Saturday, February 26, 2011

What I wore today (2/25/11)

click to enlarge
Dress: ModCloth
Shoes: Thrift store 3 years ago!
Cardigan: Also 3 years ago, but I can't remember where :(
Necklace: vintage, from my Mumsy

This is a pretty lame post, but I really have nothing else to update about! I've had a half finished apron sitting in my sewing machine since Valentine's day and that's about as much sewing as I've done this entire month. I need to find some inspiration and motivation to get back into it, but so far I've come up with nada. There are a few quilt-a-longs going on in the blogging circle that I'd like to get into, but the patterns and extra fabric/batting is more than I can afford, so I have to sit them out. Maybe if I clean up and organize my sewing stuff I'll feel more motivated to do something with it. Hm... I'll do that today and see what happens.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Look- I haven't killed them yet!

I have the bad reputation of killing houseplants, but I've had these for three weeks (the ivy even longer!) and so far I have watered them and kept them safe from the sharp pointy teeth of little kitty. I found the orchids on sale at Home Depot, and just happened to find a gift card to there in my wallet, so I bought a small African violet plant to see how much money was left on my card, and when the cashier told me I had a bunch of money left on there I immediately went back and picked up these orchids and some succulents. The woman at the register also gave me a discount on everything for being a "sweetheart" so I didn't have to pay anything out of my pocket!
I found the ivy on clearance for a buck at another store, and it always makes me a little sad when perfectly good plants are marked way down, so I brought it home. The good thing about ivy is it's pretty hard to kill, so even though I've put my African violets pretty close to their grave, I'm pretty sure this ivy can stick out whatever I throw at it. I've already moved it to the bathroom and forgotten about it for over a week (oops), but I just took it out today and it seems to be fine.
Unfortunately the freak hard freezes we had in Austin have killed all of my outside plants, but hopefully that's done with, because I have some sweet peas that I grew from seed that are doing really really well, and are just about ready to be transplanted to a window box. Most of my zinnia seedlings have been eaten by Artoo, but there are about 4 that I can transplant. I'm really really hoping these will continue to grow, zinnias are one of my favorite flowers because they get nice and bushy and make for such nice cut flowers.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentine's Day inspiration pt 2


necklace: heronadornment on Etsy
dress: ModCloth.com
shoes: Shopplasticland.com
ring: FredFlare.com
cardigan: Daddyos.com

I'm finally starting to get over this monster of a cold I've been having, and spending the past three days laying in bed has left me with plenty of time to browse the internet and make little outfit inspiration posts. My fever has finally gone away, though, and I'm hoping I'll be back in full swing tomorrow so I can make some lemon curd and biscuits (and post the recipes!). I tried to make chocolate chip cookies Friday night, but accidentally forgot the baking soda (I am blaming it on being sick) so I ended up baking two dozen hockey pucks. But, if you actually pay attention to the recipe, this recipe makes some of THE BEST cookies. My cousin made me some with dark chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch chips, as well as chopped pecans, and they were the best cookies I've ever had. She also suggested using pistachio pudding instead of vanilla, which I think would be yummy.

Tomorrow is Valentine's day, which means after tomorrow I can't make as many posts with hearts/so much pink as I've been doing in recent weeks. My Valentine this year is my cat! He's the only boy I need. I hope everyone allows themselves to be treated to a little something nice tomorrow. I'm planning on buying myself some Reeses Pieces! They're so good, but I never buy myself candy. I'm waiting to buy the chocolate heart boxes until the day after Valentine's day so I can get them on sale ;-)

Friday, February 11, 2011

What I wore today

dress: vintage
belt: Modcloth (right here)
cardigan: Charlotte Russe
necklace: vintage
glasses: Shuron
lipstick: Rimmel in Jet Set. 
(I love this lipstick- it smells like the cherry dip from Dairy Queen!)

I never do outfit posts because honestly, I don't dress all that exciting. But I've been sick the past two days and I don't have anything else going on in my life to post about! Plus, I ordered a dress and belt from ModCloth, and although I'm debating whether or not to return the dress (it's not as flattering as I want for spending the amount of money I did), I really love the belt and it was definitely worth the $10. They also have it available in green, if that's more your style, but I've noticed that the majority of my clothes are either red or navy, so I played it safe with the dark blue.
The dress is one I've had forever. I found it over 5 years ago at a vintage store and it's been in my closet ever since! I hardly ever wore it because it was never flattering on me when I was younger, but now that I've.. um... plumped up a bit.. it fits like a glove. I was actually planning on listing it on Etsy but I don't think I can bear to part with it now. It's in such great shape and I like that it covers up my chest and back completely and goes down to my knees. A lot of dresses they make now are way too short and show a lot of your back, which I really don't like. I don't know of any good vintage/thrift store in Austin, but when I go back to New Hampshire I'm hoping all the antique stores in Maine will be open so I can get some more stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of vintage places in Austin, but they're all shops where the person has scoped out other vintage places and cherry picked the clothes and up charge you so you're paying like $50 for a skirt. I'm way too cheap for that!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Things I Love: handmade edition


Some of the best places to buy handmade:

Etsy- of course! My shop is on etsy, as well as this awesome crocheted jackalope (I might have to buy this as a birthday present to myself), this tote bag, and this adorable plush kitty by Kitty Pinkstars. If you like Kitty Pinkstars' etsy, there's a giveaway going on at Miss Cuppy's blog that you want to check out!

Shanalogic- I really love this site! There's so much cute stuff going on, especially this cupcake necklace and kitty ring.


Another one of my favorite shops is Lori Marie's from pretty little things. It was hard for me to pick out just one item from her store, but I really like this crocheted dream catcher. Her whole shop and blog are so lovely, I really encourage you to check them out.

Monday, February 7, 2011

I'm just a love machine

And I don't work for nobody but you.
I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted! The weather has been crazy here in Texas. They canceled school on Friday because of the snow and I ended up going down to Houston for the weekend. Now that I'm back, I've been working on getting some stuff in my Etsy store in time for Valentine's Day. I posted two necklaces today and got my coin purse frames in today and am currently trying to figure out how they work. It is considerably more difficult to put together than I had anticipated, but I think the end result will be worth it. My pink hyacinth has started to bloom, too! It's the one that Artoo knocked down and chewed up, so I'm surprised it's not dead. I'm very excited about being able to smell it once it's all the way opened up.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

brrr!!

I think just about everyone is having rotten weather this week. On Sunday it was 80 degrees here in Austin, but the past two days it's been in the 30s and so windy! I've been trying to keep toasty in my apartment, but being cooped up with Artoo Detoo has been driving me insane. He is R-O-T-T-E-N! I came home after walking 2 miles in the frigid weather and enduring 3 hours of lecture to see that he has knocked down my hyacinth and scattered soil all over my desk/floor. I was also packaging up some bobby pins today, but made the mistake of leaving the package out on the table while I went to get my camera. By the time I got back, it was gone! He stole it from my desk, brought it to his food bowl, and chewed it all up!
the surviving bobby pins, available here, here, and here
Stay warm, you guys!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

What would you buy with $150?

Things you can do with $150
  • eat 150 hot fudge sundaes 
  • adopt 2 kittens
  • buy 15 yards of designer fabric
  • buy enough gas to drive ~1100 miles
  • go to the movies 20 times
OR...
Buy ONE physics textbook that will only last you for one semester.
I wish I could say I bought 75 hot fudge sundaes and adopted a kitten with that money, instead.

available here and here, respectively
I put these two makeup pouches on sale for $13.75 in hopes of selling them soon to get money to buy things I actually care about (unlike physics), namely food.