Here's the post where I talk about fashion, because I am your regular fashionista. I just stopped wearing huge baggy sweatshirts and I was totally all over the overall trend. They were all the rage back when I was 12. I've finally learned to style my wavy hair. Until about a year ago, my hair was half little odd waves half straight bits which is all a hot mess. I've learned a lot over the years. My awkward stage lasted long beyond the teenage years. Builds character. I find myself surprisingly presentable these days. That is why I have the authority to tell you what's what in fashion.
Have you seen the blouses, skirts, shorts, and pretty much every article of clothing you could possibly imagine with animal prints on them? I'm not talking leopard print {rawr}. There are birds, cats, foxes, giraffes, elephants, bunnies, pandas, english bulldogs, ligers, the more obscure the animal the better! Now, I like these. Nice amount of quirk and interest without going over the top. Since I like them they must be fashionable. See first paragraph. You almost can't go wrong, unless there were by some slight chance a pair of harem pants with animal print. Harem pants will always be wrong no matter the adorable animal print, unless it was leopard print, cause that would be hot.
Elephants
Foxes - Forever 21
I read an article on the interwebs awhile ago. It was some sort of survey saying that guys find girls who have an animal printed on their shirt or something to that effect attractive. And as we all know, if we read it on the Internet, it must be true. This is an interesting concept. Although, this does not justify some terrible fashion faux pas that occur with animals on clothing.
For example, a screen print of your most precious dog on a big oversized T-shirt. If you are a person who would buy such a shirt, you will probably be holding your little toy poodle while wearing that same toy poodle proudly across your chest. Unless you are extremely hot or extremely hilarious, you cannot pull this look off. Put down the phone and put down that horrible catalog. Better yet shred it. It's fun to shred things.
Also, those wolf sweatshirts, again probably only if you are gorgeous or hilarious. That means no bueno for most of us average homo sapiens. That will get the guys and any normal person running in the opposite direction, me thinks. If the wolves are howling at the moon and have smoke billowing around them with a dream catcher, well you get the picture.
Hilarious!
There you have it. Some of my thoughts on fashion.
I can totally relate to this kid. This is how I feel sometimes telling a story or talking in general.
I feel awkward.
Sometimes when I get really excited to say something my brain works faster than my mouth can formulate the words and I feel like the whole thing comes out completely nonsensical. That might be one of the reasons I like to write. I feel like I can convey my thoughts in a more eloquent way through writing than speaking at times. Writing the words come so easily. I feel so comfortable pen to paper, finger to keys.
A few friends, after reading this blog, were actually surprised that I was so funny. Thanks! If only I could be so funny in real life. Although, I don't let the extremely sarcastic side of me come out to just anyone. Some might not be able to handle it. In real life, I can keep some of this at bay. In my writing, I just can't help myself. That is this writer's voice.
Could I be the quirky, mute girl who speaks through her little pen and notebook? You think that would be weird? Yeah, it might be a little bit weird.
I think I'm going to try to work on this. Slow it down and take more time to formulate what I really want to say. It's not going to be easy. In the meantime, I'll keep writing here as an escape from my pathetic, blubbering self. Sometimes I like my writer's voice better.
When outside literally feels like you are walking into an oven, it is ideal to decide not to go outside. I don't know about you, but my oven is the least comfortable place in my house. I'm not about to go and chill near it or in it. Unless you decide to stock up and go underground for six long months, you are going to have to, dare I say it, brave the heat.
There are a few things you can do to help you cool off.
1) Eat Raspados everyday! If you have never heard of this Mexican dessert, you are missing out. It consists of shaved ice, fresh fruit of your choice, ice cream, and lechera. It'll cool you right down and is so refreshing. Okay, so I haven't had these everyday, because that would be wrong. Just every other day. Don't look at me like that. It's hot out there!
2) Go to the movies. It is the only place that you will truly feel cold. Even stores do not feel cool. The air conditioning can't even beat the heat. Heat - 1 Air conditioning - 0
3) Get a pool. Make friends with someone who has a pool. Stake out a pool and go in when no one is looking. If all else fails, lay in one of those little kiddie plastic pools. There are also a few patches of grass where they have sprinkler systems. Go there. No one will think anything of a person relaxing as the sprinklers are going off. Completely normal. You can always just ask a friend to spray you down with a hose. There's always that.
