Hello everyone!

I started this cleaning project during December and haven't quite gotten around to finishing it. However, I wanted to post what I did manage to accomplish so far.

This was my room before...

I decided to try out the Konmari cleaning method. I made some mistakes along the way, but I followed the general guidelines. Here's how it went...

The Konmari method requires that we clean in this order: clothes, books, papers, and miscellaneous. We must focus on categories as opposed to certain areas (i.e. clothes instead of closet).

This post will tackle clothing. I gathered up all of my clothing from my drawers and moved them to the middle of my room. I made 4 piles of clothes: keep, sell, donate, and return (there were a lot of clothes in my room that I had "borrowed" and never returned). The Konmari method requires us to keep only what sparks joy.

After sorting through all my clothing, I was left with several bags of stuff to be donated. Here's where I strayed from the Konmari method a bit; I also started packing up toys that were in my closet as well.

I also started rolling my clothes, which I was not accustomed to; I usually would fold or just stuff that shit in.

So that's what I managed to accomplish so far; there is still much to be done, and I'll be sure to update you as I go along.

Thanks for reading!

mel

Ciao~

Today was a pretty chill day—I lazed around most of the day, which I regret now. A quick summary of some really interesting things I did today:

1. Woke up, played computer games

2. Some SAT practice

3. Watched Youtube videos

4. Went for a 10 minute run with Gremlin

5.  Took a bath

6. Ate dinner with my mom, aunt, and cousin

7. Went on a walk

8. Did math homework

And now I'm blogging. I wanted to ramble about some of my favorite books, as well as what I'm currently reading.

A couple blog posts ago, I mentioned that I had given up on Isla and the Happily Ever After (that book was wack), and it was a good decision, as I have been assigned to read Huckleberry Finn for school.

I'm also rereading To All the Boys I've Ever Loved Before because the series' final book is coming out in a few months. I'm so excited—To All the Boys I've Ever Loved Before is definitely my favorite contemporary novel I've read so far. I absolutely adore Lara Jean and love her quirky, vintage style.

That's going to be it for my ramble today, thank you for reading!

mel

Hello everyone,

I hope you've all had a great day today. I'm about to go to sleep but wanted to give my thoughts on Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.

Before I begin this review you should know a) I didn't finish the book (as the title of this post suggests) and b) I do love Stephanie Perkins' writing—Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door were both charming reads.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Isla and the Happily Ever After. Oh my gosh, reading this book was so frustrating I couldn't get through all of it. Here are the notes I took while reading...

1. Thought Josh was Max for some reason...? Wow, my memory is great.

2. I really like Kurt!

3. Wait a minute... Josh, Isla's crush of 3 years who Isla has obsessively stalked, likes her back? What is this?

4. Don't mean to drag on poor Isla, but does she have a life outside of Josh?

5. THIS BOOK IS TOO HEART FLUTTERING.

6. How is Isla the top student at this competitive boarding school? She literally spends all her time thinking about Josh.

7. WOW THIS RELATIONSHIP ESCALATED FAST.

8. Isla claims to be this shy, timid girl, yet she wasn't too shy with Josh on their first date.

9. Is everyone in this book extremely attractive and wildly talented or brilliant?

10. Debating if I should give up on reading this book...

11. "When it's Josh looking at me... I don't mind..." what?

12. What even is book? Fairy dust and rainbow sparkles? Where is the substance?

So it's safe to say I was not the biggest fan of this book. There was just too much fluff, and the characters were such boring, privileged little twats.

Again, I know many people absolutely loved this book, so I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but this just wasn't my taste.

Thanks for reading!

mel

P.S. I always pronounce "Isla" as "Iz-la".

Hi everyone,

These past few days I've been feeling as though my content on this blog has not been at par with what I wanted when I first decided to daily blog. I was pretty satisfied with  my first two blog posts that I put up this month, but this week has been very gray.

By gray I mean dull, monotonous, and even depressing. My family is currently grieving a loss, and I've been feeling long bouts of anxiety. Practicing mindfulness has helped, but I still feel the anxiety creeping up on me when I'm not paying attention.

Even though I feel as though my life is in shades of gray these days, I want to document these times. I don't mean to be cheesy, but before every rainbow, there will always be a rain. Right now I'm not going through the most pleasant time of my life, but as always, things will get better. We just have to wait for the storm to pass.

For now, I will continue to practice mindfulness on a daily basis while waiting out the storm.

Thanks for reading,

mel