GET ORGANIZED 2015: FREE O.I. PRINTABLES

Remember last year when I vowed to get organized and whipped up a bunch of cool calendars, to lists and other dastardly printable tools to keep me on track? Well I am back at it again with an updated 2015 edition! Hat tip to my favorite Austrian reader, Julia, for putting in the request for these babies and forcing me to get my butt in gear. So, let me present to you . . . . 

a monthly calendar and weekly to do list, 8.5" x 11" (download here)

a monthly calendar and master goal list, 4" x 6" (download here)

a weekly to do list, 4" x 6" (download here)

a master to do list, 4" x 6" (download here)

 . . . . and, last but not least, a flexible three month planning calendar, 8.5" x 11" (download here)

Hope you like these! Fingers crossed I follow my own advice and get myself back into the swing of things pronto. :)

In the meantime, happy weekend!

p.s. Notice how I am burning the midnight oil in the photo at the start of this blog post? I make up for late night with confetti, though, so it's all good!

LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

If you woke up this morning and thought 'Eeek! Christmas is only days away and I still need gifts!' then never fear! Several years ago I did a round up of my favorite things on offer at Amazon that will ship for free in two days with a Prime membership (I have one; it's totally worth it!). Well, I thought that was a pretty fun exercise, so I am back again this year with an expanded list. Here are a bunch of things that will be sure to please all of the nearest and dearest folk in your life this holiday season and arrive on time!

GIFTS FOR BABIES

one | kid o color steps, $6.88

two | skip hop moby bath spout cover, $12.99

three | ulubulu silicon shark bib, $8.99

four | vulli sophie the giraffe teething toy, $17.99

five | sandra bouton's greatest hits, volume 1, $12.70

GIFTS FOR KIDDOS

six | the new way things work, $22.14

seven | schylling kids accordion, $18.67

eight | sakura set of 25 cray-pa oil pastels, $5.29

nine | pure fun kids jumper indoor trampoline, $64.62

ten | 884 piece lego set, $50

GIFTS FOR GUYS

eleven | clark's desert boots, $39.99 - $149

twelve | gopro hero 3+ black edition digital camera, $349.99

thirteen | alessi stainless steel watch with leather band, $185

fourteen | the essential bar book, $16.39

GIFTS FOR LADIES

fifteen | kate spade cedar street dot lacey wallet, $178

sixteen | fresh & easy: what to cook and how to cook it, $32.43

seventeen | kindle paperweight e-reader, $99

eighteen | razzle dazzle amaryllis plant, $23.99

I am signing off today and will be away from the blog until 2015 (feels weird to say that!). I hope you have a fabulous holiday and enjoy the remainder of 2014 to the absolute fullest. Happy Holidays! See you next year!

*This post is not sponsored by Amazon (or anyone)! I just happen to be a big fan!

