What Ana Does

I was flipping through a journal I created in 1995 that included magazine pictures that once hung from the walls of my teen-year's bedroom. When I moved out for college, I had to clear the walls (and room) for my little sister who moved in. So everything got pasted into this journal -- except for the large posters of Keanu and the Young Guns movie poster, they were probably trashed. OK, so my taste in cute boys was flawless, but this makes me feel a bit old, right? Bruce Willis with hair!?! Leo! My darling, tragic River?! And friggin' Jordan Catalano! My So-Called Life and LEO This journal also had my thoughts and feelings on life, poetry and profound quotes, neat vocabulary words, names of my future children, and MANY more pages of cute boys. It's actually pretty cool. I have diaries and journals dating back to when I was 11 stored away, but this one is a definite favorite. I can't wait for Leah to page through this when she's a teenager.  

I've been thinking a lot about aspirations lately. Maybe because of this diet and how close I'm getting to my goal -- it's a pretty fantastic feeling. Like, I put it down (the lbs, not the inches around the middle, unfortunately) and now I'm getting there. And the saying is, if you put it out there, it might come back to you. Not sure where "there" is, but this blog seems "there" enough for me. Alice in Paris! 2010 Goal 1: Live in Paris for 2 or 3 weeks.  - I dream about renting a small apartment and living as a Parisian for a time. What we discovered during our time in Berlin is you get so much more out of a city if you're at their grocery stores and taking the kids to playgrounds and little restaurants. Bring my kids, my hubby and just enjoy the sights and sounds of daily life in France. Goal 2: YA book reviewer/editor or something.  - Let's just say it. I would love to read as an occupation. I'd be good at it. I find holes...

You guys, how cool is this?! One of the cutest decorators that I follow ( Emily Henderson) helped redesigned an apartment of one of the bloggers I follow ( Cup of Jo ) -- and that's not even the cool part. It's a teeny apartment in NYC -- with lots of windows and there are lots of cool ideas for small spaces, etc. Including ... TA-DA! An Art Wall Behind the TV... Art Wall! I'm not saying I invented the concept -- I probably gleaned it from a book or HGTV show (possibly even Emily's) but it's what I was going for, for sure. Sometimes I just don't know my own decorating genius until I see other people do it, too. Sigh. My Art Wall With TV Even her explanation is exactly what I was thinking: Pretend like the TV isn’t there and just have an awesome art wall. Place the TV in front of it (ideally in front of a piece of art that has a lot of simple information ) and take away the importance of the TV. It’s as if we were all,  fine, we can put the TV ...

Did a quick makeover to the colors on the blog. Hope you like it. Yellow just makes me happy!

Pretty Leah in Chicago  Updated the blog with a summery yellow look. Pretty! Who doesn't like yellow!?

Me and My Baby The end was near ... then I started looking for a new name for the new blog. And it stalled. We moved 13 months ago, so this blog is nearing the expiration date on it's content. I'm not really talking about the move anymore. Though I'm still decorating the house, but I don't see that ending soon. So, I've been brainstorming a blog title that has some longevity. A title that embodies me and all my thoughts, interests, inspirations, likes and dislikes. I started out with a pretty long list of ideas. Old nicknames, adjectives that I use to describe myself (or other people have used -- ie. messy) and favorite things. And DAMN the internet, because most of my favorite ideas are taken. And some of my favorites are used by blogs that aren't even publishing posts anymore. What's a girl to do?! Get more creative, I guess.