Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Perpetual Summer (Another Snippet of Sorts).


As one season fades like ombre into another, I always get this same sentimental-nostalgic feeling both for what is left behind and for what is to come. Each season feels perpetual, and perhaps is in some way. As Summer quietly gathers her possessions and makes ready to leave in a blaze of autumn-tinted glory, she leaves a few things behind, a snatch of laughter or a memory of a glorious sunset to keep me warm in Autumn's chill. As Autumn sets up house and throws up her warm-tinted decoration in attempt to ward off the cold, she carefully chooses which possession of hers to leave me with when the time comes. Season layers onto season, and each is gone but never forgotten.

♥♥Kristin

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

A Snippet. {3}

Because the middle of the month somehow passed me by...

She fell in love with him in bits and pieces. First, with his easy, teasing banter. Then with the way he made her smile. The fact that he read a book, just because she'd recommended it. The stupid look he got on his face when he was trying not to laugh. The way he seemed to understand her like no one else. The silly competitions they had, just to pass the time. Inside jokes that made her shake with laughter. The brush of his hand against her arm that may not have been by accident. She fell in love with him in bits and pieces, until she realized that she loved him down to the last molecule.

♥Kristin

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Now Here's What I Think.

{source: white paper quotes on tumblr}
I recently found this quote on Tumblr, and it really resonated with me. I don't mean to offend anyone with this post, please remember this is solely my opinion on the matter. The quote just really made me think about all of the I'm-a-hipster-I'm-gonna-write-a-book-and-make-great-art-and-the-world-will-love-me stuff that's been floating around lately. Not just on blogger, but in my "real world" as well. I understand the wanting to have people swoon over what you write or photograph or make. I'm sure everyone feels this way. I just think that some people take it a step too far. They write poem after poem and post photo after photo, always expecting the highest praise. The thing to remember is that not everyone can be famous. More importantly, you don't need to be famous to be successful or happy or even talented. Don't spend all of your life pouring yourself into poems and photos and paintings when you could be pouring yourself into you. In the end, what matters is not what you wrote or made, what matters is how you lived your life. Please don't forget that. Your happiness is not dependent upon the approval of others. Do what makes you happy, do what you know is right, be yourself and the rest will come. I'm not saying that you shouldn't write, photograph, or make art. If you love to write, then write. If you love to paint, then paint. Not for the world, but for you. Be the most beautiful poem you can be.
♥♥Kristin

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

An Award.

I was awarded this by Kiri Liz on Allergic to Chocolate. You should check out her main blog, Lianne Taimenlore, as well! She's having an Epic Disney Blog Party this week, and it's, well... epic :)
Anyway...
Rules:
1. You must post 11 facts about yourself
2. You must also answer the 11 questions that the awarder has given you, and create 11 questions for your awardees to answer in turn.
3. Tag 11 fellow bloggers. (I don't know if I can come up with 11 people to tag, but I'm going to try!)
4. Notify them that you've awarded them.
5. No tagging back.
6. And the 11 blogs that you tag must have less than 200 followers.

Eleven facts about myself:
1. I find it difficult to come up with facts about myself.
2. I'm always the one laughing the longest at a joke. Sometimes, I just can't stop.
3. I should be doing my math right now.
4. I have trouble deleting pictures from my memory card because I always think I'll want them as soon as I delete them.
5. My blog is at 71 posts right now (72 counting this one) and I think I'll plan something awesome for the 100th post.
6. My boss officially thinks that my best friend and I are crazy.
7. I'm 5'2 (I told you, I'm bad at coming up with facts about myself!)
8.I always  have a long list of books to read, and most of them never even get read (unfortunately)
9. I hate sand. I love the beach, but I hate sand. It dosen't make much sense.
10. Mint M&Ms are my favorite.
11. I own too much solid colored clothing.

