Life Hacks #1

Today I'm going to start a new series of posts called "Life Hacks".  It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  One of the first things that people tell me after they've known me for a few weeks is that I'm a perfectionist.  What they don't realize is that I actually tend to be a bit of a hack when it comes to things that don't matter all that much.  It so happens that a lot of the things I end up doing are pretty funny.  You know, in a ridiculous way.  I'll update the series every week or month or whatever, whenever the situation happens to demand it.

So, without further ado, I bring you the pilot episode of:

Episode #1

Webcam haircut: your last resort when all the bathroom mirrors are miraculously occupied at the same time.

Yeah, I know, I'm stupid.  My sister was in the shower and had locked the door and my parents were brushing their teeth.  I could have just waited until either one of them was done I guess, but in addition to being a semi-hack, I am also impatient.  >.<  It didn't turn out all that bad though, despite the fact that my webcam flips the image around so that everything is backwards.

Anyways I took this picture by accident, thought "hey, that's funny" and decided to go ahead and post it.  

The end.

See you later. :)

The loveliest duo, red and blue-o.

Look at that.  Just LOOK at it.  

What a cute couple.  Red/light blue has to be my favorite color combination in the whole world.

I've always been drawn to the drama and impact of a vibrant red, but also to the ethereal innocence of pale blues.  But TOGETHER?

Together they are unstoppable.  

It's like chocolate covered pretzels, or salted caramels.  Sweet, but with a bite (and dangerously addictive...).  I also love how nostalgic and almost retro they look together.  It's even better when you throw a litle bit of pale beige or ivory in there.  Reminds me a little of old, cross-processed photographs...

...Or of red balloons floating around in the sky.

I seriously can't get enough of these colors together.  The other day I was pawing through my dresser looking for a particular shirt, and couldn't help but notice a distressing (but purdy) pattern emerging.

This is far from all of it.  I have a pair of red Converse high tops that I absentmindedly threaded with light blue laces, among many other matchy things.  

See that?  I love it, and it scares me to death.  It's not just clothes either.  I've been picking out paint chips for my room.  Guess what?  Red and blue.  I could bombard you with other examples like how my favorite beach towel is red and powder blue, or how I bought a tin of tea because the packaging was an attractive combination of crimson and turquoise, or how my ipod is red with blue headphones, but I will spare you the monotony.  Seriously, I could go on about this forever.
Also, you should know that I am very enthusiastic about ANY particularly pretty, interesting or vibrant color.  Color is one of the first things I notice when I see a picture, walk into a room, or even when I look at a person.  But this is different.  This is not just enthusiasm.
THIS
IS
INFATUATION! (I wanted to say SPARTA there, but I didn't because that would just ruin the mood.)
I'm kind of afraid that one day my whole life will have a color scheme and I'll be too darn happy and color-obsessed to care.  Oh well.  Life is too short to worry about stuff like that, right?
I've got to go make a cup of tea in my favorite red and blue mug, but y'all come back now, ya hear?
See you later. :)

I can't stop listening to this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB4dAdPu_lg

No talk.  Just enjoy.

*is happy*








<3

Artwork!!

Yesterday my mom and I took pictures of some of my artwork for my portfolio, and since I also promised art on this blog I figured it would be fun to share some stuff. :)
Most of these were assignments for a drawing class that I took at my local community college (HCC) last semester.   I'm actually still in highschool, but I homeschool which is why I can take day classes.  Not that that's relevant or anything, harhar.  Here are some pictures.

This one actually wasn't from fall, but from last spring when I took a 2-D design class.  The assignment was to draw a picture of your eye (no DUH, Captain Obvious.)

Still life from fall semester.  We were studying cylinders and cubes. 

First homework assignment for my fall drawing class.  We were supposed to pick five "interesting" objects and draw them the best that we could.  I'm happy with this one.

Close-up of the marble, the shadow was quite fun.

Stick.

This is the better of the two self-portraits that I drew for class.
*barf*
Kidding.  It's alright I guess.  I wasn't going to post this one, but my dad likes it and said I should.
I think it's a little creepy how robot-ish and unemotional I look.  I guess I was trying to be perfectly and brutally honest about the engrossed expression on my face, but it didn't work.  This caption is getting too long. 

