You Always Have Friends Around You

Published March 10, 2013 by kurolace

I often have extremely strange dreams when I nap in the afternoon. Even for naps that only last 5, 10, 20 minutes… Today was no exception. I struggled with how to present this to you, and in the end decided to transcribe it, just as it happened / sounded/ seemed to me when it occurred. Of course, this means its in a strange and choppy style, somewhere between bad poetry and prose. But perhaps this helps capture the meandering nature of the entity featured… Also, unfortunately i can’t provide you with the images that should accompany it. If anything, I would have liked to find a silhouette shadow of a man, sitting in the window sill’s light, smoking.

Like many of my dreams, this straddled the line of creepy and comforting.

 

I dozed on my bed, in the afternoon sun.

And it wasn’t long before it began.

I saw on the wall, the shadow of a man,

through my half closed eyes.

Not quite right, the shape wavered, and dragged.

 

It has become my practice,

at such times,

to feign sleep.

 

I was on my side, and soon turned over a bit more,

only to find myself suddenly ice cold, and aware,

of the ragged breathing, which was not my own.

And then, a calloused grey finger, dragging slowly, but gently, on my forehead…

T…i…g…h…t

 

“I can’t breathe. Could you move over, please?

I like to lay here next to you, you know.

Oh, and I know you can see me

sometimes,

particularly in the shower…

in the evening, when its a bit later, and a bit darker,

there, in the bathroom above the garage.

I like to watch you wash your hair,

its such lovely hair, I do like it.

So I watch you wash your hair,

 

And sometimes, I feel, a bit like a man again.

 

At night, you say your lonely, but you know,

You always have friends around you.

Oh no, don’t be afraid, you’ve got nothing to fear

from the ones who gather here.

These Dead, you see, are neither bad, nor good.

we simply don’t know what to do with ourselves.

 

But we found you, and now we follow you.

 

Oh, and once or twice,

when something, not so nice

has come to haunt you,

we’ve always helped, to keep you safe,

because we wouldn’t know what to do

if we couldn’t always be around you.

 

Oh, we’re Clarence, and Jim, and Lily,

and then there’s him,

and a relative of the late John Addams.

In your room, in your kitchen, in your car,

At the gym.

Through all the various things that you do,

You always have friends around you.”

 

Paleo Pretzel Fail

Published March 8, 2013 by kurolace

I tried making a paleo pretzel recipe today, but it didn’t turn out so well…. Its partly because I accidentally added the egg for the egg wash to the batter, so it was kinda stickier than I think it was supposed to be…. then I tried to sprinkle with cinnamon like suggested in the book, but I regret it. I prefer the salted ones. But both were kinda without a lot of flavor… Also, I think I’m eating too much almond flour / almond butter these days. I don’t know. Anyone know paleo baking recipes that don’t call for almond flour or nut butter?

Here are pictures of the fail… um, as you can see I had already tested a few of the pretzels when I took the pic.

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I’ll try doing some research into how real pretzels are made to see if I can come up with a better recipe to try next time.

Big Tree Gone Bye Bye :(

Published March 7, 2013 by kurolace

So, yesterday the big fruitless mulberry tree in our backyard finally got cut down. I’m pretty bummed about it, because that tree was older than me, and so, a huge part of my childhood… lol, no pun intended. I used to have a swing on it (the round kind on a single rope), which sent me to the ER twice upon breaking. Also, it was the main shade tree in our yard… we have a ton of fruit trees, and a sorta big cherry tree, but none that really shaded our yard (and house) like the mulberry.

Of course, I knew the tree’s days were numbered. My mom had mentioned that it’d be cut down this spring. The roots were really starting to cause a problem, and the branches have always been a problem (as you can see in the pics below, we have power lines in our backyard). In case you don’t know, mulberry trees drop fuzzies in the spring, so my dad wanted to cut it down before it started doing that (they are the fuzzies that never run out – you find them everywhere all summer long, and still some in the winter!)

So here are the before and after shots 😦

 

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All gone. 😦

Cute Bow Earrings

Published March 2, 2013 by kurolace

Hi Darlings! Today I wanted to show you the great new earrings I got this week! I’ve been looking for a while to find some little black bow earrings, and finally came across a pair I wanted to try out.

