Can you believe we're already heading into March?

Winter here in West Virginia hasn't been too awful-- save for that two-foot of snow we got a while back-- but I am still super excited to see the signs of Spring appearing. Today I am sitting out on my front porch enjoying the sunshine and almost 70º temperatures. It's gorgeous. I know I talk about the weather a lot in my Life Lately posts, but that is because I think the state of the weather directly impacts our moods and emotions.

Maybe it is because I was born in the heart of the summer, or maybe it is because I'm a Leo, but I feel my best when the sun is shining.

On another note, I've got a few new ideas for this blog rolling around in my head. I've been seeing slow but steady growth in the last few months-- thank you, by the way, for reading and engaging with my posts. I'm still trying to stick to a steady schedule while maintaining my 'regular' career and doing various side projects and, eventually, I would like to post more often. That might be something that happens a little further down the road, though, so I would like to start doing something that will help grow this blog and provide something special to those of you who have been with me for a while.

Long story short, would anyone be interested in a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter? I would share some of my favorite blog posts from the past week, other interesting bits and bobs from the World Wide Web, my favorite beauty product of the week and a recap of the last week's posts. I would also try to share some exclusive goodies: wallpapers, graphics, and free-to-use photos from myself and other sources.

I'd love to stay and chat, but the weather is too beautiful to be stuck looking at an electronic screen. my pasty white legs and I are going to go enjoy this sunshine while it lasts!

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In addition to my freelance work, I'm in the very beginning stages of possibly starting a side business. Last summer, I started to learn how to hand letter-- that is, basically, that I learned to write pretty. I started posting some of my practice doodles on Instagram and got a pretty good response, including a few people wanting me to address envelopes and create art for certain occasions. And then boom! It hit me. I really enjoy this. It serves a need. Why not do it professionally? But I'm taking baby steps, as it is an awfully big adventure for me and I'm not usually a big risk-taker.

So for the past few weeks, I've kind of been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I've been sleeping maybe five hours a night, working into the wee hours of the morning, and only taking breaks to watch my favorite shows-- Pretty Little Liars and iZombie. I woke up with a killer headache this morning-- almost migraine status, but not quite-- which has given me the excuse to just sit down and have this little chat with you all.

I do have blog posts planned for later this month that I'm excited about. More product reviews, for one, which I really enjoy doing. And I might even do a post on hand lettering, because it is a fun hobby that anyone can take up. I'll also be making a run to Ulta this weekend to pick up some new products I'm interested in, so expect even more hauls and reviews in the coming weeks.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me. And I hope you enjoy the little gift I created for you. It was my first attempt at digital hand lettering. Practice will hopefully make perfect and I'll be sharing more freebies like this in the future because I really, really love you guys.

Whew! After a week of being snowed in, I've finally been out of the house. You would think that being snowed in would give me that push to get shit done. What it actually made me do was sleep and eat more than any human being should.

But it also gave me the time to get some reading done, which was great since I have recently joined a bookclub. For January we read The Screwtape Letters, which is a Christian satire by C.S. Lewis. It was very well-written (of course) and I would recommend it to anyone, whether they are a Christian or not, because the writing was so good and it is near genius that Lewis created such an interesting world through only the letters of one character. Also, it has some bits in it that are relatable to humanity as a whole. It will make you think, and that is what a good book should do from time to time. There is also an audiobook version narrated by John Cleese-- if you find it hard to read, he will help.

It's 60 degrees today, but we still have half a foot of snow on the ground.

Like I was saying, I've finally made it out of the house. On Friday, Candice and I had a meeting with a potential client and spent the afternoon getting things ready for our bookclub meeting. Our friend Rose made the most delicious brownies I've ever eaten. Saturday was a shopping day. I picked up a Bowie album and the new Rolling Stone magazine with him on the cover and bought a few things from Ulta.

I went in to pick up the new cushion foundations from Physician's Formula and L'Oreal. They didn't have them... So naturally I bought things I didn't need anyway. To be fair, I've been eyeing the two Maybelline lipsticks since I saw them in a HeyClaire video.

This week is shaping up to be a busy one. I'm going to have to find that motivation from deep within, but with weather currently in the 60s, I might be able to manage.

How has your week been? East Coasters, have you dug out from the snowstorm yet?

There are few things I love more than a lazy Sunday, and that is exactly what today is. I've spent most of the day on the couch marathoning Say Yes to the Dress and planning a wedding for my, myself and I so I can have an excuse to try on some gorgeous dresses. Yesterday I bought a couple of copper wire baskets from Michaels to store my records and art supplies in, so between couch sitting and a helping of my mom's delicious spaghetti I did a little organizing.

Now I'm waiting for the Golden Globes Red Carpet shows to come on so I can see who is wearing what. As you can tell by my love of SYTTD, I live vicariously through others when it comes to fashion. And, because I do genuinely love acting-- as entertainment and as an art form-- I downloaded PopSugar's prediction ballot and filled it out. Granted, I've only seen a handful of these films and my record usually runs about 50-50, but it's just something fun to do.



I've also been toying with the idea of doing something drastically different to my hair-- drastic for me, that is. When I get an urge to change my hairstyle, I generally take the leap and go for it within a week or so. Sometimes a month. And this is turning into one of those urges. Previously I've had an ombre, teal hair, purple hair, short hair, long hair, red hair... Nothing too crazy, but I do tend to change it often. This time, though, I'm thinking about an undercut.

I want to start of this week's Life Lately by saying that I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. But now that Christmas is over, the start of a new year is right around the corner and that means that a lot of us will be trying to come up with resolutions to make 2016 the best year ever, am I right?

I've been thinking about the upcoming year for the past couple of weeks. What do I want to bring into my life in the new year? What goals to I want to accomplish? What do I need to change? I definitely know the answers to a few of those, and if you asked me to jot down a list of resolutions I totally could (and probably will). But today I've also been hit with a major realization: I shouldn't depend on these resolutions.

We all know the jokes about resolutions that get broken by February, if not sooner. And I think the reason why we break our resolutions so easily is because we put too much pressure on ourselves to keep them. It is overwhelming to start out on what is sometimes a new life journey in just a day. There is something to be said for easing into new habits and mindsets. And our resolutions don't even have to start at the beginning of the year! If one of your goals is to work out more, but you only make it to the gym a few times in January, that's okay! You still have eleven months to make it work for you.

Many of us also seem to think that if we don't accomplish a certain goal, we have failed. But something we need to remember is that, sometimes, things happen for a reason. Go ahead and roll your eyes (I would), but sometimes the reason you didn't get that job is because a better one is waiting for you. Sometimes he didn't put a ring on it because the love of your life is still out there. What may seem like a failure could be a stepping stone to something way better.

And that is why, even though I am making a list of resolutions and goals, I'm not going to be dependent on them. I am going to let my resolutions grow, or die, or change as they need to. I am going to set my intentions for the new year and hope that the universe allows that, or something better, to find it's way into my life.

But I want to know... Do you make resolutions for the new year? What are they for 2016?

Every few months, I take some time to consider the nature of my blog. In the past this has caused me to change the layout, change the name, or change the type of content I post. But, months later, I will still feel like my blog isn’t quite what— or where— I want it to be. Sometimes it is like my blog and I are two gears that just haven’t totally clicked into place yet.