Black and White

My tag most certainly is sticking out of the back of my shirt; and that's okay, because everyday things aren't perfect. Sometimes (actually a lot of the time) my makeup smears, my clothes don't match, and my attitude isn't ideal. Days can feel incomplete and thoughts can wander away and become generally pessimistic.

Still, I am His daughter, a child of a King. He says that He loves me; and at the end of the day, the year, my life, that's all that ever will matter. 

New Shoes

It's Friday evening, my favorite evening of the week. It's the evening I have no worries, knowing that I can sleep in tomorrow and wake up without my first thought being, "oh dear, look I slept in. great. better pop in that first school video before the day turns into a disaster." No no no, none of that. Just pure bliss, as I wake up, blink, and then snuggle deeper into the cushions, enjoying the peace of Saturday mornings. I get to listen to the murmuring of people in the kitchen and sniff the smell of eggs and toast.

Tomorrow will be wonderful; but today was a good day, too. It started by being rudely awakened by a ringing alarm clock, proceeded by jumping out of bed and quickly burying myself in the couch to "slowly" wake up and procrastinate starting school. Yes, I just can't help myself sometimes.

The cool dude above is Michael, my younger brother. After finishing a bit o' school, we went into town and stopped by Wendy's and enjoyed a frosty and some fries after, guess what? Thrifting! It is one of my newest delights. The racks of clothes, shelves of vases, overflowing hooks with purses, piles of books, and so on. I never thought I would love it, but after being exposed to etsy and the wonders of vintage, I couldn't help it. There are so many things I find hidden away in those nooks that I wouldn't find anywhere else. And did I mention the prices? Three dollars? That's what I'm talking about!

Today as I scoured the shelves for a pair of shoes, I found the exact pair I had been dreaming of. It was precisely what I wanted, and they were almost brand-new looking. Oh, and they fit perfectly. Perfectly. When I first saw them I though, "Oh dear, they look too narrow! I won't be able to fit -- but I might as well try." Then, when my foot slid in magically and disappeared into the shoe. Pure happiness. I like to think they were made for me. Afterwards, I just smiled inside and thought, "Wow, God, you really know how to amaze me, don't you?"

You will most certainly be seeing more pictures of these wonderfuls later.

Yes, I love that stripped shirt. It's my favorite. Hm, I just realized that everything from this outfit except my dress is from Malaysia. The shoes, the belt, the shirt. It appears that I did more shopping while we were visting then I initially thought.

Oh, and the yogurt? It asked me to take a picture of it, of course. Why else would I snap a few shots of it in a windowsill next to a pile of books?

Well, time for me to stop typing away and head off. I look forward to waking up tomorrow, realizing it's the weekend, and snoozing a bit more.

I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday morning, too.

Newspaper Nails

A few weeks ago I shared in this post that I learned how to do this amazing thing called "newspaper nails." Since I love words, and reading, and books, it has inevitably become my favorite manicure. Want to learn the how-to?

First, gather your supplies. You will need white nail polish, newspaper, rubbing alcohol, and clear shiny polish for the top coat.

Step one: Grab some newspaper and cut it into pieces big enough to cover your nails. You can even find specific words you want and spell things, though the letters do show up backwards.

Step two: Paint your nails white. A light beige or other similar colors should work fine, too. Make sure your nails are completely dry before moving on to the next step!

Step three: Dip a piece of newspaper into the rubbing alcohol and saturate them well. I pour a little into the bottle's cap and dip the pieces in that way.

Step four: Press the bit of newspaper on your fingernail hard for about three seconds and peel it off. I find that pressing down hard helps the words to come off darker, but you don't want to leave the paper on too long because the alcohol will cause your nail polish to smear.

Step five: Top coat time! Paint on a generous layer of shiny polish to protect your design.

Now admire your creation; and try not to chip your nails the first day like I all-too-often do.

My Sunday Ramble

Sunday afternoon. Church was finished, lunch had been made and devoured. Our family lazed around the house. Someone was watching television, another on the computer, another reading, another studying. All relaxing.

