Box hoarding and other life questions

- Let the hoarding adventures continue! I really don't know why I continue to collect boxes. I somehow always think I'll need them, and then they'll be super handy to have kicking around. Right now I have them scattered between the spare room and my car, but mostly in my car. I'd say 90% of the time this is what my car looks like:

You don't even want to see the trunk. If anything, I'm starting to think that this could be a good deterrent from car thieves. Just think about it; picture that you are a thief, and pass by this car. You'd look in and see all these empty boxes and be turned off, thinking that this car looks like it's too much of a hassle to bother with. haha, at least then I know there's a point to all these boxes.

- Over the past view days I've been pondering the same question, regarding my blog and facebook, and keep asking myself:

What's the point?

I've been seriously considering cancelling one or the other, or even both. But I then wonder if I'll go into serious facebook withdrawls, where I'll be sweating, aaaand foaming at the mouth, aaaaaaand not knowing what to do with all of this extra spare time. Although really, picture what it would be like to cancel all of these accounts. For good. Maybe it would be nice not to worry about such frivolous things.

We'll see how things go. My mood might change by tomorrow anyways.

- Kitchen Renovations.

I think these Mexican tiles would look soooooo good mixed in with solid colored tiles as the backsplash in my kitchen. Yes?! 

- "Ohhhh Mummy, can I please get this hooker doll? Phhhleeease??"

xoxoxo...

ps:



Two thumbs up for Ryan Gosling

I might have to chalk up January as the 'Month of Crushes' -- as I'm adding yet another one to the list. A couple of nights ago me and Jarred finally watched the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love -- which I've been basically craving to watch ever since I saw the first preview. And it did not disappoint! I enjoyed it so much that I'm even thinking of adding it to the movie collection. Although with all the movie channels on TV it's quite rare that me and Jarred ever watch anything on dvd anymore. I don't know... There's just some movies that you want to own..!!

Not only was this movie heart warming and sweet, but pretty funny too, and an overall feel-good movie. I mega loved it. Plus, Ryan Gosling is sooooo hot, hahaa... I loved the character he played; smooth talking, and ever so dapper.

ps: this didn't hurt either...

If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it NOW.

On a more serious note, the movie Blue Valentine is much more somber, and almost depressing -- haha -- but, a realistic look at love and relationships. I had zero desire to see this when I first saw the previews, and it was a late night a few weeks ago when I was on my christmas holiday break that one of the movie channels was playing this, and I just sort of got sucked into it. And right from the start too. It's actually a very good movie, and amazing performances from both Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams -- although Michelle Williams' character got on my nerves, and she seemed like a bitch.  :)

xoxoxo...

Boy Crush List, Part II

What the hell. Why am I so boy-crazy lately..?? I feel like a giddy 13 year old girl. The last time I felt like this was when I was reading the Twilight books -- HAHAA! Sorry, I know that there's A LOT of the non-Twilight fans out there (including my sister!) I however thoroughly enjoyed the books. They made me feel like I was a young girl in a love cloud-bubble. That's the best way to describe it. I was so floaty-like; in some weird dreamy state. The whole time I was reading the books I felt all boy-crazy too. And it was fun. However, I'm getting somewhat off topic here, cause this post has nothing to do with Twilight, nor do Edward or Jacob make part 2 of 'The List'. Today's crush list has a bit to do with guys that I'm attracted to (duh) that remind me of my honey, and my ultimate fav hairdo on men. Let's begin! 

Michael Pitt 

Ohhhhh Michael Pitt. You might recognize him from such movies as The Village, or Last Days -- the loosely based biography on Kurt Cobain. I first saw him (and took notice) in Delirious, whom he co-starred with Steve Buscemi, and now is once again working with on the known and popular HBO tv series Boardwalk Empire. 

