Sprucing Up...

Goodness!  I need to dust the cobwebs off this little blog of mine.  I took a wee bit of a hiatus...we can blame it on the new boyfriend ;)  Yes he's a distraction, but a totally adorable one. 

It feels good to blog after such a break.  I have a few new endeavors in the works that I am excited to share about and lots of layouts and crafts and well, just random things that are so cute you simply must know all about them!

I have to dash...no, not to meet up with the new bf...I know what you are thinking... ;)
I have to run for reals, but I will be back shortly!  Get ready for a new chapter in blogging here at SSAS...ha!  My blog spells sass backwards but can still be pronounced as "sass"...I kinda like it.  There's some creative potential there.  Hmmm...
xoxo!

Oh Goodness.

Supposedly today had an extra hour due to daylight savings.  

I'm not sure I was anymore productive than usual however.  

Yep. 

I'm pretty sure I wasn't.  

Time is still sneaking away from me rather rapidly.  

I mean I don't think the extra hour even registered on my radar.  

And seriously, where did last week go?  And the week before that?  I'm feeling like the days are zipping by and I'm not accomplishing nearly as much in a single day as I set out to when I first wake up in the morning.  

Are my to-do lists just getting longer?  Or am I not tackling them with the ferver I once did?  Hmmm...perhaps it's just that I am distracted by the ridiculously good television that's on this season.   The DVR is completely overflowing.  It's pretty much a full time job keeping up with the awesome programming.  

Well, regardless, time is jetting by and my to-do's are not getting done.  

Blogging, for example, would be one of those things that's being repeatedly lost in the shuffle.  

And I was SO excited to be blogging again.  

However I pretty much went on hiatus after my first week back at it.  

Lordy. 

Well, as a condolence for slacking on the job, I would like to share the following:
1. These are pretty much as epic as they come.

And yes, I love these so much that there might actually be a remote control flying clownfish sitting right here next to me as we speak.

2.  I have a new Holiday paper kit for sale at my lil digi-scrapping shop...and a deliciously adorable element kit is in the works and should be arriving shortly...do check it out!

3. This totally just arrived in the mail and I'm super excited about it.

4. I don't have a number 4 for today, but I hope you had a lovely weekend! xoxo

image credits: urban outfitters, air swimmers

As I was Saying...

I heart Pinterest...and I am spending way too much time there.
However, I am finding quite the assortment of awesomeness so I'm not complaining too much.

Case in point:
THIS.

How did I miss this cover back in February?  I think this just may be my new haircut.  It's adorable. I've been wanting something short and cute...this might be it! 

Oh Pinterest does it again.  Now I can totally justify the hours I just whittled away there...

Happy Friday all!

Namaste

As part of my recovery from the nerve injury I've been dealing with the past few months, I've been doing yoga...pretty much everyday!   

I LOVE it.
I'm obsessed kinda.  
But it truly has changed my life for the better in so many ways. 
Not only am I a bit more stretchy and flexible, but I am just calmer, more positive, more at peace with myself.  I'm not so tense.  I also have more of an appreciation for my body, for the world around me, and well, let's face it, yoga clothes are just super cute, so I have an adorable new wardrobe as well ;)

Check out this site!  Spiritual Gangster.  It has totally hipster, totally chill yoga clothing.  Love it!

Here are a few faves:

images courtesy of spiritualgangster.com

Much Needed TLC

Oh I just feel so terrible...my lil ol' blog has been repeatedly pushed to the back burner for quite some time now...poor thing is longing for some much needed TLC.

To be honest, I have been in need of a little TLC and haven't exactly been doing a very good job at giving it to myself.  It's hard to slow down.  Even in a state of injury, as I am in, it's hard to take care of yourself.  I know what I am supposed to be doing to help myself heal and get better, but the world is so demanding and if you take just the tiniest bit of time to help yourself, you feel so guilty.  If you take the slightest bit of time away from something you think you should be doing, you feel like you've let someone down or like you've dropped one of the many balls you are constantly juggling...or at least I feel that way...

