Wednesday, February 29, 2012

But Green's the Color of the Spring

In honor of Leap Day and those cute green leaping amphibians, here's an outfit post dedicated to green!
Skirt- Ross (around 5/6 years ago); Shoes- TJ Maxx; Top- F21; Belt- Vintage
Teasing her with a leaf so I could get her to look at the camera.
A bug was on the tree by my hand, so I uttered a noise that sounded like "EEEeek!" and swiftly hopped towards Taylor. Thank goodness he takes pictures of things like this.
Pip's collar/leash- Petsmart

Happy Leap Day! Go out and do something unusual. Start reading a new book. Wear lots of green. Make new friends. Eat dessert for dinner and breakfast at midnight. Write love poems and actually send them. Try something new and unexpected. Remember that every day you have a chance to renew yourself and change, so take advantage of this extra day! And if it doesn't work out? There's always tomorrow. XO.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Telegrams from Tuesday

A weekly post for OhmySkye! Dedicated to my favorite little puppy and the half-price watercolors I bought the other day that have kept me company all weekend.
So late tonight because I've been busy with this little lady and a broken boyfriend -puppies and sprained ankles make any day more difficult, but I wouldn't trade these two for the whole world. Expect an outfit post in the next few days and my birthday is on Saturday! so I'll be gone this weekend. The Emily Dickinson poem can be found here. XO.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Easy Peasy Pretty Pair

     Yay! I am finally doing a for real craft post! Inspired by this and this on A Beautiful Mess, I was so excited about this one. I dragged Taylor to the store the other day with visions of the loveliness that would soon reside over our bed, and I'm so happy with the finished product. It took me the entire afternoon, but I was also doing laundry and waiting on my birthday flowers to arrive, so I was taking longer than I could have. I totally think you should make one for yourself -if you're against the lovey-dovey stuff, then how about just you or an adorable pet?
Supplies: Five (or more/less) colors of scrapbook paper, one piece of white poster board, photo of choice (printed out of course), embroidery thread, ribbon, paper doilies, decent-sized frame, gold paint pen, needle, glue stick, scissors, and a measuring tape.
One: Print out your favorite photograph and take your scissors to it. Make sure it's an image that can be easily cut out, nothing with crazy backgrounds and confusing lines -it just makes the whole process easier. Cut allll the way around it (and in the middle if there are parts like mine between the arms, where the background of the photo shows through).
Two: Cut out your piece of poster board so it will fit into the frame.
Three: Snip out equilateral triangles from your scrapbook paper. Mine were 2.5in. on each side but you could do bigger or smaller depending on the frame size. I ended up with about seven of the colorful pieces and fourteen of the neutral and it was just enough. You could also add more colors, less colors, use paint swatches instead, the possibilities are kind of endless.
Four: Place those triangles in a pretty pattern on your poster board. Make sure you like the layout before you glue anything down and try to keep the triangles as close together and straight as possible. Glue, and then trim around the edges.
Five: Figure out where you want your doily and photo placed, and then glue those down as well. I liked mine with one doily as a sort of halo effect, but you could certainly add more. It could be cute to do two different images and then halo them both; get creative!
Six: Once everything is glued into place, thread your needle with a length about twice as long as the area you want to cover. So for mine, I doubled the length around the doily section that was showing and then used that much thread, and it worked perfectly. Another tip is to poke your holes where you want them, first, giving you a guideline to follow. Then go about your sewing. I just did a simple backstitch on mine but you could always get fancier.
Warning here: Be careful! The paper and the doily are way more fragile than fabric, so go slow and don't pull too tightly. I managed to feel really dumb and ripped part of my doily, oops! Luckily you can't really see it once it's framed, but you have been warned.
Seven: Embellishing time! Glue a pretty ribbon across the top and add some lyrics with a gold pen (mine are from "Birds of a Feather" by The Civil Wars!) Another mistake I made for you that you can avoid -don't write too close to the edges, as the frame will end up covering some of your words up.
Eight: Frame it and hang it on the wall! Bonus points if you cut out extra hearts to place around it. Triple bonus points if you make your bed for the sole purpose of photographing it! And if your puppy hides under the bed all day because you're busy crafting, then you win automatically.

