Chachi ♥

My sweet kitty Chachi passed away of natural causes at nearly 13 years old.
She was the smartest, cheekiest, and cutest cat I've ever known.  I loved her very, very much.

I hope you find the sunniest napping spot, Magical Princess Bun-Bun.

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday

via the little things we do

1. The highlight of my week was finding and purchasing some absolutely beautiful leather to use for the bodice of a dress I'll be making soon.  The man who helped me at Global Leather when I went back to purchase on Thursday was so sweet.  He offered to help me out with the price because he remembered that I was in the student group that visited the day before and had seen how much I loved the acorn-and-leaf tooled leather, and he even offered to cut the piece of leather in half if I didn't want to buy the whole thing.  I did get the whole thing, because I didn't want to end up not having enough and I've already got projects planned for the rest of it.  The other highlight of my week was the monthly meeting with the other RAs on my building staff.  They are the sweetest, funniest bunch and I'm so lucky to work with them.

2. If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic, it would be "cozy nature-child."  I like rustic wood and big woolly blankets and ceramic mugs and warm lighting.  (examples of my dream homes can be found here and here.)

3. My first vehicle was a cool black-and-silver plastic mini motorcycle that I rode down the hill in our backyard.  Technically it was my brother's.  And it was not only my first vehicle, it's been my only vehicle to date.  I don't drive-- by the time I was old enough, I pretty much knew I'd be going to college in the city and it didn't make sense to add another person to the insurance policy when I wouldn't be driving for four years after I graduated high school.  I'm going to learn soon though, because I might not be staying in the city after I graduate from FIT this May.

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is my planner.  I never got into keeping an electronic one, I like having a physical book to write in.  I put everything in it and it comes with me no matter where I go.

5. My favorite way to waste time is puttering around the internet.  Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, and especially Google Reader.  

6. Right now I could really go for a nothing!  I just had dinner (a very yummy sandwich and an apple and cinnamon-vanilla tea) and I am not hungry or thirsty. But I could really go for a night in bed watching movies.

7. This weekend I will be doing homework, as usual.  I'm also very much looking forward to a belated birthday brunch with my wonderful cousin Kaleigh!  She is the sweetest girl in the whole world.  I'll also be worrying about my darling cat Chachi-- she's been missing since Tuesday and I'm really upset about it.  Like, stay-up-all-night-crying upset.  I know it might seem silly, but with everything that's happened in the last year, it's just the last straw.  She was my little companion when I was home by myself for days at a time this summer while my mom stayed with my dad in a variety of hospitals, and during winter break, my mom stayed at my grandmother's house on the coldest nights while I spent the nights at my currently heatless house, snuggled up with Chachi on the couch under an electric blanket and with a space heater blowing on us.  I'm still hoping she'll come home, but I'm so, so worried about her.  Given how my life has unfolded for the last 9 months or so, I just want this one aspect of it to be okay.  Universe, whatever I did to deserve this karmic punch in the face, don't you think we're even at this point?  Please give my sweet little kitty back.  

♥

lovely leather

It's basically required by law that I start a blog post about leather with this video.

So now that we've got that taken care of, today I went to Global Leather with my leather apparel class.

I've never considered myself much of a leather person, but there were so many gorgeous colors and textures that it would have been impossible for anyone not to find something they loved.

Naturally, I was magnetically drawn toward the pink section...

This basketweave-embossed leather was beautiful, but....

...this bit of loveliness stole my heart.  Isn't it incredible?  I'm going back tomorrow to purchase this for the bodice of a dress I'll be making next.

Here's a close-up-- look at the detail on the acorn!  I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted this on a back shelf.

Meanwhile, I'm finishing up my utility pinafore.  I finished the pattern and cut and all the seams are taped, so all I have left to do are two buttonholes and the actual stitching, along with reshaping the pocket linings.

The seam edges are all scalloped-- isn't it fun?  My professor has kindly let me borrow her scallop-edge pinking shears for this project.  They are definitely on my list of things to purchase-- in fact, I'm not sure how I went this long without knowing about them.

I have a lot of school projects going on at the moment, but I'm so excited about all of them!

Are you working on anything exciting?

♥

hugo

I am so excited that Hugo did so well at the Oscars. 