Well today I have truly taken a total me, total TLC day.  I started my day with a yoga class, practiced deep breathing and found my center, then I soaked in a warm bubble bath, and engaged in a bit of meditative healing and a lie down with my heating pad.  I then perused the web for a bit of online shopping...meditative healing may have its therapeutic rewards, but helloooo, online shopping is equally if not more so rewarding!!  I followed up my retail therapy with a bit of sun worshipping.  I find there just really is nothing more relaxing than an afternoon nap in the sun!  I may have even gotten a little bit of a tan!  Ok ok ok, so I probably didn't really get a tan...I don't exactly have the skin type that tans :P

But what I came to discover today is that I think in general, perhaps, we need to be a bit kinder and gentler toward ourselves...allow ourselves to take some timeouts from the rush our lives have become.  I think we've come to believe it isn't really ok to do that.  Had I taken a few more timeouts myself I think I may not have gotten my injury in the first place.

So today I took a timeout.  I slowed my thoughts, my actions, I took care of my injury, and it wasn't selfish, and the world didn't come to an end and my friends and family didn't hate me for it as I kinda sorta feared.  I kinda want to do it again tomorrow! 

I hope you enjoyed your weekend and maybe took a little timeout of your own :)
xo!

P.S. here are my online purchases from today!

Lola Side Table

Pharmacy Side Table

Acid Etched Letter

So cute!  I love them!

images courtesy of urban outfitters

It's Not My Fault

It's so not my fault that my postings are so totally sporadic of late.  I still don't have cable functioning at 100% in my new apartment...still...

This means I have to find better things to do with my time than spend my evenings watching the Bachelorette or the Kardashians.  As if.

But, this brought a smile to my face in the midst of the cable crisis so I thought I'd share.

Also, Snapfish is doing a buy 1 photobook get TWO FREE deal right now.  Hello amazing. That makes me smile too.

*not sure who the doxie image belongs to so if you know please let me know :)

Barely Survived.

I moved into a new apartment this week.

And I love it.

It's super cute.

But the thing about moving is that it is not only the biggest pain in the butt (well, next to my real pain in the butt), but it means that you are inevitably without internet access for at least two days as your cable subscription transitions...hence my lack of posts for the past few days.  Living without the internet is practically impossible.  Seriously, how did we ever do it before??  I mean, there was a time, not that long ago, when I, and people in general, rarely used the internet, if at all.  

I know.  

Crazy talk.

But we survived just fine during those days.  So in theory we should be able to survive today without immediate access to the web.  However, after a few days in my apartment sans internet, you'd be convinced that theory was boloney.  I barely made it.  I was starting to get physical reactions due to my lack of cyber connectivity.

Well, finally today, after much anticipation, the cable guy arrived to set up my TV and internet. However...

as per usual...

because nothing in my life is ever simple...

it seems my sparkling fancy new apartment has faulty cable wiring and does NOT receive a cable signal and therefore canNOT get cable.  

OF COURSE it can't.  

of course.  

So it seems I will be without cable for a bit longer than expected.  Like several weeks longer than expected.  Lordy.  They have to rewire my apartment or something complicated and technical like that.

Sweet.

I am stoked as you can imagine.

(and by stoked I mean not. stoked.).

But ya know, this is just another ordinary day in my world ;) 

On a sort of related note but not quite, here is an adorable side table and chair I think I may need to purchase for my new apartment.  

 Gigi Nightstand, Urban Outfitters

 Madeline Chair, Urban Outfitters

It would be awesome to watch some cable TV or view the internet from this darling chair, but...oh right, I DON'T HAVE CABLE. 

A Real Pain in the Bum...

Literally.

I've had a literal, real life pain in my bum (and back) for the past two months-ish and well, it completely knocked me off my feet for a bit there.  No pun intended, although it totally did literally knock me off my feet.  

I've pretty much been on my couch all day every day.*

I am still not quite 100%...

