Inside Kimmy's Mind

Well, I’m off to relax for the rest of the evening. Perhaps I will try to revive this blog once more.

Thanks for reading.

I know it has been a while since the last time I blogged. I have mainly been updating my channel, but I figured I document this. Matt and I bought a house! Our first house, and I am soaring. Aside from being really tired from moving…we still have lots to move, and I am just so excited to get things set up and put in place. This feeling is similar to when I moved into my first apartment with my younger sister Kat. I feel like Matt, and I unlocked another achievement. I’m so excited to make it ours. I hope the cats will get comfortable sooner rather than later. Auggie has already done a lap around the house but Eve is, of course, sulking in her cubby. I doubt she will come around very soon. It will take her much longer to get used to things. She is just so scared of everything. I wish I could offer her a bit of comfort. But there is no making her feel better.

We took this week off so that we could set the house up. It has been a lot of unpacking and even more moving. We did hire movers for the larger stuff. We figured we could handle the other stuff. We have the apartment until the end of July, so we have plenty of time to return the keys. But I’m hoping we can get everything moved over to the house before then.

The house is coming together. I’ll share a house tour as soon as I get more things in place. There are just a few more items I’d like to get.

• coffee table
• end tables
• dressers
• photo frames
• small bedside rugs
• wall shelves for my office
• Ikea pegboard

Ikea is pretty much where Matt and I buy most if not all of our furniture. Our couch is one of the only things that we purchased from Mid In Mod, and I love it. However, my cat has already damaged it a bit, and I’m trying not to let it get to me. So this is the first couch I’ve ever purchase…well, I purchased a sleeper sofa for the guest room, but this couch is the first living room couch I’ve ever purchased, so I would really like it to be nice for a little longer.

Well, that’s all for now. I don’t think many people still follow along on my blog. But that’s ok. I’ve always enjoyed updating my blog as a digital time capsule.

Thanks for reading.

I purchased another typewriter this week, and I couldn’t be happier. I now have two typewriters, and I didn’t think I would ever have one let alone two. I intend to keep this collection small, seeing as they do take up a lot of space. I am happy that I took the time to see what kind of typewriter I wanted. I am also glad that I had the experience with my first typewriter since it prepared me for this second one. Not that I am by any means an expert. I rely on the internet to help guide me on figuring out these interesting machines. 

I find typewriters to be so much fun to use. They have their personalities, and when you type on one, it transports you back. I often find myself thinking about its past owners, which I’m sure most people think of when buying any vintage item. I bought my first typewriter back in October of 2019, but Alicia from @Adventuredenali is why I started looking again at other typewriters online. She recently purchased a vintage typewriter, and even though I use my typewriter all the time, she ignited my desire to practice typing on it even more. I love watching her videos; they have been such a comfort these past few months while I’ve been home. Stationery, in general, has been a constant comfort. I’ve been journaling and writing letters, and it has been so good for me. I hope you have found something to calm you down and make you feel somewhat safe. I know the world has become something we do not recognize, but we will adapt and learn how to navigate it just the same. 

I hope this was interesting for you. I know I don’t update my blog as much anymore. I put most of my creative energy on filming and editing my videos, and as far as journaling goes, I tend to focus more on my physical journals. I have three at the moment. I am testing things out and seeing which one works for me. (journal sizes includes – A5, A6, and a standard Traveler’s Notebook) But I hope to start paying attention to my blog again. I’ve always enjoyed blogging. 

Thanks so much for reading and I’ll talk to you soon.

I know the world is in chaos right now. I am praying for everyone, especially those struggling due to this virus. I wanted to post about something more positive so I decided to talk about things I’ve been loving lately. Things that help keep my mind off of current events.

• A5 Galen Leather Folio

This has been one of my favorite purchases lately. I’ve been enjoying using this folio to hold my journal and even use it at work when I go to meetings. It’s the perfect daily carry. I prefer to do most of my journaling at home. It’s a larger size so not always lightweight, and I didn’t think I would like it as much. I’ve been using my TN for four years now, and I still love journaling in it, but I’m so glad I tested out an A5 notebook and then decided to purchase this as my cover. I’ve enjoyed this refillable journaling system. It’s now just so common to find a notebook that has a series of cover options. And so many different sizes to fit everyone’s needs. So if you enjoy smaller journals, you can get a pocket or passport journal. Heck, even nano. There are just so many options and I don’t know about you but I get excited when I find a new system that works for me.

• Hobonichi A6 Planner

This little planner has been so much fun to use. I use it as a journal as well. It’s small, so I put down the things I need to remember but will also jot down a few thoughts. And if I was too busy that day, I usually go back and write something that I remember from that day or add some stickers. Stickers have been such a joy to use in my planner. If a sticker is too large, depending on the design, I can trim it down or put it on a day that was left blank. I already feel like I’ll use this planner again for next year.

