Self Known

our new year's selfie. <3
This January I...talked about SMART goals. showed my new dress! talked about outside influences. shared how to complete goals with confidence. shared my first ever DIY! shared 10 things I want (and why). wrote about memories. talked about growing through nostalgia. wished I wasn't me.
shared 3 ways to boost your self-love.

What did you do this January?

pea ess: it's the last day to enter the giveaway!

Hello dearies. The most lovely Sophia nominated me for this delightful tag. Thank you girly. You are much too sweet. <3

The Rules: 1. Copy and paste these rules on to your award post.
2. Come up with at least 5 fun questions for your nominees to answer.
3. Nominate at least 5 people who you think are amazing and have an amazing blog.
4. List at least one reason why you appreciate the people you nominated.
5. Put this award on your sidebar or award/tag page if you were nominated.
6. Leave a comment on your nominees' blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

My Questions: Swimming or Tanning? Swimming. Because I don't tan. I burn.

Beach or Mall? MALL ALL THE WAY.

Would you rather wear a messy bun or elegant curls? I think that depends on the mood I'm in. Generally, I like to wear my hair in a messy bun, but on some days I want to feel really pretty, so I curl it. :}

Are your friends tall or short? It seems like all my friends are short. XD

On a rating from 1 to…

1. my newly decorated wall // 2. my hand loving Zayn's face // 3. me admiring Zayn's lovely face (my hair is wet, that's why it looks so clumpy. o-o)
That amazing moment when Zayn Malik is on your wall. (I now understand why 1D fans plaster their room in posters.)
I got this amazing One Direction calendar from the mall and I have to say it was well worth the four dollars and two cents I paid for it. Now I can count down the days until I get to see them in concert. (Less than 7 months to go!) It has the boy's birthdays on it too (which is why Zayn is the cover of January - because his birthday was on the 12th), which is helpful because I am a disaster when it comes to birthdays... and names... and ages... Ugh.
Thanks for reading this short little post - I'm in the midst of a monthly content transfer, and I didn't have anything scheduled for today, so I thought I'd share this. :}
How has your month been so far?
xx Nicole Rose

Today I am going to share a way of customizing your popular posts gadget. This coding is how my current popular posts gadget is (see the bottom of my blog). :)

1. Select the blog you'd like to add the popular posts gadget to.

2. Head to layout and add the gadget to your blog.

3. Click and drag the gadget so that it is in the footer area (the bottom) of your blog. Make sure to click "Save arrangement".

4. Open up the gadget and make sure the option under "Most Viewed" is on your selected preference. Check the box "image thumbnail" and uncheck "snippet". Then make sure you are displaying up to 4 photos (see photo below).



5. Now go to Template >> Customize >> Add CSS and in the box, add the CSS codes from below.

#PopularPosts1 li { display: inline;
float: left; }
.popular-posts .item-thumbnail img { webkit-border-radius: 200px; -moz-border-radius: 200px; border-radius: 200px; }
#PopularPosts1 ul li a { border: solid 2px #000; text-decorat…

The rules + Thank and follow the blog that nominated you.
+ Tell us 11 facts about you.
+ Answers the questions that were set up for you.
+ Nominate 11 people and make questions for them.

Thank you Outrageous Glamour for nominating me. :)

11 Facts About Me 1. I am very passionate when it comes to food, graphic design, words and band members.
2. I am obsessed with colored hair.
3. I'm really hard on myself.
4. I like taping things to my bedroom walls.
5. Though I love books with a passion, I own very few of them (the library is my main resource).
6. I relive every mistake I've ever made when I'm trying to fall asleep.
7. I struggle with self love.
8. Singing when I'm upset helps my hurting heart tremendously.
9. I want blogging/writing/web design to be my job (so I don't have to leave the house).
10. I'm religious when it comes to 11:11.
11. I have over 1312 items on my iTunes (yikes).

The questions I was asked 1. Have you ever stayed up all night? Yes. I did t…

New to the blog? Ready for a flash back to the past? Check out these past posts to view some of my older works. :)


Top Ten Personal Favorites
Silver Linings Click. Clack. Ding. People change. Memories don't. What's black, white, and read all over? Us. Wake up, darling. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
April 12th, 2014
We Are Worms.
Is it wrong of me?

