Before meets After

I've always loved clothes. Since I was a little girl (i know, very cliche') I loved the process of trying on new things and putting together little outfits.. as hideous and mis-matched they ended up looking on me. So I'd like to think that loving every aspect of fashion has come pretty naturally. Well anyway lately I've been really inspired by numerous blogs...before, I read many many fashion blogs and visited many many fashion related websites. Though lately I have found myself on many many fashion blogs and websites that incorporate "craftiness". You can automatically tell the bloggers of these sites are passionate, creative, and commited to what they do and love, and being pretty new to the craft of sewing myself I find them very helpful and extremely inspirational. So today I'd like to share some of my favorites...

Wee Wonderfuls
Posie Gets Cozy
A Little Hut
Darling Dexter
Colette Patterns

Workout for the day

For the past three days I have found myself in entire bodily ache-age (I made this word up). Legs feel like they'll fall off. Shoulders are throbbing. and worst of all the left side of my neck is full of knots and tightness and pain and discomfort..etc etc.

basically i'm in direeee need of a massage.

Anyway upon doing absolutely nothing today, I decided I need to be productive. Because of my inability to drive myself places (like the gym) , I resorted to probably the most embarrassing workout video ever. Meet...

umm.. I think the pictures should tell all. I chose a 43 minute combo of funky dance moves, cheesy motivation lines, bumpin music, and most importantly plenttyy of "Tilk, Tuck, and Tighten"ing. Hey but I have to admit it got my heart rate going.

Highly Recommending...

Revolutionary RoadAside from the fact that I love Kate Winslet, and that this is just an excellent movie in and of itself, Revolutionary Road was in no way your "traditional" love story. I saw this in movie theaters once, but after watching it a second time plopped on my parent's bed I think i've come to realize that I appreciate it even more. In as less words as possible the movie chronicled the life of a middle aged, yet still young couple in the 1950s, and their battle in the pursuit of self discovery. After moving from the city to the suburbs with their two children, April (Kate Winslet) begins to feel the womanly ideals of the time period take a toll on her individuality. She feels trapped and wants to live her life not necessarily spontaneously, but differently. Consequently this strains her relationship with her husband, and their once sensible dream gives way to tragic consequences.

Sooo... as a result of watching this I have made my own observations and questions as well.

Though the story line of this movie reflects the isolation many women felt during the 50s- they were expected to love their children, worship their husbands, and all the while remain at home as a "housewife"- and reflects the monotonous life of working businessmen, it is also a modern tale; a relatable story to many of us, including me. One of the underlying themes and questions in this movie is: Does conforming to society, or tradition, come with a steep price of sacrificing individuality? One of April's main obstacles was her growing feeling of suppression- she was a mother, a wife, and lived a comfortable life- yet through it all she felt void and unfulfilled as an individual. Nowadays I think many of us feel the same way- though quietly. Does motherhood mean sacrificing our goals and dreams we once had? Our creativity and optimistic outlook on life we possessed as children? On a more relevant level to me, does parental pressure and a more "realistic" expectation from them mean compromising what I truly want for my future? "Be a lawyer, Be a doctor, Be a nurse." Sure its more realistic compared to the seemingly fantastic future of working in the fashion/magazine industry and being successful. But is it worth the compromise?? Does security and comfort obliterate the idea of taking chances? I don't know. Life is only a temporary moment- fleeting. If there's anything I've been challenged to think most about from this movie it comes from a line said by Kate Winslet's character April.. and with this I'll end this entry:

"It takes backbone to live the life you want to live."

A;l;t;e;r;e;d book

Definition according to www.dictionary.com:

A form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its meaning.

I made this probably a month ago using an old book that was going to be thrown away, along with many others. So not to worry, this book was not destroyed, but it was recycled. I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed myself while making this :) Excuse my super bad quality photos due to my camera.

Theme: Time PeriodsFront cover: A "spin" on the classic time warp spiral. Relates to time.

1920's
mediums: found objects, drawing, paint, niche, print, tearing, burning, sewing

1950's
mediums: found objects, print, sewing, torn edges, paint, drawing, school paper, text

1960's

mediums: paint, colored pencil, print, niche, drawing, found objects
[right side inspired by art by Milton Glaser]

back inside cover
mediums: tempera paint, yarn, construction paper, markers, print
[ lyrics courtesy of The Strokes :) ]

well "I ain't wasting no more time"!

iLove:

There's nothing like tribal inspired accessories to brighten up your outfit!

Edit: I realized that the word "accessory" is spelled wrong! So just a little note and reminder that it is spelled with two "s", not one. haha. It's too bad photoshop doesn't have spell check because apparently I misspelled while making this ^^. Anyway, no biggie...I hope.

Summer Reading

Above are books that I must read over the summer. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen. The picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde.

Oh Joy! Honestly. However I have never really been a fan of Jane Austen books. Everytime I think of them the word "feminism" comes to mind. Not to say I'm not a feminist or I have anything against them for that matter. I have just never been interested in her stories. This summer may change that. Open mindedness is the door to self discovery.

Oh yeah!

since my mac is being so lovely once again... Here was a recent project we worked on (like one day.) This is for all you twilight lovers...


RAWR!

(though that is most commonly
associated with a lion.)

WOW

My mac at school is really being lovely today. Usually it's SOO slow that its impossible for me to even check the weather. But today I've had the privilege of logging onto twitter..and now blogspot! wow, i'm seriously so surprised. haha. Anyways, i'd like to show you all my attempt at making a shirt on illustrator. It was for class, and it is exteremly amatuer-ish. Thats ok though.
Woah. For some reason the colors turned out completely wrong from my original. It is NOT blue. the bow is NOT minty green. But the shape is overall right. The real color palette is a mix between nudes, tans, and dark green. I'm pretty proud of my dull shaped, flat shirt :)

Missed you

I honestly feel like in two days I should wake up to the comforting thoughts that my days ahead are free from the oppressor known, in other words, as school. Face it, being on break for two weeks has undoubtedly screwed up my sleeping pattern, and has perhaps made me even more lazy than I presently am. So unfortunately Its going to be a stick in my butt to have to get back into the A student lifestyle Monday morning. I am sooo not looking forward to it.

The past few days have been the highlight of my "vacation". Parties for new years, snowboarding, and hanging out with my best friend, Angeline. That was fun. Its kind of an interesting yet confusing subject- the relationship between Angeline and I. We've known each other since we were short, chubby, children, have been best friends for over 7 years, but since shes moved away to las vegas have found ourselves failing to keep up in communication. We don't exactly call each other, or even bother to leave each other comments on myspace. haha. But still, every single time we do see each other its like nothing ever changed. I love that. So just wanted to tell her that "I missed you man, and i'm glad we saw each other over break!"

We've always loved fashion and clothes. So today I asked her "how would you describe my style?" Heres the general idea of our conversation

angeline: Your kind of..umm..like..Boho
me: Yeah right.. BOHO?! are you trying to diss me
angeline: dude no man. Your you. Your Allona. how do you think i dress?
me: like... your kind of hip hop? b-girl? but vintage. but asian at the same time
(haha. does that even make sense!!?)
angeline: wow..i think your dissin me. Freakin boho
me: freakin asian

ha. you are hilarious!