I know January 1st will be just like any other day but there’s something great about starting a brand new year. I’m excited for the proverbial fresh start. No real resolutions, just continuing to work on getting in shape, paying off debt and building up savings.
I really need to read The Hunger Games books before the first movie comes out. I think it’s right up my post-apocalyptic futuristic alley. I also can’t wait for the China Glaze polish collection for the movie! They release on March 1st and look pretty fantastic!
Fantasy Christmas gift I really want one day – Rosetta Stone for Spanish. I took so many years of it in middle/high school and college. It comes back naturally to me in spurts but I want to speak fluently. Who knew it was like $400?
Where is the snow? This winter has been so mild and I’d love a good white out!
I didn’t make a damn thing I pinned on ye ole Pinterest for Christmas this year.
Check out the sponsor shops on the right for your Christmas shopping! There are some lovely things there!
OMG that dress! is an awesome Tumblr with gorgeous dresses from the way back.
Lanvin - 1923 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pika is a traveling kitty! His owner has been taking him across the country in a little cart behind his bike, making stops along the way! Follow his adventures on Twitter and Tumblr!
I had been waiting for an eternity for Miranda July‘s new movie “The Future” to be available. We finally watched it. It was the most insufferable piece of crap I’ve seen in a long time – a testament to bullshit hipster self-indulgence where the characters are weak, pathetic, terrified of commitment and love, living in a dump but can afford MacBooks and they let the only enjoyable aspect of the movie, the cat Paw Paw die. So over Miranda July.
Thanksgiving is OVER! We all made it out alive and now it’s time for Christmas!
The after Christmas clearance sales are where I get ALL my wrapping paper, bows, bags, decorations for the tree and house, dinnerware (lots of stuff you can use year round), and any other random thing that’s marked down to 90% off. I love getting my boxes out to decorate and finding all the things I got last year that I had forgotten about. It’s like an early Christmas! Check out this awesome ceramic platter I got for $1 last year!
Design Sponge also updated my town’s guide! Pretty nifty! The 1st pic – that church is right behind my apartment!
Did you go out for Black Friday? I usually have no intention to but I needed to pick up a few things and popped into Bath and Body Works since I had a coupon. I cleaned up on random gifts for lady folk. It was a madhouse but everyone was cheerful. There really don’t seem to be many amazing deals out there. 15% off is NOT a Black Friday sale people!
I did my minimal decorating for Christmas on Friday night. I slapped the same big bow on our front door, did up the mantle in the bedroom with my bf’s 12 Days of Christmas presents….
and we had to put the tree on the radiator in the hallway where Ulti can’t get to it (and anchor it to the wall with fishing line and a Command strip hook just in case). I can’t even plug it in this year!
I’ve been slowly working on a woodland creature ornament collection.
not gonna complain! I’m in a super fantastic mood!
We finally finished a marathon watching all 4 seasons of Breaking Bad – pretty much the best show I’ve ever seen in the history of time, even better than Battlestar Galactica. My mind is blown. Can’t wait until season 5 starts on December 5th!
I have a lot of vintage Serbian children’s books brought to me by family. Here’s a collection online. Pretty war-centric.
Fall colors are in full force in Richmond, VA!
The only reason I stay on Facebook is for the stupid time-suck games. I finally won Bubble Island! Don’t know how much longer FB will last.
I went in for my annual physical and I’ve gained another 10 pounds this past year. WTF! He’s coughing up about 5 to my birth control and another 5 to my anxiety meds but the rest is my slothful donut loving life. He gave me a month’s Rx for an appetite suppressant. I freaked out thinking I was going to turn into the mom from Requiem for a Dream but he says I should drop 8 pounds in a month and it should speed up my metabolism and give a me a jump-start on exercising and he won’t be giving me any more. Not happy about this at all. I’ll keep you posted.
My mom still has two of her childhood toys – a doll named Judy and a little striped cat by Steiff that her father brought back from a business trip in NY. (A little story about Judy – one of my mom’s neighbors was a terrible little boy who took Judy and stomped on her hand, breaking off a few fingers. My mom knocked him on the ground, took his hand and stomped the hell out of it in return!) The toys are in a little case in the living room. I saw this print on etsy and I’m getting it framed for her for Christmas.
