friday five #38

01. fall dream bag - i abstained from the purchase of a new fall bag last year, and this year i certainly shouldn't be spending the cash this fall either, but i'm having a really hard time resisting this vintage reissue bag from fossil. i know i can justify just about any unnecessary purchase if i really work at it, but i really feel like this is such a classic, basic bag, that it's a necessary purchase, no? i'm anxious to see it in person though, because you know how browns that look great online are not always as great in person.

02. fall fashion hopes - i think my clothing mantra this fall will be WWJLD "what would jenny lewis do?" she is gutsy and i love it. can i pull off tweed shorts & tights? WWJLD dare i rock that hat or pouch belt? WWJLD am i a girl who can rock a heeled vintage bootie? WWJLD i want to be just a little bit daring!

03. falsies - okay, so i occasionally fall prey to those articles in magazines about the new miracle mascara so i was hesitant to believe the hype from nylon magazine about maybelline's falsies mascara but when my old mascara ran out i figured i'd give it a whirl. it could come out pretty heavy if you don't clear the brush enough, but i love what it does to my lashes, and at $7.77 it's worth a try i think.

04. necessary accessories - currently i am rocking a really grandma looking vera bradley makeup bag, which is actually an improvement on the crazy tacky silver metallic one i was previously saddled with. currently, i'm kinda digging this framed, flat-bottomed make-up bag from fossil. it would be nice to not have to dump my makeup out every time i need to find one thing or cringe anytime i have to bring it out in public, haha.

05. old school sanrio - loving the resurgence of the sanrio characters from my childhood. it's nice to see keroppi, my melody and tuxedo sam out in the world! i love hello kitty and all, but was missing those 2! you can make a my melody & keroppi at build-a-bear and there are tuxedo sam and my melody flash drives at mimoco (they both have hello kitty as well, of course!)

friday five #37

01. new fave ink combo - "crushed olive" distress ink, "pumice stone" distress ink & "ocean depth" versamagic. i usually forget to pull out the distress inks, but i remembered for once, and this card happened. i die.

02. terrariums - yeah, obviously i'm a little late to the game on this one. i love the idea of green things around the house, but i don't have the greenest of thumbs and kitties have a tendency to eat plants and flowers, plus the possibility of starting out has seemed a little overwhelming. but, through one place or another i ended up on this website, and it seems like something i could start playing with on a quasi-reasonable budget. hmm...

03. blue india - i bought this shade of nail lacquer from the "liberty of london for mac" collection a little while a go, but was totally hooked on my barry m "mint green" up until a couple of weeks a go. "blue india" is going to be my go to fall color, i can just tell. it's the perfect grey blue and i only really see it ever leaving my nails if replaced by mac's "in the buff", "earthly harmony" or "jade dragon".

04. dream recipe box - in a dream world where i have unlimited monetary resources and split my time between traveling and nesting, this is obviously the recipe box i would be filling. it's custom, made from salvaged hardwood and completely beautiful. sigh.

05. gym revival - i'm taking the plunge back into having a healthy workout schedule. i'm definitely going to also try to eat just a tiny bit better, but will not diet. this is more of a gym revival to maintain my ability to eat out and try new beers on the weekends. whatever works, right?

friday five #36

01. skins volume 1 - tumblr has been all atwitter (or should that be "atumblr"?) about skins for like ever so when we finally got our netflix on demand on wii all hooked up in the new place i thought i'd give it a try. here are my thoughts so far, volume 1 was pretty entertaining, but i could have gone without the jumping-the-shark type ending to the final episode, and i have to say that so far i'm 2 episodes into volume 2 and i'm just not that into it. am i missing something? is it going to get back to better?

02. anthro sale - ohmygosh the newest batch of anthro sale items are insane! all those necklaces (chunky, ribboned or bibbed) that we've all be lusting after, 29.95. earrings i've had on my wishlist for a little while now,9.95. plus a couple of tops, a skirt, a cardigan and bunch of other cuteness are all headed my way. here's to hoping that a bunch of it isn't quite right so my bank account can get a little return relief. : / oops.

03. last years mixes - i've been feeling a little uninspired when it comes to new mixes lately so i've been mostly revisiting ones from the past year or so, and i have to say, my "falling leaves & an autumn breeze" mix from last year was seriously killin' it on my way into work this morning.

04. little squares - i am currently crazily lusting after the brand new nano from apple. love the touch screen and graphics, love the colors, love that it has a clip and want to drool all over it's perfect little square shape. in a dream world someone buys it for me with something cute engraved on the back and i use it at the gym every morning, haha. yeah right.

