30 Day Writing Challenge

I'm a big fan of internet challenges. I don't think they have the ability to completely change your routine and/or life permanently, but I think they're encouraging as hell and I'm sure there's at least one out there for anyone who's looking for a change in some aspect of his/her life.

Other than fitness and food challenges, it never occurred to me to try and find some more creatively-charged ones. I stumbled across this one on a now-defunct WordPress and I think it's a great one to take on when you find yourself in a writing rut. 

Martha Stewart Bedding Collection

This is the autumn/winter bedspread I just bought for my bed from Macy's. I was going to show you a picture of how it looks on my bed, but I'm not sure I'd want you to see my bed since beds are so terribly personal. Instead here's what the gorgeous print looks like up close.

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It's a flannel duvet cover that was on sale for $70 that apparently I couldn't live without. And honestly, after having slept in it the past few days, it's one of my favourite things in this house now. It's more comfortable than anything I've ever slept in, it's weird - I feel like it's almost a hotel bed. 

I'm not a fan of how duvets feel (and I don't own one), so instead I bought this flannel duvet cover so that I could put my regular old comforter inside. That way I have a beautiful, warm new cover, but with the comfort of my old, I'm-sick-of-its-pattern comforter inside hiding. I swear to God it works just as well as with any duvet. I hate even writing "duvet" - such a stupid word. Almost like it knows it's expensive.

Anyhow, if you don't have a duvet or don't like them, then please try out this idea. Duvet covers can be costly, but if you look hard enough you can find a great one (or even better, a flannel one) for between $60 - $80.

Eucalyptus In The Shower

“Tie eucalyptus to your shower head with twine. Steam will rise up towards the eucalyptus, filling the bathroom with a refreshing scent.”

I heard this idea from my Harmeet who found it on this tumblr. I'm sorry but this is a PERFECT idea. Love this so much.

Dog House Mat

This post will really only apply to you if you have a dog (and a dog house) in your home. And if you do? Please put a warm rug outside your pet's little home. The one that I put outside Baby Dog's house is just a carpeted-like bathroom mat that I got at IKEA for this purpose and she f-ing loves it. I swear to God she even lounges on it.

Humans wear slippers on cold floors, right? Well, unfortunately dogs don't wear slippers. (If I were running things in this world, though, that would be the first thing I'd change.) Their tiny feet must get so cold and they can't complain about it, so I'd imagine they must silently curse us constantly. Do you like waking up and walking onto a cold floor? I expect not. 

Parenting Tip

Yeah, I'm not a parent, so I'm not sure if this would actually work - but it seems pretty genius. 

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Sidenote: Happy Birthday to this handsome man, Nathan. He's good to me, fine as hell and I'm pretty into him. Birthday, b!

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NYC Afternoon Idea

When people come to this city, they usually demand that I tell them the best thing they can experience here. This is an impossible request since, well, we're all individuals who enjoy a variety of things. There are hundreds of great things you can do in this city. If you're looking to have a nice, semi-relaxing afternoon out? Listen up, baby.

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Me, liking the Brooklyn Bridge

1. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (start from the Manhattan side and walk over it to Brooklyn). It's free, it's pretty and bridges are beautiful. This is probably the prettiest one there is in this town.

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Marla, understanding that bridges are great

2. Walk from the bridge to Juliana's (and not Grimaldi's) to eat some very fine pizza. 

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Marla, having the best pizza

3. Skip dessert at Juliana's and walk to Brooklyn Bridge Park and get an ice cream at The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. (Or if you're a fan of the frozen custards at Shake Shack, that's on the way between Juliana's and the park.)

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Me, hanging with water

4. Take your ice cream and walk along the shore of the park. Does this sound boring? Look, I said it's supposed to be a semi-relaxing afternoon and that's exactly what this is.

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Marla, being gorgeous

5. At the end of this long walk, you can walk up Joralemon Street and get on a subway that'll take you anywhere.

That's it! That's the afternoon! It happened! 

Boots on Stones

I read about this "dollar store craft" on Pinterest and I'm sorry, but this is a great idea. I guess it would only really come in useful during the winter months since every pair of shoes you wear will be wet in some way almost 100% of the time. I feel like this is the classiest way to present your dirty boots. 

So smart, damnit. SO SMART. Just think about those clean floors! Fuck.

Hidden Pinecone Key

Put your spare key in a medicine bottle, glue a pinecone (or a rock) on top, then put the bottle in your yard. If you have a garden, you can bury the white part in some dirt and voila. Love this idea so much. Although it screams of Martha Stewart, I actually heard about it through Factory Direct Craft. 

Machine Feeds Stray Dogs In Exchange For Recycled Bottles

There are 150,000 stray cats and dogs in Istanbul. Does that seem nuts? I don't think it should 'cause I have always felt like every place that isn't North America has a crazy problem with stray dogs especially. I'm mostly talking about practically every island in the Caribbean - since each time I would go on vacation with my family around that area when I was a kid, I made at least ten dog friends per trip. It was the best. Anyway, it's a huge problem and most places don't really give too much of a fuck about it 'cause typically speaking, there are much larger issues. 

There's a really neat device (created by the Turkish company Pugedon) that aims to increase recycling while providing food and water to stray dogs. Check it out.

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“The device encourages passersby to recycle and look at our animal co-inhabitants with different eyes. The principle of the machine is very simple – it has containers for water (you can pour the remaining water from your bottle before recycling it) and for dog food. A fixed ratio of kibbles is dispensed when a bottle is recycled. The project is independent from the government and covers the cost of the food with the recycled bottles.”

That's wicked! Love this idea.