Quitting Your Job

Last week I quit my job.  I sat in a cubicle all day, with rarely a meeting to attend, or a window to gaze from.  Not that I want to attend endless meetings, but when you hardly move all day, your mind messes with you and you start to believe that meetings equate fun and freedom!  They don't.  And so one day, I decided if I wasn't doing what I enjoyed then I was wasting my time.  Somehow, I channeled some kind of inner, assertive, Oprah-like version of myself and quit my day job.  And now here I am: a vision in my dog-breed-patterned pajama bottoms and Halloween socks, eating banana chocolate chip pancakes while listening to the sweet sounds of Silversun Pickups.  If that vision doesn't inspire you to quit a job you dislike, then I just can't help you.

When you quit your job, you are supposed to have a plan.  I don't have much of a plan, but I do know I want to write.  Usually I'll write online articles, but about a month ago I came to the conclusion that it would be best if I wrote a short play.  I made it an actual GOAL to write a play.  A goal!  It should be noted that typically when I make goals, the deadline arrives and I watch my goal sail down the river.  This is troublesome, so I was skeptical, and upset, at ambitious me for having created such a lofty goal.

Having never written a play before, I got to work perusing the web for how to write a play.  After many diversions to people.com and the omg section of Yahoo!, I managed to wrangle my mind into focus-mode.  I found a local short play contest whose deadline was in 2 weeks.  For the first week, all I did was brainstorm ideas.  I read short plays, I tried to narrow down topic after topic after topic until one day, I had an idea.  The following week I wrote.  I wrote and wrote and wrote.  I wasn't even sure of what I was writing, I just knew I had to let the words spill from my brain.  Eventually I wound up with a 15-page play and brought it to my friend's house to have them read it aloud.  This was embarrassing.  The play was a mess.  I went home and spent the entire weekend re-writing the play.  When I was finished, I had something that actually made sense.  I had written a play.

As somebody who severely lacks confidence, I decided that getting my play copyrighted might help me feel a greater sense of accomplishment.  It kind of did.  I eventually realized I craved other writers to acknowledge my writing.  I didn't care if they thought it was awful (yes I did), I just needed feedback.  A couple weeks after I entered my play into the festival I received my feedback: my play made it to the semi-finals round.

My head may have launched off my body at this point and taken a journey through outer-space.  While my mind explored other galaxies, I received the best news of all: my play made it to the finals! This little play is going to be performed in September.  Somehow, I got lucky.  I still don't believe it.  Frequently, I think somebody hacked into the festival email and sent everybody an email saying they made it.  I'll probably think that up until it's actually performed.  I cannot wait to see my play come to life.  For all the confusion, bumps, and missteps I'm sure to encounter on this journey, stay tuned!

The Handmade Dress

My sister is a magical seamstress from a land of fantastical dressmakers.  As you can see from the post below, I had politely requested (demanded) a grecian wedding dress be created from her adept fingers.  And so she got straight to work, stitching and sewing right up until one day before the wedding, presenting me with a short, ivory wedding dress.  A fire-breathing, dragon of a bride wouldn't have been able to handle such last-minute alterations, but I oozed a harmonious calm in the days before the wedding, which was held at the Landmark Center in beautiful Saint Paul, MN.  Luckily for me, my state of uber relaxation continued through our wedding day, which was made obvious by my casual slouch, or some might say, "hunchback", during the ceremony.  Quasimodo aside, the dress was stunning.

 

Make it Work

I've been asked (or maybe I asked...) to make my sister's wedding dress for her early March nuptials. Before you start envisioning me drowning in white tulle and slaving with needle and thread while hand-beading late into the night, don't. While I appreciate any sympathy this image may create, I must tell you the facts.


First, the dress will be short. It will not include yards of tulle, lace or a bustle. In fact, the only fabric purchased is 2 yards of beautiful light dusty rose 100% silk and 1.5 of a matching crepe pictured on right.

The inspiration comes from Grecian style draped looks, as seen below.




And so, I got to work, using a skirt pattern as guidance. I love the draping effect that pleating both the top and sides of the skirt creates. Also, you gotta love that it has pockets!




