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April 30, 2013

May Photo-A-Day...

Here is the photo a day list Fat Mum Slim made for May... And I am going to finish it this month!
How to take part in May photo-a-day:
1. Using the list as inspiration, take a photo each day.
2. Share it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #FMSphotoaday You can also share on your blog or on Facebook ... or even keep the photos privately for yourself.
3. Check out other people's photos and like them or comment on them.

April 28, 2013

Little Apartment Update...

Yesterday Justin and I had the meeting with the real estate agent that I had mentioned in my apartment hunting post. It was supposed to be for us to do a final walk through of the apartment to make sure everything worked but it ended up being that, finally meeting the owners (Who were this sweet couple with a sixteen-month-old daughter and another one on the way) and getting the keys five days early -- Which we weren't expecting.

Throughout the meeting I got to talk to the owners about the building, the neighbors, if we could do things like hang pictures (It was stated in the lease agreement that we need permission to hang pictures, paint, etc.) and get a feel for the place. They were very nice and only had positive things to say (With the exception of the bit about the weird quiet lady that lives in the apartment above), and I didn't get the feeling that they were lying to me. So that was good.

After everything was said and done (People got their checks, keys were handed over, e-mail addressed exchanged, etc.) we hopped into the car, went to buy some more cleaning supplies, came back and started to clean our apartment. We were there for a few hours, but we didn't get everything we wanted clean but hey, were gonna be living there and now have all the time in the world.

Sunday Social...

Did You Sleepwalk As A Child?
Never actually.

Did You Ever Try To Run Away Or Sneak Out Of Your House?
I've never done either, but when my sister was in elementary school one of my friends was mean to her thus causing her to run away with no shoes on and go missing for several hours. It was not fun.

Did You Have Any Imaginary Friends?
I didn't have an imaginary friend but I did pretend to do things like cook while watching cooking shows, etc.

Did You Ever Go Toilet Papering?
Nope and I have actually never seen a house toilet papered in real life. Not even on Halloween.

Did You Ever Sneak TV Shows You Weren’t Allowed To Watch?
Honestly there really wasn't anything that I wasn't allowed to watch that I wanted to. I can't actually think of anything that my parents would have objected to.

April 26, 2013

Dancing By Myself...

I feel like having my own little dance party, so you guys get a playlist! Enjoy!

Dance Party (4/25/13) by Misfit Librarian on Grooveshark

So, was that weird? Am I the only one that likes to dance around when no one else is around?

Friday's Letters...

Dear Room: Please pack yourself. I've been packing for what feels like forever and I'm still not done. If you could pack yourself up Jetsons style it would help a lot.

Dear Nick: You owe me a shot of cafe Patron. Why you ask? Because if you would have brought over the bottle that your father got me weeks ago maybe he wouldn't have opened it yesterday and taken a shot to see if I would notice.Yup, as your father was handing the bottle over to my mother he said "I'm gonna take a shot and see if my niece notices!" She did and she is now forcing her cousin to buy her a replacement shot.

Dear Mother Nature: Did you not get the memo? It's supposed to be spring and yet it's still been kinda cold outside. Wanna think about remedying that? Thanks.

Dear Google Friend Connect: Is it true? Are you really going to disappear from the lives of your blogger friends? Am I going to have to start asking my followers to start following on sites like BlogLovin' or Canopi? Lemme know.

Dear Justin: I hate when you aren't home yet and you have so many things DVRing that I can't watch TV. I'm glad we're gonna have more than one TV in our apartment.

Dear Followers: I think you're all awesome!
Photobucket

This Just Pinned: Apartment Edition...

In honor of Justin & I getting an apartment, I give you some of my favorite apartment/home decor pins...
(via: Pure Home)
(via: Babble)

If you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

April 23, 2013

World Book Night US 2013...

THE HISTORY OF WORLD BOOK NIGHT
Each year, World Book Night is celebrated around the world on April 23.
April 23 is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, as well as Shakespeare’s birthday. It was also chosen in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 23, 1616 (the same day as Shakespeare). In the Catalan region of Spain, the day is celebrated by giving a book and a flower to a loved one.

