{brandy-son Zen master flash

Do Something For You

2012-02-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

I did something for myself (no big surprise here) and bought fuscia lipstick and wore it all weekend. It was fun and didn't look overly bad, as I thought it might. I'm hooked now. It even evoked good dreams which I warmly welcome any time.

via my phone

2012-02-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

got this for my mom

had anxiety having to ship 4 pyrex bowls to Canada (SCARY!!)

trying something cool with this, can't wait to post it

late night mistake

In my brain

2012-02-15T07:35:00.002-07:00

I am falling hard for this video that Erin posted on her blog. Great song, sick video. L.O.V.E.

I watched the Grammys and I was so disappointed yet I couldn't turn the damn channel. I don't know what I was waiting for? Chris Brown's shoes to suddenly ignite into flames and burn him to an ash pile the rest of the stars would have to stomp on as they walked on the stage? But then what would they do with out their cash cow? Sickens me - yet I watched as he arrogantly pranced around on some boxy jungle gym concoction. My highlights were Dave Grohl's acceptance speech and Glen Campbell asking what he's supposed to do now after his performance.

I just finished reading Steven Tyler's autobiography (after having for about a damn year), Does the noise in my head bother you? In the end it wasn't half bad. And I really mean that HALF of the book wasn't bad the other half sucked, for lack of a better term. If you know me you know that I have been disgustingly infatuated with this man for most of my life. After reading his book I no longer desire him like a fame driven groupie. He's now Grandpa Steven to me which is probably the way it should be considering he's much older than both of my parents. You know how he speaks on American Idol, usually in rhymes and barely making any sense? Well that is how the beginning and end of the book is. It's written the way he speaks and it drove me crazy. You practically have to be coked up to read it to stay with him. He's all over the place until you get to about a large chunk of the middle and then it's pretty damn interesting. When he talks about touring with the band in the late seventies and all of the craziness that happened it's actually good. And then I found myself skipping paragraphs again towards the end because I couldn't handle him going on about drugs for that long. This is mostly because I've never been an addict unless you count all of the boxes of Little Debbies I have hoarded under my side of the bed. I wanted to hear more about his relationships with Cyrinda Foxe & Bebe Buell or his daughters Mia & Liv NOT about his incestuous relationship with Joe Perry, cocaine and pills. How was I supposed to know? Oh well, I'm glad I read it though, and I still am very much a big fan of him.

I'm now going to start reading Geek Love. I found it at the thrift store and decided to give it a try. I've heard good things about it. I also ordered a new book online that I even pre-ordered because the synopsis alone intrigued me enough to do so. I've never pre-ordered a book or anything for that matter.[I sat here for at least 3 minutes trying to think of something I might consider pre-ordering and nothing came to mind and then I became disappointed in myself for wasting 3 minutes trying to think of something like that and then and then right before I started scratching my own eyes out for even typing such nonsense I moved to the next thought in my brain.

I'm drooling over the new Lauren Moffat collection (seen here).

This pic is of me mid F-word. It's too funny. I was kind of proud of it because although I was trying to take an obligatory blogger photo of myself it was completely unplanned. We were in the car and had driven over a bump in the road and I was all "F@#%%$!!" when I accidentally hit the button.

One last thing I wanted to address, the commenting issue with Blogger is driving me crazy. They have threaded comments now but, apparently if you use a certain kind of template (and not the basic kind like my incompetent butt does) then it will work for you. The thing is, when I view my blog on my phone I have the option to respond to comments directly but when I view it on my computer any response I made just shows up at the end of everyone's comments and makes me look even more incompetent. I think it's important to replay back so I really try hard to do that. With that said, I'm going back to my general rule when responding to comments which is that I will respond through email to you if you have your email set up in your profile. It's easiest for me especially when I'm out and have my phone I can respond to you directly otherwise I will respond later that evening directly on my blog. I'm very conscientious about not being the asshole blogger who never responds to comments. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. And if I ever become like that you all have very right to call me out.

Happy Stupid Day

2012-02-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

I might be married but that doesn't mean I love this holiday. If you know me, you know why I hate it and if you don't then maybe we'll talk sometime or just email me and I'll tell you.

Ladies, don't get engaged today not matter what you do, trust me.

digging the shit out of this video

The bottom of this old dish I found says I Love You, I do like that.

Did you see my valentine DIY? It's the only one you'll see. "I Awesome Sauce You"

Mustache turned Necklace

2012-02-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I know we all dream about the perfect leather fringed mustache and once we find one we're content for the time being but that joy doesn't seem to fulfill us as much as we thought it would and you're left with a mustache begging for a new purpose in life. Would you disagree?

