Chris and I are leaving for North Carolina in the morning to spend the weekend at Camp Meeting with his family. It's a tradition in his family and this will be my first time. I'm really excited for all of it except the part where there's no air conditioning.... that part I'm a little worried about. But it's supposed to be much cooler there than it's been here. We made a big batch of trail mix last night and have all our board games ready to go. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures of all the fun!

We'll be back on Monday night, but I have a few posts scheduled while I'm gone, like August's mixtape! It's already done and scheduled and should be up Sunday morning.

Aaaaand here' s where I apologize for not being around very much this week. I'm sorry! I had every intention of making several posts that never happened. They will happen soon. I went to see both sides of my family last weekend and got a few goodies from each (Granny sent me home with an entire box of homemade preserves!). I also got a ton of my Mom's old records and a box of old stuff from when I was a kid out of storage. That'll make a fun post sometime soon.

So, enjoy your weekend and I'll see you Monday!
xoxo

Cake in a Cup!

I eat yogurt for breakfast almost every day. My brand of preference is Yoplait- usually Yoplait Light. The problem is that for so long, there were only so many flavors. I can only eat harvest peach so many times before I get tired of it. So when I sent the Hubs to the grocery store to pick up more yogurt, I said "PLEEEEASE get me some different flavors!" So he did. He picked up flavors like Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Cheesecake and.....

Red Velvet Cake! It's not quite my Granny's recipe, but fro 110 calories in a cup, it's pretty darn good! The fact that I made an entire blog post about it should tell you how much I like it. You really should try it.

xoxo

Humpday Listday: TV Shows I've Seen

Here's a list of TV shows I've seen every episode of. I went a few years without cable, so I downloaded and Netflix'd a bunch of TV and watched it while crafting. Most of these are shows that have ended (some long ago), but a few are still going. Also, please keep in mind that not all of these have tons of episodes. Some had very few. And it's not like I watched these in one sitting. It has taken quite a few years to compile this list of geekery.

(* denotes that the show is still airing)

Drama

1. The West Wing
   
2. My So-Called Life
3. The L Word
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Dawson's Creek
6. Ally McBeal
7. House*
8. Grey's Anatomy*
9. Dexter*
10. Bones*
11. Rome
    

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Angel
3. Firefly
4. Dollhouse
5. Battlestar Galactica
6. Dead Like Me
7. Stargate SG-1
8. Stargate: Atlantis
9. La Femme Nikita
   
10. The Sarah Connor Chronicles
11. Farscape
12. True Blood*
13. Supernatural*

BBC shows (because they really are in a category all their own)

1. Doctor Who*
2. Torchwood*
3. Secret Diary of a Call Girl*
4. Robin Hood
5. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Comedy

1. Freaks & Geeks
2. Pusing Daisies
3. Sex and the City
4. Big Bang Theory*
   
5. Weeds*
6. Wonderfalls
7. The Office*
8. 30 Rock*
9. How I Met Your Mother*
10. Community*

Notice which category I've watched the most. Yeeeahhh. I'm a huge nerd.
xoxo

Cover Me Mondays: Love Vigilantes

I decided to give you a double dose of Cover Me Mondays today. To make up for the lack of communication this weekend. Enjoy your present. :)

Love Vigilantes

Original, New Order

Iron & Wine (I posted the live version so you'd have something to look at):

looooove.
xoxo

Cover Me Mondays: Wonderwall

I've loved this song since the first time I heard it.

Original, Oasis, 1995

Ryan Adams

Cat Power

Sorry there wasn't more thought put into this one. I'm pretty tired today. Maybe next time.
xoxo

I know, I know! I haven't posted since Wednesday! I've got "Cover Me Mondays" coming up a little later today and a two-part "Stuff From When I Was A Kid" series later this week (in addition to Humpday Listday on Wednesday).

Also coming up this week, Sunday is August 1, so you know what that means! A brand-spankin'-new mixtape! And this one's gonna be a good one! The perfect mix for late summer. I really can't wait!

So, really... it's not as if I forgot about you. I didn't. I've been thinking about you all weekend. Pinky swear.
xoxo

Humpday Listday: I Want...

It's Wednesday and I owe you a list.