World Book Night was the product of a round table discussion at London’s Book Industry Conference in May 2010, the purpose of which was to imagine a way to encourage more adults to read. What better way to spread a love for reading than to inspire passionate readers to go out into their communities and share copies of their favorite books with those who don’t regularly read? Giving is an incredibly powerful part of our culture—and culture, art, and a writers’ talent are all themselves ‘gifts’.

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011; in 2012, it was also celebrated in the USA and Germany.

In 2012, almost 80,000 people gave out over 2.5 million books in four different countries. To find out more about what’s coming up, please navigate around our site and sign up for our email newsletter to be among the first to hear news and developments.

WHY IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT IMPORTANT
Why does World Book Night exist? Reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on mental health and happiness. Book readers are more likely to participate in positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical exercise.

Or more simply put, books are fun—and they can be life-changing.
With the passionate volunteer support of thousands of people across the country, World Book Night U.S. is spreading the love of reading, person to person.


THE BOOKS
Each year, we select a range of wonderful books for our volunteer givers to share on World Book Night.  We print a total of half a million books, and the book givers take these special paperback editions out into their communities in search of light or non-readers. 
What makes a good World Book Night book?
  • Accessible books of high quality.
  • Both recently published books and established classics.
  • Books available in paperback.
  • Any genre of book—fiction, mysteries, romance, sci fi and fantasy, classics, poetry, humor, autobiography, and young adult books.
  • The list overall must have gender, ethnic, and geographical balance. 
An independent panel of booksellers and librarians selects the books, using lists curated by experts in the bookselling and library world. All of the information comes from external, independent sources. Additionally, each year, givers from the previous year’s World Book Night nominate books for the panel to consider. 

The authors of these books have agreed to waive royalties in order for us to be able to afford to print the free World Book Night editions.  We are very grateful for this generous support of our literacy efforts. 

To see this year’s World Book Night U.S. books, please click here.
To see previous years’ World Book Night U.S. books, please click here.

THE 2013 BOOKS
To learn more about how the books were chosen click here. To see the 2013 books as a list go here.
If World Book Night is going on near you let me know! I'd love to hear about it if you participated!

New Apartment Wishlist: Living Room...

1. Billy Bookcase (Black) - $59.99 I'm gonna need like three of these
2. Chrome Wire Storage Basket - $14.99 I'm gonna need a ton of these for my vinyls
3. F Bomb Paperweight - $45.00
4. Altra Parsons Secretary Desk (Black) - $99.00
5. Day of the Dead Skull Box - $19.95
6. On The Button Sewing Box - $16.99
7. Can You Imagine Melting Clock - $11.50
8. IMAX Colony Globe - $29.95
9. RÃ…SKOG Kitchen Cart (Turquoise) - $49.99
10. City Icon Pillow - $150.00
11. Marimo Moss Ball Light Bulb Aquarium - $35.00

April 22, 2013

Adventures In Apartment Hunting...

Due to circumstances that I just don't want to get into, Justin and I were forced (Kinda, sorta, not really) into moving in together and we had a deadline of June 1st. So when everything went down we just jumped into searching for an apartment.

First we started by searching online with sites like Trulia, HGTV Front Door, etc. And what we learned from searching through them was that there were hardly any apartment buildings (I refuse to live in a rental property in someones home) in the area that we wanted to stay around and if there were they were either out of our price range or a fifty-five plus community -- All which blow.

Eventually we got tired of just looking at the same apartments over and over again online (It's really frustrating because apartments don't pop up as quickly as you want them to). So we decided to hop in the car and drive past the few places that we were interested in. Two of them we were completely fine with the areas around them, etc. and the other was a big hell no.

After we decided it was okay to live in the neighborhood of the apartment we didn't have an appointment to see, we called the agent from the listing and made an appointment to see the place later on that day.

I cannot tell you how nice the place was -- I meant to take pictures at the time but the realtor flustered me beyond belief (I think he thought we wouldn't meet the CoOp requirements and that we were wasting his time). All of the floors were hardwood, there were stainless steel appliances, washer & dyer in the apartment, etc. And all for an amazing price.
We both really liked it but we were scheduled to see another apartment closer to Justin's current place the next day and we wanted to wait to see it before making a decision.

