only what the spring can bring

During the winter time (especially in January), I struggle with SAD. For those of you who are not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder which means you get more depressed during certain times of the year. Appropriately named, wouldn’t you say?

Anyway, I’ve dealt with this for as long as I remember – and each year seems to be worse than the year before. This year was no exception… It’s hard to realize that I’ll probably have to deal with this for the rest of my life, especially in the moment. But I will say that it makes the springtime that much sweeter! It’s crazy how I’ll be feeling exceptionally blue for months at a time and then as soon as the light begins to change, I’m right back to my normal self.

So, I’ll use that as an excuse for my lack of blogging. And as an opportunity to say happy Spring! What do you love about the season?

Here are some of mine, aside from being in better spirits.

Wildflowers

Spring Break

Rain

Daylight Savings Time

PS: check out my favorite local band History of Painters and their new EP, “Only What The Spring Can Bring”!

my favorite things – apps

Yes. I was one of those spoiled little brats that got an iPhone for Christmas. And I must say that I love it. But I especially love all the applications you can get for it! So, in an attempt to stay on top of my blog, here are some of my favorite iPhone apps:

Camera+

Annie Leibovitz recently said that the iPhone is “the snapshot camera of today.” You can’t really get a better recommendation than that. I’ve always been terrible at keeping up with picture taking. But with this awesome camera app and the convenience of the iPhone in my pocket, it makes for a great combination. Complete with on the spot editing and a multitude of fun effects, I can forget about my last phone’s camera.

Flight Control

If you’re easily bored with Angry Birds (like me) or frustrated with Words With Friends (also like me), Flight Control is a mindless but fun game that seems to keep my attention. Special credit goes to Evelyn for introducing it to me and letting me play on her phone in Czech!

Ultimate Guitar Tabs

This app changed my life. Sure, it may not look exciting to the guitar layman, but it is exciting, I promise! Not only are songs super easy to look up and pick from, you can actually save your favorite songs in a “Favorites” tab (which I find super convenient)! And it has these things call “Tab Packs”, which are essentially folders full of different types of songs like difficult, Christmas, classical guitar, country, classical rock, worship music, blues, etc! I’m in love.

GasBuddy

Not the funnest app out there, but boy is it handy. You can arrange results based on distance and price, you can choose between regular, midgrade, premium, and diesel, and it can give you directions too. Handy indeed.

iTip

I’ve never been good at figuring out tips and I never will be. And with this app, I can accept that fact about myself. I mean, look how easy it makes everything!

Pandora

Even with a 16GB iPhone, I still couldn’t fit all my music on it. This would be very disappointing if not for the Pandora app. Super easy and basic, I’m never without new music!

iStudiez Pro

Not only does it have a lowercase “i” in front of it, it also ends in a “z” instead of a lame old “s”. Already the coolest, right? This app is seriously so awesome. I originally bought it for my laptop for probably less than five dollars and it certainly has paid for itself. And now that I have the same app for my iPhone, all my classes, assignment, exams, and grades transfer over without a hitch. iStudiez provides the college student with easy organization in this technological age.

Honorable mention: PostSecret

Unfortunately, I could only enjoy this app for a few days. It was shut down for “malicious” posts, which is truly a shame because it was insanely addictive, especially for me… But I managed to save a few memorable secrets to my camera roll before they discontinued it.

winter tunes

I feel like such a Scrooge writing this, but I’ve had it with Christmas music. I must have heard Baby, It’s Cold Outside three times already today. And I know that we only really hear these songs one month out of the year, I feel like I’ve heard all the songs more than enough times already – and it’s only the 13th! What do you think? Do you agree or do you just think I’m a Grinch?

Well, whatever the case may be, here’s what I’m playing this season {if you’re interested}.

the best part

antique rings

I know you didn’t think I’d forgotten about weddings! Check out these vintage engagement/wedding rings. They’re scarily right up my alley…

This last one reminds me of my mother’s wedding ring.

fall fashion

Fall is famous for fashion! And this year, I’ve picked out some trends that I’m really fond of.

Colorful pants.

Maxi skirt (✓).

Plaid (✓).

Polka dot blouse.

Chunky striped sweater.

Low booties.

Artsy print dress.

Midi skirt.

Fulton hats.

Bright belt (✓).

Pleated skirt.

Colorful tights (✓).

Mustard trousers (preferably corduroys).

Skinny high-waisted pants.

Colorful bag (✓).

Little red dress (✓).

Leather jacket (✓).

All looks from here.

galactic laquer

As much as I hate to double post about nails, I just needed to share this.

So creative and fun! Try it with a splash of purple.

tricks or treats?

Even though Autumn isn’t my favorite season (I don’t like it when there’s less morning and more afternoon…), I love October. I love the colors, the pumpkins, the apples, the pies, the weather, and especially Halloween!

Halloween has got to be one of my favorite holidays (following Easter). What could be better than dressing up and knocking on strangers’ doors only to recieve candy? The concept is extremely odd. But wonderful. Here’s what I’ll be going as this year:

one stick of butter

Remember how much I love nail polish? Well in case you forgot, I do. It’s one of the things I get most excited about when I go to Target. And not too long ago, I came across this particular brand of nail lacquer that has some really nifty colors. The only issue is that each costs $14… That’s a lot, even for me. But because I usually just end up forking over the cash for stuff I want (which will most likely not lead to financial issues in my future), I’ll probably get a shade or two.

What do you think of these colors?

everything but country

I used to be one of the many people out there who seem to go by this mantra when it comes to their taste in music: “Oh, I like just about everything but country. Bleh, country is gross!” Have you ever noticed how common that is? Now, I’m not the biggest country fan by any means. I don’t care much for Taylor Swift (I know, shocker) or songs about wrestling up cattle or songs with too much twang. But I think it’s pretty unfair to completely rule out a genre for whatever reason. Why do you think it is that so many people dislike country?

 Here’s a how-to video for line dancing – something I’ve been doing a lot of recently.