Hello dear friends! It’s been awhile, eh? Ever since coming back from my trip to Portland it’s been work work work, so I’ve been away from TNC for a few too many. I realize we haven’t done a monthly check-in in awhile, and there are a LOT of new faces around here, so I wanted to take a few minutes to catch up over some virtual coffee (I’m literally drinking a cup of coffee at 8pm as I write this). 😉 What have you been up to lately? Here’s me:
1. Like I said, we got back from Portland on Tuesday and the trip was so much fun! We ate tons of good food (Paul thought he was going to throw up on the last night because we ate so much…cue *crying laughing emoji*), saw gorgeous autumn colors, and did lots of touristy shtuff. I can’t wait to share some of the highlights and my recommendations next week. Trust me, there’s a lot! 😀
2. One of the more random things Paul and I did while in Portland was visit an animal shelter. We both love dogs and for some reason got the urge to check out the Humane Society. I now want a second dog even more than before, gah! My dog, Monja, brings me so much joy that I can only imagine the feeling of having two furry little babies. I do want to wait until I live in a bigger place though, and would like to do some more training with Monja because he can be a bit territorial. I think Monja needs a sibling though, don’t you? 😉 I mean, who wouldn’t want two of THIS:
#NSFW
3. I had an insanely busy October for work. By far the most packed month I’ve ever had for my business. It was totally unexpected! It has been really exciting to see my business grow, but those feelings of “overwhelm” definitely crept in a little, too. Overall, I feel really grateful about the work I’m creating, and proud of myself to see where I’ve come since starting my business about a year ago. I can’t wait to see what happens in 2015!
4. I’ve been going to yoga classes pretty consistently ever since my first class and I’m still diggin’ it! I think I’ve found my “sport.” I enjoy it over other forms of exercise primarily because it involves both a mental and physical workout. I also just like yoga in general — the stretches feel good and I can actually feel them working my body. I noticed that I greatly prefer classes that combine a spiritual component though. Some are only about the workout and that’s not really me. Fellow yogis, which style do you love most?
5. I’m still toying with the idea of moving to a new city when my lease is up in February. The area I live in now is safe, residential, and…pretty boring. I currently live in Orange County, and after returning from Japan, I chose the OC because I went to college in Irvine, a nearby city. I figured a lot of my friends would still live here, but after more than two years away, a lot of them have migrated up to Los Angeles. I’m not sure if LA is a perfect fit for me either, but I’m definitely considering making the move in early 2015.
6. I’d really like to do some sort of volunteer work sometime soon. What are some of your favorite places to volunteer at for the day?
7. My favorite shoes right now are Rollie Nation’s oxfords. I usually buy shoes from places like Target, so my first pair was a bit of a splurge, but I loved them so much that I’ve bought two more pairs since. They’re crazy comfortable, durable, and I feel like they make my otherwise plain outfits look a little “spicier,” na mean?
8. For now, I decided to close my print shop. I’m still working on what I’m going to do with it, but I realized that having a print shop doesn’t really fit into my goals and has become a bit of a time-suck. Admitting that to myself was kind of hard because I have literally wanted to start a print/greeting card business for years. It can be a hard truth to face when you finally set out to accomplish one of your dreams only to realize you don’t love it all that much after all. I DO love calligraphy and creating pieces of art, but I don’t love the other components of running a shop, like inventory, shipping, creating product listings, etc. I have an idea for how I can make physical products work for me (and you!), so we’ll have to see if that idea comes to fruition next year. 🙂 Until then, I’ll still be drawing and writing, and I hope to share more work on my Instagram soon!
9. I’ve been buying a lot of books lately, and I’m really excited to dive into them! The newest ones in my collection are The Happiness Project, Everything Is Illuminated, and Gone Girl. Do you have any recent favorites? Also, what are your favorite magazines? I’d love to subscribe to some. I feel like magazines can be such wonderful and creative sources of inspiration.
Well, that’s what I’ve been up to lately! I’d love to hear about what you’ve been doing. And if you’re new around here, introduce yourself down below! I would seriously love to meet you. 🙂 Have a super weekend, friends! I’m grateful that you’re here.