I case you missed the saga last Friday night on Twitter: The bf went to nova to see his parents and I was home alone. The cats were sleeping ON me so when they were startled by noise, I woke up at 2am to them alert and staring in the direction of the front door. Real little guard cats they are. So everything is quiet and I hear someone jiggling keys and the doorknob and throwing their weight into the door. That dread that fills you? Omg. It’s the flight or fight moment and I always fight. So I turn on all the lights (why doesn’t anyone ever turn on lights in movies?) and go to the door and ask who’s there. No one answered so I look through the peep hole and see a guy duck down. More dread. Then I hear some rustling on the floor. I get down on the floor and I hear snoring and can smell booze coming from under the door. Okay. I’m dealing with a drunk. Drunks can also get crazy violent so there was no way I was opening the door. I called my bf and he told me to call the cops. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t my neighbor across the hall first before ruining his night so, I called his cellphone and stood at the door hoping to hear it. I would’ve just put a blanket on him and gone back to bed. No ring so I end up calling the police. They were there in 5 minutes while I waited on my bed with my phone in one hand and my 10″ Wusthof kitchen knife in the other. I heard people come up the steps and they were laughing about him making a little pillow for himself. I didn’t know if it was this dude’s friends so I still didn’t open the door until I heard police radios. I peeped out, thanked them for coming and checked the guy out. He was some young preppy college dude and I was happy to have him taken away. The cops told me I could shut the door and go back to bed, that they would take care of it. Well… they tried to get him up and apparently he resisted arrest and there was a huge scuffle in the hall, where it sounded like he got it handed to him pretty well. The next morning there was an American Eagle jacket, some puke and some blood in my hallway. Monday night, I ran out to my car and saw the guy on a front porch of the condo building next door. Ha! We never speak so I have no idea if he knows, or if we’re just going to continue being silent neighbors. I washed the jacket and plan on giving it to a homeless person on my way home this afternoon.
So many things going on! I’ve been keeping myself busy and checking things off my to-do list. Maybe I’m crazy but I’ve already started Christmas shopping – mainly little things for the 12 Days of Christmas I’m doing for my mom and bf. I even made the little numbers for the bags!
got a few sheets of scrap booking paper (some had great patterns on both sides) and 2 things of 99-cent ribbon – cut them freehand – they’ll be stapled to brown lunch bags
I spray painted a Breyer horse! He hangs out on the radiator in the hallway. (I found a lil 1/2 size can of gloss white Rustoleum for $3 at Ben Franklin and used the whole thing.)
I made that crispy potato roast everyone pinned. Of course I added bacon and topped with cheese later. It was delicious but took almost 2 hours to bake! This is 4 baking potatoes and 4 shallots sliced with their bits stuck between each slice.
I met up with some bitchin broads in Colonial Williamsburg for brunch!
It was hard not to shove that adorable cup and saucer in my purse!
cheese and more cheese…
and even MORE cheese…
I had a great time with these ladies! Laura, Jen, (me) and Victoria
My new favorite weekend running around outfit – got the top at Marshalls for $5 over my fave tank from Target, Old Navy Rock Star jeggings and some old as hell coppery woven flats from when Isaac Mizrahi was still at Target.
So I told you guys I was sewing that dog costume for a “friend”. Well the more I thought about it, the more pissed I got. Thing is, I hadn’t heard from the chick in almost 3 years. I had even deleted her from my Facebook in one of those fits of getting rid of people I never talk to. I had been getting an itch to sew and the bf kinda pressured me to be “nice” when she asked me so I agreed. She never offered to pay me either. Then the feelings of anxiety and anger began to rise in me – imagining all the work and ALL the grey fur that would’ve covered my apartment for days. I also have a ton of stuff I need to do. Then, I saw one of those things on Pinterest that said “A real friend doesn’t only call you when they need something.” That was it. I was done. I told her I couldn’t do it and OMG I feel so much better. (And she never wrote me back.) So yeah, saying NO is good thing.
I’m totally making these bracelets – maybe not in neon but omg look at the hardware! They’re called “anchor shackles” at home improvement stores. Great DIY tutorial here.
Smitten with this teeny apartment. I think it has more storage than my place does. I could totally live in this space.
view of the living area from the bedroom loft space
The Mossimo micro-rib tank at Target is my favorite tank in the whole world. I size up so it doesn’t squish, and the length is great for layering and having a peep of color.
Oui oui! French kitties!
