I am in love with everything made by Jennifer M. Brown, designer/creator of Under The Root. I would be the happiest girl if all my unmentionables were from this shop. It's the vintage-inspired yet edgy urban look of Jennifer's designs that drive me mad with desire. Her pieces are custom fit to your measurements with a large selection of colors as well as fabric choices. What more could a girl want? Did I mention that she also makes undergear and such for gents? Swoon.
Mad with Desire...
I am in love with everything made by Jennifer M. Brown, designer/creator of Under The Root. I would be the happiest girl if all my unmentionables were from this shop. It's the vintage-inspired yet edgy urban look of Jennifer's designs that drive me mad with desire. Her pieces are custom fit to your measurements with a large selection of colors as well as fabric choices. What more could a girl want? Did I mention that she also makes undergear and such for gents? Swoon.
Beauty Essentials...
Eye Bright by Benefit Cosmetics $20 at Sephora. It brightens your eyes beautifully when applied under the brow, above the brow, at the corners of your eye. I've gone through more than one of these pencils. This little magic wand is one of my favorite beauty essentials. It's so easy to use, reasonably priced because it lasts forever, and really makes a dramatic difference. I adore this product.
Fringe Fall 2009
I hope you like my newest Fringe creation. There's plenty more where this came from, soon to appear...Thanks for visiting...xo
Chris Isaak...
Last night I went to see Chris Isaak in concert. It was at Humphreys By The Bay in San Diego. An outdoor, smallish venue set (you guessed it) on the bay. It's not the first time I've seen him there, but last night was extra special. I already had good seats in the center section, eighth row on an aisle seat, but when a women working for Humphreys came up to me and the gal next to me and asked if we would give up our seats for some producers in exchange for front row seats, you can guess what we replied.
Yes, friends, we (myself and Laurie from Michigan) were moved to the front row and let me tell you...it was such a blast! Even though Laurie and I had never met before, we had a grand time together. Chris and his band put on an amazing show, complete with the infamous mirror suit which he put on for his encore songs. We were so close that we could see a missing mirror on his upper right thigh...oh my.
Graffiti on Trains...
Route 99 between Vidalia and Bakersfield, California. It was a leg of our road trip home. We saw so many graffiti trains. A huge number of them just sitting, car after car, on the tracks. I was only able to snap a few photos while driving by, but they really don't do justice to the real thing. They were long, long trains, all with graffiti. I've never seen anything quite like it, the quantity, that is....At any rate, I think they're very cool.
Well Being Tip...
So there you have it, my well being tip of the day...xo
I'm Back...
Our trip was relaxing, the weather was brilliant, and we made many happy memories (and took lots of pics) which I will share with you here in various posts.
There were not many mishaps, but there were a couple of fairly major ones. The first day of our vacation, my husband's computer died. Actually, his motherboard fried. After the initial panic and dread subsided, he found a computer troubleshooter in Mammoth. They managed to retrieve an important presentation he had been slaving over for the past two weeks. Luckily, he had backed up everything on his computer just two weeks ago so the only major item he needed to retrieve was that presentation. So a happy ending to that story...
The second fairly major mishap (in my opinion, anyway) was the demise of Josephine. Josephine was my beloved fishing pole. She'd caught many a fish for me in the years I've had her. We happened upon the most beautiful lake, Lake Tioga, which is between Mammoth and Yosemite. I saw the perfect spot to fish and was making my way over to it by climbing an incline with lots of rocks, large and small. I lost my footing (I've never been the most graceful girl around, I've actually had some epic falls in the past) and did a sort of minor fall/slide, landing with a thud on...Josephine. The fall snapped off her reel, but the rod is fine, and I have a reel-shaped bruise on my right hip along with a scraped right elbow, no serious injuries. Never fear, my dears, this also has a happy ending...
The boy made his way over and perched on that perfect flat rock I had spotted and preceded to catch four gorgeous rainbow trout. They were the first fresh water fish he had ever caught, even though he'd had numerous tries over the years. So it was a very special and delightful day after all.
Koala Cuteness...
Time for dinner.
The koalas were either eating or sleeping when we were at the zoo. So adorable! I thought that while I'm away on my vacation , it would be the perfect time to schedule some posts with the zoo pics. I wanted to share some of the many photos I took on our zoo visit...
Stripes Are In...
She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain...
