Bathroom Chic

One would think that being a single girl living in a one bedroom apartment, I would have enough room for all of my stuff. Well that is just not the case. Last weekend I got down and dirty and really cleaned my apartment trying once again, to get my life organized. Part of the weekend was devoted to driving over to Target/Christmas Tree Shoppe/Michael's for frames and miscellaneous organizational items.

Occasionally I dabble in make-up, but I don't always remember to wash my make-up brushes. Honestly, I think I have really deep cleaned them once...in about 2 years...yeah...

Part of my problem is leaving them out to dry, I don't want to put them back in their pouch damp because that could cause mildew or something gross. While walking through Michael's I came up with a perfect solution! For about $5 I was able to purchase two small vases and blue marble stones. Now after I apply eye shadows and what not, I can quickly spray the brushes with cleaner and leave them standing upside-down to dry.


I think it looks rather cute. They have been living in these little vases for just over a week, and I couldn't be happier!

Girls Night Revamped

I love having Girl Nights. As much as I love going out with a group of guys and girls, there is something about Girl Night Out (or In) that I just love. These nights are always full of lots and lotsof giggling.

Last night I went to a friend's house were we made dinner and watched a movie. The five of us helped to make mac and cheese, scallops, asparagus and apple crisp. Once everything was ready to be plated we snuggled into various couches and chairs to watch Iron Man 2.

The time before, was the BBQ feast and viewing The Town. If I think back one more Girl Night, it consisted of buffalo chicken dip, pizza and chick flicks.

I should hope by now, you have identified a pattern. Each of these nights, consists of food and movies. Alcohol also tends to make an appearance. As much as I enjoy a good dinner and movie, there are times I want a little more. Sometimes a theme is thrown into the mix, like, oh say, Twilight. But that doesn't change the fact that the night falls into the same pattern of food and film.

Fortunately, two girls from Indiana University have created a website devoted to girl night themes. Their nights tend to focus on home made meals (just like us) and crafts! I love the idea of this website and plan to frequent it before the next Girls Night In. I always complain about not having a belt to belt a dress, so maybe I will take a page out of Lazy Thursdays and have everyone make a Fantastic Fabric Belt.

I am woman. Hear me whirrrrrrrrl

A few weeks ago I went to IKEA and bought a cart for my tiny kitchen. My neighbor bought the same one and said it was the hardest thing to put together. Being the overwhelmed and under-motivated individual that I recently became I opted to allow for mine to stay in its box...until today.

I quickly understood why the cart was considered so difficult. You have to screw all the pieces together. The first few spins - easy peasy, then BAM the freaking thing wouldn't move. I tried so hard to get the stupid hardware into the wood. After a blister formed on my thumb, I decided to think of a Plan B.

Electric Drill.

Perfect plan, just needed to acquire one. I figure why not hop over to SEARS in the CambridgeSide Galleria real fast. All I would need was something small , nothing to fancy, but with enough power to help finish the job.

When I got to the store, holding bags from J-Crew and H&M - can't go to the mall without checking out sales -and I tried to find the power tool myself. A few of the men who worked in the power tool section saw me walking around and asked if I needed help. I gave in and said, sure, might as well get this over fast. I just remembered that I had another belated birthday gift to find.

Major pet peeve about being an independent female shopping in "man stores", is the way the employees tend to treat me. I may not be completely sure of what I need at times, but honestly, don't look at me like I am completely helpless. Instead of just pointing me in the right direction the guy came over and read me the information off the placards that were next to the drills themselves. I could have done that myself.

When he asked me what I was looking for and I explained I was hoping for a small drill like the one my friend owned which was powered by a battery pack. He replied, "Where did she get it?" and I said "I wasn't sure where HE got it". I don't know why it irritated me, but honestly, why assume that my friend was female? If I said I wanted something smaller that super huge, plugs into the wall variety that my friend has, would he have used "he" instead? Ugh. I just hate being looked at as helpless, or cute that I am trying to do this kind of stuff on my own.

In the end, I got what I wanted and was able to finish the cart when I got home. Interestingly enough I ended up using a screw driver to tighten the screws, as I have no skill at using power tools and couldn't get thing to screw past the original point of no return. At least I now have a drill if there is ever an event that calls for one.

Pink is the Purple

Totally excited about kickball starting up again for the season. This will be my third year and fifth season. Sadly, my team color is not pink, but instead, purple. I am not quite ready to hang up my pink tutu so I will be sporting it one more time on the fields.

My teammate and I did find a website that teaches us How to make a tutu and we figured making one would be super fun and possibly economical. We were then saddened when

• a) realized tulle is not exactly the cheapest material to purchase and the cost of the supplies might just reach the cost of a pre-made tutu and
• b) we didn't exactly have much time to spare in our very busy schedules.

We opted to use the tutu's we currently own for now, but hope to be proud owners of purple piles of tulle soon!

I did find the Tulle Source which appears to have some very reasonably priced tulle on their website, making the diy option more tangible again.


Of course as soon as I get back on the make my own tutu boat, I find this beauty (see above) only $28.00 plus shipping!

iGoogle + DIY vodka

Lately I have been using my igoogle homepage on a more daily basis. I been redesigning what I want on it and where the different applications sit. Of course, the Daily Puppy has remained up at the top, it provides some major happiness. For news, I have the weather channel (here and RI) Top Stories, CNN, and the Huffington Post. Then for entertainment I have gmail, google reader, horoscopes, and trivia. The last add-in was one that I thought might be a nice in-between, both informative and amusing. That would be the Daily To-Do.

One of the more recent tips was "How to Make Skittles Vodka". The title intrigued me. I mean, what is Skittles Vodka, so I clicked. It is exactly what it sounds like. Vodka that has had Skittles soaking in it to create sweet flavors. For about 30 seconds I thought it sounded awful. Then I thought that I would totally drink an alcohol that tastes like green or pink Skittles.I'm thinking I just need to go out to purchase some small cheap bottles (Christmas Tree Shop adventure?) and then the fun begins. BUT this project will have to wait until the spring. There is too much going on right now (re: studying for standardized tests and applying to school) that fun with vodka is something that will just have to be placed on the back burner.

DIY - Ironic T-Shirts

Given the current economic environment I decided to try and cut costs by making my own ironic t-shirts for this weekend's festivities. For just $3 for a youth L (green shirt), $6 for a fitted adult M (white) and $1.19 for a tube of black metallic puffy paint, I was able to make two wonderful t-shirts.

Both shirts were well received. Well, let's be honest, the math one provided me with some interesting responses. And now a whole new set of people were exposed to my true nerdy ways. Meh, it's good to get that out in the open so we can all accept it and move on.

I highly recommend the do-it-yourself ironic t. It doesn't take all that long, and if I can do it, basically anyone can!