05. emmy opener - just watch it.

elsewhere inspiration #2

this little picture has been kicking around in my "inspire me" iphoto folder for a long, long time now. i'm pretty sure it was either kicking around tumblr, or on rachel denbow's blog, or both. anyway. love the colors. love the simplicity. love the central composition.

so, here's my little take on it, using a ton of the new mme "alphabet soup" which is supposed to be a kids collection, but the colors are completely where i'm at right now. this was a little accidental snapshot while i was outside photographing layouts one day and i'm loving the forward motion. it's exciting to be starting this whole new aspect of my life, moving forward, stepping up to a new challenge because it's time and it's love and i'm ready to start.

friday five #35

01. that cee lo single - you know the one. i'm not going to say it. (click at your own risk and not at work, i warned you) it's killing me that i can't download it yet! it's so flipping catchy and you can't help but sing it, no matter how inappropriate it may be in certain places, haha. in the meantime, i'm listening to his single off the eclipse soundtrack a lot too.

02. the next e.i. - i wish i hadn't said every two weeks, i've got a whole bunch of "elsewhere inspiration" saved up and i could really be doing one a week. but, until next wednesday i will quench my thirst with this weeks dare. perfection.

03. ohemgeejaybells - k facebooked this earlier this week and it's inspiring a whole new house party hopes mix (albeit a delayed new roost edition). it's not perfectly, perfectly timed, but it's pretty yummy nonetheless. "dirt on your crown" & "izzo rhythm" are my favorites.

04. triple fringe - true, i have been lusting after these since last fall, but i feel like this summer into autumn time of year is the perfect time to knab a pair of these are start rocking them. if not now, when? i'm totally prepared to catch $#!T for them, but i just always feel sassier in a goof pair of boots, which is why i'm also currently lusting after these and/or these and umm... these too (even though they're a little bit totally straight up tranny).

05. get him to the roost - totally planning a super nerdy, super cheesy viewing party for the dvd release of "get him to the greek" complete with invites, party favors and themed food & drink. that's right. you best be coming, or i will sergio you.

some more crafty

this is my layout for our layout sketch flyer at the store this month. this picture from my birthday dinner seemed like the perfect fit for the brand new "indie girl" collection from sassafras. i'm not usually a vintage flowery kind of girl, but there's something about these colors that make me all lovey for it! plus, i even used a precious 6 inches or so of my webster's pages bloomers! can't wait for the new colors to come out for the fall!

this was a really fun experience, getting to watch the 4th of july fireworks from the top of the fire engine, all cuddled up sitting on the hose bed with my sweetie. you can't really tell from this picture, but i also used one of my favorite glimmer mist colors, "graphite" on the scalloped layer of the triangle banner. these maya road triangle banners are the best because you can make them match whatever theme or color scheme you want, they don't have to be girly!

i just taught this class a couple of weeks a go, so i haven't had a chance to put pictures in it yet, but i'm really into these mdf photo displays from kaiser.

just a quick, fun little cutie from my "olivia" paper pad class. grey & pink for baby girl stuff = love.

this is not my normal style of card, but i have to say i love how it turned out. i just stamped and cut out all those little dresses and was inspired from there.

this is almost like my more traditional (for me) take on the card above. and another one from my "olivia" card class.

friday five #34

01. autumn brews - so stoked that the autumn seasonal beers are already rolling out! blue moon's "harvest moon" is one of my all time faves (especially in beer bread) and so far this year i've purchased sierra nevada's "tumbler brown ale" and brooklyn brewery's "post road pumpkin ale" the tumbler is a little bitter, but i haven't tried the post road yet, looking forward to a bottle tonight i think.

02. diy magnetic bookmarks - molly over at wild olive just posted this cute, printable pdf of little foldover bookmark set (pickle, pencil, bandaid, ruler, and my favorite, the bacon strip!!!) that you just print, fold in half and attach magnetic tape to! so cute!

03. "the suburbs" - so far i'm not loving this as much as "funeral", but still really loving it. it's just not as epic for me, but totally a great album to drive to. you should definitely at least check it out.

04. boombox lust - ever since we watched "step up 3d" i've been lusting after an old school ghetto blaster (let's be honest, i'd really rather have a whole wall of them like in the movie). i'm kind of feeling like a new apartment calls for an new old stereo, yeah?

