Valentine's/Galentine's

Just for some weekend/Valentine/Galentine fun, here are some things I'm loving:

~Taylor covered her own song... it. is. perfection. I've been listening to it on repeat since lunch. 

~This fun list of 3 Fun and Totally Normal DIY Projects.... The first one especially made me LOL.

~My craftiness itch needs scratching, so I'm looking at a project like this for my kitchen cabinet doors {they are glass and my tolerance for them has been slowly decreasing for the past 18 months}. While I've seen many "frosted" glass projects using contact paper, I was thrilled that the afore-linked DIY-er used spray paint! Please and thank you!

~A humorous picture of my weekend plans:

~This post on love by Sarah Bessey has been gliding around the interwebs, so if you've seen it already, it's ok - read it again. And if you haven't seen it yet, you're welcome. 

Have a wonderful weekend with those you love, my friends!

The Best Weekend

People. Halloween 2014 was quite possibly the best weekend I've ever had in my adult life. I have not stayed up so late, laughed so hard, or loved my friends so much.

First things first: Cami and I "Cage-ified" Samara's apartment. Yes, that does mean what you think it means. We decorated covered Samara's apartment with Nicolas Cage. Some pictures were hidden in plain sight, and others, well, others haven't been found yet :D

this is the first one Samara found

not even wine was left un-Caged

We carved an attempt at a Grumpy Cat pumpkin... no judging. Our combined carving skills were all at least a decade old, and we realized halfway through carving that the template was not symmetrical. Oh well. 

Samara and I went to pick up pizza after Grumpy was finished, and we counted 8 "Elsa" princesses in town. And between our parking spot and the pizza place, we found a gelato shop...which we promptly added to our agenda and purchased Chocolate Peanut Butter and Chai Latte. Oh my goodness, it was amazing. 

After dinner, we began costume and make-up preparations. Who did we dress up as? Allow me to introduce you to Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Meghan Trainor!

We went to a local pub and met some of Samara's friends, and our table entered the pub's costume contest. Guess who took first place? Not us. But we got second place, and look at what we won:

Yes. We won a hand. A gross, nasty hand that already has caused trauma and laughter. We also won a gift certificate to the pub, which we put to good use right away. 

Once we got home and out of our costumes, we watched the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who. Such fun!

Saturday morning, we got up and on the road to Portland. Brunch, bookstores, and the best pop album of 2014 were the highlights - can you say Taylor Swift's "1989" album!? Have I been listening to it nonstop since Saturday? Unashamedly!

Sunday was a chill day with church, leftover Chinese food and gelato, and a Seahawks game at B-Dubs. After the game, we said our farewells and Cami and I trekked back north {listening to "1989" all 4 hours}. 

In text, this weekend may not sound very amazing, but it was. Cami and Samara and I are so comfortable and hilarious together, and spending time as the three of us was so wonderful. We talked about literally everything, and I loved how we all were able to take care of ourselves {with classes, homework, etc.} and each other so easily. We are seriously fun. 

I love us!

I'm Just Gonna Shake Shake Shake

{I know that I said I wanted to write more posts without prompts, but I'm not counting these as prompts; they're more like conversation initiators. I know, the hair is split super finely. Whatevs. Shaking it off.}

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Currently...

...wondering how early is too early to begin New Year's Eve party planning.

...stressing about doula training and how on earth I'm going to finish it all. Gulp.

...just finished reading UnDivided (Unwind Dystology)* by Neal Shusterman
Re'and* by Victoria Easter Wilson {review here!}

... currently reading Motherwit: An Alabama Midwife's Story* by Onnie Lee Logan
Spiritual Midwifery* by the one and only Ina May Gaskin
A Covert Affair: When Julia and Paul Child joined the OSS...* by Jennet Conant.

... going to read Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption* by Laura Hillenbrand - really excited about this one!

...listening to Imogen Heap and Kye Kye, as per usual, and.... Christmas music! Haters, please see above gif.

...craving more fudge that my flatmate made. She put a few sprinkles in and on it, and I think that was a very wise decision.

...enjoying a good hair day. Yay, straightener that works!

...getting excited for Cami and my trip to visit Samara! We are meeting at 5:30 tonight, having Chinese food for dinner {because why the hell not!?}, and then venturing down to yonder Oregon for a weekend of laughs, hugs, Doctor Who, costumes, chocolate, Portland, and whatever other adventures we find. CANNOT WAIT!!!

...grateful for a fantastic table lamp I found at Value Village. You. Guys. This thing is amazing. You know when you look at Target and you're like, mm, okay. Then you look at Pinterest and are all like, mm, if only me + drill + glass didn't = death.
And then you go to Value Village and the heavens open and a unicorn whinnies and fairy dust speeds your sprint into the embrace of the COOLEST LAMP EVER, and it doesn't even need a makeover. True story. Pictures coming soon.

...laughing at this clip from the Graham Norton Show of Miranda Hart teaching Benedict Cumberbatch how to walk like a diva. All day, every day, please and thank you.

Hope you all have a fantastic Halloween weekend!

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*affiliate links that will, ideally, contribute to my doula education. Thanks for your click!

Finish This: Week Forty-One

Hey gang! Joining the link-up party with Nicole at Three 31, Jen at The Arizona Russums, Lisa at Coastlined, and Becky at The Java Mama.

I feel like a badass when my boss {the one who is not one of my parents} is impressed by my work; the dance instructor asks if I've danced the Viennese Waltz before {I haven't}; my fingernails are painted; I remember to change the calendar within the first three days of the month.

One thing that always cheers me up:

The quotes I live by:

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Thanks for joining - catch ya on the flip side!

Blog Every Day Feb: Day Eight - Music That Moves Me

Linking up with Bailey Jean for her February challenge. This has been great fun so far!

Bailey wants to know about music that moves me, which means that you, dear readers, are in for quite a long list! I'm going to divide my list into two categories: moving in the emotional sense {I'm sorry, Whovians. I'm so, so sorry.} and moving in the physical sense {aka stand back from Bek because she has crazy dance moves}. Without further adieu...

Emotionally Moving Songs:

• "Doomsday" from Doctor Who by Murray Gold - get out your tissues!

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• "Your Hands Are Cold" from Pride and Prejudice by Dario Marianelli - sigh.
• "Light On" from Bella by Joey Ryan. If you haven't seen Bella yet, please do. {Scroll to almost the bottom of the article and click on the song. A new page will load and you can click the play button.}

• "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" written by The Proclaimers, this version performed by Sleeping At Last
• "Why Does She Have to Die?" from Finding Neverland by David Marshall - listen to this song while reading the last four chapters of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and try not to die from melancholy.
• Basically any song from "Les Miserables," especially "Empty Chairs," "On My Own," and "I Dreamed a Dream." 1985 version gets my vote!

Physically Moving Songs:

• Has John Newman not taken over the world yet? Listen to any of his songs from "Tribute" and join me at his concert in April.
• Hello, Kye Kye. I know I've mentioned them before, but I bring them up again because they are so, so wonderful. And because Bailey asked for my favorite music. So there. Two perfectly awesome reasons to go check them out.
• This is the physically moving category, and I told you to stand back because of my dance moves...watch out world, Bek is dancing to Taylor Swift. Best dance/workout tunes? "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "We Are Never Getting Back Together" are both awesome.
• Icona Pop's "I Love It" {clean version!!!} is pretty rocking.
• Capital Cities' "Safe and Sound" is one of my favorite songs right now, and it almost made it to the emotionally moving list simply because I hear it as a love song.

I hope this adds to your musical library! What songs move you?