Streamlining The Slipcover

"In a mad fit, I wrenched the slipcover inside out and cut into it with a vengeance!"

The right side and the extra fabric supplied for fitting purposes.



Can you believe all of this was to be tucked in underneath the cushions?



After the extra has been trimmed off and pinned.



The left side surplus fabric.



All of the fabric now lying across the seat was also supposed to be tucked up under the cushions, but that was far too much fabric. I slit the slipcover two inches away from the elasticized portion that actually encases the cushions. Now the cushions will sit on top of the seat and the elasticized part will be brought up and over them. After this, the back portion should not ride up whenever the cushions move.

Well, at least that's the goal.



Because the surplus "tuck-in" fabric is gone, this is how the back should look like from now on. Before the fabric would come up from under the cushions and pool over onto the floor. What a mess!

Next step: Hand basting the slipcover.

I am not buying anything else, but...

If I did, this would be the list:

These three beautiful fabrics would be bought to make clothes that I would create and fit on this so that I could have outfits like
from Mela Purdie and
from an Etsy seller, all to wear with a purse made from this in some vintage bark cloth that I have been saving. While at home, I would enjoy tea poured from this
while listening to these four albums, comfortably sitting on this.

Aquafina is tap water!*

As it turns out Aquafina, the single biggest bottled water brand, is nothing but tap water, from a public water source. Technically they had been labeling it as (PWS) on it's bottles and had never said in advertisements that it was from a mineral spring. However, we were given enough images; like snow-capped mountains, to allow us visual closure in imagining it as pure spring water.

Of course, this comes the very day that I finish the last of my Aquafina 24-pack that I bought last week.

I originally started drinking bottled water at home because my apartment's tap water had a weird smell and taste. Months later I found that the weird smell was actually from the kitchen cabinets (Yeah, ewww!) I've since moved my glasses to my dining room buffet so I should try again. I became so used to opening up the fridge and immediately having a deliciously frigid long gulp of water. But I no longer want to pay for the same stuff that I could consume for free.

Looking into this:

Reusable water bottles **
Brita faucet or pitcher filtration system
Pur faucet or pitcher filtration systems

You should check out this cool PBS site on bottled water from 2004.

*Soylent Green inspired this title. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't miss out, rent it as soon as you can!
**Will also find reusable shopping bags there.

Raw Food Ice Cream...seriously?

I'm not so sure about the Raw Food diet, but this sounds SO good:

Joellies Jollotti*

• Meat of 1 young coconut
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey)
  
• 1/4 cup cacao chips (or any dark chocolate chip)
  
• 1 tsp mint extract

Blend all ingredients together until creamy.
Freeze and enjoy!

*Recipe by Chef Joel Odhner of Rawlifeline.com

VCU Solution

Well, I had my meeting with the department head and everything seems to be handled.

Due to instructor availability, both of the Art History classes that I wanted to take this fall were canceled. However, he compiled for me a list of classes that I could take from this fall's offerings that could be made to fulfill the credits that I need. A class in one of the required categories that I need to graduate will not be offered in the two semesters before my preferred graduation date, so they will allow me to substitute another class.

In addition, one "class" he suggested is a museum internship. I had never even considered this option before, but I am thinking about it now. I'll let you know.

Woo Hoo!

Two Wee Projects in Process

Tissue packet holders using this tutorial which I found through her.



Another Wee Wonderful creature.

Things I'm dreaming of this week:

Owning this album from my favorite Richmond band, Tulsa Drone.

This cool looking litter box.
(No, I don't have a cat, but I know good design when I see it.)

These two thorough but easy to understand sewing instruction manuals.

These beautiful and affordable clothes at Petaline.

This color palette generator from BigHugeLabs.

Making up a cool pitcher of this.
(MUCH better than the sour taste of their pink lemonade.)



This wonderful image of John W. Golden's.

Finally, the last pair of shoes!

The Merrell Relay Wires.