$10.50 + $2.50 shipping, available on Amazon from Accessories Forever

$10.50 + $2.50 shipping, available on Amazon from Accessories Forever

I originally thought I’d prefer some that are just metal, but then I saw these rhinestone ones on Amazon. They are  sold by Accessories Forever and cost me $13. I was a little bit nervous to buy them, since the picture on amazon made it difficult to tell what the size and quality would be. I thought they could either be really cute, or really cheese-y!

Luckily they turned out to be really cute! I actually received a complement on them the very first day I wore them. They are about 0.5″ x 0.5″, and the crystals really are of good quality.  Also, they arrived extremely quickly! Only about 2 days after I ordered them! (They shipped from CA, so if you live on the East Coast, its probably going to take longer.)

The same design is available in black, purple, red, blue, pink, silver, gold… and I think even teal. I’m seriously considering getting a pair of the purple ones! 🙂

Etsy Finds: Wrought Iron

Published March 1, 2013 by kurolace

I’ve been back at it on Etsy… browsing for things I can’t afford to buy. This time I’ve found a few great Wrought Iron items. Many of the wrought iron items on Etsy are vintage things like shelf brackets, wall decor, hangers… but there are some other interesting items as well.

$18.50 from Raidersoflostloot

$18.50 from Raidersoflostloot

 

For example, this vintage 3 tier shelf caught my eye, because the twist in this one is cool. Also, it looks to be a nice black color (I don’t like that vintage not-quite-black-brown color you sometimes find with vintage wrought iron). Its available from Raidersoflostloot for $18.50.

 

ModernIronWorks $37.99

ModernIronWorks $37.99

One of the wrought iron makers/sellers on Etsy offers garden gates and shelf brackets, and although I prefer the flower and humming bird designs, I though that this Spider Web shelf bracket was cool. There was also a spider web gate in the sellers shop. The seller is ModernIronWorks and the bracket is priced at $37.99.

 

$49.99 CathysMiniatures

$49.99 CathysMiniatures

At first, I didn’t notice that this was a miniature item! If you’re a miniatures enthusiast or have a (haunted) doll house, you might like this miniature candelabra, which comes complete with candles. The only downside is the price (it is handmade, I assume). Its $49.99 from CathysMiniatures.

 

Taitaya $99.70

Taitaya $99.70

Next I came across these cool wrought iron roses. They aren’t very big, but very cool. The cost about $99 and are from Taitaya, a forge in the UK.

 

$114.99 stainedglassturtle

$114.99 stainedglassturtle

There are plenty of wrought iron candelabras available on Etsy, some vintage, some new. But I found a very cool candle holder which combines two of my favorites: wrought iron and stained glass. This cherry red heart stained glass candle holder costs $114.99 and is sold by stainedglassturtle. There was also a clear/white one available.

 

MetalMastersinc $3,300

MetalMastersinc $3,300

Finally, I can help but love wrought iron beds, so naturally I adore this Victorian style king sized bed set, which costs about $3,300. It includes the bed, two side tables and two lamps, so its not a bad deal. Of course I have neither the money nor the space for it! 😦 Its from MetalMastersInc. Just think how great it would look with dark red & black satin sheets! *drool*

 

Well, there you have it, a wrought iron Etsy wish list. How do you feel about wrought iron?

Still alive… sorta.

Published February 27, 2013 by kurolace

Hi sweet strange-lings…

I’m afraid I’ve been absent for a while. Unfortunately I’ve been ill and having issues for the last 2 months, involving an ER trip, a fever, many strange symptoms, and multiple doctors appointments. I’ll spare you all the tedious details and say that it has been diagnosed as “anxiety”… Which is a bit frustrating, but I suppose I can see how the doctors came to that conclusion. I’ve been told to work on reducing stress, find some way to be more social, and to try out a paleo diet (a la whole9life.com). The Paleo diet thing seems like it might be stress inducing in itself, seeing as I live with 3 other people who are not really keen on doing it. For those who don’t know, this particular eating style requires the complete avoidance of all grains, legumes, and dairy. This method is supposed to reduce inflammation and help with a wide variety of health concerns. Its a bit expensive though, in my mind, seeing as you are supposed to eat a lot of organic stuff, and grass-fed, free-range meats. For me the key to success will be figuring out how to pre-make stuff, because I hate cooking all the time.

