Catching up over spring break

11 March 2014

So it’s finally spring break and the blog got a face lift!

What do you think?

The last couple of weeks have been so busy with school readings, assignments, and the like. Mix in family time, catching up with friends and the important stuff of life.

But I’m so glad to be able to get a little breather before school starts up again next week. And while the textbooks are shelved for now, I’ve pulled out my notepads and paper to plan and dream up new things for the blog.

Is there anything new you would like to see on the blog?
I always love hearing from you guys, so please let me know!

I’ve missed being here, but it’s good to be back. Always.

I hope your day is fabulous x.

image source // typography by Jasmine Dowling

Once in awhile, we all need a break.

21 September 2013

So it happened.

Life caught up with me, and I missed a Friday Favorites post yesterday.

This week has been a whirlwind of activity – lots of fun outings, but also lots of work, showing support for people you love, and dealing with whatever life throws at you. Some days have been pretty stressful, but I’m learning to not let my tendency to stress out get the better of me. I love how William James put it, “The greatest weapon against stress is the ability to choose one thought over another.” #truth

So I’m working on this Type A personality of mine and learning to take things nice and slow.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a couple weeks off regular posting to take a little breather, spend a little more time creating + making stuff, and plan and explore what my goals and plans are for this little space in the future. During my blog-break, I also really hope to work on better content for this blog. I know how much time blog-reading can take and I always appreciate those who take time to come by this space. So I want to make your cyber-visit here worthwhile with content that is CRAZY GOOD!

To help me do that, I would love to hear from you guys and what you have to say! What are some of posts that you already love seeing on my blog? What posts would you like to see more or less of? I’m open to suggestions so please please please leave plenty of comments/suggestions/ideas (:

I hope to pop in ever so often to say hi. But in the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram @ameliawritesblog to stay updated on all that’s happening in between!

And fingers-crossed, in between school and work and all that jazz, I get my dreams + plans for this space all laid-out so Amelia Writes comes back even bigger and better!

I hope your weekend is beyond fabulous xo.

Right Now // Thursday

19 September 2013

image source

Participating in Studio Calico’s photo prompts for #projectlife365 this week.

Hardly believing that we’re already more than halfway through September.
(Also, that I am already past the halfway mark for the first part of the fall term!!!)

Keeping up with running. Thankfully, I think I’m doing pretty good so far!

Trying to get school work done and stay calm, not stressed.

Remembering to cherish life and loved ones.

Anticipating all the fun things planned for the rest of this week.

Reminding myself that God always, always works things together for good because He is sovereign.

Wanting to make stuff again.

—

Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. – Mother Teresa

Here’s to Thursday!

P.S. Guess what?! After much thought, Amelia Writes is now on Instagram! You can find me @ameliawritesblog. Remember to follow for lots of fun updates! (:

First-ever Blog Award!

14 September 2013

Blogs are one of those things that have become part of everyday life for many people nowadays. But blogging is a lot more work than most would realize. It’s also a lot scarier than you would think, because it involves you putting yourself out there and being vulnerable to criticism and being judged. But all the negatives aside, the blogging community is filled with lovely people and is a grand place for support and connecting with people.

And there are plenty of great people indeed! Like Chelsea of Aphrodite Perception who nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you for the love, Chelsea. I so appreciate it! I started this blog to share my creative adventures, and it has since slowly evolved into a place where I share DIYs, recipes, my annual list, thoughts on life, and things I love. There are millions of blogs out there. And I’m so grateful that out of all of them, there are people who actually like/enjoy/appreciate what I write and what I do.

So in the spirit of the award, I’m nominating fifteen more people to receive the Versatile Blogger Award. Because everyone deserves a little love and encouragement (:

If you’re one of the fifteen FUN bloggers that I nominated, here’s what you have to do:

Display the Award Certificate on your blog.
Announce your win with a post (like this one!). Make sure you post a link back to whoever nominated you as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.
Present the award to your own fifteen deserving bloggers.
Leave each of the nominees a comment to let them know you’ve nominated them after you have linked them to your post.
Post seven interesting things about yourself.

These nominees are listed in no particular order. Some of them are budding writers, others have been blogging for awhile. But either way they love what they do so go and check out them out!

At Home In Love – inspiration, lifestyle and interiors
Sasha Farina – paper, scrapbooking
Elise Joy – paper, life, recipes, DIYs
Love Taza – family, life
Oh, Hello Friend – vintage, inspiration
The Small Things Blog – hair, make up, beauty, fashion
The Lauren Elizabeth – beauty, fashion
Kendi Everyday – fashion
Love Design Sunshine – design, creative inspiration
Finding Nana – paper, scrapbooking
Ann-Marie Loves – craft, paper, DIYs, scrapbooking
Breanna Rose – design, inspiration
Damask Love – craft, DIYs, inspiration
A Flyleaf – life, photos
Music and Little Moments – life, music

And here’s seven interesting things about me!

I love roller-coaster rides. Like the upside-down, double-loop scary rides.
I pretty much have the best, most amazing family ever (~~maybe~~ probably biased, but so true!).
I almost became a business major in college, but ended up majoring in Elementary Education instead.
I started running after being influenced by the rest of the runners in my family.
I’ve only had above-shoulder-length short hair once in my entire life.
I have a sweet tooth. Desserts are my favorite part of any meal!
I am without a doubt an arts and language person. Math is so not my thing.