      I really hope you enjoyed this because I've got a few more crafty things up my sleeve. Go forth and create, my beautiful readers! XO.

Friday, February 24, 2012

After-school Sunbeams

     This one time (yesterday), I wore a really cute outfit. And everyone told me how cute it was all day long. So I thought to myself, "Self, why aren't you doing outfit posts?" Then concluded that I probably should. So here's a lookie-loo!
Skirt/Boots/Dress-F21; Belt-Vintage
Yes, you read correctly. The flowery "shirt" is actually the dress from this post and this post. It's just been magically transformed (read: tucked in)!
Taylor took all of these pictures for me (Best Boyfriend Ever Award goes to him!) and he liked that he caught my hair in midair. I think it's reminiscent of Pippi Longstocking's braids.
     It took me much longer than expected to get these put up -I had a little run in with files not uploading in their proper orientation and having to Google how to fix it. Now that I know what's up, I'll have another outfit post coming in the next few days, along with our Sunday date night post and possibly a craft. Hope you have a romantic Friday! XO.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Hats Off to Harmony

This is another new idea that I hope becomes a regular. After writing and books, I adore music immensely. It can change the mood of any bad day, make me go from upset to smiling in a matter of minutes. I've been slacking on discovering new music lately, so this is partially as much for me as it is for ya'll. Enjoy this new post!

Hats off to The Civil Wars' "Barton Hollow"


     This CD has been on repeat in my car for... well... longer than I'd like to admit. I do that to CD's I really love and this one is no exception. I think my mother put it best when she said that they reminded her of something my great-grandmother, Memire, would listen to. It makes me think of winding back roads, flowery vines growing up the side of a cottage, flowing skirts and crafting with my hands. I want to sit under a tree and drink Earl Grey and read poetry to this music, and then get up and twirl, spinning around in a calico dress with daisies in my braided hair.
     They make me daydream stories into existence, reminisce and generally feel creative. Maybe they'll do the same for you. My favorites at the moment are Birds of a Feather and To Whom it May Concern -I tell Taylor that the former is him and me. Seriously, go get their CD right now. If you regret it, you can blame me. And then send me your copy, because I'll probably wear mine out pretty quickly. XO.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Telegrams from Tuesday

One of my resolutions was to blog more, and here I am, trying very hard. I started a planner strictly for OhmySkye the other day, with pages worth of ideas and blog-specific dates -lots of inspiration for my little home on the internet. One of the first things I knew I wanted to start was a literary aspect with quotes and pretty pictures that don't get posted otherwise. So here it is, Telegrams from Tuesday, the first addition of (hopefully) many more to come.

XO.

Monday, February 20, 2012

This little blog of mine...

I'm gonna let it shine! (You're welcome for getting that tune stuck in your head!)

     Just a quick note to mention that I managed to make myself a blog button. I am so very proud of it. With the help of a little editing and a lot of re-reading the tutorial on this site, combined with a slightly traumatizing adventure into my old Photobucket account so I had a place to host it (I exclaimed to Taylor "Ohhhh, I was so angsty in my youth!" Yeah, that bad), I've created a way for you to share your love for me! Vain, I know, but I have this grand scheme of having a wonderful blog one day that shall make it so I don't have to work a real job. Yeah yeah, every blogger dreams that, but I've recently been reminded that only you stand in the way of your dreams -so I'm getting myself excited about writing and blogging again. Also, here is Pippa under my bedside table:
     Moral of the story, if you read this and have a blog, do me a favor and share my newly created button! It's right over there >>> And if you don't, then just keep reading, because that's all I want anyway -to share my little blog and my life with you. XO.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Week Seven of the "52 Dates of 2012"

