that special time of year...

from here, via little chief honeybee

     That little picture?  It is 100% accurate.  But it is finals time, so the sleeping part?  Not so much, although I'm not anticipating having to pull any major all-nighters.  Plus side of being a senior in college:  learning that procrastination does not work for you and sacrificing a social life for sanity.  And anyway, I love everything I'm working on.  two girls from my portfolio fall/winter collection...

One of the seams of the bicycle-print raincoat I'm making for my outerwear patternmaking class-- isn't it cute?

I especially like the tricycles...

...and the unicycles!

And one of the welt pockets on my woolly blue coat for tailoring...

Surprise! It's lined in bubble-gum pink!

So that's what I'm working on!  Blog posts might be a little scarce for the next few weeks while I finish up my second-to-last semester ever.  Ooooooh.

How are your finals going?

♥

i like bows.

1.2.3.4.5.6

I just love bows.

I guess that's evidenced by the fact every one of my portfolio collections prominently features them.

They're just my favorite.

♥

it's the last night to get 15% off at my etsy shop!  just enter the coupon code 'CyberMonday' for 15% off any order.

also, the lovely Chelsea is having a giveaway for a pair of Ugglebo clogs! yay!

♥

sunflower

♥

Sunflower Sutra

I walked on the banks of the tincan banana dock and

sat down under the huge shade of a Southern

Pacific locomotive to look at the sunset over the

box house hills and cry.

Jack Kerouac sat beside me on a busted rusty iron

pole, companion, we thought the same thoughts

of the soul, bleak and blue and sad-eyed,

surrounded by the gnarled steel roots of trees of

machinery.

The oily water on the river mirrored the red sky, sun

sank on top of final Frisco peaks, no fish in that

stream, no hermit in those mounts, just ourselves

rheumy-eyed and hungover like old bums

on the riverbank, tired and wily.

Look at the Sunflower, he said, there was a dead gray

shadow against the sky, big as a man, sitting

dry on top of a pile of ancient sawdust--

--I rushed up enchanted--it was my first sunflower,

memories of Blake--my visions--Harlem

and Hells of the Eastern rivers, bridges clanking Joes

Greasy Sandwiches, dead baby carriages, black

treadless tires forgotten and unretreaded, the

poem of the riverbank, condoms & pots, steel

knives, nothing stainless, only the dank muck

and the razor-sharp artifacts passing into the

past--

and the gray Sunflower poised against the sunset,

crackly bleak and dusty with the smut and smog

and smoke of olden locomotives in its eye--

corolla of bleary spikes pushed down and broken like

a battered crown, seeds fallen out of its face,

soon-to-be-toothless mouth of sunny air, sunrays

obliterated on its hairy head like a dried

wire spiderweb,

leaves stuck out like arms out of the stem, gestures

from the sawdust root, broke pieces of plaster

fallen out of the black twigs, a dead fly in its ear,

Unholy battered old thing you were, my sunflower O

my soul, I loved you then!

The grime was no man's grime but death and human

locomotives,

all that dress of dust, that veil of darkened railroad

skin, that smog of cheek, that eyelid of black

mis'ry, that sooty hand or phallus or protuberance

of artificial worse-than-dirt--industrial--

modern--all that civilization spotting your

crazy golden crown--

and those blear thoughts of death and dusty loveless

eyes and ends and withered roots below, in the

home-pile of sand and sawdust, rubber dollar

bills, skin of machinery, the guts and innards

of the weeping coughing car, the empty lonely

tincans with their rusty tongues alack, what

more could I name, the smoked ashes of some

cock cigar, the cunts of wheelbarrows and the

milky breasts of cars, wornout asses out of chairs

& sphincters of dynamos--all these

entangled in your mummied roots--and you there

standing before me in the sunset, all your glory

in your form!

A perfect beauty of a sunflower! a perfect excellent

lovely sunflower existence! a sweet natural eye

to the new hip moon, woke up alive and excited

grasping in the sunset shadow sunrise golden

monthly breeze!

How many flies buzzed round you innocent of your

grime, while you cursed the heavens of the

railroad and your flower soul?

Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a

flower? when did you look at your skin and

decide you were an impotent dirty old locomotive?

the ghost of a locomotive? the specter and

shade of a once powerful mad American locomotive?

