An Amazing Way to Waste Time

Luke's favorite thing to do online is to Stumble. It's pretty much all he does. And I have to admit he has found some pretty cool and useful things through it. But tonight he found a fun way to waste time (which is pretty much what Stumble is all about)...


I give you... How to: Make your band's album cover.


I will paste the instructions from the site...


"1 – Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 – Go to Quotations Page and select “random quotations” or click here. The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 – Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click here. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 – Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together"

So I followed the steps and used the incredibly easy LunaPic to create the following...

{photo property of Teresa Q}

{photo property of notnA}

{photo property of biancavanderwerf}

{photo property of Stephen Beadles}

{photo property of .Anouska.}

So whatcha think?

I Want

So not sure if I've expressed this on this blog or not but I get a lot of hair brained ideas and my current one is that I want a Teacup Yorkie. They are less than 4 lbs! How cute!!

{source}

Unfortunately they have a lot of health risks and aren't really practical for our family but oh they are so adorable.

Menu Plan Monday - January 24

About to head off to the grocery store but had to decide what I was making this week first...


Lasagna Soup
Dirty Rice
Italian Pasta Toss
Spicy Potato Casserole
Fettuccine with Asparagus, Bacon & Shiitake

So there you have it :)

Flipped - Movie Adaptations of Books Done Right

A few years back I picked up Wendelin Van Draanen’s book Flipped. I remember it being a beautifully written story about a first crush that featured the perfect balance of humor and sentimentality. So I of course need to start off by highly recommending this book to everyone. It will obviously resonate with middle readers and parents will love it for it's wholesome qualities. 

Now there have been plenty of books that have been turned into movies. Usually the ones I most anticipate seeing are those adapted from my favorite childhood or young adult books. Sometimes directors do a fairly decent job (i.e. Bridge to Terabithia) and other times they make me want to scream (i.e. Tuck Everlasting). But I don't think I have ever scene a more perfectly adapted book then in the movie version of Flipped. 

I don't know if I was just living under a rock or if there was honestly not that much publicity around this movie I didn't even know it was made until I saw it on a Redbox listing. First thought: "Hey I once read a book with that same title." And then it was more like, "Wait a second, this looks like it was based on that book."

Well last Monday was an all together icky rainy day and it felt like perfect weather to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. Let me tell you Flipped was the perfect movie for the occasion. It was such a wonderful feel good throw back to the golden days of childhood and to the golden eras of the 50's. I honestly can't remember if the book was based in the 50's but that was the absolute perfect setting for this movie.

And from what I can remember the movie truly paid wonderful homage to the book. Right down to the alternating points of view that make the story.

So do yourself a favor and check out this movie and until you do here is the beautifully edited trailer for your viewing pleasure.

P.S. Another wonderful book to movie adaptation that you should check both versions out of is My Louisiana Sky featuring a young Michael Cera before he was a household name.

Image Sources:

Book Cover

Movie Poster

Excerpt from Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye

It's no secret that my favorite author is Sarah Dessen. I first read one of her books (Someone Like You) when I was about 13 and was immediately hooked. I am so obsessed that I usually pre-order her latest about 2 months before it is released.

Needless to say I am quite excited about her latest book, What Happened to Goodbye, which will be released on May 10.

{source}

I'm hoping to snag an ARC so I don't have to wait the 3.5 months. Sarah posted an excerpt of the first chapter on her blog this week and I am dying to read the rest of the book. Be sure to check it out and if you happen to have an ARC I would seriously be interested and making a deal to borrow it ;)

Menu Plan Monday

It's so hard to get back into a rutine after a 2 week vacation but here's for starters...


This Week's Menu:
Weeknight Ravioli Bake

Loaded Bake Potato with Breakfast Sausage

Grilled Spicy Steak with Cucumber Salad

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Cajun Chicken

Steak with Risotto Rice


And with this menu all I need to do for grocery shopping is...
Eggs

Diced Tomatoes

Frozen Ravioli

Parm or Italiano Cheese

Frozen Veggies

A.1. Original Steak Sauce

Cucumbers

Garlic Salt

Zataran's Rice

Dijon Mustard


Sweet!