HAPPY 2014! GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR

Hello friends! Happy New Year! Did you have a good holiday? I spent a week and a half hanging out with my family, eating too much, lounging by the fire and all around making merry. Not a bad vacation I would say! I have a couple pretty photos of my activities to share with you in the coming days, but until then I wanted to take care of an important early 2014 activity . . . Writing New Year's resolutions (or revolutions, ha!).Groan, right?Well, not necessarily. Normally I don't make resolutions at the start of the year because I find them hard to keep and usually overly critical of ourselves (think about it: the average resolution basically says we are too fat, too tired, too boring, etc. when we are all just trying to do our best!). Instead I am putting together a goal list which, semantically speaking, seems like a more positive approach all around. So here is my list of goals for 2014—things I want to keep I mind to help me be my best, kindest, most productive and happy self. . . 
one | WORK SMARTERWe all do it. In any given day I have so many things on my to do list that I find myself endlessly multi-tasking or getting distracted by minor issues (I spent several hours the other day trying to track down a New York City phone book from 1965 for my dissertation, to no avail. It was a true 'rabbit hole' project that sucked up my afternoon and made me want to reassess how I was spending my days). This year I want to endeavor to work smarter, focusing closely on a given task and getting it done efficiently and effectively (using this method has helped me a lot; as has making accomplishment lists with this app). This especially goes for working on my dissertation—which needs nearly all my energy this year—but also accounts for maintaining a work-life balance. If I work smarter on my school-related tasks, I will be able to better focus on spending quality time with friends and family.
two | PLAY HARDERWhich brings me to number two. Being an only child, I often find myself falling into the abyss of self-sufficiency. I can go weeks without seeing my dear friends or spending an evening on the town. This year I want to prioritize my friends and family more, setting aside time regularly to see and catch up with all my favorite people. Just say no to be a hermit!
three | STIR IT UPThere was a time a couple years ago when my husband had a slightly less crazy job and we were actually managing to have 'family' dinners together frequently on weeknights. During that time I made it a priority to make a big home-cooked meal several times a week. These days, having dinner mostly on my own, I find myself shirking a proper evening meal for snacks or random frozen foods. I love cooking (and would like to think cooking loves me!) and want to try to make at least one or two 'nice' dinners a week. That shouldn't be too hard, right?
four | GET LOSTI live in one of the most vibrant, exciting and busy cities in the world but I don't take advantage of it! I find myself stuck in the library or my apartment studying (see #2) and more often than not learn about the cool new exhibition/show/restaurant/pop up shop long after it's over/closed/uncool. If I am going to live in NYC I should take advantage of it, no? So this year I want to hit the town more. Go exploring. Get lost and discover a new neighborhood/cafe/park/store. Otherwise I will regret not doing this in the future when I live in a boring suburban town, right? :)
five | BE KINDIn keeping my accomplishment list (see #1), I have started adding a daily addendum: a random act of kindness. I would like to think of myself as a nice, thoughtful person but it can't hurt to try to do more. This year I want to reach out to friends with random little surprises (see #2) like care packages when they are sick, funny emails when they are feeling down or just a random call to say hello. This goes for strangers too; New York so often has the reputation for being unfriendly or downright rude so each day I try to hold the door open for someone, pick up something they dropped or offer them my place in line to help counter that (erroneous!) rap. Be nice—it's contagious.
six | GO BOLDWe all have moments of doubt: can I really do this? Am I qualified? Is it going to be an epic fail? Whether it's a new blog feature, reaching out to a colleague you admire for advice/mentorship or simply starting a new project you've been thinking about, I say go for it! This year I am going to interview a ton of really famous artists for my dissertation (Lynda Benglis, Yoko Ono, Ed Ruscha and more) and I am going to be brave and bold and leave them thinking that I am bright and will represent their work thoughtfully and thoroughly. I am also going to re-learn calligraphy, make a quilt (like this one) and master trapeze sailing on our new boat. What crazy new things will you take on this year?
seven | JUST DO YOULast but definitely not least: I want to just be me. We all spend so much time thinking, if I could only be a little bit skinnier or look a bit more like that model/actress/athlete or be a bit richer then life would be better. What we don't think about is all the awesome things we already have going for us (brains, health, family and friends, etc.). This year I am going to focus on my blessings and try not to compare myself to the other people out there—bloggers who seem to make every post perfectly pin-able, friends who travel to exotic locales every other week, classmates who have five jobs and write a million articles at the same time. This year I channeling my inner two year old and focusing on myself. :)
What are your goals for 2014? I would love to hear them in the comments! Let's support each other and make this year one to remember.  

GETTING ORGANIZED

As you have probably figured out, I have not returned to regular blogging despite my promise last week. Oops! Turns out I needed a slightly longer stretch of downtime than I thought to decompress from exams and the holidays and to gear up for 2012. 


So let's start fresh next year, shall we? I will be back in full swing (I swear!) next week with some fabulous inspiration and eye candy to get you excited for another year of "obsessive images". Until then, enjoy the last days of 2011!


(photo of products at the Apple Store taken by me, in Boston, circa 2008)

TO RESOLVE PROJECT

I love this project organized by graphic designer Chris Streger. Called the "To Resolve Project" he describes it this way:

TO RESOLVE PROJECT is something that came about when I started talking new years resolutions with my girlfriend. You create a list, stuff it away in a drawer and it never sees the light of day till the year has passed. I decide to ask as many talented designers I know (or don't know) to create a resolution for the new year as an iPhone wallpaper. It's the one thing I do look at every day. This way you not only get a daily reminder, but you get a very stylish daily reminder at that.

Thus, not only does his site feature some awesome resolution designs, but you can download them for free! Amazing! I definitely need the 'Keep Afloat' wallpaper during finals crunch time!

Check out all the designs here.

(Found via design work life)

NEW YEAR, NEW PLAN(NER)

Happy 2011 folks! I hope you had a great holiday; I know I did! I ended up extending my vacation a bit and taking some extra time away from the blog because . . . drumroll please . . . I got engaged! So I took a couple more days away from technology to enjoy the moment and celebrate with family and friends. It was great.

Anyway, I thought I would kick off 2011 with a note about the amazing collection of calendars and planners on offer by one of my favorite stationers (see here) Egg Press. They have just teamed up with Blue Sky to produce a line of prettily patterned calendars for Target! The prices are very reasonable—between $7.99 and $16.99—and you can find that at your local Target (but not on their website) or at the Blue Sky website here. Blue Sky is also offering some goodies designed by SusyJack*, one of my favorite blogs/stationery labels. Between the two lines you are sure to find something that suits you.

(Thanks to Black*Eiffel for the tip.)

PLANS FOR 2010

I am taking the opportunity of the new year to set some goals for 2010. I usually don't like new year's resolutions, but 2009 was so icky I want to make sure to take 2010 by the horns. Do you guys have any plans or goals for 2010?