31 December, 2012

Out with the old, in with the new.

This year I'm taking that literally; as soon as I finish writing this I plan to clean out my closets, my make-up, and my life, though not necessarily in that order. :)

I realized, sometime in the past week, that while I don't always intend to, I have held onto a few things longer than I should have. It started with finding some make-up that I won 7 years ago! I think, in part, I held onto it because it was the first thing I ever won, (and also because it was really high quality stuff), but I'm also pretty sure that the fact that I haven't made a dent it any of it in SEVEN YEARS is a pretty good sign that I need to just let.it.GO. I have a lot of make-up, but I wear it so rarely, and I go through and inventory it even more rarely; that is definitely happening tonight. Anything more than a year old is getting tossed.

I also have a tendency to hold onto clothes, because I hate to waste even the tiniest scrap of fabric; and yet I continue to pile up scraps and pieces, with no real intention for them. I hope to take time this week to go through, and really narrow down my fabric box to only things that I really like, and will use/wear. Everything else is going in the trash (if it's too small to use) or Restore if there's enough of it that I think someone else could get some use out of it.

As far as my life, I really need to buckle down and focus on getting my nutrition in order. I was doing so well at the start of this year, and then my stomach problems starting getting to be too much. Once I cut out gluten (finally! It was so simple, can't figure out why it took me years to just do it) I started feeling better, but it threw my eating plan out the window; up till then I had relied on high fiber bread as a major part of my daily meal-plan. That, combined with an injury threw me into a depression in which I ate nothing but nachos and diet pills, and then started drinking more. (Brilliant, right?) Anyway, moral of the story is, I did not do my body well this past year. I have plans to fix it, gradually, and incorporate different things into an over-all lifestyle change, rather than a diet.

One of the major aspects of this is my intention to quit drinking. I've already gone almost three weeks now, and am ringing in the new year with sparkling apple cider. To keep myself in check Josh has agreed that if I can get through to next December without drinking, I'll get a Balenciaga for my birthday next year! Very exciting.

I've also decided to really start taking care of my skin. I've always made sure to wear a daily moisturizer, one with an SPF, but now that I'm heading towards 30 I'm taking it a lot more seriously. A face wash in each bathroom, day cream SPF 30, and a collagen building night cream are my new best friends. Also, definitely making sure to slather on the sunscreen anytime I spend more than 15 minutes on the sun. I know I got good genes, but I am not taking any chances!

Fashion-wise, I really want to focus more on investment pieces. Staples, if you will, classic pieces that will stand the test of time. I have no intention of stopping my thrifting, just cutting down my shopping sprees at regular stores. I have a few pieces in mind already, and am looking forward to sunny days when I can continue to expand my collection of sunglasses!

Anyway, these are my goals. What are yours?

30 December, 2012

More winter crafts

Finally got back into the groove and made some more winter the hats over the past few days...started with an ivory one that I slapped a sparkly maroon bow onto, then a really soft yellow angora one, and then my favorite, a grey cashmere one with black leather bows, and fingerless gloves to match! Glad to be back in action, I think I'm going to use the rest of the yellow angora sweater to make a little cat sweater for Belle...I want to make one for Orion too, but I'll need a whole sweater, and a big one, so that may not happen until I make another trip to Restore.

Here are the hats I made this week...(the ivory one was really hard to photograph, so forgive the blurriness, and the brightness.)





I made the fingerless gloves using the same idea I used to make my last ones (which I ended up giving to my mom while she was here; she liked them and wanted them as driving gloves), but it was a lot less work this time because I used the end of the sleeves for the hand part, and just cut a little hole to sew in the thumb part (which I cut out of the bottom of the sweater), and also used the neck of the shirt (cut into two parts) for the wrist. They look a lot more professional, I think, and like I said, it was a lot easier. The bows are mostly to cover up stitching, but I really like them. :)

Today Josh and I spent some time outside working on clearing the two huge branches that fell next to our house. We made some pretty good progress, but it's slow going since we don't have a chainsaw (or even an axe - we were taking turns using a machete). I think we're going to go to Lowe's tomorrow and get an axe, before we tackle it again. Orion tried to help drag away branches as we cut them off at first, but then got bored and resorted to eating a pumpkin that I threw out.