Fast forward not even twenty-four hours later... I get a text from Justin telling me that the lady from the apartment we were supposed to view cancelled on us. The minute he told me that I had him call the real estate agent from the first place we saw to see if the current owners wanted to rent it or sell it (They were still in the process of deciding what they wanted to do), and if it was the former to start on the paperwork to try and get the place. Which was the case.

The day after that Justin went to get the paperwork and talked everything out with the real estate agent (Who was super nice this time around because he had checked Justin's credit score and got information from his job and realized that he was "perfect"). The minute he got home he called me to tell me exactly what was going on. Apparently the agent got seventeen calls about the place after we decided we wanted it and the owners decided they wanted to bump up the rent by a hundred dollars, but the agent said they couldn't do that to us since we were already into the process. Thankfully we jumped on it when we did.

But despite that I was still extremely anxious because Justin was going to Florida two days later and I wanted to make sure everything was in with plenty of time -- The paperwork was due on the first of April because we were dealing with a CoOp board. I also wanted to make sure that my friend who is a lawyer had a chance to read the lease and housing rules over to make sure everything was legit (They were).

Once Justin got back from Florida he finished up the paperwork and we both went to the real estate agents office to hand everything in. While we were there the agent made sure everything was okay, explained to us how the CoOp board at this particular building ran things, apologized to me for not letting me turn on the water while we were looking at the place (I wanted to check the water pressure and such but he copped an attitude with me and wouldn't let me. This actually pissed my lawyer friend off, along with some other things, to the point where he wanted to call the agent and say his clients were contemplating suing him for housing discrimination, etc), told us that when the board approved us that he'd take us in before our actual move in date to make sure everything was running properly so the owner wouldn't blame us later on and mentioned to us that since showing us the place he had forty-seven people call him who were interested in it.

About two weeks go by and the Tuesday the week before the actual meeting Justin got a phone call from the woman in charge of paperwork inviting us to attend their boards monthly meeting -- We were told by the real estate agent that if we got "invited" to the meeting that we unofficially got the apartment.

Fast forward about a week, Justin and I go to the board meeting and talk to a bunch of older ladies about ourselves for a whole ten minutes and we leave. The next day Justin gets an e-mail saying that we've been approved and we can move in when we feel like it -- We went with May 1st because we didn't want to pay partial rent for April.

So yeah, in total it took us over a month to get the place but despite all of the waiting we're super happy we got it. We're going to do that run through that I mentioned above with the agent this Saturday, so I'll very much so be posting pictures of our new apartment over the weekend!

I look forward to all of the new adventures I'm going to have living with Justin and I can't wait to share all of it with you guys!

April 21, 2013

Sunday Social...

What Is Your Shopping Weakness?
I love accessories and pretty blank notebooks. I'm always buying them.

What Is Your Food Weakness?
Garlic bread with cheese. I love me some cheesy chessy garlic bread.
 
What Is Your Go To Movie To Watch When Nothing Is On?
I can watch The Goonies (1985) or Clue (1985) over and over again, so I tend to put those on when there is nothing really on.

What Is Your Go To Breakfast Food?
I don't tend to eat breakfast because if I eat before a certain time I'll get a stomach ache.

Do You Drink Coffee? If So How Do You Take It?
I do indeed drink coffee. I like my Cuban coffee black with a lot of sugar and regular old drip coffee I like light and sweet.

April 20, 2013

Week In Instagram: April 14th-20th...

I Need To Stay Away From The Public Restroom...

As you're all very much so aware of I work in a public building and with public buildings come public restrooms and for some reason this past week I've had odd things happen as I've walked past or walked into our public restroom -- I know, I know... I just shouldn't use the public restroom but it's closer than the staff restroom which is on a totally different floor.

Incident No. 1: When I was walking past the hallway where the restrooms are I see one of our normal (badish) teens outside the women's room talking with our security guard and the dude that works on our newsletter/website. Stupidly I asked what was wrong and then I had to listen to the teen tell me that the homeless woman (Who I know isn't actually homeless, just a bit off her rocker) was in the bathroom and she didn't want to go in there because she was in there and that she smelled, blah blah blah... Then the teen starts begging me to check to bathroom because she had to pee. I walked into the restroom, which was empty and tell her that there is no one in there anymore and that the automatic air freshener must had sprayed because it didn't smell bad in there. She was still antsy and didn't want to be in the bathroom by herself if the homeless lady came back in, so she begged me to stand watch outside the bathroom door until she was done.

