Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I am no artist

I am not an artist but I have loved to draw (really doodle) since about 6th grade. I have never really pursued it in any way what so ever because I always saw my my mom as the artist in the family. I have also liked fashion so when I was in high school I filled the sides of my notebooks of drawing of cocktail dresses. But I must admit that I also love drawing wedding dresses. I have bought Bride's magazines to find dresses to draw. Bridal magazines photography have models that stand normally, instead of all bent over or twisted around like most fashion magazines, so I find them easier to draw.

Here are examples of my drawings...






I have also tried to add color.... 
I think I have to upgrade from crayons but it was all I had.
This was a drawing I did for my friend before she got married. 

With my love of Downton Abbey and my new love of Edwardian fashion I am trying to draw dresses from that time period.
I am also working on drawing sleeves. 

I think I will use Pinterest to get more fashion ideas to work on my drawing.
Thanks for looking at my drawings. 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Blogging goals


I started this blog post...in earlier January but I never posted it because I realized it sounded like I was whining.  

I am a small time blogger but sometimes I wish I was a big blogger, it might be vanity. I first started this blog thinking I would just share my creative writing the story I was working on at that time. But soon I realized I wasn't writing a lot. Then last spring this this blog just became about my life with inserts of my story. But I guess in someways I thought one day this blog would be explosively big. My dream was a blog like the one Julie Powell had in the movie Julie and Julia.


But I am still a small time blogger dreaming of one day being a big blogger with 100s of followers and lots readers. Right now I sit at 18 followers and a small little Facebook page where I post everything I write. So though small I try to have a presence on the social media front. 

But who wants to read a blog of some one just whining. I have read lots of lots of bloggers I follow that give hints on how to grow them my favorite come from one of my favorite bloggers Desirous of Everything in her post What I have learned about blogging this year so far. Maybe I like it so much because she mentions my blog. But was reading her blog that I was inspired to put my blog under construction in August to boost its appearance. But I also found a new blogger I like A Law Student's Journey.  She blogs a lot about crafts. While I am not a crafter (but if you are... I really recommend it). But she has a post called Tips to Grow your Blog. I feel in some ways I want my blog to grow but I also want it to be a place where I stick to my statement on top. 

I am the kind of person that believes in love, believes in sappiness, believes that God has a grand plan for it all, and I am enjoying the journey of figuring it out.


But there are more things I would like to do...

1. Include more music. In my post Music of my life  I said "I like music but I am not a music expert. I can not play a note of music because I never learned how to read music and I can't sing but that doesn't stop me from singing in my shower or at church. I also can't tell the difference between a melody and harmony. But I still love music all kind of music too.." So to be true to my music loving self I am going to post more songs. I will post them near the top of my post so you can listen to them as you read


Here is one of my new favorites...
Love is Waiting- Brooke Fraser

2. I will try to take more photos of my life. While I do love pinterest and will continue to use it. I want to take more of my own pics to share with you my lovely readers. Of course I only have the camera on my phone... I will try to take more pictures to share my life. 
Like this picture, I took at my Dad and Step-mom's house, 
it inspired my post In want of Womanhood 
and part of my story A Blooming Flower

I am setting those two goals now and when I think of others I will share with you.

Things that will continue...

1. I will post about my story. I started this blog primarily to show off the story I was writing. But now it has turned into a blog about my life, faith, and dreams. But one of my major dreams in life is to be an author so I will of course be posting more about my story. If you want to read it in it's entirety (up to date) I have set up a blog just for my story you can find it here. Of course on the right hand side are all the links to it. 

2. I will write about my life. Rather it be about my faith, my love for Jane Austen, Downton Abbey, Gilmore girls or books. It might also be about what events/struggles are going on in my life. I have loved people reading these and either making comments/suggestions or giving me virtual hugs. I have always used this blog as kind of a diary and I will continue to do so.

3. I will keep celebrating my little and big triumphs like when I reached 100 post or 100 followers. Or when I write pages in my story. Or when I finish a semester in school, or when I finally school (that will be a big triumph).