Walk around San Marco in the daytime and get ice cream.
He called me a "Hipster" for taking a picture of my feet like this...
     Taylor and I went after my Friday morning class to eat at Black Bean and get ice cream at Peterbrooke in San Marco. It's the cutest part of town, with shops and yummy food in the middle of pretty historic houses (I promised we would live somewhere equally adorable one day). To Taylor's complete dismay, Black Bean had closed down, so we ate at The Loop instead. Delicious, but not really the Cuban flavors we craved. Despite our little misfortune, we had such a nice date. I uncovered my amazing book find at the San Marco Bookstore. We shared Taylor's terrific banana pudding ice cream and I bought myself a White Chocolate Mocha at Starbuck's because I was frigid after walking around for so long. I didn't take many pictures, but we vowed to go back on a less rainy and chilly day and explore some more.
Sad. You can even see Taylor in all of his dismay in the reflection.
See this post for more flowers and book love!
I really like brick walls. There's just something so romantic about them.
     Actually, I didn't take any real pictures at all of Mr. Taylor... oops! Ah well, another day. This one is short and sweet, as I'm not feeling great this morning and we have a million and one errands to get done. I'm trying to get better at blogging on a schedule, so hopefully if all goes well you shall have a few more posts to enjoy this week. Have a practically perfect Sunday! XO.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Bookshelf of a Bibliophile

     Wandering around the San Marco Bookstore today, my heart leapt out of my chest and I called out to Taylor; there, in the middle of a seemingly average shelf of old books, was one with the title British Flora. Blue, musty smelling as all good books become, I grabbed it at random hoping for a glimpse of a vintage drawing. Something much, much better awarded itself to me -actual flowers, nestled between the pages like hidden secrets meant for only my eyes to discover. I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a minute.
George Bentham and Joseph D. Hooker were two prominent botanists of the Victorian Era. Hooker was Darwin's BFF, and Bentham was an older colleague. Quite fascinating gentlemen.
The original came out in 1858, but my copy is from 1947, almost one hundred years later.
Oh Elizabeth, who could you have been?
The first flower is placed on a page about preserving and collecting "specimens".
Was she studying, perhaps?
     It's finds like these that make my English-major mind dream up all sorts of stories surrounding the artifact. Was the previous owner a botanist? Are the markings on the page meant as signals of which blooms she has seen in person or are they just her favorites? Are the clippings she saved significant, or are they simply from her backyard? Did she have a secret garden with a crippled cousin and parents who died in India?
     Okay, that last one was a stretch, but you get where I'm coming from. Though I admit I am selfish and would like to hoard all of these beautiful finds to myself, I decided that I should share these pretties with my darling readers. I'll feature a book every so often and the reasons I adore it, with photographs of all the best parts. You're welcome. XO.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Week Six of the "52 Dates of 2012"

Visit the MOSH Planetarium. 

     This week and last week got a little messed up. We were supposed to do something else Week Five but switched it with "Eat at Maggiano's". Week Six started as "Go to the zoo", but with the frigid cold front that came through Jacksonville, we decided last minute to re-pick a date. The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) is so great, especially when you want something warm yet exciting to do. They're open 7 days a week, so Sunday early afternoon we headed downtown to see what it was all about.
      We arrived, purchased our Planetarium show tickets to see "Black Holes" at 3pm, and started wandering the first floor. There, we saw live animals, replicas of sea creatures, inside the human body, and where our water comes from, along with a dinosaur!
     We headed  up to the second floor and explored the hands-on learning section. Taylor especially loved the physics and music ones, and I liked looking through all of the microscopes. It was close to 3pm by that point, so we walked over to the Planetarium to present our tickets and get seated. You can imagine our sadness when we discovered that a private party had booked the entire Planetarium for a show about sea life, and the front desk people hadn't known when they sold us our tickets. It turned out for the better in the end though, because they gave us complimentary tickets to come back to the museum another day and see the Black Hole show at another time. Don't you love when things work like that? It always pays to be calm and grateful.
Thank you wonderful MOSH staff! This kind of made our day.
     The free time slot in our afternoon allowed us to take a look around the history sections, which explored Jacksonville and North Florida in particular. It was so fascinating, it's always exciting to learn new things about the place you live I think. The Victorian and Mid-Century sections were my very favorite, I kept asking Taylor "Can I just live here, please?"
So cute! I wanted to move right in. Why yes, I'll take that pink telephone please. Of course I'll have that bar on wheels in the corner. What do you mean I'm not allowed to jump over the glass and start moving my clothes into the closet?
This skirt needed to parseltongue its way out of the glass and get into my closet. The strawberries! The flowers and leaves! The creamy color!  It was just perfection.
     Taylor's favorite part was seeing the owls hoot and move their big eyes in the ecology section. I loved the above mentioned lifestyles of the late 1800's and mid 1900's. After a long day of venturing through the MOSH, we were both hungry and needed to get home to our puppy. We ended a lovely Sunday with another trip to Maggiano's as an early Valentine's dinner (so delicious) and snuggling up to watch the Grammy's and stay warm. We haven't chosen this weeks date yet, but he's got a home game and won't be traveling all weekend so it should be a good one. XO.

