Gonna take a walk outside today.

Gonna see what we can find today. 

The lovely Miss Lauren and I went on a stroll recently through the neighborhoods of Lodi. We’ve tried to make neighborhood walks a regular thing in the afternoon as a little creative escape through our iPhone lenses.

On this particularly day, we decided to venture one block farther than our usual route. We were rewarded with a perfectly pink foreclosure home that made both Lauren and I swoon with envy. We dreamed about how we would make the house our own if we just had enough money to buy it.

I dreamed of the high-pointed ceilings and the perfect curtains I would sew for the living room. (Granted, this would involve me buying a sewing machine and learning to make curtains, but like I said, I was dreaming). I thought about all the different shadows from the tree limbs and how they would shift from morning to afternoon.

I imagined hauling out a ladder to pluck the oranges from the trees in January and displaying them in pretty vintage bowls throughout the house.

Sometimes it’s just nice to think of everything you would fill a home with while at the same time being thankful that you don’t own that much stuff or have to take on that much responsibility.

I’ve been taking a photo a day as part of  a challenge on Instagram (my user name is  maggie_creamer if you want to follow along). Today my task was to take a picture of childhood. My mind immediately jumped to the picture still on my dresser of Beena Shekar. Beena and I met in the second grade but didn’t really become besties until the 4th grade. After that, it was about eight years of walking in the sunshine, rain or snow to either middle or high school.

We played board games for hours after school. We would walk the full mile to the Kirkwood pool all the time with our towels, magazines and sunblock. And as soon as we could drive, it was off to Tropical Moose for snocones during the summertime. Even more fun was hanging out with her three lovely sisters and wonderful parents. I still remember Beena’s mom making us chocolate milkshakes at 3 a.m. in the morning during a sleepover and just thinking her family was the coolest ever!

 I have learned so much from this wonderful friend and was so happy to be able to be there on her wedding day right after moving to California. Beena turned 26 years old today, and it is so weird to think of how many years we’ve been in each others lives.

So happy birthday Miss Beena! You are one of the smartest, most compassionate, loving and amazing people I know, and I hope you had a beyond lovely day!

27 Before 27

I’m having a wonderful lazy Sunday in Lodi, and I decided it was time to write up my 27 Before 27 list. I turned 26 on December 27, but with the holidays, I wanted to wait to create my list, so I could put some thought into it.

I’m hoping to be a little more focused this year. I made my first list last year (26 Before 26), and was not so good at checking off all of the items. I’ve kept some of the items from last year’s list, either cause I did not complete them or because I really enjoyed them, and added at least a dozen new items. I can’t wait to get started!

1. Blog at least weekly and find news ways to display photos on Word Press.

2. Take a trip to the Redwoods.

3. Go on a classic American road trip and make a video of it.

4. Find a volunteer activity and do it regularly.

5. Make 30 gifts throughout the year and send them to friends and family.

6. Work with and support the 11 other Whimsy for Wendys ladies.

7. Walk the Golden Gate bridge.

8. Buy a new camera and start click, click, clicking.

9. Watch 10 classic movies.

10. Go to the snow and go sledding.

11. Host at least one dinner party.

12. Go to a new destination every month that is historically, socially or artistically significant.

13. Make a website.

14. Go to a climbing gym and scale a wall.

15. Read at least a book a month and write a short review of each one.

16. Go vegetarian for a month.

17. Go to a play.

18. Send 10 letters to 10 people who have influenced my life.

19. Visit a new city alone.

20. Create a stricter budget and actually get money into an emergency savings account.

21. Learn about wine by visiting at least five wineries and five tasting rooms in Lodi.

22. Try one new craft every month.

23. Ride a mechanical bull.

24. Write a letter to myself to read at 40.

25. Learn to prepare five foods I’ve never cooked before.

26. Call at least one friend a week.

27. Be more mindful and grateful of all the wonderful things in my life by making weekly lists and saying “Thank you, more please.”

Merry Christmas. May your New Years dreams come true.

And this song of mine, in three quarter time, wishes you and yours the same thing too.

