Wednesday, December 29

into the middle of things....

....or "in medias res."

 In medias res is a literary narrative concept used by authors to describe an event that has taken place by first explaining the end result and then going back to the beginning and explaining what happened in order for the said event to actually happen. (Think CSI style)

When I researched this concept it immediately made me think about the year that is about to come to a close and how the concept of looking "into the middle of things" is a great way to dissect the journey one's life has taken throughout the course of a year.

If I were to look at the end result from this past year I would sum it up in three words: Character, Strength, and Drive.

I look at myself in the mirror and I see someone who as grown in so many different ways and I love who I see. More than teaching myself what I can be I think that this year has merely revealed to me what I had lying within me all along.


May the next year bring prosperity, knowledge, and beauty
I have a feeling I'm in for something big

Monday, December 20

Let your heart be light

Finally Christmas break has arrived!! It seemed like it would never arrive but the busiest semester of my life has finally come to a close and I have learned more about myself in this past semester than I ever thought possible. I am so thankful for the strength I have found in every lesson inside and outside of the classroom and I am very happy with the way my life has been going :)


Because I am working most of this break to pay those billzzz and to save up for my move to NYC I am spending most of my Christmas away from home, but I still thought I a little Christmas cheer was in order so I did a little decorating:


My mother found the PERFECT tree for my home away from home, complete with crafty lil' ornaments!




Paired with some Christmas Carols a-la "The Weepies" and Ingrid and I am in the holiday spirit for sure!


This year santa came a little early and I am now a proud Mac user :) 

And even though Santa will not be stopping by my house again this year I decided it would be fun to make a pretend wish list:

I wish I could find a way to pimp out my lovely bike Cecilia for Christmas just like this one

Or perhaps a new record player since my oldschool record player finally kicked the bucket :(


Maybe a big book filled with quotes and words of wisdom? (Ralph Waldo Emerson and e.e. cummings please :) )


But when everything is said and done I have been so lucky this past year and really I don't need anything more that what I already have, but I guess I'll keep the MacBook anyway ; )

-xoxo.

Friday, November 12

Note to self :

“Go now and live. Experience. Dream. Risk. Close your eyes and jump. Enjoy the freefall. Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Wake up to the magic of everyday life. Make friends with your intuition. Trust your gut. Discover the beauty of uncertainty. Know yourself fully before you make promises to another. Make millions of mistakes so that you will know how to choose what you really need. Know when to hold on and when to let go. Love hard and often and without reservation. Seek knowledge. Open yourself to possibility. Keep your heart open, your head high and your spirit free. Embrace your darkness along with your light. Be wrong every once in a while, and don’t be afraid to admit it. Awaken to the brilliance in ordinary moments. Tell the truth about yourself no matter what the cost. Own your reality without apology. See goodness in the world. Be bold. Be fierce. Be grateful. Be wild, crazy, and gloriously free. Be you. Go now, and live.”
~Jeanette Leblanc



-xoxo.



Wednesday, November 3

Tricks and Treats and Thrifting, oh my!

After a VERY long hiatus I have decided that there is no better reason for my triumphant return other than the best holiday known to man......Halloween!!! A day (or week if you are anything like me) when you are free to dress as silly and creative as you like all while getting to eat candy, drink cider, and enjoy the company of others.(Who, with any luck, are dressed just as silly as you)

Of course, my favorite part of this crazy holiday are the endless costume possibilities. In years past I have tried to let my Halloween costume find me rather than decide what I would be and force it to work. Usually I just take a trip to the thrift store and let inspiration strike.

Two years ago I went as a sailor. This thrift store find was previously a child's sailor costume from the 70's that vaguely resembled a very sad attempt at an airline stewardess outfit adorned with decorative anchors. Unfortunately, I didn't document the before but I do have some pictures of the after once I took to it with a pair of scissors and my sewing machine:

  It was a great last minute costume and it only cost $3.99 to boot!

Last year I had my heart set on being an astronaut, but the costume gods had a different plan. So when it became clear that the odds of finding an easy (and safe) way of creating a space helmet were slim to nil I decided to create a cheap, creative, and still somewhat space themed costume:
This FREE costume was a lot of fun...although mobility was limited to say the least haha. I spray painted 3 boxes of varying sizes and used red felt to make the heart and buttons and an old CD as my dial on the bottom. So instead of just a plain, average, everyday robot I became a Love Machine ;)

This year I found myself torn between two ideas and decided to do both! The first is an idea that came from one of my very good friends and I wish I could take credit for it, but I did design it even though the idea wasn't exactly mine:

Now that I am a spunky little redhead (haha) a whole new world of characters has been opened. And so here I am as the petite french orphan everyone loves, Madeline :) (Seen above is Madeline learning the ways of the world from Ke$ha)

My second costume this Halloween season was a gift from my lovely mother. She found this vintage beauty at a Salvation Army for only $2.00!!
I made the cape, crown, and the wrist bands (obviously to deflect any stray bullets that I come in contact with throughout the night). It was such a fun costume. And I'd like to think that Wonder Woman and I are strong women with quite a bit in common ;)

Sadly, the Halloween season has come to an end :( but I have already given a little thought as to what next year might bring...Who knows? Maybe I'll try a female version of James Dean?

