Weekend Adventures: Gem Jam + #SPSH2015 Outgoing/Incoming Mail!

An impromptu trip to Phoenix and Dragon and a lot of $$$ later, I came home with these beauties!  I've had most of these on my list for quite some time and now, these babies are mine!  I got a Selenite that had the most beautiful colors when you hold it in a certain way.  It's amazing!  I also picked up a small Desert Rose.  I had never heard of it until Caroline and Contessa showed some on their YouTube channels and I was so smitten, I knew I had to have my own.  This one was calling my name!  I also picked up a few Black Tourmalines, a couple of Rose Quartz pieces, a few baby Citrines and another gorgeous Lapis Lazuli.  The big purple one in the center is a beautiful polished Amethyst that - no joke - vibrates in my palm.  That has never happened before!  Usually I feel a little sensation like heat or a loving feeling but never vibrations like this before!  I wasn't planning on getting anything from the bin  it came from (because they were bigger, more expensive stones) but once I picked this baby up, I knew I HAD to have it!  She's beautiful!



My boyfriend and I accompanied Lauren to the Sara Rachele show at Smith's Olde Bar on Saturday. That's Chandler on the drums!  We had a great time and Chandler played amazingly (as always!).  Lauren's parents joined the fun, too!



On the left is the package I sent out and on the right, I have the heart tags from my incoming Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt package!  I know I've posted a preview of some things I sent out on my Instagram but I cannot wait to share everything!  The package I received was an amazing set of goodies from Melina and I can't wait to post the photos!  She sent the cutest things and I'm so thankful!  I can't wait for my swap buddy to post her items :)

I hope you're having a great week so far!  What did you do this weekend?

Weekend Adventures: Farm Things

 

This past weekend, I accompanied my friend, W, to a farm in North Georgia to pick up some farm-fresh things since the weather keeps postponing local farmers markets from happening.

While up there, we saw the most ominous looking nuclear power plant.  We had to ask the lady at the farm what the heck it was since we know nuclear power plants are usually stationed near running water (like rivers or the ocean).  She told us it's a coal plant and that sometimes it looks a little scary when it's starting up for the day.  What's the first thing we thought?  "We have GOT to film that!!"  Of course!

Next, we made some farm friends!  I snapped the cute little calf while it was feeding in the cage.  Just a note: the smaller calves are put in cages during feeding time ONLY.  That way they won't get bullied out of eating.  Once they're large enough they can eat with their cage-free friends.

The turkey approached us rather aggressively but it didn't try to harm us, it seemed a little...stressed out.   My friend, W, was suddenly struck by the turkey's anxiousness so she started to talk to it in her soothing voice.  Once the turkey calmed a bit, she tentatively went to pet it and it let her!  She continued to pet it while talking to it and it eventually became so relaxed around us that it sat down and curled up next to her.  It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

All in all, it was fun impromptu trip to the farm and I know I'll be going back with as many cameras as I can fit in my car because there are so many great things to on the way!

Happy Wednesday!

Rosewater DIY + Tijuana Rose Margarita Recipe

After Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I fell into a rather LARGE concentration of roses.  How large?


                   

I was very excited to receive that many roses, to be honest. I love them! They're all so beautiful...but what do I do with dozens of roses?  My boyfriend had the grandest idea: make rose simple syrup.  Of course!  I looked up some rose simple syrup recipes and they all started with the same ingredient: rosewater.  It's a lot easier to make than you might think!

Get the steps after the jump

Valentine's Weekend

Happy Monday! If you're in Georgia, you're probably waiting for Snowpocalypse 2015 to come around. I know I am...not actually doing that because I want it to be Spring already!



I hope you had a nice weekend.  I know I did!  My bestie and I went on a Lady Date to see FSOG on Friday night.  It was hilariously bad.  Rita Ora in a terrible wig, crappier-than-the-book dialogue (for reals), and steamy scenes that get ruined by the crappy dialogue.  If I had closed my eyes and forgotten what I was in the theater to see, I would've thought I was seeing some sort of comedy because everyone was laughing that much.  Seriously.  The best part: seeing the Magic Mike XXL trailer on the big screen!  I can't wait for that one to come out :)

On Saturday, my boyfriend took over my kitchen and prepared dinner for us.  It was very sweet because, according to him, he only knows how to cook one thing: chorizo tacos.  They were so freaking delicious!  I loved every bit of them!



After dinner, I supplied the dessert.  I didn't take any photos because I was doing too many things at the same time, but I did take some of the finished product!  I made a Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie - which was delicious.  It was even better the next day.  I didn't know it at the time I made it but my boyfriend told me that one of his favorite childhood memories was when his Mom would make...you guessed it: Peanut Butter Pie for him and his sister.  I had NO idea that was a happy flavor from his childhood!  How serendipitous!



