GraphXGrrl

New Blog Address

2011-10-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hey guys and gals!

It's long time no see for some of you.

Please update me in your blog roll!

My new blog is located at:

What's All This Then

Hope to see you all there soon!

*~D~*

Fill In the Blank Friday

2011-05-06T12:46:00.001-07:00

(source)

1. What I love most about my home is …this is hilarious to me since we are going to be moving soon.

2. I'm excited because, we should be moving soon! *crosses fingers that this happens sooner than later*

3. My preferred method for blowing off steam when I'm frustrated is taking a shower. All things become much more clear when I take a hot shower. I can calm down & think straight or lose myself in thought; whichever is necessary at the moment.

4. Currently I am craving that banana coconut Fuze drink. It is splendid.

5. The thing I love most about my mom is that she has a pretty good sense of humor. You'd have to have one with a daughter like me! ha! She's also very generous and has always been there for me (and most anyone else) when they need help.

6. If I were going to write a book about my life, the title would be 'A Revolving Menagerie of Overly Analyzed Instances' *snicker*

7. If I were to eat one thing for the rest of eternity it would be tiramisu cake pops

Have a happy Mother's Day weekend everyone! :)

xoxo

Fill In the Blank Friday

2011-04-29T08:27:00.001-07:00

(source)

1. I am looking forward to taking my daughter to see 'African Cats' this weekend. We've been waiting to see it since Earth Day of last year when she saw the trailer for it!

2. Something kind of embarassing that I still love anyway is I'm not embarrassed by anything I love. If other people think it's weird, who cares?

3. My favorite car is the awesome custom Mustang with Lambo doors that Red Mist had in 'Kick Ass'! I told Nick he needs to get me that car. haha

4. If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be tropical weather. I like to feel like I'm always on vacation.

5. My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is eat chocolate, drink a mocha and watch comedies.

6. This weekend I will go see 'African Cats', check out the new library downtown and just try to relax.

7. If I were a color, I'd be orange because, I always feel very vibrant and even when I don't, I still try to act that way.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo

hi

2011-04-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just posting this so that I don't only have 13 posts for April.

Silly, I know. :)

Look of the Day

2011-04-21T12:06:00.001-07:00

I've talked numerous times before about how I love 'adventure fashion'. You know, that whole what-would-Indiana-Jones-wear-if-he-were-me type thing. ;)

Mad props to Kylie Minogue for pulling it off so nicely!
It should be known: I'm completely jealous of this outfit.

Also, take a closer look at her Gucci bag and tell me that it's not completely badass in every way...

I know, right?!

Dear Kylie,
Can I borrow your wardrobe? Pleeeease?! haha

xoxo

T-REX Wednesday

2011-04-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hope your week is going well! :)

xoxo

Fill In the Blank Friday

2011-04-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

1. My favorite daily responsibility is, taking care of my daughter .

2. My least favorite daily responsibility is, Cleaning, like most people. When Nick & started dating he used to wear a pin that said "A clean house is the sign of an empty life."

3. My favorite cuisine to eat when going out is I can't help it, I love love love chinese buffets.

4. My favorite cuisine to prepare at home is Italian.

5. Andy Warhol said that everyone is famous for 15 minutes. My claim to fame is Hmmm, I sent Perez Hilton an article that ended up on his site once. Oh, and I had a joke that I wrote featured on People.com once as well.

6. If I could have 3 wishes I would wish for more free time, endless cash flow to fund said free time, the ability to tell people how I really feel without sounding awkward (apparently, that's really hard for me! lol)

7. My biggest pet peeve is people that try to control government based on their religious ideologies.

xoxo

Look of the Day

2011-04-13T13:11:00.001-07:00

I'm going to follow up Emma Stone's quote with also giving her the 'Look of the Day'.

I love how airy and feminine this ensemble is! Very pretty.

The pale blue chiffon and crepe sleeveless dress with a beaded top is from the Preen Spring 2011 collection.

Pumps by Christian Louboutin

Clutch by Calvin Klein

(source)

xoxo

Quote of the Day

2011-04-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

"You’re a human being, you live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake."
~ Emma Stone

Zooey Deschanel is doing the soundtrack for Winnie the Pooh!

2011-04-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

So excited!!! :)

xoxo

Grimlock Feels My Pain

2011-04-09T11:19:00.001-07:00

"Grimlock 4 President"

Hand drawn & scanned into Photoshop for coloring/typography.

Grimlock (Transformers) (c) Hasbro

I've been endlessly annoyed with all the stupid things Donald Trump has been saying lately, so I had to find a healthy way to channel my feelings. haha

Hope everyone's weekend is going well.

My daughter is feeling much better today, thank goodness!

xoxo

IMMA BEE

2011-04-08T11:47:00.001-07:00

"IMMA BEE"
Hand drawn & then scanned into Photoshop to color and add typography.

Bumblebee (Transformers: Animated version) (c) Hasbro

You can see more of my fan art on my Deviantart page; if you're a member, I'd be delighted to have you add me to your Watch list. :)

Today my daughter was sent home sick from school, so we are taking it easy at the house & hopefully she'll feel better soon!

Hope you all are having a good day.

xoxo

Fill in the Blank Friday

2011-04-08T11:27:00.001-07:00

1. Something that makes me a great friend is, that I'm understanding & loyal.

2. I am Wonder Woman.

3. I am not good at compartmentalizing my emotions, but I'm getting better at it.

4. If I had to describe myself in 3 words, they would be creative, compassionate, optimistic .

5. Something I'm really cheap about is groceries. I buy a lot of generic brands b/c a can of corn is a can of corn no matter how cool your logo is.

6. Something I'm willing to splurge on is oddly enough, food! I'm cheap with groceries, but I will splurge like crazy at restaurants. Go figure!

7. I would trade extra sleep for Starbucks in a heartbeat. ((I do this a lot in order to have time to grab a coffee before work!))

xoxo

Look of the Day

2011-04-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Liv Tyler
(at the New York screening of 'Super')

Dress by Thakoon Addition
Velvet Sandals by Roger Vivier

(source)

What do you think of Liv's look?

xoxo

You're Obi-Wan-derful!

2011-04-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

(source)

haha, when I saw this I couldn't help but laugh! There's a little back story:

Last night Nick & I were having a conversation about himself and one of his friends & how they're working together on this project, etc. And I was like, "Hey, you're like his Obi-Wan!" He laughed and then I hugged him and said, "You're my Obi-Wan."

So this pic just made my day! :)

xoxo

Watercolor

2011-04-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

"I Choose You"
8"x8" in Watercolor
Tinkerbell & Terence characters (c) Disney

Yay! I finally had some time to work on a just-for-fun art project. I recently read 'The Trouble with Tink' and was inspired to do this piece. This is from the fairy tag scene at the beginning; right before the hawk swoops in to ruin the moment. :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xoxo

Fill In the Blank Friday

2011-04-01T06:58:00.001-07:00

(questions from The Little Things We Do)

1. The best prank I ever pulled was Calling into work with a horrid sounding British accent, pretending to be a goat whisperer.

2. The best prank ever pulled on me was My daughter likes to prank me by telling me there are spiders & of course when I look she giggles out "Just kidding!". I fall for it nearly all the time.

3. A day without compassion is a day wasted.

4. The most important things in life are The people you love & the moments you share.

5. I dream of Lately I've been daydreaming about Disney World. I don't know if we'll get to go back this year or not, but I do love thinking about it.

6. I dread Anytime my daughter has to go on her visitation weekends with her dad. I'm always a nervous wreck the whole time she's gone & I miss her terribly.

7. A discovery I made this week was I actually do have willpower when it comes to junk food. Yay! Go me! :)

xoxo

Weekend Line-Up!

2011-03-31T11:19:00.001-07:00

It's Thursday but I'm already looking forward to the weekend.
Things have been pretty crazy lately (I can't share anything yet; but hopefully in a couple of weeks I can divulge it all!), so I feel like I need to make some time to relax this weekend.

So, if I get some 'me' time, what do I want to do?

Well, first off, I'd like to start reading a new book. These are the two that I'm deciding between:

'Kingdom Keepers'. This is actually the first in a series that's supposed to be about 5 tour guides who have to face Disney villains & such who have come to life and are threatening havoc on Disney World and the world beyond its walls! It sounds like a fun read & I can never get enough of Disney. :)

That's right! Elizabeth & Jessica are back 10 years after graduating Sweet Valley High! Since this year is my 10-year reunion also, I think this might be fun. I used to love those books when I was younger.

I'd also like to watch a couple of movies:

I haven't seen 'Black Swan' yet & I heard that it came out this week. I really want to see it because I like weird artsy movies & it sounds like just that.

'Tangled' is out too! I absolutely LOVE this film! So does Alyse, so we MUST buy it & watch it a million kerzillion times! Muahahaha!

So those are my relax-y plans.

What about you? Any fun movies/books/etc. planned for your weekend?

xoxo

Fill In the Blank Friday

2011-03-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

I see a lot of people doing these, so I decided to try one out. I saw this one on my friend Shawna's blog, 'Once More, With Feeling'.

1. My most prized possession is This might sound weird, but it's my daughter's toys. I've kept some of her favorite baby toys & I'll probably end up keeping some of her most cherished toys now. I just love the memories associated with them & how happy they have made her. She's gone on lots of adventures with them! :)

2. If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be In my late 20s. I'm happier now than I ever have been & life seems a lot more clear nowadays. I love it!

3. The best way to spend a weekend is Start with some Starbucks, play with the kiddo, maybe watch a movie or read a book, go out to eat with the hubby & work on something creative .

