in the mail.

 Question: Do any of you still send Valentines to your loved ones?

I'm sure my love for Valentine's Day mail stems from my immersion in early childhood + the day care kiddos I'm with every year: I look forward to getting 'miss amanda' scribbled all over the front of a valentine with characters from Cars 2 on the front and chalky love hearts attached in a baggie.

My valentines to siblings and schoolmates aren't covered in glitter and they don't have a tootsie roll pop sticking out, but they do come from the same place in my heart that they did when I was in elementary school and gave cards during my class party. I want to make my loved ones feel special and loved since they do the same to me.

________________________________________________________

Curious where I got these? I dug them out of my craft box a couple weeks ago and remembered that I bought them when chronicle books was having a sale. Find your own box here: the little box of I love you.

p.s. Just have to say... best new artist! so proud. :)

making life a little easier for your readers

I'm about to give you the secret to blogging. Well, it's certainly not the secret to blogging -- as there is none, but it will make your readers thank you and help make their daily blog reading a little simpler. And that's how we operate here over at project simple life.

I'm talking about the mobile version of your blog.

If you blog with Blogger, we all have one. But very few of us use it. I only discovered the mobile version of my blog this week and already Chad has told me how much easier it is to read my blog on his smartphone. Since the smartphone has come into my life, I've found myself on bloglovin' checking out all of your wonderful blogs while I'm doing mundane tasks like waiting in the checkout line, burning calories on the elliptical, and sitting in my car during my break. I've noticed that I am spending most of my time zooming in, scrolling from side to side just to read the post and look that the comments.

After making the switch myself, so to speak, I worked up this little 5 step tutorial for you. Feel free to do this on your blog page while reading this post! It goes a little something like this:

wake up + go.

pin no. / 242425966

Happy December. Am making it a point to enjoy this merry and bright season through all the muck of studying, cleaning, laundry, and the like. 

Right now the sun is shining, the to-do list is shrinking and I owe some of it to the tunes playing in the background. Yes, it's true, I have been playing Christmas music since the beginning of November, but... sometimes you need a little break from Band Aid + Mariah Carey + The Beach Boys.

Recently, I asked you readers if you had any 'on the road'/energizing music suggestions and thanks to you, I can drive to my 8am classes with a little more pep.

Listen to Project Simple Life // for the road:

I do still love those cozy Christmas carols while I snuggle on the couch, but I'll be playing these songs when I'm hurriedly wrapping the last of those presents and studying for finals. With a cup of hot cocoa, of course.

Happy Listening. :)

spring book sale.

Check it out people! Rachel over at Black Eiffel posted that Chronicle Books is having a little sale right now. 30% off + free ground shipping! I might have to pick one of these up:

Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Real Design Solutions // $27.50
Eric Carle Animal Lacing Cards // $14.95 (perfect for the nephew in your life who is going to be two at the end of April)
City Walks: London 50 Adventures on Foot // $14.95 (perfect for our European adventure this summer)
Forests Eco-Keepsake Notecards // $14.95

Promo Code: SPRING11
Valid through April 4th.

Happy Book Browsing!

(all images via Chronicle Books)

1. 2. 3. 4. picks of the week.

I can't stop browsing pinterest . As I mentioned before, it's my one-stop when finding goodies I want to save. I do it in between classes, at lunch, before Chad comes home, during Arrested Development, while eating Cheerios before school. You get the picture...I'm obsessed with pinning. As Marta would say, I "la la la love pinterest."

This week in between papers and midterms, I'm dreaming of...01. the major spring cleaning project headed my way during spring break....02. trench coat weather so I can wear the new trench coat I bought on Saturday...03. the day I get to drive to the grocery store with the moon-roof open and the birds sweetly chirping above me...04. the bakery in Brussels that Chad and I want to have breakfast at one morning this summer.

I pin, do you?
If so, let me know in the comments.
I would love more eye candy.

P.S. My trench coat is olive green and from Old Navy. I have never owned a trench before, so I'm pretty pumped. Old Navy had amazing winter clearance deals this weekend, so get your little selves over there and stock up! :)

pinterest (picks of the week).

