the last day of 2013...

2013 was good to me, and i believe 2014 will bring even better things into our lives...

Happy New Year!

it's basically a nanny-cam for your pet...

my aunt knows me so well (aka, she knows i'm an over-the-top pet owner). she put a link to this nifty petchatz gadget on my facebook wall today, knowing full and well that i'd totally want one of these. you can basically facetime with your dog or cat AND you can dispense treats from this thing too...what?!?!?!?! too bad they're are ridiculously expensive...but maybe i'll save up for one anyway....

japanese fashionista...

over the weekend my mom and went to see the future beauty exhibit (avant grade japanese fashion) at the peabody essex museum. first let me say that this was my first time, in the 12 years that i've lived here, going to this museum and i was thoroughly impressed by it. i highly recommend making a day trip there, and the town is pretty cute as well to explore, as it's known for the salem witch trials.

anyway, mom wanted to see this show because as you know she is a master seamstress herself, and has been doing some pretty incredible work of her own... like this awesome wired double collar jacket...

we REALLY enjoyed this exhibit, some of the clothes i would totally wear (and some i totally would not)...

this was one of our favorites...

this reminded me of an 80's puffy jacket one piece, would be a fashion statement for apres ski...

they had this entire series of clothing that was based on origami and how it could be flattened to become a piece of art as well...

this was one of our favorites too...mom is going to try to replicate it for herself...

i loved this little white shift dress and this asymmetrical black number...

currently reading...

eleanor & park has been on my 'to read' list for quite some time, but if i had known it was going to be this good i would have bumped it up to the top of the list a long time ago. i don't care that the genre is young adult fiction, because it's sooo dang good. the teenage angst, the little things like holding hands & first kisses, the high school love that you think will be forever- i could seriously read this book over & over again. i also love the fact that the two main characters are not your typical high school, popular, traditional looking kids...it made the book that much better in my opinion. i'd love to see this book made into a movie...

the lady at our local library told me that if i liked this book then i should read the other two books by this author, attachments and fangirl. so when i returned the book on saturday with a huge smile on my face she automatically put the other books on hold for me, which i'm picking up tonight!...

empathizing...

ok, so even though i am no erin gates of elements of style, i can completely empathize with her post today about being burnt out. i tend to over-work and over-stress myself out on a constant basis (usually about things i can't control of course). i have a difficult time decompressing, always feel like i'm falling behind on my to-do list, can't ever turn off my phone for fear of not being able to respond to a client or friend asap, worry that i'm not doing enough each day even though i literally can barely keep my eyes open past 8:30pm most nights...and yes, the baby thing makes me 10 million times more stressed out than i should be. and you know who suffers because of this(besides me)? everyone else around me. i am not a pleasant person when i feel constantly tired/stressed/anxious.

i was recently advised, as a way to manage my anxiety, to cut 10% off my weekly 'to do' list...but seriously, what do you cut first? i'd blame the holidays, but really, i've had all my xmas shopping pretty much done before thanksgiving...and i feel like this ALL the time, not just this time of year. i've sort of just accepting that this is how i am, always have been, always will be. not that that's a good thing to accept, but i'm not really sure how to turn it 'off' so to speak.

my extended list for santa...

even though i already sent santa my christmas wish list, here are a few other items i can only day dream about making it under my tree this holidays...some items are more budget reasonable than others mind you...and i don't expect to actually get any of them, but a girl can keep her fingers crossed...

night collars for the dogs (damn getting dark at 4pm)

ornament storage (i actually really need this)

basic canning & preserving kit

glass food storage containers (i'm so over the plastic stuff)

this uber cool jacket (that i STILL want)

and this purse to match the jackets coolness

new long puffy jacket (because we are now a mtn. hardware family thanks to my awesome sister!)

new sorel boots

macbook air (because my 2002 mac laptop is about to s@*t the bed)

temper-pedic neck pillow (you'd think i'm like 100 years old)

these serena and lily sheets

currently reading...

there's a ct book group that i wish i lived closer to so i could join (miss you girls!) that read this book and it finally popped up as available at my local library. looking forward to starting this tonight...

and, some more crafting...

as you might be able to tell, last weekend was a crafty little weekend for me. my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and i checked out the assembly row 'assembled' , a handmade arts market near us. and although it was much smaller than we had hoped for,  it was fun to see some local artists and their craft. here are a couple i enjoyed...

paper bead bracelets and necklaces by set & style, 31 bits...

illustrations by eb goodale and everything little miss...

i also saw these adorable angel ornaments made out of book pages that a lady was selling for $6, so I decided to try my hand at making a few. all you need is a book to tear some pages out of, a needle, heavy duty thread or thin bead wire, and some beads of your choice. i also used a little hot glue in a few spots...

if you're in the mood for a craft fair the sowa holiday market is this weekend in the south end!