The officially started yesterday, and what do I do? Make a trip to Barnes and Noble of course.

Here's the full breakdown, abbreviated to allow me lots of time for reading today:

Christmas Time includes a lot of things; mistletoe, garland, reindeer, candy, eggnog, and always...presents. This year, no different. I received a Barnes and Noble gift card. Then, a welcome. Now, a distraction.

With free money in hand I stand outside the looming Barnes and Noble, shaking a bit from the anticipation of throwing myself into the lions den. This is it, the defining moment, my first defining moment of this challenge. If I can't stand the temptation on day 1, I'll never survive day 8 or day 365.

As soon as I walk through the glass doors I see those lovely green signs atop wood tables covered in mountains of books saying, "New Non-Fiction", "Buy 1 get 2", "New and Noteworthy". I think I might pass out. But this is my choice, I want to put myself smack dab in front of temptation to see if I can come out fighting. Afterall, Barnes and Noble sells more than just books.

Immediately I dart past all the distractions and head for the safety of the dvd's. Yes! Dvd's, of course! They're a safety zone, no books here. But eventually I realize there's nothing I want and start to venture towards the New Non-Fiction section, it doesn't hurt to look.

And this is where I start to feel it, the nagging desire to buy. Instead, I take a deep breath and chant quietly to myself,

But the wish list is going to grow, I'm going to be tempted again, and free money will appear next Christmas, but I will not succumb!

Yesterday I received an email from my Dad telling me about the death of J.D. Salinger and asking me if I had ever read, The Catcher in the Rye. After thinking about it I couldn't recall ever reading it, maybe I had in high school, but I certainly couldn't remember it. So I went to my personal library and perused the shelves to see if I owned it and sure enough there it was. As I thumbed my way through all my books I came to the realization that I hadn't read very many of them. I owned all these books, and I hadn't even read half of them? That's bad.

Every time I've visited a goodwill store or savers I would make a stop at the book section because I knew I could usually find classics for $1.00 or $4.00 at the most, it's a deal I just could never refuse. So over time this led me to accumulate so many books but yet not make a dent in a majority of them.

So I've decided to make myself a little challenge, The Personal Library Challenge.

The ultimate goal in the Personal Library Challenge is to read all of the books in my library.

I counted 167 books, not counting the 20 or so research books, then I proceeded to count the ones I have already read, and got 37. That means I haven't even read 25% of the books in my library but if we're being exact, I've only read 22% of the books I own. Embarrassing.

This 22% doesn't include the books I've started to read but for some reason never finished. Although I'm not sure how many to be exact, the number is probably around 20. I'm including those in the "not read" category to be fair in this challenge.

I should also mention the books that I've read, but where it's been so long that I don't remember them all too well. Things I've read in middle school and high school, for example. I am including these books in the challenge, but will save them for last.

As I work to complete this challenge, I am not allowing myself to go to the library to check out new books nor can I buy any books to add to the library. One of the reasons I invented this challenge was to not spend money on books when I can just go to my personal library if I want to read something.

Over the years it has become sort of a bad habit, buying so many books when I haven't even read all the ones I already own, so this challenge is my way of changing that habit. And hopefully once the challenge is completed I will only buy books I will read at the moment, and not just store it on my shelf.

I realize this is probably going to take me awhile because I know myself and my attention span. The reason a good chunk of the books I own have only been read half way through is because of my lack of interest and eagerness to start a new one.

Some of the heftier books I own like Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, and Doctor Zhivago will certainly take some time to finish but they are in my library so I will make a commitment to them. If I were to read 10 books a month I could finish this challenge in a year, which is probably not going to happen so I'll have to at least give myself 3 years.

I will post periodic updates on my progress and mental health as I work to complete this challenge, and hopefully I won't loose my thunder after month 5.







I thought I would kick start this challenge by reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, since his death is what catapulted this challenge in the first place.

Wish me luck and happy reading!

As much as I love to dress up and "look cute" I am always going to be that typical jeans and a t-shirt girl. There's just nothing easier. However there are those times when I have to pretend to be a grown up and dress a little more professional. Those times come around very sporadically in my world, but it must have been time to fill my professional quota because it called me on the phone yesterday.

