Successful Weekend

I need this

I am soooooo excited!!!
Today Lady roommate and I went to Wal-Mart (somewhere I usually refuse on all accounts to go, but she wanted to) and we bought some new yarn so I could start a blanket for her. She wanted to go with the square idea and have rainbow yarn in the middle. At first I thought she meant picking out the colors of the rainbow and doing a red square, then green, then blue etc etc but she was actually talking about yarn already died as a rainbow (multicolored and as I thought about it I realized 1) it would work and 2) I'd have an extra project idea to work on after I'm done with my three current blankets. (yes three, I went a little crazy)

So tonight, after watching The Walking Dead and cleaning up my once again messy room (I threw everything from my poor car in my room haphazardly that night) and taking a nice shower (I also bought myself new body wash and a loofah) I painted a quick coat of red on my toes and started my sample square.

In the middle of working on the square I decided once and for all to learn some tricks that had been giving me trouble since I started crocheting. Tonight, dear friends, I learned 1) how to properly end a square and 2) how to properly change colors.

I'm so excited, this means if I give myself enough time and start teaching myself other patterns I could potentially sell my blankets! I've never had a craft I could sell!!! Even better part, I can teach my youngest sister how to crochet the proper way. She won't have obvious seams in her work nor will she have knots or obvious (sloppy) transitions. I'm really, really excited!

In other news:
Saturday was a lot of me driving around Encinitas (the roommates let me drive their Prius, fun and interesting little car). I was waiting to meet up with a visiting bestie and while driving around I saw a sign saying "Border's closing sale 30-40% off. I sped across El Camino Real to Border's like a maniac. In Borders I went a tad crazy, I spent a couple hours I'm sure perusing and during that time ran into bestie and her mom. We said hi, commented on the loveliness and confirmed plans of meeting up later that evening for dinner. I then went off and went a bit more crazy. I bought some books (well duh, one of which is The Walking Dead graphic novel volume 1. So stoked to compare and contrast to the story. (and be a graphic novel nerd)
After tearing myself away from Borders I went to Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple of books I could not find before. One to send to lil sis T at college and one that was recommended highly.

Then I met up with a friend I haven't seen in so very long, we'll call him Lil B. We met with C-San Francisco at a delicious food place called Rico's. We all use to be a part of a group in high school and it was so much fun to be reunited again. C-SF and I went to see a movie while Lil B went to see a show. The movie was whatever but the act of going to Rico's, hanging out at movie theaters and driving around Encinitas (and chillin with Lil' B) was so nostalgic of high school and I had such a blast. After the movie we went to LB's house and we demanded to see his room, we wanted to know if it had changed any and then we all talked for 3 hours about so many different things. I admitted a HUGE high school crush on Lil B (we call him Lil' B because he was a year behind us) and we listened to all kinds of music and finally at 3 am I had to call it quit and drive home.

Today was Dad's birthday and honestly I didn't do much before going to dinner. Obviously the start of this entry shows what I did after dinner.

Now I must sleep in preparation for an early morning of chatting nicely with Police officers and their secretaries. Then work. Sigh.

This weekend...

Goodness I was a bad, bad girl this weekend. I was sick and so I stayed inside and did some shopping. Bad news. I am learning a slightly expensive lesson from ebay this week which goes a little something like "don't bid on more than one of the same item unless you want to win them both." Best senario is you won't win either but my luck says I win both and that's just redundant.
So yes, I "won" 2 sx-70s. Both with the white frame, not even different styles. One has really (and I mean REALLY) beat up leather on the case and the other has some scratch marks.

 

I'm crossing my fingers that the first one is a fixer upper, and that there is a way to get the old, cracked, completely damaged leather off so I can put some new stuff on there. Without having it my hands however I'm not sure. It might be a fun restoration project. We shall see...

Lastly (as far as ebay goes) I won a different kind of polaroid, complete with flash, case and a pack of film. That was a STEAL for about $10.00 (plus crazy shipping).

