It's pretty much a consensus that fall is a fantastic time of year. The weather is chilly but not cold, the leaves are changing into rich, beautiful colors, and Hocus Pocus is on at least once a week.  But what isn't always agreed on is what takes home the best of the best prize.  Everyone likes different things and everyone seems to stick to those guns hard core.  If you don't believe me then try telling a pumpkin spice girl that apple cider is better.

So I thought it would be fun to make a list of fall favorites and circle my personal favorites.  

1. Pumpkin Spice or Apple Cider
Answer: Apple Cider
It seems like as soon as September hits, pumpkin spice everything is everywhere. And I won't lie, I order a pumpkin spice latte once or twice during the season but if I had to pick one over the other, I'm definitely more of an apple cider girl.

2. Corn Maze or Haunted house
Answer: Corn Maze
I do a corn maze just about every year.  It doesn't feel like fall until I've gone to a corn maze.  Also, I don't like haunted houses.  I don't like paying people to scare me :)

3. Horror Movie or Kids Movie
Answer: Kids Movie
See above about not enjoying being scared.  And there are so many fun kids movies for Halloween.  The Great Pumpkin, Wallace and Gromit, and so many more that I absolutely love.

4. Caramel Apple or Bucket of Candy
Answer: Bucket of Candy
Ummm... a bucket filled with Halloween candy? Yes please! Pass me a Kit Kat.

5. Cutesy Costume or Scary Costume
Answer: Cutesy Costume
I'm not one for scary. I'll wear my little pumpkin, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, or cute witch costume any day.

6. Sweater or Jacket
Answer: Sweater
So. Cozy!

7. Apple Pie or Pumpkin Pie
Answer: Apple Pie
You'd think because I answered apple cider over pumpkin spice that I'd go for the apple pie.  But no.  I'm pumpkin pie all the way, baby!  My mom and I bake a huge batch from scratch every year.  I'm talking cutting open real pumpkins and everything.  It's been my favorite since I was a little kid.

So there you go. Those are my favorites, what are yours?

I love antique stores.  I love going to them, I love spending money there, I love just walking around and browsing.  They're fun.  And if you're looking for furniture you're crazy to buy new.  Maybe not as far as sofas go but desks, tables, chairs, all that jazz. When I was looking for a desk even the cheapest options at the store were around $200-$300, you had to put them together yourself and they were cheap veneer.  Ugh. Spare me!  I ended up finding a writing desk that I loved and an adorable side table for under $100.  And that's even a bit pricey for antique stores.  

While we're at it don't get me started on picture frames.  For a new, decent sized frame it can be up to $50 or $100 dollars from the store.  Are.  You.  Kidding?  I got 5 or 6 frames (various sizes) for under $30 all together.  I had to rip really ugly prints and even uglier mats out of them but for a under $10 per picture frame, I'll put in some work.

But for as many wonderful things that you can find, there are also some truly heinous things.  Hilariously heinous things.

In just one trip I found:

Seriously, slap a frame around that creepy thing and it's Phoebe's painting from Friends.

Then there's these two lovely lamps.  The avocado green textured velvet material really brings out the mismatched shade of blue-green in the gigantic crystals hanging off the base. 

Nothing says class like those lamps.  

And then there was this little guy.

It is art and I shall title him 'Smirking Naked Baby with Old Man Face.'  Or possibly 'Just Farted.'  Brilliant!  And at $30 it's a steal.  Guaranteed to elevate any decor into a classy, professional looking room worthy of an HGTV special.  

There you have it.  The best of the best at my local antique store.

It has been a long time since I've written a blog post.  Well over a year.  Whoops!  But for both of you reading this I want to say that I am not gone. I have not given up on writing.  It’s just been a bit of a struggle getting things finished and finished right.  But I will get another book published this year if I have to go crazy and white haired doing it.  

Whew, I know everyone was worried about that!

Moving on.  

So, 2014 is gone.  Even though it's 16 days into the new year, I'm still writing '14 on everything and probably will be until around June.  Such is life.  

Last year was strange.  I don't really remember much of it.  It flew by in this big blur of not much happening.  I blame Netflix.  And Pinterest.  And my new found anxiety about life. 

