The A-Z Book Tag

Hello Hello!

I posted a new video last week on my Youtube channel. It's just under 20 minutes long with tons of awkward jump cuts, but I covered 26 books so I'd say that's pretty good for my second time filming. When I told my parents about it my mom immediately asked who I expected to watch such a long video and I promptly answered, no one. At this point in time I'm just making videos to get better at it. I don't expect them to be perfect, let alone good. Making Youtube videos was something I talked about doing for a long time but would always come up with excuses not to actually do it. I don't have a good camera, I don't know how to edit, I feel awkward talking to myself, I'm too ugly, I don't know what to talk about, and the list went on. Now I'm finally putting all those doubts aside and taking action in my life. You know, the whole idea of you don't know until you try.

Who knows if I will continue to make videos for the long term or if this will eventually end one day soon after realizing I don't care about it anymore. The fun thing about making your own content online is that you can do what you want, when you want, and you don't have to pressure yourself into making something you don't feel like making (unless it's your job/main source of income, then that's probably different).

Honestly if you watch this video at all I will be entirely grateful and if you happen to stick around until the end, well I'll be shocked and awed.

Oh and P.S. I recently changed the name of my channel to GetaKloo and I can't decide if I like it or not, so let me know what you think.

-S

My Week In Links 2

Hi guys and gals,

I've been a bad blogger recently and haven't kept up on things for the last couple of weeks. So let's get up to date, shall we?

My brother and his girl friend got engaged last week in Disney World! Disney is one of her favorite places and I had a hunch he would do it there, but none of us actually knew before it happened. We're all pretty damn excited about it though. They're adorable and I love them.

This illustration reminded me of them (source)

I really hope everyone saw this video of Anne Hathaway's lip sync battle with Emily Blunt. So perfect.

In case you haven't seen this either. OMG the excitement!! Like for reals this needs to come out already.

(source)

Also, apparently Adam Carolla made a movie about Paul Newman's racing career and it looks super good. What's better than one of Hollywood's finest men and car racing? Well probably a lot of things, but I'll definitely watch this movie.

I'm really late to the party on this one, but I just discovered Casey Neistat (yeah I know I'm behind the times). So I've been watching way too many of his videos lately and they're absolutely inspiring. Talk about someone who has worked hard and is living the dream. Just a reminder to keep doing what you love because you never know what kind of opportunities it will bring.

Saturday was Record Store Day. I picked up the two special releases shown above, but it was surprisingly disappointing this year. My dad and I got to RPM Records at 8:08 am (they opened at 8:00) and by then everything we really wanted was gone. Neither of us thought there would be so many people there right when it opened. I guess now we know for next year.

This is so accurate.

Candles, candles, I want all the candles.

I painted and redecorated my room last week. I'm currently working on a more in depth blog post about it, but there's still a lot of finishing touches that need to be done. I might wait until everything is done before showing it off. (hopefully it won't take too long though)

This pillow would be a perfect addition to the new room.

I also really love this Dirty Dancing poster.

I'm thinking this will be the next mug in my collection. Nothing inspires more confidence than Agent Carter. Know your value ladies and gents. They better be bringing that show back in the fall or else I'm gonna be pissed.

Finally, these because they're too funny not to share.

-S

I Might Actually Need a Planner

Wow. Last week was busy and productive which felt super good. Last Tuesday I had book club and then my friend and I went out to dinner afterwards. On Thursday my dad, brother, brother's girlfriend, and I all went to see the Red Wings play in Detroit. Even though the Wings' loss was disappointing for my first trip to the Joe, it was still a lot of fun just to be there.

Ever since I figured out my life needed more structure in order for me to actually get stuff done, I've been trying hard to keep a semi scheduled day. There's still plenty of things I need to work on, getting in regular workouts, sticking with a steadier schedule for blogging, being more proactive about searching for a second job, but I finally feel like my life might be moving again.

For the last few months I have been feeling stuck. I think we all feel that way from time to time. We look around and notice that we've been in the same place for the last six months, and what we've been doing doesn't feel like enough anymore. We get bored with the monotony of day to day life. This feeling can drive people in all different directions. It's not an easy battle and there's no one solution.

So I updated my resume and applied for a job. I picked out a new paint color for my room. I bought a couple succulents. I started making my bed every day. I went to book club and talked even though I've never been a talker in group settings. I listened to my favorite new album as many times as I wanted. I told myself that I'm beautiful and confident while striking a power stance in front of the mirror. I didn't let myself get defeated, and when I did have a low day I tried my hardest to have a better day tomorrow.

Spring brings out the best in me. I'm naturally happiest in the summer and fall, but most productive in the spring. Spring always gets my gears moving; thawing out the cold winter stiffness and managing to unlock all that energy I store away during the snowy months. It's still weird for me to be this enthusiastic about living. It's nice to be making goals again, even really big unrealistic ones, and to enjoy planning out my days. I don't expect to be happy all the time, but I am happy for the most part. In a time of new beginnings I'm starting to feel like it's just where I belong.

Mostly throughout high school, but even in college, I kept a planner. I wrote everything down in color-coded fashion and always looked forward to crossing off entries. I've been a list maker and a note taker my whole life. Getting things down on paper was the only way I could keep everything straight, but my life post-college didn't seem conducive for a full time planner. I didn't have enough going on for me to justify even buying a calendar.