I just bought Gone Girl for my Kindle, and I can’t wait to read it! I also just finished The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, and it was wonderful (I also loved Never Let Me Go). My friend recommended this book Deathless, which is based on a Russian folktale… so I’m going to try that. 🙂 As far as magazines, I like travel magazines a lot. National Geographic is a staple, as is Afar. 🙂
Glad that you’ll continue with making art like your prints. They’re beautiful! Good luck with making the decision on the move. Maybe instead of LA, try San Fransisco? It may be more your feel!
doitfortheirony.blogspot.com
I’v joined a library…this month and have actively starting reading again…I’d love to do yoga as I’m so stiff…..I catch.. myself groaning when I bend down!!
http://vodkaandarose.blogspot.co.uk
It sounds like you had a great time in Portland! I’m looking forward to hearing about it! And I often think about getting a second pup too, but that would definitely need to involve a move. My latest thing right now, though, is bunnies. I used to have bunnies and I recently started following some on Instagram. Now I’ve been thinking about my sweet little Caramel (and my incredibly anti-social Yera) and a little house-trained bunny sounds like a good addition to my fur family. That definitely will not happen for awhile either. I think Mina would get along great with a bunny and they would be adorable together! (Obviously I wouldn’t leave them unattended alone, though. When I leave I put Mina in her crate, because she likes it and I think it’s good for her to have that time in a secure place, and even if my bunny was house-trained I’d have a cage and put it in the cage when I was away.) When I had bunnies before, my sister’s dog (who is a natural hunter for animals like rabbits and has gone after wild bunnies) actually liked mine. He was afraid of Caramel (who was also afraid of him, it was hilarious) and he wanted to play with Yera, but she’d ignore him like she’d ignore everyone else.
Anyway, that was really long and rambling. Moving on, Gone Girl is a fascinating book! I recently read Sharp Objects and I think I liked that one more. The Weight of Blood was also a beautifully written, though slightly disturbing story. I was thinking about both of those for days after. Right now I’m reading Imaginary Girls for my book club.
Congratulations on all the big changes and your flourishing business! As someone who is still corporate it’s exciting to read about people who have successfully branched out on their own 🙂
Have you considered San Francisco as a possible home? It’s so beautiful and full of culture here!
A book that I loved was Love in a Time of Cholera. It was written in a visual imagery style where each sentence made me picture the detail being described vividly, plus it’s a cool, intense love story translated from Spanish.
Happy weekend!
Jill @ http://www.champagneforeveryday.com
Hi Jill! Thank you for your sweet comment. 🙂 I’d definitely consider moving to San Francisco one day. It’s funny though — I had no problem moving to Japan, but now the thought of moving away from everyone I know again leaves me a little fearful. Maybe in the future I’d move up there though. I certainly love SF!
And that book you mentioned sounds wonderful. I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
Well i have to admit that i discovered your blogs two weeks ago, and so far i’m TOT-ALLY in love with it! I’ve read a lot of older posts and i just like scrolling around, every post makes me feel like i know you 🙂 I’m sure you’re an amazing person! Wish there’d be more people like you in my acquaintances..
Keep up the good work, you go glenn coco! 😀
AW Yaiza, what a truly sweet comment! Thank you for checking out my blog and sticking around. That means so much! I bet we’d be great pals in real life! 🙂
I loved The Happiness Project and Gone Girl. I’m excited to hear what you think of them!
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. So far I’m loving The Happiness Project! The way Gretchen writes is so honest — I adore it!
Hello Melyssa, I’m a new reader and I LOVE your blog! I’m a newbie blogger, and it’s so nice to discover someone with a similar blog vision; makes me feel like I can do it too. Yay! Congrats to you on your amazing blog and a good month! Keep rocking.
Greetings from Ghana <3
Thank you so much, Maame!! And thank you for checking out my blog — seriously means so much to me! I hope you have a beautiful week and thank you for saying hello! 🙂
You have been up to so much! I can’t wait to hear more about your thoughts on Portland! I hope that your week hasn’t been too insane and that you’ve been able to take things a little slower as you ease back in from being gone. I must admit, though I completely see why you chose to close your print shop and think that you should 100% go with what your gut is telling you, I’m a little crushed because a couple of your prints were on my Christmas wishlist. HA! I’m sure I’ll survive. I AM super excited to see what your schemes are for this next year, though. 🙂 If you need any help promoting, I’d be willing. 😉
I can’t wait to hear more about Portland! I’m thinking about moving there in the spring 🙂
Wow that would be so cool!! I can imagine living there, too. 🙂 Great city!
