Day Trip to Pittsburgh 2

3-20
Tanger Outlet Mall (new this year)
-worried other Lauren-Giving me bunny ears isn't cool.Indulging ourselves at the milkshake and chocolate store in Southside.A late Saint Patrick's Day. One lonely Guinness at Fat Heads.
And THIS guy, who had the largest gauges I've ever seen (that weren't hollow). It's like he had hockey pucks in his ears.Overall, we were stoked to be there. I bought rain boots, a bag and two new pairs of pants at the Gap. Best of all, we ended the day at Ikea where I picked up some seriously exciting stuff: new rugs, some baskets, votives, and a hanger thing for belts (that of course I have always needed, I just didn't know). <3
-L

Day Trip to Pittsburgh

Problem worth complaining about: having money makes me feel more comfortable spending money. After two days in Pittsburgh this Spring Break, I'm aware I need to go back to feeling poor.

3-14-09
Enrico Biscotti Company
If you lived above Enrico's, your apartment would smell delicious all day long.Fun truck some Rasta man was selling his woven goods out of.
Some memorable seafood place:
Where do they think they're going?Of course I loved this wine store. They were full of all sorts of accessories too. BUT, they had one "cork"board and they didn't cut the corks in half. Several had come unglued and were missing. This is tacky, don't do this; they are too heavy that way.Spices, mmmmm.Next we went to the famous Roxanne's Dried Flowers. It smelt incredible and I wanted one of everything. There were so many visually stimulating fabrics, bags, jars and crafty tabletop cluttering thing-a-ma-jigs. I mainly took photos of the labels so I could remember the lovely words, but this is what's worth sharing:
Mural. Train.
And last, but certainly not least, why not a photo of Big Mama's House of Soul? (next to the, apparently not defunk, Club 1601. Oh yes, people party there...)
<3
- L

In the little free time I have...

Working two jobs is a drag - but the good news is I have access to more corks then I would have if I simply saved my own. I am inspired to work on new cork projects.

This first is a wreath. I'm only using those corks that aren't really made of cork - you know the ones, they're like spongy plastic - and I am screwing eyelet screws into each of them and using the same wire I use for the wine bottle lamps to string them circularly (since I know that will definately hold its shape). That was probably not worded as well as it should have been , let's hope pictures ARE worth a thousand words. I'll add more soon. The problem with this project is simple though: it takes forever! Even getting ten or so corks a week it is becoming such a slow process. The wreath is tiny with fifty or so already strung, and my apartment is so small it just sits there on my desk, mocking me.

The second project is a new corkboard. This one is going to be a little different than the last one I showed you though. The board is the same rectangular shape (because I REALLY like it), but the border or "framing" will be done differently. Instead of just staining something decorative, I've chosen a lace-like pattern, one with large carvings, and I will paint the board green behind the stained border, in order to give it a little more contrast. Since this border is wider than the first, I'll just use it on the shorter sides and have the corks go to the edge on the long ends. I'm not saying length-wise and width-wise because I'm hoping this will look great both ways.

This one is a house-warming present for my brother and his wife. They're moving and I felt that merited the time and effort that go in to making another one of these. It's time-consuming too.

K, I'm done talking about THIS now. <3 Take care.