Lauren Hannah – Page 2

Like many of us, Ryder Carroll tried everything to get organized — countless apps, systems, planners, you name it. Nothing really worked. Then he invented his own simple system that required only pen and paper, which he found both effective and calming. He shared his method with a few friends, and before long he had a worldwide viral movement. Hundreds of thousands of Bullet Journal fans now spread the word and read Ryder’s blog and newsletter.

The system combines elements of a wishlist, a to-do list, and a diary. It makes it easy to get thoughts out of your head (an unreliable witness) and onto paper, to see them clearly and decide what to do about them. It helps you identify what matters, and set goals accordingly. By breaking long-term goals into small actionable steps, users map out an approachable path towards continual improvement, allowing them to stay focused despite the crush of incoming demands.

But this is much more than a time management book. It’s also a manifesto for what Ryder calls “intentional living”: making sure that your beliefs and actions align. Even if you already use a Bullet Journal®, this book gives you new exercises to become more calm and focused, new insights on how to prioritize well, and a new awareness of the power of analog tools in a digital world.

Lifestyle

My Favorite Horror Movies

Posted on October 23, 2018

With Halloween coming up, I thought it’d be fun to share a list of some of my favorite horror movies. I started watching horror when I was around twelve years old, and it quickly became one of my favorite genres.

My taste in a nutshell

I prefer more recent releases, as the older ones seem too fake to me and have never scared me much. (I have no time for movie snobs, so if you’re here to tell me I’m not a ‘real horror fan’, get out.) I like when a movie does something different, which is why there are a few movies on this lists that have that unique aspect to them. Gore is not my thing at all, but I can tolerate it in some movies. I prefer psychological & supernatural over slashers & sci-fi, and jump scares are fine with me as long as they don’t happen too often and the movie doesn’t completely rely on them.

Some horror flicks that are still on my watchlist: It Follows (2014), Ringu (1998), Creep (2014), and Unsane (2018).

Service Dog

Birth!

Posted on October 19, 2018

Just a short update in case you haven’t seen it yet: my future service dog’s mom gave birth to 10 beautiful pups! 6 females and 4 males, which gives me a good chance of getting a suitable female.

I really feel like this is the start of something really, really good.

Welcome to the world, little nuggets.

Videos

Document Your Life: June 2018

Posted on October 18, 2018

In which I go to a safari park, go bouldering, visit my puppy’s breeder, go to a climbing forest, and more.

Music:
Old Man Canyon – The Road (Apple Music – Spotify)

I’ll go the way less walked to find
All the roads that wind
Between the trees over the seas I’ll go
’till I’m home

Books

Book Review: A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Posted on October 16, 2018

This post includes affiliate links.

Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with a review copy. In no way does this affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

by Tahereh Mafi

Age Group/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication date: October 16th, 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback

Add to Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository

Synopsis

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments — even the physical violence — she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her — they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds — and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

Books

Big Book Bonanza 2018

Posted on October 3, 2018

Last week, I was fortunate enough to go to the Big Book Bonanza, which is an event hosted by HarperCollins and Van Ditmar Boekenimport where they showcase upcoming releases.

The Big Book Bonanza is mostly an event for booksellers, and for some reason I was the only blogger there. Nevertheless, I’m honored to have been invited and hope to be invited again next year!

Sustainability

Switching From Plastic To Reusable Straws

Posted on October 2, 2018

Zero Waste Project #1

This is the first instalment in a blog series I’m doing about my own personal zero waste project. Or as zero as zero waste can be, anyway.
Many people see going zero waste or reducing single-use plastics as a daunting task, or something that won’t make any impact. I personally think every little bit helps, and it seems totally doable if you divide the massive task of ‘living a more sustainable lifestyle’ into smaller, more manageable tasks. One thing at a time. Once I’ve completed a task, I move on to the next thing that strikes my interest.

One of the first zero waste swaps I made was straws. Scientists estimate there are anywhere from 437 million to 8.3 billion plastic straws on the shorelines around the world. Each year, 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die from ingesting plastic. In 2015, a video in which researchers tried removing a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nostril went viral. That video was the last straw for me, literally.

Videos

Document Your Life: April + May 2018

Posted on September 14, 2018

In which I follow various geese and swans around for photography, go on walks with my favorite dog friends, plant a wild flower garden, go bouldering, and visit Groningen.

Music:
Ruth Moody – The Garden (Apple Music – Spotify)

I chose this song because I spent most of my time outdoors and was working in the garden a lot these months, so it has quite a literal meaning. I also picked it because of the whole ‘slept (waited, been down) for too long, work to be done (life goes on)’, see the following lyrics:

How long have we slept
How long have we wept
There’s work to be done

Sky above
So vast and so deep
You know what I need
Rain down on me
Rain down on the garden
Rain down on the garden

Books

Summer 2018 Book Reviews

Posted on September 9, 2018

This post includes affiliate links.

The reading slump has been defeated, hooray! Getting back into fiction has definitely helped, I absolutely flew through some books.

Very slowly, I’ve been applying my minimalist lifestyle to my book collection, so from now on, every mini book review will include the question, “Would I bring this book into my tiny house library?” I’m not 100% sure that a tiny house is for me yet, but thinking of it like this helps me keep only the books that I really love.

Note on Dutch books: A Dutch flag emoji (🇳🇱) next to the book title means that I read a book in Dutch. I haven’t added affiliate links for Dutch books because I believe a great thing about the fixed book price is that you can choose who you buy from (without paying too much), and for me, that will always be an independent bookseller. If there is an English translation, I will provide a link.

Books read:

Mijn achterlijke kat Lola by Sylvia Witteman 🇳🇱
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (audiobook, re-read)
Simon VS. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (audiobook, re-read)
Total Cat Mojo by Jackson Galaxy
Tiny Houses by Monique van Orden 🇳🇱
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
Geachte Heer M. / Dear Mr. M by Herman Koch 🇳🇱
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom
Verlangen naar minder by Jelle Derckx 🇳🇱

Stats:

I read 3 books in June, 3 books in July, and 7 books in August.
Out of the 13 total books I finished during the summer, 7 were fiction and 6 non-fiction.
I started but didn’t finish 3 books. (These are not worth talking about.)
3 were re-reads. (No mini reviews for these either.)
2 were library books, 2 were audiobooks.
Of the following books, 4 books will come along to my tiny house library, and 5 will not.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

The Bullet Journal Method

by Ryder Carroll

Synopsis

My taste in a nutshell

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

by Tahereh Mafi

Synopsis

Books read:

Stats:

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