You were never no locomotive, Sunflower, you were a

sunflower!

And you Locomotive, you are a locomotive, forget me

not!

So I grabbed up the skeleton thick sunflower and stuck

it at my side like a scepter,

and deliver my sermon to my soul, and Jack's soul

too, and anyone who'll listen,

--We're not our skin of grime, we're not our dread

bleak dusty imageless locomotive, we're all

beautiful golden sunflowers inside, we're blessed

by our own seed & golden hairy naked

accomplishment-bodies growing into mad black

formal sunflowers in the sunset, spied on by our

eyes under the shadow of the mad locomotive

riverbank sunset Frisco hilly tincan evening

sitdown vision.

--Allen Ginsberg

♥

the cyber monday sale has started at Julie Rose Sews on Etsy!  Enter the coupon code 'CyberMonday' at check-out for 15% off your order.

hugo ♥

This has not been a great year for me.

It started out with two heart-shattering break-ups-- the really, really bad kind, where all you can do for a week or two afterward is cry and get sick.  One was with someone who I genuinely thought was the love of my life. The other was with my exact opposite. I was his anima, he was my animus.

The summer culminated with the sudden and devastating loss of my dad.

I'm emotionally exhausted.

Life doesn't feel magical anymore.

Tonight I saw Hugo with my mom.

It's such a beautiful movie, visually and thematically.  It felt so poetic.

It was reminiscent of Amélie, especially in the color story and the mix of reality and fantasy.

It made me feel more alive than I have in months.  I plan on seeing it at least two or three more times.

Have you seen Hugo?  What did you think of it?

♥

also, the Cyber Monday sale has started at Julie Rose Sews on Etsy!  enter the coupon code 'CyberMonday' for 15% off any order.

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday ♥

via the little things we do

1.   Waking up at the break of dawn to go shopping is my idea of fun, but not something I've ever actually done.  And it would only be fun if the store wasn't too crowded, because I have a feeling sales bring out the worst side of humanity.  Oh, and I'd only want to go to Anthropologie.  ...Actually, maybe the whole break-of-dawn shopping thing isn't for me after all.

2.   If I were to go shopping today I would be on the hunt for  pretty dresses and cozy cardigans, as per usual.

3.  The best thing I ate yesterday was  a thanksgiving sandwich and hot chocolate with my brother at 1:30 in the morning.

4. Something I've been learning lately is that people are much more forgiving and understanding than I usually give them credit for.

5.  I cannot start my day without  tea and Google Reader.  My poor Google Reader is so neglected right now from doing so much schoolwork, I'm up to something like 900 unread posts.

6.  My nighttime attire consists of ....hm.  That varies according to temperature and location.  This time of year it's usually a hoodie, pj shorts, and woolly socks, because I hate being cold but I also hate not being able to sprawl out due to bulky pj pants.

7.  I am looking forward to  being done with my portfolio!  That thing is like my child, I'm so ridiculously protective of it.  And I love it very much, but I am ready for it to be done.

♥

Don't forget to check out the Black Friday sale at my Etsy shop!  Enter the coupon code 'BlackFriday15' to get 15% off any order.

♥

happy thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope it's full of food, fun, and family.

♥

pssssst.... the Black Friday sale has already started at my etsy shop.  details here.

♥

...can we rename it pink friday?

technically we're still a few days away, but I, for one, will be busy enjoying Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches (seriously, anyone else think they're they best part of the whole holiday?), so here's a jump on the Friday festivities over at my etsy shop!

. The coupon code is active as of Wednesday 11/23. Check back on Sunday for a coupon code for Cyber Monday!

♥

giving thanks

"Today I give thanks for beef franks, Tom Hanks, and miserable old cranks."
--my Dad

Here are just a few of the things I'm thankful for.

1. My wonderful mother.

2. My hilarious and sweet brother.

3. Marissa, the best best friend a girl could ask for.

...and the fact that she tolerates my posting this photo of her because it's my favorite.

3. My beautiful, talented cousin Kaleigh-- we had an impromptu slumber part at her dorm on Friday and it was fantastically fun.  She's empathetic and sweet and smart and funny and I'm so happy that she's going to school in the city, too.