Cinematography

Art Direction

Sound Editing

Sound Mixing

Visual Effects

It comes out on DVD tomorrow and I can't wait to get it within the next few days.  I'm hoping for a good amount of behind-the-scenes content because the film is so visually stunning that I would loooove to see how it came together.

images from here

♥

spring fever

It has been warm and sunny and beautiful in New York for the past few days, and it makes me so, so ready for spring to get here!

this is my beautiful home and I can't wait to see it again

1.2.3.4.5.6.
♥

fill-in-the-blank friday

from here

Lauren, who usually provides the weekly blanks, just had a lovely daughter named Fern and is spending some time with her this week.  So this week's blanks are from here!

1. My favorite article of clothing is either my Lepidoptera Dress, my Braided Toggle Sweatercoat, or my Mushroom Picking Chemise (all from Anthropologie).

2. My favorite meal or dish from childhood is quiche lorraine-- my mom makes the most delicious one ever, ever, ever.  It's incredibly good.  

3. If money was no object, I would take a long weekend in Boston, if we're being practical, or Venice or Montmartre if practicality isn't an issue.  

4. I feel healthy every time I eat apples!  But only some apples.  I am verrrry particular with the apples.  I like Pink Lady apples, and I like when they're cold.  I also feel healthy and happy after my nightly cup of before-bed tea.

5. My favorite song is 'Slow Show' by The National because it's simple and honest and vulnerable and beautiful.  

I've posted it before buuuuut here it is again.

6. If climate wasn't an issue I would grow lots and lots of flowers... unfortunately, my dorm doesn't have so much as a windowbox.  But I would grow primroses and daffodils and pansies and roses.

7. My favorite hobby is craft-making because it's relaxing and at the end you have a cute new thing!  ...To be honest, part of the reason I have an etsy shop is because I love making crafts but I couldn't possibly keep everything I make.

8. As a kid, my favorite Halloween candy was Reese's Cups.  Chocolate and peanut butter, a truly divine combination.  I was never a fan of the SweetTarts and Laffy Taffy (ew) and Pixie Sticks and that sort of artificial stuff.  Although I did like Smarties because they were pretty and pastel and I liked sorting them by color.  They also made excellent little dollhouse cakes.

9. One thing I know I'm really good at is giving presents.  I really, really like coming up with something that the recipient will love and will know was created or chosen specifically with them in mind.

10. My favorite dish or mug is ....oh boy.  I have a lot of mugs.  

My collection has actually grown since that photo, and I have specific uses for each mug.  The floral one on the front right is excellent for cereal or soup, my 'j' mug is perfect for cold water or milk because it's a bit thin and gets too hot with tea...you get the idea.

Hope everyone's week is coming to a relaxing end!

♥

some things are awesome, other things really test my nerves.

I recently ran across the brilliant tumblr Incorrect Sylvia Plath Quotes.  Basically, quotes from various pop culture references are incorrectly attributed to Sylvia Plath.  Simple, but genius.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm not sure when sensitivity to the feelings of others became a liability, but I would guess it was around the time that reality television became a thing and suddenly people could pretend that they were the star of their own program.  It really, really bothers me when I hear someone bragging about how rude they were or how little they cared about someone else's feelings.  Individuality and courage of conviction are to be commended, but so is decency.

Speaking of things that bother me, there are a few things making their way around the interwebz that just tick me right off.  Here's one of them.

I'm sorry, stupid cancer?  Stupid.  Cancer.  As someone who has lost both my father and my grandmother to cancer within the last 7 months, the idea of sending something around that starts with stupid cancer is horribly trivializing about a disease that had a huge and tremendously painful impact on my life.  Stupid snow?  Sure.  Stupid traffic?  Mmhm.  Stupid cancer?  Nuh-uh.  Not okay.  It's not often that something manages to be both trivializing and sanctimonious, but this little charmer does.  '97% of my friends won't re-post this, but 3% will.  Let's see who does.'  How dare someone imply that if I don't re-post this, it means I either don't care about or wasn't deeply effected by cancer.  If I'm going to do something in honor of the people I've lost to cancer, it's damn well going to be something more meaningful and impactful than a purposely guilt-inducing Facebook post.  (This isn't meant to offend anyone who has posted this, anyone who wants to post this, anyone who created this, yadda yadda yadda.  It's not meant to offend anyone, but it's opinion of one girl who finds it highly offensive.)

ugh.  now I have to look at some cat photos to get my blood pressure back to normal.

there.  that's better.

Now I'm going to get back to my homework.  Thanks for making it to the end of this ramble-y, ticked-off post.

♥