Just A Small Post

In appreciation of Osage oranges:

{{via pinterest}}

I'm kinda in love with these things. Ever heard of them? They don't look very pretty, and you can't eat them, but they smell soo good. It's like, citrusy and a little bit minty, with something else mixed in that I can't quite describe. They smell like Christmas to me. Don't ask me why. I was carrying one around all evening, just to smell it. They're my favorite right now. That is all.
♥♥Kristin

Some Book Love.

Lately, sad to say, I've been in a bit of a book rut. Getting out of them can be hard. Usually, they stem from me deciding that I'm going to read all sorts of classics such as Les Miserables and Sense and Sensibility. Then, when I'm bogged down in 17th century wording and large words that make me stop to reread sentences, I get frustrated. Reading stops being fun for me and starts being a chore. That's when I have to remind myself why I fell in love with it in the first place.  Sometimes I just have to step away from the classics and go back to some modern-day, maybe less than perfect, sometimes mushy YA fiction. Though they may not be so intricately written or finely crafted as the classics, they never fail to pull me in (and don't get me wrong: I do enjoy a good classic now and again. Jane Eyre and Frankenstein are some of my favorites).

Some non-classic books that I'm enjoying right now:

I'm rereading this book. It's one of my favorites of all time. I definitely recommend it if you haven't read it. It pulled me in right from the start, and it's one of the few books that actually made me tear up. to quote the book, "It's a small story of, among other things, a girls, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery." It also produced one of my favorite love stories: Rudy ("The crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world") and Liesel ("the book thief without the words"). As you can see, I am in love with this book.

Another book by the wonderful Markus Zusak. This one took me longer to get into, but it was so worth it in the end. a favorite quote of mine from this book:
"sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
But in what they are."

I am reading this book right now, and while it wouldn't win any prizes for wonderfully crafted prose, the story pulls you in. It's one of those dystopian novels that seem so popular now what with the Hunger Games trilogy. It's one of those books that's so popular and mainstream that I almost feel guilty reading it and enjoying it so much. (I'm not a hipster or anything of the sort, but do you know what I mean?)

This is in the queue to read next. It's another dystopian novel. You could say I'm mildly obsessed at the moment. Also on deck is Brave New World. I had to throw at least one semi classic in there.

{{All images via Pinterest.}}

So what are you reading lately? Any books you're really loving?
♥♥Kristin

About Me // Just for Because

I stole borrowed this from Kiri Liz's blog Lianne Taimenlore and it was originally from The Golden Road. I'm not entirely sure whether you get the same enjoyment out of these that I do, but they're quite amusing to me. I hope you find it to be the same.

1. Coffee or Tea? I believe this question has been on every single blog questionnaire that I have ever filled out, and I will give the same answer that I always have: how on earth can I be expected to choose between the two? I like both at different times. Tea when I'm cold, or feeling autmn-y, coffee on Sunday mornings and every morning when I'm on vacation (I have strange habits and tendencies. Just go along with it.)
2. You win a thousand dollars!  What would be something fun that you do with it? Either Nikon D500 or Canon Rebel t-whateveritdoesn'treallymatter. And the remainder? Books upon books.
3. You're given the opportunity for the lead part in a play.  Would you take it? I would probably take it, and then be consumed by stage-fright and later on and wish that I hadn't, then after the performance was over with I would gush about how much fun it was, audition for another play, and repeat the process. It's the way I roll.
4. Would you rather sing, play an instrument, or listen? If by sing you mean sing well, then I choose sing. If not, then I choose listen.
5. Are you more of a chit-chat person?  Or sporty? Neither, but if I had to choose one I'd say chit-chat, because as much as I hate small talk, I can't run or throw things to save my life.
6. Did you ever have an unrealistic dream as a child?  If so, what was it? I'm sure I did, but I can't remember any at the moment.
7. Have you fulfilled any of the dreams that you had as a child?  If so, what where were they?  Well, as of now, I am working on fulfilling my dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. I wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, and now I'm finally going to college for it.
8. What's that one place in the world that you've always wanted to visit? Must I pick just one? I suppose if that's the case I'd choose Spain. Prince Edward Island is a close second.
9. What book character do you always find yourself imitating? The one book character that I've always wanted to be more than any other is Anne Shirley. I love everything about her: the way she has with words, her wild imagination, the way LM Montgomery describes her, Gilbert... but I digress.
10. What's your favorite season?  Why? Must you even ask? Autumn of course. I won't bore you by rehashing the details.
11. What are some of your favorite blogs to read? There are so many. Just see the favorite blogs tab at the top of the page for some of my favorites.
12. How long have you been blogging? My very first post was created on March 23 of this year. It's a little over 6 months now. Honestly, I'm truly surprised that I've even stuck with it this long.

