Pandora stations...

So I recently have discovered that Pandora is really awesome for someone like me.  I am the type of music lover that likes a certain genre but doesn't know a lot of artist names or songs.  I feel like knowing one artist, like I often only do, then making a station I can add varieties as I learn artists in that type of genre.  It's really great for learning about new artists.  Or I should say, new to me.  I know I'm probably sounding like a dinosaur, but I thought I would share my discovery with you all.

I made a Thomas Newman station because I love the soundtracks he's done.  For example my favorites that he has composed are: Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events, White Oleander, and American Beauty.  I added Dario Marianelli as a variety because I love the soundtrack to Pride & Prejudice.  I also added Nick Cave and Warren Ellis as a variety because they have come up a lot on this station and I've loved every song that has come up.  They composed for The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.  I currently have their album "White Lunar" on my Christmas list for 2013.  I love that Pandora shows what album the song is from so that you can buy it or write it on some sort of list like I did for a later date.  I also found the artist Helen Jane Long.  Every song that has come up by her has been so great.

Classical music is funny with me.  It's very soothing and is great background music for me when I'm working.  But it takes a bit for me to say to myself, stop for a minute and give this song a thumbs up on Pandora.  These artists listed above made me do that.  Classical music is nostalgic for me in a way too.  I always remembered my Grandmother listening to classical music whenever she drove.  She always had the radio tuned to the classical station.  Recently when I was setting the radio stations in my car, I had a hard time finding such a station.  I wonder if there is still one on an AM station.  I seem to remember my Grandma being tuned to AM... hmmm... I'll have to look into that sometime.

I hope that my discovery has inspired some of you to find new artists to listen to.  I don't know about you all, but my fiance and his friends are musicians.  They are one way I find out about new music that is out, but this is another nice way to find music on my own.  While my fiance's friends fill me in on bands they think I'll like, I like a lot of different genres of music.  Different moods and different tasks require different music.  I'm sure most people are the same, I just imagine most people having a closer knitted music type they like to listen to in general.  If that makes any sense...

Childhood photo of myself with my Grandmother's violin that I played for a year.  I now have that violin and need to get it restored so I can display it.  I'd like to learn to play again.  My grandmother was so good at it.

Bows, Pinwheels, and barrettes in general...

Minty green 50mm bow barrette.

I've been pretty productive lately if I do say so myself.  I've been pretty diligent in getting orders finished.  On Saturday I was able to give the last half of an order to my friend.  She was very pleased with her four bow barrettes and I'm so glad she liked them.  We went to the fabric store together to pick out the fabric she wanted for her barrettes.  She was so nice to pay for the fabric so that I could use it to make more for other buyers.  While the minty green and lavender are trending colors and are practical for matching a lot of her current outfits, the summery print one I hope will coordinate well with her outfits as well.  She told me she is thinking the green and yellow bow barrette will do well for the fall she thinks.  I hope she gets a lot of use out of them in the coming year.

Lavender 50mm bow barrette.

Fun summery print 50mm bow barrette.

Green and yellow print 50mm bow barrette.

My cousin asked me a little earlier than my friend to make her a good amount of barrettes.  The one she was specific about was the one below.  She asked if I could find a fabric with purple and gold in it because she wanted a fun one to support her school colors.  Eastern NC State I think is her school.  She liked this one.  It's nice having Facebook so I can get feedback on whether clients like the product or not.

50mm gold and purple leafy print pinwheel barrette.

Yellow polka dot 50mm pinwheel barrette.

The next two barrettes were fabrics that my cousin really liked.  I love the prints and I especially love the leather button on the barrette below.

Leather button 50mm pinwheel barrette.

I'm not sure if my cousin will be into this last one, but I'll bring it to show her anyway.  She said she wanted some plain colors, which is smart.  So I have a few more to make for my cousin, and by showing these on my Facebook page I got an order for two barrettes!  So I was pretty psyched for that.

