in the water. What does that mean? That when you make any motion in the water it lights up! It's like you're swimming with glowing lights all around you. Like someone is holding a flashlight underwater, it's that bright! But it's completely natural. We went out on a boat a night and went swimming in the lagoon. I saw two shooting stars while swimming in the water and could have stayed there all day long. If you're ever in Jamaica, make this a priority! It's truly magical.

All in all, I'm so glad we took this trip. I think getting away, just the two of us, was just what we needed and it didn't hurt that we were able to get away to a beautiful tropical paradise. It was amazing.

It's a Heidi braids kind of day

2011-12-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

Going to the coffee shop with my notebook to write. Not bringing my laptop because they have wifi (their password is "pumpkin pie" how cute is that?) but can't stay home because the quietness of sleeping cats is too distracting!

Um, you guys, this happened.

Sometimes the background noise of a cozy bakery mixed with a pen and paper do just the trick. This will be my first day back at writing since the 17th! And guess what? I feel rested and ready, maybe I'll even share with you all what I come up with today.

And on a side note, I feel like my hairdo, favorite jeans, t-shirt, cardigan combo is the perfect outfit for a good writing day.

Guest posting at Edison Rex!

2011-12-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

I'm guest posting today over at the lovely Edison Rex about how stickers have changed my life, while Maeg is off on her Snowflake Break. Please head on over and have a look!

Calling all sponsors!

2011-12-27T12:27:00.002-05:00

It's cold in New York in January but I'm determined to keep Desirous of Everything a warm and sunny space next month. And what could make it sunnier than sponsorship from my lovely readers? January will be my 12th month in a row of having sponsors and I'm more excited than ever!

If you are interested in participating in free sponsorship next month, please email me as soon as you can, because spaces fill up quick! Sponsorship includes an ad in the side bar for the month and a guest post if you would like. And if you're interesting in swapping ads, let me know!

If you're a new blogger and have never sponsored a blog before, I recommend trying it out, especially as a great way to start the new year. Having sponsors has lead to so many great blogging friendships for me, and I can't wait to meet more bloggers in 2012!

Can't wait to hear from you!

The sweetest thing

2011-12-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be featured over at Rewind Revise today as a "Tuesday Treat!" I got to talk to Tony about being a writer, blogger and librarian, and then she turned that conversation into the sweetest little write up about little old me! I told Tony that I'm going to have to bookmark this page to refer to any time I'm feeling down.

Please stop by, say hello, and leave some love in the comments. You might remember the fabulous Tony from her guest post about writing last week. Her blog posts are always amazingly truthful, honest and sincere (which is why I feel so honored right now) if you haven't already, click around and read her stuff and follow this girl, so you'll totally be able to say "I knew her when."

2 Christmas Videos!

2011-12-26T19:41:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I'm back from Jamaica and family Christmas time! It was so sweet to come home to an inbox full of comments, so thank you all very much- I've missed you! I have so many things that I want to blog about this week, but first I thought I'd share a final Christmas post since most of you are probably eating leftovers while reading this and taking brand new goodies out of their boxes (I just used my brand new pizza stone and am eating a red velvet peppermint cupcake as I type this.)

When I came home on Christmas Eve, I was told by my mom and sisters that I was going to be a part of a flash mob. For other families, this might not really make much sense, but my reaction was pretty much, "Oh okay, teach me the routine."

It was hard keeping the secret all night long, but when we finally pulled it off, it was SO worth it. Click below to see how it unfolded, and yes, that is my Dad making the surprise soul train entrance.

Giving presents was so much fun on Christmas morning, and Rachel took the cake this year for best Christmas present ever. We had talked about getting my parents a VHS to DVD converter to convert all of our home movies to DVDs but quickly realized that while this would be a nice gift, an even better one would be to convert all of the tapes for them and give them a set of DVDs for Christmas. Rachel took on the challenge and sneaked out all of the tapes when she was home back in November (this feat included a frantic call to both me and Emily because my mom had moved the tapes! When she finally found them, she was convinced my mom would come home and say "why is everything moved?!" because mom's can always tell.)

But the secret was kept, and hours and hours of converting the tapes occurred. Rachel actually said that going through this process of watching all of our home movies was extremely moving and even life changing for her, and I'm going to have her guest posting about this process soon! I'm also going to share with you all some amazing highlights throughout the week. But first, here is me at three years old, and more proof,(in case you needed it,) that I have the best dad in the world.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas card this year. Enjoy!

Repost: Miracle on 22nd Street

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

** Originally posted on December 27, 2010**

With 2011 only days away, I had to share this NY Times video.

"Two New York City men feel a tremendous responsibility to respond properly when they mysteriously receive hundreds of letters addressed to Santa Claus at their Chelsea apartment."

And the craziest part is, they never figure out why they are getting all of these letters!

Alex and I decided this year to buy presents for kids through NY Cares instead of buying presents for each other. We got a few letters addressed to Santa asking for Barbies and Barbie clothes. (Of course I threw in a few books too!) I guess you always know deep down that giving back feels really good, but sometimes I think you forget how good it feels until you actually do something. So in the name of those two elves in Chelsea, my New Years resolution this year is to give my time to help others more often. And really, my reasons are a little selfish, I'm not doing this for the people in need, I'm doing it for myself! Because it makes you feel really good. Try it!

Repost: Quotables

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

**Originally posted on June 17, 2010**

Yesterday I put together favorite literary love quotes to display at the wedding, at with each one, I added a botanical card from Rifle Paper Co. My new favorite online shop! Check it out, everything they make is absolutely adorable! These are the quotes I used:

"Do you really think he likes me Lizzi?"
"Jane, he danced with you most of the night and stared at you the rest of it."- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

"What a splendid day! I pity people who aren't born yet for missing it. They may have good days, of course, but they can never have this one."- Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery

"I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are."- The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

"Doesn't he have a noble brow? If I were a boy I'd want to look just like that."- Little Women, Lousia May Alcott (that one is from the movie, and I'm not sure if it's in the book, but I don't care- I like the movie better!)

Behold my handy work! Who knew I was so crafty?

Guest post from Tony at Rewind Revise!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Please welcome December sponsor Tony from Rewind Revise! Tony is a blogger and writer and trust me, after reading the excerpt that she shares below from her current work in progress, you're going to be dying to read more of her work. Today she's writing about language and showing vs. telling. Enjoy!