It’s officially the holidays, and I have listened to “The Christmas Waltz” by She & Him ad nauseam for the last three weeks. It is probably my favorite Christmas song regardless of who sings it, and their rendition is so lovely.

So a quick catch up on Thanksgiving. I worked in the morning and then headed over to Patrick and Paul’s house for a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Every year, P&P invite over anyone who cannot go home to enjoy a wonderful meal.

This year, Patrick made his batch of stuffing ever ,and there were two turkeys to chow down on. Oh, and homemade from scratch lemon meringue pie. Everyone was stuffed to say the least.

I spent the entire weekend hanging out with these two lovely gentleman, who I refer to as my California family, and their herd of dogs. We watched movies, visited some of their friends, gathered around their fire outside and decorated their tree. It’s been years since I’ve actually got to decorate a tree, and it was fun hearing all the stories about every ornament as I carefully placed them on a branch.

 Patrick describes their tree as eclectic. A mix of vintage, personal and silly ornaments. 

Patrick and Paul have some special ornaments that are pretty awesome. The first is the Merman, a dreamy cowboy with an even dreamier mustache.

They also have a Cher ornament, which makes me really think that no household Christmas tree is really ever complete without a Cher ornament.

While there, I was admiring Patrick’s large Santa collection. He told me that I need to get back into the decorating spirit because I don’t want to end up as an old lady with no memories of decorating for Christmas. He advised that every year I need to start shopping the after Christmas sales and buy one new item. He got my collection started with one of his prized Santas that has his own shelf in our bookshelf. It really was a touching gift! That week I came home and bought some dollar store ornaments to hang in our window, and they look pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.

So thanks Patrick and Paul for a wonderful weekend. I adore you both.

A whimsical holiday sale

Do you believe in whimsy? When was the last time you paused during a moment in your life and thought, “hey, that was a really good heart-happy moment right there?” That’s whimsy.

Whimsy comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes from a craft project that you sweated over for hours. It comes from a 22-second squealing penguin video. It comes from lying to strangers on a plane. It comes from saying bite me to Tinkerbell.

Maybe some of you are wondering over the past month why I have filled your Twitter and Facebook with references to the two W’s: Wendy and whimsy. They all relate to the new eBook I wrote with my 11 other lovely ladies that will teach adults (who hate the term adults) how to still find magic in the day-to-day grind of work, chores, errands, drama and all the other stuff that gets in the way from you finding happiness. It gives real life examples, and goals for you to reach to lead a more silly, fun, relaxed  and hopefully healthier life.

So why Wendy? Let me let the lovely Annie Passanisi explain:

J.M. Barrie’s famous heroine, the paramour of Peter Pan, is painted as the very pink of youthful zeal and girlish charm until the last chapter of the book and then WHAM – she booked a one way ticket on the Crone Express. She realizes she must leave Neverland to grow up (good girl, Wendy), forgets how to fly (bad bad BAD girl, Wendy) and ships her children and grandchildren off to have fun in her place (oh, come on! Seriously?).

Wendy’s story, as beautiful as it began, has one very simple moral: when you grow up, your life (and all its joys)… just… stops.

But that doesn’t have to be the case! Here’s what two lovely ladies told me after reading the book:

“This book made me so grateful there are other women out there who want to grow up without being boring. A little whimsy is exactly what I needed.” — Shannon Jewitt

“A reminder that it’s okay to be happy and silly, to expect more from every day, and that it doesn’t matter if I’m sometimes unsure of the big picture. This is something that uplifts me every time I read the stories of women who find whimsy their own way, whether dredging their own course with tools like a white board and marker, trying out a fake identity on a stranger, or finding true happiness with a penguin on a YouTube video.” — Lauren Nelson (Read more here).

So basically you need this book. You can read it on the computer, any e-readers and some phones. (Cue used care salesman’s voice): So now that you’ve heard what this book can do for you let me tell you about our low introductory rate. From this moment through midnight on Friday, you can name your own price on this little gem. Anywhere from $10 on up. What a steal. <Cue enthusiastic audience gaps>

But seriously take advantage of our pay what you wish sale and get this book for not only yourself but for all the other Wendys on your Christmas list! Oh, and have a lovely day.

