life lately

I would love to give you guys a valuable tidbit of wisdom to start the week off with, but a) some of you are probably tired of my self-proclaimed wisdom by now and b) I'd rather just clue you all in on a few things I've been up to lately. So sit back, enjoy these snippets of my current life, and feel free to let me know what you guys have been up to so I can feel bad about my less productive pursuits.

Which brings me to my first latest obsession and all around time suck:

1. Jason and I are currently obsessed with FRINGE.

If you haven't seen it and you like mystery-ish shows with a Sci-Fi twist, this is made for you. It was created by J.J. Abrams (creator of LOST and Revolution... staples in our household) and while it's in its 5th season, I've been wanting to start from the beginning for a while. The show was a little slow to get started, but once the larger plot starting thickening out, Jason and I got majorly into it. We both literally dream in Fringe-like scenarios (which is sometimes a bit unsettling) and we talk about the characters like we know them. I admit this is a hobby that pretty much adds nothing helpful or productive to my brain function, BUT it's something we really enjoy together and TV helps us both relax after a day of mile-a-minute thoughts.

Now as far as thought-provoking (as opposed to thought-numbing) entertainment, let's talk about Argo for a second.

2. Argo is one of the most memorable and enjoyable movies I've seen in a while.

Now, I'm a movie gal. If you've been with me and CCH from the get-go then you know this about me. We average probably about a movie a week. It's that outing that we treat ourselves to since we work from home every day and sometimes we just need to get out the house. So we see just about all the popular new releases (how's that for some throwback Blockbuster terminology) but this was one that I was actually really excited about. It had all the indications that it would be right up my alley: set in a different era, based on a true story, politically thoughtful, subtle dry humor... and it certainly didn't disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time because it has heart-stopping tension, but the story is just so incredible that it's worth seeing for that alone. Anyway, it's not for everyone but it'll go on my (long) list of favorites. If you're a movie buff, go see it.

As for the healthy eating side of things...

3. #everydaypaleo week was a bit of a bust.

If you were following along with me last week on Instagram, you know we had a grand plan to make one recipe from our Everyday Paleo cookbook each night of the week. Yeah... about that... we failed miserably. We started out strong with the spaghetti squash and roasted chicken legs, but then we HAD to get TacoLu after we saw Argo on Thursday night, so the wheels kind of came off after that. What can I say, I'm weak. We DID however try the gluten-free pizza with no cheese at our local pizza joint and I didn't hate it. Now I know you're asking yourself why even get pizza if it's not all doughy and cheesy, which normally I totally agree with. But ever since trying to cut our dairy and gluten I just feel a lot better so those things aren't that appealing to me anymore anyway. I know... who am I? I'm like that weird anti-gluten, organic girl that people make fun of. Whatever, it's more fun than a tummyache so I'll take it. Our next mission is to try this Paleo Pizza. I'll keep you posted on how it is (when I get around to making it months from now.)

While we were eating said pizza yesterday, I found out a fun little fact about myself...

4. I shouldn't keep paint pens where they're readily available in our home. While I was bored thoroughly engrossed watching football, I thought it might be fun to try paint-penning things, including my new iPhone case. Whoops! I'm a fan though. Best part is that it kinda scratches off after a while so maybe I'll just keep adding new patterns every so often. Still, I'm just glad I didn't have the bright idea to paint-pen our coffee table or my laptop or something. Those things are dangerous.

The paint-pen thing might be an indication that I've been crafting a lot more lately (yay!) and actually using my studio!

5. I finally put up some of the studio wall art that I've been accumulating. I still have a long way to go before it matches my vision, but I love spending time here now and it really does make me feel inspired. Which is the goal. (Now if I could just convince Jason to let me knock out a few more windows in there...)

Again, ignore my awful photography. I'm working on it, I promise.

Speaking of more light...

6. I fell in absolute LOVE with this lamp at Home Goods on Saturday. (I love lamp.) It was perfect for my studio. Only problem is that it was $50, and that was a bit of a stretch for what I wanted to spend. I told myself if I still loved it on Sunday I'd go back and buy it for myself. Guess what? I woke up on Sunday and still all I could think about was my cute-as-a-button lamp. So I went back on a mission, ready to walk right in and buy it without a second thought about the price... AND IT WAS GONE. Actually there were two and they both were gone. It was tragic. (When I say tragic, I mean I almost cried while I was walking back to the car. Not overdramatic AT ALL.) That's what I get for trying to be a Frugal Franny, though. My advice to everyone out there: Screw it. Just buy the damn lamp. (or shoes or dress or pillows or whatever the case may be.) If it makes you happy and you're not stretching yourself too thin, just buy the darn thing! Spare yourself the heartache. I'm now mourning the loss of my lamp and wistfully thinking about what might have been. My eyes are going to be on high alert looking for a new lamp to lust over. If you have suggestions, let me know!

Expensive lamps call for extra cash though, don't you think? Which is why I'm so glad to report...

7. I'm officially freelance designing now! I don't have a ton of extra time on my hands but through some lovely inbound inquiries, I have a couple projects I'm working on right now. It makes my heart insanely happy to now have paying projects that allow me to use my design skills I've acquired completely on my own over the past few years. Once these projects are complete, you guys will be the first to see what I'm up to! Can't wait to share!

However, given these new projects I'm taking on, I decided it was finally time to take this little ol' laptop of mine to the doctor.

8. I'm now a computer repair expert.

Okay, not really. But my computer was running REALLY slowly so I made an appointment at Apple to see what the deal was. They gave me two recommendations: install more RAM (this is the type of memory that let's your computer run multiple programs and processes at once) and do a complete erase + install (which pretty much wipes my computer clean and restores it to the way it was when I first bought it.) I asked him if I could do it myself, and wrote down step by step instructions on how to do both. Which ended up looking like this:

The classic skirt and RAM combo... 

Jason had a good giggle watching me pretend like I knew what I was doing. (In case you were wondering, apparently I installed one of the chips wrong so Jason had to redo it for me. Whoops...)

But I'm also very happy to report that my computer feels like it is brand spanking new. Everything is so fast! I backed up all my files on an external hard drive so if I have to get to them I can, but man oh man am I excited. If you guys are having trouble with the speed of your computer, let me know in the comments because I'd be happy to share what I did (er... what Jason did.)

Well, that's it for now. Random updates, but I like to keep you guys in the loop. What have you all been up to lately? What are your favorite shows or movies lately? Let me know in the comments!