Random Snapshots

Rainy Day Thursday

After all the nice weather we've had lately...

the rain is back. 

Figures, since tomorrow is the 4th of July and all.  :)  There was a pretty big thunderstorm last night.  Complete with lighting too.  We don't get many thunderstorms around here.  Apparently it is supposed to rain on the 4th too.  I hope they are wrong.   

Do you have big plans for the 4th?

I haven't had much to blog about this week.  I've been busy with school and haven't had much excitement.  I'm happy for the 3 day weekend coming up though.  I'm hoping to be able to catch up on some things that need to be done around the house. 

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites.  :)

Update

The heat won.

We just picked this up at Sam's Club. 

Now I can finish my homework and sleep in peace tonight.  :) 

I'm melting

It's been really hot here this weekend.  And by hot I mean hot for this area and too hot not to have air conditioning.  I know I have some Arizona readers and I'm definitely not comparing to their heat.  :)

I hate to even complain because I love the sun.  We barely get sun in Western Washington.  In fact, we typically only get about 75 days of sun in one whole year.  That's definitely on my "cons of living in Seattle" list. 

I also happen to be on an antibiotic right now.  For the second time in 2 months.  And I shouldn't be out in the sun for very long while I'm on it. 

Our two story condo occupies the second and third floor of the building.  Our second story is where the bedrooms are and it's brutal up here.  It's like a sauna...I think we might have to break down and buy an air conditioner today. 

Anyways, there is really no point to this post.  Except complaining I guess.  :) 

I'm taking a break from the mountain of homework I have to finish today and thought I'd write a quick post.  I'm playing around with some new Photoshop actions that I downloaded here.  I snapped a few fresh photos of my desk to play with and I like how this one turned out with the actions.

A diet Coke with lime and some blackberries are my homework-doing-snacks today.

Hope your all staying cool!  Adam just asked me if I wanted to go drive around in our truck with the air conditioning on.  It's not a bad idea - even if gas is over $4/gallon.  :)

One sock down + Outfit remix

I finished the first Spring Forward sock yesterday and made a little progress on the second.  The yarn is a little darker than it shows in this picture.

I was able to make it to knit night last night.  It was really good to get out and catch up with everyone.  I even got a little knitting done.  :) 

I worked on my Rusted Root - started the shaping under the bust.  I'm hoping to finish up the shaping tonight and snap a photo. 

Speaking of going to knit night...I remixed my work outfit into a casual night outfit last night.  I've been making an effort to mix up my outfits lately using the current pieces in my closet.  I'm such a creature of habit.  I tend to wear the same outfits over and over instead of having fun and trying to create new ones.  That's definitely something that I'm working on changing.

Here's my easy day to night remix:

Day: Sweater - Forever 21, Tank - Old Navy, Black Pants - NY&Co, Peep Toe Wedges - MaxStudio, Earrings - Bitten

Night: Sweater - Forever 21, Tank - Old Navy, Jeans - Ann Taylor Loft, Peep Toes - Bandolino, Earrings - Bitten

Those blue peep toes are quickly becoming my favorite pair of shoes.  They have the perfect little kitten heel and are very comfortable. 

And lastly, since this is turning out to be a random post I'll share my happy lunch from yesterday.

Yesterday morning I was running late (what else is new) so my cutie husband made my lunch.  I was craving a PB&J and he even let me use his Wonder Bread sandwich holder.  This lunch just made me happy when I opened it up.  :)   

Daily Outfit

Remember last Friday when I said I needed to get some belts?

(excuse the small photo with the messy background - I tried to crop most of it out.  I've been taking my daily outfit photos at work and our office is being remodeled so it's a mess).

I bought one last night and decided to wear it today.  What do you think?

My Mom confirmed that she did, in fact, have a purple belt just like this back in the day.  I totally remember it too.  That brings me to another point that I wanted to share.

A few weeks ago I exchanged emails with another blogger who shares daily outfits.  We both mentioned that we wished our Mom's had done this.  It would be so cool to look back and see the changing styles.  Especially as the different fashions cycle back into style.  A few days later when I posted about the belt my Mom emailed to say that she did have that belt and that she wished she'd done something like this too. 

Don't you all agree that it would be very cool to look at those photos now?  Photos of your Mom's or even Grandmother's. 

Maybe this will encourage some of you to take daily outfit photos too.  It only takes a minute or two after you get dressed.  :) 

Back together again

A couple months ago I posted about the good news that my best friend was moving to Seattle.  Remember?  Well, she's here!  (We had dinner a couple of nights ago, but I forgot to snap a photo.)