4. My outlook on life is To always do your best & be the best that you can be in any given situation. If you are proud of your choices then you will be happy & if you're not proud, then fix that! :) I think that no matter what life throws at you, the decisions you make are what really matters in the end. Just do your best to put as much positivity into the world as you can & then you'll know you've done your part to make the world a better place.

5. If you want to annoy me, just Act horribly around children. Nothing makes me as angry as people who say horrible things or act offensively in front of kids (what is wrong with people?!). I WILL tell you what I think (using intelligent language) & you WILL feel like an idiot when I'm done with you.

6. I am completely defenseless when it comes to Puppy-dog-eyes lol .

7. When dressing for the day one should Be true to themselves!...and prepare for the weather forecast. haha

Let's Go On An Adventure!

2011-03-24T11:46:00.001-07:00

Let's Go On An Adventure! by graphxgrrl featuring mulberry handbags

Saturday Hairstyle

2011-03-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to spice things up.
I've been wearing my hair either straight or in a ponytail all week, so today I braided my bangs for a cute but still easy look.

xoxo

Fashion: Cute Plush

2011-03-11T10:31:00.001-08:00

I neeeeeed this shirt from Cute Plush!

And these rings:

Happy Friday everyone!

xoxo

Unicorns Didn't Ask To Be Special...

2011-03-10T14:12:00.001-08:00

Sorry I've been so quiet this past week. We've been busy working & looking at houses.
Too bad I can't have this awesome Hello Kitty one! haha

Other than that...

I've been listening to a lot of old Linkin Park stuff this week...

I think I'm going to hire them to write my theme song when I become a superhero.

Drinking this because it's cool and refreshing...

Liking my status update: "Unicorns didn't ask to be special; they were just born that way!"

And daydreaming of picking up one of Starbucks new cake pops!
I tried to get one the other day but they said they didn't serve them in the mornings.
Boo!

Did you see that last part?
March 10-12 from 2-5p.m. Go there & eat a cake pop for me!
I'll eat one too; don't worry. ;)

Hope you're all having a good week!

xoxo

Pic Sources: Google, weheartit.com

More Disney from Annie Leibovitz

2011-03-04T08:32:00.001-08:00

These are too awesome to not share!

(Top: Alec Baldwin & Olivia Wilde)

(Queen Latifah)

(Jeff Bridges & Penelope Cruz)

I love when Annie does these!!!
love love love!!!

Have a magical weekend everyone!

xoxo

Pic Source: Celebuzz

Let's Be Real

2011-02-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to take some time to talk about body image, from a personal standpoint. I'm all for honesty, so let's be real here...

This is a picture of me taken this morning. (It's windy here, so ignore the hair. lol)
I tried to wear the tightest clothes I have so you can get a good idea of what my body type actually is.
This is me.
I'm 27 years old. I'm 5'10. 165 lbs. My dress size is 14.

I think it's important to be honest about this, just because so many women seem guarded about those numbers. We're sort of brought up in our society to believe they should be a secret.
And if you want to keep it your secret, that's fine.
Personally, I will tell anyone those stats about me if they ask; because I think it hurts, more than helps, to act like those numbers are anything you should be proud of or ashamed of.
If you're healthy, then be proud of that.
If you're not, then take some 'me' time to work on being a healthier you.

Now, I will also be honest about the fact that I know I'm not in shape. I eat waaaay too many sweets (thanks cupcake obsession! haha); and I don't really make time for myself to exercise like I should.

I'm a mom, wife & career woman. So the majority of my time is taken up by those three things.
But, thankfully, I have learned within this past month that I *have* to start making time for myself. This started by letting myself realize that yes, it is okay to take naps. I had a really hard time letting myself do that before. I genuinely felt that if I wasn't busy doing something productive then I was just wasting time. I now realize that taking some time to breath and relax - is productive. Otherwise, you're going to get burned out and that's not healthy either.

So what got me thinking about all of this?, you might ask.

Well, I've been looking forward to doing some Spring/Summer wardrobe shopping. One of the things that I'm looking forward to is a dress line by a designer I follow online. You may or may not already know about Red Velvet, but they have a new dress line about to come out. I was catching up on my blog reading last night and saw that they posted the sizing chart for their new line. Here it is...

I grabbed a tape measure took my measurements, and thankfully I can just barely fit into a size Large; so I can still order the dresses if I want to.

The problem?
I don't want to be satisfied with "just barely" fitting into the largest size of anything!!! LOL

So, I've decided that continuing on my quest for 2011 of discovering, defining & improving myself...I will have to start making time to get in shape.
That means penciling in time to exercise (even when I think I'm too busy).
That means Just Say NO to sugary foods on a daily basis (I will let myself something every now and then; but as a reward rather than feeling entitled to it).

And we'll see what happens.

I also know that it's important to have a concrete goal in mind to work towards.
I've heard a lot about how you can't base things of weight because there's too many contributing factors, blah blah blah...

So I've decided to set my goal off something more relevant to what is inspiring me to want to get in shape in the first place. Fashion. Dress size.

Like I said, I currently wear a size 14. So my goal will be to get back down to the size I wore in college first (size 11) and then go from there. I want to take it one step at a time so I don't get discouraged or feel overwhelmed.

I just want to make the statement that I know why I'm doing this. My family thinks I'm perfect the way I am, and I'm very thankful that they feel that way. I'm doing this totally for me, because it's what I want to do.

So here goes! :)

Oh, and if you made it all the way through that, THANK YOU!!! haha

If you have any advice or personal experience with this topic - PLEASE share in the comments. I would love to hear other women say what they think about body image issues, health, etc.

Thanks again for reading! :)

xoxo

Pretty Pictures Friday

2011-02-25T08:36:00.001-08:00

Pretty movie with pretty stars.

Pretty kitties catching Zzzzz's.

Pretty bedroom to relax in.

Pretty bags of cotton candy.

Pretty dress by Betsey Johnson.

Soft visuals and blue/pink color palettes are inspiring me right now.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

xoxo

Pic Source: Google

Fashion: Alice + Olivia Pre-Fall 2011

2011-02-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a glimpse of the Alice + Olivia Pre-Fall 2011 collection.
I'm loving the styling they did on these shots!
I also like the color palette. They found a way to make muted tones pop, which is nice.
I also like that the designs are chic & classic, but still very youthful.

Here's a compilation of my favorite looks from this collection:

Which one do you like best? You can view the entire collection here.

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: Barbie Gone GaGa

2011-02-24T07:42:00.001-08:00

Happy Thursday everyone!

Today I wanted to share some fun images with you that I found of Barbie as Lady GaGa.

So much fun!

I stumbled upon this because I had actually been considering customizing a Barbie to look like Katy Perry. Really, you can make Barbie look like any celeb (and Mattel comes out with their own celeb Barbies all the time), but personally, I think customizing one for yourself is more fun & it would probably be most logical to use one of the Back To Basics dolls for this. There's plenty of them, so take your pick!

Above was the first collection of Back To Basics that was released. These, for the most part, have already phased out of retail stores & some are already kind of pricey on Ebay and Amazon.

But the new collection has recently been released, so you can get them at Target or Wal-Mart for around $19.99. Plus, the new collection has male dolls. Although...they're "interesting" lol - take a look at the guy (Ken??) in the middle below!

lol...I guess if you're going for the cheesy romance novel Ken, then you could customize him.

The girls rock though; I love the more modern hairstyles that come with this Barbie line.

So anyway, finding those pics of GaGa Barbie helps me get an idea of where to start.
Just another project to add to my huge I-Want-To-Do List. haha

Thanks for stopping by the toy box today & I hope the rest of your day is fabulous!

xoxo

Pic Sources: Google, Hapsical

I Am A Vulgar Man...

2011-02-23T10:19:00.001-08:00

"I am a vulgar man. But I can assure you, my music is not."

Last night the hubby & I stayed up waaaay to late watching 'Amadeus'. It's one of those movies that's so good & so visually captivating that you can't tear yourself away from it (even if you know you have to wake up early for work the next morning. haha)

So I felt like posting a few screen caps of it, because I love the aesthetic of time period films. They're very fun & inspiring.

I want all the costumes from this film, by the way. *wink*

Especially that purple jacket!
(p.s. - this is my favorite scene in the film; "Much better! Don't you think? Haha!!")

Such a great film!

Makes we want to wear a big dress with big hair and a big hat on top. lol

Any movies that you love to get lost in, staring at the scenery/costumes/props?
Let me know!

xoxo

Carnival Weekend

2011-02-21T14:06:00.001-08:00

"Carnies built this country; the carnival part of it anyway." ~ Homer Simpson

This weekend we had a lot of fun. We took a family trip to the carnival.
These pics are not mine. I didn't feel like keeping up with a camera while we where there so I left it at home.

Anyway, Alyse rode a lot of rides. And each one she said was her "favorite"! lol

We got chocolate dipped cheesecake on a stick...
and snow cones!

This weekend was also Alyse's last basketball game of the season. It went by so fast!
Well, it was 8 weeks, but it still felt fast.
They gave out trophies after the game this weekend & she was so excited to finally have her first trophy! She put it up on her shelf in her room. :)

I'll post b.ball pics later this week.

What did you all do this weekend? Anyone else go to a carnival/festival?

xoxo

Pic Sources: weheartit.com & Google

Doll for Sale: Barbie Princess of Ireland

2011-02-19T11:53:00.001-08:00

In case anyone is interested, I have a Barbie Princess of Ireland doll listed on Ebay right now.

You can go to the actual listing here.

She's from 2002 and is part of the Dolls of the World collection. She has never been removed from her box & the box is in good condition with only a minor dent in the plastic.

I just put up the listing & it will run for 5 days.
Thanks!

xoxo

Fan Art: Born This Way

2011-02-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to stop in and share a drawing that I did last night.
I've had Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' stuck in my head all week & while I was driving I got this image of Spongebob dancing to it (my mind works in mysterious ways, lol).

