The Christmas Post

Christmas was pretty awesome considering a few months ago I was expecting our first Christmas together to be humble, small, and in the end, a blip in our memories in the years to come.
Not so.
Those who read this now about Spencer's Black Friday journey and the goodies that yielded. A couple more goodies we got but weren't expecting were:

-a Cuisinart food processor (Spencer has wanted one for years and we didn't even ask for one, his parents are just that thoughtful and generous).
-and a car. A 1997 Toyota Avalon, in wonderful condition, given to us by his Grandpa Holt who drove it here for us from Houston, Texas, in exchange for our paying his plane fare back.

Also, I got that garment rack for the bedroom-- the one that I can sew a curtain around, also it is compact and I love it.

Another great thing was getting to talk to Rachel and McKay. We originally thought I wasn't going to be home from work soon enough to talk to Rachel, but Dan let me close the store an hour early so Karlie and I could race down to Murray and catch five minutes on the phone with her. Rachel's been out for five months already, which she says has whizzed by. I beg to differ. And McKay's been gone almost two months, which is harder for Spencer. He has no one to tag-team holiday dinners with and he's not sure if he wants to go to Richfield next summer because, well, who would he have to hang out with? Other than me and Naomi.

And now here are some pictures. Just a couple.This is the only picture of me without food in my mouth.


Spencer and Naomi playing on the Xbox, me eating.


Eating.
Left to right: Jasmine (McKay's lady-friend), Naomi, Spencer, me.

All other photos of me are either me eating, getting food to eat or contemplating what food to eat next so I'm omitting them from this post.

Some Little Notes and Things I Like:

Things I like:
+I like when I get emails from my granny and she uses unnecessary quotations like when she says she is feeling "good" and healthy compared to last year and how she thinks Spencer and I having FHE with Karlie is "great" and she is pleased with our having a set date to specifically spend time with each other.
It makes her sound bitter and sarcastic which is a funny way to think of her if you know how loving and gentle she is in reality. Hilarious.
+I also like snowy workdays at the Gateway because fewer people come in-- I mean, uh, they're horrible for business! I wish it would stop!
+I like not listening to Christmas music when the store is empty.
+I like that I have the schedule memorized for Trax going to and from my house because it happens to be the same either way.
+I like the little fox on my Gmail theme setting, particularly when he has tea with his monkey friend at the top of his pagoda at 4:00 pm.
+I like Ben's Cookies, far too much and have resolved to stop buying cookies. Srsly, it's getting ridiculous.

Little notes:
+I am planning and prepping way too many quilts to sew at once.
+Spencer and I may have our first car soon, that would be the first time I'd have a car to my name in nearly three years. I don't regret it though because living downtown is pretty easy without a car.
+I have recently become a little obsessive with taking proper care of my skin, particularly in the FACE. Moisturize me, MOISTURIZE me!
+I have never formally learned to crochet or sew (kind of... high school courses don't count when you remember exactly nothing from them) and yet it takes up almost all of my nights. How is this happening? It's kind of getting out of hand.
+Spencer and I picked out 12 knobs for the dresser I'm re-vamping. Pictures soooooon. (Ugh, how many times can I promise that and think it's actually going to happen?)

It's Everyone Though, Right?

When I was a kid and I got new clothes, my mom would have us do a fashion show once we got home. Similarly with my friends, showing each other new clothes was always fun, especially if we had gone second-hand shopping together or something like that.

Even into my adulthood, I still have this need to show what new clothes (and things) I've gotten when I get them. I still can't tell if most girls do this or just people around me though. Some girls I know don't really seem the type to do this, however anytime I am at the Holt's house and either I, Rachel, or Naomi has gotten back from shopping, there's always a show-and-tell.

I do it when I've gotten back from shopping with Spencer, Naomi does it, and Rachel even did it whenever she got new mission clothes. I don't know why exactly it's so fun, it's not like we get to keep the clothes we're showing off, but it's entertaining anyway.

Which is why I'm going to do this here.
I bought the boots in my previous post, along with a few other things (I type that whilst cringing). I really, really make an effort not to go overboard when shopping. As a rule, Spencer and I go shopping with predetermined purchases.

1. Make a list before you go.
2. Do not stray from the list. (At least not too much...)

I am really good with the first rule.
Last night though, I vehemently broke the second rule.
BUT!
I make up for this by DI'ing the differences.
Let's see what I got.I think most all of my camis are at that point where you really ought to be turning them into cleaning rags because the colors are gross and they're damaged beyond their worth to repair. I usually go to DownEast for basics like this because American Apparel is so expensive but these tanks were all under $5, in fact, the top 4 were all $2.50. Hopefully the price doesn't reflect too poorly on their quality.
The first pair are for me, the second, a stocking stuffer for mother. Solid.
Your standard late 80's early 90's headband. Makes me think of something you'd see an extra wearing in Twin Peaks. If I can't rock it, I'm going to paint it or glue sequins and feathers over it or something.
Those lovely boots! They weren't in the stores, so I tried on similar boots to gauge the sizing. Hopefully, it's pretty true to size as I've deduced. I mostly can't wait for these.
Floral printed tights. I think they're sweet.
I've had my eye on a belt almost exactly like this on Urban Outfitters only it was about 5 times more expensive. I imagine this should be very flattering to my waist.

So. I've done it again. I blew my savings on, what else? More clothing.
But it's not quite like I used to be. I follow a couple of de-cluttering rules.

If I've bought something that I have a lot of, I replace the old with the new and get rid of it. I don't exactly do the whole "buy one thing, throw away one thing" rule but if I've added something to a collection, I in turn slim it down by a piece or two.

