#SwiftlyPainted Challenge - December 2013

We're moving right along.

It's already month #3!

Can you believe that it's already December?

{how's that holiday shopping going??}

December 2013

writing prompt :: what are you thankful for?

create an image depicting a value you have.

So, this photo is probably not the best for a self-portrait challenge, but I'm in it so I'm making it count! One value that I have is that I am a child at heart. This photo is of my sister and my niece with me at the movie Frozen on Thanksgiving day.

I'm thankful for my family and my friends and my husband and my job and my health and all the blessings in my life. I'm so glad to be where I am today, and I know that it wouldn't be possible without everything I just listed.

Values I posses and treasure are love and humor. In this self portrait I surprised my love with an extender of mistletoe. A purchase I couldn't pass up for the random surprise. This photo makes me smile. I feel like you have to treasure the little moments in life. 

You're Supposed to Be the Leading Lady of Your Own Life

The Holiday is this weeks chick flick! 

Any woman who has suffered through bad relationship after bad relationship can easily relate to the two main characters in this movie. 

Or 

Any woman who can stare at Jude Law all day or laugh at Jack Black all day can also relate to this film. 

{via make five}

Amanda (Cameron Diaz) lives out in LA. Iris (Kate Winslet) lives right outside of London in a quaint little town. They are both heartbroken, frustrated, and in the need to get out of town for the holidays. They find a website online that allows them to swap homes for a holiday away and get away from their lives immediately.

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Iris is enjoying the swanky LA lifestyle, meeting kind old souls from the film industry and nice composers like Miles (Jack Black). She has begun to make some amazing friendships, yet somehow her past seems to follow her to LA. 

{via favim.com}

Amanda doesn't find the isolated cottage quite what she thought it would be. She finds comfort in drinking lots of wine and dancing/singing as loud as possible. Amanda is on the verge of going back home when Iris' brother, Graham (Jude Law) shows up in a drunken stupor and changes her mind. 

{via lets-go-to-the-movies @ tumblr}

Both Iris and Amanda find a sense of self and happiness on this holiday. They may even find the men of their dreams… 

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Oh, Monday

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There's so much negativity out in the world. It's hard to remain positive when everyone either brings your down or has ceased having hope. When getting rejection after rejection for job applications,  I just have to get back up and keep at it! So, stay positive, folks! 

{via a-thousand-words @ tumblr}

Now, I'm not so sure that I would recommend doing this out loud unless surrounded by a group of friends as I'm sure you'd get several strange looks, but it does makes you think. Anyone who reads knows that at any moment the plot can change. So, why not apply that to your life? Your life is obviously going to randomly change, and I think it's genius to relate it to a plot twist! If it didn't change, life {and books} would be very boring. Enjoy your plot twists this week!

The Rumor-Filled Totally False Account of How I Ruined My Flawless Reputation

This week's Chick Flick is.....{drum roll}.......

{Via viewfromacouch.wordpress.com} 

Easy A with none other than Ms. Emma Stone!

Following a class assignment to read The Scarlet Letter, Olive finds herself being caught up in a few lies that spread like wildfire, ruining her reputation. What starts as a small white lie to a friend, turns into a bundle of false accounts about Olive's love life. She handles it with some grace, some humor, and a self-sewn A on her newly acquired wardrobe.

Add in her (smokin' hot) childhood crush, a jealous best friend, and a (pre-crazy) Amanda Bynes enemy for a quotastic {yes, we made that word up!} movie.

{via Pinterest}

{Via fanpop.com}

We also truly hope to become parents as funny as Olive's one day. 

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Also, the Pocket Full of Sunshine scenes are hilarious!
Prepare to have this gem stuck in your head all day.
{You're welcome!}

{via rebloggy.com}

And, any true chick flick lover understands the love of John Hughes and hopeless romantic desires.

{via celebquote.com}

{via sheknows.com}

Good job, Easy A. Good job.
We applaud your humor and ingenuity.
You'll always be a favorite in our movie collections!

{via pinterest}

It's the Holiday Season [Hump Day Hugs]

Well, Halloween has come and gone, friends. This can only mean one thing - the holiday season is upon us! And, in time for the hurried season where we run around like chickens with our heads cut off, we have the perfect hump day hug to get you ready!

Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

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It's so easy during the holidays to get overwhelmed with everything that has to be done - all the presents that have to be meticulous picked and bought and then mailed, the cards that have to be signed and sent, etc. So, it's not hard to imagine that we get caught up in the power and possessions and prestige that they bring us.

This season, we're challenging ourselves and you to realize where your happiness truly lies - in the ones you love that will always be there, even when the three Ps - power, prestige, and possessions - aren't.

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Book Hangover

{Via thebennetsisters.wordpress.com}

It seems to be a common trend for chick lit to take a direction towards Mr. Darcy, and I seem to be convinced I have to read them all. Of all the Austen-themed books out there that I've read, this has been my favorite. 

Katherine Roberts is a prestigious professor and keeps hidden from her colleagues her obsession for Jane Austen and a racy romance novels. One set of "trashy" chick lit novels she loves are written by an author Lorna Warwick, whom she has been exchanging fan mail with. Lorna has a secret, she's really a he, Warwick Lawton, and he has fallen in love with Katherine. Katherine is attending a Jane Austen event at Hampshire and hopes to meet Lorna, but instead keeps coming across the frustrating Warwick. 

There is also another love story line in this book. Robyn has been with the same unappreciative and unadventurous man since high school. She has been saving up for so long for her Jane Austen getaway. Once she gets to Hampshire, her boyfriend, Jace is a pest and keeps popping up and ruining her weekend. Robyn meets Dan at the at Hampshire, and she just can't seem to stop herself from thinking about him and how to get rid of Jace.

This book was funny, sweet, and flowed seamlessly while doing justice to the Jane Austen theme. I highly recommend it, especially if you Jane Austen.  

{via goodreads}

I read this book in a little under 48 hours. I was looking for a quick read that I could just breeze through because sometimes you just need that in a book, and this one fit the bill! I loved that it mostly occurred through twitter convos too.

Abby Donovan - the heroine of this story - is a writer who has been praised for writing the great american novel. Some years later...she's still working on novel number two, and she just can't seem to get past chapter five. Unknowingly, her agent sets up a twitter account for her, which is how Abby meets Mark Baynard. He is off on his own adventure to inspire himself to write his own great american novel...supposedly.

The two interact through direct messages only and connect almost immediately. Your heart leaps into your throat when he sends her a message and they banter back and forth. Oh, but the end...the end, the end, the end. I re-read three times I loved it so. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that it brought tears to my eyes each time I read it.

Reading this book is time well spent.

Monday...again?

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Monday's are always rough for any one. I want my weekend back! I don't know what I'd do without coffee. I'm also envious of the Starbucks cup picture Cassie posted this morning (share, lady!). Coffee in tow, I'm ready to take on this week! Let's do it!

{via the meta picture}

After a long and busy weekend out of town celebrating at a family wedding, I just couldn't bring myself to think deep. Also, I'm pretty sure my Monday will involve lots of cookies or multiple cups of coffee or both...