In the first few pages of Stephen King’s memoir on the craft of writing, On Writing, he talks about a conversation he had with Amy Tan about how no matter how many speaking they go to and no matter how many questions they are asked, no one ever talks about the language. Language is ultimately what it is all about and it is so often neglected when talking about the craft. We like to talk about plot, narrative, tension, conflict, and character. That’s the fun stuff. That’s the fictional gossip we love to rehash, psychologize, feel good about our brilliant selves for thinking up in the first place. Having graduated with a writing degree, I can say that even in my formal classes very little time (if any at all) was dedicated to the language in our pieces. Sure, there were discussions about voice. But how do we turn “our voice” or “our style” into a language that touches readers universally? How do we show, not tell, while keeping the language alive and making sure it has a pulse the whole way through?

I hate it when I hear those writers say they’ve been writing their whole lives…but I am totally guilty of that claim. I learned how to read and identify letters on a typewriter at three years old and as soon as school started, I loved nothing more than to come up with a story that most often starred my little brother as the protagonist. When I learned how to use a tape recorder, I recorded myself reading my own stories and singing my own lyrics to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Despite this self-assurance at a young age, I would develop crippling insecurities about my writing later in life, but the point is I have always loved language. I love putting two words together and then three and then agonizing over a sentence like a puzzle. I love the sound of language, which also probably explains my deep obsessive love for the the melancholypoetics of the grunge singers of the early 1990s. Thankfully, I am currently in a writing group in New York City that takes the time to give feedback on the language of each other’s pieces. We tried to elaborate on the idea of “show don’t tell.” For instance, don’t say your mother was beautiful, because that is not specific and we all think our mothers are beautiful. We all also have different notions of beauty. Make your mother beautiful. Paint her. Here are some examples I like to include of non-specific language that lies flat on the page like the following:

“She had blonde hair, blue eyes, large full breasts and a smile that could stop a blind man in his tracks.”

The problem with this sentence is that it’s vague, somewhat boring, and cliché. How about this?

“My mother is framed in the doorjamb, a picture I fight to hold onto. The sun is setting in the West spilling amber light into our California kitchen, illuminating her, the most beautiful woman in the world. She is barefoot like me, but makes it look important. Shoes might slow her down, trip her up with the way she glides around the kitchen, the soft swish from the sweep of her feet on linoleum. Her hair is a long golden blonde curling into soft tendrils just below large full breasts. She wears a white cotton, sleeveless, summer dress. There must be music playing, because there is music in the way she moves. I drink her in for a moment before handing over the vegetables.” (From my WIP memoir, How To Fold A Flood)

I think as writers we are often afraid to sit with a moment and really let it breathe, really infuse it with language. And I’m not necessarily talking about filling a moment with a lot of necessary words, (William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White said in The Elements of Style: “Omit Needless Words.”) but rather to think about each word. Writing is not meant to be fast. It’s a gift when it comes pouring out, but so rare do words come that don’t need editing. Writing is hard work and I think as writers some of the big mistakes we make are underestimating the time and hard work it takes in not just crafting a story but giving it a pulse. Writers who do this for me:Nick Flynn, MaryKarr, Augusten Burroughs, and Joan Didion to name a few.

“No road offers more mystery than that first one you mount from the town you were born to, the first time you mount it of your own volition, on a trip funded by your own coffee tin of wrinkled up dollars - bills you've saved and scrounged for, worked the all-night switchboard for, missed the Rolling Stones for, sold fragrant pot with smashed flowers going brown inside twist-tie plastic baggies for. In fact, to disembark from your origins, you've done everything you can think to scrounge money save selling your spanking young pussy.” ― Mary Karr, Cherry

Here, Karr has already given us a journey while also giving us a feel for this world we are about to enter with the use of her point-blank honesty and no-nonsense approach.

“My mother is from Cairo, Georgia. This makes everything she says sound like it went through a curling iron.” Augusten Burroughs - Running with Scissors

We may not know how people from Cairo, Georgia speak, but we now know exactly how Burroughs’s mother sounds.

“Skid is curled beneath the desk-semiconscious or out cold, hard to tell, his boombox cranked up full, he holds it tight to his chest like a screaming child. My father hums.” – Nick Flynn, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

What I love about Flynn’s work is his attention paid to syntax. He has infused us with an image of his father without telling us this is what he thinks of him: “..a screaming child. My father…”

And who does it better than Joan Didion?

“In certain latitudes there comes a span of time approaching and following the summer solstice, some weeks in all, when the twilights turn long and blue. This period of the blue nights does not occur in subtropical California, where I lived for much of the time I will be talking about here and where the end of daylight is fast and lost in the blaze of the dropping sun, but it does occur in New York, where I now live. You notice it first as April ends and May begins, a change in the season, not exactly a warming — in fact not at all a warming — yet suddenly summer seems near, a possibility, even a promise. You pass a window, you walk to Central Park, you find yourself swimming in the color blue: the actual light is blue, and over the course of an hour or so this blue deepens, becomes more intense even as it darkens and fades, approximates finally the blue of the glass on a clear day at Chartres, or that of the Cerenkov radiation thrown off by the fuel rods in the pools of nuclear reactors. The French called this time of day "l'heure bleue." To the English it was "the gloaming." The very word "gloaming" reverberates, echoes — the gloaming, the glimmer, the glitter, the glisten, the glamour — carrying in its consonants the images of houses shuttering, gardens darkening, grass-lined rivers slipping through the shadows. During the blue nights you think the end of day will never come. As the blue nights draw to a close (and they will, and they do) you experience an actual chill, an apprehension of illness, at the moment you first notice: the blue light is going, the days are already shortening, the summer is gone. This book is called "Blue Nights" because at the time I began it I found my mind turning increasingly to illness, to the end of promise, the dwindling of the days, the inevitability of the fading, the dying of the brightness. Blue nights are the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but they are also its warning.” –Joan Didion, Blue Nights

Right now, I am trying to sit with my sentences, which is difficult both physically and emotionally. It’s uncomfortable and it’s hard. But this is what sets the great writers apart from the average: the dedication to bring life to every word. The minute you skip ahead when reading your own writing, that’s problematic. That’s a threshold to mark where your work may be boring. If you skip ahead, so will your readers.

Thanks to Sarah for letting me guest post on her beautiful and awesome site!!! Keep on writing, writers!

Guest post from Maeg at Edison Rex!

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Tradition.

This year I've been craving new holiday traditions for myself and my sweet little family. I think a lot of my inspiration comes from having a two year-old in the house. His old sister, my stepdaughter, is probably on the verge of having some important revelations about dear old Santa, but for Thommy this is the first Christmas he understands.

I ambitiously wrote a post recently about my gung-ho-ho-ho desire to step it up Christmas-wise this year. Want to know how far that got me at the time if this writing? I watched half of Elf with the family before I passed out, and our tree has one string of lights on it so far. No handmade wreaths, cookies, or handmade activity advent calendars.