Finally, the time of relaxation had reached it's end. Muscles needed to be stretched, fresh air must be inhaled. I preferred salty air.

So we went. The sun was hidden behind clouds, the sky was slightly pink, but would not succumb to the color completely. We rediscovered an old nook and traversed the spotted shoreline. The crackle of coral and rock was heard with each footstep; silhouettes of boats were on the horizon. The air was balmy: the place almost desolate.

Water gently lapped the rocks. The sky could be seen in the waters. We took pictures, we laughed, we talked. Fresh air and conversation did us good.

I stumbled through photography and found myself in dire need of practice. While attempting to keep my camera in the aperture setting, I made many a fax pas in the DSLR world. Aperture was too low for the landscape shots, and didn't even attempt any macro pictures.

However, I know I shall return to this spot again; we already planning a day, when Nathan comes back from college. A picnic of some sort. Or an afternoon ramble. Just to return, and take more pictures, and enjoy the dalmatian shoreline and salty air.

We stopped by a shopping area and took some pictures, but did not enter very many stores because of the price tags. Still, I enjoyed window shopping and meandering through the pretty setting.

 These are my favorite people. My parents.

Reminiscing Past Days

This past week was such a blur, I honestly don't even want to try to piece it together. All I know is that I baked a lot, cooked a lot, thought a lot, read a lot, and somehow shoved school in between all those activities. My mind was for some reason, fixed in a state of melancholy most days. I cannot help but reason it was because of a particularly solemn book whose leaves I have been devouring; if you have ever read a Bronte book, you know my sentiments exactly. The words somehow pierce a secret part of the heart -- fill it with some sort of a weighty burden which cannot be quenched by anything but time.

If you are wondering what book it is, I will tell you: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Coincidentally, I am also watching the movie Jane Eyre this moment. When it arrived in the mail today, I was delighted, to say the least.

The past few weeks I had been nurturing some very skinny bean plants. Surprisingly, they actually produced over ten beans (which is quite impressive, seeing that I only grew a few plants and they were confined in a very sad sort pot). However, this past week I have neglected them so pitifully that they are withering away. The soil around their stalks is cracked and dry: a small dessert wilderness for ants to crawl through and then quickly escape from.

Another thing I have been sadly neglecting is music. I am not sure I ever mentioned this, but I play the guitar. I have known how to strum this instrument for nearly five years, but the past few months I have not been learning anything new. My knowledge in the world of music has not grown, and I usually play the same two songs everyday just because I usually can't resist picking up my guitar whenever it catches my eye. However, I cannot stand this stagnant state of things any longer.

This weekend, I believe I shall finally resolve to learn to play something new.

On Tuesday, I did something very unlike me and made a rash trip to Kona with my younger brother who obviously coaxed me into it. We looked up movies playing and since there was something PG with some pretty hilarious people in it, we went to watch it on a whim. One of the reasons this particular trip goes so against my usual patterns of things is because 1) I usually never go out on weekdays to watch movies and 2) I usually despise driving anywhere even though I do possess a driver's license.

Despite those qualms, I had a wonderful time acting juvenile with Michael, who so kindly snapped these pictures upon request. I never wear sunglasses, but for this picture, I made an exception.

You will probably see a post soon about me making flammkuchen. It was quite the adventure, and I will say no more in order to keep you in suspense of what's to come.

Now, for a bit of news. I have finally decided to take a break from the computer and internet this weekend. I shall call it my weekend mantra, just as Carlotta did a few weeks ago. It is about time I took a nice, long, two-day break from the online world.

I shall spend all my free time catching up on school, reading, taking pictures, hopefully going to the beach, writing, applying to colleges (eep!), and lulling around with family.

I know how terribly you all will miss me (okay, never mind); but you can check out my guest post over at She Smiles, She Writes to content yourself while I am absent. Don't be bashful; share some love at that wonderful blog. It's truly a favorite of mine, and I was so glad when asked to contribute to the lovely "lady lessons series."

Have a great weekend! I know I shall.