A Little 2008 Recap

{this post was automatically published because I am on my road trip up the east coast.}

{This pretty photo I found via harpy's photostream on flickr.}

Here's a little 2008 recap for the last day of the year:
~My first {and not last} trip to Paris/Europe
~Moved to Baltimore
~Jammed out to Elvis Costello non-stop
~Learned I had dimples like my mom{if I smile real hard}
~Took my last breath in my stinky ol high school
~Had my hair french braided and learned I still looked like I was fourteen
~Laughed a lot
~Filled in my last SAT/AP exam bubble {*phew*}
~Pwned in Rook
~Swam in a lake
~Put on the old ballet shoes and did a few sloppy pirouette {I ingured my knee in tenth grade and hadn't danced since...until this year}
~Voted!
~Screamed my head off on the Mummy ride at Universal
~Became a dark chocolatte lover
~Realized I had a love for fashion and sewing {which also means I started this blog}


And well...the rest is history.


Cheers!
Abbie

Stitch, Abbie, Stitch!

So, I am working on a cross stitch project.  I used to cross stitch when I was much younger, but now I am at it again.  I am starting simple {Coldplay X&Y album, anyone?} and going from there.  I'll show you the results when I am finished.  Meanwhile, have a wonderful rest of the holidays!  And Happy Weekend!

{I found this vintage photo of Bette Davis via Seattle Tim on flickr}

A Holiday Gift List of Inspiration: Late Elementary and Middle School Kids With Attitude

Not all of us have these people to give gifts to. Their age is tough. They deal with more politics {in the classroom}, their outer image, diversity, peer pressure, and learn more in an average school day than we do in a week. So, to help them stick it out just a few more years in the monotonous Harry Potter, Miley Cyrus, Cheetah Girls world, it would be great if they recieved gifts this Christmas that set them out from the crowd--in a good way.




Hope You Enjoy and more to come.

A Holiday Gift List of Inspiration: Brothers, Boyfriends, and Guy Pals

Here is a HOLIDAY GIFT LIST OF INSPIRATION I compiled of possible gifts for men of the younger age {20s-30s} for you. He's got to be a classy, quirky, tad bit of a nerd, but these gifts will sureley say, "Hey, you're a little off beat, but I like you and you deserve a gift that speaks to you."



Sidenote: I was going to have the picture be expandable, but my html skills are suffering at the moment.


There is more to come (girlfriends, fathers, mothers, the teen, etc.)
So, tell me what you think. Have I inspired you for last minute shopping (I haven't even done mine yet)? Give me feedback so it can help on future lists (hopefully to come tomorrow).


Cheers!

Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel

So, here it is: to an end it comes. Today I am packing all the cold weather wear into a suitcase to go back up to Baltimore. It will be sad. Yet good. Back to the noise that I have grown so used to sleeping to.

{Bubbo-Tubbo has this photo in her photostream on flickr}

Bon Voyage

Dreams of the Weekend

I slept for 11 hours last night...like a log.  Boy, was I tired from all the Thanksgiving happenings.  I ate out twice yesterday.  Once for breakfast at this Mom and Pop dive of a place all the locals to.  And then for dinner at this great Italian place I had no idea about.  But last night, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

{This photo is by krisatomic on flickr.}

I am salivating over Anthropologie for the holidays
Do give me lip
A cynical gift for kids
And on the top of my list is this book


Cheers!

The Other Black Friday

Black Friday is really the infamous 1929 stock market crash. Am I right or am I right? I am not going shopping (4 AM at Kohls...no thanks). But here's a little Black Friday photo (sort of...ish).

{This is by Amanda Lim on flickr.}

ps: I reached 1000 hits today.

Good Morning, Sunshine

It was so nice this morning to wake up in my own bed. I didn't realize how much I missed this place. It's so quaint. I did some errands this morning You can't go anywhere without seeing someone you know (I saw two people).

{This photo that oddly looks a lot like my bedroom is by yyellowbird on flickr.}

Goodies:

Here's a blog that I absolutely adore.
Feeling Grey?

This one too.

Which reminds me: click

Te veo luego
{If you were Colombian, that's how you would say see you later}

Hello, Sunny Floridians!

That's what I said to my brother and his fiance when they picked me up at the airport yesterday. Yep, that's right: I flew down to Florida for Thanksgiving! Oh, how I missed the warmth. It is about 72 degrees out and Bethany said she was cold. I was hot.
We're going over to her parents' house for Thanksgiving meal.
It's good to be back, even if it is just for this short time.

{This photo is by littlegirlblue on flickr}

Where are you spending your Thanksgiving?

Cheers!