Here are 10 things I want right now:

1. a nap
2. a pair of TOMS wrap boots.
3. an iPad. I just can't help it. They look so cool. Maybe when the second gen comes out....
4. for it to be fall already! We've had a heat advisory every day this week.
5. to miraculously not have to work this Saturday. All the girls on my Mom's side of the fam are getting together and I can't go! No fair!
6. better cuticles. I bite mine and they look horrid right now.
7. a shower. I got my hair trimmed yesterday afternoon and didn't wash it this morning. My stylist loads me up with gunk every time!
8. my to-do list to take care of itself.
9. to go watch old episodes of Daria in bed.
10. my cat to curl up next to me while I watch Daria in bed.

Oh well. All my lists can't be winners.

xoxo

Blue Wall!

Chris and I painted one wall in our living room blue this weekend. I thought you might like to take a peek.

The formerly very ugly wall. It had so many nail holes! We used tons of Spackle to fill in.

If you couldn't already tell, the wall used to be ugly.

Bluuuuuuueeee!

Lemon approves.

The paint sample said "Atlas Blue," but now that I'm really thinking about it, I think it's pretty close to TARDIS blue and that makes me soooo happy in a very nerdy way.

xoxo

Dopp Kit

Ooooh... I just saw this Zippered Dopp Kit on the Purl Bee. It makes me want to give zippers another chance (I'm notoriously bad at zippers) and make one for myself!
It's not like I really need another toiletry bag, this one's just so pretty!
xoxo

Su Blackwell

I came across Su Blackwell's work yesterday on The Jealous Curator. I was instantly enamored with her book sculptures!

Today, I love Su Blackwell's amazingly beautiful book sculptures!

There are lots more at her website! Go check 'em out!

xoxo

Cover Me Mondays: With a Little Help from My Friends

From the first time I saw an episode of The Wonder Years, I've loved this song. And you know what? I bet you love at least one version of it, too.

With a Little Help from My Friends was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. People started covering it immediately.

The original version, The Beatles, 1967:

The Beach Boys, 1967

Joe Cocker, 1968

Barbara Streisand, 1969

Ike & Tina Turner, 1973

Easy Star All-Stars, 2009 (because there's always a Reggae version)

So, what's the verdict this week? Which version is your favorite?
xoxo

Chicken and Biscuits

Jessica posted this gem of a video on my facebook wall earlier today. It made me laugh until I cried.

Halloween (not the holiday)

I'm having a Ryan Adams kind of night.

Today I love this song. And the piano in the background. It's pretty much perfect. So is Ryan Adams.

Home Ec!

Leigh-Ann of Freckled Nest, Rachael of Smile and Wave, and Courtney of Courtney Janelle Sews are teaming up to teach a beginner sewing class in August!

The projects look so cute and I think we could all stand to learn a bit more about our sewing machines (even a geek like me who read my machine's manual from cover-to-cover). The fee is $60 and the class starts August 10. I'd really love to take this one, but we'll have to see. But if you have an extra $60 laying around, you should definitely sign up! LA's classes are always amazing. I took her Indie Business 2.0 class a while back and looooooved it. I learned SO much and had such fun. And online classes are always a great way to meet fellow crafters!

xoxo

Humpday Listday: Children's Books

Happy Wednesday!

While it will probably be a long, long time before I actually get to do it, here are 10 books I loved as a kid and plan on reading to my future kids.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. They're the only books I really remember my Mom reading to me as a kid, and I've always loved them. They're classic and so incredibly wonderful. I remember thinking that maybe, just maybe there was a secret land at the back of my closet.
2. The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. This was my favorite "over and over and over again" bedtime story. My grandmother read it to me almost every night I stayed at her house. This book made being 'green' cool when green was just a color. I remember desperately wanting to save the Truffula Trees. I didn't realize what an important lesson it imparted until I was older, I just really thought those trees were the prettiest things I'd ever seen and the Lorax sounded like a pretty smart guy, too.

3. Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. I was painfully shy and very quiet as a kid, so I didn't really understand Max or exactly what a wild rumpus entailed. But I loved the book anyway. Didn't we all? (And I totally loved the movie, too.)


4. Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie. It's probably the most beloved children's book of all time. And what's so amazing about it is that it's just as wonderful as an adult. Of course I love Peter Pan. With pirates and redskins and fairies and flying, really, who doesn't?


5. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. I remember my teacher crying as she read the very sad part of this book aloud to our 4th grade gifted class. I don't think I'd ever seen a teacher cry before... or since.


6. D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. I still have a copy of this book on my bookshelf at home. It's a very simplified version of the very complex Greek Myths, but it got me interested nonetheless. And I still look at it every now and then if I need a refresher.