I have plans to post a lot of words tomorrow, regarding the new year and reflections of this past year, but if I don't get around to it, everyone have a safe and happy end to 2012, and beginning of 2013!

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27 December, 2012

White Christmas

Well, Christmas certainly proved to be an adventure this year! Dinner was a total bust. We had heated up the ham, and my mother-in-law had cooked stuffing (dressing? is there a difference? I don't eat the stuff), and some yams (sweet potatoes? again, something I don't eat) but my poor mashed potatoes were on the stove when the electricity went out...and never got mashed. Josh was supposed to be roasting a pork shoulder on the grill but ran out of charcoal (we didn't take into account the effect the below-freezing temperature would have on the grill, since it's not something we usually have to deal with.)

After that failed attempt we came inside, ate semi-cold ham, and played a card game by candlelight, then went back out and my brother-in-law built a fire out of one of my pallets (freezing rain all day had left us with no dry wood) and we heated up some water for coffee and hot chocolate. Not too much after that it started snowing and we all ran outside to play in it. It was cold, and wet, and absolutely, hands down, the Best Christmas Ever. (And my first white Christmas!)

It snowed hard for a good long while, and once it finally slowed down we walked around the block (so pretty!) and then brought Orion outside and let him play. He loved the snow. He was a little freaked out, though, because it messed with his sense of smell and he kept forgetting who Aaron (Joshs brother) was unless he talked to him.

After we came in, changed, and were trying to get warm two huge branches fell off the tree right next to our house...luckily they fell straight down and went in between our house and our neighbors fence, and didn't land on anything!

Our power didn't come back until last night, and we're under another winter weather advisory for tonight (snow and sleet that will turn to freezing rain when the sun comes up tomorrow) so I hope that the power stays on...but if it doesn't, at least we're prepared this time! Batteries charged, everything is washed, and we have plenty of non-perishables, paper plates, and candles.

I really didn't mind any of it, it's all one big adventure to me. The only thing that made me mad was that I hadn't thought to charge my camera battery before Tuesday so all the pictures I have of snow falling are on my phone. We went driving around town today, though, and I got some nice shots, but still...I should know better! Anyway, here's a few bunch of pictures of the snow, and a video of Orion trying to get into a snowball, because for some reason he kept thinking there was treasure inside of them or something.













Sorry if I bombarded you with pictures, but I can still count the number of times I've seen snow falling on one hand, and this was by far the most snow I've ever seen at once! It was just so exciting to me! I still love it, even the sloshy, dirty snow that's left out there. :)

21 December, 2012

Pre-Christmas

I'm finally starting to feel normal again, and hopefully I'll get around to making something this weekend since I now have a SUPER MEGA AWESOME LIGHTING SYSTEM IN MY CRAFT ROOM!

It's actually on loan, but it's sort of an indefinite loan, so it's all good. (A pro in the family said he'd rather I hold onto it and get some use out of it, than it just wasting away in storage.) I'm really excited about being able to take (good) pictures at any time, day or night. I think while I get everything figured out, there are going to be a LOT of cat pictures...

We've been getting a lot done this week, and we're finally 100% done with our Christmas shopping. The only thing we need to go out for tomorrow is food, and then we're set! And they're predicting a possibility of snow for Christmas day, so that's kind of awesome.

Anyway, while I do intend to get some crafting in, and a lot of picture-taking, I don't know when or if I'll have time to post again before Christmas, so I just want to say I hope everyone out in blogger-land has a wonderful holiday spent with the people you love! xo

19 December, 2012

plagued.

Sometimes the world is just too much, and I just want to not exist for a bit.