4) After a long day out in the heat, lay down on some tile floor. Tile. Cold. Tile. Good. Apparently, the heat fries brains cells as well. At the end of the day, you will only be able to muster up words with one syllable.
Now on a positive note, the summer nights here are bearable and can be quite lovely. As soon as that blasting sun goes away, it's not all that bad. There isn't sweat dripping down your legs anymore, so that's always a good thing.
The other night we met up with some friends and had a great time, even sitting out on the patio while eating our raspados {see number 1}. Then we went back to their house and played games all night. Hooray for friends and new hilarious games!
Wait for it. Wait for it... Now we are in business. Don't you feel like baking some French Macarons? I know, I did. And yes, we really did play the Ratatouille Soundtrack while baking this afternoon. We are nerds. But I love this song, so there's that.
We followed this recipe. Her macarons turned out lovely, so for fun we thought we'd give it a try. Syd and I both had the day off and were in the mood for some baking.
Looking good
And then this is where it all went terribly wrong. I don't know what we did. After following the instructions, they still weren't cooked.
So we cooked them longer.
Then a little longer.
Half of them crumbled in the process of trying to figure out if they were, in fact, cooked.
This is what we got out of our batch.
Six sad looking macarons
And then this happened...
I had to lick this out of my hand. It tasted good, but wasn't pretty.
These others are on the verge of having breakdowns at the slightest touch. Here, have a macaron! If you try to pick it up, it will fall to pieces. Try to eat one off the plate and pass it around. Only gonna invite close friends over for that one. Epic fail! Womp womp womp.
What's not to love about looking through old photographs? Half sweet sweet memories half oh the horrors of what was I wearing and what were we thinking? If you thought this clever idea involving old photographs was neat, then you will love this new website. Take pictures of old pictures recreated in the same spot years later. The captions are almost as sweet as the photographs. Oh, nostalgia!
Now I need to find me some old pictures from all those trips out to visit my grandparents in AZ. Too bad I'm not in Wisconsin right now, there would be so many more options.
Have you seen the section on Craigslist called Missed Connections before? I hadn't even heard of it until recently when this New York artist's illustrations started popping up on some blogs. Missed Connections is where people who have shared a fleeting moment in time with a stranger and didn't seize the opportunity post short descriptions of their encounter hoping that they might find them. Once you get past some of the "Hey, I saw you. You were hot! Yeah." posts, there are some that are really touching, almost poetic, and sometimes hilarious.
This New York artist has taken inspiration from Missed Connections posts to create these beautiful illustrations. They are so dreamy, don't you think?
Dear Lady with Toddler in Boutique,
As you were rushing out to bring your daughter to the bathroom, I don't think you saw that your daughter left behind two turds on the floor. I do not know how that happened. Isn't underwear suppose to catch that stuff? It was the most horrendous smelling thing. Thank you for helping me appreciate how much I do not need to be a mom for a very, very long time. What a great start to my day!
Dear AZ Summer,
You are disgusting and horribly hot. It's just the beginning of our relationship and I already want it to end. For the time being I will blame you for anything and everything to help me get through this. I don't feel like moving. It's summer. Not cleaning my room. It's summer. Eating my weight in Raspados. It's summer. Driving past three Starbucks to get to one with a drive-thru so as not to have to get out of the car. It's summer.
Dear Zemam's Ethiopian Restaurant,
Thank you for breaking up our otherwise crappy day. We needed a unique dining experience and the adventure of trying something new today. A place that forces you to eat/play with your food with your hands is good in my book. Although, I think I would still pick Indian or Vietnamese over you. Don't hate!
While travelling, it's a given we will be eating out at all different kinds of establishments. Sometimes it lends itself to some interesting situations. Let's discuss.
We order our food and are given a number. They will bring it out when it is ready. Girl walks out with our food. Stands there with the food. Does not say a word. Does not hand us our food. Just stands there. "Is this our food?" Blank stare. "Okay, thank you." Blank stare. We take our food and she walks away. Awkward. I should've gotten paid for practically doing her job. Kids these days!
