my current favorite instagram accounts.

all photos are from my instagram account - follow along here!

Lately, I've found myself inspired by Instagram, from both the perspective of uploader & viewer. I thought I would share the accounts that are inspiring me most as of today, as well as why!

1. lone hands - Lindsay's photos have a dreamy, surreal, "stormy" quality to them. ["Stormy" has come to be the adjective with which I attempt to describe my favorite type of photo editing. Does this make sense to anyone else? Does anyone have suggestions to better describe what I'm getting at?]

2. sleepinthegardn - This is Troian Bellisario's account. She plays my favorite character on Pretty Little Liars. I think she is a really interesting person, & I think her account is a reflection of that.

3. organizedjen - I have mentioned more than a couple of times that Organized Jen is a great motivator for me. Her Instagram account is a cheery, motivational, bright place on my feed.

4. wishfulnals - When I think of Natalie's account, I think of travel documentation at its best, to which I definitely aspire [and am still working on].

5. katezharvey - Kate's photos are simple, fresh, & inspiring.

7. nannerburns - I LOVE Anna's photos. She portrays a style that I would like to be able to emulate. Her blog is one of my favorites, too.

8. vestiges - Kristen's feed has long been a source of inspiration for me. I feel like she always posts with intention, which is something I am striving for in my own account.

Who are your favorite instagrammers right now? Who do I need to add to my queue? I could name quite a few more in this post, but I figured it would be best to share in smaller snippets. Look for more editions of this post in the coming months!

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Want to join me in blogging every day in June? The more the merrier. I even made a button to celebrate the occasion. Feel free to use it in your blog sidebar or in the body of your posts. Let's encourage one another to get back to our blogging roots. Happy blogging!

love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

on creativity & its timeline.

The moment of inspiration always comes at the most inopportune of times. Usually in the morning, actually, about seven minutes away from the time I'm supposed to start getting dressed for the day. But sometimes, in the middle of a workday, when I find myself scribbling in tiny handwriting on post-its, or perhaps while driving along in heavy traffic, or perhaps when washing my hair in the shower, when all that is really left to do is desperately cling to the idea & hope that it is still there when it's safe to jot something down... when I'm squeaky & clean & have access to ink & paper.

I think I learned a long time ago that there is no planning inspiration. And there is also no laid-out time to expect it. Though this would be ideal, it is just not the reality. And that is why we hear of writers' block, why painters neglect their brushes for months on end, why designers stall out on projects for weeks until they have that a-ha! moment & can go on. 

Being creative involves having a very creative schedule indeed. Sometimes you sit down, raring to go, & still the words will not come. And sometimes, like I talked about up there, you cannot stop the flow of words, you cannot write them down fast enough. And, you know, it is not really the fault of the creative themselves for not producing consistently. It is simply the nature of the beast. Something you learn to deal with, expect, & try to work with. Realizing & accepting that, I believe, is the first step to a healthy relationship with your own creative leanings. If you try to force it, it will not come.

But if you open your mind - & always keep a pen & notebook on hand - you should be just fine. That's how I'm getting by, at least.

a surge of DIY inspiration | Mom's Nurses' Week project.

Back in May, my mom shared with me a DIY she had created for Nurses' Week. In her role as Director, she put a lot of effort into the coordination of this yearly event. She put together the following creation for all of the managers she oversees, to thank them for all of their hard work throughout the year.

frames from Michaels on sale, $5 [search for similar frames here]
stickers from Michaels, $3-$4 [search the wide sticker selection here]
extra graphic details from Michaels, $4 [search for similar items here]
paper, regular from printer

Each one she made cost under $10, so the total project rung in around $60. I think that's a great price for such a cute, hand-made gift! These would be perfect for nursing school graduates, any of your nursing friends who may be reaching a milestone, or just to communicate thanks or encouragement within the workplace.

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Speaking of DIYs, I've been getting really inspired lately, while browsing Pinterest. Here are a few projects I'd like to try my hand at, soon:

- Repurposing some empty wine bottles I have lying around, in some manner or other, from these inspirations. And these in particular.

- I've recently begun to learn the art of crochet. Here are some projects I can't wait to try my hand at.