For the mustache I cut a piece of soft scrap leather and cut lines across the bottom to create the fringe. I then uses eye lash adhesive to stick it to my face. Voila! I perfectly adorable mustache for a night out on the town.

And for those who are never satisfied and always dreaming of the next big "it" project in Blogolopolous Town you can turn your fringe mustache into a charming necklace. Or otherwise known as the actual DIY post.

Fold the top of the leather over to make a small fold that is the right fit to fit a chain through.

Glue with fabric tac and hold for about one minute.

Thread chain through loop on mustache.

Cut two jersey strips out of the scraps you have laying around your house (we all have them, or that's just me, I'll stop assuming now) and stretch them out and loop them through one chain link at each end and fold in half. Then take all four pieces (two from each end), with two in each hand and tie together in a knot.

Make sue you cut a long enough piece of jersey so that it will fit around your giant head. I can't be the only one with a giant head.

VS#6 - triple dog dare

2012-02-11T12:51:00.001-07:00

Intro: (Updated) Double chin, makeup leftover from the night before, luckily I had straightened my hair the day before so as to avoid horrible bed head, I decided to take on a suggestion left in the comments on the 2nd video I did by Colleen. Her comment was from a Weekly Confessional I did last summer about a hormonal craving. Truthfully it's not really a triple dog dare, I just took it on as such. I also shouldn't be making bad comments about myself after taking this pledge but I think posting the video regardless of how I feel about the way I look in it is progress.

I dedicate this one to Colleen.

(Tyrone is going to crap when he sees this. Bring on the ridicule dude.)

I am totally laughing at myself, so there's that.

More of vlog series here

an old hanger

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

An old hanger turned into a hanger for my sunglasses. For the sunglasses that I like to collect and then never wear because I usually always need my glasses when I'm out and about and am too cheap to buy prescription sunglasses. I will also in no way get transition lenses (not mocking anyone who does).

I first saw this on pinterest but wanted to give proper credit to the photographer especially because it's a blog I have been following for awhile now. She takes the most gorgeous photos; there is something very clean about them that makes me very happy. Her name is Hilda Grahnat. She posted the below photo and I immediately knew I wanted to copy her in my own way.

As luck would have it I found my hanger the very next day at a thrift shop for fifty cents not to be confused with the over inflated gangsta rapper with the ripped abs. Not that you would have trouble confusing the two.

Now that you've been mesmerized by that bright, lovely shot here are my crappy point and shoot pics.

I twisted yarn around the base of mine to give it a little something more and to help protect my very expensive $10 sunglasses.

Tyrone says, all of your glasses look the same but I each and every one of them have their own look at least I think so. Boys, pssh!

Now all I can think about is finding a bunch of old hangers like this switching them out for all of my plastic ones. I also love what we use to do to hangers in the old days when we would crochet them. This is the old granny side of me coming out. Speaking of old grannys, I have a silly DIY of a country granny sweater DIY.

these have a slight rounded cat eye that you can't see in this pic but I love it

Fridays with Frederick

2012-02-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

they take pictures together well, too bad they both can drive me crazier faster than anything else on this planet that is besides the rest of my family, of course

Shop Update - Vintage Bags

2012-02-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

vintage prima carry on

Ande navy clutch

Harry Levine vintage clutch

metallic gold Theodor California clutch

80's dooney & bourke

If you're interested in checking out more you can do so HERE!

Vintage Red Cape

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Tyrone got this vintage red cape for me for my birthday in October. I thought I would get more chances to wear it this winter but the snow has failed to land much in Utah. I'm not complaining, I hate the snow as much as I hate Taylor Swift but when you have a gorgeous red cape like this you kind of want a reason to wear it. This last Saturday I didn't want to let go another day just sitting in my closet so I thew it on and some red lipstick. I thought it deserved a full outfit post of its very own.

Still horribly awkward.

I am happy to report that this photo sesh didn't induce any marital problems like some have in the past.

shirt: vintage 80's houndstooth pattern (beyond thrilled to find this top)

skinny zipper jeans: black Joes found for $7 brand new

shoes: old custom chucks from 2008 with my nickname on them

red vintage cape: thrifted birthday gift

necklace: vintage

Jay Z is loving the cape too

lipstick on teeth

Junk Hunt

2012-02-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

Two unicorn items are like a dream come true.

Listen, if I had my way I would still have the She-Ra comforter that I had as a kid laying on our marriage bed if I could and it would be covered in Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Dolls. Speaking of Cabbage Patch Dolls did you see this item I have in the shop? A Cabbage Patch Dolls scrapbook. I almost didn't want to try and sell it. Perfect scrapbook, never been used and even comes with the original birthday card.

