They call me a rambler

VIA WONDERLASS

I meant to have the next phase of my Marie Kondo method done by now and I was going to post it today, but life had different plans.

Nothing Earth shattering happened, or anything like that; I just simply got busy and forgot about it. Life happens, you know?

So, instead I thought I'd just do a general catching up, rambling kind of post. If that's not your jam, I understand. I'll have a post about getting geared up for International Tabletop Day going up on Wednesday and the new prompts for May's Instagram challenge – plus a recap of April's – going up on Saturday, so you can come back for those!

What's been going on...well, I got two new LV Book Design clients! In the same day, too! That's been exciting and I've really enjoyed working with both of them so far. It's actually made me think about adding another package to my current offerings.

I took Wonderlass's free live list building workshop this weekend and decided to invest in myself and my business by going through her Side Hustle to Success course. I've been hesitant to pay for courses or anything like that because 1) I don't have the money and 2) I'm very much a "do it yourself" kind of person; but I like how she breaks things down and she gave special deal to all who were taking the workshop so it has a lot of other content added in for free. So I decided to see what I could learn to help out my business.

Tuesday, I'm taking a vacation day from my day job to go to the Collision Conference here in New Orleans. I have a free ticket (for all three days, but I can't take off that much work and Tuesday has most of what actually interests me anyway) and I'm excited to go and learn from pros.

What else....hmmm. Oh, Mr. LL and I are planning our vacation we are taking in May for our 3 year wedding anniversary. It's looking like we'll be going to Houston to check out a Flatbush Zombie show and hit up some flea markets along the way. The concert is his thing, as the older I've gotten the less I want to deal with crowds, lol. So I get to pick something for us to do on the trip. I haven't decided what I want to do yet. If you know of any fun, cool things to do in Houston, I'm open to suggestions! The flea market stuff is something we both love doing. We call it treasure hunting.

Other than that, we've just been trying really hard to see our friends and family more. This past Saturday, our friends who live in Slidell stopped by for a visit and that was fun. Then we went and visited with Mr. LL's dad for a little while. We have plans to have my mom over in a couple of weeks. I haven't been able to see my friends (who are scattered across MS and AL), but I've been getting on Ventrilo when I'm working on freelance so I can chat with them. That's been nice.

So, that's it from me. Just been working on Lazy Lady, LV Book Design, doing the day job and living life. Hope you have a great week!

April Instagram Challenge!

Last month, I created the March Instagram challenge with the mind set of trying to get better at posting regularly on Instagram. I enjoyed the challenge so much I thought I'd do one for April, too! The challenge starts next week!

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM:

Instead of a daily challenge, I thought I'd do something a bit different this month. Last month was all about posting with regularity. This month, I want to curate my Instagram feed a bit more. So each week has a different color theme and there are only three must have images each week. However, if you do post more during that week, I encourage you to strongly keep within the color theme for that week. I also have a BONUS photo option, because I love a good typographic Instagram pic. I thought about having it be a quote, but sometimes you just have something you want to say. Also, thought about calling it "Words of Wisdom" but really, I want to see positivity flow on my stream, so I decided "Words of Happy" instead!

THEMES:

WEEK ONE: Black and white – get to know your inner photographer by focusing on black and white posts. Trying to decide what will read in monochrome is an important skill to possess, and so is knowing how to edit the contrast of your photos.

WEEK TWO: Your favorite color – try to have the overall composition read as whatever your favorite color is, that way your posts will read as curated collection.

WEEK THREE: White – you may be asking "how is this different from week one?" Well, think of it as combining what you've learned from weeks one and two combined. These are black and white photos, but rather photos that focus on white as being the prominent color (or lack of color) in the images just like week two with your favorite color.

WEEK FOUR: Gold (or yellow) – you made it to the last week, so you get a gold star! Or rather a week of gold Instagram pics. Now, not all of us are surrounded by gold, so I gave us all an "out" by saying yellow is acceptable. Use your imagination and figure out how to make this theme work for you in the photos you take.

THREE PHOTOS A WEEK:

WORK LIKE A BOSS: Show off what you've been working on, create a still life on your desk of what you work with, do an OOTD post with what you are wearing to work, or anything else you can come up with that is related to "working."

PLAY HARD: Life shouldn't always be about work! Show the world your playful side by sharing your fun, but curate the photos to go with your theme!

TREAT YO SELF: We can't be on 24/7, and sometimes we need a reminder to just relax. So treat yo self to a good book, a delicious treat, or a night of Netflix (and chill) and show proof so that way you actually take the time to relax. But keep it PG.

BONUS PIC - WORDS OF HAPPY: Share a quote that makes you happy or inspires you. Tell everyone else to treat themselves. Wish someone a happy birthday. Use your words and make something beautiful.

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Need some inspiration? Check out these Instagram accounts that inspired me to create this challenge:

Daydreaming about getting away

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

Mr. LL and I are planning to take a week off in May to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary and to give ourselves a little vacation. In the past, our trips have been spontaneous getaways, all of which were road trips. It is a true test of one's relationship to see if you can last 8+ hours in a car and still want to spend time together. Just the two of you.

This year, we are actually trying to plan a trip. We've talked about flying somewhere, but airlines are stupid expensive and we've had so many great experiences on road trips, why not just get behind the wheel and drive? We are big on road trips for a few reasons:

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spontaneous road trip to texas! our only requirement for our destination? that it have a roller coaster.

1. The Spontanity

One weekend, a couple of years ago, Mr. LL and I just up and decided to get away for the weekend and drove to Kemah, TX. Neither of us had been there and we had a great time staying at nice B&B in the Lighthouse District. We also stopped at this amazing road-side flea market we passed on the way there.

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we stayed on the grounds of one of the many plantations in st. francisville, louisiana, for this road trip. there were a lot of sweet dogs for us to befriend.

2. Making new friends

Heh, well ok. Not really "friends" per say, but it is always fun to meet new people and furry friends. This road trip to St. Francisville –when we stayed at a plantation– was full of dogs! We spent an afternoon with these two till they finally went home. It was just a short drive away and again, it was a spontaneous trip! Gotta love that about road trips!

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perhaps my favorite road trip, so far, was our mini-vacation to new roads, louisiana. we stayed in this cool place off air bnb that was totally more than meets the eye. it was so relaxing and the weather was perfect.

3. Spending quality time, just the two of us

I love it when Mr. LL and I are able to get away and relax. Spending some time, just the two of us, with no obligations to friends, family, pets or just the day to day grind. Just getting to hang out with one another and unwind. Mr. LL fishing while I read on the dock might not seem romantic, but getting a calmer and more relaxed state does wonders for the relationship. So many of our little spats and disagreements ultimately are born out of frustrations over money, hard days at work, or stress from other outside forces. Being able to talk to each other, relax, and spend time in a giant jetted hot tub (like this place had) together definitely reminds us of just how lucky we are to have each other and how much we love each other and being with each other.

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Since we are planning our trip this year (though we haven't finalized anything, yet), the main upside is that I can do some travel shopping! ModCloth just released their new Spring items, and they speak to that Boho vibe one should feel when they hit the open road for romantic trip. Here are a few of my favorites:

Vacation fund

Go Your Own Way tee

Sandal love

Weekend trip

Stay hydrated

Just the essentials

Maxi-mize your fun

My favorite tunic