Thursday, December 26, 2013

Birthdays, Writing and Chasing Dreams

Hello again,

I think it may be a week since I've posted? It has been a crazy one. As I'm sure it has been for everyone else. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but it's still not excuse. Sorry about that... but I hope that everyone had a fantastic Christmas! I did. I think that my favorite part about the holiday season is how it forces people to pause their fast and furious schedules and spend time with family. I love love love that, because you get to capture precious moments, even if they are few and far between. Kind of gives you something to hold on to during the year, doesn't it?

I also just realised, I think today might actually be this blog's 2nd birthday! Yay! (Insert "Happy Birthday" song here) for the most part, I have been a really sucky blogger, but im hoping to change that in the coming year. So happy 2nd birthday, Petals and Velvet! Lets start this year out fresh, a clean slate.

So remember when I said that this blog was going to be a little bit of everything? I wasn't kidding. Today's topic is writing. The past few days, I've been aching to write, but I wasn't sure how... or what I would write for that matter. As I may have mentioned before, I have been suffering from writers block for a while, and (fiction wise) it has been weavering a little. A couple ideas have popped into my head over the past couple of days. To start out, I think I'll write a short story. Then, I'm going to dedicate myself to outlines and plans for my existing and budding stories. Baby steps.

But one thing that I've been pondering these past few days, or if I'm honest, the past few years, is thatchasing your dreams is no cakewalk. It's gutsy, it's courageous, and most of all, it's brave. I know I want to be a writer, I've known that for a long time. If I want to dedicate my life to writing, and live out the dream I've had since I was 3, I will not be easy. It will be a rough ride, but it will be worth it, because it's for something I love. And that is something worth walking the tightrope for. We just have to be willing to sacrifice for it. The same goes for any passion,  whether it's painting, the piano, physics, or true love, it's all worth it. When you find the thing that makes you smile, makes you feel like you belong in this messed up world of ours, it's worth the risk. Don't let it go.

Good night all. Thank you for listening/reading.

~Lizzie Rose~

Song of the Day: More like group of the day, but im obsessed with The Lumineers right now, they are just amazing! Please go listen if you haven't heard anything by them other than "Ho Hey". Pretty please?

What I'm reading: A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
I love this book! I'm a lover of the classics, and this book is so entertaining. All of the characters almost dance around eachother in some sort of etiquette tango, and everyone is afraid of stepping on each other's toes. At least that's what I think so far. When I finish, maybe I will write a post about what I thought.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Cellular withdrawal

Hello again!

So last night, after publishing my last post, I realized that I didn't have my phone on me. So I tore the house apart looking for it, looking under my bed, in the couch, in the car, until finally I resorted to looking outside in the yard and the road. I found my poor phone lying at the side of the road, the screen side down. The screen was cracked so badly pieces of the glass were coming off. Broken beyond repair. So today, I was going through some major cellular withdrawal today, using an old Blackberry that we still had activated until my new phone comes in the mail (hopefully) tomorrow. Which is pretty pathetic, when I think about it. I can't go one day without my phone? It really made me think. How much have I been depending on my phone? In between every class, and during every free moment, I whip out my phone and check Twitter and Instagram and my text messages... It's almost become a sort of safety net, my constant connection to the universe. But i guess that's everyone, right?

Today went really well, a 2 hour day always makes the day better! I hope that everyone else's day was good, too! Sleep well.

~Lizzie Rose~

Monday, December 16, 2013

Happy Birthday!

Hello everyone!

Sorry I didn't post anything over the weekend, but I had the busiest weekend that I have had in months. On Saturday, after waking up to a total weatherman fail with no new snow on the ground, I worked on wrapping Christmas gifts and writing Christmas cards while watching Love Actually (probably for the fifth time in the past 3 weeks...). Then, I showed up to the fundraiser that I was supposed to help out in for my shift, and when I got there, literally NO ONE from NHS was there. So I walked home and, and found out that my shift had been cancelled after making a fool of myself, and worked on a huge project that was due today. Then, to finish the day, my family trimmed out Christmas tree with all of our special ornaments. I love trimming the tree, those ornaments that make you smile with memories every time.