I kept telling myself I wanted to be the type of person who needed a planner again. I wanted my life to be busy and for my time to need scheduling, but the only thing this was doing was making me more frustrated. Then about a week ago I realized maybe it's not about waiting for a "real" job or a busier life, it's about getting the most out of my time right now. If I have so many things I want to do, why am I waiting to do them until I have to squeeze them in? Maybe getting a planner will make my life busier just by allowing me to set specific schedules. I know that if I dedicate certain times of the week to work out or film videos I will get them done. I won't be able to put off doing things the same way if I can see it all in front of me. Keeping a schedule in my head can only get me so far.

(planner 1)                                          (planner 2)

I tried to convince myself I could get by with just the calendar on my phone, but putting reminders in your phone isn't the same as physically writing them down. So now I'm on the hunt for a cute but reasonably priced planner. There's so many options in the calendar/planner/organizer category that it's hard to know where to look or what exactly I want. The ones above are from PlumPaperDesigns on Etsy and I think they're my top choice at the moment. I like that I can choose which month to start on and the covers are all really cute.

Feel free to share recommendations or any sources for planners you guys love!

-S

Joining Booktube

I'm very excited to say I made my first book related Youtube video the other day. I made a video last spring talking about makeup and hadn't felt inspired to make another one until now. Since I've purchased quite a few books recently, I  thought, "why not a book haul video?" Personally I love book haul videos. I follow a lot of Booktubers so I've been contemplating making a book related video for a while but never followed through with it... until now.

There are lots of "ums" and "so yeahs" that I hope to decrease in the next video. I figure things can only improve from here, and I'm sure it'll take time for me to develop a good rhythm.

Thank you for watching! Please feel free to like and subscribe and all of that stuff.

-S

The One Where I Do It For A Month

The other day I was thinking about how I never make my bed anymore. My mom always asked my brother and I to make our beds as kids but as we got older she never really enforced those rules. Since I spend the majority of my free time on my bed, properly making it every morning seems useless. It's been years since I've made my bed on a day when I didn't change the sheets.

I read, watch movies, and play on my computer more often than I sleep in my bed. In an attempt to distance other activities from where I sleep and force myself to spend more time outside of my bedroom, I'm going to try to make my bed more often. I do think that making your bed can be a productive way to start the day. Having tidy sheets always made me feel like my room, and my life, was that much cleaner and more organized.

Starting tomorrow morning April 1st, I will be making my bed every day for a month. Ultimately I'm hoping this behavior will spill over and continue happening after April turns into May. We'll see what happens.

Some people say it takes just 21 days to form a habit. That myth has been disproven, but one month seems like the perfect amount of time to try something new. I love challenging myself; so when I decided to try making my bed every day for a month, I immediately started making a list of other behaviors I could try for 30 days.

Those ideas include:

• Get up at 6:00 am
• Follow along with an at home yoga video
• Wear lipstick
• Not buy any coffee drinks
• Meditate
• Eat a homemade dinner (this one seems like it would take the most planning)
• Post a blog entry
• Vlog
• Doodle
• Take a selfie

That's it for now, but I will try to keep thinking of ideas. These are all habits I'd love to increase in frequency, but I know it's unrealistic to start doing them all at once. Hopefully this monthly challenge idea will help me stagger my habit building. And if I don't complete the challenge, or I give up after the month is over at least I can say I tried.

-S

What's something you would do for a month? What habits are you looking to improve on in your life?

My Week In Links

Last week involved a lot of John Green excitements. First of all my P4A version of The Fault In Our Stars arrived on my doorstep! Then I broke down and decided to buy the 10th anniversary edition of Looking for Alaska from my local bookstore. When it first came out I told myself I wasn't going to spend the money on a book I already owned, but it's my favorite John Green book so it happened anyway (whoops).

Finally the Paper Towns movie trailer was released last Thursday. (Can we acknowledge that Nat Wolff should star in every film adaptation of John Green's books? I swear he could fit as Miles, Colin, and Will. Okay that would be a bit overboard, but in my mind it works.)

I've had a mini obsession with Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby lately. I was listening to a bunch of 90's music the other day and just couldn't stop replaying that one. What a classic.

Another favorite recently is Work This Body by Walk The Moon. Mostly because it makes me want to crazy dance whenever it comes on.

(source)

I found my new favorite spring outfit inspiration on Pinterest. I love the mixed patterns on the classic style. Wish I looked that effortlessly stylish while riding a bike (or doing anything really).

I've been all about the florals lately. I don't know where it came from since I've never been a flower person. The other day I told my mom I wanted to get some flowers for my room and she just laughed. I always thought they were silly and useless, a complete waste of money, but minds change and that's okay.

(source)

Even this wall paper sparked my interest.

I want this to be my future living room; just look at all the books! The room has a lot of color without looking too cluttered, although I would use less pillows and lose the peacock. Plus the big windows help the full space look light and airy. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

This interview/discussion was so good! I could listen to these ladies talk all day. What interesting conversations one could have with these women; I never wanted the video to end. I really admire how they all support and lift each other up. Kind words and kind hearts.

Speaking of admirable women, check out these totally awesome illustrated quotes on feminism from The Nib.

March is Women's History Month, and although it may be coming to a close it's never too late to catch up on amazing women in history and today. The ever inspiring Amy Poehler's Smart Girls has highlighted a few of their favorite women in history, such as Mildred Norman and Anne Frank. They even have inspirational coloring pages you can print off (how cool)!

-S