With Piper's blessing (and enthusiasm), I'm starting my own version of her feature pinterest picks of the week:

01. bleubird vintage. 02. we love indie. 03. fiskars crafts. 04. flickr.

I didn't want to necessarily make my picks all about this time of year...but apparently the cold + the hearts everywhere just got to me. :)

Happy Wednesday!

sometimes you need a little romance.

Happy Weekend! I'll be hanging out with my love, doing what we love (...not) --homework and tackling the laundry mountain, and watching what he loves.

quote from the ever talented marta.
images from pinterest boards: a whole lotta love. holiday love. be my valentine.

my vote.

best use of sparkles/best princess dress: olivia wilde
best makeup: claire danes
best bangs: sandra bullock + olivia widle
best color: christina hendricks
best hair: anne hathaway
best guy: jake gyllenhaal + colin firth

Speaking of Colin, did you catch his speech? I swooned when he said this to his wife: "I think I can cope with just about any age as long as I still see her."

(I have watched the end of this clip about six times today. It's pure romance!)

What's your vote, readers?

the story of the calendar swap.

I participated in my first ever calendar swap just a couple months ago. When I signed up, I went into it thinking "Oh, I'll probably get some little-known blogger, since I'm a little known blogger." Well, Caroline must really do this at random, because I got Danni.

You know, of...oh, hello friend?

Yeah, I was surprised too. Since she was such an awesome blogger (who has 4500+ followers), I didn't want to pick the wrong one. I hunted her website for inspiration for a couple days and was still at a loss. Well, then I thought, "I'll just get her something that I would want on my wall for twelve months" (I think that was the point all along...). I found the perfect one and sent it right along her way (Hammypie even shipped it for me!).

During the week of Christmas (what a perfect week to get something, right?), a package from Danni arrived on my doorstep containing

this calendar from Paper Source,


and some sweet little goodies (the pocket mirror and pin...and come on, how adorable is that hot air balloon?)! She even put in one of her pocket calendars for me to tuck in my wallet!

Thanks Danni! I really lucked out getting her as my truly wonderful swap buddy. :)

hello, tangerine.

Say hello to our big Black Friday purchase. Our only Black Friday purchase (which we are quite proud of. We like shopping in our pajamas instead of standing in line at the checkout line for one hour, thank you very much...). Anyway, I have wanted a mixer since I started dreaming of my married life (like 5 years ago) and what I would put in my married kitchen.

This isn't just a brag-fest about our newest appliance. Chad and I have discussed for a long time about how making our own everyday staples would benefit our health and our wallet. With this new mixer, we can now make our own sandwich bread and our own pizza dough. (Side note: Have you ever tried to make dough using a hand mixer? It's no picnic... I tried once--flour everywhere.) We've also talked about getting the grinder attachment so that we can start making our own ground turkey, chicken, and beef. Oh the possibilities. It's our semi-food revolution, and we're excited to get started.

P.S. Any bread recipes that are a must try in your opinion? I just want to start using the dough hook...

pinteresting.

Have you guys heard of pinterest? It's a "virtual pinboard where you can post collections of things you love, and 'follow' collections created by people with great taste".

I just started a couple weeks ago, and now it's one of my daily sites. I like that it's just one single place to save things that I find online, instead of having several different places all over my computer.

If you're interested, check it out! And you can add me here.

check out.

Hey friends!

If you haven't see this already, please check out this video of the Real Housewives of SNL (I watched it at work and had to muffle some of my laughter...)

P.S. I'm also watching Parks and Recreation for the first time via Netflix. Am wondering why it took me so long to watch this show!


Am off to start my Thanksgiving Break!

the facebook movie.

The next date night Chad and I have, we will be going to this. All the movie reviewers are going gaga over the social network.

Have you seen it?

Chad said that when he sees it, he will update his facebook status while watching the facebook movie...:)


For your viewing pleasure, here's a clip about Mark Z. featuring my favorite SNL star:

Autumn Look: Sunday Night Football

Waitin' all day for Sunday Night.