For example, the belt. I will probably be going through my belts and getting rid of more than just one. Same with the tights and camisoles.

However I probably won't be getting rid of any shoes just yet. Maybe in a month or two, but I'm satisfied with my shoes right now.

And my jewelry, that's another thing. I'm less likely to get rid of any jewelry because I go through cycles of favoring a piece more than others and even when they become broken, well, then they're just waiting to be transformed. Pendants and brooches don't have the same life-expectancy than a basic camisole. Jewelry can be so much more timeless.

One thing I ought to go through and slim down regardless of anything new bought are all my hoodies, sweaters and cardigans. About two years ago I decided I needed more. Little by little I collected them. Now I have way too many.

Some of them I plan on putting away in storage, to save them for my future kids to ridicule and reject, then later love, alter to their taste and eventually wear out.
A lot of those pieces I plan on storing are from Black Chandelier and Jared Gold. And not just our tee-shirts which I've already sold to consignment shops and whatnot, but the good stuff. The coats, the dresses, the special pieces. I look forward to bringing those up from a basement or out of an attic in 20 or 30 years.

Also I am thinking, to make up for the slow periods where I don't really like to write or the habit gets away from me, I'm going to start posting my week's worth of doodles until I can find the camera to start documenting my sewing projects.
Or would that be lame?

This is Just How it Works. Part Two.

To borrow from Karlie's blog, this post should really be called "Boots."

It's that time again when my old boots are in need of retiring and I start looking for new ones.
Actually, it's been that time since last winter, when I DI'd the old ones but forwent (forgoed?) buying new boots because I was just too picky and couldn't find the right pair. Actually, I did find a pair of boots I loved, or should I say I found a boot that I loved but couldn't get because the store couldn't find its mate and it was the last pair in stock. Mucho de depressing.

So I've been trying to narrow down another pair. This is usually my criteria:
-Water proof (leather or whatever)
-Goes with everything, but is not boring (I love black, but I am also not afraid of color)
-Flat heals, cannot-will not do the high heel in snow.
-tight enough shaft to flatter my chicken-scratch calves.

I usually go with a variation of this style:I prefer something that's not suede but the style is spot-on. Flat, pull on, flattering, goes with everything, comes in a variety of colors and the price is fine. Your standard indie-girl boot.

However I am starting to feel my childhood wardrobe creep up over my shoulder and I kind of want an almost Doc Marten-y look again. I've fallen in love with the look of rugged (but not too rugged) boots mixed with femmy, skinny tailored jeans and girly vintage sweaters and other chunky knitted accessories.

That is a style I can admire and sport. That combination is sometimes hard for me to find and I can often end up buying something that I think it gorgeous but I never wear it, or I find I am wearing something everyday that I don't think is particularly attractive.

So, the hunt began. I started where I normally do, online. Urban Outfitters, Mod Cloth, Pixie Market, Endless.com, none really have what I am looking for, and most are far too expensive anyway. So I take another chance and check out Forever21.com, renowned for their cheap cheap CHEAP prices and uncanny ability to pump out trendy item after trendy item. It is both a blessing of a store and a curse. Don't even get me started on how it's even possible for them to have so many styles, so fast, and so cheap. The answer is surely not what anyone wants to hear but everyone knows: it's GOT to be sweat shops. Who am I to be criticizing Wal-Mart, amiright?

Anyways, just like when I was searching for bridesmaids dresses on websites like Anthropologie's and finding nothing, I take a chance and what do you know?

Exactly what I was looking for. Even better, in fact.
So perfect, in fact, that I am thoroughly disturbed and somewhat disappointed. I anticipate a long and difficult hunt for these boots because I am under the impression that I am one of the few who desires this particular style and then the only place I finally find it is a place notorious for catering to the masses.
This is often how my mother feels about Anthropologie and hates going there for the same reason as I loathe (and yet love) going to Forever21.

Anyways, all I was hoping to find were some boots that laced up, were primarily flat, but a little rise was ok, had no more of a 12 inch rise, were waterproof/leather, and came in either black or a fun color.
And here they are:
I kid you not, this is almost exactly what I was envisioning, and a plus because while they are not black (although they come in black) nor a "fun color" I think grey is just different enough from black and also goes with everything yet they don't blend into nothingness.

*Grey is lovely for making other colors pop. I think people try this too often with black and end up making the other colors look hammy and cheap. But that is not a rule to live by, I've seen a lot of outfits with all black and a contrasting color that was GORGEOUS and I've also see quite a few outfits where the grey was just SO drab and drug everything else about the outfit into the ethers of infinity. Only maybe not that dramatically so.

And while they're a little steep for Forever21 ($40? If I'm buying a cheap product from a cheap store that is as notorious for cheap quality as it is for cheap pricing, I really only want to buy the cheap cheap stuff, right?) and they're not leather, they're "100% synthetic" which is fine I guess. As long as they're waterproof.
I'm going to stop by the store tonight before heading home with Spencer and seeing if they are in stores at all (the website doesn't say) and seeing how they fit.

What's going to be the tricky thing is avoiding the "punk" look. That isn't a look I am going for at all. The look I want to emulate is classical girl, but with an artistic flair. I think that can be very, very easily lumped into a punk-ish look or something else altogether. We'll see what I can do!

P.S. If you haven't read Part 1 of this post and have nothing to do, read it and leave a comment letting me know which rack you think I should get!

This is Just How it Works. Part One.

So yesterday I made some silly post about how I am on hiatus and now I have something to write about because I am SO cool like that.