(A writing piece from 2014.)
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t me, because me is fragile and doesn’t speak up for herself. She doesn’t like other people and she takes on the burdens of others. She knows no one understands and thinks that perhaps no one will because she’s a constantly changing soul that is slowly and painfully progressing toward death. She tries too hard and enjoys shadows more than she does the light. But even then she craves it. She craves the light because the light is blinding and shining and uplifting. She sees others in the light and thinks “Oh, I wish that were me because look at how amazing they are.”

Why isn’t she in the light? Why doesn’t she just step out and let it shine down on her? Because she’s scared that she’s unworthy. She’s scared others will see her in the light and step away or worse - push her out. She craves acceptance into the light but knows if she tries there’s that small, humanizing chance that it won’t work out.

And if it didn’t, where would she be…

Have you ever had those days where you pull that hidden box of childhood memories out of the back of closet, just to relive the old days? Do you flip through the pages of a novel you taped together yourself, reliving the nostalgic feeling of warmth as you think "wow I needed a lot of work"? Do you flip through the pages of a dusty scrapbook and remember the moments surroundings the photos?

I do.

When I was younger I used to do it a lot (especially since I had a book with my ye old crush's face in it - looking through it gave me an excuse to stare at his childhood roundness). I'm going to be honest and say generally, I remembered the bad times, like the stupid things I said or did. But I made sure to think about the good times too. And even though I dwelt on what I thought I lost (and sometimes still do), I look at my present self and I smile. Because I'm actually starting to be okay with where I'm at.

My mom sometimes says to me, "the little things that…

This mid-month linkup is an opportunity to meet other bloggers, discover other blogs, and create friendship as you go! Share anything you like.


Mid-Month Link Up Grow your blogging perspective. Make sure to visit other blogs and link up your own! :)

I'm going to put this simply, bluntly and first.
I miss you.
And even though it was me who made this choice, even though I know you're probably breathing better knowing that I'm not around to remind you of how far apart we've become, sometimes I find myself with a new dagger of memories stuck between my shoulder blades. I relive everything over again every time I touch the hilt. I rev myself up for the action of pulling it out of my body once and for all, but... Mm.
So I walk around with my head held high and a smile plastered on my face. When I flip my hair, people don't notice my wounds or the blade stuck in my back - none of them ever look too closely. And if they did I'd want them to believe I don't pull it out because it's better not to - because it'll damage too many nerves or precious, vital organs.
(But in reality it's because I'm too scared and I'm not ready to let go of the time I invested in us. In you.)
+ + +

Sometimes, our b…

+ + +
There's so much more I could add to this list, because I wish to be so many things. Heck, I could write a book series about what I want to be, and I'd die before I could even get it all out (seemingly dramatic, but very true).
But if there's one thing I've learned over the course of the past few crazy months, it's that I'm here right now, being me right now. If these are the things I want to be, why I can't I just be them?
I think part of me is still scared (of others and of success), which is why I keep holding back. Everything is a choice though - so, I have a choice here, don't I? I can choose to continue being afraid.

Or I can choose to be who I want to be.

What's your choice?
xx Nicole Rose

Today we'll be flashing back to the past - even though Christmas was less than a month ago. :} I meant to share these photos sooner, but had some other posts planned. Enjoy! :)
Christmas Eve




We had a dance party/photoshoot, then opened up one gift each. :)
Christmas Day




Explanation: Christmas is a massive celebration in our household. Ever since 2010, my parents have been adding a twist to it, doing different things to spice up our ye old traditions.
This year, we played a version of Let's Make A Deal. We were told we had to dress up in order to play, so I dressed as a goth (of course), my sister Morgan went as a chimney sweep (so cute), my brother went as a "gamer", and my older sister, Crystal, went as a Pegasus. Pretty cool. huh?

Note: The picture of the Mortal Instrument Series (above) is something I received from my wonderful sister, Crystal. They look so beautiful. <3 (If you haven't read the series, I definitely recommend it. The books are so good, so so …

Hello there darlings. :) Today I am going to do something I don't normally do - a DIY. I'm not a hands on crafty person, but I really felt like I should do this. You'll definitely receive a positive boost if you do this craft. So let's get started! :)
Today we will be making a cherishings jar. I made mine way back in August and it's really helped me realize how amazing life can truly be - especially if you look at the little things.

