Shout out to my Chilly Friends and on Nostalgia

My goodness California - ahhhhh - it's such a change from COLD Minnesota!

I've been to Florida, I've been to Texas, and now, California. Minnesota isn't calling me back, at least until summer hits. Nothing could stop me from coming home during the Summer. I love Minnesota summers as much as I love Californian Winters. Swimming in lakes everyday with my bestest friends during the summer, surfing the ocean in the winter. Riding {horse} here in the Winter, riding there in the summer. Best of two worlds.



It really is the memories we bring with us. The memories are what keep us coming back. Memories are also what keeps us moving forward. Remembering the best of times, wanting to create more for the future. They saturate and mend the feeling of loss when you leave something, in place you'll find yourself smiling with the thought of the good times, and thinking ahead to the future when you can recreate them - the best of times.

Nostalgia has always been a feeling that I loved. Nostalgia hits when you come across something - a song, a smell, a love letter, a landscape - that brings to surface, as quick as a pin drops, a memory that brought you happiness. It's this feeling that transports you back in time and at the same time, makes you look forward to the future, when you'll be there again.

Images: Lollila

5 Fabulous Bloggers

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend's wish!

When I first started blogging, I started with a young book blog, over two years ago. I stumbled upon the blogging world after I found a Random Buzz, the publisher’s site for teens to earn free books, and more. I was thrilled when I found out about the world of young adult book blogs, and spent hours writing reviews and learning about the upcoming books for teens. Fast forward a few months, I find a completely different world of blogging, a world were design, inspiration, classy Vogue like fashion was abounding and when I found this new niche and the many lovely blogs to go a long with it, I was hooked and began this blog as my own type of inspirational/Design/Fashion blog!

I hope you enjoy this list of some of my own favorites, which I check back for new posts almost daily, in hopes to be inspired.

Kitty Gallannaugh

Daydream Lilly ~ This is a blog that you won’t want to miss. It is stuffed full with design, photography, and fashion inspiration, frilly, feminine, unique and romantic is what I think of when I think of Daydream Lilly.

The Drifter and the Gypsy ~ When I’m on the search for design inspiration, the two blogs that I head to first, in correspondence with each other is Daydream Lilly and The Drifter and the Gypsy. If you are a fan of Daydream Lilly, this blog will also become a frequent stop!

Image: The Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman ~ Have you heard? Have you heard of Miss famous Ree over at The Pioneer Woman? If you haven’t, please, scurry over and find yourself spending hours scrolling through her confessions, photography, cooking, or homeschooling posts and be prepared to be delighted! Something about her writing style hooks you in a mere matter of sentences!

Casey’s Elegant Musings ~ Casey, from Casey’s Elegant Musins, blogs all about her wonderful vintage sewing adventures! She has a few great tutorials, and hundreds of great posts! I love her style, way of writing, and outlook on life.

White Hot Truth ~ Your going to love this blog! It is full of inspiration and tips to creating the best business plan possible for you. Danielle has an amazing style and voice for blogging. She knows how to get facts and plans to ya in a way that you will "get it" and want to put them in action right away!

What are your favorite blogs?

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend's wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses
Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Let that Teeny Bopper POP song get to Ya

Found

Well, I'll be the first to say that I don't pay much to the mainstream pop music out there...ask me about indie and I can give you a handful of my favorite artists. Pop though? I didn't know who Ke$ha was until last Fall. Justin Beiber? I wouldn't know if I was listening to him on the radio or not! However, some of the pop songs out there have a message that we'd do good at remembering in our daily hectic lives.

Cause next time your feeling blue....

{Song: Dynamite by Taio Cruze and DJ Got Us Falling in Love by Usher} {Prints: Myself}

I think that we can find inspiration in things everywhere. Even if it's not something that you normaly do, or in this case, listen to, take a look and maybe it will add that extra bounce to your step today. Maybe it will become your new theme song!

What songs give you that extra boost of happiness?