Black jersey 50mm pinwheel barrette.

Lots more to make!!!  Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Memorial Day weekend...

Today is Memorial Day, and to start it off I would like to say hope everyone has a very happy Memorial Day.  Hope everyone has great weather for all of those marching in parades and for all the fun BBQs that will be going on throughout the day.  And of course a big thanks to all our troops and veterans that are serving and have served, we all appreciate what you do and have done for us and your country.

Now to explain one of the busiest weekends I think Kevin and I have had in a few weeks.  Friday night was an awful night at work.  Super busy and the messiest customers.  I actually stood infront of a folded t-shirt table and said... REALLY!!!  It's not even Christmas time!  It looked like a busy weekend before Christmas.  People just ripped shirts from the pile and stuffed it on the shelf after they took it out.  I think it took me 45 minutes to fold both sides.  I had a customer change a diaper in the handicapped fitting room and leave the diaper placed in a hook to hang clothes...  It at least wasn't a poopy diaper, but it was warm and was still really gross that someone did that.

Anyway... I had Saturday off, which was nice.  Probably the least of our busy days.  Kevin and I made a strawberry rhubarb compote and put it on waffles for breakfast.  Then we headed down to Old Lyme to check out an estate sale hoping we could find some good stuff for our house, or for the wedding, or both!  There were a ton of trunks that the home owner had.  There was a cool square one that we really liked, but the family would only do so good as 75 for it instead of 85... She said she wished she could do better because we were adorable, ha!  She told us to come back Sunday or Monday to see if it was still there and maybe she'd do better.

Then we went to Lowes and Bob's to check out some stuff.  We're thinking of doing storm doors for the front and back doors so the kitties can look out and we can get more light into the house.  But of course, our door frame isn't standard sizing for the in-stock doors.  So frustrating!  It was a pretty good sale too, oh well I guess.  Kevin and I are going on vacation to NC next week and he needed some shoes seeing as he threw away two pair just last week.  So we got those at Bob's and went back home.  That night was an awards ceremony/party in downtown New London for our music scene in South Eastern Connecticut.  It's called the Whalies.  The weather was so awful that night, we decided to meet up with our friends that were up for awards after at a local bar.  It was so cold, damp, and rainy off and on that day.  Although I felt really bad we weren't there to support our friends, I'm glad we were warm and dry.  It was nice to catch up with them and celebrate after the awards.  Our friend James Maple won the critics' choice for Best Alternative Folk Preformance!  And our other friends from Pocket Vinyl won two peoples' choice awards!  Best Indie Pop and Best Music Video!  Great job you three, so happy for you all!

JR had someone take this for him.  Good shot =0)

The next day had been booked up for months!  We had planned with some of our friends to go to a Pop-up Farmers' Market at our local orchard, Holmbergs!  They went in cahoots with the Coventry Farmers' Market and did just one day of a farmers' market her in our part of the state.  But first we went to breakfast at Smakosh Restaurant.  My friend Amanda wanted pancakes and they usually have some pretty great pancake specials there.  It's a wonderful restaurant!

They had these really cool buttons for free, I took two.  One for my camera bag and one for my yellow coat I was wearing that day.  They're pretty fun, right?

There were a lot of people at the farmers' market, so pleased that it did so well!  They had a great duo playing music there too!  His name is Ramblin' Dan Stevens, he had a kick drum and a high hat for his two feet and he had a handmade guitar and a regular guitar he played too.  I really liked it.  Kevin and I got some groceries we needed and some fun stuff to eat as well from the local vendors.  It was really great, Kevin and I really love to shop locally whenever possible.  We feel it's very important to support our local businesses.  

From the farmers' market we hung out at home for about an hour and then headed over to an Engagement party for my friend from work.  That was nice, but holy crap was it cold!!!!  I eventually got sunburned on my face by the end of the day because we were outside most of Sunday, but it was so cold!  I think I changed three times that day adding warmer layers and different coats.  After being at the engagement party we headed home again and met up with our friends to go to a summer kick off party in Warren, RI.  I think all of us were pretty tired of being outside and spent a good portion of the evening inside our friend's apartment. 

