things i love sunday.

ten more things to *heart* this week.

1. this was a brilliant movie. i highly recommend seeing it. clooney only gets better with age. siiigghhh.

2. “hammond song” by the roches. love. love. love it.

3. thank god for store-bought rotisserie chickens. i’m attempting to roast my very first whole chicken this week. i just finished stuffing it with sage, rosemary, and thyme (now let’s all break out into song, a la simon & garfunkel. p.s. if you don’t understand this reference, get yourself a proper musical education) and giving it a salt rub, and now it has to refrigerate for the next 24-48 hours. i’ll let you know how that turns out…

4. lookbook.nu is a really cool website that features “fashion inspiration from real people around the world.” there are some really cool looks on this site.

5. letters to dead people. these are awesome. some hilarious, some poignant.

6. i haven’t been on shopstyle in quite some time, but i actually made two looks there today. it’s so fun. today, i did a “make it work” challenge, where i had to make a stylish, up-to-date look with this 90s-style floral jumper. i think i did a pretty cute job!

7. mama’s little babies has some of the coolest, most interesting and unique jewelry i’ve ever seen.

8. i downloaded this really cool 2010 weekly planner from project girl (via design house) for only $12.99. it’s absolutely amazing. has daily chores, menu planner, shopping lists, to-do lists… really cool format. i’m going to get mine bound at staples tomorrow so i feel more organized. 

9. colorful tights and gorgeous shoes.

10. claw foot tubs. we went to see it’s complicated last night, and at one part meryl streep was relaxing in a claw foot tub with lots of bubbles and a cup of tea, and it made me want to take a giant lavender bubble bath with a cup of chamomile or jasmine tea. although, if this was the view from my bathroom, i’d be perfectly happy to bathe in a metal bucket.

look what i made!

i’m not sure if i blogged about this, but i know i mentioned it on both facebook and twitter. last week was my mamaw’s birthday, so i volunteered to make her birthday cake. she requested white (not to be confused with yellow!) cake with milk chocolate frosting. i wanted it to be sooo pretty. i decided to do two layers and make it all frilly & pretty & use pink candles. however, i was sick that morning and was rushing to get the cake done on time. i didn’t allow the cake to cool enough. hello, cakewreck.

it still tasted darn good, and everyone was pleased. besides, it was only whole for a little while before we cut it to pieces.

on another note, i’ve been stressing, as you may remember, over the dreaded pine cone drawing assignment this week. last night, i took out the preliminary sketch we were supposed to practice with on monday. it was only about halfway finished. i put on some good music (coldplay’s album a rush of blood to the head, an album which i have neglected for a long time, but fell in love with again recently) and sat with my sketch and my charcoal and my pine cone, then i just went to it. and something clicked along the way. i was getting comfortable with it, thinking about things my drawing teacher had said (“NEVER tell yourself ‘no’ when it comes to art”–my fave thing he always says). so i felt much more confident going into class today. i showed my instructor my finished preliminary sketch. he gave me a couple of suggestions and told me to start on my actual drawing.

and, well, i actually surprised the HELL out of myself! i powered through it and figured it out in no time. the people at my table were complimenting me, and for once i said “thank you” instead of something like “really? i feel like there’s something wrong with it.” and for once, for ONCE, *i* was the one giving tips to my fellow drawers! what a good feeling. and then, i reached a goal that i set for myself in my first-level drawing class. I HAD A POSTER CHILD MOMENT. my drawing instructor smiled hugely and shook his head with a little chuckle. these are the mannerisms for which every student dreams, for this is what he does when he’s impressed with your work. and then, THEN, he asked me to hold my drawing up and used it as an example for the rest of the class! it was a little bit embarrassing, and i know that i was blushing, but on the inside i was jumping for absolute *joy*. i’m so proud of myself.  then, he said another one of his trademark remarks: “great job! now, don’t screw it up.”  haha.  so here’s my drawing. it still needs some contrast work and a lot of finessing, but i’m so, so happy with it. this is such a big step for me. i know that if *i* think it’s good, it’s got to be good. ha!

it was a very lovely day today (sunny and sixty degrees!), so after drawing class i went downtown to shoot another roll of film for my aperture project. i used the manual beast of a camera (the kind where you have to wind the film after each shot) that our friend alan loaned me, and i really liked using it. i’m excited to process the roll tomorrow night and see how it turned out.

i fell asleep when i got home and had a nice two-hour nap. now i’m sitting here watching mindless tv (something i don’t actually do very often at all) and eating some strawberry pocky. super yum. if you’ve never had pocky, you must go out now and pick some up. i buy mine at world market.

