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!

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.

fruit of the moon

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

pretty floss!

and this face!

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!

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.

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.

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!