Tuesday Tunes #5: a new discovery

Good morning all and welcome! I decided to keep going with Tuesday Tunes because it's a fun thing for me and maybe you too :) It's a link-up to share musical inspirations, according to prompts above or whatever you feel like if it's music related. Tuesday Tunes is open all month, but Tuesday is the day to post it up! (thanks to alliteration!) 

Feb. 4th, a new discovery: Ayla Nereo

This lady has a wistful way of bringing nature and spirit into musical form. She shares a lot of love and consciousness through her music. I just found her a few weeks ago, looking up music and kept listening to more. She's also from Sonoma County, a place dear to my heart and where I lived for several years. Lovely way to start the day! 

This song is a cover of Feist, called 'How Come You Never Go There'. I love the loop peddle here! It's so fun how artists can create a full-on band with just their voice.  

Ayla's website. You can listen to her new album there too;) 

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The Sunday Currently

C  U  R  R  E  N  T  L  Y  .  .  .  

R E A D I N G - more like browsing for inspiration - nonetheless, I've got The Beekeeping Handbook and a book on canning. I'm thrilled to learn about bees, the fascinating creatures and communities they are - and I'm going to can something soon. I tried sauerkraut and it was good according to my parents, although not quite  for my taste.

W R I T I N G reflections in my journal. I heard about this mini-course from Sam @My Latest Obsession and started this week. It's called Emergineering and while slightly cheese-y I am really getting some good things out of it. And a big part is processing and discovering your vision for yourself, hence the journaling. 

L I S T E N I N G some music found on KEXP podcast. This group is called Lavendar Diamond. Dig!

T H I N K I N G of just how adorable, hilarious, genuine, and compassion that Ellen is. She's just my hero, for sure. Here's a clip from this week's show! 

S M E L L I N G Bailey's Irish Coffee I just had :) <happy girl

W I S H I N G for rain, rain, and more rain! It's really weird seeing all the cherry flowers blossoming now :S

H O P I N G to get my new website going soon soon soon. I should say planning, as hoping is a bit more up-to-chance. But yes, some changes are on their way.

W E A R I N G new, comfy wide-leg pants. I loooove them! And blue feather earrings from Costa Rica.

L O V I N G - again- these pants! And the best part is that I bought them on Etsy from a woman in Thailand who makes them. Here's her shop, Ablaa.

W A N T I N G to hug my husband. One month down. 3 to go. Skype, email, and drop box have been amazing but I really want to cuddle with the hubby. 

N E E D I N G to get out in nature. Today's the day!

F E E L I N G excited for another month of Tuesday Tunes, my musical link-up. Check out January's prompts here and this preview of what's coming up this month. Come and join if you feel so groovy, prompt or no-prompt :)

C L I C K I N G ... Every Day Journals! I have one called "Create" and I just adore it because every other page has a related quotation. The journals have different themes like Explore, Courage, Enjoy, Care, etc. {See more here}

  

Linking up with Laren for The Sunday Currently. Glad to find this through Nicole's blog hop.

Thrifted Treasures

Have I mentioned I love thrift shopping?!

It's exhilarating to find old or used things and bring a new life into them. I love the feeling of saving money on items that probably has a higher value than I paid (isn't that the best?!). And I love looking through and stumbling across the perfect "insert awesome thing here", just by chance. Yep, love thrifting!

After the 24 Things Challenge (when I hardly bought anything for nearly a month), I finally was able to take myself on a thrift shop outing. And I found the best stuff! It was fun playing model and trying my hand at this fashion-esque post. Enjoy!

Thrifted Treasures

Bolero chal, $5.99  //  Leather boots, $10.99  //  Shades, $3.99  //  Breezy top, $4.99  //  Leather purse, $5.99

What's one your greatest thrift shop finds? What's your latest style?

Linking up today with Treasure Tromp!

Tuesday Tunes { Link-Up #4}

Hello lovelies and happy day! The end of January already?! This month I've been running Tuesday Tunes and opening it up to you with a link-up. Thanks to wonderful participants thus far for joining! If you'd still like to join, it's open through next Tuesday.

Essentially, I created this to share new artists I discover and spread musical inspiration through this blog. You can post a little bit about the song/artist you chose or anything you'd like to share. Choose to follow the fun prompts above or do otherwise, as you're inspired. The idea is to share some musical inspiration and create a positive vibe in the community. Here's mine and the link-up is below. Feel free to grab the button I made :) 


My Pick of the Week:
You know when you hear a song and love it but don't know who it's by? I'd heard this song a few times and had that experience. It came up on my Pandora station (yay - it doesn't work in Peru), so I checked out the group and really like all of their stuff. Especially the singer's voice. 

The feeling it gives me is kind of nostalgic and sweet. It takes about giving time and space, even when it's really hard. It's kind of what Rafa and I are going through now, to a small extent. While it's a challenge to be away, I really am glad for the opportunity to be apart to miss each other. It's a good practice in growing appreciation....oh, and PATIENCE!

It's called "Let Her Go" by Passenger.

