New vintagey things

These are all now available in my vintage-y shop!

I still have more to add, but I couldn't seem to take many decent pictures today. Soon, anyway.

I had a looooooooooooong day today. As if Monday itself wasn't already the longest day of the week, I also happen to have class until 9:15 Monday nights. Yuck. I did get out of class about an hour early tonight, though, so of course I just had to go to Target (for the second time this week, oops) and buy some socks and tights. Oh, and I might have gotten some more shoes. Bad, bad me! Actually I neeeeeded a new pair of black flats because I can't seem to find the left shoe to my pair of black mary janes. I honestly have no idea where it could be. Its really quite mysterious. And for $19.99, well, I just had to.

This week is another busy one for me, though not nearly as awful as last week. I have a few odds-and-ends projects due this week, and then its Fall Break! Woo hoo! I am so, so excited. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather next Monday or Tuesday will be nice so Chris and I can get back to this:

Its Raining.....not "cats & dogs", not "men".....

I've had quite the busy day already today! I had a Soils field trip this morning, where we did a lab called Soil Pits. It was literally in a soil pit. Oh, and it rained all night last night. Was it muddy? Oh yeah.

When I got home and stepped out of my car, there was music in the air... bluegrass music, floating on a misty breeze. I peered through the rain and mist, and just past my backyard, at a retirment center, there was a Bluegrass Festival going on! I ran upstairs to get my camera, but sadly, the festival was just ending when I got there. At least I heard that magical little bit that took a ride on the raindrops.

Since I was already in the backyard, and had my camera in hand, I went to visit my poor, neglected veggie patch. I haven't been out there once since school started 5 weeks ago! I'm so ashamed! Amazingly, I still have bunches of tomatoes that are waiting to ripen up, and a few bits of salvagable broccoli on the enormous tree that was once a modest broccoli plant. I never knew broccoli had such beautiful yellow buds!

I was also amazed to see that my broccoli "tree" was buzzing with tiny life!

The leaves are just starting to change color around here...

And this little guy was found by my mom, living in a metal dog dish on the back porch. What?! We're thinking instead of raining cats and dogs, it rained newts last night.
Isn't he adorable?? He's only about an inch and a half long! We let him go in the pond in the front yard. I wonder where he came from, and how he got into the dog bowl??

The Thrifting Gods Have Smiled...

Ok, this dress was totally supposed to be for the shop, but.....yeah, I think I'm keeping it. The shoes are absolutely amazing...they're brand spankin' new. Did I mention they were only $6!?
Scarf.
Amazing sweater. Its just perfect for Fall, with embroidered leaves and flowers in bright, warm hues.
The shoestring was broken on one of the shoes, so I replaced them with red/pink twine.
This is the dress I got at Target the other day, but the hat and gloves were thrifted.
Please ignore the shell-shocked look on my face. I just finished my Stats homework, and I'm tired. So there.

Happy Things.

Vegan pumpkin pie for breakfast, and coffee in this mug:
New, purple shoes

And an enormous bird brooch my mom found for me at a yard sale last week.

Worst week ever??

This could quite possibly be the worst week ever. Well, ok, not ever, but at least so far this semester. Let's see... I handed in a 12-page Psych. paper today. It was actually a group project (3 of us, all smart cookies, thank goodness!), but I did all of the editing and put our three separate parts into a cohesive paper....and I worked on it until midnight last night. Yeah. It was super-fun.

I also have: a Psych. exam Thursday (haven't started studying yet), a Soils lab due Monday (haven't started it), a paper due Monday for Interdisciplinary Arts (the problem with this one is that the prof. said to check on Blackboard, which is like....a course organizer/communication tool, I guess you could say?...Anyway, he's not exactly computer-literate, and he hasn't 'activated' the course yet in Blackboard, so there's no way to get any info for the course. I've emailed him twice about it, and he hasn't responded. I'm actually thinking maybe he doesn't know how to check his email....yikes), and two reports due for GIS. And that's just through the next 7 days. Thank goodness Fall break is coming up!

Enough about school. Moving on.

I plan on doing a sort of "my week in pictures" post sometime this evening, since I've been a little on the wordy side lately. Sorry 'bout that. I also want to share a little collection I started at the beginning of the semester. "Of what?", you ask. Well, you shall see!

Now I'm off to Starbucks. I've already had way too much coffee today (HA! No such thing!), but I'm starving and I don't really have many option for food on campus, so coffee will have to do. Anyway, its cheaper. Don't forget to come back later and see my week in pictures!

So, yeah...