Congratulations to all the nominees! And thank you Chelsea, for the nomination.
I’m looking forward to many more big things ahead on this blog!

I hope your weekend is fabulous. xx

100 followers + a GIVEAWAY! // CLOSED

3 August 2013

ETA: Congratulations, Marie! You’re the winner of this giveaway! I’ll be in touch with you to get you your prize. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated! (:

It’s kind of hard to believe.

But after more than one year of writing this blog + almost 250 posts later, I’m pleased to say that Amelia Writes Here has more than a HUNDRED followers since this past week!

It might not seem like a big deal to some who have thousands reading their blog daily, and following them on twitter/facebook/instagram/etc. But for this girl who writes in a very small way in the very big world wide web, I daresay it’s something to celebrate!

I am so grateful + thankful to the family, friends, and readers who believe in me and what I’m doing, who visit ever so often, and who stop by to say HI sometimes. So as an expression of my gratefulness, and to thank YOU for being a part of this journey, I am having my first ever giveaway! The winner gets a SURPRISE package of a pretty sweet mix of some of my favorite things. Think washi tapes, notebooks, and other pretty things I use + love! (:

To enter this giveaway, leave me a comment telling me what your favorite post/series from my blog has been so far.

You can also earn extra entries by:

Following my blog via email, WordPress, or bloglovin’.
Tweeting about this giveaway, tag me (@helloameliaaa), and include the hashtag #ameliawrites100giveaway.
Posting the photo above on Instagram, tag me (@helloameliaa), and include the hashtag #ameliawrites100giveaway.

Each time you earn an extra entry, come back and leave a separate comment on this post for each item above that you complete, along with your name and state/country. If you tweet or instagram this, be sure to also include your handle. Internationals welcome.

This giveaway closes on 12 August and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. So be sure to be entered by then + remember to check back for the winner! I will pick one random reader to win a surprise package of some of my favorite things (:

ALL THE BEST!

I have big dreams for this space. So thank you for being a part of this journey of accomplishing my dreams.

Changes + a new look

30 May 2013

If you haven’t already noticed, things now look a little different around here. I’ve been wanting to update this space for awhile but never quite got round to it. So of course, summer vacation was the perfect time to do it!

In addition to the new look, check out the, ahem, new and improved sidebar! You can now keep in touch with me by following my blog on Bloglovin‘, following me on pinterest, or following me via email and have my posts delivered to your inbox! You can also search for posts to your heart’s content. Plus, check out the new About section + header (:

All righty folks, that’s all from me today. I’m still working on tweaking a couple of small things but I’m pretty happy to mostly call it done! I’m terrible with all this tech-y stuff so I hope you like the changes!

School’s out!

14 May 2013

The final assignments are in, the books are shelved for the year, and summer break is here! I’ve been eagerly anticipating this break for a few weeks now so I’m quite glad that it’s finally here.

The last few days since school’s been out have been busy with making lists of things I want to do over this break. Although, the list is rather long because there’s quite a bit that I’ve put off doing during the school year to focus on school work. So right now, it kind of feels a little like so much to do and so little time. But I hope that some of this planning pays off and I’ll be able to make summer vacation both relaxing and productive.

Also on this summer’s to-do list is to spend more time on this space so stick around! I promise I’ll make good on all the fun things I’ve been wanting to share.

I hope your week’s been amazing so far!

What are you planning to do this summer?

Spotted lately.

9 November 2012

Things have been quiet around here lately, I know.

It’s been terribly busy so I’ve just been trying to stay afloat amidst all the work that needs to get done. I’m totally excited for Christmas this year and eagerly anticipating Christmas break!

But until then, here are a couple of fun pretty things that have caught my eye lately.
Some of these would make great Christmas gifts. Just saying (:

1. For the Makers

For the Makers is a monthly box of DIY crafts delivered to your doorstep! They bring the fun to you and give you inspiration and tutorials on their website. How cool is that?! Pity they don’t ship international though. But this is definitely something I’d do if I lived in America.

2. Rubber stamps and the new look at Oh, hello friend.

All things vintage at Oh, hello friend. Their new website looks amazing and those rubber stamps are too cute. Also check out the other categories – makes me happy (:

3. Freckled Fawn Glitter washi tape

Glitter + washi tape. What’s not to love? Especially that fuschia and gold, eeekks!

4. Studio Calico Kits

While scrapbooking has pretty much taken a back seat for me right now, these thoughtfully put-together kits by Studio Calico are so inspiring; they make me want to start scrapping again. Each kit also comes with exclusive stamps and products – super fun.

5. Christmas rubber stamps by Ann-Marie

It’s really beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here with Christmas catalogs + decorations + shopping. Now, all we need is some snow. It almost feels as if we might just zoom right past Thanksgiving and fast forward to Christmas.

Happy Friday!

I hope your weekend is super duper (:

Taking a break

19 April 2012

Original photo

I’ll be taking a break from blogging for the next couple of weeks to focus on studying for SATs coming up on the first Saturday of May. I haven’t really done much preparation at all for it so this is my final shot at giving what I got in an attempt to reach my goal. I’m really hoping to do better than I did the last time so I pray that whatever studying I do now pays off.

I’ll see you in a couple of weeks for more updates! (:

xo.