As if that all wasn't enough (I am so sorry my sweet little bank account) I found more things that I apparently just couldn't live without while I was searching for inspiration for an art project I've had in mind for a while.
Here is the next purchase: a coin purse I could not say no to. I have a weakness for Virgin Mary (especially La Virgen de Guadalupe) things.

I'm in love with how awesome and perfect it is. Anyone who knows me really well knows I have an obsession/weakness for small coin/makeup bags. I use them as wallets or hold my small stuff in them so it doesn't get tossed around in my purse. I'm so excited about this one! It's perfect.

Believe it or not that was all Saturday goodness. Didn't go to work, instead shopped from home. Backwards! Backwards I tell you!

So today I TRIED to mellow out a bit and was for the most part successful. I've started a new crocheting project inspired by a pretty blanket in the Red Velvet window display.

always inspired by elsie and the red velvet crew

My pattern is totally different but I've been wanting to do a granny square blanket that is a collection of several little ones instead of just making the blanket one big granny square AND I wanted a black border. It's going to be cute, cute, cute, I'm excited for it to come along.

Other interesting things from the weekend:
- my grands (g-ma mostly) have a slight problem with keeping everything but I decided to see if this would work to my (and my camera collection's) advantage and so I asked g-ma if she happened to have any old cameras... dear readers I'm not going to go into detail but it seems like they are sitting on a treasure box full of wonderful things. I hope one day they will let me play with them!
- my G-pa's 81st birthday was today. We went out to their favorite restaurant to gorge ourselves while children at the table over made it hard for the g-parents to hear anything the rest of us said. I gave dear g-pa a card talking about one of my favorite memories with him (there are several, but this one I hadn't mentioned before) this one being of us playing cards (a good game of gin/gin rummy not sure which but it was fun) together. He smiled really big when he read the message so I think I succeeded.
- Next Sunday is Dad's birthday, he's not too stoked but it is what it is. Cmom (stepmom, her name starts with C... it's a new thing I'm doing) says no presents just heartfelt messages of how he's enriched my life. Can do I say.

Welp, that's it for now. My throat is still being a menace and I doubt I'm going to be able to go to work tomorrow. At least I have an excuse this time.

xoxo

The Weekend

This weekend has been full of productiveness. Pretty sure that isn't an actual word, or maybe it is because it didn't get spell checked...

What I mean is, the weekend has been productive. I scanned all of my polaroids today and I am currently cropping the scans and straightening them. Went with my sister, our basically adopted sister (her best friend) and our brother to dinner for lil' sis's 18th birthday! Sheesh has time flown by. I was six when she was born. This is crazy. She's 18 and moving to Alabama in less than a month! I'd be devastated if 1) I wasn't planning on heading to Tennessee before her four years there are up and 2) if I saw her more.

Saturday I finished fixing up my resume and sent it to several people. Then looked at photography skills. This week I read 3... yes THREE books.

I also finished


All of them were fantastic. All for different reasons. Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. I read in one night because I just couldn't put it down. It is the story of Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote and the little black dress. It's that and a whole lot more. It is a definite must read for anybody who's seen Breakfast at Tiffany's and liked it or has an appreciation for Audrey.
Perfect Fifths and Queen of Babble were quick reads for fun. They were my easy-peasy but oh so great escape books that both has little lessons that made me think.
As for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I don't know what to say other than I was soooo wrong the first time I picked up the book an couldn't get into it. The story pulled me in and wouldn't let me go when I picked it up a second time. The story is so honest and without apology. Gorgeous book.

So all in all this weekend (and this week it seems) have been pretty fulfilling outside of work. I'm going to keep with this habit of doing things and reading books and crossing things off of the "need to do" list as well as the "25 before 25" list.

I'm pretty content tonight.