This is my all-time favorite drawing ever.  It was SO much fun to draw, and I'm really happy with how it came out.  My professor had me put this in the Fall Student Exhibition, which was a lot of fun.  

So those are all my favorite drawings.  This semester I'm taking oil painting, which I'm really excited about, hopefully I'll have some post-worthy things by the end of the semester.

It's lunch time (late), so I must adjourn!

So long, so long, so long and thanks for all the fish! (High-fives for anyone who got that reference)

New stuff

I did a bit of shopping recently and came back with some new things!  Mwahahahaha!  I don't have a ton of time to write today, but I took plenty of pictures.

Forever 21 was having a sale, and here's what I found:

My mom actually bought this shirt, but it turned out to be a little too small so she gave it to me.  I like it a lot, somehow it miraculously makes me look taller.  A few days ago I wore it with this necklace that a friend of mine made for me:

Pretty, right?  She's so talented.

Later I kind of half-heartedly walked into H&M to take a look around.  Whenever I go in there I find a million things to lust after, but they're always a little pricey for me, so I walk out feeling bitter and wishing that I had a job or something.  So you can imagine how excited I was when I found this awesome cardigan and a t-shirt dress for just under $20:

I love how quirkily weird the birds are.

T-shirt dress:

ONE more thing.  Just one more, I promise.  

New peter pan collar shirt from Urban Outfitters!!

I'm not sure why the sleeves look so pink in this picture.  Also, that little black smudgy thing is a tag showing through the fabric

I'm just a little bit in love with this shirt.  It's probably one of the most versatile, comfortable, adorable, all-around perfect piece of clothing that I have ever owned.  Just LOOK at it!   

It also has these really pretty mesh-y sleeves.  I've been wearing it like crazy with everything from jeans and a cardigan to layered under dresses. The possibilities. Are. Endless. *ques dramatic music*

If you've learned anything about me by now, it's that I'm kinda cheap and really get a kick out of not paying the retail price for awesome things, even if it means spending way too long hunting for promo and discount codes online.  So here I go again.  This shirt was about $40 originally.  Even considering how much I love it, I would never spend that much on just a shirt.  But with the help of a clearance sale + discount code, it came down to $7.  BOOYAH! *punches the air*

...Oh my goodness, did I just say "booyah"?  I think it's time for me to stop staring at the computer screen now and to go do something wholesome like eat vegetables and watch NOVA.

I'll see you later. :)

P.S.  I just realized that at the beginning of this post I made a point of saying that I didn't have a lot of time to write, and then completely contradicted that by writing all this junk about peter pan collared t-shirts and discount codes and whatnot.  I fail at...at...well, apparently I fail at the English language as well as whatever I was trying to say before. :P kthxbai. 

I lied.

 'Kay, so I lied.  I'm sorry.  I was going to take pictures of an outfit ages ago but I forgot.  Classes started this week, but I have a really good feeling about this semester.  I'm really excited about the classes I'm taking, and am already having fun!  I also have homework all of a sudden, hence the delay.

So, without further ado, here is my mom inspired get-up:

Shirtdress: Old Navy
Belt: my mom's
Tights: I've had these for such a long time, I can't remember where they are from.

I'm sorry about this horrible picture.  I keep forgetting to take decent pictures while I still have daylight to work with, but I think there was a long enough delay on this already.

Originally I was going to pair the shirtdress with some mustard yellow tights, but when I put it on I decided it was weird and opted for a less literal approach.  Now I'm just using the yellow as an accent color.  

Overall this is a pretty simple outfit, but I like it.  I think it would go quite nicely with my oxfords, don't you?

I wore this yesterday with a hat that my mom made for me.  

Isn't it pretty?  I love the color of the yarn and the little flower on the front.

The first picture is closer to the actual color.

I just realized that the corners are rounded on that first hat picture and I have no idea why.  Picnik must be corrupting my photos.

Well, there is homework to be done and dinner to be eaten, so I will see you later.

COMING SOON: new clothes! 

P.S. It has just occured to me that I might need to refer back to the post about my mom's outfit since it's been such a long time.  :P  Here it is.