Close Up Shop!

While my computer was being worked on at work, I was privileged enough to sit at Senior's desk. He's my boss' dad and he needs to retire. He still comes in the office every now and again to take care of some "administrative tasks," but most importantly, he makes sure to "Close up inventory."

"Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are"

My favorite blogger, The Bloggess just wrote a post on "Coming Out" and speaking up about depression.

She was inspired by this video by Michael Kimber (also a blogger) encouraging people to speak out about mental illness.

This video is long, but worth the time and attention :)

"It's not shameful to be medicated"

A Lost Art

I was watching Californication when at the end of the episode (Season 4, Episode 2), the main character Hank, writes a letter to his daughter. I re-watched those last 5 minutes of the episode over and over, imagining that it was a letter to me from my father.

And I don't think that I am the only one who can relate.

Don't Read This Post

I'm not even going to post this link on Facebook or Twitter because I have high hopes that by the time you actually look at my blog, this post will be so far down the page that you won't even see this... a girl can dream.

Well, it's 10 pm on a Friday night and I have no plans... Now, I know what you're thinking.. but honestly, my only option right now it seems is a collection of guys that I hoped would be my friends and instead have resorted to trying to date me.. RUN!

So, I am not even going to ask them what they are doing and try to tag along. No thanks.. I would rather do this instead:

Yep, that's me.. alone in my house, drinking a beer, and doing pilates. In case you can't tell, I have decided to draw a diagram for you:

Much better. It must be working! I mean look at that bicep...

*this is what happens when you drink and post, or just post out of pure boredom to save yourself from going insane, which clearly didn't work because I still pushed the "Publish Post" button (which proves my insanity).

OH! My phone is ringing! Gotta go.. meeting my friend Mo at the bar :)

Do It Yourself: Mosaic Plate Mirror

I wish I could take credit for this one, but this idea was originally my brother-in-law's mother's idea. She is super crafty and inspiring. My sister created her first mirror about 2 years ago and I have been dying to make one ever since.

This is one of my favorite projects because not only is it easy, but it helps you take out some aggression with a hammer :)

So first, you need to get thrifty and find a mirror and some old plates that match your desired color scheme. (It's fun to recycle someone's old things! Trash to treasure right?!) I decided to pick up the fun colors in my bedspread.

*Make sure your mirror has a relatively flat frame and enough room for you to get crafty with plate placement. It doesn't matter if the frame is "ugly" because you will never see it.

After you get your materials, put a few plates at a time into a paper bag. *For your safety, make sure to wear work gloves so that you do not cut yourself and work goggles to protect your eyes just in case. Next is the fun part, HAMMER TIME! Check periodically to make sure you are smashing the plates to the desired size for your mirror.

After you have all of your plates smashed and ready, use grout mix or mosaic tile mix to apply the plate pieces to the frame of the mirror. I usually place the rounded edge pieces of the mirror around the edges so that there are no points around the edge.

Let dry, and TADAaa!

Another tip, *If you don't like the white grout, you can use tea bags to stain the grout to an off-white color. This is really great for antique style mirrors. Also, you can add beads, antique brooches, etc;

The options are endless and no two mirrors will ever be the same!

January Air

Georgetown, Washington DC

Someone Needs To Explain This...

I blame OU for making me believe that all people are awesome and that "random roommates" are always going to be super cool and turn into your new BFF's.. or even just respect one another.

Welcome to the real world... or the world of Craigslist roommates.

So here it goes... the story of the man boy in the basement.

I had a bunch of my best friends in town for NYE here in DC. It was hands down one of the best weekends of my life. I only have a few towels at my house so I asked everyone to bring their own, along with pillows, blankets, etc; Well one morning, we woke up to a peculiar sight on the kitchen table. There was a white towel spread out with what appeared to be a "questionable brown stain" with a note that read, "Someone needs to explain this..."

At first, I thought it was a joke. We all laughed it off and I kept saying, "Okay guys, whose towel is this?" No one fessed up so I figured they were too embarrassed by the "questionable brown stain" to speak up.

About 2 days later, I finally saw "the man boy in the basement" and he abruptly said, "did you see the note I left?!" to which I replied, "ha, yeah what was that about?!" and he said, "one of your little friends went downstairs and wiped their ass on my towel!"

...let me just let that sink in for a moment...

I felt an immediate sense of confusion and then, I couldn't hold it in any more, I burst out laughing. I said, "You have to be kidding me! You actually think one of my friends, went all the way into the basement just to wipe their ass on your towel?" Do you know how ridiculous that sounds.

Now mind you.. no one went in the basement the entire weekend and there would be no reason to go down there. I only go down there to do my laundry.

Well,

I have an idea for you Mr. Man Boy in the Basement....

Did you ever think that maybe you didn't wipe your own ass good enough and when you got out of the shower, you wiped your own ass on your own damn towel?

Tin Man

Acrylic on Wood

"And so it goes a man grows cold

Some would say a man grows strong

They tell me life grows short

I say the road only grows long

And as long as there's a road

My feet will never touch the ground

And if you won't give my heart back I've no need to stick around

I miss it

Oh, I miss that feeling of feeling"

~The Avett Brothers - Tin Man

Music According to Jes: January

A few good tunes to keep your ears warm :)

Haven't had enough? Click on the past playlists below:

Music According to Jes: December
Music According to Jes: November
Music According to Jes: October
Music According to Jes: September

Total Tourists

My best friends came to visit for NYE in DC and it was definitely the best weekend I've had yet in this great city. I can always count on them to cheer me up and make me laugh until it hurts.

In front of the Washington Monument

P.S. Look at those awesome BOOTS! Yep I found em! A steal.. only $40 at Bakers :)

The highlights of the trip were a 25 cent blue turtle named Squishy, and a $2.50 carousel ride on National Mall... It doesn't take much to entertain us.

Squishy seeing the sights

In heaven

Thanks for the best NYE guys :) xoxox

Eye Candy

I finally bought myself a new camera for Christmas! My blog will no longer be filled with crummy Droid mobile photos but instead crisp, colorful pictures like the ones I snapped below! :)

Scenic drive back to DC

Lincoln Memorial

Off the Lincoln Memorial Ledge

Washington Memorial

Carousel at National Mall

1-1-11

Holy cow. Where has the time gone.. and why do I say that every year?

2010 was a huge year for me. A lot of significant life changes.

1. Got my first tattoo
2. Fell in love
3. Graduated from Ohio University
4. Moved to DC
5. My first big girl job
6. Traveled to new places
7. Made it outside of the Atlanta airport
8. Became comfortable with being alone
9. Moved in with complete strangers I found on Craigslist
10. Started this blog






I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for me :) As far as "new year resolutions" go... I am going to try to quit biting my nails and picking at my eye lashes. I don't know why I insist on trying to make myself ugly?!

What are your goals for 2011?!