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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

out in california

mark got some great news today and i'm so excited to share it.  i don't know if i've mentioned, but when mark isn't at his day (afternoon to night) job, he's in musician mode.  i think i did mention that he's been in a few bands, some in l.a. and some here.  he's constantly working in his studio in our house, creating projects and writing and recording.  it's always good when hard work pays off, and i'm happy to say that one of his songs was picked up to be in a tv show next week.

who's that girl guy, who's that girl guy, it's jess mark!


"out in california," from one of mark's band's self-titled album, "edison gower," is going to be on new girl next week!  we won't know how it's used until we watch the show, but it's in there and he's gettin' some straight cash dollars! i *think* mark wrote this during the year we were apart, him having moved back to richmond before i was able to come out almost a year later.  there's a girl in the song i like to think is me - mark says she's more of an idea, but she could be me if i wanted.. haha.  it's definitely one of my favorites.. it reminds me of the desert and the time.. it makes me miss california.  the only thing i wish is that he had sung it for the record (the other guy, jake, sang it), but he is on the harmonies and the "middle 8."

anyway, watch the show and let me know what you think.



and here's a link to the rough demo if you fancy hearing mark sing it a bit slap dash.. haha
Out in California (demo) - Edison Gower

Monday, October 28, 2013

fox & skull

on saturday i took a little jaunt to a local park to get my photo on.  it was a lovely day and i found a perfect little bridge to pose with.  i've been wearing this gettup pretty much non-stop for two weekends.  i like to find something i love and run it into the ground.  i'm cool like that.




i'm like a girl ichabod, right?
 






coat: worthington | sweater: old navy | jeans: mossimo supply co.
shirt: ross | boots: mossimo supply co. | covered wagon necklace: modcloth | fringe purse: roxy


i got a little cute with the beauty shots.  a women came along after i had taken a few pics, parked her bike, and hung out for awhile.  i know i've said i'm not easily embarrassed, but nor do i like asking for side-eyes.  so while she looked out on the view i snuck some close-ups.  then there's the fun of going through the photos with instagram and coming out with something where you think, "hey, i don't look that bad there!" haha

and holy crap, that fox sweater from last fall is going for $199 on ebay?!  i paid $15 for it on sale.  i totally feel cool, you guys!  the boots, purse, and necklace are sold out too because i'm on the cutting edge of fashion.  little house on the prairie fashion.  





seriously?



oh, for feck's sake.  what is this chicanery?  the day i buy a cabinet knob for $128 is the day i give you permission to check me into a mental facility. 

speaking of, i've gained a new idiom care of my adopted town/acquaintances.  i use it not sporadically.  "going to tuckers" or "they'll drive me to tuckers" is slang for "going to the mental hospital" i.e., going crazy (tuckers being a local facility).  i do like having a local institution one can refer to in such a manner.. it just seems more homey.  like bedlam in england, or sing sing prison in ny.  about once a week i tell my co-workers they're gonna have to visit me in tuckers.  on the plus side, i hear there's finger painting.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes, Yeah!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes, Yeah!

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. | 11. | 12.

if i was a rich girl, na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na, see i'd have all the shoes in the world, if i was a wealthy girl.

i would happily welcome any pair of these beauties into my home.   come to me now, my pretties!  i can't even tell you which one i like the most.  i *think* though, that (if they were comfortable), i'd probably get the most wear out of the green pumps.  they could easily be a work shoe and they're a little less outgoing than the purple pump (which comes in other colors, including ivory which would be lovely for a vintage-style wedding).  the rest are just lovely daydreams.

what are your favorite fall shoes?


Saturday, October 26, 2013

let's get out of this country

today was gorgeous.  crisp, cool air.  bright blue skies.  the only thing missing was orange and yellow leaves.  fall is officially here but the trees don't know it yet.  i can't complain though.  it rained for almost two weeks straight and i am SO over it.  (poor mark got a raw deal for his two week vacation.. poor guy.)  i had wanted to do some fall-y things, but it's hard to be excited about having a picnic or going apple picking when it's gray and drizzley every day.  we did make a stop at the historical museum to pick up a xmas present for mark's mom at the gift shop and i took a few photos in there of some of the interesting stuff they had.

colonial candy
VA territory from the 1600s to today.
genuine confederate cash dollars.  for sale!
snakes on a train
(like any respectable civil war era photographer i might have arranged this photo.)

when i first moved here i was totally into the history of the city.  i'd drive around town looking at the statues and the old houses and cobblestone streets.  i'd go to the museums and historical sites.  coming from socal, everything seemed so ancient to me.  but i'm pretty much over it now.  richmond doesn't look like "richmond - the historical city" to me anymore.  it's just "richmond - the place i live."  every so often though i'll have a sort of flashback feeling and look through the lens of one unfamiliar with all this and it will just hit me that this place is old, yo!  i've always loved thinking about what things used to look like and how people lived.  i was never very interested in the political aspect of history or why nations did x or y.  i was always interested in the every day people, how they lived and what they thought about things.  seeing things like that confederate money makes me wonder who owned that and what they bought with it or what they were saving it for.  it's weird to think that i know how the war turned out and how their money was worthless, but the person who had that money didn't know at the time.  

