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Day 1: Up

I'm doing the Photo a Day Challenge again this month. Today's theme is up. Ever since I moved into my apartment, I have thought the way the snow falls off the carport things looks cool, but have never managed to get a good shot of it. How's this attempt?

I'm standing under the carport, the super white portion at the bottom is the sky. With the sun attempting to shine, I don't know that there is really a good way to get this picture. Oh well. Then on my way back inside, I took this shot:

I love the look of snow on branches, and the orange wall made it look even cooler. At long as I don't have to drive in it, this snow can hang around.

New Book by Anita Stansfield!

Wow, almost two years since my last post... that's pretty disappointing. I am participating in a "photo a day" challenge, perhaps I should post those pictures on here. But I digress. One of my favorite authors has a new book out and I want to spread the word! The story of the Titanic has always fascinated and horrified me. I have never been a big fan of water, but thinking about this tragedy makes me even more certain that I will never be fond of cruise ships. One of the things that makes me excited for this book is that one of the characters is based on a real person - Irene Corbett, an LDS midwife. Here's a synopsis of Anita Stansfield's Passage on the Titanic, taken from Seagull Book's website:

Ella Brown grew up in one of London's privileged homes, with all the comforts and luxuries that money can buy. But when sudden financial reversals strike her household, leaving her father dead by his own hand and her mother broken by trauma, Ella is forced from a life of safety and abundance to one of scarcity and fear. Clinging to survival on the filthy streets of the city, she's betrayed by her only friend and burdened by an ill-fated pregnancy. By the time Ella arrives at the hospital in premature labor, she desperately needs an angel of mercy, and one soon arrives: Irene Corbett, a Mormon midwife who has come to London for advanced medical training at the great sacrifice of her family. Irene soothes Ella's pain as she births a son, who lives only minutes, helps her back on her feet, and joins her on a voyage to America on the ship Titanic-where epic disaster rips the two friends apart. Bereaved and alone, Ella finds comfort and healing in the care of rescue crewman Jonathan Moreau and his loving family. But will the dark weight of Ella's past destroy her delicate hopes for the future? Bestselling author Anita Stansfield delivers a story of compassion, hope, and survival set against a backdrop of the greatest tragedy of the early twentieth century.

And here's a video trailer for the book. So excited to read this!

Decorating!

Since not many people have seen where I live, I thought I'd give you all a taste of my apartment. I don't have a real decorating "style" - it's more just a combination of things I like. :)

My kitchen has become my cow showcase area. No, this is not all of my cows. Not even close! This was my attempt at putting the awkward space above the cabinets to work.

This is a tapestry I found on PeaceMonger.org and fell in love with. I wondered for a while where to put it, and finally decided that the ceiling was a good place. It's great for breaking up the excessive white-ness of the apartment.

I have an intense love of board games and puzzles, especially 3D puzzles. This bookcase is jam-packed full of them - and these are only the ones that fit. I think it's time to invest in another bookcase. :)

I also have a love of all things Egypt. My friend Becky got me some awesome papyrus pieces when she was in Egypt a while back, and they look great hanging next to my Osiris poster.

The blinds that lead to my balcony (and the walls around them) are excessively white and incredibly bland. I found some fun garland valances to help break up the whiteness at a store called Ten Thousand Villages, a non-profit, fair trade store that helps people in less-fortunate countries earn a living. I highly recommend you check out their stuff - some of it is amazing.

A close up shot of the stars. These were made in Bangladesh. How cool is that?

A few years ago, my parents went on a tour of Europe and brought back Black Forest cuckoo clocks for myself and my siblings. Mine, of course, has a cow. :)

Another obsession of mine is Keith Urban. I have so may pictures, posters, and calendars that they don't all fit in one room! These are in one room...

and these are in another! And no, this is not all of them. :)

An extra towel rod makes a great place to store necklaces.

Then there's the I Love Lucy Barbie collection. Yes, I am in my 20s. Yes, I collect Barbies (don't worry... I only collect the Lucy ones!). Yes, I am regularly mocked for this. Yes, I intend to continue expanding the collection as more dolls are released. A while back I convinced my awesome friend Becky to help me arrange and display them on these new shelves. It pretty much takes up the whole room, but I'm so happy that they are not all crammed on one little shelf anymore!

The last stop on our tour is my balcony. I attached a shepherd's hook to the railing so I can hang cute decorations out there. I love this cow bird feeder, found at Hobby Lobby. So cute.

 

My most recent attempt at decorating was arranging these flowers. When I put real flowers out, they die super fast and it depresses me. So this year, I decided to plant fake flowers. They are just as pretty, a lot hardier, and very low maintenance. :)

Views from above...

I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. They make my balcony look colorful and spring-ish, which was the whole point. Mission accomplished.

Babies

Some of you may know that I am a member of a panel called BzzAgent. This word-of-mouth based panel lets you join campaigns where you get free product samples for yourself (and often free samples & coupons to hand out to friends), you share your opinion and help others discover cool stuff, and earn points that you can redeem for stuff. I cannot tell you how much cool stuff I have gotten to try!

A new campaign that was just launched is BABIES.  Apparently there is a movie coming out Mother's Day weekend (May 7) that follow 4 babies around the world for the first year of their lives. Check out the site by clicking below and let me know what you think of it!