In My Brain...a new series

2012-02-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

Recently Tyrone and I had found a new thing to make fun of my mom about. If your family is like ours then this is always a good thing. Tyrone was the first to pick up on this little tick of hers and when we got home one night after visiting my parents he started saying things like the following.

"In my brain"
"In my brain I love chocolate"
"In my brain I hate that show"
"In my brain I feel like going for a walk"
"This makes me feel like [blank] in my brain"

Or when I would start to tell him something, a story, anything really, he would say "In your brain? Is that what happened in your brain? I asked him what the hell he was getting at and he said, "your mom says that after or before anything she says lately." I laughed because it was true but I hadn't quite picked up on it like he had. So for the next few weeks the game was on. We kept (and are keeping) ourselves pretty entertained with it.

To help you understand this a little better Tyrone calls my mom Crazy Daisy.

Crazy = the quirky things she does
Daisy = is the nickname our family gave her from the british comedy Keeping Up Appearances. It's also why we call my dad Onslo.

So, the next time I saw my mom I told her that I was going to start a regular blog series on my blog which was inspired by her. Without me even telling her what it was she immediately said something like "it's about time I do something crazy enough to make an appearance on your blog." I wasn't sure if I should be flattered by that or not but I did laugh pretty hard because I had no idea this was something she had been pining after. I'm still not exactly sure I remember explaining to her what it was about. Things like finishing your sentences and being able to answer a question in full around my family because damn near impossible due to all of the ADHD adults around so we'll find out soon enough if she is surprised by this post or not.

Basically I'll just be dry heaving any random thought that comes In My Brain on the blog like Tyrone throws up after a big meal. Or small meal. Or after drinking spicy milk. Or breathing.

So pretty much life as usual.

A Horror Show, but not quite up to par with a true smut film.

Disclaimer: By no means am I admitting to turning into my mother.

one. I still dream of sleeping in a bed full of stuffed animals so I’ve become addicted to buying afghans (because those are more adult) and pretending my body pillow is a giant stuffed dog like the one I had growing up that is still being held captive somewhere in my parent’s creepy basement.

two. Panicking at the thought of Google going away and having to revert back to pioneer days of trusting ignorant “facts” from the elderly. And books. I then prayed for Google’s soul and vowed to never take it for granted again.

three. Cleaning my lenses over and over and over again has nearly driven me crazy when I stop to think about how many moments in my day I've wasted trying to rub the facial grease off of them that just won't ever go away. It's the kind of rabbit hole that would traumatize the fuck out of Alice for the rest of her life. All of the Four Eyes out there can relate to this.

four. Keeping my mouth shut is hard when I'm not at work. At work I'm on the my best behavior but when something happens in my personal life and it deeply effects me or someone I love then I can get pretty fucking mouthy. But when I'm told to keep my mouth shut I think it makes it harder even though I know it's the right thing to do. Heads should be rolling, but they're not and I'm not-so-gently biting my bottom lip.

five. My bathroom has become so filthy that it is literally unacceptable to take a dump in. Frederick won't even drag his ass across the floor in there and he does it in public in front of the other dogs who eagerly stare at him after he's taste tested each and everyone of their pieces of poo that their owners have so generously left on the grass for me to step in.

Sweater turned Cowl & Mittens

2012-02-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this post from A Beautiful Mess and thought I would give it a shot. A cow and/or eternity scarf came immediately to mind. It was just too easy to pass up.

This post is brought to you by a mixture of photos from my camera and phone, how cohesive is that? This is why I'm not a *pro* blogger that and the part about not having a fancy camera. One day I won't be so bitter. One day.

*before* found darling, mint green, hand knit sweater at thrift store almost didn't want to cut it up

for cowl I cut the bottom half right off just under the armpits, rolled the edge and sewed it all around, it makes it sort of flare at the bottom which is kind of perfect for a cowl and looks nicely draped around a neck, does that even make sense the way I said that?

Also, if you put the cowl on so that the rolled, sewed edge is underneath it won't even look like it was sewn because the original hem will show nicely on top.

after

I am so in love with this cowl, it's big and comfy and turned out better than I expected.

for the mittens I used the sleeves, the edges of the sleeves make a nice hem, I used a sharpie to outline my hands which was fine because you turn that shit inside out so no one will ever see it, sew along the edges, cut out and then turn right sides out

*after*

Check out my studded phone case.

one snow day

2012-02-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

I wore my vintage ski sweater that has been sitting in my closet longing for me to wear it. I love sweaters but I don't get cold easily so it has to be pretty cold for me to wear them. It actually snowed in the valley awhile back so I took the opportunity to wear it.