4. My job.  Being an RA has been such a great experience and I'm so lucky to work with such a great group of people.

5. Ok, so a Five Guys recently opened near my school.  Which would be exciting in and of itself, but they have a touch-screen soda machine where you can choose your soda and then add flavorings to it, which means I can create my long-desired soda that was never put into production: caffeine-free diet vanilla coke.  It is like magic.  Or a soda fountain.  But mostly magic.

6.  All of the incredible people who have been in my life, past and present.  Every relationship is a learning experience and I've been lucky enough to know people who have taught me so much about the world, about life, about love, and about myself.

♥

Happy Thanksgiving!

craft time ♥

I made a quick, easy, and cute vase this weekend by putting layers of washi tape on a mason jar.  Yay!

♥

♥acorns♥

one of my classes this semester focuses on creating prints, plaids, and knits.

my favorite part so far has been designing this acorn print!

working on the print...

...playing with color...

...and using the acorn print in a garment!

hope you're having a great weekend!

♥

kicking the covers off

I cannot get enough of these two covers recently.

how can such an explicit song sound so... cute?

(ok, so that one isn't exactly a cover, it uses a sample from Imogen Heap's 'Hide and Seek,' but still.  Not the point.  What do you think about that, by the way, musically inclined readers?  I know the terms of Imogen Heap's licensing of the sample don't require Jason Derulo to acknowledge it besides a songwriter credit in the liner notes, so legally it's a-ok, but from an etiquette standpoint, do you think he should have mentioned her at some point?  Just curious.)

back to an exciting evening of pattern-making!

(weirdly, I am not being sarcastic- I am having a lovely time with tea and pattern paper on a saturday night.)

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday ♥

via the little things we do

1.   A nervous habit I have is blushing... I get pink-cheeked at the drop of a hat.

2.   Something that makes me sad is the decline of courtesy among people my age.  At the risk of sounding like an old lady (because that never occurs on this blog.  never.), it's disheartening to see the complete lack of self-awareness that seems so common among today's youth.  For instance, if there's only one door in or out of a building, and it's raining out, for crying out loud, let the person in the rain come in before pushing your way out!  Same with elevators-- bum-rushing the doors to get inside before letting people out is just rude.  Mmk.  Old lady rant over.  But it's true.

3.  Today I am thankful for  good days.  Monday and Tuesday were pretty lousy, but Wednesday and Thursday were great.

4. My favorite room in my house is  the kitchen.  When I was growing up, it was where my brother and I did our homework, and it always smelled like something delicious, and when my parents first moved in, they bought the kitchen table imagining kids sitting there to do homework, so..... the kitchen, for sure.  The living room is great too, though, lots of winter nights were spent there curled up watching movies.

5.  I can't stand  cold autumn rain.  Yuck!  Although I do like it when I'm inside and cozy.

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would get something pretty from Anthropologie, or maybe a whole bunch of washi tape--- No!  I must not buy more washi tape!   I've been on a voluntary clothing-shopping hiatus for the past month or so because end-of-semester projects get expensive and I don't want to stress over money while I'm stressing over schoolwork.  So I would get something pretty and frivolous.

Happy Friday!

♥

stealth cat

Hi!

Remember this charming cat, whom I usually encounter on Friday mornings on my way to 'Snice?

Turns out he's actually a girl named Hazel-- she's wearing a collar with her name now.

And the other day, she was being verrrrrry sneaky while stalking pigeons.

♥

i ♥ netflix 3

It's that special time of the semester-- that time when I'm at my desk more than I'm in my bed, my hair is permanently in a bun, and my hands are consistently covered in markers and pinpricks.  And that means a whoooole lot of Netflix is being watched in a certain room on the sixth floor.  My latest episode-marathon?  Gossip Girl.  Oh jeez.

I'm on the fourth season of the ridiculous-yet-strangely-addictive series.  The plots are kind of...y'know... completely absurd, but the fashion is usually really, really cute.  I think overall Blair's clothes are my favorite... especially this outfit, her hair here is my holy grail of coiffures and I'm on an A-line dress kick (which I am always on, come to think of it).



I like Jenny's style from the first season, too... her green Valentino coat is so, so cute.

look at the flowers!  a peter pan collar covered in flowers.  what's not to love?