My head gets clouded with thoughts, and they're messy, disconnected, and overlapping, and I can't make sense of anything. I can't focus. People's voices mix with the words in my head, and I get overwhelmed. Silence is a distant memory, and the more I try to clear my head, the more thoughts clog it up.

I start to feel like I'm falling down a deep dark hole, but I can't ask for help. My heart burns and aches but my brain turns on me and tells me that I'm not worth one minute of anyone's time, and that I shouldn't bother people. I want to call someone, anyone, and just talk, tell them how I feel but my mind won't let me.

It says that I have no one, and that people won't understand. They'll think I'm crazy, or over-reacting, or just trying to get attention. It feeds on my low self-esteem, reminding me that I'm invisible, a nobody, a faceless statistic amongst a sea of people drowning in mental illness. I start to believe it.

I doubt my self-worth. I wonder what kind of impact, if any, I've ever had on anyone's life. I speculate how long it would take before people didn't even remember my name. How long before my animals stopped wondering if I was coming home.

I feel so alone, so trapped in this illness that lies, and breaks me down, and makes me hate myself. I want to tell someone, and I want reassurance, to know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but so often I don't get it. Instead I hear "just stop being sad" or "stop crying, your life is good." I know my life is good, that's not the issue. And I can't just stop being sad. This pain is real, these demons are real; I've got the scars to prove it.

I'm tired of feeling stigmatized because I can't always control my emotions. I'm tired of having anxiety attacks. I'm tired of living with this disease, and I'm tired of feeling tired all the time. I just want to...rest.


17 December, 2012

Random thoughts pt 3

I have this thing about beauty, in that I just want to possess it. Not be beautiful, I'm content with being plain, it helps keep me invisible, but when I see beautiful things I want to capture them, own them, possess them. Maybe it is a reflection of never having experienced being beautiful, but I want a tangible reminder of the people/places/things that I see beauty in. I guess that's why I love photography.

Speaking of, I got this crazy app on my phone that I have been fooling with nonstop with the past few days. It's fun, and makes really crazy looking pictures (instagram style, sort of, but with wayy more options/filters/frames, and it doesn't make your pictures square.)

I have the heart and soul of a wanderer. I would gladly throw away everything I own and live in an RV.

I feel like I am at a crucial turning point in my life; changes are being made, and I already feel better about myself. I have a feeling that 27 is going to be a good year.

This month, though, feels weird. My head feels...foggy, and despite having a great time last weekend with family, my holiday spirit hasn't quite returned. Perhaps it's because all the gift-opening was done on my birthday (which didn't even feel like a birthday, to be honest) and I don't have a tree, or stockings, or anything.

Ever since my whole 'no eating out' cleanse, I've been doing good about keeping the eating out to a minimum. We only ate out twice the whole time my parents were here, and once this week. I've also been trying different types of gluten-free products, figuring out what I like, and have also perfected the art of eating out and keeping it gluten-free. (Basically I just get steak+shrimp.) It's not as bad as I had thought it would be, and now I can start focusing on nutrition again. Once I get that in check, I'll work on calories, and then combine all three to form a healthy, but sustainable for long term eating plan.

The weather has been weird this year. And being that I'm from Texas, that's not something I say lightly. So far in December we've had everything from the 20s to the 70s. I don't like it. I hope it gets colder next week, at least, and that winter actually feels like winter.

I'm trying to work up the nerve to go outside and roll the trash can the 25 feet to the edge of the road, but so far it's not working.

Josh bought me this awesome game on my phone, and I'm kind of obsessed now. It's a puzzle game (Puzzle Quest 2, to be exact; this and the original are both available on xbox) that has a story line to go with it...it's cute, and fun, and just the sort of game I like. It plays kind of like Bejeweled (matching things style) but you're actually fighting against things when you play; there's strategy too, you have a character, and you choose a weapon, and spells, then you have to match certain colors to get to do different stuff. (Sorry if that's the like the worst explanation ever...I'm not good at descriptions.) Anyway, it's incredibly fun if you like puzzle games. Just sayin'.

