Valentine's Day Decoupaged Frame

 
This frame was actually my mom's idea and she helped me with the decoupaging part, so thanks, Mom! So yeah, when my mom went to visit my grandma and aunt last August, my mom got into decoupaging because my aunt does it to boxes and sells them or gives them away as gifts and taught my mom how to do it. Then, my mom told me she wanted to decoupage a picture frame and the colors she chose reminded me of Valentine's Day so we made it and now I want to share it with you guys.

-acrylic paint
-Mod Podge
-wooden picture frame
-a napkin, tissue paper or paper with the pattern you want to decoupage
-wood letters or words
-sandpaper (not pictured because I forgot! hehe)
-E6000 (not pictured either)
-brushes

Directions:

1. Sand the frame and the letters.

2. Give the letters one coat of paint. And while the first coat is drying....

3. Cover the front of the frame with Mod Podge or glue and paste the napkin or paper onto the frame. Smooth out evenly. And for those of you using a napkin like I did, put a plastic bag over the napkin so you don't tear it while smoothing it out and make sure you don't leave any air bubbles underneath the napkin or paper you're decorating your frame with.

4. Give the letters another coat of paint and let dry.

5. Seal the frame and napkin/paper with a coat of Mod Podge and let it dry. 

6. Wait 'til everything dries and then paint the letters one last time. Also, using a thin brush, paint the inner and outer edges of the frame with a color that matches your print. I used white.

7. Once everything is dry, glue the letters onto the frame using the E6000 glue and let dry.

8 Finally, when the glue is dry, give everything one last coat of Mod Podge and let dry.

9. Insert your favorite picture and you're done!!

A lovely gift for your Valentine!!

Book Review: The Help

Title: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Genre: Fiction

Set in Jackson, Mississippi, this book is written from the perspective of three women in the 1960s. Skeeter is a 22 year-old girl who just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She has the great ambition of becoming a writer but in a society where women her age are married and with children, she is considered an oddball and a failure. Aibileen is a black maid who secretly loves reading and is completely devoted to Mae Mobley, the seventeenth white child she is raising. Minny is Aibileen's best friend and the best cook in all of Jackson. However, due to her sass and smart mouth she can't keep a job until she lands a job with Celia Foote, an outcast in society because of her reputation. As different as these three women may be, they unite to write a book exposing the lives of housemaids and risk it all to change the way their town thinks.

Long story short, I absolutely loved this book! Why? Because even though it deals with a serious subject, it is funny, heartwarming and just plain amazing. I loved the main characters, especially Minny. She was just such a sassy yet endearing character you couldn't do anything but root for her. And Aibileen, she had gone through so many difficult moments in her life yet still managed to have a heart of gold. So if you haven't read this book yet, I definitely recommend you read it!

Rating: 5/5

Hello 2014!

Hey guys! Happy 2014!

I know it's been a few months since I posted and yes, it's almost February but a lot has been going on. I got a job (not in my field which is biology but it's ok for now) and that has kept me quite busy; I bought a car (!!!), I adopted a puppy and I also landed another job at a sea turtle center which I will be starting in March...so yeah A LOT has been going on.

Now on to the next part, I do love this blog but unfortunately, I haven't had much time to keep posting stuff which I super sad because I LOVE sharing my DIYs, book reviews and nail tutorials with you guys. :( So... I will absolutely try my best to post at least 2 book reviews and DIYs per month and any other extra posts I can manage to squeeze in.

Thanks so much for reading my blog and stay tuned for what's coming in February!

Cable Knitted Headband

Like I've said a couple of times, I didn't craft much while I was in Mexico. However, about a month before I came back, my family went to visit me and brought me some yarn and knitting needles I had requested. So, I made a few headbands. Not that they were of much use over there since the temperature was never below the 80s. Anyway, I made a few of these and gave them away to friends so they could use them when they went back home. They are really quick to make (took me less than 2 hours each) and don't require much yarn. Plus, they're super cute and I think they'd make great Christmas/ holiday gifts! So time to knit about a million of these!...

Materials used:
- 2 balls of worsted weight yarn (or you can use 1 of chunky yarn)
- size 11 knitting needles
-cable needle

Directions:
I used the Vanessa Headband pattern you can find here.

I made the narrow version, so I only cast on 14 stitches and instead of using chunky yarn, I used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together.

Action shot:

Closeup:

 Just the headband:

Thanks for reading and have a great day! :)

I'M BAAAAACK!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last posted but I'm back for good now and I will start posting regularly in the next couple of days.

So what was I doing this whole time?

