I need a [blog] vacation.

the more I've thought about it the more I feel it's what I need to do.

the idea has been floating around my head for a while... trying to manage things while showing visitors around Taiwan and then traveling and trying to enjoy being back in Michigan. it's been difficult to manage. and distracting. and not what I want for this summer.

I want to be free to fully devote myself to the moment.

[because, let me tell you, there are some really great moments ahead of me this summer.]

I considered writing a bunch of posts ahead of time and scheduling them. I have plenty of material stocked up. but that amount of work requires a serious time devotion now. and I'm already in the thick of trying to spend time with family and friends while I can. and trying to devote the time I carve out away from that to work on editing my book.

this weekend I had a conversation with my friend Phyllis [or maybe it was India Banks, they sound the same to me over the phone] and as I was in the midst of telling her that it's ok to not be constantly present on her blog and that she has every right to keep her personal life private... my own words slapped me in the face.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.

when I went out for a walk [to disconnect and think] instead of focusing on the gorgeous Lake Michigan sunset in front of me I kept thinking about what I was going to do with the blog, how I was going to manage it all, and realized that I need a vacation. in fact, I haven't gone longer than a week between posts since beginning this blog over 2 years ago.

I'm going to finish out the month of June, and then take July off from blogging. I've emailed my affected sponsors and come up with a plan to handle that end of things. I still have a few posts to share before July, including my entry for the Make Waves essay contest. [which you should check out because it's being hosted by a group of amazing women with great stories to tell.] and I signed up to post in Marielle's "hello world" series about cultural experiences around the world. [which will go live while I'm on break, but you should check out the series anyway because it's already getting good.]

you might find me commenting and you will most definitely see me hanging around twitter and instagram. I may go a few weeks and not be able to stay away. I'm not making any firm promises here because, one: I don't know what will happen and two: I don't actually have to justify this break to anyone.

but I love you, my readers, and dearly. so I felt you deserved some notice. I hope you have a lovely July and fill it with memories. get outside, grill something, drive with the top down, skinny dip, fall in love [with yourself, if no one else.]

linking up with Melyssa today for another edition of the creative collective.

interview with an author

I'm linking up with Melyssa today for another edition of the creative collective. this week's prompt was to interview someone and take some editorial photos to go along. well... I miscalculated on the date and so was not able to interview my initial intended. but I do have someone special answering questions on the blog today: me! I thought I'd use this as a chance to catch you up on my book news and give some info to my newer readers, who may not know that I've been writing a book.

so you're writing a book. what's that all about? well. as the book currently stands, it is a personal travel memoir. it describes our move to Taiwan and how I've both dealt with culture shock and grown through the process. it covers the time leading up to the move and the first year and a half of our life here, with chapters covering everything from adjusting to not having a career to accidentally staying in love motels. I've been working on it off + on for the last 9 months and it truly has become my baby.

isn't that kindof like your blog? yes, and no. it covers the same time frame and a lot of the same events, but the blog tends to focus on photos and information. the book is more personal, dives in deeper, and written more like a story. I know some people publish their blogs as ebooks, but that's not what this is. I want it to read like a novel, not a collection of standalone stories. I think that makes it more challenging for me to write, but I hope will result in a better book.

do you have a title yet? no. I have a few half-formed ideas, but I'm hoping as I organize things something will jump out at me. if all else fails, I can cop out and name it after my blog, right?

how long is the book going to be? right now I'm around 55,000 words, which qualifies as a full-length novel. I'd like to expand up to around 75,000 words but in truth - it will be as long as it needs to be.

what inspired you to start writing this book? I've always loved to write. I grew up keeping journals, have been blogging for over 12 years, and the idea of writing a book has always appealed to me. I knew that moving to Taiwan [and not working 9-5 anymore] was my best opportunity to have the time to do so. it took me a while to start because I wasn't sure what I wanted to write. but sometime around last March I realized that the story I needed to tell first was my story. it took a few more months and a lot of encouragement before I actually started writing. I've had great support from my Husband and family, along with both real life and blogging friends. when I get discouraged I look back at emails and comments and remember conversations I've had, and it keeps me going.

do you actually write in bed, or are you just trying to Carrie Bradshaw in this photoshoot? nope, this was totally staged. though the pen poses are all natural movements for me. I typically write in my office [which is a hot mess right now] or at Starbucks. I'd love to find a local coffee shop to support, but none of them in Taiwan open before noon.

what do you use to write? I started by digging through all my blog entries and journals to create a timeline, then started typing in a Word document. I have a few notebooks full of book notes, and of course the journal and blog content that has been expanded on. right now my 7-year-old MacBook isn't capable of using iAuthor, but when I get my new Air in a few weeks I'll be able to move everything into that program.

when can we expect to read this book? hopefully in the fall. my first draft is a little rough, but it's just about complete. I hope to flesh it out and do some editing + organizing this summer, possibly have it professionally edited and formatted, have a cover designed, and then self-publish on kindle. I'm writing this book mostly for me - if I can tell my story authentically and put it out there, then that's success. [though if a publisher wants to pick me up and make me famous I'm cool with that too.]

