Back to Blogging

I am excited to begin posting more.  I think starting a blog seemed like a simple creative endeavor only to find out it was an overwhelming task.  I want to post at least once a week in order to incorporate this blog into my life.  I have some exciting pictures, product reviews, and other posts planned for the next few weeks! So excited to get the ball rolling!!

to do.

I love the domestic life.  Even though I live with my dad and brother, Warren, I love getting things done around the house, expecially the garden.  I am probably the least likely person to enjoy this seeing as I'm a full time student and 23 years old and this isn't even my house.  It doesn't matter to me though.  My boyfriend, Nick, owns his own home that I love organizing too.  There are so many cute things to do with your home, indoors and out, and something about that draws me in.  Im just a crafty and organized person.

Here's my to-do list for the week

• Sweep upper and lower deck.
• Tuesday- make pasta salad with fresh oregano and parsley from the garden (since Cleveland weather has really be generous this season!)
• Weed front and back pathways so I can sweep those too.
• Move patio furniture out of storage so we can start eating dinners alfresco!
• Thursday- give my last presentation of the semester for political and social philosophy on Anarchism.
• Keep training for my 5k (more on that in the future)
• Wednesday- make seasoned grilled chicken and stuffed tomatoes for dinner.
• Start growing seedlings for flowers and maybe green beans and see how it turns out (I haven't done this before so I'm really counting on my green thumb).
• Re-pot my aloe plant into something cuter than the plastic pot it came in.

As you can see I pretty much have the outdoor on my mind exclusively. =]

package in the mail

 I love getting free things, packages in the mail, a suprises.  Enclosed in this box was all three!  Much to my pleasure I recieved this package from target (via their facebook giveaway) in the mail.  What a cute bag and gifts for free! I'm excited to use all the products and maybe fall in love with a few too!  I love to share my opinion on products so if one, or all, stand out Ill be sure to review it here.  Next time there is a giveaway of this sort I will try and share it on my blog. =]

Included in the bag (from left to right): Visibly Bright daily facial cleanser by Neutrogena, Extended Moisture daily lotion by Nivea, Color Preserve Shine conditioner by Pantene (which I could smell as soon as I opened the box.. amazing), Magic Lumi light infusing primer by L'Oreal Paris, a cute little makeup bag that will definitiely be my friend when I travel, Cleansing facial wipes by Simple, and a booklet of coupons! So cute!

I do a fair amount of traveling, nothing plane worthy or lengthy (I wish) but still I take treks to Erie and Pittsburg, PA, southern Ohio, upstate New York, Greensboro and Charlotte, NC to visit friends and family so I love travel size products and sample sizes.  I use all the samples I get and enjoy most of them a lot.

<3 Colette

birthday.

My birthday was last week and it was absolutely wonderful.  I want to share the cuteness on my blog because I am so grateful for everyone that made me feel so special!  Since I love lists I think that would be the best format =]

• Bonfire at my college the night before my birthday.. Nick played the bongos.. priceless!
• Wake up to my sister singing Happy Birthday with a candle in a cookie.. a chocolate chip banana cookie that she crafted FROM SCRATCH!!
• Coffee and shopping with my baby sister!
• Free Sephora birthday gift! (Fresh lip treatment! So luxurious!)
• Suprise phone call from Nick saying that he would be home 2 hours early from work! I actually got to see him on my birthday which was the best part!
• I went to Columbus to give a presentation on my research topic and since we had to get down there on my birthday (why I only got a see Nick for a hot minute) the Psychology girls and I got to go out to the Mellow Mushroom (more on that later).  It was so much fun!
• I love that Earth Day is so close to my birthday because environmentalism is a passion of mine!  My sister and I went to the Green Dream expo near Cleveland and Nick and I celebrated at the mall (with free Origins and Kiehls products!)
• Going out last night to the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland was such a treat.. especially for a family of food addicts! The whole night consisted of sharing a savoring and eating and trying new things (except for the pig head on the menu.. we weren't THAT curious!).
• Nick making me a chocolare Guiness birthday cake with cream cheese frosting... yep my boyfriend can bake!! =]

Overall it was a lovely *23rd* birthday! I have amazing friends, family, and boyfriend! <3

caligraphy.

I love writing thank you notes partially because I love decorating the envelope. I eyeballed these envelopes after the font Carolyna Pro Black (www.myfonts.com) which is fitting since two of my recipients live in the Carolinas'. I think this one turned out beautiful. I also did lovely, matching envelopes for Nick's mom and stepdad and another for his brother and sister-in-law who all accepted me into their homes during Nick and my road trip to North & South Carolina. They are great people to be around and they collectively have 5 of the cutest and most well behaved dogs and cats I've ever been around. Anyway I hope this inspires everyone to explore some caligraphy and topography!

Enjoy!

blog life.

I want this blog to be more than lists, although the facts thats its called adjectives implys that I'm going to be pretty descriptive. I want to bring out the creativity in myself and in the people who read it. This is an inspiration blog that will probably be personal at times because how can you have art without emotion? I wish I had more time. Quick note about myself I am a senior in an undergraduate psychology program and my time is constantly school school school! However, I, like everyone need a release and an outlet. I love being inspired and after years of reading blog and feeling happy and creative I want to give back and inspire others as well. Here goes nothing! ; ]

I want to be...

