Inspiration

Inspiration | August 15

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Don’t ask me how I wasn’t obsessed with this song when it was popular but I just wasn’t. I am now though!

I revisited this post, 31 Things I’ve Learned in 31 Years and I still love it.

This illustrated John Green quote about how creativity is about making gifts for people is so great.

Super awesome advice from Marie Forleo this week (like every week) about what to do if you’re feeling jealous.

Some extremely awesome tips on getting paid as a creative.

Elise’s tips to her 22-year-old self.

I watched The Spectacular Now this week and it made me happy and sad and it made me feel lots of feelings.

An old article, but a great one – Photography: 10 Things NOT to DO.

An Instagram account I’ve been loving lately: @scottborrero, who takes absolutely gorgeous travel photos.

***

It’s a long weekend here in Korea, but unfortunately the weather is a little gloomy. I’m planning to make the most of it by getting my first manicure since 12th grade, going to see The Fault in Our Stars (and subsequently losing 5 pounds of water weight through my eyeballs), and hopefully doing a little day trip of some kind. It should be good! I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Inspiration | August 8

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A very healthy reminder: What I Instagrammed Vs. What Was Actually Happening.

I love that Elise is making her Make 29 projects available in a slightly different way at a different price point. So smart. I picked up one of her print packs this week.

I discovered Memrise this week and have been using it to learn Hangul (Korean letters) and Spanish again. I tend to go through phases with apps and language-learning, but this one is keeping my attention for now.

Speaking of learning languages, this article from Tim Ferris’ website was so interesting and helpful, especially the image search tip.

This food blogging income report was seriously refreshing and inspiring.

I don’t know or care much about the whole (silly) copyright angle of this story but MY GOODNESS that monkey selfie is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while.

I liked these tips from Artifact Uprising about mastering mobile photography.

I still find Ariana Grande a bit annoying, but I won’t even try to deny that I have been obsessed with this song this week.

I liked this article about making your photos more Pinterest-friendly, especially since Pinterest is becoming such a great traffic-driver.

***

Apparently the rainy season in Busan means fine weather all workweek, and pouring rain as soon as 6PM rolls around on Friday night, or at least it has for the past month or so. Despite the weather forecast, I’m hoping to have a great weekend full of food and friends and exploring. I hope you do too!

Inspiration | July 18

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Elise’s Make29 product for July is copper foil prints and they look so awesome.

I started listening to this playlist last night while doing some yoga and I think it’s the perfect calm collection of songs. I was thinking “yes!” with every song that played.

I saw this video of pets interrupting yoga on the recommendation of a commenter this week and laughed out loud almost the whole time. So funny, and it reminds me of my pets.

I’m not a fan of the sensationalist title, but there were some very thought-provoking photos in this article.

World Domination Summit looks like it was so incredibly cool, and the photography was so well done.

I really really love the color/colour blog. It’s a collection of different photos, each with a specific colour as the focus.

I watched this documentary about North Korea last weekend and I learned so much, it was very well done.

Two Instagram accounts I’ve been loving lately: @teekigram – a yoga pants company with a lot of soul – and @jenniferelizabeth_ – a Canadian living in England with gorgeous photos.

Some oldies but goodies: this time last year I was en route to Paris (I could really use a falafel right now, please!),  my list of the best things in 2011 (surprisingly still accurate).

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I can barely believe that it’s July 18th. My closest friend in Korea, Dylan, is leaving in a little over 2 weeks, but this is his last full weekend in Busan because of his summer vacation. It’s crazy, because it means almost 5 months have gone by since I arrived in Korea (!!) and definitely bittersweet. We have lots of things planned: lots of time spent on the beach, karaokeing, exploring Korea, and of course going to our favourite spa. I’m looking forward to it. Happy weekend everyone!

Inspiration | July 11

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While I don’t think I would follow it to a T, I liked how this freelance weekly schedule encouraged setting aside chunks of time to do various activities. It inspired me to want to be more intentional in the various things I want to do, especially as I think about how I want to do more writing and learning.

I always love reading about psychology and body language hacks because most of the time, I find that they work! This article about body language tricks to make people like you taught me some things I didn’t know.

Last week I was a bit homesick, especially since my family is getting ready to move out of my childhood home. I resonated with this post about a family’s dining room table and all the roles its played over the years. It made me think of our big wooden table and all the different activities and meals and experiences we’ve had at it. I get a twinge in my heart just thinking about it (sorry Mom).

Teeki was having a sale this week! When I found out, I got out of bed to try and order some but I didn’t end up getting anything, mostly because they’re sold out of my size in the styles I like. I have my eye on these and these.

Kiva is an awesome organization I’ve begun working with this year. They facilitate microloans to small business owners in countries around the world. Today they’re having a million dollar match day, where every loan you make is matched. If you use this link to create a Kiva profile and lend for match day, I’ll get a $25 loan credit, to make an additional loan – no, I will not get the money myself! It just means more money to the people who need it.

Thanks to my friend Dylan of Millennial Abroad, I’m obsessed with this new song from Chromeo.

Two Instagram accounts I’ve been loving lately: @designlovefest went to Provence and her photos were so wonderful, @morningslikethese posts the dreamiest photos, and I’ve been loving all the recent summer ones.

Some oldies but goodies: this time last year I was in Hvar, Croatia island-hopping on a little boat and petting wild donkeys, bright blue edible roses for a boy.

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Unbelievably, this is my good friend’s (the afore-mentioned Dylan) second-last weekend in Busan. Life moves and changes so quickly, it’s astonishing. When I arrived in Busan, I knew we had 5 months to spend running around together (and run we did), but apparently that time is nearly over. This weekend we’re planning a short daytrip to a beautiful island nearby, and then rounding out the weekend with our favourite routine: a beach day, Quizno’s, a soak in the baths at the spa and lounging on the roof overlooking the beach, and Korean diner for dinner. Happy weekend everyone!

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