We don't really like to complain if something minor is wrong with our food, but at The Yard House our pizza came out undercooked. We picked up a slice and all the cheese fell off of it, because the whole thing was limp. That's just not cool. Sydney has such a nice way of complaining. She said, "I don't know if this is how it's suppose to be, but it seems a little undercooked." Aww, she's so nice. Let me just say The Yard House had great customer service. The manager came out after hearing that our pizza was undercooked and asked if we would like a snack while we wait, like some fries. Syd asked him what snacks he had? Well, fries. Oh, I guess we will take the fries then. Those fries were good. And he took the pizza off the bill. Sweet!
The next day, we went to Panera Bread. Their soup is yummy. Just as soon as the guy put our soups down on the table, my dad practically yells, "There is a BIG hair in my soup!" The waiter, of course, hears this, apologizing profusely, he takes the soup away. My dad has no tact like Sydney. But then we were thinking about it. If he used the same approach as Sydney, it would go something like this. "I don't know if there is normally a hair in the soup, but could you take care of this?" Yeah, doesn't work so much! Ha He has obviously been married to my mom too long. At another restaurant, the waitress went to fill up her water and she yelled noooo and covered the glass. The waitress jumped and was visibly shook up. Oh, parents these days!
And this one did not happen at a restaurant and it wasn't last weekend, but still in the whole train of thought with sales and customer service.
I went with my dad to a foot insole place. You walk-in, get a free consultation, and their amazing foot supports are suppose to cure all your foot woes. The salesman was right away not cut out for the job. He had no air of confidence. He kept asking the other lady in there for help and stumbling over his words. It wasn't pretty. We weren't convinced in the product and when we went to check out my dad, for some reason, gave him his credit card before we found out it was 200 bucks for two pieces of plastic with no return policy. Ridiculous. We didn't want to buy them. "You don't want to buy them?" the sniveling salesman asked. His eyes darted back and forth, as he stepped back with a death grip on my dad's credit card. That's when I realized he wasn't going to give it back. Sweat started dripping down his face and he had this scared expression. I had seriously never seen anything like this before. My dad repeated how he didn't want to purchase anything at this time and he would have to think about it. The guy just stared at us all shifty eyed and then he called to the lady in the back room, "Karen?! This gentleman doesn't want to buy it." He just stood there all pitiful, while Karen tried to make the sale. He still hadn't given back the credit card and I wouldn't put it past him to swipe it when no one was looking. Oopsie. It was sitting there behind the counter. I saw my window of opportunity and grabbed it. That was our experience at Good Feet. Couldn't they have come up with a better name. Really? My feet and I were not happy leaving that place and these feet will never be back.
Did you read all that or did you stop reading at the first sentence up there? If you stopped reading before getting to this point then you will be sorely disappointed you missed the link {I couldn't find it anywhere to embed. Maybe too old?} to this video. I felt like it applied somehow. Don't interrupt. Rude!
There is something so delicate and feminine about lace. I love how it can add the perfect touch of detail to any piece of clothing. I, also, love how the majority of my outfit was thrifted. It's invigorating to find such cute clothes at such reasonable prices.
Just a tip for those of you who are new to the thrifting game. Don't worry about the size. For example, this skirt is size ginormous and it fits me quite snugly around the waist. It's not only because I have a food baby from my recent trip to California where I gorged myself on cupcakes and frozen yogurt. These skirts are just sized differently. I think. I hope! That's what I tell myself, at least. Aww man, this is not going so well.
I might add that I love wearing a dangly earring. They just make an outfit that much better. Although, you might not want to wear dangly earrings while wearing a shirt with lace on the shoulders. The earrings may get caught on the lace. This might happen while you are checking out at your local coffee shop. You may try to act all nonchalant. I meant to do that! Or what are you looking? My head just tilts that way, okay? Then do some quick untangling action while no one is looking. Just a warning to you. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
I don't have much to write about today. It was a beautiful weekend. Nothing entirely funny or annoying happened for me to frantically type and tell all of you. It was all around a great time in California. Just what we needed. Break from the monotony of what I call life. And so on and so forth.
