Sunday, August 7, 2011

dog day

Mmm, my weekend is tick-tocking away into the work-week future. Things wouldn't be so glum if my math class was held at noon opposed to 8 am. Good news is my final is this Thursday and then I'll be DONE until September. Yippee! I'm also hosting my first garage sale this weekend so we'll see how that goes. I'm trying to raise as much money for my California trip at the end of the month. My job is a great experience but the pay is absolute crap. Whatcanyado? Research grants aren't really promising to poor undergrads let alone the actual researchers. I'm thankful for the remaining time I'll spend in the lab working towards greater understanding in the name of science (and health)!

Yesterday I went to the beach but neglected to take any pictures of it. I did however collect some stones out of the lake for my always impending jewelry pursuits. No driftwood, bummer. It might be easier to order that online anyway. I'm making amends with my messy room and whole-heartedly attempting to organize all my craft and jewelry supplies. It's really difficult and I feel like such a little kid hoarder sometimes. Hello Kitty stickers, pony beads, skeins upon skeins of embroidery thread, glittery clips, etc. etc. Trying to get rid of some of it is difficult because I don't know when inspiration will hit next. I absolutely love my Hello Kitty treasures too and until hell hath frozen over will I throw out my sticker collection. My great-grandkids are gonna have some sweet heirlooms coming their way!


I also thrifted part of yesterday evening away, half interested because I'm trying not to spend any money. I ended up with some steals for about five bucks! I picked up this excellent-for-grocery-shopping tote bag. It says "for a clean environment" in German, pretty nifty! I also found a pair of nearly-new Gap 1969 shorts. There was a great novelty owl candy dish type thing I almost bought except its poor toe was chipped. I feel a little bad for leaving him on that shelf filled with tacky crap.

I enjoy perusing the thrift store furniture section daydreaming about all of the awesome possibilities. I cannot wait to refurbish some pieces for next year's move! On a more fashion-y note, I love what Frieda & Nellie have created these past few years


but there's no way I'm dropping $130 on something I can easily whip up myself!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

sleep forever

After a visit to Pugly Pixel it's fair to say I suck at layout type stuff! Big giant photobucket-fail yesterday. It took three tries to fit Alabama's mug into the confines of my blog. All is well though, she's snuggling up next to me right now and I'm pretty content with being a Plain-Jane for the time being. Besides, looks aren't everything --- it's the content that counts!

Anyway, I was at a loss eating up every Sublime Stitching pattern I found appealing until I discovered Urban Threads. They feature some seriously cool patterns I plan on purchasing once I'm a) not broke as a joke and b) without an impending trip to California on the horizon. The thing is though, I feel like given my slight artistic talent I can manage some of those line drawings on my own and save the dollar. We shall see, it depends on how motivated I am.

Breaching White Shark, so elegant!

In bigger, better news. Discovery Channel's Shark Week kicks of tonight, WAHOO! I'm DVR-ing the opener on Great Whites. For a time during my freshman year of college I thought I might travel to a coastal town and do my graduate work in marine sciences but oh how things change! I know I'm not the only person having a blog-gasm over Shark-Week-hoo-haha.

Lastly, if you like dreamy rock songs like me, check out Portugal. The Man's Sleep Forever off their new album In the Mountain in the Cloud. Perfect for kicking back watching a summertime sunset.



Saturday, July 30, 2011

fruit of the moon

fig newton commercial, one. more. time. I'm gonna scream!

pretty floss!
Photobucket

and this face!
Photobucket

Thursday, July 21, 2011

summer smoke

I have no idea why banana cupcakes sound so delicious --- that's why a batch is currently baking on this hot, hot Thursday. At 400-some calories a pop, all I can say is YUM!!


I decided to make my own Elie Tahari inspired necklace featured on P.S. - I made this.... I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt! I'm gonna try and make it more drape-y the next time around, I even picked up some silver and gold pony beads because, big surprise to me, I don't have any. My bead collection is extensive too!

Thigh-crossin' flattering iPhone pose, yup.

I know my review of Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Snow Blast was much to be desired but I'm absolutely thrilled to say I love the lacquer in Antiqued Gold. It looks like I dipped my fingers into gold dust and every time I look at my fingers I get warm fuzzies, no exaggeration! Some of the polish breached onto my fingertips and I don't care. Cuz who else seen the leprechaun say yeeeeahhh! Yeaaaah! Most certainly found my pot of gold with this nail polish.

