Just a note...

I am so excited about next Monday because...

my best friend gets back from her summer in China!

She's been doing an internship & just exploring the country.

I can't wait to hear all about it!  

Friday Night Recording

Several hours of drum track recording has this effect on me.

Today has been awesome.

First of all, I had the day off which is always fun.

Second of all, I scored a deal on an album I am now in love with forever.

It's Naked Willie from Willie Nelson.

The songs are all from his early years at RCA.

They're stripped down versions of the originals though.

Gone are the fancy arrangements.  

What's left is pure and unadulterated Willie Nelson at his finest.

I'm so in love.

"Laying My Burdens Down" is so catchy I can't stop listening to it.

"Bring Me Sunshine" is the happiest love song I've heard in a while.

God, I love Willie Nelson!  

This picture cracks me up!!! (source)

Another cool thing that happened today was that I found

the most amazing sweater on sale at Anthropologie in purple!

It's mohair, I think, and has a ruffle around all the edges expect the arm opening.

I am super excited to have found it!

I've never owned any clothing from Anthro, excluding socks, until now.

I also picked up some of the adorable gift wrap I was coveting from there.

I got it on sale!

One thing is a wooden spool of sunshine yellow velvet ribbon.  

It's such a happy color.

I plan to embellish a cheapie Target cardigan with it to jazz it up.

Pictures to come soon!  

Anyway, tonight I am just hanging out at Jeremy's

while the Eric & Rusty are here recording songs for their new album.

He has the best art on his walls.

I'm trying to be quiet, hopefully my banging on the computer keys

isn't showing up on the recording.

I feel like I'm always sitting on the couch near people while they record.

So yeah, I could not be happier for Eric.

He's wanted this for as long as I've known him.

It's nice to see it finally working out for him.

I'm gifting him the materials for the album for Christmas.

Blank printable cds, jewel cases, ink, paper, yada yada.

I see a lot of cd replication in my computer's future.

Eric drew the album art already & I can't wait to post it on here.

I hope everyone is having a safe & warm Friday night!

Take care everyone!  Love you all.

Forever a band momma, Christina

Moving on & moving up.

WARNING

*This post is super cheesy.

It's on my heart though & I have to get it out!!!!

In my life, I've held a lot of jobs.

I've definitely had more than my share of managers.

Some were good, some were bad, some were forgettable & some were/are inspiring.

Over the past 10 years, there have been 5 managers,

on a store manager level, 

that have captured a place in my heart forever.

They've gone beyond motivating me in my work life, 

they've inspired me in my personal life.

This post is for & about them.

1.  Precia.  (American Eagle)

The value of hard work I learned from this amazing lady.

She taught me what it means to be passionate about your what you're doing, 

not only at work but also in life in general.  

If you see something that needs to be done, do it.

Find something you love & do it well.

Treat the store like it's your home.

She played a major role in my life 

that I'm eternally grateful for on a personal level.

She helped me become an independent person.

She's one of my favorite people of all time & a hero of mine!

I feel lucky to count her as a friend now!

2. Tracy (Bath & Body Works)

This lady taught me how to make customers feel right at home.

She taught me to approach people like they're you're best friend.

She taught me the importance of being excited about your product.

One of the most valuable things she taught me was 

to get on each customer's level.

If someone is speaking rapidly & in a hurry, speed up.

If they're calm & in no hurry, slow it down, even if you're busy.

People love to know you're really listening.

3.  Jim (Sephora)

I showed up at my interview with him fresh from a 4 hour drive,

rambling on to him about how I curled my hair in the bathroom

and loved Sephora with all my heart.

He took a chance on me & I moved to Charlotte where I knew no one

to do makeup for a new store that was opening.

Jim taught me the value behind the products.

Before working for him, I would feel weird sometimes

when telling a customer a high price for a product.

Jim helped me to understand not only the value of the products

but also the value of my knowledge.

If it weren't for Jim, I have no idea where I would be in life.

There'd be no North Carolina chapters in my story.

I'm eternally grateful to him for taking a chance on me!

