amanda's musings

January 16, 2012

bye for now.

i have come to a decision regarding this small slice of the internet.

i feel obligated to write.

when i don't write, i feel guilty.

and there's enough guilt in this life without something so inconsequential added onto it.

so, for now, amanda will not be musing.

i just started a new semester.

i am already overwhelmed by many things.

15 credit hours.

1,000 page novels.

32 hour work weeks.

a 12-25 page original short story due february 28th.

the last one is the biggest deal to me.

i want to be a writer.

up until this point, i've been too scared to commit a story to virtual paper.

{for some reason doing so in a critique class with 22 other people seemed like a good idea. second thoughts, party for one.}

but now it's do or die.

i plan on doing.

i'll miss the blog.

but for now, my energies belong elsewhere.

{also there's the fact it's been dying a slow death over the past year. so there's that.}

i'll be back eventually. i'm just not sure when, at this point.

but i wish you all the best.

and leave you with this cool blurry lights picture.

found here.

January 8, 2012

New digs.

as i mentioned somewhere on here or twitter at some point, i moved into a townhouse (i learned to stop calling it an apartment. sort of.) with a friend back in november.

while i realize i've had plenty of time to get settled, it took me a while to get things where i wanted them and even longer to put stuff on the walls.

probably that has to do with the fact that i moved a week and a half before finals last semester.

that's my story.

i'm sticking to it.

all that being said, i thought i would share a few photos of my new living quarters!

to the left is a closet door.

photos, lamp, candles.

the basics.

my favorite yellow chair.

lots of pillows.

i just love the owls by my curtain!

i still need to put some things up over my bed.

but i'm super paranoid after the whole shelf on my face ordeal.

i have flannel winter sheets and a fall quilt.

apparently matching isn't on the top of my priorities list.

& do you like my owl sleepy mask?

it works like a charm at keeping the sun out!

this is my favorite wall in my room.

the david sedaris poster bee ~~stole~~ politely asked for on my behalf.

flapperdoodle print.

book lovers postcards.

nancy drew & hardy boys prints.

wuthering heights print. {thank you, bee!}

print of "fog" by carl sandburg.

quibbler. from the wizarding world. {thanks, bee. i owe half this wall to you, i do believe :) }

now playing: tangled.

jewelry. perfume. makeup. shoes.

standard.

jewelry cork board.

small bookcase for school purposes.

& because i needed a place to put my printer.

bookcase.

it stays a little messy, but i love it.

also that's the best place i could find for my hair dryer.

i love seeing other people's stuff, so hopefully this wasn't too boring.

& i hope that didn't sound too creepy...i'm not a creeper.

pinky promise.

January 5, 2012

go confidently.

honestly, i'm surprised blogger still allows me to log in.

especially since i haven't been anywhere near a legitimate blogger in, like, an eon.

{i'm amanda, and i believe in the power of exaggeration.}

but the good 'ol blog still exists in internet land, and i still exist in real people land, so here we are.

i'm not going to call this a recap post because, well, that's cliche, and i'm five or 6 days past the point of being able to get away with that anyway.

but i do feel the need to share that 2011 was one of the best years of my life.

`wes was around (& still is) for the year in its entirety.

`i transferred schools and am one step closer to my english literature degree.

`i also (finally) figured out what the heck i want to do after i graduate.

it involves more school for a degree in information science.

after finding the job i have now, i realized the library atmosphere is one i never want to leave.

`i turned 21 and my family gifted me with the best gift ever.

`my dad found a new job. and while things are still hard, they've gotten a lot better.

`i moved out of my parent's house and into a townhouse with a friend.

it took me a long time to make the decision, but i'm so glad i did.

it's a new and different thing to get used to, but it's exciting.

and made me realize just how much i love my parents.

`i actually managed to read a shakespearian play.

and to not hate it.

he was a pretty funny character.

`vainly, i managed to not chop off a lot of my hair.

and it's now past my shoulders, something that hasn't been the case since my sophomore year of high school.

`i finally met david sedaris (my favorite author) and attended a reading he did locally.

sounds inconsequential, but it so wasn't. you'll just have to take my word for it.

`realized certain members of my family (hi uncle layne!) have discovered i share my life on the internet.

it was bound to happen sooner or later.

i'll just have to make sure i don't share super secret things anymore. like that time i...