This weekend was full of serendipitous moments.  We had a blast!  I was even able to make something very special this weekend.  Post to come soon!

What did you do this weekend?

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!

Happy FSOG Day (aka pre-Valentine's Day)! FSOG will be sure to get all the ladies revved up for tomorrow! LOLJK but seriously - Happy Friday!

What's all this emoji nonsense?  Those are *some* of the Valentines I'm giving to my BFFs this year!  That's right - I took the emoji route because, well, who doesn't like emojis?!
For one of my "serious" Valentines, I took the classic heart+arrow+banner watercolor approach and added a little sass.  I tried doing a pretty 3D version with Illustrator (ughhhh) and Photoshop but it just wasn't coming together AT ALL...then I tried to do a pretty little illustration in the style of my new design crush Lauren Hom, but it just wasn't doing what I wanted it to do (because I'm not as pretty or as talented as her *sad face*) so I went with my pretty, tried-and-true method: watercolors, hearts, banners and arrows.  After a few crude sketches, I arrived at what you see above: "You'll always be my shorty".  I tried a different kind of card stock, which was interesting because the calligraphy ink bled in weird places.  That could have been a result of uneven pressure, probably.  Oh well!  My Valentine received it early and he loved it!



So what's with the Cheesy Pick-Up Lines zine?  Well, I saw Gala Darling's #MEGABABEMISSION for February: Make a MiniZine and at first, I wanted to go serious with a cute guide to ATL's prettiest art pieces (which I will probably still end up making, tbh) but in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take emojis and make a list of cute and cringe-worthy pick-up lines for a laugh!  Print one out if you'd like!

Do you have any fun Valentine's plans?

Full disclosure: I'm normally not a huge Valentine's Day fan but for some reason this year I feel like spreading the love - not just to my BF, but to EVERYONE!  

Incoming / Outgoing Mail + SPSH2015!

That's right! Fab is back at it again with the Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt 2015!  Have you signed up yet?! I did and I can't wait to participate again!

 

Isn't this the cutest?! My friend Rachel sent me the prettiest scalloped heart valentine!  I started assembling some valentines to send out but, once again, I'm behind.  Story of my life lol.  It also didn't help that I was terribly sick last week...



Here is the prettiest mail from my friend Kathleen!  I always love getting her letters.  They make me so happy!  And she has the prettiest calligraphy :)



I signed up for Veronica Varlow's International Valentine Exchange and I went on a Googling spree for the name that I drew.  I hope I Googled the right person because I dragged my BF on an extreme Steam Punk hunting expedition looking for anything and everything Steam Punk for my recipient - based on what my Google searches told me.  The result was the gears and sprockets necklace above plus a few other things.  The "Hello Valentine" watercolor was based on this piece from Alexis at Persia Lou.  I love it!  I used Lindsey's method for watercolor jewels to get my lines all pretty.  I hope she likes it!



My friends and I took a break from playing my new favorite card game to get creative. The result: a marbled clay ring dish for my new apartment! I haven't had much experience with bake clay (not sure if this was Fimo...) but B coached me through it and helped me get this pretty marbled result. I love it!

How has February been treating you?

The Self-Care Tag

As you may have noticed, I have been away for quite some time over here.  I have been kind of active on my Instagram but I haven't really been blogging blogging.  Why?  I'm not entirely sure.  One thing I do know is that I (still) don't have the internet hooked up at my place - and as much as I thought it was going to suck all the time, it doesn't suck that much.  I don't need as many distractions as I thought.  No TV has really gotten me to focus on other things.  Though I admit, I miss my stories!
One thing I did was get wrapped up in the "Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015" hullabaloo of writing down goals, intentions and manifestations for the new year.  Check out Louise Androlia's post about it (which was what inspired me to get writing)!
In that hoopla, I resolved to get my 2014 Show Reel DONE.  Did I get it done?  Absolutely!  In fact, I just uploaded it to various social media outlets yesterday and this morning, so watch it, like it, reblog it,  embed it, share it, and all that good stuff, please!  Thank you in advance :)
Okay, okay - so what the eff does that have to do with anything?  The fabulous Ellie at 30, Fabulous and Broke has tagged me in the Self-Care tag.  What the heck does that mean?  Well...you're about to find out!

1.  What piece of advice would you give a child about to grow up with the pressures of today’s media and its crushing expectations?