Sponsored Post: Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing by David Pearce

A while back I was approached by David Pearce of Oliver Cameron Publishing about reviewing a copy of his new book Wedding Photography – A Guide to Posing. Let me just say this is one of the most amazing photography books I have ever picked up!

If you are a photographer than you must have it in your arsenal because it has some amazing tips and techniques for creating beautiful poses and all of them come with photographic proof of the results. And for only $23.95 including shipping this is an absolute steal. You will have hundreds of inspiration photos right at your finger tips to look back on over and over again. Admit it, we aren’t all geniuses so having a little cheat sheet is completely fabulous.

This book isn’t just a great deal for photographers though, what about you brides? The average bride invests thousands of dollars in her wedding photos to look great. But pictures are only as beautiful as the people in them. This book contains 525 images that show you how ordinary people can pose for vogue quality photos. There are step by step guides to ever posing position imaginable and they are so easy to follow that you won’t have to worry about feeling uncomfortable in front of the lens for even one second.

Imagine being able to walk into your photography consultation with detailed instructions and samples of the images you want on your special day! Or what if you are planning a specific wedding theme or tradition? Wedding Photography – A Guide to Posing has wonderful shot ideas for every situation. Take a look at these gorgeous mendhi photos!

Here’s some of the benefits of purchasing this little book:

• There are 525 images so couples can bookmark pages with images they love to show their photographer.
• There is a step by step guide to a basic standing pose to ensure the bride looks flattering even when not posing.
• It will help brides notice mistakes potential photographers are making which could result in sub-standard photography saving heartache later.
• It will help brides determine which poses they think are right and suited for them.
• By reading the book they will get a photographers perspective enabling them to work far more in harmony with them and be more relaxed as they have an idea on what they are trying to achieve.
• It is full of inspiration and can fit into a handbag to take to work. Brides can the talk about poses at work during their break!
• It only costs $23.95 including shipping so a very small amount to pay against the thousands they will spend on their photographer. It really could transform their wedding photos at 0.05% or less of their total wedding budget.

You guys know I was a budget bride so trust me when I tell you this book is a totally great investment! Order a copy today and be wowed by the amazing help you will receive from it.

And be sure to check out Oliver Cameron Publishing‘s other great photography books!

*All photos property of Oliver Cameron Publishing

Twenty Ten in Review

So I was pretty sure my last post would be the last one for this year but then I came across  a post on Can You Pixel This? that reviewed 2010 via blog topics and posts. What a cleaver idea I thought!

So here is my past year in review via my two blogs...

January

• I came to terms with my place in the WIC and announced the launch of my event design firm Mismikado Creations
• I celebrated the one year anniversary of Mismikado Down the Aisle with a 13 day giveaway bonanza
• Luke and I had our engagement pictures taken

• I made my first silhouette design

February

• We went to cake tastings, picked the design and our cake toppers

• I sent out a cry for help for some engaged friends

March

• I designed the labels for our citronella torch "Jones Soda" bottles
• We booked our amazing wedding cake baker

April

• I launched the Mismikado Creations website
• I decided on my wedding hair style

• I contributed to Nonpareil Magazine

May

• We got our marriage license from Joy Loveless (True Story!)
• I dealt with some major stresses
• And after a year and a half of planning, Luke & I finally got married :)

June

• We took an amazing honeymoon to Veracruz City, Mexico

• I shared the evolution of our wedding table centerpieces
• I designed a custom invitation suite for San Fransisco wedding photographers Natasha & Mike of Choco Studio

July

• I trashed my wedding dress :)

August

• I participated in blogging Pay it Forward
• I announced the launch of Mismikado Down the Sidewalk
• I took the first steps "down the sidewalk" on MDTS
• I discussed our parenting plans and my experience with Purposeful Conception
• I started menu planning
• I took the Wardrobe Refasion pledge which I fell off of some time around Black Friday O_O
• And I shared with you all my office space

September

• Our wedding was featured on the Budget Savvy Bride
• I landed my dream job as an art teacher
• I started the friends & family monthly update email newsletter
• I spoke out about Banned Book Week via art