Well, I was in Mexico working in a sea turtle conservation program and let me just say that it was one of the best experiences of my life! However, due to a lack of reliable internet and of crafting materials and an oven where I lived, I was unable to continue blogging, one of the other things I really enjoy. But now that I'm back home, I'll start writing book reviews for all the books I read, making stuff for fall/winter and baking to my heart's content.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one of my favorite turtle pictures I took. (The fish on top of the turtle are called remoras or sucker fish)

Hope you guys are having a lovely week!

 

Explore: Coba, Mexico

One of the things I really like about being here in the Mayan Riviera is that there are so many attractions and beautiful places I can visit by just hopping on a local bus or van and without spending a fortune. Today I'm going to tell you guys about a beautiful place I visited recently: Coba.

Coba is a ruin city located in the state of Quintana Roo about 40 minutes from Tulum and just about an hour from where I'm staying. Archeological evidence indicates that Coba was settled between 100 B.C. and 100 A.D. and at it's peak of civilization it was estimated it had about 50,000 inhabitants. There, you can see the Nohoch Mul pyramid, the tallest pyramid in Mayan Mexico, and if you're brave enough you can climb to the top and get a spectacular view of the jungle. You can also see a ballgame court, other pyramids and the astronomy tower.

I went to Coba with two of my friends a weekday morning so there wasn't a lot of people when we got there. Also, I think it's important to mention we went during the low season, otherwise, it would've been packed. Once we got there we paid the entrance fee which was 57 pesos (about 5 dollars) and entered the archeological park. Once inside, we decided to rent some bikes because: 1) we thought it's be more fun that way and 2) we'd get to the pyramids faster since they're not that close to the entrance. The bike rental fee is 35 pesos (about 3 dollars) for the entire time you stay at the site, which I thought was pretty good. After that we just biked all over the place, stopping at the ruins to take pictures, read up on some info and climb the Nohoch Mul pyramid. I loved Coba because you're in the jungle and everything was so green and exploring the ancient ruins was awesome. Overall, I would say it was a great experience and I definitely recommend visiting Coba!

Now, on to the most important part, the pictures!

In the jungle on the path to the ruins!

Biking  through the jungle.

Ballgame court.

 

 

 Me in front of the astronomy tower.

The astronomy tower again.

Nohoch Mul pyramid.

 View from the top of the pyramid.

Looking down from the pyramid.

 Another pyramid (not sure what it's called).

In the jungle, the mighty jungle....

 Cool fungi!

    

My Summer in Pics

Hello everyone!

I know I've been MIA for quite a few months and I'm sorry for that. I thought that I would find time to blog while abroad but apparently it wasn't possible for many reasons, the main two being: (1) the internet here is kind of crazy, so it goes on and off for days and (2) I've been quite busy with work and just having a good time with my friends/co-workers that I haven't had much time for blogging.

So for now, I'll just leave you with some pictures of things I've done/ seen since June and I hope I can start posting more often now that work is starting to slow down. Enjoy!

Marked turtle nest...pretty much what my job consists of (marking nests)

Crooked palm tree

Yal-Ku Lagoon

Chillin' at the beach

Tarantula outside my room...eeek!

Loggerhead turtle laying eggs

What I do when I'm bored at work...

Mural outside the ecological center

My new friend I found at the park

 Yummy chicken quesadillas!

Massive mushroom and cheese stuffed burgers I made for my friend's birthday

 

Green turtle laying eggs

Loggerhead hatchling...super cute!

Me with a baby loggerhead! :)

Yet another turtle mural!

Swimming with whale sharks!

 

Whale shark!

Loads of baby turtles!!

Having fun with friends!

Update from Mexico + Finding Books to Read

Hey guys! So... I'm back from my brief hiatus! I'm currently in Mexico where I'll be working 'til the end of August. I don't know if I had mentioned this, but I'm working with sea turtles and let me tell you, it's so freaking awesome! If you ever get the chance to go see sea turtles nesting or a hatchling release, DO IT! They're so cute and I'll definitely make you appreciate these creatures more.

Anyway, today I was supposed to post a book review but I've been super busy and getting used to my new schedule (I work from 8pm to 4-5am and sleep during the day) so I didn't have time to finish a book or write a review, so I'll leave you with this short post about how I find books to read. Hopefully, I'll get used to the change in schedule soon and post more often because I definitely have a few things I want to post about while I'm here!

I don't know about you but I usually had a hard time when choosing what books to read next, that is until I found Goodreads. I mean, how to you usually find out about books? The New York Times bestsellers list? Recommendations from friends and family? Books advertised at your local bookstore or library?

