now you snow why

i love the snow here in the city. so clean and white when everyone is sleeping late. it gives a beautiful uniformity to the architecture, street signs and even the piles of trash bags. i passed by some children sledding down their front steps on my way to the train. i guess everyone in the city takes advantage of the white stuff where they can. my advantage lies in my pajar boots i bought last winter. any excuse to wear these makes me happy. i feel like i'm heading out to climb the swiss alps every time i put them on. but all i end up climbing is the sidewalk mounds of the flat city of hills.

bridge over troubled mac

so the mac's latest greatest wireless keyboard blew a battery. or something. there's a whole lot of white chalky mess in there and the darn thing won't work anymore. it's busted. luckily the store we bought it from is happy to do an exchange. tragedy averted.

this is yet another paper project, because they're so much simpler to do when lifting the sewing machine off the floor seems impossible. four 12x12" panels later and i have a nice big piece of artwork for otherwise bare white walls. and as you can see, i'm still in love with the brooklyn bridge. those other bridges just don't compare.

i'm losing my blogging mind!

seriously, i swore i had posted these photos about 2 weeks ago. and i think i took them about a month ago SO i'm really behind. anyway, these were taken in a 30 second rush with my point and shoot because you can never pass on the opportunity to take pictures of interesting discoveries. even if you don't happen to be lugging around your mac daddy camera that day. so excuse the over-retouching to make them internetz ready.

these cute little copper/bronze/metal (?) statues are strewn about the broadway/nassau stop off the A/C train. i hardly take that train so little did i know that these small pieces of art existed. they would make some really sweet nursery prints, don't you think? i mean, being cartoon animals and all...of course, grimy subways and baby's bedrooms don't really mix do they?

spare some change?

another simple project for the house. recycle some old tins from coffee or hot cocoa using coordinating scrapbook papers and double stick tape. a few easy measurements and cuts, apply tape and paper and five minutes later, voila!

just make sure your can/tin is completely clean before starting, these papers will not hold up to washing, and no one wants to smell salsa every time they reach for some laundry money.

favorite things friday: what's old is new, what's new is new

so you know i've gotten back into the gym as of a couple of weeks ago and i really feel like i'm already making progress. i've mostly been lifting weights followed by a day of cardio, so lastnight i gave it a go in a spin class. it's pretty exhausting but i feel great afterwards and the stress just seems to bounce off of me. this exercise thing might be good for me, in more ways than one.

anyway, i thought i needed a new gym bag cause i wasn't all that impressed with the way my nike messenger protrudes on the subway, but then i remembered my lululemon bag! if you've never been to a lululemon it's an extremely overpriced athletic clothing store but their stuff is pretty amazing and the customer service is excellent. anyway, i didn't buy this across the chest hobo bag there. no, my thrifty self found it in pristine condition at the second hand shop around the corner for less than fifteen dollars! it's a great bag and has lots of interior pockets, so bringing my gym clothes to work has now given me the excuse i needed to use the heck out of this.

then there's the new water bottle i bought on a whim at tjmaxx, because, well, honestly i was drawn to the stark black and kiwi green contrast. i know, packaging is a silly reason to buy anything, but more times than not, it's my primary reason for my purchases. come to find out this bottle is great, with a wide opening and an attachable carabiner for my locker key. it was 8 dollars people. apparently the same price as a pack of cigarettes but with so many more beneficial uses.

and the boots. you know i love me some leather boots. these were found at target. yes, target people. if you have one near you go out right now and buy these. they're great quality and considering they look identical to the 218 dollar Frye's i've been drooling after, these are a flat out STEAL at 50 dollars. and comfy. they'll look so very midwestern-stylish this summer with a flowy knee-length floral dress. i know it sounds ridiculous, but this is how we dress here at work. honestly.

remind me again

about the whole not posting enough thing? cause i'm right there with all of you. of course, i have a slightly valid excuse. no computer and a long weekend away from home.

so back to business. here's a slap happy fast project to use up all that scrapbook paper you bought for that album you'll never have time to put together. buy some mini clothespins (or normal size if you prefer), some adhesive backed magnet strips and some modge podge glue. there's a lot of cutting involved so get yourself an xacto knife (best tool ever, hands down), a ruler and a cutting surface. measurements don't need to be exact so don't stress over it. place the cut up paper on top with modge podge, then modge podge over top of the paper for sealing. cut a magnet strip for the bottom, and apply. voi la! an ornate solution to post-its that have lost their mojo.

snow city

so this was the scene night before last outside our window. i thought it was lovely how much snow fell. unfortunately a lot of places closed down and finding good takeout was difficult. while we waited for our polish dinner, the husband decided to pelt me with a couple of snowballs. all in good fun you see.

in other news i officially signed up for a gym membership on wednesday and two days in i'm already sore. i like it. i feel renewed and accomplished with each visit. i have a reason to buy cute workout clothes and most of all i can already feel the weights working their magic. i'm back in the groove people and by summer i'll be rocking those shorts.

my three month long skin itch has finally been diagnosed. as of last week i was sure i knew what it was thanks to a lot of googling and this morning the doctor confirmed my suspicions. so i feel there's a light at the end of the tunnel. i feel there's a tunnel, people! before that it was just a wide open dark forest. so the prescriptions are being filled and i am hopeful, oh so hopeful...

snow day

here's hoping we get one.

picture this

just a custom order, oh, about a year in the making. to say i'm slow on requests is a drastic understatement. luckily it's for a friend who's equally as time challenged as me. these photo albums are so cute. hopefully she won't even mind the one teeny tiny mistake...yes, it's there mb. let me know if you see it!

injured

my first official subway injury. thanks to the 1/16th of an inch of snow on saturday, i slipped on the escalator and apparently caught myself with my elbow, but not until i slid a few step down. luckily i had on layers of clothing or it could have been worse. or at least infected by subway grime. so now i just have a mean looking bruise.

i blame having to work on a saturday when i should have been sleeping soundly until at least 11am.

how i hide the seams

due to popular demand (ok, just from mgk's mom) i explain how exactly to hide those pesky seams on the travel tissue holder.

1. start with two rectangles (6.25x7" i think, but i'll have to check at some other time when i feel like getting off the warm couch). place the fabrics facing each other, (prints on the inside). sew all around the edges leaving an opening on the long edge.

2. if you want to do this next step (totally optional), turn inside out and sew the edges of the short ends, decorative stitches would work well here.

3. fold short edges in, while inside out and sew shut on either side.

4. turn inside out and voi la!

HOPE this helps someone out there.

in other news i think i've self-diagnosed my itchy dots! but now i'm having a hard time getting an appointment with the dermatologist so i can get a prescription for an antibiotic. if i'm right of course. which i REALLY think i am. again, doctors are only good for prescriptions. and if we could those off the internet we'd never need them! so maybe that's not an entirely realistic or safe possibility but i digress...please please please pray that this IS the problem and that i can get it cleared up. going on the third month of this and it is NOT even close to as fun as an ant-covered picnic on a rainy day.

uno dos tres

a few more pouches from the weekend. i love the middle one because it has this great silk turquoise interior.

today was the first day at the gym. i've missed the gym. and so has my figure! the hope is to treat my body extra nice so it stops producing itchy dots! well that's the idea anyway.

and in other news, this happened literally 5-6 houses away from our apartment on the same side of the street. crazy! oops.