Scrapbook Nook.

My dad often jokes that when I'm not napping, I'm crafting away in the "scrapbook nook."

Well, he's definitely not kidding.

It's the truth. I share a craft room with my mom, which is right across the hall from my bedroom. This is where we let our creative juices flow. She works on her windows and I work on scrapbooking.

I know. It's terribly old-fashioned!

Laying out pictures on appropriate background paper, accessorized with stickers, rick-rack ribbon, and notes on the particular day I'm working on, I feel like Jennifer Garner in her office in 13 Going On 30. Very much like a magazine editor...

Being in there a bunch this year, I was starting to take Dad's jests personally, believing that I actually was a recluse who spent her days scrapbooking with her cat, but as I was looking through old notes, I came across this one I had found in London once upon a time ago.

Packaged around pens, the quote read:

"You control your future, your destiny.

What you think about comes about.

By recording your dreams and goals on paper,

you set in motion the process of becoming

the person you most want to be.

Put your future in good

hands- your own."

-Mark Victor Hansen

Aside from scrapbooking, I've also taken to writing letters to my friends, continuously writing in my journal, and I've started work on my new project. And I've come to realize that by relentlessly partaking in such activities, I was subconsciously setting things in motion.

Like the quote, I believe in the power of positive thinking. I've always recorded my dreams on paper, always made it a point to talk about them a little bit everyday, instilling the belief that the more you think, write, or talk about what you want, the more on track you'll be for making those dreams a reality.

So the next time someone makes fun of me for spending my Saturday night scrapbooking, I'll promptly inform them that I'm not just preserving the past, but I'm also planning for my future.

Notice the plethora of coffee cups? Sign of a coffeeholic right there...

Jokes aside, I do enjoy the company of my cat, who often wanders in and makes herself right at home, either on my lap, or strolling across my pages, not a care in the world...

But I manage to finish nonetheless!

All Dressed Up & Nowhere To Go.

I think that one of the most common questions I've received since being home, besides the obvious So what are your plans next? are Why are you so dressed up?

But that's nothing new. I've been asked that since my days in grade school, where my most regular compliment was that I looked like a mom. Thank you?

In high school, my peers would go out of their way to comment on my attire if I was wearing something as normal as jeans. Elan! You dressed normal today! Thank you?

I've always had a propensity for dressing up and standing out. I stand six feet two inches and I've always celebrated my height, as well as my love for dressing up. Trip to the grocery store? Let me throw on a fur. Headed to the theatre for a movie? Let me find my black heels.

It's been like this for quite some time and although I'm back in Alaska for the time being, the cold weather and "Alaskan style" hasn't affected my adoration for donning my best vintage and curling my hair for no reason at all.

Take last night for instance. We purchased tickets for an auction raising money for a local baseball team and I showed up as I always do: high heels, vintage dress, curled hair, proper accessories, and one such fur wrapped about my shoulders. All about me, Alaskans looked on in confusion. I was surrounded by a sea of Extra Tuff, jeans, and Carharrt jackets. Course, there were a few brave souls like mine who dressed up as well, but for the most part, I definitely stood out.

It's one of my favorite feelings in the world! And being told I look like a Disney princess just made me feel like a million dollars indeed.

Perhaps I inspired someone to dress up for the next occasion around, or maybe I gave a few North Road Alaskans a chuckle. Either way, I encourage you to dress how you want to and to not give a darn about feeling overdressed.

Honey, there's no crime in being dressed up with nowhere to go. If it makes you happy, like it does me, then slip on those stilettos, zip up that vintage beaded top, and make your day at home a memorable one.

Also. Happy Birthday to Dad!