GROUPLOVE

last monday (not yesterday) my sis and i went to grouplove at the roseland. i think they are just great, very very odd but totally fit in with portland. 

best quote from lic, "i really want his dress." the lead male singer had on a very long printed shirt (or dress) and the female lead had a full body (face mask included) skeleton costume.

DIY CLUTCHES

sunglass case with studs and beads

cork and fabric

fold over with exposed zipper

here are some tutorials for purses i reccommend...

diy from crimenesdelmoda

diy from themakingspot

diy from apair-andaspare

diy from sylandsam

BALLET

i'm slowly working toward my goal of becoming a ballerina (i didn't say a good one). well my classes start next week at body vox and i just got my slippers in the mail!!! i went to a local dance shop to get ballet shoes and realized that almost all the shoes are made of leather or at least have suede soles. so i left and quickly googled vegan ballet slippers. i found a few sights but the most promising (and that had my size) was cynthia king dance. the shoes came crazy quick they shipped within hours of my order.

INSPIRED DESIGN/PORTLAND COLLECTION

the show itself was not very interesting but the pendleton portland line was amazing but as always crazy expensive.

JOSHY Ds BDAY

after a heart retching day for my honey (the ducks loosing to stanford) we had a few drinks and celebrated josh's birthday at jones bar. 

 

NEW: LAST WEEK

buffalo "wings"

if you don't already know i am a vegetarian but my husband is very much a carnivore, he wont eat any vegetables. so sometimes meals for us can be challenging but the other night i found a recipe on pinterest for cauliflower wings. i changed it up a little bit but they were very easy and delicious! 

• 1 head cauliflower
• ½ c. white flour
• ½ c. water
• Pinch salt
• Buffalo sauce
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the batter ingredients in a small bowl. Dip the cauliflower in the batter until coated evenly then place on greased baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the batter hardens. Once the cauliflower are done baking, brush them with the hot sauce mixture and bake again for a few more minutes, until cauliflower is crispy. Remove from oven. You may want to add a bit more buffalo sauce to taste.

meow

i saw this saying on pinterest awhile back and fell in love. so i went to joann's and bought some flock iron on letters and put then on an old tee.

mint lip balm

also from pinterest a recipe for peppermint lip balm (without petroleum jelly)

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 ounce beeswax (i bought 100% beeswax candles from new seasons, melted them down and removed the wick.)
• 3-5 drops Vitamin E oil (or squeeze out 1-2 capsules)3-5 drops 
• Peppermint essential oil 
• lip balm containers (i used small bad jars from joann's)
• Melt coconut oil and beeswax over med heat (or in microwave) and then add Vitamin E oil and Peppermint oil. Mix thoroughly and immediately pour into containers.

bronzer/face powder

recipe from crunchybetty

christmas is getting near! i've already started making presents and of course the labels that go with them. here's a little sneaky peak...

WIRE BOW

a few weeks ago i bought some shoes (yeah yeah i know) from modcloth and in the box i got a little surprise! a wired bow in a yellowy pattern. i didn't like the fabric so i took is off and replaced it with left over velvet from my hamburgelar cape. i love my new wire bow, the options are endless, down, up, pony, bun...
super easy tutorial coming soon.

BLAZER VS CLIPPERS

my sissy won 2nd row tickets to the blazer/clippers game from work! it was crazy to see the players so close. we are used to the cheap nose bleed seats.

all the seats in these couple rows have peoples names engraved. there was some oil guys in front of us and drink company off to the side.

sadly they didn't win but i wouldn't of even noticed. i did feel bad for the players, fans are so mean. a guy from the clippers almost got in a fight with a fan. batum was so into the game, j'adore.

then i hopped on the max (no more fareless square so it was $2.50 to go three stops), went and got my free french fries (our section won them) and met jason at the radio station to go home to our little guy.

HALLOWEEN: PART TROIS

at work.

katniss!!!

the illustrator toolbox and his tools. 

