tulips or 3 lips?

peach and burgundy/maroon

pink double and orangeyredishmauve

a whole array

• coat: ny & company [silk for $10!]
• dress: kohls?
• leggings: target
• angry kitty: product jason's bathroom
  

a walk

no not something deep or spiritual or even for a cause. just my sister, jon, and me out farting around in some nature/conservancy trail out in stony brook village. there will be a whole album on fb, but here are the best nature ones. ie us not being stupid and talking about zebraologists. try saying that outloud. and since theyre all pretty obvious pictures, i didnt think they needed captions.

work and nyc

to use a crossword puzzle term, the following is an olio of the past few days.


a grand central station drinking fountain

chandeliers in grand central

isaac stern way

where every musician wants to play

a random door

almost to times square

my tulips!

my newest and best purchase

flowering tree in the parking lot at work

ummmm

• sweater: target
• tank top: victorias secret
• skirt: glassons
• leggings: [below skirt obviously] target
  

sewing wonders

the mums recently gifted me with two tubs of random stuff from the old house. prior to me receiving them however, they sat in the bf's car and caused a slight commotion in transport via ferry... but that is another story that doesnt really warrant repeating. aaaanyway one tub was full of shit from my closet. photo albums, middle school end of year "autograph books", a camping chair that ive never ever seen before, my paua shell, etc.

the other is filled with sewing notions and whatnot! elastic, buttons, snaps, webbing, cutting guides, quilting roller blade thingies, videos on how to make patterns, and the manual to the serger!

also, obessively arranged thread [all the expensive gutermann type]!

and this. what i originally thought to be some weird sort of wallet

actually was filled with needles! which is much less creepy than it sounds.

but this was my best find. idk if its some vintage thing from my great grandmother's sewing days, but its a paper packet of needles with a cool sticker. it has returned home as the top flap reads "ch crowley, 274 church st, NY" i took a pic of that too but for the life of me can't get it to turn right-side-up when uploaded.

shovel ready? SHOVEL FRIKKIN DONE

beds are done and filled! after calculations [with a calculator. as an engineer i dont do that mental math shit] i figured that i needed 2.5 cubic yards of top soil for my two beds. but the garden department only sells in full yards even though they give prices for quarters.... anyway. after 5 hours of arm busting work and a borrowed wheel barrow, they beds are ready to be planted!


my left over top soil


forsythia!

and more forsythia

my newly reorganized garage wall!

assortedness

here is a quick update from my garden as of last week. the bf came to visit and i put him to work! hehe good thing he likes me right? we worked for 5 hours ripping up frikkin grass. but he worked on a landscaping crew one summer so he did the whole digging sod out with a shovel, rolling, and putting it elsewhere in the yard. where i have yet to water it and it will remain dead sod... forever.

up close of my raised bed with chicken wire to temporarily keep out cat poo

my daffodils!


and a sign that i happened upon while taking sight distance pictures for work


and since i got so many comments on my outfit today heres what it was:

• earrings: random honduran tienda
• dress: body central [aka the slut store]
• tank top: old navy
• leggings: target
• random horrible bruise on arm: someones finger? bashing myself with yard tools? frank?
  

strawberry chocolate lemon cupcakes

lemon box cake in cupcake form. easy no?

clearly no. THEY FELL! who screws up boxed cake mix??!?#@$@(&^*@$#


neufchatel chocolate frosting-glossy, fat free, and actually delicious

24 sliced strawberries

frosting covers up the demented cupcakes and the fact that the cupcake liners are halloween pumpkins...

a super close up

dun dunnnnnn birthday cupcakes for the bf!

actually beginning my garden

pressure treated landscaping timbers which i got for $2 each [why? idk. crazy hdep sale]

my new toy! with eric's sad abused and bent hand saw under some lumber...

very slow learning curve

part of my layout

my first attempt at hand tilling with this fucking thing. in the long run it will be very convenient to mix in topsoil, but i should have just rented a damn rototiller. which i would have transported..in my mini cooper. after another 3 hours of work though, i have the entire frame of one planter set into the ground and a pretty decent border working its way inwards. only problem was my shoulder was pretty done and i had filled up 2 trashcans. brookhaven however, likes to pick up yard waste in clear plastic garbage bags [wtf?] or paper brown yardwaste bags. both of which i know are horribly wasteful and environmentally hazardous/detrimental/bad rah rah rah...but composting isnt looked too kindly upon in a city. or in a relatively small yard like ours. the end.

reader's digest summary: bought lumber, sawed lumber, hauled lumber, dug up grass, hurt self, gave up until... next weekend or next sunny evening.

sushi saturday?

nope...friday night actually.

after a 2 hour [$200] trip to home depot, i decided some sushi was in order. but feeling a bit destitute...i searched the house for ingredientes. i found, red bell pepper, [kinda old] snow peas, frozen chicken, and unagi sauce. perfect! i cooked up the rice, the chicken, found my seaweed, and then started the fun if you consider sticky gooey rice all over the table and knives ones hands...fun.

xmas colored veggies [fruits cos the frikkin seeds are on the inside?]

arranged thusly

rolled into a square cos my round rolls turn out lumpy and diseased

and cut. and then present and eaten with reckless abandon. i ended up sharing with the boys as it is pretty pointless to do all that work for 2 rolls...and i can just as easily make 6 rolls in the same mess as 2. not that they deserve any favors.

and now for something completely different. after delicious-sushi-time came finish-the-damn-top-of-a-quilt ...time. and i did!

and i aligned it with the batting i bought [baby crib size...] and the yellow star flannel backing i found. perfect fit 40"x50" and started actually quilting it together UNTIL I FUCKING RAN OUT OF WHITE THREAD. who does that?! alas...i lack the time and the money to venture to joann's to buy more. i seem to have an inability to buy just the singular thing i'm in a store for.

for example: i go to joann's to buy thread..i come home with $20 more fabric. i go to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs...i come home with fresh ciabatta bread, some produce, and the pasta that was on sale. i go to freaking cosco for toilet paper and paper towel...and return home with a 6 pound bag of chocolate!

bahh.