San Smith

Let's cook! Making bacon cheddar scones

2012-01-30T09:00:00-05:00

Recently for dinner I tried out the bacon cheddar scone recipe from Annie Eat's blog!

I'm fairly new to cooking - it's not something I was interested in until recently. Over the holidays I received a stand mixer from Chris in a perfect tiffany blue, and it's really inspired me to try out some harder recipes! I'm still experimenting with the mixer and trying to learn what are good recipes to make with it... I've tried cookies, brownies, mashed potatoes... and now scones! After finishing things up and eating I can say this recipe is GOOD!!

I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon since its a tiny bit healthier. I also don't have a cooking brush, so to brush the scones with egg wash I used a spoon to drizzle some on and then spread it out with the bottom part of the spoon. Worked just as good!

I'd post the recipe here but there is no point since it's already blogged on Annie's site and is her original content. But... In the future, if I find recipes I like in magazines or through family members I'll be sure to share those! :)

Love Letter - List #26

2012-01-27T13:46:14-05:00

This is Love Letter #26 - a list of all things I'm liking at the moment!

Monster High "Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love" and My Little Ponies "Friendship is magic" - yes, I finally watched the new my little ponies, and it's actually pretty cute... and on the note of other children's shows, I'm excited for the new Monster High special in February. Guuuiillty pleasures guys. <3

Shit Tumblr Girls Say - Angelina is hilarious and awesome. If you haven't seen this yet, then watch it - it's dead on.

Advanced Style documentary - Love these women. Major inspiration here - I actually took lines from this video and printed them out to put up around my house. I can't wait to see the documentary!

Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines - Cruised through this one at the Library last week and while it's really old now (published in 1998!) a lot of the info still applies, but to blogs! Very very cool book plus a fun look into the recent past. Plus, it was super fun to see examples of zines that had been made and a look at the authors.

What We Wore: An Offbeat Social History of Women's Clothing, 1950 to 1980 - Another one I read at the library. I love looking through books like this to see the changes in fashion. Looove these bathing suits in this photo I took:

Gentleman Jesse and his men - I can't wait for this album! It sounds so good.

Cosmic Thing - B-52's

I'm so excited - Le Tigre

This fashion shoot, "Harajuku-ers", and this one too, "Love Station", are total eye candy.

A blog post analyzing my favorite style combo ever, "The ’80s/Mid-Century Connection" !!

Advanced Style asks, "Should we ever stop playing dress up?" (no!) Some good advice in this article.

"How to Not Care What Other People Think of You" by Rookie Mag (Thanks Lillian for the link!)

Love Fashion designer Julie Mollo's new blog, "Home Economics", where she writes about "my favorite tips for looking good, feeling good, cooking well & living well!" - it's super cute!

Flickr favorites - Pink | Tarina Tarantino boutique | Pink and purple hair | Retro custom Draculaura (makes me think of ghost world!)

Last but not least, Danielle of Ghosts Waltz... you make my heart melt. I adore the drawing you did for me to bits <3 Thank you for posting about it!! I treasure it and keep it on my inspiration board for 2012.

Photo update: instagram randomness!

2012-01-26T20:35:52-05:00

I've been posting a lot of fun photos on instagram lately, and I thought I'd share a few! It'll be like a brief little life update...

Which by the way, if you are instagram - my name is "sanasaurus" on there! :)

I am slowly changing my office around, and one of the big things I've done so far is I've sold the giant standing desk cabinet I had! I used some of the money to get a little vanity dressing table for my office and I love it. Chris put it together for me last week and its my new favorite place in the house!

Two cute luggage tags I picked up recently by artist fluff! I'm using the devil girl as a purse charm right now - and will probably switch out to the sailor girl in the summer!

Last weekend Chris and I ran errands and then got a cute little pizza dinner together! We split a salad and BBQ pizza and I got prosecco to drink. Yum!

The next day we ran errands as well (it's been gloomy rainy lately so that's the easiest thing to do!) and one of the errands took me by the Sanrio store!! I hadn't been there since September, so I was super excited! I got a little nail art kit while I was there. Check out that Kuromi poster - isn't it cute?!

I applied two of the Hello Kitty decals from the kit to my nails this week while I wait for the bows I ordered to arrive. I really love it! Its so very simple but every time I look down at my nails it makes me smile. I just hope I can get them off easily LOL...

At the beginning of January I had ordered a replacement iphone cover since the one I had was losing it's paint... and it finally arrived! I think this one will last much longer since it has a glossy coat over the paint to protect it! Fingers crossed. And if you're wondering where I got it - amazon!