Happy {Special} Weekend

There is the photo on flickr that put a grin on my face.  Here's the story: I once had a leaf like this on my windshield and I thought it was pretty, but kept on driving. Then almost 20 miles later at my destination I saw it was gone. When I got out of the car, it was still stuck on on of the side windows. The leaf is now safely tucked in my journal.  Do you have any special memory to share?

{This special photo is by harpy on flickr}

Goodies for this weekend:

A great blog that is a good read and lookbook.

Another fun place {p.s. I love the banner...colored glass *le sigh*}

Here's a great Christmas gift *hint hint*

Doesn't this look cozy?

Sziasztok!

{that's goodbye in Hungarian}

Snowing in Baltimore

Everytime I see snow for the first time of the year I think of this episode we had video taped when I was much younger of Winnie the Pooh. Christopher is excited about the first snow of the year. Guess what I just spotted outside the aparment window?

SNOW!!!
Flurries, really.  Not enough to play in. But still. Maybe we'll have a white Christmas.

{I found this photo via gorbot's photostream on flickr}

Speaking of snow: On the front of my Chemistry book way back in the tenth grade, was a magnified picture of a snow flake.  Very similar to this.

Bless
{That's goodbye in Icelandic}

Nothing {to Wear}

Do you ever have those days where you look at your closet and it feels absolutly drab? Well today is one of those days. Actually, last night all of my muted colored clothes were dirty and I needed to wear layers. So I ended up wearing a yellow thermal and my lucky red tee (I took the SATs in it). I looked like McDonalds!

{This awesome vintage photo is from by golly molly on flickr.}

Meanwhile: do you think I could pull off this neat-o bag for a laptop? Probably not. But it is so worth dreaming.

I've been waiting to buy these fun things for someone, but I may just have to get them for myself.

Au Revoir!

You Say It's Your Birthday!

Two very important people in my life share a birthday today! My father (who can now get cheap coffee at McDonalds) and my brother's fiance, Bethany. Happy Birthday, you two!

{I found the photograph via PEEJ0E on flickr}

Cheers!

Brrrrr

It's getting cold outside, which means more layers!

{This photo is by littlegirlblue on flickr}

Also:
Guess who's turning twenty-three!

Cheers!

RIP Cool Hand

Paul Newman died today after a long struggle with cancer. He was defiantly one of my favorite actors and heart-throbs. "The Sting", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Cool Hand Luke," all great movies. He dedicated much of his life in helping others. Even though he was 83, it is still a tragedy.

I Love You, Baltimore!

My favorite thing about the middle of the month...getting 500 pages of fashion, style, and things I cannot afford in the mail. But what do I love more? Turning to page 152 of Elle Magazine and seeing none other than my very own home town splashed on the Style Dispatch page. Oh, the pride I felt for Baltimore in all her glory.
In the world of "New York, New York"s (as much as I love Frank Sinatra) and Indianapolis Colts, I can't help but feel a certain pride when I see me very own Baltimore being noticed. When Leanne Shapton described the Baltimore Aquarium sitting on the Inner Harbor, a smile came to my face because she was talking about the place my mother used to bring my brothers and I before we were in school. Edgar Allen Poe- who's ghost supposedly haunts "The Horse You Came in On Saloon," (where my dad once took my mom when they were dating).
Then there's real Baltimore flavor (not New England flavor, Martha Stewart)-- Old Bay, thanks to a beloved German emigrant, Gustav Brunn. And though fellow Baltimorons put Old Bay on everything, the mention of it inevitably leads the discussion of crabs. Oh, you haven't had a crab until you've had one in Maryland. Crab soup, crab cake, crab salad, and just the crab (watch 'A Few Good Men' if you want to see Demi Moore annihilate a crab). More food: visit Cafe Hon (pronounced "hun") and learn where that fantastic accent John Travolta sported in 'Hairspray' came from. It's called Bawlmerese, hon.
If mentioning Sound Garden (a fantastic music joint where my dad and I like to go sometimes) wasn't enough, John Water's (the man behind 'Hairspray') name shows up if not once, several times.
Things she never did mention (which is okay, because these are local secrets) is the Bromo Seltzer Tower where each floor showcases an artist's gallery (very cool, by the way). In the Summer on Wendesday night it is Films on the Pier night (watch 'Sleepless in Seatle' to see Meg Ryan sit on the very same pier). One can get in free and watch that week's movie. The movies they show range from 'The Birds' to 'Shine a Light'. Baltimore is great in such that one can walk the streets and feel at home. Everything about it is so personable (watch 'Home for the Holidays' if you want to see Robert Downey Jr. prancing down the streets of Baltimore).
But in reality, there are too many nooks and cranies to explain all of the wonderful and inspiring things about Baltimore. You will just have to go there and fall in love for yourself.

Abbie