- I'm hoping to make metal stamping my next endeavor. Think of all the cute jewelry you could make from this craft! These are the things I've collected on my pin board to inspire me & steer me in the right direction.

- I've revamped my knitting. Here are some projects I'd like to tackle. 

Have you ever made a home-made gift? What was it? And what DIY projects do you currently have on the docket?

little joys.

I love taking joy in the tiny details of life, so I thought today I'd share one such thing I'm really enjoying right now. These gold-detailed letters were one of the DIYs from our wedding: I made these, as cake toppers for our wedding cake. Right now, they are sitting in a glass jar on a table in our living room, & they bring me joy every time I look at them. The truth is, I really enjoy making things - especially things that will last for a long time. It's nice to have a daily reminder of our wedding in one of the most-used rooms of our apartment.

Speaking of DIYs, soon I'll be sharing one from my mom, as well as some projects I have on the docket for the near future. What are your favorite things to DIY? 

photo: j & l wedding cake topper \ nikon

working hard to make this space mine.

I can say, with absolute certainty, that blogging is one of my favorite things to do.

Since the beginning of the Internet boom, I've been searching for ways to document my life via the Web. The earliest form of blogging I did - & I very loosely consider this blogging - was my daily posting on one of the AOL posting boards - the Alternative Music board. It was pretty cut-throat: snark abounded, snobbery abounded, & signatures with Modest Mouse lyrics abounded [not that there's anything wrong with an abundance of Modest Mouse]. My in-real-life, posting-partner-in-crime friend & I often discussed the board, & we referred to the people who really belonged as Alties. 

As much as I loved pretending to be one of the Alties, I really found my niche when I opened up a Xanga account. Oh, and a LiveJournal. Yep. I had both, at the same time. For some reason...

Throughout both high school & college, I religiously kept my Xanga account[s] alive, posting about my every day, venting, & sharing inspiration. The death of my very oldest Xanga account - LalaDawg... I know... Shudder - was a sad & heated occasion indeed, but that is neither here nor there. 

I think the thing I loved about Xanga - you know, other than the oversharing & overanalyzing & overwriting - was the ability to customize the appearance of my little space on the internet. The ability to add a background image, change the typefaces, change the color scheme... etc. 

So, when I made the transition over to Blogger in 2009 [the account that came before this one may be found here], I was thrilled with all the possibilities... overwhelmed, even. And even this little blog you're reading right now has undergone several facelifts over the upcoming-two-years I've occupied it. 

All of that to say, I am entertaining the idea of a big redesign to my blog. I can't exactly explain why... I am actually really loving my layout as of late. It has a newspaper-y feel to me, which I really love. BUT, the other design I'm playing around with combines elements of many blogs that I really admire. It is admittedly watered-down... simpler, plainer... but I am considering it. 

In the spirit of sharing more, I thought I'd divulge a little screen shot of the work-in-progress. 

What do you think? Keep heading down the path I'm already on? Or switch it up a bit? The new design is far from complete, but I kind of love it. But do I love it as much as this one? I suppose only time will tell.

I love the fluid nature of blogging. The evolution that both my page & I take part in as the time quickly passes by. I still visit those old Xanga pages. And sometimes, I even add a little bit for posterity. Because I can't think of anything better than having a living collection of thoughts, ideas, dreams, & inspirations, which represent my life.

Can you?

photo: blogging \ instagram

handwritten.

 in my october love list post, i mentioned a handwriting link-up that joelle of something charming is hosting this week [and i even hand-wrote my love list, too]. of course, i've been meaning to get my post up all week, but alas, here it is, thursday, & i'm just now getting around to it. every time i move, i always think it's going to be simple keeping up with blogging & getting my posts up, but to tell you the honest truth, it's just... not. but, i've promised myself that next week will be a better week on the blogging front, as i quite miss it.

anyway, enough about that, let's talk about handwriting: for as long as i can remember, i've loved handwriting. practicing my own, seeing what others' looks like, seeing if i can mimic a certain person's style. i'll never forget: in the second grade, there was a girl whose handwriting i absolutely adored. i also adored her, & i thought if i wrote just like her, i could be just like her. she always used short pencils with very dark, soft lead, & they were always extremely sharpened. no matter what i did, i couldn't write in her handwriting, even though i used short, sharp pencils with very dark, soft lead. i'll save the moral of that story for another day, but the point of this whole spiel is this: i love handwriting. 