Whew. I am so glad this week is over. Well, its not really over for ME, since I never get a real 'week-end' but still. I know I got an A on my Lit. quiz, and I think I did well on my Stats exam. Unless of course I only thought I knew what formulas to use, and I actually had it all screwed up....which is a possibility. But I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that maybe I did OK. Haha.

There really hasn't been too much going on around here, besides school-work and job-work. I went to bed by 9:30 last night (no joke) and got up around 6 this morning so I could work on a group project for Psych. I always do my best work at like, 5 a.m. for some strange reason. Its all downhill after about lunchtime, though, haha!

Enough of all that; I really don't want this to turn into a whine-about-school blog (like it sort-of did last year..sorry!). I haven't had time to do any drawing lately, so it looks like there won't be a Sept. zine....I'm thinking a combined Sept/Oct. zine might be in order. Anyway, October is a much more interesting month than September, don't you think?

On the store- front, I have actually been selling out of the Quiet shop this week, which is nice. It gives me great joy to share my treasures with other people, and to know that other people appreciate and find beauty in the same things that I do.

It also occured to me that my Crack the Sky storefront finally has the 'unified' look I was looking for a few months ago. I think my style has evolved to a point where its easily identifiable (at least to my eye), which lends itself to a neat, tidy-looking Etsy storefront. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to squeeze in some drawing time coming up soon, and maybe even some gocco time! I have lots of ideas, I just don't have enough hours in the day! (And actually, if there were more hours in the day, I don't think I'd have the energy to use them, so there ya go).

There has been a lot of this going on lately:

She's finally starting to calm down some and act more like a cat than a kitten. Although she's still itty-bitty (which is what I call her most of the time). I love the cross-eyed-in-love look on her face, and how her head is all squished on my desk. See, I was sitting in my desk chair (where I am right now), and she put herself there. She has been so lovable lately! She literally jumps into my lap, throws herself down, and purrs.... then she gets up, repositions, throws herself against me, and purrs some more. And then, she comes to her senses and bites the crap out of my hands. Yeah, she's definitely still a kitten.

Ooh, last night I was in bed by 7:00, so I popped in the first disc of Carnivale, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Awesome!! I don't get HBO, so I had never seen it before. After just one episode, I was hooked! I watched the second episode right after that, and now I'm mad because I'll have to wait a while before the second disc comes! I'm also soooo disappointed that this show got cancelled!! I think I'm in love. Seriously, I had a dream last night about the yellow dress Sophie wears in the first episode.... I was wearing that dress to a "prom" at college. Hahaha. It was a disturbing dream....I'm sooo glad there are no more proms to go to!!

Ha, I can't believe this is still on my computer. This was my senior prom! Hard to believe that's almost 6 years ago! That was my date, Philipp, on the left. He was the exchange student. And that's Bobby, his host-brother and one of my best friends, on my right. Bobby's getting married in December! Boy, time flies. Philipp is coming to the wedding, of course, so maybe we can take an updated picture like this one?! Haha!

Ok, this post is just getting too long! I have to go to work at 11:00 today, so you'll probably hear from me again tomorrow! Have a great weekend!

*)(&%$^&**%$#@%%$ !!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. I am having somewhat of a breakdown. Today has been so helter-skelter! I'm beginning to feel really....lost. That's the only way I can describe it. All of my classes are getting close to having exams, but I feel like I haven't really learned anything yet, especially in my Psych. class. I need to figure out a better strategy for studying for that class. The prof's teaching style just isn't getting to me. Also, I have a Stats. vocab quiz at 5:00 today; and I have no idea what chapters/sections its on. In class last Thursday the prof. said to check the syllabus. Well, the syllabus is online and IT WON'T OPEN. Actually, it DOES open; its just a pile of encrypted jargon. He saved it as a .ZIP file; but even after I extract it its still unlegible. I emailed him a minute ago to find out what sections the quiz is on; but he doesn't usually check his email or reply. So....yeah. I feel really, really discombobulated.

Falling into Fall...

Well, it looks like its finally going to cool off a little around these parts. Yesterday was soooo hot! I think it was in the mid-90s! Definitely unusual for September!

Every Autumn, I go into crazy-for-clothes-mode.... I have mixed feelings about the season. On one hand, I dread it because I know Winter is on its way; but on the other hand I love the coziness of it all - fuzzy warm sweaters, long soft scarves, knee-high socks and boots, and floppy hats. I love Fall clothes!