4. John (Sam Ash)

I have never met anyone else with such amazing life stories.

I learned so much about music while working at Sam Ash.

John has led the kind of life I could only hope to live.

Seriously, super cool.

5.  Eric (Where I currently work)

Be nice to others and they'll be nice to you.

Eric taught me that it's the people that make the job.

Without him, I would never be doing what I am now.

He's a genuinely nice person who's honest with customers.

He's entirely patient with the most trying of customers.

Sometimes I get super frustrated but he takes it all in stride.

It inspires me to be more like that!

Today was my last day working with him.

He leaves tomorrow to work for Louis Vuitton,

the best of the best jobs in my world.

I could not be more excited for someone!!!

Long Overdue: Porch Garden Photos

Cayenne peppers were my only really success.  

I was able to get peppers from the plant well into September.

The early days of my gardening experience. 

In the buckets left to right:  

zucchini, tomatoes (can't remember which kind) & cayenne. 

In the bottles hanging left to right:  

jalapenos (Eric's fave), cilantro (my fave) & basil.

It eventually got bigger and better than that.  

Sadly, I didn't take anymore pictures.

I love that we used all upcycled containers.

Eric & I started it as something to do together.

I admit it was really nice to be able to make pizzas with mostly our stuff.

The basil was always fantastic.  

We loved it so much we started another plant indoors.

The onions we grew in soda bottles were surprisingly delicious.

Eric loved the jalapenos he collected.

I still use the cayenne peppers from our garden now.  

It was really cool to see what we could & couldn't grow.

I can't wait to try again this spring!

Random Birthday Goodies & Other Nonsense

 ♥Our friends Candace & Steude, of Skeleton Kednig, brought me

these pretty flowers.  I never get flowers.  I'm still thrilled!

♥I got these freakin-adorable owl salt & pepper shakers.  Love them!

♥My best friend Angelina always laughs at me because I say 

I'll only clean if I have pink cleaning stuff.  She hooked me up.  

♥This is my favorite palette ever!!!  I need to do a review on it.  

I'm so in love.  It lights up & it's NYC.  AHHH!  ♥

So yeah, I turned 28 this past weekend.  It was fun.

We just had a few friends over and made these amazing mini cheeseburgers.

Of course, the girls & I had a couple bellinis. Naturally.

Today I'm just getting ready for tomorrow.

Well, that and making a version of Panera's broccoli & cheese soup.

I'll post the recipe later if it turns out swell.

I'm also working on a Milkjug series that I'll start posting next month 

but more about that later.  I have to work on it.

I have been listening to the sampler all morning.  Seriously, it's love...

I almost forgot!  I got this super cute slip for my birthday too.  

I need to rotate this picture but I'll do it later.  

In fact, I'll take a better picture.  

Anyway, it's Free People.  I love it.  It's lavender with tiny pink flowers.

I wear dresses everyday and the only other slip I had until I got this was neon green.

It was definitely needed.  To say the least.  :)  

Well, happy Wednesday everyone.  Happy Thanksgiving too!  

If you're not into Thanksgiving, have a great day off work tomorrow!!!

Linda Ronstadt Interview From 1988

"I'm Not Good At Doing What I'm Told"