Quick insight: as I've mentioned before, Spencer and I seem to be getting a better and better handle on our finances ironically enough in this time of massive recession and economic collapse. Our first Christmas as a married couple looks as if there are going to be one or two more surprises than I originally anticipated and the prospect of buying a car is becoming more likely to happen sooner than I also originally anticipated (maybe even before winter is over? maybe...)

And we do this by budgeting, how else?
20% of our income goes into savings. We use them for Christmas gifts, saving up for a car, and funds for future vacationing... And that's basically it.
We do put 5% of our income into separate savings accounts, 5% each, that we are allowed to spend on anything we want, as long the other isn't absolutely against it.
I would like to set up even more strict budgets to help pay off debts faster, but as of right now, we are doing swell.
I know that we spend, on average about $450/month on groceries/food. Is that a lot? But other than bills and food and trax money, we don't often buy much else. Once in awhile we go out to eat or go to the movies, and rather than buying DVD's so often we'll instead utilize our county library and Netflix, or even just the internet for entertainment.

Spencer has saved up his allowance from the start, I think he's bought a video game with it, but whatever he's saving up for, I hope it's worth it. Or maybe he's just one of those lucky kids who doesn't feel like they need everything they see in a store to make them happy.

Just the opposite of me. Well, not really. Limitation broadens my mind. That is my motto. However, I have had the hardest time saving up my allowance past one consecutive deposit. Every time something is added, I somehow find something I need to get right away!

This time it is two things. This is the first.

One: A Clothing Rack.
The Toss Up: Wide and classically commercial? Or do I go for a updated, made-for-home model?
The contenders:
This above rack is $50. It's your standard commercial clothing rack. It's about as tall as me and its width ranges from about 50 inches to 70. Lovely.
Pros:
-$50, also available in stores (which is so nice as S&H is something like $16)
-quality rubber wheels
-adjustable width, goes really wide
-sturdy build (I use two of them in my store, and tons at the headquarters)

Cons:
-Space hog, even when extension bars are retracted
-No subtlety: everything hangs in the open (but hey, hanging up, on the floor, when are my clothes NOT in the open?!)

Now we have the competition:
This above rack is lovely as well.
Pros:
-Less of a space hog (I don't have THAT many clothes I need to find more space for)
-Top shelf can be a new home to my vintage hats and other accessories that just float from spot to spot in my room
-Bottom shelf can be home to my in-season shoes**
-Structure lends itself to sewing a curtain-like cover for the whole shebang. Yes, yes, I could buy the canvas cover for $30 more but you and I know I could whip up a much more attractive cover than that and with the yards and yards of fabric that plague my sewing dresser.

Cons:
-Steeper $70 price tag, PLUS it's not available in store so we're looking at a grand total of nearly $90. Jeez.
-Caster wheels look kinda crappy.

So that's my dilemma. Walmart and Amazon both have the first rack, and both are priced higher. Amazon doesn't have the second rack, and while Walmart does, it's only $5 cheaper, still not available in stores, and it's from Walmart.

I'm kind of leaning toward the second rack just because of the shelves and the curtain-making possibility. But for $40 more than the first? It's a hard decision to make. I'll probably end up going with it though, because in the long run, it has more of what I need.

**the whole point of getting this new rack is to efficiently separate my seasonal/special clothing and keep searching and tornado-ing at a minimum

Hiatus!

Sometimes finding the drive to post is hard, since Spencer's posts regularly and usually are an echo of my posts, or more accurately: vice versa, although we try to avoid that.

Nevertheless, I am a very visual person and this is the cause of my hiatus.

If my day isn't a replica of Spencer's, then it probably has to do with these things:

-work at the studio
-a sewing project
-a baking project
-some other project

All of those, except maybe the first are also visual things, like me. And whilst our camera is MIA, it's very frustrating to write (and I imagine very dull to read) about my life.

Oh sure, I can continue writing about television or films watched and discuss those but that's where we get into that echoing-your-spouse problem because Spencer has usually watched anything I have and he has an exceptional vigor and air of professionalism in his posts that I suspect he loves writing whereas I just gush about "parts I like" or "actors I like" or "how I love to watch this all the time" and go on and on for never-ending sentences.

No, no, the stuff that makes me want to write, ironically must also be visually presented and until such time when cell phones are not the only cameras on hand I suspect these bouts of inactivity will be regular.

That being said, check back frequently because I do intend to find that camera very soon!

I have decided

Among other things to:

-Do more photo shoots with Karlie. FO' REAL. At least once before the year is over.
-Make a diorama. Of what? Not sure yet.
-Finish ALL of my clothes-in-waiting before New Years. It will be done.
-ALWAYS take my lunch. So far so good :)
-Pick up weekend baking projects again. It stopped before my birthday and then I forgot to start again. This weekend: Russian Strawberry Birthday Cake.
-Dress up for work more often.
-Find Spencer's camera.

And Just So You Know

Everything is better with pesto.

One Night in Bangkok And The World's Your Oyster

I didn't really care for that song until Tyrus pointed out to me once that it's a song from a musical about chess, called Chess Moves and that song is pretty much the only successful thing about it. I never realized that, having never paid attention to the lyrics. Hi-larious.

Anyways, here's the update:
Over the weekend I sewed a dress and a tote bag.
I don't have real pictures yet because we still haven't found Spencer's camera, but I have a quick paint-rendition of the dress.

The Dress

However this drawing is nowhere near as awesome as the real thing. Just you wait.
Also the tote bag is black canvas with a gold tiger head emerging from some grass.
Needless to say, it's the single most perfect thing I've ever sewn.
And my quilt. Um, well, it's been put on the back burner for now. I've yet to go get its batting and decide on a backing piece. Choices choices.
But I've still been sewing; almost mastered sewing zippers, got back on track with sleeves and I'm going to try and alter a few dresses I've kept in the closet for a couple years this week.
I've also shaved my fabric collection down by nearly 50%. It was painful but also really relieving. Having unlimited resources is tickling to think about, but limiting your possibilities really forces you to be more creative at times, and it's fantastic.