So you can imagine how happy I was this morning to find that Emily has re-opened her fashion-y blog, which is always a great source of sartorial inspiration. Right away, I felt a spark of Fall-fashion fervor, and set out on the great, wide Internet to find some more Autumnal pretties! I came across Mod Cloth, and I am hooked! How did I not know about this site before??

Just look at this!

I really love this coat.... I actually need a new winter coat, and this is pretty much a dream come true!

That's pretty much all I've done this morning. Really, I should be reading for my classes, and doing laundry, and working on some GIS stuff, but.... well, I just don't feel like it.Haha! I woke up with a terrible headache this morning, and the TV lamp burned out, so I've been watching the Today Show in my mom's room, with my laptop in my lap and a cup o'joe. And, I served myself breakfast in bed - Veggie and 'sausage' tofu scramble, rye toast, and a hashbrown. Mmm-mmm, good!

Just another day.

T.G.I.F., right? Ha! I know nothing of 'weekends' anymore. There is no rest for the weary around these parts! My week is divided into two parts: "school" and "work". Monday through Thursday is "school". Friday through Sunday is "work". Thus begins the cycle again on Monday. Yeah. Its really not that bad, I guess. As soon as I start to feel like I need a break from school, so starts my "work" week....and by Sunday I'm pretty tired of work, so I'm glad to go back to school on Monday. Whew.

Anyway, today was just kind of a normal day. Well, except for the part where the electricity went out at work and we were running on generators; but then the generators started to die so we almost had to close the store. I was so close to getting to go home early, haha! But the power came on about 15 minutes before it was time for me to go home anyway, so.... no luck! Haha.

Lani and I made plans today to go to some concerts in the next couple of months....I'm so stoked! We were planning on seeing Tegan and Sarah in October, but Lani's probably going to have to work, and I'd have to miss my Stats class that evening; so I think we're going to miss that one. Boo. But, we are going to see Rise Against, Thrice, and Alkaline Trio in October to celebrate Lani's birthday! Awesome! And, I think we're seeing Straylight Run in November; AND 3oh!3 in November too!! Yay! There are some other shows I'd really like to see, but I really have to make sure I'm not going to miss work/school before making any more plans! I really wish I could see Good Old War again.... they're definitely my new favorite. I have the whole cd memorized already; and I have their songs in my head all day! Plus, they're cute.... I never realized until I saw them live, that apparently I'm a sucker for short hair and a beard? Hm.

Here's some eye-candy for you.

Thanks for all the kind words about Porky, you guys. It really means a lot.

I've had a pretty good day today. I am now the proud owner of a (slightly used) iPod Touch. Sweet. My friend Mary warned me that it would be addictive (actually she said its "like crack", but I wouldn't know, so...); and I am here to say that, yes, it is very much like I imagine crack would be. I'm already obsessed with it, and I haven't loaded a single song on it yet. I spent the past hour or so catching up on blog-reading, you-tubing, and email-checking....from my iPod. That's so awesome. I only wish I could actually blog with it. It would probably get very tiring, poking at the itty-bitty 'keypad' with my fingertip, but it would also be oh-so-satisfying to create a legit blog post, literally, in the palm of my hand. I can also browse Etsy while having lunch/coffee with my sister in the CUB, so that pretty much makes my whole day.

And now, because nothing really too interesting has happened today, I'd like to share a video with you that I found while browsing YouTube today: this is footage from the Anthony Green show at Ottobar I was at last week! I was hoping I'd catch a glimpse of myself (it was just one room, anyway), but no luck. Oh well. Here's some eye candy:

Goodbye, Baby.

Porkchop-O'Malley-BabyKitty Woodlief passed away on Sunday, while I was out of town. Nobody knows what happened. My dad found him in the yard when he was leaving for work Monday morning. He said Porky looked like he just laid down and died; there was no blood, and he wasn't near the road. I just hope he wasn't in pain. Daddy buried him in the woods near our house.

It still hasn't really sunk in. I keep expecting to find him sleeping at my feet, or that he'll come looking for me in the yard like he used to do, calling out with his deep "meooooow??" to find out where Iwas.

He was the cutest little googly-eyed baby ever.

He turned into the sweetest, most lovable cat-dog ever.And when he grew up, he was the biggest, most lovable, huggable galumph I've ever snuggled with.
When Tootsie came along, he became Uncle Porkchop, a responsibility he accepted with open paws.

Farewell, Porkchop. We all love you.

Refreshed.

