Wouldn't You Rather Be Reading Something Else?

10 directors that make my eyes happy.

2011-08-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Taking a cue from another blog I follow I've decided to make my own list of 10 movies that make my eyes happy. But after drafting a list, I realized it was the director's consistent style and aesthetics across all of their movies that inspire me, so I changed it up. These director's minds get my brain working on how to mimic their styles in my wardrobe, home, or life in general.
Some of the directors, I feel, it's almost cliche to go on about them because it's clear to anyone who's even mildly interested in film that they're aesthetic masters. But who cares, this is just my dopey little blog, I'll get as cliche as I want.

Here they are in no particular order.

1. Wes Anderson, clearly. Let's just get that out of the way. Seriously though, I wish I lived in one of his movies. Someday my home will have walnut paneling, hot pink walls and golden radiators. The 70's are clearly represented more than any other decade in his films and that's a-ok with me.

2. Quentin Tarantino. His movies lean into a 70's look a lot too, which despite my love for more feminine decades of fashion, I find the 70's influence my real-life home more than any other decade. Sometimes I get tired of it, but I just keep coming back.

3. Joel and Ethan Coen. They have this drive to just keep creating and creating that is beyond enviable. I particularly love Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Art Thou, and The Hudsucker Proxy. You know, for kids!

4. Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood. His movies are about the most important things in life (usually family, even Boogie Nights-- especially Boogie Nights!) His movies can be so sobering it nearly paralyzes me.

6. Michel Gondry. From Human Nature, to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, his music videos, THIS MAN gets into my head and refuses to leave. And I love it.

7. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Delicatessen has a special place in my heart, along with Dominique Pinon. Amelie is a classic. I even loved City of List Children even though it frightened me. Do me a favor and just forget he was ever involved with the Aliens franchise, okay?

8. Julie Taymor. So what, maybe her latest movie, The Tempest, started to resemble the work someone might put forth when getting a little crazy with photoshop filters... Still, she never fails to strike a spark in my chest and sets me wanting to paint or something. Or take up puppetry.

9. Martin Scorsese. I really can't go on, I'm not eloquent enough to describe the quality of his work. But I will say this. Sometimes I feel like it's a chore to force myself to watch his movies because maybe the plot didn't sound appealing or who knows. I'm fickle. But when I finally sit down and WATCH them, I'm awed. Everytime. Even the least profound Scorsese film is still wonderful.

10. Baz Luhrman. He's kind of the one who started it all for me, aesthetically speaking. I remember seeing the trailers for Moulin Rouge and thinking "pfff that looks obnoxious" and then seeing it and falling in love. I had to find his other work, and each movie I got my hands on became my new favorite. Romeo + Juliet, then Strictly Ballroom, the latter of which is one of my go-to movies for a pick-me-up. Admittedly, I've yet to sit through Australia in one sitting but I've mildly enjoyed what I've seen.

--

I wanted to list a couple runners-up. Were this a movie-only list, these might be on here.

+Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. I wasn't actually a fan of Lost in Translation, but I liked parts. Really, it's The Virgin Suicides that puts me in its own special mood. And again, the 70's!

+Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice. This is my feminine-fantasy at its grandest. If there was a place I could vacation and pretend this was the era I lived in, I would be there every year.

+Tarsem Singh's The Fall. The fantasy world he creates in this movie resembles a lot of what I wished for in my childhood. All things exotic and magical. For me, it's the type of beauty that verges on terrifying.

Movies, yeah! They ...help your life?

2011-08-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Out of nowhere last weekend I was asked if I could attend a two-day shoot for a short film my friend was producing and take charge of makeup. Despite having exactly zero professional experience or training, I jumped on it. Perhaps I'm losing it.

But I had fun, and I think I was competent enough that I didn't absolutely ruin the film. The first night of shooting was the roughest. The actors were in a tiny set, an absolute sauna and the poor guys and girls were just dying. I patted sweat in between takes, caked on the powder to hide the shine. I'm sure they were all disgusted by the time they could get home and clean off their faces.

Even though it was pretty hot, gross, unpaid, and had long hours (a lot of the time of which I was usually just standing around, sitting on a stool or stealing a seat on a couch somewhere) it was a much needed change of environment.

I'm not trying to sound like a martyr or anything, not at all-- but I had been feeling like all I will do in my life is work and work and it will never stop. I work full time in an office, and some nights and most weekends I go and work with my family. I don't often travel, I don't get out as much as I'd like. I spend a lot of time stressing about the state of my house.

