I said that I was going to do a weekly survey of 10 things I love.  Well, this week’s theme is 10 websites I adore.

 

Part A:

1.  Red Velvet Art – Artist Elsie Flannigan and her crew are amazing!  I wish I had tons of money so that I could buy everything in her shop!  Her stuff is adorable.  I’m particularly enamored with her “I’m Still Learning” prints and this lime green neckwarmer. 

(I know…I live in Mississippi where this accessory is necessary only, like, 2 weeks out of the year…but I still <3 it!)       

https://www.redvelvetart.com/

 

2. In Style magazine – I am a fashion addict.  I admit it.  I love clothes and shoes and jewelry and handbags and accessories.  I just don’t have the money to be able buy the things I would like.  So, I must be content to watch from afar and live vicariously through the photos on the pages of this and other fashion publications.

http://www.instyle.com/instyle/

 

3. Urban Outfitters – I love the fact that Urban Outfitters has a special “apartment” sections of holdings.  I was very excited to see this past week the UO has a collection of glasses that feature original artwork from two of my favorite books from childhood – “The Wizard of Oz” & “Alice in Wonderland”.  

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/index.jsp

 

4. 8-Tracks – I have always loved music, but over the past few years, I have developed a slight obsession for playlists of any kind, any genre.  This website allows users to both browse submitted playlists and to create their own.

http://8tracks.com/

 

5. Etsy – Handmade stuff is the best, in my opinion.  I just recently came to appreciate the wondrousness that is Etsy. 

http://www.etsy.com/

OK…..I just looked at my last post – which wasn’t really a *post*, but a Wordless Wednesday photo.  Gah.  Sorry about the extended hiatus! (Not that I’m sure anyone really noticed, but hey, it’s nice to think you’re wanted! ha)

 

I’m in my last semester of classes in Undergraduate school and will begin Student Teaching in January.  I was reflecting back over my time in college and realized that A LOT of things were missing from the experience – namely, a record of things that happened.  So, this will be my starting over point.  Right now.  I’m going to take the time to jot down my thoughts, ideas, experiences, ramblings, whatever for the coming year.  I think it’s important to be reflective because not only do you recognize things you might like to change, but the thing that you might want to repeat.  Each week I’m going do a reflective survey and list some things that make me happy.  This sort of “thankful laundry list” is something I’ve started doing on notebook paper and will transfer here.  I think it’s important to see the things you love in print.  I guess it makes it a little more real.  I don’t know.

 

So, here’s to the new school year and a new chance to get organized.

                              Photograph by: Amanda Hope Shelburne

I’m a student first-and-foremost. Let me just put that out there to put the following into perspective, OK? My time is divided between studying, writing papers, completing other schoolwork and projects, and trying to stay sane. When I have time, I cook, clean, and take care of those things that make a household run smoothly. On occasion, I get to sleep. haha

Last night, I finished my daily share of schoolwork and decided that my kitchen was a mess and that I needed to spend the next two hours cleaning, washing all of my baking supplies, and getting the area holiday ready and Mom-proof. (You know that no matter how old you get, you do that frantic “OMG, Mom’s coming and I have to have everything perfect!” sweeping attempt at making your house Martha Stewart-like within 48 hours. It’s an impossible brutal task, but we go through it yearly!)

I have an itenerary for now through Thanksgiving – I just hope I make it until then! I planned a menu for the “main event” and am in the process of planning tentative menus for the other days that Mom will be here. My mother is one of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met. She’s not overly-critical of what I do and is really, very supportive. HOWEVER – after fighting the crowds and getting most of my Thanksgiving food shopping done on Saturday (minus the fresh produce I’ll get closer to time) – I’m on the phone with Mom and ask her when she thinks I should set the turkey in the refridgerator to start defrosting. She gives me her response of “Monday” (which coincides with what I was thinking to begin with!) and ask me what brand of turkey I got. I tell her and she responds with: “Is that really a good brand, dear? I wouldn’t have gotten that. I guess I’ll just have to pick one up on my way down there.”

OMG!! Seriously?! I have sacrificed valuable study time to do grocery shopping and get ready for the first Thanksgiving we’ll have on our own and found the perfect sized turkey for our family, only do have tell me that she’ll “just have to pick one up on [her] way down [here]“? I know that I can’t get too upset, but that just irks me!

 

                           (Image courtesy of: www.retro-housewife.com)

You have to check out the Puppycam on Ustream.tv!!!! It’s a continuous feed on a litter of 6 Shiba Inu puppies! Too, too cute!! I mean, come on! Who doesn’t love sweet, furry puppies?!?!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

They’re also on Twitter! Follow them -> @pupdate

I was driving back to Mom’s/Forest from Jackson today (East on I-20) and was delighted to see how the leaves were changing colors.  The reds, golds, greens, and browns of the foliage are just beautiful.  It’s interesting that today’s temperature was around 78 degrees.  How can nature be so bi-polar?  Hopefully soon, it’ll get cool enough to feel like Thanksgiving is approaching.  I want to wear sweaters, not be limited to t-shirts and flip-flops.

Well, the summer is winding down, unfortunately.

Summer School is in full swing at USM – actually, only a few more weeks to go! Not to brag, but so far I have an A in every class. This is something I’ve really been working for over the past year. I only wish I had had this mindset when I first started school. Oh, well, no use wasting time and thought on things we can’t change. If I hadn’t done things the way I did, I really don’t think that the wonderful things I have in my life and the lessons I’ve learned would have materialized.

Johnkelly and I are packing our stuff in preparation for our August move to Gulfport, MS. We’ve been working on gathering utility information so all of that will be up and operational by the time we move in. I’m very excited about this upcoming move and the opportunities I feel it will bring for both of us. JK is thrilled about starting Film School and about being “on his own”.

Jason and I have been spending a lot of time together this summer. He’s moved back to Utica for good and has been working rather diligently on building up his portfolio in an effort to submit an application and jury for the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. If he is accepted, then he’ll have a standing invitation to large-scale, Guild sanctioned crafts festivals – like Chimneyville and the Canton Flea Market. As soon as he gets the eight pieces he wants to submit, we’ll start working on photographing him and submitting all the needed information to the Guild. I think he has an excellent shot – if he can just keep his confidence up. He made us rings the other day that are really, really neat. They’re made of a single piece of wire, coiled like the early versions of the tree roots. I think that if he can come up with some kind of sealant, they could be a nice addition to his other work. He really wants to do some mixed media work, but hasn’t gotten around to getting the much-needed blow torch in order to fire the flecks.

This Guild is apparently a big deal. If you stay within the Guild for 9 years, then you “graduate” to being a Fellow. It’s amazing that the old ways of Guilds, Journeymen, Fellows, and the like are still in existence. Even though the media and the techniques used are different – nothing ever really changes. The old ways are still alive.

Gah. I have no clue why I even bother to try to make New Year’s resolutions and get organized. I really don’t. I had such high hopes of doing this blogger to keep people (and myself) abreast of what’s going on with me. Yeah, it never seems to be consistent.

I read a posting by my cousin just a few minutes ago. It was about how good it is to see the coming of Spring and Summer. She’s right – warmth and sunshine are two very welcome commodities right now. Winter was a harsh one – in oh so many ways. I need to be able to hear the birds sing and the creek trickle and the children laughing as they play. Winter brought a deafening silence to the world around me and I can’t bear its emptiness anymore.

So come on Sun, shine down.