I'd never been to Venice Beach before and I have decided I like it a lot. The beach was clean. Even though, it was about 60 degrees and cloudy, we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! If we are that close to a beach, we cannot not go, right?
Then after we had walked really far, we walked back along the little shops and street performers for a little bit of my favorite pastime, people watching. There were a lot of interesting people. Including some guys selling their CD's who went up to my mom and said, "What?! You don't like black people music?" Ha So funny! Which might technically be true, since she's not one for the hippity hoppity music, but really, Dude, pulling the race card is not going to help you make the sale. There was also a guy causing quite a spectacle by jumping on a bed of broken glass bottles. Eep! It was entertaining.
Then we went to Danny's Deli and ate fish and chips! Mmm, so good! And had this guy staring at us the whole time. I like your 'stache! Ha
On our way home, we went to Sprinkles cupcakes. It was actually entirely not on our way home, but for cupcakes I would go an hour out of my way. Okay, we are crazy. We didn't know it would be quite so far. But, oh boy, was it worth it!
And I played Hanging with Friends on my iPhone all the way home. It might be my new addiction of the week. It's like Hangman with a twist. Get it and play with me. Scn: Tayor.ash
Have you seen the gorgeous pleated mid-length skirts everyone has been sporting lately? We are so happy that mid-length skirts are in style now, because we wore them when they weren't in style due to our monstrous height. Most skirts on normal people are like mini skirts on us. We no like.
Who is we, you might be wondering? Oh yeah, meet my sister, Sydney. You know when you meet sisters and you're thinking how much cuter one is than the other? That's why I didn't introduce my sister to you sooner. She is too cute! But you will still like me, right?
She is my thrifting buddy. We found that skirt at Goodwill for five bones! I'm a newbie to the thrifting world and it is a place I never want to leave. Thrifting is good people. Gone are the days of buying every piece of my wardrobe from Delia's. {shudders} Now when I go to the mall it's always in the back of my mind, I could find something like this at the thrift store for a quarter of the price. This has helped me save a lot of money. I can find a few summer pieces for a fraction of the cost, which makes me oh so happy.
If only I could have found that skirt first and it was in my size! You win some, you lose some. Goodwill, I'm coming for you!
Did you know I never was very attracted to Asia? It was never ever on my list of places I wanted to go or see. Then, for some reason, I went to Malaysia and lived there for five months. It didn't take long before I was converted. There is something that is just so adorable about Asian culture and people. I love Asia!
You can learn a lot from blogs. For example, I saw this video on another blog and it is the greatest thing I have seen in my life. In Osaka, Japan they have this game I guess you would call it, where if someone fake shoots a complete stranger {as in pretend your finger is a gun}, that stranger will always react as if they are getting hit. Wouldn't it be amazing if each city had an unwritten game they played. Amazing!
A little list from Ilana from See Me Everywhere. Her blog is one of my favorite daily reads. She discovers the cutest things and she's from New Zealand. I seriously need to go there soon. I think I would like it there. ; ) She asked her readers to join in and I thought it was a cute idea. So here it goes...
One of Ilana's finds. I need this! So adorable. via
Lately I am... ♥ReadingThe Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. ♥Listening to the ceiling fan and the washing machine. They do not make sweet sweet music. Let me tell you. Although, the sound of soon to be clean clothes is music to my ears. Oh, I think this means actual musicians I've been listening to. In that case, Broken Bells, Florence and the Machine, She and Him, Regina Spektor, Belle & Sebastian, and Bieber. Only not that last one. ♥WatchingPsych! Season Five came out just in time for the summer dead zone of re-runs. Watch it. You will laugh. Also, random movies from my childhood on Netflix. Ever After anyone?? Eh? I love it. ♥DrinkingChai Latte with a shot of espresso. It is oh so good! ♥Eating Frozen Yogurt. It's the perfect hot summer treat! ♥Tryingto figure out what this year will bring. Should I stay or should I go now? I'm having a slight mid-life crisis twenty years too soon. I'm about to go out and get my little sports car. Somebody stop me. ♥Saving for a big trip to an exotic land. Hopefully. I miss everything about being in a foreign country. It's been too long. ♥Wanting a day at the beach. California, here I come. ♥WishingI was somewhere green to enjoy a nice summer picnic in the grass and after a bike ride. There is no green grass here. If you can find a patch of grass, it has died because it is like death out there. Nothing can survive long in that heat, including myself. This might just be my last blog post. If you don't hear from me, would you be so kind as to look for my body fried out on the sidewalk. Thank you kindly. ♥Loving my new retro one-piece swimsuit. ♥Enjoyingthe endless possibilities. ♥Looking forward to our summer trip to San Francisco and Portland. Hurry up, July!
