New Beginnings

I've got those back-to-school butterflies in my stomach this morning.  For the first time in a loooong time, it's my "first day of school"!  I'll be taking online classes for the next year, and I'm excited and nervous at the same time {normal emotions for the start of a new school year, and the start of a new adventure}.

I'll tell you what I'm studying eventually.  I don't like to get too far ahead of myself and start counting my chickens before they've hatched, so I tend to keep things like this to myself for a while.  I'd rather get acclimated with  my school work and the subject matter first, and then start letting people in on what it is I'm up to.  My own mother doesn't even know I'm taking classes ~  that's how private I am!  My husband, my older brother, my dad and my stepmom are the only people I've clued in to what I'm doing.  My best friend does know I'm starting classes, but I haven't gone into details with her about what I'm studying.

I am super excited to begin this new chapter in my life.  I'm hoping to make positive changes both personally and professionally; get out of my current dead-end job; go into business for myself; and actually like going to work.  Sound too good to be true?  I don't think it is ~ I think the key to happiness, in life and in work, is to figure out what you love to do.  No matter how passionate you are about your job, there will always be bad days ~ you just have to find something where the bad days aren't so bad, and the good days more than make up for them.  Some people know what their passion is before they've left high school; a few more have it figured out by the time they graduate college.  I think most of us need more time than that, even, to figure out what we want to be "when we grow up" ~ and a lot of people never really figure it out!  And it's okay to take the time you need to figure out who you want to be, and to change your mind a lot ~ if you stop changing and growing as a person, you stop living.

So, my pencils may not be sharpened {this is the new millennium ~ classes are on my iPad!}, I'm not bedecked in head-to-toe new school clothes {yoga pants and a tank top, if you really want to know}, and I'm not climbing those giant school-bus steps {why are those steps so big?  Kids have such little legs!}, but it's back-to-school for me nonetheless.  I just know this year is going to be a fantastic one for me, and eventually you're all going to benefit from it too. 

Roll call!

xoxo
Bean

Instagram -- My New Obsession

I just became a resident of Planet iPhone last week, and I have been loving playing with my new toy!  This little contraption is so much more capable than my BlackBerry ever was, and I'm discovering that the world of smartphone apps is a beautiful thing.  I'm still navigating all the different apps that are out there ~ games, music, organization and photo apps have been topping my list so far ~ but I'm becoming well-versed in my favorite one so far...Instagram.

I'm not sure if Instagram is an iPhone-exclusive app or if Droid users can download as well {I think it's just for iPhones though}.  When I was still stuck with my BlackBerry and watching friends and family members convert to iPhones, I was instantly enamored with friends' Instagram posts on Facebook.  Instagram is a FREE app used to subtly enhance your photos ~ you can take a picture from average to professional -looking with a couple of clicks.

 before instagram

after instagram

How it works:  take a picture; open up Instagram and select the picture you want to spiff up; center and crop the picture if needed; choose a "filter" to apply to the picture; and you're done!  There are about a dozen filters to choose from ~ black and white; filters with borders or with rounded edges; filters that brighten colors or mute them {for a vintage look}, and more.  With the right filter, you can make the most mundane or ordinary pictures look artistic and impressive.

 because even your empty lunch plate can look interesting

 what's more expressive than puppy eyes? {before and after}

 the "kelvin" filter roughs up the edges

the "x-pro II" filter rounds the edges and "bubbles" the picture slightly while making colors pop

I'm loving the way Instragram can make my ordinary photos pop or stand out.  Do you use Instagram on your pictures?  What other iPhone apps do I need to have?

xoxo

Bean

Kids Table versus Grownups Table

Thought this comic from The Oatmeal was too funny ~ and too relatable! {Click here to check out the entire post ~ warning:  some "adult" language}.  Does anyone else find the grownups table so boring sometimes?  Sure, I like catching up with siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.  But if I wanted to sit around and discuss politics and current events, I'd join a CNN roundtable.  The kids table may be a whole lot noisier, and messier, but at least they chat about interesting, entertaining, and varied topics!

This Thanksgiving, I'll be at my dad's house.  No kids table and adults table there ~ we're all adults {sort of} and no one has started having kids, so we'll be at one long table together.  Luckily, we tend not to discuss politics and such anyway; we'll talk about what's going on in our lives, and seeing as how I have four brothers, a dad, and a husband, sports {another topic that would send me straight to the kids table to talk about dinosaurs, school, and iCarly, if I could}.

Will you be at the kids table or the adults table this Thanksgiving?  Which table do you prefer, and why?

Enjoy your holiday weekend, everybody!  Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo
Bean

Selling on eBay ~ Worth the Effort?