Jess and Steve came over this afternoon to hang out at our place for a few hours.  It was good chatting, eating and of course playing video games.  :)

It's hard to believe they live here now.  It's still a little surreal for me.  It's been so many years since we lived in the same state, let alone a matter of miles from each other.  

I'm just really glad to be back together again. 

Now if I only I could convince Shawna and Tim to move to Seattle...

;)  

We're home.

We arrived back in Seattle around 5pm today and have just been unwinding ever since.  I'm dreading unpacking - that's the worst part of travelling for me!  It's good to be back in our own space and I'm looking forward to my bed and Tempurpedic pillow tonight!

We had an AMAZING time over the past 5 days - seriously - I can't even describe.  We had so much fun with all the events going on.  It was so busy, but so worth it.  Julianne and Mark really have an amazing network of friends and they welcomed us in right away. 

The wedding was beautiful and everything went perfectly.  Everyone looks so pretty (and the guys were handsome)!!  Julianne looked especially stunning!  The hair, makeup, dress, big smile - all gorgeous!

We got to spend some good quality time with our family and that was really nice.  Good chats and just hanging out.  The weather was awesome and we got a little beach time in as well.  Of course we came back to rainy and in the 50s.  :)

I have many, many, many photos to share - I hope to get around to editing sometime this week.  The photo above is the view from the Portofino which is where the reception was held.  Big Dan and I went out just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset and snap a few shots.  The lighting was perfect. 

I will be back with an update this week.  In the meantime check out my Daily Outfit album.  I remembered to take photos of my outfits over the weekend and just added them to the album on the left.

Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

Anyone know that song?  ;)

The hubs and I are headed to Cali this morning and will be there until Monday afternoon.

These two are getting married.  Mark and Julianne. 

And the hubs and I are both standing up in the wedding. 

As an added bonus we will be seeing a bunch of my family from home.   It doesn't get any better than that - family time is so rare these days so we really try and cherish it while we can.  It's going to be a good couple of days. 

H is for, I is for...

I got a little behind in the ABC-along over the past month so I'm catching up with two letters today - H & I.  For all of the letters so far I've tried to use photos from recent outings, but I haven't had much play time lately.  I really wanted to catch up anyways so I decided to take some photos around the house.  It was a lot of fun to do it this way.  Gives you a chance to see your "stuff" in a different way.  It challenged me to be a little more creative interpreting the letters.  Especially the letter I - that was a toughie!

I also like to use my ABC-along photos for playing around in Photoshop (I use CS3).  Running different actions, finding new ways of adjusting everything and using different frames.  Since these photos are just for fun this is the perfect opportunity to brush up on my Photoshop skills.

H is for Hottie Husband ;) - Playing some Xbox

 

H is for Home Defense System :)

H is for Handspun Yarn - made by me!

H is for High Heels - my favorite thing ever! 

H is for Heart Rate Monitor - keeps me on track at the gym

I is for Inches

I is for Ink - my favorite paper crafting item

I is for Inspiration and Ideas - I started a Home Decor Inspiration book the other day.  I'm using a pretty photo album and adhering magazine rip-outs with staples or glue.  I'm also writing notes, drawing, etc.

    

Mosaic Monday

Today is the last day of my current class.  I've scheduled a much-needed-one-week-break for myself before the next class starts.  (In case you're confused - I take one class at a time and each class lasts 5 weeks).

Needless to say I'm very happy to have a week off.  We're leaving for California on Thursday and we'll be back next Monday.  It's going to be a great little mini-vacation.  More on that later.

For my mosaic this week I'm going to play THE GAME:

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

  

1. Elizabeth Taylor caught by Paparazzi, 2. Asparagus Ravioli, 3. Untitled, 4. Gizmo, 5. Red on Black, 6. Tanqueray, 7. Milan Train Station at Midnight, 8. Sweet Cherry Pie, 9. Portofino a favorite of wealthy yachters, 10. 2 women running from mad cows at Campo Imperatore, 11. spotted or striped anywhy..fashion!, 12. _DSC0131

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?  Elizabeth
2. What is your favorite food?  Ravioli
3. What high school did you go to?  Lockport High School
4. What is your favorite color?  Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush?  John Mayer
6. Favorite drink?  Tanqueray & Tonic
7. Dream vacation?  Italy
8. Favorite dessert?  Cherry Pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up?  Independantly Wealthy
10. What do you love most in life?  Laughing
11. One word to describe you.  Creative
12. Your flickr name  bienaseliz