things to love

just a few things to love about this week...

1. we finally went to see the Hunger Games. I was a little put off when I finished reading the series [I didn't really like the last book] but the movie was great! they did a good job of portraying all the violence without it being too bloody. the parts they cut or changed didn't hurt the storyline. I also enjoyed having an outside perspective, instead of just Katniss' point of view.

2. wearing my mint jeans. I paired them with my chambray shirt + a skinny belt. and it made me feel like I had just stepped out of a JCrew catalog. [minus the effortlessly tousled hair... mine refuses to cooperate and just looks overworked. we can't all be perfect.]

3. new iPhone apps for editing photos. Katie always texts me when she finds something cool, and I've been loving CameraBag ever since I loaded it. they have a ton of filters and that's where all my recent polaroid-esque photos are from. I also discovered Phonto and SketchBook from this blog post. [I've recently been obsessed with this blog, if you can't tell from my pinterest boards.] Phonto is an easy to use app for adding text, and they have a TON of fonts and you can customize your colors. I used it in the first photo of my mint pants. Sketchbook is a little more complicated, but it lets you draw on photos! you have to go into layers and import a photo, then you use your finger to doodle. it takes some practice on the iPhone, but I bet it would be awesome with the iPad.

4. making steps to launching the Taiwan blog. I've been playing around with headers and finally settled on this one. I still haven't officially decided when to start blogging... does 4 months before we actually move sound ridiculous? maybe I'll wait until I'm unemployed. that would be 2.5 months before. part of me says I should stop debating and just start it already. but part of me is scared that people will get bored with me posting about home and whatnot and stop reading before I even get to Taiwan. that's something I've thought about a lot. I know I should focus on just writing. the main point of this blog is to keep people updated and to record what's happening in our lives, but I'm overly ambitious. I shouldn't be concerned with growing a large readership, but I'm vain enough to want one. I think my success with the baking blog spoiled me. since I'm giving up my food blogger niche along with my oven, I've been considering what else is out there. "lifestyle" seems to be the genre I'm falling into [which is basically what I do here, unless "iPhone nail photos, irrelevant rambles, and lengthy lists" is a genre] I suppose one way to look at it is: I'm a complicated person, with varied interests and hobbies. why should my blog be limited to one thing? and that is exactly why I've always felt weird having both this and the baking blog. I'm one person, not two. time to merge!

 5. and finally, I'm only a few hours away from officially being on vacation. Husband and I are heading down to NC to meet up with my parents and sister and brother-in-law. hopefully I'll be getting in lots of relaxing + beach time. after this I'll be swamped through my last month of work, and then packing + moving will take over my life. I also decided I'm going to reactivate facebook. [this decision was met by several cheers] hopefully I can keep the obsession to a minimum, and since I cleaned out a lot of "friends" before I left the annoyance can be [mostly] avoided. so yes, reactivating. after vacation.