October

• I came up with my own jalapeño popper recipe

• I shared my dream vacation on Route 66
• I shot a trash the dress shoot in Deep Ellum
• I made a low calorie meal plan that would have helped me lose wait if I actually stuck to it :-/

November

• I shared my reading wish list (any of which would make great gifts for me *hint*hint*)
• Luke and I talked about naming our kids
• I made a 30 before 30 list
• And a 22 before 22 list
• I shared my love for the Montessori child bed
• I purged my closet

December

• I shared an itinerary for a weekend Boston getaway
• And recaped the past year in a survey

Saying Goodbye to 2010

Sorry for my lack of posting this month. It has been crazy busy and I will have so much to catch up on posting about here. But for now I wanted to take a quick moment to reflect on this past year and all that was accomplished.

YEAR-END SURVEY 2010

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Got married.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do resolutions but I do plan to accomplish most of my 22 before 22 list in 2011.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes a couple friends from the valley did and another is pregnant with twins :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My great-grandma dies two days before 2010 and Luke's grandma died early in January.

5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico 

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A skinny waistline :)

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 29th - The day I vowed to spend the rest of my life with my best friend :)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Being a fairly decent wife.

9. What was your biggest failure?
NaNoWriMo

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the generic cold/flu

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our Honeymoon in Veracruz!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Luke's - for snagging a great job and graduating college. Lani's - for organizing her affairs to spend next summer in Greece. 

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'm not passive-aggressive enough to answer that question :P 
14. Where did most of your money go?
The Wedding and Rent.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Wedding, my new job, and Polaroid's PoGo Instant Mobile Printer

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga's and the On The Rocks University of Oregon version.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- happier or sadder? happier since this time last year was really emotional because my great-grandma passed away on the 28th.
- richer or poorer? richer
- thinner or fatter? fatter :( I hate the newlywed 15!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise and healthy eating

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Time Wasting

20. How did you spend the holidays?
Don't celebrate but spent the time off with my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Already was in love by the start of the year.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Psych and Big Bang Theory.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read?
Shug by Jenny Han, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott, and Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

25. What was your favorite film of this year?
Despicable Me! and Megamind was pretty good too :) 

26. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Comfy Eclectic

27 Whom did you miss?
My family and friends in the valley and Lani. 

28. Who was the best new person you met?
Too many to mention individually but there's some great new Dallas/Terrell peeps in my life :)

29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
That I need to constantly combat negative feeling so that I can stay positive an upbeat in my life :)

A Whirlwind Boston Weekend Getaway Itinerary

So I got to thinking this morning that instead of waiting to take a week long New England trip next fall when Luke get's his time off. Why not take a weekend trip in the summer. This is just an idea and probably won't happen but I decided to come up with an itinerary of what all we could do if Luke took the Friday and Monday off from work...

In advance we would buy 2 1-Day Go Boston Cards for $50 a person. This will save a ton of money on various tours and give us the option to do other stuff to. We'd also need to download and print a copy of the Freedom Trail Map.

So here is the schedule of events:

Fly in Thursday night after work

Friday:

Wake up early and drive down to Boston and park under the Boston Common

Spend day walking the Freedom Trail while listening to MP3 Tour ($15) and riding the Beantown Trolly (free with Go Card - $29 savings per person) 

The Trail includes the following historical stops:

USS Constitution (free with Go Card - $4 savings per person) 

Bunker Hill Monument & Museum

Copp's Hill Cemetery 

The Old North Church 

Detour for a stop at Mike's Pastry 

The Paul Revere House (free with Go Card - $3.50 savings per person) 

Faneuil Hall - Eat Lunch (historic talks ever 30 mins)

Site of the Boston Massacre 

Old State House (free with Go Card - $7.50 savings per person) 

Old South Meeting House (free with Go Card - $6 savings per person) 

Old Corner Book Store 

Boston Latin School

King's Chapel Burying Ground 

King's Chapel 

Granary Burying Ground 

Park Street Church 

The State House (call in advance for scheduled free tour) 

The Boston Common (15 min Swan Boat ride - free with Go Card - $2.75 savings per person)

After completing the trail, return to the North End for an early dinner.