Now, I know the tree will get trimmed and magic will happen. But I started to wonder where my resistance was coming from. My first thought was that it's because I'm not Christian. Fair enough--but I can get behind some Christmas spirit and magic anyway. So that's not it.

Then it hit me: traditions are like stories. Stories in action. And I'd been trying to tell ones that weren't true.

I'd been approaching my holiday cheer like a revved up Stepford wife. I'd been trying to spin a tale of perfection that is simply not mine, and never will be. This, of course, short-circuited my inner wife-bot before she could even get started!

I chalk this up in part to reading waaay to many blogs. (Listen bloggers, I want to see you passed out in the punch bowl once in awhile, not making another hand-sewn Advent calendar while baking sugar cookies at the same time.)

Our story will likely never say, "Maeg donned her apron and painstakingly cut reindeer-shaped cookies out of snow and sprinkled them with hand-dyed sugar (all natural kale coloring, of course!)"

Just not going to happen.

Here are some things that did happen:

We were busy and had to trim the tree over a period of weeks, not days. It's more important to do it together than to get it done fast.

I didn't make an advent calandar, because I couldn't figure out a good advent solution for blended families. I want Aurora to be included in everything holiday thing we do, not just half of them.

I took Thommy to see Santa at the park. We rode Santa's train, and oohed and aahed over the fancy model trains running around Santa's workshop. I may not get the train thing at all, but I support his fascination and it makes me happy to see him happy.

I'm sure we will make more traditions this year, and they will be fun, unstressful, natural. Being inspired by someone else's projection of perfection just isn't healthy for me. I want my traditions to tell a story, the real story, of our family.

What are your favorite traditions?

xoxo Maeg

Guest post from librarian, Courtney!

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm Courtney from Nobody Too. First off, let me thank the wonderful Sarah for letting me guest post.

Today I want to talk about something very near and dear--my favorite Christmas books. When thinking about Christmas, a handful of books always spring to mind.

1. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

How could this not be on the list? The gorgeous illustrations, the enchanting story. The movie was just ok (in my opinion), but the book is simply wonderful. For anyone who is somehow ignorant of this book or film, it's the story of a boy who, late one Christmas Eve, takes a train ride to the North Pole with several other children and is picked out of all of them to receive the first gift of Christmas. I've loved this book since I was kid, particularly the end which I've always found both beautiful and haunting.

2. Santa's Evil Twin by Dean Koontz

This was gifted to me several years ago by my mother. It was written by Dean Koontz (yes, that Dean Koontz), which is surprising to say the least. The story and illustrations are fun, silly, and whimsical. Like many other Christmas classics, this story is told in rhyme and is reminiscent of the Grinch, or maybe The Nightmare Before Christmas. In this book, Santa has been kidnapped by his evil twin who has taken over the toy deliveries for the year. Being an evil twin, he's out to ruin Santa's goody-goody reputation and does so by delivering nasty toys and wrecking peoples' homes. Two young girls, Charlotte and Emily, make it their mission to stop this evil Santa and save Christmas.

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

After growing up on various versions of this story (from the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol, to Scrooged, to The Muppet Christmas Carol), I first read the book sometime in high school and have reread it several times since. The book is just as fantastic as the various film versions, and knowing the source material makes it even more interesting to see the creative liberties various adaptations have adopted. This book's in the public domain (so you can read it for free online or download it to an e-reader), and it's sure to get you in the Christmas spirit. Also, it's incredibly short for Dickens--somewhere around a hundred pages, depending on which version you have.

4. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

This slim volume is a collection of stories by the always funny David Sedaris. The "SantaLand Diaries", in which Sedaris describes his time working as a Christmas elf, is pants-wettingly funny. (Spell check is telling me that "pants-wettingly" isn't a word. Clearly, spell check has not read "SantaLand Diaries".) Sedaris goes on to cover holiday newsletters and the torture of watching elementary school Christmas pageants. Pick this one up and enjoy!

REPOST: In Defense of the Magazine

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

**This was originally posted on February 28, 2010**

Alex got a subscription to Harper's Magazine this Christmas and I've really been enjoying it. We subscribe to The New Yorker, The Economist and Harper's and while reading Harper's this morning I had a little epiphany about why it's worth the $16.97 a year to read it in my hands rather than online. Of course there's the obvious reason of keeping good writers in business and making sure they get paid for the professional work that they do, but Harper's took it a step further for me this morning, and I'm pretty sure it was completely intentional.

The first section of the magazine is called "Readings" where they have short pieces usually only a page or half a page long that range from a essays, fiction excerpts etc. On a full spread of the month's issue in Readings, on one page they have a piece called "Interrogation: Atlas Bugged" which is the transcript of a taped conversation between a man being stopped by security agents in an airport. The article is frustrating and makes you furious towards the agents who refuse to answer the man's simple question about whether he is legally obligated to answer their questions. Instead they bully him and accuse him that only someone guilty would ask a question like that and never give him the simple yes or no answer.

The second article is called "Inquiry: The Sorrows of Young Umar" and is excerpts from postings to an Islamic Forum website by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the Nigerian man charged with trying to bomb a plane on Christmas this year. These postings make you feel disturbed and sad, and after just feeling pissed off at those security agents, my new thought was huh, no wonder those agents were such assholes there is so much to be afraid of.

The final piece on the page is called "Alert: Protect and Preserve" and is an incident report from a policeman at Columbus airport in Ohio about a resealed can of pickled mangoes that was taking into the hands of Columbus fire Department Bomb Squad, Joint Terrorism Task Force and the FBI only to be blown open and determined to be in fact pickled mangoes.

Reading these three short pieces of writing placed next to each other caused my mind to go to so many places. Interrogation, to inquiry, to alert. I went from feeling all "down with the man!" to "God, terrorism is so much more complicated than we all can ever comprehend. We are all in the same boat, we're just really afraid we're going to miss stopping it from happening, and a lot of the time, we do." Harper's doesn't have one of it's writers explaining the juxtaposition of these three articles for the reader. They're just there, on the printed page, but so artfully chosen to be printed next to one another that your mind can't help taking it to the next level of critical thinking. It's fun to read three separate piece of writing and then stop and go "huh..." for a second. I just don't think that would have worked that well on a website.

So, I guess the point of this post is, read magazines too! And Harper's is a pretty interesting and unique one to read. Also, the cheapest of the three subscriptions we get. Mmmm, brain food.

I'm on a plane right now

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

heading here...