I'm sure you've bought something on eBay at one point or another.  I myself have bought everything from hard-to-find movies to gently used designer clothes {like the Lily Pulitzer dress I wore for my friends' Lily-themed bridal shower ~ I got a genuine Lily for a bargain, wore it for the shower, and promptly consigned it and got a bit of cash back...Lily is not something I would wear on any other occasion} to concert tickets ~ lots and lots of concert tickets. 

A customer at one of my jobs told me a while ago that she sells stuff on eBay all the time and makes a pretty decent profit ~ not enough to survive on exclusively, per se, but definitely enough to supplement her income and pay for the kids' "extras".  So I went through my closet and pulled out items I never wear {and some I've actually never worn ~ tags still attached}, and combed my expansive DVD collection for exercise DVDs that never clicked for me.  I figured why not take some pictures, toss the items up on eBay and see what happens?  One girl's {never or barely used} trash can be another girl's treasure, right?  Easy peasy.  So why has that bag of "things to sell" been sitting on my closet floor for the past six months?

I think I'm nervous, although of what exactly, I'm not sure.  I finally started listing items this weekend, and it's a lot of work!  Way more work than I ever would have anticipated.  I took the pictures of my items a while ago, but there's still the issue of uploading them all {and looking at them thinking "maybe I should retake these"}, and then the process of writing up a listing for each individual item.  That process consists of selecting categories and details for each item from eBay's drop-down menus, plus writing up your own item description, deciding on the auction start prices and/or the 'Buy It Now" price, and determining shipping methods and costs.  You need to figure out a price that allows you to at least break even after shipping {if you received the item as a gift to begin with, that makes it easier to list low}, but you also need to stay competitive with other sellers listing the same or similar items.  After all that, of course, you have to wait for people to actually bid or buy it, and field some {sometimes stupid?} questions from potential buyers who probably didn't read the listing information to begin with.  It's like it's own little job.

My thought was that I'd clean out my closet, list items people might want to buy, make a teeny profit, and everybody wins!  But after my experience listing just a couple items, I'm wondering if it's even worth it.  I know some people have a lot of success selling products on eBay and seem to do it with relative ease, and maybe it gets easier as you go along. 

Do any of you sell items on eBay?  If so, what are your tips, tricks and advice? 

xoxo
Bean

{photo credit:  ebay.com}

Are We Facebook Friends?

Have you "liked" Whispered Conversations on Facebook yet?  I share links to all my blog posts on there, and I also frequently share online discount codes that I come across to lots of different retailers {including many that I post about here, such as Designher Gals, Children's Place, and more!}.  In fact, I just posted one today for a current Old Navy coupon code, and I'm about to share a Designher Gals one-day-only code!  Often I only share the codes on my Facebook page instead of creating a whole post here for it.

So "like" us on Facebook by following this link or clicking "like" on the Facebook section the right-hand side of the blog here.  That way you'll never miss a coupon code or blog post that might be useful to you!

xoxo
Bean

A Bit of a New Look!

Just spent a few minutes trying to spruce out the layout here ~ what do you think?  I wanted to get a lighter, brighter look going, and I wanted to incorporate some pretty fall colors!  I am hoping to become more skilled in layout design, but for now I use a template and tweak things {like font, colors, etc} here and there to make it my own.

I changed the graphic at the top of the blog as well, to display what it is we're all about here ~ sharing recipes; creating crafts; finding friendships; curling up with a warm, yummy drink {this time of year, anyway!}; swapping suggestions in our "book club"...and more!  I grabbed pictures from around the web, so I'll give credit where it's due.  From left to right ~ mybakingaddiction.com; marthastewart.com; visualphotos.com; makingthishome.com; intellichick.com {all found through Google Image searches}.

How do you like the new design?

xoxo
Bean

Welcome!

Well here it is ~ my blog.  I've wanted to start a blog for a while now, but wasn't sure what the "topic" or focus could be.  I have a friend whose blog centers around being a single girl in the dating world; another whose blog is tracking her weight loss, from the time of her engagement until her wedding day; and there are countless travel, cooking, and crafting blogs.  I have many interests, but I'm not really an expert at anything, and I thought I should be in order to have a useful blog.  And maybe that would make a more successful blog -- I guess we will see!  I just know that I love to write, I love to give and receive information with my friends, and I am looking forward to the creative process of creating and maintaining a blog.

So here is a place we can have those "whispered conversations" together ~ girl talk moments, venting sessions, inspirational stories, beauty product information, and more.  Boys are invited too, of course, but I see this as being more of a chick blog ~ and that's okay by me!  We girls need to stick together. ;)

Who knows what topics we will cover together -- your guess is as good as mine!  But I ask you to join me on this adventure ~ comments and suggestions are more than welcome!  I look forward to meeting you and hearing your whispers.

xoxo
Bean