Shoes

Brought these beauties home with me from TJ Maxx for $25. I'm sorely tempted to make them my wedding shoes. Srsly.

Ohhhhh my goodness!

 

I have terrible posture. And I really want that to change, especially for the wedding. Nothing is uglier than a hunched bride. Well, it was suggested to me that I start REALLY stretching my pectoral muscles out, to allow my shoulders to fall back more easily. And the stretch goes something like this: find a doorway, raise both arms out to the side, and then bend at a 90 degree angle, palms forward. Then put both hands on the doorway, and lean forward and hold as long as you are able. OH MY GOODNESS it felt so good. I thought I'd share cuz there's seldom anything better than a good stretch.

The search continues...

Aren't they gorgeous? I'd say they're just about perfect. Well, they came in the mail today. And i was expecting these little dainty earrings... but no. They are HUGE. The pearls are like 3/4" large. So back they go. Man, so close. So now I continue the search for bridal earrings to match my favorite bracelet (also from J Crew):

SQUEE

I love the Zelda games. And this little guy was one of my favs. I squeal anytime I see him. Thoguht I'd share.

Things that inspire me

Photo by Ralph Crane

You know when you're in the turn only lane really far back? And all the cars have their signals on? I love it. Especially in the quiet. Just a moment in time of different heart beats waiting for the same thing. It's a moment of connection. The wait is universal among the human experience. And I love to just experience it and observe. As 2 lights go out 4 go on then 1, then 3, then 2, then 5. It's a silent melody in which we must feel to experience. And then it ends and the journey starts again.

Fighting with my face

I've never had pretty skin. Not since I was put on Plaquenil. It makes me allergic to the sun and kinda "thickens" my skin. It's hard to describe. My skin is much tougher than you would think. Phlebotomists always tell me my skin is hard to pierce. And it's bipolar as to when it decides to like lotion. It either makes me itch or it doesn't help much at all. And the skin on my face is the worst. I have my dad's oily Italian skin and my mom's fair Irish complexion. So it's the perfect recipe for acne-ish bumps and marks that take weeks to heal. I've been on prescription creams, but they would stop working or make things worse. I've spend a small fortune on my skin trying to find the right cleanser, toner, cream, serum, etc.

Right now I may have found something that works- for now at least. I use Clarins cleansing milk for oily skin along with the Clarisonic Mia with sensitive cleansing head. Then when my skin is mostly dry, I use Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream. If I apply it when my skin is damp it makes me oily. Weird. But, despite being a night cream, my skin never gets greasy, and I actually am able to use a fair bit compared to other moisturizers. I use this morning and night. The only difference is at night, about a half hour after cleansing and moisturizing, I use the lowest dose Retin-A. I wish that back in high school someone had told me to wait a half hour after applying all skincare to apply the Retin-A. Damp skin absorbs much more, so it is more prone to irritation. By waiting, the Retin-A doesn't irritate or dry out my skin. And it's actually working this time around.

The only thing I'm watching for right now is that my skin doesn't naturally shed as well due to the toughness. So every few days I scrub in the shower with a BABY washcloth. Regular washcloths are way too abrasive for the skin on your face.

I'm also starting Latisse in hopes it speeds the regrowth rate. I want long pretty lashes for the wedding photos.

I MUST HAVE THIS

A little about me

I think list format will work best.

I'm engaged (4/14/12)
I love cats (and most other animals)
I was born and raised in SC
I don't have an accent (I hope)
I graduated from Clemson University this past Dec
I'm an artist
I hate extreme temperatures
I could live on Thai food
I have trichotillomania and am trying to beat it once and for all in time for the wedding
I've had JRA for more than half my lifetime now
I've been in remission for a few years now
I love antiques
I've been known to sleep for 20 hours straight before
I love oolong tea
I love to cook
I can't wait till after the wedding when we will have the money to cook fresh fruits and veggies (hopefully organic)
I don't like pork
I don't eat meat very often
I'm told I am very logical and level-headed
I'm mostly an introvert and start getting spacy if I'm in a loud public place for too long
I'm a gamer
I'm bad at calling people
I hate carnations
I love peonies, lavender, and lilacs
I have an etsy store, but it's on the back burner for a while
I'm bored thinking of things about myself that people would want to know.
I'm getting ice cream.

Welcome

Starting a blog is daunting. It's like the blank canvas that you don't want to blemish. This blog is for me to be able to share my thoughts, what inspires me, and to share links and pictures of things. The title comes from my favorite quote from Artist Georgia O'Keeffe, "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." So that's my reason for starting this. I don't know how often I'll post, but hopefully I'll actually remember to share things on the blog and not just bookmark things. I'll post a short bio soon. As soon as I get organized and get the blog the way I like.