So here you go!

You can also see it at my deviantart page, you can download it or favorite it there if you'd like.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: Welcome Gemma!

2011-02-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

Today I'm welcoming a new addition to our Toy family: Gemma!
(she's a Blythe Guava from Takara Tomy)

She traveled here all the way from Japan!
(P.S. - Japan's stamps ROCK!)

She made herself at home in her new room, but was very surprised to see she would be rooming with multi-colored ponies!

At first she wasn't sure what to think about this, but when she realized that they had great fashion sense, like herself, she was very excited about it!

So welcome to the family Gemma! We're happy to have you! :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo

Fashion Favorite

2011-02-16T11:46:00.001-08:00

Christian Sirano is one of my favorite designers!

Everything he creates is absolutely gorgeous!
Talk about an eye for design! I love how all of his pieces have movement.
A dress that can carry itself as a work of art is always something breathtaking to behold; and Sirano is at the top of the game (IMO) when it comes to creating art on the runway.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from his 2011 collections:

*sighs*

I would LOVE to be able to own one someday!

:)

xoxo

That's My Girl! :)

2011-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today Alyse made her first amigurumi!

It has an 'awake' side and an 'asleep' side. :)

They had a kit at Hobby Lobby from Lion Brand yarn for kids. It came with all the panels already knitted, so you just had to stuff it with filling and then sew all the parts together.

She was so excited about being able to do it all by herself! She's been saying she wanted to make her own plush animals for a while.
I love the cute color combo too!

Did you work on any fun projects today?

Hopefully, tomorrow, I can start working on trying out some techniques for customizing My Little Ponies. I'm going to start out with some basic stuff before I try moving up to the hard/time-consuming detailing. haha

xoxo

Working For The Weekend

2011-02-11T11:57:00.001-08:00

Isn't that the truth?!
*Whew!*
This week has been crazy busy for me. I had something that I had to do every single evening after work! Monday - had to go to Parent Night at Alyse's school; Tues. - always busy b/c we go to press that day; Wed. - went to H&R Block to do taxes; Thurs. - attended the Addy Awards...and tonight I take Alyse to basketball practice...then she has a game tomorrow; but after that I'm finally done with my important-to-do list for the week. Yay!

So to celebrate, I want to share with you a few of the things that I'm personally excited about right now.

There are a couple of 'firsts' for me. 1) I've decided I want to try to create my own custom My Little Ponies, because I love MLP and I think customizing rocks! So we'll see if I turn out to be any good at it, or if I shouldn't quit my day job. lol (Don't worry, I wouldn't quit my day job to be a toy customizer. I'm not that crazy...yet. haha)

Anyway, some people are so talented at customizing, I don't think I could compete!

This week I purchased my first custom pony from another artist! I love the OOAK nature of them; and I also like doing anything that supports fellow artists:

Isn't she magnificent?! I couldn't resist.
I got this from an Etsy seller named uaoomermaid, she has lots of stuff in her shop, so check it out!

I also nabbed my first 12" Blythe doll last week! (after a year of self control):

She's called Blythe Guava & I ordered her from Japan, so who knows how long I'll have to wait to get her, but when I do I'll post pics! :) ...and change her name ;)

And to go along with my girlish silliness, I decided my wardrobe needed a new addition:

Oh yes...
I will be wearing this shirt.
So be prepared to be embarrassed to be seen with me! HA! :)
(from theboldbanana, also on Etsy)

Apparently this is the kind of 'retail therapy' that a girl like me engages in.
I may not buy expensive designer shoes...but why would I, when I can do this?!

:)

Have a silly weekend everyone!

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: Dollhouses

2011-02-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

This Toy Box Thursday post is pretty self-explanitory, so let's enjoy the pretty pictures. :)

Dollhouses, old and new, are full of possibilities (just like us)!

These modern dollhouses are pretty impressive!

I guess this is more of a doll apartment complex?? haha

Dollhouses can also bring the sillies. :)

Re-ments can make dollhouses really unique & cute!

A Real-Life Dollhouse

How many of you still have a dollhouse??
Feel free to post a link to pics of them in the comments so we can all see! :)

I hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo

Pic Source: wehearit

Kimono's Townhouse

2011-02-04T08:32:00.001-08:00

How did I not know about this before?!?! lol

Thankfully, I decided to read Frankie Magazine online today and found out that there is a My Little Pony web comic! It's called Kimono's Townhouse & can be found here.

"Kimono’s Townhouse is a comic about two roommates who are polar opposites. One is a cultured neat–freak who enjoys art and classic literature. The other is a hyperactive geek who loves comics, action figures and sugar. They happen to be My Little Ponies. The comic is rated All Ages and updates every Wednesday. "

Awesome!
I know what I'll be checking out every Wednesday from now on! ;)

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: Puppy In My Pocket

2011-02-03T08:05:00.001-08:00

Happy Toy Box Thursday everyone!
Today is a great day for staying inside and thinking warm thoughts! At least here it is, it's 14 degrees outside!

This Thursday's Toy:
Puppy In My Pocket

Puppy In My Pocket was released in the 90s and soon after followed Kitty In My Pocket. And like most toys from our childhood, they have returned for a new generation!

I still have mine & have given them to my daughter. She likes to play with them with her Littlest Pet Shop toys. As you can tell (or as you might remember) these toys had their name for a good reason; they were very small!

One thing about them that I regret is not keeping the little trading cards they came with. Unfortunately, I think I tossed them in the trash when I was younger. :(

I've tried to convince my daughter to keep all her toy insert papers and trading cards and stuff in a folder for safe keeping. But if she throws them away, I don't say anything because I don't want to promote hoarding. haha

There is a thrift store in my town, The Red Rooster, that has a collection of them with their trading cards. Seeing that is what actually made me want to feature them for this TBT.

I was very excited to see them at that store & I'm glad that this is one of the toy lines that lasted.

Did you have (or do you still have) any Puppy or Kitty In My Pocket toys?
Which is your fav.? I always liked the little dachshund. :)

Stay warm everyone!
xoxo

Pics from Google Images

Is This A Dream?...

2011-02-02T12:23:00.001-08:00

"The best kind of dream...One that we can share!"

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!

It's been 3 years and I am still living the best kind of dream!

I love you!!!

xoxo

5 Things Inspiring Me

2011-01-31T06:58:00.001-08:00

1) 1938 Dodge....yes, please!

2 ) Revlon "Bubble" nail polish. What I'm currently wearing & I love it!

3) Pink Hair. I want this Guava Blythe so bad! I also want hair like her's. :)

4) Liv Tyler. Long before Zooey Deschanel, my hipster girl crush was Liv. They've been playing 'The Incredible Hulk' on tv a lot, so I was thinking about how she used to be my fav. actress when I was a teen. Love love love 'That Thing You Do!'.

5) Splatter paint shoes rock my socks!

I have the day off today, so I'm enjoying my Monday. :)
Today is for:
Helping to build a house out of craft items (kiddo's school project)
buying new printer ink
printing out tax info
mailing in my submissions for the Stribling Art Extravaganza
posting a couple of items on Etsy
Alyse's basketball practice
maybe even doing some painting (but, we'll see how that goes, lol)

Have a happy Monday everyone!
xoxo

BookMarked: Magic Kitten & Magic Puppy

2011-01-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everybody!

Weekends are a good time to fit in some reading, so I wanted to do a BookMarked post today about the two series my daughter and I are currently reading. We read a couple of chapters every night for her bedtime story and then a few during the days on weekends.

Right now she's into these two series: Magic Kitten & Magic Puppy by children's author Sue Bentley

I'm sure you can immediately see the appeal for a 7 year old girl. lol

But I have to admit that I enjoy buying these for her too because the cover art is soooooo CUTE! I love the bright colors too. The stories are fun to read because basically it's the same magic animal in each book, they change into a different type of cat (or dog, in the puppy series) and go to live with a different kid in each book. The animal, through friendship, helps teach the child to be able to overcome whatever obstacles they are facing in life. And since it's a series, of course, Alyse can't wait to go buy the next one each Friday to find out what adventure the animal is going to have next! I love how excited she gets about it. :)

I've gotten myself into a never-ending abyss of magic animals though, because as we discovered the other day, there are more than just Magic Puppies and Kitties (which are the only ones at our local bookstore)...on Amazon, we discovered there are also....

LOL!

Looks like I'm going to be buying Magic animal books for a while...
Good thing they're adorable!!! haha

xoxo

Hair Flair

2011-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

My boss told me that she is getting gold hair tinsel put in this weekend.
How awesome is that?!
Then she sent me some web links & told me I should get some too. haha
They are pretty awesome though! I'll probably wait and see how her's turns out.
I put together my favorite hair tinsel colors above.
I'd REALLY love the pink ones!

Here's Beyonce with the gold ones in.

And for even more hair adventurous types, there are hair feather extensions too!

The feather extensions can be found at Fine Featherheads and the tinsel is well priced at Hair Flairs, in case anyone is interested.

Have any of you already tried hair tinsel or feathers yet? If so, what is your experience with it? Easy or hard to do? How often do you switch them out?, etc.

I can't decide which I'd rather try first, but I might try both at some point. They look fun! :)

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: Little Pretty Kitties & Puppies

2011-01-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

TBT is actually on Thursday this time! haha

Today I wanted to highlight another toy I've talked about before (and have a small collection of myself): Little Pretty Kitties & Puppies!

Mattel started this line of toys in 1990 (although they were based of the molds of some animal toys from the Lady Lovelylocks line *you all remember her, right?*). From what I can find out, there are approx. 24 kittens and puppies that were in this line.

