The Beekeeper

______Last night, I went to the Schaeffer Crawfish Boil in downtown Birmingham.  It's basically this huge gathering of people in front of an outdoor concert stage complete with boxes upon boxes of crawfish (and some other food, and all those cheesy light up bunny ears and lightsabers and stuff that you kind of want but don't want to admit you want).

______My friend and his dad invited me to come along with them it since they had an extra ticket, and although usually crowd things freak me out a little, I'm so very glad I went!  It was an extraordinary event, and I even ventured out to taste test crawfish for the very first time.  If you've never had them before, I suppose the best way to describe them is similar to something with the texture of a very squishy jellyfish and the taste of chicken--odd, but surprisingly scrumptious!  The beady little black eyes stared into my soul a few times, but I did my best to look away and remind myself that they are mere relatives to cockroaches... Unfortunately, they are very cute relatives.




______There was a lineup of bands that were to play, some that I didn't know, but two that I did: Train and Flo Rida.  At first I was all, "Flo Rida? Well, all right," but then as he began to sing all of his songs, I realized that a) I recognized each one of them and b) I could sing along word for word.  They were extremely catchy and the people amongst us were extremely bouncy, and it was just a lovely, bouncy time, one full of synchronized light flashes and flailing hands.

______And then when Train came on stage it was a bit awe-inspiring since I adore Train (and now I adore Train even more).  Seeing a person perform their songs in real life makes things so much more real, mainly because you can physically see the heart and soul that a person pours in their music.  It's more than impressive.  The lights suited all the songs so well and now it's no wonder to me why people get so caught up over going to concerts... They're just so inspiring and visually pleasing--literally moving, breathing works of art!

______So yeah! I hadn't ever been to any concerts before last night, and so being able to go see more than one band was quite rad, especially ones that are so well-known.  It was a most excellent way to ease my mind into the summer mindset (and hopefully the artfully productive mindset as well!).



Dress: Charlotte Russe
Striped top: JCPenny or something like that
Belt: via Lotus Boutique
Heels: Chelsea Crew
Necklace: Charming Charlie
Hair: courtesy of mom!

Mellow Yellow Fellow

______This is basically a variation of what I've been wearing for the past few days, and what I'll probably continue wearing as I plunge into exam week: shorts, boots, and a light jacket of some sort.  I know it's rather bizarre seeing me wearing this odd piece of clothing which human beings casually refer to as "pants," but wearing these allows me to sit in obscure study positions without the lingering fear that I am flashing everyone.

______Ain't nobody got time for studying upright like an uncooked noodle!  For proper studying, you've gotta contort yourself into weird shapes, like a pretzel, or a sprawled out spider that's missing two legs, or a half-melted stick of margarine.  It may seem strange for a human to be able to resemble a half-melted stick of margarine, but I have definitely been able to manage it.





Jacket: JC Penny
Shorts, top: Charlotte Russe
Boots: many years ago, it was purchased somewhere on the vast confines of the internet
Necklace: vintage

A City for Bees

Replicate, Bristol paper (2'5 x 5'7 x 6.5"), 3D Design, Spring 2013

______At long last, I have completed my final design project!  I'm relieved that I was able to finish it before exam week--this one had to be the most tedious of my three design projects for the semester.  These hexagons were a female dog to make, though I'm glad I chose paper to make it, 'cause it was definitely more flexible in terms of where I could work on it.  I'm pretty happy with the end result, too, and thankfully the way the lighting works here makes it so you can't see a few of the gaps between the hexagons that are totally existent.

______Basically, I had to make 93 of these hexagon dudes and then glue them all together, and that involved lots of holding paper in place while waiting for this fancy superglue to dry, lots of glueing myself to my project, and lots of whispering profanities.  It was a lengthy and monotonous process, one comparable to watching plastic flowers grow.