Only 16

I think it is so inspiring to find young photographers who have followed their dreams and are turning their lives, though not old in any sense, into big things. Meet Ann He. She is 16 and has already found her photos in publications! Oh, and did I mention she's quite an amazing photographer?

I think that it is important to have people like Ann. People like her have such an ability to inspire others. Peers her own age, students in her class, people that read magazines and blogs where her photography is found. Young to old, anyone can take something away from knowing that a teenager can create something full of beauty and creativity that tops many adult photographers!

If you have a passion - go for it. With enough try and hope, you'll reach what you never expected to have.

"Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope."
~ Edith Wharton

Make 2011 the best year for YOU

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Every year we make resolutions and goals to try to overcome bad habits or create new good habits. However, sometimes we forget to look at goals that help your physiological side - your thoughts and feelings, the way you look at life. Here are a few tips to help make your life better in the new year!

A change that I made in my life to enrich it and make it better is to work on following my creative pursuits and really just trying anything! I now find inspiration in anything, the way the ocean waves come in, a crooked smile, someone teaching another photography. Another thing that I changed in my life that really helped make it better was to just be myself! I live in the middle of the country, with horses and cows all around. I love riding and do hunter jumping, but Western is the "thing" where I live. I have learned to follow what I love even though it is not what others often do. I think following your dreams is the most important thing, not caring what other people think.

1) Schedule YOU time. This is the perfect way to help you feel refreshed, relaxed, and have a happier out look on life. It also gives you something to look forward to. In your YOU time, do something that you love, take an hour aside to take the yoga class you've been wanting to take, read a great book, take a stroll on the beach, there are so many options!

2) Create! Don't ever say that you don't have a creative bone in you, everyone does! Whether its sewing, knitting, graphic designing, or interior design, you just have to find the type that suits you! When you create, your life is enriched because you have a focus, and something to work on.

Dreams

3) Learn to look at life in a positive way. Don't say "I can't do that!" and laugh it of, instead say "sure, I'll try!" and learn how to do it if you have the will, it can happen. It's not a lie, when people say that you can do anything you want to if you have the try to do it - look at the two girls who are mermaids - they followed their dreams, you can as well!

4) Write out how you would like people to see you as. What kind of personality do you want others to see you have? Write them down and then think about how to act on these and make them more vibrant in your life.

~#4 for me: For me, I would like people to see me as someone who isn't afraid to express herself and her opinions. I feel like in our current ambassador program, we really need this and I would also like to encourage others to express themselves as well. I would like to do this by stepping up and saying what I think would make an event/topic better and opening it up to discussion for other people to add to.

These are just a few great ways to enrich your life in 2011, do you have other ideas?

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Simply Orange® blogging program. If I am one of the first 65 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 Target gift card and a gift pack that includes a Simply Orange® cooler bag and logoed fleece."

Inspired by {Menswear}

H&M Spring look from spread found Ashley Nicole Catherine

Sometimes, I find a style that I can't get out of my mind. Every time I see something that falls into the criteria of it I am in love. One of these styles is menswear, which we are seeing more and more of.

H&M Spring

Sweet bow ties are a must, paired with a button down they make for the perfect look. I also love to add a simple blazer to the look.

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And to make this look really work, I like to add feminine pieces to it. Lace - ruffly shirts, gathered skirts, and huge vintage statement glasses.


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You can also find a lot of menswear inspired pieces from places that aren't very expensive.

My go to for blazers is American Eagle, thrift stores, and my Grandpas closet. They can easily be altered!

You can look for big vintage glasses at yard sales and antique stores. Bow ties are also easy to find! That is one of the beauties of this look, you can include your favorite inspired pieces, mix with other styles to make it more "you" and you don't have to spend loads of money!

Are you inspired by the Menswear look?

When a Dream because the Reality

Floaty dancing

So I have this fantasy dream...

...I am soaring across the ball room floor, a stunning dress floating, swirling around my ankles. Everything oblivious except for the next move to make and Mr. Darcy following every movement.