Unfortunately my mom had a heart attack in January, while on a cruise in the Caribbean… It was supposedly minor, and she has been a home for several weeks now. But as you can imagine, I’ve been a little distracted and busy, so I haven’t had much time to make anything. I also recently started a business course at the community college and volunteering at the hospital. But hopefully once I’m used to it all, I can get back to posting on a more regular basis.

Recently I finally downloaded the newest The Birthday Massacre album “Hide and Seek”. I totally love it 🙂 So here is a one of the best songs from it:

Etsy Finds: Nails

Published January 11, 2013 by kurolace

Hiya! I’ve been away for a while because I’ve had a rough week. A week ago I started having some weird feeling in my chest on the left side, and actually ended up going to the ER on Friday night / Saturday morning. They did an EKG and blood test, which all came up normal, and told me I was probably having anxiety or something… But then less than 24 hours later I had chills and a fever, and ended up in bed for like 3 days. I’ve gotten a little better, but still am getting a sensation of weight/pressure in my chest. I spoke with a nurse on the phone for a while yesterday, and she relayed all my symptoms to my doctor, who said it seems like I have a viral infection or something. It’s a week until I can actually go to the doctors office… so I am supposed to just rest and not go outside much until then.

I missed some work at the beginning of the week since I was still really weak, so now I have to work extra to make it up… So while dragging myself through the extra hours of work I decided to go on Etsy and enjoy some browsing. I had a few search terms of course…. but I finally decided to do this post on the search term “nails.”

You’ll find that a lot of people sell nail stuff on Etsy these days. A few years ago, there wasn’t nearly as many people seeing acrylic sets or other nail items… I haven’t included any nail polish (which plenty of people are selling), but some other interesting nail items. 🙂

Holds about 144 bottles of polish!

Holds about 144 bottles of polish!

To start out with, I found some organizers. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have bottles of polish all over the place, lol. Especially around my computer, since that’s were I often paint my nails (while working, lol). But recently I’ve been thinking it would be nice to get a rack to store my polishes in. The nicest one I found on Etsy is the “Hanging wrought iron nail polish rack” from daisypam2011. I love the scroll work and elegant design. Its a bit out of my price range though, at $275. There are larger ones available as well.

This one holds about 27 OPI bottles.

This one holds about 27 OPI bottles.

Quite a bit more affordable is the “Petite ‘Nice Rack’ Floating Polish Rack” from BeautyPopShop. Its available in black or white and costs 25.  The petite rack is probably just about big enough for my current polish collection, but the shop also carries larger ones with different numbers of tiers. There are also some colorful racks available.

If you don’t have many nail polishes, perhaps you’d like to try your hand at Frankenfrankenkit Polishes? Making Franken Polish is particularly good for people who like glittery polishes… since that is the easiest way to Franken a polish. (Mixing colors is a bit more tricky). I found this great “Franken Nail Polish Kit” from SillyLilyPolish. It would make a great gift for someone else, or for yourself! Its $35 and includes lots of different glitter, tools, and 15 mini polish bottles with clear “glitter suspension” polish  to make/store your creations in.

2mm Rhinestones are perfect for nails.

2mm Rhinestones are perfect for nails.

If you’re interested in doing 3d nail art, you’ll want to stock up on supplies like these 2mm Glitter Flatback Rhinestones from colorfuldaysdiy. There are 12 colors in a wheel-style case…2400 pieces for under $7! I like to add rhinestones to my nails, either to enhance a sticker or decal design, or just on their own. Just make sure you coat the whole nail with clear polish afterwards in you want the rhinestone to stay on a long time.

Ice cream, chocolate, and cake, oh my!

Ice cream, chocolate, and cake, oh my!

Polymer Clay slices are a popular design element on Etsy. You can find a huge range of them, pre-sliced, or sometimes in cane (un-sliced form). I prefer getting them pre-sliced and in the wheel storage boxes. I have some fruit ones, but there are a lot of other designs available. Check out these cute Food & Cake Slices from zacoo. There are ice cream cones, cupcakes, roll-cakes, and more. 120 pieces for $1.50. I would recommend using acrylic nail glue (which I never use to apply fake nails – but more on that another time) to attach these (over dried nail polish – use a clear coat if you have bare nails). The slices don’t like to bend to fit your nail, so they need that extra strength to keep them on.

