Category Archives: lists

Thirteen Things to Do in 2013

Posted in aspirations, lists, melanie kristy, self improvement by

So here we are, it’s 2013 already. I feel good about this year, but truthfully the odd numbered years seem to be better for me. 2005 was full of parties and going to California, 2007 I graduated with a Bachelors and spent a few weeks in Italy, 2009 I spent a lot of time with Sarii, went to New York City and Martha’s Vineyard and I turned 25. In 2011 I went to Memphis and visited Graceland, Shaylin got married and I met Francesca Lia Block and some other various firsts.

That’s not to dis-count the even numbered years though. I just feel better about odd numbers.

Anyway, I’m not making many resolutions this year, at least not in the traditional sense. Instead I am listing things I want to do and focusing  to start, on eating real food. I’ll move on from there.

1. Watch the sun rise (Already got this one out of the way, but I’d like to do it more).
2. Finish Nana Sprinkles. Edit it to completion, fill in the gaps, make it ready to submit.
3. Make cheese. Probably mozzarella.
4. Go to The Strand bookstore in New York City
5. Participate in guerrilla gardening
6. take a water yoga or water aerobics class
7. participate in a flash mob
8. go to a psychic and have my cards read
9. put my ad up for this blog in at least 3 blogs
10. submit a piece of writing to Rookie Mag
11. Submit a short story for publication somewhere

I guess this list isn’t finished but I plan to revisit it throughout the year.
Do you have any suggestions?

xo

Manic Monday

Posted in lists, melanie kristy by

It’s Monday again! How can that be? The weekend was just here, wasn’t it? I’m just so sick of Mondays, aren’t you? I’m sick of the reminder that me weekend, which was a little space in my life just for me, is gone. I have to share myself and my space with other people. This usually means different responsibilities than I had on Sunday and most definitely a different pace than I’ve spent my last 24-48 hours.

What can do to make your Mondays (Even if that day of the week isn’t actually Monday) a little bit better? What fills you up and gets you through the week? Here are some things to try:

* Carrying around a new book with you, even if you don’t get the chance to try it
* Scheduling writing into your day (Nano writers, blog writers, journalers, haiku connoisseurs, etc.) even if it’s in blocks of ten minutes at a time
* Making sure to smell good, like something that’ll make you smile every time you catch a whiff of yoruself
* A huge coffee to get caffeine working on your side. Make sure it tastes amazing, too.
* A new nail color to start off your week
* A new bracelet (made of hearts) to cover your tattoo (and remind you of love.)
* Schedule something at the end of the week that’s going to make working these next 40-45 hours so totally worth it
* Set up a savings account with direct deposit into it every week so you don’t have to think about it
* If you have the extra change, consider a facial, massage, manicure or pedicure
* Tell someone you love them. Or hint that you might like someone. Or kiss someone for extra long in the morning before the real world rushes in
* Re-examine your priorities. Maybe Mondays aren’t the best day for you to actually do work. Or maybe you’re taking too many classes. Working too many hours. Spending too much money.
* Do yoga tonight after work. Even if it’s simple — a few downward facing dogs, childs poses and forward bends should bring you back to yourself
* Remember the phrase: I am here. When things feel overwhelming, tell yourself, I am here. This helps you focus on only the very moment you are in which in turn should help the overwhelm.
* Pack a lunch tonight for tomorrow (and maybe you did the same last night for today). It takes away the guesswork of lunch time and also saves you from spending extra money.
* Think of all the things you could do with what you’ll earn today.
* Take a shower and start your week off clean and fresh

La Dolce Vita

Posted in lists, love, tilt by

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* The Sweet Life*

I’m not sure if you’d believe it, but I keep on writing blog posts in my Moleskine and not posting them. If you knew me in person you probably would believe this. I do a lot of writing. And a lot of it tends to just sit there. i make no apologies. Instead I’ll just tell you some things about my life that have been pretty sweet lately.