I read this little list of myths about Introverts and found it to be interesting. I don't think I could ever claim to be an Introvert, but the first few #1-4, I feel apply. I have a really hard time making myself talk to people sometimes or most times. Small talk is my enemy. I've decided I'm not one for big groups, as well. Maybe that just makes me rude and not Introverted at all. Or maybe I'm some mutant Introvert/Extrovert roaming the streets of a town near you. Be afraid!
Even though, most of this does not apply to me, I have friends who are definitely Introverts. No questions asked. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.
Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.
Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.
Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.
Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.
Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.
Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.
Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.
Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.
Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.
To the mystery bug who bit me in my sleep: I will hunt you down and I will kill you.
Seriously, this bug is out to get me. The bites are not just in any ol' spot. No, I have two bites on one of my elbows. Awkward. The other is on the back of my ankle. They are extremely itchy, which means the one on the back of my ankle is irritated by my shoes every time I take a step. Perfect!
To make matters worse, I woke up with them. Which means this evil thing bit me in my sleep. Last night, I got into bed in a state of paranoia. Is something crawling on me?? I'm a big fan of sleep and I use to like my bed. Thanks, Bug, for ruining it for me last night. You are evil and must die!
I'm using this amazing chinese herb oil that we bought in Thailand. That stuff is a cure all for everything. Have an itch? Rub this on it. Headache? Rub this on your temples. Stomache ache? Fall out of a moving vehicle? Take a bath in this stuff. You'll be good as new. With these bites, I've been putting it on like a fiend. If one could become addicted to Thai miracle oil, I would need to be put into rehab already. It's getting down to it's last drops and I don't know what I will do, probably get all shaky and start hallucinating or just be super itchy.
Let this be a fair warning to you, my dear friend, to watch your back, because it's on like Donkey Kong.
I really hate you right now! Still talking to the bug.
Yesterday was a good day. Sydney and I took off the morning and went to this little French cafe for a quiche. There is something about eating breakfast out that is so luxurious and relaxing. For all of you who eat breakfast out on the daily without rushing to and fro, then it might be commonplace for you. Not so for me. That quiche was a good start to the day.
Pretty wall in the cafe. I tried pretending I actually was in France. I would like to go to there.
Bread with butter and jam too! So yummy.
Even though, it was stinkin' hot out, I didn't complain. The temperatures went up to 103 degrees. I must have been having a pretty decent time, because normally just stepping outside in those temps brings on a string of complaints.
I think I was just enjoying my summer ensemble which consisted of these lovely staples. I just bought that straw fedora from H&M and if you can only buy one thing this summer, buy that hat. It's an instant outfit enhancer and so adorable.
Sydney scored two amazing skirts at Goodwill for only $5 each. I die of the cuteness that are her two new skirts. Then I went over to Buffalo Exchange and got this vintage polka dot dress and silk scarf for next to nothing with trade and got offered a job. It was flattering to be asked to work there. My style has come a long way in the last few years. It was the hat, People! Get it! Also, I can't tell you how excited I am to find another dress. Being an amazon and all, it's near impossible to find dresses long enough. I have more dresses now than I ever have before and they all were found at Buffalo Exchange. Yay!
Then I went to Bookman's and the guy at the register said I looked all summery and to keep spreading my vibe. I don't know what my vibe is, but I guess I will keep spreading it. Why was everyone so happy yesterday with it being butt ugly hot outside and all?
Clothes and books! Is there anything better? I think not.
Maybe I shouldn't take days off, when all there is to do on days off are go shopping. But, I did get all of the above in trade. Not bad, huh? So yeah, yesterday was a good day. How was yours?