Then on Sunday, I worked on the project and went to a friend's birthday party, where we watched Despicable Me 2, which was so much fun since I hadn't seen her in forever.

And today, I woke up early to celebrate my 17th BIRTHDAY this morning! I can't really believe that I'm not 16 anymore, but the biggest thing is that I don't really feel any different... When I was little, I thought that 16 and 17 years old would be this monumental point in my life, but it isn't really as big a deal (to me anyways, I think my parents are in awe) as I thought it might be. Only one more year until I'm 18... It seems so surreal.

So we celebrated by going out to eat, and now we're all watching Holiday Inn. What better movie to celebrate the holiday season?

So I hope that everyone had a great weekend! I'll be posting more later in the week, I have ween working on a few fashion posts that I'm really looking forward to you all reading! Christmas break countdown: 4 days!

~Lizzie Rose~

Song of the Day: White Christmas- Bing Crosby
One of the best!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Results

Hello again, everyone!

So, I got my haircut! It's a little shorter than I might have originally wanted, but the layering makes up for it, so it's all good. Here are the pictures that I took...


I love how it looks! My stylist offered to curl it for me while I was there, so I figured, why not? It turned out very nicely, I think.

So I'm watching Clueless (one of my all time favorite movies!!) while I watch this, as the evening winds down. My Mom and I went on a shopping trip after my hair appointment, and I think I may be almost finished with my Christmas shopping! It was so festive tonight, with the snow and the Christmas lights. I can't wait! In the pictures, you can see our tree in the background. We haven't put the ornaments on yet, but we're probably going to tomorrow. I'll be sure to post pictures when we're finished!

All right, I'll sign off, have a good night everyone!

~Lizzie Rose~

Song of the day: Good Vibrations- Beach Boys
This song came on on the radio in the car while driving to Target earlier, and it made me think of California. 

A quick update in between classes...

Hola!

I'm getting a haircut today! I'm so excited, I haven't had one since school started. I've been going through Pinterest for days looking for pictures to show my stylist, and I think I finally found 3 that I love. I'm not planning to cut it really short, I'm keeping my long hair, but I'm definitely getting long layers and a long fringe. I'll post pictures later after my appointment...

Over the weekend, we're supposed to get at least 5 more inches tomorrow... And I'm not going to lie, I am not happy about it. I feel like I'm going to slip on a patch of ice and break a bone...

I'll post soon!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Project!

Hey guys!

So something you may not know about me, is that I love DIYs and crafts. Like Cher on Clueless, I love a good project. The project in particular that I have been looking forward to most were two pairs of old, high waisted jeans from the 90s that my Mom gave to me to play with. They have been sitting on my desk for weeks on end, and I finally had the spare time to turn one of them into a circle skirt! Here are the before and after pictures...

BEFORE...
AND AFTER...
I think that it turned out pretty well! The back is a little screwy, but I think it'll look okay once it frays. I'm so excited to wear it out! I'll be sure to take pictures and share once I do :)

Since I have another pair that was identical to this one, I might do another "Part 2" post. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I've been thinking about ripping up the legs and give them that destroyed look. Then I could wear black tights under them for the colder winter days, or wear them with the cuffs rolled once or twice. I haven't decided yet.

I have one more post to write, then I think I'm going to call it a night (that totally just rhymed, if you didn't notice). Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what you thought, and whatever suggestions you may have for the second pair!

~Lizzie Rose~

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

I got a Bloglovin...

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11400609/?claim=enzju4bjhf2">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I'm so pathetic, I'm trying so hard to claim my blog, but I really don't think I'm doing this right... 30th time's the charmer!

UPDATE (30 seconds later...) It worked this time!! Yay!!

Surprises, surprises, surprises!

Okay, so there are a lot of updates to discuss...

