My Insta Love #6

From people's creative spaces to their actual creations, this week's selection of pictures inspire me to both create and to (finally) set up my own creative space where I can be surrounded by inspiration and make the magic (if you can call it that) happen!

Upcoming Goals - March

March is almost upon us, and that means spring time is nearly here! We've had a decent streak of warm weather lately where I live, although it's just starting to cool down a little again. Hopefully we've seen the last of the snow until next winter, keeping my fingers crossed! Anyway, a new month is nearly here and that means it's time to set some new monthly goals! First off, I'll let you know how I did with my goals for this past month.

The first thing I hoped to accomplish in February was to generally keep up the momentum I had built with regard to the work I was doing on my blog and other creative projects. There were times where I felt a bit stunted, whether by anxiety or simply having a brain fart, but I'd like to think that for the most part that I accomplished this goal. February was a really fun month, and I feel like I was still able to get a lot done at the same time.

My boyfriend's birthday was, according to him, a great success, and he especially loved me going out early on the morning of his birthday (the 14th, aka Valentine's Day) to pick up some fresh treats from the bakery. I picked up a box of cream-filled cannolis and another box of peanut butter cookies, two of his favorites. I also took him out to dinner at M.T. Bellies (was so thankful we were able to get a table during one of the busiest days for restaurants of the year) and then treated him to a viewing of John Carter: Chapter 2 at the Cineplex, where they just put in brand new leather chairs that recline at the push of a button. It was a very enjoyable evening.

And finally, even though I didn't study as many days as I would have hoped, I am confident that I still achieved this goal. While reviewing the test questions with my boyfriend's mother this morning, I found that I only got 3 out of 98 questions wrong, and the minimum amount I need to pass this test is 60%. I'm actually going to my store today to take the Product Knowledge Test, so everybody wish me luck! I'll let you know later how I did.

Wednesday Wish Lists #31

I've missed doing these posts, so I thought I'd finally bring you my first Wednesday Wish List of 2017! I keep going back and forth about whether or not I should continue this blog series - just showing you guys a bunch of things I wish I owned can make me feel a little materialistic sometimes. But lately I've been trying to think of it more as a way to show you guys a whole whack of cool things I've seen or heard about on the internet or elsewhere. It's certainly a great ice breaker, to chat with someone about cool things that you both love, and it's my hope that posting about a number of things that have recently caught my eye and that I've been lusting after will bring out those who like the same things as me, and from there connections are made! I'm always looking for fellow geeks to chat with after all! Without further ado, here is this week's wish list.

#1: Poison Ivy Formal Dress (Gotham Knights Collection) from Hot Topic! I flipped when I received the Hot Topic email with the new Gotham Knights formal wear line - everything in it is absolutely gorgeous! The Wonder Woman dress definitely caught my attention, but I also couldn't stop staring at the Poison Ivy dress. This style is typically something I would avoid, because it clings quite a bit to the model's shape, but I was thinking that if all goes well with mine and Kurt's trips to the YMCA, maybe I'll be able to tone up enough that I won't have to be afraid of these sorts of styles anymore.

My Insta Love #5 - Valentine's Day 2017

Hello everybody! I know Valentine's Day has already come and gone, but I still wanted to showcase a few of my favorite pictures that Instagram uses posted to celebrate the occasion. There were so many pretty pictures on my feed that I just had to show you guys a few of my favorites :)

Review: Unbecoming

You may have noticed by my lack of reviews posted lately, but I have been in a bit of a reading rut for the past... Well, it's been quite a while, I must say. I'd like to say that all it takes is one good book to mend that sort of bookless abyss, and for some people it very well might be. If anyone has suffered from a similar affliction, may I recommend this remarkable read. Unbecoming is a young adult novel that can easily be enjoyed by women of any age, and the three women who take center stage in this story suffer from their own separate afflictions, all within the same family and under the same roof.

Katie has final exams of her junior year (or the equivalent of that in the UK, where this novel takes place) just on the horizon, and as if that were not stressful enough, she is currently a victim of bullying because of a private moment shared with her best friend, where Katie initiated a kiss with her friend Esme. Since then, Esme has been ignoring her texts and calls and dodging any attempts at talking things through with Katie.

Caroline is a single mother, whose husband cheated on her and now lives in their old home with his new girlfriend, with their brand new baby daughter. They've moved to a flat in Bisham, where on top of working as a Realtor, she works hard to raise and be there for Katie as well as her son Christopher, who was born with an undiagnosed disorder. Things become even more stressful when Caroline's biological mother, who gave her up shortly after she was born, shows up out of the blue with nobody else to care for her, and with nobody but Caroline to take responsibility for her.