After consulting my sister and mom, we decided the skirt needs to be fuller with more of a bubble style on the bottom. Also, please disregard the pepto bismol pink-- this is only a draft! I am still contemplating where the zipper will go but I think it will be on the side and I will change the back skirt so there isn't a seam down the middle. Next step is draping the one shoulder crepe over the bodice which will be completely covered. Then, it's back to the skirt for a complete redo. I'm hoping to have the draft done in a couple weeks and start on the real thing in January. Thoughts, opinions, and suggestions are always welcome!

Save my pennies for a winter day......

Exciting news to share with the cyberworld today - an engagement!  Down by the lovely Mississippi River in Saint Paul, MN, love was in the air.  This cloudy diamond ring is handmade by a wonderful artist in New York, Katrina Lapenne from the store Catbird and I absolutely LOVE it.  It's simple, classic, gorgeous and the matte diamond has a subtle twinkle - even more so on cloudy days.  The diamond is more of a shimmering gray color - which I love.  I know diamonds are supposed to blind people, but this is a cloudy diamond which makes it look more natural and that's just the way I want it.  Now for a picture (or 3):

My Dr. Evil pinky pose - always a classic. 

As a person who doesn't favor the huge, heavy, boulder sized diamond, I wanted something different.  My man and I scoured the interweb, uncovering more and more headlight-sized diamonds, gems and other shiny rocks.  Where was the simplicity?  If you find it out there, please share, because there just aren't any local shops, or online shops that cater to the simple life.  I did manage to wrangle a few together in this lovely little collage I share with you now below:

Most from Conroy & Wilcox, others from etsy.com

Of course, you don't need me to sit here and tell you how blown out of proportion weddings have become.  According to the popular website, The Knot, the average wedding now costs an astonishing $27,800.  Come again?  $27,800?!?!  I'd rather take that money and not work for a year, or two and take a trip around the world.

Summer special

Looking for a unique, handmade necklace? Earrings that dangle? Jewelry created from recycled parts? Then stop on by our etsy shop for a special sale.  Starting Wednesday, June 15th, all jewelry will be 50% off! Enter coupon code BLISSFUL50 at checkout and the discount is yours. Here's a preview of what we are offering:

A Fine Mess repurposed fringe charm statement necklace
original price $36, now $18

Jubilee colorful charm necklace
original price $20, now $10

Finding Neverland multi layer beaded necklace
original price $44, now $22

Harmony wire wrapped tornado necklace
original price $20, now $10

Cake, they've got the groove

Last night I spent 'an evening with' Cake at the State Theater in Minneapolis. Playing to a sold out crowd, Cake entertained and involved the age-diverse audience (even though lead singer John McCrea joked that most of us probably weren't born when their deput album came out) and put on a show comparable to no other.

The hits poured out one after another as folks got up out of their seats and sang along. Cake repeatedly engaged the audience in their music so we were one mass of voices chanting the already spoken-sounding lyrics. Stand-out hits including 'Sick of You', 'Federal Funding', and 'Long Time' from their newest CD 'Showroom of Compassion' were played alongside old-time favorites like 'Never There', 'Rock-n-Roll Lifestyle', and 'Short Skirt/Long Jacket'. Even if you didn't know a song, you felt like you did because of the way McCrea easily and smoothly sings out the non-chalant and smart lyrics. The style of Cake's music cannot be categorized easily as they have aspects of many types of music. The trumpet and signature vibraslap sounded crisp and refreshing.

It was a relaxing evening which is what the band wanted as there was no pre-determined set list and we were told we didn't need to be shouting songs out... whew what a relief! An intermission broke up a long, almost 2.5 hour show.

Sweet little Sunday treasury.....

It's freezing cold here in Saint Paul today.  It's May 1st.  I want to go out on the balcony and scream with frustration, but it's too dang cold to even do that.  Instead I was calmed down by seeing this lovely treasury featuring a necklace of ours on etsy:

And on that note - Happy May Day! Here's hoping next month won't feel like December and warmth will slowly seep back into my fingers.