Incident No. 2: I go into the restroom to wash my hands a different day and inside there is a lady who looked like she was in her mid forties. She says "Excuse me... You look like you're about my age, can I ask you a question?" Even though I was offended that she basically said I look like a forty-something when I'm really a twenty-something I said sure. She starts asking me about if you live and work in one place but have nothing there but failed relationship and you have family in another place but no job and would have to live with a family member for a while as you get back on your feet, where would you go and what would you do (If this sounds confusing, good because that's what whatever she said to me sounded like). I basically said if you're not attached then go for the new life. She asked me to explain, then she told me her whole life story, etc. By the end of everything (Which went on forever) she looks at me and goes, I guess you're actually a little bit younger than me and don't know exactly what I was talking about but thank you. I looked at her and just told her good luck with whatever she decides.

So yeah, I need to stop going into/near the public restroom.

RE: Help Me Pick Out A Dress...

Thank you to all of you that gave me your input on which dress I should pick and wear to my friend's wedding next month! Basically everyone picked the same dress, the Ashley Dress from eShakti.
I absolutely adore this dress, but I showed it to Erin and she told me I couldn't wear it because it has white in it. What do you guys think? I love love love the dress but Erin basically told me I would be a douche if I wore it to a wedding. Is she right? Is she wrong? Lemme know!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

At some point in the past month or so my father had mentioned to Justin that he wanted to go to Citi Field and see a game when the Mets were playing against the Washington National and to kinda just make it happen. Well last night was the first game they had scheduled against each other and there was a pitching match up (Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg) that they wanted to see, so Justin picked up some sweet field level tickets and we went.
It was like every other baseball game we go to (Batting practice, food, Justin with his little score book, etc.) with the exception of the fact that I really had to pay attention to what was going on and have a baseball glove with me because we were seated eleven rows away from the field and I didn't want to get hit in the face with a line drive -- Which thankfully didn't happen or I'd be crying about it to all of you right now.

It was good time. I always enjoy going to baseball games with Justin and my father. I look forward to the next game we go to and maybe next time I'll remember to bring my actual camera to take some sweet baseball photos to share with all of you.

Library Articles...

Save the New York Public Library!
National Digital Public Library Launches
Free Database Offers Access To Archives
Philly Free Library To Merge With Rare Book Specialist Rosenbach
Residents Call Library A Crime Hot Spot
Fire At JFK Library Caused By Discarded Smoking Material

April 19, 2013

More Pictures Of Flat Stanley...

Since I wrote the post Flat Stanley & Amy... last week I've gotten some more e-mails with pictures of Flat Stanley with other people. I can't even express how much it means to me that people have been sharing their pictures with me and that they've been having a blast with the little guy. Thanks for making me smile!

This Just Pinned: Week Fifty-Three...

Here are the highlights of my week pinning...
(via: Etsy)
(via: She Inside)
(via: MSN Living)

If you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

April 18, 2013

Help Me Pick Out A Dress...

Okay, so I'm going to a wedding Memorial Day weekend and I need help picking out a dress to wear. It's an afternoon wedding at the Westbury Manor and they are getting married in the garden, the reception is in the actual manor. There was no dress code on the wedding invitation, but I e-mailed the bride and she said the wedding itself is on the formal side but since it's in the afternoon cocktail dresses and suits would be fine. So yeah, I need some help and here are some of the dresses I've decided that I kinda like...
Valentine Lace Dress from Fashion to Figure ($45.00)
Sash Tied Lace Dress from eShakti ($79.95)
[I'm thinking about adding sleeves & making it a wide scoop at the neckline]
Ashley Dress from eShakti ($109.95)

Lemme know which one you guys like the best!

April 16, 2013

Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie...