Eleven questions from Kiri Liz:
 1. What is your favorite book? The Book Thief, as of now anyway.
2. Do you prefer coffee, tea, or hot chocolate? This is tough. Coffee, I guess.
3. Preferred style of dressing: casual or formal? Casual. Formal, only when ABSOLUTELY necessary.
4. What is your favorite candy? Anything chocolate.
5. If given a day to spend in any book/movie, which one would you choose? I'd have to say the Chronicles of Narnia series. Specifically Voyage of the Dawn Treader (movie or book).
6. What are some of your favorite blogs? See the list of people I've awarded at the bottom :)
7. What is your favorite way to eat ice cream? Cone, ice cream cake, sundae, or other? So many difficult questions! I guess as a sundae.
8. What is your favorite outside activity? Reading. On a blanket on the grass. Athletic I am not.
9. What is your favorite Bible verse? As of right now? Hebrews 6:19: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."
10. How does your family spend a slow, summer evening? Card games, eating ice cream, maybe sparklers on a special occasion.
11. What is your favorite memory? Do I have to pick a favorite? Anything I do with my extended family. Cheesy as that sounds.

My eleven questions for the awardees:
This may be harder than the eleven facts about myself!
1. What is your favorite season?
2. If you could be any animal, what would you choose?
3. What is your favorite subject in school? (I guess "lunch" counts, if you despise it that much)
4. As Anne Shirley put it, would you rather be, "dazzlingly clever, angelically good, or divinely beautiful"?
5. A lake or the ocean?
6. Reading or listening to music?
7. What is your favorite television show?
8. If you could meet any literary character, who would you choose?
9. What is your favorite magazine?
10. Would you rather be athletically talented, or musically talented?
11. Did you enjoy answering these questions? (let's hope the answer is yes!)

And finally, the award goes to...
1. Molly 
2. Hannah 
3. Hannah (a different one!)
And I guess that's it... It's hard to think of bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Fall is my Favorite.

I know this is far from original, because apparently every blogger's favorite season is Fall. (Funny how summer was the favorite a few months ago. But I digress.)
There are so many (cliche) reasons that I love Fall: I love the way the leaves begin to show their true colors. I love how the heat and humidity disappear. I love the moody grey color the sky takes on around October. It's the perfect background for inspiration.
Beyond that, there's just a special feeling in the air that comes with Fall. I can't even really describe it. I can't tell whether the feeling comes because Fall is my favorite season, or if the feeling is what makes Fall my favorite. It's a feeling of change, but the best kind. The kind that means you are moving forward and away from the past. It's a feeling of second chances. Though it seems strange amidst all the dying, it's a feeling of hope (call me crazy).
Fall also means back to school. I've touched on this already, but I'm ready to go to school - or in my case, to college. I enjoy learning (with math being the main exception) and doing school work. Nerd that I am, I find back to school shopping to be immensely enjoyable. New notebooks, folders, pens and pencils are the best.
To me, Fall means a fresh start more so than January 1st. It's a new school year, and especially this time around, I can be whoever I want to be (namely, me). Fall is coming, and somehow I have the feeling that this will be the best one yet.
{{All images via my Fall Pinterest board}}
♥♥Kristin

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Summer To-Do List // My Summer in Review

I'll be starting college on Monday, so my summer is really nothing more than memories now.
Here is what I said I was going to do this summer. {Here is the original post} How did I do? (crossed out items are ones that I consider to have completed.):
1. Spend less time on the internet. Okay, I kind of failed on that one. I spent a lot of time on Tumblr and Pinterest and watching How I Met Your Mother. *shame*
2. Blog more. (Ok, I know this sounds contradictory to the first one, but the amount of time I spend on Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest is ridiculous. That's what I mainly want to cut back on: pointless, mindless web surfing.)  As far as I am concerned, I did blog more than I had been and I'm mostly happy about what I blogged.
3. Read, and especially these books:
  • Les Miserables (yes, all 1488 pages of unabridged verbiage. I figure if I'm gonna do this, I should do it right).
  • The Hobbit  and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 
  • Between Shades of Gray
  • Agnes Grey
  • And more that I will not list and frankly have not even decided yet. Aah! I actually didn't read any of the books that I said I was going to. That being said, I did read a lot of other books: The Poisonwood Bible, A Separate Peace, I Am the Messenger, and To Kill a Mockingbird to name a few. Hopefully I'll get to those books on that list at some point...
4. Work on my photography (It's only a hobby, but I really enjoy it and would like to improve). I have taken lots of photos this summer, and I hope that I have improved at least a smidgen.