Ah. You know, sometimes its just really nice to take a little break and have some fun with people you love. Yesterday, I left early in the morning and drove to Annapolis. Lani, her brother Don, and I went to the Maryland Rennaissance Faire (Lani and I's annual tradition; Don is a welcome addition to our tradition). It was so much fun, I completely forgot to take any pictures! I seriously did not take a single one. I'm so mad at myself!

We left the Faire around 5:00 and went back to Lani's to get changed and ready to go to a concert at Ottobar in Baltimore. I loved Ottobar - its really small, but a great atmosphere! The show was amazing - it was Solar Powered Sun Destroyer, Person L, Good Old War, and Anthony Green. AMAZING. We all three decided it was probably the best live show any of us have ever seen. My favorite was actually Good Old War, which is probably my new favorite band. I got their CD, and I think I have the whole thing memorized already, I've listened to it so much since last night! Haha.

Anthony Green is HOTTTT.

Anyway, I had such a blast! I wish I could have stayed longer. I wanted to hit up Forever21 while I was there, but we didn't have time. I did, however, get some new shoes...they are seriously METAAAAAL! Hahahahaha!

Well, now I have to get ready for school (where I shall be until 9:15 tonight)...bleh. I hope everyone had a weekend at least half as fun as mine!

New vintage!

Ha. That title is such an Oxymoron. Anyway.

New stuff in the Quiet shop!

Just click on the pictures to go to each listing.

Can you believe its Thursday already??

Wow. This week has just flown by! Nevermind the fact that it was only a 4-day week (Labor Day); it still went by really quickly! I still feel really strange because I haven't had any actual WORK to do for any of my classes yet. I always have this feeling like I've forgotten to do some huge assignment. Not cool. But I haven't forgotten anything, thank goodness. Just smooth sailing, as it seems..... which makes me think its all going to come crashing down around me at once in a few weeks. Haha!

Anyway, my sis and I got our butts into gear and went to the gym today; hooray! We only worked out for about 30 or 40 minutes, but it was good. We warmed up on the treadmills (for like, 10 minutes, and we were basically just walking, haha) and then we biked for the rest of the time. I rode 4.5 miles, which is less than half of what I normally did last semester, but I know I could have gone farther today. Plus Sabrina had marching band at 3:30, so we just kind of stopped there. I feel good and energized though; and it was fun working out with my sister; so there's my new motivation!

I think I'll definitely be less reluctant to go to the gym once the weather turns a little cooler, too; because when its 95 degrees outside, the last thing I want to do is peel my icky, sweaty gym-clothes off, put my tights and cute dress back on, try to comb my hair back into place, fix my makeup, and go to class. At least when its chillier outside, it actually feels GOOD to have your blood pumping, keeping you warm.

Well, folks, I've got class at 5:00, so I think I might head over to Starbucks for a nice iced mocha... did I mention its HOT outside??

Stupid weather.

Ok, I promise, I'll stop complaining about the weather.....after this post.

Right now its 65 (F) degrees in Shippensburg. Its even chillier here at my house, since I live in the mountains. And the high today? 92. NINETY-TWO! I have to leave here at 8:30, so obviously its still going to be chilly when I leave for school today. And then its going to get HOT. How on Earth am I supposed to dress?! Gah. I hate this stupid weather!

Ok. I'm done.

Next thing I want to complain about: I really, really, really don't want McCain to be our next presidency. No offense to anyone who likes McCain; I personally don't. We need some change. And this Palin chick.....hmmm...... she freaks me out. I think I'll leave the country if our next pres. is a Republican. Yeah, that's what I'll do....run off to France, or Egypt, or perhaps a nice little cottage in the English countryside.....

A Few Things

Ugh. I've been reading for today's classes all morning, and its really hot outside, so I'm in a bit of a fog today. I feel like I could curl up for a nice little nap (which I never do). But no. I won't. I have to leave for class in less than an hour. Sigh.

A lot of people have been so sweet, and have asked how I'm liking school. So far, so good. I like all of my classes, even Stats! I just feel like I'm unsure of what I'm supposed to be doing (to best prepare for classes each day).... although this happens to me at the beginning of every new semester; and I'm sure I'm not the only person who gets that feeling! Its just a matter of getting used to each professor, their expectations, etc. I hate this transitional period! Another couple of weeks should do it; then I'll be in the swing of things and settle into a routine. Routines=Good.

Anyway, because I've done nothing today but read, eat strawberries, and pick some tomatoes from my garden, I don't really have much blog fodder right now. However, I have spent some considerable amounts of time browsing Etsy (and other online shops, too, I must admit)recently..... just the thought of cold weather on its way gets me thinking about Christmas, and then I start making plans for buying gifts, and of course my own Christmas list!

