Happy Birthday Rubik's Cube!

Well, according to Google, today is the 40th birthday of the Rubik's cube!  A few years ago, I was challenged by a friend to learn how to solve that puzzle, and after alot of memorization and frustration, I got it done.  I had no idea what that little challenge would lead to, as I've spent countless hours practicing and learning new ways to solve it.  I learned about a whole new world, the little community of speed cubers, and which brands make the best cubes.  I've learned that cubes can be "crunchy," "smooth," even "bubbly."  I've tried 4x4's and 5x5s, pyraminxes and megaminxes, even a puzzle called the "super floppy."  I've felt the frustration and joy of putting together my own DIY cube, as well as replacing stickers with cool new tiles or neon colors.  While I'll never be super-fast like so many of those speed cubers, I'm proud of my ability to solve the cube.  And no, I don't just take the stickers off:)  So happy birthday to the Rubik's Cube, you've given me alot of entertainment!

Part of my cube collection

Crafty Afternoon: "Fauxdori" Traveler's Notebook and Inserts

For a while now, I've been intrigued by the idea of the Midori Traveler's Notebook.  Since they're crazy expensive, I finally just broke down and bought myself a "fauxdori" from a seller on Etsy:

I loved the color, it was a good price, and it actually came with a CUTE little giraffe charm attached, which I removed with the intention of re-attaching at the bottom as a dangle-y charm.  Unfortunately, I left him on my desk at work, so he'll have to wait.  What worried me about this particular 'dori was that it was a weird size - a6.  I was right to worry, as it is almost impossible to find a notebook to fit, especially in the US.  Field notes and the small moleskines do fit, but they're much narrower than the cover, and I think it would look very strange with several inches of gap.  So today I stopped by the craft store, bought a few supplies, and set about making my own notebooks.  I wanted one to be a hobonichi-style planner/journal, and one filled with just plain drawing paper to start playing around with zentangles.  I was able to make both without too much trouble, although it was a bit of trial-and-error.

After accomplishing that, I decided to go ahead and take a big leap, and attempt to make my own fauxdori.  I had bought a scrap pack of leather, which had two pieces big enough to make either a field notes or passport size.  One piece was a beautiful gray leather, which immediately drew me to that pack in particular, and the other was a thin, rough reddish-brown.  I wanted to use the brown piece first as practice, so when I do make the gray one I'll know what I'm doing.  After only a tiny bit of struggle, I had a lovely new field notes size traveler's notebook!

Here's a size comparison of the two.  You can see how much narrower the one that I made is than the one that I bought:

And here's another comparison, this time of the spines.  Also you can see that the one I bought has a fancy metal clasp, whereas the one that I made just has knots tied on the inside that you can't see here.

All in all, it was a fun experience.  I can't wait to make my gray one, which will probably be the main one I use once it's all set up.  For the time being, I'll be using the one that I bought.  It's still a great little notebook, and I would highly recommend the Etsy seller - I'll link her shop if I can figure out how!  She communicated with me quickly and honestly, and her shipping was super-fast.  I would just know, from now on, to buy a more standard size.

Now, for the links!  That is, assuming I can figure out how to make links:)  I know alot of the stuff I've mentioned in this post is probably Greek to alot of people, especially if you're not a planner nerd like me.  So if any of these things interest you, here are some resources to check out:

First off, you might want to know exactly what a Midori Traveler's Notebook is.  A google search will turn up plenty, but I think this video explains it better than anything else I've seen.  Brian Goulet's videos just always seem to make sense to me.  If you want to order an actual Midori, I would recommend his shop, gouletpens.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUbokv1HzQ

Ray Blake, the best Midori blogger out there, has a blog called My Life All in One Place.  I used his video as a guide to make my fauxdori:

http://www.mylifeallinoneplace.com/2013/08/making-your-own-midori-style-travelers.html

He will also make a "Raydori" traveler's notebook for you if you request one, at a very reasonable price.

Here's the very useful video I used to make my own wonky-sized notebook inserts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suQUZNRy5m8

Here's the link to The Chic Sparrow, the Etsy shop where I purchased my fauxdori:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicSparrow

If you're curious about Hobonichi planners, here's a good place to get the info on them:

http://lindsaynelson.com/techo/learn.html

And lastly, since I mentioned zentangles, here's a little explanation of what they are:

http://www.zentangle.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=111

Okay, thanks to anyone who has actually read my super-long Midori blog post!!!

Food Reviews: Trader Joe's Part 1 - Cheeses!

Since moving out of Atlanta to the suburbs, I've been missing my Trader Joe's!  So one Sunday afternoon after work I decided to stop by.  When I'm cutting back on carbohydrates, like I am right now, I find that my diet gets boring very quickly.  Trader Joe's is a mecca for interesting and different cheeses at a fair price.  I tried a few new ones this time around.

Cheddar with Caramelized Onions:  Amazing.  That pretty much sums it up.  This is by far the best thing I bought at TJ's this time around.  I never know when I try something unusual like this if it will be a hit or a miss, so I usually get the smallest, least expensive cut I can find.  This one got eaten pretty quickly, and I now know that I need to go buy a bigger piece!  It's nice and soft, and to me doesn't really taste "onion-y", but it's just got this amazing savory flavor to it.  It makes me think of eating burgers cooked out on the grill, and I think that would be the best way to eat it!

Unexpected Cheddar:  The perfect cheddar!  This white cheddar has that "crumbly" texture that you usually find with much more expensive cheeses.  You get those unexpected little crystalline crunches that make it amazing.  Their website compares it to an aged parmesan, but since I haven't tried much parmesan, I really can't confirm or deny.  I just know that I will definitely be buying this cheese again.

Red Leicester with Chili and Red Bell Pepper:  Another unique cheese that didn't disappoint.  It has a nice hearty flavor, with a tiny bit of warmth.  It doesn't come off as too spicy or hot for me, but then I do tend to like spicy foods, so I may not be the most impartial judge.  But compared to, say, a pepper jack, I still think this one is less spicy.  I don't know that this will be a permanent staple, as it seems that alot of their products come and go, but I would definitely buy it again.

White Stilton with Mango and Ginger:  Let me start off by saying that this was a mistake on my part.  I've had TJ's white stilton with apricots in the past, and for some reason I thought this was it.  I'm not a big fan of ginger (except for the fact that I love ginger ale - weird.) so had I realized what it was, I would have never bought this in the first place.  As expected, I don't like this cheese.  The stilton is nice and very crumbly, and paired with apricot pieces it's great.  Mango and ginger, for me, not so great.  It makes me sad to open the fridge and see this nice lump of cheese sitting in there, but I just can't bring myself to trash it just yet.

So, that was my cheese purchase.  Coming up soon will be my review of some Trader Joe's chocolates!

Welcome to My World!

Hi everybody!  I've been thinking about setting up a blog for quite some time now, and I'm thrilled to finally get started!  My name is Melissa, I'm a crafty girl who loves my doggies, my house, and general nerdy stuff like planners, stationery, and great pens.  I'm also in the process of getting healthier and becoming more immersed in my personal faith.  I don't really plan for this blog to have any one single focus (like crafty stuff or planners/filofax) but instead, like my life, I want it to be just a nice hodge-podge of randomness.  So you may find stories about thrift store finds, my weight-loss journey, book reviews, crafty shares, my favorite online shopping spots - anything is fair game!  My thanks go out to anyone and everyone who wants to share my little corner of the internet.