I received a call from a job I had applied for recently, and they wanted to meet with me. Whoop! Whoop! I love interviews, even though they do cause the nervous chatter I'm prone to and another little side effect that comes with nerves that I won't discuss here (my sister knows that one all too well, it must run in the family). Aside from that, I love to do interviews for a number of reasons but especially because it gives me a chance to sell myself, and an opportunity to have an open forum to do so is always welcome, especially when it's for a potential job. However, with this love comes the little question, "what do I wear?!"

I've always been a little confused as to what is appropriate. I've read articles about it, talked to a lot people, and remembered what my college adviser told me, but all their answers have never satisfied me. It's always been this:

-Two piece suit in either gray or black
-Button up shirt in conservative color
-Sensible/conservative shoes in gray or black
-Hosiery close to natural skin color

Ugh, boring! Why can't you be stylish AND professional?

I've done the suit jacket, button up shirt, and the conservative shoe for interviews before but this time I refuse. It just isn't me, and I believe along with showing your personality through your words you can show it through your clothing.

So Eventually I came up with the three things that are most important to me when deciding on what to wear for an interview,

1. Comfort- Both physically and mentally; the better I feel, the more confidence I have.
2. Style- To include my personal tastes and to show I know what's going on right now.
3. Professionalism- Obviously when for an interview I won't be digging out the mini-skirt

and I came up with this ensemble...
Although it was a jewelry company I was applying at, I'm not usually one to wear a lot jewelry. So instead of a blinging necklace or shiny bracelet I opted for a printed scarf and skinny belt for my accessories. The scarf makes a statement and brightens up what could be just boring black. And because my (fairly) new wardrobe obsession is belts, I chose this green one. Belts are so great because they a.) define a waist and give shape and b.) add a little color/design to a blank palate.

I think I accomplished what I set out to do, and the interview went really well. It helped, of course, that I was dressed in something I felt comfortable in and not something I was told to wear by some random online article.

And after all that, I have to wait and see if I get the job.

Note: In the first picture I'm posing kind of seductively, and that is EXACTLY how I stood as I was waiting to meet with the interviewer. A little sass always helps.

About two times every month I loose myself in the idyllic pages of my Pottery Barn catalog and dream about owning every embroidered sheet set, decorative vase, and wicker basket ever made by the company. Needless to say I'm so enthralled with the catalog as I'm looking at it, I won't talk to anyone unless they offer up words like decoupage, candelabra, or galvanized.

But what always snaps me back to reality is that tiny little number below each item, the price. When I see that 8 snarling back at me with mocking distaste, I'm reminded of the fact that it will be awhile before I can afford my very own Pottery Barn apartment (sigh).

So last week I received another catalog in the mail and began my bi-monthly ritual. Only this time as I turned the next page I saw the coolest wall decoration, and instantly the proverbial light bulb lit up over my head. I had an idea! I was going to make that wall decoration for myself.

After analyzing the photograph, I made a mad dash to the hardware store and bought the supplies I needed to replicate this piece of Pottery Barn heaven.

Burlap Rope: $4.00
Clothes Pins (set of 40): $4.00
Coffee: Already had

If you're wondering about the coffee, I used it to dye the clothes pins to give it a more rustic look. You could also use tea, but being a coffee enthusiast I thought I'd save money and use what I already have. In order to achieve a dark, rich, rustic brown I boiled 2 parts coffee and 1 part water and soaked the pins for about an hour.

I came out with something that is versatile, unique, cheap, and more importantly that looks like it came straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog.

I've been doing some rearranging lately, both in my apartment and in my life, and among other things I'm changing I've decided to change my blog. I suppose I'm not completely changing it, because it will still have kitsch integrated in it, but I'm making it better.

Instead of focusing on one thing I'm going to give everyone an insight on my life, i.e. the things I love, make, listen to, wear, etc.

So you'll be witnessing a little construction on my blog as I venture from one topic to multiple topics, and I hope you enjoy every snippet.

And I'll try not to include my puppy too much in my posts, as you'll surely get sick of it fast.


What I'm listening to:
The Swell Season, Strict Joy
This always puts me in a relaxed, dreamy mood which is perfect for my creative endeavors.