And now, I suppose I'm supposed to tag people, but I hate doing that. If you want to do this, just go ahead. And if you do it, comment. I'll come creep on your blog check out what you had to say.
♥♥Kristin

Who I am and Who I've Been.

Today I've been feeling rather retrospective. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's my upcoming birthday, and maybe it's a combination of the two. Every year when my birthday swings around again, I can't help but think about where I was on my past birthday. This year especially, there have been quite a few changes. Last year I was only a few months into my senior year of high school, eyeball-deep in AP Biology and AP English. I'm still eyeball-deep in homework, but now I'm a high school graduate in college. When I think about where I imagined I'd be, it was not exactly this. I thought I'd be going away to the school of my dreams, possibly rooming there with my best friend and generally having the time of my life. Instead, I am still living at home and attending community college. If I knew this was where I would be a year ago, it probably would have upset me, but right now I can honestly say that I am content with where I am. My life isn't perfect, but when is it ever? In the past year I've formed new friendships and strengthened old ones. I've taken photos, I've written pages upon pages, and overall become more me than I've ever been before. I've learned a lot about who I am as a person, my sense of style and my sense of humor, the way I relate to people and the way I am maybe a little bit of a dork and maybe that's okay. I think that the biggest part of becoming yourself is accepting that that person is who you are going to become, and that's what I've done in the past year: accepted the dorky, introspective, tea-drinking reader, thinker and sometimes-writer that I am. I'm slowly but surely moving past my insecurities that I struggled so much with in the past years. Finally being content with the person you're becoming has to be one of the best feelings in the world.
♥♥Kristin

A Snippet {5}

She drummed the keys with her fingers, wracked her mind for the words, but they wouldn't come. She knew they were there, lodged in her brain: she could feel them pounding their way into a fierce headache. She dropped her head into her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to visualize the words, to force them out. She hated the weight of them, knew that once they were let out she would feel so much lighter. Now, they just rattled around in her head, tauntingly just out of her reach. If only there were some way to flush them out.

I've been kinda struggling with writers' block lately, so... this is what you get.
♥♥Kristin 

Some Pinspiration.

I haven't done a pinspirational Tuesday post in a while, and I know that today isn't Tuesday, but just go with it.

I may be reading too far into it, but I feel like the things I pin over a certain time period can tell a lot about my mood or how I was feeling that day. The same goes for Tumblr. The things I pin define me, and I guess that's kind of the point.

I have been obsessing over this quote for a while now. I've been wanting to write it everywhere, quoting it to myself, and I even made it my facebook status.

 Typography makes me swoon. The end.

 My "quoted" board is the biggest, and it's really no surprise. Words speak to me like nothing else.

Pretty much sums up my life.

I have been pinning pumpkin flavored things like there's no tomorrow. I am not ashamed of this.

There are so many beautiful places in the world, and I've seen so few of them.

And finally, I promise this is the last set, some generally pretty things that I've pinned lately:

Ah, Pinterest. 'Tis my favorite way to waste time. My boards are here, and my collection grows every day. Do you use Pinterest? If so, are you as addicted as I am?
♥♥Kristin

Why Fall Is Better

Than summer:
a. It's not so HOT
b. It's so much more colorful. There are so many shades of red, orange, yellow, dark green, and even brown in Fall. Summer is just an overabundance of green.

Than winter:
a. It's cool, but not so cold that I don't want to be outside for long periods of time. It still gets warm in the afternoon and I don't need a bulky winter jacket.
b. In winter, everything is brown and the sky is always hazy.

Than spring:
I'll admit, spring is my second favorite season, but fall is still slightly better, if only because I think the colors are richer and everything looks more defined. Plus, it doesn't rain as often (with this fall being the exception, I suppose).

So, yes. In my mind, fall is just absolutely the best. If only it would last longer.
♥♥Kristin