- This past Tuesday I got a wild hair and finally redid our bathroom floor. Much like the situation in our kitchen, it was a mess but much more livable. The landlord has hired some real asshats to do work in this building. We had black marble vinyl tiles (Who am I? Liberace?). They were laid down sloppily and there were ripples. I removed up to three layers of old flooring in some spots! We also have a claw foot tub and they never once managed to put the flooring under it! Who does that? It never felt totally clean. I understand older Victorian homes in the Fan district are full of these charming little qualities (this is a college town so why is the landlord gonna care?) and I knew our apartment was a diamond in the rough but come the hell on! Do a good job when you fix something! I got three boxes of discounted out-of-print peel & stick tiles from the same weird place I got the kitchen tiles from. The only neutral thing they had was a grey stone-like pattern. Fine. If I weren’t renting, I wouldn’t put this pattern in my home (or peel & stick tiles for that matter) but whatever. It’s clean. It’s bright. It’s done. (I still need to crawl on the floor to reach and paint the neglected trim beside the tub and repaint the claw feet.) Decades of funk have been removed from my home. $27 and 5 hours of work. (Oh, and my crappy little vacuum decided to fart a dust cloud so, 1 hour of that was spent letting the dust settle and then wiping down every surface in there. Fun.)
- I got approached to do my first product review and I’m really pleased with how it all went down. No one tried to sway me into a positive review nor did they ask for any specifics other than the links I already had in mind. I was compensated with being able to pick out a couple products I adore. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it more often for companies that I believe in. Blogging about fashion is pretty much a giant product review anyhow so it only makes sense! The post is coming soon so keep an eye out!
- Here’s a big fat review right here – the (corded so it doesn’t run out of steam, heh heh) Shark Steam Mop. I am so very in love with this thing! Get a gallon of distilled water and go to town. The pads are machine washable. The first time you use it, you may get some streaking from all the residue other cleaners have left behind. For $60, this eliminates chemicals and replacement pads a la Swiffer and your floors are sanitized by the power of scalding steam.
- This blog has been at a new host for over a week now and I love it! There’s a lot more you can do with the WordPress.org platform on your own paid hosting site regarding plug-ins/widgets, ads, backups, etc. If any of you need advice on switching over from WordPress.com to the .org platform, please feel free to leave a comment or send an email. I will gladly walk you through the process. It does take a week to transfer over an existing domain. Ugh.
- Isn’t this jewelry catchall adorable? Find it here.
- I don’t have Photoshop so I was looking for something similar to Polyvore where I could add pictures to make a collage of sorts. Snapfiles is where I always go to find freeware software and it’s where I found FotoMix. I think a lot of you will enjoy using it. It’s super easy to figure out. The white background works well for the Polyvore style layouts. I also got Poladroid. It will make any picture look like a Polaroid! You can play with the settings for smudges and tilts. Here’s my first one. God I love her makeup! (at Katie Gallagher)
- Finally switched from IE to Firefox. I feel so 2005… like finally giving up an AOL or Hotmail email address.
- Oh! I found out that the cholesterol medication Lipitor can cause anterograde amnesia (unable to form new memories), which is exactly what my mom has been experiencing for a frustrating 2+ years now. I talked to her doctor and they switched her to something else. Keep your fingers crossed that this mess will settle down since we were seriously thinking it was Alzheimer’s or dementia.
- I’ve been pondering the time wasted on over-explaining and dumbing down. Lately, there’s been a radio commercial asking people to bring their Civil War memorabilia to a show like Antiques Roadshow. They say that they want to hear your stories, where it came from, family history etc. I wondered why they wasted radio time when they could have just said, “prepare to give provenance”. I really dislike when people tease the use of a “five dollar word“. Those beautiful concise words that sum up entire concepts are my favorite! (Is there a word for that?) I think when you cater to a deficiency, you encourage it. Why is it so hard to look things up and learn something new instead of complaining when someone is proficient with the English language? PS: my friend MJ‘s boss sent her this and I just about died (I love semicolons):
I’m gonna tell y’all again to read this book, now in its second edition.