You will need:
+ A jar/container to hold your cherishings (I used an old plastic orange juice bottle). + A pen/pencil/marker/whatever you want to use to write your cherishings. + Scissors + Paper
(and if you'd like to decorate your jar get some duct tape or ribbon)
Step 1. If you'd like, decorate your cherishings jar. Make it look really happy and creatively awesome, so that it fits your personal needs.
Step 2. Write down a few things you cherish. Nothing is too big or too small. A list of ten evenly spaced items should work, t…

Now that you've decided on a SMART goal, do you feel confident you'll complete it? If you're anything like me, you're probably wondering why you chose such a huge goal (like, is this really necessary? Oh dear, I have so much work to do...). You probably feel quite overwhelmed and don't know where to start.

Well I have a secret to share with you guys. The trick to setting goals and feeling confident you'll complete them is so simple, it can be broken down into 3 easy steps.
1. Start at the end and work backward.When getting to work on your goal, it may seem daunting, overwhelming and (sometimes) impossible. Conducting a plan by working backward through the steps you need to take can be really helpful. Take my "write two more books goal" for example. What do I have to do before I can say I finished writing two books? I have to write two books. What do I have to do before I write two books? I have to write one book. What do I have to do before I write on…

On the Saturday before Christmas, I went to the mall with my sister to meet some fellow 5SOS fans (WHOOT WHOOT). I'm going to be bluntly honest and I say it was the worst idea ever. I'll spare you the details of our downhill spiral, because that's not what this post is about. This post is about a conversation I had with one of the girls.

Her name (for privacy purposes we'll say) was Allison and she was 13 years old. She was short and round and absolutely adorable. She didn't say much, and at first I thought maybe she doesn't like strangers - or perhaps she didn't like anyone at all. But we ended up in the back of the group, kind of trailing behind the other girls and listening to them talk about Micheal Clifford's hair and converse with strangers as they passed out flyers for the new LIVESOS album. I made a comment about being left behind which broke the ice. I connected with this girl in the most magnificent of ways. Why? Because of what she said.

&qu…

1.) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Yeah yeah, I know I'm late to join the party, but I've finally gotten over myself and decided it's time. I know some people who are obsessed over this series and I'd like to see what there is to obsess about (plus I have this personal thing where I can't watch the movies until after I've read the book...).

2.) The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass ERGH. I am so excited for this book! The One was an easy read and I flew through it. Once I was done I couldn't get it through my head that the story was over - and I'm so glad it isn't. I can't wait to see what Kiera will come up with next. :)

3.) Untitled (Firebird #2) by Claudia Gray I finished the first book in this trilogy a couple months ago and I seriously can't wait for this to come out. Things were great then they went bad and they got good again - and then the book ended (I hate when this happens -_-). So as soon as this book is released I'm going …

For Christmas I got this lovely plaid number - isn't it gorgeous? I wore it for my birthday and used it as an excuse to have (yet another) photo shoot.

Do you guys enjoy photo-filled posts like these? Or do you like helpful posts? Comment your opinion below, please. :)

Thank you for reading. <3

xx Nicole Rose

PS: Have you checked out my giveaway yet?

Yes, that is right! Self Known has 150 followers (on GFC)! [insert crazy screaming and dancing here] And to celebrate that I have gotten this many wonderful readers, I'm going to have a giveaway! :)


Prizes
+ Full custom blog design by me (check out my shop here | $50 dollar value). :)
+ Guest post on my blog (this is a chance to promote yourself and your awesome blog).
+ Advertising for the month of February (I'll put your button/link in my sidebar).

Enter
Just enter below. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deadline
Giveaway ends on January 31st at midnight (EST). Winner will be drawn randomly via Rafflecopter.

That's all for now! Thank you for reading - and entering. <3
xx Nicole Rose

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY BLOGGER! It's officially the new year and you know what that means, don't you?
GOALS. RESOLUTIONS. PLANNING. GAH.
Now personally, I'm not the resolution setting type - only because I really don't want to turn into that person who promises to do things for the new year but doesn't quite get around to them. Over the years I've mostly just been that person who doesn't bother with goals or promises, but instead ignores what I did over the past year, hopes I learned from my mistakes, then continues on with what they're doing.
Well, not this year (oh boy, here we go).
[photo]
This year, I have goals. A list of things I will complete by the end of the year. They are listed below.
Each of these goals has a plan of action and a timeline set to help them on their way. But how can I be sure these goals will get accomplished? How can I be sure they're what actually needs to be done? How do I know I'm not wasting my time?
After searchin…