Raaaaaaaiiin, I don't mind.

Yesterday I ordered some stuff online
for college. I got this blue rain trenchcoat here for only $24.99!!! Awesome, right?

And then, I got these supercute rainboots from Target for $19.99. Yay! I can't wait until this stuff gets in. :) Hopefully, it might come before I leave, so my mom doesn't have to go back and forth.


Oh! And of course I ordered my bike. I was deliberating about it... but I just went ahead and splurged a bit. It's pretty and makes me happy. And besides, it was actually a pretty good price.


Now I need to decide if I want to spend $30 on this prettyful umbrella, or just get a cheaper, but less eye-pleasing alternative. This one is pretty, too, but it's not 'bubble' style.

Hm.

You know I'll keep you up to date on any developments. ;D


♥ Jamie






If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads,
They might as well be dead.
If the rain comes, if the rain comes...
When the sun shines, they slip into the shade
And sip their lemonade.
When the sun shines, when the sun shines...
Rain, I don't mind. Shine, the weather's fine.
I can show you that when it starts to rain,
Everything's the same.
I can show you. I can show you.
Rain, I don't mind. Shine, the weather's fine.
Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines,
It's just a state of mind?
Can you hear me, can you hear me?
sdaeh rieht edih dna nur yeht semoc niar eht fI. naiR. enihsnuS.

- The Beatles

Mutimedia

Hullo! I have some stuffs to show you!

I made a YouTube channel of my favourite happy videos for you guys. You can find it here.


Also, I found an awesome music website - Pandora.com. Just go there. It's amazing. Here's my personal station: Jamie's Station.

On Thursday, I finally went to the library and got A Hard Day's Night, which my mother and I watched tonight. It was cute, but I can't wait to see Help! ... I can tell I will really love it. The old trailer for it is up on the YouTube channel.

I also got some books to read before I head off to college - I only have a WEEK, gah! - The Wind in the Willows, Charlotte's Web, and In His Own Write (by John Lennon).

♥ Jamie

Lucky Brand Jeans

Today, I received a small package in the mail from who else but Lucky Brand Jeans! I was pleased to find a keychain, a mysterious leather strip that reads 'LIVE in LOVE' (both my mother and I are puzzled as to its purpose - maybe it's just a tag that they attach to their jeans, and thought I would like?) and a handwritten note tucked inside. It's so good to find that some big companies still take time to market customers individually, by treating people with special kindness. I mean, all I did was comment on Denim Highway's website, and they spent money on me. Postage was $0.58 in itself, and the keychain / leather strip probably cost under $2 to make - but still. I've spent $0.00 on their products in my life.


So anywho, here is what the note says:
Hi Jamie -
Thanks so much for your nice note about Denim Highway and good luck in college.
- your friends at Lucky Brand Jeans

This company definitely deserves everybody's business. I don't live very close to any of their stores - but just as soon as I'm in a city with one, I'll go in and try on some clothes.

The other day I got my hair cut into a shag like Sandra Bullock's in The Lake House. And I'm going to pick up my new 50s-looking glasses at the eye doctor on Monday. Retro-ready for college!

♥ Jamie

Riding Bikes in the Nighttime

Around nine thirty, my mother and I took two laps around the neighborhood on bicycles. I was testing out this bike my mom bought on sale at Target a few years ago, which has since been forgotten in the shed. It's teal and silver, but it has gears and no fenders. Not at all retro-cute like the ones on BeachBikes.net. Nonetheless, it was really nice riding at night. A little bit 'forbidden' feeling, since the last time I rode a bike was when I was much younger. :)

I added the blogs I read to the left sidebar, and will be updating them often. Click a few for more cheery reading.

Oh! My mom's best friend from highschool offered to make me a quilt as a graduation present - and you know I took her up on it! I'd much rather have a homemade quilt on my college loft than some mass produced comforter! And this way I'll keep it all my life. Anywho, yesterday we picked out the fabrics. I'm going with a beach theme, so I chose a mix of blues, blue-greens, tans, creams, and whites. They're all prints, of course. Solids are boring. I have this thing with fabric prints lately, so it was really fun.

That reminds me. I need to add print & pattern to my blogs list.



I needed a picture, so this post wouldn't be so boring... and then I remembered this one. While I was in upstate NY this summer, I fell in love with this little corner of my great aunt's kitchen. I don't really know why; it's just so cute. The cat is something she had painted from a picture of her favourite cat from years ago... the little round box was for a gift candle - now it holds nothing, but she keeps it because the top has cats similar to the wooden one above it... and she didn't tell me about the bears, but they are just adorable. Something about this small collection of items with the backdrop of that blue brick tile struck me immediately. Too much HGTV! ;D


♥ Jamie

Miss Potter

It is late but I just had to post about the movie I just rented and watched tonight: Miss Potter. I myself only learned about the life of Beatrix Potter, the author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, a few months ago on the internet. I was aware that Miss Potter was coming out, but never saw it advertised in theaters around here, so I didn't think much of it; I was concerned that the movie would be Hollywood-ized, anyway. I generally don't trust A-listers like Renee Zellweger. However, I should not have feared anything of the sort! My mother and I rented it from Blockbuster tonight (actually, I was originally looking for the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, which they DO NOT CARRY... but not to worry, there's always the library!), and it was absolutely beautiful! Really, a charming movie which is definitely one of my favourites now.