i’m also thinking of having some of the mexicocoa i also bought from world market last week. i might save that for tomorrow, since it’s going to be cloudy and cold again.

anyway, i hope everybody else had as great a day as i had today. if you didn’t go have a nice sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to have a fabulous tomorrow. <3

p.s. am i the only person in the world who has no desire whatsoever to see dear john? i mean, i know it was filmed in charleston. and channing tatum is definitely one hot specimen of pretty. but i hate that chick that’s in it. she can’t act her way out of a paper bag. also, i hate nicholas sparks books, and the movies that are based on said books. i feel like nicholas sparks’s main goal in life is to make everybody cry, and i hate things that make me cry. so there.

advice in torrents.

i love advice. especially when it comes from people i love and/or admire. the best pieces of advice i’ve gotten from the past few days have all helped me to help myself be more centered. i’m trying, anyway.  a sampling:

my mom, when i was nervous about today’s assignment of drawing a pine cone: don’t be nervous. just draw what you see. you’ll be fine. (it sounds so simple on paper, but sometimes you have to hear things like this…) p.s. i might not have been so nervous about this exercise if my drawing instructor hadn’t been hyping us up for it since drawing 1.

my aunt sharon when i wasn’t feeling well this morning due to nerves about the drawing assignment: it’s your perfectionist gene kicking the insides of your tummy. don’t worry about drawing–just do what you do there–and save your creative energies for the areas you naturally do well. like writing.

my aunt dede, after i posted a facebook status last week that was admittedly self-pitying:  did you have any guests at that pity party? don’t think of it as a setback. think of it as an opportunity to regroup, refocus, and aim higher!

my aunt pat, after that same facebook post:  ditto for me. besides, you’re a clemmons, and clemmonses don’t give up!

one of my best friends, chelsea: failure is a perfect opportunity to grow. don’t be critical of yourself, be critical of your work. (this is a hard distinction for me to make right now, but one i need to learn quickly if i expect to succeed at majoring in art!)

my friend mary, when i was upset about a meanie guy bashing my discussion post in my online history class: some people are too hard-headed to realize that everyone has different opinions and views. he’s just one of those people that, no matter how much you tell him people are different, will never see it. you can’t argue with stupidity.

my friend tamara, on the same subject: real adults may not agree with you at all times, but they are competent enough to value others’ opinions.

my uncle’s advice on the same situation cheered me up by making me laugh: you need to let them know that you have an uncle that can hurt them!

kid that sits across from me in drawing class: just don’t worry about it. (said with a big smile. of course, this is much easier said than done, but like i said, i’m trying!)

and lastly, but certainly not least, my drawing instructor’s advice this morning when nobody seemed to be very responsive:  the weekend doesn’t matter. leave the weekend behind you. it’s in your past, and nothing you did this weekend matters anymore. this was particularly eye-opening, because i had quite an emotional weekend, and i was feeling exhausted this morning. him saying that really helped me put things in perspective.

maybe one of these bits of advice will help you as you go about your week. i hope so!

things i love sunday.

1. cholula. i use it for a myriad of things. this morning it was sprinkled over my omelet-turned-scramble-up (which consisted of turkey, mushrooms, red bell pepers, and cheese). yum!2. remember these? i had a plethora of these when i was little. fun fact: i *still* don’t have pierced ears.3. these are the coolest tea bags i have ever seen!! i want some. i have no clue where this came from, though. it was just sitting in “my photos”. i’ll have to google it…4. and if i cannot find the bird teabags, i would please love to have this amazing yellow submarine tea diffuser. whoever thought of this is a genius.

5. the illustrations of nan lawson. found on etsy. you probably already know how much i love beautiful vintage typewriters, so of course i adore this illustration. all of her work is so cute.

6. cakewrecks. if you’ve not seen this blog, you’ve done yourself a horrible injustice. go. laugh. loudly. the captions under the cakes never fail to make me guffaw.  i made my own unintentional cakewreck yesterday, by the way… haha.

