Update + Is Pinterest Safe?

This week I've been enjoying the super awesome seal Kurt bought me at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, watching my baby daffodils grow (looks like another replant mission soon) and planning our trip to Ireland next week. We're going to stay in Dublin for a bit and then rent a car and travel west to Doolin and Dingle. I'm still laughing at the fact that we accidentally booked tickets to Ireland on St. Patricks Day. I'm mostly excited for the Irish countryside, cozy B&Bs and cliff hikes though. It'll be strange to return to no job; it'll be an adjustment for sure. But I'm looking forward to more time to enjoy England and Europe, energy to cook dinner, and hopefully getting more items in my Etsy shop.

Today I read an article that got me rethinking my Pinterest account. Are we really safe pinning other's photos onto our boards? The lawyer/photographer in this article says no, and has deleted her account. After doing some research she discovered that, "Copyrighted work can only be used without permission when someone is criticizing it, commenting on it, reporting on it, teaching about it, or conducting research. Repinning doesn't fall under any of those categories."

She also noted what Pinterest has to say in their Terms of Use: 

“YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES AND SITE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU.”

Basically, Pinterest puts all the blame and potential legal fees on its users. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think it's concerning? If so, is it worth the risk? See the entire article here.

Michaela Rae

P.S. Kurt and my love story was featured on Ruche today, you can read it here! I'm pretty excited about it.

Update + Happy Fall Finds

This last week flew by! I began my new job and it seems everyday when I get home I'm too tired to think about grocery shopping and laundry much less blogging. But here I am with a bit of an update all the same - I miss blogging. :-)

Working has been fun. I'm glad I chose to do retail instead of a desk job, it allows me to experience the culture more and have all sorts of random conversations with people about life. Sometimes being here doesn't seem so different after all, besides the moments when I accidentally talk in dollar amounts instead of pounds or use the word holiday and they think I'm talking about vacationing. It's also weird to be the the one with the foreign accent. I'm not sure why it's still a big deal, seeing as London is so integrated, but I guess there aren't many Americans here.

The weather has really taken a turn the last few days. Today marked the gloomiest of all since arriving. I have to admit, it got to me a bit. I wondered how people live here permanently. You'd have to have a thick emotional skin; I'm not convinced I do ;-). 

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I'm getting pretty excited for the abnormal occasion that it'll be. Thankfully, we'll get a little taste of home still. We plan on celebrating with our friend AJ from CA and his parents. Not exactly sure what the plans are, but if they involve familiar faces and food, I'll be pretty thankful ;). What are your thanksgiving plans?

Here are some pins that just scream "happy fall" (and/or "buy me") that I found this week.

MJ

Update + Party Inspiration

Happy November and mid-week!
Today I was completely baffled by how quickly time is passing. I can hardly believe this year is almost over. So much has happened for me and looking back it seems like an eternity of experiences, but time proves otherwise. I really did plan a wedding, get married, visit over 26 states and move from California to London all in a matter of months. Whew.

In the wake of it all, it feels good to be finding a rhythm here. It also feels good to be getting in the Christmas mood a bit pre-maturely. I'll admit, I even listened to a few Christmas songs before Halloween. I blame it on the cold weather and my Florida body/mentality totally wanting to live it up. It could also be that I'm really excited for Kurt and my first Christmas together as a family (I like saying that). I know we'll miss everyone back home, but I think it'll be a sweet way to experience it.

Kurt is huge on Christmas, which is great, because my family wasn't and I want to make up for lost fun. I know I will with him. We hope to begin some really cool traditions in our family and it's fun to know that we can start from scratch and do whatever we want. What are some of your favorite things about Christmas and does your family have any unique traditions?

On a completely different subject, I spent time on Pinterest today and was inspired by all the garlands I came across (I even made a new board: Party Time). I want to share a few of my favorites.

Of course, I don't take credit for any of these photos. The original sources are available through my Pinterest board(s), just click the photos.

I need an excuse to spend a day making some of these.

MJ

Weekend Favorites

I just finished bawling my eyes out watching P.S. I Love You for the first time, but I didn't want that to keep me from posting some of my favorite discoveries this past weekend. Here's a quick peek:

1. I've had this image from a feature on Apartment Therapy on one of my Pinterest boards for sometime. I love how the turquoise island mixed with the yellows gives that extra pop to the kitchen.

2. The Tiffany Dress by Adabelle's Fashion Lounge. I just think it's darling, really everything in her shop is. 

3. I adore these beautiful nautical watercolor invitations featured on 100 Layer Cake. I made the invitations for my wedding, but I can tell you one thing, they certainly didn't look like these and I wish they could've :-P. 

4. This silver feather ring by Laonato is definitely on my Christmas list!!

5. Nina Moscrip sells amazing watercolor paintings in her Etsy shop. This one's my favorite. Another item on the Christmas list?

Are you formulating a Christmas list yet? :-)

Michaela Rae