I admit, I've been thinking about this one ever since my nieces were born.  Every time I see them, I feel like I need to instill what I feel like my mom instilled into me about being a strong, independent, Latina woman.  I always tell them to never be afraid of what people think of them - good or bad.  Since they're young, they're still at that "IDGAF" stage kids are at with clothes and saying stuff they probably shouldn't but do anyway and I hope it stays that way.  They're lucky though, because they live in New York.  I only say that because they get to experience many cultures, people, races, body types...anything and everything goes and I think that's good so that they can keep an open mind about everything.  They're got a good family foundation, so I think they can maneuver just fine.  As for other kids, I think it's important that the be exposed to lots of positivity via the blog-o-sphere.  Tumblr is a great place of acceptance and I always get teary when I see beautiful posts on acceptance blogs.  I follow all kinds because they're wonderful and I wish I had that growing up!

2. What song puts you in a good mood every time?

Oh goodness.  There are so many.  It changes with the seasons, I think haha!  Here's my Top 5 for this particular moment:

"Come Get It Bae" - Pharrell Williams

"Walking On Air" - Katy Perry

"I'm Off That" - Pitbull

"Do My Thang" - Miley Cyrus

"F***U I'm Famous" - Bleona (my new woman crush forever!)

3.  What is the best advice someone gave you or you realized about life?

My mom always tried to get me to quiet my anxieties.  She used to say I was born anxious and experiencing my mid-life crisis from the get go.  What caused me to be so...antsy?  I was always afraid: afraid of upsetting people, afraid of what others thought about me, afraid of the unknown.  So I shrank deep into the background.  I joke around about why I became a video editor / behind the scenes person for my career and that's because I like prefer the spotlight to be on others instead of myself but I like to know that I helped them look good.  Ha!  It has been a hard road.  Last August, I did something that was really REALLY hard and in November, I moved out on my own - no roommates, no companions...my own space.  It's weird.  It's wonderful.  It's peaceful.  It's anxiety-inducing (at times).  But it's insanely satisfying.  One thing that helped was reading Freedom from Fear by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda.  I read it in the space between my break up and moving in to my new place...TWICE.  It was very eye-opening and heartwarming in that I realized a lot of my fear was based on the unknown.  But we can't control the unknown, we can only follow the paths that have been laid out for us to choose.  I have experienced destiny changing before, so I don't fear it any more.  Nothing is set in stone - your life is yours and you have the power to make it whatever you want!  :)

4.  Who makes you giggle like a giggle monster?

OMG - when am I NOT giggling?!  Almost everything makes me laugh/giggle/smile!  There isn't a particular person, it can be anyone or anything that can put me in a fit of giggles!

5.  What is something about society that bugs you that you wish didn’t?

There are too many things, I think, but I'll have to focus on the male-centric view of the world.  In my male-dominated field, it's tough to get taken seriously.  Add to that the fact that I'm Latina and that means I get pushed further and further back into the shadows.  Sometimes I feel like I have to work a million times harder than everyone else because of my race and gender and I would love it if we could just STOP.  I know I'm not the only one...

6.  What is one of your favorite things to do on the weekends?

So many things!  I love to relax with my bae and watch my stories (at his place, of course), spend time with my friends - though I admit, I have been neglecting them lately, and play a new-to-me card game.  I forget what it's called but my Brazilian friend taught it to me and I can't get enough!  We recently started playing couples: the BFs vs the GFs and boy does it get heated (in a good way)!

7.  What is something you’re really proud of that you’ve done?

Though it doesn't seem like it because I've been neglecting them, I'm really proud of the Creepy Hearts Club.  I'm hoping to iron out a solid plan with them so I can get them back up and running properly this year!
I'm also really proud of myself for making really rough decisions (you know Libras and their decision making skills) and taking that leap of moving out on my own.  It was hard but I'm glad I'm doing it.

8.  What is one of your favorite memories with a friend?

Oh dear - another tough one.  There are so many favorite memories!  I have such a great time with my friends and I love them all!

9.  What advice would you give to someone who needs a boost in confidence?

I'd have to agree with Ellie on this one: Listen to your favorite song. Scream it as loud as you can. Then kick some ass (not literal ass, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN).

With that said - always know that you are attracting what you put out: if you're feeling down, you get bad stuff in return.  Hold your head up high and think of yourself like rockstar and you'll be surprised at what happens.  I'm not saying to treat people like shit or anything, just change the air about you.  If you radiate confidence (even if you're not feeling 100%), it will still make a positive change.  Even something as small as how you dress will help your mood.  Remember: You are amazing!

10.  Lastly, how do you plan on investing in self-love?

I plan on taking better care of myself.  I slipped on my diet last year (sorry not sorry), gotten into some bad-ish habits and somewhere in there, I forgot about myself.  I plan on speaking my mind more, being more honest with my feelings, letting my feelings wash over me instead of letting them sit in my heart, being more confident in my work, letting go of A LOT, and trying to exercise non-attachement.  It will be hard but that's all part of the journey, right?  Nothing is supposed to be easy!

Thanks for the tag, Ellie!

I now tag the following lovely gals:
Jess
Marisa
Fab

I hope you're New Year is off to an amazing start!