INGREDIENTS
• 1 Banana • 1 Cup of Strawberries •
• 1-1/2 Cups of Baby Spinach • 1/2 Cup of Almond Milk •
• Ice (I had frozen Almond Milk That I Used) • Vanilla Agave to Taste •

Take all of the ingredients, throw it in a blender and blend away (I'm too lazy to do anything but cut the green part of the strawberries off). It's super easy, gross looking but very yummy. If you want you can add protein powder, flax seeds or what have you -- I would have added all of these things if I would have had some in the house, I need to make a run to the health food store.

Do you guys have any favor smoothie recipes? If you do lemme know and I'll try it!

April 14, 2013

Sunday Social...

1. When Did You Join Twitter?
I joined Twitter (@aoam_librarian) around the time I started blogging, so like 2010.

2. Who Is Your Favorite Non-Celeb To Follow?
I'm lame and I love @90sgirlproblem

3. Who Is Your Favorite Celeb To Follow?

I only follow a handful of celebrities and I don't even pay attention to them. I honestly follow a bunch of other librarians, my friends and various news sources.

4. Have You Ever Had A Celeb Respond To A Tweet?

Nope, but America's Test Kitchen (@testkitchen) follows me.

5. What Is Your Favorite Store/Brand To Follow?
I don't follow any stores.

6. Give Us Three Tweeps We Should Be Following
Well like I said I follow a lot of library peoples, so... @exlibris, @sethers and @JimmytheLizard are awesome. But check out the list of people I'm following and there are tons more awesome people.

April 13, 2013

Week In Instagram: April 7th-13th ...

NOTE: The picture from Tuesday is from inside a Rosa Parks biography that I found on the shelves while I was helping a patron find a book for her daughter. It wasn't the only page that had post-its in it but it was the page that I saw first.

April 12, 2013

Friday's Letters...

Dear Canadian & Brant Geese: Please stop walking across the street like you own it. Are you all trying to commit suicide or are you trying to kill me because you know I will try my hardest to avoid hitting you? Which ever it is please stop because you are giving me agita.

Dear "Julia": We all know you left work "sick" today because none of us acknowledged that your birthday is tomorrow. I don't know who you think you're fooling.

Dear Back: I don't think I did anything to hurt you, so why are you causing me so much pain? Please stop because you are driving me crazy.

Dear Old Spice: Umm... What?!


Dear Justin: You better watch your score book...

Dear Followers: I hope you're all having an awesome Friday!

Flat Stanley & Amy...

Almost three years ago, right after Erin and I had booked our trip to Europe, I had decided that I was going to print out a ton of Flat Stanleys and bring them with me on vacation. I figured I'd bring one for every day of the trip and leave them in various places -- I had put instructions on the back of each Flat Stanley that said to take a picture with him, leave him somewhere and send me a copy of the picture (No one actually did this and I was sad).

When I was making them before my trip I had made a blog post (Adventures With Flat Stanley...) all about the Flat Stanley Project, etc. with a template of Flat Stanley for people to print out for themselves. At the end of the post I had asked for people to send me a copy of the pictures if they actually did it.

Fast forward to yesterday... I get an e-mail entitled Flat Stanley and Amy. It was an e-mail filled with pictures of the cutest little girl named Amy cleaning up her toy and going to the market with Flat Stanley.

I cannot tell you how surprised and happy I was to get that e-mail, it just made my whole day. I thought that I'd never get a response to that post because I had made it so long ago. I mean, I know that that post get viewed frequently but I never thought anything of it.

Thank you Amy sending me such beautiful pictures of yourself with Flat Stanley. I hope you have wonderful adventures together! ::Hugs::

This Just Pinned: Week Fifty-Two...

Here are the highlights of my week pinning...
(via: Tumblr)
 (via: Morsels & Musings)


 (via: Kitch Kat)


 (via: Fab)
(via: Tumblr)

If you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

April 9, 2013

April 9th Photo-A-Day...

April 9th: Tiny
The tiny tiny matryoshka that lives on my desk at work next to a Weeping Angel.

April 7, 2013

Sunday Social...

1. What Is Your Favorite Outfit Pin?
2. What Is Your Favorite Food Pin?
3. What Is Your Favorite Wedding pin?

4. What Is Your Favorite DIY/Craft Pin?
5. What Is Your Favorite Quote/Verse/Lyric Pin?
6. Share One More Random Pin You Love.