* Under the Tuscan Sun randomly on television yesterday and I had the opportunity to see all of it. I love that movie.

* Bath and Body Works is devoted to Paris. This makes it easy to find sweet smelling body spray (that I bought, of course, with glitter in it. It’s called Sweet on Paris and shaped like the Eiffel Tower) but also macaron scented candles and… bread scented candles. I’m not sure I’d ever buy or light a baguette scented candle however, the fact that it exists excites me a lot.

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* Toasting marshmallows

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* Fall is approaching. Fall is easily my favorite season of the year. Until it’s January and I’m aching for spring. I love them both, really. For different reasons.

* From Bagels to Buddha. I don’t want anyone to think I haven’t been reading. But lately I’ve been reading more about consciousness. And Buddhism. And aching to take some yoga classes (I know, I know. Just do it already!)

* Meeting new people and learning about them. This mostly takes place online as I’m taking classes online and generally good at finding my way around the internet.

* Mango chicken curry. I’m kind of baffled it took me this long to try it. But it’s delicious.

* I’m rather stoked about The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie. It is my favorite book, and the trailer looks like a movie I’d love. Then I found out the author of the novel wrote the screen play and directed the movie. So I am so ready to watch it multiple times. And You’ll probably be hearing more about it when it comes out. But for the mean time, here’s … here’s a link to the trailer. While I’d normally just post the video in this post, WordPress likes to change up how to post things and I can’t find a video post anywhere on this site.

Perks of Being a Wallflower trailer

((nevermind. WordPress wouldn’t let me publish my post in the format it was in anyway. I don’t know why! So I switched to the way I like it, and here’s the trailer!!!)

Perks of Being a Wallflower

* Facebook. Okay, so I quit Facebook for a while and I’m working on how to make it work in my life. I don’t want to quit it for good (although I didn’t miss much from not going on) because of networking opportunities and meeting new people and feeling connected every once in a while. I don’t want to feel like I’m too connected and stretching myself thin. However, if you’re reading this and we are not already friends feel free to add me (just tell me you’re from here at least or comment on this post to let me know)/ Melanie Kristy on Facebook and not even a fanpage.

* Lunches with friends. I do lunches a lot. (though this may be the end of lunches. Grad school is taking over my life on Wednesday!) Todays lunch is Mexican food. Which reminds me that I’m running late.
Ciao!
What’s so sweet about your life lately?

The Sweet Life

Posted in la dolce vita, lists, love by

La Dolce Vita.
Renaming Things I Love to something else. Because in the long run, all of these little pieces of life, the time that slips between the cracks, the pages that smell like old books, the people that come and go, the muscle pains two days after a work out, finding a bag on sale for even more than it was marked down to, these are all the odds and ends that make up our life. They’re the things that are quickest to be forgotten in stressful times and sometimes the least to be appreciated because they tend not to be part of the “big picture” (though sometimes they absolutely are).

mango hand lotion and glittery body mousse
starting a collection of Judy Blume books (15 years late but who cares?) So far, out of Forever, Deenie and Tiger Eyes, Tiger Eyes is my favorite
water and ac in my house is all that’s keeping me sane this summer
those rare perfect weather days
committing to myself again
counting Weight Watcher’s points and sticking to the program
making goals for myself
meditating in the back yard
Starbuck’s new refreshers drinks
buying a huge orange striped beach hat
Old fashioned movie theaters with black & white movie stars’ faces as wall paper for the entrance to the bathroom



Moonrise Kingdom

What’s in your sweet life this week/ month/ year/ life?
xoxo
Melanie Kristy

Things I Love

Posted in lists, love, tilt by

(credit)
One of my friends is going to Paris on Monday. The list I made her of things she needs to bring me back include: postcards, Macarons & the Eiffel Tower.

It’s Saturday. The weather is beautiful. The night came softly. It’s not too hot. Not too humid. My room is a huge mess (I definitely don’t like that). And I feel like I may be returning to myself. At least maybe a little bit.