I absolutely ADORE the packaging! I had one of the perfume kitties as a child; I still remember opening it and how cool I thought it was that it was scented. Scented toys rocked!

These are fun to collect (you can usually find some on Ebay and Etsy), and I'm sure you can see how they go along with my interest in My Little Pony. Cute colorful animals with symbols on their sides and brushable hair! Oh yeah!

I've posted this pic, before, but here it is again:

These are my two newest Pretty Kitties, along with a MLP. ;)

Alyse has my other LPK&P (we have 7 total), so I cannot get pics of them now -- as they are probably on an "adventure" under her bed or something. lol

Hope you all have a great upcoming weekend & buy lots of toys! haha
(this past week I bought 2 of those LPS Blythe's already; I'm hooked!)

Come back to play again sometime soon! :)

Pic Sources: Flickr, Google, myself

Belated Toy Box Thursday: Blythe Dolls

2011-01-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

So I'm doing Toy Box Thursday on Sunday. I know, I'm a crazy chica. ;)

My internet connection isn't being very cooperative this weekend, so I'm going to have to try and make this a quick post. I chose to cover Blythe dolls today since most of you already know about them. And for those who don't, it'll be a nice general overview. :)

I found a great summary of their history on Wikipedia:
"Blythe was created in 1972 by designer Allison Katzman at Marvin Glass and Associates^[2] and marketed in the USA by the now-defunct toy company Kenner. Due to a lack of interest, Blythe dolls were only sold for one year in the U.S. (produced in Hong Kong) and also in Australia, during 1972. It would only become popular some 27 years later. Reportedly, she was modeled after drawings by Margaret Keane, similarly to many other dolls of the '60s and '70s. Her most distinctive feature were eyes that changed color with the pull of a string attached to the back of her head.

In 1997, New York TV and video producer Gina Garan was given a 1972 Kenner Blythe by a friend and began using it to practice her photographic skills. She began taking her Blythe everywhere with her and took hundreds of photos. In 1999, she was introduced to CWC's Junko Wong by artist and illustrator, Jeffrey Fulvimari which brought Blythe to the attention of Parco and toy executives. In 2000, Gina published her first book of Blythe photography with Chronicle Books, This is Blythe. In 2001, Hasbro (the Trademark and License owner) gave Takara of Japan a license to produce the New Edition of Blythe (Neo Blythe). Blythe was used in a television advertising campaign by Parco, the fashion branch of Seibu Department Stores in Japan and was an instant hit.

In 2003 Blythe was the subject in a segment on the VH1 special, I Love the 70s, where she was said to look like either "Barbie with elephantiasis" or "Christina Ricci" among other things. The success in Japan led Hasbro to issue a license to Ashton-Drake Galleries in 2004 to sell Blythe replica dolls in the United States, where the doll became a niche product in a marginal market, selling largely to adults. In spring 2009, Alexander McQueen launched a fashion line for Target with an ad campaign featuring Blythe dolls"

You can click on the Wikipedia link up there if you'd like to know even more. :)

I personally do not have a Blythe collection yet, but I know a few girls who do and they LOVE them. I can see why. They are totally adorable! Unfortunately, they can also be kind of pricey and so can their clothes and things if you get really into customizing them.

That's why I'm stoked that Hasbro has been producing some smaller Blythes with their Littlest Pet Shop line. Much more wallet friendly. :)

For example, the one below is my fav. and I will probably purchase her soon. She is only $9.99 at Target:

If any of you have your own Blythe collections and would like to provide a link in the comments to your blog or picture account for others to look at, that would totally awesome of you!

I hope to start my own Blythe collection sometime in the near future; probably starting with the LPS versions so that Alyse can play with them too and I won't be freaking out like I would if she decided to give a $200 doll a bath. lol

Okay, now I'm crossing my fingers that my net connection will work well enough to post this!

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Thanks for reading. :)

xoxo

Pics from: Flickr

And the Winner Is...

2011-01-22T12:02:00.001-08:00

Who is the lucky winner of my first ever giveaway???....

Kelly Guthberlet is!!!

Her comment was lucky #8:

Congrats Kelly!
Just send your shipping info. to me at atticart83[at]yahoo[dot]com
and I will get your prize sent to you!

Thank you everyone for participating and have a great weekend! :)

xoxo

TBT on Hold

2011-01-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to have to extend my apologies. Toy Box Thursday might have to get put on hold until Friday or Saturday or Sunday.

We've been slammed at work this week and it has left me exhausted.

I will try and get a TBT post up as soon as I can.

Thanks for understanding!

And don't forget to check back on Saturday for the announcement of the giveaway winner!
It will be posted sometime in the afternoon.

xoxo

Wednesday Reminder

2011-01-19T11:56:00.001-08:00

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so." ~ Anton Ego

I absolutely adore the movie 'Ratatouille'!
I adore all Pixar movies, in all honesty. But 'Ratatouille' is the one I've been watching the most lately while I work on my painting for this year's Stribling Art Extravaganza.
I like to have films on while I paint, and Pixar's are the most inspiring to me.

Anyway,
just wanted to drop in and remind everyone to sign up for my giveaway,
and to say thank you to those that already have!

The winner will be announced this Saturday. Excited!!!

xoxo

My Fav Dress From the Golden Globes?...

2011-01-17T14:15:00.001-08:00

Olivia Wilde's!

Stunning!

Who do you think was the best dressed?

xoxo

Pic Source: The Huffington Post

My First Ever GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-01-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I've been wanting to do a Giveaway for a while, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. Then I was inspired by my recent Toy Box Thursday idea & this is what I came up with!

One lucky winner will receive...

1) A Brand-New in Box, MLP "Twilight Sparkle"
2) Ponyville Starsong
3) Small Care Bears Wish Bear Plush (2005)
4) 72 Care Bears stickers

Twilight Sparkle is the main character of the new MLP show on the HUB Network. These toys still haven't shown up in some states (or overseas), so if you've been waiting for one. Here's an opportunity to get it for FREE!!!

And if you're not a Pony collector, but still think it's super cute, then feel free to enter. Everyone is welcome! U.S. and International!

To Enter, all you need to do is:
1) Officially become a follower of this blog (if you haven't already)
2) Leave a comment with your name and what your favorite childhood toy was
3) Repost this Giveaway on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook (only one is required)

The winner will be randomly selected and announced NEXT Saturday (January 22nd)!

Thanks all! I'm very excited to host my first ever Giveaway! :)

xoxo

Secret Until Saturday

2011-01-14T14:20:00.001-08:00

Cute hair shot!

I took a pic of my hair the other day because it was looking rad.
I rarely have good hair days, so when I do, they are precious moments. lol

Tomorrow, I will be posting something extra special on my blog.
It's a surprise, but...
You won't want to miss it!

Be sure to check back tomorrow. :)

((Kiddo Update: Alyse's fever finally broke this afternoon, so let's hope it stays away!!!))

xoxo

Toy Box Thursday: My Little Pony

2011-01-13T14:31:00.001-08:00

Well, my kiddo is sick today. :(
We had to go to the doctor and she put Alyse on antibiotics. Hopefully she'll feel better soon! I love her so much and it makes me sad to see her feeling bad. :(
She's resting right now, so I decided I'd go ahead and post the first ever TOY BOX THURSDAY!

If you've checked out my tabs at the top of my page, you probably already read that this will be a new feature on my blog. Art is my first passion but another great interest of mine is vintage/retro toys. Specifically the ones that I enjoyed while growing up!

So it only seemed fitting to start out this new blog feature with my #1 personal collection.
My Little Pony toys!

During Toy Box Thursdays, I will include pics of collections and some info. on them. Who knows, you might see something that interests you and start a new collection of your own!

Since this is my first TBT, I've included pics of my personal My Little Pony collection:

My Little Pony toys can be categorized into different series (or 'generations'): G1 (1983-1995), G2 (1997-1999), G3 (2003-2009), what became known as G3.5 (or the 'cat head' ponies, lol - 2010), and currently the G4 ponies.

My collection is a mixture of all of these, although currently I do not own any G2's except for the ones that were released through McDonald's.

I don't own ALL of them, of course...that would be crazy...but mostly expensive. I could do the being crazy part; it's the spending all that money part that makes me pick and choose my favs. instead of just getting all of them. :)

But who knows...maybe someday? ;)

My Little Ponies are made by Hasbro.
If you're interested in collecting them, they're pretty easy to find. You can find them on Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, etc. But if you're REALLY lucky then you'll stumble upon them at thrift stores for really good prices. This is my favorite way to find them. It feels much more like a treasure hunt that way. :)

And of course there's all kinds of things besides just the ponies themselves to add to your collection. For example, the Nursery pictured above, and the Listen Along Storybook and Record pictured below.

(the room my collection in is very dark, so it was hard to get good pics, sorry!)

If you become serious about wanting to collect ponies, then I'd highly recommend stopping by the My Little Pony Arena. You'll find all the info. you'll need on there and some pretty amazing people too! :)

There is also a new My Little Pony series out right now, called My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and it comes on The HUB Network.

It's a really cute show & the toys are pretty adorbs too.
This is what they look like:

Thanks for playing in the Toy Box with me!
I'll have another toy collecting feature up next Thursday. :)

Okay, I'm going to go take the kiddo's temp. again.
Send your blessings for her to get well soon, please!

Thanks all!
xoxo

Etsy Love

2011-01-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

Currently on Etsy, I'm loving:

Maddy from Tiddlywinks! I have a pink one of these cats in my living room & they are so precious!

This wolf shirt from Rosiemusic is perfect for the cold weather!

This Bicycle Built for Two shirt from Deadworry!

and this mermaid/owl pillow from Fongstudio is adorable!