I also have been known for having strange crushes, and will admit that I once had a small crush on Steve Buscemi, lol. It was the nerd Seymour in the movie Ghost World. And once again, I'm starting to realize this weird trend on my nerd crushes ... I desperately wanted Seymour to hook up with Enid (Thora Birch), hahaa... -- alas it was not meant to be.

Back to Michael... I don't watch Boardwalk Empire; only seen half of one episode. It's gotten many good reviews, and looks good. I am convinced to watch it based alone that I would have Michael Pitt to dreamingly stare at....

The other thing I love is that haircut. This is my top fav hairdo on men, hands down. Sooooo HOT. Jarred, my husband, used to wear his hair like this as a teenager. I've tried convincing him to grow his hair (shaves it), but no luck so far.  :)

Which brings me to Arcade Fire's singer, Win Butler.

I don't know... there's something about him that I find extremely hot. He too wears his hair in the same style.  :)

And there's something about these crushes that remind me of Jarred too. Jarred once had a good hollywood doppelgänger. Well, sort of. Cameron Bright. Who?? hahaa. Yeah, when I saw him in the movie X-Men -- and especially in the movie Ultraviolet, he 100% was a mini Jarred. 'Mini' because that's what he was -- a little kid..!!

Although now that he's all grown up he doesn't look like him any longer.  :)

Jarred in Mazatlan, 2006.

xoxoxo...

Inspiration for the New Year

Ohhh, where to begin... Well, I guess I should first thank my girlfriend Griz for introducing me to this blogger, Kaylah, whom I'm going to introduce to you..!! So far I love everything about this cute girl, and find that I share a lot of interests with her; and also find her very inspiring -- and it's always nice to 'meet' inspiring people, as there are plenty out there in the world.  :)

Kaylah is a "thrifting queen", which you can see in her home decorating and personal fashion style, which I just loooooove...

She has such a cute style, and I love the way she puts everything together. She inspires, and reminds me of my love for vintage shopping -- which I've been severely slacking at..!! I can't remember the last time I've been clothes thrift shopping..?? I guess you get discouraged as a lot of times you can't find anything good; plus you find that a lot of vintage clothing runs very small in size and mostly fit; and since I've gained weight from my old days of thrift shopping, I can't seem to fit anything, even when I do find a good piece. AND, when you do find a good piece it's worth it in the end, and it's something that stays in your collection. I have so many aweeeeeesome dresses in my own collection that I don't wear anymore cause they don't fit me, but won't throw out..!! They're hanging in the 'waiting-to-lose-weight-clothes' section of my closet. Which by the way, every girl has that section in her closet. You'd think it would be motivation to get in shape so you can finally wear them again; or perhaps more a sad reminder of why you don't. hahaaa. Changing subjects, just a tad bit here, I'm looking for the first time ever in my life to get a personal trainer. Well, he's my friend -- but nonetheless still very exciting. I only want to lose 20 to 30 pounds. That's it. You'd think I could do this task on my own, but alas, I have failed; mainly due to lack of motivation / laziness. And the main inspiration? Fashion, of-course. I love fashion, and there's so much I want to wear but don't because I feel it doesn't look good on me, and that's because of weight gain. I think I'll do my next blog entry as an introduction of these vintage / and not-vintage pieces in my closet, that quite frankly are ready to come out and be worn already. I can't wait.

In the meantime I will get inspiration from such adorable and stylish girls like Kaylah here.  :)

She's also a nail polish addict and has her nails neatly done all the time...

A true cat lady (4 cats!) ... She even collects cat figurines, just like yours truely, haha...

And takes a lot of suuuuper cute photos of them  :)

She even has the words CAT LADY tattooed on her knuckles. What a cute idea.

She's a crafter and sells her stuff, The Dainty Squid, on etsy -- which you can check out HERE.

