Life as of late...

I've been starting new projects and brain storming about my future. I always draw a blank when it comes to making real decisions that will effect my life. I suddenly become hesitant, because I think I can't back out this is real life here; right now at my doorstep. The thoughts I find comforting in these times is that I can always change directions and take another path, but the point is that I was brave enough to have walked the last one. My equivalent to it to being in a forest and the main road diverges again and again into smaller paths and then they break off and so on, and just like that I can take another path I just have to wait for it to present itself to me. I know I am not alone and everyone out there is making plans and walking down new paths. To all of us wandering into the unknown, even if it scares us draw a map of where you have been so you can look back one day and without knowing it you will be amazed of how much you have done on your own.

Along my period of thought and process here's what I've been doing...

Working on my book:
I really want to share it with you all, but I feel the time is just not right yet. I am still drafting it, writing it, and making big changes. I will share that it is about love, big choices, adventure, coming of age, loss, forgiveness, and never forgetting who your family is. I'm really excited about working on this; I wake up sometimes just as I'm about to fall asleep and get a rush of new ideas. I hope people will enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. So I'll keep you posted when I'm ready to share it. also I've been playing around with photography and taking pictures of my town because inspiration for the setting.

Reading:

I can't stop. I've been on a rampage of pages and books. I can't recommend just one since I loved so many but I will say they are like taking little adventures and break from work and stress.

Working:

I love my co-workers at The Limited! They are a fantastic group of girls, we are always having fun in between helping customers and projects. Of course there gets to be some stress, because it is a job. We all know when your boss isn't happy lol you won't be till you work hard and make progress. So I'm on a mission to do just that! I may be part time but I spend a lot of time there and I want to do well. I like when my co-workers tell me I have done a good job but when a customer go and tell my boss how amazing I was and really created an experience for them...that honestly makes my day.

Sewing:

I'm fighting with my sewing machine over a blanket. Haha, what I mean is I accidentally made a rookie mistake and I couldn't believe it. I had sewn the two ends together without pinning the right sides together and it came out all wonky. I only realized my mistake after I had sewn one side, and it was the long side...of course it was, Natalie, it was moral imperative. I had to had to do that. Well, here's to laughing at ones mistakes!

Trips:

My family and I went to Disney for a week in Florida and I have a love affair with Epcot. Out of all the parks that one is my favorite. It is the culture and uniqueness of it. The first day we happened to go it was Constitution day on Norway. So, they had face painting, party's, and of course drinks! I was like a festival around the world. I'm really grateful for the time my family could spend together.  There are five of us and my sister's fiance joined us as well. All of us being older it is hard to get all that time off to be together. These are memories I know we will make more of in the future.

Last ( sorry about the long post)
My Furry Friends:

My dear little creatures have been having a hard time. While we were in Disney, Dr.Watson was with a babysitter and as accidents do happen he escaped and was hit by a car. Now, he is okay now! When they called us they believed he wouldn't make it through the night and even if he did he would lose his eye. We were all beside ourselves with worry. If you have ever seen a family burst into tears at Disney it is really sad. Thanks to a wonderful facility they did everything they could for our little Watson. He spent a week in the animal hospital and they said it was a miracle his eye was saved. He came home all bruised and scabbed, his eye blood shot and on pain meds. after a month now he has fully recovered and is running around causing chaos lol and during our tip my Finley was also getting declawed so she was on special meds as well. And as if they all weren't having a hard time my oldest dearest Salem has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Now he is 13 years old and I love him more than words can really say, and I'm scared to let go and say goodbye. So until he decides he has had enough and hasn't gone on his own only then when it is right for him  I will take him to the vet. Until that point he will be loved endlessly and snuggled even when he wants to just run away. I don't know how these amazing small creatures came to be ours but I'm so  happy I also get to be theirs.

Well then that is life right? Until tomorrow...Natalie.

Sister Style

Trust me this may never happen again. My sister is not a fashion fan, like I am. She loves to get dressed up but not for everyday hangout time like today was. I threw clothes on her bed and commanded, "wear these!" I had a little back up with her fiance. Natalie:1, Jen: 0. But I have to say she is a good sport in humoring me most of the times. My sister is the tech genius in our home. She works for Geek Squad at Best Buy. Now compared to me I have a hard time with tech stuff, an example is I learned how to work a blue ray player this year and an Xbox the last. I make up for it in my own ways but I'll try ti sneak Jen into more of my photos here!

and this day was particularly humid so we didn't even bother with hair styles (good thing too, because it poured rain like nobodies business and we had to help our mom at a festival and got soaked)

but before the rain we headed out for a few errands and got Panera! I had a delicious mango smoothie :) I wanted to take more photos but the sun disappeared due to the pending storm.

Until tomorrow...Natalie

Free People

Lately I've been on the search for summer clothes for the beach and hot hot weather. I saw Free People's new video, and now I want to go to Rio; that and I made a wishlist of the clothes in the video. I'm making a list of summer activities and projects. I have made a promise to not let my job and summer class get in the way of plans and having fun. After a frosty spring here in Chicago, I am looking forward to long nights and bonfires with friends. This is a year of new possibilities we only have to make them happen. If the great things and moments in life were easy or came often they wouldn't be worth all the time and effort. 

Check out the video and get inspired to make your summer plans!

Until tomorrow...Natalie.