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy takes the reader on a fascinating, around-the-world journey to reveal the economic and political lessons from the life story of a simple t-shirt. Over five years, business professor Pietra Rivoli traveled from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory to a used clothing market in Africa, to investigate compelling questions about the politics, economics, ethics, and history of modern business and globalization. Using the story of the t-shirt to illustrate the major issues of the globalization debate, this uniquely entertaining business book offers a surprising, enlightening, and balanced look at one of the major topics of our time.
via
It’s not about the fashion industry directly but, you see the entire process (from cotton plant to Goodwill plus all the legislation and people involved) as a whole. Each piece of the puzzle is tightly connected and inflenced by the others. It’s really quite fascinating.
Also, for more fascinating insider information… last week, Wendy B. tweeted about the blog of Fashion Incubator. It’s a helpful and informative site for the fashion/manufacturing indstry! SO many things to learn and become aware of! Check it out!
In June I did a post on independently designed t-shirts. I showed this particular shirt I found on Rumplo and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. You know how you see something and can instantly imagine a half-dozen outfits with it?
Rumplo is like a clearinghouse for great tees all over the web. They will redirect you to the site it’s originally on for purchase. I had no idea where this tee came from. So, I dug and dug and finally found it again. It’s from an etsy shop called nonfiction tees and honestly, I want every single one. They’re brilliant! $15 a piece as well! I wish they did some v-necks but I’ll butcher with scissors again. Check out their listings carefully because they offer men and women’s shirts separately. They don’t print the tee until you order so, you tell them your size when you checkout.
Here’s the one I’m getting for myself:
My bf loves strange t-shirts as well so, I showed him their designs and being a nerd at heart, he got this one:
Check out these other great designs!
There are tons more! Check ‘em out!
Someone is finally selling prints of particle tracks officially licensed from CERN. I am sooooo excited. I have been searching for so long. I even wrote to CERN to see if they were selling prints but they have bigger fish to fry. Media Storehouse has them in different sizes, framed and unframed.
I want to get a few of them in smaller sizes and hang them together. These are the ones I’m considering. Sorry about the watermarks. Nerds unite!
Bubble chamber particle tracks. Coloured image showing a collection of tracks left by subatomic particles in a bubble chamber. A bubble chamber is a container filled with liquid hydrogen which is superheated – momentarily raised above its normal boiling point by a sudden drop in pressure in the container. Any charged particle passing through the liquid in this state leaves behind a trail of tiny bubbles as the liquid boils in its wake. These bubbles are seen as fine tracks, showing the characteristic paths of different types of particle. The paths are curved due to an intense applied magnetic field. The tightly-wound spiral tracks are due to electrons and positrons.
*
*
*
Streamer chamber photograph of 220 charged subatomic particles spilling out from the collision of a high-energy oxygen nucleus with a nucleus in a lead target. The picture was obtained by the NA35 experiment at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory outside Geneva. In addition to the 220 charged particles that leave a track in the streamer chamber, physicists estimated that a further 80 electrically neutral (& therefore invisible) particles were created in the collision. From a run in November 1986.
*
My mini Moo cards arrived! I chose one of their cute ready made designs in 36 different patterns. (They’re having a 30% off sale right now!)
I chose a classic typewriter font in grey ink.
the weekend is almost here! What are your plans?
In the spirit of the Secret Society of List Addicts, I’ll share with you some jobs I’ve considered over the course of my life.
- Veterinarian – first job I said when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up… until we had to take the sick beagle to the vet and I saw how they took temperatures. I was done.
- Animal cop – maybe I’ve been watching too much Animal Planet but I think I would actually do better as a vigilante because the red tape of the job ticks me off.
Watch – The Sick Kitten
- Astrophysics – I adore math and thought I had the potential to be one of those math geniuses… until I had the worst physics teacher known to man in high school and was ruined on the physics side. The fact that almost everything in life can be explained with an elegant equation is something I can really sink my teeth into. My bf thinks I’m a freak. Let’s do this.
-
Statistician – my psych major exposed me to data collection, manipulation, and analysis with delicious
SPSS software, which pretty much taught me to never trust any stats you hear on the news. In all seriousness though, it’s a tangible and
pretty reliable way to learn about the world.
