Happy Monday! It’s day two of 24 Merry Days, and today we have something really exciting (okay let’s just be honest, I’m going to be saying that a lot).
But really, I’d pretty much die for a $250 shopping spree at Anthro… in fact with that much free cash, I’m not even sure I’d know where to start.
Back in the car after a great few days in New York… I can’t wait to share more!
For now though, you have some work to do. Head on over to House of Earnest to enter our very first day of 24 Merry Days.
… and tell me, how excited are you that December is finally here?!
It’s almost time to count down! Do you do an advent calendar? I have to admit, I always mean to… but it’s rare that I do. Maybe this will be the year!
1 // I’ve had this brilliantly easy advent calendar bookmarked for what seems like forever.
2 // This handwritten-letter-a-day advent is a fun twist.
3 // These little boxes are easy with free printables.
4 // Who doesn’t want to count down with cute little trees?
5 // Essential arts and crafts — bring your toilet paper rolls.
6 // Everything about this geometric diy advent calendar is pretty.
This weekend we’re back to our painting, working to get it all done before we’re off to New York.
It’s also possible that I might be making it a priority to catch the new Hunger Games before we go.
… is it wrong to admit just how cheeseball excited I am? (Are you too?)
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Any plans for this last big weekend before the holidays really kick off?
(After all… Black Friday is just around the corner.
… do you go to the stores?)
Eye this gorgeous holiday table.
Buy the perfect holiday apron.
Make a pretty fall garland.
Bake a maple pumpkin pie.
I wouldn’t usually be so big on a commercial, but did you see this Google India ad? It made me cry.
The next time you’re feeling sad.
C.S. Lewis reviews The Hobbit.
Have I mentioned how much I love having a tree in the house? The smell, the sight, the constant reminder that Christmas is almost here. I love it so much that as soon as Thanksgiving is gone, I’m chomping at the bit to get one up… and I’d happily leave it until well after the new year if I could.
What about you? Do you jump to put up a tree? Or do you usually wait until you’re a little bit closer to the big day?
Before she left for home in Hawaii (jealousy, right here) the lovely Jessica of Coco/Mingo (be sure you check out her beautiful blog if you haven’t been before) tagged me to share five random facts about myself, and I’m happy to comply! Here are five random things about me that you may (or may not) want to know…
1 // Mark says I’m persnickety, and lovingly compares me to a Tasmanian devil. Not so much the Looney Tunes kind, but the real ones… who make little grumbling noises as they wander along.
2 // I believe that a lady should know when and how to use the word “fuck” — and not be afraid to do it.
3 // I ride the train so often and for so long that sometimes I develop intricate conspiracy theories based around my fellow passengers, and I have a long list of things I kind of wish they wouldn’t do.
For example… last night at least three of those things I wish they wouldn’t do were happening at once… someone down the aisle was eating smelly food, the guy behind me was spilling intimate details of his life loudly into his phone, and across the way, someone was tap tap tapping in a rhythm on the floor, *just* loudly enough to hear. (Such is train life that we all annoy each other just by doing regular, everyday things… I’m sure I’ve also driven some folks crazy in my life.)
Then, as if by some terrible twist of commuter fate… something entirely new happened. A woman turned on her phone and booted up an action movie. A very loud, very violent action movie… so loud that the folks in the next car over could probably hear. I thought someone must hate me… until I realized, and I’m entirely convinced of this…
I think she did it to shut up the guy on the phone.
It worked.
4 // I talk to my mom almost every day.
5 // I’ve never been totally sure about kids… but I do know just what I’d name a boy if I had one.
I’m tagging sweet Aileen, Gloria, Lena, Audrey, and Jade.
Join in too! What’s one random fact about you?
Happy Saturday! I hope everyone had a good week. Mine started out fast and didn’t stop… but all good things, so I really can’t complain.
What are you up to this weekend? Christmas or Hanukkah shopping, Thanksgiving prep, maybe just taking it easy before the holidays start to ramp up? We just came back from the paint store… so it looks like it’s going to be a busy day.
Eye these great prints (now I want one too!).
Buy these adorable letterpress tags.
Make this amazing braided trivet.