I refuse to spoil anything - just go and see it RIGHT NOW! :D

Although I only knew her characters through a animated movie I used to watch as a child... after reading her life story and now seeing this movie, I can truly say that Beatrix Potter is really one of my artistic role models. She is only the bestselling children's author of all time - so I suppose it's only appropriate for an aspiring children's author to look up to her!

Hope you get to see this movie soon.

♥ Jamie

Surprises and Scooters

So guess who I got an email from the other day? DenimHighway.com! They said that they'd like to send me a 'little gift'! I wonder what it is?

I love getting surprises in the mail! :)

I've thought of another cute retro ride - the Vespa Scooter! I haven't known about these for long, but it took just one look for me to fall in love with them. Not only are they adorable, but they're a good alternative to cars, both economically AND ecologically - scooters can get up to 80 miles to the gallon! They're not good for road trips, since the fastest models only go about 60 mph, and hold only 1.5 gallons of gas... but for running around town, they're perfect.



The pretty blue one to the left is the Vespa LX, while this fun little green one to the right is the Vespa GTX with its headlamp on the front fender. I'd love to have one of these guys someday.


Speaking of eco-friendly living, there is an awesome site that anyone wanting to live a little greener should check out. Ideal Bite 'offers bite-sized ideas for light green living'. I've subscribed to their daily emails and have gotten a lot of great stuff.

For instance, I'm planning on ordering a Klean Kanteen and buying some kind of a filter for my water. Plastic bottles are wasteful and can leach into your water! Filters and reusable bottles cost more upfront, but are FAR cheaper in the long run.

♥ Jamie

Bikes and Buses

Here is the loverly bicycle that I hope to bring with me to college. Doesn't it make you smile? Just browsing Beachbikes.net is a treat! I love the adorable vintage look of cruiser bikes. This is the Women's BC-05 Deluxe in mint green. It's nice and fresh. I don't know what sort of name to give it, though. But that will have to wait until it arrives. I haven't even ordered yet!











Here is another delightfully vintage mode of transportation. I saw this bus while I was in Niagra Falls two weeks ago. It's Lucky Jeans' roadtrip bus. This is the bus' website: DenimHighway.com.

I sent them a little note of groovy appreciation. Hopefully they might reply. Personally, I don't own any Lucky Jeans - they're pretty expensive. But someday - who knows? I like supporting creativity. :D



♥ Jamie

breathe inspiration

The idea of a 'good things' blog isn't from my own noggin... but I sure do think it's a great thought! ;)

I first came across the concept a few years back, when I was still new to reading online journals and such. The author of the journal I was reading had pinched the idea from someone else. So, I suppose that today, the tradition lives on!

This blog, 'breathe inspiration,' is to be a place where I can post truly good things. Things that inspire, uplift... and make me happy. And hopefully, somewhere along the way, another person might be cheered, too.

breathe inspiration will not be a personal journal. Sorry kids, no drama to be found here. Instead, I invision this to be an exclusively positive blog. I will do my best to adhere to my own rule for breathe inspiration: there will be no bad-mood posting! To be sure, writing out your woes is a sound, healthy way to rant and clear your mind of negativity. It usually makes the writer feel better - but most times, the reader is brought down. And I don't want that here.

What about the name? Well, I knew that this would be a blog to, at its most basic, list my sources of inspiration. So I headed over to the ever-trusty dictionary.com to search 'insipiration' for, er... inspiration on a name. I found that the word 'inspiration' also means to inhale or breathe. The first word combo that popped up in my brain was 'breathe inspiration.' A few minutes later, I realized that it's also a bit of a pun - breathe in - breathe inspiration - breatheINspiration. You get it, right?


{ The close connection between the words 'inspiration' and 'breathe' also reminded me of the Biblical Greek for 'spirit' - pneuma - which also means 'breath'. I think I know where that link comes from: "Then the LORD formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." - Genesis 2:7, NASB. A spirit is simply the breath of life, from God... I love it. These sorts of profound bits of philosophy and life inspire me. PS - That verse used to crack me up when I was little because of the word 'nostrils'. }


I have this shirt from American Eagle... it's one of my favourites, I wear it all the time. It's light blue, with a large white eagle silhouette in the center. Stiched on top with slightly darker blue thread are these words: FIND INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE. And that's what this blog is all about. The artist in me is just bowled over by the little things in life... and here's where I'd like to share them with all of you.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on THESE things."- Philippians 4:6-8, NASB


Here's to dwelling on the good.
♥ Jamie