...covered in various colored paints. Entwined in two strongs arms. Pen in hand, words racing through my fingers. Traveling though apart of America where there are no buldings as far as I can see. Laying in bed with lots of blankets on me and a smile across my face. Up for 38 hours straight and sketchbooks to show for it. Prepared for my psych exams on Thursday. a psychologist. married.


warm.





me.

Advice.

Spend your money while youre young. And spend it on experience, you don't need anymore things.

Siddhartha

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, the same man who gave us Steppenwolf, is a great book for any list. I am a person who is deeply invested in the notion of peace both within myself, within the world, and between people and earth. This book is about a spiritual journey that takes the protagonist, Siddhartha, through many experiences and lands him in the hands of harmony, balance, peace, and wisdom. He realizes that enlightenment cannot be taught but must be learned through oneself.

I loved reading this book, partially because it is so different then what you read today. It was the best form of escape and at the end I found myself wanting to go on a journey of my own and experience what wisdom my life can expose for me.

The river is everywhere.

Before I Die

This tumblr page is fun the browse though.

http://beforetodie.tumblr.com/

Some of the pictures are amateur while some are professional

and all of them have a goal to get done.

I love making lists.

I make them all day in various cute little notebooks.

My favorite kinds of lists are the ones that are fun things to do in my lifetime.

Some are so easy (cook on a grill)

while others will take more time (read all of the Harry Potter books)

some are more extravagant (visit Paris, attend a fashion show)

while others are just out there (hold a hawk).

This site gives me more ideas and just plain makes me happy.

Here are a few of the pictures on the website:

...check!

...yes!

...working on it!

...always!

Pet Peeve.

When bloggers give a teaser and say they will update more later and never do. Though I have to be honest, this a pet peeve I have for myself. I want to right so many posts but I am slacking in the pictures and for me, those photos make a post. So while I don't have any pictures yet I do have words. My "one month in" resolution should be to celebrate life by capturing more moments. Looks forward to many more posts!

Redbox

Redbox: Thx Redbox 4 my free DVD rental! Visit http://on.fb.me/tfREAF to play the Movie Awards Game and a chance to win Redbox rentals! *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

This is a recent Smiley Mission I went on to try out Redbox movie rentals since I haven't before. My boyfriend, sister and I rented Bridesmaids on Christmas day after everyone else went to bed there really wasn't a whole lot to do. We had a good time and it was really easy since there are two rental kiosks at the end of my street. Overall I rate Redbox a 10 and I would definitely go back.. Currently we have Netflix but the prices went up so we dropped the mailed option and with the streaming instantly option you rarely get newer releases. This is an easy way to watch new movies!

Redbox

Redbox: Thx Redbox 4 my free DVD rental! Visit http://on.fb.me/tfREAF to play the Movie Awards Game and a chance to win Redbox rentals! *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

This is a recent Smiley Mission I went on to try out Redbox movie rentals since I haven't before. My boyfriend, sister and I rented Bridesmaids on Christmas day after everyone else went to bed there really wasn't a whole lot to do. We had a good time and it was really easy since there are two rental kiosks at the end of my street. Overall I rate Redbox a 10 and I would definitely go back.. Currently we have Netflix but the prices went up so we dropped the mailed option and with the streaming instantly option you rarely get newer releases. This is an easy way to watch new movies!

Comfort.

It's amazing how something like a song can be so comforting. I used to listen to this CD with some beautiful punk songs (oxymoron!) when I was 15. That age proved to build strength in my character as every sense of security in my life disolved. That age changed me from child to teenager. I could say that I was on my way to being the woman I have become today that year. And so I listened to this CD constantly. Not because it consoled me or because I identified with it. I listened because it was art for my ears. It became the musical zeigest for that era of growth.
Everynow and then that CD, even just one song, comes up on my endless stream of music on my personal iTunes. I haven't gone out of my way to listen to the CD, although after this post I just might. When a song creeps into my consciousness memories wash through me like tidal waves. It such an incredible feeling but the real magic lies a little deeper. When I hear these songs things seem to make sense all of a sudden. Right now I am dealing with the impending question of my future as a psychologist searching for direction on my path to becoming a professional adult. I make sense of the death of my boyfriends cousin in Afganistan that, although I never met him, seemed to shock and confuse me, rocking me to my core and making me question life, death, and love. However, since these songs were so strongly, yet unknowingly, tied to making sense of my parents divorce, the death of my Grandfather, and my growing social insecurites, they are accompanied by a sense of comfort and understanding.
Just listening to these few songs has made me remember that girl I was, so confused yet anxious to discover the true meaning of life even at the cost of pain and tragedy. I don't mean to sound dramatic but the truth is I felt dramatic at that age and these songs made those feelings dwindle. Hearing a few songs from that time in my life helped me to feel that same dwindling in the drama I am facing now. Even though I have evolved in the past eight years I am still the same person at my core.





*The CD is Operation Punk Rock Freedom (which I bought for one dollar at Warped Tour in 2004). The song that sparked this stream of consciousness is Mestizos Love Song by Mêlée.