granola stealer and bangs

Scene: My dad is talking on the phone. As he's listening, I watch him look into my purse that's sitting on the desk, dig out a half-eaten granola bar, and start eating it. After he hung up the phone, I humorously asked him why he did that, and he looked surprised, and replied that he didn't even think about what he was doing. I laughed.

In other news, I have bangs (ish). I've had the same hairstyle since my freshman year of high school. I felt like I needed a change, so I asked Lori (my hair lady) for some of those "long, sideswept bangs." Nothing too drastic; I still wanted them to blend with my layers, but I wanted something noticeably different. Besides, if I hated them, my hair would always grow back.

After she cut and styled my hair and I had my glasses back on, I looked in the mirror and was unsure of what I saw. My hair doesn't exactly sweep over gracefully; The bangs were more like in a clump on the side of my head. I freaked internally for a second, then flipped and fluffed my hair a little bit and they fell a little more naturally.

Lori always gets my hair unbelievably straight. A little too straight, actually. I like a little more body. So, I can't tell what these new bangs will look like when I style my hair by myself.

I think I will like them, though.

frayed fabric flower: tutorial

I saw some fabric flowers in someone's hair on the fashion blogs I was looking at yesterday. They looked pretty easy to make so I tried it while I was bored at work. They came out cool!

*Note: For the tutorial I only used 2 each of the large and medium squares, so the pink flower is less full than the white one. I used 3 for the white, and sewed in some individual lace petals to give it a vintage, fluffier look.

Step 1:
Get a scrap strip of fabric 1 1/2 to 2 feet long and about 4 inches wide. If it's wrinkled, don't bother ironing it.


Step 2:
Make a square by folding the edge of the fabric and cut it out. Do this 3 times to make 3 large squares.


Step 3:
Make the strip of fabric skinnier by about 1 inch.


Repeat step 2 on the skinnier fabric to make 3 medium squares.

Step 4:
Make the strip of fabric skinnier again by about 1 inch, and cut out 2 small squares the same way as before.

You will end up with 3 piles: 3 large squares, 3 medium squares, and 2 small squares.

Step 5:
Stack the large squares on top of each other, and fold them in half. Fold them again to form a smaller square.


Cut a petal shape from the square, leaving the folded point intact. Try to make the petals as fat as you can. Do this for the medium and small squares too.


They will look like this when unfolded:


Step 6:
Layer the petals alternatively, so that the petal on top is covering the previous layer's gaps. The largest should be on the bottom, and the smallest on top.



Step 7:
Sew the layers together. Make an "X" in the middle to prevent the petals from shifting positions.


Step 8:
Sew a button in the middle of the flower.

Step 9:
Crumple the flower in your hand to fluff and fray the edges.

Step 10:
Wear it! Sew a bobby pin to the back and wear it in your hair, or use a safety pin to attach it to clothing or a purse.


Voila!

fashion standstill

Another quiet morning in the office. Not that I'm complaining.

I've spend the last couple hours looking at fashion blogs and wishing I wasn't afraid to look more unique and stand out.
I love the look of ruffles, patterns, big jewelry, unique shoes, and carefree hair. Oh, and we mustn't forget bags.
My fashion sytle is, however... subdued. I tend to wear clean lines and simple, classic clothing. With the exception of a few pieces that I hardly wear anyway, my wardrobe is engineered to make me look nice, but blend in. Nothing is attention-grabbing or makes a statement. But, if I wear something like that, people will look at me.

I need to get over it, suck up some confidence, and embrace the hottness that comes with being in my 20's.

Maybe I'll just forward the phones and check out the thrift stores in Montrose this afternoon, or see if there are any sales at the mall.

On one of the blogs I was reading, ...love Maegan, she had posted about how they made trailers to make happy movies look scary, and scary movies look happy. Loved it.

random crap

I am craving chocolate chip cookies. I never crave chocolate chip cookies. I don't even like them.

Today I've been sitting here in this quiet empty house. Correction: empty except for my brother's two friends who are sleeping in the living room.

The phones aren't ringing and there's not much going on in the office. I've spent most of the day surfing the net. Here are some neat things I found.

Best. Website. Ever. http://www.runpee.com/.

Well, if you have "the bladder of a field mouse" anyway.

Look at how cute these are!

I want to make these:

and these!

And perhaps the most exciting thing I found. You know how I'm always talking about how when I'm old I'm going to build a house with a secret passageway? This is totally how I was imagining hiding the doorway.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/496987/2644143

I am developing a bad headache from staring at this computer.