That last part, stressing out about my house, has been dominating me. I think about it all day at work, if I could just stay home for 1 day and whip it into shape. Then I get home at night and I feel like it could never be done, there's just too much stuff. I have this clear picture in my mind, a house with few objects, everything in its place, everything has a purpose. Then I get into it, and all the pieces break down into smaller pieces and I lose my vision. It's all just stuff but I can't seem to let it go.

Last weekend Spencer helped me go through maybe 3 small boxes of stuff that wasn't even mine. It was my mother's belongings that she left here. Most of it was rusted scrap metal, literal garbage or broken things that might have been useful once upon a time, but were so damaged now they couldn't even be donated.

We threw the junk out and I immediately shut down. I don't know what came over me. There was a sickness in my stomach and it crawled up my spine and into my mouth and my neck and all I could do was lie on the couch with my head hanging over the side. I tried to focus on breathing and not vomiting. I was irate and taciturn. I'm certain I won't be able to finish the house without help.

Despite this episode, I did actually purge a few things of my own too. I successfully got rid of: a few old rusty metal tables, a huge canning pot full of sticks, a few clothes, countertop appliances we never used, numerous decorative plates, bowls and vases, broken picture frames, and other random trash.

The hardest items for me to let go of are pieces of fabric and gardening things. I have quilt tops waiting to be made into a blanket, projects organized into kits, some mixed together over time, and plenty of supplies. I just haven't been able to organize my sewing room to completion yet. There's still so much stuff. I've have half-finished sewing projects from more than 5 years ago. I hate it.

And gardening, now that I have this wonderful old house and a yard that is literally like a blank slate, I just hold onto all the pots and containers I can, waiting for the patio to be poured, waiting to decorate. In the meantime, it all just piles up, empty and trashy looking, while plans for pouring a patio gets put on the back-burner over and over.

So I work to try and scrape funds together to do these things, and then I buy and accumulate little things that cut into those funds, or I decide I want to focus on the kitchen or the bedroom or the basement more, and then I need to try and work more to scrape funds together again. And the house piles up crap, and I fret and shut down, and I start feeling hopeless again.

It was cathartic to be on the movie set. I only had 1 job, no one else could do it, it was simple, extracted from my familiar world, like being in a backwards therapeutic bubble. Tiresome, unpaid, wonderful labor-therapy. I've been asked to do makeup again on future projects... and I think I'll try to take them.

I think I'm just destined to be poor and fussy. The least I can do is break up the monotony from time to time.

Well, well, well. We meet again.

2011-07-06T09:48:00.001-07:00

It's the time of the year where I think I'll start blogging again... for a day or two. We'll see.
I'll just jump back into this like it ain't no thang.

So this last Monday morning I noticed little creepy-creeps around my back door. Ants. Grah! No me gusta. So I cracked open my handy homekeeping handbook and looked up how to eradicate pests, specifically ants. There are multiple solutions, and after observing the critters I deduced that the problem was relatively small. There wasn't a trail, only 4 or 5 wandering around. Research indicates these were 'scout' ants sent out to look for food. Goodness knows I couldn't let them get to the kitchen or we'd be done for.

First things first, I vacuumed errything. Like 5 times. And then I vacuumed some more. The carpet, the walls, the furniture, the baseboards, the corners, under the couches, window sills, the kitchen floor, under the appliances- it was exhausting. I also vacuumed about a cup-full of baby powder (to be 100% sure the ants are exterminated) lest the ants survive and start nesting in my Dyson. One could also just use regular corn starch, since that's actually what baby powder is, but without scent.

Then I got some hot, hot water, the hottest I could stand (I wore latex gloves for moderate protection) and bleach (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) and thoroughly scrubbed and wiped down every inch of the kitchen floor I could manage. Also exhausting. And mildly terrifying.

During this time, two or three more ants had reappeared by the back door. I vacuumed them up (and vacuumed a little more powder) and sprinkled a crap-ton more of the baby powder around my back door. I also noticed the door is in dear need of new weather-stripping.

I've heard about ants not liking cinnamon, and last summer I tried making a cinnamon barrier with little luck. My homekeeping handbook recommends sprinkling talcum powder to deter ants. Talcum isn't widely sold anymore as it's thought to be carcinogenic, so I used baby powder. The baby powder is going strong 2 days now. No more ants. And I have a lovely scented powder so when I vacuum, it leaves a lavender smell in the air.

