hats off

in honor of the royal wedding, let's talk about...hats!!


i secretly really love hats. they're hard to wear not-in-the-winter, though, because they can instantly make you look overdressed. somehow, the moment you put on that one accessory, people start saying, "a hat? oh, so now you're a hat person?" or "what are you all dressed up for?" things like that. they're probably just hiding their jealousy that you can pull of hats, though, because hats are awesome.

so with a nod to want-it-but-can't-afford it friday, let's talk about what philip treacy hat i would have worn if i had gone to the royal wedding.

from polyvore.com

or maybe....

from philip treacy's summer 2011 collection

that one. yes. i love that one. wearing a hat like this would require me to look demure pretty much constantly. it's hard work, but someone has to do it.

ahh. if only. well, and while we're talking about hats, no discussion of hats would be complete without a nod to the kentucky derby. if i were going to the derby, my hat would look like this...

from hatagories.com

for the derby, that might be aiming a little low. but it's black and pink and shimmery and a little bit tacky. just my style.

happy friday!!

doncha think?

llama font. let me tell you, amours: this is a good time had by all. and don't you think it's true, by the way? foxes and llamas. very in right now.

book candy

hullo there, amours. remember me? alas, finals approacheth, and with the added bonus of not only a heavy school load but a heavy work load, i've been running ragged for quite some time. in fact, the only reason i have time to write now is because i'm waiting on a book from the library's special collections. so here i am! i've missed you.

faithful readers will remember that, being a literature student, i appreciate a beautiful book cover. so i had to share these extraordinary embroidered (embroidered!!!) book covers by jillian tamaki. they're making the blog rounds, so you might have seen them before, but i thought i'd throw them up here just in case. the one of black beauty literally made me gasp.

may all books be pretty and lend themselves to easy essays. amen.

cheers, loves.

zoo to-do

as a "happy monday!" i'd like to show you some beautiful vintage zoo posters from around the world. my friend chris in new york sent me the link to these yesterday and i thought i'd pass them along to you...

those are just a few of my favorites. the rest can be found here, at flavorwire. i have two half-page vintage poster replicas from the copenhagen zoo hanging on my wall, but i would love to decorate my house with some of these!

if you want some of your own, all posters and zazzle have some pretty reasonably priced pieces.

happy monday!

guys. guys. drop everything.

i just discovered this website:
TAGXEDO

i'm already trying to think of ways to incorporate it into my research, but it's SO FUN. i made a word cloud for MCA:

apparently we like neon things.

you can also make them be shaped like animals, continents, lots of different shapes...

like a baby elephant!

so fun. and free.

happy word clouding!

magnetic fields

you'll be happy to know that i made it to my office and have returned with enough photos to write our first crafty post!!

so crafts are my favorite thing. in my mind, a fun activity is to start crafting after lunch and keep crafting late into the night. usually i like these craft days to involve friends, buffy, and chipotle.

over christmas break, i went to craft warehouse seeking inspiration. i like craft warehouse better than joann or michael's when it comes to chain craft stores. the inspiration i found led me to create this:

a magnetic message board with cute glass magnets! so let's break this down a little bit. it's very easy, and totally fun!

first, the message board part. you need:

- a big sheet of metal, this one is about 12"x12"

- glue (elmers will do)

- paper to cover the metal (i just used a single piece of 12"x12" paper)

- block of wood (alternatively, you could attach some string or wire and hang it)

in order to get the glue to lay flat, i used a sponge brush and watered down the glue just a little bit, so it was more easily spreadable. cover the sheet evenly with glue, then stick on your paper! that part is done. so easy.

now the next part, making the magnets, is probably more important because you can use them with or without the magnetic board....on your fridge, metal desk, and anywhere else far away from your computer. for these, you need:

- glass drops or glass gems (often used for home decorating)

- diamond glaze or another clear paper adhesive

- paper of your choosing (preferably a little thicker)

- magnets

- hot glue gun

for this, put a small circle of diamond glaze on the back of the glass drop, in the center. it doesn't have to cover the whole drop. immediately (or pretty quickly) press it down onto the part of the paper that you want to see through the glass. press it down so the glaze spreads over the whole back of the drop. let it dry (should only be a couple minutes), then cut the paper around the glass drop. use a hot glue gun to fix magnets to the back of the paper. 

and voila! so simple! here's the craft warehouse instructions for the magnets, though they do it a little differently. both ways work! let's look at some pictures of the final product...

i'm a big fan. they're completely addictive because they only take a couple seconds each to make, and they're wonderful gifts. you can also use stickers to write words on the paper, or use your own art! (these are all made from craft paper). before you commit to a design, try moving the glass drop over a couple different areas of the paper - that way you can get a sense for how it'll look before you apply the glaze!

good luck!! happy crafting!

tasty tide-over

so i am planning on doing my first DIY crafting post tomorrow...or soon...but before i can write about this specific craftiness, i have to take pictures of it. and my samples are in my office, which is all the way down the street.

so while i gather up the energy to make the long trek over to my workspace, i thought i'd post a quick little follow-up to a recent post we did! if you remember, katie hawkes told us about the wonders of coconut milk, amongst other things. well, i was inspired to try some of her ideas so i make mango sticky rice! truthfully, i used basmati rice so it's a little less than sticky, but it's SO GOOD. here's how it got made:

1/2 cup of rice in the rice maker with 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, and roughly 1/8* cup of sugar.
while that's getting nice and cooked...
1/2 cup of coconut milk with another 1/8 cup of sugar, brought to a boil (this becomes the sauce).
chop up a whole, ripe mango.

when the rice is done, put it on a plate, arrange the mango slices on top, and pour the sauce over the whole thing.

VOILA. instant delish.

stay tuned for impending craftiness coming in the next couple days!


*okay fine, not an actual measurement. but i put in 1/4 cup and it seemed a little too sugary, so i suggest trying less.