First Week of Summer In An Instagram

My son got out of school over a week ago on the 20th, and we have been going non-stop! We packed all of his stuff and put him on a boat to Catalina Island Camps last Monday. We’ve been enjoying the daily uploads that the camps sends to their Bunk1 account each night. Gotta love technology!

During the middle of the week I attended a fun event with Bosch Appliances locally and had a blast. I met some great new people, coveted some awesome appliances, and gorged on tons of tasty food. I even got to dress up for once, rather than wear running clothes!
First Week of Summer

Hopefully soon, I will be able to find some time to blog about all of these fun events individually.

Follow me on Instagram to see my day-to-day experiences!

Are you or have you been doing fun things during summer? Any good ideas to share? This is only the beginning for us, so I’m always looking for fun stuff to do.


life rearranged

Instagram Gets Video! And I Made One!

I have loved the app, Instagram, ever since I first downloaded it. I’ve been an avid user since 2010. I even wrote a post in 2012 titled, “Instagram, What Not To Do”. But wow, they have grown in the past two and a half years!

Four days ago, Instagram announced that they now had VIDEO! Within the app, you can shoot fifteen (15) seconds of video and they also have thirteen (13) filters, specifically made for video. Yippee, I think?

Now everyone is probably saying, well Vine has been around for awhile, and it is a great video app. But I downloaded the app, and could never get around to using it much. I never uploaded any video to Vine, and rarely even open it. I guess I just don’t have the time to use another social media app, because I probably spend too much time on social media as it is.

But when I saw all of the hoopla on Twitter about Instagram getting video the other day, I was intrigued. So on Thursday, I spent a little time watching the videos in my Instagram stream. And then I got annoyed….why? Because they all kept auto-playing! Eeek!!!

How to Stop Auto-Play on Instagram Video

Luckily, I figured out how to “stop auto-play on Instagram videos” the day that the update came out for the app. I took some screenshots on my iPhone and made a little visual tutorial (see above). I like to scroll through the photos and videos when I have free time. I don’t want to hear the sounds/videos randomly. I would like to be able to “choose” which videos to watch. Bam, option chosen!

And of course, I got bitten by the bug, and made a little cheesy video. Obviously, I hadn’t quite figured it out yet, so it is a little jumpy. But I took some video of my 5.31 mile run the other night.

Embedly Powered

Embedly Powered

What do you think? Horrible right? Maybe I should stop chugging my water so loudly? I have no clue on what I’m doing, obviously. But hey, that’s a video of me! Will I make more? Who knows?

Have you tried Instagram video? What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday: Hooray for Summer!

There isn’t anything better than eating a donut by the edge of a swimming pool, right?

Nothing better than @sidecardoughnuts poolside. Crashing by @ragstostitches house post-party.

 Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”!

If this your first time here, HELLO! I do a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) and link back to it here. Wordless Wednesday is a great day to post an awesome picture that “speaks” for itself, no words needed.

Be sure to check out Wordless Wednesday Link-Ups at these other sites also:

Project AliciaBetter in BulkCrazy About My BaybahDear CrissyFive Minutes For MomLive and Love…Out LoudSarah HalsteadParenting By DummiesSeven Clown CircusThe Divine Miss Mommy

Also, Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy does “What I Wore Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.


(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Bonding with Dad: Pin it For Papa Contest from Cardstore.com

One thing I will always remember about my childhood is going to the hardware store with my dad. It seemed like every Saturday we were going to pick up odds and ends for some type of repair or project. I’m pretty sure that is why I like doing projects and visiting my local hardware stores so many years later. I’m comfortable around all sorts of tools, wood, and other supplies.

Another project in our garage.

Forward to my own family, and there are tons of father/son moments going on in our house. Usually these moments are spent in the garage, or as some like to call it, “the man cave”. My husband has acquired quite the collection of tools, and he always has some kind of random project going on. Seriously, it is never ending. A few months ago he built a dog house, and this week, he’s building a work bench for a friend. And since he likes to go “above and beyond”, he’s staining the wood on the work bench. My son is always eager to learn, even if he gets in the way sometimes. Lucky enough, there are some great “clean up” opportunities within my husband’s “project chaos” going on.