Sidenote: my water bottle tastes like dishwasher. Blech.

Also, I've almost finished watching Wonderfalls, which is a show that Bryan Fuller (and Todd Holland) created and I hadn't seen it yet, so, I did. It was super easy, we just checked it out from the library, and I'm about 2/3 through it. It's lovely.

The Cast

If you haven't heard of it, it's probably because it aired on Fox for all of 4 episodes (though the commentary says "Crime Dog" aired which would actually mean 5 episodes aired) before it was completely canceled.
But real quickly: loosely based on Joan of Arc it's basically a girl working at a souvenir shop in Niagara Falls and her misadventures when little animal toys with faces start talking to her and telling her to do things.
It's cute, and I was also delighted to find out that Lee Pace (Ned from Pushing Daisies) plays a character on the show although he's not on it very often (or from what I've seen so far).

And here's something new about me, if you didn't already know: I have a terrible fear of Submarines.

I just about crapped myself looking for a picture.

I tried to look for a sunken submarine picture just to one-up the sitch but I literally was jumping away from the screen and compulsively, frantically searching to close the tab. It can't be done folks.
So yeah, it's not just submarines, but my fear can be defined as pretty much anything massive, man-made and in the water.
Large ships, mines, sea labs, but worst: submarines.
Also, sights of ships that are sunken or in the process of sinking scare the crap out of me too.
The sights of any of the above will undoubtedly have me gasping and squirming away if presented to me, in a book, online or on the television, it doesn't matter.
Why am I afraid of these things, especially when I love the sea so much?
No idea, it just has me panicking.
I shudder to remember the time my family in Washington all got together to tour a docked (but ready for service) Nuclear Submarine.

Anyways, I learned something new about myself today, something I always suspected, but have had confirmed today: I am also afraid of large man-made objects in the sky.
I'm not talking sky-scrapers or airplanes people; I'm not afraid of all boats, just incredibly huge ones, especially when resting at the bottom of the sea, like a mangled corpse never properly put to rest.
No, I was reading an article about the Saturn V. I know the Saturn V is a rocket, built by NASA, because my dad built a replica out of paper that hangs out in his basement.
But I didn't know it in the biggest rocket built by NASA. I also didn't realize how frightening it looks in comparison to other rockets.

None of these things could have had to come
to fruition if we'd have just taken a lesson
from The Doctor and his blue box.

This isn't comfortable for me. I hope you enjoy reading about this, because it's ALL FOR YOU. Yes, you, the 5 people who read this. ENJOY.
Submarines are still scarier though. Probably because, they're on the sea, which is very different from the sky. It's the bottom, the VERY bottom and there's no coming back up.
I meanwhile, am going to go crawl into the space under the benches in the dressing rooms. I will be safe there.

One last thing, it has been raining a moderate flow, non-stop, since I woke up today. FOR REAL.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa.

Whoa. Hold up.
The next Pushing Daisies episode has been delayed till November 19th?
H4x.
Total and utter h4x.

ABC you are so not on my good list. Well, actually you are, since so far you still haven't axed what is arguably THE BEST SHOW ON TV RIGHT NOW (at least until LOST returns next year...)

SERIOUSLY though. NOT COOL.

Maybe I'll take this time to catch up with Torchwood and ultimately finish Doctor Who.

Quick List Round-Up

-I voted yesterday and it was superb.
-My consultation with Landis is tomorrow, can't wait for it.
-I am going overtime this week (like 3rd week in a row)
-We are short-staffed at work (hence above sentence)
-Two interviews scheduled next week, plus two other almost-sure-hires coming soon
-Apartment was freezing last night; heater stopped working AGAIN
-Electrician supposedly coming today to fix it (AGAIN)
-Have watched The Fall almost 10 times since renting it; soooo good.
-McKay (Spencer's younger brother) was set apart as a full-time missionary yesterday
-Much crying ensued (tears of joy!... mostly)
-That makes 3 Holts having left home in the last 4 months (Spencer marrying me, Rachel's mish and now McKay's)
-NEW PUSHING DAISIES TONIGHT! (not that I get to watch D: )
-Have resolved to search for my sewing machine's zipper foot and try out a new skirt pattern I've been thinking about
-I seem to be developing the illness that Spencer has had for the last week and a half.
-Hopefully this Zicam can help... so far it doesn't look great ):

-oh yeah, and it's been SNOWING all day!

A Slight Pang of Regret

Don't get me wrong: my wedding was gorgeous.
In fact, I remember very little of it; all the panic and the hullabaloo, why didn't anyone TELL me that all I would care about was Spencer, visiting, and having everyone look at me?

One thing I did love though, were the perfectly themed, colored and (maybe not) so nicely fitted dresses I snagged for my girls.
I originally budgeted $100 per girl, accessories and all for all three of them, but lo and behold, Forever 21 had the perfect ones for a whopping $25 each.

Pink for the Maid of Honor, yellow for the Holts,

True, the dresses did end up giving the girls a badonkadonk, otherwise known as the humongous J-Lo butt.

Badonka-DONK.

Anyway, I'm going about my usual internet surfing and being a creepy fan and looking at promo photos for pushing daisies and I see that the lovely costume team on the show has seen my wedding album and decided to one-up my decision:

All that and honeycomb too.

Not that it would have been feasible to alter or rebuild the dresses. Still, it's a pretty awesome dress. The character Chuck is yet another figure added to my "inspirations for wardrobe" encyclopedia.