No internet access in our condo, which is fine by me! While I take a week off line, I hope you will stick around to read some guest posts from my sponsors and oldie but goodie posts that I'll be reposting while I'm away.

Ahhhhh....see you after Christmas!

56 days of 500 words

2011-12-16T22:47:00.001-05:00

I've got to go to bed, but I just want to say real quick, I did it.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your entire life? And I couldn't have done it without all of you cheering me on along the way. Thank you.

Vacation here I come. To read more about my 500 words a day challenge, click here!

Free Shipping for Hook & Lace!

2011-12-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

If you guys are still looking for Christmas presents, I highly recommend checking out the Hook & Lace Etsy store right away! And if you like them on Facebook, you'll get a coupon code for free shipping until the 25th! I bought necklaces for three different friends this Christmas and I'm pretty sure they all LOVED them. Here's a little sample below. Remember, like them on Facebook for the free shipping code!

** Full disclosure: these necklaces are made by my sister and her friend with love and care and Christmas cheer. (I'd bet money that they were watching Elf together while making them).**

Update- I just got this email from my sister. I did not change the font for the post-

OMG SARAH!!! NO JOKE!!! WE WERE WATCHING ELF WHILE MAKING STUFF LAST WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a Christmas miracle.

Thinking time

2011-12-14T07:41:00.002-05:00

"I thought of that while riding my bike."- Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity.

This morning I woke up at 6 to get some writing done. It is now 7:23 and I will have to start getting ready for work very soon. No writing was to be had. No blogging was to be had either, until just a moment ago when the phrase "thinking time," popped into my head. For the past hour and twenty minutes or so, while slowly waking up in the shower, and then over a cup of coffee, while I sat in my dark apartment with only the light of the Christmas tree on, and watched to sky get gradually lighter, (it's a nice pale blue now!) I've been thinking. Thinking about goals for my blog next year, things to blog about and what I should write today.

For most of that time, none of those thoughts came to any clear conclusions. If I had thought of a great scene for my WIP, I would have gotten started, if I had thought of a great blog post, I would have written it. There was a lot of skimming through Facebook and clicking on Bloglovin' in that hour and twenty minutes, a lot of staring at my Christmas tree too, but I'm not going to see this morning as a waste of time.

I know that if I spent all of my time set aside to be creative and productive just thinking, that I'd be unsatisfied with my goals. However, some of that time spent just thinking is worth it. I'm always fascinated where your mind will take you if you just take a second (or how many seconds are there in an hour and twenty minutes?) to zone out. To literally feel yourself waking up, your hair drying, and really notice the night time turning into the day.

So, 500 words will have to be tackled after work today and at page 140 now, I'm so close! I didn't realize when starting my goal that the final two days of the eight weeks would be my first two days on vacation in Jamaica. I'm going to try and have some double or maybe even triple (???) writing days this week to finish up early, if not, it'll be me and my notebook writing long hand on the beach! Either way, I know that I'm going to reach my goal and still ask myself sometimes, can you believe it? Stay tuned for the final countdown and a full page of stickers to come!

Deck the halls

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

I found my camera cord! So please meet our Christmas tree!

It's about 7 feet tall and we have three strands of white lights and two strands of colored lights on it, and man does it glow! What's your opinion on lights? White? Colored? A lot? A little? I like my super bright tree, but think I went a little overboard this year...maybe just one or two strands of whites next year :)

Oh also, what do you put on the top of your tree? I come from an angel family.

Also, Queenie has been super social since we got the tree! Alex thinks it's her Christmas present to me. I guess she's just got the Christmas spirit! And of course Murdock is care free as ever.

Um, Queenie, I thought you hated Murdock. And yes, that is a pile of my dirty clothes that she's sleeping on.

Sit back, relax, take a beat?

2011-12-10T17:36:00.001-05:00

I had a really exciting, energizing and long overdue meeting with my agent yesterday and while we were talking about blogging and writing and working day jobs and maintaining a social life, she said that she loves reading blogs where people really spell out to you their daily schedules or how they fit their work in, so I thought I'd turn our conversation into a blog post.

As week seven of writing 500 words a day is coming to a close, I feel like I've gotten somewhat of a handle on figuring out how to make sure I schedule my writing in. And while I don't write at the same time every day, I try and plan when I will have time to write during the week.

For example, I knew at the beginning of the week that Friday was going to be super busy for me. From 9-4 I would be working the book fair, from 4-5 I'd be helping pack it up. Then at 5 I was meeting Marissa for a drink and then after that I was heading straight to a friend's "very Victorian Christmas party" (which was very, very fun.) That day I left the house around 8AM and came home around 1 in the morning. I did not write yesterday.

However, on Thursday I wrote twice! Thursday was also a very busy day for me, but more about my own projects than socializing, which Friday was more about. First, I woke up at 6am (an hour earlier than I need to) to either blog or write. I was feeling more inspired to blog, so I got a blog post up before I went to work. After working the book fair until 4:00, I had one hour before meeting with my therapist. I went straight to this adorable little Italian cafe, ordered a fizzy lemonade and took out my notebook. I wrote in long hand for one hour.

When I got home from my therapist at around 6:30, I made dinner and typed up what I'd written. It came to 490 words. So I added a few more sentences, finished dinner and then closed the door to my bedroom to write for Friday.

At this point, it was about 9:00 at night. I had had a long day of standing on my feet and talking to parents, a relatively draining therapy session and was digesting dinner (which makes me very sleepy). But I resisted the urge to snuggle up with some Hulu and a glass of wine (something I pretty much was never able to do before starting my 500 words a day challenge) and sat down and wrote. I managed to write over 600 words, put a sticker on my calendar and go to bed looking forward to the long but fun day ahead.

So, I think I've realized that a big part of fitting in everything that you want to do in a day has to do with your mindset and a little bit of planning. I have to admit, when I was telling Marissa about writing twice in one day, I almost felt a little crazy. Who does that? Why have I created three full time jobs for myself, but I only get paid for one? I guess when it comes down to it, living my life like this makes me happy. In this week's episode of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Nope says, "Sit back, relax, take a beat? I don't really do those things. In fact, while I was in that meeting I was also planning my mother's birthday party in my head...strawberry Margaritas!" Um, that and her joy in buying the perfect Christmas present? We're totally twins!

Now, I have no idea how to fit exercise into my current schedule (this is going to be a project for me in the new year) but changing my attitude about it, and making a sticker calendar are going to be the first things that I try.