On Tuesday I had to go to the doctor in Newnan (suburb outside of Atlanta). That's where I grew up as a teenager and where my mom still lives! They have a lot of chain stores that we don't have in downtown Atlanta... which I imagine most people don't miss but I actually get excited for the opportunity to check out those shops! One place I stopped in was Walmart, which is not a store I really like but they do carry a different selection of things from Target and its interesting to look through. (I'm a big window shopper!!) One of the things I spotted was Monster High valentines!

These aren't instagram photos, but on the note of exploring a Walmart and Monster High, I was shocked at how much stuff Walmart had for the toys! I've never seen a display like that at Target or Toys R Us. Pretty cool/crazy! I wonder if they have an exclusive deal with Monster High/Mattel...

Enjoying a late morning at my vanity with some tea. Helloooo no make up San!

I take a lot of pictures of random things on instagram it seems... this is a bag I got in New York in October. I love the pattern on it!

Admiring my nails again, and noticing I have a lot of Pink/Hello Kitty going on. Hehehe...

This is a cute soap my mom gave me on Tuesday when I visited her at her classroom! (She's a special education teacher.) She had it on her desk and I was admiring it... and since it was unused she let me have it! I think it might be a left over Halloween gift or something from one of her students. I might take the soap out and refill it with moisturizer or something since it matches the decorations at my vanity sorta.

So yeah - there is a mini photo update of my life in the past 2 weeks! Not too crazy but lots of fun visuals at least :)

Wheels & Dollbaby's Dita Von Teese cardigan review

2012-01-23T17:42:38-05:00

So for those who haven't heard - Australian brand "Wheels & Dollbaby" mentioned on their facebook page the other day that they have restocked the coveted Dita Von Teese cardigan!! It seems the only color restocked is the black with red stitching though. Here is a link to the cardigan listing. The peach cardigan is also still listed, but with out any sizes so I'm assuming it's sold out...

Anyhow, buying these cardigans can be a little intimidating so I wanted to make a video explaining the sizing and quality of these cardigans for anyone not living in Australia. I was really lucky to be able to purchase two of these cardigans before they sold out recently - one in black and one in red, and I learned a lot through the process of buying them.

Detailed information on the sizing

In the video I discuss information about the sizing, stretch, and what not. As mentioned, here is the size chart from Dita Von Teese's website:

Also discussed is how Wheels & Dollbaby recently changed the way their sizing is listed on the site (#'s 1-5 vs what I assume is standard AUS sizing). As far as I can tell, this is how the new sizing compares to US sizing and their old sizing:

US 4 - AUS 8 - W&D 1

US 6 - AUS 10 - W&D 2

US 8 - AUS 12 - W&D 3

US 10 - AUS 14 - W&D 4

US 12 - AUS 16 - W&D 5

Wheels & Dollbaby does seem to run "small" compared to typical US sizing. I usually wear a US small/US 4, but in this brand I definitely wear a US 6/AUS 10, and this particular cardigan runs even smaller than their typical clothing to give a sexy skin-tight look that Dita Von Teese often rocks. If you don't like an ultra tight fit, then go up 1 or 2 sizes.

Where to buy

ASOS carries a small assortment of Wheels & Dollbaby, and often puts items on sale!
Damsel in Distress in NYC - this is where I bought my red cardigan. They do not update their online store regularly though, so its better to check in person at their New York boutique.
Of course, there is always Wheels & Dollbaby's official site
And if you don't live in the US or Australia, then visit this link for additional shops
These cardigans often appear on ebay too, and are usually in the 1-5 sizing. I've seen them in peach, light blue, back, red and baby pink... The older cardigans have a "dollbaby" logo tag on the back neck area, but thats the only difference from the ones released recently. So keep an eye out for a good deal! :)

Here is the look I'm wearing in the video. High waisted shorts - Forever 21, V neck top - local boutique, Sheer tights - Target, Slouchy motorcycle boots - Steve Madden, Purse - Betsey Johnson, Ring - Tarina Tarantino, and Purse Charm - Fluff.

The sweater provides moderate warmth when layered, and gives a very cute and unique look! I definitely recommend purchasing it if you are thinking about it! The item will sell out fast!

Hope this was helpful!
If you have any questions feel free to leave in the comment area!

Coming soon: My 3d deco nail art experiment!

2012-01-16T20:56:31-05:00

OH GIRL... let me tell you how much I love some nail art!! I know this isn't related to much on my blog, but I've been going bananas over it lately and just had to share.

