Tights

 

I've been in a tights wearing mood lately. 

Top photo I paired a cheap Kohls SO grey skirt with Simply Vera Wang bright blue tights.
Bottom photo are Apt. 9 purple checkered tights, my current favorite Madden Girl boots, and a grey dress.

I think I might wear a more neutral pair tonight.

Ill Nino and 9Electric

 

That's pretty much what the entire drive from Wichita Falls to Lubbock looks like. 

All 4 hours of it. 

Worth it for getting to see my favorite band, Ill Nino, since the first time I saw them, about 10 years ago?

Yes.

Sadly, their drummer, Dave, was the only one who actually showed his face before or after the show. Everyone else went straight to and from the bus. The band that opened for them was fairly amazing though. Their music is 'good', but their stage energy and the fact they wanted to mingle with fans made them 'great'. I went with my bestie, Tayler. I was smart enough to pick someone who I could have a ton of fun with. 

Met a few old friends there, and met a few new ones too! Over all, a great trip.

 

 

Lake Murray Trip

 

Skies were great the other day! Manpiece and I both had the day off, so we took a day trip somewhere new. Lake Murray, in Oklahoma. It wasn't worth going to, so unless you have a family, enjoy fishing, and want a small beach for the kids to swim in during the summer (if the lake is high enough), skip it and go to Turner Falls or somewhere a little more fun. We drove all the way around the lake. It was a nice drive.

This was probably the best shot of the trip. That sign says "keeping kids safe project".

I guess it fits since Chuck is a GIANT CHILD. haha

Around Ardmore, there is a shop. I couldn't tell you the name of the place (though it's probably somewhere on one of my photos). I can tell you don't bother going inside. It's an over priced store filled with typical southern woman clothing and jewelry. The huge rhinestones and the crosses and turquoise and all that. Of course, the woman who worked or owned it was there. Just as I guessed, she had the 'typical southern woman' hairstyle. Short. Stacked. More blonde highlights than needed. She was also pretty darn rude.

The outside of the store on the other hand, was filled with overpriced COOL junk. Flamingos, pink painted bikes, mannequins with beards, doll heads, what looked decorations from an old mini golf course. (you know, the huge hollow animals). Oh, and some $4000 each chairs. Plastic and shaped like hands.

At least it made for some cool photos.

 

Uproar Fest and Rain

Last weekend, Uproar Fest was in Dallas. We went for free. Well, got in for free. 

The stuff they sell inside, and the 4 hours roundtrip is anything but free. :-)

Chuck, the manpiece, has a habit of getting free things from the radio station. You know how they run those contests asking trivia questions about bands and whatnot. On his days off he usually listens to the radio. I can not count the number of free movie tickets and local hockey game tickets we've won. More common than that is 2 free passes into our favorite pub for what ever band may be playing there. (it's normally only 7 or 8 bucks to get in, but still. free is free!!). I'm at work one day and get a text from him asking me to go to Uproar, an all day music festival in Dallas. At what will probably be $40 a person, I tell him I only like a few of the bands playing and lets skip it. Then he tells me it's free. Whaaat?! You know what he did in order to get these ones? They played a few seconds of a song BACKWARDS and he named it.

 That guy has more music knowledge than is probably good for him!

So we went to Uproar. It rained. All. Day. Not that downpour, but that light drizzle. It would take about 2 hours to get completely soaked, but once you are, you're cold and there isn't any drying. We ended up stopping for lunch and skipping the worst of the rain and didn't get there until around 2pm. 

He looks a little happier than I do here. Note the orange poncho. We stopped and picked up two of them at the store outside the venue. By the time I took this photo, you can see it's getting dark. It was around 7pm maybe. It had pretty much stopped raining and I was so sick of being under plastic, I took mine off! 

 

Fozzy was probably the best on the smaller stages. If you recognize him, that's because his name is 

Chris Jericho. Y2J. He used to be a wrestler!! His band was pretty awesome. 

 

I love how you can see the rain coming down in this one!! Deuce. He was kicked out of Hollywood Undead. Looks like he's doing pretty good for himself still. :-)

We skipped P.O.D because I can't stand them. Redlight Kings I was excited about, but they were not impressive at all. So we wandered around after this. Grabbed some overpriced drinks and then headed into the main stage area. Since our tickets were free, they were in the grass area. Way in the back. We picked out a good spot on the grass right over the walkway where we could also people-watch.

 We couldn't even see the individual people on the stage we were so far back!! 

Sat there through Adelitas Way, Staind, and Godsmack. Then something pretty amazing happened.

