Inside Kimmy's Mind

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 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.

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.

For Thanksgiving Matt and I made a trip to Florida to visit his parents. Plus, it was my very first plane ride. That’s right, first! I was sick the previous week so I had some antibiotics that I had to take and I think it made me extra sensitive to movement and light.

I got terrible motion sickness so the plane ride to Florida was a little blah. It was only 2 hours so thankfully it didn’t get worse. We arrived in Tampa really late and still had to make a 3 hour drive to his parent’s house. Since I didn’t think about timing, I didn’t get a chance to visit The Paper Seahorse. I was a bummed but this definitely won’t be my last trip to  Florida. Once we finally made it to his parent’s place, we chatted for a bit and then went to bed as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Matt is an early bird, so he was up and ready to go at like 7 a.m., I on the other hand required more sleep. We woke up to a great breakfast, waffles galore. After that we got ready and went to Sun Harvest, a citrus haven. Strawberry orange juice is to die for! I also had a yummy orange creamsicicle soft serve. This entire trip was filled with yummy treats. After that we went to an outside mall where we walked around a bit and got some pizza and then went to watch Murder on the Orient Express. After which, we went back to his parent’s house and I needed to lay down. The rest of the week would begin with a headache and then require me to return back to the house and sleep it off. It was annoying and I felt incredibly rude. Thankfully, on Thanksgiving it was cloudy and raining so my headache wasn’t bad. I then got to meet Matt’s grandmother.  She was so classy and funny. She got into the car and told Matt, “So I hear you’re engaged.” I couldn’t see my face but I’m sure I was bright red. He politely told her, not quite there yet. Love the dude. This was my first Thanksgiving away from my family so I was missing them. But Matt and his family made me feel so welcomed. And the dinner was delicious so it didn’t feel too foreign.

I did manage to go to another mall and find THE perfect Christmas gift for Mija so I’m excited to give it to her. But immediately after purchasing said perfect gift I started feeling icky and couldn’t even finish eating my lunch and we had to go back to the house.  Luckily, the evenings were much better. Even though I didn’t get to explore Florida as much as I wanted to, I did still have a lot fun with Matt and his family. We watched a lot of movies together and ate yummy foods, I couldn’t have asked for a better holiday.

Next time I hope I’m not sick and I also hope I can visit The Paper Seahorse on our next trip. I’ve never been there but I know I will love it. I can’t wait! Well, I hope you had a great holiday, or week. Christmas is coming up, and I can’t wait to give everyone the gifts I picked out for them. I love giving gifts!!! Until next time!

Thanks for reading!

A glance, a look that whispers. You see my smile and one dances across your face in response.  Your hand seeks mine, such a simple act, a hand atop a hand. You bring mine to greet your lips which only adds to my smile. I hope to keep witnessing yours, and wish to add to it as well. 

Matt and I painted this past weekend. Normally I prefer watercolor, but we had purchased some woodblock canvases and painted them white a couple months back so we finally decided to paint them. I got an idea and wanted to work on layering the paint. Here is what I painted and it just made me want to write another cheesy poem. I painted this with a particular gushy moment in mind, several in fact. Every time I walk, or drive with Matt he will hold my hand and kiss it. It never fails and I melt every time he does this.

Ok, I gushed enough in this entry, I just really liked how this painting came out.  Do you like to paint, what’s your choice of medium? I’ve been curious about gouache, is it similar to watercolor? I hope you had a great weekend and that this week is even better.

Thanks for reading.

Last weekend my sisters, mom, and I went on a trip to Austin for my younger sister’s 24th birthday. She works at a hotel and she get’s mega discounts so she got us a room in a beautiful hotel in downtown Austin.

Two queen sized beds with the most comfortable bedding ever! This 4 day weekend was the perfect time for our little trip. I got off early on Friday and then Kat and I headed to Mija’s place to pack up in her car. (GPS and whatnot) We got to Austin late, so we had a burger at IN-an-Out and then headed to the hotel room.

We woke up early  and started off our day by, of course, going to Modcloth! And this time I tried on more clothes and….even bought something! I bought my first Modcloth dress and I’m hooked. I sort of wish I bought dress #2 that I also liked, but Modcloth is pricey. Even with the discounts, due to Memorial Day weekend, 15% off everything…20% off of things over $100, plush FREE shipping due to ordering in the store.

