The Thing About Being a Girl

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

-Anais Nin

This weekend I spent Sunday afternoon having some awesome, girly fun with one of my oldest and dearst friends Michele. We met in the 7th grade. Our initial meeting was one that, well was not really the way that most long lasting friendships begin. Someone we both knew (I do not even remember who the person was) asked her to "beat me up" (ahhh grade school~so much fun!). And thus began a friendship that has lasted more than 27 years. I remember waking up at the crack of dawn at her parents house to watch Princess Di walk doen the aisle to meet her Prince. Watching the first video on MTV in her parents living room. Dancing in the Mosh Pitt at The Parrot. Going out to see a band every weekend at the Fast lane. Making Tye Dye shirts in her kitchen. Although the paths of our lives have sometimes led in different directions, we have, always kept the bond of our friendship. So, to add to all the fun memories we already have, we did a photo shoot for Happiknits. Michele is the perfect model for my creations! She picked out the spot ~ she is an awesome professional photographer! She will be doing all the photoshopping for these photos! Thanks Michele, you are the best!!

Happy Earth day!

I wanted to do something special today. The weather is crappy here, so planting was out of the question! So I had myself a fun day of shopping for items to use in my creations. Recycling. Vintage. Earth friendly. I was in Ocean county anyway, so I decided to stop into some of my favorite antique stores in Point Pleasant. The emporium is 3 floors of fun! I have my favorite shops already and one of them I actual got to meet the owner for the first time. Her daughter models for a shop on Etsy Sweettoothvintage lovely woman, and she is very talented! So I wanted to show some pics of my finds. I went a bit overboard, but what else is new! I found some beautiful lace, and vintage collars at The Canvas house. Also some funky jewelry! I will destrand it and use those beads for something! The pearl collar is simply to die for! I thought it might look awesome with something bridal. There is one woman at the Emporium that has the most lovely lace. It's hidden, so it's kind of like it's waiting for me (lol) to find it! I also decided to browse through her vintage clothing and voile, I found this stunning pink and cream dress. Do you remember in Pretty in Pink (ok, showing my age here) when she couldn't afford to buy a prom dress like all the snotty girls, so she took 2 dresses, ripped them apart and created something brand new , funky and worthy of Andrew McCarthy(oh, be still my heart I had the biggest crush on him). That's what I felt like when I found this dress. I saw the something new being created in my head! I fell in love with that stunning band of pale pink crushed velvet. Speaking of velvet. I have had an eyeball out forever for some fushia pink velvet. Well I found it. My eye was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Said shop owner that I met today said she just put it out. BINGO!!!! my lucky day! I also scored a bunch of pretty lace, some more jewelry pieces and vintage ribbon. Too much fun for one day! I am off to create. I have so much inspiration here, I'm busting at the seams! Check out my Earth Day post at the FDL website. Love your Mother Earth.

Change of Scene

Sometimes you need a change of scenery. I usually take my pictures in the same spot at the same time of day. But yesterday I tried to change that. I tried to take my pictures in the am before work. In my usual spot. They came out way too dark. So, this forced me to look around the house. Where else could I take a pic?

Tip No. 1: try photographing in lots of different spots inside and out. So, I tried by the front door first and it seemed to put a bit of shade onto the shrug. Pretty but I wasn't sure about it. This my friends is an issue when you're taking pics. I never trust what I am seeing on the camera screen. It might look good there but once it is on the computer it is a different story.

Tip No.2: take lots and lots of pictures. Different angles, different spots, different settings. Next I tried the dining room. I figured it's a romantic theme, what better setting than a flowery room. ~ A little side note here. This room is one of the very few rooms left in my house that was decorated by the previous owner. It seems to suit the room. Please note that almost every room in this house was pink when we moved in. Nearly drove Mr. S crazy at the sight of all the pink. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with pink. But parlor, bedroom, dining room, kitchen?!? It's enough to sterilize any man. I love the way the picture came out. The back round is a bit busy but it's soft colors so I think it's ok. What do you think? Do you like the first one or the second one? To see which one I decide to use check out the Queen of the Forest shrug here.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! I am actually able to post some Easter pictures a day early because in true form I have a lovely dysfunctional American family. I stick "American" in there because my husband who was born in India just rolls his eyes everytime some new trauma happens with my family. Don't get me wrong, I love them all, really I do. I am just at the point in my life where I'm looking for a little peace. Anyhow... we celebrated Easter last Sunday. It was when my sister, God bless her, had custody of her children. I just add a small bit here, because, it is blogging and I am supposed to share, right? (share the trauma) My sister has 3 children. She got pregnant at a very young age and kept the baby so her oldest child is 24 (and has 2 children of her own). My niece is going to be 14 next month and my nephew 11. My sister married the father of her first child and all 3 are true siblings. Sounds normal so far...For years I watched my sister be abused. Physically (lots of bruises) and mentally. I watched my oldest niece abused mentally by her father. The day her father hit her was the day my sister finally left him. He has attempted to torture her everyday since then. He spent lots of money on a fancy lawyer(my sister had court appointed) and long story short he has custody of the 2 children. I hate to be a "downer" but this is real life here, and I wanted to share a bit. My thought is that my sister will come out of this ok, she is still fighting, and trying to piece back together her life, and I love her so much for it, she did the right thing by leaving.

So, "Easter", it was a good get together. Are you still here? Did I scare you off? I know, heavy stuff. But here's the lighter. I made cake. I'm sitting here laughing as I read that. Leave it to me to think the mention of cake is enough to make you forget about the horrific story you just read. This is Happi-knits I'm reading right. What happen to the Happi part?!?

Yes friends I made cake~which my absolutely adorable grand-nephew loved. I also made stuffed cabbage. My grandmom's recipe, which I tweaked o so slightly to make a slight bit healthier.

Creating a Mood

I was inspired for my latest design by a picture in one of the knitting magazines I read. I saw the picture and fell in love with the colors. So I tried to create a mood board. We have been doing the mood board thing for the FDL challenges. This way everyone has a visual inspiration in addition to a theme. I had purchased (yes, I know, should not be buying any yarn right now) some new yarn~just 3 little, bitty, skeins... and felt the need to make something with one of them just to see how this new yarn knit up. Beautiful in a word. Soft, stretchy, fun. And when I received the wholesale order of ribbon the wonderful ladies through in a bunch of samples of beautiful colors. So after playing around with the ribbon and finishing the capelet, I put my new "board" to use. I love the yellow and black. Matches the studio perfectly. So I leave you with the finished capelet. I found this awesome vintage sparkly piece in one of my button jars, it added just the touch of bling I was looking for!

Confessions of a Serial Etsy Shopper

Every Friday througout Lent I will be "confessing" to my Etsy shopping "sins"

This week I bring you a selection of shops that I have either purchased from and will go back again, or things I have been drooling over! The first item is a super cute brooch that I purchased two of (because one was not enough! ). TraceyB designs has these cute pins made with scraps of fabric, super cute! I wear mine on my lab coat everyday!

Next up this super cute bag that I bought from Spongetta. I love, love, love it! Black and yellow are such hot colors right now! I will get alot of use out of this bag.

I also bought this totally funky ring from cookoorikoo. It is awesome! Her shop is loaded with fun goodies. I have believe it or not been trying to behave myself! So these are a couple of items that I am currently coveting...

This very cool necklace from syncopation, a reminder to follow your bliss! And last but certainly not least. This awesome journal by shoofly. It is the perfect gift for a knitter. As a matter of fact her shop is a knitter's paradise.