Make Believe Shopping

or should I re title to "really expensive clothes"?.  I used images from www.polyvore.com and found this fun little website via Mandy. It's pretty fun but wasn't quite as satisfactory as photoshop, so I used the images and put them together in photoshop instead. ANYWHO, it's the broad idea of these outfits that I like, especially those buttery-suede looking moccasins in taupe, I'd buy those in a heartbeat if they weren't 300 something odd dollars.

Pet Peeve

If I go without makeup, all day long I hear:

"are you feeling okay?"

"are you tired?"

"wow you look terrible" (like tired)

"do you have a cold?"

"did you get sleep last night?"

So i'd just like to clarify something... I'd like for once to be lazy in public and not put mascara on and have people just accept that I am a blond and I don't have dark eyelashes. Oh and the lines on my face, they are hereditary, so no i'm not tired, I have puffy under eyes. Lets face it, you aren't used to seeing it because every photo, ad, billboard in america photoshops them out. 

Sorry about my angry rant. I just got back from the grocery store and low and behold both the meat dude and the check out clerk said in their own cheerful way-"looks like you got the flu this season"

Summer Salad

Green Onion, tomato, avocado (salt and peppered), eggs, sharp colby cheese, spinach, arugula, romaine and bitter greens. Would have been perfect with some bacon or grilled chicken!

Photo Props

A little ribbon and some fake flowers contribute to my 10$ splurge on props to use in shoots for baby girls....I'll post pictures of my niece on Wednesday :) heck, these are pretty cute, I might wear them. There was one more that I wanted to make, A cream with a giant magnolia flower, but for some reason it was like 9 bucks for a fake magnolia. I'll keep the search going. I found a beautiful peony at Target as well with peach and orange tones but it was too pricey.

My Magazine cuts for our Green and White wedding

These are obviously old but I found them in the sketchbook the other day and thought I'd put them up. I love flowers, they so full of rhythm and texture and they look wonderful all bunched up on the page like this. My three favorite flowers are the ranunculous (white), anemones, and peonies. (Jot that down hubby). I love love love the look of green bouquets, especially earthy ones with interesting additions like succulents or berries. 

A Crappy Poem, By Scruggers

A Pocky and a Pockette 

are as different as can be

He has two horns, 

she has three.

He's got all the spiky whiskers

She's got no clawed paws

His teeth cut just like fiskars

He rumbles raspy "raws"

The Pockette wears a lockette

of mushy sentimental things

and sometimes in the shadows

she opens up an sings

(The Pocky runs for cover

from the horror that it brings.)

A Pocky's prized possesion

is his powerful Pocky Power

He's got a small obsession 

with fire, food, (and flowers).

A Pocky and a Pockette are as different as can be 

but Pocky loves his Pockette

just as She loves He.

Neutral with Green Baby Boy's room

Pulling together some of my favorite colors, white and green, with a broad spectrum of textures for a little boys room, easily translatable to their next stage of life. The lace/eyelet, (that's right, I put lace in a boys room) is to soften the window light and tie in the "soft" look of the succulent picture. The rough tweed and burlap as well as the masculine grey-brown wall color bring back the MAN in the room...that's right, little baby man :) I couldn't help but to add the dinosaur and hedgie, i'm a sucker for both. Oh and disclaimer, we aren't expecting kids, I'm just weird and dream up baby rooms in my spare time.

Here's the breakdown:

1. Crib-Target
2. eyelet curtains- urban outfitters
3. sack footstool-urban outfitters
4. art-etsy
5. chair-urban outfitters
6. rug-CB2
7. fabric/blanket- Robert Allen Ikat

Fabric Dreams

I wish I could order these fabrics:

The Modern Meadow Collection by Joel Dewberry:

Robert Allen Ikat

Carolyn Gavin: spring street:

 

Sanctuary by Patty Young

                            Anne Selke:

 

the Jot

Look at this cute little invention by Dreamfarm, I could see it being very handy around the desk or on a refrigerator or to hold the pen next to your calender. It's a little overpriced at five dollars a clip but still a cute idea.

6 and 7

Another stab at outfit posting: The blue button up is from the thrift store, someone gave me the shorts, and the striped shirt is from Target. The other one is an old hippy skirt and an x-large shirt.

Papa Jazz

I hate BestBuy with a passion, the experience, the noise and the overpriced gadgets that they can get away with selling because of their grando chain operation..and I wonder why would anyone buy CDs from there when we have amazing stores like Papa Jazz here in Columbia. They have such a great selection of used CDS, so you can have awesome music without paying 20 bucks for a cd. They are especially accommodating to my 80's loving husband and his uncanny love for David Bowie and such. Seriously if there were a decade we could relive in our teen years, Charley would pick the 80's and I would be the 70's (living as a drug free hippy).

of course all this "jazz" talk is making me think of the oh so wonderful Mighty Boosh clip

St. Patrick's day in Columbia

Everyone seems to know that five points is the place to be on St. Patricks day. This often forgotten part of town (written off to the college party crowd) turns into absolute chaos on St. Paddy's day night. Think swarms of people in green or dressed like leprechauns scrambling for beer and free music. However, past the ruckus, there are quite  a few fun things to do down there on St. Paddy's day. Just plan on parking your car and being trapped there for a while or walking a hike to get down there. Here are the events located at the five points website:


Official Kick Off to St. Pat's/Battle of the Bands - Friday March 4, 2011. Located at the Five Points Fountain
Catch this next year, as it has already happened, but this is a kid friendly carnival to dye the fountain green and play games and listen to music from local bands.