Hope your weekend was relaxing or productive like mine!

p.s. If you are looking for some music to listen to I currently recommend The Silent Comedy (from this good ol' town of San Diego) and Marina and the Diamonds (not from anywhere close to here).

That is all. Goodnight!

Saturday Morning

Good Morning!

It's been a crazy and sometimes long week. I had something to do every night after work that would keep me out until past my bedtime. So little miss C here was a very tired girl. The week isn't over yet, and I still have lots of plans, but I was able to fit some sleep in by going to bed a bit earlier than usual for a friday night.

This week has been filled up with two birthdays, visits with friends work outs (short and sweet because they had to be squeezed in), a toastmasters meeting, a sleepover, haircut (THANK GOODNESS), and other things I'm sure but have failed to log in my memory.

It's been hectic but ultimately good. I had a breakdown of a day thursday but I evened myself out in the end.

Now I must get ready to meet up with a lovely boy, we became friends over a love of roller derby. Oh how I love roller derby. But that's a story for another time.

I hope my buddies for the Valentine's swap received their cards! I have received a couple of mine and they are absolutely gorgeous. I feel like mine are inadequate or at the least amateur compared to the skills I have seen. Incredible. I guess that means more and more practice for me. :) Oh shucks, have to do more crafting.

And Carolyn I'm so excited that you got your book! I love it, love it, love it and feel so great when I get to share it with new people!

Well, I'm off for another day!

JUST SO STOKED!

find it here

Sorry, but I'm really, really excited that it's Friday. So much so the f bomb had to be dropped.

Love Love Love

Lost in Higher Thought

Bariloche, Argentina. My favorite view.
Today I spent my time awake shopping and finishing Dharma Punx. I added a nice jacked for cheap to my closet, a beautiful sweater for about 5x the amount of the jacket :/ a watch necklace a couple more colors of tank tops, a nautical blue and white long shirt scrunched at the sides, a 1" curling iron and a beautiful leaf bracelet. I'm a happy, happy girl. My bank account is not as happy. She will survive though. Most things I bought today were items that have been on my mental wish list for a while now.
Oh yes, and in the morning before I left for the shops I finally invested in Suicide Girls: Beauty Redefined. SFC came over last night with her man and we joked about how soon I would have enough books to make up an Sex and Media Library. We talked about how I could get my Masters studying erotica, burlesque, the art of the strip tease etc. I realized later that if I did I would be following in the footsteps of one of my favorite instructors. That wouldn't be such a bad thing to study.

When I came home from a day full of walking and crowds I burrowed under my new comfy blanket and finished the second half of my book. Dharma Punx left me with a feeling similar to the one I had when I was reading Eat, Pray, Love. I am constantly brought back to a 5 second memory of me laying in bed in the basement apartment reading Ishmael for the second time while it was raining outside. My room at the time was a dark cavern, the window covered with an old sheet so people walking by couldn't see down in. I have this feeling of searching for peace and contentment in myself and so I talk to people, I read, I sit and attempt to listen but I have yet to find my path. Ballet was the closest thing that I had to utter devotion. I understand it is not a religion but it is a discipline and I loved it. Sometimes I feel the infinite, the expanse of possibility during a song when beats and chords collide. The place that never fails to leave me feeling full of the infinite is the ocean. In the middle all you can feel is what is around you.

Needless to say I am a little caught up in thought. Mulling things over yet again. I've become obsessed with Buddhism, mindfulness and pilgrimages to foreign countries. I appreciate these peoples' interest in Asia but I know that if I were to go away to work deeper into my mind I would end up back in Argentina. The country has beauty unlike that I have ever seen. I wanted to go back the day I left. Emily Haines of Metric went there to collect herself and wrote the latest album. Brilliant.

I am in love with Anya Marina's cover of "Whatever You Like." I've seen her play it twice while I was working at HOB and then I was shocked to hear it playing during the threesome scene on Gossip Girl. The song has such an erie beauty to it.

I think I'm done with my flowing typing for now. Goodnight.