Now all we need to do is instill some tidier cooking habits in our household.

I'm just going to leave this here:

2010-09-24T20:46:00.001-07:00

Pizza!

Time Again For My Bi-Yearly Post

2010-02-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

So yeah remember when I said I would post tomorrow about that raffle I won?
Well I blew it off and also the posting. Oh well.

It's Day Two of lent and Spencer and I are going strong without meat!
I'm considering making this a permanent change. Vegetarian has so many benefits (other than losing vitamin B12, but I take multi-vitamins, so whatever).

Also it was Valentines Day last week. Probably the least romantic Valentines ever lived, and I have slacked off worse than last year. I had been keeping a tradition of making a fun hand-made valentine every year, which broke slightly when last year I started to sketch one out and encountered artists' block. Then I sort of skipped over this year.

Karlie gave me a lovely simple and yet refreshing valentine along with a mix cd which inspired me to make a Valentine mix for her too.

Here's the track list, for those interested in checking out the songs. Disclaimer: there is a bonus track which comes from a band I love, and who is a guilty pleasure. Embarrassment ensuing.

1. Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) / Peter Sarstedt
2. Oh Yoko! / John Lennon
3. Dis A Ton Capitaine / France Gall
4. In The Orchard / Tiger Army
5. Silver Dagger / Dolly Parton (not a guilty pleasure, Dolly rocks!)
6. Stone Cold Dead In The Market / (I lost track of who sang this)
7. I'm So Young / The Students
8. She / Elvis Costello
9. Take It In / Hot Chip
10. One Life Stand / Hot Chip
*Bonus Track!* Now everyone will know my secret!
11. I Knew I Loved You / Savage Garden

All that aside, I'm a little proud of this mix. Except for the double hit by Hot Chip (I couldn't part with either song), I think it all flows very well together while still being a mix of very different sounds. I hope the two people that read this maybe seek out these songs and give them a try!

New Bike!

2009-09-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok up the street from where we live there is a cute little "shop" called The Recycled Bike and one time when Spencer ran an errand on our old Huffy Cruiser and the chain popped off, the owner of The Recycled Bike happened to be walking by and helped him with the chain and mentioned that The Recycled Bike did trade-ins in case we ever wanted a more city-appropriated vehicle and we do, so we traded it (that's the gist of the story anyway) and HERE IT IS!

Yep, right there in the background, mind the grainy quality (the only working camera we have right now is the one inside the iMac screen.)

ANYWAYS it's a sweet lemony yellow Schwinn Varsity (vintage) but in great condition, working gears (5-Speed, is that what it's called?) front and back breaks, and they cleaned it all up and oiled it and threw in a rack for free (I attached the milk crate with my extensive resourcefulness) and we still have a "credit" (I want a saddle-basket for when we eventually get another one in the future so Spencer and I can both ride together) from the guy, Mike, the owner and he was so friendly and helpful, SO happy I finally have a street-ready bike to start taking to work and whatnot and long-running sentennnnnnce!

The only thing is that the tires probably need to be replaced in about 3 or 4 months; they're coming to the end of their reign, but still got enough life in 'em. SO EXCITED.

And tomorrow, I'll tell you about a RAFFLE I won!

Finding The Right Chef

2009-08-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

Spencer and I like to use the library a lot. We check out DVD's, I track down music, we read comics, fiction, non-fiction. We I get to thinking I need to know more about a hobby I might try out, how to care for finches or look up some weird history about Utah, I'll be at the library. And most often, we love to check out recipe books. (Ok, maybe comics and DVD's beat out how often we check out recipe books, but it's a close competition.)

We'll browse the titles, and pick out a few recipes, try them out, make some edits, maybe copy the page if we like it enough. And there are some authors that we love the most, namely Jamie Oliver "The Naked Chef," Sam Stern, who's kind of like the 16 year old version of Jamie Oliver and Charlie Ayers, who was hired to be like a personal-ish chef for the Google staff for many years.

The time has come, I think that Spencer and I have found a good round of books that fit our lifestyle and ought to be made permanent resources in our home. And I've realized that all this time we've watched the Food Network, browsed recipe books, and watched what our grocery budget goes to, it's all been adding up to the time we start having a somewhat basic recipe books of our own to shape our everyday diets. And these three authors cater to us the most.