You’ve got to be kind to yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the past couple of weeks, several of the bloggers I follow have talked about their holiday traditions. One of the things I wanted to start this year is a list of things I am thankful for, especially around the holidays it is easy to focus on all the stressful parts. I debated how many things I wanted to write, and decided to attach it with my age.

So here we go:

25 Things I Am Thankful For: 

1. Red, waxy fall leaves.

2. The coziness of my new huge kitchen.

3. My ability to fall asleep within 10 minutes of lying down.

4. Google+ dance parties.

5. Becoming a part of the wonderful Whimsical Wendys. (We have a great holiday special going on right now. $20 to buy the lovely eBook and that includes a whole bunch of extra bonuses.)

6. Fog on days when I have to start work early.

7. Visits with my mom where we get to explore California.

8. Pumkin coffee and beer.

9. The excitement I feel for my trip home to see family and friends at Christmas.

10. Great landlords who have been fair to me and made moving easy.

11. Even greater friends who helped with every moment of the move, including the mini-breakdown.

12. Phone pics of my dog Willie.

13. Friends who listen to my rants on the phone.

14. The train whistle in Lodi.

15. Not only my ability to but my desire to challenge myself daily.

16. My love of dancing and that I have so many friends who share it.

17. My new porch

18. A job where I get to see Bald Eagles and learn to bake pies and am surrounded by other creative people.

19. Zooey Deschanel and her lovely voice.

20. The giggles of two friends.

21. My newly found love of basil.

22. My second home at the Mercantile Saloon.

23. Facebook, Gmail, Skype and all the other technology that makes family and friends seem less far away.

24. Friends who understand and support my mustache obsession.

25. All of the invitations from friends to spend Thankgiving with their families, especially Patrick and Paul who are my California parents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And robots only hear what they can feel, and robots only feel what they can see.

Day 30-35 Pictures in 30 Days/Day 15-20 of the 30 Days of Good

Happy Sunday loves! I hope your weekend was filled with so much fun that you are just ready to tackle this Thanksgiving week. I’m really enjoying unwinding with this wonderful song.

I need to catch up on my 30 Days of GOOD Challenge, and I’m pretty pumped that I reached my goal of 30 Photos in 30 Days. Granted, I had a break or two in there, but it definitely has fulfilled the goal of taking out my phone and snapping some pretty pics on a daily basis. I’ll probably keep going with the 30 Photos in 30 Days, and see if I can get a month’s worth of consecutive photos.

But for now, you should check out my exciting commute. When I saw this was my challenge, I kind of giggled because I recently went from a 35 minute drive one-way every day to having to walk a block and a half. Yep. It’s rough.

Lauren joined me on the walk. She even showed off her yummy edamame.

So my new commute is pretty much a dream, especially right now during the fall because all of the trees have such beautiful leaves.

Day 16: Document a life. This life was fairly short-lived. From stoop to recycle box. (Simply because I read the paper at work instead).

Day 17: Document something you made. I snatched a quick photo of a little barrette I made almost a year ago. Unfortunately, the lighting kind of sucks, but you get the idea.

Day 18: Document boredom. So this one was kind of easy because all day I was working on this massive story about accessing our local river. While I’m really pleased with how it turned out, I was pretty stressed and feeling overwhelmed by a sea of documents and information on Friday. So this is me. Not at my finest.

Day 19: Document a room in your house.

I just moved about a month ago, and I’ve been rather slow on the unpacking. I wanted to capture a room that was close to fully assembled, so I present to you my bathroom.

Having matching his and her sinks is nice when living with someone else. Guess which medicine cabinet is mine?

Day 20: Document the inside of your fridge.

Our fridge is a little bit disorganized. But it works. My favorite things in the fridge right now is the fall beer, milk (per usual), spiced cider, homemade jam from Dan’s mom and some shaved parmesan, romano and asiago cheese from Trader Joe’s. I’ve been buying more food because I now can eat lunch at home. It is lovely!

The Daily GOOD Challenge website keeps all of the daily tasks online, even when the challenge is over, so if you didn’t participate this month, you could pick another month and do it. It’s been pretty fun so far. I’ll make sure to post tonight with my pics from yesterday and today.

