30 day photo challenge: september 2011.

Hi there! I want to try something I've seen on other blogs that I think is a neat idea. What you do is take a picture every day for the month of September that follows the theme for that day (see the chart I made below). Then you upload that picture onto your blog for everyone to see. Cool, huh? Wish I'd thought of it. I want as many as people as possible to try this. I think it'll be fun to see what you come up with. The only rules are that the photos have to be your own and taken on that day. Let us begin!

only in fantasyland.

sherlock holmes meets steampunk by lambskin featuring lipsy dresses

i realize it's only august 18, and i don't want to wish the days away, but.

Minus the fuzzy boots. Very much missed the bus on that one.

5-step DIY cake stand.

In one of my last posts I mentioned that I found a green bowl and plate that I planned on turning into a cake stand. Well tonight's the night. I finally bought some super glue (the famous E-6000) and made the stand. It's such a great shade of green and really pops against my white counter tops.

Here is a short tutorial, because really, there's not much to it.

The tools you will need (there are a total of 3:

(1) A sturdy bowl or cup that is proportional to your (2) plate. Dessert plates and those with minimal sloping on the edges work best, especially if you intend to use it for larger cakes. And finally, (3) a silicon-based or waterproof super glue. E-6000 does the trick for me, but you can choose any glue as long as it will withstand being washed many times.




Steps:

1. Clean and dry the plate and bowl thoroughly.

2. Place the bowl or cup upside down on a flat surface.

3. On the bottom of the bowl/cup you are using for the stand portion, line the rim with a layer of the glue as it sits upside down on the counter top.

4. Place the plate right side up on top of the bowl or cup, making sure the area surrounding it is equal on all sides. At this point the cake stand will be in a finished position, right side up.

5. Let the cake stand dry for a full 24 hours before moving or placing objects on it.

And that's it! How does $2.00 and 5 minutes for a unique and beautiful cake stand sound? Now to bake something pretty to go on top of it...

a quarter of a century.

Working in a law firm that deals mainly with divorce has given me a completely different perspective of marriage, and not necessarily a good one. One of the reasons that I was so shocked when I first started working there was because of the most awesome example of marriage that I've had my entire life--that of my parents. Honestly, seeing their example and that of both sets of grandparents has been the only thing keeping me committed to getting married someday.

I've seen what happens when a couple lets selfishness and worldly aspects of life become more important than keeping their family together through eternity. Luckily I never had to deal with that personally.

Today is my parents' 25th wedding anniversary. I want to say congratulations to them and how much I love them. They are my best friends and I am so grateful to have grown up with them as my parents. They've created a close-knit bunch of freaks, but we're each others' freaks, ya know?

I cannot wait for the day when I have my own family and can pass on all the traditions and happiness that my parents have given me. Love you, mom and dad!

(Look at my dad, all tan and Californian. And my mom, just a small town girl from Utah. Adorable!)

the importance of accessories: a visual demonstration.

accessorizing, part 1. by lambskin featuring tom ford sunglasses

I really need this oufit right now.
Never mind that it costs, in its entirety, $7,322.

Pardon?
And I didn't even add a handbag.

i just need to do it.

I've been wanting to do my hair like this for awhile. The cut, color--the whole shebang. But for some reason I am escared. Maybe I feel like the long hair I sport now hasn't run its course? I don't mean to get all existential, but this is an important thing for a girl and I wish I could just man up and decide already. I'm usually pretty gung-ho when it comes to my hair and don't really think twice once I've decided (a certain red faux hawk of yore comes to mind...)
Thoughts?

thrifted.

Lately I've been a thrift store junkie. Something about it satisfies all my cravings for unique, plentiful clothes at extremely low cost. My awesome and beautiful co-workers Natalie and Rachel first showed me the light in this respect and I'm taking their teachings and throwing myself into it with abandon.

This past weekend I found four skirts, one shirt, two pairs of shoes, a handbag, a plate and bowl for making a cake stand (I'll post pics when it's done), and seven books for $29.34. Yowza. It's pretty awesome. I like having one-of-a-kind pieces for my wardrobe that (a) I don't feel guilty only wearing a couple times before redonating, and (b) add much needed variety and a vintage feel to what I wear.

Here are some of my lewts:

Strawberry red flats, great with skinny jeans and circle skirts.

