Thursday, January 31, 2013

Thankful Thursday: A Delayed Part Two

So to finally reveal what I've been hinting at the past few weeks of Thankful Thursdays...

1> This is the most amazing, all wool and fur vintage coat that one of my sweet co-workers back in Nashville gave me right before I left for Columbus. This is the real deal folks - it's beautifully made, fully lined, has huge pockets and these super cute vintage-y buttons, and she gave it to me for free (on the condition that I pass it along gratis to someone else when I no longer want it). Yes it is real fur, but its vintage and second/third hand, so I feel slightly less bad.
Oh and RU, I found the note you left in the pocket a couple weeks back and almost cried. Thank you!!!

2> And this is the gorgeous little key necklace that one of the high schoolers I worked with gave me right before I left. Such a sweet heart in this kid, I know he's going places!

3> Lunch dates with new friends. 'nuff said.

4> Chocolate milk. I can never seem to leave the grocery store without one of these, but it's such a great pick me up.

5> All of my things finally coming out of boxes, but mostly my adorable french press. I spend so much less on coffee now that I have this thing again.

6> Getting to go visit Nashville this weekend, even if one of my dear friends isn't going to be there (JS, I'd better see you soon!!!).

7> Being able to start back into DIYing and crafting. SO many ideas, I just need payday to roll around. Rent and food before jewelry, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise.

8> The beauty of winter. Otherwise, it would be an intolerable season.

9> This book. It's been just a beautiful read so far. It's dreamy and matter-of-fact and sentimental, with a touch of magical realism, without being too much of any.

10> And finally, fireplaces. It's been bitingly cold up here, so this has been a common sight this past week:
1, my socks really aren't that dirty, I promise! 2, I'm in love with these F21 leggings I got a few week back.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

How To: Set Up Your Bar

I'm semi-addicted to LEAFtv videos... And although a bar is definitely not a huge priority in setting up my new place, I've already got a place picked out for my drinks cart. And although there are a million and a half methods of bar-building, one that puts it into an easy 7-step video is definitely my favorite.


Monday, January 28, 2013

Riddle Winner And A Return To The Internet

You know, sometimes life doesn't exactly go the way you want it to. First, I get violently and suddenly ill halfway through moving into my new apartment. Then my internet doesn't get set up until a week after I've been here, disallowing me from announcing the riddle winner, only letting through two prescheduled posts. Then I realize that being an adult means having to pay rent and utilities and not purchase fabric willy nilly from Joanns. Boo.

In any case, internet is back and so am I! So without further ado, and although almost all of you got the right answer despite its gross factor (I'm so proud! sniff), the winner is...

SHENOAH!!

Congratulations!! Email me and we can talk about your fabulous prize!

Friday, January 25, 2013

A Little Bit Of Friday Happiness

These little pots make me smile, nay, grin like a big idiot. Because they are just that stinkin adorable. I'm off to go purchase like 30 of them so I can have a mini garden of happy little plants in even happier little pots. (Except the shop technically only has 3 on sale right now...)


Gah it's like they all just have really fabulous hair and they know iiiiit!! Or they're really super shy about their new haircuts or just got asked by a cute girl to prom or I really need sleep.

Anyways, If there's any left over, get yours here! Yeah Etsy! And just because they're equally adorable, here's some matching clay bells.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

How To: Create A Reading Nook

One thing I absolutely want to continue doing in my new apartment is separating my spaces. My bedroom in my last place was a no-technology zone, minus my iPhone for its alarm capabilities. I relaxed and watched movies on my couch and did work/ate at my table, and never the other way around. This helped me both sleep and concentrate better as my body knew that bed meant bedtime and not stressing out over applications.

And since my new space is MUCH larger than my place in Nashville, I will even get to create a separate reading nook!! I'm so pumped. Here's what I'm thinking about while planning for a proper reading nook:

>>Very importantly, a comfortable but supportive chair or lounge or corner. You want to be relaxed but not fall asleep, at least immediately. Post-reading naps are actually pretty wonderful though.
>>Potentially even more importantly than a good chair, a good light source. I'd recommend putting your nook near a window so you'll get natural light during the day, but also having a lamp nearby for good nighttime reading.
>>A side table to rest any tea, coffee, wine, cookies, cereal, etc you may want to consume.
>>A bookcase or other place to put your current books or ones on your to-read list (a shelf under your side table works!)
>>Keep it simple. Definitely surround yourself with pretty objects and decor that makes you happy but allow yourself to just enjoy being with a book!