You get two outfit posts this week. I'm excited about the one on Thursday.

Oh right, this one is great too.

random photo taken from a highway exit

Weekly Confessional

2012-02-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

I don't hide anxiety well.

via my phone

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I got new peepers which I'm a little excited about

I'm still wearing this guy around, and still haven't named him yet. I have nightmares he's going to come alive and eat my brains, oh wait that's zombies.

baggy period pants

I said, "don't move" then snapped this shot

this ended with me not getting drunk at all, I think my fat no absorbs all alcohol which prevents any drunken behavior which is sort of lame

been drinking lots of smoothies

I wore red lipstick for no reason at all. Felt great.

where my tampons live

my work banana

yesterday

DIY Phone Case

2012-02-05T22:28:00.002-07:00

I confiscated this studded trim from my MIL after she bought it and it didn't work for a project she had in mind. I was glad to to take it. There's a million things I could put it on, obviously, but I wanted to pimp out my phone case. It's hard to find unique, cool and acceptable phone cases for droids. They're all stupid. All the good ones are for iPhones. Can you tell I feel left out about all of this?

This was easy and took about an evening but only because you have to let the glue dry completely or the trim will just come right off. I tested it out first on an old broken phone case to see if it would work. The problem I had was that the phone cases I bought are rubberized so they're really soft and glue doesn't stick to them very well. E 6000 glue would have probably worked best but the knock-off gorilla glue I used ended up working fine though.

Needed:
basic phone case
glue
brush
studded trim
scissors

This trim is cool because you don't have to deal with individual studs and having to make sure they're all lined up perfectly. I think she found this trim at Joanns fabric & craft. I still have a bunch left over but I'm no exactly sure what to put it on quite yet. I have to resist the urge to stud everything I own.

Take trim and lay over back of phone case to cut it to the necessary length.

Be sure to cut out a spot for your camera or speaker depending on the type of phone you have.

Use a brush to spread an even amount of glue over phone case and on the back of the studded trim. Let glue dry for about 15- 20 minutes before putting them together. These are what the instructions on my glue instructed but it may be different depending on they type of glue you have. After you've had a beer or two while waiting for the glue to dry and become tacky you can lay the trim on top of the back of the phone case, press firmly together and let it dry over night. I had some glue over spill that I was able to get rid of with an exacto knife. Be careful not to get any glue on top of the trim because it will eat away at the shiny exterior and will make it look dull. It didn't take my brother long to notice where I messed up with the glue the first two seconds he saw it. Family member are excellent at pointing out your mistakes aren't they? Thanks bro!!

All done!

We're taking our computer in this week to get a thorough check up so I have another DIY scheduled for this week because I won't be able to use it for awhile. This week should be a full blog week on here.

Did you see my "I Awesome Sauce You" Valentine Pillow DIY?
I wrote a little something here.

Kicking black ashes around with each step

2012-02-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had a spiritual experience at work the other day. In a place filled with darkness I experienced some much needed light. You can imagine how much this threw me off, yet I was left on the verge of tears and full of hope. Finally. A little bit of hope. Some warmth for a cold corpse. The dryness had begun to crack. Winter had nearly choked away any sign of life. Walking through an empty city kicking black ashes around with each step. There was little shine left to my gold Toms. With no ear to whisper in or color to see, just various shades of blur. Touch is a faded memory and mirrors have become unnecessary. Even the colorful mood board on my desk was failing at the job at which it was intended. I’d look at the faces of each memory and felt nothing. I hated it. That made me feel even worse. The darkness of this place was taking a much deeper effect now. It was getting harder and harder to deflect the iniquity away.

A few words from a prodigious source had soothed and even began to heal. I was so surprised I could barely walk back to my desk. Thankfulness wasn’t worthy enough of an expression. I wanted to reach out and grab those words and drown them in my pale arms. Projecting my joy in their direction was near impossible to control. I could feel myself sobbing and smiling and jumping all around. But still I stood there almost frozen. Rolling what just happened through my skull and even still resisting the urge to, dare I say hug this person? I knew immediately these words were not their own that they came from a greater place with more light than I could ever begin to unravel.

I walked back to my desk and the things I looked at began to focus a little clearer. I sat down at my desk and it lit up in the middle of the gray atmosphere. I felt a little warmer and the condensation left on my heart was making me happy. I was hovering above the dim on a planet of hope and even though the starts were still sparkling in the distance I knew I would be bracing one someday.