Inagural St. Pat's Beauty Pageant - Saturday March 12, 2011. MLK Community Center

29th Annual St. Pat's in Five Points - the City of Columbia will turn GREEN for this very special day!

http://stpats5points.com/

This day starts with a Race at 8:30. A Parade at 10:00. A children's carnival from 10 to 6PM. Life music pretty much all day and numerous venues offering coupons and offers. 

Five After Five Spring Concert Series - Starts April 7 and goes until the end of May

Opposites Attract

My husband and I had a little laugh over taking a couple of personality tests together. This test HERE we thought was better than most because it gives you a lot of information after you take it. Apparently I am almost all Melancholy and he is a strongly geared Phlegmatic and in reading the descriptions, we could see bits of ourselves and how we tend to work together. My test scored at INFP, for a description go HERE. I share this personality with J.K. Rowling! as well as fictional characters like Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes (see the essay here). Charley fits more of the rational explanation found here. So there you have it, stranger things have happened but here we are: an irrational and a rational living together. Obviously personality tests are to help you introspect and look at a broad idea, no one is a cookie cutter fit of these analyses. However it was interesting to see and understand some of the opposite ways we think and often times communicate to one another.

Sesame Cranberry Wheat Rolls

The smell of these baking filled my night. Charley used his homemade sourdough starter and some "king arthur" wheat flour to create these tasty and perfect rolls with a little surprise of cranberry sweetness thrown throughout. Perfect for  a rainy day.

# 5

yesterday and today

I just woke up in #3 and you can tell! Had to get up to do all our errands this morning, the bank run, ect. I found this blazer a month ago on clearance for 11$, it's a little big but an easy fix. I thought i'd mix it up by adding my fish necklace- it's a christmas tree ornament on one of my grandmothers gold chains. It wiggles ;)

#4 is what I wore to take  picture in for my mom's present. The siblings got together for her.

Block Print Fabric

Block prints are becoming very popular. I saw a pillow in a window of a designer store in Charleston and immediately wanted to make my own. I don't have a picture but heres a lovely example of an ornate block print by Pottery Barn :

West Elm even has a little section devoted to block prints here : http://www.westelm.com/shop/bedding-bath/block-prints-bedding/?cm_type=gnav
I started with a little doodle, it's not exactly like the on from the window but close enough. Next I picked up a Litho board and found my little carving set. Using a ruler I penciled in measurements and drew the pattern onto the board with a sharpie.

Next, you dig out the litho around your design. I used a straight cutter to traces the straight edges and gouged toward the design.

 I wanted to test to see if it was deep enough so i washed some watercolor on it and pressed it in my sketch book- fail. Apparently water to pigment ratio is important. You need something that is thicker...so then i tested with some acrylic paint. It got the rustic hand pressed look I was going for but it also showed me some places I had missed.

Next stop, laying it out on some fabric.

One

So just for kicks and giggles I've been taking pictures of different "outfits" I've worn during the day. I don't consider myself the most talented at looking sharp, but I can say I've come a long way from my man sized glasses and baggy pants. I feel like I should post a picture of my tween years to further my point embarrassment but that would require me scanning something, and I'd really hate to scare my readers. I'm very grateful for a few wonderful friends who pointed me in the right direction and helped me learn  how to put things together. I almost entered the 30 for 30 remix challenge over at Kendi Everyday but chickened out since I knew I wouldn't have time to take a picture of my outfit everyday. Asking the husband to snap one would of been a pain too because I'm pretty sure he's allergic to my camera.  I did however enjoy following along with others as they entered the challenge and really liked seeing what people came up with. 

A fellow friend and blogger Mandy has her set here,  and I think she did a cute job accessorizing her 30...not to mention  doing some awesome thrift store items along the way.  She encouraged me to put up an outfit or two even though I didn't take the challenge. 

When I was considering the challenge, I couldn't help but to scroll through my wardrobe in my mind and think about what i would have used. Truthfully I HATE shopping, so my wardrobe isn't huge, plus I'm kinda boring in that I find my "outfits" and wear them over and over again ( hey! if the recipe tastes good why change it??) . So I figured I'd post a few outfits as I wear them from day to day since a.) it helps me get better at self portraiture b.) i have to wear clothes everyday anyways c.) it is a motive to put on something cute instead of editing photos all day in my Pajamas (which I wish I could show you because they sure are comfy).

So that's that- look forward so seeing the occasional photo of me awkwardly standing and wearing my not always so fashion savvy outfits.