Plants + Books = LOVE

New project! How amazing is this plant idea? This combines two things that I already find beautiful anyway. A marriage made in heaven in my mind. I'm feeling a new craft project coming on...I could even combine this idea with a terrarium feel. I would have to get a bigger book. Like a dictionary.

[via SeeSaw Designs]

forget-me-knot[s]

I love these rings by designer Kiel Mead. They are simple yet beautiful and fun. Just can't get them out of my distracted Monday mind (seriously though, my productivity today = NIL).

collage creations

I've been working for a couple weeks on a new collage for my room, I wanted to to have two next to each other for over my bed to balance out my room and give it a lot of color. I love how the newest one turned out, it's much more feminine and delicate. I used a lot of black and white images and older pictures with this one. And I randomly found and decided to use real dried pressed flowers and put them over some of the pictures. Here are the before and afters...

Post-it Note Inspiration

EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

:)

Time Travel

Naomi, Jackie and I in the...20's? ...not entirely sure on the decade. I hope you have as much fun this weekend as these three lovely ladies in their fantastic bathing costumes.

The boys are back in town! (and that song now stuck in my head...) Friends being back makes this weekend so incredibly appealing. I'm looking forward to relaxing, catching up and reuniting, sunning myself and barbeque-ing. Maybe a margarita or two... :)

Oh and my new collage / latest "art" endeavor is finished! A picture or two soon.

Dreaming of three day weekends...

Naomi, Jackie and I are thinking about going camping at Lake Tahoe for Labor Day weekend this year! We want to bring some friends, enjoy some nature and outdoors... I just want to roadtrip up there for a long weekend, hike and swim to my heart's content...
Perfection.

Let's talk hair.

I think this redhead's bangs are just awesome! The question is, could I ever pull if off? I mean, bangs are a statement anyway, and when your head is aflame as well...

Thoughts?

Four new friends.

Meet my new friends! Mourning the loss of my wonderful beta fish, Davy Jones, I ended up giving my iPhone the name "Davy Jones" as I was registering it online at Apple. Needless to say, Naomi and Jackie saw this as a sad cry for help. They surprised me with four goldfish!

I have to say, they're absolutely addicting to watch, they're so strange and lively. I've named two of them so far - Tupac and Captain Jack (Sparrow). If any good fish names come into mind, you know who to call.

:)

Rest for the soul.

Our hike today may have been rest for our souls, but it was not rest for our bodies. We hiked in Topanga State Park in 100 degree heat! The day was documented courtesy of the iPhone:

Ending with a slurpee and a jump in the pool... perfect Sunday.

Molly J.

This is too funny, I couldn't resist. Funny new Molly J music video HERE:

My Segway / Friday Fascination

Friday at last...I hope you're going to have a weekend filled with rays of sunshine, perhaps a couple drinks (I'm having Pimm's made by roommate/bartender Jackie!)...maybe a movie (or Trueblood TV epidsodes) or two...

In keeping with my long-standing segway fascination, enjoy this clip by the Onion :)

In The Know: Do You Remember Life Before The Segway?

[flickr.com]
Whatever Happened to the Segway?

The Cat Lady

Inspiration for the day. The cat lady can be beautiful. I think this is going on my next collage.

[FFFFOUND.COM]

Wild Things.

I simply cannot wait to see Where the Wild Things Are!
Just thought I would share. Fall 2009 is going to be great.

Creative Analogies 101: Rap and US International Relations

Jay-Z vs the Game: Lessons for the American Primacy Debate

This Slate article was great! An article on the parallels between the hegemon vs. smaller powers in rap [i.e. Jay-Z the "great power" vs. other smaller challengers like The Game] compared to the United States' position in international relations. I loved that class. Sounds like a stretch but...it wasn't really.


In a line of [slightly] less intellectual thought... :)

Monday inspiration.

I was introduced (through i am a greedy girl) to this amazing website / band. Still not sure about the band [Orba Squara] yet but their website is just incredible and really creative. They recently chronicled a band road trip across the US, and their way of documenting the trip is just amazing. I wish my next road trip could be documented the way theirs was.