I loved wearing these dresses, but it was hard to choose between the two of them. They were the same priced and they both had pockets. POCKETS! We all know that makes a dress better. The yellow one was a bit tight fitting, had I eaten a meal, it would have been too tight for comfort. But the larger size was too big on the top. I’m in between sizes…so if they could have something in between a medium and a large…that would be great. Oh well, it also depends on the dress. Because the one I did buy was a medium and it was a perfect fit. Not too tight, not too loose. They made me feel pretty. Another reason I didn’t buy the elephant dress, was even though the print was pretty, I don’t think it was very “me”. I’d probably pair it with a different color cardigan. I may purchase it in the future… hopefully when it’s on sale. Or perhaps they will have the same style of dress in a different print that is more me.

We stayed in downtown for the entire weekend, walking everywhere! We even made the walk to Book People, a cool book store located not too far away, but in the Texas heat it was a bit taxing. Plus, we had to make the walk back to our hotel so we were pretty tired after that. We made our way back to the hotel to cool down and just relax a bit.

It was a lot of fun spending time with my sisters and mother, our schedules are so different that we don’t always get to see each other. I hope Kat had a great bday weekend, I was happy we got to spend that weekend with her.  That’s all for now…until next time. 🙂

Thanks for reading

 

Quite a few lovely things have happened in the past week/weekend. And I’m just so grateful to be where I am in life.

Last Wednesday, my sister Kat and I got to see Tennis in concert at the White Oak House Music Hall. I LOVE this band and I didn’t even notice when their tour was announced or that Houston was on the tour list to begin with. But I thankfully I found out just in time to order tickets. It was a sold out show so I’m glad I was impulsive. Normally, I don’t really do any research on the opening act, so I didn’t pay much attention but I was pleasantly surprised. The Greeting Committee had such a great energy and you could really tell they loved making music. I liked their sound and they were so approachable even nice enough to sign the CD I bought and let me take a photo with them. (Minus one member)

Concerts aren’t something I normally attend, but Kat and I have made some very slow improvements in that area. For more rowdy bands, I prefer standing in the back but for smaller venues and slower rock bands I don’t mind, and Kat and I got spots upfront this time. I think all of the concerts I’ve attended in the past year or so she has accompanied me. Thank goodness because she makes it much more fun. Thanks Kat for coming with me!!! With her new work schedule, planning things like this is somewhat impossible. But luckily, she was able to come with me. I had a lot fun and I hope to see both bands again some day.

Do you like going to concerts, if so, do you enjoy getting a spot upfront or do you prefer standing in the back? I’d love to hear about your concert going experiences. 🙂

Thanks for reading

   Take a moment and breathe.

I’ve always considered myself a happy person, happy with the little things and grateful for the huge things. For this entry, I just wanted breathe in everything that has made me happy. Shows, movies, people… the little things and whatnot. With our hectic day to day life stuff, sometimes we forget how great those things are. Life changes all the time and I don’t want to take anything for granted.

… continue reading this entry.

Hello lovelies! I thought I’d share some things that have me smiling. I still have a collective book haul that I need to make, so look forward to that too.

• Breakfast: I love breakfast foods. However, I don’t usually eat breakfast in the mornings. I guess I’ve always tricked myself into believing that I wasn’t hungry. But Matt is very much a breakfast person not to mention a coffee person. We’ve been indulging a bit too much but I’ve really enjoyed it. But this past weekend he made me breakfast in bed…. I was still half asleep when he presented it to me, but it was one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen. Scrambled eggs and toast with jam! Swoon! He’s so great!
• Final Fantasy Explorers: Matt and  I both just recently bought this game at Gamestop. I’m so glad we did, because it’s a lot of fun playing games together.
• Kanken Backpack: I bought this backpack a month ago for my weekend trip to Austin back in January. I now must have it in every color!!! Or at least in mint, yellow, and grey….for now. I have it in bright green! This backpack holds so much and just makes me so happy. It’s the perfect backpack. Seriously…perfect.
• Pokémon pin: Target Cartwheel is wonderful. I ended up getting a perk for a free, book, movie or toy..ect. I decided to buy this $16 pack of Pokemon cards just so I can get the extra MegaVenusaur enamel pin. And I got it FREE! Bulbasaur is my favorite pokemon so I needed this.