AND THEN... We all headed back to Kevin and my house to watch two episodes of the new season of Arrested Development.  We were all pretty excited for the new season.  I do have to say I wasn't as awesome as I hoped, but I'm hoping as a whole season it will be amazing.  I'm not going to give it my full assessment yet because in the true fashion of the show, when you see it as a whole things make much more sense and are so witty and hilarious.  I don't like how they're portraying Michael and George Sr. though.  I hope it works out in the end.  I'm still excited to watch.

And today is filled with enjoying our back yard, meaning doing a little yard work, and cleaning the house.  Oh and then I have to be to work for 3pm to close.  Just another Monday really, but for everyone else it's a wonderful holiday to spend with family and friends.  Have a good one everyone!

Today I remembered a loverly thing called "open studio".  The Mystic Art Association has an open studio for the public every Monday from 1pm-4pm.  I think I should take advantage of this.  Especially because I have a real problem doing my artwork at home.  I get distracted by all the things that need to be done around the house, and the places I work tend to be very messy.  And because of that I avoid working...

I know I keep repeating that I'm not getting things done.  It's a regular occurrence, I know...  I feel like I need to try removing myself from my environment as well as the list idea.  This slump is killing me.  I'm my worst enemy.  I have actually been having some decent ideas for artwork and I just can't seem to get myself to put that first mark down.  I just don't feel like doing artwork right now...

My cousin is an artist as well.  An illustrator actually.  I wish I could be as outgoing as she is.  She is the artist I can't be.  She is a go getter, and willing to put herself out there to get ahead.  She now has two jobs, in her field, and just got a great apartment!  Happy for her, don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to lie... Super jealous...  I'm just not that way.

I am the artist that sneaks her business card on bulletin boards in restaurants or in local businesses.  Or keeps business cards in her wallet for the off occasion someone comments on my barrette that I happened to make.  I just can't "sell" myself.  I was always taught it was bad to talk good about yourself.  That it was being self centered and was taboo.  If I was ever excited about getting any attention when I was younger, it was immediately noticed and brought to light as being bad and to fix it.  Sometimes things ingrained into you as a young age are hard to change.  No matter how backwards they are.

Another thing that has been on my mind is my skin.  I have eczema as it is, but I am a face toucher and a face picker.  Stress makes it worse because I stand infront of the mirror, stew on things that are bothering me and pick at my skin at the same time.  It's really awful.  I've been trying so hard to break this awful habit, but it's so hard.  Kevin has been so good lately to yell at me when I'm in the bathroom picking.  It really does help me.  I know he knows, but if he doesn't say anything I'm still apt to still pick.  The human mind is really strange to me.  I know it's terrible for my skin to do this, but I still do pick.  I have it in my head that if I don't get out whatever is in my pores, that it'll be worse.  So backwards!  Ugh!  I hope this wedding comes fast because it's really doing a number on me.  To all you brides out there planning, I feel for ya.  I hate this.  If I could, I would've eloped.  Our families are wanting a celebration so badly.  And I really want to give it to them, but I just want it to be over already so that things can go back to normal and don't have this big thing looming over me.  Kevin helps some, but I wish he would be more involved...  His view is that we have more than a year to plan for this thing.  Which is completely true, but if we're making things... That takes a lot of time, and I don't want to procrastinate wedding stuff like I do everything else in my life.

I'm excited for spring because it's time for bike rides, hiking, birds, flowers, and strawberries!!!  Our strawberry patch is growing a little more every year.  The flowers are out this week in full force.  Pretty exciting.  I swear, fresh strawberries from a home garden are the BEST!!!  They're so sweet and delicious.  At the top of the patch we have rhubarb, such an awesome combination!  Kevin and I are going to make a compote or preserve (we'll see how long we cook it this time =0)) of the strawberries from last year we froze and the rhubarb from this year.  

