Your New Favorite Blog: With Dignity and Coffee.

Kaeleen, and I blog at withdignityandcoffee.com

Weird.

I was inspired by reading other blogs and I wanted my own place to share my inspirations and thoughts.

It's a tie between The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. They're both incredible for own reasons. 

I don't really know if I have a favorite, actually. I'm really proud of my anxiety post, though. 

My dog. Never a dull moment with her....

Kaeleen's bio says, "I'm Kaeleen, but I wish I was Rory Gilmore." So if you needed a reason to go visit her blog, there you have it. 

Comments have been turned off so you can go say hi to Kaeleen! You can find her on twitter, instagram, tumblr, and bloglovin'!

Your New Favorite Blog: Oddly Lovely.

My name is Cat and I blog over at Oddly Lovely, a lifestyle blog about the little, simple joys in life like recipes, stye, DIY projects, and pet advice.

Honest.

Actually, I wound up working in social media marketing almost four years ago and that's how I discovered the wonderful world of blogs. For the first few years at my agency, I primarily worked as a liaison between companies and bloggers, organizing sponsored posts. I went to school for writing and have a strong passion for photography, cooking, and DIY, so I knew my interests aligned well with blogging. After a few years of working on the brand-side, I launched Oddly Lovely and now I get to use my professional marketing skills for more fun purposes!

The one book I recommend to everyone I know is Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. He's a memoir essayist who talks about everything from being taught guitar by a little person to his failed attempts at performance art to the challenges of learning French in Normandy. I promise you'll be rolling on the floor laughing.

I'm really proud of the fact that I've been learning how to talk about more than my dog and cookie recipes on my blog. I recently wrote this post called Why Bloggers Should Share Controversial Posts in reaction to my incredible experiences exploring topics like feminism and birth control and religion on my blog.

My boyfriend just read all the Harry Potter books for the first time, so we've been working our way through all the movies. Although I adored the books, I totally forgot how cheesy the films are! Most of the time I can't tell if we're laughing at or laughing along with them.

Cat's blog is incredibly real, something that is very refreshing to see. When I read her posts, I always feel like I'm having a deep discussion with someone about something that's important to them. Do yourself a favor and go check her blog out!

Comments have been turned off so you can go say hi to Cat instead! You can find her on bloglovin', twitter, instagram, and facebook!

just write: an empty space.

there’s an empty space beside me
that only I can see. 
it’s shaped just like you
and you’re staring back at me. 

sometimes as people pass me
I can feel their stares
as I reach out to take your hand, 
to be met with empty air. 

though I can feel you staring back, 
it seems only I can see. 
and when I reach out to take your hand, 
you’re empty, just like me. 

I know that you’ve been gone awhile,
and there’s nothing I can do.
but I keep reaching and it proves

I’m empty, just like you.

Staying in: 8 Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day at Home.

1. Go half & half on the night. One of you plans dinner, one of you plans dessert and entertainment. That way you can still kind of treat each other, but you get to hang out all night, too.

2. Have an 80's love movie marathon. Is there anything that will make you believe in cheesy, cliche love like 80's movies? No, no there's not. Which makes them the perfect choice for the cheesiest holiday. Bonus: Most of the good ones are on Netflix.

3. Cook dinner together. Sure, this is maybe the most cliche at-home date night, but for good reason! Pick out a recipe, shop for ingredients together, and then cook together. It's so much fun, and it's a great chance to try out fancier recipes or ones that call for more expensive ingredients. Chances are, you'll still spend less than you would on dinner and drinks out.

4. Have a Valentine's brunch. Valentine's Day is on a Saturday this year, which means you can get started celebrating that morning! Heart shaped pancakes and pink mimosas? Yes, please. Anytime. But especially on Valentine's Day. Get some inspiration here.

5. Game night. I never really thought of this as a super fun date night, but one night me and Christopher ended up at a Wal-Mart buying all of our favorite card games and board games. We stayed up way too late playing them, and it became one of my favorite nights together. Sometimes you just need to have fun with your significant other. So swing by the store, buy a board game, order takeout, and make some cocktails. Best. Night. Ever.

6. Have an indoor picnic. Look up tapas recipes and have a candlelit picnic indoors!

7. Have an "I've been dying to see this" movie marathon. Another bonus about V-day being on a weekend--way more time for your date than if it had to start post-work. Swing by Redbox and rent all the movies you've been wanting to see, and all the movies he's been wanting to see. Then get your favorite movie snacks and take turns picking which movie to watch next.

8. Can't decide between cocktails or dessert? Make both! Just type in champagne cupcakes to pinterest and prepare yourself. If there was ever a time to make champagne cupcakes, Valentine's Day is it.

How will you be spending Valentine's Day this year?

A New Motto & A Giveaway with Bonny & Blythe.