BETTER

i want to be a better person. i want to help people and animals. i don't want to take my life for granted and give others a better chance. as much as i hate to admit it, i am a grown up. i'm married, own a house, work for an amazing company, and have a little guy to take care of. in my ideal world i would be volunteering all my time to ngo's (non governmental organizations) and shelters but that doesn't pay the bills. so instead i give money, goods, and at least once a month i chose a 5k charity and run.

if you're interested in donating time, money, or things i recommend (and have used) GlobalGiving, causes.com, hands on greater portland, homeplate, komen race for the cure, the girl effect, the red cross, operation home front, uso, veterans of vietnam war, oregon humane society, aspca, and the oregon dachshund rescue, humane society of the united states. there are so many worthy organizations
that need money or a hand.

i've also been a vegetarian for about 2 years. i originally became one because i simply don't like the taste of most meats. i can count on one hand how many burgers i've ever had in my lifetime. but now i think of the poor animals are slaughtered and/or live miserable lives. i try my best not to project my ideals onto others. whats feels right to me may not be someone else's cup of tea. but look at these cute little faces...



i would never be able to go full vegan because i love cheese too much. peta is a pretty extreme group but they have wonderful resources. they have become my main source for products that are vegan and not tested on animals. it's been sad to find out that almost everything i use is tested on animals...mac, matrix, benefit, kiehl's, clean & clear... i don't intend on getting rid of the current products i have, the damage has already been done and i don't have money to replace everything. but going forward i want to do my best to buy from companies that don't test on animals. that means no more leather, it is someone else's skin after all. no more wool, unless i know where is comes from like a local small farm that doesn't mistreat the sheep or alpacas.
below is a list of peta approved products (companies). you might be surprised to find recognizable brands.

search for cruelty free companies here

companies that do test on animals pdf

companies that don't test on animals pdf

• stila: the smudge pot is very close to the paint pots in mac. i use the black for eyeliner with a small angled brush. all day waterproof brow color, love. it is very subtle so i might also get the medium color for when i want a more dramatic look.
• too faced: i bought tinted beauty balm to replace my kiehls tinted moisturizer. i also want to try insurance eye shadow primer and chocolate soleil bronzer (this is made with cocoa powder it might make me crave chocolate even more then i already do.) too faced has a lot of great lip colors and glosses too. i'm more of a burt bees balm and on special occasions bright red or pink lip so at this time i am not in need of getting new lip color.
• bare minerals: i really like flawless definition volumizing mascara. it doesn't clump while still giving length. i'm not sold on the eye brightener.  i don't think is stays on very well. i do want to try the READY bronzer, warmth all over face color, and SPF 20 correcting concealer.
• jason natural: i haven't received my stuff yet but i ordered rosewater body wash, thin to thick extra volume hair spray, pure natural makeup remover pads, deodorant for women and men (so my jason can try it and maybe i can convert him).

(personally i like shopping online because it's a lot easier then fighting traffic but i'm also very impatient. stila, too faced, and bare minerals can also be found at nordstom, macy's, sephora, and other stores.)
(a few jason products are carried at many stores but online has the best selection.)

TRANSPARENT RAINCOAT

(apparently this is what i do when my husband is gone...)

i finally finished my raincoat. it took a very long time but i did learn a few things.

1. sewing machines do not like plastic. a trick i learned after sewing over half the coat by hand is to stick tape on to the bottom of the foot (on the sewing machine). works like a charm. 

2. i am in dire need of a thimble. 

3. cooper does not like clear plastic, it makes funny noises.

i would love to post a tutorial on this but it was a pain to make, so here's my steps...

buy a simple pattern. buy clear plastic according to the pattern. buy trim, lots of trim. cut out the pattern. sew together. sew on the trim. done.

other diy tutorials can be found at apair-andaspare and  matterofstyle

 inspiration...burberry

i'm pretty excited about this winter 

& everything it's bringing.

here's a few things i have going on...

*mani/pedi with my mom & sis

*apple picking

*blazer game with my sis

*dinner with my wife

* friends-giving at the chinn’s

*GROUPLOVE at the roseland

*giving blood on the 21st

*thanksgiving with the fams

*hot butter Run (5k)

*another friends-giving!!!

*adult ballet classes

*winter wonderland run (2/4 miles)

*MELT for runners class

*KILLERS at the rosegarden
*the Nutcracker with chinn

*my sissy’s 29th birthday! 

*my papa’s 6-0!!! 

*xmas!! i've already started!

*and then new years!!