• Kaweco Sage Milligram Collaboration

Kaweco was my first fountain pen. I purchased it in mint and now I have 9 Kaweco Sport pens. But this one has to be my favorite! I love it so much. I wasn’t sure where it was from and so I asked the fountain pen subreddit and they were all nice enough to point me in the right direction. It ended up being a Milligram exclusive so I purchased it from Milligram, which is located in Australia. I paired it with Sierra Mist ink and it matches so well. It’s my go-to pen at the moment, but I have been wanting to pick up a good flex nib pen. Any suggestions?

• Fossil Smartwatch

 This ended up being such a great tech item. Having a watch is so handy, and the best thing about this is that it will remain a watch even if the battery is low. At least in my experience, when it has died, it still displays the time for you. It might be a battery saving mode, but it is convenient. And I love how customizable it is. The face, the straps, it’s just fantastic. I’m currently using this olive leather strap.  It was hard to put on the watch but I managed and probably won’t be removing it any time soon.

• Clogs Black and Brown

My friend Jacque got me into clogs. She inspired me to purchase them for my wedding and then I just became obsessed. Now I have three pairs, olive, black and brown. My olive ones will always be my favorite since they have such a wonderful memory attached to them. I will always associate them with my wedding and I hope they will forever last me.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my current favorites. I just wanted to film a video to keep myself busy and what better way than making a video. I have several other videos planned, so stay tuned.

A lot has happened this past decade, and it’s a lot to go over. I can’t believe how much has changed, and I’m excited for 2020.

• 2010 – Moved to Houston!

I’m going to be honest, although I am so grateful to have gone to college, I would do things differently if I had the chance. I transferred from baby college to U of H and started what I thought would be the most fantastic time of my life. The first semesters were miserable for me, I didn’t have any friends, and I didn’t have enough credits to take the classes I wanted. Once I had enough credits, things got a bit better, but it still wasn’t the best years of my life.

• 2012 – Older Sister got Married

My older sister got married. She and my brother-in-law provided a home for me and made the transition easier. They made Houston home for me. I lived with them up until 2013.

• 2013 – 1st Apartment + 1st Job

My little sister moved to Houston this year, and she and I moved into our first apartment together. I never had to live on campus, and Kat was the only other person I could see myself living with, as far as roommates go. She understands me, and even though we fought at times, the fact that we were sisters made our relationship stronger. This year was also the first time I got a job. I did my best to get a part-time job to help pay rent. I landed a job at a deli on campus. It made it easy to work as much as possible, plus go to class. At one time, I juggled three jobs plus classes. It was tough. I was tired a lot of the time, but I did my best.

• 2014 – Better Jobs + 1st Car

I left my on-campus job and got part-time jobs at Paper Source and a museum. 2014 was also the year I got my older sister’s old car, and it was the best car, a 2008 Chevy Cobalt with its little bubble butt. It wasn’t too small or too big, and I was just comfortable driving it. I no longer have it now, but I honestly do not miss driving. Matt usually takes me to the places I want to go to, and if not, I take the metro. But sometimes I miss the days of bubble butt car. I lost a close friend in 2014; we were childhood friends and reconnected after high school. He and his wife were my closest friends, and I will cherish our game nights always. I’m lucky to have his wife as a friend still.

• 2016 – The Year I Finally Said…Now is the Time!

The night before this year started, I decided to get things done. I got out of my toxic relationship and got more serious about school. I was going to graduate finally. The fact that it took me so long to graduate made me feel less than. I didn’t struggle too much in school growing up, but college was hard for me, and as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t always enjoy it. While others spent their college years having fun and making friends, I didn’t have time to do those things by this time. I had to work to help pay what little I had to offer. But I did graduate, and I found a full-time job. I was the most confident I had ever been. My niece was also born this year, and I met the love of my life and felt my life starting.

• 2018 – Moved in with Matt and got Engaged

I began 2018 by moving in with Matt. I wasn’t scared, and it felt so right and perfect. We didn’t have too many things compared to how many things we have accumulated now. And then he proposed, I was ready and excited. Our nothing of a wedding quickly turned into something. I never thought about planning out my wedding. I was sure that my fiance and I would pick a day and say I do at City Hall. And that ended up being partly true.

• 2019 – Got Married

Matt and I did not want a long engagement. For most of 2019, I felt the pressure of guests lists and not fitting into my wedding dress. It wasn’t as stressful as it could have been, but by the end of it, I was happy it was over and glad to finally be married to the man of my dreams. Knowing that it would be a celebration for us, for two people who hate the spotlight, made me nervous but also excited. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Sadly, we also lost Marco, our cord chewing monster cat. I cry for him still and miss him so much; however, we have Eve and Auggie for comfort. Plus, I am glad to have documented our time with him.