It is nearing 4 am and our new bed is scheduled to be delivered between 8 and 10 am. That means that I'm going to get up in my pajamas to oversee the set-up, and then probably pass out in it for the second half of my sleep. This is going to be interesting...

I want to take a break from the internet. It's been something I've been thinking about for a while, but these past few weeks there hasn't been much else to do. My lamp bulb was out, and it's been cloudy outside, so I couldn't sew (the lighting in my craft room isn't the greatest), and I haven't been in the mood to do much of anything else but flit between watching boring TV and being on the boring internet. I did force myself to take Orion outside today, but he's not exactly a pillar of motivation when all he wants to do is lay outside and chew on sticks. Maybe I'll do it the first week of January, or something, resolution style. Just take a few days to re-group, to start the new year off without a whole bunch of...outside influences clouding up my thoughts.

I think I really just need a break from everything in general. Not that I have a whole lot going on, really, but I tend to get this way at the end of the year; I feel stretched, like my tolerance for life in general is maxed out. I want to hole up in my house and just get through the next few weeks without having another anxiety attack.

Ok. The dog is making his level one 'please notice me' noise, so I better take him out and try to get to bed.

15 December, 2012

Weekend Antics

I've been in a funk the past week, I always get really excited for having my family over, and then suddenly the days are upon us, then gone, in the blink of an eye, and when they leave I get sad because it wasn't long enough.

So today, after having a minor anxiety attack because Josh didn't say 'thank you' after I cooked us a huge fancy breakfast and we bought the wrong light bulb for my crazy lamp at wal-mart, that ever-amazing husband of mine took me on a whirlwind adventure. We went back to wal-mart to exchange the bulb, then on the way out of the parking lot he suddenly swerved into the right lane and we went up to West mountain and took lots of pictures from the look-out points. We realized while we were up there that we had never gone at night! We've gone up Hot Springs and North mountain plenty of times at night, but never West. So after taking a bunch of great shots (with our phones, I didn't take my camera because I wasn't expecting an adventure) we grabbed some BBQ and came home.

I feel better now, and am working on putting up our blue icicle lights from last year in our bedroom. Last night I installed a couple of floating bookshelves, and Monday our new bed gets delivered! We went out yesterday and picked out some really nice sheets (700 thread count, I didn't know such a thing even existed) and a blanket. We toyed with the idea of getting a down comforter, but we both get hot really easily at night, and we'd much rather have a simple blanket that will suffice year-round.

Anyway, I'm still not fully 'happy' if you will, and I don't much feel like talking, so I'll leave you with a picture I took with a panorama app on my phone:

Hopefully I'll start feeling better this next week, especially after a few nights in our awesome new bed.

12 December, 2012

Birthday weekend

I think I need to write something today before we get to a 10 day lull. I've had a busy past few days...

My parents got here last Thursday evening. I'd spent the day getting ready, cleaning and fixin' up the guest room for them, and had chili cooking in the crockpot. Friday we went out for lunch, then came home and dropped off Josh and my dad, and my mom and I went out. We hit up TJ Maxx, Restore, and the mall. I found a few things at Restore, and also tried to teach my mom a little bit about thrifting - how you can't put things down, and how you have to learn to browse with one arm, while you hold all your other finds on the other arm. It was interesting, and we both found a few good things. She was pleasantly surprised at my ability to spot higher quality things in the midst of all the crap.

Find of the day was this:

Anyway, by the end of our shopping spree my mom started feeling bad, so instead of going all the way downtown for my birthday dinner, we ate at a local pizza place that's just up the road.