I'm travelling light for this trip (which is really saying something for me). I plan to be inspired by all the wonders of nature. Although I've been to these places before, it's been a long while. I'm taking Josephine (my fishing pole), my sketchbook, journal, camera, and still debating about knitting/crochet paraphernalia. Drop me a line if you like...I'll miss you while I'm gone....xo
P.S. I have a number of blog posts scheduled for this time while I'm gone. I hope you'll come back and check them out.
Devil's Post Pile, Mammoth
Silver Lake, Mammoth
Half Dome, Yosemite
Book Sculpture Revisited...
I revisited this craft a couple weeks ago when I was trying to come up with a fun craft for my 12-year-old boy. Believe me, it's no picnic trying to interest a boy that age with crafts. He flipped over this one though. Above is my finished project. I had an old journal from two years ago that I kept around purely for the daily quotes it offered. It turned out to be a lovely book sculpture although it is a bit rough and uneven. Also, it would have been better if the journal were about twice as thick, but still, I quite like it. I even have the attached ribbon bookmark keeping the place for one of my favorite quotes.
"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." ~Salvador Dali
Whenever I want a quote, I simply unfold the page. As for the boy's book sculpture...he's still got a ways to go on it. He had an old book we picked up at a school giveaway and it is much thicker than mine. Typical for his age, he has the patience required for this only in small spurts. When he's finished with his sculpture, I will be sure to show it to you...
Summer Essential Fashion...
Year of the Tiger...
Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. – I hope I am. I strive to be all three. The deep thinking can get me into trouble though.
They can be extremely short-tempered, however. – What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. – I try to always treat others with respect (unless they prove to be complete and total jerks which doesn't really happen much). As far as older people (what do they mean by "older people" anyway? That whole statement is just weird) are concerned, I avoid conflict at all costs. Now, those in authority, that’s a whole other story. After all, authority is sometimes meant to be challenged.
Sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. – Sadly, this has been known to be the case from time to time. Like the time my old roommate and I were bored and decided to give each other perms (aka poor, hasty decision). I am notorious for indecision with the little things. The big things I have very definite thoughts on, for the most part.
They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. – Suspicious? I don’t think I’m suspicious…why? What have you heard? As for courageous and powerful, I must admit I’ve always wanted to be a superhero. And if any fool messes with my loved ones, they better get ready for a one way ticket to Misery Town, courtesy of Year of the Tiger.
Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs – And where does that leave my darling Ox of a husband, hmmm? By the way, analyzing the accuracy of the traits listed for Year Of The Ox is a whole other post. Just sayin'.
Other interesting Tiger Tidbits...
Ideal jobs for the Tiger include (who comes up with this?); Entrepreneur, Military officer, Politician, Musician, Writer, Poet, Designer, Theatre director, Stockbroker, Athlete, Film star, Trade union leader, Company director, Stunt person, Explorer, Teacher.
Some famous Tigers; Sir David Attenborough, Natalie Wood, Tom Berenger, Agatha Christie, H.G. Wells, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Dickinson, Isadora Duncan, Roberta Flack, Frederick Forsyth, Jodie Foster, Stevie Wonder, Sir Alec Guiness, Hugh Hefner, William Hurt, Dylan Thomas, Marilyn Monroe, Demi Moore, Beatrix Potter.
One Big Stick = Fun
Ok, sunshines, it does appear that this week is nature week on Fringe. I took so many pictures as well as some videos at last week's zoo visit, and I just can't help but share them with you. Look at it as good clean fun for all ages. I hope you are enjoying them...Please forgive the roughness of my videos, and the background noise.
This particular elephant was very playful and did lots of different things while we were there. You can't tell from the video, but the elephants have a huge area to hang out in, as they should. I admit the angle of this video is not the best, but the place was packed with people (as you will notice from all the background chatter on the video). I thought the "weeeee!" at the end was particularly charming :), and it wasn't me that said it (fyi).
As always, I'm glad you stopped by...I love reading your comments. xo
Did I Mention That I Love Giraffes?
Meerkats Make Me Happy...
Last week we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was a wonderful day. I took over a hundred photos and several little movies (so beware, they will soon be posts). We spent the entire day there. One of the best parts of our visit was the meerkat clan (I looked it up, a group of meerkats is called a clan). They were so active, clever and charming. They came right up close to us. Honestly, the way they stand so stretched out and straight with their feet apart, it's comical. We also observed that they have great stance (karate talk) when they stand. We stayed there longer than any other area of the zoo. I hope you enjoy some of the photos I took of them, including the last one of J.B. Meerkat (the J.B. is short for James Bond). J.B. is my son's souvenir of our day at the zoo.