I'd say maybe 72ish%...

some days I'm dancing around the 35% mark which is rather undesirable....

But other days I'm almost 83% which is awesome.  I can go to the grocery store on those days ;)  

Geez.  

This has been quite the test of patience, peace, and faith.

 

For me, little miss jets-to-the-gym-daily-loves-to-run-do-yoga-kill-it-in-spin-class-hop-from-this-activity-to-the-next, sitting all day on my bumsky, for weeks on end has been difficult to say the least. 

Due to what seems to be some sort of sciatic nerve issue, I've definitely done a 180 degree lifestyle change...which in the grand scheme of things, hasn't been bad really.  I almost wonder if the universe was just trying to slow me down so I could take a look at my life,  recenter myself, remember what makes me happy and what doesn't, and reprioritize.  

While I most certainly had (still have) hard, completely non-positive days when I thought I would be debilitated forever and that my fate in life was to lie on a couch watching movies all day every day (I'm super overly dramatic at times...my family loves it), I would say overall, during this time, I have definitely become a more peaceful, centered person.  I might have been a bit of stress case prior to this, running at 120 mph, not eating well, or sleeping well, totally unfocused creatively cuz I had too much zipping through my head at any given time...but now, after slowing my life to a mere 5 mph pace, reading many healing through meditation books, soaking daily in warm baths, having much time to sit in peace and creative contemplation, work on my crafts, visit with family and friends...I'm feeling pretty good.

I am a big fan of Angel Cards and Positivity Cards.  I do them everyday and find them to be so uplifting and positive.  They have certainly helped me through this time.  Every card I pull seems to be EXACTLY what I need to hear.  And they are pretty too. 

These are the ones I like if you wanna give them a try.  They truly are beautiful and the words they speak are so encouraging even if you don't believe in this kind of thing at all :)

Mermaid and Dolphin Oracle Cards
(I believe your purchase supports ocean/marine life causes...awesome)

Power Thought Cards

This is my very favorite Mermaid and Dolphin card...

awww...*warm fuzzy*

I have so missed blogging!  Well now that I really think I am in the healing phase...I still have some doctors to see and whatnot, but I really think I am on the up and up...I will be here much more regularly!  I may even have some artsy downloads for you since I 've been doing a lot of creative crafting lately.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend those of you in the grand ol'
US of A!

*on my couch all day every day = catching up on lots and lots of movies! reviews to come in a later post perhaps...

It's a New Month Already!

Why does time go by so fast?  I feel like it's still January, like it's still the start of this brand new year.  Only this isn't a brand new year anymore...we are five months in...FIVE!  That's almost half way through.  Goodness.

Well being that it is the start of a new month, that means that the latest issue of Ginger Scraps Street Magazine is published and online!  My article for this month is about pets and how special they are to us.  I wrote this article two months ago not knowing it would be published this month, so it is kind of weird that it was published this week because I just lost a pet that was very near and dear to me yesterday.  She was such a good girl, so sweet and had the biggest heart.  I will miss her so very much.  If you have a spare minute, take a look at the article...it's filled with some layouts of some cuties.  And speaking of cuties, here is a layout I did of my niece that is showcased on page 25...

I happen to really like this one :)

Well as time flies by I seem to fall further and further behind in my work, my crafts, and just life stuff in general.  So I am going to skidaddle and try to tackle a few things on this lengthy To-Do list of mine...good times.

I Heart the Environment

I have been totally neglecting my dear beloved blog for quite some time.  Oh how I miss it!  But I have a good excuse.  I was busy glamming it up in NYC ;)  Yep took a fabulous trip with some girlfriends and had THE best time.  What an awesome city...love it...wanna go back STAT.  Of course I could do without the freak lightening storm and torrential downpours...they put a bit of a damper on the trip (no pun intended...or was it? ha ha!)  No, really overall was a great trip...saw a Yankees game, went to a Broadway show, road through Central Park in a rickshaw...basically did all those fun touristy things.  Such good times.

