What to Expect from Here on Out

Minor updates or anything I think is nice or cute at the time of posting :)

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Intrude

When I first viewed art exhibit Intrude by artist Amanda Parer I thought 'aw how cute, bunnies!'  

Who doesn't love bunnies, right? Then I read about the artist, Amanda was born in Sydney, Australia. I've never had the pleasure of visiting Australia but hear its a wonderful country with unique species and landscape.  

Amanda's work is not to show how cute bunnies are but depict them large scale over running our space. Rabbits are not native to Australia but have thrived there and these fluffy cute critters are actually endangering some species native to Australia, habitat and food competition. 

The art exhibit makes you feel small in comparison and the nylon sculptures are so large you have to maneuver around them. Just a glimpse of what's occurring in our world when we release or place an animal or plant where nature did not intend. 



Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Ad Campaigns: past & present

About 200 years of advertising in America, from the first ad newspaper ad placed 1704 in Boston News-letter of an estate for sale, over 100 later a voluntary council in 1942 to promote war efforts and the ever popular 'cola wars'. American advertisors have brought creativity, fun, and customers to evey product imaginable. 

Now you are reading this and thinking, uh-huh yeah we watch tv and look at ads, your point? 
I was sent an email with the subject, old ads you don't see anymore and for good reason. Looking at some of these ads from a range of decades (20's to 50's) I realized they speak volumes about our past. Take a look at the ad below:

Did the public think cigarettes were bad for them when this ad was run, cigarettes were the norm. A lot of unhealthy attitudes, ads with clear racist messages, sexist comments or products that were outright dangerous weren't given a second thought. If they did bother people it wasn't the majority. 
 
So in this enlightened age, 2016 I began to wonder how do we compare to the past and where are we still failing? Will the future generations be shocked by some of our current ads. I certainly hope so, because it means as a society we will evolve and be more than what we are now. 

I was happy to get those old ads, to remind me complacency sets in when we fail to question the status quo. 

Some information on advertising dates used from link below:

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Two Tier Topiary DIY

My first two tier rose topiarys. A friend wanted them for her twins first birthday, she decided on an Alice in Wonderland theme (very cute) so these decor had to be special. Luckily she let me know what she was looking for so here's what I did and what I'll do different next time. 

Materials:
•Two 6" floracraft white styrofoam balls
•Two 4" floracraft white styrofoam balls
•Two terra cotta flower pots
•Two green flat styrofoam discs
•Moss by ashland deco moss
•Two semi straight thin sticks from a local park (I used Clorox towelettes to disinfect/ clean the sticks)
•Glue gun and glue sticks
•6 rose bunches (about ten flowers on each)

What I did:
•Pulled each flower head from the plastic stems and used the glue gun to stickand  secure into the ball. I tried to glue them in a continuous line around the middle of the ball. 
•After the 1st line of flowers I put them around the top half of the ball. Using the leaves on the bottom portion. 
•I filled in open spots with moss and buds or leaves.
•Put the green flat disc in the flower pot and put the stick through the middle. Make sure all is straight: disc, ball, stick before gluing. 
•Fit the other small stick into bottom of 4" styrofoam ball then in top of first ball, remember to glue!
•Add moss over the disc in the flower pot. 
•To make it more authentic I added pieces of thin sticks into different spots. 
•Since you're making two make sure they match! Doesn't hurt to get a second opinion.  
Here's the process in pictures:


What I'd do differently:
•Maybe try to find bulk rose heads on amazon, they seemed to be a better bargain. Or I may try the Dollar Tree store, again to get more flowers. 
•I'd definitely buy different moss. This moss was pretty but very difficult to glue. i burned my fingers too much trying to wedge it between flowers and glue. It's better for filling into the flower pot or a basin. Next time I'll go for a moss mat. They also sell moss balls but they are expensive and I'm uncertain how well the flowers would adhere to it. 
•Next time I will buy a pack of styrofoam balls instead of individual. I bought mine from Michaels and they didn't have the packs in the size I wanted. Better stores for me to buy them are Walmart, Joanns, or again Amazon. 
•Finally next time I'll have someone check to see if both heights match before the glue dries 😛
Thanks for reading and if you try these out let me know how it goes or if you have any tips!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

It Came From Outer Space

What does the science community have against Pluto? It's one of my favorite planets, apart from Earth of course, it's the wall flower of our solar system. Yet again the science community is beginning to think it's not the ninth planet. There's a new one they just discovered...maybe. See link to cnn article:

Now if there really is a newly discovered planet I think that's wonderful. Planet 9 as they are calling it not to be confused with the movie, could be a new wonderland to explore with new possibilities. 

I suppose scientists were just trying to be accurate when they categorized Pluto as a dwarf planet but that doesn't mean there's nothing to be learned from it. Hope they find something out soon about Planet 9.

To Vote or Not to Vote

I have a bone to pick with those running for the nomination of their parties for the upcoming presidential election. Enough with the rhetoric! Both Republican and Democratic party candidates facts are so skewed they only provided tidbits of truth to the American public. 

This two party system we've built is failing to deliver. Their goals and vision for the country are so far from each other there is no room for compromise. How did the direction of this country become so divergent? Is it the fault of lobbyists, big business on Wall Street or banks? No. Is it the fault of immigrants, environmental activists or liberal lobbyists? No. The fault lies in all of us for buying into this political malay. We are so drawn to the reality tv culture we don't want to look for a conscientious candidate. Is there even one to be found anymore. 