Nothing to really complain about! That shirt I wanted to make is coming along and I’ll do a post, of course. It’s just not going to be as planned because I got the wrong kind of fabric. While home decor fabric selections have become awesome… clothing fabirc is really lacking in this town.
I’m perceptually exhausted. It’s been this way since we got the kitten. He is SO bad at night. We’ve had to resort to a squirt bottle.
Patience Salgado is a bit of a celebrity in my town, known for her random acts of kindness. What a legacy right? Well, she made it to O Magazine and I’m sooooo very happy for her. Last night a bunch of people met up to celebrate with her (it was also her birthday) and a good time was had by all! Congrats lady!
This is an actual photo of Saturn in front of the sun taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. So cool. (via)
etsy seller Amber Alexander is killing me with her paintings:
This post about detoxing your friends at yes and yes is so spot on, well the video is. When you’re young, you don’t care if you’re surrounding yourself with fools because you’re still learning what a fool is and you’re still a bit of a fool yourself. Now that I’m in my 30s I’ve had to kick quite a few people out of my life. It’s crazy when you feel like you have a better “friendship” and can relate more to someone online that you’ve never met in person, compared to someone you ran around socially drunk with for 10 years.
Going through another thrifting craze phase. I’ve found 2 awesome plaid pearl snap button shirts for the bf for $6 total (his fave) and another Pendleton blazer and a wool/cashmere pea coat for $8 total.
A thrifted Pendleton blazer I bought last winter smelled horribly of moth balls. I left it outdoors for days, put it in the dryer with a zillion dryer sheets, let it air out for an entire year, soaked it in white vinegar in the bath tub, and even washed it twice with Woolite in the machine. They were the moth balls that wouldn’t die. I had to throw it away yesterday. $2 down the tubes.
I would never get a formal engagement photo done but this whole zombie concept is fantastic and I’d love it for a wedding pic. I can’t take formal pictures seriously. (source and the whole amazing series here)
So I gave myself that shopping ban… failing to admit that I won’t be able to stay away from thrifting once in a while. I scored on Tuesday! This bitchin vintage ski jacket was in the men’s section but fit me. It’s from the ooooold Montgomery Ward. So cute and in perfect condition.
I also learned that some Goodwills are buying Target’s extra stock and selling it. I got these brand new shoes as well. $15 total.
My friend Marisa came to visit last week from Austin, after grabbing her man up in NY. It was super nice to meet him and see her for a few hours. We ate at the new 821 but this kitty is at the entrance to the old one down the block.
pic by Marisa after me yelling, “Take a picture of the kitty!”
When I was little I collected Breyer horses I’d find at antique shows my parents took me to. It was a ton of fun until my dad kinda ruined the thrill of the hunt by getting me a huge box of them for dirt cheap at the local flea market. Anyhow, they’re all in his garage attic and I really need him to get them out for me. I have to do this to just one:
So much laundry to do after my parents got their power back (9 days later!). I do our laundry there during the week and between the 4 of us and all our clothes, towels and bedding… omg. I seriously did laundry from 8am until 4pm and I’m still not done.
Here’s the post I did back in March for Fall/Winter RTW 2011 – see any inspiration for the upcoming cool season? Get thee something RED!
Tsumori Chisato – can I just live in this?
Kelly from Let’s Die Friends posted about her fave jeggings of all time – the Old Navy Rock Star fit. I’ve lost a lot of jeans this year. The crotch finally ripped in my beloved J Brands, 2 pairs were lost to a mishap with crap detergent and my one pair of jeggings are about to bite the dust. So, I looked at all the great reviews on Old Navy’s site, asked Kelly if they were true to their size chart (they are) and when they were having a crazy denim sale, I bought 3 pairs online (before my shopping ban), knowing I could easily take them back. I got Ruby – the darkest denim wash – an evenly dyed indigo – the kind Kelly is wearing in her post. I also got a pair in Dark Wash (which is pretty much just as dark but has more of a worn-in appearance in spots) and Saucy Red (still on back order). The only thing is they run short. So if you’re short, get regular and regulars get tall. If you’re in between sizes, go up. They’re snug. Oh oh oh! I love these jeans! Thanks Kelly!
Love this pic: From the 1940s – “After 14 months at sea on Her Majesty’s frigate Whitby, seaman Anthony Bennett meets his baby for the first time.” via
Not complaining about anything this week but these made me laugh:
