Frustration

You may have noticed some changes... again... on da blog.

If you haven't, seriously, please get your eyes checked. And possibly your brain.

One of my many faults is really that I'm never satisfied with what I have, I always want more. It could be because my parents spoil me (not likely, since they don't), or it could just be because I'm an irrational human being. Thinking about it, it's probably the latter.

I've been experimenting with changing the HTML of my blog, through a bunch of tutorials I've found and templates I stumbled across. Why do people make it look so easy? Cause it's not.

I hate technology.

So although I'll still be tweaking things, I'm still looking for someone to help me through the process (aka do it for me). Because seriously, I couldn't be more lost if you dropped me in the middle of the ocean.

So if you see, hear, learn about, google, or whatever, ANYBODY who does blog designs. Please. I'm begging you. e-mail me.

A cluttered blog is my pet peeve. Especially my own!

Before the weather got so hot I nearly melted, I did another DIY project! However, it turned out badly.

I took some black thrifted jeans and cut them into shorts.

This is the bleach I used - I don't know if it's 100% or what, but it sure worked well! I didn't want to use too much and waste it, so I put it in a spray bottle

I cut off the cuff of one of the legs to do a quick strip test - just to see how the bleach would effect the color. 

This is the look I ended up with, to be honest, I hate it.

Here are some pointers to make sure you don't hate yours too;

>>DEFINITELY do a strip test. It gives you and idea of the finished product

>>The bottle I used was, versatile. Depending on how you turned the nozzle you could make it spray in a concentrated squirt, or a more misty one. In the above picture, 1. is the concentrated squirt - and 2. is the misty patch.

>>Make sure you cut a little lower than you want! I accidentally cut one leg too short, now I can't roll it up very well - and the edges will be fraying like crazy! Ugh. 

Although my shorts didn't turn out so hot, hopefully yours will! I'd love to see a link below, so don't be shy!

Plus, I think I have a new plan for these lovely shorts 'o mine. But we shall see...

I'm not a photographer

I was driving around the other day waiting for my brother to get out of a meeting - and I happened upon this cute little old blue car sitting at a kind of run down cas station. At that moment I wanted to be a photographer with an amazing idea for this quaint car. But I'm not. 

Despite my awkwardness, I hopped outa the car to snap a few shots with my handy dandy digital camera. I really loved this car guys, if I had the money I would buy this car in a heartbeat - and drive it around. People would stare out their car windows being like, "Hey is that who I think that is? Driving that car?"

I imagine people would think I was this really cool, quirky, vintage girl, with her hair flowing in the wind. Worth getting to know. 

Why can't I just feel like that all the time? #teenagegirlproblems

reality check: No one's hair looks good in a convertable. JUST. NO. It always piles up on top of your head like a huge rats nest.

These are the pictures I liked best - I edited them on picmonkey, experimenting with some of the settings. I was trying to make the photos look old and vintage, without it being obvious that I touched them up. Sorta possible right? Uh no. But that's ok, I'm not a photographer. As previously stated. I think the bottom one is my favorite. 

Dueces xx

Summer Barbecue Salad

So there I was, standing on line at the local Walmart - shopping for my mother because she needs things, and I can drive. It's the grey cloud of having a liscence, I get asked to run all the erands.

But anyways, standing at Walmart, I so happened to glance up at the tv screen. And what luck! I learned something new - and here I am to teach it to you (oh that rhymed!)

Ingredients

Cilantro

Watermelon

Limes

Cucumbers

Balsamic Vinegar

<<The quantities don't reallly matter exactly, just think of the Watermelon chunks as your "lettuce" for this salad>>

I used just about half a watermelon, cutting it into pretty good sized chunks

 Cut the cucumber into fourths (as shown), and "sprinkle" them onto the watermelon - I used a whole cucumber

Fresh cilantro just tastes so much better, but it means you have to cut and chopped the cilantro, into little pieces. Then add it to the salad - I just kept on adding until it looked about right. I prefer to go by gut instinct.

Then add the balsamic vinegar

<<it'll all settle on the bottom, so just keep tossing the salad until you're ready to serve it>>

I added lime juice at the very end, just one lime. It gave it a bit more of a zingy flavor, the balsamic does add some flavor, but the lime takes it to a whole 'nother level!

The whole salad took about 15 minutes or more to make, it just takes some time to cut up the watermelon and cilantro.

It fed about four people, three very hungry mouths and one picky one, with a little left over. It kept well in the fridge over-night, I had the rest for lunch the next day. But I suggest only making enough for how much you'll think you'll eat!

Props to Walmart for a good salad :)

Dueces xx

All the Colors of the Rainbow

On a boring summer day, it seemed like a good idea.

How is it possible that everyone looks forward to summer with such excitement, and then ends up doing nothing but sitting on the couch watching reruns of White Collar? 

Probably becaues Niel Cafferey is so freaking hot. But that's another story.

I felt the need to be artsty fartsy, and do something fun with my sister, so here is the how-to on making a summer day more....... colorful.

1. A large canvas board (We used a 20x20)

2. A hair dryer

3. Hot glue gun and glue sticks

4. Crayons (we used 2 boxes)

5. A spray bottle

1. Choose your crayon color/order/theme. I've seen it done to make it look like a garden - I choose just the typical rainbow order because it costs more to buy soo many boxes of crayons to get the kind you want. I'm cheap.

2. Hot glue the crayons to the board, you can take the wrappers off or leave them on, Quincy and I decided to leave them on. It adds character.

3. Spray the crayons liberally with water, and let them sit in the heat for about a minute or two. We were impatient to start, so we didn't let them sit there very long.

4. Blow dry the crayons until you decide you like it the way it is. I was tempted to stop when this picture was taken, I liked the way it looked with the dripping crayings and the thin lines of color running and splashing everywhere. You can stop whenever you want! Creative liscence baby.

>>notice the spacing between the crayons? It started off as an accident, an attempt to get all the crayons on the board then realizing i had enough room. But then I quite liked the effect - the colors that are pushed closer together have more of a layered and rugged texture then the ones spaced apart.

I liked the texture of the falling colors, so I tried to keep it as textured as possible by moving the hair dryer around and waiting for the textured spot to dry and harden a little bit before I melted anymore of that color. It created a cool layering effect that I'm a fan of.

Link below to your artwork! I love looking at creative DIYs!

xoxo

Let's have an adventure

Today was an adventure day.

Today Quincy and I went out exploring some of our favorite stores for the necessities of life - thrifting and crafting.

Basically SUMMER.

Hobby Lobby was first - we needed a glue gun to finish up a project we're working on (prepared to be astounded later on...)

Hobby Lobby was close, but no cigar. Our hot glue gun is old, and outdated. So we headed to Michaels to see if we could find the right kind of glue stick. Again, no cigar. But Quincy died and went to heaven while looking through the foods stuffs aisles; everything from cupcake decoraters, to baking travel cases. 

Personally, I roamed through the aisles of paints, and markers, and notebooks. I love the smell of fresh paper - never been used kind of paper. Paper that could hold all of my thoughts and musings. It's a little silly - but I love paper.

Next was Joann's, where we finally ended up buying a new hot glue gun on the cheap, with a pack of 30 glue sticks (total = around $8). 

Of course, we had to hit Goodwill. I've been looking for a thrifted pair of Levi 601's - mom jeans to repurpose for cute fashionable reasons I have concocted in my little head (again, more on that later). I didn't find any good Levi's, but I found some jeans that fit well around my waist so they'll do fine. Plus they both added up to $10

aka it's a great deal.

In the true summer spirit - I braided my hair! my mom braided my hair! 

It's a halo braid, taken from this tutorial

I felt very chic wearing it all day... and I also realized I don't actually own any summer clothes. At all.

Problem.

But yes, today was an adventure day.

xoxo

ps - I found my camera cord! But you probably knew that already... so smart!

Hello to lazy summer days

Or maybe it should be GOOD-BYE to lazy summer days.

I've made a list of things I plan to do this summer - goals, projects, books, DIYs, etc.

Because I find that being lazy over the summer isn't as fun as actually doing something! Don't you agree?

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I think this DIY would be difficult, so maybe it should be saved for later in the summer. But it's absolutely beautiful and I WANT ONE. Because people would be like, "Hey. Is they a fork on your arm?" 

Yes. Yes it is.

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This light box would be SO useful - because waiting around for the perfect time of day to take pictures is so annoying, and usually doesn't work out too well anyways.

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My room is a mess. A complete and utter disaster. Usually, it's not so bad - at least the floor is usually picked up and vacuumed, but because I haven't fully moved in yet there is NO organization for my things. It's really frustrating and I'm getting upset just thinking about it, but basically I'm living out of boxes. UGH.

I've decided to be more experimental and wear red lipstick. Just for fun.

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This art project is SUPER popular, but I want to make it interesting and unique. I liked this one because they had a specific design and idea in mind, it's inspiring! I can't wait to try mine! (you'll see it when I do it, never fear)

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The new goal of my summer is to have more flowers. We have a beautiful lilac bush around the house, it's time to bring the beauty indoors.

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I LOVE embellished collars, they add a pop to an outfit without the hassle of long dangly jewelry. So it's time to go thrifting! For beautiful shirts to embellish!

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This DIY is so simple and moustachy that I can't wait to get started! Plus, it's a moustache. Who doesn't want a moustache ring?

I've always been fascinated by the art of embroidery. I seriously think it's amazing and creative, so i've made it my summer goal to emroider something, maybe a shirt of a pillow - or maybe shoes! You never know...

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Uhm yes. I have two very boring grey sweaters that would love to be touched up with these cutesy elbow patches. There are some "holes" in this tutorial, no pun inteanded, so I'll probably just make up my own way. 

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This is a bracelet made of broken jewelry. Because who doesn't have broken jewelry lying around? Seriously, it's bordering on hoarderism. (Hoarderism? Is that a word?)

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My mom yells at me every 5 minutes because I never have a coaster with me, and it messes up her wooden furniture. Which is completely understandable, so I think i'll remedy this little problem of mine and make some cute coasters :)

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I have SO many broaches from my mother, and I can't think of a cuter way to use them than this DIY broach necklace!

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The mullet skirt. The new must-have of any fashionable closet anywhere. So why not make my own? 

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I think we can all agree that most of us sleep in sweatpants and t-shirts. No one ever looks cute going to bed, it's just a fact. Recently I felt like looking cute going to bed didn't have to be hard, so when I found this tutorial I made up my mind. I was gonna look cute going to bed. So sue me.

(can also me remodeled into cute swimsuit coverups with the right fabric!)

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I love this shirt to death. It's seriously simple and totally summer chic. BRING IT BABY.

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Re-fashion a T-shirt into a cute ruffle top and pair it with a maxi skirt. The perfect summer outfit. 

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First off, let me just tell you that these are scarves. Uh yeah. SCARVES. Turn these SCARVES into SHIRTS. oh how I love you scarves-that-can-be-turned-into-shirts.

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On a more serious note, I actually have plans to do some hard-core workout this summer. Ok maybe not THAT hard-core, but enough to put up a sweat, so this DIY is perfect! Now I don't have to spend tons of money on workout clothes! Hurray! 

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I love this longer skirt, don't you?

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On a scale of one to creepy this picture is like, Halloween. But I love the idea of these glowing jars, which would be perfect for a summer party or table center piece. 

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I really love this cut-out because of all of the different shapes you can make, or layers, or fabrics etc. It's just a very versatile DIY.

There's probably more that I'll find for things I want to do, and I'll add them to the list - but this is enough for now. Don't you think? 

xoxo

ps - what are your summer goals and planned projects?

Sense and Sensibility II

So my dear dear friend finally put the rest of the pictures on Facebook, so now I can steal them from her. 

I wish I had more pictures to show you, but I don't.

Geez I need to get better at this picture thing - only problem is I lost my camera cord. again. 

Oh the woes of being an unorganized blogger.

These pictures kind of give you an insight into the lifeblood of theatre. We're really all just crazy people lookin' for an adrenaline rush, because if you don't think getting up on stage in front of 100+ people won't give you an adrenaline rush, you've got your head screwed on wrong. 

But it's the kind of adrenaline rush that lasts. It lasts because it's a part of you. Each time you think about it you get that jumpy sensation in your stomach, like oh-my-gosh-i-actually-did-that. It turns you topsy turvy. 

But theatre people don't just do theatre for the adrenaline, they do it because a part of themselves is in the character. Without someone to be and someone to act, it's almost like we're nothing. We're just boring old us. But being a character? That's something. 

That's taking on a whole new personality, a whole new perspective, and a whole new life. You tell your story, because it is your story. For now anyways. So you tell it and you tell it well, because at the end of the day you have to give up that other person who you've become. You have to say good-bye and you don't want to leave them without making sure you did all you could do to be them.