What's on Etsy that you're loving right now?

xoxo

Cute!

2011-01-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

Awww, I'm loving Zooey Deschanel's dress!
(also pictured: Ginnifer Goodwin & Nichole Richie)
What a fun team of ladies!

Hope your week is going well.
I'm a busy bee!

xoxo

Pic Source: People

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-01-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been very eventful and exciting for us.
First, Alyse played in her first-ever basketball game!!!
She's the one in jersey #4 (and she's a first grader; in case you were wondering).

Wow! She did an amazing job & we're very proud of her!! She did a really good job guarding & she made some points for her team! They're name is the Dribbling Divas. :)

She started out nervous & seemed a little overwhelmed when we showed up early to watch the game before her's. But once her game started she fell right into the swing of things and played a really great game!

I can't wait until next Saturday to see her go at it again! It was really fun to watch and cheer for her.

I wish I could've gotten some better pics but most of them turned out blurry. They were just moving much too fast for me to keep up. haha

The other exciting thing is that we got a new car!!! I had been driving a 2000 Chevy Blazer and it had been giving me problems for months now. We'd shelled out too much already fixing it's issues and it still seemed like it might crater at any moment. So the hubby and I decided it was time to buy a new car.

I was really nervous because I had to sort of take the reigns on the whole process. My husband is a mailman and so he works 6 days a week and has to work during business hours; so he would have no time to go buy a car. So he had to give me his blind trust that I wouldn't bring something awful home. lol No pressure there, right?! haha

So anyway, long story short, I got a great deal on a great car for our family & I was really nervous to see if he would like it....

He did! And so did Alyse. :)

So we're all very happy to finally have a nice reliable vehicle. It's a 2010 Mitsubishi Galant and it's very much appreciated by all of us, especially after all the headaches we were having with the old one. And...it's really fun to drive too! haha

Like I said, a very eventful and exciting weekend!

Okay...now to clean house! lol

xoxo

OMG Sweet!

2011-01-07T11:36:00.001-08:00

So I just had this from Sonic.

OMG, SWEET!

It was so good, but I don't believe that it's only 850 calories...it seriously has to be more like 20,000. You'll know what I mean as soon as you taste it. lol

I couldn't even finish mine. I only made it halfway through....

Naptime please! haha

xoxo

BookMarked: Bad Kitty

2011-01-07T10:49:00.001-08:00

I'm 27 but I prefer to read books intended for ages 12 and under.
Maybe it's because I'm a mom.
Maybe it's because the artist in me loves to admire the illustrations.
Maybe it's because I prefer comedy & most children's books are humorous.

Whatever the reason - I Love Children's Books!
I especially am fond of the ones that have, what I call, the "Scooby Doo Effect" (meaning they are equally entertaining for both children and adults). And one of my favorite series & the ones I'm currently reading to my daughter are the 'Bad Kitty' books by Nick Bruel.

This is the one we read last night.

And this is our favorite part:

We also have this one which is equally as hilarious:

Everything about these books win. Great illustrations, great storytelling and great jokes.
I think if you're a cat owner you will really appreciate these. :)
They're much thicker than most children's books too. I guess they're transitional for getting kids out of the easy readers and into the junior novels. We've re-read our's lots of times and they still make us laugh!

We have this one on order and hopefully it will be in soon:

So if you haven't had a chance to read this series, I highly recommend it. And you don't have to read them in any particular order because they are stand alone books also.

Not only are they funny to me but they are the types of books that really get kids into reading. They hold their interest and children start trying to read the larger vocabulary words in them because they love the story so much that they want to be able to read it on their own.

The stories are also very original.

So IMO these books get 5 Stars!

xoxo

Inspirations: Bright Color Palettes

2011-01-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm loving bright color palettes this week! How about you?

Here are some of my recent favorites that I've come across.

Above: The new ad for Kate Spade featuring one of my fav. celebs, Bryce Dallas Howard
This ad really pops!

I'm also really inspired by these cakes that I saw on the Disney Weddings Blog. You should check it out sometime, they have such gorgeous photos and cute entries.

Here's a cute Mad Hatter inspired cake:

But my favorite has to be this cake inspired by 'Finding Nemo':

Much too pretty to ever actually eat! lol

What about you? Are you enjoying bright colors right now or are you adventuring on the other side of the spectrum?

xoxo

Photos from:
Coco Perez
Disney Weddings Blog

Katy Perry in Betsey Johnson

2011-01-06T10:32:00.001-08:00

Katy wore this stunning Betsey Johnson dress to the People's Choice Awards...
PERFECTION!!!

Those are two names that should go together more often, IMO.

xoxo

Pic from CoCo Perez

Little Pretty Kitty and MLP mail!

2011-01-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

I love when I come home in the evening to find new additions to my collections waiting for me in the mailbox! :)

As I'm sure you know by now, if you're a frequent reader, I collect My Little Pony and Little Pretty Kitty/Puppy toys. I had ordered these beauties off Etsy and they were shipped to me super duper fast!

I love love love them!

The great thing about these collections is that they have a double use.

1) They are my super adorable awesome collections!
2) They're also fun for my 7-yr-old to play with. :)

I love sharing my childhood favorites with Alyse & she really gets into the collecting herself too. Of course, right now, she's more into collecting the new My Little Ponies from the show on The Hub Network.

Anyway, just wanted to share the new members of our toy family!

xoxo

Hello 2011!!!

2011-01-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope you had a safe and happy one!
Mine was wonderful. I stayed at home and relaxed with mi familia. :)

I spent most of the holiday working on our current project: Project Redecorate Alyse's Room!

We had decided on a Paris, France theme and she wanted to incorporate cats (like Marie from 'The Aristocats') in it. We're not done yet. I still need to finish painting her dresser, hang up the new curtains & get matching bedding; but here's a preview of what we've got so far!

It's been a lot of fun & I can't wait until it's all done so I can take a full room pic to share with you. She loves it already! And that's what's important. :)

Other than that, we've just been spending fun family time. Playing, cruising around in the '54 & taking silly pictures like this one!

Let's enjoy 2011 & make the most of it! I can't wait to see what wonderful creations and adventures we all share with each other this year! :)

2011, here we come!!!

Resolutions

2010-12-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

The New Year is almost here.

I think I'm going to keep my resolution list short this year. I don't even remember what last year's were because I had too many. lol

So this year I think my main focus will be on two things.

1.) Eat healthier (most of the time; still must have cupcake days haha)
2.) Try to keep my house more organized. I'm really bad about putting things in places and then forgetting where that great spot was. So, for 2011, I'm going to get organized!

And that's it. If I put my focus towards only two goals then perhaps my chances of success at them will be greater.

How about you? Have you thought of any resolutions yet?

xoxo

Too Cute Stuffs

2010-12-27T10:56:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone!
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We did. :)
We got lots of cool stuff and some time to relax, which was much needed.

I was perusing some things online that I thought would be fun to ring in the upcoming New Year. Isn't this Hello Kitty perfume too cute for words?!

I really love these dresses too. The first would be especially good for celebrating New Year's in. I found these clothes on ModCloth.

And these Toto shoes are probably the best heels I've seen EVER! lol
Absolutely adorable!

We don't have any solid plans for New Year's yet. A couple of things in mind, but we'll see how things work out with work schedules first.

Do you have anything fun in the works?

Please Excuse The Mess

2010-12-23T13:08:00.001-08:00

...working on a new layout...

Top 5 Stupidest Lyrics of 2010

2010-12-23T10:10:00.001-08:00

I'll be the first to say it, 2010 wasn't the best year for music. Sure, there were some diamonds in the rough...but the rest was just rough. lol

I know there's a lot of good music out there on the indie scene, and some pop stars had some winners, but I'm talking about those top 40 we get to hear 2 billion times a week on the radio.
You know, the ones that left you thinking, "Wow, and they're making money from that??"

So without further ado, here are my picks for the
Top 5 Stupidest Lyrics of 2010

5) "I came up in here to rock/ Light a fire, make it hot/ I don't wanna take no pictures/ I just wanna take some shots" - Black Eyed Peas, 'The Time (The Dirty Bit)' -- let's face it, this whole song was just bad lol

4) "You wild when you ain't got nothing on/ Baby you the whole package/ Plus you pay your taxes" - B.O.B., 'Nothin' On You'

3) "Life is no Nintendo game/ But you lied again/ Now you get to watch her leave/ Out the window/ Guess that's why they call it window pane" - Eminem, 'Love The Way You Lie'

2) "Tell the devil I said hey when you get back to where you're from/ Bad woman, bad woman/ That's just what you are/ Yeah, you smile in my face then rip the breaks out my car" - Bruno Mars, 'Grenade'

AND THE #1 STUPIDEST LYRICS OF 2010 GOES TO:

1) "And no, you don't wanna mess with us/ Got Jesus on my necklace/ I've got that glitter on my eyes/ Stockings ripped all up the side" - Ke$ha, 'We R Who We R'

So there you have it. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to state your case.
Were there worse lyrics you could think of/ or a song that really annoyed you?
Please put them in the comments!

And let's all hope for some better songs in 2011! :)

xoxo

It's Almost Here!!!

2010-12-23T07:36:00.001-08:00

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS!!! :)

xoxo

Beauty Crush: Boots

2010-12-21T11:49:00.001-08:00

I recently purchased some Boots (UK) beauty products & I must say that I'm extremely happy with my purchase! I had been having a hard time finding skin care products that I liked. I was using Neutrogena but I didn't really like it because it left my skin feeling dry and flaky.

Well, Boots rocks! Especially the Cleansing Milk (pictured below). My skin has never felt better! After using it I feel refreshed and my skin is smooth to the touch - not oily at all, just smooth! It's absolutely great, so I wanted to share my experience in case anyone else might want to give this brand a try.