Best fictional couple of 2011

2011-12-08T18:40:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone, I have a guest post up over at Alexa's blog, Not Enough Bookshelves, talking about my favorite fictional couple of 2011. I'm not going to tell you who I picked, but I will give you this hint:

Go read it! It's part of a series she does every year where people write about their favorite fictional couples!

A Highly Scientific Analysis of Facebook

2011-12-08T06:36:00.001-05:00

source

Sorry I've been so quiet around here this week! Not sure what it is, but I have't felt inspired to post since Sunday. I have been working on my 500 words though, so don't worry about that! I thought I'd share as a blog post an email exchage that I had with a friend not that long ago talking about the "rules of the internet."

This friend is someone who's never really cared about the internet that much, and just signed up for a Facebook account. After being on Facebook for a little while he sent me a message telling me how when he first signed up for Facebook about a dozen people from earlier phases of his life reached out to him. Most people sent a 2-4 sentence email or posted something on his wall. He responded with a four or five paragraph email briefing them on the past ten years of his life and asking questions about what had been going on with them. And not one single person responded to those emails. He was feeling kind of down about it all and said:

I signed up for Facebook so I could reconnect with people. So far, this has not really happened for me, at least not in a meaningful or fulfilling way. I cannot help but take it personally.

He asked me if his long emails might be off putting to people, and this was my response:

I'm responding through email becuase the facebook mail format makes me want to rip my brain out of my head. Why the little tiny box? WHY???

I have to say that I am shocked that no one responded. Even if just to give you a shorter response than you gave them. However my guess is that they thought about giving you a long response when they had the time and then never got around to it and just forgot about it completely. I really don't think that they read your detailed email and were like- whoa didn't need to hear all that! They were probably really happy to get it. I know I'm always happy when someone sends me a long email. Long emails are more and more rare in my life these days and I think it has to do with the way we use technology now. Most people answer emails on their phones and use facebook on their phones. I know tons of people who don't even talk on the phone anymore and just text. I've fallen prey to this a little but not as much as I think most people I know have. Almost all of my friends have a smart phone and I still don't.

From what I can tell, technology doesn't play the kind of role in your life like it does in most peoples these days. It's funny because in a way you're using technology more, by spending the time to write a long email, but people might not really be used to that on facebook...I'm not sure, even the tiny little text box makes it seem like facebook isn't meant for the long email. While I kind of hate facebook and think it is so stupid and boring, for me, the best way to feel like I'm keeping in touch with people is to post status updates a lot- like everyday and to read through my friend's status's and comment on them. Look at photos and comment on them, upload your own pics. I think if you uploaded a bunch of pictures you might get comments on them from those people who never emailed you back. It can be easier to do the very simple/casual updates on facebook. A long email is almost as formal as writing a letter at this point.

So to answer your questions, I don't think in any way that you are being offensive or off putting in the way you communicate, but maybe you'll start to meaningfully connect with people if you do it how they are- like a status, upload and article you found interesting, tag yourself in some photos etc. I know it's all so stupid, but kind of interesting to sit down and really think about the nature of facebook. I think it's endearing that you do not use the internet like, at all- but I have told you before that i find it frustrating too- I think we'd be in better touch if you had more of an online presence. Like, you have gmail but you're never on chat! Gchat is a great way to have short conversations frequently with people you never ever see- it makes it feel more like a real relationship where you talk about the everyday...

Also know that people are reading it and just responding in their heads (I know, annoying) but I post my blog posts to fb and know that people click on them but a lot of those people never comment on what I post. Whenever I do get a comment it makes my day, and while I think everyone feels this way, it's easy to forget it. It's a lot easier to read a meaningful blog post and think "that was good" in your head and then not take the time to write a witty positive response in the comments. I don't know, I feel like I've been rambling, and that I could also talk about this all day! Let me know if any of this makes sense or if you agree! Actually I feel like the entire topic of this email could turn into a blog post! So thanks for the inspiration!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, readers. Do you agree with my highly scientific Facebook analysis? Have you ever had the same or similar experience with Facebook as my friend did? And although I talk about the importance of updating statuses, I kind of never do it! So I'm a little bit of a victim of "practice what you preach" there.

I have a busy five days ahead of me with the book fair today and tomorrow (yay!) two Christmas parties this weekend (double yay!) and Alex's band playing a show on Monday (woo hoo!) But I'll try to keep visiting Desirous of Everything through all that. Now if I could just find my camera cord!!! ARG.

500 Words week 6!

2011-12-04T23:55:00.001-05:00

Having just completed week 6 of writing 500 words a day, I have had the realization that writers who write every day do not have a more natural talent than those who do not. I think I had always thought before, oh, maybe I'm just not good enough to write every single day. But after finishing week 6 of doing so, I know that any writer can do it, as long as they push themselves. I used to be very quick to give up, when the mood wasn't right and inspiration wasn't there or I just wanted to be doing something else. Something that doesn't involve so much thinking! But now, not writing is not an option. At the end of week six, writing everyday isn't easier but it's just become something that I have to do everyday. Just as I make myself get up when my alarm goes off in the morning because I can't get fired from my job, I am making myself write. It is not always fun. But there is more to life than fun, and when I think about my progress, I love the exciting feeling that comes over me.

I'm also even more into the idea of writing 500 words at a time, as these small bouts of writing can be so inspirational.

These are just some rambling thoughts from me as it is midnight on Sunday and I just completed my words for the day.

Here are my newest stats. And as always, thank you so much for your support, dear readers!

Current stats- 32,101 words and 117 pages of my first draft written
4,805 words written this week
42 stickers stuck on my calendar!

PS- I can't find my camera cord right now! So no image of my sticker calendar or our Christmas tree which we got today! So instead, I'll just leave you with my yearly posting of this video which accurately portrays my life. Enjoy!

Girl Walk // All Day

2011-12-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

I guess I've been posting a lot of dance related videos lately. Maybe it should be the theme of the weekend? Maybe this is a sign that I should start dancing again in the new year? I abruptly stopped going to Merce Cunningham after Alex's accident and I'm starting to think that I have the dance bug again based on yesterday's post and now today's.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Girl Talk, he creates mashup remixes using like a million different songs at once (okay, like 20 though) and his music is only available for free on the internet since his sampling is not legal. Start playing his music during a party and it's pretty much guaranteed that people will start dancing. Click here to listen it is so, so good!

That's why I love this project by art collective Wild Combination where the entire 75 minute Girl Talk album All Day has been put to dance. Broken up into segments, currently segment one and two are available. Watch to guarantee a smile! I'm just as fascinated by the people in the background's reaction as I am by the actual dancing. It takes place all over New York City! <3<3. Click here to read more about how this project started and dancer Anne Marsen

And stay tuned at The Gothamist where they will release the newest installment every Tuesday and Friday.