 Hope you enjoy the journey too.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Snowy Days in Boston

"Snowfall (kind of love)"-Ingrid Michaelson
Good song for this kind of weather

Hello lovely readers,

Here in New England we can't say winter really starts till January. I think it is so we can convince ourselves that winter won't last forever. But I think I can say winter has come to Boston. Last Sunday when I checked the weather before going to church I checked the weather on my phone and it said 6 felt like -12. By the time I left church it was 12 and felt like -6. Even though I have lived in Boston for 6 years I still don't know how to dress for that weather (maybe you just can't). Over the week we have had flurries of snow but nothing that stuck. But yesterday we had our first snow. Now it wasn't much but I took some pics of it.

Right now I like the snow, when I was home watching it come down it was nice and quiet. I made myself a cup of hot spice tea and watched a movie. Even when I went outside it seemed like the world was quiet. It was very nice to have an excuse for a quiet day.

Now it wasn't much snow but I took some pics of it on my walk home.  

The Fens under snow


I love seeing paths of people who ventured away from the sidewalk 
I was trying to capture a couple walking through the snow
Icicles from a car. Also the thing I don't like about the snow... when it turns to brown.  
I don't have a great view from my window but here is the park across the street from me. 
The little sparrow on the top of the tree... very brave birds to brave the cold. 
I liked seeing the red berries on this bush. 
The fence of the park...I liked the contrast between the black and white

Friday, January 20, 2012

Winter Break... Part 3


My winter break is about to come to an end. 
Here is a song to end my winter break on.
Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

I start back to school on Tuesday. It is weird in a good way to be going back to school. I know I have only had a month off but in some ways it feels like it has been longer. I mean I went home for Christmas for a week and got some down time but I also got to see a lot of family. I loved my down time, there was one day I was sitting on the sofa with my lab top in my lap and I was working on my story but I was still in my pajamas and my dad asked me if I was okay. Yeah I was great I wasn't thinking about school or work, I was just having a care free day (it was wonderful). But since coming back to Boston I feel like I have had another month to adjust to real life. 

In the month I have had off I have done...

1. A lot of reading...I finished off North and South (a book it took me all semester to read), A Jane Austen Education and started reading The American Heiress.

2. I have written a lot. I started the winter break with only 9 blog post on my blog Sisters of Pine Haven I am now up to 17 blog post. In other words that comes to 66 pages and 28,000+ words. It is not quite the 50,000 words that people had to write for National Novel Writing Month. I know that was in November but I wanted to see how many words I could write in my month off. Oh well maybe one day I will finish the novel. 

3. I have spent lots of time with my friends. My friend had a great New Years Eve party, where I felt I danced all night. I am not a good dancer but I do love to dance around. One of my best friends and I have hung out a lot rather watching the Golden globes, episodes of Downton Abbey or going to to go see the movie The Artist. 



The movie The Artist owes a blog post of its own it was so good. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did but I loved it a lot. If you don't know anything about it, it is all silent (minus a few parts) and black and white. But the plot takes place during the end of the 1920s when the film industry switches from silent films to talkies. The main guy, George Valentine, is a big silent film star doesn't embrace the idea of talkies. 
Of course when I left the film I wanted to see Singing in the Rain, Jean Dujardin, has a very Gene Kelly way about him. I was so happy when The Artist won so many Golden Globes and I wish the movie well in the Oscars. 

4. I also spent way too much time on social media from Facebook, my blog, to YouTube (mostly looking up Downton Abbey videos), and Pinterest getting lots of great pictures that really helped inspire my story. 

5. Most importantly I have left my full time job in order to be a full time student. It is weird to leave a job I have had for a year and a half. It was not in a career I wanted to pursue long term but I did make it a part of me, I guess that is natural to make something you do every day a part of you. But I didn't realize how much it was a part of me until I left.

Over all it has been a good break...nothing too big but lots of time to relax and great time with friends. I loved having dinner on a random Tuesday night at the Cheese Cake Factory. That is probably my favorite thing about breaks having my nights free to do what I wanted. 
Have a nice weekend.