Fall at Wright Park

I've been meaning to get out and get some use out of my camera. I took about 30 minutes today, between errands and homework, to pop over to the park and get some pics of the beautiful fall leaves.

Weekend Shots

Try the Ginger Beer from Aslan

Highly recommend the Irish Beef Stew from Boundary Bay

Had some super delicious crab stuffed mushrooms from Cork at the Art on the Ave Grub Crawl

My July Glam Bag contents from Ipsy! This is my new favorite thing...fun mail in a hot pink envelope? YES.

Delicious lettuce wraps from my favorite Tacoma Chinese place North China Garden at the Art on the Ave Grub Crawl

So many things

When I lived with my ex it felt like we had lots of things. Tons and tons of dust collecting items that we were loathe to part with, crammed into a tiny apartment. Why are we so attached to these things? Most of what we had was books and as people who met in a bookstore and both had a love of all things bibliophile, it was blasphemy to even consider getting rid of a book. Even a book that was given to us, on a topic that neither of us cared about, nor would we ever read, but it contributed to our ever growing collection so we couldn't part with it. When we signed up for renters insurance, the bulk of what we owned with value was books. When we moved, it was boxes upon boxes of books. Literally over 50% of our moving boxes were filled with books (and let me tell you they were a PAIN to lug up 3 flights of stairs when we moved to WA). When we broke up we had to sort through those books, trying to decide who was the rightful owner of each book. I think I may have kept a few that really belonged to him, just out of spite and because I had the upper hand in the break up. Now I keep books because its habit. It used to be a compulsion to buy a book every time I walked into a bookstore. Now that I've been using the library more frequently, it feels good to give those books back knowing I can check them out if I ever want to read them again and that I don’t have to feel guilty if I get 10 pages in and realize I don’t want to finish the book, but feeling like I do because I paid for it and I’ll be a fraud if its on my shelf and I didn't read it! I've kept books for ridiculous reasons, like how people will perceive me if they see I have Tolstoy or Moore's Utopia on my shelf. NO ONE ever visits! Why should I care!? I keep them because I read them once and enjoyed them…but will I ever read them again? If not, why keep them? I keep them because my new boyfriend has shelves of books and what will he think of me if I get rid of too many of my books? Should I keep them in case we move in together? Dumb.

Its not just books either. DO I really need that extra Ikea candle holder lantern identical to the one hanging in my entry way? I never use it, it collects dust on top of a tall bookshelf, but sure, I’ll keep it. I keep things because they have attachments to people and memories, but I don’t need these things. If I lost everything in a fire, I wouldn't have them anyway. So I'm trying, really trying to cut down on my material possessions this year. Its a kind of slow process, but it feels good. I don't NEED all of this junk. I've been really into the topic of 'happiness' lately, reading books and blog articles about it. What happiness means to people, how important it is, how to really achieve it. Everyone has slightly different opinions of course, but one common theme I've noticed is cutting down on clutter - both emotional and material. So that is what I'm working on... a little spring cleaning. 

Everything is a mess!

Well not everything...but all of my supplies and such are in disarray...so I'm spending a bit of time today trying to organize and throw things away that I will likely never use or need.

Also, I'm feeling very inspired by the December Daily scrapbook posts over at A Beautiful Mess and I think I'm going to give it a try starting in January. Though, I'm not sure how successful I'll be since starting January 6th, I'll also be starting grad school. We'll see how that goes.... Either way, check out their beautiful examples of scrapbooks. So much more appealing to me than some of the other styles of scrapbooking I've seen.

Buzzfeed, Dobby, and Doctor Who

The lovely Etsy seller Catherine of Caffrin25 included my Dobby Loves Socks card in her excellent Buzzfeed list of The 30 Most Perfect Gifts For Your Biggest Harry Potter Friends This Holiday Season. I'm #6, but you can check out the awesome, complete list HERE. I have to say that this kind of thing is one of my most favorite bits about being part of the Etsy community. I'm not a full-time seller or blogger and I don't make my living this way, but I still love doing it. And when I get to connect and interact, even in these small ways, with kind, generous people like Catherine it totally makes up for the fact that I haven't gotten stinking rich from my shop :) Who cares? This is fun and it makes me happy!

If you are a fan of Doctor Who or know someone who is, you should absolutely check out her Etsy shop HERE, where you can purchase this excellent poster and more.

Image credit: Caffrin25. 

A wintery, woodland-y Christmas wreath!

I spent a few hours this weekend, burning myself with the hot glue gun and putting together a wintery, woodland-y wreath for my door with a few things I picked up at one of my favorite art supply stores. When I walked into the store, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, but I knew it would include moss and glitter. I think it brightens up my door quite nicely!

Trimming the tree

I spent some time this long weekend trimming my little Christmas tree and putting up lights around my apartment. It's always fun digging out the old ornaments and the memories of so many Christmas passed. And! I picked up a perfect-for-me new ornament, a little wooden raccoon in a canoe! Thank you, World Market. You can purchase the set HERE online, or individually in the store. I love that store year round, but they really have the best reasonably priced, unique holiday decor.