Father’s Day is coming up and I have already come up with the epic gift. I can’t wait for him to see it. But I think the “perfect” Father’s Day card is also essential. I sent out some great Mother’s Day cards to my friends from Cardstore.com and I can’t wait to use their site for a Father’s Day card for my husband and my dad. Using Cardstore.com’s website, you can create custom cards by adding personal photos, personalized messaging and your signature for a personal touch. Plus, this really is my most favorite part: Cardstore can print, stamp and send your card via US postal service for you.

This year for Father’s Day, you can enter Cardstore.com’s Pin It for Papa Contest! 
Every week Cardstore.com is giving away $50, and there’s even a chance to win a $300 grand prize!

Pin It For Papa and Win with Cardstore.com

To Enter Cardstore.com Pin it For Papa for $50 weekly prizes and the $300 grand prize:

  • Follow Cardstore.com’s Pinterest page.
  • Repin an image from the Pin it For Papa board that most remins you of the activities you love doing with your dad.
  • Repin as many images as desired for multiple chances to win up to $300 in Visa gift card prizes.
  • Be sure to hashtag your pins and tweets with #PinitforPapa
  • Cardstore.com will give away three $50 gift cards, one for each week of the contest, and one grand prize of $300

I am also giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card to one of my readers!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All thoughts, opinions, and photographs are mine. CardStock is a rad site, and great for lazy, I mean super busy people like me, who hate to go to the store to look for greeting cards!

Wordless Wednesday: Summertime Is Here

Early out day at school = Two hours of pool time!

 
I can’t wait for late summer nights, meeting new people,
and making memories with friends I’ll never forget.
 
-Anonymous

*****

 Welcome to “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday Linky”!

If this your first time here, HELLO! I do a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) and link back to it here. Wordless Wednesday is a great day to post an awesome picture that “speaks” for itself, no words needed.

Be sure to check out Wordless Wednesday Link-Ups at these other sites also:

Project AliciaBetter in BulkCrazy About My BaybahDear CrissyFive Minutes For MomLive and Love…Out LoudSarah HalsteadParenting By DummiesSeven Clown CircusThe Divine Miss Mommy

Also, Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy does “What I Wore Wednesday” every week with a great big link-up.



(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Grand Opening at Land of Nod in Orange County

*This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own.

Last Thursday night, I was invited to a pre-Grand Opening party at the new Land of Nod in Costa Mesa. I was super excited because I had been eyeing a few things from their awesome catalog, and the new location is very close to my house. Before the store opened, I followed their Instagram account to see to progress of the store being stocked and decorated. I loved seeing the progress of the painted brick wall behind their cash register area. I may have taken a picture of the awesome colorful wall as soon as I walked into the store that night.

Land of Nod Grand Opening-Orange County, CA
I love how Land of nod styled the store. They don’t really do the super matchy-matchy look for their children’s furniture and decor. They go with a more mixed vintage style. I loved the traditional beds like the Jenny Lind and the simple bunks. I usually lean toward basics for my son’s furniture which gives me more luxury to get creative with bedding and other decor in the room. Plus, kids are super finicky and change their minds over the years.

Raspberry Jenny Lind Furniture at Land of NodJenny Lind Bed (Rasperberry), Jenny Lind Nightstand (Raspberry), and Jenny Lind Bookcase (Raspberry)

Isn’t that gallery wall in the photo above, fantastic? I love all of the different themes and prints used. It is funky, but it works!

I love good quality bedding because it lasts. The Land of Nod has some great prints and patterns that mix and match. Plus they are not too theme-y. The fun stripes, bold colors, and cute prints were great. I almost wish that everything came in California King, so that I could get the bedding for our master bedroom.

Bedding at Land of NodOk, I have a little secret to admit. Yes, Land of Nod is children’s decor and furniture, but can I say that I saw many things within the store that I could use for myself, in other parts of our home. How fun are these random colored storage bins? Wouldn’t they look great in a home office or craft room?

Storage Containers at Land of Nod

Land of Nod really wants you to be able to enjoy yourself while shopping in their store. They have the decor, furniture, and beds accessible. They encourage you and your children to try out the furniture, feel the texture of the bedding, sit at the desks, and play with the toys while you are in there. The best part is that they have stations with toys to play with and even coloring/drawing supplies for the kids.

Children's Activity Area at Land of Nod

While I was enjoying and checking out all of the fun things in the store, I was able to catch up with friends, new and old. I carpool-ed to the event with Sharon, and met up with Amy while we were there. We took some fun photobooth photos that night. I guess I didn’t get the message that you can’t make the same smile in every photo, oops! And I may have a thing for bright and/or rainbow colors, just look at my dress that I wore that night.