Well it's getting pretty late, and all I've done is create a great Pandora station, thank people for donations to Team Walken, add friends on Facebook, and just farted around on the internet.  I have my projects infront of me... I'm the worst!  No motivation...

Getting Organized!

So today I have to close at work, again...  So this morning I slept in a bit to make sure I am ready for tonight, even though the store closes at 10 tonight instead of 11 last.  Happy for that... At 11 last night my eyes were extremely tired and were telling me that they were done being open for the day.  Hopefully I'll be okay tonight with more sleep in me.

I went to Joann's to get more thread for the barrette I've been trying to make.  See my post from yesterday.  I got my thread to match the fabric for the bow, and I also wanted to get some organizers for thread and bobbins.  I needed more bobbins because it's such a pain winding them and taking the thread off when you need a new color.

I love organization boxes.  I just need to make shelves to put all this stuff on.  Maybe a project for after the Crohn's and Colitis walk, and after the Arts and Wellness Fair too.  (Just and fyi, the date that they have for the artfair on the website is last year.  It's July 27th this year.)

So off I go to get organized and make my barrette!  But first, LUNCH!!  Have a great day everyone, it's beautiful out there... At least here in CT, 72 and sunny!

Wedding stresses and carrer choices...

Today I had great intentions of getting a lot of things done.  Now it started off really well.  I put a load of laundry in and went for a walk.  Great start, right?!?  Only a start though.  I am the type of person that gets easily distracted and avoids things that are a mess.  My kitchen is a mess at the minute.  I've tried for two days now to get it clean and with little luck because life just happens.  So the kitchen is probably a little more messy than I left it yesterday.  I did some ironing, wich is good.  Not as much as I hoped, but some...  I started my friend's barrette today and restarted it three times.  I'm so frustrated I have stopped.  I need to go get more thread because I ran out.  I have a plan in place to redo the bow AGAIN!  It'll be quicker because I'm going to use my sewing machine instead of hand sewing it all.  I could have done 5 today in the time it took me to redo this thing three times and it's still not done!

Wedding plans are coming a long, but Kevin and I are stuck on caterers...  I got in touch with the third one today, the guy sounds nice.  He's totally into his job.  He was nice and said we didn't have to drive all the way out there in providence.  We can just do a phone consultation.  I'm worried this place is wicked pricey.  They want a 500 dollar deposite to hold the day if we choose them.  We'll see though, we've got to pick things from their online menues and he'll price it for us.

I've been trying to think of other decorations this week.  For instance we're going to have birds in our decorations.  I found this on a website that I guess kids made...  Paper mache birds I think is probably going to be the simplest way to go.  I know we want to have all the birds that we have in our yard at the wedding.


 So this proposes another question... How much do we want of this in our wedding.  So I was looking at wedding card boxes.  Our wedding planner has a birdcage she said we could use, but I don't really like that idea... It's not really us.  I thought of maybe doing a birdhouse?  We could make one we'd put up in the yard after the wedding.

I liked this idea better... I also thought that an old letter mailbox would be awesome too, but I'm finding that they're wicked expensive and/or hard to find.  I like the ones that look like the one near where Newport Creamery was in Mystic village.

Another thing I've been trying to work out is the wedding cake.  I don't really like the idea of a wedding cake, but I've been trying to think of a design that would be cool and would go well with all we're doing.  I like the idea of doing a birch tree, but the ones I've seen are just okay.  I thought it would be awesome if we could make it look like a real tree and put a birdhouse on the tree and maybe a  birds nest too.  

The idea of this one is cool, but I don't know.  I thought it would be sweet to make a tree and a birdhouse out of gingerbread.  So many ideas running around my brain.  I really should get together with our wedding planner and sort them all out.  She visualizes things better than me.  Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful spring day!!  Until next time =0)