Saturday my brother (Paul) and almost sister-in-law (Marla) came up with her kids. They brought me birthday flowers, a cute owl pot holder/towel set, a new grill (!!!!), and presents for my animals. (A new bed for Belle, that she absolutely loves, and a pack of rawhides for Orion, which he ate in one day.) They also brought food, and Josh lit up the grill immediately and cooked up the fajitas my parents had brought from HEB, and we feasted. Then we all loaded up (well, except my dad) and went to Garvan Gardens to see the lights. There were so. many. people. Luckily we left at like 4:45 and got there right at 5:00 so we got in before it was too bad, but walking through was insane. Plus I had taken Orion and I think that at least 80% of the people we passed had to touch him. I can't even count how many times we got asked, "What kind of dog is that?!" or "What's his name?" At first he enjoyed it because he loves people and attention, but by the end he was tired (it's like a mile walk, maybe a bit more, and he's really not a high-energy type) and pulling me, and ready to get back to the car. Bella (Marla's younger girl) fell asleep in the car on the way back to our house so they loaded up and left. I passed out at 8 because I hadn't gotten too much sleep the past few days, and I think my poor tired, sick parents did too. It was a great day, though, overall.

 Sunday we lazed around the house all day. My parents had already said they would buy us either a new bed or a couch for Christmas, and since no one felt like going couch shopping, (and I refuse to buy one I haven't sat in) we ordered a bed online. It'll be here next Monday, so last night I started prepping the room by moving our current bed into the craft/guest room, and putting the air mattress on the floor in our bedroom. It'll be easier for me to clear out the area, and move the air mattress around and clean under it and stuff over the next couple of days...plus it's a queen size (as opposed to the full size we've been sleeping on for the past 6 years) and the new one is a king, so it's a little easier to estimate the size of the space I need to have cleared out and ready. (Also, in case you're wondering, the air mattress is still set up because after my parents left Josh got sick so he's been sleeping on the air mattress so that I don't get sick too.)

Ok, well, we're about to go eat lunch/dinner and have a few drinks since my entire birthday weekend was a booze-free affair. :) Ciao for now!    

04 December, 2012

Notes

OK. Let me just start this whole thing off by saying that I know I don't really get into fashion all that often, but I do love it. I mean, ever since I started sewing at around 8 or 9, and then got into theatre at 13, I've been a fashion lurker. I check in on my favorite labels, I clandestinely follow bloggers that make the trip(s) to the various fashion weeks, and, occasionally, I splurge and get myself something nice. (Usually Marc Jacobs sunglasses, Michael Kors purses, or anything Elizabeth & James or The Row, although a Balenciaga purse is definitely happening sometime this next year.)

Anyway, that brings me to my point. I love love LOVE Alexander Wang. His work is amazing, and I would drop the $$ in a heartbeat if I could commit to one thing. But I can't. So when the announcement came that he would be the new head at Balenciaga, I swear, I almost collapsed. I am ecstatic to see what comes of this.

Moving on...

I didn't really do much this weekend. I mean, I made a couple of little girl dresses for Bella, my almost niece, and made a stop at restore where I stocked up on sweaters, but I didn't get to Lowe's, so I haven't purchased any of the supplies to start working on my new/old kitchen table.

I (we) also haven't put up Christmas lights. Not along the edge of the roof, anyway. Last year we were one box short, and this year we decided instead of putting them up and wasting money on our electricity bill, or buying new lights (since we couldn't find a match for ours), we would just forgo the lights entirely and spend the money on getting nice gifts for the people that matter. :) We've already bought them for my family, all of whom will be here sometime this weekend. (My parents are arriving Thursday, and my brother, his girlfriend, and her kids should be here on Saturday.) Anyway, giving is my favorite part of Christmas (I prefer to GET on my birthday ;P) so I'm insanely excited to see how everyone likes the things I made them. (Everyone is getting something bought and something made.)

As for Joshs family, we're hoping to spend actual Christmas with them, although whether it's here or there has not yet been decided...

 Anyway. I don't have a story, or a point, so I'll just leave you with a few pictures that I've been meaning to post but haven't had a good reason to.


Here's one of the chairs that goes with my new/old table. You can see some of the carving detail, which is the reason I fell in love with it.

Here's some more detail on the edge of the table.

And here is a shot of the decorations on my front door. A wreath I made last year, complimented by some garland, ornaments, and a bow! I think it looks nice, I really like the color scheme I went with. :)

Finished shot of the shirt I made my mom. Burlap tree with (fake) pearl ornaments.