While it's simple for me to point out all the faults in our system, I don't have any solution. The fact is even the best candidate won't get votes if they tell the whole truth. Truth isn't pretty. Cutting taxes, not sending our soldiers to dangerous parts of the world, solution for everything and anything that bothers the average joe in the U.S. This is what people want because we hope things can be better. It's not that we are dumb or out of touch, it's that we are optimistic. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. 


Monday, January 18, 2016

Online Personal Stylist

I've tried online makeup/hair product sites like ipsy, birchbox loved, loved them both. When it comes to clothes I just saw something intriguing 'Stitchfix', an online stylist site. I haven't tried it, extras aren't in my budget right now. 

Seems like you answer a few questions online pay $20 and the stylist sends you a few pieces within your budget. Color me interested, sounds cool. If you like the stuff buy what you like, return what you don't.  But I've been burned before by online retailers, (aka twice) some things seem too good to be true, is this one of them? I think I'll need to check out some reviews. I love the idea and definitely want to try it in the future. 

If like me you can't commit to a monthly fee then maybe try Rent the Runway, that service offers rental of designer duds. Perfect if you have small closet space and can't afford a designer dress you can get that designer dress for a few days. I  haven't had the chance to try it but a style savvy friend of mine has and swears by it. Plus she always looks amazing so I'm dying to try it out. 

Working for the Weekend

I love weekends. Spending whole days with my husband and daughter is great (most of the time) :) There are times we go see family or friends, and sometimes we just lounge around in our pjs all day. 

If I love weekends you can imagine I especially love long weekends. Ah the three day weekend, is really something to relish. It gives you the best of everything. You have time to hang out with friends, family, and finally a third day to lounge around the house. It's like looking into another world where there's only a four day work week and rainbows in the sky. 

Now on this three day weekend it's easy for me to be so giddy having the day off that I may lose the meaning behind the holiday.  So I wanted to acknowledge the day. We don't just get a day off because the government loves us. Today honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. an amazing soul that did more in his life for society than most of us can ever dream.  

Monday, January 11, 2016

...Fool Me Twice Shame on Me

Back in February I shared on my blog about this site I heard about called Twice. It was an online consignment shop where you could send in your old clothes or accessories you didn't want and they'd send you a check or give you an online credit. 

I checked out the site and reviews, seemed like a nice idea, waste not want not. 

I was pumped, I'd get an online credit for a few items I didn't fit into anymore and buy some things at a good price. At least that was the idea...

I dawdled a bit in sending the clothes in, but then as the weeks went into months of not hearing anything back from the company I checked out and what I didn't realize when I finally sent in the clothes was that they had announced they would be closing their business soon.  :o

I felt a bit cheated, it was clothes I wanted to get rid of anyway but if I knew they would just keep them I'd have donated them locally instead of sending them to some company that I'm not getting anything from in return. Hopefully they went to someone who needs them. 

So my fellow consignors beware...follow the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I don't think I'll be trying this type of thing online anymore, retail store consignment is the way for me :)


Arty Party

I've gone to a couple of painting and wine nights in the city, always had fun but never really felt comfortable around a room filled with strangers. The teachers' guidance was welcome but fast forward almost two years in the future. I'm now a mommy and not only on a tighter budget but more careful of how I spend my time.
 Fortunately I have a great group of friends  that are okay hanging with and without my toddler in tow. 

I miss having adult parties but had the idea that an 'arty party' was a good way to have best of both worlds, fam, friends, and fun all at once. Make certain people don't get it confused with a painting party where you're inviting people to paint your apartment, be specific on the evite. I had some acrylic paints from days when I had time to paint. I went to Michael's craft store and bought some board canvasses and brushes, plastic party cups and playes to mix the paints. And with any party have wine and food :)

 Final step was what to paint? Our budget didn't allow us to hire a teacher, there are alot of people that will come and teach a group of your friends how to paint a particular picture. If it's in your budget go for it! I browsed YouTube and found a nice tutorial. This is the artist I liked her tutorial and got alot out of it http://youtu.be/1Lx5eYslYxo
However, I should have gaged my party goers, this painting was too detailed to be a good choice for a party like this. If I have another one of these down the line a simpler painting like one flower would definitely be a good choice. 

In the end everyones paintings came out great and each with a different feel or style to them. It was definitely a good time and since the video was a little too quick we had to keep rewinding, it definitely made for alot of laughs.  Also my daughter was able to enjoy this activity with everyone so that made it all the more special. 


Thursday, January 7, 2016

Happy New Year

With a new year upon us, a renewed sense of hope has come about. I believe people this year will have faith that people who want to do good in this world are not few and far between. 

It's not always easy to know what the right course of action is, and where kindness is an innate human trait it has to be nurtured. Make a small habit out of being kind, help out around the house, share something with a friend, starting off small is easy. It could be something simple like sharing a link you know a friend would like, it lets the person know you're thinking of them. Eventually (in theory) you'll do these things without even thinking about it. 

It's not always easy in our daily lives to 'spread the love', some people can really test your patience but you'll live alot more blissfully if you don't let them stress you out. For example I wanted to yell at some lady the other day on the train, apparently she thought I was something intangible that she could push and lean on. I reminded myself that the train was crowded and she wasn't hurting me, I could have asked her to be careful but I continued playing with my app and was happy enough for the rest of the ride. However i found that after that encounter every other person that got in front of me or cut me off made my stress level increase. So how in the future can I avoid this, when I find the answer I'll let you know. Presently I'll continue to work on myself and hope for a better year ahead.