7. oh my! i had no clue these existed! now, where can i find them? it’s doubtful that i’d be able to find them anywhere around here…

8. i want to watch “sabrina” today. alas, i have too much homework to do, and a quiz & an essay due by midnight tonight. sigh.9. i can’t wait to see “victoria”! i love emily blunt.10. these cupcakes are beautiful works of art. and now i want a cupcake, badly. maybe i can convince the hubster to take me downtown to “cupcake” later on…wonder if they are open on sundays…

a big sigh of relief.

i had a tough evening yesterday. i was feeling pretty down on myself about my artistic abilities. i was confused as to why my photos didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to. due to the help and patience of a good friend, alan, i feel much better about it all.

i have a lot of homework to do today, i have to work out, then i’m making a birthday cake for my mamaw (she has very specifically requested white cake with milk chocolate frosting). i also have a 600-word essay due by sunday, but 600 words are cake for me….does that mean i’m making *two* cakes this weekend? ha…ha…. *crickets chirping* yeah, flat joke. sorry.

so why is it that i always get inspired when i am busiest? i just got a great idea for a painting (two, really). literally, it just came to me about ten or twenty minutes ago. i’d love to have one of them finished in time for my mamaw’s birthday celebration tomorrow so i can give it to her as a gift, but i’m not so sure that will be happening.

here is my solemn oath that, in february, i will not put off my western civ homework til the last minute just because it’s an online class. and here’s another oath that i will try very hard not to compare my work to the work of the others in my second-level drawing class (there is some AMAZING talent in that class). i should only be comparing my work to my own, striving to improve a little with each exercise or project.

i’ve been thinking for the past two years (at least) that i want to get a small tattoo on my wrist that can serve as a reminder for peace whenever i am stressed or anxious. being an artist, i am a very visual person, so i feel like this would be such a help. at first, i wanted a peace sign, but now i think that’s too generic. not that i’d ever muster up enough courage to actually get the tattoo, but i’m always thinking about what i would get. maybe a little word, like “calm” or “breathe” or something. i really like this one:

friday five:

smelling: blueberries

tasting: blueberries!

hearing: axl crunching some dog food

seeing: errol flynn & olivia dehavilland in “santa fe trail”

feeling: a soft blanket

glenn beck is a circus act.

i had to share this. i’m never able to articulate exactly why it is that i cannot stand glenn beck, but here is an article that fully explains my beliefs about mr. crybaby.

glenn beck for dummies

what i’m listening to:  vampire weekend–i know the name of the band makes them sound emo or goth, but it’s totally upbeat, cool music. they use instruments like flutes & strings with their guitars & drums.

what i am absolutely NOT listening to: justin timberlake’s butchering of leonard cohen’s “halleluah”. of course, jeff buckley does the best version, but it is originally leonard cohen’s. to be fair, rufus wainwright does a decent version of it too. but nobody beats jeff buckley.

things i love sunday

1. i wish i remembered where i found this illustration. i would love to have a print of it. 2. how gorgeous! who wouldn’t love to come home to something like this?

3. flake bars. i love them. LOVE THEM. and my dog ate all four of the flake bars i bought yesterday. i hate him. HATE HIM.

4. MAC ads are always so pretty. they make me want to be a makeup artist instead of a studio artist. they also make me want to get all dressed and prettied up and go out & do fun, girly things.

5. have i mentioned how much i ADORE sofia coppoloa’s miss dior cherie ads? on that note, i adore anything by sofia coppola (especially marie antoinette, of course…) you should definitely click on the above link and head over to the dior website to see the entire interactive ad. really beautiful.6. this is THE WORLD’S COOLEST side table/nightstand, and i cannot find where it is from. drat. (the image is from ffffound.com)

7. a relevant find, because they recently tore down the place the hubster & i met… sad… incidentally, the couple we went skiing with met there too!8. how very cool to carry a parasol for your wedding instead of a bouquet! it will last forever, and flowers do not. a beautiful and timeless reminder of the best day of your life!

9. speaking of weddings, i love love love this gown. i would SO have something like this were i to have another wedding. which i won’t, unless the hubster & i renew our wedding vows someday…

10. these bookmarks are gorgeous. i bet they wouldn’t be difficult at all to make. i want to make some.

i’m doing a new series of colorful posts over at allthepretty.com, so head on over there if you want to see some pretties.

chivalry is NOT dead.

i was not in the best mood yesterday as i made my way through the icky rain to my photography class. it had been rainy & gross all day long, my knee was (still is) hurting pretty badly, and the people here drive like complete & total idiots when it rains. i was five minutes late to class thanks to said idiots.

anyway, my mood got a little bit worse when i saw the puddles & mud in my path on the way to class. i saw two guys walking toward me on the sidewalk, and i scooted over to the muddy grass. and then the most wonderful thing happened.

they both protested, vehemently, might i add, my walking in the mud. they said, “you get back on that sidewalk and let us walk in the mud. you’re a lady!” the most surprising part of it was that they looked to be about 23 years old.

