DIY Real Life Pinterest Quote Board!

So... Tay told me about Pinterest in October of last year. So I got an account and immedietly loved it! I think my Words (or Quote) board was one of the first boards I created. I loved all of the quotes and things I was pinning on it.
In my room, I have a bulletin board and it didn't have anything good on it. So I started taking little notecards and writing down the quotes on the back of them (the side without the lines). I wrote them all pretty and fancy. And I started "pinning" those notecards to my bulletin board. It had a lot of my favorite quotes on it and some pictures and post cards, etc.
My mom saw it and liked the whole idea of it. Therefore, she wanted me to do the same in the living room. I was like "Okay..". She got an old 6-pane window out of the shed that wasn't in use and cleaned it up. Then she hung it in the mini-hallway that seperates the computer room and living room. Here is the final product:

Cool, huh?

It's filled with our family's favorite quotes or quotes we just like. There are some pictures added in there also to give it a homey feel.

I encourage you to make your own Real Life Pinterest Board! It is fun to do and a conversation starter! It's one of those things that when people walk into your home they will go... "Oh, what's this?" Then look at it and get inspired. It is so neat. You'll get a lot of compliments on it too!

Farvel,

Maddieeee :)

Back From Kauai

I'm back! Did you miss me? Of course you did, I'm fabulous to be around. Just kidding...for the most part. ;)

Rae and I went to Kauai, Hawaii for two weeks! It's a five hour time difference from Texas...I'm so tired even though I woke up at 12:30. To add onto that, Rae and I have church camp on Monday. We have to go to bed at 12 and wake up at 7 every day...with jet lag.

Before I get to how the trip went, I'd like to say THANK YOU to Mad! She's posted for us for two weeks! Thanks!!! You've done wonderfully!

Anyway, back to the trip. As you can guess...it was beautiful! Kauai is called to Garden Island for a reason. So lush, so green.

Things to know if you go:

1.) Wal-Mart and K-Mart are the best for touristy things like t-shirts, shells, post cards, w.e. Other stores have the exact same stuff, but twice as expensive!
2.) Milk cost $10 a gallon at Foodland...Go to Costco! For goodness sake, you'll save so much if you go there!
3.) They don't use plastic bags at stores anymore. I can't tell you how many times we forgot our reusable bags at the condo. Keep yours in the car ALWAYS! Or you'll have to spend any where from 50 cents to 4 dollars on a reusable bag you'll just forget again.
4.) Eat in! I know you're on vacation, but cook!  You'll save tons of money! Lunch for a family of four at a "cheep" restaurant cost at least $50! And dinner...take my advice and only go to dinner every once in a while.
5.) If you are going to eat out...We went to a ton of restaurants! Here's a list for yummy food:

BEST RESTAURANT: Fish Hut - They have the BEST coconut shrimp on the island, no joke. They butterfly their shrimp so it's easy to eat. Their batter stays on the shrimp so it's not messy. However, it's not a fancy sit down  restaurant. It's in the middle of Coconut Marketplace. So it's great if you are wanting lunch before shopping! Warning: You will get bombarded by obese pigeons.  

BEST ICE CREAM:  Pink's: First, I love the name and the fact that the store is painted pink! The employee there was really nice! She reminded me of Keke Palmer! Also the ice cream was sooo goooood. I got chocolate swirl! It's like vanilla ice cream with chocolate chunks with a hint of mint. When you get a medium you get two toppings. I got hot fudge and coconut! Yummy! Also try the Kauai Pie!

BEST ONION RING: Bubba Burger: On top of  great onion rings they have a decent burger. It's not fantastic, but it's not terrible. Also if you buy a shirt you get a free drink with your meal every time you wear it back. The shirt will pay for it's self! 

BEST BEER BATTERED SHRIMP: Shrimp Station: They have good shrimp in general! Not as good as Fish Hut, but it's great if you are spending a day in Kapa'a! 

WORST RESTAURANT: Bouchons: The first time we went there two years ago it was amazing! However, when we went back...The staff was unfriendly. Our wait to get a table was sooo long! The food was nasty. I found a hair rolled in my sushi! The waiter tried to "help" us because of the hair by giving us $5 of his own money...and his finger nails had black underneath them. I was disturbed.

BIG HYPE, BIG DISAPPOINTMENT: Bull Shed: People always talk about how good the food is there specifically the steak. I don't know if it's because I'm from Texas where the steaks flow like milk and honey and taste like food of the gods, but the food at Bull Shed was not top quality...the seasoning was off and the cooking technique was bad. The decor needed serious updating! 

6.) Go tubing! Rae and I went tubing through an old sugarcane plantation! So fun and relaxing! The employees are very nice! And everyone sings when you go through tunnels.

7.) If you go kayaking use a tandem kayak...I got tired fast! I have no idea why because when I usually go kayaking I can go for ours, but 1/4 of a mile in I was ready to turn back....but I didn't! 

8.) Go to the hot tub every night after activities and chill. You will meet a ton of new friends there! They can also suggest things for you to do and vice versa!

9.) Spend time at beaches! You're in Hawaii! GO to a beach everyday if you want!

10.) Stay out of your norm! Don't turn on the TV. Don't go see a movie. Don't do anything that is not outside. Enjoy the beauty of the island!

11.) Pick up the local slang. In stead of saying "You're Welcome" say "No worries". When you a agree with something someone said say "Sha Brah!" Say "yeah" a lot. Say yeah at the end of your sentence kind of like a Canadian sounding thing. Ask "So you can use it in a sentence like this, yeah?" Then the other person replies "Yeah." 

