That awkward time between Christmas and New Year.

My Christmas was very low-key this year which is exactly what I wanted. I ate way too much good food and sat around watching cheesy movies. Bliss.

Now that Christmas is over, I can focus on my upcoming trip to Disney World. While there, we're not just sight-seeing and character stalking, the bf is running a marathon while I'm running my first 5k (brand new running shoes were under the tree waiting for me-yay) so naturally, I'm concerned with what I'll wear whilst running (shallow, I know). I'm thinking of representing with my favorite vampire. What do you think?
{Image via Baostudio}

Christmas Pictures

So do you guys make Christmas cards? I've never in my life sent out a Christmas card so the bf and I decided to make one because his family is in Michigan and he doesn't get to see them too often. A nice way to send them our love.

Now, I know why I've never done a Christmas card before--it is a nightmare. Taking the pictures was a project in itself since we had to use a self-timer. Of course we're not big picture people-I prefer being behind the camera-and so we felt so awkward posing. Of course I'm no photographer so the editing process was the blind leading the blind. Off to Walgreens to print them because of my meager waitress salary. Walgreens prints come out so saturated--they looked hideous so off to edit them once again and make them as washed out as possible so they'd come out halfway decent. So, I finally decided to just print out a few since the quality was so terrible and they're being sent to family members who don't really notice things like terrible photo quality and awkward posing (ie., his grandma)
This is the final product. What do you think?

A year older...

Year 25 of my life started off as a rocky, unstable confusing one. However, it did a complete 180 and I couldn't be happier. Here's hoping that year 26 keeps the momentum going.

Beards are boss...

These pictures have pretty much made the entire "geek" blog rounds but I don't care, I love them! Vanja Mrgan is a Croatian illustrator who has re-imagined some of our favorite crime-fighting bad-asses...with beards! His series is called "Bearded" and is still growing. I can't wait to see more!

{Bearded Robocop}
{Bearded Hellboy}

{All images by Vanja Mrgan via Geekologie}

Itty-Bitty Show and Tell

At the request of the lovely Lu. Lu., I've decided to show you a tiny example of one of my projects in the sewing class I took. I stole this picture from the school's site and so I apologize for the size but I hope you can see the small arrow and "That's me!" text I put in there so you could spot me.

I promise I'll take a better picture of my finished apron and purse sometime soon. xo

Amoeba Swimwear

I had the wonderful opportunity to take a beginner sewing class and boy did I have a blast. My finished projects didn't come out so great but I gave it a solid effort and most importantly, I realized I like sewing and it is something I will further pursue.

I really lucked out because my teacher, Amy was amazing. She was really patient and thorough with her explanations. She wasn't fazed by my constant mistakes and terribly-slow pace.

Below I have included some images from her swimwear line, Amoeba Swimwear. She's really talented! If you're looking for a swim suit that is unique and amazing look no further than Amy's creations. I really need to get in better shape so I can rock that first one. Chicago's winters are pretty brutal so I have plenty of time.


By the way, Amy handcrafts and screen prints these puppies herself! Isn't she great? xo

{All images from here}

To all of you lovelies out there...

Hope you have a swell Turkey day! Eat your hearts out! xo

Speaking of pom pom's...

I'm so making this wreath! Thanks James, I'm so obsessed with your blog! xo

Pom Pom flowers...

So apparently I think I'm the new DIY queen or something because I've been taking on all these little projects the last couple of days. The latest being some pom pom flowers for the living room since fresh flowers in these lean times are becoming harder to afford. So I followed this easy-breezy tutorial and ta-da.... here's what I came up with:

{Domestifluff's tutorial is the easiest one around--give it a shot!}

The above image is a little joke; I made this on Photoshop and sent it to the bf while he was at work because he asked me what we should do on his and my day off. A man who likes my sense of humor--he's a keeper!

An evening with Garrison Keillor...

Monday evening was simply an amazing one. The bf and I headed to the Auditorium Theater dressed to the nines (well, not really but I was wearing a dress and he put on cologne and product in his hair) to see Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion fame and oh so much more. The man is amazing to say the least. For a glorious hour and a half, the man sang, recited poetry and had the entire audience in stitches with stories of his Minnesota hometown of his family and he even spoke of his recent stroke and somehow made it sound like a comical situation (I'm sure it was not).
{This is Keillor at a college campus somewhere--he also wore those red socks and sneakers on Monday night}

{A picture of the Auditorium Theater in Chicago--taken with my phone}

After seeing this, I've decided to make the journey over to Minnesota to see A Prairie Home Companion live. If you don't already, tune into NPR to listen to him, it's worth your while, I guarantee it. xo

Happy Birthday dear...

So today was the bf's birthday! Hooray for 29! I woke him up with a delicious chocolate silk cake and a book on early space travel (gotta love us nerds).

(This is his I'm still sleepy but excited face--he'd die if he knew I posted this)
{I forgot to take a picture of it before he got to it!}

I love birthdays! xo

Feeling grouchy...

Oh dear me! This is too cute for words.

{Image via this is me via freshly picked}

Halloween at a German bar...

I was scheduled to work Saturday night but I didn't let that stop me from joining in the Halloween fun. All of us at work decided to go with a theme and we chose The Flinstones. Heather (Wilma) and I (Betty) made the bartender's costume (Fred). We are not crafty girls but somehow we pulled it off, he got so many compliments on it and we were pleased.