I think those are all pretty good options but I feel that the NYT list, bookstores and libraries advertise mainly new books. So what about older books? Then, some people only tend to read a certain genre, so when you ask them for recommendations they might only recommend from that specific genre, which might not be what you're interested in. For example, if I were to ask my dad for a book recommendation, he would probably recommend a book about politics, crime or the military but if I were to ask my sister, she would most likely recommend a historical fiction or a biography book. So what do you do then?

Well, this is where Goodreads comes in. Now, I'm not saying you always get good recommendations from Goodreads because I've definitely read some books I found out about through that website that were not that great. I think that the best way to find out about books through here is to join a book club. I joined a book club on Goodreads, called College Students! And although I'm no longer a college student I definitely feel like I can relate to the people in this club because mostly every one is in their late teens or twenties, in college, recent grads or grad school but most importantly, they all love reading. I'm really glad I joined this book club because they come up with a Reading Challenge about every 6-7 months, where they include a list of tasks and a description for that specific task. For example, one of the tasks is called "Blind Date" and the description says: Go to the library and pick a book from the shelves at random. Without reading the summary or anything from the book, check it out from the library and then cozy up with your "blind date" at home. Being in that book club just really motivates me to read and encourages me to read books I had never even considered reading before such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Book Thief (which by the way is AMAZING!!), Thoughtless, Perks of Being a Wallflower and so on.

How do you find out about books and choose what books to read? Also, if you have any recommendations feel free to leave a comment!
 

My Week in Pictures: Boston Edition Part 2

Hello everyone! I'm back from Boston! I actually got in today at about 3am because my flight home from Dallas was delayed for 5 hours due to bad weather, which totally sucked because I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. Anyway, I'm back but this week is going to be hectic because I'm taking the GRE on Wednesday and I'm leaving for Cancun on Saturday so I might not post anything next week. But before I go on my brief hiatus, here's my week in pics!

 Sunday: My sister's Commencement!

Monday: Helping my sister move out from her dorm. This is the view from the top of her building.

Tuesday: Dancers by Renoir at the Museum of Fine Arts

Wednesday: Taking a walk at Boston Common/ Public Garden.

 Thursday: Salem Witch Trials Memorial/ Cemetery. Each stone that's sticking out of the wall represents a person that was executed "for being a witch."

Friday: At Logan Airport waiting to catch our plane to Dallas.

Book Review: The Edge of Never

 

Title: The Edge of Never

Author: J.A. Redmerski

Genre: New Adult/Romance

Hello lovely ladies, greetings from Boston! Since knew I was going to be on vacation when I posted this, I decided it would be appropriate to write a review about a book whose characters go on a trip and this book immediately came to mind. I actually read this book earlier in the year and I really liked it so I wanted to share it it you guys. (Also, I couldn't think of any other books about trips... ha!)

Camryn Bennett is a 20-year-old girl who's tired of not knowing what she's doing with her life. One day, she hops on a Greyhound bus, determined discover herself and see where life will take her. It is on this bus she meets Andrew Parrish, a nice, carefree guy (who happens to be ridiculously good looking). They soon become travel buddies. When it's time for them to part, they find it hard to do so and decide to go on a road trip together. While on the road trip, Andrew makes Cam live life like there's no tomorrow and experience things she wouldn't have otherwise. Eventually, they end up falling in love. But there is something Andrew is keeping from Cam that can tear them apart forever...

Whew! Where to start? This book was amazing! I must admit it was a bit slow at first but as soon as Cam hops on that bus and meets Andrew, the pace picks up. It was just so sweet and romantic... and even a bit steamy. You'll definitely like it... I'm not really into these types of books and I really enjoyed it. I loved Andrew's character. He was sexy (according to the book description), musically talented and overall a really nice guy. I definitely wouldn't mind having a friend (or boyfriend ;) ) like him. It was also a very emotional story- I laughed, got mad, might or might not have shed a couple of tears, you know... the whole spectrum of emotions. I highly recommend this book!

Rating: 4/5

My Week in Pictures: Boston Edition Part 1

Greetings from Boston! I'm having a lovely time here with my family. I've been pretty busy while here but since I've been taking a lot of pictures I wanted to share some with you. Enjoy!

Sunday: My mom and me on Mother's Day! :)

Monday and Tuesday: Skipped.

Wednesday: Getting my carry-on ready for Boston.

Thursday: Up in the air.

Friday: Me and my sister at Boston Common.

Saturday: Quincy Market (where we ate) and pirate ship at the wharf (ahoy mates!).