7. The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne. I was an avid Winnie-the-Pooh fan as a child. Lydia and I would get up extra early on Saturday mornings (when we'd spent the night at one another's house) and watch Pooh. I can only hope my someday-kids love Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Christopher Robin and the rest of the gang as much as we did.

8. Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! by Rosetta Stone. Yes, I do believe that is the author's real name. This was another bedtime favorite. It's a slightly lesser-known kid's book, but I really loved it. Especially when whoever was reading it to me (usually my grandma) fake-sneezed. That really got some chuckles out of 4-year-old me.


9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I think I had both the regular and pop-up versions of this book. To this day, I think the illustrations are some of the most beautiful in the world.


10. A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein. I looooved this book. And you know what? You probably did, too.


And that's it, another list! What were your favorite books as a kid? What books did you/will you read to your kids?

xoxo

Again...

I have (once again) re-designed my blog. The other just wasn't working for me. Who knows how long this will last. I'm fickle that way.

For now, I'm mega-tired. Off to bed I go!

xoxo

PS... This made me laugh pretty hard. It might have something to do with how tired I am....

(via weheartit)

Cover Me Mondays: Crimson and Clover

Hello again! I have decided to add a new weekly feature to my dear ol' blog: Cover Me Mondays! Lots of people do Music Mondays, but I couldn't really limit myself like that with music. I'd feel weird posting music on any other day. So, I've decided that every Monday, I'll post the original version of a song and one or more cover versions. And who doesn't love a good cover? I do. Sometimes more than the original song.

Today's cover: Crimson and Clover (because I was watched Joan Jett videos on YT for over an hour after watching The Runaways.)

Originally recorded in 1968 by Tommy James and the Shondells, Crimson and Clover has to be one of the most covered songs ever. It seems like everybody does it!

The Original, Tommy James and the Shondells, 1968:

Reggae version, The Uniques, 1969:

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 1981:

Dolly Parton, 2005:
(Please excuse the god-awful video)

Prince, 2009:

Broken Bells, 2010

Apparently Cher, Kelly Clarkson, and several foreign bands cover the song as well. And tons of bands sample from it.

So, what do you think? Which is your favorite? Least favorite? For me, even though I love Dolly with my whole heart, she just didn't quite get this one. Not my cup of tea. And of course Joan Jett's version is my favorite. The Hubs and I even put it on our wedding CD.

Suggestions for future Cover Me Mondays? Leave it in the comments!
xoxo

But I Am Le Tired.... (And a movie review!)

I'm so tired today. I stayed up way past my bedtime crafting last night. Then I couldn't go to sleep when I did get to bed. Then I kept waking up every few minutes once I finally got to sleep. It was a rough night. But at least I got some quality crafting done! I'll show you what I was making soon. It's a little something for one of my favorite people (who I know is probably reading this) so I don't want to spoil the surprise.

In other news, I finally watched The Runaways last night.

Has anybody else seen it? I'm curious what other people think. Here are a few thoughts (in my extremely unprofessional opinion):

1. I love me some Joan Jett. All the way to my core.
2. It was weird seeing Bella Swan drop the f-bomb every 5 seconds.
3. It was weirder seeing Dakota Fanning snort coke lines.
4. Kristen Stewart is just plain awkward. No matter who you dress her up as.
5. Even with all the sex, drugs and rock & roll, it somehow was still "soft" to me. I don't mean this as a compliment. I wanted it to be slightly more gritty.
6. It had the emotional range of a cactus.
7. Okay, so the scene where the guitar instructor tries to teach Joan how to play "On Top of Old Smokey" made me laugh.
8. "K-Stew" really does look like a young JJ in the movie. She does not, however sound like one. No more singing, please.

Conclusion: It certainly wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. I'd watch it again... if I caught it on cable and there was nothing else on.

And now, the actual Runaways:

Happy Monday!
xoxo

I made this!

#13 on my list.... DONE!I made a dress from an old fitted t-shirt, 1 yard of fabric, and some elastic. It took about 3 hours total and most of that was figuring out exactly how to do it. But in the end it was really, really easy.

It's just the teeniest bit wonky, but nobody has to know about that (besides you, dear reader). It's comfy and cool. And I've been hoarding that blue floral forever. I'm so glad I finally used it. And I bought some pretty black & white gingham and blue & white stripe seersucker to make more cute dresses! All I need is a few fitted tee's that I don't plan on using otherwise.