For the past two years I've been really into experimenting with nail art, but hadn't gotten too far with it because it was complicated to DIY and expensive to have done professionally! Here are some of my attempts in the past inspired by things I saw online... Strawberry nails, Sally Hansen and Ulta nail strips, lots of hand painted bows and a few little nail stickers for good measure:

Not too bad, but not really what I fully wanted either... I mean, check out these amazing nails from Yukiumi Nails:

(You can click the photos for their sources and how to buy)

Aren't they crazy and gorgeous?! Go big or go home - right?? Haha! I love it! NOW that was what I really wanted to go for!!

However, after price research and a lot of thinking I realized its not very realistic for me to have crazy long nails that are expensive when I have a limited budget and use my hands all the time for drawing... Sigh.

So to compromise I decided to try something simple myself and see if I like it! I bought some tiny bow cabochons on etsy to pair with Sally Hansen nail strips, and as soon as they arrive in the mail I'll make a post about it and a tutorial! I'm so excited!! So yeah - look forward to that post soon! I think it'll be around Valentine's day or shortly before it (judging by the shipping estimate).

Are you into crazy nail art or the 3d nail decorations? OR have you tried it yourself and have fun pics to share? Lemme know! I'd love to hear!

Love Letter - List #25

2012-01-13T11:19:57-05:00

This is Love Letter #25 - a list of all things I'm liking at the moment!

Tarina Tarantino's youtube tutorials - I love these videos Tarina Tarantino made for her Sephora line. She is so down to earth in the videos and inspiring! Check out her Light and Luminous tutorial and Smokey eveing tutorial - I really hope she makes more!

Soft Shock - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Hysteric - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

She's got me dancing - Tommy Sparks

Koko Dake no Hanaashi - Chatmonchy - My cousin Chad gave me a Chatmonchy cd for Christmas and I'm loving it! Their music is so upbeat.

The Lady is a Tramp - Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga - looooveee!!! This is one of my favorite songs, and they did it wonderfully together.

Just Dance 3 is AMAZING!! I feel so good after playing it - it's the best work out ever. Chris got it for me for Christmas and I want to play it everyday! I hope I can get super good at it over time... right now I just kinda hop around and try my best. It's so fun! :)

Working on puzzles! Chris and I have been doing epic puzzling lately and it is so fun! We are almost done with a 2000 piece puzzle, and then we will start a 3000 piece one! Wheeee!

DIY peter pan collar from felt - annnd if you're not the DIY type though, this one is pretty fabulous on etsy. I really want to try to make this! Love this one by Chubby Bunny too.

Craisins in Cherry flavor and Walkers shortbread rounds - omgggg I could eat these all day. ALL DAY. Oh wait, I just did.

My Phillips wake up light alarm clock - I received this for Christmas and it is AMAZING!! I wake up so peacefully now. Often I wake up just to the light, but there is a soft bird chirping sound that happens closer to your hopeful wake up time just in case the light doesn't do the trick. It's so realistic I can't tell if its the birds outside or not sometimes! If you have issues waking up in the morning you might want to check this out!

Tiny Wisdom: When enough is better than more - good advice!

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES – PLEASE READ THIS. - So much truth in this post. All freelancers should read this.

Makeup I love video + what I wore!

2012-01-12T18:38:20-05:00

I don't know what is up with the goofy face it selected for the thumbnail hehehe... Buuut! I was kinda inspired today to finally get around making a video about my favorite make up products! In this video I mention what I wear on a daily basis, and then a few items I wear on a less daily basis. I'm not a huge makeup wearer, but I've been using the products mentioned for a while now and can definitely recommend them!

Makeup mentioned in the video:

And for the curious, this is what I'm wearing in the video! Today I met up with amazing photographer Jason Travis and had outfit photos taken for LuxeCrush.com! I had a lot of fun even though the day was kinda dreary and it started to rain. I'll post more about it when the photos are online! :) <3

Hope you guys enjoy this post! Let me know what your favorite makeup products are or if you have any suggestions for me!

Record Store Girl comic #1

2012-01-11T18:01:32-05:00

I think its safe to share comic #1 here now that its no longer in print...! I just wrapped up comic #3, so when that is published I'll share #2! :D Enjoy!

And if you missed my intro post about this, you can go here to read more about my comic in Magnet magazine! The plot is about local record store girl, Lillian (who is real and works at Criminal Records!) and her adventures with the record stores she interacts with at work. I do the writing and illustrating, and the concepts are drafted up by the lovely folks at Criminal Records. It's an interesting project so far!

You can pick up a copy for yourself at your local record shop <3

More coming later on the comic!