12.) Enjoy yourself and relax! 

Love Y'all,

Tay 

YAY!

Woohooo! Tay and Rae are flying back home today! :D It's been a long two weeks without them on here! I am SO glad they'll be home!

La revedere,

Mad

Something interesting...

This sentence has 7 different meanings depending on the stressed word.

"I never said she stole my money."

I never said she stole my money: Someone else said it.
I never said she stole my money: You are defending the person who supposedly did it when you're being accused of saying it.
I never said she stole my money: I never said she stole my money, but I implied it someway.
I never said she stole my money: Someone stole my money, but I didn't accuse her of it (But I really don't know who did it.
I never said she stole my money: She could have just "borrowed" it... either way, she has my money.
I never said she stole my money: She stole money, but not necessarily from me.
I never said she stole my money: She stole something of mine, but not necessarily money.

I love this stuff.

Hasta La Vista,

Maddie

Free Sheet Music for Piano :)

So since I play piano I am always on the lookout for free sheet music. Well, I have found a few just through googling things.

http://www.1001sheets.com/,

http://pianotte.szm.com/,

and....

http://www.take-a-piano-sheet-music-break.com/

You're welcome!

Namaste,

Maddie

Favorite Books List (with pictures!)

I love to read, obviously. I have created a list (surprise, surprise... I know) of all of my favorite books. Now, I know that this list is numbered, but the first one isn't my most favorite and the last one isn't my least favorite... They are all equal to me. I just numbered it for better organization.

1.  Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah. My cousin lended this to me and told me that I would love it. Well, she was right. It's a thick book and I read it fairly quickly. Then I bought myself a copy.
2.  Three Weeks with My Brother, by Nicholas Sparks. Nick and his brother Micah go on a trip together and reminisce about their life. It's probably the best memoir I've ever read. Autobiographies are the best :)
3.  Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. My seventh grade English teacher recommended this to me. I really enjoyed it. The movie was good also. It's kind of weird to see Kirsten Stewert before her Twilight days.
4.  The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I absolutely adored this book. It is historical fiction and set it one of my favorite time periods (the 60's). The movie is one of my favorite films also. Emma Stone was the perfect person to play Skeeter. Jessica Chastain fit Miss Celia's part very well also.
5.  Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. I read this in two days. I could relate to her feelings really well.
6.  The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks. This was definitely my favorite book I read by him, besides Three Weeks with My Brother, of course, but you can't compare those because they aren't really in the same category.
7.  Marley & Me, by John Grogan. I cried like a baby in this book! It really showed the connection between a family and their dog. Worth reading.
8.  Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. I read this in my sixth grade language arts class. I loved it so much I bought myself a copy.
9.  The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, by Piven and Borgenicht. No other book has made me laugh so hard! I don't know if the writers wanted it to be stupid on purpose or what, but the things in here are truly ridiculous. They can't help you at all! (Well, maybe a few.) But that's why I really like it.
10.  On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King. I'm not one for scary novels, so I knew if I wanted to read something of his, this should be it. I loved the memoir part most, but the writing part was helpful also.
11.  How to Find Flower Fairies, by Cicely Barker. This is the most prettiest book I have ever seen. It is a pop up and has cursive handwriting in it. It is about this girl, Cicely, and her private fairy notebook that was published posthumously. It is so fun to read and look at.

What are your favorite books? Have you ever read any of these?

Adios,

Mad

My new writing journal :-)

Like I said yesterday, I went on a mini-vacation. It mostly consisted of shopping and just laying around. Well there was a Barnes & Noble store across the street from our hotel so that was one of our first stops once we all got settled in. This location is HUGE! It has two floors. It is so nice. I just loved it. My mom, sister, and I spent $70 when we added all of our sums together. It was ridiculously worth it.

Anyhow... I have mentioned my little writer's notebook in some of my posts recently. It's where I jot down the books I read and my Favorite Words list, both of which I have blogged on here. Well, while shopping at the Barnes & Noble store something caught my eye. It was a shelf of leather journals. They were all so pretty and soft! Vintage looking, too. :)

So I finally chose one that I really like. It has old-looking handwriting on the cover, but I can't understand it because it is Italian (that just adds to the coolness!). It comes with a cute little ribbon on the side and a ribbon bookmark attached to the binding. It is SO adorable and SO my style.

Here it is: My new writer's notebook on the left, and my old one on the right. See the difference?

My new one is so much fancier and prettier :) I was flipping through it in the hotel when a card came out of it that said:

"Caro Lorenzo Scrittore Leather Journal

The cover of this journal is graced by a reproduction from an actual letter written in 1896 Perugia, Italy. The Caro Lorenzo (Dear Lorenzo) salutation, gives an endearing feeling of friendship dating back more than a century as well as displaying the lost art of letter writing.

The journal utilizes a unique transfer printing technique with an antiquing process. The leather is genuine nubuck and the pages are ivory colored and lined.

Handcrafted in Florence, Italy."

Isn't that so cool? I'm so happy.

Here is the link to look at other B&N leather journals http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s?keyword=leather+journals&store=allproducts&page=%2Findex.asp&prod=univ&pos=&box

Here is the link to the journal I bought :) http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/home-gift-scrittore-printed-italian-lined-leather-journal-6-x-85/23735127?ean=9780594170228

Sayonara,

Mad