it's lovely when you love what you do

for a little background on me, i am currently a junior at the university of florida. for the first two years of college, i switched my major every semester. i had no idea what i wanted to do.

at the spring of 2010, i changed my major to marketing. my parents are both big business people, so needless to say, they were very supportive of that decision. however, just one thing was wrong. no matter how much i wanted to love it, i hated loathed it.

finally, at the end of last summer, i realized that my first choice was the one i really love. obviously, i am now kicking myself at not staying pre-med since the beginning. but, i really don't care- because now i am doing something that i love, and that is all that matters to me.

even though i wake up early for a 7:25 am class every monday, wednesday and friday, i really don't mind. i wake up excited to go to my early physiology class. i find myself counting down the time until my biology class and lab, and looking forward to spending hours bent over the MCAT review books.

there's something about loving what you do that makes it easier and much more enjoyable. and i just want to say- i'm really glad i re-discovered my love for medicine. and i am excited to spend the rest of my life in medicine.

etsy find[s]: of carnivals and city lights

photo credits: irenesuchocki

while wasting more time on etsy, i stumbled across these beautiful photographs taken by irene suchocki.

now, i would just like to take a brief moment to say, she has some of the best photography skill i have ever seen. her prints are absolutely amazing. she has managed to take plain scenery pictures (well, as plain as the eiffel tower and brooklyn bridge can get), and turned them into something a little more romantic. these photographs are whimiscal and breath-taking. and to me, the story conveyed in each photograph is more than just a thousand words.

i have to admit, i have been a devout user of flickr for all of my photographic needs, but nothing i have ever seen of flickr can really compare to the beauty of these photographs.

a few more of my favorite photographs of irene suchocki are posted below. if you want to check out her store on etsy, you can find it here.

 

green living is the best living: part iii

photo credit: i'm eco friendly

minimize waste

another important part of being eco-friendly is that you reduce your carbon footprint- the impact of your actions on the environment. by working hard to minimize our carbon footprints, we can better preserve the earth for future generations. now doesn't that sound quite lovely?

one way to reduce your carbon footprint is by minimizing waste. the average person produces about 4.56lbs of trash a day- that's 56 tons of trash a year. i think we definitely have room for improvement, and i can only hope that the number starts going down, and does not continue to go up.

so if you're with me on lowering the amount of waste we produce a day, try to follow these rules:

• use a reusable shopping bag to carry your groceries in a week. recent statistics estimate that about 1 million shopping bags per minute are consumed. that's quite a lot of bags. 
• try to only buy products that come in recyclable containers, and make sure to always recycle as much as your can.
• find substitutes for common paper products. for an example, you can use a sponge instead of a paper towel to clean, and a cloth napkin instead of a paper napkin. 
• avoid buying single-use products like disposable razors, plastic cups and utensils, and paper plates. 
• use reusable storage containers for your food, instead of wrapping it in tin foil or saran wrap.
• get your bills and statements electronically to your email, instead of receiving a paper statement each month. 
• use your own reusable coffee mug when you go grab your next cup of coffee at starbucks. some starbucks will even give you a certain percentage off if you bring in a reusable starbucks mug for them to use. 
• pre-plan your meals for each week, so that you do not end up with extra food that will go un-cooked. 
• buy a composter, which would allow you to directly turn your kitchen waste and leftover food into compost for your garden or lawn.

while it is difficult for many to compost their own waste, the other eight rules are easy and will make a significant impact on how much waste we produce each year.and when it comes to being environmentally friendly, any change for the better is a great improvement.

etsy find: zen green tea liquor vase

photo credits: bottlehood

my etsy find is another example of just how great it is to recycle. this upcycled vase is a product from bottlehood, who made it from a recycled zen green tea liquor bottle.

bottlehood is a company founded by two people from california who decided to do something about the liquor bottles that are thrown away by local restaurants in san diego. through the help of local craftsmen, bottlehood turns these bottles into upcycled tumblers or vases.  because a glass bottle can take up to 4,000 years in a landfill to decompose, by upcycling these items, bottlehood is bettering the environment, and the economy.

i absolutely love the way that bottlehood is using the glass bottles to create something that can be useful and unique. if you would like to check out the vase, you can find it here. if you want to see the other products that bottlehood has to offer, you can find them here.