After dinner head over to the Museum of Fine Arts for a quick tour before it closes at 9:45 (free with Go Card - $20+ savings per person) 

After museum head back to Beacon St for a drink and snack at Cheers 

Saturday:

Wake up and have breakfast at Parker's Maple Barn  

Have a casual morning in Nashua/Hudson

Grab lunch at Wally's 

Have a free evening with friends

Sunday:

Go to Hudson's meeting

Have lunch with friends

Head down to Rockport/ Glouchester to spend the afternoon and evening

Monday:

Wake up and head back down to Boston to tour Fenway Park ($12/per person) 

Tour Samuel Adams Brewery ($2/per person) 

Catch afternoon flight home


I love this schedule because it includes most of the main things I either loved doing or always wanted to do when I lived in New England. The only thing I might consider adding is heading down to Cambridge to stroll around Harvard a little. And with the Go Boston Cards we will end up saving at least $45 on all our tours not counting the restaurant discounts that come with it.


What summer vacations do you have planned?

Chronicle Books Friends & Family Sale

Chronicle Books has decided to reach out to bloggers to offer them a special friends and family discount. That's right, all my readers can get 35% off plus free shipping on any order from Chronicle Books until December 12th. Pretty exciting, right?

Simply enter the promo code FRIENDS at checkout to receive you discount.

Happy shopping!

And don't forget to comment on my Book Haul post for a chance to win my entire book wish list valued at $500.

A Wedding to Drool Over

So I am a little late to the blog party about the amazing wedding of Max & Margaux this past summer. Max is none other than the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G wedding photographer Max Wanger. Being the highly skilled artist he is, it is no doubt that he picked equally amazing photographers Whitney & Jesse of Our Labor of Love to capture his own wedding.

I won't repost the photos here but I highly recommend you see them for yourselves at Once Wed and The Flash Dance and the videos as well at 100 Layer Cake and A Cup of Jo.

What I really wanted to feature today were the amazing invitations Anna at Rifle Paper Co. designed for them. I am absolutely in love with this style of invitations and look forward to trying my hand at it.

{source}

You can find more of Anna's work at your local Anthropolgie or Paper Source.

The Essential Wardrobe List for Women Who Frequently Wear Skirts

So as part of my fall cleaning project and to finally unpack and sort all of my clothes, I have decided to do a massive closet purging down to only the essentials. One problem... As a regular pioneer as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I spend about 6 days a week in skirts. No women's essential wardrobe list is designed for women who actually dress up that much so I had to use about 7 different lists on the internet to come up with the following list. This is what I will be using tomorrow to organize and sort all my clothes.

Beware! Do Not Buy From Adobe Education Store Tonight!

This is a warning of how I almost got scammed tonight by a company I have long respected. I don't know what the cause it, a minor glitch, a malicious bait & switch sceme, or a outside scam like phishing or hacking but the Adobe Education Store is experiencing some extreme sketchiness tonight!

Since upgrading to Snow Leopard on my Mac I have been in the market for Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended and since I am still a college student, I qualify for an education discount. But I am up in the air about biting the bullet and purchasing the full Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium since it's an excellent deal. Well tonight I decided to see if Adobe had any special black friday deals on any one of these softwares. And I found something that seemed like a miracle...

The Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Standard for $199 shipped in the box, the same price as Photoshop alone. Of course I instantly clicked purchase and was about to complete the checkout process when I noticed a startling fact. Instead of nearly buying the Standard Design Suite, Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended was in my shopping cart for $199. But the really odd thing is that there was also a message saying I in fact added the Suite to my cart. What in the world!?


I decided to repeat this process, and it wouldn't repeat on every try but periodically it would and I took screen shots of the whole thing. I discovered that this changed price on a product page and switched product in the cart was happening with several different items.


I of course immediately wanted to call Adobe and see what gives but basically no one is available right now...