A couple walked by and motioned us down to them. Chuck went down and they talked for a second, then I watched him leap off the little wall and ONTO the man, giving him a bear hug. 

They were leaving the show early, and gave us their second row seats for the last band. The ONLY thing that would be in between us and the stage is the pit area, and one row. That's it!!!

Oh. Hello. 

Shinedown.

So nice to see you SO CLOSE. Ahhhh!! Shinedown was the main reason I wanted to go. How did we get so lucky that we not only nabbed free tickets, but also got free front row spots!??! That above photo is NOT zoomed in at all. That's how far we were!!!! They were amazing. One of the best shows I've seen.

If you ever are leaving a show early, give your tickets to a few strangers. It can really make their day.

We got to spend the last hour at the venue dry, under a roof, close up, with seats.

A little kindness goes a long way. :-)

Seafoam Collection

SeaFoam by cmp200 featuring a box clutch purse

Lace top, $22 / Black jacket / Balmain distressed jeans, $1,240 / River Island high heels, $40 / Alexander McQueen box clutch purse / Lace jewelry / Nialaya crystal jewelry

 

DecorAllure came across some great DIY ideas for your kitchen island. 

Stick a wooden top on a painted dresser.

 

MijuAndYou offers a dip dyed copper arrow ring. 

 Via pinterst. Get a paint sample that has 4-6 shades in the same color story. Buy a small "sample" can of each one for the front of your dresser or anything you may have with drawers.

Recycled Tire Scupltures

YONG HO JI RECYCLED TIRE SCULPTURES

 

These tire sculptures are beyond cool.   

Stop by and visit the artist and the artwork!

One photo bracelet DIY

 

 Let's ignore the quality, shall we? 

I've never embroidered anything in my life before a few moments ago. Really. haha!!

I may try this again, only with a bit more 'planning'.

What you need:

-Denim scraps (have you made jeans into shorts recently?)

-Embroidery floss (friendship bracelet style)

-Sewing needle (large enough eye for the thread)

-Clasp (hobbylobby or ANY craft store)

-Jump rings or split rings, and chain in case you make it too small (oops)

-Ribbon Crimps. I got mine here on etsy.

-Scissors and jewelry pliers.

Start by taking your piece of denim and cutting a long thin strip. Wrap this around your wrist and mark with a pen where you need it cut. Mine has a chain because I cut it too small for my wrist, so make sure you cut it long first, then take off little pieces until it's perfect. Thread up your needle with the thick embroidery floss.

I would recommend drawing out whatever design you want with a pen to be sure you have an even guide to follow, and that it will all fit (so it doesn't need to look like mine. Another oops lol!!)

Start threading through the back so that your knot and edge of the thread aren't visible. Stick with straight lines. The back won't be visible so focus only on the front and your clean lines.

Once you have your writing done, grab your ribbon clamps and your pliers and close one on each end.

 Add your jump rings and clasp, and DONE!

Optional: Before adding the end clamps, cut another piece of denim to the same size, and use fabric glue to glue it to the back of your designed piece. This will make it a little more sturdy, and will hide any thread on the back side. The clamps will still easily fit over top of both pieces after they're glued together.

Optional: Buy a product called "no fray" (i think that's what it called?) 

to spray on the edges of your denim to stop any fraying of pieces off the edge.

Someone keep me mooootivated please!!! haha

I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog. 

Working 50 hours a week and trying to upkeep two etsy shops takes a lot out of you! 

Blogging is a little bit of a relaxing break though, so I know I need to keep up with it better.

 I'll try harder, promise ;-)

Vest: thrifted at Buffalo Exchange
Shirt: lace sleeve boatneck from Rue 21.

Capris: Rue 21.
All three pieces cost about $25 combined. Paired with studded sandals (paprika brand), lots of bracelets, and my brand new necklace from Etsy. (more on that later!!)

Most of last nights outfit. I didn't think about taking a photo until after I got home, at 2am.  Contacts were already out, and shoes were already off. Oh well! This is the first tiny vest I've worn in awhile. I have one or two others, but they aren't as 'tight'. I thrifted this down in Dallas at Buffalo Exchange last week. This is the smallest I've been since about my Junior year in high school.  I'm just now starting to feel comfortable in more body hugging clothes. Maybe more of them to come. I have about 2 sizes left to lose.

 

Above mentioned necklace. I have a love for anything Stephen Gammell. He's the guy who did all the art in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books. You may recognize this from the cover of the first book. I found an Etsy shop who had it in her shop. I'm not quite sure if that's copy write infrindgement or not, but, I wanted it. Not too happy with the illegal use of a priority mailer turned inside out to ship it 1st class.... but.. yeah.