Oh, and today I was running too late for the gym, so I decided to run/ walk for 30 minutes around the neighborbood instead. Holy crap dude. I can not run for a very long time. I was glad it was early and no one was outside because I was covered in sweat and gasping for air. I'm guessing maybe that needs work. I'm considering participating in the turkey trot this year. I need some kind of motivation.

Things I like right now

- Cover Girl's Outlast Lip Stain. I love that it doesn't come off like lipstick. Missy even gave it the beach test. It smells really good, too.


- Chai tea. Okay, I like this all the time. It's sooo flavorful. Iced or hot, it's always good. I've been craving it a lot lately.

- Sorbet. It's like a scoopable popsicle.

- Dresses. Duh. I'm loving some of the one-of-a-kind styles I'm seeing on Etsy. Some that caught my eye: (pictures link to product info)

It's an apron!


I lost the link to this one:

- Homemade english muffins. So. Good.

- PhotoBombs. Another one of those time-wasting sites (thanks Missy!). Check it out.

- Super soft and cozy bedsheets. The jersey sheets that I love are going on sale again now that it's back-to-school.

- Hartz Crunch 'n Clean cat treats. These babies help keep funk breath at bay. Now if only she would chew them instead of swallow them whole...

- $5 matinee movie tickets at AMC. Every show before noon is only $5. I just saw The Ugly Truth this morning. It was predictable, but funny.
There are a lot of movies I want to see this summer, including The Proposal, Julie & Julia, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (my favorite book as a kid). I'm usually a cheapskate when it comes to paying $10 for a movie. But a movie for half-price? Yes, I think I can do that.

- The aloe vera plants missy's mom gave me. They are moisturizing my randomly sunburned skin.

my other new dress

As you all know, I have been on a dress kick lately. They're just so cute and easy, breezy.

This one was only $5 at a thrift store. From the front, there's nothing remarkable. I'm digging the bright, bold pattern and it shows off my figure nicely.



But from the back... ooh la la.

I didn't realize it was this way until I tried it on, and I love it!

The only thing is, the slit in the back is wayy to far up. I cropped it out- you can pretty much see my butt. That will have to be quickly sewn up, then I can pop on my new heels and strut my stuff. Or, I can dress it down with casual shoes, and I can even make it modest by throwing on a cardigan.

For only 5 bucks! Sometimes thrift stores are misses, but sometimes they are total hits.

Your mission for this weekend: hit up a thrift store and let me know if you find anything good!

booga booga!

400th post. It was a hectic day. I'm so freaking wound up.

-I bought this dress. I'm excited and I think I've found a new obsession with Etsy. I love it and I hope it fits!

-I ran errands all over town in my brother's Blazer since Jake was in the shop getting the mirror fixed. Holy crap, it was a NIGHTMARE driving that thing. The steering is all wonky, the alignment was off, it's like driving a freaking BOAT and it bounced over every little bump. It also bounced around at stoplights. Not like hydraulic bouncing, but like the engine idled hard. I thought I was going to puke.
Then, halfway down the freeway it started to rain. I found the windshield wipers with little problem, but I could not figure out the headlights! To top it off, I got lost and had to backtrack. THEN, the rain caused stop-and-go traffic and it took me even longer to get home. I was praying to the Gods to just let me get home and out of that horrible vehicle. Really, I prayed.
The seat is also super wierd. No matter how far you put it up, you have to drive like a homie in the hood to get any back support. I wound up sitting straight up without the back support and by the end of the day my neck was hurting and my head was killing me. Not to mention the queasy stomach from all the bouncing around.
When I got my car tonight, I was so happy that I wanted to hug the steering wheel. AND the $300+ repair was under warranty!! Thank you, Irma in service. I don't know why I waited a year to get it fixed. My brother's car is the devil. Now that my mirror works, I am happy as a clam in Jake.

-I am really impressed with that Saturn dealership's customer service. It's always been outstanding, above-and-beyond. They have really gone the extra mile every time I've had any issue, and I'd recommend that location to anyone.

-FINALLY feeling better about those health issues I mentioned earlier. That will just change your whole day right there.

-I went over to Jen's to help Richard paint and I got to burp Logan. He puked on me. I'm in the club. :o)

-I have not worked out in over a week. Time to hit the treadmill again. It was a nice break.

-Hopefully the beach weather will cooperate on Saturday. I still have water toys to play with!

I feel like I'm forgetting something.
Okay, time to go wind down a little.