But now I am home and it's back to business!  So ok, I read a terrifying article on the plane about dangerous chemicals in our environment and plastics and whatnot.  I knew certain types of plastic water bottles can release harmful chemicals, but I never really gave it much thought...until reading this article in Glamour magazine (article title: The New Toxic Threats to Women’s Health).  It talked about BPA and PVC, among other toxins and basically made me want to change my entire life...how I eat, what I drink from, the air I breathe...ok so I can't exactly change that last one, but I just feel like our world is so filled with ickiness and I don't know how to fix it or change it or keep myself safe...I don't even know what IS safe!  (HERE is a post I found about the plastics we interact with daily and their levels of harm)

Well I decided to take it one step at a time and today I started researching chemical free, environmentally friendly water bottles.  In my research I determined that stainless steel water bottles are the best.  So I am going to purchase one of those as well as a Britta.  Plastic bottled water hasta la vista!  (oh! HERE is a web post I thought was very helpful by the way...)

Alrighty so now that we have a plan, I have to decide which water bottle to get...cuz it has to be cute.

Here are my options:
Kleen Kanteen - highly recommended but not very exciting...just solid colors...which isn't bad at all, I would go for the bright pink, but it's just kinda plain.

Earth Lust - love the gal's story who owns the company...love the artwork on the bottles...but can't decide what size I would get because I was kinda thinking the 1 liter would be the best size to get but I like the designs on the smaller 20 oz. bottle way better.

Innate-Gear - free of all sorts of chemicals and meets lots of standards and whatnot, but I don't love the design

New wave Enviro - sounds like a good company...ok designs.

Camelbak - love the name of this company...bottles are insulated (not sure if that matters or not)...designs need work.

Thinksport - love the shape...love the fact that they make chemical free yoga mats too...love their website design although I can't access their online store at the moment...but regardless, this may be a winner.

What do you think?  Which do you like best?  or if you have an awesome, safe, earth-friendly bottle, which do you have??

image credits: Thinksport.com

Today's a Big Day

Well today's my big day.

I made some cupcake toppers for my lil birthday shindig this weekend...cute eh??

I hope you enjoy your day today! I know I will ;)

xoxo!

I Heart Parking Garages

Well today was an epic day.
I sideswiped my car against a corner concrete post in my super-tiny-not-made-for-two-cars-going-in-opposite-directions parking garage.  The damage was lovely :/

On a happier note, I did make this layout today...

I used Catherine's Tender Kit, which I just adore...I love the simple color scheme...it's sort of antique-y, and it's gentle and calm...I have to say, I think it just may be my favorite kit she's created thus far.

Happy Happy!

First of all how could I have possibly let a delightfully colorful newsletter from Rock Scissor Paper just sit in my inbox all weekend long??  And secondly how could I have done so when it had such Happy News tucked inside?!

First of all I adore the ladies of Rock Scissor Paper.  I had the opportunity to meet them at a Stationery Workshop they taught a while back and they were not only inspiring and fun and just absolutely fabulous in every way, but they also were generous with their knowledge and time, and just willing to share everything they had learned throughout their creative journey.  It truly was awesome.

Anyways, the email I just finally opened introduced a few of their new products which is always fun, but most importantly, it had a "save the date" section just for So. Cal locals....aka ME.  *smiling really big*   This section was announcing two super awesome events: a Craft Workshop in conjunction with Tom's Shoes (OMG LOVE THEM so I MUST go!) and the arrival of Unique LA, an independent design boutique/fair...both will be here in a little over a month!  Awesome.  I am SUPER EXCITED.  I love these kinds of things.

Also the newsletter had a link to RSP's blog and I found this posting which I thought was just the yummiest and so cute, and I would so totally make these tasty treats for my sweetheart if I had any baking skills whatsoever.  As it is, I don't even think I own a whisk, let alone have a clue what a pastry cutter is; and is unsalted butter different than regular butter??  I'm thinking I wouldn't get too far through this recipe before disaster would strike.  Dang it.  But they do look delish, don't they?