so, here is a little sampling of mine...

i'm doing my best to get past the slightly blurry quality of these photos, but there you have it.

what does your handwriting look like? go link up with joelle & show everyone!

link-up: write it down & link it up \ something charming

photos: taken with iphone \ edited with pxlr express

ps - joelle is also hosting a giveaway to go along with all this handwriting awesomeness. go enter!

currents: raleigh + a bit of the mundane.

currently...

reading fifty shades of grey. scan.da.lous. beyond that, i have compiled quite a large list of books i'd like to read in the coming months, which i plan to share soon. i'm thinking of reviving the book list & wrap-up posts over here on siddathornton.

writing notes in my little notebook. items include a june shreveport playlist, a very important reminder, gift brainstorming, & currently, a currents list.

listening to traffic whiz by on the street in front of our building. there are a lot of big trucks on the road today. i wonder where they're going & what they're transporting?

thinking i should have practiced a bit more restraint when indulging in the raleigh delicacies yesterday. hitting the gym hard this afternoon.

smelling a weird combination of two scents: hot chocolate & sunflowers by elizabeth arden (a signature scent from high school, which i still sometimes wear & still always adore).

wishing for all future things to fall into place. i realize that is one layer-cake of an answer. i will reveal more as it all becomes concrete.

hoping hollie & phillip stay on idol tonight. hollie has come SUCH a long way, & phillip is already someone i know will be showing up on my future playlists. his rendition of volcano, by damien rice, was very, very good last night.

wearing a cropped eggplant blouse, a flared, black, high-waisted skirt, & sensible, black, well-worn-in flats. ready for a day at the office, no doubt.

loving both my maybelline mineral power powder foundation, as well as my neutrogena pink grapefruit cream cleanser. they are working wonders on my skin.

wanting a venti nonfat caramel macchiato. or green tea latte. or white chocolate mocha. or caramel apple cider. let's just make this simple & say 'starbucks.'

needing a very long, very hot shower, a very long sleep-in tomorrow morning, & a day spent reading & catching up on blogs. is it 5 o'clock yet? somewhere?

feeling spent. exhausted. but grateful. yesterday, i road-tripped it west over to raleigh to visit some dear friends from texas, jordan & jim! we toured the north carolina historic state capitol building, the north carolina museum of natural sciences, & the north carolina museum of art. we lunched at 518 west, enjoying brick oven pizzas, pasta, & fluffy bread with balsamic vinegar. our afternoon pick-me-up was acquired at reverie: a coffee den. justin joined us just in time for dinner at the pit, a local barbecue favorite. it rained on us almost the entire time - luckily, i wore my boat shoes! hanging out with those two really was a breath of fresh air & therapy for the soul. i laughed almost the entire day & really enjoyed getting to know raleigh.

tomorrow is the weekend. that alone is cause to celebrate!

ps - photos from my raleigh adventure coming soon!

my memories: a gift for one of my readers.

a couple weeks ago, i was contacted by my memories, a company that provides digital scrapbooking software. and don't worry... i know what y'all may be thinking as i say this:

scrapbooking... that is sooooo... 1998...

but you can do so much more than scrapbook with the my memories suite, such as the following:

i'm kinda in love with the fun photo templates (there are so. many.), as well as all the fun shapes & text manipulation available. the options feel limitless, & that definitely inspires my creativity! and let's face it, sometimes i need a little bit of help in the creativity department. especially if i haven't had my coffee.

but flowery, involved designs are only a tiny spectrum of what this scrapbook software allows you to create. for bloggers with a more classic, simple taste, there are design options like the following:

as a blogger on an i'm-getting-married-in-a-few-months budget, i was floored when i saw the price of this suite. i'm not gonna lie - i've been toying with the idea of buying cs5 for MONTHS now. i just haven't yet been able to justify the steep purchase. you can imagine the sheer, creative joy i experienced when i discovered this little nugget. of course i still have the beloved cs5 on my wish list - but i think my memories will be able to tide me over a LOT longer than if i not been given this opportunity.

so if, like me, you're a blogger on a budget, i would definitely recommend the my memories suite - creative results, an affordable price, & options for miles. it really is fun to play around with. 

luckily, i've been given a copy of this software to give away to one of my lovely, creative readers!

here's all you have to do:

1. follow siddathornton via google friend connect, visit the my memories website, & tell me your favorite feature in the comments below.

for extra entries:

1. follow siddathornton on twitter.