do you plan to keep writing in the future? yes. I've written a few fiction short stories that I might try to expand, and I've considered dabbling in historical fiction or fantasy or even romance novels. maybe I'll try them all, who knows? but I do know that I want to keep writing, and hopefully publish more books after this one.

any advice for someone who wants to tackle writing a book? just do it. the hardest part about writing is convincing yourself to sit down and actually write. you'll have good days where the words will fly from your fingertips, and other days where it feels like you're just pounding against a brick wall. just keep writing, and keep reminding yourself to keep writing.

so that was only moderately awkward for me to interview myself, right? hopefully you enjoyed the update :)

linking up with Nicole, too!

neon washi tape wall

I have a bright and fun home project to share with you today: my new neon washi tape wall.

I found this neon multi-pack of mt washi tape on sale at my local bookstore [I love you, Asia!] and knew it was just the crazy pop of color my dining room needed. mt masking tape is by far the best brand that I've tried, but there are plenty to choose from. I opted for a multi-pack because I knew I would spend an hour trying to come up with the perfect combination by buying individual colors and patterns.

I've been fighting with blogger/google to try getting the colors to show up right... but they really are neon!

as you can see, we have a chalkboard wall at the far end which sucks out all the light from the room. not that this room gets much light to start with. my walls needed a little bit of something, and when you're living in on-campus housing with walls made of concrete... the easy thing to do is washi tape them.

the process of putting up the wall was pretty simple. I took a ruler and made marks every 10cm along the left + right edges, and down the center of the wall. this wall is not exactly flat, so I just eyeballed adjustments as I felt were needed. the hooks and little birdhouse keyholder were already attached to the wall, so I just cut the tape and continued on the other side. the lightswitch was pretty icky... that got covered in another washi tape.

I'm linking up with Melyssa for the creative collective today. the challenge this week was to bring a Pinterest project to life - and so I have to admit the idea for a washi striped wall came from this blog [via Pinterest.] I also found several other washi tape wall ideas that I'm planning to do in the near future, so keep your eyes open!

DIY dots wall hanging + photo backdrop

I'd love to tell you that this project was easy... but I completely went about it the wrong way so it actually took me a lot of time. I used the wrong materials but hopefully you can learn form my mistakes and have an easier go at making your own version!

I've been wanting to make some kind of art to hang behind our bed ever since we had the wall repainted [after the leaky cieling incident, if you remember.] this week's prompt to Melyssa's creative collective was an "anything goes" art project. I wanted to use up materials I had on hand, so all in all this project only cost me 5 NT [about 16 cents.] and that's just because I used actual coins in the project.

the paper circles I had cut out for another project that never happened - just old paper shopping bags that didn't make it to the recycling bin. I painted them first, in turquoise and mint, then realized they were curling terribly. SO. I took some thicker board that I had on hand and taped strips to the back to reinforce the circles. [this is what took up so much of my time... and tape. I would recommend making your circles out of something sturdy to begin with!]

an hour later... I decided how I wanted to lay them out. I hung the top row first, hung strings from them weighted with 1 NT coins to hold them straight, measured then used tiny bits of washi tape to mark where I would hang the rest of the circles. I used the little markers to anchor the tape and just pressed the circles on, and reinforced them again when I was done.

hopefully I didn't scare you off from attempting this project... I ended up covered in tape bits and tangled in thread and still think it was worth it! so it took me a long time, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think it makes a great piece of wall art and I'm excited to use it as a backdrop for taking photos. you could totally make one for your next party, using whatever colors you like [or change up the shapes - but I'm partial to the dots.]

and don't forget to see what everyone else created for this week's project!

DIY wall art: painted washi tape words

I have a thing for paint projects that involve tape. [probably because I can't freehand a straight line to save my life.] so when I saw that the first creative collective project involved making an art piece of your 2014 motto, I knew exactly what I was going to attempt.

if you remember, my 2014 motto is actually challenge accepted. but I decided that the best way to tackle this particular challenge was to simplify things. so... I gave in to the hustle.

I didn't have any blank canvas on hand, so I cut off a spare cardboard chunk. I started with a coat of silver poster paint. this paint has been hanging out in my office unused for way too long, and I figured it was about time to break it out.

once the silver was completely dry, I taped off my word and a border to go around it. I knew the tape would be great for straight edges but not so much the curves. so I made my "font" a little angular and intentionally funky. painter's tape would also work instead of washi tape here.

I painted a coat of emerald around the tape, let it dry and peeled it off. [yes, it's really that easy to make wall art.]

it's a little rough around the edges, literally. I think you would have better results with canvas, but I'm still happy with how it turned out. and of course it all comes back to my motto... I challenged myself to use materials I had on hand and I made it work.

plus, I really love how the silver + emerald work with my chevron wall.

I'm so excited to be linking up with Melyssa for this creative collective project, and to find new ways to exercise my creativity this year! I hope you'll join us.