Cultivating My Green Thumb

Since the days have gotten warmer, I've found myself outside a lot more than usual. Regardless of what I'm doing, whether it be tanning or reading, I always end up transfixed by all the plants and flowers growing around the garden.

As I told you earlier, currently we have quite the collection of Clovers taking over the backyard. Seeing them all the time got me itching to bring some of that beauty inside, so I can enjoy them while I'm working. Well, for the life of me I could not find a suitable container for these transplanted beauties. A true conundrum, I realize.

This problem brings us to today when I went to the store for a random assortment of items. Immediately, I was drawn to the gardening section. I can not explain this new fascination, but I'm just going to go with it. Lo and behold, I found the perfect alternative to my dilemma. Enter: Poppy.

Isn't she a little cutie pie? Well, she will be. Once she gets growing. 

I found this nifty little "Poppy Grow Kit" at Big Lots for the crazy low price of $3.00. It was like fate was smacking me in the face saying, "Brittany, you must buy this!" Well, I am not one to say "no" to fate, so, of course, I brought Poppy home.

Plus, look at this packaging. It absolutely screams "pick me!" I think it's so adorable, that I am using it to decorate my room.Also, let's be honest, if Poppy doesn't grow, at least I will have a stand-in for her.

It also happens to be quite the coincidence that the store had a Poppy plant, because the town I come from is known for it's Poppy Festival. When they all start blooming, we have entire fields of orange. It's quite breathtaking. So, if I ever get homesick, I can just look at Poppy and think of home.

Oh, I just cannot wait for the seeds to start sprouting!

So, how do you all feel about the gardening thing? Are you good at it? I actually usually have very poor luck when it comes to plants, yet I keep coming back.

New Bucket List Addition

#22 Have a Dance Party with Zac Efron

The video is the ending scene of New Year's Eve. It isn't the best quality, but I feel like you definitely get the idea. I mean, who wouldn't want to join in when those kind of moves are getting thrown out?

 I saw the movie with my friends over the holiday. I realize this is a bit late in mentioning, but I actually only recently re-remembered a statement I made that night. I would say that, overall, the movie was okay. It was actually a lot sadder than any of us were anticipating. The crowning jewel of the whole film came at the very end, however and sparked the latest addition to my Bucket List. At the end of the movie most of the characters are together at a giant party dancing around. Well, as the credits are rolling, Zac absolutely breaks it down! He is just feeling the music pure and simple. After witnessing these moves, I simply had to make it a life goal to have a dance party with Zac Efron. Simple enough, I'd say.

I'll let you know when I complete it.

First YES Moment of 2012

Mark your calendars everyone! January 26, 2012, I said "Yes" to something new. This might not seem like a very big deal to those of you out there who are the "fly by the seat of your pants" kinda people. But to us homebodies, it's a pretty big step. So, what did I do? Well, I decided to rock the Casbah, of course!

See? I wasn't even being clever with that. Literally, we rocked it! My roommate was invited by a gentleman caller to a concert being held there by Nico Vega. She, in turn, invited me to accompany her. Seeing as this is the year of YES, I decided to give it a go.

I can safely say that I had absolutely no expectations going in. I had never heard of the band before, but I could safely assume that they fell outside of my typical Boy Band genre. Regardless, I went into the night feeling optimistic and I'll be honest with you, I was not disappointed. It was an absolutely delightful time! The venue is in Downtown San Diego with, as you can see, a very nondescript facade. The inside, though, is so much cooler than its outside would ever suggest. As soon as you walk in, the stage area is to the right and if you go straight, there is a separate "game" room. The game room has pool tables, a bar and some classic arcade games including Pac-Man. We actually spent most of our time in this section playing pool, pretty horribly I should add.

One of the stickers in the bathroom (I had to take a pic!)

The band had two opening acts and went on probably close to 10:45 or so. As I said, the band is named Nico Vega and I believe they are generally classified as Alternative. Even though they don't fall into my usual musical preferences, I thought they were great! The songs had quick, danceable beats that sounded completely different from anything I have ever heard before.The band, a threesome consisting of a male guitarist and drummer and a female singer, was definitely high-energy. They kept the (mostly male) crowd shuffling and clapping along. I would put up one of their videos for you to watch, but they get a bit nutty. So, you are free to check them out on youtube, I'm just warning you that the ones I watched took a drastic turn.
 
