MENU

January 29, 2015

Car Troubles, Snowstorms, Etc...

Since I haven't really posted in about a week I wanted to touch base and let everyone know that I haven't been around for a combination of reasons. The first being that my car has been giving me a lot of trouble and I actually ended up having to stay at my parents' house so I could get to work -- Which is not ideal because I always seem to forget something I need to do X, Y or Z, thus I can't get any blogging done.

The second being the snow. Because everyone was worried about the blizzard New York was supposed to get Monday into Tuesday, I spent the whole time I was at work on Monday calling patrons to tell them that X program had been cancelled. So I had no time to sit down in front of my computer.

And lastly, I've been preparing and doing a ton of reading for that post-graduate class that I mentioned that I might take -- Which was scheduled to start this past Tuesday but was cancelled because of the snow.

So those are the reasons I haven't been around for the past week. Hopefully things will chill out so I can get back to doing fun things and bitching about my coworkers.

January 23, 2015

This Just Pinned: Week One Hundred & Twenty-Eight...

Here are the highlights of my last week pinning...
(via: The Londoner)
(via: Poppytalk)
As always if you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

January 19, 2015

RE: Picking Out Artwork + A Sherlock Inspired DIY...

Back in August I mentioned in a post that Justin and I were looking into artwork for our apartment. So I wanted to do a little update on that because we've picked up some of the pieces that I mentioned in that post as well as some others, plus I wanted to share our Sherlock bison skull inspired art project.

So as of right now these are the pieces we ended up with...
Unfortunately I don't know the artists of several of these because I picked them up at New York Comic Con back in October at various booths or in the case of the cock, the thrift store. But the ones I know are as follows...
Not Pictured
Even though we ended up with a bunch of prints we felt like we needed a little something more and that is when we decided that we should have a bison skull like the one in Sherlock's apartment in BBC's Sherlock (2010-Present) -- Which for those of you unfamiliar with the series looks like this.

SUPPLIES
  • South African Blue Wildebeest Skull (eBay) - $79.99
  • TEAC HP-101 Vintage Headphones* (eBay) - $34.99
  • ProMask Blue Designer Painter’s Tape (Home Depot) - $3.93
  • Design Master Glossy Black Spray Paint (Michaels) - $7.49
  • Studio DéŽcor® Antique Champagne Open Back Frame 18x24 (Michaels) - $79.99 $35.99
  • Super Hooks (Home Depot) - $5.95
  • Beadalon® German Style Wire, Round, 22 Gauge (Michaels) - $3.99

STEP ONE: Using painters tape, mask off the horn (The skull on the Sherlock set isn't completely spray painted. The horns were left in their natural state, so we did the same).

STEP TWO: Put down a tarp (If you don't have one you can get one from Home Depot or your local hardware store. My parents' happened to have a bunch so we didn't need to buy one), put on a mask and spray paint away.
I don't know how to ladies over at A Beautiful Mess always look so cute crafting
As you can probably tell seeing as my hair is two different colors in these photos, this was not a one day project. I spray painted the skull with one coat of the glossy black paint and after I noticed I had missed a few spots and that the skull absorbed the paint weird in spots so it wasn't super shiny. So after making sure the skull was completely dry I went back, gave it another coat and it was just the way I wanted it.

STEP THREE: Once the skull is completely dried, remove the painters tape.

STEP FOUR: Loop wire through the back of the skull to create a sturdy base for hanging.

STEP FIVE: Pick the spot you'd like to hang the skull (I recommend using a stud finder) and hang it up -- Since we don't own our apartment we used Super Hooks to hang, you can use nails.

STEP SIX: This step is optional and not exactly like the prop skull in Sherlock, but we decided to put a picture frame around the skull in lue of mounting it on a black painted wooden plaque. So we had to figure out exactly where we wanted the skull, put the Super Hooks up without the skull and fit the picture frame properly around them, hung it and then hung the skull.

STEP SEVEN: Put the headphones on the skull and enjoy.

Total Cost: $172.33

Not the cheapest of wall art but we love how it came out and everyone who comes over tells us how cool it is.

So, what do you guys think of our art choices and/or our little Sherlock DIY? Do you have any cool artwork up in your homes? Lemme know!

* The headphones used on the actual prop are Eagle International SE-40 Headphones but Justin couldn't find a pair and ended up liking the look of the TEAC HP-101's better.

January 18, 2015

Sunday Steal | Favorites...

PLACE
I don't have a favorite place but I love going on an adventure somewhere new

PERSON
My Abuela was my favorite person before she passed away

COLOR
Pink & Black

FOOD
Pizza

SMELL
Grapefruit & Roses

BOOK
"Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk

MOVIE
Halloween (1978)

MUSIC ARTIST/BAND
Incubus

THING TO DO WHEN YOU'RE BORED
Watch YouTube videos
    
GENRE OF LITERATURE
I like chick lit and Chuck Palahniuk novels

MAGAZINE
Nylon

TEXTURE
Fuzzy

TIME OF DAY
Afternoon

DAY OF THE WEEK
Saturday

THING TO LEARN ABOUT
Everything -- Remember, I'm a librarian so I love learning new tidbits

THING ABOUT YOURSELF
I love my personality

LIFEHACK
Taking the last little bit of a bar of soap and putting it on top of a new bar of soap so there is no waste

January 16, 2015

This Just Pinned: Week One Hundred & Twenty-Seven...

