Hello Dolly!

On Monday night, Barnum and Baily's Circus came to New York.  My roommate and I had read in my handy dandy Frommer's NYC Free and Dirt Cheap guide that when this happens, the elephants actually parade down 7th Avenue!!! There's no way we were going to miss that.  So, we looked the times for this year, and at around 12:45 am (Yes, this is done in the middle of the night), the elephants made their appearance! 

You know what they say about New York.  It's a jungle.  Hardy har har har.

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Also on Monday, I finished and turned in another garment, this time for Draping.  This is probably my favorite thing I've made for Draping so far.  I love raglan sleeves, I think they're really cute, and I may actually make this one in fabric when I have the time/money.

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My best friend Marissa is coming to the city today!!!  We will be going to see Phantom of the Opera tonight.  And we are getting REEEEALLY dressed up because it is a Big Deal.  However, Marissa and I tend to be a bit on the...er... how to say it... extremely-loud-and-obnoxious side.  I don't think we've ever had to be in a formal situation before, and I am verrrrrrry curious to see how we do!  I'm sure there will be pictures of us looking lovely from the neck down and absolutely ridiculous from the neck up.  Be prepared.

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Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Today, I went with a few other Presidential Scholars and a lot of the girls in the Merchandising Society to clean up Riverside Park.  It was a lot of fun.  I always forget over the winter how happy spring makes me.  That I can BE that happy.  I do use a sunlight lamp over the winter to help, but it's just not the same as actual sunlight and fresh air and running around.   One wouldn't think that raking leaves for two and a half hours would put me in such a fantastic mood, but it really did.  Something about doing things that are strictly physical help too, since so much of my school stuff is purely in the world of the imagination.  While I do love that, sometimes my physical energy keeps going after my mental energy is exhausted.  Today, they seem to be just about balanced.  It hasn't worked out that way in a while and I like it a whole lot.  It makes me consider trying to add a 1/2 hour walk to my routine at least 3 times a week.  Or, really, just to be outside as much as I can, preferably in places like parks, where there are trees and grass.  And water!  Lots of water!  It was so good just to be near the river today.  Can you tell that my zodiac sign is Cancer?

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I wanted to put up some pictures of schoolwork.  So, here's my favorite half-garment so far.  I made it for flat pattern, a few weeks ago when we were assigned to make a dolman sleeve jacket with a diamond gusset and a creative shawl collar.

I am all about the eyelet and heart buttons and bows.  Slightly over the top?  Maybe.  But I like it anyway.

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I also got back the Fashion Art and Design project I handed in, the J. Crew one.  I finally got pictures of it!

Our mood page was supposed to be a picture of our target customer, in appropriate makeup for day.

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Then come flats of all 7 pieces, rendered to look like the fabric they're supposed to be made of, with stitching details.

Two outfits on figures.

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Swatches of our fabrics-- mine are hearts because I am cutesy.  :)

And, this last bit is for my mom because I know she'll get a thrill out of seeing it up close and personal.

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And now, for some stuff I like that you might like too.

http://www.dollymixx.com/shop.htm Dolly Mixx has the cutest jewelry and charms.  They're all handmade, and the shop is updatd pretty frequently.  I'm a fan of the Pink Flan Charm and the Toastie Stud Earrings.  Actually, I love pretty much everything at Dolly Mixx.

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www.dugshop.etsy.com This etsy shop, Dugshop, has the tagline, "The Audacity of Soap."  How could I not love it?  There are lots of really cute and funny soaps, like the Obama-shaped "Hope on a Rope."



The "Unidentified Foaming Object"  is pretty great, too.

They had soap shaped like Peeps, too, but they sold out for the moment.  If you're interested, definitely continue checking the shop, because there might be more up before Easter.

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theseachange.etsy.com The Sea Change sells mainly jewelry.  Every piece looks like a vintage find from some little flea market in Paris.  Right now, I'm in love with the "An Acorn" necklace.

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My best friend Marissa is coming to the city on Friday!  I am absolutely giddy with excitement.

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Back to work.  My goal for today is to finish the pattern for my flat pattern jacket for this week, get it all cut out, and hopefully get some of it sewn.  I also have to go buy corduroy for the fairly unattractive pants we're going to be starting in Sewing Techniques, and go to the school computer lab so I can get as much of my Photoshop project done as possible.  Off I go to accomplish!

Girl Overboard

This past week has been absolutely insane.  But I made it through, soooo, today it was off to my favorite bakery to reward myself for not freaking out (too much).  I picked up this piece of deliciousness:

SOOOOO GOOOOOOD.

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I had a major project due on Wednesday for my Fashion Art and Design class-- we'd had to design a collection to be sold at J. Crew and make a presentation board of it, with a mood page, two figures, and flats of the 7 pieces.  Somehow, it seems like I can never start these things early enough, but I honestly could not have started any earlier because I was in such a deluge of work for other classes.  It was one of those times when everything is due within a day or two.  I didn't get to take any pictures of my J. Crew project before I handed it in, but I'll take some after I get it back (which will hopefully be soon).  I think I got a pretty good response to it when we did a critique of the projects in class, though, so I'm feeling decent about it.