• Watercolor notebook: I’ll mention this more in a separate blog post. I’ve been wanting to get back into watercoloring. I was never really good at it, it was just something I enjoyed doing. I like having hobbies.
• Casual Cosplay: I’m really excited for this! Matt and I plan on going to Anime Matsuri this year and we’re going to dress up as Gambit and Rogue! These two are my favorite Marvel couple/X-Men. I’m not sure if I can pull off a really good Rogue, which is why I say casual. I’ve never really cosplayed before so I don’t want this to be something I stress over. The con is in April, so I want to get started on this ASAP. Casual, meaning we are just going to try to get key elements of the characters. For Gambit, I’m thinking Matt can get away with a trench coat, black pants, a purple button up, black gloves, and a deck of cards. Perhaps even his staff? For Rogue, I want to make sure to keep her signature yellow and green color scheme. Definitely want to find a brown jacket, yellow gloves, and her streak of white hair. I may even look for some green skinny jeans and some yellow chucks. I also want to get an X-Men belt buckle! I’m still figuring things out. If you have any tips on cosplaying, I’m all ears!
• Music: Elisa from MilkBox mentioned Passion Pit in one of her check in posts. I haven’t been able to get Where the Sky Hangs out of my head for weeks. Oh Wonder’s- Drive and Live Wire has also gotten themselves stuck. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing them in concert. I love duos!

What are you loving at the moment? I’d love to hear about it. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

This may shock/bore you, if you are not interested in stationery, planners, or paper items in general. A new craft store opened up in Houston last summer. Needless to say, my sisters and I went a little crazy.

The planner craze is still going strong and  I’m obsessed. I love to see how it is constantly changing. I’m going to share the things I bought from that lovely shop and then I’d like to talk about some items I’d like to purchase this year to add to my planner/stationery obsession.

First up:

• Webster’s Pages Traveler’s Notebook and A5 Planner in Mint!

I love minty items. I can’t seem to get enough of them, I made the video above a while back but it still gives you an idea about how they look. There are pros and cons to everything but for the most part I love these items and will do an updated flipthrough soon so if you’re interested in seeing that, let me know.

Now on to the items I’d like to purchase

• Typecast Typewriter in Mint!

Michael’s has this typewriter by typecast and I’m sooooo tempted to buy one. I know, it might seem like a waste of money to you but to a stationery addict like me! I’d love owning one. I scrapbook as well as make cards and this would come in handy. My printer and I don’t always see eye to eye. It’s something I’m still considering so nothing has been decided yet. I’m still browsing the web and watching reviews on Youtube. It is 200 bucks, quite a bit to spend. Moving on…

• Portable Photo Printer

I’ve been wanting a small photo printer to print out my photos. I know, probably something else that could be considered a waste of money. But I’ve been wanting one. I keep looking at different brands, there’s the LG, HP, Polaroid, something Zip? So many different kinds and I can’t seem to pick one I want to save up for. I’ve been wanting to have hardcopies of photos and again, my printer doesn’t always work the way I want it to. I figured a portable printer might work out better. Any thoughts?

• New Digital Camera

This would be the most expensive. I don’t need it to be sooo fancy, since I’m still learning about photography, but I’d like to invest in a good camera and continue learning. Plus, I’d like to up my vlogging game with some new gear. This is also something I have no clue what kind I’d like. I’ve been researching but nothing concrete yet. If you have any tips or suggestions, I’m all ears. I don’t have a budget yet on the camera, I figured once I picked out the camera I wanted then I’d know what my aim is and then just start saving for it.

• New laptop

Like the camera, I would like to up my gear…including the laptop I would use to edit the video. I don’t need it to be topnotch, but I would like it to handle a bit of gaming and then my amateur editing skills. My current laptop is an HP and it can’t handle certain programs. I would love for it to be a mint color! I’ve always wanted a green or mint computer/laptop. That might be asking for too much, but it’s just something I’d like.

The smaller items I get fairly often but when it comes to the larger products, I tend to really put some thought into it before just going out and buying it. Do you usually weigh your options before buying a larger item, or do you just go for it? I’d love to hear your stories.

Thanks for stopping by and reading.