We'll see what the thrift store has in store (no pun intended haha) for next year!!


xoxo.


Monday, July 19

Let them eat cake

There is just something so magical about having the perfect cupcake. They are just so pretty and somehow always seem to taste better than an actual cake. Recently I have become mildly obsessed with all of the cupcake TV shows that have become so popular. It's about time the world realized how wonderful these little baby cakes can be!
Me enjoying the cupcakes from A Cookie and a Cupcake in Cleveland, Ohio

glitzy and glamorous cupcakes

  leaning tower of cupcakes

my newest obsession: dainty cupcakes

Loch Nessie cupcakes! -- so clever!

Sassy lil' cupcake mobile. I think they're on to something though. What if we had cupcake trucks in lieu of ice cream trucks?? genius!!

Lucky Charms cupcakes?! ...the brilliant ideas just keep coming

My personal favorite.

pretty much my motto these days.

Now go eat cupcakes, drink and be merry!
-xoxo.

Tuesday, July 13

The Golden Era

Recently, I have been inspired by the fashion that surrounds me in the musical murder mystery comedy "Curtains". I am currently performing in a production of this musical as "Niki Harris", the naive chorus girl who falls in love with a mystery solving detective. The costumes are so beautiful and it leaves you feeling like Doris Day could walk by at any moment with a pot roast for dinner.


I love the 1950's silhouette. I think it is so feminine and can make any girl feel delicate and oh so pretty!



What's the best part about these gorgeous dresses you ask? Well, if you ask me it's the fact that (if you're willing to pay a pretty penny) these dresses are still readily available in most vintage shops and online! Here are some dresses I found from a shop call "firefly vintage" on Etsy.com

Although this skirt doesn't follow the traditional fifties silhouette I just had to post it (and perhaps purchase in the very near future). Classic pieces like this never go out of style. 

-xoxo.

Sunday, July 4

Thrifting for the greater good

Roughly eighty or so percent of my closet comes from some kind of thrift or second hand store. I go thrift store shopping almost every week (usually Wednesdays because it tends to be the universal "half off" day at many thrift stores).

It has become such second nature to me that thrift stores are a great way to get quirky clothing at a bargain price, but I recently had an epiphany that there's no reason that I can't find wonderful items for the home (and my New York apartment in less than a year) at my favorite thrift stores!

Here's a gem I found. So beautiful and dirt cheap!! $11 for both the chair and the pillow :)


I recently stumbled upon the best second hand store named Thrift Nation with one of my good friends.  We fell in love with the vintage treasures (like the shabby chic chair seen above) and more importantly the wonderful mission the owners have dedicated themselves to with this thrift store.

Thrift Nation has made a commitment to sell all of their items at below market prices so that they are affordable to all who come looking for items, but they also give all of their profits to those in need. Thrift Nation splits their profits between two foundations. The first is the Love and Hope Children's Home, a foundation dedicated to helping children in El Salvador. And the second,  Juna Amagara, an organization which provides children in Uganda with safe shelter, quality education, balanced nutrition, health education and vocational training.



-xoxo.

Tuesday, June 29

Endings, Beginings, and Everything in Between

So happy to be back and blogging again after a long hiatus. Sometimes life tends to get in the way, but without further ado here is a long awaited post! There are so many things to cover so lets get down to business : )

Today I had the most amazing lunch at a quaint little restaurant called "Treehuggers Cafe." This little cafe makes it their mission to keep the planet and their customers healthy. They only use organic ingredients and have made it their mission to support the local growers of the area by purchasing all seasonal produce locally.  The food was so out of this world that I am already planning my next visit in the near future. 

Our meal started off with some of the most delicious sweet potato fries I've ever had topped with a tangy honey mustard sauce.


And just when we thought it couldn't get any better our entrees came out and made us very happy campers. I ordered Marbled Murrelet Mushroom Panini complete with fresh buffalo mozzarella and pesto.


Both meals looked so amazing so we decided to share. My friend ordered a Black bean cactus burger with avocado and fresh mango salsa. Talk about beautiful food.


So by the end of our organic locally grown food marathon we discovered that they also make pastries!!! ....but they will have to wait until the next visit :)
more coming very soon :)

-xoxo.