We stick together, and we see it through. You’ve got a friend in me.

Sometimes you fall in love. The type of love that just makes your heart and soul feel happy. The lovely Miss Lauren (who is pretty much in every one of my blog posts) has stolen my heart, and I could not be happier.

This week is the three-year anniversary of the first time we met during my try-out day  at work. She was the only person who voluntarily talked to me. She also was one of those people who you meet and just think, “Wow. We are going to be besties forever, and it’s gonna be great!”

I can say with certainty that the last three years would not have been half as fun without this lady in my life. Aside from the fact that we literally spend at least 40 hours a week together at work, we also spend most of our weekends together and always are planning our next adventure.

So the second I found out that I needed to document a friend, I knew it had to be this girl. Here we are under a street light. Because we like to spend 10 minutes trying to figure out how to take a picture under a street light.

Lorena de las Mariposas has completely taken me under her wing since I moved here. Heck, two weeks after meeting her I was standing in her dad’s kitchen on Thanksgiving. She has basically made me apart of both her family family but also her friend family, and I have met some of the most remarkable people through her.

We have traveled all over California. We spend hours watching chick flicks, cooking in her parent’s kitchen, floating around her pool or browsing the thrifts store aisles.

She has encouraged me to find my artistic creativity (which I think I had stored away in the fifth grade after drawing yet another picture of a person whose hands were three times the size of their head). Through her, I learned how to make necklaces and solder and found some of my favorite craft bloggers. I rediscovered collaging, journaling and that I can paint (even if it is simple shapes). She challenges me all the time to try something new and to express myself. She also loves mustaches as much as I do.

Lauren is one of the most talented writers I know. She can capture the essence of a person through words in a way very few people can. You know them by the time you finish a story. She is also one of my favorite photographers. We can go places and take photos, and I’ll look at her blog, and at least half of the pictures I didn’t even know she was taking. She has captured me in ways that have made me look at myself in a new light. One day I know the entire world will have the pleasure of seeing her enamoring work.

I love this lady because we can be sent into fits of giggles through simply a look. We can be obnoxiously silly, whether it is photographing a weird fairy doll at brunch or jumping 80 times in a row to get the perfect picture.

But most of all, we get each other. We have heart to hearts about everything from boys, to life goals to what it means to be in your mid-20s and  not know what lies ahead.  And while we may not know where we are going to end up, we do know that we will be there together, supporting each other and making each other’s souls happy every single day. Love you lots Miss Lauren!

Cause everything it must belong somewhere.

Day 26, 27  and 28 of 30 Pictures in 30 Days/Day 11, 12 and 13 of the 30 Days of Good

Those are my feet. Those are also some shoes I rather enjoy. For Day 11 in my 30 Days of GOOD Challenge, my task was to take a picture of my favorite shoes. I took a pic of my TOMS, but they did not turn out at all. Oh, cell phone pics. So this is from another day. These are my fave work shoes at the moment.

This weekend, I traded in my laptop and round the clock Internet access for a reclining chair and a kitty and two puppies. I had the pleasure of house sitting for two of my friends up in Sacramento, which actually worked out perfectly because I needed to finish cleaning my apartment. And I also got to document the highlight of my day.

Animal sitting is always fun for me because I get to have uninterrupted pet time! Randy and Dale just got a new little kitten who purrs non-stop when she sees her food dish or when you hold or pet her. She literally purred for an hour while I watched TV and I had to turn up the volume because I couldn’t hear. Mya, the lady dog pictured above, thinks the kitten is her adopted daughter and will whine for hours as the kitten hides under the couch.

Buddy, the other dog, was a bit of a tough nut to crack. He barked at me non-stop for the first hour. About five treats later and after finally just ignoring him, he finally wondered over and let me pet him. Then, we were buddies from there on out.

On Sunday, I finally did the last bit of cleaning at my baby apartment. My neighbors came over and at one point just helped me throw all of my stuff into a box to bring or the trash. They really forced me to speed up the process, and I could not be more grateful. My challenge for the day was to document hopefulness. During the whole day while I was cleaning, all I could think about was falling asleep in this warm bed and that the next day the sunshine would wake me up. So in its own way it gave me hope that I would eventually be done cleaning.