You better believe I'll be supporting my team on Sunday night. Chad and I will be camping out in front of the TV, having a mini-date. And yes, we will be missing the Mad Men season finale, but that's what dvr is for, right? And if I was wearing this outfit, I'd be supporting them in style {instead of the pajama pants I'll most likely be wearing}.

It's all about skinny jeans on bottom and comfort on top. Isn't that Colts sweatshirt the cutest? And since I'll be watching the game at home, slippers are a must. I'll probably be sipping some Woodchuck Fall Cider. It's the simple events like hanging out and watching the game when I truly enjoy being married to a football fan {and being one myself}. Are you a fan of the NFL?

All in the details:
Old Navy Slippers.
Colts Sweatshirt.
American Eagle skinny jeans.

write about love

Let me talk to you about Belle and Sebastian for a minute.

I have recently become infatuated with them. It's all about the love on their latest {and greatest} album.

It's all because of this:

Belle and Sebastian Write About Love

Allow me to sing their praises--

I listened to this album on first listen via npr.org and I was hooked. Yes, I'm about 10 years late to the B + S party, but I'm so glad I own this cd. It's always nice to discover new-to-me music, is it not?  When a band pairs catchy beats with great vocals, I'm completely sold. It's like a cross between some She and Him and some Camera Obscura with a little Norah Jones thrown in there.  

I haven't even been able to get through the whole album yet because I've been stuck on this song:

I know. Feel free to play it two or three more times.

Happy Listening. 

happy ears.

source

 Hi Monday! With the weather getting colder and the leaves changing color, my music preference changes too. My daily drive is quite long, so here's what I am choosing to listen to this week.

Listen to my Autumn Playlist: right here.

In case you are interested--

01. Harvest Moon: Neil Young
02. Grapevine Fires: Death Cab For Cutie
03. Cinder and Smoke: Iron & Wine
04. Long Time Traveler: The Wailin' Jennys
05. re: Stacks: Bon Iver
06. Kaleidoscope Heart: Sara Bareilles
07. Now at Last: Feist
08. Different Names For The Same Thing: Death Cab For Cutie
09. Autumn Leaves: Nat King Cole
10. Brand New Shoes: She & Him
11. Two Weeks: Grizzly Bear
12. Train Song: Feist + Ben Gibbard

P.S. Want to win some beautiful postcards? Enter Jess's giveaway! Seriously...

havin' a summah

Havin' a Summah w/ Zooey Deschanel from ZooeyDeschanel

Came across this hilarious video a couple days ago and I thought you all would enjoy. It features my girl, Zooey, being taught how to enjoy summah.

My favorite lines from this charming little vid are below:

"You gotta reach out and grab those summah moments."
"You gotta get lousy with summah."
"You gotta rub summah all over you."
"You gotta roll around in summah."

I'm off to pick my summah gum and pull a summah prank on someone. :)

fashion goddess: lorelai gilmore

When the costume designer on the set of Gilmore Girls thought of Lorelai's style, she must have had me in mind. I can't think of any outfit that Lorelai had on in season 6 & 7 that I didn't like. She wears everything that I want to wear. 

She's got all my style points: V-necks, blazers, and perfect vests. Just look at the above lookbook: it's all so flattering. I feel that every body type can pull off the V-neck: it's the most flattering neckline for women regardless of chest size. Every time I watch an episode I think about wearing that ensemble myself.  What do you think about her style?

Note: I understand that GG ended in 2007, but thanks to ABCFamily, I get to watch reruns every day after work. Thanks syndication!

cute.

If you watch this cute little commercial, you'll probably end up with a smile on your face.

This gets my vote

for Best Movie of 2010. It is just that good. We saw it on Sunday since Chad goes completely ape over anything that is directed by Christopher Nolan. In our DVD racks I think we have the most flicks of his {Memento, Insomnia, The Dark Knight, The Prestige....just to name a few} and this one we'll definitely be adding to the list.

Go. See. Be blown away.

Trust me--it does not disappoint.