Happy New Year!

In My Family we get together and write our predictions for the upcoming year. .

These are my predictions for 2010
-Three of my best friends will get married
-I will graduate from BYU
-three new versions of the Iphone will be released
-Stephane Myers will admit that the third and fourth books in the Twilight series were, indeed, fan-fiction, written by a sixteen year old girl.
-Cordless ear-bud headphones will be invented. perfect for the gym. (I'm rooting for this!)

These are my predictions for the next decade:
-We will find life on another planet
-Electric cars will be re-introduced to the market, thus saving the world from global warming.
-I will connect with my Lithuanian roots and travel to eastern Europe.
-70 new versions of the Iphone will be introduced, creating a worldwide monopoly on all types of cell phones.
-the word "gigabyte" will become utterly obsolete.

Well, we'll see I guess...
xoxo
Happy new years!
Best wishes with all your resolutions!
Stephanie

Stenciling Christmas

Wishing the whole blogosphere a Merry Christmas! It has been a whirlwind for me! Being out of school, would seem to imply free time, but nope, my work at the mall took it all up. Regardless of being exhausted all break from working; it was so good to have my siblings in town.

I knew that my roommates and I would all be spending Christmas with our families, but that didn't stop me from doing a little unique decorating.

Here is my contact paper tree:


I found some lime green contact paper at an office supply store and cut out this tree. I used a string of beads and paper ornaments to decorate the tree. It was the best 2-D tree I could have imagined! and it came in under 6 dollars, which is perfect for my practically non-existant decorating budget. I threw up some other snowflakes and garlands around the apartment and it felt quite homey, which was especially warming during finals week!


Christmas with my family was great! We celebrated the birthdays of my two nieces who turned 1 and 4 years old. It was a lively party.

I'm so greatful for all the thoughtful gifts from Santa and friends and family.
My cousin keri gave me a great Hot Chocolate maker. A while ago I stumbled onto this DIY Coffee Stencil and loved it! But since I don't drink coffee I didn't think twice about actually making one myself. Now I have endless oppourtunites for Drink stencils!
I took a stab at it. i need to invest in an exacto-knife, but thought that this simple shape would be scissor aprooved:
What do you think?

I conjured these up for when boyfriend came over to exchane presents. He was estatic.

And there are endless oppourtunities for stencils:


I'm not sure I want to wake up and pour Obama's face on my hot chocolate, but it's an idea at least.

xoxo
Stephanie

What I wouldn't do...

FOR THIS NECKLACE!!!

Banana

xoxo
Stephanie

Magical Textiles

Please enjoy the sight of these fabrics from Heather Ross:

I would absolutely love to decorate a room with these Unicorn tapistry inspired textiles.

In a world of dark winter colors I am dreaming of these bright and vivid colors!

Fight the cold with color!

From Here:

Here in Provo I have been spending all my time in the library. I am almost finished with my finals. I will be ending my Junior Year at BYU! Where has the time gone? I just have a couple semesters left in my Geography degree, but now I am seriously considering finding an interior design program. If you read my blog then you know that I love it! Wish me luck with my last test! I put off the hardest for last! American Heritage.... bleh... (and yes I do realize that this is a freshman course and I am almost a senior.)

Fight Finals with Blogging!

Photoshop Love

I'm loving seeing everyone blog their Christmas lists, both for giving and for wishing. But this is the best gift I have seen yet... just cannot get over it.

Photoshop frame

from ILoveBlocks.com

Unfortunately the frame is a homemade DIY and thus way too expensive, and the magnets are out of stock! What a travesty! I wish so badly I could get my hands on some of these for Christmas this year.

Tell me this did not make you laugh.

xoxo
Stephanie

Beehive Bazaar

So Provo can be pretty awesome sometimes.
Yesterday I went to the Beehive Bazaar with the lovely Camille.
It was full of everything lovely and crafty. As you should know by now I love to make things with my hands. Paint, glitter, fabric. I love it all. And so do all the vendors at this event.
I love going to fairs like this. You can find some amazing things.

It was so inspiring to me. These are some things I am going to make:
-Tutu's for my nieces
-Modge podged light switch covers. (With Camille)
-Chalk Board for my niece.

This was my favorite vendor:

http://juliegillrie.blogspot.com/


Such awesome belts!