green living is the best living: part ii

photo credits: nab hostel

 recycling

since recycling is a key ingredient to being eco-friendly, it's only fitting that the second installment of my green living series focuses on recycling. aside from being one of the most important aspects of green living, recycling is a very easy way to transition to a green lifestyle.

so here's my compilation of everything you need to know (and a little extra) about recycling.

what can you recycle?

the list of what can be recycled is actually quite extensive, so here's the summary of common recyclable items that can be placed in curbside bins:

• glass bottles
• empty aerosol cans
• plastic bottles and jars
• metal cans
• aluminum cans
• aluminum foil & foil trays
• cardboard
• paper bags
• bagged shredded paper
• newspapers
• phone books
• paper & catalogs
• mail & magazines
• paper & frozen food boxes

while those items are the items that can be placed curbside for recylcing, there are various other items that can be recycled by bringing them to a certain location. cell phones can be recycled at the nearest best buy center. best buy can also recycle your rechargeable batteries and printer ink cartridges. you can also recycle your computer and other electronics. some locations will even give you cash if you bring your electronics to them to be recycled.

it is also important to recycle your paint, oil and toxic household cleaning supplies. these items are extremely dangerous and should be disposed of properly, and not just thrown away in your garbage can.

for a more detailed list of what can be recycled, you can visit this link. also, as a side note, every city will accept other things to be recycled, so check with your city's sanitation department to find out if they'll accept any other items.


how can you recycle?
to recycle the common items, there is generally only two steps. the first step is to ensure that the containers have been cleaned out properly. this is especially important with cans and boxes that previously contained food. the second step is to separate your recyclables. out of consideration, you should always try to keep the paper recyclables separate from your other recyclables. if you only have one bin for curbside recycling, you can keep your paper products in a brown paper bag in your recycling bin.

etsy find: flattened wine bottle serving tray

photo credits: dpholkdesigns

as part of the eco-friendly theme on simply lovely, my etsy find is a cute, creative, eco-friendly product that shows you just how lovely it is to be green.

this product is made by dpholkdesigns, a glass artist and musician from west virginia. dpholkdesigns creates these eco-friendly serving trays by melting an olive green or clear wine bottle in a kiln. he then decorates the bottle with ceramic beads and attaches a cheese spreader to complete the tray.

so in addition to being a cute and stylish tray, this product shows that there are many great ways to recycle what you have.so by recycling, you're not just helping the earth, you're promoting art.

never has recycling been so delightful.

green living is the best living: part i

photo credits: gaithersburg home consultant

an introduction to green living 
 
looking for a way to add a little loveliness to your life? try going green. there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you are giving back to your earth. and for all those climate crisis skeptics out there: even if you don't buy into global warming, you can still care about the earth. after all, for everything this earth provides you, why not give it a little love in return?

many people scoff about being eco-friendly. i have heard many people refer to it as a way for companies to make extra money by just raising prices on "eco-friendly" products. however, the fact of the matter is this: the reason why the prices are higher are that the companies incur more cost in making products that are eco-friendly. it's not just a way to exploit consumers' goodwill and love for the earth. and you don't have to spend an extra thousands in order to be eco-friendly. i know that in this economy, it's hard to scrape up the extra cash.

so for part i of my eco-friendly series, here's a few easy tips for those of you who are looking to go eco-friendly:

•  recycle, recycle, recycle! it's a lesson that we've been learning since we were young, but yet one that many people still don't follow. so give it a try. reuse, reduce, recycle. 
• conserve water. when washing dishes or brushing your teeth, don't leave the water running unless you're using it at that moment. avoid baths- they use too much water. keep your showers short. 
• lighten up. use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CLF) in your house. not only will these lights help the environment, it helps keep your energy bill lower as well.
• sustain yourself. try growing some of your favorite fruits or vegetables. not only will you save money when it comes to groceries, but you'll avoid getting food grown with chemicals. 

if you're looking for a way to go green, try these easy tips. i know it's all common sense and is preached to us daily, but it's easy to forget these rules and the importance of them. so here's just a reminder: it's great to be eco-friendly. give it a try. the earth will love you for it.

etsy find: print tentacle theatre

photo credits: nutandbee

as i previously mentioned, etsy is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. but have i disclosed that it is a pleasure i like to partake in daily? yes. my internet history can attest to this- after all, it basically owes its entire existence to the lovely etsy.

well- today, i was browsing etsy's treasury. the treasury is- in a nutshell- a place where you can search lists members have created of items with a set theme, or even just random things they love.