After hearing my mom talk about this last week, this has become my new life motto:

via

Today is the day. It's the day that you make it. It's the day that everything finally falls into place. It's the day where you hustle hard and follow your dreams. It's the day that your hard work pays off. It's the day.

Because if you wake up believing and acting like every day is the day, eventually it will be. 

Now, enter yourself in this Bonny & Blythe giveaway!

Introducing Bonny&Blythe: A health and beauty business that believes you shouldn't have to shell out tons of money or endure invasive procedures to be able to maintain heathy skin no matter what stage of life you're in. They take a comprehensive approach to treating the skin, combining scientific research with at home treatments, along with education about proper nutrition and exercise.

Today, they are giving away their Anti-aging duo: the Vitamin C, E, Ferulic Serum--which does everything you can imagine to your skin, from reducing wrinkles to fighting acne--and the age-defying eye serum, which will help pamper your eyes by fighting dark circles, puffiness, and wrinkles.

You can read more about just how helpful this duo can be for your skin and how exactly to use it here and here. And since a picture is worth way more than a blog post, you can check out these before & after pictures to see the product at work for yourself!

With the help of @FemaleBloggerRT, Bonny&Blythe is giving away $25 PayPal cash and the amazing Anti-aging Duo. 

Use the widget below to enter for a chance to try these products out! Make sure to check out the other bloggers involved: Sarah / Morgan / Kali / Kym. Best of Luck from Bonny&Blythe!

This is a sponsored post. I have not had personal experience with the Bonny&Blythe products. 
The duo in the giveaway includes the flagship Vitamin C, E, Ferulic Serum and Age-defying Eye Serum. The giveaway will close Feb 18. Giveaway open to US residents only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

just write: the one that they call truth.

I was walking on the sidewalk
when I saw there, in full bloom
a pretty little flower growing,
the one that they call truth.

I plucked it from between the cracks
and carried it with me.
I took it out to show my friends,
so they could also see.

I told one or two about it,
and they told three or four.
as each one changed the story slightly,
the flower wilted more and more

and as I held it in its beauty,
it quickly crumbled into sand.
for even something as pure as truth
cannot last in human hands.

Spending your February: A To-do List.

Happy February! It's the month of love and pink and candy! There are 28 days in February (isn't that weird?), and you get to choose how to spend them. As always, I have some suggestions. 

1. Make chocolate covered strawberries. Or chocolate covered anything, really.

2. Journal every day this month. Need some ideas to help you get started? I've got you covered.

3. Look up happy hours near you. After discovering how many places around here do happy hours, I have no idea why people ever pay full price for a meal. Our favorite sushi place does one where nothing is over $5. Um, yes please.

4. Evaluate on how you're doing on those New Year's resolutions and goals. 

5. Plan what you're going to do on Valentine's Day. Will you be staying in? Going out? Being Martha Stewart? Ordering Pizza? Whatever it is, have fun with it.

6. Have a picnic. If you live in the north, have an inside picnic. 

7. Peruse the Valentine's Day section at Target. 

8. Make a Valentine's playlist. 

9. Go try something out at Lush. I have just been introduced to the wonderful world of the charcoal face scrub. It's worth every bit of the hype.

10. Send someone a love letter.

11. Make a Valentine's Day craft. Hello, pinterest.

12. Go thrifting. Give yourself a budget, and then hit up some consignment shops and try to find an entire outfit for that amount of money.

13. Send Galentine's Day cards/emails/texts. 

14. Go to a Farmer's market. 

15. Make brunch at home. For real brunch, not cereal brunch. Waffles and muffins and mimosas and the whole nine yards.

16. Find a hot tea that you like. 

17. Watch the Pilot of Parenthood. It's on Netflix and you will have no choice but to cry along to all six seasons.

18. Spend an entire afternoon reading.

19. Write something that scares you. And then post it. I've been doing a lot of this (here, here, here, and here). If one of your resolutions this year was to be brave, this is definitely a good first (and second and third and fourth) step.

20. Find a quote that inspires you and print it out. Put it near your bed so you see it every morning

21. Do one thing you've never done before. 

22. Use this website to find your next book. You type in books you like and it gives you a little map of your next reads..so cool.

23. Go for a walk by yourself.

24. Sneak your own snacks into the movie theater. You little rebel, you.

25. Buy yourself some discounted Valentine's Day candy.

26. Have an at home date just as good as the one on Valentine's Day. Because you don't need a holiday to have the best date night ever.

27. Find a healthy snack that you actually enjoy. Little changes, people. Little by little.

28. Make a list of your favorite things that happened this month. Or a list of things you were thankful for this month. Any sort of happy list from February.

Ps: don't forget to enter this giveaway!

How are you planning on spending February?