I also love the packaging and bottles. The antique aesthetic is a huge plus! I love the way it looks sitting on the shelf in my bathroom. Useful and decorative!

Great product!
I found mine at Target but you can purchase all kinds of products from them on their website.

xoxo

Seven Secrets

2010-12-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Melly's blog and decided to play along...

1) When I was a teen, before I got my first guitar, I would play air guitar on a tennis racket while listening to my favorite music in my room.

2) I'm 27 and a Graphic Designer, but if you would have asked me what I would be doing now back when I was a pre-teen, I would have said I'd be living in Mass. working as a Paranormal Investigator.

3) I talk trash to my cat and pretend that she's talking back.

4) If a dish looks really dirty or too gross for me to want to clean, then I just throw it away.

5) I watched Blues Clues before I even had a kid.

6) I listen to Lady Gaga when I wait in line at Starbucks.

7) I'm kind of OCD. I have to count to three in my head before I do certain mundane tasks (ie.- answer the phone, put a load of laundry in, etc.) and I always have to check and make sure everything in the house is unplugged before I will go to bed. lol

You can do this on your blog to! Put a link in the comments!

A Very Funny Christmas

2010-12-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

Once again I've been pretty busy. I'm so bad about not making time to post on my blog, oh well...New Year's Resolution material, I guess. ha!

Like most everyone else we've been busy getting ready for and celebrating the Christmas season. We did some decorating (see our pretty Disney tree!) but unfortunately we haven't hug up our lights outside yet; I don't know if we will this year since we've already waited so long, but we'll see...

Isn't Alyse super cute in her Christmas outfit?! I was lucky enough to be able to attend her class Christmas party yesterday and it was pretty adorable. Although, I did have to help clean up a few food spills (they are only in 1st grade after all). Alyse's motto for this season has been to tell people: "You need to get some holiday in your head!" haha

So to get some holiday in our heads we've been watching appropriately themed movies and television (p.s. - Alyse does not watch anything above a PG rating, so don't worry, she hasn't seen the thing I'll post about at the end of this! Just in case you get worried. lol)

But we have all watched this:

Okay, okay, I know it's not a Christmas movie. But it was an early Christmas present to ourselves because we've been wanting to see it for so long. And now we're pretty obsessed with it. Very cute film. Our favorite line and new family joke to randomly say to each other: "But these are old man shoes!"

Of course we have to watch 'Elf'! This is my favorite Christmas movie and Alyse enjoys it to. I think Nick finds it slightly disturbing though so he opts out of these viewings. lol

But then I really got to disturb him by getting him to watch the 'Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas' special with me! He likes watching this show with me even though he won't admit it since it makes us seem like freaks. lol

He'll text me quotes from the show all the time though while I'm at work to make me laugh.
P.S. - Yes, I do own a Dayman shirt. haha

Anyway, this is by far the most disturbing Christmas special from anything ever made so be warned if you have not seen it. It's pretty demented. That's probably the best word to describe it. Demented...but hilarious. My fav. line is from Danny DeVito: "Merry Christmas, b*tches!"

There's a running joke at my workplace that makes that line so great, but I'll spare you our juvenile anecdotes. :)

So thanks Gang for traumatizing us for Christmas! lol

Hope you all are enjoying your holidays as well!
What's your favorite Christmas movie/show to watch??

ANNOUNCEMENT - Changes

2010-11-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this for a while and this week I finally decided to make the transition. Most of you know that I had an Etsy store named Pupples & Kittles. I say "had" because it's no longer under that title. Don't worry though, if you like the pet tutus, they aren't going away! I will still have them from time to time & probably keep the custom order option available.

I decided that I needed to get more focused. My creativity has been all over the board this past year. The truth is, while I do love making cute items for pets, that's not really what I want to do all the time. Because of that, I was not devoting enough time to my Etsy shop in order to make it the best I had to offer. So I decided to throw in the towel on running a pet-centric business.

As I stated earlier, I will still carry pet items, but now I don't have to feel obligated to work on them all the time. I'll just make them when I genuinely feel interested in doing it.

In doing so, my Etsy store is now Dez Schwartz Designs and currently has in stock the left over items from Pupples & Kittles. I'm going to make this my main store for everything I do. My Attic Art store will slowly get phased out but for now I will use it to offer vintage items. Really I'm just trying to make life simpler on myself. Running various different stores, blogs, web pages is VERY time consuming & I was starting to feel like it was taking all the time away from doing the things I actually want to be doing - like creating my art!

In the long run, I hope for my Etsy store to be home to mainly my paintings and drawings that are for sale. I'll have a few 'crafty' items, but my real focus and passion is with art. I'm also working on some book ideas that I might feature, but that's a long way down the road.

My goal right now is to get organized and be able to make the most of my 'creative' time. It's hard to make art when you're swamped with managing it.

I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on in case you stopped by the shop & wondered why the name had changed and all.

If you have any comments/questions/concerns, please feel free to leave a comment. Thanks guys! :)

Old Town Art Festival

2010-11-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

Let me just start by saying that this was a crazy day.
It started with me waking up with Sinusitus and a fever. I had already paid for my booth space, though, so I decided to go anyway. We (my daughter, the grandparents - who came to help *thank you!*, and myself) were up there at 8am to set up and it was really cold outside!

This is surprising because throughout the day it warmed up to the point where I ended up getting one of the worst sunburns of my life.

You can see it starting to develop in this pic that my daughter took of me...

I'm in severe pain from it now, but I had fun while I was there!
I had my booth up for the 10am-5pm shoppers and I also took a couple of little breaks to check out the other vendors.

Here are some shots Alyse took of our booth:

Oh yes, and they had a face painting booth there. Alyse decided she would be a cat for the day and even went back later to have her paint touched up and get this pink jewel for her nose.

haha, She's too cute! :)

I only ended up selling a few items but the vendors around me had pretty much the same results. It was a first time festival and not much advertising for it had been done. But the crowd was good for beginning a new downtown tradition.

We had our fair share of cupcakes too because one of the food vendors was selling them along with snowcones. Yummy!

There was also live music all day, which was nice. It helped pass the time when the crowds were slow.

I'm not too sure who this dude was. I think he was Cody Jones but I might be wrong. If any of you SA peeps know then feel free to tell me and I'll edit the post accordingly.

This was my favorite band of the day. Fryza Lyza.
I'm a rocker chick myself, so I usually enjoy some good rocker chick music. :)

All in all the festival was fun but I definitely suffered for my art. I've been pretty sunburned and sick for the past couple of days - which is why I'm only now posting this. I'm finally starting to feel better. Yay!

Anyway, it was lots of fun. And when I got home, I had received an invitation to show in the upcoming 2011 Stribling Art Extravaganza! It's my favorite show of the year because the profits go to a really good cause and lots of artists participate. So I guess now I need to start working on some fresh ideas for that. I want to work on some larger canvases this time around, so I'll be making a trip to the art supply stores soon.

Okay, that's pretty much it for tonight.
Sweet dreams!

Attic Art at the Old Town Festival

2010-11-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's almost here!

Saturday is the big day.
I'll have a vendor booth at the Old Town Art Festival in San Angelo. I'll be there as 'Attic Art'.

If you're in town, stop by and say 'hi'. I'd love to see you there!

What's Inspiring Me Today?

2010-11-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

COFFEE!!!

White Chocolate Mocha to be exact. I love this photo because I'm doing my "Audrina eyes" where I'm not actually looking at the camera. lol

LADY GAGA

I keep listening to this song. Not b/c of the lyrics, those are kinda yikes; but b/c the song itself and her vocals are beautiful! Love me some GaGa! I think her and Gwen Stefani have similar voices.

MUSTARD YELLOW EYE SHADOW!

I'm not sure why, but I'm diggin' this color lately. I guess b/c where I live we have having a sunny autumn.......It looks like I'm meditating in this one. haha....Well, I am wearing a Buddha ring today so I guess it works. :)

BRAIDS

Braids are in! If they're not; then they should be.

And it's a good thing that I have all this inspiration b/c here in a few I'm going to start working on finishing everything up for my booth at the Old Town Art Festival next weekend.

Also, I'm already gearing up for Christmas. My first decor purchase of the season:

Victorian Mickey & Minnie, of course! This set of ornaments is gorgeous and look great on our Disney tree. Can't wait until it comes in - should be here soon!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

No Tricks Just Treats

2010-11-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a fun Halloween! We did. Although it was cut a little short since we all got sick. :(

But before that happened it was great! And don't worry, we're all better now. It was just Fall allergies getting the best of us.

Last time I showed pics of mine and Nick's costumes (as Katy Perry & Russell Brand). This time it's all about Alyse! :) We didn't dress up for her school's Fall Festival. I don't think Katy Perry is allowed around elementary school kids; or at least that's what Sesame Street taught me. haha

But Alyse did dress up as her favorite thing right now:

BLOSSOM!!! of Powerpuff Girls fame.

She's the cutest Blossom ever! :)

We only ended up staying at the Fall Festival for about an hour before she started feeling crummy and I had already been feeling kind of yucky myself. So I didn't get that many pics; but the ones that I got came out really well & she did have lots of fun while we were there.

The bouncy house had Blossom on the top of it so she was super excited and jumped in it most of the time that we were there; which I'm sure was part of why she felt nauseated by the end of the evening. Bouncing is for Tigger not Powerpuffs!

They had the cute barrel train there again this year, so she rode it.
So cute!

And off they go on adventure!

I'll be REALLY busy this weekend. I have to finish up everything for my booth at the Old Town Art Festival; it's next weekend! (eek!; better hurry)

Hope you all have a wonderful and creative weekend!