What's that? You're asking me about a pattern? Yeeeeeahhhh... about that..... this was copied from an Old Navy dress I bought a couple of weeks ago/out of my head. If you really want to know how I did it, just ask. Otherwise I'm not going to bother posting instructions here.

Later this week I'll share before & after shots of a (now) super cute mirror I found at Goodwill last week. Hope you had a great weekend!
xoxo

Free Font Friday!

Hello there! I haven't done a "Font Friday" in a while, so I thought it was about time! Here are some fun (and free!) fonts for you on this fabulous Friday!

Summertime

Mamma Gamma



Tattoo Ink

Hamburger Heaven

Market Deco

All these fonts (and plenty more) can be found on dafont.com.
Happy Friday!
xoxo

Sometimes

I was thinking of putting this song on August's mix (I don't even know what the "theme" will be yet), but I couldn't wait that long to post it.

Today, I love Beach Fossils' Sometimes.

xoxo

Humpday Listday: 9 Very Pretty Things

ACK! I was almost too late! Apologies!

This week's list is purely eye candy. And really, don't we all need a little eye candy every now and then?

Here are 9 very pretty things.

1. Anthro Ole Dress. It doesn't come in my size and it's waaaaay out of my price range, but it's just so pretty.
2. I Heart Georgia necklace from Truche. I bet they have your state, too.

3. You Are My Sunshine print from The Wheatfield. It's a cuteness overload!

4. Madeline Necklace from Nest Pretty Things. I could never in a million years pull off this necklace, but it's just soooooo gorgeous.

5. The new "Lost on the Midway" series from Emily Martin (The Black Apple). I just can't get over how ridiculously talented she is. These are my very favorite paintings she's ever done. Just perfect! Oh! And there are prints available in her shop.



6. Glamour of Glitter Dress from ModCloth. That flower! So pretty!

7. The prettiest egg plate you ever did see! I have a weakness for egg plates. This one from Anthro takes the cake!

8. This pretty Poppy Plum apron from Red Velvet Art.
9. And lastly, a pretty song with an even prettier video.

Hope your humpday was filled with pretty things! Goodnight.
xoxo

California Love

A few months ago, I posted a very unlikely video here on my dear blog. I shared my 2nd favorite rap song of all time (Beastie Boys not included, of course) and told you I'd someday share my most favorite in the world. Today is that day.

As I've already told you, when I was a kid, I idolized my older cousin's taste in music. After all, he introduced me to the Smashing Pumpkins at a time when I was more of a Shania Twain kind of girl (I can't believe I just admitted that). Anyway, one day after school sometime in 1996, before Tupac died, but before we were old enough to hear it, the three of us (Drew, Lydia and I) sat on the floor and listened to the remix version of Tupac's California Love. I'm not sure exactly what it was about the song that made me love it so much. Maybe it's the crazy ending. I have no clue. All I know is that I did- and still do- love it to pieces. It's my favorite rap song. And since I don't like rap music, that says quite alot.

Today, I love Tupac's California Love.

Here's the video version.

What's your all-time favorite rap song?
xoxo

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day! While you're watching your fireworks and eating your hotdogs this weekend, don't forget to take a moment to think back a couple hundred years to what today's all about.

Happy Birthday, America! You pretty much rock!

(all photos via we heart it)

xoxo

These Songs Are Okay!

Welcome to July! This month's mix is a little different. When I was a kid, I listed to country music almost exclusively. Until the day I heard Alanis Morissette's Ironic, I never ventured outside my little country bubble. This mix pays homage to my country roots. It's a little bit old school, with a little 90's country, and a wee bit of alt-country thrown in there. These aren't the only country songs I like, but they are among the select few. Download it HERE.

Tracklist:

Tanya Tucker - Delta Dawn
Dwight Yoakam - Little Sister
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Going Up the Country
Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
Ryan Adams - Let It Ride
Dolly Parton - Tennessee Homesick Blues
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn - Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
Garth Brooks - Callin' Baron Rouge
Sawyer Brown - Some Girls Do
Patty Griffin - Love Throws A Line
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - Jackson
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Reba McEntire - The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
Dwight Yoakam - I Sang Dixie
The Watson Twins - Darlin' Song
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Ingrid Bergman
Neko Case - Poor Ellen Smith

Listen to it before downloading below (via 8tracks):

PS.... I stayed up until almost 5am getting this thing ready (mostly because I can't put something down once I start). Show me love.
xoxo