And finally there's Mary, who is taken in by her daughter Caroline and is lucky enough to live with her grandchildren Katie and Chris, although she has difficulty remembering her names - though Caroline tries relentlessly to drag Mary to a number of doctors, they are able to nail down a specific diagnosis, although they are certain that Mary suffers from some degree of Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Mary's condition is actually described quite aptly in the book itself, and I'll quote the passage for you guys below:

"He showed them the CT scan, pointed to some black smudges with the tip of his pen, and said Mary had plaques in her brain. It was about the only thing he was certain about. He used the analogy of a forest - one day a tree crashes to the ground and bang, the recipe for lasagna you've known for years falls out of your head. The next day a different tree silently collapses and bang, the memory of your first kiss disappears forever. Eventually, Mary would forget how to use the toilet, how to walk, how to eat. Until, one day, the forest became a wasteland and she forgot how to breathe.

'Silent, deadly, and irreversible,' the consultant said."

- Chapter Twenty-Two, Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

5 Galentine's Day Gifts!

Happy Friday, everybody! I hope everybody's looking forward to the weekend, and also to all of the fun days coming up next week. There's Valentine's Day, of course. As for me, on the 14th, it is also my boyfriend Kurt's birthday, so we will be celebrating Valentine's Day on a different day. And for others that want to celebrate the lovely ladies in their life, on Monday the 13th we also have Galentine's Day! I'll be perfectly frank, I had to Google the definition of Galentine's Day to fully understand what this holiday was all about, but I had no problem finding some super cool gifts that I wish I could afford to spoil my girlfriends with. 

#1: Cozy Essentials Print from Lily & Val! Like me, my girlfriends enjoy their downtime, and we love each and every nuance of getting to relax with our books, our video games, our Netflix and our snacks. I can guarantee that any of them would adore receiving this print as a gift. Honestly, I would totally buy this for myself right this second if I could afford it.

My Captured Moment #8 - Happy Planner 30/01/17 - 05/02/17

Happy Mid-Week, everybody! I'm a little late in sharing this, but at least it's because all of the other productivity has gotten in the way of me taking pictures of the last week in my planner. I was able to get a lot done last week, and I hope I can keep up the momentum throughout the rest of the month to continue with my first goal for this month :) Anyway, here are some pretty pictures of my Happy Planner!

My Insta Love #4

Happy Monday, everybody! I'm back, and I've found more of my favorite Instagram pictures to share with all of you :) There's something about scrolling through my Instagram feed that relaxes me (like I mentioned in my post about being at the gym for the first time) and inspires me at the first time, and I hope that these pictures can spark a bit of inspiration or relaxation into the coming week for all of you.

@thesaguarops @theresetgirlshop @carpediemplanners

@michaelsstores @katespadeny @kikki.k @targetstyle @homesensecanada

My Captured Moment #7: First Trip To The Gym!

Howdy, folks! Just noticed that I've been posting a lot of these My Captured Moment posts lately. I figure it's because a lot has been happening in my life that I'm just dying to tell you guys about for one reason or another, and I've really been enjoying writing about these various life experiences. I hope reading about these moments in my life has been enjoyable for all of you as well, because I would like you all to get to know the person behind The Written Word(s).

This past Thursday, I finally accomplished something that I have thought about doing for years and years, but my anxiety has always been by biggest obstacle. I am proud to announce that I was able to work through it and had a great time, and usually I'm not lucky enough for both of those things to happen in the same day, it's usually one or the other. Thanks to my amazing and supportive boyfriend, I was able to spend over an hour working out at the public gym at our local YMCA, and afterwards I felt good, both in a physical way as well as just having this overall feeling of accomplishment from facing one of my biggest fears.

Starting out with a positive attitude - and a positively awesome work-out top - certainly helped. When I ordered a couple of t-shirts for my boyfriend Kurt for Christmas, I also took the liberty of ordering myself a tank top with the intention of using it for working out. It was in December that Kurt and I first discussed attempting to start working out at the gym together. I wish I'd been able to get a picture of the full shirt, but the shirt proudly displays Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff, two awesome Pokemon, and the shirt reads "Workin' My Puff Into Tuff" and I absolutely love it :D

5 Books I Should Start Reading ASAP!

Like all fellow bookworms, I have a TBR list that's long enough to keep me from purchasing books for a long, long time - and yet, I just went to the bookstore yesterday and picked up two new hardcover YA novels :P And I feel no shame, because I know all of you - yes, ALL OF YOU - are guilty of doing the exact same thing, if not coming home with even larger book hauls (honestly, if I could find the 2nd gift card I received for Christmas, I wouldn't have stopped at 2 books XD). I really want to get back into reading this year, one of the reasons being I love writing about books and posting reviews on here. Here are just a small handful of books currently on my TBR list.

#1: Unbecoming by Jenny Downham! I remember eyeing this book the last time I was able to visit the bookstore (before Christmas, when I wasn't allowed to buy myself anymore new stuff and had to resist the urge to buy books with every fiber of my being). Something about this book stuck with me, and I found myself being drawn towards it again during my recent shopping trip to Coles. I think one aspect that has me curious is the grandmother in this story with Alzheimers. My grandmother does not suffer from this affliction, but she does have trouble with her memory, so I can understand to some degree the frustrations that exist alongside any sort of disease that impacts the memory of a loved one. It looks like a really interesting read, and I'm sure I'll be diving into it fairly soon.