This weekend I:

• Cleaned my apartment…kind of.
• Planned a menu for tomorrow’s dinner with Kim. {Brussels sprouts with white beans and pecorino. And pilaf, yum}
• Watched both of these:

Factory Girl and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Two style icons in one day! Edie Sedgwick and Audrey Hepburn are both completely mesmerizing in completely different ways. Incredible. It’s crazy to me that Breakfast at Tiffany’s debuted in 1961, and Edie Sedgwick was dubbed the first “it-girl” in 1965-ish. Same era, same city, worlds apart. Well, of course, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is fictional and all.

But I digress. I also:

• Finished my clipboard project…and the cross stitch part of my cross stitch pillow. It’s been raining all day, as predicted, so it was a great day for catching up on things. Pictures to come soon, promise!
• I read this from cover to cover. Un-inspiring projects, but extremely informative. I’ve already started carving a stamp for a project I’m thinking of. I actually think I am really going to get into this mixed media thing. It’s perfect for me {here’s why}!

Sad that it’s over, but it lovely while it lasted.

Love these little Lacoste Rainboots.

Lots of rain in my forecast, along with crafting, movies, and napping. Have a lovely weekend!

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Today I’m guest blogging on Good Girl Gone Blog…you should def. check out Alana’s Blog if you haven’t already.

And, if you’re here because of GGB, thanks for coming! I’ve included more shots of my style file below, and you can see some of my recent projects and interests {bad haircuts and tree houses and summa, summa, summatime oh my} by following the links.

Front porches and fireplaces. Just sayin’.

I love where I live. Don’t get me wrong. But, I think eventually I want to end up in a place where I have a lot of land (acreage I used to say. Acreage, people). Pretty much the exact opposite of what I have now, but I think I’ve kind of mellowed from the term acreage a bit. I do want a house that is not in a suburban area. I don’t want to be able to look out my window and see into my neighbors. Gross.

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this reminds me so much of my grandparents place. via

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or a back porch would be okay too
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Martha Stewart via

 
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That’s all. A girl can dream, can’t she?

5 Things I am looking forward to:

indie business class, guest blogging for good girl gone blog, dinner with Alexis and Kristin next week, getting my new dress in the mail, wine tasting next month.

5 Things I did yesterday:

Ate delicious BBQ, went hot-tubbing, saw valentine’s day, spent time hanging out with FJ, ate yummy cookies.

5 Things I wish I could do:

own a house, see my family more, be my own boss {someday!}, travel, buy a new camera.

5 Words to describe my style:

quirky. traditional. feminine but not girly. {okay, that’s 6}

5 Cute things I’ve found online lately:

Alli’s Legwarmers, Darling Dexter’s charming plate collection that is just so ME, Burdastyle patterns in general {so cheap!}, adorable leather bracelets by Brooklyn Thread, and I kind of hate to admit that I love this watch.

PS - I hate roller coasters. And this was one of the first times FJ and I EVER hung out. See how much I must have liked him? I’m not very good at pretending to have fun!

Happy Monday!

Good morning! I’ve got such a busy day ahead of me. Need to finish up my vday gift for FJ, run some quick errands, wash my dishes, and DEFINITELY get some crafting in.

Just wanted to share these super cute leg warmers from Alli at One Pearl Button. They are part of our style school class {taught by Elsie and LA!}, but I loved hers so much it prompted to me to take a trip to the thrift store TODAY. They’re cashmere too….mmmmm. I love that they don’t remind me of ONJ in the slightest. ONJ, you ask?

However, they do remind me of these thigh high socks that I swooned over not too long ago. Happy Saturday! Hope you all are enjoying a lovely 3 day weekend!

Guess who signed up for an Indie Business class?! This kid! Super exciting. And since we’re being so pro-active…

In December, I wrote a list of 20 things to accomplish in 2010. Since we’re already halfway through February, I thought it would be appropriate to recap {you guys are good at keeping me accountable!}

1. buy original art for my apartment  I’m checking it off the list, but I’ve only bought 1 additional piece so far.
2. get a new bed but no photos until I buy bedding. hahaha!
3. learn how to paint
4. reorganize my closet  - It looks SO good! AND we created a ton more crafting storage space.
5. read 1 book a month {I used to read 1 a week…what has happened to me?!}
6. find someone to create a new undeniable style banner - I’m changing this to “get complete control of my blogs,” no more having people hosting for me.
7. plan a trip abroad
8. do yoga
9. learn to be more flexible {hah! not related to #8…but funny that they ended up next to each other}
10. finish Alexis and Ed’s wedding quilt {before their 1 year anniversary}
11. amp up my machine quilting skills
12. practice writing…typography.
13. design at least 1 cute fabric
14. pay off that last little bit of credit card debt
15. host dinner for people i love at least once a month
16. start keeping a journal again - started it…am not very good at keeping up with it.
17. participate in a stash swap
18. use my gym membership more than once a month! - okay, so I went twice in Jan. I’m not crossing this off…must…get….better
19. drink more good wine - Jan. was a great month for this, but you know I’m not crossing it off, either! March is also proving to look good for this…barrel tasting!
20. work on being MORE positive and grateful

After my recent haircut debacle, perhaps I should take Ashley’s advice. Thanks for contributing, Ash!

I’m a huge fan of bangs – heavy, wispy, long, short, side-swept, straight across.  You name it, I like it.  But (and this is a big BUT), I find fringe incredibly high maintenance.  If your stylist cuts too short, you look ridiculous.  If she doesn’t trim enough, you need to return for a touch-up after a week.  And the whole styling process takes time to master.  So, here’s some advice based on years of trial and error.

Embrace dry shampoo!  I use it when I don’t have the time to wash my hair, but I need to cut the oil from my bangs.  Try Oscar Blandi’s Pronto Dry Shampoo ($11).  The small tip works great to deposit product exactly where you want it.

 Pronto Dry Shampoo

With freshly washed hair, use a light styling product.  Let them air dry almost fully before using the blow dryer – the shape will hold longer.  Finally, practice makes perfect.  You will need to experiment before you find the process that works best for you.  Dry bangs using just your fingers or a round brush.  Remember, bobby pins can save any disaster. 

As for trimming maintenance, less is more.  It’s a lot easier to go back for a touch-up than it is to speed up the growth process.

*Ashley

Do you think they have Internet access around these parts? Because then I would pretty much be in heaven. So magical and peaceful and lovely.

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I must be craving some solitude. Work is making me crazy…haven’t been able to craft or create all week. I was done at a decent time last night, but my brain was so fried I couldn’t wrap it around counting cross stitch, so I watched tv instead. Hopefully, tonight’s the night. I’m super behind on style school projects! Almost the weekend!