-Brandy

{a little something from inside}

Vlog Series #5: don't ask

2012-02-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

You can see the rest of the series here.

You can also subscribe to my youtube channel and get exclusive rights to see the next one before anyone else.

*Disclaimer: the word exclusive is used loosely here due to lack of a less arrogant word.

What I've Learned from American Idol

2012-02-03T10:20:00.003-07:00

If American Idol has taught us anything it's that parent's shouldn't lie to their kids. Or they will end up on the show like the sad, socially awkward ones who get their hearts broken when they're told they can't sing. The other night, this kid was like "I just don't understand because my whole life I've been told I'm an excellent singer." How crushing is that? If I had a heart that would have made mine cry.

Tell your kids they're perfect that's fine (because I'm sure they really are and you bet your ass mine WILL BE) but don't tell them they are good at something like singing when they SUCK ASS! Not only could they get their hopes and dreams crushed but they could also end up in a hilarious-to-everyone-else video montage of them telling the world how great of a singer they are with clips of them biting the curb on the way out the door. As entertaining as that is to me, I'm pretty sure that has scarred the kid for life. I would hope that it would result in a wake up call and not a suicide attempt.

I remember loving to sing when I was younger. (I still do but only a few select get the opportunity to hear it. It's reserved for the car and the shower and annoying my husband.) I was in choir in junior high and in church. My church friends were super into singing. Singing was a big deal and I even thought at one point I might be able to do it but when I would sing in front of my mom and ask her for her honest opinion she would kindly tell me that I have work to do or she would get the "I love you and you know I think you're awesome but maybe this isn't for you" FACE. I was smart enough to pick up on that face. Thank God! There was a group of us girls at church who hung out a lot and the majority of us could sing. There were the two rock star singers, two less-than-mediocre singers (me included), and then there were the rest. One knew it wasn't for her so she didn't even attempt it but then there was the one who thought life began and ended with her singing. She was beyond passionate which only made things worse. It made things hard for her because this was her dream and worse for us because how do you give someone the hard honest truth that isn't your sibling? This girl came into our lives with this delusion. We couldn't just take it away from her. That wouldn't have been very "christian" of us. It was her mother's fault for letting her think she was Celine Dione. I could go off on this even more than I have but it's best to end it soon. We would even go to fine arts festivals to be judged on various artistic skills and when she got up and sang the room cringed and we had to put on the nice face after she was done. It was brutal. This went on for years. Years I tell you!!

I contemplated singing a song for Tyrone at our wedding. I even wrangled his bass player into playing the song with me (which he was awesome enough to learn) but after hearing myself on my phone's recording it just wasn't going to happen. I tried to tell myself that it didn't matter and that it would have been "sweet" but I knew in the end that was all horse shit

Parent's, don't lie to your kids.

Weekly Confessional

2012-02-02T16:42:00.001-07:00

I broke my Glee cleanse/strike/douche/boycott for the MJ episode.

It was total crap.

DIY Valentine Pillow

2012-01-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge Parks & Rec fan and when I heard April (who is my favorite next to Ron, naturally) say this the phrase stuck with me like a Little Debbie sticks to my muffin top.

It looks great on our bed when it's made which is never so hopefully it will look great on the floor next to the bed or next to the pile of laundry or rather piles of laundry.

Take your favorite fabric and cut out two heart shapes, pin right sides together and sew around the edge leaving a hole to stuff it full. I used this vintage heart cotton fabric for the front and a soft flannel for the back. I hand-sewed the hole closed after stuffing it as full as I could with fabric scraps and poly fill.

Wait...I'm getting ahead of myself. I obviously got the phrase on the front somehow. I guess I should go over that part. I used some basic stencils and some paint. I didn't even use fabric paint because I knew I was making this pillow as an accent pillow so I wasn't worried about the paint being weird. Because paint can get all sorts of weird up in your business let me tell you. We all know about paint, right?

Hope you like!

front

back

it looks good next to the bleeding heart pillow I made two years ago

i could not get him off of the bed but how could i just push him off?

Hey Lovers

2012-01-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

there's still time to get your valentine something (from my shop not some lame mall kiosk jerk)

get a Wallace & Berrie Co. figurine from The Shop today

Vlog Series #4: Chin Zit

2012-01-29T19:25:00.001-07:00

I'm not thrilled with the absurd facial expressions these videos decide to pause on.

My Saturday yesterday was awesome. Starting the day off with Buffy is the only way to go. I think Fred has a little crush on her.

Vlog Series: #1
Vlog Series: #2
Vlog Series: #3

just some things via my phone

2012-01-29T03:00:00.000-07:00