diary 6-27-14

In which I talk endlessly about fridges

When I first started looking at studio apartments, I had no idea how important it was to me to have a full sized fridge. The first three places I toured all had itty bitty mini fridges, and I quickly realized that a full-sized fridge was a MUST HAVE for my new place. I didn’t feel like I needed a dishwasher (and I still don’t, as nice as they are), but a full-sized refrigerator was non-negotiable.

So yeah, I was thrilled that my apartment came with a full sized fridge. It is the best and I love it.

Two weeks ago, my fridge looked like this:

And then I saw this post on Delightfully Tacky and knew that I had to get some chalkboard going on in my house.

So I bought 2 rolls of this stuff and a pack of these and got to work.

Putting on the contact paper took forever and was kind of difficult. My fridge has a couple of screws and knobs on the front, and also those big handles that I had to work around, but I managed to get the paper all over the front of the fridge without too much hassle.

And then I had friends over, and we watched Mega Piranha, and this happened:

And then flowers and more flowers

And then my sister visited!

This weekend I did a pattern based on a bandanna:

It doesn’t look that complicated, but my the end of drawing it my wrists were dying so I had to stop. Maybe next week I’ll add in some paisleys… or erase it and start over.

It’s an entirely frivolous way to kill time on a Sunday evening, but having some time to just think about design and art really centers me throughout the week. I also really enjoy having a friend doodle on it and being reminded of them after they’ve left!

My house is hella whimsical and there is nothing you can do about it. Except maybe come over and draw something crude on my fridge, I guess.

What’s on my mind, September megapost

Yeahhhhh this type of post I usually do on Fridays, but the past three weeks have been so discombobulated, I’m tired of sitting on this as a draft. So, here we go! :

• I LOVE the idea of this cake and this tutorial.

  

  But seriously, who is going to be patient enough to do this and not just eat the frosting?!

• Such a great quote:
  

  “If you require any evidence that femininity can be more fierce and dangerous than masculinity, all you need to do is ask the average man to hold your handbag or a bouquet of flowers for a minute, and watch how far away he holds it from his body. Or tell him that you would like to put your lipstick on him and watch how fast he runs off in the other direction.”

  – Julia Serano, Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman On Sexism And The Scapegoating of Femininity

  This quote really speaks to me. I sometimes struggle with being ashamed of how feminine I can be. It’s true though, femininity is incredibly powerful!

• Look at the Blonds Spring 2014 collection:

  

  SO FUTURISTIC! SO SPACEY! SO AWESOME!!
  I love all of it. They remind me of my favorite Barbie growing up, 80’s space Barbie. SO COOOOOLLLLLL. There are way more pics of this collection here. I love all of them. Okay, maybe not the Tweety dress.

• I am currently reading through this post about Men’s Rights and it is very interesting and well-written. I plan on using it as a resource should I ever come across a MRA in the wild.
• I really really really want to make myself a Bat Wing shrug:

  

  I mean really. ADORABLE.

• This week I am reading Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. It is really dark, and reminds me a lot of Robin McKinley’s Deerskin. I wasn’t planning on finishing it… until Margo replied to me on twitter and now I feel kind of OBLIGATED. It IS super well-written and that part is enjoyable. We’ll see how I make it through.

  Next up for me is Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie and I am SO EXCITED to read it. Though, I need to study for the GRE first… I am going to try and put off starting this book until Sunday… but knowing me, I’ll crack it open tonight in lieu of reviewing multiple choice questions.

• You guys realize that my goal is that my house looks somewhat like this, right?

  

• Sometimes I wish I had infinite money because, oh man, you guys, the deer figurines I could buy. But I also would totally invest in this kickstarter, because it looks super cool and Victoria Gannan’s art is beautiful. I might need to find an extra $30 in my budget to get a copy of this beautiful deck!
• My blog/image source of the week is The Vintage Cowboy over on tumblr.

  

  These illustrations are all so cool and awesome! I’d love to have a print of one of them. I miss old book illustrations.

That’s it for this week!

selfies in the dark

Basically all I have been doing the past two weeks have been cleaning and re-arranging my new studio, studying for the GRE, and rocking back and forth while sobbing. Except ignore that last point. That point definitely is a lie. Who even said that?!