Anyway, I had a really great time overall. I was out of my comfort zone just enough that everything seemed new, but not so must that is wasn't still enjoyable. Small steps remember, I am still new at this after all. I am super happy that my first interlude into the world of Yes was a success. That definitely makes staying open to other future occasions much easier.

Now that you know how my New Years Resolution is going, I'm curious to know about yours. Are you being successful? Unsuccessful? Have you completely forgotten about yours already?

What Puts You in a Good Mood?

This morning I woke up in a rather depressed mood. You ever have those days were you can't help but critique yourself? Days when you look in the mirror and your nose seems like it's the size of Jupiter and all of your clothes make you look frumpy? Well, this morning had that kinda feeling to it.

I had to go to the Center and, truth be told, I was less than optimistic on how it would go. This attitude was, of course, purely dependent upon the Debbie Downer persona I decided to undertake for the day. It really had nothing legitimate to ground it. Luckily enough, I was not able to celebrate my private pity party for long. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but honestly, you get so much more back from volunteering than you could ever give. As soon as I got there, I was immediately surrounded by so much love and graciousness. 

I was able to get advice from people who have experienced more in life than I can even imagine, interact with other volunteers and employees who believe so much in the job they are doing and really, just soak in all that I can in such an environment. I left in such a happy mood, a complete 180 from when I arrived, all from talking and joking with other people. It's easy to get wrapped up in yourself and your own concerns, but I believe you can find real happiness when you involve yourself with helping others. I apologize if this sounds preachy, I just wanted to share with you what small action changed my day from blah to YAY!

This now begs the question though, what do you do to cheer yourself up? What makes you happier when you are feeling down?

Two other things that help me are:

McFly- "I'll Be OK"

My first iced coffee of the year!

It's the simple things.

The Best Part of Waking Up

Ordinarily, I would agree with the clever ad department for Folgers and say that the best part of waking up is any kind of coffee in my cup. But, not even my devotion to the drink akin to the nectar of the gods could overtake the beauty of a sunrise. Since I've been back at school, I have enjoyed some stunning ones. They perfectly represent what Sunshiny Beat is all about; finding the simple pleasures in life. I mean what could be more simple than the gorgeous color show the earth gives us everyday? I think they really do make-up for the whole not sleeping-in thing. Of course, coffee does come in a close second place.

In honor of these beautiful sights, I have devised a Wake-Up playlist for this Music Monday. Hopefully, these tunes will help you start each day in a happy and upbeat mood. You'll notice that I took the Wake-Up theme quite literally.

Wham!-"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" I challenge you not to smile while watching this video!

The Matches- "Wake the Sun"

Michael Franti and Spearhead- "The Sound of Sunshine"

Norah Jones- "Sunrise"

Matt Costa-"Sunshine"

Even though it might be cold and gloomy out, I hope you all carry the sunshine with you. Happy end-of-Monday everyone!

Back Into the Swing of Things

Well, I am back in school. All my working family members and friends are saying that it's about time, but I still think the break went by far too quickly. As the title suggests, I am attempting to reorient myself to the early mornings and overall productive lifestyle that comes with actually having to do something. That is, something beyond getting addicted to bad TV and reading Young Adult books, of course. In order to get myself organized for the year, I decorated this semester's schedule.

How do you like it? I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I might add some more little sayings to it, just to fill up some of the blank spaces. Otherwise, I find it to be a rather delightful way for me to keep track of my days.
In the same sense as this schedule, I also found myself a new craft project. I found this painting at Ross when I was out scoring myself a new pair of jeans, a trip you can read about here.

I don't know if you can see it completely, but it is a painting of the world with cute, quirky little pictures for the continents. I must say I find it to be absolutely adorable, with the perfect amount of whimsy. So after seeing it, I am now determined to recreate it for myself. This will happen. I'm dedicated. I just have to remember this dedication.

On another note, I think I've mentioned briefly that I volunteer for an elderly persons recreation center, right? Well, today was my first day back at that center and let me tell you, there is really nothing quite like being missed by people. I was shocked that so many of the members remembered me. This semester instead of being a computer tutor, I'm back helping at a little snack kiosk. So, I am certain to have a wide array of conversations. There is something about holding a hot beverage that seems to get stories rolling. I'll keep you posted (literally) on any little nuggets of wisdom I pick up.