Link-up Guidelines

1. Share your musical post. Use whatever platform works for you - YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc. 

2. Link back to this site so others can join in the fun! You're welcome to use the button I created below :)

3. Link-up on Tuesday(s). Tuesdays are ideal (because alliteration is awesome), but the link-up is open all month long.
4. Browse some other musical posts from the link-up and leave some love for the wonderful ladies.

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<a href="http://www.aventurasdemariposas.blogspot.com" title="Meanderings, Adventures, & Crafty Inspirations" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/s542/Thneedles/tuestunespinklogo_zps9a2f35b2.png" alt="Meanderings, Adventures, & Crafty Inspirations" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Enjoy music and life always!

Do you MeetUp?

Hello lovely beings! I hope you're having a really awesome/relaxing/insert whatever-adjective-you-need- weekend! 

This isn't sponsored post, I just want to express my honest opinion and experience. I love finding amazing resources, so this one has me really excited to share. So, I'm wondering...do you use meetup.com? Have you heard of this thing? 

I'd heard of this online social network awhile ago, probably through friends. Actually, I wouldn't even call it an 'online social network'. It's an online way to get people off-line through events, sharing hobbies and meeting people locally. It's creating communities in our communities! Similar to what Couchsurfing.com used to offer for local communities, MeetUp goes the extra steps.

From their website:

Meetup's mission is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.

Why MeetUp?

Connect based on interest. Have you ever wished you had others to share your favorite hobby with or go on adventures? 

It's zero to low-cost. Sometimes groups charge for participation (some more than others) or an annual fee. This is because it actually costs money to a running a MeetUp group. Generally,  the focus isn't on money, but rather on creating community. 

Variety of groups. You could probably find any type of group you could want. The groups range from photography to tennis, to long backpacking trips, to gaming....Heck if you can't find one you like, create your own!

Transparent. It's pretty much self-run. Organizers post events and dates. Participants RSVP, discuss, organize carpools, etc. So you choose whatever events you'd like to attend from whichever groups you've entered. 

Sync it. I guess this wouldn't be a reason to try it, but it's definitely a perk that MeetUps can export straight into GCalendars or iCal.


To my knowledge it only runs in the US so I wasn't able to try it in Peru. Being in California, I was curious to try it out and see how it worked.

People are people and they're interesting. Throw in some fun activities and it can't go wrong. I've been participating in a few groups: a photography one, radical homemakers, and nature hikes, all close to where I love. It feels really good to be able to meet people through these passions. And it seems like people usually just 'click' from the start.

And after this post and browsing their website more, I'm just smitten with the positivity that beams from them. Yay for this movement in building community and sharing passions! Here's what some MeetUpers have to say:

What are your thoughts? How do you connect with new people?

Boy Behind the Blog {numero 4}

Good morning! I'm starting out the day with this fun boy link-up with Stephanie and Mal, where my hubby gets to make a special appearance. Some great answers come out, as usual...Hope you like :)

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

I would be a cat so I could get love while I sleep.

2. What is your favorite meal? 

Mashed potatoes and pork chops.

3. Do you use any forms of Social Media? What is your favorite? 

My mouth to speak with people.

4. Beer, wine, liquor, other, or none of the above? 

Every and all, except mint-flavored ones.

5. Complete the sentence: "Never have I ever..."

Traveled by helicopter, but I've always wanted to.

This photo is from his days in his band, a few handfuls of years ago.

I love this guy :) Thanks for coming by and have a beautiful day!

Some Blog Changes

Hi there and happy day lovelies! Maybe you've noticed a bit of changes around this blog here. This explanation is a bit overdue, but the time has come to share what's going on behind the blog these days. 

It's time for a major revamp! 

*  Transfer web hosts. I've decided to take a daring step into the world of WordPress! *takes deep breathe* It was a bit quite intimidating at first, but step by step I'm getting there. There are a lot of things to explore and learn! And it just seems too awesome to miss out on the fun and possibilities. Plus, I like that it will give me more ownership over my blog and more options for customization. 

*  Name change. I've loved creating this blog and I have fun sharing through it. But I have to admit, that I wasn't planning on it becoming such a big hobby of mine. It kind of happened once I started blogging more regularly. And it's been really neat meeting other ladies from around the globe, so I kept working on it. Back when I started on Blogger, I had no idea about html code, branding, blog etiquette, etc. So it's been a huge learning experience for me. 

New goals:
    --> Transfer everything over to WordPress in the next week or so. 
    --> Streamline and connect everything - i.e. URL, blog title, etc.
    --> Become MORE connected tech-wise! I've been behind on technology for awhile (I'll blame living in Peru, where Facebook is still a rising fad)...but I'm going to give Twitter a go. And Pintrest, which shouldn't be hard because it's awesome! 
    --> Get out there, meet people, and explore the blogging community. I want to try sponsoring and promoting awesome ladies and their businesses, as well as giveaways, and guest posts. 

On that note...if you are interested in connecting or creating something together, please get in touch in the comments below or at [ jarfullofstarsblog@gmail.com ]. I can't wait to join our inspirations!