Red, tan and floral wedges. Great for straight-leg jeans, long peasant skirts (one of which I got and LOVE), and just like, general awesomeness.

And now for the most exciting part:

I may or may not have sounded a small "EEP" of excitement when I saw these just lounging unloved on the shelf. Lyke really?! There were many more, but my rule when thrifting is that I can only buy what I'm able to carry, no carts or baskets, and I happened to hit the book section last this time. Luckily.
From bottom to top, the titles are

-The Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth (I'm dying to read his Fist of God right now, but this'll do until then)
-The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl
-The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh series, Anthony Boucher
-Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
-The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels, Ninth seies, ed. T.E. Dikty
-Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
-The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne

I also got a copy of another novel that the cashier informed me was risque, as it were, but which I got solely for how the nicely yellowed pages would be perfect for this project I'm working on. Lady Chatterley's Lover? Never really heard of it. I know D.H Lawrence from some English classes, but that's about it. Anyway, I've already torn out the pages I want and discarded the rest so there's that. How could I not make something from old book pages, albeit supposedly naughty ones? Srsly.

So now I'm just at Cub's, taking care of her so Clarence could go to Lagoon with his amigos. I'm rewatching the BBC show Sherlock with her right now; we're on the second episode in the series. It's really entertaining and the actor who plays Sherlock is one of those interesting types of men that make you simultaneously want to maul him but also talk to him for hours because his mind is so fascinating.

Anyway, gots to go. Here's your random beauty shot of the day--Jake G. in a mid-century modern home. Two of my passions. ;)

it's things like this.

"A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a [boy] I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world." Jack Kerouac, On the Road

need this song on a continuous loop through my day.

love this man.

Apparently I'm the last to hop on this bandwagon but it's one of those things where not one single crap is being given, because I'm here now.

This man's songs? And his face, style, and general amazingness? Lots of love.












Photo by Lauren Dukoff.

these are the life problems i have to deal with.

A.A. Bondy at The Urban Lounge, November 1, 2011. 9 pm.









OR

The Boxer Rebellion at Kilby Court, November 1, 2011. 7 pm.










I cannot make this decision. It's a choice between speaking to my heart or speaking to my soul.

chicken nuggitz be crispy like you never SEEN.

...aaand this made my day.

bohemian dream.

Lately (read: all my life) I've had this dream where I throw off the shackles of everyday living, buy a VW bus/camper trailer and travel around the country seeing what there is to see, meeting new people, and basically just living day to day. Think On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Working in an office is extremely hard for me because I feel trapped and bored easily, which is why I chose a major I thought would lead to a creative career. So now that creativity isn't de rigeur in this my workaday life, I have to think of ways to make it so. Meh. I deal.

Anyway, part of my dream gypsy-bohemian lifestyle are some pretty awesome clothes. Awww yeahhh hippie chic yeah. But not a lot of it is for every day, ya know? So I made a Polyvore set to show you kind of what I'm thinking is doable until I can really live how I want. Minus the cyclamen colored hair...that comes later. ;)

bohemian by lambskin featuring chiffon tops

What do you think?
P.S. There is a white VW bus for sale in my neighborhood. It looks like it's in pretty good condition and I'm extremely tempted. Get thee behind me!

top ten tuesday: novel heroines.

I know, right? Another top ten about books! Contain your excitement.
Here is my list of favorite female characters from some pretty amazing books.

Top Ten Tuesday: Novel Heroines.

1. Dagny Taggart, Atlas Shrugged
2. Margaret Hale, North and South
3. Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre
4. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter series
5. Francie Nolan, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
6. Flora Poste, Cold Comfort Farm
7. Valentine Wiggin, Ender's Game
8. Anne Elliot, Persuasion
9. Gwendolen Harleth, Daniel Deronda
10. Esther Greenwood, The Bell Jar

I know those last two might be kind of controversial (for book people, anyway), but I have my reasons...

Honorable mentions:
Éowyn, LOTR
Elizabeth Bennet, P&P

i love this so much, i just might vomit blood.

Er. Let's just step far away from that visual for a moment and bask in the glory that is this house.

See what I mean? Ignore the burned out attic and just imagine being awesome in this place. Not too much of a stretch.

(Cut to actual tears streaming down my face.)