This blue coat is adorable too... the quilted yoke is a nice detail.  But I will never understand why it was necessary to turn Jenny into a moping super-goth.  I mean, I know that Taylor Momsen is all about the black eyeliner and the leather leggings, but...I dunno.  I always think it's a mistake to change a character to mimic the style and personality of the actress, because in that case, where is the acting?  Or maybe I'm just bitter over the loss of the possibility of several hundred more pastel ensembles.

And then we have the dialogue... some of my favorite oft-repeated lines?

• "It's like I don't even know you anymore!"


• "I'm not a little girl anymore!"


• "This means war!"


• "I will destroy you!"

Ha.  What a riot.  While often ridiculous, the show is apparently compelling because.... I have it on right now, as I'm typing this.  It's my escapist, not-so-secret shame.

What's your television guilty pleasure?  Because I only have 14 episodes left.

♥

treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats.

It's been a rough week.

And it's only Tuesday.

But there's a silver lining!

A new 'Marcel: The Shell with Shoes On' video!

if you missed the first Marcel video, watch it here!

found out this exciting news from Amelia-- she's an amazing photographer, check her out here.

♥

blog makeover! ♥

hi lovelies!

I gave the blog a little makeover!  let me know what you think?

♥

fall in central park ♥

yesterday I went for a lovely stroll through Central Park.

 

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday(ish)

whoo-boy, what a crazy week!  crazy but excellent.  let's fill in in some blanks via the little things we do.

1.   My favorite new blog of the moment is Scathingly Brilliant.  Kate wears such cute vintage clothes and her pink hair is awesome.

2.   Something I am thankful for is my amazing mom.

3.  Something that made me laugh this week was my friend Andrea.  She is a someone though, not a something.  But her vocal inflection just cracks me up, especially with her dry sense of humor.

4. An item that is currently on my wish list is ooh... y'know, for possibly the first time ever, I don't really have a wishlist going.  I'm pretty content with what I have.  How 'bout that!

5.  I am excited about interning at Allison Parris next semester-- she's such a talented designer, and I can't wait to have the opportunity to work with her.  I think it's going to be really, really cool to intern in a smaller studio setting where I'll get to experience the whole design and production process.  Is it spring yet?!

6.  If I were a color I would be either a soft rosy pink or a mint green... or maybe a lavender, I'm on a lavender kick lately. 

7.  My favorite way to spend a chilly fall day is curled up with tea, knitting, and netflix.

♥

resistance is futile.

Washi tape has taken over my life, and I am powerless to resist it.

At this point, I've probably accumulated more than I'm ever going to use.  But it's just so cute!  I wanted to be able to look at it in a more convenient way than having it on my desk all the time, so...

on Pinterest, as usual

Please, if we're out somewhere and I attempt to buy more washi tape, stop me.  I'm good.  I don't need anymore...

...mostly.

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday!

1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is that my mom is coming to visit this weekend.  Yay!  Sleeping in this morning was pretty great, too.

2.   Colder weather makes me hibernate.  There's a lot of tea and Netflix involved.

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are 30 Rock, working on my portfolio, and alfalfa sprouts.  Yum.

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose  ballet flats.  Preferably black ones with a bow.  They go with everything.

5.  My personality type is INFP.  (Introspective, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) It's completely accurate. Here's a bit more about the INFP personality type.  Have you taken the Myers-Briggs test to see what your personality type is?  If you're comfortable sharing in the comments, I'd love to know what everyone is!

6.  I have a serious problem resisting cute office and craft supplies.  Let me put it this way:  I doubled my already sizeable stash of washi tape today.  I'm very glad I did, it's all adorable.  Yay!

7.  My favorite color to wear is probably cream, pink, or navy.  But I also love gray, and lately I've been drawn to bright red.

♥

'tis the season...

♥

...for peppermint hot chocolate!  I'm usually more of an independently-owned-café kind of girl, but the peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks is by far my favorite holiday-themed treat.

pumpkin treats were fun, but now it's time for my favorite flavoring.  yesssss!

what's your favorite holiday-themed treat?

♥

happy wednesday

Today was very good.

Reason 1:  My tiny gold bee necklace arrived yesterday!

it's so delicate and pretty, I love it!
it's only the bottom necklace, the other one is my little J-embossed heart necklace.

Reason 2: I won a gift certificate to Lillie's-- I never win things like that.
...But today I did!

yaaaaaaay!

♥