i saw one titled 'right in the tentacles or release the kraken, which one sounds more naughty?'. and while that caught my attention, it was the octopus theme that drew me in. just like i am in love with all things owl, i have to admit, i have a strange adoration for all things octopus. while an octopus ring may sound tacky to the majority of the population, the idea of a ring shaped like a octopus curling around your finger sounds quite charming to me.

it was in this creatively named treasury list that i found my 'etsy find' for today: this delightful '4x4 print: tentacle theatre'. the creator is etsy's nutandbee, who is a "chocolate-nibbling, kitten-nuzzling, cardigan-wearing full-time crafter from New Zealand".

as you can see, this print features a lovely light olive green octopus engaging in the fine play of puppet theatre. i'm not quite sure why the octopus is saying "mew!", though. i'm chalking it up to nutandbee's self-proclaimed love of kitten-nuzzling. that and the fact that the octopus is holding an orange cat puppet.

i find that there is something about this print that just makes me want to be a kid again. i'm quite sure that this is because any grown person will get odd looks for hanging this in their home. thankfully, i'm not quite normal, and anyone who knows me would not be surprised to find this hanging somewhere in my condo. after all, there is something quite delightful about this picture, and it just makes me smile every time i glance at it. so here's to little delights that make you smile. after all, i believe that that is what life is about.

etsy find: hand carved pebble owls

photo credits: CraftyGuys

one of my favorite guilty pleasures is etsy. i absolutely love everything that this website is about. for those of you who have not heard of etsy, it is a website that allows artists to sell their handcrafted items. in addition, it is a great place to find vintage items for your home, but i digress.

i love to spend hours looking at what some of the great artists on etsy can come up with. if i ever won the lottery, i could spend half of it on the art that i have found on this website.

today, my favorite find is the "one of a kind hand carved and hand painted pebble owls" by CraftyGuys. i have always been a fan of owls, and the first second i saw these, i knew that one day i would have to find a place for them in my home.

i don't really know what it is about these that i just find irresistible. or- i guess i should say- i can't figure out which of the 100 reasons it is that has caused me to fall absolutely in love with these. these are just adorable. i love the creativity and talent that has gone into making these owls. i love their big eyes and their heart-shaped nose. and i just love how charming and lovely these owls are.

you can find these owls available for sale here. i hope you enjoy these as much as i do.

photo credits: CraftyGuys

photo credits: CraftyGuys

pure love for norman love

photo credits: the nibble

while spending this past summer with my mother in fort myers, florida, i was introduced to norman love chocolates. before norman love, i thought that godiva was the most decadent guilty pleasure you could find. and while i will always be a godiva girl, i have found pure love for confectioner norman love.

his chocolates taste every bit as good as they look. and his originality and creativity does not stop with just the artistic design of each chocolate- he has come up with all sorts of creative flavors for the chocolates. three of my favorites have been champagne, vanilla cupcake and caramel apple.

norman love is incredible. they truly, truly are. if you would like to view their website and see just what it is that i am so obsessed about, you can find it here.

the epitome of lovely

photo credits: · b o r g a ·

there are not many things in this world that can take my breath away when i see them. but, when my breath is stolen, the thief is always worthy. this is the case for orchids.

for the longest time, i have never had a favorite flower. every time i was asked, i would shrug. whatever is in season, i suppose.

but then i was introduced to the orchid on a trip to the botanical gardens. and it was there, standing on the manicured lawn, between the bunches of bamboo and the koi ponds, that i fell in love. it must have been a sight to see- a young girl in a brown dress, staring at the orchids with such adoration.

from the moment i met these orchids, i knew that they would be my flower of choice. but it goes beyond just a love. they are the inspiration for my life: graceful, feminine, beautiful and charming. they are the epitome of lovely.

the world is lovely...

...life is lovely. but, with the hustle and bustle of our lives, its hard to stop and recognize the small joys and pleasures in life. we are told to stop and smell the flowers, but we get so caught up on everything that is going on, that we don't even remember to stop and water the flowers.

but. it is time for a change.

that is the mission of my blog. i want to bring all of the lovely things that i come across in my life, and show you. i want to inspire you. i want to bring some delight into your life. and- i want to bring a smile to your face. so please- sit back, enjoy. make yourself a cup of tea and relax as you discover that some of the smallest things can be, in the simplest terms, just lovely.

-kels