Nakia. I saw he was coming to Iron Horse and had no idea who he was, but someone said he was famous so I googled. He was on The Voice. He sounded awesome, so since it's a normal weekend place for us, we decided to go check it out. Very glad we went! Since all I heard on youtube were covers he played on The Voice, I really didn't know what to expect. It was blues. GOOD blues. Sadly, I really do not like music that makes me want to fall asleep while I'm drinking a beer, so about half of what they played I was fairly bored while watching. The more upbeat songs had my attention though. You can't tell from the photo, but Nakia is wearing sunglasses here. Wearing sunglasses while playing in a bar at night is kind of like wearing an Ed Hardy shirt to me... you don't do it unless you want to look like a Dbag. Thankfully, he ditched them a few songs in. Their guitar player is where it's at though. That guy was fantastic. Very fantastic. 

They didn't play too much that I recognized. A good amount was original. 

I did manage to snag a 1 minute video of a cover of Sex is on Fire though. (kings of leon)

I like it better than the original!

Instagram: 4th of July, mountain views, and a deer head

*Fourth of July nails and necklace.

 *Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights in front of a sunset.  

 *A few shots of the fireworks, that were REALLY lame by the way. 

*Jewelry that I should probably put away...

*My grandmother shipped us a pizza! She overnighted it from our FAVORITE place back home. 1500 miles away, in a tiny town called Waverly, is the best garlic pizza I've ever had in my life!

*Me and one of my besties, Tayler having an amazing time during a Radio Republic show. Rockabilly music makes a good night better.
*Two pairs of pants. Both I've had since Jr High. Which makes them about 10+years old. haha!

*After paying retail on my favorite bars, I decided to buy them online. The package arrived!!!
Spirulina, Lemon dew, and Raspberry Chocolate. Mmmm
*Chuck went out and bought this metal deer head while I was at work one day. I came home to a note on the door that said "don't feed the cage animals". Cute...

*Two shots of the sunset from the Wichita Mountains.

Geometric Painted Bags

 

Etro, on Vogue.

Gorgeous isn't it? 

The perfect mix of the red pattern underneath, with a spunky geometric print on top.

Can I say spunky? Oh well. I just did.

via pinterest

You can take these same concepts and design your own clutch. 

Find something that isn't too tough to paint. Meaning, pick a sturdy leather or vinyl. I'm sure you can do this on softer leathers as well, but it might be easier on something a bit stiff. Nab some acrylic paints in whatever color you want, and go crazy. To get long straight lines, painters tape might be the way to go. For other patterns, look for fun stencils to use. With stencils, you may even be able to use spray paint.

 

Head over to Mr. Kate to find a few other ideas.

 They've painted up quite a few bags!

Fashion and Beauty uses for Dawn

 

Who would have thought there would be so many amazing uses for Dawn dishsoap?

 Here is a short list of things this stuff is supposed to do:

Remove red wine from a carpet. Mix one part Dawn dishwashing liquid with two parts hydrogen peroxide (available at any drug store), pour it directly on the stain.

Takes stains our of clothes. Use the same mixture as above for the carpet, and add it to hot water. Dunk whatever clothes you have right in there for a few minutes.

Give yourself a manicure. Stick some Dawn in a dish (don't dilute it) and let your nails soak. It softens your cuticles and removes any oils from your nails so polish will stick easier.

Hair degreaser. Supposedly, this can work just like a deep cleansing shampoo.

Face wash. Great for oily skin, and mild enough to use every day. 

Also on the list of things this bottle can do:
Kills ticks and fleas on pets. Can be mixed with a bit of water in ziplock bags for freezable ice packs. Use as a weed killer (mixed with salt and vinegar). 

Try doing a search on Pinterest for Dawn Soap and see what you come up with. 

Interesting!

What have you used dishsoap for that is out of the norm?

Prepare for the 4th of July

 

 All images above via Pinterest

Our little city is doing its fireworks tonight. Whether you're scrambling for something to wear last minute, or you are looking for ideas for this Wednesday, there are so many fun options floating around! I think I may like that last look the best. Simple white dress, and lots of red and white accessories.
 

Sweet Sugar Belle has a great diy tutorial for making your own candy buttons! I would want to make these in some bright funky colors (neon pink and blue anyone?!?!?) but, for the holiday and all.... 

this would work perfectly. All you need is freezer paper and icing! 

There is even a link to a recipe for quick icing, and directions on making the cute packaging.