Mother's Day

Hello everyone! As you know Mother's Day is fast approaching  we all know its a Hallmark holiday but see it as a day to just send some love to your mom, moms, or someone you see as a mother figure. If you don't have any idea what to get for her, here are just a few ideas:

1-Happ&Stahns 1842 Rosa Alba eau de parfum 2-mothers day card 3-DIY terrarium kit 4-floral iphone case 5-necklace

There are plenty of ways to show how much you love them, other than a gift. Go to breakfast and treat her, sign you both up for a garden walk, or maybe even weed her yard. Don't forget to take pictures, because that way you both have something to look at a remember. I know with my mom, she loves perfume so I took a few hours of my time and tracked down the perfect bottle and scent I know she will love! I've learned since being a college student, I can't always afford to buy her a gift. That is why with a little research I can always make one and all that effort can pay off when you see her just love it. So take care, and take lots of photos and if anyone has a wonderful mothers day story to share, please do! until tomorrow...Natalie

Life Is Beautiful

I wake up to our basement flooding, the news blaring about Boston, my phone buzzing that it is time to go to work. This week alone weather aside has been rough. To those families dealing with the bombing in Boston and to those who lost Lingzi Lu across the globe, we are here for you in Chicago.

It is hard seeing all these things on the news everyday; I bet we all remember where we were and what we we doing the moment we hear about these events. I sometimes wonder about the people who do these things, don't they get tired of being so angry? I know the world is far from any form of perfect, but I worry about the families who have lost all over the world. Before 9/11 war was just another chapter in my history text book, life was simple. I thought the poster in my class of children from all over the globe holding hands was real. The word foreign was unknown to me, I thought the other side of the globe was just our neighbors despite the distance. These wars don't define us, I believe there is good out there; even where people least expect it. The Muslim people are not all the same, Americans are not all the same; we all have our own views, because we are individuals. We are all human beings, so I send out a request to my readers to pay it forward to your fellow man. Do something kind for another human being that doesn't benefit yourself.

So here is to today, and tomorrow, and ten years after that we can not let ourselves be afraid of these events and stop living our lives. Life is beautiful and I think we forget that sometimes when things get hard. Think that right this moment someone is being born and their today has only just started, and I know I want to show them how beautiful life is. My piece of advice would be to live life passionately, because any other way isn't living. Want more from life for yourself and others!

Think about all the things we live for...

Like love:

"Unless it’s mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it’s a waste of your time. There are too many mediocre things in life; Love shouldn’t be one of them.”

Being silly:

Adventure:

Friendship:

Beauty:

There is so much more people live for and sorry about my rant, but for today I'll leave you on this note. One of my favorite quotes from V for Vendetta is, "I hope that the world turns and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you. I love you. With all my heart, I love you." Until tomorrow...Natalie. 

Going International

You know that song "I see London I see France" well I can say I saw both, and I have to say quite an experience!

Well friends let me just tell you it was no easy feat getting to Paris to begin my trip due to a little passport mishap and layovers. We all love air travel right? Well I not the biggest fan, but the real issue I had on this particular flight was the amount of babies who traveled along with us, I lost count at 15. Babies are sweet and cute but when trapped in a small plane at high pressure they feel the need to let everyone else know they don't like it. They continued on like so for about 4 hours until they had had enough and fell asleep, I almost wept with tears of joy. I also made a new friend on the plane who lives in London and works for the British Imperial War museum we had fascinating conversations, and he gave me tips of some great pubs to visit. I thought well my adventure was finally in motion this was good. This eight hour flight was not over yet. Due to excitement  packing, and other reasons I hadn't slept in almost a full day. By the time I began to even drift to sleep I was rudely awoken, not by the turbulence we hit but by the compartment above my head dropping it's contents upon me. A very tired flight attendant huffed at me, as if she thought I did it on purpose, giving up on sleep I suddenly knew this was only the beginning of a long trip. 

 These are just some of the photos I can share from the trip I was planning on making little photo shoots but it was so unbearably cold for me (I'm really a chicken when it's 30 degrees and below). The photo above I took when we were on this bridge full of hundreds upon hundreds of locks. These two happen to be my favorites.

Trust me i had brought all these really cute outfits to wear and take pics to have for later but it was just way, way, way too cold. :(

 One of my best friends Mary who is studying abroad in France is originally why I planned this trip that and I had never been. I loved France and I would definitely go again if I ever get the chance.

Our first spotting of a double-decker I went total tourist on this one!

This is my sister and her boyfriend now fiance (he proposed in London). We were museum hopping. 

Me still missing Paris when I see anything French related.

That was just some fun stuff I liked. I was having fun :D. There are many photos of us just wrapped up in layers of jackets and wool sweaters not the most flattering because it was simply too cold to smile either.

Oh you can count on it I went to Whitechapel for a Jack the Ripper tour, This occurred on Easter. Amazing. Afterward my sister, her fiance, and myself went for a fancy dinner at a place called The Phoenix a Chinese restaurant where there happened to be a reception for a wedding going on, and they had this live singer and she had a voice much like Norah Jones and it made the night magical. There was a beautiful bride and her groom who danced together, as the music makes you smile. What a time it was I only wish I can return one day to take the photos I mean to take. Until tomorrow...Natalie.

A Sunny Afternoon

I have been enjoying the sun that has been out lately. It puts me in a brighter mood. I also have been working more often but I got switched to early hours which is good because I have the rest of the day to do homework or work on fun projects and take tons more photos like I've been wanting too. so Here's a bit of what I've been up to the past week or so. 

There's nothing like sunlight filling up a room

I have been working with different lighting effects 

The sun light has been a good thing it has been warming up and melting the days; they have become longer and more exciting I look forward to more warm sunny day's ahead. I have just returned from my Paris and London trip my next couple of post will be sharing pictures and my adventures and trust me there are quite a few. Until tomorrow...Natalie.