So excited to hear your Portland tips – we have been wanting to visit friends there for quite some time, and I’m hoping well be able to go next year! Also, maybe you should consider San Francisco as your next home city. 😉
Awesome! I’m excited to share the tips — there were definitely a lot of things that stood out to me about our trip! And ha! I would totally consider SF in the future. That’s a city I love, too. 🙂
I love Everything is Illuminated! It’s such a beautiful book, but in my opinion a little hard to get into at first. I love it so much, though, and this makes me want to re-read it. 🙂
Aw I’m excited to read it now! I’ve seen the movie, but only picked up the book because for some reason I had a quote from it in my apartment and one day when I looked up who the author was, I saw that it was from this book and now I want to read the whole thing! 🙂
(This is the quote: “When I was a girl, my life was music that was always getting louder. Everything moved me. A dog following a stranger. That made me feel so much.”)
🙂
Dear Melyssa… I’m so glad I discovered your blog! I’m a new reader and a “newish” blogger and your words just click with me. So – a huge thanks!
Aw well that just makes me smile, Jessica! Thanks for hanging out here 🙂
aw it’s great to get some updates – it feels like catching up 🙂 I’m glad you still love yoga – I think it’s one of those things that if you love it you will probably never stop loving it! And also, I’m not much into ‘self-help’ books, but I adored the happiness project, very inspiring book!
I can definitely see what you mean about loving yoga for the long haul. And I’m glad you liked the happiness project! I love her honest and funny writing style so far. 🙂
Have you thought about the Second St/Belmont Shores area of Long Beach? That has a great atmosphere, is in LA but not LA LA if you know what I mean!! Otherwise I would think the Eastside of Costa Mesa would be so fun to live in.
You know, I haven’t thought of Long Beach, but I’ve heard good things about that area! Thanks for the suggestion, Bailie! 🙂
Can’t wait to hear more about your visit to Portland! I lived there for 15 years (now on the east coast) and miss it a bit – Enjoy Gone Girl, I couldn’t put it down!
xo,
Kari
http://www.eightytwentyalmanac.com
How cool that you lived there for 15 years, Kari. I can only imagine how gorgeous it is year-round! And yay! I can’t wait to read Gone Girl. 🙂
All the dogs!
Can you be a crazy dog lady in the same way as being a crazy cat lady? Is that offensive? If it is I’m really sorry >.<
Magazine wise, I love Juxtapoz, but that might not be up your street, Aesthetica and I-D are both pretty rad too
x
hah! Totally not offensive. I regularly call myself a crazy dog lady, so we’re all good here. 😉 And thank you for the magazine suggestions! I do like Juxtapoz, so I’m excited to check out the others as well!
I’m so glad you are enjoying yoga! I hope to get into it sometime soon or another similar workout class! It’s so awesome to have a sport to stick to!
Gah it really is! I’ve never liked exercising, but I can see how it’s addictive!
I’m the opposite when it comes to yoga. I like the classes that focus on the physical stuff, with little attention paid to meditation. But that’s probably because I grew up attending religious schools, only to leave the church. I’m a wee bit distrustful of anyone else’s ideas on spirituality.
Ahh I can totally see your point, Abria! I think I like the spiritual component of yoga because it meshes very well with the spiritual beliefs I already have. Otherwise I think I’d feel a lot like you do!
A big hello from England – http://www.lifesmantelpiece.com xxx
Hello Natalie! 🙂
Excited to hear about your trip to Portland. I used to live there- and miss that city a ton! Such an amazing spot.
How awesome that you lived there, Michelle! It seems like a great place.
For volunteering – I volunteer (and now also work) at a center for people with alzheimers and dementia and have been for almost 6 months now. It is such a joy to spend time with these special people and brighten their day a little. It can be tough, but it’s so rewarding if you can find a nice place near you to do so at !!
Thank you for the suggestion, Katia! I do think there’s an alzheimers association close by, so I’ll have to check that out! 🙂
I think you would LOVE Where Women Create: Business magazine..its all about creative women entrepreneurs!
My mom gets that magazine and LOVES it! Great recommendation 🙂
Awesome!!! I will definitely be checking that out. Thanks Alisha! 🙂
Congrats on having such a successful month (even if it did get a little overwhelming).
I didn’t realize you lived in Orange County- that’s actually where I grew up before moving to the east coast when I was 10. It’s such a great place but I’ve never been back (except when I passed through on my way back from Japan). My dad still lives in Southern CA now and I’d love to go back and visit sometimes…
And animal shelters are hard. My boyfriend and I have never gone because we know we’d probably try to leave with 6+ dogs and cats and we already have 1 dog and 2 cats in our little apartment in Brooklyn!
