Popping My Blog Cherry

After getting completely hooked on blogs full of DIY crafts and other little tips full of awesome advice thanks to my friend Gab, I sat here thinking, "hey.. maybe I can do that too!" In no way am I as experienced or impressive as some of the blogs I've encountered such as Liz Marie (once again thanks Gab for showing me this!), but I think I want to give the blog culture a try. So here goes my first blog post..


I always look for inspiration left and right. Photographs, nature, movies, music, you name it. Whenever the weather's nice I venture out with my camera and snap photos of our garden. On rainy days I snuggle up in a blanket and watch movies, later cruise through imdb.com to reread all of the quotes I liked, then copy and paste them into my "quotes" document on Word.. more about that in another post. I drive in my car and belt out songs like my life depends on it (not remotely on tune but who's judging..) and sit at red lights and think "Seriously, why is Taylor Swift's 'The Story of Us' the story of my life?" I look everywhere and anywhere for that something that's gonna catch my eye.

Once the semester ended in May I decided that this summer my goal was to read. Read and find that inspiration I needed. Maybe I'd even learn something in the meantime. Well it is August 1st and I am proud to say I have finished 10 books thus far and have picked up a few things here and there. Not only did I learn things from all of the books, but being a cheap college student I had to find ways to supply myself with said books.

A few tips to everyone on the art of acquiring reading material:
1. Talk to your friends. I mentioned to one friend that I was looking for some new books to read and she promptly walked me over to her family's bookshelf and said to take anything I wanted. 5 books right there for free.
2. Garage sales. Garage sales can be deadly. Trust me. I've been a victim. Everything looks like something you suddenly need. But stashed away next to candles and ugly little Christmas decorations you may just find an interesting read. And the plus side, bargaining. People at yard sales want to get rid of their junk so you can probably get a lower price than what's listed.
3. Thrift stores. By far my greatest revelation this summer was that thrift stores sell books. I've always gravitated towards clothes and furniture but if you take the time to look through their book section, I can guarantee at least one thing will catch your eye. At 2nd Ave (a thrift store near me) paperbacks are 3 for $1!
4. Sales. Unfortunately the time will come when books are extinct. I think I just shed a tear. That being sale, book stores (Borders) are closing down or having huge sales. I personally use this as a last resort, being the cheap person I am, but it's a great way to get new releases for a discount price. Warning: just because things are on sale doesn't mean buy 10 more than you usually would.

I hope those tips help everyone get some great books for this summer (or what's left of it..) and I encourage everyone to check out the book "My Year with Eleanor" by Noelle Hancock. By far my favorite read this summer!