That leads us to tonight and 2020. Time seems so slow, and then you take a second to look back on it and think, wait, where did it go? How did it move so fast? I’m trying not to dwell on the past, and I want to enjoy the present and look forward to the future instead of fearing it.

Here’s to 2020. A new adventure awaits.

Happy New Year!

September

We tied the knot 9.7.19! Yup, I’ve been married for two whole months…well and a few days. We have yet to take our honeymoon, but we plan to save to take a trip somewhere. So very happy.

October

This month was terrible. We both were stressed out. I was in the middle of making some tough decisions, and then we had to say goodbye to Marco, our lovable, cord chewing baby. Putting him down was a hard decision to make, but ultimately, there were no other options. We did our best, and I hope he knew how special he was to us. I know cats aren’t as valued as dogs are, but he was so important to us. Before that happened, though, Matt and I adopted Auggie! He was the silver lining. We adopted him before Marco started showing signs that something wasn’t right. But in Marco’s absence, Auggie has been a great comfort. Eve too. Auggie is so crazy and hyper; he terrorizes poor Eve daily. But I don’t think she minds too much, though. They seem to have gotten into a rhythm. I love our cats and hope they know that.

November

This brings me to November- I purchased a new laptop! Finally, after many years of waiting and figuring out what kind to buy. It’s not perfect, but for me, it does exactly what I was hoping. If you didn’t already know, I make videos on Youtube. (Speaking of youtube, I currently have a giveaway going on. Feel free to enter if you’re interested.) That’s where I’ve been instead of updating my blog. I love editing videos and showing all of the pretty stationery and books that I’ve been enjoying. I only recently purchased it, Target was having a pre-black Friday sale, and it was $100 cheaper. I just decided to go for it. But also in November…I got a new job! It’s only my second week, but I’m so excited and ready to know all of the things. This is still bittersweet since I miss my previous job and my former co-workers. If you didn’t know, I worked in a museum as a Copywriter. I now work in a different museum as an Event Coordinator. I’m happy with this change and can’t wait to see what the future will bring.

Well, there you have it. You’ve been caught up on all of my life things. I hope you have been well, and I’m going to try to update my blog once a month. But I’m still trying to figure out what I want this to be. Thoughts?

I had a birthday!

It started with good morning kisses and a blueberry muffin. Matt went off to work while I snuggled back in bed since I took the day off. I decided to take a shower before the alarm testing began. That’s right, my apartment building decided to schedule fire alarm and unit inspections on my birthday of all days. They stopped around noon so I was able to enjoy my lunch alarm free. The cats weren’t very happy either but I could do nothing to comfort them.

After eating leftovers for lunch and playing a bit of Uncharted 2 the alarm went off again for a bit and then finally stopped for good. I realized I haven’t blogged in a few months, vlogs have taken up my time but  I want to get back into blogging. I’ve always enjoyed it but editing videos has become my favorite way to express myself creatively.  But so has journaling, I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit especially after becoming obsessed with fountain pens.

Watch some of my recent videos!

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope to figure out a schedule for this little blog.

Oh, goodness. It has been awhile since I’ve sat down and typed out a blog entry. I’ve been updating my youtube channel every week though, so if you’re interested in seeing videos about stationery and whatnot head over to my channel.

Now let’s see…

Home: I love being home with Matt. I love waking up next to him and going to sleep next to him. It’s interesting how naturally we became just meshed together.  He went on a two week trip to Korea last month, I missed him so much so I’m happy he’s home now. I slowly got into a rhythm without him but it’s so much better to have him home again. I slept on his side of the bed which was a mistake since it is perfectly formed to his body shape so I had trouble sleeping while he was away. But now that he’s back, I’m sleeping better.

Work: It’s is going well. I have a few events coming up but then August is jammed pack with events. I can’t wait for September! Matt and I both have September birthdays so we will celebrate at the same time, probably somewhere in the middle.

Vacation: I won’t have a vacation until December. I took off a some days so that Matt and I can celebrate Christmas in Florida with his parents. We went over for Thanksgiving last year so I thought we should switch off. I of course have days off for Thanksgiving but I’m taking most of my vacation time in December for the trip.

Hobbies: I already mentioned my channel, I’ve been making videos like crazy! It’s been such a joy, I’m now adding an extra video every other week to my video schedule. We shall see how it works out, I might go back to just one video every week. At the end of this month Mind-Speaks is hosting it’s first ever event! We are celebrating Sailor Moon’s Birthday, there will activities and goodie bags as well as a giveaway. I’m nervous but very excited, I’ll try to post more about it on my blog but I’ll definitely be posting about it on my channel.

Pen pals: I’ve been writing more letters recently. Ever since April, which was National Letter Writing Month, I’ve been enjoying sitting down and just writing out a nice letter. I have a pen pal who I hope turns into a lifelong friend but life sometimes gets busy so I won’t take it personally if she stops writing me.