P.S. This also crosses off a 21 Before 21 list item! Yay!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Going Medieval...

... in the best way ever. Last Saturday, my Aunt and Uncle and cousins and I piled into a minivan and drove down from their home in the 10-Acre Woods to Gainseville and the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. If you've never been to a Faire, well... I suggest you go immediately. It truly is wonderful, so many great crafts, so much superb people watching, so very much good fair food. Deep fried twinkies and creative types? Count me in.
Riding in the car. Clockwise from top left- Me, Auntie Mer, Uncle Dan, Bella, Sam's friend Alora and Sam.
     This was moments before we saw the line for parking. Yes. There was a line. For parking. And then once you parked? There was another line to get on a bus to drive to the fair grounds to get into a line to buy your tickets to wait in a line to... yeah, you get the idea. It was worth it to see the little one's face when she saw the elephant though -so precious.
      Go right now and look at the Faire website, it really is amazing how many talented people join in on the festivities. There are booths for homemade sodas, booths for crowns woven from copper, booths for every type of leather work you could imagine. Musical instruments, clothiers, weapons and places to test them out. There are musicians who dance, fire breathers, acrobats, and people who are just there to make your experience better, like the King and Queen. My mom and I have this elaborate plan where we're going to set up a booth at one of these one day and travel the country. How delightful would that be? Fair warning to history buffs- ignore all of the period dressing that is from the wrong period. Some people just like to dress up. This is a place where they can do that, whether historically accurate or not. (Never mind that I definitely shook my own head at the people in Steampunk. Really guys? That's a little too inaccurate, even for me, ha!)
King, Me with Bella on my lap, Samantha, and the Queen. I'd like that throne in my future home, please and thank you. Also, don't I have the cutest cousins? Then again, I could be just slightly biased...
Getting knighted/crowned. Princess Skye of the Scottish Isles. The name suits me, no?
Why yes, I am a Star Throwing Champion -if you count throwing five stars and having only one stick into the wall. Ah well, it's the effort behind it I suppose.
The girl elephant we rode. I love her freckles.
     A little more on that crown you can see in the pictures. I made it myself Thursday night. All by myself. For less than 20 dollars. One day I suppose I'll do a tutorial for making them, but unfortunately I only took a few pictures that night and the lighting wasn't the best, so it will have to come another time.
     I started out heading to Michael's and buying on-sale flowers and four or five different types of ribbon. The lacy one was the most expensive item at 5.99$ but I had a coupon and saved a few dollars, keeping me under my 20$ budget. I won't go into specifics, but I basically deconstructed the flowers and reconstructed them as a wreath and then added more ribbon than necessary. Pippa slept by my side the entire time, and the process only took me a couple hours. I also had enough leftovers to make a second, smaller wreath. Hooray!
All of my pieces. The sequins are being saved for another project, they were just too much. On an unrelated-ish note, I do everything on my bed. I write, I craft, I read, I eat snacks, I play my ukulele. I've always loved desks but never use them, my bed is way more comfortable. Maybe it's just another one of my many quirks.
Finally, the finished product! Those super adorable doilies you see there? One. Dollar. Yes sirry, in the dollar section of Michael's, oh how I love that place.
     That is all of my medieval travels, for now at least. I was sad that Taylor didn't get to tag along this year, so we'll definitely be returning again next Winter. Speaking of him, we're supposed to go to the zoo for our date this week, so keep a look out for that. Also, if you're reading I would love for you to comment! I can see how many people view each page, but I'm not psychic and don't know what all of you lovely people think about it. So ask me questions, tell me heartfelt anecdotes, leave funny comments about how silly the King looks, whatever! XO.