So this is something I'm gonna give a try. I have a lot, (sadly.....way more than I should...) out pieces of clothing that I never wear. Ever. Why don't I wear them? They either are not my usual style,  have gotten pushed into the back of my closet, or, frankly, I bought them on a 'skinny' day, and have never felt it 'fit' me again...sigh.

So, for this first installment of 'variations on a Theme' I take one of those pieces from my closet...and using a VERY limited number of accessories, I styled, and RESTYLED, this item. The item today?: A Pastel colored (I don't wear pastels...) mazi dress (Not a lot of 'maxi' in my life) that I found at the dump in Fairbanks about a month before I moved, and after styling it for Arrogantly Shabby (found here...) I never wore it again... Until now.

I can't say any of this convinced me to keep this dress, but it is always interesting to see what looks are ACTUALLY flattering on your body, compared to what you see as flattering when you are looking in the mirror...(I threw out 3 other outfits...that...were...horrendous. I think Cher in clueless had something when she took photos of herself to get dressed in the morning.)

             PAINT YOUR OWN PATTERNED RUG

I came across a lovely tutorial quite a while ago at Design Sponge for painting your own rug design, and thought what a wonderful idea! I mean, have you ever tried to purchase any sort of patterned rug? RIDICULOUS. So expensive. 


So I decided, I must try this.  I was going to make some modifications though. First off, No buying a new rug at IKEA, when I was sure I could find SOMETHING at a local thrift store (and I did....though, frankly, I realize it is basically a table runner....but, this was only my first go...)


Second, I knew I had some old paint already laying around, and when i decided to do more than one color, I simply went to a few home improvement stores and looked for the cheap 'one off color' or 'already mixed, but wrong' paints, and SCORE, second color achieved. 


The only purchases I had to make were some fabric medium at a local art store, and a role of painters tape, which I went with frog tape (green) and it worked fine...and I have at least half a roll left, so plenty for my next endeavor!



First, I taped off what pattern I wanted. Now, I didn't think ahead about this at all...I just started taping, knowing I would be happy with something 'Geometric'.



I then Mixed my fabric paint in with the paint I would be using, at a ratio of about 1:3. 


Finally, I simply started painting! I used a smaller brush since I was doing multiple color blocks, but if you wanted all one color, you could just use a roller for simplicity!




and final result?

A painted rug! (Erhm.....table runner?) Oh man, next time I am gonna step up my game, but am I glad to know it works!

Inaugural Fancy Favorites

I come across beautiful, interesting, funny, smart, (I could go on and on) things in life and on the internet ('Cause the internet is NOT life...) everyday. I decided once a week (or so...) I am going to share them with you all! I call them my 'Fancy Finds' and though I will try and keep it to a schedule, my life, generally, just doesn't work like that! But without further ado...

This outfit. I just love the colors, and I think I like the idea that it is something I wouldn't normally wear. I mean, really beyond some black work slacks, I don't even own pants that aren't jeans...You Should go  check out more of Virginie's Outfits on her blog!

Elizabeth at Delightfully Tacky showed off this frickin' sweet watermelon skirt that she made. I probably should own (and learn to use...) a sewing machine quite soon.

All I  can say is that this is a pretty sweet one piece. Oh Anthropologie, if I had money....

Can we talk about how great it is that Blogger Kaylah at The Dainty Squid has knuckle tattoo's that read 'Cat Lady'!?!?

And finally this little lace number from Zara. I mean, it is short, feminine, and green lace. I couldn't NOT want it.

Aren't They Beautiful?: Street Art

Needing to hit up an art store in downtown Minneapolis, Nick and I ventured out for a nice 4 mile round trip walk. Up until this point, anytime we had been in the heart of downtown, we had driven for one reason or another, and it made me loathe downtown with all my heart.  To me downtown was traffic, stoplights, too many one way streets, and pure frustration.

BUT NOW. I know downtown as the place with lots of little bits of street art. And this my friends, makes any city a bit more tolerable.

Ramblings: Coming to terms

The act of picking up this long forgotten blog and putting a lot of me out there to the world hits me from all angles. The blogs I personally follow are great. From fashion inspiration, to the people who truly pour their hearts out for others online, I appreciate every single blog (I mean, otherwise I wouldn't follow them!) 

Now, starting this blog back up....adding fashion posts, DIY posts, sharing things I like, putting it all out there, snippets of my life, my mood, my brain, my adventures, I love doing it, but I get these brief moments...little 5 minute panic attacks....where I go 'shit! no! These are MINE! these thoughts, these feelings, ideas, pictures, outfits, tantrums, ramblings...these are mine! no one else's! Hurry, take them all down, before anyone can steal them! (and really it isn't steal....it is honestly, 'before anyone can read/see/judge/misinterpret them!') I have grown up in the world of the internet,for the most part, and yet, every once in a while when I think about having a blog, being on facebook, sharing instagram photos, being on twitter....all of it...I just want to burn it all to the ground.  It is such a mixed bag. What gives ME the right to put fill all this internet space with things all about me, what gives me the right to think others want to know such menial aspects of my simple life? Another fleeting thought that happen in the same vain a lot: Can I shop at the dump for clothing and food, talk about loving wood fired stoves, dream of living back in my water-less cabin in Alaska, be 'one with nature' and still be SO technologically connected? Don't those contradict each other? (and no, they really don't....but in my mind, sometimes...it is one or the other, my mind says I HAVE to pick)

...I am still finding my footing with the newly vamped blog. There are so many great examples out there, and I need to figure out what my place among all them is... I am sure my place is just doing exactly what I want, and being exactly who I want to be, but I am also sure it will take me a while to figure that out :)

For some WONDERFUL, HONEST writing about managing being an online presence, your home life, ethical issues, and the such Please take a look at Little Chief HoneyBee's : Honest-To-Blog Series. 

Daily Outfit #1

Buffalo Exchange is a thrift store....value village is a thrift store...the dump is a thrift store?

My ill-fated attempt...

At catching a picture outside work yesterday of the HUGE snowflakes we had. It was SO gorgeous through the shop windows...., but you guys can pretend you seem them in this picture.