Stuff My (boyfriend) Listens To

I woke up this morning wanting so badly to see some sunshine. I wanted to walk outside, get an iced chai from Starbucks, and sit out on my patio. Unfortunately, mother nature doesn't work for me, and I guess she doesn't take well to being bossed around. I woke up to a grey, but warm, day.

So instead, I decided I was going to sit on my patio anyways and listen to my new spring playlist. When I close my eyes I can almost feel the sun on my face. Almost. Wishful thinking...

This brings me to my next new feature - Stuff My (boyfriend) Listens To - which I'm more then a little excited about. Jeff and I spend a lot of time (together, and alone) listening to music. Whenever we find something we love, we run to each other exclaiming "You HAVE to download this new album!!"

When I do find a song I really love, I tend to play it on repeat and on full volume (Jeff doesn't always respond well to this when it's Carly Rae Jepsen, but I can't deny my love for a catchy pop song). So this morning I made an 8tracks account to share what we've been listening to! 

I hope you enjoy my spring playlist full of happy classics (old and new!)

Spring Mixtape from samanthajprice on 8tracks Radio.

Weekly (un)Wind

Working in retail, I don't have a "typical" work week where I look forward to hump day and count down the hours until the weekend. Saturdays are usually the day I'm the busiest, bustling around and making sure everything runs smoothly. As OPI collectors and beauty junkies bombard me with questions about product and the hottest spring colors, I do more laps around my store in a Saturday then I generally do in my entire week. (I honestly have a fantastic job. Testing nail polish and talking about hair products all day? Yes please).

Basically, I don't have your typical 9-5 job with your typical Monday-Friday work week. In fact, my days off are normally Tuesdays and Sundays (which I actually enjoy because I find it breaks up my week nicely and makes it fly right by).

But, there's something about Friday's that still feels like a party. Whether it leads back to the fact that on Fridays when I was little my mom would "rent" us an N64 gaming system and move our mattresses into the living room for the entire weekend, or during highschool when Friday's meant house parties and no homework until late Sunday night (I always have been a procrastinator..), Fridays for me are great days to unwind. 

This Friday currently consists of an evening shift, leaving me looking out my bedroom window on a grey rainy day. Grateful to still be in bed and in my housecoat, writing to you with my two cute and snuggly kitties. 

 

Snuggles with Oatmeal 

So, on Fridays, you can all look forward to my Weekly (un)Wind. A few links that I've gathered throughout the week that I've deemed funny, cute, lovely or inspiring enough to help you set the tone for your weekend.

The Weekly (un)Wind

- This new Banksy "Coke" ad

- This incredible audition for Britain's Got Talent

- "The Icing on the Cake" - a great article about the real world vs. the online world 

- "Book Spine Poetry" - A new way of organizing books from the Sorted Books Project

- Accessory Ladders - my new obsession to organize everything from towels to shoes

- "Is Getting Rich Worth It?"

- How to Start a Book Club - as the summer days become longer and you have a bit more free time, this checklist is an awesome start to a book club - whether you do it solo or with friends!

Adventures in Tulum

Well, it's safe to say: I had a love affair with Mexico. I loved the people, the culture and the experiences we had there! Having an entire week to eat, drink, adventure, and spend time with my friends (and myself, of course!) is more then I could have ever asked for.

 

We managed to squeeze a lot into our little seven day retreat: a crazy first day (that I'll never forget), cliff jumping into a big blue lagoon (little mermaid fantasies coming true),  a (scary) underwater cave tour, a failed canoeing trip, zip-lining, a birthday party, the Mayan ruins and amazing and authentic Mexican food at a little restaurant on the beach. 

Swimming with sea turtles and through a coral reef was definitely a highlight, as were the outrageous games of Cards against Humanity. I came home with a sunburn (still paying for that one) and 600 photos (I spontaneously bought an underwater Nikon camera before we left, and it was the BEST purchase ever!) along with some souvenirs. Endless laughs and reading three books later... that doesn't even cover half of it!

We've been back for about a week, and I'm happy to say I don't have the vacation blues. We returned to beautiful spring weather, and unpacking inspired me to de-clutter and organize nearly my entire house! It feels good when everything has a proper home.

I finally began to scrapbook after printing pictures from my trip. I've been gathering up art supplies in tupperware for years now, waiting for the day when I would feel like starting again. It's hard to get that push when your days feel so busy and you come home from work so tired!

Feeling energized, I promised myself that this summer instead of mindlessly watching TV or losing myself in the internet, I would do something for ME. And that is going to be scrapbooking! I love finishing a page and looking back on past memories. I feel like it's something I'll have fun looking back on when I'm older as well.

Jeff surprised me yesterday by cleaning our patio from top to bottom (we live in a construction area, so over the winter it got VERY muddy), and planting us some colourful new flowerbeds! I'm excited to read and have breakfast in the mornings outside again.

I love spring. Bring on the sunshine!

Sam

(PS - I should dedicate this post to my love for my new photo editing app by A Beautiful Mess. You can find it in the iTunes store!)