This year is going to be different, though. (Says every one ever during January)  But really, I'm putting all my fear aside and getting shhhhii--- stuff done.  (I'm trying to swear less, can you tell?)  Because that's what I remember most about 2014.  Being afraid. Being afraid to write, to submit (again.) Being afraid of rejection. That and I've spent a year writing synopses. Which I will happily burn if they ever get picked up to be published and I don't need them anymore.  I even hate the word synopsis right now. Look at it, all smug and superior.  Synopsis.  Douche-bag word.  Guess I wasn't kidding about going crazy *checks for white hair*

I'm also trying to utilize fun motivational tools to keep me writing.  I've downloaded an ap for my phone with a word count tracker, and a timer that guilts me if I try to stop writing.  It's worked both days I've used it so far.  And a writer friend mentioned what's called the calendar method on twitter the other day. I'm not sure who originally thought of this but I want to give them a great big bear hug.  It basically involves putting a sticker on the date every time you reach your word count goal giving you something to work toward.  It's so simple.  I remember getting stickers as rewards when I was a kid (I've got the piano sheet music to prove it) but I never thought to do it as an adult and you know what? I want to earn those freaking stickers!  Of course, upon hearing of this method I drove straight to the store and went sticker CRAZY!  I even got some for my sister because they looked like something she would love.  And you know what?  She went sticker crazy, too!  We are, apparently, a bunch of kindergartners in my family. 
          

So here's my plan.  The stars are for every 1,000 words I write.  The birds/owls are for every 10,000 words. The candies are for blog posts/ every 500 words (say I wrote 1,500 words that day, I'd want a sticker for those extra 500 words but I didn't quite earn a star.) And the cupcakes are the special ones for the halfway point and when I finish.  I reeeeeeeaaaaaalllly wanna use one of those cupcake ones.

I may need stickers for when I exercise, too, because I'm paying for a gym membership that I hardly ever use. (Didn't see that coming when I signed up.)  Hmmm... probably not the candy stickers, though.

If I'm going to be completely honest with you, I'm writing this blog so I can put a candy shaped sticker on my calendar.  My super geeky, super awesome Firefly calendar. Oh yeah, I'm a cool kid.

What else?  Well, there's the usual resolutions: save money, lose weight, wear leather pants... wait, that was Ross on Friends (love that episode.)  

Hopefully 2015 will be a great year.  Fingers crossed.

Whenever I tell someone I'm a writer, for some reason, I usually get this response: "You're just like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City!" It's funny, too, because several people have had that reaction all on different occasions.  

My reaction? "Yeah, I'm exactly like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City... except without the rich, handsome men, I don't live in the city, and instead of Manolo Blahniks I wear Keds.  Other than that, yes.  We're exactly the same."

And then I watch the show and listen to her reading from her columns and wish that I could do that to my blog.  It wouldn't be nearly as interesting, though.  
Hers are all: 

Mine would be more like:

Then I was googling Manolo Blahnik for this post (which, by the way, I find it entirely creepy that facebook is now giving me ads for it, but I digress...) Where was I? Oh yeah, Manolo Blahnik.  I about had a freaking shoe-gasm. Holy crap-balls I wanted those shoes so freaking bad!

This one in particular. It makes me drool a little.

Was it good for you too?

I need to be rich just so I can wear those shoes. I would sell a kidney to own those shoes. Want my eggs? Take 'em, just leave the shoes! Half my liver? Ok, what do I need it for anyway?!?! Gimme, gimme, gimme, I need, I need!!

And as I thought about selling a kidney to own a pair of Manolo Blahniks, I wondered... Am I more like Carrie than I thought?

Any writer will probably tell you that they don't write because they want to.  They write because they need to.  At any given moment I have stories and ideas and characters in my head all trying to escape onto a page.  And I can't remember a time when I didn't have that particular problem :)  Oftentimes, imagining them is a lot more fun than sitting down to actually write them.  Writing is hard work.  It takes time, and a lot of mental energy and it can be draining.  That's why I have to remember to keep it fun.  To take joy in it.  Sure, it's a job and sure I have to sit down and write every day otherwise I won't get anything done.  But if you're not careful it can start to feel like a chore instead of a calling.

Lately, I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to get my word counts in and get the book written (for the love of God GET SOMETHING WRITTEN!) and it's been so hard to sit and stare at that little flashing cursor on my word program mocking me.  Reminding me that I don't feel like doing this right now. (That cursor can be such a jerk sometimes.)  And I'll sit all day and maybe write 500 words (maybe) but the thing is I still am constantly thinking about my characters.  About how they'll react to situations.  How they treat each other.  How they'll act when they figure out that they're in love.  So why is it so difficult for me to get the words onto the page?  Because I started equating writing with stress.  

So today, instead of being hard on myself for not being farther along I sat back, watched some fun, romantic, and exciting movies to get myself in the groove of writing a fun, romantic, exciting book and worked on my collage.  The collage for this book was a mess before today. I think it's because that's how I had been feeling about the book and it reflected in my art.  I started from scratch on it this morning and you know what? I'm super motivated right now.  I feel like I have a better grasp on the plot, on the emotions, on the direction the book is going.  All because I'm letting myself have fun with it.  So listen to music that sounds like your book.  Take the time out to watch a fun movie that inspires you.  Write a scene just for fun and not because you have a word count goal to meet.  Keep the joy alive.

So from now on when writing starts to feel like a chore I need to remind myself to have fun with it because writing is my life and I want to enjoy it.