Fantastic.

My next (clothing) purchase.

I am in love with cropped jeans I've decided. Aren't these lovely? So perfect for the summer.

gap.com

urban outfitters.com

And while I'm at it...you know what would go so perfectly with this wonderful denim?
...a nice relaxed menswear styled shirt like this one:
Love it!

Friday I'm in love!

Happy Friday! Making it to the weekend, almost all in one piece. Other than being unbelievably sore from starting P90X with Naomi and Jackie. It's literally kicking our asses. In a good way.

Here is an infomercial that someone sent to me at work...quite possibly the worst infomercial ever created. Apparently this product was also pulled off of retail shelves because it was seen as racist. Can you guess why... haha so ridiculous.
Enjoy!

Once upon a time there was...a chair.

So we Craigslisted for this armchair almost a month ago. Everything about this chair has been kind of incredulous...from the man with almost three teeth who sold it to us to the disgusting way it had been reupholstered (at least three times) and the strange musty/old odor wafting around our apartment from it. So we partially gutted this chair and had it simply sitting in our apartment, just waiting for its time to become the designated project and undertaking of Naomi and me.

Exhibit A...case in point.

What an undertaking.
So, last weekend, Naomi and I threw on our baggiest of baggy sweats and set to work scouting out cheap but quality / designer upholstery fabrics ...which meant a trip to Mood Fabrics in LA.
Additionally, the arrival of the kitten (Mobes!) meant that the two "projects" would fuse, as they did...
And isn't this fabric just perfect? Especially against our "avocado" walls. :)
And thus, the project continued...into the wee 2.30 am hours on Saturday, and all morning Sunday...we pressed onward.

And then, at long last, after many hours of stapling, tacking, cursing, measuring and stretching...SUCCESS!
Victory has never tasted so sweet. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Moral of this tale: We now understand why cool furniture like this is so expensive. And if we ever went into the upholstery business (because we seem to think that we're really good at it) we would charge lots and lots of $money$.

The end.

Moby!

I am finally posting pics of the newest, cutest occupant of apt. 2...Moby!

On the way home, loving the car...

Precious...we all really love his crazy white stripe running down from his mouth. He's really social, not scared of anyone, and absolutely hilarious and lovable. Right after we got him and took him to the vet, we were sadly informed that he might have a heart murmer. But, we're hopeful that it was a mistake or that it's nothing serious...he has WAY too much energy to have a weak heart. Makes me love him even more though.

He's going to be a great lolcat.

Short [WO]MAN Syndrome?

http://www.slate.com/id/2221843/

Additionally:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/humannature/archive/2009/06/30/cosmetic-leg-breaking.aspx

I read this article on my fav Slate blog, Human Nature, and, as a person who is even shorter than the woman in the article, I find her arguments as to why she needed such extreme leg stretching surgery extremely thin and weak. Is she that insecure and does she have that much self-loathing that she must let society dictate how tall she should be?

And, as far as being taken seriously - professionally in particular - I too consider this and am quite aware of it as a 5'0" fresh college grad who wishes to prove herself. But, being extremely short encourages you to be that much more conscious of your professionalism, dress, work ethic, attitude, etc. and to ensure that your work is just that much more indicative of your intelligence and competence. Furthermore, your height is an intimate part of your identity if you are short, just as it is if you are extremely tall - while I get irritated when I can't reach the bowl in cupboard or a tall person is bearing down on me by standing too close and making me uncomfortable, my short stature is a integral part of who I am.

This woman did not go get her legs excruciatingly lengthened because the pressures of society were bearing down on her - rather, she does not have an adequate self-image that comes from within herself and her negative self-image alone. Society loves petite women! Look at Reese Witherspoon, the Olsen twins...I know these are actresses and it's different than the professional world but still, petite women are not somehow culturally banned from being successful.

This woman needs to take a good hard look in the mirror and address the fact that her desire to become taller - going to ridiculously extreme lengths to get there - came from within, not from society. Throw on a pair of heels and embrace your own unique person and personality.



Ps. Kitten pics and apartment project photos to come soon!