Cutting back

Technology is great, but I sit with Facebook open and just stare at it. I used to get off the internet if it stopped entertaining me. Now I click on each of my bookmarks over and over thinking something new and interesting will have appeared since the last time I clicked on it. I'm also too attached to texting. I wouldn't say I text more than the average person my age, but I get kind of anxious if I get a text and don't respond RIGHT AWAY, or if I haven't checked for texts in awhile. When life isn't in the balance this is ridiculous.

SO...

I've turned off Facebook chat so I stop staring at the green squares waiting to message or be messaged, thinking that if nothing else I can watch who's on change over the course of ten minutes. If you want to real time chat with me I might hop on on my phone, or try to message me anyway, we'll see if I'm on.

I'm going to try to get off of Facebook when it has ceased to be useful for the time being. No more just sitting there.

If I've watched my Hulu queue and am not into anything on Netflix I'll get off my computer.

I won't open texts during church (I never touch my phone during Sacrament meeting, trust me), I won't check for texts while driving (I never actually text while driving). I won't retrieve my phone from other parts of the house to check for texts if I'm not expecting any.

Yes you can still message me, and text me, and call me and all of the things, but on my end I'm going to try to not be so frantic about it. I should probably read a book or something. If I'm sewing or randomly working away I don't need to reply to media immediately.

So, DO keep in touch, just know that I'm working at not being controlled by my immediate need to respond to social media. 

Celebrity Baked Goods

Bestie Sarah and I had some wild times in high school, lemme tell ya what.

We'd monthly have celebrity birthday parties. By parties I mean we'd bake ourselves a cake, find a dead celebrity with their birthday in the current month, and decorate said cake a la the celebrity. We'd also usually watch a movie that had nothing to do with said celebrity but would Kevin Bacon it to make sense. I can't remember exactly how we did it, but we tied The Truman Show into Jackie Kennedy's birth month. We drew a pillbox hat and pearls on her cake. I remember a Mozart cake too that might have had a portrait and said "WOLFGANG".

Unrelated, but not entirely, was our Kevin Spacey summer. After our first year of college we came home and with our friend Nick went to a matinee of 21. We were the only people in the theatre, talked all the way through it and by the end had decided to have a Kevin Spacey themed summer. We watched A Bug's Life, Superman, Pay It Forward,  K-PAX, and others. It was a good summer. Kevin Spacey's a fave. We made masks (hence my current facebook pro-pic) and a Kevin Spacey cake with lightening bolt lettering.

I sadly only have photos of the K Space cake, as I have no idea where photos from high school would be. 

How intense the arts are in other countries

Can we talk about Russia and India for a second?

First, Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet got acid thrown on his face because of infighting in the company. A masked man, presumably from the ballet company, came up to him and threw acid on his face because of disagreements over Filin's direction of the Bolshoi. Now one of Bolshoi's top ballerinas, Svetlana Lunkina has fled to Canada because her husband has received threats while working on a film about a previous ballet star. I've been reading all of this craziness and just can't believe it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21259905
Apparently putting glass in dancer's shoes and setting alarms to go off during their performances is old hat in Russian ballet...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21081460

Second, Pakistan and India are having a war of words over the protection of my bestie, Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood megastar. Khan has been reported as saying he's sort of held up as an example of an Indian Muslim not being treated well, which he says is not true. Pakistan meanwhile's all like "Hey India! Why don't you make sure Mr. Khan feels safe!" and India's all "Mind your own business Pakistan, he's doing just fine here." and SRK's all "Settle down guys! I like being Indian, and I'm not moving to Pakistan, but I would appreciate it a bunch if America would stop detaining me at their airports because my last name is the "Smith" of the Muslim world/I'm one of the most recognized people in the world, why can't they just Google me?!"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21256521
Bahaha, can you imagine if Canada was like "Hey America! We want Nathan Fillion back! Ya'll aren't treating him right eh" and America was like "Buzz off, he likes us better, so there!" and Nathan Fillion just kind of stood there with one eyebrow raised. Classic Fillion. 

A great week for New Girl and LBD

FINALLY! Nick kisses Jess (woof!) and the Lydia fiasco is unveiled on Lizzie Bennet Diaries, meaning Darcy gets to comfort Lizzie!

Good week.







Seriously though, Nick's kiss is phenomenal. Manhandler.

Merlot/Lace: working so hard today

I worked last night and had Monday and today off so it feels like I've had loads of time to work on my dress, because I have. I work for the next three days so I won't get back to it until next Monday, which is fine, because I need a break whether I want one or not.

This morning I had my bodice and bodice lining together. Now I have the skirt attached, the collar on and all but one side of the center back lining put in. It's been great fun as you might guess because the open back with a collar and all of that is a riot to line. No really, I love doing it. It's so precise, like making a million crotch seams, which are also a favorite of mine.

I must say I've been doing a bang up job and am really happy with how everything's been going so far. The collar looks smaller on one side, and did in the mock up too, but the pattern pieces are the same width so I don't know what's up with that. It's only a fraction of an inch, so I'm the only one that notices right? I feel like I'm so close to being done, and when you make the list (sleeves, attach lining waist, button holes and buttons, hem) it doesn't seem like that much, but it is. It's always more than you think it is in sewing. When I just have the buttons left to sew on it'll still take longer than I think it will. Ripping the button holes open might actually take a reasonable amount of time...

Anyway, I'm sure you want pictures. Because the form is so much shorter than me I can't really give you the best idea, but here are some shots to pique your interest.

bahaha, I'm so crooked.

before pressing, but still great. 

Instagram "5 things about me"

There's a "5 things you don't know about me" Instagram thing going around. I was tagged by two people and so made mine. I'm sharing on here bc I didn't want to post it on facebook for reasons unbeknownst to me.

1) I often fall asleep holding my own hand.
2) I don't let myself put on mascara until I've put on deodorant.
3) Most of what I see or do or read is on other's recommendations. I have a strong personal identity, but love to be able to speak other people's "languages".
4) I've worn high heels since I bought a pair at a garage sale when I was 12. I've been my current height of 5'11" since I was 14.
4.1) I'm actually 5'10.75"
5) Sometimes I miss my long hair, but never the headaches. 

Merlot/Lace: let's get going!