I saw many other people but ummm I’m a slacker and obviously didn’t get any photos with them, silly me. But I did chat a lot, I promise. I’m not that much of a wallflower.
Sharon, Amy, and I at The Land of Nod Opening Party at South Coast Plaza.So with all of the amazing things that the store has to offer, did I make any purchases that night? But of course! Really there were too many things to chose from, but alas I have a super small house, which already has a lot of crap, I mean stuff in it.

I picked up a cute pirate pillow for my son’s bed. It is a charcoal color and it totally fits in his room. Like I said before, home office and craft room storage = yes, with the three-tier flea market bin, which has nothing in it, just quite yet. And the best purchase of them all, a rainbow throw blanket. There were three of us that purchased the throw blanket, Kyla, Elizabeth, and me..we all had to have it. I wasn’t quite sure about what my husband would think of the rainbow blanket, but he loved it. He said that it is perfect for our couches and super soft! Which is a win in my book!

My Land of Nod Purchases

I already have a mental shopping list in my head for the future. Seriously, I can’t wait to visit Land of Nod soon!

Land of Nod is also having a “WIN A ROOM” Sweepstakes!

The Land of Nod Win a Room Sweepstakes runs from now until 11:59 PM CT June 17, 2013.

GRAND PRIZE AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE:

One (1) Grand Prize is available to be won. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Room designed by The Land of Nod, including:

(1) Design consultation with The Land of Nod design team.

(2) Room makeover with selected product from The Land of Nod.

(3) Feature in The Land of Nod Real Families section of an upcoming Catalog.

Total ARV of the Grand Prize is $4,000.

 To Find Land of Nod Online:
Land of Nod 
Twitter
Facebook 
Google+
Pinterest
Instagram

Disclosure: This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Instagram and Twitter Running Challenges

Obviously, I’ve been quite the runner for the past year or so. You are probably wondering how I keep up the motivation? Sometimes, I even start to wonder. There are two things that have kept me focused: 1. A training plan and 2. Haus of Girls Instagram and Twitter Mileage Challenges.

Prior to each race {half marathon}, I’ve been following the Hal Higdon Novice 2 Program for 12 weeks, with a little mix-up of the mileage here and there. I always take a blank calendar and map out the twelve weeks of running. I know what mileage I have to do that week in advance. Although I have certain mileage scheduled on certain days, it doesn’t mean that I always follow the schedule, by-the-book. I lead a very busy life and sometimes, have to flex around my mileage. I’ve only missed a couple of my scheduled runs in the past year, because the guilt seriously gets to me.

I don’t have my next race until November, and I’m kind of winging it right now. I’m not following a dedicated schedule right now, and it is very hard for me to remember to get my mileage in. But I am working on some different things with running, like speedwork, and eeekkk running on a treadmill because of time constraints. I have improved my speed and I’m about 30 seconds faster per mile now, because of this training. Yay me!

You are probably wondering what the Haus of Girls Instagram and Twitter Mileage Challenges are? Marta posts a “mileage challenge” every month on Instagram. Each month she posts a cute graphic with a hashtag similar to #56milesinjune which is this current month’s challenge.

I did a pretty good job in early 2012 with updating and posting about my running and mileage, but obviously, I haven’t posted much in the past few months. I had to go through my archives and I found that the last time I posted was September’s mileage. So I went through and found the challenge miles, and then I also added my actual mileage. I’m pretty impressed with myself.

#41milesinoctober
Challenge: 41 miles Reality: 81 miles

#50milesinnovember
Challenge: 50 miles Reality: 74 miles

#46milesindecember

Challenge: 46 miles Reality: 74 miles

#43milesinjanaury

Challenge: 43 miles Reality: 92 miles

#48milesinfebruary

Challenge: 48 miles Reality: 74 miles

#50milesinmarch

Challenge: 50 miles Reality: 84 miles

#48milesinapril

Challenge: 48 miles Reality: 79 miles

#52milesinmay

Challenge: 52 miles Reality: 81 miles

Is there something that you do to motivate you motivated to work out? To keep running? Goals? Competitions? Challenges? 

Let me know, I love to hear ideas from other people. I have several friends who are experiencing burnout right now. And I want to be able to have some other options for myself, because I’m getting there…

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