Dancers

Every piece of everything, out of my thoughts, except for the movement of my feet on the still floor. The trust that my partner will keep up and follow along.

I would love to learn ball room dancing. My Grandma and Grandpa have been ballroom dancing, waltzing, somba, and other dances, for years and they are great at it, and love it! I would love to follow in their footsteps laid out to learn ball room dancing. It would come in handy for that ball I plan on attending.....

My 2011 resolution is to start to learn Ball room dancing.


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Black Swan

I've been waiting and waiting to see "Black Swan" for a few months, ever since I first saw the trailer. It looks amazing, does it not?

I think that part of the reason that so many (including myself) are excited to see it is that fantasy that started in our wee years of growing up to be a prima ballerina.

The costumes are part of it. I always seem to fall head over heals when I come across a stunning ballet costume, I especially love the traditional tutus, such as the ones shown in Black Swan. I also think it has something to do with the grace and beauty that is expressed in ballet, it's like a story is being told without words, all left up to your own interpretation and imagination.


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Have you seen Black Swan yet? What are your thoughts on it?

Vogue Paris ~ How to incorporate 1920's style into your wardrobe

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I love learning and researching the 1920's, I think it is an era so full of drama, magic, daring people, style, and at the same time confusion. I think that there are so many different parts of the 1920's that we will never understand! It is so fascinating!

I love incorporating 1920's style into my own wardrobe. Since the "roaring 20's" were so full of glamour, it can be hard sometimes to think of how to take inspiration from their fantastic style into our own, everyday looks. Here are a few tips to help you along!

1) Dazzling hair pieces!
Your in luck - stunning, sparkly, and feathery, hair pieces are in right now! They are also very 1920's! Wear a band in your hair with curled hair and you will add instant charm to the rest of your somewhat casual outfit! These also look great with sundresses, and in photography sessions!

Great hairpieces from Band.Do's black label to add a little 1920's to your look!

2) Pearls!
Pearls were seen often in the 1920's, in stunning Flapper dresses, hairpieces, to elaborate necklaces! You can look on Ebay or Etsy for some beautiful pearl collars, I bought one for a dress in the making that was only around $2o! They are perfect to add to just the right dress.

3) Sequin hand bags
Sequin hand bags are a great item to add a little 20's to your outfit that aren't expensive! I picked up a great black very Flapper inspired hand wallet at Target the other day on sale for $5! You could also look at vintage stores for an authentic vintage one!

4) That one special dress
There are so many 20's dresses in shops right now! With there drop waists and boyish - straight down - style, they make for a comfortable but stylish dress! With just the right amount of sequins, you will be the bell of the ball.

1) Forever21 2) Poetrie

Will you be using any of these ideas in your style? What era do you like to admire fashion wise?

Feel Glamorous

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One thing that I have on my list of things to do someday is attend a ball.

And wear a dress that looks like something that you imagined coming from a Regeneracy ball in New York 1890's,

And dance until the wee hours of the early morning


Dance

Under millions of dazzling lights....


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With flurries of snow swirling around outside...


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Do you have any dreams that make you feel glamorous?

Ballet Flat Love

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I've never had a real obsession with shoes like some, I more like to have an array of dresses to choose from, rather than shoes.

However....I do make an exception. For ballet flats (and oxfords), and these lovelies make me drool!

Right now, I am probably driving in the truck, on the long trip down South. Farmers Markets and the beach here we come! I have a few posts scheduled for the next couple of days so you don't think I completely disappeared!

1)Jcrew 2)Topshop 3)Kate Spade

I was thinking about doing a shoe DIY embellishment week, replicating a few of these beauties! Would you be interested in it? Which of these shoes are your favorites?

And since I just can't help myself, a stunning dress to go along, from one of my favorite designers, Jenny Packham!

You can make $1000 a month being a dog walker (not kidding!)