Past inspirations have been David Bowie, Grey Gardens and Enid, to name too few.

Just in case you forgot:

Help keep Pushing Daisies' ratings up and watch them on Wednesdays at 8 on ABC!
Tell your friends, it's a wonderful show! (tomorrow night!)
oh yeah... And vote please :)

(but seriously... watch Pushing Daisies.)

I Don't Care Who You Are

Or if you have the best relationship with your mother or the worst, or, if you're like me, a little of both; sometimes, you're mother knows just what to tell you to make you feel like all is not lost.

So The Hair Thing... yeah.

Not a good turnout.
I personally would say the girl ruined it.
Most likely she didn't. Although, yes, it's true. She did.
AND she left town for 4 weeks to tour with her band so she couldn't reschedule to fix it, not that I'd really trust her with my hair again. Then I scheduled to work with the owner of the salon, until I realized that their prices and high-end-ness is the same as Landis (our sister company) with whom I get a 30% discount.
So, come this Thursday, I have a consultation at Landis with a "Grand Stylist" I guess meaning not a "new artist" and we start the process of fixing my hair.

To give you some visuals without actually having to show you the new do, I have some near-perfect examples.This is my hair before, only I had bangs that went straight across, and it was maybe about an inch longer. Also there are no copyrights on my arm.


This more closely resembles my hair today. You know, the Berries and Creme Starburst "lad."

Yeah, that's just about perfect. Only wait, she also gave me "hot roots" which basically meant "I'm going to make you look like you tried dying your hair from a box at home with horrible results!"
I use demi-permanent dye-- a fact I made her very aware of and so any dyes lighter than, oh say, BLACK, would require that my hair be stripped of that demi dye.
So yeah, imagine that berries and creme kid, only with purple-y red roots.

And just to give you some more perspective, this is what the stylist (her name is Ashley) and I discussed previously:

Grow out my bangs a little more, give the rest a trim, strip the black and and we're on our way!

And that's what we discussed. I wanted to start migrating towards a blonde color, throw in something unusual (the blue) and I distinctly remember her and I discussing "cutting" to be closely connected with the word "trim."
The picture, by the way, is some girl name Peaches. From what I gather she's almost like a British Paris Hilton. However that doesn't deter me from coveting her hair.

Anyway, through one reason or another, she was saying that "we'll keep the black and give you hot roots." I mistake "hot roots" to mean like, attractive; hot. Then she's applying red to my hair. I tell her my husband and I aren't exactly huge fans of my being a red-head as it only makes me look slightly more like his sisters, who are both red-headed. She gives me the color-book to start searching a new color when I notice in the mirror that she's cutting 4 or 5 inches off my head!

At my panicking, she tries to console me by telling me she's only giving me that asymmetrical cut we talked about, which we did not, by the way, it turns out, she was thinking of a different model she was cutting after me.

And after trying to "fix" it (cutting the rest the same length) I tell her I feel like a page boy and want a softer look, at which point she starts "shattering" my ends, which, because of the texture of my hair (hint, goose down) only makes the end look frizzy and flared.

I tell her "thank you" and that "I think I'm going to try and move into a different direction" and that's where we come to the whole making-an-appointment-with-the-owner to making-an-appointment-with-Landis part of my story.

And just for your amusement, I realized throughout the weekend that I can also be likened to Matilda or V from V for Vendetta. Any other ones you can think of?
Oh! Holly from Red Dwarf, only with brown/red hair.

I wonder what will happen next.
/stomach grumbling in anxiety.

Could Someone Please Tell Me Why I Haven't Done This Yet?

Not really tempted to buy, just replicate. Harold and Maude paintings.

The Economy And Its Effects On My Hair.

Although Spencer and I are ironically doing a lot stronger, financially speaking, in spite of the current economic meltdown, the mentality still gets to me.

The reason is sad but logical: in times of financial hardship, shopping, going to the movies and etc, is the way we forget our troubles. And I find myself itching to spend money on frivolous things, like getting my hair styled.

And now that Spencer and I have our finances in order, savings accounts figured, bills kept on top of, there's an eensy-weensy well of savings we have to put towards a few things.

We have goals after all. A new computer monitor, a new computer. Spencer wants to get a Mac, I want a new iPod for work, I really want a Dyson vacuum. Oh yeah, and a car.

Even with these goals in mind though, I want to do something to my hair. Haaaaaiirrr.

I have been toying with the idea of a cut or a dye for the last couple weeks. Spencer and Karlie are voting that I dye my hair a light purple in some way. I considered doing a pixie again but having long hair is refreshing after years and years and years of short hair.
I thought about trying a platinum blond again.

But the upkeep of color is too much effort and too much money. Going to a salon, getting to the salon, and getting the cash month after month sounds like a bad habit to take up.

However working in a store where people who shop like to see and be seen, you get strange offers every now and then. On a couple of occasions, I've been asked to be a hair model, which I love to do; I have very little attachment to my hair.

Today marks the third time, when a customer I recognize came in and told me about how she was being hired at a new salon near here and asked if I'd mind letting her cut or dye my hair as a sort of audition for this new salon.

Bonus! I get a new look and no bill to pay?

I instantly agreed, and so this Thursday at three, I'm meeting her at the salon and letting her go crazy with my hair. We only talked about dying, but if she wants to cut or trim too, I'm down. Anything goes.

Maybe this will quench my desire to be frivolous and spend money on my hair when I know I have bigger and better things to save up for?
Maybe.

Man Decorates Basement with Sharpie

So lovely.

Or maybe it's this chocolate.