Images via: A Little Shelf of Heaven, ApartmentTherapy, Tumblr (uncredited), ApartmentTherapy, Home Designing, UnexpectedTendencies, Beach House

Monday, January 21, 2013

Error: Weekend Bug

Hey everyone! Sorry for the silence over the weekend. I got super sick halfway through moving day which put me down for the count until last night. Not to mention the fact that I actually don't have Internet in my apartment yet... (Posting this from my iPhone, gotta love technology these days!). In any case, I should hopefully have the results of the riddle post by Wednesday, and be back up to speed on Thursday! I was very impressed with you guys' answers!

Friday, January 18, 2013

January Riddle

Alright folks, here is your old white man blush-inducing riddle (though to be fair the only person in my poetry-writing class to guess correctly was a young white guy) that I promised earlier this week! Leave your guesses as comments below - first one to guess correctly wins!


When I am missed, one more exists.
If I’m not stopped, one more is dropped.
By moon I’m ruled, by patch I’m fooled.
Although I’m free, no man wants me.
What am I?


And yes, I will know if I've told you this riddle before. No cheating :)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Thankful Thursday (Part 1): Four Hours

I have a lot of photos on my camera that I can't upload yet (yay for living out of a suitcase for two weeks!), and they really deserve their own dedicated thankfulness post anyways, so here's half of this week's Thankful Thursday. The rest will follow this weekend!

1> Finally getting into the swing of things at work, and beginning to take over a couple projects!

2> As I get busier though, I've realized that I only have roughly 4 or 5 hours to myself a day outside of work and sleeping, so I'd better start using them more wisely! Less computer, more doing.

3> Getting an incredibly thoughtful (and thorough) email from a friend of a friend outlining a zillion things to do in Columbus. It's bulleted, subtitled, and everything. I'm still in awe.

4> Hearing this baller song come on the radio right when I was about to have a sucky moment on my drive home from work. I was grinning the rest of the way after that.

5> Getting these amazing chocolate truffles from a friend who stayed with me over the weekend while auditioning for an opera grad program here. They were freakin delicious.

P.S. My little sister turns 21 today, which is ultra super weird. But happy birthday, B!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

DIY Inspiration: Wooden Magnetic Keyholder

MY GOD I need to make this. I'd just buy it but it's 68 euros plus international shipping out the wazoo sooooo I'll just be making a Home Depot run this weekend instead.

I mean seriously, you could almost literally walk in your front door, throw your keys at this thing, and they'd still be hangin out up there in the morning. Maybe add a deep cherry stain and you've got one classy piece of wooden wall decor. And yet still so functional! Could this potentially be another Dudely DIY?? Methinks yes.



Monday, January 14, 2013

Riddle-Writing, Resumes, and Rewards

Storytime!

The background: A long long time ago... in a state very very far away.... (i.e. my very first semester of college) I enrolled in a weekly seminar aptly named "Writing Poetry 1" that was co-taught by a former US poet laureate and another old white professor, whom I will call Prof.Ass. I wrote a ton during high school but never poetry, so I was more than a little nervous going in.

After the first few weeks of niceties, Prof.Ass. became something of a, well, ass. We're talking straight up telling one girl that the subject she chose was unworthy of poetry and so we wouldn't be reading her poem that week (yup, still remember that DK...). He knew what he liked (Frost mostly), and everything else wasn't poetry. Prof. PL was fairly quiet and much more civil but wasn't terribly impressed by anything I was writing.

Getting bored and a bit fed up with the absolutely terrible reviews Prof.Ass. was giving me, I kind of went out on a limb one week and wrote something much more abstract. I still vividly remember what I was trying to convey but apparently the message didn't come across. AT ALL. Without belaboring the point, I had to leave class for a good 15 minutes to go cry in the bathroom because of Prof.Ass's comments that week.

For the next class, I wrote a short poem about the murder scene left behind when curiosity killed the cat. I think both Prof's got the point and were courteously complimentary of it.

The riddles: In any case, that was the week I stopped caring and it was so unbelievably freeing. I could write whatever the hell I wanted! Heck, the Profs were actually pretty nice about my poem likening them to kitten murderers! So when Prof.Ass. mentioned one week that we could write a couple short riddles if we thought we could manage it, you bet your pants I took that as a challenge - one that would change my fate (or at least my resume and party trick repertoire).

I searched for topics, unhindered by what I thought the Profs would approve of (since apparently that was nothing). When my brother suggested a topic that I knew would make both old white male Profs blush, I immediately got to work. And I finished two more in record time.

Ironically, my riddles were some of the only ones the Profs were impressed by that day.

The resume: I've since written several more riddles, for "Writing Poetry 2" and for co-workers/friends. I put "riddle-writing" on my resume under the Skills and Interests section and have without fail been asked about it (and usually to recite one I've written) at every interview since. I honestly think it got me an internship the summer before my senior year.

Moral of the story: sometimes you just have to say F*CK IT and write borderline inappropriate riddles. Put silly things on your resume and you'll seem more interesting.