05. weeds - so sad it's the final season, but so psyched that it's finally back on! it seems like forever since shane first wielded that mallet! the previews for this season are awesome. watch it. love it.

this is not another challenge blog...

... but i'm going to start a little something new here. every other wednesday (in theory) i'll post a layout or card or something randomly crafty inspired by something completely not craft related. it's "elsewhere inspiration" and if you are also inspired by it, and happen to do something with it, let me see! no contests. no prizes. pure show 'n' tell, just like pre-k.

elsewhere inspiration #1 is this poster for the brothers bloom. i loved the large picture at the top and the negative-strip-like row under the title. not to mention the yellow umbrellas, which i kind of translated into using the water drops paper. plus, how could i resist having a quasi-cheesy subtitle? (obvs loving the action hero wannabe style silhouette cut-outs too, haha)

every time a neighboring fire department gets a new truck or engine they hold a big event for the community and all the local departments come with an engine to wet the new truck down, kind of like smashing a bottle of champagne on the side of a new ship. it's really fun to see all the departments come together, all the kids come out and get hosed down to and there's tons of food, beer and music. this was my first wetdown and my first elsewhere inspiration, seems appropriate.

these two...

i am not a huge believer in horoscopes and those types of things, but it must mean something that 2 of my most favorite people in the entire world who are both so so so important to me, were both born on the same day!

first up, this chick who is the most creatively inspiring, all night giggle-fest inducing, sometimes inappropriately hilarious, bad@$$ chick i know. she once described our friendship as a messed up study in only child defense mechanisms, and she totally called it. she can loosen me up like no other, and i always, always am guaranteed a good time with her, wether it's an impromptu photo shoot, her rolling in the grass, and us dissecting cryptic texts or us reenacting our favorite bits of shaun of the dead while boarding the most turbulent redeye of all time. i know that we have each others backs at all times, no matter what. what about her? i'm all about her! love you k, happy birthday miss!

this boy, also known as "the boy" means the absolute world to me, yes i'm about to get super mushy, but i'm allowed because i never do about this stuff. he is everything i ever needed and never let myself have, the most perfect guy i could have never imagined and as i told him once, "the sweetest guy i have ever not wanted to break up with." i have a pretty bad track record in regards to guys who are nice to me, but this one stuck, and that's because he didn't let me self sabotage; he called me on it, fought it, and made me believe in him. i feel 100% safe, we laugh all the time, have sing-a-longs in the car, yell at hockey together (me more than him), and now we have a home, well an apartment, together and it's the most natural, fun experience ever. i love him so much, and yet somehow more and more every day. i'm so excited to see what's ahead for us, and him in this new year. happy birthday my love!

friday five #33

well, we are kind of sort of mostly moved in, at least the stuff we have and it's really starting to feel like home! so excited! i'll share some pictures when it's a little more done!

01. beehive design - i hadn't thought much about beehive until jamaica started making those amazing pillows of hers, and then pushing daisies had that buzzzzzz episode and then it was kind of gone from my brain for a while. then, recently, on design sponge (i think?) i saw these cool appliques someone did on a table, and i'm obsessed with the idea of recreating this on our handed down white tile top table to zip it up a bit! now to figure out wether to do clear contact covered paper, actual patterned (or cork) contact paper or figure out a way to coat and apply fabric... hmm...

02. lampshade inspiration - this is another one of those things from anthro that i love, but will need to diy up. i love the folded in grosgrain ribbon they used, but depending on the room, and what the boy will let me get away with girliness wise, i would also love with the teal, plum or chartreuse rosette trim from websters pages.

03. step up 3d (seriously) - this was the boy's choice for movie night (i'm not kidding) and my first 3d movie! other than the ridiculously annoying and disrespectful family taking up the entire row in front of us, i loved it! even at an hour and a half it was a little long, and totally predictable, but the dancing was ridiculous! i'm also somewhat ashamed to admit that i've already purchased the soundtrack to heavily add to my new workout mix, and i really loved the 3d, there were a couple of cheesy 3d moments, but i thought it was really really cool.

04. camera stamp cameras - amy posted these stamps from urbanic on her blog a couple of days ago, and obviously i love them. i'm also totally jealous of anyone who lives within shopping distance of this place. they always seem to have the coolest stuff set up in the coolest ways.

05. kraft planner - i think nicole was telling me about this guy after her last paper source princeton trip, but when i got their most recent e-mail and saw it, i knew it was a must have for our schedule at home. need.