2. follow the my memories blog.

3. 'like' my memories on facebook.

4. follow my memories on twitter.

5. tweet about this giveaway (include @siddathornton!)

leave a separate comment for each.

my memories have also extended a discount to all readers of siddathornton. for $10 off your purchase of the my memories suite scrapbook software, as well as a $10 coupon to the my memories store, use the code, STMMMS98555. i think it's a pretty awesome deal.

good luck & happy creating!

this giveaway will close friday, february 17.

starbucks sunday: justin's iphone artwork.

this particular starbucks sunday is lovely, because right after i pulled out of the drive thru & back onto the open road, i called my sister. 

as i sipped my tall nonfat caramel macchiato (the drink of choice lately, it seems), we talked about millsaps life, things we should be doing but don't feel like, & we laughed about things not fit to be posted on the internet (as per usual). 

this particular starbucks sunday is lovely, because after getting off the phone with my sister, i made a little impromtu pop into walgreens to buy some makeup i've had on my mind for quite some time.

this particular starbucks sunday is lovely, because i am about to share with you some of justin's recent iphone art. get ready, ladies & gentlemen.

perhaps in order for any of this to make sense, you will have had to read this particular post. with my discovery of the emojicons for iphone, a new trend has been born: the moomoo symbol... a little cow. 

needless to say, justin is nothing short of an iphone artist. the barn one has a special place in my heart, because it was the very first i ever received. i find the sailboat particularly impressive, but the tennis depiction is the obvious favorite. i mean, look at their little rackets. how can you say no?

thank you, justin, for keeping me endlessly entertained with your creativity. 

photos: iphone

starbucks sunday: wall art.

since this one is in town:

we went shopping today.

we also did this:

but early this morning, i celebrated starbucks sunday with justin. i got a tall nonfat no whip pumpkin spice latte. he got a tall salted caramel mocha frapuccino. yummy.

(photos: photo booth & iphone*)

*one day, i will have a lovely camera that takes lovely photos.

starbucks sunday. our deal.

it hasn't stopped

raining in shreveport.

& i've barely stopped

watching this music video.

& when i haven't been

watching this music video,

it's been playing

in my head.

it's things like this that inspire me to pursue creative writing.

not to mention, i want that hair. right now.

currently sipping a tall nonfat caramel macchiato.



projects for the next few months.

after an exciting visit to the dallas museum of art, i walked away with three 'art project ideas.' these ideas were actually decided upon frantically, as i paced the hallways of the freezing dma, excited about the seemingly limitless collection of art lining the walls. i kept telling kara, ok, so i have to create a work of art like that, or ok, i'm going to learn how to make a painting glow.

thus, this little list was mentally jotted down:

1. pointillism painting/drawing.
2. glowing painting.
3. pollock painting.
4. create my own font.

the fourth item on this list came to be after a conversation i had with jessica about creative outlets. we think it would be of utmost creative brilliance & productivity to create our own fonts. i'll keep you updated on this, though, because i've been told it's a tedious - albeit rewarding - process.

it's so exciting to have a list of ready-made artistic endeavors, for raining days or instances when the creative juices are flowing. i cannot wait to begin, and i also cannot wait for my next trip to the dma, where i'm sure i'll once again be inspired, and once again walk away with a new list of projects.

(photo: my dear iphone)

carolina summer, day four: lazy time.

here is what happened on day four of my getaway to greenville:

lots of sleep

pizza

starbucks

more sleep

logan's roadhouse (for more chicken fingers)

dessert at rita's (italian ice & frozen custard)

movie night at the apartment with alex & ashley

it was a lovely, lazy kind of day.

('artwork' by yours truly)