Even though I love the dark teal Keen's, the Merrells do look better with a dress. It is still a hard decision. I really want to keep both of them, but I can't.*



In addition, look how well they go with one of my dresses and some fabric that I just picked out for two other projects. I think I must keep these.

*In my zeal to order those two pairs of Bernie Mevs, I forgot to check the store's return policy. No refunds, only store credit or exchanges. Therefore, I think EBay will be seeing these little buggers soon, because I want (NEED) my money back!

This is more like it!

Now these are FUN shoes!

I ordered these during an incredible sale at Sierra Trading Post. This is the place to go to for sturdy, comfy, and cute shoes. Both of these immediately felt comfortable, the red ones mold to my feet perfectly, and I feel like I need to wear red, white, and black for a while.



The Plan

• Return both of the Bernie Mevs.*
  
• Keep the red ones; I mean, how Mod are these shoes!
• Wait and compare these teal Keens with the Robin's Egg Merrells when they arrive.

*I'll keep searching for the perfect retro play shoes like these, but cheaper.

The Convenient Conveyance

BC-05 Deluxe Women's Beach Cruiser $135

I have already mentioned this bike. However, I was only thinking of how beautiful it was, not how practical or intelligent of a choice it would be to buy one. Of course, it would be best if you found one used and recycled it but if you aren't lucky enough to find one of these secondhand, I say try Chubby's One-Stop Cruiser Shop. I will probably buy my next bike from them. They have incredible retro designs in all the luscious retro colors, and their bikes aren't expensive at all, while Schwinn is now selling retro cruisers like this and this for $260 to $480.

Now, you may have seen this lovely lace-inspired bike basket all over the blogosphere. It's lovely but how serious is it for hard-core shopping. If you really want to use your bike as an alternative to your car you will need something larger. I suggest something like this:

a twin rear rack basket, popularly known as a newspaper carrier basket.

In college, I used to have an old blue Schwinn with a basket like this one. It was the handiest thing ever. I could ride my bike to buy groceries or do my laundry because I had a place to put everything. No matter the weight, if you had it equally distributed, the whole thing worked like a charm. It also didn't hurt that the Fan area in Richmond is scattered with coin laundromats and little neighborhood markets, so that smaller but frequent trips were no bother.

They still make these baskets and hopefully they will become popular again as people try to use their cars less. This company, Wald, is the main manufacturer. If you have a bike that you use for errands, check them out. Besides this style, they also have folding ones that don't take up as much room when empty.

So, what happened to my great bike you ask?

The stupidity of youth happened. I left it when I packed up and moved to Northern Virginia. In fact, I left it attached to my building's metal railing with a Kryptonite lock. I shirked responsibility for my belongings and someone had to go to the trouble to have it removed. Now I wish I had just stored it at my Dad's house.

C'est la vie.

My new shoes are here!

They’re here!

My Bernie Mevs are here!

They arrived from Bianca Rose Shoes around 3PM. The package was presented well with a discount card from the store and baby blue tissue paper. When I pulled out the shoes, they looked exactly like I thought they would.

However, on my feet, I don't feel immediate love for them.

I do not see cute little girl shoes. Viewed on my feet, they are not the sassy shoes I thought I would be seeing. Maybe if they were available in red?

I ordered two different sizes, European size 39(8-8 ½) and 40 (9-9 ½). One reason was that the sale was so great ($70 reduced to $30) that if I waited until they arrived the other size might be sold out. The other reason is that my left foot is a half size larger than the right, so I always have to accommodate the larger one. Well, the 39’s have no extra toe room for the left foot but the 40’s seem to have too much room in width. This extra width leaves the smaller foot swimming in the shoe. Because they have the elastic strap above the instep, there is no danger of the shoe falling off. The shoes also do not seem to be rubbing against my feet so maybe there won’t be any blisters.

Nevertheless, the real story is that these are not the magic shoes I wanted them to be. I want fun, jet around town shoes, ones that say, “This girl is fun!”