Bake these brown butter vanilla bean rice krispie treats (I think someone is trying to tell me I need to make a giant batch of rice krispie treats in every different flavor…).
This pretty food photography.
Dean Street Society’s happy hour blog tour. (Such great advice and stories from bloggers so far.)
These adorable custom portraits.
You wanna talk about international affairs? I’ve got you. Looking for a grammar nazi to edit your piece? I’m your girl.
… but ask me to find the circumference of a circle? I’m blank. My eyes will glaze over, there might be drool… it’s really bad. And I realize, and am terribly ashamed to say, that this makes me a product of a system that doesn’t emphasize this stuff to little girls (maybe we’re getting better at that? slowly) but there’s nothing I can do about the system now. Now — I have to take a test.
I’ve taken the GRE before, but that was before I entered my Masters program at least 5 (6 or 7?) years ago… and I can’t say I was good at it even then. So now, since I’ve decided (I hope) to apply to PhD programs this fall, I need to take it again. And you guys, studying is hell. I’m not even sure I knew this stuff in high school, let alone now.
But I tell you, I’m determined to get it down. So if you’re looking for me this nice long Veterans Day weekend, I wish you luck… I’ll be holed up in a corner babbling letters and numbers until my eyes bleed.
I know, it sounds like a lot of fun.
Actually I am lying a little. I’ll be venturing out for two very fun occasions (one of which is my anniversary!) but then I’ll be taking my studious self back to the books… the test is coming up on Tuesday, so I’ve got a lot to do!
Wish me luck.
Any big plans for this weekend?! They have to be better than the majority of mine.
Eye this gorgeous green floor (clearly I have a thing for green floors…).
Buy some lovely little baubles from the Veda House prop closet sale.
Make a napping tent (who wouldn’t want that?).
Bake this beautiful wild mushroom, fennel, & dancing fern galette.
How to write the worst possible column about millennials.
Some great podcast recommendations in the comments here.
I love this little diatribe on measuring cups vs. kitchen scales. I might be stubborn too.
Is this a real question? And a real criticism?
Why is it so much easier to be mean on the internets?
I’ve gone through a lot of different types of editorial calendars. Lists, yearly calendars with just a quick overview, monthly planning alongside the rest of my work… but it’s only recently that I’ve found something that really works.
Of course, I share this with the caveat that this is what works for me. Everyone is a little bit different. But what I’ve found is that there are a few very specific (very detailed) things I need to keep an effective editorial calendar.
1 // It needs to be separate from the rest of my work. Even from my blog-related appointments.
For a long time I tried to keep everything together, and it was just too easy to let the editorial planning fall by the wayside.
2 // It needs to be all-inclusive.
That sounds like a contradiction, but what I mean is that everything involved in my editorial planning needs to be contained in one place. That means the brainstorming, the scheduling, and the planning.
First, I’ll brainstorm a list of posts based on a pre-set list of topics. Then I’ll use that list to fill in my calendar, and adjust the topics accordingly. Last, I’ll plan when any prep for a post needs to take place. Scheduling is only half the battle, after all.
3 // I still need a to-do list and an appointment calendar.
Such is my busy life and obsessive compulsive planning problem. The editorial calendar happens in Google Docs, the appointments are recorded in my Google Calendar, and the to-do list is updated in TeuxDeux.
Technically, I love to keep a paper planner… but I’ve finally given in to the fact that they’re just too much to carry around.
And if I can’t carry it around, it’s not any use.
Here’s an example of my own editorial calendar for November.
It’s pretty rudimentary, but it works just perfectly for me. And I’m so excited that I’ve finally found something that does that I just had to share.
The best news I’ve heard in a while? That the folks behind Brooklyn Flea would be setting up shop in DC for the fall (and if things go well, and it looks like they are… again in the spring) for District Flea.
The Flea is one of my favorite things to do on a trip to New York. Every time we go, we come home with something great for the house. And District Flea was no exception. We’re on the hunt for some fun pieces for a new gallery wall behind the couch, and we found just what we were looking for.
(Now if only we could do that about 14 more times… putting together enough for a gallery wall is hard!)
Life, love, and the little things… one thread at a time.
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