swoon.

need i mention how much my mood changed after that? further proof in my belief that it only takes one little thing to brighten someone’s day. whenever i’m out & about, i’m always nice and thankful to people. you never know what kind of day someone is having. they might be having the most crap-tastic day, and a simple smile and a “thank you! have a good day!” are all they need.

anyway, my point is that people are all about themselves these days (i’m not saying that i’m perfect, because i can be pretty damn selfish). back in the day, a gentleman would lay his jacket over a puddle so a lady wouldn’t have to walk through it. it’s not often nowadays that you’d see two young men insist that a girl walk on the sidewalk while they trudge through the mud. most would just keep their head down and walk on by.

anyway, it might not mean much to the average person, but it really brightened my day and made me feel special. chivalry is decidedly not dead.

FRIDAY FIVE:

hearing: my morning jacket. the song is “touch me i’m going to scream pt. 2″ from the album evil urges. it’s a great album. i highly recommend picking it up.

seeing: a lot of people reading, studying, typing away on their laptops.

feeling: cold! it’s gray out, and it makes me *not* want to workout later.

smelling: coffee. and occasional whiffs of my perfume, stella nude.

tasting: my grande nonfat mocha. yum.

ten things i love…tuesday.

i know this is late, but i have good reason. the internet at the cabin where we stayed this past weekend went out on saturday. *shrug* not a big deal, b/c it was supposed to be fun times spent with friends. and it was! we had an amazing time… but that’s for a later post. i want to do this right now! here’s what i’m in love with this week:

1. elvis presley. i’ve always considered him a little cheesy and mainstream (if you know me, you know i automatically don’t like anything that everybody else likes–and it’s NOT on purpose! it’s a weird thing that somehow automatically happens…) anyway, i love elvis’s movies. the reason i thought of this is the fac that right this very moment, i’m watching “spinout”. of course it has elvis, but it also has deborah walley, who played gidget in “gidget goes hawaiian”, which is one of my most favorite movies. that’s her playing drums behind the man himself.

2. oh my gosh, i want this so badly.

we heart it

3. cloud-shaped marshmallows! all weekend, i wanted some hot chocolate. skiing and snow doesn’t seem right without hot chocolate, right? and now that we’re home it’s all mild and almost warm, so it doesn’t feel right to drink hot chocolate. but as soon as we have our next cold snap…

4. lovely, frilly, floaty, fluffy…

5. isn’t this the coolest bed you’ve ever seen? i bet you could even customize it. love it!

6. sparkly, blingy shoes. i especially like the flats near the middle and the gold heels.

7. this is such an amazing and wonderful idea.

8. yummy yummy yummy yummy yummy! not only do these sweeties look deliciously fattening and just damn good, but i love all the pretty pastel colors. i used to shy away from pastels in favor of bold colors, but now i love them. along with bold colors.

9. i love my husband so much. no matter what happens, when we argue or disagree, we always come back together still completely in love. whenever i have an emotional breakdown, he puts me in my place. he doesn’t coddle me, even though i think i want sympathy or comfort, but the not coddling thing? it seems to work, whether i like it or not. <3

10. SNOW!!! i loved being in the snow this weekend! it’s only the third time i’ve seen really real snow in my life (one of the times i was so young that i can’t really remember now). i love snow and all the fun snowy activities and warm clothes.

we’re here!

it was a fun, anxiety-causing, scary, hilarious drive. but we made it! i think it took us a little over five hours to get here (“here” is beech mountain in boone, nc, by the way), but it really wasn’t that bad of a drive…until we got to the place to find the house. we got all turned around and it’s icy & snowy & scary. scary to someone like me who’s seen real snow TWICE in my life, and never on a steep mountain!

so here we are at beech mountain. we made a quick stop for some beers (rogue dead guy ale was my pick for the night). the guys are screwing around with the snowboards right now. i’m watching what not to wear. we’re staying in a really cute three-bedroom cabin called the red rooster inn.  here’s a pic of the living room:

right this very minute, i'm sitting in the left corner of the right-hand couch!

i’ve been looking around on the resort website since we arrived, and i’m not afraid to say that i’m scared! look at this ski lift:

yikes!

and see this?

this will most definitely *not* be me

it’s completely dark outside (duh, it’s 1:16am), but from the pictures i’ve seen, it looks really beautiful.

personally, i hope to be doing more of this. this is more my speed.

hee.

i’ll be updating with pictures and stories!