After I finished at the center, I decided to lay out in the sun for awhile. Gotta get my Vitamin D levels up, you know? Soak up those positive ions! I snapped a few photos for you to enjoy too. What can I say? I'm a giver. You can see that we have quite the monopoly going on clover bunches. I love them.

See the bee?

Hope you enjoyed the photos. It was truly a delightful day today. Hey, the weekend is almost here! Do ya'll have any plans? All I know is that after two days of classes, I am definitely already ready for a break.

My Loves of the Week

loveisspeed.blogspot.com

You all are in for a rather girlie Loves list this week. It was quite unintentional, but it seems everything I love recently has a delightfully feminine quality to it. I hope you enjoy!

First up, we have a bit of a success story really. Like most women out there, I despise jean shopping. Saying that I avoid it like the plague would actually be a bit of an understatement for me. I always start out eager, thinking "I can do this, no pair of jeans is going to get me down". This eagerness endures about three, possibly four failed try-ons. From there, I go through this rather rapid downward spiral of self-pity and I leave the store with my tail between my legs. Gosh, this little scenario took an extremely dramatic turn, didn't it? What I was trying to illustrate, before I got swept up in my own drama, was that this week I successfully completed a jean shopping mission! In fact, not only did I find jeans, but I bought a complete outfit all for $15! Thank you Ross.

This is the face of success!

The next thing I'm loving this week didn't come from a store, unless we count the House of Mom as a boutique. I was scouring the house for clothing that has been forgotten and is in need of a new home. You see, when I put it that way it sounds like I'm doing everyone a favor, right? Well, I hit the jackpot during my little treasure hunt. Look at the gorgeous little numbers I found. Aren't they fabulous? I'm totally in love with them and have been wearing them around the house ever since their discovery.

My next love is also in keeping with this little fashion, clothing theme I currently have going for myself. It's the new ABC Family show Jane By Design. I can't help it, I love it. We are only two episodes into the new season, but so far it's a true delight. Full disclosure, the various attractive men in the show do play a rather large part in my love for it, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. If anything, I am crediting the show's casting director. Plus, the witty banter among the characters is just pure enjoyment. For example, the main character, Jane, has a guy best friend named Billy. I will tell you right now that the show is worth watching purely to witness the adorable nature of their relationship. Essentially, what I'm trying to say is that Jane By Design is just fun to watch and I eagerly await the rest of the season.

Courtesy of Just Jared Jr.

Finally, I love Rachel McAdams on the cover of Glamour this month. She definitely ranks as my favorite actress and I just love everything about her. Naturally then, I was sure to pick up my copy of the mag.

Bonus, it also happens to be Glamour's Man issue, so I am double in luck.

So all in all I had a very Love-filled week. How about you? What makes your list this week?

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Courtesy of mcmanuslab.ucsf.edu/SF

This past weekend I went up to San Francisco to visit some of my roommates in their neck of the woods. It actually contributed to what we hope will become a new tradition. You see, last summer my friends, roommates and their friends all gathered in San Diego for a what we dubbed the "Summer Bash". It was a weekend of cooking together, going to the beach, playing games and good ol' fashioned friendship. The Summer Bash was such a huge success, in fact, that we immediately planned another one for six months later.

That takes us to last weekend. Where we gathered once again, but this time in San Francisco and now under the title of "Winter Bash". We didn't really break our backs over creativity, huh? Despite the unoriginal name, the festivities were simply fantastic! The only truly disappointing aspect was the fact that I got so caught up with everything that I forgot to take any photos. So to give you a visual on the weekend's finer points, I decided to construct both a playlist (haven't done one of those in awhile, I know) and a little online photo collage of our activities.

Going-Out Outfit

Miguel Antoinne

Jimmy Choo-shoes

Target

Full disclosure, these pictures reflect very loose representations of the outfit I wore. I would love to tell you that, yes, I do have a pair of Jimmy Choos at my beck and call. Alas, no one likes a liar. Anyway, just take the general idea behind this outfit and scale it down a bit and you will have the mental image of my outfit in your head. 