First of all, the biggest piece that you may have already noticed is that the title and web address changed from Lizzie's Garden to Petals and Velvet. This is because it's almost two years after I first created this blog, and I felt like I really grew out of the "Lizzie's Garden," because even though two years may seem insignificant to many of you, I've changed a lot since then. When I first created this blog, I was 15 and in my freshman year. Today, I am nearly 17 and in my Junior year, and I have evolved so much since then. Looking back on my old blog posts I can see a big difference. So, I decided that I wanted to make a few changes, both in real life and on the "blogosphere." So, I've been pondering a few names for a couple of days, but I kept coming back to "Petals and Velvet". This may be a bit puzzling, so let me explain. I really love this title, because it represents part of my name, my love for flowers, and my adoration for the warmth of velvet. It seemed like a warm and welcoming "hello" to my readers.

Also, I'm thinking about changing the content of my blog. I'd still do book reviews every once and a while, but it seems like my best posts in the past have been my random ones, about any topic. This is because I am interested in so many topics! Books, writing, fashion, music, movies and television, food (!!) and so many other little things. I want my blog to reflect all these parts of me, and I don't really want to limit myself. Especially now, in my Junior year, I haven't been able to read nearly as much as I want to. So, I haven't wanted to feel obligated, because then I feel like the joy was being sucked out of something that I started for fun. And my blog is something that I really want to do, even if I have only done two other posts since last December. So, I'm going to be doing a bunch of different things on here. I'm still going to be doing personal posts, songs of they days and, like I said before, the odd book review here and there, and I have a couple of ideas for new posts that I haven't done before that I think everyone will enjoy. I know I will enjoy writing them, and I'm really hoping that this can get me out of a writing slump that I've been having lately. I'm really looking forward to these new changes, and I'll try harder to post more often. I hope that everyone was everyone was able to find me, and that everyone is looking forward to these changes as much as I am!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I though I would chatter a bit before I signed off...

So this week has been more than a little crazy, and life will pretty much continue to be crazy until Christmas. It snowed yesterday morning and and the day before that, so Monday was a delay and Tuesday was a snow day, which was pretty awesome! Here's what my yard looks like today...



Yeah, so much snow! It's pretty from inside, but once you step outside you feel like there was a blanket of un-thawable-cold thrown over you. But I'm still crossing my fingers for a white Christmas! Christmas feels so much more festive when there's snow outside.

So, since it's been so cold outside, I've been holed up indoors more than usual, so that pretty much means more homework/TV time (I'm a seasoned multi-tasker). I've been really into 90s shows lately, especially Frasier and Friends...


I love love love the clothes that Daphne from Frasier and Monica, Rachel, and Peobe from Friends in the earlier seasons of these shows. I especially love Rachel's style. She wears clothing that I could see myself wearing all the time. I love 90s style, and the influence that it has had on fashion, especially this past fall and this winter, is something that I've really been enjoying lately. Maybe I'll start doing outfit of the days? I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I do know that I'm really enjoying writing about fashion right now :)

Alright, it may be time for me to sign off, have an awesome night everyone! 

~Lizzie Rose~

Song of the Day: The Story of My Life- One Direction
This song always gives me goosebumps!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Welcome, Summer!

Hello everyone!
  Today is the official start of summer! I have just spent the last week at the beach with my family, so I was able to welcome the summer, and all the adventures that come with it, beach side.
   Every summer has a story. Whether if it's a cross country trip, three months at the beach, or time spent at home, every summer has memories attached to it. Pictures dedicated to it. A small slice of your heart given.
   And this summer, I hope to make many, many more memories, because this is the summer before my junior year. This coming school year I will be an upperclassman, I'll turn seventeen. And it's just starting to hit me how little more childhood I have left. All of my friends, my cousins, we're growing up. We're not kids anymore. I only have these two summers of childhood left, and I intend to live them out!
   So, when we leave tomorrow and head on back home after a heavenly week hear at the beach, I'm going to go home, write up a storm, and make this summer an awesome one.
   This is just the beginning.