Tag: love

Looking for Alaska

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I love reading things that move me. Wether it is an article that makes me angry, a poem that makes me smile or in this case, a book that makes me cry and smile at the same time. Looking for Alaska is not my first read from John Green, his book The Fault In Our Stars left me weeping a few months ago.

After finishing Looking for Alaska, I felt refreshed. Like if I had understood a little bit of what we all go through in life and how terrible things can happen but that doesn’t make life stop. There’s something refreshing about cold hard truths that can become positive thoughts, a sort of freedom from knowing life is not all sweet and perfect but that it’s ok.

Here are my amateur designs sharing my favorite quotes from the book.

LFA 6 LFA 5 LFA 1LFA 3LFA 4LFA 2

 

Things that I am tired of doing & other realistic musings on the new year…

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I have a love and hate relationship with new year resolutions. On one side I think it’s good to take the time to look back on what you wished you had done and look forward to try to accomplish whatever is next on your list. I love making lists and I actually enjoy sitting down and jotting down my resolutions. On the other hand, I hate when I sound all full of cliches and end up being redundant with rolling unaccomplished resolutions that stare at me with a dubious look.

So before I post any resolutions or end of year happy thoughts, I wanted to share what I’m tired of and wish to somehow change for the new year. Come on, I know you can relate to some of these, so let’s feel guilty together and make a change.

  1. Criticizing everyone who does stupid stuff online – Sure, they look ridiculous, but why pain myself with embarrassment? It’s none of my business. It only wastes my energy. Have a good laugh and move on.

  2. Making excuses for myself – This means hitting the gym and being realistic about it. I’m not going to go every day, that just can’t happen, but if I’m paying a monthly fee that does not mean it equals a monthly visit.

  3. Saying that I’m going to hang out with someone and never coming through – This is not entirely my fault, it’s tricky for everyone. I do want to be able to make more time for people I care about. I need to stop being a “let’s do something soon” slut and start committing to concrete dates.

  4. Complaining about money – This might not stop entirely, but I figure if I have a good plan under my sleeve I won’t feel as miserable every time I need to have tomato soup for dinner.

  5. Caring about people that don’t care about me – Take it as you will, but it’s tiring. I care a lot about people and go out of my way to help people out and make sure they are happy. I’m tired of not being appreciated or at times, even acknowledged. I want to surround myself with people that care about something else besides themselves. This goes for #3 as well, why bother trying to meet up with someone who does not want to meet up with you? Not worth it.

  6. My milk going bad before I am able to finish it – Or any other food for that matter. I’m wasting money and creating false hopes of a full and yummy fridge. I can work on this, I believe in myself.

I figure if each year I leave a little bit of the bad stuff behind, I can make some progress in a few years, right? Life’s too short to carry negative stuff around, it’s like carrying your heavy suitcase through NYC public transportation.

Cheers!

Breaking Standards, Savoring Irony

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hands free

They say we are young and restless, but some days that’s not how we feel. We are lost in a sea of loans and bills, looking out at the stars with all their glimmering cheer. We dream of places far away, our thirst unquenched, our fears unlisted.

We want to go places but we know we can’t fly. We are tied to the puppeteer, but we always want to dance. Time is unknown, just something we’ve heard of.

We are easily inspired with a fleeting desire that gets lost in the city lights.

– Cristina Nogueras ©

city lights

 

Photo Credits:

http://enjoythefood.tumblr.com/post/69846548946

http://parisfog.tumblr.com/post/69743392968

On giving thanks… with a side of puppies.

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1288588995Source: http://www.loveitsomuch.com/

Giving thanks…

Remember? Thanksgiving? The whole reason you eat turkey?

I know, it’s hard to remember when all you see is Christmas lights and black Friday deals. I know Thanksgiving is supposed to be about giving thanks and all that. To be honest, for me it’s all about being with family and people you love. If you think about it, that’s a reason to be thankful, so there you have it. No matter how you wish to look at it, you have to be thankful during Thanksgiving, maybe it’s because you are off work or because you saved a ridiculous amount of money on something you did not even need to begin with, but you are thankful and you know it.

This will be my 7th Thanksgiving that I spend away from home without my family. Sounds tragic, but I’ve been blessed to be able to spend it with special people each and every year. Whether it has been with my friend attempting to cook a turkey in Boston freshman year of college, abroad in France with my amazing host family or even  last year with another friend roaming the streets of NYC looking for a place that was open for cheap  turkey feasting (cheap being the key word).