Happy Monday!

image credits: Rock Scissors Paper - Make Something Happy Blog

Lemon Cupcakes

Been having a few rough days over here...

I mean, I can definitely say I've been getting some lemons thrown my way...

And while I probably won't turn them into lemon cupcakes anytime soon seeing how I am just the worst in the kitchen, I am gonna try super hard to turn them into something sweet.

image credits: Betty Turbo

Love to Party

Ok, I am totally exhausted and my weekend is totally over.

It was all party all the time this weekend.

Family was in town to celebrate birthdays and pregnancies and engagements and all sorts of good things...it was good times.

I snapped some pics.

Actually lots of pics.

In fact, I totally filled my memory card.

Conveniently just when my photography class is starting.  Geez.

Here are some pics from the b-day celebrations...

We made like over 50 teeny tiny cupcakes!

Oh ok ok, so I  didn't contribute much to the cupcake construction since I am not allowed to bake (long story)...but the fam made like 50-something cupcakes!  Aren't they super cute?!

I can't wait until I know how to make my photos look super awesome.

I am still in that experimental composition and editing phase of my photography education...sooooo perhaps just keep that tidbit of info in mind as you look at the photos I post ;)

P.S. One day I totally want to throw a party using of THESE party boxes...SO adorable.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

xoxo

Stressed...

Equals desserts...when spelled backwards ;)

card by Egg2Cake

I'm stressed today.

I need some desserts (read: golden spoon) STAT.

Resolutions Failed

My number one resolution for the year was to create a realistic budget, stick to it, and save a little more money...it didn't even have to be a lot more money, but to at least save something.

Since January 1st, however, I have never spent more money in my entire life. 

Seriously. 
What is going on??! 

And for reals, I am not a crazy shopper or anything...life has just been expensive these past 6 weeks for some reason. 
I can't explain it.
But it has got to stop.
I just read the Confessions of a Shopaholic and OMG I think I am becoming the main character. 

I popped into Old Navy after work today and they were having an incredible sale.  I bought a few things.  Even though I just told myself NO MORE SPENDING.  But these really were things I needed.  And they really were very, very inexpensive.  That make it ok, right??

In unrelated photo below: new Coach handbag I will NOT be purchasing, but do love quite a bit.

  image credits: Coach.com

Sorry...

No time to blog today...

Too busy bonding with the love of my life.

It came in the mail today.

So we are hanging out.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Maybe.

If I can tear myself away.

p.s. here is the cute little outfit I got for my darling...

it's purple...

and the image doesn't really do it justice...

it's shiny and so cute and I love it.

image credits: apple.com, contour design hardskin iphone cover

Self Portrait

I don't usually make digital scrapbook pages of myself...I mean just me...but some of the greatest artists of all time have self portraits in their repertoire...and after browsing others' scrapping galleries I came to realize that sometimes it's nice to look back at photos of yourself and remember just what made you smile at that one particular moment, what were your wishes and dreams, who were you then, and who have you become...A self portrait allows us see how beautiful we are. 

So I decided to try a few self portraits and it was really a cathartic, "getting in touch with my inner self" sort of experience.  I really quite liked it.  Here are a few of my self portrait digi scrap layouts...I love 'em!

My Self Portraits.

Don't You Just Hate It When...

...you purchase the wrong thing and have to go all the way back to the store and exchange it for the correct one?  Oh I do. 

So. 

Much.

Because it's so not my fault.  

The products were obviously poorly labeled.

I was so super excited about this totally adorable, fancy schmancy IKEA organizer fabulosity...it was the perfect answer to the totally unorganized mess littering my closet...

BUT upon unwrapping the packing, I discovered I had bought the wrong product...oh the dismay!

Apparently these two items look practically identical when wrapped up in their plastic wrappings.  I of course picked up the wrong one and now have to trek all the way back to IKEA to exchange it.  Oh how I loathe having to do that....

Such is life I suppose.  Always a curve ball.  Granted this is a tiny curve ball but curvy nonetheless.

image credits: IKEA