Adobe Education Store

1-800-585-0774

6am-8pm PT Daily

Product help for Acrobat and Acrobat.com

877-782-3623
Monday–Friday, 5am–7pm PST

All other product help

800-833-6687
Monday–Friday, 5am–7pm PST

Software activation

866-772-3623
Available 24/7

Installation

800-833-6687
Monday–Friday, 5am–7pm PST

Licensing, registration, web subscription services

800-833-6687
7 days a week, 5am–7pm PST

Omniture support

Omniture customers: Log into your Omniture product or visit the Omniture ClientCare portal.

Scene7 support

Scene7 customers: Visit the Client Resource Center.

TTY (Telephone Typewriter)

800-685-3573
Monday–Friday, 5am–2pm PST
Messages accepted after hours

But believe me I will be contacting them ASAP somehow. Until then try to make sense of what I documented in photo and make note of the product titles, url addresses, and time stamps. And steer clear of purchasing from the Adobe Education Store for the time being!

Is it just me or does this fall under that whole false advertising issue?

22 Before 22

Ok so I love the 30 before 30 idea but some of my to do items are impossible to even attempt for a few years so i wanted something more imminent. And since I considered a 3 month time frame for 21 tasks before 21 to be too tight I decided to just give myself 15 months to accomplish the following list in no particular order...

1. Give 22 gifts within 22 days
2. Create a photography portfolio website
3. Read the Bible in chronological order
4. Read 22 books
5. Update MDTS from 5 different Apple stores
6. Snag a literary agent
7. Build 5 different chandelier/light fixtures
8. Get my year's service time by mid-August
9. Complete 31 days to a better blog
10. Spend a weekend in Austin
11. Take a weekend workshop or community class
12. Teach my own e-course
13. Lose 22 pounds
14. Master cooking a gourmet 5 course meal
15. Research the publishing industry
16. Write a non-fiction book
17. Make a large format artistic self-portrait
18. Make/Finish our wedding video
19. Make 22 different kinds of cookies
20. Be a better housekeeper by creating a cleaning schedule and sticking to it
21. Finish our wedding/newlywed scrapbook
22. Grow my hair out

The Montessori Child Bed

So while writing my Penelope room decor post, I realized I never talked about my adoration of the Montessori child bed on here. Instead of writing a whole new post here, I will share an email I sent to a friend who is expecting twins. As a note, their family ended up loving the idea too and will be using these in their nursery :)
"So this may come across as completely random but I wanted to share something I found interesting about nursery ideas...

I have been doing a lot of research and studying in the Montessori Principles of education, partly for future parenting purposes and partly b/c I'm considering pursuing a teaching career in that sort of environment. Anyways, although I have been familiar with the Montessori method for a while I just learned about the "child bed" this past summer. Since Montessori is based on creating independent children who learn from exploring their environment, cribs are not encouraged. I know that must sound crazy! But it suggests using either a crib mattress or a regular futon mattress directly on a carpeted or soft rug on the floor. Of course the same safety precautions of very fitted sheets, no blankets, etc apply but this way children have the freedom of mobility and exploration of their rooms on their terms. And because the average crib or futon mattress is only 3-6" off the ground, there is really no falling hazard. Of course this means making sure there's nothing near the floor level that could injure the child but I've found the long term benefits to be amazing.

By opting for a floor bed, not only do you have to worry less about rushing in, in the morning to take them out of the crib or worry about the safety hazards of cribs themselves, but the bed literally grows with the child. Parents who have used futon mattresses, can just move their kids to a futon bed when they are old enough, which of course equates to financial savings.

I don't want to come across as "offering advice"or anything especially since we're not parents yet... lol... but I figured this was probably something you've never heard of either and wanted to throw it out there. I have done a lot of research on the topic, and Luke & I are completely sold by the idea. I just figured it's something to consider while you guys are running through all the big parenting decisions that you must be facing.

Here's a couple links that explain the "child bed" way better than I ever could :)

http://www.squidoo.com/Child-Friendly-Bedroom-Design

http://swissmama.momaroo.com/662173307/no-crib-for-a-bed-a-montessori-approach/

http://www.growninmyheart.com/the-montessori-floor-bedpart-1

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/04/finnians-montessori-room.html

Ok I just wanted to share :)"

Anyone here ever use the child bed? What were your experiences?