5. Learn how to use the manual settings on the camera that I will be getting (I suppose this goes hand in hand with number four). Heh heh. Yeah. About that... Automatic is just too easy.
6. Spend more time outside. And hey, if I happen to get tanner in the process, I won't be complaining.
This one was kind of a meh. I could have done better, but I did spend some time outside. And I am tan, thanks to the week I spent at the beach :)

All in all, even if this summer didn't go the way I had hoped, (and how often does anything work out the way we hope?) I still had a blast. I spent time with my friends and my family and I enjoyed life this summer. It was lovely, and I am confident that the next season will be equally as lovely.
♥♥Kristin

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The End.

Somehow, all summer, I've had the feeling that it just wouldn't end. That I would go on hanging out with friends, going to amusement parks, eating ice cream, working to support my book habit and wearing shorts and t-shirts into oblivion. That maybe the real-world would never come knocking and I would be nothing more than a high-school graduate forever.
Despite my illusions, this summer is drawing to an end, and it's a very bittersweet feeling. It's been one of the best summers I've had in a while, what with no AP summer work to worry about and all of the best-friend-time I've been able to spend with her since she started working at the same place I do. I've had two excursions with my group of friends from work. It's been wonderful.
Now, half of my work friends are going off to college, and I'm starting community college as well. I won't have nearly as much free time to spend just doing nothing. My world will be composed of somethings again. But that's not all bad. I guess you could say that I'm one of those people who craves routine and consistency. College will be a new experience for me, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) making some new friends and experiencing some new things. I may even be looking forward to doing school work again, but don't tell.
♥♥Kristin

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Beach // Part 2

Here it is: the second half of my photos from the beach. I am really proud of the way a few of these turned out, and I'd have to say that these are my favorites (as compared to the ones in Part 1). This post is a bit more photo-heavy so it might take a bit longer to load.

These photos are a few more beach photos that I took since the last upload:


Driving.....
 The following photos were all taken at Jockey's Ridge State Park, which is made up of sand dunes. I went a little shutter-happy, so please excuse the volume of photos:





 The following were taken from the top of the dunes. It was amazing how far you could see.

The Sound (between the island and the mainland)

Nag's Head in the distance
All in all, I had a great time in the Outer Banks. I'm sort of sad that it's over now. I've been anticipating it for over a year, and now after one whirlwind week, it's over. At least I'll have my memories♥

Just a heads up on the direction the blog will be taking within the next two weeks: after a few summer-wrap-up posts, Fall will be in full swing, at least in my little corner of the blogosphere. Fall is my very-most-favorite season, so prepare for many autumn-themed posts, most likely well into December because I have a hard time letting go of fall when it leaves every year. (hah. leaves. no pun intended. That's your corny joke of the day.)
♥♥Kristin

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Beach // Part One

I've still got two days of my vacation to go, but I had some down time so I figured I'd post about the first half of the week so you aren't assaulted by photos when I get back. I'll try to post these in chronological order:

The first thing we did, naturally, was go for a walk on the beach.


We even saw some wildlife.
I know it's hard to tell from the picture, but these beach houses were the cutest things. I fell in love with all of them. They're painted various pastel colors that would look strange anywhere else but somehow they just fit in perfectly here. It gives the place an almost fairy-tale affect.

We took a mini-daytrip to visit a lighthouse. The weather was gorgeous but hot and because of occasional thunder we couldn't go up to the top, which was disappointing. Still, at least we got to see it.
And that's it for now. I realize I didn't have as many picture uploaded as I thought and I was too lazy to get my memory card from the camera, so this will be all for now. More to come when I get home.
♥♥Kristin


Sunday, August 5, 2012

At The Moment...

My family (parents, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents) are in the Outer Banks! We got here yesterday, we'll be here all week, and I'm so excited. Some things I'm enjoying already:
- The rows of cute, pastel painted houses
- The breeze off the ocean
- Pool tournament (I don't mean to brag, but it just so happens that I was the champion... mostly by a few lucky shots by myself and misshots by my cousins)
- Crab hunting in the sand at night
- Card games and late night snacks
Pictures to come!
♥♥Kristin