I also loved:
http://thebeehivebazaar.com/?p=1356


Check it out if you have a chance! I highly recommend.

The Moon

This is my friend Chris Rawlins:

Chris and I both went to Jerusalem last Fall semester.

You need to know right now that Chris and I are platonic friends. The Jerusalem bond runs so deep, it is hard to comprehend from outside the group of eighty. We are all very close.

A little while ago Chris sent a text to a few people saying "go look at the moonrise, it's beautiful." I was working and asked him to describe it to me. He responded with "It's about ten degrees over the peak of Y mountain." Or something extremely analytical. Chris is just an analytical guy. I said, "No Chris, I need a romantic description of the moon." I heard nothing back for an extremely long time, at which point he said that after trying very hard, he wasn't able to come up with anything. I said he probably needs some practice with the romance stuff.

After a gentile reminder, Chris finally fulfilled his promise to write me a romantic description of the moon. This is what he came up with:

In the Light of the Full Moon

In the light of the full moon, she appears to me.

The soft glow is just enough to illuminate her gracious form

The flickering light of the stars, alone, is not enough to bring her to my view,

And the harsh glare of the single sun causes her to vanish before I can fully recognize her.

But by the light of the full moon, she appears to me.

The faint gleam in her eyes is enough to give me hope in our unseen future together.

The soft glow of her smile fills me with the warmth of our yet unknown happiness.

And the gentle radiance of her skin kindles in me the comfort and security of her touch.

I can see and feel all these things, but only by the light of the full moon.

One day, I will see her under the bright summer sun of reality,

One day, I won't have to endure alone the dark winter night of uncertainty,

I know that I'll find her; I know that she's there,

Because I have seen her, in the light of the full moon.

Christopher L. Rawlins

1 December, 2009

He explained that it is a poem, yes, about the moon, but also essentially about the phantom of true love.
(ps just a reminder this is not a love poem about me.)

Isn't it amazing? Thank you Chris.

xoxo
Stephanie

the Season

Well it is December. Yes December. This semester has flown by. Final exams and unfinished projects are staring me in the face. November passed slightly slower than the previous month, but has been much more exciting.

I am getting excited about Christmas! The most wonderful time of year! I will be trying to make most of my gifts this year, as I am low on funds and high on creativity. I've already begun. Expect something glue gunned and painted.

I've recently decided that a day when my fingernails don't get covered in some sort of glue or paint is a day probably wasted. No wonder I can't ever wear a coat of nail polish for more than a few days.


These are some reasons why I am excited for the Christmas Season:
1. Christmas decorating.
2. My nieces Birthdays.
3. Walking though the snow holding hands with boy. ( I am anticipating this.)
4. Toffee at my Grandmother's house.
5. Seeing my brother David
6. Can I be really selfish and say presents? Is that so lame? I should say that I'm excited to give presents which is true, but I'm also excited to get some. (You are too, don't lie and say you aren't.)
7. That cinnamon and fresh cut tree smell.
8. My work Christmas party. It was almost canceled. There was an uprising. Instead we are going put-luck. This is acceptable.
9. Setting up my nativity purchased in Jerusalem.
10. Singing Christmas hymns in Church.

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR?

xoxo
Stephanie

This is what we do on Thanksgiving:

My lovely and adorable cousin came to spend Wednesday night and Thursday with me. This girl is like my sister. We used to spend our summers together as kids; and even though we used to fight (pulling hair, yelling, marker all over the face) we have grown into an awesome relationship. I love her. Today, Thanksgiving, we had this awesome photo shoot. Check it out!
(ps... isn't she beautiful? love love Keri.)
xoxo
Happy Thanksgiving
I'm grateful for Blogger.
(among other things.)

Stephanie

Fireflies

This post is completely unrelated to the Owl City fireflies; because, no offense, I think Owl City is for fourteen year old girls. (But a lot of people like them- so don't be mad at me! eep!)

So a lot of people don't know this about me, but I actually lived in Kentucky until I was five. Yes sirrrrie.... Watching my childhood Christmas videos is the most entertaining thing. My favorite like comes from my older sister: "Oh Eyue Syee Ye Furgot to Light the Cayndles" is my best translation.

I really don't remember much about Kentucky except some of the neighbor kids, the lion and tiger wallpaper in the bathroom and catching fireflies on summer nights. If you've never lived in a place with fireflies let me tell you that this is a very magical thing. I haven't been anywhere since I was five that had these awesome bugs. But my dream wedding reception would have a huge white tent with fireflies floating around inside. (not gonna happen.)