Girl Walk // All Day: Chapter 1 from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo.

Girl Walk // All Day: Chapter 2 from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo.

Miracle on 42nd Street

2011-12-02T16:09:00.001-05:00

You guys, the Christmas spirit has infected me and it's unstoppable! There. I said it.

We just got our Christmas cards to send out and my parents are coming over on Sunday and we're going to get our tree together!

For those of you that know me personally, or have been reading this blog for a while now, you will know that not only do I love Mariah Carey but that Mariah Carey Christmas music warms my heart like no other. For more information on this subject, please click here.

And so, if you are a true fan of this blog, you will watch the video below with no hesitation. It's guaranteed to turn a normal Friday into a best Christmas feeling ever Friday, cause baby, all I want for Christmas is you.

Who wants to learn this dance with me?

I won a Liebster award!

2011-12-01T06:36:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to receive my very first blogging award. The Liebster award given to me by Tony over at Rewind Revise! "Liebster" is a German word meaning dearest and the award is given to "up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers." Although I'm not familiar with the word "liebster," I am familiar with the German pet name "schatzi" which means "little treasure." I get to pass the award on to five other bloggers and I'm so excited to share my five favorite schatzi's below!

This is how it works (cut and pasted from Rewind Revise):

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your Top 5 blogs (with under 200 followers) and let them know by leaving comments on their blogs.

3. Post the Award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love of some of the most supportive people on the Internet.

And don't forget to check out Tony's blog, she just successfully finished NaBloPoMo and is one of my December sponsors. Head over to her blog and tell her how awesome she is right now! I'll wait.

Okay, are you back? I would like to give the Liebster award to:

1. Maeg at Edison Rex- Maeg is one of the hardest working mothers I know. She's a talented artist (I've got her Nest of Narwhals hanging in my living room) and an amazingly inspirational blogger. If you're ever feeling creatively stunted, head over to Edison Rex for creative inspiration and great conversation. She's the kind of girl you just want to be instant blog BFFs with (which we kinda are).

2. Tamara at Tamara Like Camera- Tamara is super talented behind the camera- I love how she always posts large colorful photographs. She's also got a talent with words. I just commented on a recent blog post of hers on how much I love reading her writing. She can talk about deeply personal things in one line, and have you really connecting with her, and then turn around and say something that makes you laugh in the next. Reading her blog is like hanging out with a dear friend.

3. Kristen at One Lonely Apricot- Another talented artist, I love Kristen's drawing style and would have totally ordered one of her wedding maps for my own wedding if I'd known her yet! Kristen blogs about being a crafter but also about her thrift store finds, gardening and vegan baking. I love the variety that you always find over at One Lonely Apricot.

4. Nova and Four-Eyes Rella- This is one of the funniest blogs in my reader. Nova has the best sense of humor and is just generally bad ass and awesome all around. I also love commenting on her blog because she always comments back. Nova almost doesn't qualify for this award with 192 followers. This girl's going to blow up big soon, and we'll all be able to say we knew her when.

5. Courtney at Nobody Too- Courtney is a librarian, so I might be slightly biased, but I love reading about her daily life, library related things and of course her cat. Plus she's doing a 25 days of Christmas series starting today, so....she's obviously fabulous.

So there you have it. Thanks again Tony for this award and please go and check out my five little schatzies listed above!

Guest post from Reno, the Girl!

2011-11-30T06:27:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it's the last day of November today? Here is the final November sponsor guest post from Reno the Girl! Please click around on the other sponsors ads today too, they're all really great reads. And stay tuned for tomorrows batch of December sponsors!

Hello, this is Michele from Reno, the Girl! I'd like to give Sarah a big thank you letting me write this guest post. I love her blog and I just love the book, librarian, and writing blogging communities. I'm a children's librarian like Sarah, but I work in a public library, so I have access to both adult and children's books. Now, I'm well past the age of childhood and young adulthood, but to be honest, I rarely read anything that is written for a woman my age. I absolutely love children's and young adult lit. When I was in my early twenties, I constantly reread all my childhood favorites to get a break from all my dense English major texts. Then a friend loaned me Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block and I became hooked on YA.

Every time I give adult lit a chance, I usually wish I'd read something from the youth department instead. I used to get a lot of funny looks and comments for this long before I became a children's librarian, but nowadays no one even bats an eye due to the popularity of Twilight and The Hunger Games. I'm not a Twilight fan, but I am a gigantic Hunger Games fanatic, so seeing so many people my age get so excited over a YA book makes me extremely happy! I even got my mom to read the series, so now we have something to obsess over now that Harry Potter is done.

I love children's and YA lit so much I'd like to share some of my favorite crossover books with you.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Alice, I Think by Susan Juby
Assassin by Anna Myers
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White
Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace (LOVE)
Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel (OK, this one is for really young kids, but seriously, everyone should read Frog and Toad. They are fantastic!)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Holes by Louis Sachar
Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Sorcery and Cecilia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Caroline Stevermer & Patricia C. Wrede
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Violet & Claire by Francesca Lia Block
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

· Thanks again to Sarah for letting me share! Happy Reading!

Thank you Michele! I couldn't help myself, I highlighted all the ones I've read. And the rest are all books I've always wanted to read! What about you readers? Have you read any of these amazing books?

Page 100!

2011-11-28T16:24:00.001-05:00

Wanted to update everyone on my 500 words a day as I just hit page 100 yesterday! Please join me in doing a little celebratory chair dance!

There's just something about page 100 that is so satisfying. And since my goal is to write a 200 page first draft this means I've hit the climax people! Something has to happen that will bring Becca, my main character to her knees. I need a twist, a shocking development and something to keep you reading the next 100 pages, to happen.....now.

I have an idea (sort of) but am feeling a little scared about writing my climax. However, I know I just gotta do it, which is what sort of makes 500 words a day so great (and annoying at the same time) I don't have a choice, just have to power through. So what does 100 pages look like?

27,285 words
16 chapters
5 weeks of writing at least 500 words every single day.

During this past Thanksgiving weekend, Alex and I were in beautiful, sunny and tropical Florida visiting his mom and watching dolphins swim in the gulf of Mexico. I actually got all of my writing done at the on the plane! I wrote Thursday morning before we left, then on the plane on Thursday for my Friday words, then two days worth of words (a total of 1231) on the plane ride home Sunday. So technically I took Friday and Saturday off (the first time I've done that in 5 weeks) but didn't feel guilty at all since I made up for my word count. I actually really enjoyed writing on the plane! And while it was tempting sometimes to just plug in my head phones and watch Friends on the back of my Jet Blue chair, I resisted and wrote my final scene leading up to the big climax. It felt so good!

Hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving!

Nominate Desirous of Everything for the Top Ten Blogs For Writers Award!

2011-11-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

Today is Desirous of Everything's three year anniversary! This blog has gone through a lot of changes since 2008, particularly when I started blogging almost every day this year. I don't think I ever dreamed when I started this space that it would bring me so many friendships, so much encouragement and inspiration. I also never thought that blogging would become such a part of my daily life.

I started out blogging with a focus on writing and being a librarian. This year, I changed my blog's focus a bit and started writing about more personal things, still figuring out along the way just what kind of blogger I was and what kind of blog I wanted Desirous of Everything to be. Since I started the Desirous of Everything Writing Workshop in September I feel as if I've almost come full circle to the direction I thought my blog would go in back in 2008.

I've started to consider Desirous of Everything a "writer's lifestyle blog" (for lack of a better phrase. I wish I could think of something either cuter or funnier to call it) and hope that my audience includes not only writers but all types of artists and that includes readers and avid art appreciators (I know I fall into those categories too). By making my blog a writer's lifestyle blog, I can use this space to write about personal stories from my life, day to day experiences and also share my creative writing and posts about the writing process. So in that way when you read Desirous of Everything you might find a post about a my cats or a jumpsuit which I still firmly believe has it's place on a writing blog!

So here's what I would like to ask you readers, Write To Done is currently accepting nominations for their Top Ten Writer's Blogs Award and I would love it if you would consider nominating Desirous of Everything! Here's what you need to do:

Go to Write to Done and nominate www.desirousofeverything.com in the comments. Make sure you include WHY you are nominating or your vote will not count. Everyone is allowed one vote. I encourage everyone to vote, this award is actually a great resource that's lead me to some really wonderful blogs. Click here to see last year's nominations.

Whether you are a brand new reader or have been around since my very first post, thanks so much for continuing to stop by and say hello, it's been a really great three years and I don't think I'll be able to stop this blogging thing any time soon.

Guest Post from One Lonely Apricot!

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone! I’mKristen, artist and blogger behind One Lonely Apricot. Today I am going to share with you my questto add some holiday cheer to my apartment without spending much money! Because I always spend Christmas with family,I have never owned many decorations of my own, but since I’m turning the big2-5 a week before this upcoming Christmas, I decided that it’s finally time tostart some of my own holiday traditions, and I wanted to start by getting intospirit of things by decorating my apartment for the occasion.

I started out by gathering items around my home that werethe right colors to add to a Christmas display. Instead of thinking of Santa Claus and poinsettias, I looked for red,green, white, and gold. For example, mygreen gumball machine and white milk glass bowls took on a Christmas vibe whenI filled them with holiday candies! Ididn’t buy them just for the holiday, so come January I’m not stuck withobjects that are only usable for one month of the year. I also had a few measly decorations already,including a 12” tall Christmas tree, a few strands of lights, and....and….that’sall!

Confession: In the past I have decorated an end table for Christmas, and that’s it! Items I already had:

- miniature Christmas tree, bought on Christmas clearance a few years ago

- gumball machine, thrifted last month, $2

- milk glass bowls, thrifted, $1 each (I collect them!)

- Christmas lights, also from Christmas clearance a few years ago

- Christmas cards sent to me last year

- white vase, thrifted, $.50

Next I took a trip to my favorite thrift store. I was on a mission to score some kitschy vintage holiday flair! For me this was the most fun part, because thrifting is one of my favorite pastimes! My store has been putting up lots of holiday items lately so I easily found some goodies. The price was right, and I have to say that I just love the retro style! To me the secondhand decorations I found feel more festive than what is on today’s store shelves. Items I purchased:

musical Santa figurine,

two stockings, $.50 each

- three vintage poinsettia and holly tablecloths, $2 each

My final goal was to make at least a few things! There is nothing sweeter than a handmade wreath, banner, or ornament, and these projects are usually easy and fun, not to mention inexpensive. The decorations I remember best from my childhood Christmases are the ones my mom made herself, like a giant stocking we always had hanging in our hallway! If you are the crafty type, you probably even have materials lying around already that you can use, which is what I did. I chose to make some poinsettia bunting with a strip of fabric from one of the tablecloths I bought (tutorial: http://www.myhomemadehappy.com/?p=54), and I practiced my horrible embroidery skills (tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/Embroidery-101/) by stitching “Happy Holidays” into fabric in a large embroidery hoop.

Plus I kicked things up a notch with:

- Candy, $5

- Flowers, $3.50

- Polyfil (made for stuffing pillows), from my crafting stash (i.e. SNOW!)

After you have collected all of your goodies, here’s what you do:

Step 1:

Put on some coffee or hot chocolate or cider…whatever warm drink you like that feels festive. I recommend a pinch of cinnamon in with your coffee grounds when it’s cold outside! This is how I drink my coffee all winter.

Step 2:

You are going to need some tunes…how can you decorate properly without holiday music!? For this I would recommend old records if you have a way to play them—have you noticed that awesome Christmas records are particularly easy to score at secondhand shops? I decided to go with this favorite, which I bought two years ago based solely on the cover art:

If you don’t have a record player,have no fear! Check out this sweet indiemusic holiday station via Pandora. (http://www.pandora.com/?type=all&q=christmas#!/stations/play/637016024773722641)I’ve been sampling it as I type this post out, and I have to say, it’s prettygreat.

Step 3:

Get to work on all the craftythings you are going to make. If yourprojects are time consuming, you might want to pause your record for a momentand turn on a Christmas movie. Mypersonal favorite is The Santa Clausewith Tim Allen. Yep, you heard meright. I can also appreciate a goodclaymation Rudolph or Frosty, The Grinch in either the cartoon or Jim Carrey version, Home Alone, or Elf! Here’s a little secretabout me: I love Thanksgiving-themedtv episodes and Christmas-themedmovies! I celebrate every Thanksgivingby watching the Gilmore Girls episode ADeep Fried Korean Thanksgiving three or four times that week, and followthat up by starting my repeated viewings of TheSanta Clause the day after Thanksgiving!

Step 4:

You are ready to decorate! Where will you put all of your décor? I recommend dispersing it throughout yourhome to spread the cheer, and specifically focusing in on one or twoconcentrated areas—for me, my mantle and my dining room table. If you aren’t a seasoned holiday decoratoryet (as I have admitted I am not!) then I recommend you keep it simple! You don’t have to go overboard to make a bigimpact. Here’s how my areas turned out:

(the cozy lights-outversion)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In case you missed it, I did a guest post on how to have an Anna and The French Kiss Thanksgiving over at Forever Young Adult the other day- one of my favorite blogs ever! If you're looking for a Thanksgiving chuckle stop on over and say hello!