^^I wrote this before I wrote basically the same thing in a comment below. I don't want to edit it out because I like what I wrote, hah! Cupcakes are almost done, see ya!

Monday, July 18, 2011

embroidery lover

No bones aboout it, I love any and all embroidery. Tesoro Viejo sells vintage patches from the 1970s and I really dig this funky rainbow.

But Baxter takes the cake when it comes to my next little project.

Seriously, how awesome is he!?! I need to get started on an Alabama version stat! Along with my epic kitten painting, a hand embroidered piece of wonderment dedicated to my sweet, little rat-annihilator (YES, she killed a rat this weekend, but that's a story for another day) is most certainly adorning my future bathroom.


Stand by and enjoy this Steely Dan classic while I put together a post detailng my recent adventures in Craftland.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sally Hansen Crack-attack

These pictures don't do the polish justice but I'll give my review anyway. I need a little something more than a point-n-shoot to get the job done or I really suck at setting my camera's functions. If you can spot my problem by all means let me know what the deal is. First things first, I bought the polish at Target for 6-something dollars after scouring many-a-CVS, Walgreens, Bed Bath & Beyond, you catch my drift. I had tiny hopes BB&B would carry the cheap Mia Crackle polish but sadly, it's an exclusive internet thing in my neck o' the woods.


I filed my nails into a square-ish shape and painted them into a rainbow of sorts --- almost a tropical Skittles thing going on.


From thumb to pinky the polishes are:
  • Revlon Top Speed in Cupid
  • Sinful Colors in Paradise
  • Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac
  • Sinful Colors in Unicorn (not the first name I would've suggested)
  • Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Green With Envy
So after lacquering them babies up, I proceeded to apply Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Snow Blast. BE FOREWARNED! You only need a thin coat otherwise it'll look like you dipped your fingers into white out and picked at it until your little heart's content. Hence the name overcoat.

Either way, the nail polish has a chipped white-out effect and the wear-ability is meh in my opinion. You can tell from my lineup of drugstore purchases I'm not a nail polish snob. Butter? What's that? I was under the false assumption it is something only spread upon toast. Better yet, I still dream about getting my grabby hands on a nifty bottle of that Chanel with a matte black finish. I once again digress. The results are as follows.


I didn't choose base colors with a ton of contrast because much to the chagrin of my boyfriend, I like to look corny. The texture reminded me of split jelly beans that crack as you pull them apart. Here is another photo for good measure.


I think this about sums up my review of Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat. It's funny how fads die out and re-emerge. I remember a brief period during the late 1990s/early 2000s when crackle nails were the It-thing of my sixth grade class --- a medley of Destiny's Child and TLC bumped from my portable headset while I polished my nails in pre-pubescent bliss. Girl. Power.





Sunday, July 10, 2011

a much needed post

I've gone a little DIY crazy the past few days --- scouring blogs like they're my own personal candy shop (they kind of are, right?). Two things are happening in the near future 1) a picture post of my recent creations and 2) a list of my daily reads. Until then, here are some photos I've taken inspiration from lately!

Water Serpents II c. 1907

Gustav Klimt --- 'nuff said. I sense an almost quilt-like quality to some of his pieces.

Rhinoceros Beetle c. 2011

The artwork of Rebecca Ladds. She's gotten a lot of tumblr hype lately and I understand why. Check out her art blog here (also noted on the piece above) --- you will not be disappointed!


I don't know where this image is from but I love anything and everything anatomical. I have a miniature skull collection and I'd like to eventually make some tiny polymer clay skull beads. For now, I'm relying on some of the plastic variety.


A color collage from P.S. I made this... It's from last April but I still find relevance in it. The website has some cool tutorials too!


New Cannonball Blues by TV on the Radio is the perfect song jam to while working. The video to go along with the song is pretty cool as well. Such a bummer I missed them when they rolled through Detroit. I got mad love for Tunde!!


And lastly, the best company any girl could ask for! Hah! What'd you expect, my dog is my baby!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

dancin' in the moonlight

I was blogger bitch slapped last night! Upon editing my last post ("frazzled") and experiencing a chrome freeze, none of my hard work was saved! Malfunctions are extremely frustrating. A couple hundred words, POOF! Kaput. No where to be found. Sigh, I digress.

