I miss my bedroom...

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The days are short, the nights long.

(photo from pepography)

Things are a mess again but I can fix it. I will fix it.

Bicycle Rush Hour in Utrecht, Netherlands

Really loving this. Wish I would ride my bike more but I'm afraid of getting killed. Chicago has a lot of cyclists but there are still a lot of cars and not enough bike lanes. Also, the motorists are not very considerate of cyclists. It's terrifying.





Also... PEOPLE HOLDING UMBRELLAS AND RIDING BIKES!!?
I have been dying to see someone do this IRL and here it is. Amazing!

Fantastic Menagerie Tarot Cards!

I received my Fantastic Menagerie Tarot Deck in the mail this past Monday thanks to Ryan. Now I am well on my way to becoming a real gypsy with fortune telling abilities. :]

Here are some of the cards in the deck...

They are beautiful and strange. I love them.

So far I have learned how to do a reading with the Suit of Wands which represents the career aspect of our daily lives. The reading I learned is pretty simple and you may only ask a yes or no question having to do with the subject of career of course. I did a reading for myself today and it seemed to work. I tried with Ryan over the phone while he was at work and the reading did not come out right. I guess I can't have my own psychic hotline. Bummer.

Mary and Max

Just watched the cutest movie called Mary and Max. I highly recommend it. Apparently it is based on a true story.

I Miss Sun Showers and Rainbows.

I dream of living in a country setting, where the trees are my company and the sounds of rivers and critters are my music. I want to go for a bike ride on a country road where there are trees on both sides of the road and they hang over like a bridge. I want to eat homemade sandwiches by a lake... and maybe go swimming and catch some tadpoles. I want to live a simple life that is refreshing and lovely. Perhaps the city is no longer for me.

Yardsale!

This past weekend my friend Stephen and I had a yard sale on Sunday. Unfortunately it was raining for the beginning half of it but then the rain let up. We thought that business would pick up since the rain had passed but due to Lollapalooza being that weekend... we were wrong.

I ended up making $52. It was a lot of work for that kind of money but at least I was sitting down most of the time and hanging out with Stephen. I made the Rosemary Lemonade and no one bought any of it so Stephen and I drank it with a bottle of gin. I had a lot of fun. We are going to try to have another yardsale in a couple of weeks. I hope I can convince myself to get rid of even more stuff by then.

We got complemented on our classy yard sale. But people still didn't pay top dollars for our goods. Ho hum.

Stephen and I had baked goods for sale and I only sold one. He sold a few of his cookies. The funny thing is I spent $20 or more for what I made. Silly I know. Even sillier is that I was up until 3 in the morning making my little cake pops.

-Fancypants

What's on your bedside table?

This is mine currently.

Photos Long Over Due.

Origami water balloons I made for Ryan's birthday party.

I made over a 100 of these. They were fun to make but took hours of time. 

Here they are hanging on embroidery floss. So pretty.

The party was a mexican theme.

Moustaches.

Moonbeam was in full Mexican spirit.

What's a mexican party without Pin the Tail on the Donkey?

Ryan was close but I ended up winning. :]

The food was delicious and healthy.

This Mexican slaw was incredible and worth the time spent making it.

And everyone really enjoyed my famous mango guacamole that's simple to make. 

Mango Guacamole Recipe:

1 yellow onion (sweeter)

1 large tomato

1 bunch of cilantro

2-3 limes (depending on how tangy you want it)

2 avocados

1 large mango

1 jalapeno (optional)

Chop each indgredient. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Less mixing equals chunkier guacamole. I like to mush everything together until its blended well but with good sized pieces of avocado still visible.

Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste.

Back to the photos...

We played some bags out in the courtyard and drank homemade margaritas made by yours truly.

Fresh squeezed limes, agave nectar, your favorite Tequila (mine is Don Julio because its sweeter than others) and a little water to taste. Salted rim and voila!

Ryan turned 27. Such a big boy. ha Unfortunately I didn't have time to make cupcakes so we had store bought cupcakes that were pretty but not very tasty. I did make my grandmother's 10 minute flan.

10 Minute Flan:
1 cup of sugar in a sauce pan, heat until sugar is melted into a brown sticky sauce. Pour into your desired microwave safe dish large enough for the flan. You will need to roll the melted sugar around to evenly coat the bottom and sides of the dish.

In a blender, mix 3 large eggs, 1 can condensed milk and one can of evaporated milk. Blend until frothy.   Pour over the melted sugar in the dish. The melted sugar should be cooled by now. Now cover the dish (you can also use plastic wrap) and put in microwave for 10 minutes. Once done let it cool in the fridge.

Hope you enjoyed this post.
-Fancypants

Procrastination

I've just realized where my procrastination begins... when I don't feel like doing something I avoid doing it and the things I would rather be doing because I feel like I have to do the thing I don't feel like doing but should be doing first before I can do anything else.

How do I get around this??

26 Before 26

I borrowed this idea from one of my favorite blogger's at MakingItLovely...

1. Read 26 books start to finish
2. Make a kitschy table cloth
3. Make Ryan a bow tie
4. Pay off tuition debt
5. Go back to school
6. Finish unfinished school projects
7. Make time to craft at least once a week
8. Lose 20 lbs.
9. Start an Etsy shop
10. Keep up with my blog
11. Set up a craft room/area for clarity, inspiration, productivity and efficiency
12. Find and keep a more consistent job (No more serving)
13. Begin a savings account and put money in it every month and leave it there
14. Buy healing crystals (malachite is high on my list)
15. Sign up for a craft fair (Renegade's holiday one is fast approaching)
16. Make Janet's Rosemary Lavender Lemonade
17. Grow tomatoes (was almost there but I stopped watering them)
18. Grow a successful herb garden
19. Learn to knit/crochet
20. Reupholster something (kitchen chairs?)
21. Find my artistic niche and run with it
22. Declutter and beautify my space
23. Make a new friend that I have a lot in common with
24. Begin Illustrations of Aspirations book
25. Get my crafts/work in a boutique
26. Get a beautiful tarot deck and learn how to read the cards

I tried to think of doable things. There are of course plenty of others things I really want to do like... camping, visiting another state, apple picking, canoeing, go on a boat, visit Florida, go to Hawaii/ Paris, pay off all of my debt, etc!! But those things are out of reach at the moment because they require money... which I don't have.

I will have fun with this list. I am excited for the journey ahead.

I will be making some DIY coasters soon. And my friend Stephen and I are going to be having a yard sale. We made some fun posters the other day and we are going to sell baked good and refreshments at the yard sale which we are holding near Palmer Square Park. I hope we are able to make money from this endeavor and have fun while doing it.