CHECK! THIS! OUT! and THIS. (I promise, it’s worth your time.)
- Florist – super green thumb here, think I have a good aesthetic eye… currently working on bonsai, would love to learn Ikebana. Who wouldn’t love to play with flowers all day?
- Fleeting thoughts – architectural artist, cupcake baker (but Richmond already has a few), line cook (been there, done that for every station, miss it), blogger (yeah right), RN (horrible decision, bad school choice, dropped out), any type of psych research (will be trying to get my foot in the door eventually)…
+
- When I was a kid, my mom let me build a terrarium in this gigantic round glass vase she had. It had tiny plastic deer, soft moss, mini trees, everything! We had to set it on the floor one day and I accidentally kicked it, and was ruined for terrariums ever since. I don’t think I could do anything too terrible to this tiny gem!
via
- I didn’t think the chrome look for nails was truly possible. Having tried every silver polish making the claim and being sorely disasppointed, Wendy B shared an out-of-the-box approach to getting cybertastic nails! The directory on the site will let you know who in your area provides the service. I’m definitely hitting up one of the Richmond locations soon!
This lace effect is killing me as well!
- Back in the day, I used to want to be covered in tattoos. I had big serious painful gorgeous plans. Then… I changed my mind. Imagine that. I still managed to get two. One is an Olivia pin up girl on my stomach in flesh tones which is finally fading away after 12 years. The coloring I wanted was so light that no one could make it stick. It would heal and when it peeled, the ink came right out with it. So yeah, over 8 hours of pain for nothing. I couldn’t take it anymore and went to the renowned but expensive Timothy Hoyer (when he was still in RVA and had Alive Gallery). He made it happen in no time. The other tattoo is peonies at the top of my back (done by one of my best friends Scott at True Tattoo). I have been wanting to add a slew of exotic flowers and ivy to my back with a bit curling down my shoulders and up my neck but I vacillate between being ready to make the appointment or totally bailing and making an appointment for laser removal. That’s no way to be when you’re about to permanently mark yourself. Either way… the point of this whole revealing rant was to show you this neat thing I found. It’s some application that will add ivy to your pictures. I haven’t tried it yet but here you go. If only tattoos were that easy.
one day maybe
-
Oh! I love me some
CERN and they just started the Large Hadron Collider, had some first collisions and Earth didn’t explode!
Here are some pics right before they got to banging those atoms! Oh, and I really want a print of particle tracks for my wall. Geek! Anyone know where I could get that done?
-
She’s been blogging for 3 years but I just discovered
Kristopher Dukes and I think I’ve found my personal style idol/hero. She hates patterned clothing, loves nude heels, loves simple elegant clothing and sticks with what works, is a product fiend, appreciates well designed luxury, wreaks of sex, called satin elastic ankle pants a year ago, and she is unapologetically superficial in a brutally honest (and sometimes offensive) way. Obviously she has a much larger well-earned income than myself but it’s fun to live vicariously through others sometimes and it’s nice to read down to earth, quick-witted critiques on so many glamorous things I would love to have. Her post format is great – a particular thing broken down into what she already has, what she would rather have, and what she hates. Love it.
-
- I looked at my Google Reader the other day and was wondering why the heck I was subscribing to blogs that I couldn’t relate to in any way whatsoever. I’m not going to name names but my life isn’t sparkly and full of rainbows and unicorns. I don’t wear hot pink, nor do I have a constant positive spin on life. I also don’t like wondering where the hell a 25 year-old is getting all that damned mysterious money to waste on total crap. All that being said… I do like a good voyeuristic romp once in a while so I will probably revisit these blogs every blue moon. I just don’t want to see them or the tweets every day. Because I’m going to vomit.
- My hair is taking forever to grow out from my scene boy cut. It’s finally past my shoulders but it’s all sorts of crazy layers and then I gave up on the blunt bangs and they’re growing out at well. So how to you begin to take care of split ends when it’s a mess? I guess I’m going to have to get out the tiny scissors.
I wish
<!--