I should mention Alton Brown. We love him. But more than love his recipes, I think we mostly treat him as the ultimate authority on how to cook what and why. I recommend you seek out anything with his name on it too.

Here's the round-up, the books we've gotten the best results from, are doable and make us realize we have more control we eat than we think and what we just all-around find the most useful:

+Anything by The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver

+Sam Stern, who caters to my minimalistic, adolescent (but still so good) attitudes

+Charlie Ayers, who can make tasty food work for you

+Alton Brown, Food and Cooking Expert

+and recently, Anything by Martha Stewart, who has never yet led me astray while baking (this suggestion is mine alone since I'm the one who usually bakes out of the two of us).

So I suggest you look these people up, check out their books, try their recipes, listen to what they have to say about food and enjoy cooking. Like Robert Rodriguez said in one of his 10-minute cooking lessons on his DVD bonus features, you have to eat everyday, so why not make it something you love? Or something like that.

Until next time!~

Back in Black!

2009-06-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

So it's 6 months through 2009 and I'm revisiting my new years resolutions. They were roughly to:

Live simply
Keep up my hobbies
Go back to school

How have I fared half-way through the year?

Well I haven't had the chance to go back to school just yet, however I do plan on being up at the U this fall.

Keeping up my hobbies. It's hard because this resolution kind of conflicts with my other resolution: to live simply. Obviously, the more hobbies you have, the more stuff you accumulate, and the more time and money spent doing different things. So I let some go.
I still sew but I don't thrift shop for fun and I scrapped almost all my old projects just because they'd been unfinished for years and I was no longer driven to finish them. I don't shop for clothes almost at all, and if I do, I donate or sell something I already had to try and maintain equilibrium. We plan our meals by the week and I stay on top of the groceries. I have a calendar system for bill paying. I've started finding a home for every knick-knack and if I can't find a place for it, then out it goes.

Simply put: less projects, less things, less clothes, less laundry, less cleaning, less money spent. More time for exercise, hanging out with friends, cleaning, preparing home meals and more time for the projects that are left and actually worthwhile!

However I still have have a ways to go. I'd like to be tighter on the laundry schedule, deep cleaning schedule and daily tidying but I'm at least to a place where I can do things like pick up exercising and cooking and holding 3 part-time jobs.

Cool, I'll be back in December! (Only hopefully sooner, lol)...

Oh Em Geez.

2009-02-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time so I'll make this quick:

-Black Chandelier IS NO MORE.
Everyone was laid off, myself included, the store is shut down, the website has been suspended and I have effectively concluded my time with Nexia Holdings, Style Perfect, Black Chandelier and Dan Nappi. It is a RELIEF.

-I am on unemployment/seeking new employment.

-I am also seeking to return to school this fall.

-I have become utterly domestic. Cleaning, preparing dinner and a weekly sweet, it's all good.

-I got a haircut! It looks WAY good.

-WE FOUND SPENCER'S CAMERA.

Pictures to follow.

Help Wanted!

2009-01-16T11:07:00.001-08:00

Can somebody (I totally almost just spelled that "someboday" btw,) make this a seamless image?
And by seamless of course I mean if I were to tile the image side to side, top to bottom, it would turn into one seamless image.
Normally I'd ask Spencer to do it but I'm pretty sure our current computer is sans Photoshop... and my laptop has Photoshop but it also has no working USB drive AND I'm lending it to a friend.

SO, if anyone other than the two people I know read this can work thems shops and make my image seamless, comment and I'll send you the clearest copy of it I have? Yes?

Yes. Ok, thank you.

Ok So There's Actually More To It.

2009-01-04T11:46:00.001-08:00

I try to keep certain aspects of my life out of this blog so that they can remain personal to me and that others that I know read this may or may not... well, know those certain things and ridicule me about them. When I want them to know, I'll tell them personally. That being said, there's more to my resolutions than just what I wrote in my last post and I want to list those things here, mainly for my own reference.

Real quickly now:

-grow closer with Spencer and continue to strengthen our marriage.

-return to school and make studies a priority.

-make additional budgets for school and home life, including putting away a percentage of my personal allowance to put back into savings.

-finish ALL crafts projects started in 2008 (including clothing alterations and quilts)

-no more cardboard boxes storing random things, especially if they're not in a closet.

-15 minute clean up everyday.
-----this one I've been trying right after I get home from work, before I sit down or when I wake up on weekends before I shower or eat and it's amazing the difference it makes when I go by time and not task because so much more gets put away and picked up than I thought could happen.

