My favorite blogs

This has been a long time coming but I have added some of my favorite blogs on the left hand side. I encourage you to visit each and all. Many have been mentioned before. Many have aquired their own sort of well deserved fame. There are a few, though, I would like to personally introduce (with no offense intended to those I leave out):

Ruby Bastille: belongs to Aurora and it is a chronicling of her life far more eloquent than mine.

Saturday Jane: belongs to Little Red. Also far more eloquent than mine and typically leaves me in stitches.

Mrs. Lilien: I WANT TO CRAWL INTO THIS BLOG AND LIVE THERE or maybe just vacation for a weekend at a time when I'm stressed.

Outfits Anonymous: You know that feeling when you look at an article of clothing and say "but I wore that the other day". This is proof that is no excuse. This genius literally takes an article of clothing and by mixing accessories and shoes creates 10 - 20 different, distinct outfits.

Stuff Under Twenty: They post articles of clothing under $20 like everyday. Eeek! It was through them I discovered the $15 Store. Double eek!

Super Kawaii Mama: satisfies my lust for all things retro.

Kansas Couture: I don't have many blogs that I follow that are simply daily outfit posts but I love this one because of the prices listed below. You rarely see something that cost more than $10, which gives hope to those of us pinching pennies.

You know what my absolute favorite thing is, though? The end of the week when the blogs I check post links to all the other cool things they've seen. Seriously occupies me for hours. I may incorporate this into my blog in the near future as soon as motivation strikes.

Beauty Icons

I decided to try a little exercise to help solidify my "look" in terms of hair and makeup. I think many people would shy away from having a specific "look" because it limits creativity but I'm craving a sort of beauty "home" of sorts. Some basic steps for day looks, evening looks, professional looks, etc. So I chose 5 woman that I consider beauty icons and charted certain characteristics in their hair and makeup.

#1 Catherine Zeta Jones

# 2 Vivien Leigh

#3 Audrey Hepburn (who doesn't have her on their list?)

#4 Dita Von Teese

#5 Camilla Belle (I don't know much about her but I saw this picture when I was trying hairstyles on style.com and it stuck with me.)

Here's my chart (I had to make it small so it would fit. I hope you can read it):

So it looks like some basics for me are:

- blush with a shimmer for dewy skin

- line only the upper lid and use mascara

- peachy lipstick for day wear then go bold at night

- shoulder length hair with curls

The details are things I can play with to make it my personal style. 

Your turn! Who are your icons and how can you channel them in day to day life?

I'm worth it!

You may want to be sitting down for this. I have joined a gym. 

I posted a picture of me at the theatre gala. I received plenty of compliments that night but when I saw pictures posted to facebook, I must admit I was upset. I looked about 40 lbs. heavier than I thought I was. I'm completely onboard the with the plus size movement and the understanding that just because one eats a healthy diet and exercises regularly does not mean they will be society's definition of skinny. At the same time I feel it is important to take care of yourself. I don't believe in starving yourself or punishing your body  for being different. I loved last weeks episode of Glee when Quinn had a heart to heart with Mercedes. She explained that eating for someone else changed her relationship with food. She realized that if she was willing to eat to take care of her child, she should take the same care in feeding herself. I thought "Damn straight!" When I saw those pictures though, I realized I hadn't been practicing what I preach.

For the past year or so I've been focused on my career and my future. I've thought, no I'm not exercising as much as I should be but I have other priorities right now. Why would my health not be my TOP PRIORITY!? I've been feeling like I have to earn that. I can get a gym membership when I'm making enough money. Or sure I'll eat organic when I become successful but for now it's frozen veggies for me. We've talked about my money issues on this blog before and that definitely plays into it. I don't have a good sense of what is a frivolous expense and what is worthwhile.

I admit that my vanity was hurt first when I saw those pictures but my appearance is not as important as my health and my health is not frivolous! I had a talk with my parents both about my health and money anxieties and they reassured me that I don't need to worry about my expenses as much as I do. We all agree that getting more exercise will probably help the anxiety and if I feel guilty about purchasing something I'll run it by my parents. Aren't parents wonderful.

So I joined a gym that I've had a crush on for a while. I know one of the yoga instructors. All of the classes are complimentary drop-in, there's a pool, and it's $40/month. It's called Om Lifestyle and Wellness. It has a totally chill, tranquil environment and is much less intimidating than most gyms I've been to. Tomorrow morning I'm going to attempt to go for a swim before work. This means waking up at 6:30am on a day that I work until midnight but it's the only time I have to exercise.

I also downloaded a new app for my iPod Touch. It's called Lose It! I'm less interested in dieting than I am in just monitoring my calories and exercise. This app does it. You enter your current stats and set a goal between maintaining your weight and losing 2lbs a week. Then it gives you a recommended calorie intake. You enter your meals and exercise, this database has everything, and it will help you track. It will even track nutrients like protein and fats. I've enjoyed using it so far. It makes it easy and I haven't felt hungry on my recommended calorie budget so I think it's a healthy system as well.