P.S. - Who else is already ready to decorate for Christmas?? :)

Early Halloween Fun

2010-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Nick and I went to my friend Mary's Halloween party as Katy Perry & Russell Brand!

It was so much fun! I can't believe how awesome our costumes came out, especially Nick's! That wig was hard to style. lol

And I even won the Hottest Costume award in the costume contest! I won a bottle of hot sauce. haha

And yes, I took Elmo for good measure.

Nick was the perfect Russell! He even spoke in character. lol

Katy and Snooki (Mary)! Fist pumping for Halloween. haha

We had a great time!

This week has been lots of fun. Scary movies, ghost stories, and tomorrow I'm taking my daughter to her school's fall festival. She's going to be Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls!

Okay, I've got a lot of stuff to do today, so I better go.

Hope you all are having a fun Halloween season!

Stay safe and eat lots of candy! :)

Fan Art Break

2010-10-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Like I had warned, I've been very busy lately working on items for the upcoming Arts & Crafts festival where I live. It's on Nov. 13th so I've got a few more weeks to go!

I've also been busy with my daughter's school stuff. We've been going to football games and they've had a lot of events lately. She also decided that she wants to play basketball so I just got her signed up for that! It should be fun. I used to play basketball and I liked it. :)

Anyway, this weekend I decided to take a little break to do some artwork just-for-the-fun-of-it. So I drew this pretty Starbucks pony. I saw the new My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show on the Hub network and I wanted to try the new pony style for myself. She's on my deviantart page along with some other fun stuff if you want to check it out.

My daughter also felt artsy this weekend. She's obsessed with the Powerpuff Girls (she's going to be Blossom for Halloween!). So she decided to make coloring books of superhero girls from around the world. Here's a couple of the cover pages:

And, taking after her mommy, she put them on her Etsy site. :)
You can see them all here.

Hope everything is going great with everyone! I'll try to catch up on some blog reading later.
Hugs to all!

Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop

2010-10-03T14:34:00.001-07:00

Don't know if you had seen these yet, but they have LPS playsets that come with Blythe dolls! I saw them for the first time yesterday at Wal-Mart and then again today at H-E-B. They run approx. $12.99.

So if you want a Blythe that doesn't cost an arm and a leg & comes with a cute pet, this is your answer!

They also have one that comes with a horse and one that comes with a spider.

Too cute!

New Tutu for Halloween!

2010-09-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

New item up in my shop!

I'm working on some designs for the upcoming arts & crafts festival and I decided to make something cute for my Etsy store while I was at it. :)

I ended up having to take pics outside because my cat was having some serious problems with me trying to do a photo shoot with Colin the Doggie Mannequin. lol

At least she decided to give him a kiss. haha
But she was REALLY upset that he was standing on her stool. She also couldn't decide if it was real or not. lol

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

The Busy Bee

2010-09-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't remember if I had already shared this painting that I had done several months ago...I think I was waiting until after I mailed it, but then I forgot to post it. Or maybe I did, like I said, I don't remember. So here it is, either way! :)

So anyway, I think I've decided not to do the weekly Etsy post because I'm apparently bad at keeping that kind of a blog schedule. haha....So I'll just post Etsy stuff whenever I see something rather than planning for every Wednesday.

Plus, I wanted to let you guys know that I might be a bit more MIA than usual over the next month and a half because I was invited to be a vendor at a local arts & crafts bazaar; so I'll need to use the majority of my free time to work on crafting and painting. I'm really excited about it. It sounds like it will be lots of fun! :)

I will post when I get a chance but no more blog schedules. lol

Have a great weekend everyone!

Caboodle Ranch

2010-09-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

I know I skipped my Wednesday Etsy post. I just really hadn't had much time this week to peruse Etsy and find things that I wanted to share. So maybe I'll do that later this weekend or just wait until next Wednesday.

Anyway, I wanted to share something else with you. I saw this story on Teddy Hilton (which is where I also got these pics. Then I saw the same story on Yahoo earlier today, so you might have already seen it, but just in case you haven't, I wanted to share it here because I think it's fantastic!

So the man in the above picture is Craig Grant and he started Caboodle Ranch, which is a 30 acre farm in Florida for homeless and abandoned cats.

He currently has 660 cats on the property!

I think the little city he created for them is oodles of cool and cute!
Aren't the houses adorable?!

And look, they even have a Wal-Mart! haha
I like the extra touch of the shopping carts full of cat food. :)

Craig says: "We [currently] have 660 cats, we have barely touched on the first 5 acres of the 30 acres of land…The reason the cats are there in the first place is that there were not enough homes [for them]. The cats at the ranch have their forever home now. We prefer people adopt cats from humane societies, animal control etc, where those cats are on death row and are in desperate need to be saved."

I think it's pretty amazing and wonderful.

If you want to know more, you can check out the article I cited at: Teddy Hilton
Or visit the Caboodle Ranch website

:)

Football & Fancy Cats

2010-09-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today I finished up this little illustration for my daughter's room. Her room is decorated in pink/purple/white & has a very Betsey Johnson aesthetic to it; so I decided to do a little painting to go along with it. She's a cat lover; especially cute ones with hair bows. :)

We've been pretty lazy today. I finished the painting but that's about all I've done today.
Just watching football and keeping up with my Fantasy Football scores (It makes watching football a whole new experience!)
P.S. - I'm totally firing my defense and getting a new one before next weekend! lol

Now we're waiting for the Cowboys game to come on. Having spinach pizza & queso and chips for dinner. You know, football food!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Saturday is Productive Day

2010-09-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

So, today I got to do a lot of fun stuff. First, my daughter and I went to the library and got some books. I checked out Michael Crichton's 'Pirate Latitudes'. I usually like his stuff so I'll let you know what I think when I finish it.

Then, I started working on a new painting & (as pictured above) altered one of Alyse's old Disney princess dresses so that it would fit her plush dolls. (You're eyes are not deceiving you, that really is a Pound Purry from the 80s.) :)

Then for dinner, I cooked up some yummy eggplant spaghetti and garlic bread.
Mmmm

Now we're listening to the Texas Tech game on the radio (Go Red Raiders!) and I'm watching Nick do his Transformers kit bashing projects.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! Any projects you're working on? Share them in the comments! :)

A Personal Makeover Too!

2010-09-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

MUCH BETTER!
Now I look more like Claudia from 'Warehouse 13' than Velma. Still a nerd girl, but more modern.

I actually love my hair like this now.
WIN!!!

:)

Fall Blog Makeover

2010-09-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Blog Makeover!

It was about time. :)

What do you think?

Copycat?...

2010-09-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm about to commit a major blog faux pax. I'm going to talk about something negative.

I've actually addressed the issue of copycatting on my blog before, about a year ago:
The Cupcake Movement

But I feel things have come full circle.

I've personally wanted to say something on the matter that addressed a larger scale than the blog post I read earlier today. That post can be viewed here (along with some rather harsh comments): Jeremy Larson's blog

Obviously everyone has different feelings on the subject of copycatting/originality. I try to be positive about it, like in my aforementioned post. But something recently has kind of got my goat, so to speak.

I'll start by saying I have known victims of copycatting (or rather, all out art theft). Both friends that come to mind first were victimized through DeviantArt. One had posted an illustration that she later found being sold on lighters from China! Another had an illustration stolen and was being sold on a rather prominent t-shirt site. I felt really bad for both of them because they were so disheartened by it. But posting art on the internet will eventually lead to these types of woes in most cases.

What makes it really hard is when an artist puts something on Etsy and then sees that their design gets copied over and over again. I've actually not bought certain items b/c it reminded me too much of someone else's and I was concerned b/c I didn't want to support an idea theft.

But that's straight up stealing a design. A copy/paste approach. Now...as Jeremy's blog post touched on, there is debate about how heavily influenced an artist can be by another artist's work and if that is the same foul as a straight copycat.

In art school we were taught that there is no such thing as an original idea. Everything has been done before; so it's about taking an idea that already exists (even if you're not aware that it does) and making it your own.

Etsy is full of similar styles. That's a fact. Is that bad? That's up to each person to decide on their own.

Now, onto what I had started to say before...the thing that really has me annoyed right now isn't Susie Homemaker putting her crafts on Etsy......it's the corporate fat cats that are apparently going on Etsy, downloading pics they like & telling the manufacturing to copy it. Then boom it's on an assembly line and in a mall near you for a cheaper price. I think that's who handmade artists should really be upset with right now. Not only is it straight up copycatting, but it's also keeping the artists down.

Take my challenge. Visit your local mall. Personally, I've found Hot Topic and Claire's to be two of the worst offenders. Go in there and tell me that you do not see a number of items that are exactly like things you've seen on Etsy (jewelry especially). Now, I understand that there are trends. But stores like these used to set the trends, in a manner of speaking, not just reproduced work others had already done. Working for them as designers must be the easiest job in the world. Go to Etsy, download pic, send off as your own idea & next month it's on the rack.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting underdog syndrome here; so you don't have to take my rant to seriously.

But really, how do you guys feel on these subjects? Since apparently, it is all subjective.

Etsy is Delicious Too!

2010-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I got a haircut today; I'll have to get used to it. I think it makes me look like Velma - Jinkies! :)

So my Etsy post this week is on a specific subject:
FOOD

Have any of you ever ordered anything edible on Etsy before? I haven't yet, but these items sure look pretty tempting...

1) Love Me Tender Cake Lollipops from SkippingSkones

2) White Chocolate S'mores from SweetLydias

3) French Nougat Sampler from KettleConfections

4) Cake Truffles from VelvetCreamBakery

Wow, they all look so yummy!

Let me know if you've ordered food on Etsy before and what was your experience with it?

