What To Do With All of Those Quotes

Like millions of people across the globe, I love Pinterest. My love is simple. I'm a very visual person so I see, I like, I pin. This formula works tremendously well for me. Unfortunately, I use the same methodology for online shopping and as you can imagine, that's no bueno. But I digress...

In my time as a pinner, I've amassed quite the collection of quote images. Some for fitness motivation, some aspirational, some funny. Over time, I've dove into my boards to see the clever words but for the most part, once pinned, they are quickly forgotten. The true tragedy of this is I actually really love most of these quote images. They are beautifully styled. For a while, I've been looking for a way to bring these quotes more to the forefront of my life. Being a crafter, one would imagine I would print them out and have them in a clever display in my home. Unfortunately, my tastes change too frequently to commit to a certain set and by printing I'm limited to the number of images I can see.

On a typical Sunday morning, a brilliant idea occurred to me. Sunday mornings are my time for laundry and cleaning. I turn the music up and go putt around my home.  My AppleTV is always the source of my music - not only for Sundays, but for every day. Until this point, my screensaver was a system standard of floral images and I was curious if I could load my own images into the screensaver. You can do it on a laptop, why not AppleTV? Turns out you can! Thus, a dream was born!

The process is really very simple. On any Apple device (MacBook, iPad, iPhone), download the images from Pinterest into your iPhoto library. I found this part particularly fun because it felt like shopping, except I didn't have to spend any money and there wasn't any pesky buyer's remorse.

Next, create a new SHARED album. The "Shared" part is crucial. This won't work otherwise. On the iPhone and iPad, it's the middle navigation button within iPhoto with the Cloud. On MacBook, on the top navigation, select "Shared". Next, hit the "+", give it a name and start adding photos.

All set? Now, it's time to tell your AppleTV that you want to see that screensaver.

Here's your path...
Settings > Screen Saver > Photos > iCloud Photos > Select Album Name

You're all set! If your album is new, you'll need to give the iCloud time to catch up. My album ended up being about 60 pictures (can you imagine if I printed all of those?!) so it took about half an hour for the pictures to fully sync on all devices.

Play with your settings as well! I have my screensaver start after 5 minutes and have it set on "Flip-Up" style. But you do you!

Also, because I loved this idea so much, I added it as my laptop screensaver. To reset your laptop screensaver, here's your path...
System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Screen Saver > Source (change to your album)

The best part of this is how easy it is to add to it. Next time I find a quote I love, I just add it to my Shared Album and boom! It syncs everywhere.

Now, these beautiful quotables are in my face, reminding me to be ambitious, get my butt moving and stay rad.

New Year's Resolutions 2014

resolution - the act determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.

I have never made a New Year's Resolution they way most people do.  I don't make grand promises to myself about losing weight, making more money or being a better person.  Why?  Because these grand statements never come with a plan of action.  If you resolve to change something, you also have to have a plan.  Otherwise, your gym membership goes unused and those books on your Amazon.com wishlist never get purchased.  

Instead, every year I make a list of Personal Goals.  {You can find a free printable list here.} 
I find that I consistently want the same things from year to year.  I want to read more and see more movies.  I want to try new foods and see new places.   However, I would very rarely achieve these things because I didn't have a plan.  So, let's make a plan.

This year, I'm dividing my resolutions up into the categories of my blog.  This way you can keep me accountable!

Beauty
1.  Find my signature hair style.  I feel like I'm almost there.  Aaaalmost.  This year will be the year.
2.  Get more manicures.  I occasionally get pedicures with my mother-in-law and do my nails at home, but there's nothing quite like getting your nails cleaned up professionally.
3.  Try out at least 3 Pinterest Beauty Tips.  I pin all day but let them go to waste.

Books
1.  Game of Thrones series by George R. R. Martin
2.  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
3.  Read 4 other books. 

Decor
1.  Create a chalkboard for our front living/dining room.
2.  Create pegboards for my craft room.
3.  Hang more pictures of family and friends around the house.

Fashion
1.  Buy a new work bag.  This seems really simple but I've been carrying around the same big black Target tote bag for at least 8 years.  I want to upgrade but I always find myself looking at cheap bags.  I need to make an investment.
2.  Invest in my wardrobe and accessories.  More isn't necessarily more.  I'm finally fed up that cheap clothing and accessories are ruined or worn out very quickly.  Again, it's time to invest. 
3.  Clear out my closet.  Time to ditch items that no longer fit my body or sense of style.

Fitness
1.  Use every workout DVD in my collection.  I seriously have DVDs I've never played that I have had for at least 5 years.  Pointless.
2.  Run a 5k.  You have to start somewhere, right?
3.  Continue on my path of working out 3 times a week.  Maintaining my workout schedule is the best thing I can do for myself right now.  

Food 
1.  Try eggplant.
2.  Make soup from scratch.
3.  Make duck.

Humor
1.  Find and share one humorous article, video, etc a week.  My stress level goes through the roof if I'm not giggling.  Let's make this a team effort.

Movies
1.  Finally see "Lincoln".
2.  Finally see "Gigi".
3.  Finally see "An American in Paris". 

T.V.
1.  Get caught up on "Scandal". Totally addicted - need to get up to speed.
2.  Write at least 2 blogs a month about what I'm watching.  I know you probably don't care what I'm watching, but I'm spending my time on it, so I might as well make it feel worth it.
3.  Watch the news 2 times a week.  I usually avoid the news but it makes me feel disconnected from my world and community.  

Web
1.  Blog and share fun internet finds at least once a week.  I typically do this on my personal Facebook page, but you guys aren't there, so I'll share here.
  
Wisdom
1.  Share it, live it.  This is the only one that I'm going to be vague on.  I will only post when inspiration strikes.

There you have it.  I will use the tag "2014Resolution" to keep myself accountable.  Wish me luck!

What are you putting on your list this year?