-restrain my diet. this mostly means financially, we eat out SO OFTEN it's almost tragic.

-pick it up on FHE

-volunteer more, and/or donate more often.

-strive to complete my weekly work hours. For a couple months before Christmas I was getting really good at this but I've let myself get lazy around Christmas and New Years and scheduling myself a couple hours less week after week but now is the time to be making habits of saving and budgeting whatever we have and by giving myself those extra 3 or 4 hours a week I'm making a bigger difference financially than I remember sometimes for Spencer and I.

-write Rachel and McKay at least once every two or three weeks. I need to remember that Sunday is the best day to write them because they're p-day is Monday.

-take more pictures. (i.e. find our camera, lol)

-be better at keeping a personal journal.

-visit my brother more often

-help my mother at her home more often

-pray for my dad and aubrey

-visit my kuefner-relatives on holidays. the longer I wait to make a habit of this I realize the more devastating it could be in the future. especially when Spencer and I decide to have kids and I'm still somewhat estranged from most of them. I don't want that.

-grow closer to Spencer more. And then some more.

And that's about as personal as I get so enjoy it!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have a New Year's Resolution or two.

One is to just live simpler. Simply-er? What do I imagine this to mean?
Other than physically purging my life and home of clutter, it also means forming good day-today habits that eliminate my life of some stress.
Like saying "yes" more instead of no when asked to help with things. Taking a few minutes day to day to pick up the house, if only for 5 minutes. Toning down my inflammatory tendency to take on multiple projects at once.

Another is to do more. Which, is technically not something I've only just now resolved to do. And by "do more" I mean keep my mind and hands active. Finishing projects when I've started them and trying more new things. I've been pretty good at this for the past month or so. I made some nice curtains to separate the living room and kitchen, and some other drapes for the bathroom. I crocheted a hat last night (just before falling asleep 5 minutes before midnight.) and I also sewed the leggings I'm wearing today. I have 1 quilt top piece waiting to be batted and backed, and 3 other quilts that are coming along nicely, little by little. And I think I'm going to try buying a vintage pattern and giving that a go. I haven't followed a pattern since sophomore year of high school. I also got some cake decorating tools for Christmas to play with which has reminded me that it's been too long since I last made something yummy.

My big resolution this year is to go back to school. Hopefully Spencer and I will get our tax information back pretty soon here and then we can file and apply for some financial aid (what a time to apply though, ugh) and hopefully Spencer and I will haven't run into any big financial trouble and the savings we've been putting aside can allow me to return to college, at least part-time if not full, this fall. Spencer was thinking about taking some additional classes for experience and fun (he graduated from BYU last August if you didn't know already) which I would love because then maybe we could enroll in a class or two together.

So to sum up:
Live simpler.
Keep up my hobbies.
Go back to school.

I think I can manage that, which is why I liked making these resolutions. Normally I'd make resolutions that were extremely defined. Like "lose 25 pounds" and "finish sailboat/tailor's mannequin still life" and things like that were just, meh. As soon as I lost sight of those goals, then I'd feel crappy about it and just put it away in a closet to forget about or eat unhealthily and feel crappy about that too.

All I am worrying about now if whether or not I'm enjoying my life day to day and if I'm not, then I am taking little actions here and there to improve it, and most of all, I'm trying to be patient and focused. I want to allow myself an extra second to react, which allows me to think through my decisions better which causes me to feel a little more confident in myself and my abilities to improve my life and my home life.
And the best part is that I haven't really waited for 2009 for all this to start, but it's nice to put it into words for a reminder when things get hectic or I get impatient. If I have to, I'll write the words "live simpler, be patient and focus" on my arm everyday for a reminder. Maybe I'll just make that the motto/title of my journal for this year. That's probably a better idea.

The Christmas Post

2008-12-30T09:57:00.001-08:00

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:

2008-12-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-12-03T14:46:00.001-08:00

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.

2008-12-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Everything is better with pesto.

One Night in Bangkok And The World's Your Oyster

2008-11-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

-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

2008-11-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

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:

2008-11-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T18:49:00.001-08:00

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.

2008-11-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-10-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

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

The Economy And Its Effects On My Hair.

2008-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

So lovely.

Or maybe it's this chocolate.

2008-10-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

Palin as President.

Thinking Halloween...

2008-10-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

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:

2008-10-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-11T10:10:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-10-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

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.