Thanks!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2010-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, I'm still not finished editing and organizing all of my daughter's birthday photos. But once I get done I will do a birthday post. Until then, here's a cute pic of her at her party! It was at a bowling alley. :)

Once again, sorry I've been M.I.A. lately. I've been completely absorbed now that its football season again! This year I joined an all-girls Fantasy Football League. We're the Lunachix League and I'm Team Retro Glam. Ha!

Friday night we had our draft party, which was a lot of fun. One girl even brought a cake shaped like a football! So cute. :)

I got some good picks so lets hope I win this season! If I do, I get a pretty silver and pink trophy.

Other than that, I've just been busy with the family. My daughter and I backed 48 cupcakes today!!! We're having a cookout for Labor Day tomorrow & decided to make some goodies. I baked Butter Pecan and then we made some of the 'Funfetti' ones for my daughter. She is going through a phase right now though where she won't eat icing on her cupcakes. I know, right?! We'll see how long that lasts. lol

Oh yeah, and my super awesome Always Sunny In Philadelphia shirt came in the mail this weekend! I got this one...

I'm totally going to wear this to work on Tuesday. hehe

Hope you all have a great & safe Labor Day weekend!

TTFN - Dez

I Can Haz AC?

2010-09-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

I had an Etsy post planned but...

Today our AC went out and the repairman won't be able to fix it until tomorrow. For now we're surviving on box fans and spray bottles. I live in TX & the temps are still in the 100s. So pray for us to actually get some comfortable sleep tonight. It feels pretty miserable right now, I must say.

So, I don't exactly have the motivation to do a whole blog post with links and everything. Hopefully after the AC gets fixed then I will do my Etsy post.

For now, though, I will not leave you completely empty handed.

Here's a funny pic to tithe you over... :)

Episode 150

2010-08-30T17:45:00.001-07:00

It's my 150th blog post!!!

I dedicate this post to two-hour happy hour which begins in just a few minutes on Comedy Central - starring my favorite tv show 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'. Easily the best show on the air. Go ahead, try and argue with me. I'll throw down over it!
lol

Enjoy the madness!

"Day Man; Fighter of the Night Man!"

Sadly, I can relate to this. haha

Man Hunters...

P.S. - someone get me this shirt!

Okay, it's about to come on.

Laterz!

"Sir, we all have cats we would rather be playing with right now!"

Etsy Finds!

2010-08-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

1) Luvable Luggage by lovenostalgicwhimsy

This is one of the best ideas EVER!
I'm totally going to have to make one of these for Aeris. She's been obsessed with napping on the chair of my art desk and I need her OFF of it. Too much kitty hair to clean every time I want to sit down. lol This would be the purrrfect gift for her since she always likes to hide in our suitcases anyway.

2) Cherry Cheesecake Frenzy by DIVINESweetness

I don't know if I could own these because I'd want to eat them. :)

3) Peacock Hand Carved Stamp by sugarskulls7

If you know me very well then you know that I love peacock prints and colors. This stamp is gorgeous and I'd love to have it someday.

and last but not least...

4) 70s Olive Green Floral Maxi Print Dress by Shrinkle

Speaking of gorgeous, I love this dress! And I actually think it would look good on me. I'm always scared to buy clothing online (besides t-shirts) but I'd take my chances for this beauty!

Okay, I'm hungry for dinner now & then I have to supervise the kiddo's homework.

night night all! :)

Out of Print Clothing

2010-08-25T14:56:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

I found these really great shirts on Out of Print Clothing today & thought I would share. They're only $28/ea.! How neat are they?!

Those are my favs but there are plenty more in the shop if you want to check them out.

I should be back with another post later tonight about some Etsy favs.

Have a good evening!

Vintage Treasures in my Shop!

2010-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that I added some super cute vintage pieces to my Attic Art store on Etsy!

Those are just a peek. To see all of them check out my store!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :)

Punk Rock Princess

2010-08-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

Today is my lovely daughter's 7th birthday!
Happy birthday, sweetie! You rock!

So, in honor of a punk rock princess' birthday, I wanted to share some favorite pieces from a designer that both my daughter and I share a similar aesthetic to.

Betsey Johnson!

I read that Betsey recently celebrated her 68th birthday (wow!), so there's the b.day tie-in. Ha!

So here are some of her designs that I absolutely adore...

I would wear this dress all the time if I had it!

I'm thinking Nick & I should renew our vows just so I can have an excuse to wear this! haha

I could see my daughter and her future boyfriend wearing these to their prom. (That's a long time away though! thank goodness, lol) :)

And I'm in love with these fringe boots. I MUST make them part of my wardrobe as soon as possible!

Which design is YOUR favorite??

all images found through Google image search

Etsy Wednesdays

2010-08-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided to add a feature to my blog. Each Wednesday I plan to share some of my favorite Etsy finds with you all.

Hope you enjoy them!

here goes...

1) this cute Mad Hatter dog costume via Young Urban Puppy

2) I *must* have this necklace from Plastique

3) this necklace from Cute Ability is pretty sweet too

4) love this illustration by the awesome GemmaBear!

Thanks for taking a peek.
Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

It's been good here; just busy with back to school stuffs.

P.S. - my daughter had a great first day of 1st grade today! :)

night night all!

Photo Session

2010-08-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

How is everyone's weekend going?
Mine is going great! :)
All you moms out there, how's the back to school shopping going? lol
Thankfully we finished that a couple of weeks ago. And since back-to-school happens so close to my daughter's b.day, I decided to do a little photo shoot of her. I can't believe she's about to turn 7 years old!!!

I'm not a photographer, but I did my best and these are my favs, so I wanted to share them with you all. :)

We had a lot of fun taking these & we got outside early enough not to burn up. It's been getting up to 106 degrees almost every day here!

Well, good luck to you all who are doing back-to-school stuff!
We get to go to Meet the Teacher tomorrow so that should be fun.

Have a great week everyone & I hope all the kiddos have a wonderful time at school this year!

Relax Already!

2010-08-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

Seriously, we all need to take some time out to recharge every now and then. Even my cat, Aeris, likes to relax (that's her in her 'Jabba the Cat' pose, haha).

So what are some things that you find relaxing?

For me, the number one relaxing thing is mixing candles and water.

Something about this combination is just so serene. When I want to clear my mind and find focus, I will usually take a candlelight shower or bath. I usually get some of my best artistic ideas when I do this.

Coffee!
Coffee is relaxing to me. Starbucks Dark Cherry Mocha, in particular. I'm a graphic designer for a weekly publication and we go to press on Tuesday nights. So needless to say, I get pretty stressed then. So, as a treat to myself and a way to relax, on Wednesday mornings on the way to work I will usually stop and pick one up. It helps me feel refreshed after a hectic apocalyptic Tuesday.

Also, my soundtrack of choice for a relaxing time, is pretty much anything with a piano on the track. Regina Spektor & Ben Folds, for example, are two of my favorites.

Those are great ways to set a relaxing mood. Now, how about some activities that are relaxing?

Thrifting!
Thrifting is very relaxing to me. In a way it's not only an adventure but also very whimsical. If you had to describe in one word how you could romanticize shopping, it would be 'thrifting'.

This is probably the most predictable answer from any artist: Painting!
Painting is also relaxing; for a number of reasons. Which I'm sure many are the same and also different for each artist. :)

So those are my ideas on how to take some 'me'-time and relax.

Speaking of paintings & my Jabba the Cat, lol; I wanted to share my newest painting with you. Yes, inspired by the aforementioned feline. :)

It's titled 'Little Helper' and is up in the shop now!

I also just wanted to say thank you to all of you who follow my blog (and to those who peruse it). Blogging is a great way to relax too. :)

What are some ways that you like to relax?

Who Inspires You?

2010-08-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

(pic from weheartit)
I'm looking for some inspiring new blogs to follow.
Any suggestions?

Super GraphxGrrl

2010-08-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

(pic from My Rocking Wardrobe)

I really need that little girl's outfit in my size!
Those pants rock. :)

Here's the painting that I finished last night.
"Gummy Worm"

The colors are yummy! ;)
"Gummy Worm" is up in my shop now.

I like taking pictures in our yard. The one above was taken in front of our studio-turned-garage, where the '54 Ford now lives.

I was messing around with some pics of myself today and these were the two faves that I came up with:

Super GraphxGrrl!
haha

okay, night night all!

Short But Sweet

2010-08-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick hello!
I'm exhausted today so this will be a short one.
I just wanted to share these super cute shirts with you! They're from Twinkie Chan's Yummy You line and are being sold through Delia's.

I like both of them but I really want the cupcake scarf shirt!!

Also, this movie looks cute:

I might go see it just to watch their wardrobes. haha

Okay, I'm going to finish watching the Always Sunny In Philadelphia two-hour happy hour on Comedy Central and then get some rest.

night night all!

Eight Legs Are Better Than One

2010-08-01T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well, it's the end of a weekend but the beginning of a new month.

We went to see 'Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore' today. It was pretty hilarious and very cute. :)

Just wanted to let you guys know that I finished my new painting last night. I was up waaay past my bedtime (I'm only 27 but I get uber tired by 10pm, lol). So here it is!

The 'Octopus Oracle'. I was inspired by Paul the octopus who predicted the World Cup games. I love sealife and lately I've been fascinated with octopi (that's how you spell the plural right?? haha). They're just super cute...although, I must admit to the dismay of many that I also think the small ones on the buffets at certain Chinese restaurants are mighty tasty. But I would certainly never eat anything that has the ability to tell the future; seems like that would bring bad karma. ;)

Here's a pic of him up in my house. What a cutie-octo-pie!

He's in the shop now.

Hope you all are ready for a great August! :)

night, night