Snow Globe

 

Back in Boston and it feels so good! 

To do:

•  Wandering in the snow
• H&M Shopping spree (Hello Sonia Rykiel!)
• A visit to Cambridge Antiques
• New Hampshire ski trip
• Feta Cheese Fries at Steve's Greek
• Trip to Sweet Local Farm 
• Crafting at Mystic Valley Studio

Via

Project: 365 Days!

First things first, HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!! Here's hoping 2010 brings plenty of love, success and happiness to us all!

Inspired by this I have decided to take on a little project for the new year: I joined the 365 Days Flickr Group and will now submit a self portrait for every single day of 2010!!! Can I do it? We'll see! Day 1: A picture of Zero and I!

Want to keep tabs on me? You can see my 365 Days Set HERE!

Tim Burton

I need to get over to the MoMA for the Tim Burton exhibit! Obviously I'm a fan: my dog is named Zero!

Bush Fires

Hello friends,
I'm sure you have all seen this picture of "Sam," a furry victim of the bush fires in Victoria getting water from a firefighter. Well I knew I wanted to help out in some way but couldn't find a way to donate with American dollars. Well, I wanted to share this link with everyone and ask that if you can, PLEASE donate! To help, please visit RSPCA Victoria to donate money. Or if you are feeling especially crafty please visit Snowpea to learn how to make pouches for abandoned furry friends!

A Miami Christmas Break

I know I've been kind of vague about these "new jewelry experiments" I keep referring to, so I want to explain just what it is that I've been working on. I recently discovered a material called Precious Metal Clay ("PMC") which is a clay, created by Mitsubishi, that contains microscopic particles of silver (or other precious metals). When fired, the clay particles burn away, revealing .999 fine silver. As you can imagine, the options are endless and I am brimming with ideas!

Here's the problem, I am hardly a sculptor so learning how to work with this material is quite the challenge! Well I got an informal lesson from a friend and spent many hours creating some test items, using stamps made from vintage buttons. When I put my carefully crafted items in a kiln (a very old kiln that doesn't give accurate temperature measurements), here's what we discovered an hour later:


That's right, a whole lot of nothing! Discouraging, right? Well here's what's giving me hope, the one success of this story:

So the experiments continue. First step, I have to buy a kiln. Here's the beauty that I will be ordering today:

I just need to decide if I should settle for the manual (cheaper) or splurge and get the digital version.

In other Miami Christmas break news, check out these pictures of Zero on Christmas morning, helping to open gifts (his favorite activity of the year!)



Update: I've settled on the Paragon SC2 kiln and just placed my order...completely digital and programmable, slightly more expensive, but hopefully worth it! ;)

Miami Highlight: Madonna!

I'm sitting in the airport about to board my flight back to Boston and just discovered the free wireless internet(!) so I felt like I should write about one of the highlights of my brief trip...Madonna! On Wednesday I went to go see the final concert of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour and...wow! I'm not the biggest Madonna fan there ever was, but the show was definitely worth the steep price...the guest appearances from Pharrell and Timbaland probably didn't hurt either. I spent most of the show just amazed that she really exists and spent the other part of the show convincing myself that it's time to go back to the gym...just check out the photo below:

Homeward Bound: Miami

Well, I've finally pinpointed the cause of my recent homesickness:

That's right, Dexter! I netflixed season one and season two and I have been watching them non-stop and all those typical Miami scenes are making me homesick! Even though I have a love-hate relationship with my home town...it will always be "home" no matter what, and I am so excited to be heading there tomorrow.

I fully intend to hit up Jimbo's and I also plan on indulging in some delicious Cuban food and stone crab. Other than eating, the list includes thrifting at Flamingo Plaza and Antique Mall Y'all...and most importantly, lounging on the beach!

Lust: Comme des Garcons for H&M

I can't WAIT for the new Comme des Garcons collection at H&M. Although most of the items are still out of my price range (that dress on the right is $350!), I will still make a stop at H&M to peruse the goods. Although if the debut in Tokyo is any indication, I'll be lucky if there are any items left for me to see by the time I get there! Check out the video below for a behind the scenes look-

Anything is possible!

I've always been a fan of the underdog. Today definitely reaffirms any belief I might have had that anything is achievable. Here's to turning over a new leaf! xo

Ideas and Inspiration

I have some new tricks up my sleeve for new items to add to the store and they involve a whole new set of materials that I've never worked with before. I ordered all the supplies today and look forward to experimenting over these next few weeks. Let me just mention it involves a kiln...this could easily be a disaster!
Anyways, I'm already filled to the brim with ideas and inspirations, here are a few:


Ashley G

GeminiTactics

Kiki and Polly

Mad Men Design Style

Do you love Don Draper's 1960s Power Office so much that you want to have one of your very own? Then you MUST click HERE! To quote Apartment Therapy, "Check out this photo spread (complete with modern day buying guide) of stylish and retro design elements that will have us all dripping with political incorrectness and sexual innuendos in no time."

Inspiration: Equestrianism

Out of fear that I've posted one too many of Montreal posts and lost everyone's interest, I've decided to do a second post today. This time, on a NEW found obsession of mine...Equestrianism! Perhaps I've watched a bit too much Mad Men and Betty Draper has invaded my mind. Well, my hunt continues for the perfect brown vintage riding boots (the picture of the boots in the collage are on my ebay watch list and they WILL be mine in 3 days!) Also on my list, the perfect equestrian tweed blazer!

What I miss most

After my four-hour-a-day practice sessions of undergrad, I definitely needed a nice long break from playing the piano. Well, I can officially say that 3 years without a piano is FAR too long of a break! Once I finish this year and settle in somewhere, my first purchase will be a big, beautiful piano of my very own. I can't believe how much I miss it!