For those of you lucky enough to live in a climate that sustains these creatures- enjoy it. Don't take it for granted. :)


(ps. these pics are from some Anime movie I think... not sure... I'm using them anyway. )
xoxo

Some missing Design

As I've mentioned before, I am such a hobby jumper. I just don't have time to maintain my relationship with everything I love to do! And I have been neglecting interior design.. Check out these rooms:
Heck...
I cannot even get over how much I love these:



and..

Thinking About...

PARIS.
So I used to live in the center of great European Civilization. I spent eight months there. Usually I spend all my nostalgic time missing Jerusalem, but lately I have been missing the cold, rainy, beautiful capitol of France. This is most likely directly related to tutoring Mitch from the JC in French.

Here are some pictures. They are dated by a few years.. you can tell by how short my hair is!

Monet's Home/ Garden : Giverny

Dad in the Metro

L'amour from Paris
xoxo
Stephanie

Starlight Starbright

So, apparently, Last night a huge meteor ran across Utah, lighting up the midnight sky, so that it was brighter than day. Boo on cleaning checks. I was so busy with my head in my oven that I didn't see it. :( if you did, please don't tell me, I will be jealous.

I would imagine that a personified meteor would dress something like this:

xoxo
Love from the heavens
Stephanie

the Shoot

I want to have another Photoshoot......
Yes Yes Yes

Black Canvas

To understand this post you MUST listen to this song! It is amazing!



Last night, Thursday, I got to see Imogen herself in Salt lake. She's come before, but I've never been able to go. While there were some technical difficulties and a more than slightly annoying crowd, it was the most amazing show. I cannot believe that a woman can really sing like she does.

She told a story about a film, made by her friends, about a man carrying a black canvas. She was really inspired by it and wrote this song. It seemed to be the theme of her whole album. Hence the strong contrast found on her album cover:


I was also reminded of Carol Hannah on Project Runway, who designed this beautiful dress, full of glitz and feathers:

I felt very inspired, and this morning I pulled out the paint brushes.
This is what I came with:

Yes. feathers.
xoxo
Stephanie

Belated Belly Dancing

Well, it is about time I post about my Belly Dancing adventures.



Last Wednesday my dear friend Bethany and I performed our belly dancing routine. My friend, Le Travis described his expectations of the recital as "Thirty people standing around awkwardly with cups of lemonade at the worst recital ever." Oh it was quite the contrary. The recital was pretty legit, if I do say so myself. The theater was just about filled to capacity (which is 670 seats). So I am guessing there was at least 500 people there. When I signed up for a community class, this is not quite the performance I was expecting to be a part of.

Our class performed first, to avoid embarrassment when the real belly dancers started performing. I think it went pretty well! I certainly enjoyed and appreciated hearing my name called from the back of the theater. Love to Amy Andrea and Missy!


Here are some backstage pics:

And our awkward class:

It was basically a party like this:




And now Bethany and I are working on our own choreography. It is inherently more sexy than our community class performance. Not sure why our dance is turning out this way, it just happens. We are giving into all Belly Dancing sterotypes I guess.


Here is a little Belly dancing inspired fashion:

Donna Karen
Valentio

xoxo
Stephanie

Behind on the Times.

I am a textbook definition hobby jumper. I have many hobbies but usually only one or two at a time get any attention from me. I have been super obsessed with Interior Design and going to the gym (two very worthy time spenders.) But I have seriously neglected my music collection. It has been crying out to me "Stephanie Stephanie.... How can you listen to this album again! You need something new!"

These are some new albums that I only recently realized have been released, right under my nose while I was too busy reading Elle Decor.

WEEZER-- Raditude

Imogen Heap -- Ellipse
(what beautiful cover art!!)



MUSE -- The Resistance


MIKA -- The Boy Who Knew too Much


My Ears have been missing out.


Congratulations to my dear friend Connie- who is getting married today! Love you Connie!

And also props to Regina Spektor for putting on the most amazing show I have seen in years. (Sorry Camille.) And Yes, I need one more picture on my blog of this beautiful mousy-haired musical genious.


(PS is anyone going to see Imogen Heap next Thursday? I want to go... but have no one to go with :/ )