After work, I dragged Wilma and Pebbles with me to a party I go to every year and we had so much fun which of course rendered me useless all day Sunday. Hope all of you had an equally wonderful time. Here are some images of the night:
{I was sort of a modern version of Betty as I refused to wear a wig and couldn't take off my red glasses}
{As you can see, we made a lot of mistakes on Fred's costume but I think he pulled it off well}
{Oh those prehistoric males--not much has changed. Hee hee}

{This man was brave enough to don some lederhosen--his gf was pleased}
{One of the waitresses daughters--isn't she cute? She was wearing fake eyelashes with red glitter. Adorable}
{This man was sitting in one of my tables and the first thing he did when he walked in was show me his shirt}{The guy on the left was supposed to be Danzig but I thought he was Robert Smith and he was pretty peeved}

{I thought they were such a cute little pair}
{He was wearing some creepy make-up}
{I'm not sure where he got the uniform}
{Creepy make-up part two}
{My friend Kevin dressed up as a grunger he stayed in character all night--it was great}
{My friend Mallory made a costume out of newspaper--it reminded me of something out of Project Runway}

{Ninjas--of course}

{My friends James and Angie--the wonderful host and hostess of this great party}

Weekend dose of hilarious...

You must watch this very talented musician performing a multi-track version of the Ghostbusters theme song....by himself. Pretty impressive and hilarious!

xo

Frankencamera...

I am an avid fan of synchronicity. For instance, Sunday afternoon I was sitting in bed reading a book on digital photography and listening to NPR when all of a sudden All Things Considered came on and the most fascinating interview took place regarding......digital cameras!

Mark Levoy, a computer science professor and his team have developed a camera prototype called the frankencamera that will function similar to an iPhone, in the sense that you can customize it by adding different applications or programs. Except the operating system this camera would use is Linux (the hacker's choice as Levoy called it--awesome) making the possibilities endless.

There is much more to this camera that is pretty incredible but I'm not a very technical person so I'll let you read the article on NPR's website. Very interesting stuff which could change digital photography as we know it.
{This is Levoy, holding his baby}

{Look at this big clunker!}

I hope to see this in production soon.

{Images via npr.org}

Brooklyn genius...

So, have I mentioned that my sister no longer resides in Seattle but she is now an East Coast girl making her mark in Brooklyn? Isn't that awesome? I've never been to New York so I can't wait to visit. So what does a girl who grew up in the Midwest, treks through the Pacific Northwest for a year then takes off for New York do with herself? Why get involved in fashion, of course! My
sis is an assistant of sorts for the designer extraordinaire--Heather Klar. To fulfill her assistant duties, my sister got a chance to help out with this photo shoot for Heather's new collection. Isn't it rad?

{A beautiful model, cool clothes and balloons--could life be more grand?}
{My sister said this is a $70 lollipop--whoa for that price that thing better sing showtunes for me}
{Black sweatshirt and awkward smile?--That is my sister assisting Hollie, the model}

Isn't my sister so lucky for being a part of this? I know I'm super envious. Oh! By the way, my sister has decided to join the blog world and chronicle her adventures here. She's got a cute little blog, check it out.

{All images from Heather Klar}

Happy feet...

It's that time again, time to start shopping for winter gear. I'm not a big fan of this time, not that I don't love shopping, I absolutely do, it's just that everything I want is always so damn expensive.

The first thing on my list was a new pair of boots. I'm really hard on shoes and I need a really good pair that will last me a couple of winters. I've had my eye on these awesome Frye Engineer boots for quite some time now. The minute I laid eyes on them, I fell in love. However I was not so in love with the price tag.{Frye Engineer boots-aren't they cool?}

The bf and I were at the Army surplus store looking for shoes for him when I stumbled upon these Georgia engineer boots. They look pretty similar to the Frye ones except for the polished leather, they fit nicely and get this-they were 75% off!!! I knew I had to get my hands on them. I am now the owner of these lovely boots that I paid less than $50 for--what a deal!

{cute, comfortable and cheap--what a combo!}

How is your winter shopping going? Next on my list, a nice puffy coat. Wish me luck!

DIY love...

This post was inspired by the lovely Joanna and this post of hers.

So, the bf has recently taken up running. He ran a marathon this past summer in Seattle and he's been running all these fun 5Ks here in Chicago. In an attempt to be a supportive gf, I've made signs for him, I've made sure to attend all his races and I've brought my handy camera to capture all these important moments but for the last 5K he did this past weekend, I wanted to do something extra.

I went over to Jo-Ann fabrics and bought some iron-on-letters which cost about 5 bucks then I went across the street to Target and bought a long-sleeved crew neck for about 6 bucks. I then went home and came up with a funny little slogan for a shirt and ta-da here is my creation....{I opted for a funny slogan rather than a cheesy "I love my bf" one, he appreciated that}
{Total time it took to make...about 20 minutes}
{sexy legs getting ready to run his heart out}
{Please pardon the frumpy look,it was about 7:30 am on Sunday}

The bf loved it! I think it turned out being a lucky charm for him because he was #488 in a race of about 3500 people. Whoo!