I’ve been really in to mixing patterns recently, and was super excited to experiment with my new design fetish on Tahnee’s blog. I mixed it up with polka dots, chevron, and a honeycomb pattern. An unlikely trio, but somehow it worked!

Click // here // to the see the full design over at Truly Tahnee.

As a people pleasing perfectionist, not knowing the answer to something is unacceptable. More often than not when someone asks me a question that I don’t know the answer too I either a.) lie, or b.) make something up. Perhaps I should have considered a career in law.

I was forced to confront my obsession with knowing it all once I started student teaching. My kids would ask me questions, and some of them I just couldn’t answer. Sure, I could have lied and made things up, but I’ve been on the receiving end of an ill-informed teacher. Sad but true: I didn’t learn the correct usage of affect vs. effect until 2 weeks ago  (yet I somehow managed to graduate from college with a degree in English).

So I would tell my students, “you know what, that’s a great questions and I actually don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out for you!”…and then I would. I’d learn something new, they’d learn something new. Win, win!

Since then I’ve begun to feel a lot more comfortable with telling people “I don’t know”. In fact, sometimes I feel kind of charming when I admit to not knowing something. It might be that whole “damsel in distress” syndrome, but I feel more human and relate-able when I admit to not knowing something. After all, there’s nothing more off-putting than someone who knows everything (or rather, someone who thinks they know everything).

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Now, on to something I do know a thing or two about: myself. I just created a new about page. Check it out // here //

This just in: Mother Nature is in a really bad mood.

Fortunately bearing the crappy weather isn’t as bad when you have some cute rainy day attire.

1 . 2 . 3

 Now I just have to win the lottery so I can afford this stuff. Until then, my $5 windbreaker from Walmart will have to suffice.

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Keeping the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes in my thoughts and prayers ♥

I’m a sucker for anything that involves graphic design, making things look pretty, and allows me to procrastinate.

Naturally, I was really excited when I stumbled upon CoCoppa: an app for your iPhone that offers free wallpapers and allows you to customize your app buttons.

I tried to write up a tutorial post of my own, but it ended up being a a jumble of word vomit that made as much sense as Tom Cruise and Cher (truth: it happened).

Instead, you can click on over // here // for a really great, thorough post on how to use the CoCoppa app!

Happy accessorizing

…great title for a guaranteed “feel good” post, right? Happy Monday, folks.

Despite the morbid undertones of this post title, I hope it inspires you to take the steps to not have these regrets at the end of your life.

Recently I watched this video from Ted Talk on “the game that can give you 10 extra years of your life”. The speaker, Jane McGonigal, opens up about her struggles with suicide and depression. During her speech, McGonigal mentions the top 5 regrets of the dying:

I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
I wish I had let myself be happier
I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self
I wish I lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.

Interesting.

She goes on to talk about post-traumatic growth (not to be confused with post-traumatic stress), and how, in some cases, suffering trauma enables individuals to drastically transform their quality of life. She outlines 5 characteristics of people who have experienced post-traumatic growth:

My priorities have changed. I’m not afraid to do what makes me happy
I feel closer to my friends and family
I understand myself better. I know who I really am now
I have a new sense of meaning and purpose in my life.
I’m able to focus on my goals and dreams.

Notice any parallels between the top 5 regrets of the dying and those who have experienced post-traumatic growth?

Jane says that we don’t necessarily need to experience trauma in order to achieve these benefits. Instead, we can develop four kinds of strength or resilience that contribute to post-traumatic growth.

Want to know what they are?

You’ll have to watch the video to find out.

I have a bizarre interest in mailboxes. I think they say a lot about the people who own them.

For example, if these mailboxes could talk, they would say:

“we have really abstract minds!”

“please, steal my mail!”

“would you like to come inside for a nice tall glass of sunshine and butterflies?”

If my mailbox could talk, it would say “go away unless you’re a birthday card or Anthropologie catalog”.

p.s. this post was stupid.

Cut me some slack, it’s Sunday.

Hey guys! Happy Friday Just popping in to let you know about a new design service that I’m offering: custom pin it buttons!

Because, in case you haven’t heard, Pinterest is taking over the world.

These buttons will allow readers to pin your images or posts directly from your blog to their Pinterest boards.

E-mail me for more details!