The rewards: And the moral of this post: I want to start writing poetry/riddles again. So.
1> I'm going to start posting one new riddle a month.
2> If you are the first to correctly guess the answer, you'll get a prize (to be announced with the riddle)!
3> Bonus: If you suggest an awesome topic and I go on to write a riddle on it, you also win a prize!

WIN! Look out for that first (inappropriate for elderly white men) riddle later this week!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thankful Thursdays: 2013

Things that I'm grateful for this week:

1> I made it safely to Ohio! Even while driving a mini-van with a giant UHaul trailer behind it, going a max speed of 63 until I hit a 3-hour traffic jam. But still, I'm here! See this post...

2> And there's snow here! Lots of it! (Never thought I'd be so happy to see snow, but it weirdly is really comforting. There should be snow in winter.) Except it's supposed to be 60+ this weekend... Shorts!

3> Having amazing co-workers who welcome me to the team with this on my desk Monday morning :)

4> Being almost done with my first week of my real job!! Yes, it's still new and super exciting, but a Friday is a Friday still.

5> Finding an INCREDIBLE apartment so quickly after getting here! Can't wait to show you guys photos once I move in.

6> Beginning to explore this town and finding some amazing things already. Walked into the town center near my soon-to-be apartment and I find a tea shop, a community garden, a chocolate shop with free coffee, a nationally famous cupcakerie, a super hipster coffee shop, a bike shop, and a yoga studio. All within two blocks of each other. Gaaaaahhhhhh.

7> Songs like this one that get me pumped up for work when I'm super sleepy at 6am. Judge me all you want. And/or dance along.


8> Having my beautiful, hilarious, and so so thoughtful co-workers back in Nashville send me off in style, quite literally. I'll show you their generosity (seriously, it deserves its own Thankful Thursday) soon!

9> I found the library down here and already have a card and a mile long list of books I can potentially actually read now!

10> Starting to feel a little more in control of 2013. Just a little, but maybe that's enough for today.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Home DIY Inspiration: Art Collage

I'm so late on the game here. Apparently I'm just now realizing that having a wall of art is something I can actually do in my own space... Especially since I'm going to have massive amounts of empty wall space in my new apartment that needs to be decorated on the cheap. Yay!! So here's some really great photos that are inspiring me in ways to create my own art collage, courtesy of one of my favorite Tumblr accounts, Home & Interiors.

>>I love that most of these pieces are very simple to DIY: pieces of paper, quotes, mirrors, bold necklaces hung on door knobs, simple art canvases, and other doodles hung with nothing more than some (paint-safe, hopefully) tape.

>>Pick some pieces that follow a similar general color scheme, frame some pieces with big bold frames and others not at all, put tiny things in big frames, and mix them all together. You can even just put a bunch of things on layered shelves so you can move, add, take away, and change things later on!

>>For an even more stunning effect, coordinate or contrast the furniture below to the art (maybe using a couch cover or by painting the table yourself?). I love the white couch accented by brightly colored pillows that mirror the art above! Great to DIY on a budget!


Can you tell I'm also digging plain white walls? Love it!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

January Life

First of all, welcome to 2013!!!

Secondly, sorry for the silence this week... I am indeed alive and finally in Ohio, yay!! There's snow and cold and I already found an apartment here and I love this town already and I already start my job tomorrow (!!!) and there's so much art and I should REALLY start taking more/better photos. But here's what I have so far from my roadtrip and time here...
The sign that immediately preceded a 3 hour nearly stopped traffic jam in the middle of nowhere, KY. There was indeed a semi on fire at the end.
Aaaaand this is what you get when you drive a minivan pulling a Uhaul behind it...
Explored the OSU campus on a gray and rainy day. Pretty campus though!
Apparently OSU has wizard-themed exercise classes, complete with appropriate prizes and refreshments

The artsy area of town has these beautiful murals all over the place!
This was my favorite, though it was blocked by all the construction, which is also all over the place
There's also a nationally-famous cupcakerie and teashop like a mile from my apartment. Oh boy.

In any case, things are going to be a bit slow over here for the next couple weeks. I'm crashing at my dad's apartment until my lease starts, so the vast majority of my stuff is in storage meaning it's a tad difficult to craft at the minute.

However! As I get settled here and get moved into my new place, I will definitely keep you all up to date. In the meantime, here's a preview of what I'll be doing this month:

>Working on my slow cooker skills by trying a bunch of new recipes
>Reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck
>Planning some new apartment decor DIYs
>Mastering the classic martini (and adding my own twist if I'm brave enough!)
>Writing! (check back later this week for more details on a super secret awesome project I have planned related to this)
>Looking for ways to volunteer around here