General disclaimer: this is the stupidest and also most image-heavy post.
I MEAN, UH, I know y’all are just dying to see photos of my new apartment, so here you go, I will take you on a tour.

Let’s start in the most important room:

The bathroom

Wow. Isn’t it just amazing? There are my scarves on the outside line of the door and you can see my really trendy shower curtain. Yeah, it’s currently for sale at Target for like $20. But I got it at Goodwill for $3. Yeah. I am the coolest.

Also it’s a metro map of London so if you are ever lost in London just call me and I’ll get in the shower and help you figure out where you need to go. I know, I know, I’m so giving.

Check this out:

Yeah dudes! I have a lot of hair flowers. I don’t really know why, actually. I don’t wear them that often. But they are pretty cool. I feel fancy when I wear them. This is how I store them. It kind of reminds me of those flower garlands they put on horses after they win races, you know? Like, that horse doesn’t have any idea he won that race until they put that big flower garland around his neck… and then he knows he is king of the horses.
Oh, also, that’s right across from my toilet. I didn’t take a photo of it, I figure, you’ve seen at least one in your lifetime.

I did have to stand on my tiptoes to get a good photo of that garland though. I did that for you.

What’s on my mind – first week of September

Well, I’m still settling in, still without internet, still needing to buy last-minute items (silverware, a pot, another bowl, maybe a drain plug) and mostly just figuring out my new routine with 2 extra hours in my day and my own space that is mine, all mine.

• This link has been going around the tumblrs a lot lately, but Mica Hendricks collaborated with her 4yo daughter on some portraits and they are basically the best and cutest ever.
• 
  Words to live by.
• You may not know this, but I love kaleidoscopes. So I am EXTRA THRILLED to present to you, the Catleidoscope. Don’t stare at it too long, you might get kinda dizzy.
• 
  Huskies are the best.
• My featured flickr contact today is Depression Press. This photostream is full of neat old letterpress blocks, advertisements, book illustrations and illustrations, as well as current creations.
• Yesterday on my walk home, it rained and rained and rained and RAINED!! Portland has the reputation of being a rainy city, but our rain is very different than what you might assume. I feel like we have more of an endless drippy-damp-misty-wet season, as opposed to real, hard, RAIN. But last night it POURED and it was kind of awesome. Because of that, this morning, even though next week the weather report says it’s going to get hot tomorrow, I feel like wearing a scarf and having soup for dinner.
• In conclusion, I want a print of this old magazine cover because it is awesome:

  
  And everyone knows that her image was just as “fixed” in the darkroom as they fix models today. Only you can still see her ribs beneath the skin. I love that. She could be my best friend’s badass grandmother, she could be me.

What’s on my mind, 3rd week of August

• This week has alternated between very slow and very crazy. I’ve been distracted by re-reading comics and my favorite trashy fantasy series so I haven’t been incredibly interesting, or productive! Refocusing on things I know pretty well has been helping my stress levels a little bit, though, so that is nice.
• SPEAKING OF SPACE! This is a super cute video of astronaut Tom Mashburn having a fight with Earth’s gravity:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVxaL8CAO4M
• Fong Qi Wei’s photography series “The Passage of Time” is breathtaking and fantastic.
  
  I would love to buy a print of one of these photographs, which are layered time-lapse photography. Brilliant and beautiful.
• Need an interesting read? Today I have been surfing through traditional Saints and terms associated with saints. I find the depictions and the symbolology of them very fascinating! Did you know that there is a patron saint of the Internet? He is often depicted as surrounded by a swarm of bees. That’s eerily accurate.
• Ever have a song come on the radio and it is just perfect?
  Death Cab for Cutie’s “Bixby Canyon Bridge” is pretty much always perfect for me:

  I guess this is where I apologise that my taste in music is so mainstream, but man, this song is just so great.

