Monday, June 27, 2011

weekend update

man this weekend was too short....right?
i had a baby shower cake to deliver to college station for a friend of mine Kim.
her shower was loosely themed after Shel Silverstein's children's books.  she told me her and the hubs really like his "Underwater Land" album so i decided to make the octopus from the album the main focus of the cake

isnt he cute....i cant get over how good he came out.  i kinda want to make one out of modeling clay and keep him on my desk.  the cake was my organic lemon cake with lemon curd and sweet cream filling....my fav flavor!
yesterday (sunday) i got sucked into watching the "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" marathon that was on TLC...anyone else find themselves glued to the tv? man...that show is cra-cra.
i was productive while i was watching though.  i started dying and making coffee filter roses for my wedding

what do you think?  i dyed them ivory, light green, and light orange....you cant really tell from the pic but it makes them look much more natural than stark white.  i love these roses...they look pretty real, elegant....and most important....cheap!!!  ill most more pics later.  last night was just a test run.  for more info on how to make them please visit Aunt Peaches tutorial on how to make these lovely blooms....this woman is seriously brilliant.
 
how was your weekend?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Chrisrann Braceleet Giveaway over at MuchoMuchoBuenoBueno

The super fun sisters of MuchoMuchoBuenoBueno are giving away a CHRISRANN Bracelet just in time for the 4th of July!
i love the bracelets and necklaces that CHRISRANN has to offer....just wish i had the $$ to buy some....story of my life. 

pop on over to MuchoMuchoBuenoBueno and enter to win this awesome Patriotic bracelet.....even though i secretly really really really want to win this beauty.



the weekend:in pictures

sorry its been a while since my last post but life got crazy last week....and with a plumbing emergency sunday and monday nothing else has gotten done.

friday...atleast i think it was friday....dave and i went to China Town and got Bahn Mi subs for dinner.  i know....i know...Bahn Mi is Vietnamese but this restaurant, Grival, is in China Town.  Folks let me tell you they make the best Bahn Mi subs....ever!!! so so so yummy.  afterwards we went to the Asian Grocery Store and bought a big box of Hello Panada Cookies and some Green Tea ice cream.....omg so good.
saturday i had to deliver cupcakes to my friends son's 2nd bday party....we had lots of fun...but it was wicked crazy hot outside.
if you look at the temp on my rear-view you can see it says 106...106 people and probably 90% humidity.....good 'ole Texas summers. ick.  at one point during the day my temp read out actually said 108....yikes.
dave and I started a new cross-stitch project...a large Zelda alphabet and i started sewing together the hundreds of mini granny squares (each square equals 1 pixel - about 3" each) that will eventually make an afghan that looks like my pattern on the far right.....ive been working on this thing for probably a year now and im so ready to have it done. 
the pattern is based on this tile work....wicked is awesome btw.

ill be back later with a new NowPlaying:Tuesday.


Thursday, June 9, 2011

HairSpiration: the "no 'poo" movement....shampoo that is

"No 'Poo" - Has anyone heard of this?
(source)
  i saw this post on Re-Nest yesterday and had to pass it on.
(this directly from the Re-Nest site folks...i did not write this)

"Practitioners of the "no 'poo" movement point out that shampoo is designed to strip away all the natural chemicals in your hair and scalp, which are then artificially replenished by conditioner. Going shampoo-free helps your head restore its natural balance."
Here's how to do it:

1. Start with 1 tbsp of baking soda to 1 cup of water - the mixture should be cloudy, not gritty or pasty. Apply to the roots and work through the rest of your hair with your fingertips.

2. Condition with apple cider vinegar, with 1tbsp to 1 cup of water. You can also add a few drops of essential oils, some honey or a bit of lemon juice.

3. To get rid of build-up on the scalp, try a brown sugar scrub: 2 tbsp brown sugar mixed with conditioner or honey.

4. Rinse with water every week, and supplement by shaking in an absorbent powder like corn starch or rice flour, then brushing it out with a natural bristle brush.

5. If you need to refresh or deodorize your hair between washes, try a lavender mist. Add 5 drops of pure lavender essential oil to a half gallon of distilled water (or bring tap water to a boil, simmering for an hour). Spritz onto hair using a spray bottle.
 
after reading through the comments on the original Re-Nest post, most of the comments were positive! some mentioned that if you have oily hair that you might, during the beginning/transition stage, have itchy flaky scalp.  If you stick with it those problems will go away.  my hair is pretty dry and only requires a good washing about 2 times a week.  so i may give this a try.  for the past 6+ months i have been using a sulfate free shampoo and love it....my hair has been slower to get oily since using it.....but its so dang expensive.  maybe this is the solution for cheap, clean and healthy hair? 
your thoughts?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

bloglovin'

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now playing:tuesday

ive got two artists for ya on today's now playing:tuesday
up first is:

Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
The Pearl Jam front man is back, flying solo, on this incredible album "Ukulele Songs."  The entire album is written and performed on the ukulele....and dave and i could not be any more in love with this album.  dave plays like a pro on the Uke and i am learning....slowly. 
This album is just plain awesome.  It has the chill, mellow vibe you would expect of a ukulele only album.  Eddie Vedder's voice is still the same deep haunting sound that he is known for....so rich and yummy.  I strongly encourage you to give a test run, if you not sure, on iTunes. 
There are several songs on this album that will make an appearance at our wedding for sure!

