What a great afternoon I had! Let me tell you what I did. First, I stressed out a little because I realized I have a few looming deadlines I'd forgotten (oops!) and, instead of working on them, I had to stick with my appointment this afternoon because there was no way I was going to cancel it... Then (the fun part), I spent 5 hours with my film instructor, Christopher, shooting and working on editing a short film we made in my work studio about the simple pleasures of reading a good book and enjoying a cup of tea. I'm not going to show it all (sorry, we didn't finish it) but it came out really good and if you'd like, you can watch some of it on Vine if you follow me there (@decor8).

Sounds simple, but there is so much that goes in to making a really good film - it's absolutely the coolest thing to really LEARN. If you want to convey emotion and lots of love (at least if that's what you're going for) without having it look boring or too corporate-y, you really have to shoot with your heart. Thankfully, he is exceptionally patient and talented because I didn't feel for a second like I was going to fall asleep - just the opposite - when it was time for him to wrap up I felt like I could have gone on learning for many hours more. It felt good to just give myself 5 hours "off" (no guilt!) from the normal routine to absorb all he had to teach me.

Later this week, we'll go on a field trip to a film studio to work some more -- I feel like I'm learning so much. I have no clue what I will do in the end with this education but I'm not learning with any "goal", no big picture in mind, no end result. I'm simply learning because I've always wanted to learn about video production and editing and finally found the time to do it but also the person to teach me. I've been thinking more and more about doing a little video here and there for decor8 and my e-classes, so this is also inspiring me in that direction. But again, no big planning or new career direction. Just having some fun. It's vital to do things that we love, just because we love them.

Speaking of LOVE, this lovely e-mag that Jen Ramos from Made By Girl just released is LOVELY. It's called, Cartas De Amor, or Love Letters in English. It's a collection of personal handwritten love letters from the heart from Jennifer and 17 of her closest blogging pals. It's really sweet and personal and I think Jen did a really nice job on it and hope she does more e-mags it's nice to see her eye directing a magazine! To view the entire mag, click here.

Which reminds me... February 14th is just around the corner - I'm cooking for my family and friends and then we're all going out to see a concert so it will be a very nice day. What will you do on V day?

(images: jen ramos)