Reasons to be Inspired for 2012

Posted in aspirations, goals by melaniekristy

It might be the end of the world in 12 months. It probably won’t be, but then again, your world might end tomorrow. This is why 2012 needs to be the year to LIVE IT UP. It’s the year to let go of all your fears, remember that child that lives inside you and enjoy your life.

So I’m assigning you a task: write out a huge long list of things to be excited about in 2012. These are things that might not happen, stuff you want to make happen or even just little things like the fact that it’ll be spring in however many days!!! I start my spring countdown on January 1st. It gets me through the winter. Plan out an awesome vacation you may or may not actually take. Find lots of pictures to look at of that destination. Read the Happiness Project and plan one for yourself.

Listen to the Counting Crows, specifically Long December on repeat until you fall asleep for an amazing nap. Don’t worry about all those extra calories you ate in December. Give the left overs away and start fresh right this moment. Forgive yourself and move on.

Think about 2011. Can you narrow it down to a few words? I think, for me, 2011 was Learning and Awareness.

Lastly, set a word for your upcoming year. I’ve narrowed mine down to: transformation, self-clarity, and love. And also Health.

28Dec2011

Write Yourself a Love Letter

Posted in aspirations, love, writing by melaniekristy

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If you give yourself one thing this holiday season, give yourself the gift of love. Take the time to just be and give to yourself. And what I mean by this is … write yourself a love letter.

Maybe it sounds corny, but only because you might think it’s corny. Tell yourself how much you love yourself. Write about what you love about yourself. Write about you right now as if you’re telling this to some other person. Open it a year from now after you do the same again. Remind yourself that you can’t ever love or be loved unless you gift yourself that gift first.

Here are some examples of ideas for your love letter:

Write it in bright pink glitter gel pen, make the words stand out.
Create your own stationery and write on that.
Keep the pages going and going. Write as much as you can.
Time yourself. Give yourself ten minutes of pure love. Or more less.
Address it to yourself in 2012.
Put glitter in the envelope so you’re showered with it when you open it next year.
Use stickers, draw pictures or cartoons, tell your story however you feel it’s best for you.
Write with your eyes closed.
Write in pig latin.
Translate your letter into French so your future self will have to translate it back. (or learn French next year!)
Tell yourself a story.
Remember one thing amazing about 2011.
Practice alliteration.
Create metaphors.
Rename the people in your life.
Write it in e-mail format and have Future Me send it out.
Include your 2012 bucket list.
Ponder the end of the world.
Imagine where you’ll be this time next year.

It’s important to exclude anything negative from this letter. Your future self doesn’t want negative in his/her life, so don’t give in. Make everything positive. Search out the light in situations, reflect on why something bad might actually be a blessing.

Finished and still inspired?
Write yourself a love letter to be opened in 2016.
Write your best friend a love letter for next year.
Write one for a stranger and leave it in the bindings of your favorite library book.

25Dec2011

Merry Christmas 2011

Posted in festive by melaniekristy

Merry Christmas from the house of Melanie Kristy to yours. <3

23Dec2011

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Posted in festive by melaniekristy

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So it’s just before Christmas and you’re hoping to avoid the insanity at the mall. So far you’ve done pretty good, you ordered presents on Etsy and books from Amazon. You bought your friends gifts from bloggers’ websites. But now, there’s an unexpected person showing to a party, a Yankee swap you didn’t know about etc. etc.

What do you do?

You get creative. You use your mind. You re-gift something beautiful.

Here are some other quick suggestions:

* Holiday scratch tickets. Gift the give of surprise, suspense and possibly a lot of money!
* Cookies, bread etc. etc. in a jar. Make your own with suggestions here and here.
* Tea, coffee, with cookies and chocolate, made into a beautiful basket.
* An orange in the bottom of an old fashioned stocking, someone’s bound to appreciate the old tradition.
* Give a book that really meant something to you

(weheartit)
* Or how about an IOU for a shared experience? Fondue and a movie? Ice skating over cranberry bogs? A train ride to see millions of lights?

* After Christmas every year my mom spends a small amount of money to buy TONS of left over Christmas stuff. It’s usually at least 75% off and she gets candles, decorations, holiday soaps, plates, whatever it is that she really likes. In our basement it’s like we have a mini gift shop with stacks of cards, recycled bags and last year’s (or the year before that, or before that) goodies. This makes it easy the next year to make beautiful baskets or leave something special for our mail person (although, to be honest, our mail person is terrible this year, so she probably isn’t getting any festive candles or anything else).

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What are your favorite last minute gifts?

20Dec2011

Books I’ve Read Recently, and Why You* Should Read Them, Too

Posted in fiction, reviews by melaniekristy

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Looking For Alaska – John Green. It’s a coming of age novel. It’s The Perks of Being a Wall Flower meets something else (ha, clever, right? oh…) mixed with a little bit of tragedy. It’s about life. And there you are.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Biggs. There are photographs to accompany this novel, strange ones. If you’ve ever loved reading not so happily-ever-after fairy tales and enjoy the idea of alternate worlds or monsters coming to get you if you have special talents this book is for you.

Every You, Every Me – David Levithan. Another book with photographs and this book needs them. In fact, this novel was written from photographs the photographer provided Levithan as he wrote. The photographer didn’t know anything about the story and the story was crafted from whatever Levithan was given next. It’s about love and loss and what you do when someone you love needs the right kind of help.

Scorpio Races – Maggie Stiefvater. Maggie is an ACE at setting in this novel. It’s beautiful and dreamy and dark and just plain old damn. There’s killer sea horses, a girl who only has her brothers left and a boy who learned to love a monster. Also there are November Cakes. I want to make them soon.

13 Little Blue Envelopes – Maureen Johnson. So, I’ve been following Maureen Johnson on Twitter for the past month yet I’ve never read any of her books. I loved this one because it involves a scavenger hunt of sorts, directed by a dead relative (I think Maureen Johnson was reading my Nana Sprinkles thoughts, to be honest. Even though this novel has been published for far longer than Nana Sprinkles has been an idea…) and it takes place all around Europe. These are all things that I enjoy. Especially when Rome is involved.

(*You who is open minded in your reading endeavors or favors Young Adult fiction or believes there shouldn’t be line, because you can’t tell me how old I should be to read a certain book)

19Dec2011

Almost Christmas

Posted in festive, photos by melaniekristy

It’s almost Christmas and I haven’t blogged in ages. Hm, what else is new? I’m wearing a festive t-shirt, gingerbread man earrings I got snowman socks today. The presents are almost all purchased, almost all wrapped and the packages are going out tomorrow. I’ve been reading tons of blog posts on gift ideas and DIY things and baked items so I’m not going to jump on that band wagon. I’m not even going to link you anywhere. I’m just going to provide you with pretty pictures to look at for your day. It’s Monday, after all, and we all need a little break from over thinking.