______Just kidding.  It wasn't that bad.  Besides, plastic flowers can't grow, silly.

Red-y Or Not, Here I Come + Firmoo Review

______Firmoo recently contacted me to participate in their Model Programme and sent me two pairs of glasses to feature here on the blog--both which are excellent in both quality and style, as they have been in the past.  I've learned that you can never have too many glasses, just as you can never have too many oxygen molecules.  Because really, what's life without oxygen molecules and glasses?  Nobody wants to be a zombie who can't see clearly--how would you eat brains?  You'd probably end up eating a tree, thinking it was a human, and that would be pretty awful for your zombie self.

______Thankfully, I don't have to worry about being a blind zombie, for my prescription in these glasses is spot on; thus, I can merrily smash these glasses on my face knowing they'll let me see.



______Those are the new pair of Jeffrey Campbell oxfords that my dad bought me a few weeks ago for scrambling about campus, and I'm glad to finally get them up on the blog!  Even after a day of running around like a decapitated chicken, these are still comfortable.  Plus, when I wear these, random people shout at me telling me how cute and adorable they are (and appropriately so).

______Oh, and along with the prescription glasses, the second pair of eyewear which Firmoo sent me were these pretty little sunnies.  They're quite sturdy and the shape of the glasses are perfected rounded and lovely.  The subtle gradient on the lenses is like a terracotta sunrise, so purply-orange and fantastic.



______Sorry to cut this post so short, but I've been as busy as a gold-sniffing pirate on the seven seas trying to finish the semester up.  I've got two more weeks until I'm all done--half of me is ready to get things over with, but the other half doesn't really care about the heat of summer and lazing around doing practically nothing all day.

______Though I will be taking a Biology II course twice a week and working at our neighborhood pool, I'll still have plenty of free time.  I feel so much more productive at college, and so to keep that productivity in full gear, I'll have to chalk up some ideas for art projects this summer, train an army of attack pigeons, and take over a tiny and uninhabited island.  Those three things are totally related.

______Summer 2013, here I come?

Glasses: c/o Firmoo
Jacket, dress, necklace: Forever 21 (well dang)
Oxford heels: Jeffrey Campbell

The Little Things

______I think the most fun part about the picture-taking process is the little detail shots--zooming in on the varying earrings, bracelets, and rings that you own is always an adventure in itself, as is setting them up in the most obscure of locations. And then you work so diligently to balance one of the aforementioned tiny accessories on something it probably shouldn't be able to balance on, and you must be still as a serial killer watching its victim as you ease toward it and snap photo after photo.

______The serial killer simile aside, here's a hearty collection of my favorite snapshots from the past year or so.


______This little guy is a vintage bracelet that my grandmother passed down to me.  The whale mouth opens and closes--talk about advanced jewelry technology!  My last name means "whale" in Norwegian (hence my violent Viking tendencies, and burning desire to rule the world), so this bracelet is pretty darn special to me.


______I'm sure you guys know that I always end up wearing the same few bracelets... I never buy new ones since I tend to take them off after picture-taking. They're a burden, but they're pretty. Pretty burdens, those elusive bracelets are.



______Bought that shiny-as-a-beetle's-shell pendant from this huge antique and costume jewelry vender.  Vendor?  Vender?  Venn-Diagram?  Whatever.


______Ah yes, the trusty cicadabro earrings. Cicadabro is totally one word--it sounds cooler mushed together like that, yeah?  Little friends that I can wear on my ears... Well, that sounds a bit off.  I'm almost certain that most things I say are a bit off, though.





______There's the Mickey Mouse ring my dad bought me when he was passing through Disney for a business trip back in the day... It's quite the antique, but still fits perfectly!

______Oh! And we can't forget the shoes. Most of these shots are courteous of my mother dearest, who literally gets down on her knees to take them. That, or I climb a small ledge or bench or some sort, balancing on it treacherously, a task which can be quite difficult to accomplish in nylon tights and heels.  In essence, my mother and I both put our lives (and clothing) in danger.



______Have a groovy week!  Do people still say that?  I'm bringing it back.