And this last one is a shot of Josh and Orion in the park yesterday. Such a nice, unseasonably warm day for walking in the park.

Anyway. I'm going to be finishing up getting the house in order the next few days (my parents arrive on Thursday evening, and we have plans for EVERY WAKING MINUTE that they'll be here) so forgive me if I'm a bit slow on the posting, but you know how it is. :)

27 November, 2012

Angel

I may not be the kind who holds onto things for their sentimental value, but I am cheap. I'm not going to shell out for something I already have, especially if all my current one needs is a little facelift. So when I pulled my 6 year old angel tree-topper out of the Christmas box this weekend, and her wings fell off, I figured I'd spruce her up a little, and fit her into my Christmas tree color scheme before I glued her wings back on.

I learned a few things in this process; first of all, sewing a Victorian style gown in size DOLL is a lot harder than I anticipated. Also, real (or at least soft/moveable) hair is far easier to work with than painted hair. (I would have preferred a higher neckline, but her hair prevented that.) And last but not least, when you leave feathers laying about, your cat will feign sweetness in order to sit in your lap and try to eat the feathers.

Anyway, let me show you a few before and afters of her (minus her wings, I'm trying to add some different colored feathers to them but am not too sure of how to proceed with that...) Also, I'm not too sure why she had a wand. As far as I know, angels don't typically have wands. So she's not getting it back.

I painted her face, darkened her hair, and brought her forward a few centuries, fashion-wise.






And for comparison purposes, a side-by-side.

I think she looks great. :) I love being able to take something I paid less than $10 for and make it uniquely mine.

(You like how I got completely distracted and haven't even touched the new/old table and chairs?)

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25 November, 2012

Plans

Well it's been a busy, fun, and exciting holiday weekend, and it's not looking like things are going to slow down anytime soon! My in-laws brought me the table and chairs I wanted (!!!) along with another chair (and ottoman) I completely forgot about asking for. They're both in great condition, but have been sitting in a warehouse for...a few years at least, and have more than their share of dust and mud wasp houses on them. I hope to have at least the table done by Christmas; cleaned, stripped, stained, and sealed. The chair I absolutely love (the style/size are perfect), but since I'm supposed to get a couch in a few weeks, I'm going to wait so that I can pick a similar fabric to re-upholster it with.  

Here's all the chairs in our carport immediately after they unloaded them from the truck:

And you can see part of the table (the leaf is upside down on top of it) in the background of this picture of me after I smashed my phone with a hammer.

It's really gorgeous, I'll take better pictures soon, it's got a lot of detail in it, and it's the perfect size, but for the moment I'm just enjoying spending time with Josh and my mother-in-law. (The men went home Friday.)

Today (which for me, is still Saturday) we went to restore (I KNOW.) where I got three sweaters for re-purposing, and one for wearing. (I have to say, though, I actually have plans to make gifts for everyone this year, and so all these sweater are going to be made into matching accessory sets for various loved ones.) We also went to Michael's, where I got a few more Christmas things (ugghh 50% off), and out to see the Christmas lights at Garvan Gardens. I came home inspired and put up some lights around our front window (on the inside.)

Well, I'm pretty tired from all the adventuring we did today (probably should have worn better shoes for walking at the Gardens, but oh well) so I'm going to leave a few pictures of the lights here and get to bed. I hope everyone has had a great holiday!




21 November, 2012

Thanksgiving.

Since I'm sitting here at the computer and putting off cleaning and organizing anyway, I figure I might as well talk a bit about Thanksgiving; won't have time tomorrow, I'm going to have to be in OMGGETSTUFFDONENOW mode all day if I expect the house to be ready for company by Thursday morning!

First of all, let me give you a bit of a (personal) history lesson...