Shoes like these:

Photo credits: Flickr users Graygoosie and Jek In The Box.

The retro styling is exactly what I want but on my feet they are just another pair of black shoes. Maybe I would love them more if they were red?

Tomorrow: Two more pairs of shoes arrive!

Who understands frequent flyer miles?

Years ago, I used to travel for my job as an event planner for government and non-profit companies. I thought it would be wise to sign up with the airlines in order to get as many perks as I could. Of course, not long after that I left that job to return to college. I now have various mileage totals at about 4 different commercial airlines and I have no idea how to use them now.

Can someone please explain it to me?

For example: I have 3,500 miles with US Airways. Is this actually worth anything? No matter how much I search on their website, I can't find a simple chart listing how many miles equals one free flight or how many needed for an upgrade. That's all we really want to know, right? Why must they make it so hard?

I Need New Shoes

I don't buy a lot of clothes or accessories at all, I haven't worn earrings for months, and I'm lucky if I remember to put on lipstick.

So when I ordered four pairs of shoes in two days, I didn't freak because...

1) at least one pair of those are going back, if not two.
2) I don't buy a lot of clothes or accessories (see above).

My original goal was to buy a pair of red retro-looking shoes to wear with my new dresses. I wanted a pair of shoes that expressed my style instead of shoes on sale that happen to also be cute. Even though I have no complaints comfort or style-wise, the majority of my past shoes have been from Payless. I just wanted a pair of shoes I loved first and were also thrifty last.

Contenders:

John Fluevog Lulu

This is the shoe that started it all. However, I can not see myself buying a shoe for this much ($139) money, especially if it can't be an everyday shoe. It also was only available in black and in black/white.

Updated: They are now $85!
Aerosoles Safety Jock

Aerosole is the only site offering this in the orange color and it is still full price at $72. So, I am waiting them out.

Berne Mev Point $30 (orig. $70)

This was the #1 choice. These would be all I needed if they had come in red. I vowed not to buy another pair of black shoes but this retro look is exactly what I wanted. I ordered two pairs of these, in European sizes 39 and 40. They were on sale from $70 to $30, so I didn't want to miss out if I picked the wrong size. One of them will be returned.
Keen Amsterdam $45 (orig. $85)

The company is known for extremely comfortable shoes and these look like great fun. By the way, do you notice that they are not black?
Ecco Vibration $50 (orig. $95)

These "have red on [them]", have a great Mod feel and are by a company known for well made comfortable shoes.
Merrell Relay Wire $60 (orig. $100)

The only reason I didn't order these is because I thought they might look too sporty. Now I'm not so sure they aren't cuter than the Keen ones. Hmmm...

Updated: Couldn't stop thinking about them, so I ordered them on Sunday. I also remembered that the most comfortable shoes I own are Merrell's from L.L. Bean so the Keen's will be going back when they arrive.
Hush Puppies Giulietta

I lost out on these when the brown ones were on sale at Piperlime and now I can only find them at full price for $73.

*Both deliveries will arrive Wednesday and Thursday of next week. I can't wait!

Things I'm dreaming of this week:

• Making a version of that dress
  (Buy pattern next time Vogue patterns are on sale)
  

• This fabric for that retro pattern
  
  
• This adorable pattern to go under those dresses
  Update: Ordered and on its way to me! Too small, but easy to resize.
  

• These shoes, in black, which just sold out of my size in that incredible sale
  Update: Found them somewhere else for $29 and bought in both Eur. size 39 and 40, just in case.

• Owning a puppy like this someday soon

What a great gift resource...

You see, because of this and my other blog, my friends would never have to guess what to get me for my birthdays. Or even, what kind of things I'm interested in.

That is, if they ever read my blogs.

Some claim to, but I have never received a single comment from anybody.

Oh well, thank all of you wonderful strangers, you. You make a girl feel appreciated.