Moving is hard, especially when you feel like you are breaking up with your apartment. I lived in Midtown Sacramento on a beautiful tree-lined street for about three years.

I know. An apartment is supposed to just be a place where you rest your head. But when you move somewhere and you don’t know a soul, your apartment becomes your refuge. It’s where I spent those first couple weeks debating whether to go to a movie or bar by myself. It’s where I talked to friends and family that I miss with all my heart who live across the country. It’s where I crashed with Ramon after a night of Latin dancing. It’s where Patrick would bang on my door at 7 a.m. every time there was a garage sale. It’s where Lauren and I would go when we needed a break and wanted to go to an artsy movie or go to the neighborhood newsstand. It’s where I lived.

But it’s time to move on. I can already tell I’m going to love having an extra hour and a half a day not commuting to Lodi. Lauren and I can watch TV at lunch. If I forget my notebook at home, it’s not the end of the world. If I’m working a split shift, I have a place to spend  a few hours. I have a roomie who loves watching crappy MTV/VH1 shows as much as I do. And I’m saving a ton of money.

So baby apartment, thanks for being my home.  I will miss you.

Inside everybody’s nose there lives a sharp-toothed snail.

Day 23, 24  and 25 of 30 Pictures in 30 Days/Day 8, 9 and 10 of the 30 Days of Good

Ready to see my life over the last week and get updated on my photo challenge? OK. Let’s do this!

My challenge for Day 8 of the 30 Days of GOOD Challenge is to document something funny. This little snail guy might not be funny in the tee-hee sense, but it was a busy day. Plus, if you know my affinity for animals, you probably know that as soon as I saw this little guy, I talked to him a bit. In front of City Hall. So there’s a chance my sources saw me talking to a snail. And this should surprise no one.

Day 9: Document inspiration.

 Right now, I’m kind of obsessed with fall. For weeks, I have felt jealous after reading about people celebrating the wonderful season on Midwest/East Coast blogs . So now that it is finally here, I just want to stare at pretty trees, search like crazy for Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice coffee (why must you be so popular?) and drink dark beers.

Day 10: Document your coffee break! 

Perfect timing! A) Starbucks has it’s wonderful, sugary sweet holiday flavors. B) I got to use my coffee cozy  the wonderful Miss Lauren made me. C) But most importantly, it was Lauren’s first day back from her cross country road trip, so I got to hear about all the highlights.

And then that night, my new roomie Dan made a lovely dinner that I could not resist capturing. One of these I’m going to make dinner too. Hello, broccoli, spinach and cheese stuffed pasta shells.

What’s my whimsy today?

Oh, thanks for asking. Right now, it’s sitting at my desk and squealing for joy over this wondrous video of the Whimsical Wendys.

Guess what? Tomorrow we launch Whimsy for Wendys, and you can finally read our hilarious, light-hearted, informative and inspiring eBook that the lovely Annie Passanisi put together. I still have no idea how she found so many wonderful women that get exactly where I am in my life. It is the perfect book for those making a transition. I myself am moving from a college mindset to an “I am gainfully employed but don’t want to become a stick in the mud” mindset (I know, it’s been three years since college. I never said it was a quick transition). I think almost every woman is going to relate to every single one of these chapters and learn about themselves and how to find a little bit of whimsy in day-to-day life. Heck, I think most men are going to love this book too!

Please join us tomorrow on Google+ for a dance party where we will have giveaways about every hour and a half. (Just add Annie Passanisi and join her hangout throughout the day.) I will be on from 10-11 a.m. and 8-10 p.m. CST, and then popping in throughout the day. You can also participate by following us on Twitter at #whimsyforwendys. Also, you can post your best 1-minute dance party to YouTube or Vimeo and then Tweet it with the hashtag #whimsyforwendys or #1minutedanceparty to win the ultimate Wendy prize pack — 8 prizes! 8! I’m so jealous of the person who wins this!

So enjoy this video. Get ready for a life-changing experience. Because we are taking over this world and making it so much more whimsical!