next up is:
Ellie Goulding - Lights
This british songtress has been a huge success in the UK.  She recently won the Critic's Choice at The BRIT Awards (2010) as well as the Sound of 2010 on The BBC Sound of 2010 awards. 
Last year she toured with Passion Pit and John Mayer in their British Tour.  She was also the only live performer at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton, performing her cover of Elton John's "Your Song" as their first dance.  Ellie also recently performed "Your Song" on Saturday Night Live here in the States.
Needless to say she has made the hop across the pond and landed with a BIG splash.
Her music is very upbeat and dance-able.  Her voice has been compaired to Bjork, Kate Nash, Lykke Li, and Tracey Thorn.  I really dig her....alot.  Definately check her out on iTunes....go on...do it.

let me know if there is someone you think i should try out and feature on my tuesday posts!!


Thursday, June 2, 2011

DIY: Free People inspired prayer flags/fun summer bunting

Ombre Prayer Flag Bunting
so this DIY is almost a full week late....or i guess you could look at it as a day early (since i usually do them on fridays)
pic from the Free People Blog
if you follow my blog regularly you know i have mentioned that i like the brand Free People....mainly just for the pretty pictures on their blog, but if i could afford their clothes i would wear them all the time.  i especially like their store design team....always something cool going up in their stores.  so today's DIY is an inspired tutorial on how to make their current
prayer flag-ish displays

i decided to use some spare cotton muslin fabric i had used as temporary curtains and do a dip-dye (ombre) technique on the fabric strips.  if you dont want to do any dying then you can cut up old clothes or t-shirts and skip ahead to the end.

1.) cut up your fabric...they dont have to be the same size.....just long enough to tie onto your clothes line and blow in the wind.  i cut my fabric approx. 1"x10" ....some strips were skinny and some were fat and definitely not cut in straight lines.  once they are cut soak them in warm water so your dye will bleed nicely

2.)  mix your dyes according to the package instructions.  i used the RIT powder dyes because it was cheaper and i was buying several colors.  i used some big popcorn/utility bowls added the powder and hot water (*notice the trash bag underneath the bowls....it kept my kitchen counter very clean!) wear your gloves or your hands will be colorful for days!!
3.) gather a group of fabric strips and fold the whole bunch in half. 
          >if you want the ends of the strips to be the darker part of the ombre effect - submerge them about halfway in the dye and let the rest (folded part) hang over the side of the bowl.  since they are wet they sort of cling and hold themselves in place, but if they fall in then fine....its not supposed to be super perfect.....imperfection is beautiful.  this is the basic ombre technique.
         >if you want a two-tone ombre effect - submerge the whole cluster of fabric strips in your lighter color (ex. green) and leave til you get your desired color saturation.  then submerge only the ends in the darker color (ex. blue).  since the fabric is wet the colors will blend nicely!

4.) mix it up!!  play with different colors and combinations.  make some lighter and some darker.  its your call....have fun with it
5.) once you have all of your fabric dyed and rinsed in cold water (to set the dye) hang your strips out to dry.  when i did this it was very hot (as always) so i just laid mine out on the brick of my patio...they were dry in under an hour.  Aren't those colors so pretty?  Now all you have to do is tie them on to your clothesline with a square knot....i spaced mine about 2in from each other. 

6.) put up some hooks with the screw threads on the end (i used a nail to make a pilot hole with).  at one end of your line tie a looped knot and hook it.  i zig-zaged my line across my patio......once i knew how long to make it i cut my line and tied another looped knot on the other end.  (tip: if you use an acrylic clothesline, like i did, you should burn the cut ends so that it won't unravel itself - for natural fiber rope use some hot glue on the ends so it won't unravel).

yes, i have knitta tagged my bike...i will finish one of these days
 isn't that fun? now if i want to have a patio party all i have to do is run some twinkle lights along my line for some great ambiance.  for more fun with ombre dying check out an awesome DIY on Hontestly WTF - they do an ombre dye job on some denim shorts or my favorite stylist Kris from Glitter 'n Glue .

dont forget to share your pics!! i wanna see what you create

o lordy....its been a crazy couple of weeks

lets just start off by saying that i hate car troubles.....hate. 
over the past month or so i noticed that my car a/c was doing the "hissing" that it did last summer....great....just great...my compressor is broke again...AGAIN!
so i took it in to be fixed and thankfully that part was still under warranty from last year....so a week later....a full 5 days later i finally get my car back (after a long hot week of bus riding) and the a/c is still being wonky.  its cold when im moving but not when im stopped.....awesome.  just in case you are not savy to summers in Houston....its flippin HOT.....we were registering triple digits this weekend folks.  so sitting stopped in traffic with outside air blowing on you really sux.

long story short....i just took it back in today to get whatever else is wrong with it fixed....and for my troubles i got a free loaner car....talk about touchy breaks (whiplash at the stoplights).
here are some pics from last week and this weekend.

1.it was hot this weekend  2.dave had a great show 3. we picked 18 lbs of blueberries on monday (weak...ususally its around 30) 4.and made jam with the berries

ill be back later today with a new NowPlaying and DIY (which i owe you from last week...yikes!)