`watched ALL the big bang theory episodes.

oh. wait.

that's not an accomplishment? or a secret? my bad.

all things considered, 2011 was a pretty big year.

but 2012 already has stuff on its plate.

this is the year i'll finish my undergraduate college career.

i'll take the GRE and determine whether i'm smart enough to keep following my chosen career path.

i'll read my first dickens novel (bleak house). hopefully i'll survive the over 1,000 page count.

i'm sure it has more than a few exciting things waiting in the wings i just don't know about.

so happy new year, five days late.

i'm nothing if not honest.

{via}

and i honestly hope it's our best year yet :)

January 1, 2012

2012.

this post will be a running list of all the books i read this year.

check the sidebar for past years!

for fun

1. fated - s.g. browne

2. smokin' seventeen - janet evanovich

for school

1. Mary Barton

2. Persuasion

3. Bleak House

November 17, 2011

slip a sable under the tree?

please ignore my gratuitous christmas wishlist post.

in my mind, this is classier than emailing it to people.

namely to parents, grandmas, and boyfriend.

so here we are folks.

if you care to read along, the more the merrier!

1. the david sedaris box set

i love david sedaris.

i love his work, i love his voice, and i loved the bow tie he was wearing when i finally met him.

so what could be better than having all of his books - and then some - in one place?

probably nothing.

2. harry potter and the chamber of secrets

i'm slowly building my hardback harry potter collection.

and by slowly i mean i only have the first book in a form that's not falling apart.

so i should probably get on that.

3. harry potter refrigerator magnets

i'm moving (!) and will have a refrigerator to place these wonderful magnets on.

so i can make cool sentences like "and the hippogriff fell in love with the dementor."

4. food network magazine subscription

i like to cook.

i like the food network.

i like new recipes.

i love to eat.

the end.

5. page to screen

me? love harry potter?

i don't know what you're talking about.

this book looks dang cool.

so i probably need it.

6. book & a light print

this print is so sweet.

and would go perfectly with the all the other literary art i've managed to accumulate.

7. boy meets world season 5

i'm also working on owning all of this series on dvd.

number 5 is the next in line.

8. kindle cover

i'm getting kind of tired of the blue snappy-on case my kindle is currently living.

and i think this one is super spiffy.

9. before a statue of hercules

a book david sedaris compiled and wrote the introduction for.

obsessed? me?

never.

10. anchor ring

i have a love for anchors.

and although i wanted an opal ring for christmas, i haven't been able to find one i love.

so i think this one would stand in quite nicely.

so there you have it.

the list i spent my evening at job number two compiling.

i included links.

be sure to take advantage of free shipping from amazon on orders over $25!

i think everything i added from there was eligible ;)

i like to help ya'll out when i can.

October 31, 2011

halloween & happy birthday!

today is my 21st birthday!

so i spent this weekend {& today!} celebrating in various ways.

it has been awesome; easily the best birthday of my life.

saturday night wes & i went to a costume party at our friend's apartment.

allow me to introduce: hipster professor & librarian.

sunday was family and friend day.

wes came over, and so did bee and her new man, drew!

while we were waiting on everyone, wes and i took pictures in the pretty leaves.

i promise he likes me.

i think.

fortunately, everyone showed up and rescued him from the camera.

i requested chicken and dumplings & homemade biscuits.

my momma was nice enough to oblige me, along with a pumpkin and cream cheese log.

now, the fact that i made it to the day before my birthday with absolutely no idea what my present was a miracle.

mom isn't so hot at hiding things well and i'm normally rather skilled in accidentally finding them.

it wasn't until i opened the box that i found out i was being gifted with a quilt.

in fall colors, which are my favorite, in my favorite quilt pattern, and with pumpkin fabric in the middle of the squares.

i was blown away.

from the end of august to just a couple of days before, an entire quilt had been made under my nose.

a couple of days wes carried the sewing machine to mom while she was at work.

my grandma helped buy the fabric and sewed as well.

my dad figured out how many pieces, what size, and how much fabric to buy.

and bee kept the secret.

it's beautiful, and i love it, and i still can't believe it was made without me even knowing a little bit about it.

{sorry, mom. i just had to. you know i love you, right?}

that pumpkin roll looks a mess, but it tastes awesome.

today i saw bee, had lunch and a birthday brownie with wes, watched the slutty pumpkin episode of how i met your mother, and legally purchased myself a bottle of wine that is currently being consumed through a straw because i don't own a wine glass.

this has been the best birthday, and it all has to do with the absolutely wonderful people in my life.

i love you guys, & thank you :)