Give thanks

2011-11-23T23:02:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd check in on this late Thanksgiving eve to give you all a writing update. I just finished day 31 of writing 500 words a day and have to report, this one was the hardest one yet. I thought I would share this with you all so you don't mistake me for having an easy time of this challenge. There were tears tonight people. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't.

These were the mean things I kept saying to myself:
-Why do you think you can do this?
-What makes you think you're better than ordinary?
-You have no subplot.
-Your characters are weak.
-You are making all of the same mistakes you always make which is why you're not a published writer.
-Why are you doing this to yourself? Just give up.

Don't worry, this saga has a happy ending. I did reach my goal today (555 words) and part of that happened because I wanted to tell you all about it! The main reason it happened though was because of Alex. He left me alone, cleaned up all the dirty dishes from dinner (even though it was my turn) listened to me cry, and told me he believed in me. That what I was doing was hard, and I should be proud of it, that no, me sitting here and crying about it wasn't annoying him and I am awesome etc.

I've got 91 pages written right now which is huge. But I'm starting to get scared. I finished my goal today, but will I have to go through all of this again tomorrow? The middle of a book is so awful! I want you all to remember this the next time you're in the middle of a great book. The author probably almost died writing that part.

I've come too far to quit now and I've got too many people cheering for me (thanks to you all!) but it's not getting any easier at the moment. Has anyone else been here before? Encouraging words in the comments would be much appreciated!

And after all that, I'd like to say I'm thankful. Thankful for Alex, thankful for my little online community, thankful to have the privilege to lock myself in my bedroom with my laptop for two hours and cry a little bit, thankful to have had a great education and parents who taught me to love books, thankful for the stories in my head that are trying to come out (however mean they may be to my poor mind) and for my voice that I'm forever trying to find.

Oh and thankful for hot showers, coconut scented shampoo, flannel pajamas and clean sheets. I'm going to go get ready for bed now. Night everyone!

Writing Wednesday

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

This place is full of sick people, hurt people, sad people, I thought as we approached the large building. Walking through those sliding doors I knew I would never look at hospitals the same way ever again.

My mother met us in the lobby among the flowing movement of people coming and going. Everywhere you looked people were either holding flowers or balloons, or being wheeled on their way out in a wheel chair. When I saw a young man waiting for the elevator holding an "It's a boy!" balloon, it suddenly dawned on me how some people were here for a happy occasion.

I hugged my mom when I saw her, but her embrace was distracted and she let go too soon. Her face was dazed and vacant, like an old photograph of someone who was alive 100 years ago.

"Now we need to remember to just stay calm," my mother said to both my father and I as she pulled away from my embrace. "Livy is trying to work herself up to get out of having to go."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She's being histrionic," my father replied. All that word made me think of was "hysterical." And how could my father possibly remain so cold? Was it his absolute only way of dealing with pain?

"She doesn't exactly know what's happening yet, but she knows something's up," my mother said.

"What? You haven't told her yet? They haven't told her?"

"We're telling her now," my mother said.

I sighed. "Jesus. Alright, well let's go then," I said.

Riding up the elevator and down the hall, I thought my parents fit perfectly in the sterile environment of the hopital. They must feel right at home. I couldn't believe neither of them were surgeons, although maybe working with computers and in law was a lot more sterile than I imagined

The door to Livy's room was wide open, but my mother knocked softly anyway.

"Liv?" I whispered.

"Hi honey," my mom said cheerfully as we entered the room. The lighting was low for a bright afternoon and I noticed that the blinds were pulled over the large windows. Livy was sitting in her bed with her knees propped up, a plastic stand holding an uneaten try of hospital food was pushed to the side of her bed. My mom placed her purse on one of the brown vinyl chairs and my father sat down in the other one.

"Hi," she said and then looked at me and smiled for what looked like the first time in days. "Becks you're finally here," she said. I leaned over the sides of her hospital bed awkwardly to give her a hug but what I really wanted to do was climb in there with her. "This place sucks," she whispered into my ear before she let me go.

There wasn't enough room for the four of us, so I stood awkwardly with my arms crossed, momentarily fixing my eyes on the strange painting of a woman staring out of a window that was framed next to her sink.

"Did you bring me jeans? I'm dying to get out of here. I can't believe they forced me to wear these awful pajamas for the last three days like I'm a mental patient or something."

"Yeah," I said, sliding her bag next to her. "I packed you a bag."

"Why an entire bag?" she said. And then her eyes grew dark, there was a panic registering on her face that made me bite the inside of my lip nervously.

"Honey, we know what's been going on," my mother said. "We know that the party wasn't the first time you got drunk like that. Becca told us everything. She told us that this is happening much to often, she told us you're getting drunk alone and during the day, she told us that you can't seem to stop." My mother, who had told us all to remain calm was crying now, but all I could focus on were the words, "she told us," which she kept saying over and over again, like a snitch. My mother was using me as the scapegoat. Becca told us so this has to happen, don't be mad at me about it.

I couldn't look at Livy. I stared at the linoleum floor as the back of my neck heated up with shame.

My father stood up. "You're going to a rehab facility Livy, it's mandatory. You're not coming home just yet."

"No, you can't make me," she said. "How could you Becca? I would never, ever tell anyone your secrets NEVER!" she screamed and I sucked in air quickly so that I started to cough.

"Livy, this is for your own good, we want you to get better, we are so happy Becca told us what was really going on," my mother said. A nurse entered the already crowded room.

"Just another minute,” was all she said telling us to say goodbye to Livy when we had just gotten here.

"I'm not going," Livy said stonily to the nurse.

"I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice miss, so it would be helpful to us if you just cooperated. It will be easier for us all."

"Easier for you all but not for me. Fine," Livy said now speaking to all of us as the nurse stepped out of the room for one last minute. "Fine, go, leave me here. I can't believe you would do this to me Becca."

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but Livy screamed at the top of her lungs. "GO!" and as two nurses came running into the room, my mother pushed me out the door and all I could hear through Livy's sobs was that phrase in my head "this was all my fault." And it was.

Guest posting today!

2011-11-22T16:00:00.001-05:00

I have a guest post up over at Writing Forward about how to write a novel with 500 words a day! If you don't already read Melissa's blog, it's a really great writing resource where she posts about everything from grammer questions to the writing process. Please stop by and say hello!