Here are the highlights of my last week pinning...
(via: Showhome)
(via: Tumblr)
As always if you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

January 15, 2015

Stuck In My Head: Sugar We're Going Down...

During my lunch break I had to stop by my parents' house and since the five-ish minute drive doesn't warrant plugging in my iPhone and firing up a podcast, I turned on the radio and ended up getting Fall Out Boy's "Sugar We're Going Down" stuck in my head.

Sugar, We’re Goin Down by Fall Out Boy on Grooveshark

And now because it's stuck in my head all I can think about is this parody video of the lyrics that I watched with my friends while I was in college. Which of course I'm going to share with you because that is how I roll...

From The Hold Shelf (Or What I'm About To Read & Watch)...

NOTE: These aren't for pleasure materials. I have to read and watch these for the administrative course I'm starting to take at the end of the month.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

"The Hands-Off Manager: How to Mentor People & Allow Them to Be Successful" by Steve Chandler
The number one reason cited in exit interviews for an employee quitting is "my manager." Most managers and executives not only aren't aware of this obvious problem, but probably wouldn't know what to do about it if they did.  

Today's employees do not respond to the old hands-on, militaristic management styles. They are highly independent, individual professionals with their own fully developed ideas. Leaders and managers who try to micro-manage them will inevitably confront wide-spread disgruntlement, absenteeism, and turnover...and increase their own and their employees' stress levels.  

In The Hands-Off Manager, Chandler and Black offer a new vision for all managers. With stories, examples, and vibrant activities for the reader to practice, this book shows any manager--new or seasoned--how to coach and mentor employees rather than hover over their shoulders and goad them into action. In this system, each employee's strengths are honored and honed in a climate of partnership and mutual goal-setting.

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
This gritty World War II action drama staring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary Merrill) is at the breaking point, Brigadier General Savage (Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. Kind and understanding, he adopts a crushing discipline to revitalize the demoralized troop. At first resentful and rebellious, the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes it's toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

I didn't get to go through all of the books from the last edition of this but I did read through some. The "Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes" by Dominique Ansel book was just okay. Yes, it has the recipe for Cronuts which was one of the recipes that I really wanted to take a look at but it takes three flippin' days to make. "Bouchon Bakery" by Thomas Keller & Sebastien Rouxelwas another one that was just okay. Nothing really in it that I felt like trying to make. "Sugar Rush" by Johnny Iuzzini wasn't a winner for me either. Typically I pick up a cookbook and want to make something and I struck out with all three of these.


I haven't finished "Influence" by Mary-Kate Olsen & Ashley Olsen but I have enjoyed the interviews that I've read as of thus far and this that it is a very interesting read.

January 13, 2015

¿Quién Mató a Patricia Soler? | Guilty Pleasures...

So, I have a guilty pleasure that most people don't know about and might find weird because I'm not fluent in Spanish (I speak Spanglish) but I really enjoy Spanish language programs (With subtitles) and find myself watching them once in a blue moon. I don't know, there is just something about television and films in Spanish that sucks me in -- I think it's that I find Spanish language programing to be a bit of a refresher in between all of the English language programing that I watch. I dunno...

But yeah, I watch Spanish language programing and because of that I wanted to share the details of MundoFOX's upcoming telenovela ¿Quién Mató a Patricia Soler? (Who Killed Patricia Soler?) with all of you because it seem like it could be good drama filled refresher show if you're someone like me.
Starring Mexican superstar Itatí Cantoral, ‘¿Quién Mató a Patricia Soler?’ is the story of a woman betrayed by those closest to her and her search for justice.     
Sara Fernández (Itatí Cantoral) is at the pinnacle of her life, she is a very successful business woman in the jewelry industry, she is married  to a good man and has two wonderful children. All this suddenly comes to an end during a trip to New York City when she is accused of murdering her best friend and business partner, Patricia Soler. Sara is imprisoned for the crime which she presumably committed. After spending 17 years in a maximum security prison, Sara returns to unmask the real assassin and fight for everything she lost during those years. Her journey will not be an easy one, as each of her former friends, business partners and closest family members are now possible suspects and could be the real murderer.    
¿Quién mató a Patricia Soler? is a story of betrayal, revenge, mystery and suspense, with a storyline that will surprise viewers up until the very moment when Patricia Soler’s real murderer is revealed.

It seems like I could be an interesting, especially if it's slightly over the top but not too much like some telenovelas can be. Either way I look forward to finding out who killed Patricia Soler.

What are your guilty pleasures in terms of television or film? Lemme know.


This was a sponsored. I didn't get any compensation for doing this post and all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

January 9, 2015

This Just Pinned: Week One Hundred & Twenty-Six...

Here are the highlights of my last week pinning...
(via: Flickr)

(via: Pinterest)
(via: Too Faced)
(via: Joy The Baker)

(via: Owen Davey)

As always if you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.