I dyed the tips of my luscious locks royal blue and wore a pretty kickin' 1980s ensemble for the fourth, complete with my high wasted jean shorts, big earring, big hair and a rompter-cum-ruffled-tube top. On a side note, I didn't want to embarrass myself using the something-cum-something preposition wrong, thanks dictionary.com. And now that I'm re-reading this, my aside sounds wildly inappropriate. Ha!

Anyway, here are the locks!


...and the outfit!


I'm pretty sure you can tell how proud I am of myself! That's about it for tonight, until I embark on re-writing my lost nail polish review from yesterday!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

frazzled

The list of things I'd like to do is constantly growing. It now includes:

  • Gathering unwanted things for a garage sale
  • Organizing my massive sticker collection
  • Create a "my recipes" binder/notebook (I have a really cute idea for page dividers)
  • Jot down (digitally) all of my favorite blogs

Sheesh, the pile keeps growing. Deep breaths are important because most times I feel like I'll never accomplish everything I would like to.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

hunger buzz

I have an insatiable appetite with unlimited food porn (see Serious Eats, CHOW, Epicurious, etc.) at my disposal. It's funny how my brain switched from a "meh" attitude towards cooking into a full-blown foodie (to be frank I hate the word 'foodie' and all its connotations --- but alliteration for the win!).


I'm undertaking a couple summer projects including (but not limited to):

  • re-paining our garden gnome --- if he turns out cute I'm stealing him for my future place of residence
  • embroidering some realistic-looking butterflies into patches of some sort
  • crocheting an afghan similar to this one (see above picture) from anthropologie
  • organizing my thread collection (it's huge but I cannot resist a good floss bargain)
  • creating some handmade cards to send to my boyfriend, best friend, and grandmamas
  • putting together some inspiration journals with magazine clippings, etc.
  • establishing an etsy store of sorts
  • and lastly, working on this blog to make it great!

If I had some more cash I'd probably try my hand at some furniture restoration. Sigh, summer isn't everlasting.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

handsome pup

I forgot to give a shout out to little lover man Linux, my brother's pooch who is visiting from out of town!


He's the most lovable pit bull ever! My brother bathed him with some delicious shampoo and he smells like a ginger snap cookie.

sweet summer pea

If you know me, you know I love my dog! She's my BFF4E (best fur friend forever). Seriously, she never harasses me, gives me any lip and always gives kisses when I'm bummin'. The friends I keep in real life don't do the first two things either (nor have I gotten any kisses) but you get what I mean! After a crap day at school or whatever my little lover puppy is always down for cheering me up.


Her favorite toy!

No shame in admitting that I spend more time with my dog than most people. It's my nature and I wouldn't have it any other way.

results!


The outcome! Now the only thing left to do is figure out how to finish of the ends with some hardware. I'd say this was a successful adventure into craftland. I stole the image off of Crystal's f-book. Go me! :)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

get busy!


Me and my brother's girlfriend Crystal gave making these nifty necklaces a try. I will post our results tomorrow! Gotta love Honestly...WTF's do-it-yourselfs and being one fashionable summer late at making them from the articles initial publish. No big thing!

photo (credit)

Friday, June 24, 2011

American girl


I took this yesterday for my long distance love! I miss him and I finally snapped a decent picture without wonky eye syndrome going on. Notice various bottles of Revlon nail polish, pincushion, tarantula tank, Alabama sketch and Portugal. The Man poster in the background. Sums me up pretty well.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

what I wore --- baby prostitute edition

RAHHH! 1950s derby girls know how to kick some ass!

I love me some crop tops and hot pants! The 1970s are kickin' and ever since the loss of my winter bear belly, I can say I'm glad. Let me preface the next few sentences with: bodies of all kinds are beautiful. There. That said, one time I clicked on an episode of What Not to Wear where the poor gal was rockin' a 'flesh belt' (their words not mine) of great proportions. A flesh belt is basically an exposed muffin top. Like any awesome person, I've rattled and rolled my way into many-a-pair of too-tight shorts only to be let down by the mirror. Sausage casing legs and, yes, a flesh belt. Y'know what I say? Fuck it. No lithe figure here, I work with what I got and thank God for my beautifully functioning body.


I think my Forever 21 finds with honkin' zippers are great. Unless they make it look like you got a fupa goin' on --- but I still love you even if they do!


