Sometimes the best laid plans are the plans that you've laid aside

I've decided my new Christmas tree lights are magical, and I may take all my pictures next to my tree even though I come out blurry and dim. 

I was happy to be able to make use of all my Christmas ornaments on this little guy. I was a little worried I would have too many! My mom and I have a tradition where she buys me a new ornament every year. We go on special shopping trips with the sole purpose of tracking down the perfect one. This started when I was very young, and even going back to a time when I was too young to choose for myself. It's pretty fun to look at my collection now and see the phases I've gone through. Lots of kitties, bunnies, unicorns and the like from my childhood. Lots of delicate blown glass, glitter and snowflakes from more recent years. Just last week I got my newest, a tiny blown glass Arche de Triomphe for the Francophile in me. I didn't have anything for a tree topper, so I snagged a little mitten ornament of indeterminate origin (maybe I got it at the library Christmas party last year?) and plunked it on. Overall, a little haphazard, and the tree's Charlie Brownish, the stand wrapped in a scarf that's for sale at my etsy store since it's the only thing I had that looks festive. But it's amazing how happy looking at my little tree makes me. Life may be weird right now, and I may not know what I'm doing with my life. But scent of pine and the whimsy of pretty lights helps. It's comforting in a way I never could have imagined.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I love when fun little bonuses come along in life. Like today. My mom and brother showed up unannounced at my apartment and took me to lunch. My mom even bought me a little Christmas tree and lights! I was considering not bothering with one this year, but now that it's all set up I feel much more festive.

Want to get some fun little bonuses for yourself? Consider liking me on Facebook. Aside from notifying you whenever I put up a new post, I occasionally put up links to things that are cool. Like today. Want to know what I found? Follow this link! Also, consider following my blog. I know some of you are slacking on that. I appreciate everyone who reads my blog, but I super appreciate anyone who follows it. And if you do follow, please send me an email and let me know! If you have a blog yourself, include the link and I'll check it out. I need some new blogsessions (my word that combines blog with obsession). You could be the next victim of my cyber stalking! 

Something draws near. I can feel it.

Lately, since I have the time, I've been making a real effort to provide better quality photos and more varied content. You know, something a little deeper than a few comments about my outfit and retelling of whatever mundanity came to pass that particular day. Today, not so much. But here are three of only four pictures I took tonight, it's probably some kind of record. I kind of like how the first picture with flash came out--my hair looks so shiny. 

Man, I guess even tired and unenthusiastic, you can't stop my wit and stellar observational skills.

Seth Meyers, settin' fires

Here's an installment of my secrets revealed: how I take pictures. My tripod is one of those small ones with flexible legs, so  I am always having to create a makeshift stand to set it on. Today, my ingenuity is apparent in the sliding door reflection. A dining room table chair with the tripod legs wrapped around  it. It's a bit hard to see the camera itself, but the chair is glaringly obvious, so I had to address it.

I was happy to get pictures in today before it got dark. The days are so short, I can barely stand it. And I just looked up the solstice and found out it's like December 22, which is WAY TOO FAR AWAY YOU GUYS. I'm pretty sure that within a week or two there's not going to be any real daylight at all. I feel like I'm living in 30 days of night or something here. Which I watched again recently, and that's a pretty decent vampire movie. 

One thing that comes with this time of year is a multitude of Christmas specials and programming, some good and some not so much. I was truly flummoxed when I found out Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda had animated Christmas shows that played on Thanksgiving night. No thank you. Joe and I came across the Charlie Brown one last night, and were all set to watch it when I flipped to NBC on commercial break and discovered holiday Minute to Win It. Have you guys seen this game show? Contestants compete in a bunch of games, each having to be completed successfully in under a minute. The backwards-sunglasses guy from Food Network hosts, and he is requisitely annoying. But for some reason Joe and I really like watching it.

 The contestants were two sisters wearing plaid shirts and Julia Roberts caliber smiles. Guy something, the host, awkwardly flirted with them and they jumped about like teenagers most of the time, though there was a touching exchange where they revealed they would use their winnings to help their mom pay off her house so she could retire. Tears and audience empathy ensued. Meanwhile, every commercial break was ushered in and out by models dressed up in sexy Santa outfits, dancing and waving pom poms. I was very confused and felt that I should perhaps be offended as well. Nevertheless, I will no doubt tune back in next week and see if the sisters do indeed manage to get their hands on the three million dollars up for grabs. That is, if I happen to be watching television, and I happen flip past it. 

This from a person who claims to have high television watching standards. You know what else was a really good show? Shark Tank. 