Maybe it's waking up with Spencer in the morning, or maybe it's something else but life is pretty wonderful right now.

Mark Mothersbaugh Invades My Music Quite Consistently

Former Devo member and accomplished film composer has invaded my mind again.

I was on Digg (big surprise) and was reading an article about historically notable video games, when there was a little note of info about the scores of Spyro and then a side note on the people responsible for the score of Crash Bandicoot, who are Mutato Muzika.

When the Playstation first came out in the 90's, my brother and my best friend Fi got one for Christmas that year and I played Spyro and Crash Bandicoot ALL THE TIME. Mostly Fi and I played Spyro, me roaming around the 3-D platform like a toddler, and handing her the controller whenever a particularly menacing enemy was confronted.

My brother Avery mostly played Oddworld and Crash Bandicoot during those first couple years and the one thing I remember most from Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is the music. I LOVED that music. Even back then, I always wondered if I could ever get a recording of the music because it was so relaxing and interesting and it's lingered in my mind since, if not in the very deepest, most nearly-forgotten corner.

And who should Mutato Muzika be comprised of? Mark Mothersbaugh among others.

What else has Mark Mothersbaugh done? Most notably for me in the score for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and most recently Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. He's done a bunch others, some good, some surprising but I'm not going to list them here.

Anyway, now that I know this about Mutato Muzika and all that jazz, maybe, just maybe, I can track down and purchase some sort of compiled album for the score for Crash Bandicoot? Is that weird?

Whatever, play it yourself and you will see.

The original Spyro The Dragon series (1 through 3) and Tekken (2 and 3, though 3 is far superior while 2 is mostly a sentimental love) along with Crash Bandicoot are all featured on the list.

I didn't realize they were so "historical" and I kind of think the article is silly but it makes sense. Anyway those three games are some of my absolute favorite games to play to this day.
Others could include pretty much anything Mario Brothers (Super Mario Brothers 2 on SNES is an absolute top 3) Psychonauts and Solitaire.

How weird is it that I get online at work and slack off, but I still feel too guilty to play Solitaire? What's the deal? I rock that game.

Kije's Ouija Board!

Well not much happened over my weekend except that it was PAYDAY!
Woo! Cash-money!

No but it was really nice since Spencer and I were broke there for a couple weeks, what with moving into a new apartment, deposits to pay, deposits yet to be received, (not to mention my stimulus payment STILL has not arrived), bills overdue and all the joy that comes with marrying young and in debt.

But we get by. You know how, people? Love. Because love conquers all. Listen to this, because it's all true, too.

Aaaanyway, almost all of our bills are paid off, my phone, the electricity, the internet, credit cards, laundry is caught up, the pantry is filled, the fridge and freezer have neat packages of food and treats, not to mention I finally did a pay-out and stocked the store with cleaning supplies too. Thank you, Costco!

And not just Costco, Spencer and I managed to catch the last farmer's market of the season, grabbing some very ripe heirloom tomatoes for us and my mom, some figs, red and white onions and eggplant.

And after all that we have some money left over to maybe get a new monitor? I am trying to convince Spencer to spill for a flat-screened one as the ol' hunk of a monitor currently in our living room decided that, post-move, it would adopt a new look to match the new location. Our color range currently features exclusively varying shades of purple and orange. Oh, it's just dandy.

And what's more, we're still receiving wedding gifts (which reminds me we still need to do thank-you-cards YIKES) and that includes another couple gift cards to Target (yay!) and Wal-Mart (meh). NOT to be ungrateful of course! We'll use the Wal-Mart gift card and we'll be totally appreciative of the things here and there we still don't have (like, ironically, a toaster) that it can get us. But still, if we had everything we needed, I doubt I'd ever have want to use it. I'd maybe give it to my mother or something. Am I stuffy? "Oh, Wal-mart? Gag me!" Like that? Oh well.

Oh yeah! And my quilt is coming along nicely! The top piece is fully sewn and ready for batting, the backing, trim and tying. Since it's my first quilt and I've never given much attention to proper technique and instruction, there are a lot of mistakes that can possibly be hidden with tying. Despite those flaws, I love the thing. Can't wait to be able to curl up with it on my couch! Pictures soon, as soon as I find Spencer's camera so I don't have to keep using my phone.

Maybe I'll go get batting for it today.

It's like I'm looking RIGHT into the future! Lawlz!

Palin as President.

Thinking Halloween...

But first: by the way those rosettes in my last post were not made by me. They're just an example of how many I need to make. I made 16 over about 8 hours, 2/hour? I gotta pick it up.

Anyways, yes, Halloween.
I love Halloween, I love the costumes, the semi-annual home screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the lack of trick-or-treaters that come to my home (probably even less than ever now that Spencer and I have the very top-most apartment at the very back of the apartment lot) which leaves an adequate amount of candy leftover to bring to work.

But the best part, of course, is deciding what to dress up as. This year has been pretty difficult.
I've yet to talk Spencer into just wearing his suit with sneakers, carrying around the sonic screwdriver and slightly psychic paper he got me for Christmas one year and going as Doctor Who and me as (the best) Companion.


Throw some gel in his hair, get some glasses and Voila.

Then Karlie told me she wanted to be an indian for Halloween this year but didn't want it to be racist. I told her she should be Princess Tiger Lilly from Peter Pan and then I could be Wendy and Spencer could be Peter! It would be pretty sweet cause Spencer has that boyish look, and I happened to have a blue dress.