Lots of other designs in the same store!

Lots of other designs in the same store!

Of course, if you are too lazy to do your own nail art, you can buy pre-designed acrylic nails. I have several sets of these from my favorite Etsy nail tech, nevertoomuchglitter. Her nails are top notch quality and she can do custom sets if you want them. The only issue for me is that the “active length” nails are too short to cover my natural nails, but the “medium length” are too long (particularly in the thumbs). But I think that “active length” is usually appropriate for most people. Check out the Alice in Wonderland Silhouette nails that she has hand painted. The set of 22 nails costs $10.

If you want to try making your own acrylic nails, you can buy the blanks on etsy.

Try your hand at nail art.

Try your hand at nail art.

The blank nails that are on a “spine” are easier to handle while painting than individual blank nails. Here is a Make Your Own Fake Nails kit from SweetenedWithLove. It includes 4 sets of nails with optional base coat painting, nail glue, and some two-sided nail stickers for temporary wear. $7

BTW…The nail stickers are what I would recommend for applying acrylic nails, because they don’t damage your nail – however, they do start to come off after only a day or two (depends on how often your hands get wet). The other option for temporary application is Ducato repeating nail glue, which you can buy from nevertoomuchglitter, as well as some other etsy sellers. Using these temporary adhesives means you can use the nails again and again.

Okay, thats all! Hope you enjoyed!

 

 

Christmas Haul, 2012

Published December 26, 2012 by kurolace

Hope everyone had a good day yesterday!

Tinsel Town polish collection close up.

Tinsel Town polish collection close up.

We woke up, opened presents and went through our stockings, and then had some delicious French toast that my mom and I had prepared the night before using challah bread. Since we only recently started moving stuff back into the kitchen, we didn’t make Christmas dinner at our house, but instead we went to a buffet at a local semi-luxury hotel. It was a pretty good meal… I ate enchiladas, shrimp cocktail, green bean casserole, and ambrosia fruit salad. And for dessert I had a little half sliver of German chocolate cake and a sliver of pumpkin pie. Thats gotta be my favorite thing about buffets – I don’t have to eat turkey / ham or whatever (I’m not a big fan of the typical holiday main dishes, for some reason). Also I can get “crumb” deserts – I take the little “left over” pieces left from people who couldn’t figure out how to take an entire piece without it falling apart. That way I can have a sampler plate with lots of types of dessert.

As to the gifts… In my stocking there was candy, of course, as well as a Starbucks gift card, a book, and angora socks (with reindeer on them, very cute, from Eddie Bauer). My brother gave me an iTunes DSCN0555card. My mom gave me the Panda hat/scarf and the OPI Sephora nail polish collection with mini bottles of polish. My dad gave me a silver scarf, and a chia cat grass growing kit. He also tried to get me a silicone / “gel” skin for my smartphone, but the person at the store sold him the wrong kind (even though he had my phone’s model name written down). I have an HTC MyTouch 3g, and the skin that the sales person sold my dad isn’t big enough and doesn’t have the camera hole in the correct place. So he’ll be returning that and then maybe we can go look for one that fits.

Additionally I received a bit of money too, from my Grandma, Aunt, Aunt & Uncle, and my parents. Totaling $600, I’ll probably use it to pay off my credit card… lol, how sad.

Of course Stitch wasn't part of the haul, but he is modeling my new panda hat/scarf for you.

Of course Stitch wasn’t part of the haul, but he is modeling my new panda hat/scarf for you.

Christmas Light

Published December 25, 2012 by kurolace

Merry Christmas All! 🙂

If you didn’t know, I live in the Southwest, so at Christmas we do luminarias. I took a few quick pictures tonight outside after we lit them. I wish I’d used my tripod or something, cause I tried to get the flame but it came out blurry each time…. but here are a few pictures anyways:

A solitary light.

A solitary light.

Together they light the way.

Together they light the way.

 

Also, our tree again. Looks better with presents, huh?

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Can’t wait to open them tomorrow! Yay!