I was reading an article over at Covet Chic and then was pointed over to an article she suggested, "In defense of $500 shoes" about taking a different perspective on judging other people on the way they spend money. Everyone does it - I do - you do - your neighbor does - my neighbor does, it is the way we were built, a way of protecting our own egos. Anyways, it's quite an interesting article and I suggest you to check it out!


However, I didn't decide to write this blog post on the article itself, but a particular comment that I read about the article. In the article, it mentions how anybody can make an extra $1000 dollars a month if they do it in the correct way, even if it's dog walking. Well, this is what one of the comments said about that.....


"Let me know the neighborhood you're working where you can make an extra $1000 dogwalking. I'll be totally down."

My first reaction was "she's right! Haha!" and then, after I thought about it for a few minutes I started to see how you really could make $1000 off your dog walking hobby, or any hobby for that matter.

1) You start dog walking five dogs a week for $15 an hour - that's already $300 a month.

2) Now, you want to do more and make more money with this hobby and so you start a dog walking blog, full of tips and articles on dog walking. Soon your ranked in Google and have dog companies wanting to advertise on your blog. This is also a great chance to optimize your blog with Google Adsense.

3) Your blog starts gaining popularity, and you decide to start a little shop to go along with it. You buy your own domain name and hire a designer and stock your shop with the highest quality leashes, unique dog collars, and even pooper scoopers, all aimed at the dog walkers that love your blog!


For any type of hobby that you have, whether it be dog walking, ballet, or knitting scarves, you can always find ways to make money from it indirectly, you just have to find the optimism in you and the drive to get started!

1) Ballerina image 2)Doggy Donuts

Important update - Newsletter Subscribers

Guy Aroch

Hello lovelies!

I hope that you are all having a great start to the new year, I know I am....

....Our family is heading of to the sunny state on Saturday and so we are busy busy busy getting ready and packing up! Its so hard to think of everything you need when you know you'll be gone for a few months! How many books will I need? Are 6 different swimsuits to many? What about sweatshirts?

I have some exciting news for you though! I am switching blog newsletter hoster's to a more customizable format and think that you will really like the new way you'll receive Out of the Notebook and Into the Blog Newsletters!

To be added to the new list, just fill out your information in the subscribe box on the right sidebar! Thanks much!

I also wanted to share with you these beautiful spreads from the lovely Paris Free People catalog! I always feel like Free Peoples catalogs shoots are just stunning, a combination of beautiful photography, the right emotion, and lovely clothes makes for such a great catalog!

Images found via Drifter and the Gypsy


(Isn't this skirt just perfect?)

Aurorae Yoga Mat Video

I made this yoga video today, I just loved the sun flowing in through my window by my vintage desk that used to be my Great Grandpa Carls - he is turning 102 this Friday! The crazy thing is, is that he is perfectly healthy, not a single health issue other than that he has dimensia! His favorite food is root bear floats (I inherited that love from him).

He also saved the day when he shot a bankrobber in the leg back in the "good'ol days."

Anyways back on topic...I love yoga, it is such a great thing to do, especially for flexibility, strength. I definitely encourage you to try it out! One thing to remember about it is that if you don't like it try a different type! There are so many different types of yoga, I really like doing Vinyasa for myself. Once I get more experienced, I would like to take a canoe yoga class, I think it would be a challenging change

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The yoga mat that I use and love is the Aurorae yoga mat. It is thicker than a lot of yoga mats, and has raving reviews!

A resource that I always go to for new yoga pose ideas, is Fit Sugar. They have a lot of great articles and slideshows. And especially for everyone who feels like they ate a little to much ham for Christmas, here's a great sequence to tone your glutes!

Have you tried yoga?

Naenut Shirts

Sarah, from Naenut designs is one of those people that you just want to know!

Sarah recently started making these great shirts and after so many people started complimenting her on them, she decided to start an Etsy shop so more people could enjoy them!



Sarah's shirts make great gifts, either for yourself or a friend!

You can buy her shirts at her Etsy shope, Naenut. You also can visit her blog!