And not to toot my own fashion sense but I don't think a greater crop top beyond my pug life one exists. If I pair these bad boys with a fatty cork wedge I look like I'm about to work a corner, no shame in telling the truth.

God willin'

I want to slow dance to this song in a sleepy southern town.

Inspiration in a bottle


A few months back I discovered Magic Hat Brewing Company's Vinyl Lager and became intoxicated with the label art. Come to find out, a video of the label's creator Jim Pollock working on a limited edition print is featured on the website! Had I know they were selling these prints in the name of charity my hands woulda been in that honey pot in seconds flat. Six months ago Magic Hat also released a promo video for the beer with a spunky, sweet 1970s vibe --- I dig it. I live by the mantra the cuter the label the more I like the beer.


Jim Pollock silk screening


photo credit from a shady google images search

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

feel good flashback

The first few notes are so reminiscent of the 1990s I can't handle it (I can, but you get what I mean).

Alabama approved!


I unearthed my sewing machine and spent two hours making a dog bed (or giant pillow) for Sweet Home tonight. I'm happy to say she was all over it two minutes after stuffing. Hooray project success!

Idle hands

My heart grew two sizes when I saw my Sublime Stitching order in the mail. After one torturous week of waiting the goods are at my disposal. Peep what I got!


Metallic palette (threads by Kreinik)

Pastel palette (threads by Kreinik)

Glow-in-the-dark thread
And lastly...

Some bitchin' scissors and heavy metal lettering to boot!

Purchase it all here.

I'm thinking a baby bib emblazoned with the words SO METAL or PARTY ON will suit my future children just fine ;-) Cheesy winks all around!


Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Groovin' well past bedtime

  • The dude singing "I need a dollar" in the background reminds me of The Black Keys. That said, commercials feature some good jams (see viral Apple campaigns and The Temper Trap's Sweet Disposition for Diet Coke). I'm torn between watching an episode of Sons of Anarchy and going to bed. Decisions, decisions...


On another hip-hoppy rough n' ready bluesy Black Keys vibe --- Blackroc, the Key's side project, released this song a couple years ago and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feelin' it.


P.s. art imitates life, I'm broke as a joke.

I need to express my excitement over this

The newly released Bon Iver album is so good --- but the only tracks I can find via youtube are lame as fuck covers. I need to get more interweb music streaming skillz!$#@$ Goshhh, it would be so nice for you to experience the song Towers or Michicant. Here is his song Roslyn (collaboration with St. Vincent) for the movie New Moon to hold you over!


about to take my japanese final!



Wish me luck!

photo (credit)


Monday, June 20, 2011

My little ray of sunshine is an ass.


Little bum swallowed a chicken bone! I couldn't believe it until my heart dropped into my rectum. Alabama isn't much of a beggar and rarely sneaks into the garbage but the little snitch pulled one over on me last night. Well, she more or less pulled one over on my mom who witnessed Alabama chomping away on a fatty and delicious treat. I bolt into the kitchen after hearing the unmistakable (and sometimes guttural) roar only a mother is capable of when her child does something severely wrong. The damage was done, a greasy thigh ingested by little Sweet Home. I start freaking. The one thing I remember from my brief veterinary exposure is chicken bones = bad = hollow = splinters in the belly. After one snapped x-ray and a spenny checkout at the emergency vet the doctor determined that she'd be okay because the bone appeared small enough to pass. Phew, close call. I get a little spazzy when it comes to my little girl. Crazy dog lady here, I have a Clumber Spaniel t-shirt to prove it. For the lazy, this is a Clumber Spaniel a.k.a. the chillest dog known to man.


photo (credit)

Raw With Love


I spent the better part of my afternoon in a crummy mood and upon wiki-ing Charles Bukowski I discovered a little piece of his poem Raw With Love. Quite wonderful when you're feelin' a little pissy towards the one you love. Kisses, records, books, coffee, arms, legs --- sigh --- I really miss my boyfriend.

I will remember the kisses
our lips raw with love
and how you gave me
everything you had
and how I
offered you what was left of
me,
and I will remember your small room
the feel of you
the light in the window
your records
your books
our morning coffee
our noons our nights
our bodies spilled together
sleeping
the tiny flowing currents
immediate and forever
your leg my leg
your arm my arm
your smile and the warmth
of you
who made me laugh
again.