Here's to putting myself first!

Spring Gala Continued

Remember weeks ago when I posted about needing to get a dress for the theatre's gala. I figured I should follow up. I found a great dress at Ross for $14.99, approximately $16 with tax.

I also got an opportunity to wear a necklace I got when my great grandmother passed away. I've never had a chance to wear it before. It's costume jewelry-ish but pretty and very special to me. 

So there you go. It was a lovely evening and we surpassed our fundraising goal. Yay!

Sewing in a Menagerie

For those of you who don't know, my family has 5 pets. 2 dogs and 3 cats.

Triton (sound asleep in this photo):

Maddy (with her Woolly):

Peekaboo (or Boo Boo in the center. I don't have many good pictures of him):

Zoe Madison (she's the princess):

And Mickey (he was a stray I brought home from campus. He loves water):

A couple of my lovelies decided to be very helpful while I went about making my 5 minute skirt. Mickey was in a very playful mood and was under the impression that the measuring tape was a vicious snake out to destroy the world. He also tried to pounce on my scissors as I was cutting. Not smart, cat. Not smart. 

Then later Triton needed some love. Immediately. He wouldn't have minded if I also threw his ball a couple of times. 

Despite my zoo's best attempts the skirt is complete. Not quite 5 minutes but it was pretty simple. My biggest advice is to measure everything. I creates a casing and threaded elastic through it rather than do the fold over elastic but this FOE does have me intrigued. I just couldn't find any and I was impatient. 

My other bit of advice is for when you go to hem. Lay the skirt flat with the seams on either side and cut straight across. Then lay it flat with the seams on the top and bottom and, measuring frequently, cut the same length all the way across. It should curve parallel to the waist. 

I did have to purchase elastic, $1.99 plus tax, and we owned a sewing machine (otherwise this would have sucked). My fabric actually came from an old sheet. It had been used for another project but there was enough left. Way to upcycle though, right? Kids bed sheets = new wardrobe. 

E'erybody in the club gettin' CRAFTY

I've been a little down lately. Basically I've been stressed about getting enough work, which so far is not a problem, and now I feel like I let other things slip through the cracks. Things like a social life and the chance at romance. I know that I have a social life and I will not die alone. I think I was just stuck in my head too much. So I decided to be busy. I took old jeans and turned them into a lot of new things. There may even be more to come. 

First up is a wristlet made out of pockets to store my essentials such as cell phone, ipod, and keys. You may remember my post about my overflowing purse. This is something I'm trying in an attempt to save my back. I figure this little guy can tuck right back in my purse but I can use it while running around. 

These jeans are actually threecycled. I cut them off and turned them into bermudas first, which were great last summer but I've come to the conclusion that I don't look good in that style. Here is the site I used to create this awesome mini purse. 

Next came a skirt out of old work jeans that were wearing thin in some places. I used this site for this project. 

It still needs to be washed so that the bottom will fray a bit. It can be hemmed but I don't think I have that skill. It would be crooked and awkward so, it will be frayed instead.

Lastly I took the leg off of the skirt I made, sewed the bottom up real quick, threaded an old shoelace through the top, and now have a hanging bag for all of the plastic bags I accumulate. 

So that has kept me busy and a bit out of my head. For one day at least. Tomorrow I'm going to try to make this 5-minute skirt. We have a big tub of fabric leftover from projects downstairs so I'll see if I have enough. I think I'll need to buy some fold-over elastic or enough elastic to circle my waist but other than that all of this has been FREE! Mostly because my mother, my sister, and I have accumulated thread and needles, etc, and we have my mom's sewing machine. Still I bet it would be cheap for you, too.

I'll keep you posted about the skirt. Wish me luck!

The Do's and Don'ts of Gift Giving

So I have been busy and honestly way out of it so I have been remiss about posting. This post has pretty much nothing to do with my typical themes but it's somewhat entertaining. I had a crazy week to start out this new phase in my life that clearly demonstrated some of the best and the absolute worst gift I have ever received.

Glitter presented me this glittery unicorn sticker. Glitter and Gold are obsessed with unicorns. Ok, maybe not obsessed. But they like them A LOT. This was his last unicorn sticker. I will place it on my magic box in a place of honor.

Thumbelina scattered chocolate all over my desk for the opening of our last show. It will take me all summer to get through it. 

Then two days later I went to get into my car to drive to a high school where I was designing My Fair Lady, and I found someone had got into my car. They didn't steal anything just emptied my glove box and side pockets onto the seat and left this on the driver's side. 

It was not originally in the plastic bag. Having my car broken into and nothing stolen is one of the best gifts I've ever received but this knife if definitely the WORST.