lolita style

I've always liked the Lolita fashion trend in Japan. I'm not a super girly person, but there's just something about it that I love. There's a great brand called BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT that makes awesome Lolita fashions. Their U.S. store is in Japantown in San Francisco, so Kevin and I will definitely have to pay it a visit when we go in July.

And the outfit would not be complete without a great Lolita manicure.

I wish I could dress like this and not look like a crazy person walking down the street.

I guess I'll just have to visit Harajuku!

lord of the rings crafts

My sister, Joanne, recently posted about some Star Wars crafts on her blog Emjay and Me. You can check it out here. This inspired me to look up some Lord of the Rings crafts. I love The Lord of the Rings books and Kevin and I are rewatching the movies along with the Appendices discs.

Here are some awesome Lord of the Rings themed crafts.

This Rohan soldier amigurumi is so detailed. Found it on Flickr.

I found this bracelet on Etsy. This is a great quote from the books.

And I love this flask with a map of Middle Earth. Saw this on Etsy too.

Hmmm, I'm going to have to do some brain storming on LOTR crafts I can make.

apak

I am loving the artwork by husband and wife duo, APAK. Their paintings are so whimsical and just...adorable!

The wood grain and colors are just spectacular. I could look at them all day.

Places: Side Adventures

On our way back from the tulip festival on Saturday we saw a building in the countryside selling apple cider. We decided to stop by and check it out.

We were surprised to see this sign inside.

We bought a small bottle and it was pretty darn good!

I love little random side adventures. You never know what you'll find.

Hope everyone's weekend was fantastic!

Places: Happy Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter, everyone! Kevin and I had our own little celebration yesterday at the tulip festival up in Mt. Vernon. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Literally not a cloud in the sky and it was sunny, yet cool.

The festival is up in Skagit Valley, Washington, which is about 60 miles north of Seattle. That was the farthest north I've ever been and it took us about 2 hours to drive. The drive was fun, though, because the scenery is much more rural up north. We even saw a hawk!

Here's Kevin at the entrance of Tulip Town.

These pink ones were so beautiful and big too!

And we ended our tulip adventure watching the kites fly overhead.

We seriously had a perfect Saturday together. <3

Crafts: Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, everyone! To get into the swing of things, I thought I'd share a project that I've been working on that's a great way to reuse that whole collection of plastic market bags we end up with.

I found the project in this great book, Craftivity:

Up-cycled Market Bag

I gathered my plastic bags and cut them into strips to make a sort of "yarn". This took a very long time to do.

Then I started crocheting with the "yarn" strips. First I had to make the base and then crochet up to make the sides. They suggest using stronger, thicker shopping bags for the base since it holds most of the weight.

This bag is pretty strong and durable. Take it to the market and feel good about not wasting those plastic bags!

[photography by kevin and me :)]

operation: san francisco

It's official! Kevin and I have bought our tickets for San Francisco on 4th of July weekend. It's going to be my 3rd time visiting and Kevin's first, so I'm excited to show him around.

In preparation for the trip and to get us in the San Fran mood, I want to start watching some movies set in San Francisco.

Like Escape from Alcatraz, starring Clint Eastwood. Our visit to Alcatraz prison will definitely not be like this (hopefully), but we'll get a sense of the history.

And, of course, one of my favorite movies of ALL TIME (and, in my opinion, Mike Myers' best movie), So I Married an Axe Murderer. I think this movie showcased San Fran very nicely.

I can't wait! Only 70 more days to go. :)

paint-by-numbers

I love the vintage look that paint-by-numbers paintings have. I bought one of a tiger the other day from the art supply store and I'll be posting my progress on it as i get more and more of it painted in. When I'm done I want to find a pretty vintage frame to put it in. I would love to start a collection and have tons of them framed on a wall!

I like the wispiness of the clouds in this one.

This one is an altered vintage paint-by numbers.

I've started on my tiger painting and it's definitely taking a lot of time and patience, but I think it'll be worth it!

goodness, where have i been?

Hi all! I've been away for a while, but now I'm back. The biggest reason I've been absent is that...I've found a job! How awesome is that? I was job searching for almost 9 months and right before I almost wanted to give up, out of nowhere, this small software company in downtown Seattle, PayneGroup, Inc., called me for an interview. They were looking for an administrative assistant and I had applied for the position months ago on Craig's List.

So far, it's been great. It was SUPER overwhelming at first, namely because I don't know squat about computers, but they said they liked my personality and I'll learn all the computer stuff as I go along.

And I have! It's coming slowly, but surely. Everyone is so nice there and very supportive, which is the most important thing.

Here's a picture of me behind my desk that the CEO, Donna Payne, took of me for their Twitter page:

Hmmm, I look a bit pale, but I swear most of it is the lighting (i hope).

This job definitely came out of no where and I wasn't even expecting to get it, but it turned out to be the best thing. I really think it was meant to be.