• I found Mikey Burton’s website last week and I am STILL ooh-ing and ahh-ing about the quality of his printing design and the style of his vector art. I think I love everything on hit site! I love looking at current newspaper and printed artist’s illustrations outside of the articles they are featured in.
• I am a little skeptical of this infographic:
  
  I mean, seriously, that would make me a Serious Expert in Trashy Fantasy and Hercule Poirot novels. I don’t think that’s quite what they mean by “expert”. Besides that… I really hope it’s not accurate. Please, don’t be accurate, infographic. I like to think that more people take the time to read. Maybe not as much time as I do, but some time, at least!
• This weekend I’m going to an amusement park, eating cotton candy, buying an accordion, and applying for a new apartment. Wish me luck!

space!

SPAAAACE!
The final frontier.

And also, host to some really awesome style and decor themes.

image from Col. Chris Hadfield’s blog.

Space is “so in right now”. I mean, Mattel just came out with a Mars Explorer Barbie in collaboration with NASA, and 10,000 people signed up for a reality TV show on Mars!! In fact, according to this article on the Ancient Egyptians wearing meteorites, space has always been super trendy!

I am a little focused right now on defining what I do and don’t want my home and personal style to be, so I’m going to start doing some home decor / themed style posts. I’ve grown up thinking about home decor because of my Mom and her personal style, and I am super excited to start sharing links, outfits, projects and the like that illustrate the many, many things that catch my eye!

Pictures from L-R: Starry Night dress, 1928 from Hillwood Museum; Star garland by Art’s Delight; Girl dream decals by ccnever

I love the Starry Night ball gown pictured above. It’s neat to see old clothing with a motif that is still considered modern. Stars can be a great highlight in a bedroom, as a garland, decal, or accent. I really love using star garlands. They are less flashy than twinkle lights, but still pretty cool.

Twinkle lights can also add a pop of “space” to any location:

Pictures from L-R: Twinkle lights outdoors on pinterest; Twinkle light headboard on pinterest; My bedroom via my flickr

Yeah guys, that’s my bedroom on the bottom. I looooove my twinkle lights. They provide a nice, soft, ambient light for late nights, early mornings, and migraine headaches. I think my next light investment will be a set that actually twinkle. We will see how that goes in my own room decor!

I don’t know guys, there is just so much cool space, star, and constellation art out there. There are vintage designs, modern designs, abstractions, and beautiful illustrations.

L-R: Ursa Minor pillow by Pillowow; Cetus the Sea Monster by wellsillustration; Teal Constellations by elisemahanfineart; Antique Star print by TheCurators.

I can’t wait to actually start investing in the cool art I find on etsy. In the meantime, enjoy these, and daydream yourself!

*All collages made on www.fotor.com

What’s on my mind, 2nd week of August

Man! This week flew by! I took Friday off so I already feel the FREEDOM OF THE WEEKEND!

• This morning I went out to breakfast to the Original Original Pancake House. It was pretty good, if a little crowded! I have to think that breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out at restaurants and diners. I mean, fruit crepes, pancakes, bacon and eggs are really just so, so good.
• I just finished a 30 day self portrait challenge on instagram & using the app #abeautifulmess ! It was pretty fun. I lost interest in the last two days, but am pretty happy with how most of them turned out.
  
  Taking that many self portraits of myself made me think about what kind of photos I want to take, instead of just thinking about how I look in the photo. That was kind of neat.
• My featured flickr contact of the week is ROA graffiti.
  You should totally check ROA out. These are amazingly detailed giant portraits of insects and animals and skulls on the sides of buildings!
  
• Tomorrow I am going on a short mini vacation with my best friend! The plan is to go antiquing and listen to loud music in the car on the drive to our B&B.
  Coming up with road trip music sometimes is hard. This is my current favorite song to blast loudly with the windows down:
  
• This week, my friend Laura at RubyBastille posted a super good article about one of her experience in confronting someone in public. The hollaback project is actually a super awesome website about this very thing! Street harassment has been a THING I have had to deal with since I was about nine years old. It is a weird and awful thing to deal with, especially at a young age. How do you deal with it? Usually, I just roll my eyes and try to move on with my life, but generally speaking it makes me feel super defensive and unsafe. I am super lucky that it doesn’t happen to me often, but it is a shame that so many people don’t understand how dehumanizing street harassment is.
• This art series, Sit by Haiiro No Kaze, is DECIDEDLY BEAUTIFUL. I love how their abstraction makes the motion of their drawings even more dramatic and violent.
• And finally, antigravity cat says hello: