Thinking About

Friday Wisdom Brought To You By My Addled Brain + The Breakfast Club

/ Ally Bean / 8 Comments

In my addled brain, one thought leads to another.

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I bought some new nail polish.  It looks like this color.

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I put the polish on my toenails and then put on a pair of leather sandals that are in this color.

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The color combo reminded me of Claire Standish, played by Molly Ringwald, in The Breakfast Club.

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When this movie came out, like every other girl of a certain age, I wanted to dress like Claire.  Truth be known, I still kinda want to dress like Claire. c500x500

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Do you realize that it was 1985 when this movie was released?  This means that I’ve grooved on this stylish look and quoted what I believe to be two of the best movie lines ever… for 29 years.  Oh my!Screen Shot 2014-05-14 at 8.15.33 AM

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[Image Sources: 1) me;  2) Pantone here;  3) Pantone here;  4) Elle magazine, courtesy of Universal Pictures, here;  5) Not So Witty Witterings here;  6) me.]

Springtime: Musings On A Season’s Return

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

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Spring weather is variable.  Today it’s wet + gray + cold.  Drab.

On Sunday it was sunshine + blue skies + mild.  Lovely.  In fact, it was so pleasant outside that we went to a nature preserve and wandered around an old farmstead that is there.

After a Winter spent inside looking out, the freshness of the day inspired me, charmed me.  The new sights. The idea of possibility.

As a rule I don’t enjoy beginnings, but Spring is a season that forces me out of my comfort zone.  And despite its unpredictable weather, Spring entices me, reassures me with fresh starts, beautiful colors and the promise of growth.

So how about you, gentle readers?  What is there about Spring that speaks to you?

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And For My Next Decade…

/ Ally Bean / 36 Comments

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This week marks 10 years since I started my first public, somewhat disjointed, totally photograph-free, poorly written blog.

I know, I’m amazed, too.

You’d think that I’d have some pithy, inspirational conclusions gleaned from my experiences along the way, but I don’t.

No, the best that I can tell you is that keeping a personal blog is lots of planning and work, some fun– and a damned good way to find out who is really on your side.

Which, for me, has been enough.  So far.

But today I find myself contemplating my blogging future, knowing way too much about how wrong things can go, and trying to decide what to do next.

To wit, here are the questions that have rattled around inside my brain during this auspicious week.

•  Do I continue doing the same things here on this blog– keeping it personal and light just like I have been for the last 3 years?

•  Do I change this blog into something more opinionated, rather like a newspaper column with an agenda to promote?  Or a niche blog devoted to one specific topic?  And if so, what would that agenda/niche be?

•  Do I start a different, private blog in which I tell more of my story to a select few people who I know will support me?  And if so, what does that get me?

•  Do I give up on blogging entirely and just walk away from it?

I have no definite answer here.  

But I suspect that you, my gentle readers, have suggestions about what I should do next concerning this blog, my blogging career, all things bloggy.

Heaven knows that you always have something to say!  And I am grateful for that.  😉

Keep Moving. Blog Maintenance. Nothing To Look At Here.

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

You looked, didn’t you?  You just couldn’t stand not knowing exactly what I was doing.

And now that you’re here you’re kind of wondering why I’m doing that which I’m doing.  I know how you think, my gentle readers.  So I’ll tell you.

I’m claiming my blog, The Spectacled Bean, at Bloglovin’.  By placing what I did at the top of this little post, I am lead to believe that I’ll have:

And with that said, I’m publishing this post.  Hoping that I’ve done that which they want me to do in a way that pleases them, so that I might have that which they tell me I can have, which would please me.

Hallelujah and pass the potato salad, let’s see what happens next.