Sick but pretty

I've been sick this week, so sorry for the lack of updates. Here are some pretty pictures in the meantime. From Daily Pep Talk.


Chicago
What a great shot. Love the lights on the train, and the lightning.


Don't those look cozy and warm?



I want a porch that looks like this. It's so airy and the black & white is a nice contrast to the purple and blond colored wood.

Wii ski and sleep

I am not impressed with the first 5 pages of so-called stylish people on Chictopia. It doesn't usually take me 5 pages to find someone I'd consider stylish, but I guess like all things, this is cyclical. It's funny what people consider stylish. Skinny is definitely one of them, which I have to agree with even though I don't like it. An outfit, even if not that spectacular, looks great when you have legs for days.

I took a short trip out of town this weekend to see an old friend from college who moved out of state and was back visiting. We did crafts and played Wii and stayed up late talking like girlfriends should do and man do I miss that. I need more girlfriends. We played a skiing/snowboarding game with the Wii Fit, which was a lot of fun with the board reading your movements side to side while you skied. I love that the Wii is the first social gaming system. It's just as much fun to watch as it is to play, and everyone can be involved. I laughed so hard that I cried while watching her try to figure out some of the moves. I love laughing til I cry. I needed that. With all of the stress I've had lately, it felt good to laugh really hard. It's impossible to be in a bad mood while watching/playing Wii. Gotta figure out a way to play more often. I know lots of people with gaming systems, but it seems hard to get together. I love Rock Band, and lots of people I know have it, I guess it's just hard to make plans.

Here's the black sheep I cut out and sewed together out of felt.

I really miss staying up late chatting. We talked about relationships and travel and religion and society and politics and sociology and man do I miss having someone to talk soc with.

I think work has really been taking a toll on me, since I slept most of the weekend. While I am a sleeper, it's unusual for me to sleep this much and be this tired.

Also, my new upstairs neighbors need to learn how to walk lighter. Would it be passiveagressivenotes of me to leave a note asking them to pay attention to how they move in their own home?

Ha, one of the words of the day over at Urban Dictionary is blinker beat

When the tic-toc of the blinkers [on a car] syncs with the music playing on the car radio.

Dude, check it out, I got blinker beat happening on this Jay-Z song.

I didn't know there was a term, but I so notice this. Love!

Corn Salad

I found a recipe for corn salad awhile back and it was really yummy (and I never follow recipes). That particular recipe called for feta, but I didn't have any so I improvised.

1 can of corn
chopped mozzarella
chopped red, green, banana peppers
1 tablespoon pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Multi grain baguette
Olive oil+Italian dressing
South African wine from last night


I've been having bad dreams nearly every night for a long time now. I'm not sure what to think of that. I always have very detailed, very strange dreams, but more often than not, they are bad ones. I do believe that dreams are the subconscious and the brain's way of working out issues, but it's not as though the dreams are always about the same thing. I know I have been stressed with work, and the death of my father, and handling my grandmother's estate, so I suppose that's to be expected.

Last night I dreamt that I smuggled my cat, Kia to a foreign country, where I rendezvoused with my married ex (save that analyzation for later), and then I realized that I couldn't smuggle my cat back into the country because customs would kill her, and woke up thinking I had killed the only thing in my life that gives me unconditional love, and I was really upset. Plus, I couldn't find her when I got up this morning--she was hiding behind the couch.

Night Photog in RVA

Took photos with my new Holga Saturday night with the RVA photography meetup. It was a clever idea, meet up and walk/drive to specified points around town to take photos at night. Found a cool new lookout of downtown from the southside flood wall, and realized the platform at the James Monroe building is open to the public after hours and is a direct shot of Main Street Station. I had some donated b/w film, one of which had no exposure information on it, so I have no idea if any of it came out. I prefer color though. I turned it in to Richmond Camera today so we'll see how the negatives come out. Film is a bi*ch, let me tell you. We have all gotten so used to digital and instant gratification that film shooting was surprisingly unsatisfying, especially amongst 20 other folks with serious DSLR equipment and tripods.

I did get some cool acid-camera pics with my point-and-shoot digital

Warehouse/factory on Southside

A warehouse on the Southside

A shadow of a rusty structure at Rockett's Landing

Passenger bridge on the floodwall

A Manchester apt bldg

Green and Black

I post my outfit photos on another site, but sometimes I like to show them here. I thrifted this green seersucker skirt recently, and love it for summer with a white blouse, but wanted to wear it differently today. I tried it with a purple since it is green's complement on the color wheel, but it was too strange. So then I tried another neutral, black. Black just seemed too harsh, but I think it worked out okay. I still like white better. I'm open to other suggestions.

Black swing jacket-Target
Black tee-Target
White beaded necklace-grandma's
Green/white skirt-Fantastic Thrift
Black pumps-grandma's

South African Wine

Only had one glass left in my trusty Norton Malbec tonight and wanted more (even bought bread to have with olive oil), so back in the car to Kroger I went to get another bottle of wine. Didn't want to spend more than $8-9, so I decided to try a new wine, partly based on the sale, partly based on Kroger's recs. They dubbed this one a "Great Value." I like Merlot, I like South African wines I've had so far. The description grabbed me: ripe cherry, plum, and dark chocolate. Kroger's description said "plummy" which I like in wine. I don't like too dry or spicy. This one said it had a hint of smoke, but I can't detect it. Probably because I rarely drink wine with food. I prefer it as an aperitif or a stand-alone. It's a screw cap, which people tend to associate with low quality, though I distinctly remember Ted from Queer Eye saying that's a common misconception because cork is not exactly the most advanced technology, and that screw top is actually more secure. But I think there's something special about using a corkscrew and extracting the cork, probably because we don't do it everyday.

Indaba Merlot 2008

South Africa

At least no ghosts are chasing you in the maze

Now that's a lock.

(from Daily Pep Talk)

Math

Mathnet!!

Childhood is calling

(from Daily Pep Talk From A Best Friend)

I was such a nerd as a kid. I loved Square One. An internet search tells me James Earl Jones was even on the show. He's in everything. Mathman anyone? Goes to look more things up...The tornado! Yes! wow.

OMG, I totally remember Angle Dance!

NOT

Riiiiight. Because THIS is what you wear for Back to School. NOT

Fabulous Fashion Bloggers

Just found Zoelulu. This romper is adorable. And it's thrifted. I'm always amazed at girls that can pull off hats. I look ridic in any hats. I like her sweet braid in the second photo. I wish I could be bothered to spend time doing different things to my hair in the mornings.

It's funny how all the fashion bloggers I follow, all follow the same ones too. It's a small world, even on the Internets. I added both these ladies to my bloglines.

Kansas Couture

She really makes it look like couture, when often her piece are from Old Navy, Forever 21, or Payless, which are totally things I'd wear. I'd NEVER have guessed any of what she's wearing was any of those brands. She's also a doppleganger for Mischa Barton.

This whole look cost $8! No way.