Family: We celebrated my nieces’ 2nd Birthday last month! I cannot believe she’s already 2 years old, she’s growing up fast. I don’t get to see my family as often as I used to but  I try to talk to them every day if I can. We have some Father’s Day plans coming up so I’m excited. My dad will be retiring soon. I’m so glad that he can finally retire from his dangerous job. Now he can relax, even though I know he won’t be able to for very long. That man always has to be working on something. I hope he learns how to relax once he no longer has to worry about whose lights are out. (He’s a Lineman for a light company- very dangerous job)

Well, that pretty much covers the basics. I’ll try to figure out a schedule for my blog like I did my channel. I still love blogging, I’ve just been enjoying my fountain pens too much. I’ll update again soon.

Thanks for reading!

 

Hello! It’s been awhile since my last post. I did something interesting this month, that’s right, I decided to try out Stitch Fix. The clothing style box. You fill out a style profile, let them know what you like and don’t like when it comes to clothes.  It’s $20 for the styling fee and then they send you 5 items and you either select clothes out of the 5, or purchase the entire box. That $20 will then be applied to the clothes you end up purchasing. Plus, if you do decide to keep all 5 then you get a 25% discount. The video above is me showing you what I received in my first box.  I have a second one coming next month so I’ll see how that one goes and then decide if I will keep it as a monthly thing. It’s actually pretty fun, I am picky when it comes to clothes but I thought I’d try it out. My stylist did a pretty good job in picking out pretty outfits, they just didn’t look right on my body type. I’m hoping this 2nd box will be better in terms of the fit, but as long as I find one item I like, then  I’ll be happy.

If you’re interested in testing this out, please use my referral link. You will receive $15 to use in your purchase and I’ll receive $15! Win win! If you decide to try it out I’d love to know and if you blog about it please share the link. I find shopping for clothes difficult sometime. I don’t really go to a lot of stores and I thought this would introduce me to new brands. I of course take in to consideration quality and price. Some of the items are a bit out of range on what I would like to spend but I still find it interesting to try out. If you decide to send things back they provide a bag with a shipping label already on it so you don’t have to pay for shipping.  Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience with you and I’ll see how it goes from here after I get the 2nd box. I hope they listened to my requests, I wanted skirts and dresses in this upcoming box, so we’ll see how it goes.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

Matt and I have been together for over a year now and this new year we have decided to move in together! I know, huge step. But I’ve never felt more comfortable about anything before in my life. Here’s to my next life adventure!

Choosing an apartment did not take as long as I thought it would.  The whole packing and moving process will be stressful and exhausting but I’m still excited. We were able to narrow down the area and this past Saturday we went to about 4 different places to see what our options were.  We needed something that was close to both of our jobs. I no longer have a vehicle so I would need an easy way to get to work on time. We technically weren’t going to be able to move into our new place until mid march but we decided to go and look around and thankfully we did. Here are the floor plans we liked out of the 5 different complexes we went to look at.

Place 1:

This place was great, we saw 3 different floor plans but the two bedrooms were either out of our budget or not available in our move in date.  We liked one out of the three and since Matt currently lives in a studio apartment this was still an upgrade on space.

Place 2:

We automatically removed the 2nd complex we to visit and the 3rd one didn’t have any floor plans we liked. This floor plan is from the fourth complex we visited that day. They had a 2 bedroom that we liked, however it was on the edge of the price we were hoping to pay. I did have my heart set on a 2 bedroom but with our Mid-October move in date and price range we weren’t sure we would be able to find one in the area we wanted. This one was a great option, it had the space we were hoping for so it did make it to the running.

Place 3:

The 5th complex we visited was the one Matt currently lives in. We decided to leave them for last to see if they maybe had any good deals since Matt was already a tenant. Their 2 bedrooms were WAY too pricey so they showed us two of their one bedrooms, which again was an upgrade from a studio. I fell in love with this floor plan due to the huge bathroom. Plus, they would let us move in a whole month earlier. Not to mention certain application fees would be waived.

Matt and I went back upstairs after a long day of apartment hunting and decided to narrow it down to a few. We were left with these three floor plans from three different apartments. 1 and 3 were around the same price, 2 was way too pricey so it was eliminated based on that. It was down to 1 and 3, both were around the same space and  across the street from one another so the route to the train was the same.  After weighing the pros and cons Matt and I decided to go with #3! It would make moving easier and if you saw the bathroom you would agree with me too. I plan on doing an apartment tour once we have fully moved in and have gotten rid of all of the boxes. We get to move in early February and I cannon wait!

I haven’t been updating my blog nearly as often as I would like….BUT, I have been filming a lot of videos on my channel. Feel free to check it out. 🙂

Thanks for reading!