That’s what it’s all about, feeling that warmth from the people that you love and being able to say: “Woah, I’m lucky to have people that love me.” Distance sucks, but even in the distance I know I have SO many people that love me and care about me. Sure, I can be thankful for so many other things in my life, but I’m gonna let myself be cheesy and this year I’m going to be thankful for love in all of its forms. Whether it’s my mom’s morning text, a friend’s hug, a lover’s kiss or a puppy picture in my phone’s background.

However, just in case you still need some reasons to be thankful today, here are some Thanksgiving themed puppy pictures.

Cute-puppies-golden-thanksgivingSource: http://puppypicsonline.com/tag/thanksgiving-puppy/

thanksgiving-puppy1Source: http://puppypicsonline.com/tag/thanksgiving-puppy/

cute puppy leavesSource: http://seasonal-love.tumblr.com/post/10766392765

cutest puppies in leaves

Source: http://www.all-hd-wallpapers.com/wallpaper/animals/autumn-leaf-bed/254045thanksgiving-dogSource: http://www.vetconm.com/13-tips-to-keep-your-dog-safe-on-thanksgiving/

Sparks

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You don’t really know how it happened, you just know it did. At some point along the way, that little flickering flame took over and lighted up a fire. You saw the light and started feeling the warmth… you let it take over because, why not? You look back to try to understand, but you know you don’t need that because it just makes sense. It’s the kind of force that brings with it a feeling of contentment that can’t be easily equated. A light that has enough power to light a way into better days and with better days, more dreams are born. You feel refreshed in a way that only new chances can make you feel. The sweet realization that there is just so much more to come is enough to make you want to dance the day away…

Cristina Nogueras © – February 2013

It’s the little things…

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photo (2)

because flowers are not necessary but always bring a smile 

because you remember the little things that matter

because you keep finding ways to make me smile…

My Battle With Coffee

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Photo & Editing by Cristina Nogueras ©

Photo & Editing by Cristina Nogueras ©

Hi, my name is Cristina and I’m fighting coffee addiction. I’ve seen loved ones suffer from caffeine deprivations and go through immense trouble to get a hold of coffee in the mornings. I’ve seen the sleepy eyes, the vacant stares and the tamed spirit that can only come from the absence of coffee.

I’ve never liked coffee. I think the first thing I ever ordered from Starbucks was a white chocolate frappuccino, just because it did not taste like coffee. How did I survive college? Diet coke perhaps? That’s still a mystery to me.

Now, in the real working world, I find myself fighting against the urge to get a cup of coffee every day. My reasoning?

  • It’s expensive to get the coffee I like (Not that I’m drinking gold, it just adds up)

  • I do not want to be addicted to coffee and then be unable to function without it

I think I’m losing this battle. I’m so much more productive and motivated when I drink coffee, I hate it. Why can’t I just wake up all sunshine and glitter every morning ready to hit the ground running? No, I have to depend on this warm and aromatic substance to fuel my system and power my brain. Then they have to come and make it pumpkin spice lattes and all these other alterations that make it actually wonderful to drink and so much more harder to resist it.

Is this it? Is this how I know I am now a real grown-up?

Scraps of Paper

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Little by little I want to share randoms thoughts in old notebooks, napkins or scraps of paper. Those old thoughts you just needed to write down in the moment that did not make much sense at the time, but now shine back at you in retrospect.

So here it goes.

“There is just that much you can control, there is just that much that you can hold back. Life can’t be amazing unless you give it a chance. Your fears can tie you back in ways you can’t really understand. At the end of the day it’s what you feel that’s real, the walls you’ve built and the timelines you’ve set are all fake; mere guidelines in a quest of finding happiness. Yes, you might get hurt and yes you will be sad again; but why let that stop you? Release can liberate you in more ways than one.” – Cristina Nogueras © Jaunary 9, 2013.

Treasures

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We all have scars, we all have pasts,

Stories that have been told,

Faces that have been forgotten,

Kisses that have been lost,

And smiles that still haunt us.

We all have footsteps spread around,

Footsteps that have been erased,

Marks that have been preserved.

We all have things we’ve left behind,

Memories that still ache,

Screams we still wish to release,

Tears we have shed in days far gone.

We all have holes that have made us whole,

Scars that have made us human,

Aches that have made us feel,

And tears that have taught us to love.

Because a love so pure can only come like that,

Polished and refined by wounds we still carry.

Because some things we forget,

Some things we carry forever,

Some things we just let go,

And some things become treasures forever.

Written by Cristina Nogueras © September 4, 2013.