Salsa Overload

The weather in Seattle was rather uninspiring today, so I opted for staying home and eating copious amounts of tortilla chips and salsa. One whole 14 ounce bag of Cabo Loco and a one pound container of Rojo's Fresh Cut Salsa later and I felt like an obese panda. Aside from nearly snacking myself to death, the only other productive thing I accomplished today was photographing some of the jewelry I made semi-recently. My picture taking skills could probably use some improvement (or a perhaps a new camera would suffice) but here are some of my favorites:

Bluish-teal seed beads, white seed beads, gold wire, opaque Swarvoski crystal eyeball

Seafoam beads, cream colored prism-shaped seed beads, copper wire

Random thought of the day: A donkey/zebra hybrid is called a "zedonk."

Melting...Ice Cream in My Lap, that is.

Forever 21 lace tank, Aldo Caudle Cutout Wedge, Thrifted Fish Necklace, Carla Mancini Penelope Handbag, Ray Ban Aviators

Yes, spilling already. Thank God for Tide pens.

If you've been following the blog thus far, you know I've been obsessing over this tree I ran into last week. I plan to put this unfortunate event behind me, however I would just like to point out that the day after my incident THEY CUT DOWN THE TREE and put a giant fatty fluorescent orange cone next to the stump! Clearly I wasn't the only person that found this plant hazardous. If only I had walked down that street one day later... sigh. Okay so on a more interesting note, I have several things to report:

1) For all those sweet lovers out there, you absolutely must go try Molly Moon's Handmade Praline Ice Cream Sandwiches... Ohhh they are to die for (although I must admit that their Scout Mint ice cream in a fresh crispy waffle cone is pretty epic as well). If you visit the store post dinnertime you will most likely wait a minimum of one hour, so I would suggest making a trip earlier in the day and requesting a split single scoop (which is huge and allows you to experience two delectable flavors for the price of one!)

2) If you are a fan of the shoe brand Dolce Vita, the designers secretly did a collaboration with Target! The collection was supposed to be exclusively sold at the grand opening of their new store in Harlem, but lucky for us that is no longer true. You can find an assortment of boots, flats, and oxfords on sale now at Target.com!

3) I am currently on the lookout for an easy-to-use sewing machine. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

When in Doubt, Paint it Gold

Yesterday as I was walking to the grocery store to pick up wine and a movie, a dilapidated pile of junk with a shabby FREE sign caught my eye. Amongst the random pieces of plywood, the rusty chairs, and the broken dresser drawers I discovered a treasure: aka an ugly framed photo! I contemplated carrying it to the store, but after much consideration, decided it would be better to stash it in some nearby bushes for   later retrieval (a wise decision considering my lack of coordination would probably have lead to chaos in the form of an astronomical watermelon avalanche or the disastrous destruction of wine displays).

So back to the treasure: if any of you are half as picky as I am, then you know that it's nearly impossible to find a jewelry stand/rack that you love. Either it's A) too small, B) too easy to knock over, C) just plain ugly... etc. Here is a simple alternative, where you can not only choose the color and size of your liking, but also experience the added benefit of wall mounting (to prevent from all possibilities of a future Jewelry 9-11 catastrophe).

Step 1: Find a frame (garage sales and thrift stores are usually good places to look).

Step 2: Spray on a layer of primer and wait for it to dry completely before applying color.

Step 3: Spray on the color of your choice and wait for the paint to dry. Check for spots you may have overlooked before attaching hardware.

Step 4: Use a ruler to make evenly spaced out markings on the back of the frame where the hooks will be attached (I used basic 5/8" brass plated hooks purchased at Home Depot). Since the hooks I used were open instead of fully enclosed, I used a pair of pliers to bend two hooks completely shut (used to attach the tulle at the top part of the frame).  Screw one of the closed hooks on the top left corner on the frame and the other on the top right. Tie one end of a piece of fabric to the left hook and the other end to the right hook (ribbon could also work if you prefer).

Step 5: Enjoy your custom made jewelry rack! (the pieces hanging here are part of my new jewelry collection soon to be on sale my Etsy store!)

Lazy Hazy Monday

Urban Outfitters Tee, Lucky Brand Shorts, Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo in Electric Violet, Chloe 2119 Sunglasses, Cynthia Vincent wedges

Mondays are always slow and today has been no exception. However, today marks the first day of a two-week vacation, so instead of frantically rushing out the door with a handful of candy and a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast, I slept in until noon and lounged on the couch in pajamas (watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the one hundred and fifty seventh time). As happy hour rolled around, I threw on the first pair of shorts and t-shirt I could find on the floor and headed down the street to Chupacabra to eat chips and people watch from their funky little patio. It has been four days since the tree incident and I am happy to say that the swelling has finally subsided. Sorry friends, you are no longer going to be able to recognize me as the lopsided alien with the enormous external brain tumor.

Shiny New Toy

I've had terrible luck with computers in the past, most likely due to extreme impatience and uncontrollably click-happy fingers, however I am excited to say that I am a proud new owner of a MacBook Pro! I've tormented and killed a couple of Dell Latitudes and a Sony VAIO in the last several years, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying that this laptop will be my loyal companion for the next four years of graduate school. Besides being extra cautious to drop no more than twelve medium sized bread crumbs onto the keyboard in one sitting, I decided to make it a case and protect it from being attacked by the assortment of sharp objects floating around in the bottom of my handbags. I purchased half-a-yard of home decor fabric with foliage-looking print, half-a-yard of funky multi-colored fleece, and a fourteen inch cerulean zipper; then set off to hunt for a sewing machine (many thanks to my kind friend Jacqui). One hour later, I found myself with a soft but slightly-too-tight computer pouch. After finishing the sewing portion of the project, I felt that the zipper looked a little lonely so I snazzed it up with a flat gold waffle bead, some small freshwater pearls, pretty coral seed beads, a flat horn bead, and a large green resin oval.

The Unfriendly Tree

Gap T-shirt Dress, Steve Madden Wedge Sandals, Zara bag, Ray Ban 3025 Aviators

Right Wrist: Yellow Nordstrom bauble bracelet and three thrift store finds. Left Wrist: Anthropologie blue crystal bracelet, an assortment of thrift store goodies, Coral cuff discovered at random Las Vegas boutique, H&M textured gold bangle

Since I spend ninety-eight percent of my free time either shopping online for clothes I do not need, or stalking Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for their plethora of big beautiful handbags, I figured it was about time I found another outlet for my shopping/stalking addiction and direct my attention elsewhere... which brings us to the birth of this blog. To be quite honest, I am terrified of posing for pictures, but my admiration of other talented fashion bloggers has forced me to rethink and conquer my fear (most of you know that the exhibitionist in me would much rather run down the street naked than smile for a camera). Speaking of running in streets, that brings us back to today's adventures and the evil tree which resides on the Northwest corner of 44th and Densmore Avenue. After a day of carefree frolicking in the rare-but-wonderful Seattle sunshine, we find ourselves at Julia's of Wallingford, a tacky happy hour joint a couple blocks from our house. One Hefeweizen pint later, I'm struggling to walk in a straight line and so very thankful that Seattle drivers are exceptionally tolerant of daytime drunks crossing streets when the sun is out. Just as I'm smiling to myself thinking about my fabulous luck, I run smack into a thick low-hanging tree and knock myself straight to the ground. Hah. So much for good luck. The picture of the tree and I are compliments of my kind friend Nicholas, who took the opportunity to snap as many photos of my misfortune as possible, instead of checking up of my swollen bleeding head.