I love her blog. She takes great photos, which you can also check out:

http://daintysquid.blogspot.com/ 

I am definitely a fan, and it's going to be my new favourite.  :)

Also while on her blog, she pointed out another crafter on etsy, Katie-Louise Ford , who makes the cutest vintage looking dresses -- like this one:

How cute is that?! It inspires me to try and make something similar; pattern of a dress, maybe something baby-doll-ish, with that peter pan little-girls collar, which I've always looooved. And of-course the kitty cat print.  :)

I'm sure though if I try to make something like this it won't be exactly the same, since, ummm, I don't know how to sew... *gulp* ... Plus I still have my black and white babydoll dress that I'm working on (stillhaven'tstarted). Ohh well, just add another thing to the growing 'To Do' list...

xoxoxo...

Top Fav Home Decor Influences

If I were to describe my home decor I'd have to say that it's a mish mash on all of my favourite styles -- Moroccan, Tiki, and Retro -- with a mix of other oddities such as the random granny cat figurine or skulls of some sort.

Here is a re-cap on all the home decor styles I love and that influence my own personal decorating. We'll start with a recurring favourite:

MOROCCAN

I've been attracted to moroccan home decor since foreeeeever. I love the lanterns, abundance use of pillows, the warm rich tones of reds and gold, layers of overlapping rugs and the carved wood furniture.

This photo makes me think of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  :)

Now the next two styles that I love fall from the same era -- 1950s to the 1960s-ish time period. The first being....

RETRO

I think it would be sooooo cool if your entire house was done up this way. I picture fancy cocktails and listening to the Ultra Lounge collection -- make sure to turn on your speakers for a sample of this fantastic and perfect mood-enhancing music.

Me and Jarred have been talking about doing kitchen renos in the future future (bathrooms HAVE to get done first!), and I wouldn't mind thinking out of the box and doing something completely different than the norm. I think it would be fun to do something like the above photo -- or even to have the kitchen done in a baby retro pink.  :)

I love the look of this home. It kind of reminds me of my place, where you can see the different mix of styles put together. And do you want to see a really cool place..?? Check out this home:

The Carter Family's perfect mid-century home 

And that's not even the best part. You have to see their basement -- which brings me to my next all-time favourite style:

TIKI

The Carter Family tiki themed basement. Seriously. I have hearts in my eyes right now...

I loooooove tiki homes..!!!

Look -- even Barbie likes the tiki designed home:

Yes. That's a doll model of a retro tiki bar and home. WOW.

Work done by artist Carole Knaus. You can read (and see more of her work), HERE.

When we did our renovations to our condo a couple of years ago I wanted to make our computer / toy collection room in a tiki theme -- although since then it's taken a turn as the Bat-Cave, courtesy of Jarred's lovely Batman collection, that never seems to stop growing.

While we're still on the subject of the fabulous Atomic-Age here, I must mention another love: Googie Architecture (also known as populuxe), most popular from the 1950s to mid-1960s era.

I've always LOVED this style on a building, and if I were ever to build my own business I'd 100% do this idea...

Whenever I'm in presence of a building or sign in this style I always take a photo for my own collection...

I took this photo in Las Vegas a few years back...

and this cool one right here in my city.

And yes, next time you're gazing upon the infamous Vegas sign, you'll know that you're looking at a classic example of the googie architecture.  :)

Back to home decor, another style I've been recently enjoying is the...

Wall of Cluttered Pictures

Look -- even your washrooms are unsafe...

Seriously though, I really do like this idea -- even in the washroom, which I think looks super cool, and an idea I'd like to try in my own home. Actually, I kind of have this idea growing on my one livingroom wall. It takes time as you collect these perfect / odd pieces that sort-of go together in a strange mismatched way. For example, I just purchased this vintage beauty from the thrift store which I'm thinking of adding to said wall:

Yes, that's a 3-D effect of basically a porcelain figure sticking out on the photo. It's so ugly that it's cool. I'm still deciding if this should go up on the 'Wall of Clutter' (Jarred already voted "No!", hahaa...)

If I decide to hang it up I'll take a photo and get your guys* opinion on it.

*my one devoted reader, Kate.

To Be Continued....

xoxoxo...