Come to the East coast! I moved into NYC and I love it so far. 🙂
haha maybe one day! How exciting that you moved to NYC though! I bet it’s amazing there. 🙂
Move to LA! Move to LA! It’s so huge, there’s bound to be a place you’ll enjoy 🙂 I live in the downtown LA area, and if you are ever in that area, PLEASE let me know, I would love to meet you someday! 🙂
Also, Gone Girl is incredibly dark and delicious. I don’t know if you’re into dark but it’s definitely delicious. One of the best books I’ve read in a really long time. Also sad to hear that you closed your shop but you were smart enough to realize it wasn’t fitting in with what your goals were, so that’s a plus!
And lastly, one recommendation since you’re into reading, a podcast called Serial. It’s my latest addiction and I’m already blogging about how much I love it. It’s like an entire book (non-fiction!) spread out over one hour podcasts. And it’s somewhat of a murder mystery. I think you’d get a kick out of it! Have a great week Melyssa!!
If I move to LA then I will definitely let you know so that we can meet up! For some reason I forgot you were so close! 🙂 And I do like dark…and delicious! 😀 I’m pretty excited to read Gone Girl — seems like a really interesting book.
I’ve heard of Serial, too! Haven’t checked it out yet, but your recommendation definitely makes me want to. Sounds so fun! I hope you have a great week, too, Monique! 🙂
I absolutely adore The Happiness Project. I read it the first time last October and purchased my own copy this year to re-read. Game changer. For magazines, Women’s Health is a good mix of nerdy fun-fact health data, serious stories, style inspiration, and some fluff. Congrats on all of your blog growth. I’m new to TNC as well and am glad I found your blog.
I’m glad you liked The Happiness Project, too! I am about a third of the way through and really loving it. I am implementing some of her strategies, too, and can definitely see how they’re making a difference! Women’s Health is one I’ll have to check out, too. Thanks for the suggestion, Jennifer! Glad to have you as a new face around here. 🙂
As far as new books go, Gone Girl is fabulously written. Gillian Flynn is a bona fide genius. I’ve just recently pick up Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed and I’m in love with it. It is a book compiled of snippets when she used to write as a Dear Abby consultant. She makes even the stickiest situations poetic and brilliant. Definitely worth looking into if you’re looking for another good book!
Casey. CASEY. I could have written this comment. I’m about halfway through Gone Girl (just got to part two…gasp!) and I canNOT put it down. I must have read for six hours today before I realized I should probably get out of bed and do other things. As for Tiny Beautiful Things, it is probably one of my all-time favorite books right now. I read it a few months ago and absolutely LOVED it. Thanks for the suggestion! You have great taste! 😉
Oh i <3 yoga- it does amazing things for the body and mind doesn't it? Have to admit though, my bum hurts SO much from last night's session! I had a spiritual awakening last week too, which has just reaffirmed my determination to keep going xxx
That is so great to hear, Suzzy! I think I had a similar awakening last night — it really cleared out the “trash” that was in my mind in a positive way. 🙂 And I have to admit, I’m happy to hear your bum is sore after class! Mine often is too and I wondered if I was the only one! ha!
I love magazines, too. Today is my birthday, but today I was busy, so earlier this week I went to Metz (I live in Luxembourg) to treat myself to the Christmas edition of my 2 favourite (French) interior design magazines. One of them is Marie Claire Maison, the other is Art and Décoration.
Happy belated birthday, Melinda!!! I hope it was a stellar day. And treating yourself to some birthday magazines sounds like an awesome adventure! 🙂
Thank you. It was. 🙂
I am new here and I have got to say I love your style. It mad me feel immediately welcomed and appreciated. So good job! Yoga is awesome, I can´t afford real classes but I prefer videos anyway (Yoga with Adrienne anyone? :)) I love doing them first thing in the morning. And the Happiness Project is great <3
Gahh Lina, that totally made me smile! So glad you feel welcomed here — that is one of my biggest goals! And I haven’t checked out online yoga videos yet, but SO many readers have commented saying that they love ’em, so I feel like I should! Have a great week, Lina! (by the way, that was my grandma’s name, so you get brownie points!) 🙂
I’ve downloaded some books to read on my iPad! Usually I’m totally against e-reading (I prefer reading from an actual book), but it really is a lot easier to read from my iPad in my spare time during the day, for example if I’m waiting in line for something 🙂 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Ahh I totally know how you feel! I love actual books…their smell and feel and seeing them on a shelf! But you’re right, e-readers make it sooo easy to have books at your disposal whenever and wherever you’d like. I also love that my kindle has a light — so useful!
I really enjoyed reading this post! Wishing you all the luck in the world and congrats for all these changes you’ve been doing.
https://canyoupaintmeyellow.wordpress.com/
You’re too kind, Ängela! Thank you so much. 🙂