hiatus.

i'm alive, i promise!

i'll be gone for another few weeks...studying.

{yeah, i know...you can tell i'm excited}

big test is september 15 from 8am-4pm (ish).

prayers are welcome (& quite appreciated).

photography is super busy (a blessing!).

my super secret reveal is coming soon (give me a few more weeks!).

and i've got a hankering for scrapbooking & sewing...

which will have to wait until Boards are over (finally!).

in the meantime...

you can picture me doing this:

when all of this is over :)

{pixels}

new photo shoot up (part 2) @ the photography blog!!!

thrifty: the transformed suitcase FINISHED!

so remember this suitcase? (of course you do...i just told you about it yesterday!).

i am pretty proud of myself...this being my first ugly-to-adorable transformation (teenage years aside).

the suitcase is made out of tin. it was a fiber-looking pattern with gold trim.

the little guy was $6.95.

i raided my parents' stash of spray paint & found exactly what i was looking for.

i propped the suitcase up on a bucket & small box & got to spraying. i think i ruined the grass...sorry!!

i knew i was planning on covering the "body" of the suitcase & only needed to spray the edges.

i let it dry overnight (& in the 100-something-degree heat).

meanwhile i searched my mom's craft room for some generic spray adhesive. and i went to the craft store & bought some scrapbook paper that was gender neutral...

and cut & traced & spray that adhesive (on both my hand and the suitcase).

and VOILA!!!

you can see that it is far from perfect. my cutting wasn't precise. i missed some spots with the spraypaint. i even scratched the paint job already.

but all in all, i think it will be PERFECT for what i had in mind!

and watch out, i think this making-ugly-things-pretty business is addicting :) you might just see a little more of this on here...

{pixels}

new photo shoot up @ the photography blog!!!

thrifty: the transformed suitcase.

so i hurt my neck this week. lifting weights. trying to be tough, i lifted a too-heavy barbell with one hand. apparently my temporary lapse in memory seared itself into my muscle memory--i've had neck spasms all week.

and yesterday i finally broke down & paid for my own stupidity: i got a massage. i'll just put it out there that i hate massages. rub my feet & i'll be your friend forever...but my neck & back (& other nether regions) are off-limits.

i endured the 30 minutes of torture.

and today? my neck is worse.

BUT!! there was a thrift store right up the street from the spa (how ridiculous does that sound?!). and my car just drove me there! can you believe it?

i've been looking for chairs to either reupholster or paint for photography props. they didn't have any. but i did spot a poor little suitcase & picnic blanket, c. 1976.

I BOUGHT THEM.

let me just interject here...lately i've been drooling over blogs about interior design & repurposing ugly items. i've listed my favorite sources of inspiration at the end of this post.

here is our picnic blanket...i'm thinking that jon will refuse to lay on it with me. he'll just have to buy me fabric to make a picnic quilt to his liking, then. :) problem sovled!

and here is our neglected little suitcase sitting in the yard.

ready to see what i did with it??!


...that'll have to wait until tomorrow. :)


Make-you-love-every-ugly-piece-of-furniture-blogs:
Design*Sponge (click on the before & after category)
Just a Girl
Centsational Girl
Bower Power
Young House Love
Nesting Place
Thrifty Decor Chick

frames.

i've always loved taking pictures. in the old days of film, i'd waste 10, twelve rolls snapping shots of my little sisters in princess garb, sitting on plastic chairs in the middle of their playroom.

they were horrible pictures.

but i've stuck with it. and my love for that viewfinder has only grown.

something amazing happens when you capture moments, unexpected & frozen. because we learn in life, moments don't last forever.

this project is nothing short of amazing. when i wrote this blog post back on my geriatrics rotation, i couldn't help but pour my heart of sadness into the thoughts of those "forgetful" people roaming the halls of the nursing home.

but then i learned that they don't miss their loved ones. and just as soon as they forget where they are, who they are, what they are--they don't remember what they've asked in the first place. they aren't lonely. they don't process our presence or absence. they have no sense of time.

but pictures do. snapshots of moments. frozen.

and now, more than ever, i am inspired.

inspired to take more photos. catch more moments. frame more views.

memories are fleeting. pictures are forever.

{pixels}

new photo shoot up (part 2) @ the photography blog!!

project 365: 07.27-08.02.09

{monday: 07.27.09} see this couch? it calls to me. seriously. i walk in the door from work with good intentions...& two seconds on that couch leaves me in a deep dreaming slumber that throws all studying good-intentions aside. NOT GOOD!!

{tuesday: 07.28.09} it was a HOT week here...the dry heat almost unbearable even in the backyard lap pool. and smart me decided to take a hot (long) bath after being on my feet all day. typically i wake up after 1 hour in a tub of frigid water....not so much this time....i leapt out & stood in front of a fan to cool off....

{wednesday: 07.29.09} my mom bought fruit loops. BAD IDEA, mom. i LOVE fruit loops. and cinnamon toast crunch. and cereal in general (which i'll admit i eat for dinner sometimes when i'm home alone). fortunately, my parents have a plethora of small bowls...so 20 fruit loops later & i'm totally satisfied :)

{thursday: 07.30.09} after my success in finishing my cardiology-specific-study-book, i gave myself a goal to be through my OB/GYN study book in 10 days. i was done in FIVE!!! go me!

{friday: 07.31.09} i admit it: i had ice cream. but only because my mom made huckleberry pie. jon still talks about the huckleberry pie we ate for my birthday (i prefer pie to cake) back in 2006...it is that good. see??! i told you i had an excuse!

{saturday: 08.01.09} with it being so hot, my parents decided to turn up the A/C...giving me no choice but to walk around in a thick hooded sweatshirt, draped in a fleece blanket. you can't see my feet but they are wearing winter-thick fuzzy socks.

{sunday: 08.02.09} rusty & gay (jon's parents) drove down for the day to say hello! we had a great time together...they treated me to lunch & a FREE! trip to Toys R Us. you can tell me your jealous...it's okay ;)

{pixels}

new photo shoot up @ the photography blog!!