Things I Love Today:
Indian buffets
dresses to wear as cover ups
trips to the beach
taking chances and messaging new people
blindly dling new music and digging it
planning to reread novels I love because sometimes that’s better than trying to find new loves
beards & glasses on men. apparently it’s my thing
shimmer powder all over my arms
my two new favorite TV shows are:
HBO’s Girls and ABC Family’s Bunheads.

Girls is just brilliant. Lena Dunham is the creator/ part writer (complete writer? not sure) and main character in Girls, about a group of twenty somethings living in New York City. The sex is awkward and the relationships aren’t glamourized. The characters are pretty awesome. Watch it.

Amy Sherman-Palladino created Girlmore Girls and she’s back with another awesome show called Bunheads (with a few repeat actors, might I add) about a showgirl who marries an admirer on a whim and moves to the town called Paradise where he lives.

finally sitting down in Starbucks and writing a SCENE. If I could do this every day, or even 4/7 days a week for the summer, I might actually have a book by the end of it. A rough rough draft at least.

What do you love today?

Reasons You Should Read Wanderlove

Posted in fiction, lists, love, travel, wanderlust by
(if you type wanderlove into google images, my face pops up, ha! it’s because I vaguely mentioned the book when I finished it back in this post here)
It’s about passion and giving up that passion, and how it comes back to you.
The title. Wanderlove. It’s Wander Lust but so much more.
Guatamala and Belize. Beautiful descriptions, Maya ruins, a chicken bus, a Chinese dragon tattoo and the name Starling.
Lobsterfest.
There’s a crushworthy guy character whose face you actually get to see at some point during the book.

Ten Ways To Make Your Work Day Brighter

Posted in festive, how to, lists by


(credit)
Coming back from a three day weekend you might need a little something to uplift you and ease you back into the work mode. I wrote this on a previous blog two years ago and dug it up to share today.

Ten Ways to Make Your Work Day Brighter

Wear perfume you really love.

Write anonymous notes to your co-workers.

Put extra special love and yumminess into your bagged lunch.

Wash your face on one of your breaks. Exfoliate and tone, or use a face mask during your lunch.

Suck on chocolate covered altoids.

Make a list of your favourite customers / co-workers / people.

Pin up an inspiring picture, or a photograph of someone you love by your work space.

Match your nail polish to your shirt every day.

Take a “smoke break” and stretch your muscles or do a few yoga poses.

Bake something at home and bring it in to share with everyone.

Things I Love

Posted in lists, love, tilt by

fried pickles
iced chai tea lattes
sleeping on planes
Third Eye Blind playing (for free!) on Saturday in Boston
when my netbook actually connects to the internet
Modern Family
Ben & Jerry’s Frozen Greek Yogurt (in banana & peanut butter) it’s so weird! And slightly tangy! And greek yogurt-y! And less likely to make me want to keep going back for it
cramming into phone booths for photos

where’s my mouth?? ha

new dresses and skirts
sunburns that actually turn into nice tans (I’ll have these farmer’s tan lines until next year, I’m sure)
lobster rolls at Panera Bread
trying on brightly colored sunglasses
not having to wear a jacket outside, especially while I’m driving
getting my weekend update through hashtags on Instagram. (it went something like this, “oh look there’s isaac on a bike! he looks like the wicked witch of the west!” “oh there’s a line already!”)
“think happy. be happy”
hummingbird charms

What do you love today?

Things I Love

Posted in lists, love, tilt by

contemplating buying French language lessons
wandering bookstores for hours
spur of the moment hang outs
tofu fritters from the Chattabox
wearing sunblock so I smell like summer
iced green tea from Panera Bread
my parents have been married for 34 years today
Sundays. Time off to relax, do laundry, spend most of the day inside my head
unexpected mail
The Happiness Project One Sentence Journal