last weekend the rain finally eased up by sunday, so we went for a drive in the country.  we had intended to go to one of the larger pumpkin patches in the area, but the placed was MOBBED so we pretty much left straight away.  no way am i standing in a mile long line to get in a wagon to go to a patch to pick out a $20 pumpkin.  the drive was good though - pretty fall scenery and tunes on the player.  i was in charge of the map, so i "tricked" mark into going by a dairy queen in the area.  gotta get my cherry dipped cone on!


superstars pizza for lunch
i can't resist a facehole photograph opportunity.
pumpkins
i kinda dropped the ball on pretty country photos.
i got kind of used to having mark around every night, so this week was kind of weird and quiet.  i kinda liked having the guy around.  here's hoping we come into a windfall and he can stay home every night.



Monday, October 21, 2013

swiftly painted challenge - october

in september i was invited to participate in the Swiftly Painted Self Portrait Challenge, created by AnnMarie at The Simply Swift Blog and Jess at The Iris.  oh, how exciting!  one of the reasons i am blogging is to interact with people on the internet who are not a) comment trolls, b) acquaintances from high school/college who lead more exciting lives than me and post about them on facebook, and c) my mom.  (i won't count the people in my tv because technically they are not on my internet.  wait.  i almost exclusively watch netflix and hulu via my wii.  so i guess i lied.)  like a good sloth i have waited until (almost) the last few days to participate in this month's challenge, but i am here!  (i have had a lot of stuff going on lately, so it's not all sheer laziness - more in a another post.)

here's october's promt:
Reflect and respond to this statement: your followers follow you willingly. Create an image of what describes you as a blogger. Bonus points for little clues about what’s going on in your life.

well, i'm not really aware that i have any followers as of yet, and that's ok.  i do appreciate every time i see the little counter on my blog stats register another visitor.  but i still feel like i'm just starting out and also i'm not intending this to be any more than a place to call my own and, as i mentioned, have some interaction between like-minded individuals.  my blog isn't the prettiest, the most crafty, the funniest, the most stylish, or the smartest, and i'm not trying to be that.  i guess the goal i have for it is to be real.  it's just moments of me on a screen for the world to look at and take it for what it is.  it's pretty much how i live my life, just doing my thing like a chicken wing.  i will be that girl wearing a tiara around town on her (33rd) birthday, i will be the girl in sweats at target (or sometimes i dress up!), i will be the girl posing in her backyard taking iphone photos and not quite getting it right, i will be the girl who a bird poops on and post a picture of it because i think it's funny.  of course i'm cautious of what i put on the internet - you have to be - but i don't think i have any designs towards pretentiousness, and i'm not easily embarrassed (my one gift from anxiety - you'd think it'd have had the opposite effect, but when it's bad it's "honey badger don't care" bad and that's kinda grafted itself to my personality).


here's my photo for october's prompt.  i took this a few minutes ago.  there's me on the couch, laptop in lap, fresh out of the shower, soup bowl not put in the sink like a non-lazy person, clutter on the table.  this is how i roll and how my blog rolls.  i put a nice filter on it because, i like to pretend i make pretty pictures, and there's a pillow on the chair that i recovered during one of my crafty bouts.  and yes that is a sheet covering the most hideous chair possibly imaginable because what else would you put on it?  i like to keep it classy, said the girl with a turbie twist on her head. 

now, if you'll excuse me, my manager at work found some cherry amaretto coconut bliss at one of the area's health food stores and it has been a gigundo amount of time since i last had that in my mouth, so this needs to happen pretty much now.



The Simply Swift Blog


Sunday, October 6, 2013

i'm good at escaping but better at flaking out

so i've been a little m.i.a.  i've had a lot of stuff going on and haven't had as much time to post as of late.  i've also had a dip in energy, as in none.  everyone loves the fall, and living in so cal i used to (even though the changes were minor, the weather was nicer), but for some reason the va seasons really hit me a lot harder.  i never got s.a.d. (seasonal affective disorder) in so cal, but i definitely feel it's effects here.  combined with the colder weather (and it seems like it just hits from out of the blue one day) really just put me in a hibernation preparation mode.  (this last week and this weekend have been super warm though, like uncomfortably warm, but i'm expecting it to start chilling any time now.)

oh, and also?  netflix putting out all of last season's shows?  one of my favorite things about fall.  it's like a buffet. once upon a time, the office, parks and rec, 30 rock, vampire diaries, psych (soon, i hope), hart of dixie, call the midwife, bomb girls.  i can't stop.  i won't stop.

for now, until i get my energy up again, here's a quick collage of some of the things that have been going on:

clockwise from top right: a dried up frog i found on top of my dryer (under some stuff i had piled there), pretty gate, gorgeous military coat i pulled the trigger on, just deep conditioning my hairs, fruit and veggie haul, and i got my pastel ends cut off (and am trying the natural curls look this season to give my hair a break.

and here's a fun Which Midwife Are You? quiz.  i got cynthia.