But since then, more ideas have floated around. Karlie is thinking maybe the Mad Hatter instead, in which I could still be Alice since she wears a blue dress as well. I could be Violet Baudelaire, but that's too obscure. Then I thought it would be funny to be Sarah Palin, but too many people could be planning on being her.
Then Spencer was trying to convince me to be Juno, and he would be the Michael Cera counterpart. I told him that was really, really unsexy and kind of depressing, but he LOVES the idea.
So now my Wendy idea is kind of not working, not just because Tiger Lilly is out, but also because Peter was never really in either.
Spencer works at the Children's Museum at the Gateway Mall and they're having a costume contest and we're thinking we're going to make him up as Max from Where The Wild Things Are.

A sure win.

So yeah. I may end up taking my Wendy dress and shortening it from ankle-length to below-the-knee and being Alice.

Or maybe I'll just go as Cherry Darling?
Yeah right.

Oh and this:

I also wanted to show a picture of a rosette-made quilt.
This is the type of quilt I was thinking I'd make my mom for this Christmas, but maybe next Christmas instead?
Whew, it would be a doozie. Doozy? Dictionary.com confirms: doozy or doozies plural.




That would/will be a time-consuming quilt. The rosettes are all handmade. Or yo-yo's as some call them. Or most. Whatever.
Or at least, they'll all be handmade when I make them. Lois, my mother-in-law, saw some pre-made ones at a craft store and she thought "that's kind of... cheap."
It's so much more rewarding when you make it yourself.

Quickly Quilting

As I may have mentioned before, I have quilting on the brain.

It happened shortly after my birthday, when my mother-in-law gave me a book on home decor on the cheap. It's actually kind of really awesome. There are some great up-to-date DIY projects, and some examples of some really gorgeous bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens.

My only criticism of the book is that unless it's suggesting Ikea or a thrift shop, it's not decorating on the cheap. It's decorating on the "holy crap they commissioned a stand-alone chimney to be built outside their house" expensive. And even their idea of "second hand" is expensive, with examples of second hand purchases that were "steals" being
-a $500 dollar headboard,
-a (very ugly) lamp at $400,
-getting a plain red roll of carpent for cheap but then paying a few thousand to have it custom-trimmed and finished to be shaped like a gigantic pool of blood (although that's a pretty cool idea, especially since the carpet spills down a case of stairs and pools out on the lower landing...)
-or buying a couch second hand for $150, but then dropping $2,000 to have it fitted with Lucite legs.
Yeah. That's just to name a few expensive things-- and those were only the examples of the "cheap" details.
Oh and also, they're not actually "thrifting." It may be second-hand, but honey, you are ANTIQUING. There's a difference.

In any case, there was a picture of the room that took homey-quilting to the extreme, and while this one blanket wasn't particularly mentioned and probably wasn't meant to be the focal point of the photo, it jumped out at me: a tied quilt pieced up of hexagons.

So simple and so attractive, I wanted one that INSTANT.
I like tied quilts a lot too, they have a more hand-made homey feel to me than the ones you pay someone else to sew all over with those gigantic free form sewing machines to hold the batting in place or just to embellish.
Tied quilt, by the way, are quilts that, when the top piece and back piece and batting are all sewing together, have yarn or thick string tied in little knots every few inches or so.

The idea was also attractive to me because I collect a lot of scrap fabric from the D.I. and other thrift shops. So I have a lot of pieces of fabric that are precut at odd shapes or lengths, pieces that have both limited and infinite potential. This gave me an opportunity to use all those fabrics, albeit, at least one hexagon from each.


Kind of what I'm making only not...

And the final reason I decided to make the hexagon quilt was that I also collect clothes and consistently do not wear them. I love clothes. I love their fabrics, their prints, or they have sentimental value and even though I haven't fit into it for years (some hoodies and shirts I've kept since I was 12 or even 9). In this case, I would take one hexagon from the garment and scrap the rest. Many shirts with Black Chandelier prints will be featured, so much so that I am a little bit afraid that people will just identify it as my Black Chandelier quilt, which, I guess, is fine too.

The choice to do hexagons with my scrapped tees also has an artistic factor. I like the idea of putting shirts you like but don't wear anymore into something else to give its function back, but when I looked at other peoples examples of tee-shirt quilts, I thought they were really ugly. It wasn't like they were trying to take the thing they liked about the tee-shirt and make it into a quilt, it was more like they were making a quilt that looked like it was made from a tee shirt, you know?


Like this. This is ugly.

Anyway, I am seeing hexagons everywhere. I didn't even make the connection that the Black Chandelier logo is a black chandelier WITH A HEXAGON AROUND IT. Great. Even more imagery to enforce a "black chandelieriness" with the quilt. Also, there are hexagons covering a wall at Spencer's work.
Once I get this quilt done, and my rosette-thing for my mom and any other quilting ideas I have for the holiday season, I'll probably ease up with the quilting and move on to other projects. I do this a lot.

I've been obsessed with writing once in a few years, joined a literary magazine and carried a writing notebook with me. I "gesso'd" Masonite boards and painted things. Or at least I planned to. I went CRAZY with charcoal and pastel drawings. I love them. I also got way into pottery and sculpture. I'm not so great with a kick wheel but a couple of my sculptures are still in my high school teachers office on display.
I've crocheted for days, making mini-scarves and cozies for just about anything, apples, water bottles, iPod cases, cats. Altering tees for friends (I need a serger before I do anymore tee altering though; no more ripped armpits.)

Now it's quilting, and it's really fun. I was afraid I wouldn't finish this quilt... I like to get into stuff, projects, hobbies, and while a few of these infatuations produce some great work, a lot of the time it also produces some great but unfinished work. But it's coming along pretty quickly, even with my mother-in-law warning me that a hexagon quilt has no real short-cuts and may take awhile to piece.