American Way, April 1, 1988

by Rod Davis

She was looking into a lighted makeup mirror atop a cosmetics-strewn table, and a face of girlish healthiness was looking back. "You learn how to listen to the tiniest little detail in the sound," said Linda Ronstadt, "to listen to relationships and patterns and how patterns relate to each other within the whole scheme of sounds. I can listen to someone with my eyes closed and practically tell you if they're telling you the truth or not, or, if they're going through a sentence, what they're nervous about, because that word will jump in a certain way. The sound of it will change, if there's anger, or embarrassment, or. . ." The last thing I wanted to do at that moment was talk; my words would jump like fleas. I already was perspiring - worst place, top of my head. I was wretched. I was dying. I was ecstatic. I met her only a few minutes earlier, on a stairwell in San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium, just right of the stage, where dancers and mariachis were rehearsing and stagehands were fussing over equipment. She had been talking to a Las Vegas animal trainer, Ed Krieg, whose white palomas (pigeons) were to be used in her show. She spoke softly to the birds, wanting to pet them, but not to frighten them. She was sitting, leaning across the bare concrete in a blue-jean jacket. Her shoulder-length hair was full and black. When she turned to greet me, she smiled. The whiteness of her teeth and the clearness of her fabled brown eyes took away a little of my breath. She said, "I'm Linda."  And then I was sitting in her plain, white dressing room, watching her put on makeup for an afternoon photo session. She was in San Antonio, a Hispanic majority city of one million people, to open a 15-city, national tour based on her new, gold-selling Spanish-language album, Canciones de mi Padre (Elektra, 1987). I was close enough to see her exactly as she was - unadorned: the person, not the persona.

F I V E

1. Would you ever get cosmetic surgery? If not, why not? If yes, what would you want done?

I'm good for now, thanks.  

2. What is “your drink”?

Champagne.  Definitely.

3. What are your five fashion essentials?

Purple boots. Eyeliner. Mascara. Black dresses. Tights/leggings.

4. Do you have any tattoos? What are they? If not, do you want some? What would you like to get?

I don't have any now but I want a few.  I want Azure Ray lyrics across my chest to start.

5. What is something most people don’t know about you?

I went to a Christian college.

Getting To Know Me

What is your theme song?  

"Beautiful Things Can Come From The Dark" by Azure Ray

If you could go anywhere in the world,  free of cost, where would you go?

If you were stranded on an island what three things would you want with you?

Lodging, SPF, bug spray!  (Bugs love me & I hate them!)

How would you describe your personal style?

Mostly dresses with sweaters and leggings/tights.  Lots of black and pops of bright color.

Fun accessories.  Eyeliner.  Caffeinated boho?  LOL.

What is your biggest fear?

Fear itself.

Winter, spring, summer or fall?

All you have to do is call and I'll be there, you've got a friend.  :)

I really love fall!

What color are you?

Definitely purple.

What is your favorite hobby?

Music.  Shopping.  

If you could spend a day with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

I'm going to have to say Johnny Cash.  And June.  LEGENDARY.

What's the last album you bought?  What else is on your iPod right now?

Jenny & Johnny's "I'm Having Fun Now".  White Stripes, Karen Elson, Conor Oberst

What influences your style?

Everything.  The packaging on products.  The colors I see around me.  

Blogs.  Music.  My friends & how they style things.  What kind of day I'm having.

I have even been known to match my outfits to my drinks, randomly.

I didn't know I did that until Heather pointed it out.  WEIRD!

What designers are you inspired by?

BETSEY JOHNSON, PATRICIA FIELD, MARC JACOBS, FREE PEOPLE

JEFFREY SEBELIA, VICTOIRE DE CASTELLANE (DIOR FINE JEWELRY)

VERAMEAT (JEWELRY)

Lovely Dior Ring.  It's beautiful right?

&

On the other side of the spectrum...

Love this Dino Eating Fried Chicken ring from Verameat!

how to become a sofa owner

go to Ikea on a chilly day and nap...

have a friend test the sofa for nap-ability...

check to make sure it's comfy...

comfy = check!

proceed to checkout

place the giant box in mom's cobalt

get bf to assemble it

congrats you grown up!

Yes, I am a huge dork.  

It's so fun though.  :)

This was the funniest day.  

I became a sofa owner in Jan.

I just found the pictures today.  

Right now I'm listening to The Orsons.

Wishing they were still together.

Still laughing at How I Met Your Mother.

Thinking about painting my toenails Packers green.

Looking up recipes for soups.  

Cleaning the house for my mom's visit this week.  

Hope you're having a great night!    

Ten Rules for Being Human 
by Cherie Carter-Scott

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tool and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you have to do is look.
10. You will forget all this.

via Little Chief Honeybee

twenty questions

one.  show us the inside of something cute.

two.  what's the last home cooking you had?

chicken nachos.

three.  what do you miss?

four.  what makes you laugh often?

five.  what's your favorite word?