Growing up we (my parents, older brother, and I) lived in South Texas, while most of my extended family (on my dads side, anyway) lived in the general Houston area. We'd made the trip up there approximately once every two or three months. I can remember a few times that we made it for Thanksgiving, but it just wasn't a top priority. My dad worked the kind of job that can't exactly shut down for a holiday, no matter how spectacular; he was a prison guard. And he was never the kind to try and get holidays off. I remember how irritated he'd get at other people, right around the time the holiday schedule would come out; he'd call them names and say how ignorant and childish it was to be fighting over something like that. And so, over the years, it was just accepted that we celebrated life itself, when we could, and where we could. We made the trip for weddings, quinceaƱeras, and funerals, but holidays typically took a backseat to the stuff that really mattered.

As a result, I am not the kind to go crazy over holidays. I like Halloween because it's the time of year that I can find my favorite kinds of macabre decor a lot easier than usual, and I like Christmas because...well, it's Christmas! It is the only holiday that we really had any traditions for. Midnight mass was my favorite growing up! But, I digress, this is supposed to be about Thanksgiving, and I've already gone off on like 17 tangents.

Anyway, what I am trying to get at is that since it wasn't all that big of a deal, there wasn't any kind of 'everyone gather in the kitchen while mom cooks' kind of tradition, and as a result, my having to facilitate Thanksgiving kind of snuck up on me.

Our first year in Austin, my friend Sarah came up. I don't remember all the details, but I'm assuming that having company helped to remind me that preparations were necessary. A turkey was purchased, along with lingonberry AND cranberry sauce, potatoes, a can of green beans, and a pie from Marie Callendars. We drank sparkling grape juice that we workers got for free at Ikea when an entire pallet of them arrived with the labels half-scratched off. The next morning we woke up to find that Jefferson Marlowe, our Maine Coon at the time, had helped himself to the remainder of the turkey. Somehow that cat had pulled the whole tray off the stove onto the floor and hadn't spilled a drop!








The next year we went to Joshs aunts house, where he got wasted and took a bunch of pictures with Kenny Chesney.




Since then our Thanksgivings have taken place in various places between Texas and Arkansas, but they're always packed with adventure. I'm still working on getting the hang of having to bake more than usual, and hosting, in general, but it's gotten considerably better over the past 6 years.

And in conclusion, the point is that I am really bad at getting to the point. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether it's spent surrounded by family eating a huge meal, or with just your significant other eating frozen turkey dinners off of TV trays. Remember to make the most of every day, don't wait for a holiday to come around just to cook good food and spend time with loved ones and be thankful for what you have...and last but not least don't act too crazy if you go out on black Friday. The end.

18 November, 2012

Storage solution; branch edition

After seeing how Ivania incorporated a branch as a sort of closet extension, I was enthralled. I knew that I wanted to do something similar, but I didn't necessarily need more clothing storage; I wanted mine to hold accessories. So last week I went into the woods and found a branch that had a few smaller branches that seemed like good options for making this work. Luckily I have a giant dog who actually proved quite useful in helping me drag it out of the woods and into our yard.

I broke off a couple of good pieces, spray painted them (along with a good solid chunk of my yard) silver, and left them overnight. Repeated this for a few days (I had to do one side each day because of how cold it was; then I had to go back and touch-up.)

Finally, yesterday evening I brought the larger one inside...and then drilled a few too many holes in it trying to figure out how to get it to do what I wanted. First I tried hanging it, but it's weight is kind of oddly distributed and it kept flipping around. I needed it to not move, at all, so I finally found a few really long screws and just attached it directly to the wall. I drilled holes through the branch in the two places that made contact with the wall, and then, with Joshs help, finally got it up! I have never been more pleased. I just think it looks so cool. :)


How awesome does my Marc Jacobs collection look just hanging out here?! Ugh, I amaze myself some days. :P

This was so easy to do, absolutely free (well, besides the spray paint), and I seriously cannot get over how awesome it looks!

Oh, also, one of my favorite tumblrs featured some of my photos for American Guide week! I feel insanely honored. Today is a Really Good Day. I'm going to go make some hot chocolate and celebrate!

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