Weekend Activities

Jenga

Twister

Just Dance 3

Bocce Ball

Catch Phrase

Playlist

3Oh!3- "Don't Trust Me"

Sean Kingston- "Fire Burning"

Pitbull- "Rain Over Me"

Usher- "Yeah"

Harry Belafonte- "Jump in the Line (Shake Senora)"

You can see that we clearly favored some of the more classic artists. I think it's just a generation thing. The Shake Senora one is courtesy of Just Dance, just so you know. So, hopefully all of this gave you a basic idea of my San Francisco weekend. Essentially, it was an amazing time! I think it was so great that we had the opportunity to all get together too. Life is about to get a lot more hectic, what with graduation and jobs on the horizon. We have to take all the opportunities to get together that we can now while they are still easily available.

Now that I have blabbed your ear off, how are you doing? Did you do anything last weekend or have anything planned for this upcoming one?

Bucket List

I have a Bucket List, a list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket. It is a bit eclectic, I'll admit. There are some items that aren't on this list only because I have them written down somewhere else and forgot to copy them. It's a work in progress but here it is so far:

1. See McFly

2. Take a Roadtrip Across America

3. Make a Souffle

4. Read a Book by Jane Austen

5. Get a Cat and Name Him Figaro

6. Have a Star Wars Marathon

7. Ride in a Gondola

8. Make Legit Mac & Cheese

9. Help Fix a Car

10. See a Hockey Game

11. Go to a Cheese Roll

12. See a Rodeo

13. Go to Australia

14. Get a Jumpsuit

15. Ride a/on Motorcyle

16. Be in Boston for St. Patrick's Day

17. Be in Times Square for New Years

18. Take a Picture Everyday for a Year

19. Go to a Ski Lodge

20. Do Something Spontaneous

21. Meet Derek Jeter

 I feel like a New Year provides some great inspiration for getting stuff marked off. In fact, my most recent success was #8 Make Legit Mac and Cheese. My darling friends, Joni and Taylor helped me prepare Ellie Krieger's recipe for Skillet Mac and Cheese from her Comfort Food Fix cookbook the other night. Let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious!

Before Baking

and After

  Let me just say, I am very happy I added that to the Bucket List. I feel like it was one of those additions that benefitted everyone. Yummo! Hopefully completing the rest of this list will be equally delightful. So, do you all have a Bucket List going? What is the most important thing on it?

A Year of YES!

Courtesy of washingtonpost.com

 Happy 2012 everyone!

In case you haven't realized it yet, I will warn you that I am definitely that person. I start every new year with the belief that it will be the best year ever. I make a list of goals and resolutions including the typical Become Healthy and Be a Better Person. These lists are generally forgotten by the time school starts up again, only to be found when I am in the midst of a personal pity party. In this instance, of course they add fuel to the fire and it becomes a quick downward spiral. Regardless of knowing this cycle, I am once again making my resolutions for 2012. If insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, then I am likely certifiable. I prefer to call it optimism. 

So with this information about me, it will likely not surprise you to hear that I believe 2012 is going to be a fantastic year. That might be a bit of a dicey statement for me to make seeing as it's also a transition year, but I feel confident. I will graduate this year. That means I will have to enter the real world. This will inevitably cause a few emotional rollercoasters, but it will also bring some much needed change. I feel I should bookmark this post for myself to reread for when I'm a post-graduate looking for a job and a whole new life. It might provide a bit of an optimistic boost. 

I'm also feeling good about this year because of the overarching goal I've made for myself. As the title of this post notes, 2012 will be a year of YES. This means that I will simply say "Yes" to more things. Remember that great movie with Jim Carrey, Yes Man? 

My goal is the same basic idea as the movie, but I am reigning it in a bit. Spoiler Alert- Things get a bit out of hand in his life. I'm not saying yes to everything, but I want to say it more than I do now. I have several homebody tendencies and while I might enjoy spending nights in, I know I should be allowing myself to experience more. So there you have it everyone, my goal for 2012. 

Are you making any resolutions for this year? If you tell me, I bet I can encourage you. I'm an excellent motivator, if I do say so myself. Shoot, you could help my with my "Yes" thing too. We could get a nice, mutually supportive thing going on here. Gosh, now I think you have to tell me your goals, plans are already in motion.