Actually, I am feeling awesome about it.  Possibly ecstatic.  YAY!

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Lately I've been really missing the ocean.  I mean, I don't live near it when I'm not in school or anything, but I've just been really feeling the need to be surrounded by water.

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The rest of my wall decals, the red birds, came today!  The first time they were sent, they got lost in the mail and the seller I got them from ( bubbaanddoodle.etsy.com) sent out new ones, and I put them up immediately.  I am absolutely crazy about them.  I finally feel a little more like I have a home and not a cube.

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On Sunday, my parents and my brother are coming to visit.  I miss them a lot lately, and I'm SO EXCITED to see them!  Especially my brother.  He gets me in a way that most people don't.

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So, on Wednesday, I'll find out if I'm an RA for next year.  I applied interviewed, got called back to a seminar, and now I'm just waiting for my letter.  I'm hoping hoping hoping.  Lots of hoping.

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What I've Been Listening to Lately!

• The Long Blondes:   Separated by Motorways, Lust in the Movies, You Could Have Both, and Once and Never Again


• Ratatat:  Cherry, Loud Pipes, Wildcat, and Tropicana


• Ingrid Michaelson:  Far Away, Die Alone, and You and I


• Rilo Kiley:  Rise Up With Fists, Silver Lining, and A Better Son/Daughter

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I need some solitude.  Like, hardcore, not-talking-to-anyone-for-a-week alone time.  I would also like some silence. I'm not unhappy, necessarily, just on sensory overload.

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Also!  Let's find a new adjective, America.  No more 'amazing.'  Everything from Obama to macaroni and cheese has been described as amazing.  Exercise that mental thesaurus.

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"Nineteen-- you're only nineteen for God's sake, oh, you don't need a boyfriend!"  --The Long Blondes

Nest

I've realized lately that I spend more time at my desk than anywhere else these days.  Here it is on a pretty typical day.  The book on it is my journal.

I've had this journal since December 11th, 2008.  It's one of my favorites that I've ever bought.  I got mine at Urban Outfitters, but they're also available directly from the maker, Susie Ghahremani, at http://www.boygirlparty.com/shoppe/mini-edition/item/chroniclejournal-6.html.  Everything on boygirlparty.com is really cute! Here's a picture of the inside (on a page without writing, obviously.)

There are four different 2-page spreads inside, and they're all adorable. And the paper is nice and thick, so ink doesn't bleed through.  I personally prefer pages that already have illustrations on them, because I don't have that blank-page-intimidation going on.

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My wall decals aren't here yet, and I CANNOT WAIT for them to arrive.  Living in an eggshell white box is slowly driving me insane.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll get an email telling me I've received a package, and there they'll be, waiting in the mailroom.  And then I can come home and put them on my wall and feel less like I'm living in a hospital room.

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Today has been a somewhat frustrating day.  I was working on a shawl-collared jacket, and I could not figure out how to sew the collar.  I had it all written down in my notes, but for some reason, when I looked at the jacket, all I saw was a mess of muslin with a lot of pencil marks on it.  This went on for literally about two hours.  Then, for whatever reason, after ripping out the seams for the fourth or fifth time, it made perfect sense and I was able to finish it in about fifteen minutes.  Easy-peasy.

I think I do a lot of things like that.  I spend so much time planning and deciding and figuring out that I can't see what's right in front of me.  The answer is in my head someplace.  I just can't see it.

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If you haven't yet checked out pandora.com, definitely do.  It's a website that allows you to choose a band or artist, and it creates internet radio stations for you based on that.  You can further edit what's on your stations with the use of the thumbs up and thumbs down icons.  If you think a song is playing too often, you can ban it from playing for a month.  The only things I don't love about Pandora are that you can't replay songs or request specific ones, and you can only skip a certain number of songs per hour .  But hey, it's free, it finds music I like, I'm happy.

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And now, a review.  My hair has been looking a little under the weather lately, and it probably has a right to.  I haven't had it cut since (oh boy) August.  It takes a while for me to get split ends, and when I do get my hair cut I go to a place that is obscenely expensive but leaves me with hair that will continue to look good as it grows out, given that I put any effort into it at all.  Which I sometimes don't.  But anyway!  My hair has been looking a little dull and frazzled lately, so I picked up a new conditioner.  I started using Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Conditioner for Medium to Long Hair That's Damaged, by Loreal Paris, about a week and a half ago, and I've noticed a huge difference.  My hair is much shinier, less frizzy, and softer.  It's actually holding a curl better, too, which is surprising because usually softer hair means less ability to stay in a style.   And it smells good, too.  When I run out of my current shampoo, I'll probably get the shampoo that accompanies this.

5 stars, $4.99 at drugstores.

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We're supposed to get about 14 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon.  My roommate's class tomorrow has already been canceled, and I'm hoping for a similar turn of events.  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!