Here are a few things that are on my ever-evolving Christmas list:

From sophimorris

Crane Cardigan from Lucky Brand Jeans

by crochetbylorileigh

*Read earlier post first!

Woo hoo! My Stat book sold today! Sweetness. And, I sold another zine today! That makes 5 in the past week! *dances around* Now, I need to start working on September.... I'm considering making double-month issues during the semester (as in, Sept-Oct) because of my time constraints....

OK, now back to your normal programming........

I'm cranky today.

Grrr. I'm so cranky. I came home from school between classes because my stomach kind of hurts, its REALLY hot so I wanted to change clothes, and I have a few packages to mail out. I just checked my email and I have a message from the Amazon seller I ordered my Stat. book from... (back story: I bought the book, new, from the school bookstore for like $120. It came with this access-code thing that I wasn't 100% sure if I needed; so I also ordered a used copy online for only $50. Turns out I have to have the access code, and my used copy didn't include one. So I emailed the seller a few days ago to find out if they would accept a return....).......and he said no. But, oh-so-helpfully, he suggested that perhaps I could sell it on Amazon. Gee, thanks, buddy. He's like, "I really need to get rid of that book". Yeah. So do I, now. So, I just listed it in my Amazon shop. Mine is the lowest-priced, so hopefully it'll sell soon. That's $50 I could really use!

On a more positive note, I got a bunch of books I had to order for my Lit class today, so at least I don't have to worry about that. I'm supposed to read through pg. 25 of Frederick Douglass for tomorrow, and I just got the book today. Phew. That's me. Livin' life on the edge.

So... there's not really too much else going on around here. I have to go to the post office on my way back to school later; I've sold 4 zines in the past week! I'm really excited about that.

Now, I think I'm going to have a second lunch, straighten up my forever-messy room, and lay around for a bit. I hope everyone had a nice long-weekend and is having a happy Tuesday!

A Mostly-Productive Day

Wow. Its only a little after 4 o'clock and I've already had like 3 days' worth of productivity. Today is officially my last day off until about Thanksgiving....well, unless I actually REQUEST off from work, which is very probably not going to be happening, since I was interviewed yesterday for a supervisor position...more on that later.

I got up this morning and watched Penelope, which is officially my new favorite movie.

Seriously. And who doesn't want to marry James McAvoy? Umm...I know I do.

I digress. Anyway. After seeing Penelope's awesome wardrobe (see above), I was reminded that today would probably be my only chance to bring in some of my Fall clothes and put away some Summer clothes, etc, etc. That is really no easy undertaking, considering how extensive my wardrobe is, and how little my clothes-storage space is. But I did it. And I did it relatively quickly. So it is, when you have but one day to do what you need to do.

So I have all of my clothes in order. I always love switching my clothes around for the seasons... its like going shopping, without spending any money! I always find things that I forget that I have. I also put away a lot of other stuff that I need, but don't necessarily need 'out'... like, books I've read but don't want to get rid of, craft supplies that I won't be needing in the immediate future, etc. I like un-cluttering!

I got almost all of my homework for tomorrow done. The only thing left is to read my chapter for Psych, but I think I'm just going to do that tomorrow morning over breakfast. I concentrate better in the morning.

Chris and I ran down to WalMart to pick up an oil filter so my dad could change Chris' oil. We just had to stop at the Goodwill nearby, and I found a few pairs of earrings for myself and some new stuff for the Quiet. I'm especially excited about this E.T. Storybook. How awesome is this?!

This is in the shop, too!

So, that's pretty much what I've done today. I still need to come up with something for my youngest sister's birthday tomorrow. She's turning 16! Unbelievable. I have absolutely no idea what to get her... I was fully planning on taking her to the bigger, better Goodwill in Greencastle; but she's out with her boyfriend and won't be home until later this evening, so..... I really don't know what to do. She's really hard to buy for. She has a very similar style to mine, but she already has tons of clothes/shoes/makeup/purses/things...... so Goodwill was really my best bet. She loves the Goodwill anyway. I guess I'll just make her an I.O.U. for a trip to the Goodwill some other time. Hmm.

Oh, and my mom made Apple Streusel Cupcakes for Krista's birthday (we're celebrating tonight instead of tomorrow). She was so proud of herself because she made them with soymilk so I could have some, but then she remembered - oh yeah, there are eggs in them; and I checked the ingredients on the box, and...yeah. There's already milk in there. Mom's still not used to the whole 'vegan' thing. Haha.