Putting a crimp in my style

I feel like a cheerleader in this outfit, though my t-shirt says "Palm Springs Croquet," and I'm pretty sure croquet doesn't have cheerleaders. I think the effect comes from the sporty shirt paired with this black dress worn as a skirt. I just got a fabric cutter, so I sliced off the bottom of what used to be a just above my ankle hemline. I did kind of a hack job, but thank goodness jersey fabric is forgiving so it's not too noticeable. The boots were necessary since these tights have several urgently growing holes in the toes of both feet. I'm thinking of chopping off the tops and bottoms and turning them into a sort of tights/leg warmers hybrid. 

These days I spend so much of my time holed up in my apartment, trying to work on a million ideas and projects that I hope can one day become profitable. Blogs, sewing, jewelry, vintage clothes, writing, fashion, style, reading...there's so much I want to do, and the luxury of time, but no money to help me out. I've found it's very slow and frustrating trying to get any income working from home without spending a bunch. My etsy store could be fully stocked and well advertised with a bit of capital to get it going. But I have to build from the ground up, without really knowing what I'm doing. Sure, it would be great to work part time and supplement my ventures, but despite my efforts and qualifications, the job search is going nowhere fast. The sun is already low at four in the afternoon, and though hours ripe with possibility for working stretch before me, I can't help but feel the day is fast ending and little has come of it. My new favorite quote helps keep me trying, though it comes from an unlikely source:

Print via Ellogovna at etsy.com

Well played, Justin Cronin

The question of the day: if I were to desire a black body con miniskirt, but didn't have one, what should be done about it? The answer, surprisingly enough, was a stretchy black tank top. I pulled it from its hanger, tried  it on, and found it to be almost perfect. The only problem was what to do about the straps, which were just sort of dangling around my hips. I put on my little bike shorts (worn under every skirt or dress) and tucked them in...and it worked! I might have to use this trick again, since I am always wanting the perfect black miniskirt.

I spent most of today in Joe's apartment, barreling my way through the last bit of The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's due back to the library tomorrow, and I have a hold to pick up, so I wanted to get to the end today. It was a fantastic book, a pseudo-vampire tale that actually delivers with a great story, well-formed characters and actual emotion depth. I say pseudo-vampire since the unfortunate creatures are a product of a virus manipulated from its natural form in an effort to create...well, never mind. I don't want to give too much away. At nearly eight hundred pages, it's more of a commitment than a book, but it moves well and the writing is admirable. It's the vampire book I wanted The Strain to be. The Strain was a collaboration between Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro, and while I knew little about the former, I'm a huge fan of del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth and expected him to deliver in a big way. While that book was entertaining, it ultimately fell flat and relied heavily on archetypes. The Passage, however, is packed with characters, and each one is distinct and realistic. Cronin's voice is strong, his word choice pulled me in and kept me awash in the story. He is descriptive without being tedious. He creates suspense as well as he create drama. There's romance, but not annoying superfluous romance thrown in to satisfy a niche. It's a vampire novel that wasn't created in hopes of cashing in on a trend, but because it had to be vampires. The story called for them, needed them, couldn't have been without them. The Passage is the first in a trilogy that has the potential to be classic and enduring in a way other undead fad books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, though fun and innovative in it's own way, cannot hope to be. 

Joe working on his paper. In his cool apartment.

The bad news is, I didn't know it was a trilogy until after I finished it, and now I have to wait for the others to come out. I hate that! Usually I try not to get in on a series until after all the books have been written so I can power through them  all at once. Well played, Justin Cronin. Now what am I supposed to read until the next one comes out?

Nowhere Near Here

Nowhere Near Here from Pahnl on Vimeo.


I'm not feeling so hot today. My day consisted of getting up around one thirty, reading, going to IHOP with Joe (we love ourselves some IHOP, don't judge), and watching a Stanley Kubrick documentary. Which bring us to now. Which is me on the couch in my pj's getting ready to read some more. To make up for another day with no outfit post, here's a lovely video by Pahnl I found on The Daily What. Here is the description:

If life is a catwalk, run like a dog.

'Nowhere Near Here' is a stop motion animation that uses a combination of light with stencils and long exposure photography to tell the story of a dog running around the city at night, doing whatever a dog does. The animation was first exhibited at the The Herbert, in Coventry, on the 7th October 2010.

With well over 300 hours in the making, more than 200 stencils involved and too many cold nights spent outside on my knees getting the shots, I am very happy (and relieved) to finally share this with you. Through the course of shooting 'Nowhere Near Here', I have dealt with curious drunks, a dog almost peeing on the camera (the irony is not lost on me, haha), the endlessly suspicious police and even someone nearly running off with a tripod.

This is street art, this is life and thank you for watching. 

...for those of you that may be interested in prints, a selection of film stills from 'Nowhere Near Here' are currently available at pahnl.co.uk/​store.php

Animation by Pahnl
- pahnl.co.uk


The prints are a bit spendy, but lovely, by the way.