RIDICULOUS.

six.  what are you trying to quit?  

seven.  what's your favorite commercial right now?

eight.  whose style do you dig?

nine.  link to a great blog you've discovered lately.

http://punkystyle.com

ten.  what's the last craft you made?

eleven.  a photo of the last happy mail you got.

twelve.  something you've got lately?

thirteen.  what are you looking forward to?

fourteen.  post a recent snapshot of you.

fifteen.  a favorite movie?

sixteen.  something you're working on right now?

gifts for my framily.

seventeen.  if a movie were made about you, who would play you?

eighteen.  what gives you goosebumps?

nineteen.  share a new obsessions.

venti.  what's the meaning of your life?

to love and be loved

Guys

BRANDON BOYD

"The girl I find who wants to talk about quantum theory in a bar is the one I want to marry."

BEN TAYLOR

"There is nothing that I can do but belong to you..."

JIM MORRISON

 "Hello, I love you.  Won't you tell me your name?"

CONOR OBERST

"I felt your poltergeist love like Savannah heat..."

ERIC

"Finally something real...."

Snow Day ZZZZ

Okay, so it's freezing! We've been iced in all weekend. It's been nice. I've been productive. Woo!

So, I lined the drawers in the bathroom cabinet with a super fun piece of scrapbook paper and some contact paper. I made some yoyos out of some of my moms old clothes she gave to me to throw away. (The yoyos are for a secret project I have planned. ) I organized more of my craft supplies. I cleaned the whole apt. We finally started working on cleaning up some of the random music equipment that's been lying around for quite some time. A LOT of girly movies were watched in our house this weekend. I started organizing my closet. Overall, I feel like I can sleep easier now. I like getting things done.

I wish there was just a teensy bit more snow and a lot less ice. Then I could do this!!!!


Until then, I'm getting some sleep.

Venus & Mars

Venus & Mars in Nashville, TN is exactly the source I've looked for forever! Just looking online, I've been inspired and am dying to take a trip to Nashville just to shop there! If you don't already know about this incredible vintage store, you definitely should! Check it out girls!!!

iPhone Shooting Tips

Before, when I just took pictures like a maniac...LOL


If you're like me and find yourself taking a lot of pictures with your iPhone, you're going to love this helpful tips from the interns over at Craftzine. I surely do. :-D Now if I could just go back to NYC. Sigh.

I Believe

God has a way of mixing things up right when you think you have it all figured out. I'm really happy about that.

Inspiration A-Z

A... Anthropologie
B... Betsey Johnson
C... Cosmetics
D... Dixie Pixel
E... ELLE Magazine
F... Friends
G... Gwen Stefani
H... Holidays
I... Ice Cream
J... Jewelry
K... Kindergarteners
L... Love
M... Music
N... New York
O... Oranges
P... Patricia Field
Q... Quirks
R... Razzle Dazzle
S... Sephora
T... Threadbanger !!!!!!!!
U... Urban Outfitters
V... Velvet
W... Winning
X... X men
Y... Youtube
Z... ZOOEY DESCHANEL

And so it begins....

I set a new goal for myself today.  It is to actually use the resources available to me and get 100 blog entries under my belt before New Years Eve of this year.  The plan is to do one every day I work on my lunch break.  Wish me luck!  Today, being the first installment of this particular plan, I have decided to give you all a little history on me.  This is my story.  Well, a part of it.

I was born in Hawaii.

I grew up in WV and TN.

I moved 4 hours away from everyone I knew to work for Sephora here in NC 3 years ago.

I left Sephora for a higher paying job that didn't work out.

I went to Nordstrom with Philosophy cosmetics.

I met my current boyfriend.

We moved to TN.   

I worked for Laura Mercier and BBW, an old employer.

We moved back.

I do freelance work.

I am involved in music.  

It's everywhere around me.

I craft everything and love "upcycling".  

I really hope my future posts will help y'all or at least make you smile!  

Love you all!

Thanks!

Christina