word clouds

awhile ago, the mums sent me a blog post from one of her fellow librarians.  it had creative alternatives to the traditional word cloud and i made these.  and then promptly lost them on my computer.  now, instead of diligently working on my thesis, i decided it was an appropriate time to post.

[i'm from iowa.  i eat pigs.  they are both tasty and adorable.]  i find it interesting one of the big words is "thrift".  also that "unreasonable" made it onto the list of commonly used words.  hmm..

this other one is from wordle.  not as many crazy shapes, but a nice array of fonts and colors.  again thrift is prominent.  as are "skirt" "step" and "shitty".

lovely.

autumn in nyc

union square park from the 4th floor of filene's basement

trying to balance the ridiculously sunny day and the brilliant blue sky.  lighting fail.

 an amazing east village bakery you should visit

click to enlarge the awesomeness.  i had a mini hazelnut tart as a pre-dinner snack.  slightly crispy base filled with hazelnut creme, topped with chopped hazelnuts and a dollop of nutella.  bella e delicioso!

and we found a great place for dinner: mexicana mama

• ~$30 for drink and entree
• decor: a bit dim but not gaudy
• music: overly loud
• service: quite good
• chips and guac: excellente [not greasy or overly salty]
• portions: what normal people should eat [read: not chipotle sized]

we had happy hour drinks [blood orange margarita] and i admired the rainbow of jarritos behind the bar.  reading reviews post-visit, i realize we were quite lucky to get a table. we met at 6:45 on a tuesday, so probably earlier than the regular dinner crowd.  we were one of 3 tables when we started eating, and after an average-length meal the other 8 tables were at capacity.

plus there was quite the assortment of pickled jalapenos and cans of unknown dulces.  for actual food i had the taco de puerco-chili pork with cheese and beans, a side of rice and guac.  many of the foods are purported to be made with "chihuahua cheese" which...is not nearly as frightening as it sounds.  in fact it is not made of dogs.  or by dogs.  its...ooey gooey goodness.

in a nutshell: teeny tiny restaurant, good food, a little pricey.

curbside crap

since moving to long island, i have noticed... people put a lot of good stuff out at the curb for trash day.  usually, it gets damaged since it rains about every 2 days or it gets put out the night before and is picked up immediately and thrown in collection truck.  not only is this really really wasteful [like much of life on the island..] but 90% of the time its only slightly used and could be donated or resold with very little effort.

being a horder-in-training, i collected a few sweet pieces on saturday.  friday was veteran's day, so no trash pick up.  but most people [our house included] forgot and put trash out anyway.  it hasnt rained for a record 4 days, and i only picked up stuff that could easily be cleaned, ie no furniture.

hard-sided faux alligator suitcase

replete with inside pockets, built-in hangers, and a fold-over clothes protector.  and a bus luggage tag!  the suitcase will either stay as is, or will [eventually] be made into a table/chair

Source: countryliving.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: blog.craftzine.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: seekatesew.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

a vinyl bowling bag [i removed the bowling ball and icky shoes]

 heavy plastic picture frame, with probably tacky picture already removed.  i will be making this into a jewelry holder or a chalkboard like this:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: thecreativityexchange.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest

more things you find in a thrift store

like that old western, the good, the bad, and the uuuugly.  [first installment here]

a bambi pendant

and appropriately named..chucherias.  if i were not moving forthwith, these would have come home with me.  or at the very least, the green square/rectangle and the fish. 

the stuff i didnt buy:

applique pheasants?  DO. NOT. WANT.

crotch-length body-con black sparkles with toreador ruffles?  ... uuuuugly.

500 and the future

my 500th post!  holy crap.  here are some goals ive had hanging around.  in no particular order except the first.

graduate
find a full time job in renewable/sustainable energy field
move away from long island
decorate a new apartment
buy a car that is cheaper to repair
find a new ballroom dance studio
take guitar lessons
take singing lessons
determine if im too scared to attempt horseback riding lessons
finish my pile of sewing projects
attend regular kickboxing classes
find another pilates studio
run a mile
take art classes
use a dress pattern [instead of amassing a pile]
not kill all my plants
have more regular successful baking attempts
sew a coat
send weekly paper mail to friends and grammie
start a new garden
refrain from getting another kitty
impose shopping ban on self
pay off college loan
start IRA [dependent on getting a full time job]
visit nz again

gratuitous kitten!  cos every post needs a picture

and not so seriously...

skills i need for the zombie apocalypse:
hotwire a car/boat
load/shoot a gun
drive a 16 wheeler