This isn't to say it hasn't had some set-backs. A lot of the pieces I'm memorializing are screen-printed, which means they absolutely cannot be ironed! Which also means I can't press some of the seams down, which makes for a funky sitting block.

Also, I have never actually quilted before. Every. Well wait. There was this one time in the 4th grade where we all quilted pot-holders for our parents, and I sent my to my dad and I haven't really seen it since. I think I did ok with it, but it was all hand-done and square, SO... Not really the same here.

I will post pictures of the progress I've made tonight, if I can find Spencer's camera. If not I'll try to get some O.K. pictures with my phone. Sound good? Good.

Oh, just one more!

An elderly homeless lady came in with one of our $5 dollar shirts, asking to buy it, but also complaining to me that I was taking away her whiskey-money. "What is going on with kids today, hmm? What is with this shirt? Only 5 dollars though? I'll take it, I like to smell clean sometimes. Aw, shoot it'll be all my whiskey-money though. You're killing me!"
WTF?

Quickie

I love (clothing) fashion, obviously, I work at a small, local, humble fashion boutique and the majority of the blogs I visit are fashion-oriented, or have a fashion feature. But after awhile you see the same things coming from www.slcpomp.com or even the weekly street fashion round-up at www.threadbanger.com which is why I'm glad I stumbled on this little website: a fashion blog showcasing the impeccable style of the elderly, www.advancedstyle.blogspot.com
P.S. sorry about the lack of html, I am SO not snazzy or dedicated today.

Rosette Preview!

I have made 4 so far... I was thinking of making my mother a quilt composed of rosettes made from the scraps of the other quilts I'm working on. It's decidedly a lot of work though so we'll see.

Copying Karlie

Her list method is succinct and effective. And since it's been longer than I'd hoped between my posts, I'm going to try and get all the build up out of the way by adopting her method.

-Recently took an interest in quilting, first to get rid of colorful scraps that I can't bear to part with, now I'm thinking of Christmas gifts... a Rosette/yo-yo wall hanging for mom, a simple and similar throw quilt for my brother and Karlie.

-My interest in quilts has somewhat over-excited my mother-in-law who also loves quilting, albeit, traditional quilting where as I am more interested in... alternative forms.

-Moved into a new apartment! This one is roomier, even though it's a 1 bedroom instead of a 2 bedroom, and has far greater views and neighbors than the last one.

-Also it is down the street from the U and coincidentally, Karlie.

-I may be biting off more than I can chew with all this quilting business, but hey, when do I not bite off more than I can chew?

-Stayed over at the in-laws on Saturday night, decidedly weird and will not be repeating that unless it's Christmas or something (and even then... probably not.) Although it was fun to hang out with Spencer and his siblings... Awkward Sunday Dinner Laughing Fits occurred after there were strangely expressed comments about the flavor of the chicken... breasts... I mean thighs.

-Black Chandelier received a letter, a "notice of default" which could mean the end of us, although Richard (the president) is taking it all in as if it were nothing.

-Watched "Secretary" with Spencer last night... a secret favorite although I don't think he enjoyed it nearly as much as me. I don't remember the score being so... bad. Same guy who scored Twin Peaks if that tells you anything. I also forgot how much I love James Spader's performance, as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal. Fantastic. Shivers.

-At work, kind of not working (I at least took care of refolds and whatnot before slacking off) and this will probably be the only place I update at least until the internet finally switches over in the new apartment.

-Oh oh, also saw the Pushing Daisies Season 2 premier, still as enjoyable to watch as ever, with strange plot set-ups for the season to come. Strange. But looking forward to watching them unfold.

-Pictures of quilt progress (when some is truly made) to come!

Okay okay okay.

Post. Posting posts for post.
Well not really a ton of interesting stuff is happening in my life right now except WAIT.

The Ghost of Jared Gold.

So Once Upon A Time, Jared Gold was still the designer of the store I currently manage, Black Chandelier, and he was designing his 2007 fall/winter line "Caspian." Something we were doing differently this time though, was outsourcing a small company in New Delhi to "mass" produce the line in time for the debut show and have lovely clothes in the store the next day.
So they worked with each other, sending samples and prototypes of garments, color ways and styles, and soon came up with a finished line-- we even had one of our graphic designers create a pattern to print on a fabric en masse and seamlessly instead of the usual screen-print.
But then we couldn't afford to actually buy the finished line.
Fast-forward nearly 1 year and a half later...

And the India shipment is here!
Jared has left the company for months and yet!

It's glorious.

And by glorious I mean a much-needed breath of fresh air in this store. With the lack of product, not to mention motivation for sales, this line is one of my favorites and I'm only sad that Jared isn't here to see how well it's doing, even with it only being straight-out-of-the-box. (Jared is notorious for adding more and more and more and MORE to a garment before putting it out of the floor. There's no doubt he'd have screen-printed and embellished almost every one of these cardigans or shirts before putting them out.)

And the best (and worst) part of it all is that there is TONS of products. Boxes and boxes and boxes. The good thing about it is that I can take my time accumulating what I want of the line... Sizes aren't about to run out anytime soon.

Also, it will carry us till Christmas. But that's also the bad part, it may carry past Christmas, and through next summer and eventually to the 75% off shelf, as almost everything here does.

But Danny and I have been trying to price these clothes in such a way that people won't be waiting for the garment to go on sale. Not a single shirt is over $28 and if you think that's expensive, you wouldn't have wanted to shop with us this time last year!

Anyways, the line is great, I'm gonna buy it all (yay employee allowance!) blah blah blah there's my post.

Huzzah!

Instead of whining about how my husband wasn't setting a blog up for me, I did it at work by myself!

So here it is! Now I'm gonna get back to work, more updates to come.