i've had a productive sunday morning.  i woke up at the ungodly hour of 6am ... couldn't fall back asleep, the cats were crying for attention at the closed bedroom door, which was peculiar since they had plenty of food and water.  anyway, i read until about 8 when i managed to roll out of bed and clean up around the house.  greg & i finally remembered to get the special stove top cleaner when we were doing errands yesterday - so i cleaned the stove and put away the new kitchen things that we brought over from my moms.  the house is looking more and more unpacked, which is a good thing, considering it's been ... eeek, going on  month 5 since i "unofficially" moved in, and going on month 4 since greg's been out here.  i just want the house to be DONE, but i know that it's going to take quite a bit more time - i have furniture to paint, furniture to buy, art to put up, kitchen stuff to purchase, linens & all that stuff to purchase.  the mixture of hand-me-downs and things i'd purchased over the past few years in anticipation of having a place that was TRULY my (our) own is definitely nice, but i dream of the day that everything in our house is something i've picked out because i LOVE it not because it was free. 

oh, i can dream.

tomorrow the goal is to FINALLY post some more pictures of the craft room and things i've been working on ...

hope you are having a good 3-day weekend! xox.

i just ordered a journal kit from rachel in her etsy shop ... super excited!  

destiny.

does anyone else get excited when people comment on their blogs?  it seriously makes my day, so thanks! 

well, i had a phone interview today for paper source.  FIRST, let me tell you, my lovely fellow san diegans, that paper source will be opening in SEPTEMBER in carlsbad at the forum. yey for us, right?! the forum is also home to anthropologie, zgallerie, and a bunch of other places ... some "mainstream" stores and some boutiques ... for those of you who have never been there. i also hear that free people is opening ... which would be really exciting.  anthro + free people + z gal + paper source, what more could i want?!  by the way my interior decorator friend carrie is the visuals girl at zgal at the forum so if you go there, say hi, haha, she's fabulous! 

anyway, my interview ... so, i have BARELY any retail / management experience.  ya, i minored in small business mgmt in college, and had an internship.  that's about the extent of it.  so i'm clearly not qualified to be the assistant manager of paper source.  i knew that.  but i thought, what the heck, i have nothing to lose.  the lady who interviewed me was a doll, and we had a nice chat and she seemed optimistic about my lack of experience.  she said that other things make up for it, and, worse comes to worse, would i be interested in a shift supervisor position instead.  seriously, i just want to work at paper source.  at this point, i'd be willing to freaking scrub the floor with a tooth brush (oh god, not really). a sample of how the convo went:

paper source lady: so what about the craigslist ad made you decide you'd want to work at paper source? (or something like that)

me: well, actually, i've wanted to work at paper source for forever, and in fact, i often joked about moving to la just so i could work there, even though i hate la with a passion.  gosh, i mean, how could i not want to work in a place that was filled with so much paper and prettiness? it really just makes sense, i mean, i hoard paper.  all kinds of it.  (but it didn't end there, i rambled on for like 10 more minutes about how much i love paper and how the stars and moon and sun must be alined perfectly and it's fate that a paper source is opening and needs employees JUST as i'm job hunting for like the 100th time in the past 2 years.  clearly, destiny at work) ... yes, i was that long winded and dorky. 

paper source lady: oh good, so you're familiar with our store ...

me: yes, i'd say so.

pictures of our home!

so apparently i'm a terrible photographer / photo editor and have no patience for that kind of thing.  (see, i really do suck at technology) BUT i still wanted to post these pics of the house.

amazing bookshelf that i got at the rustic rooster in cardiff (i am so in love with that place) there's a decorative floral motif at the top of it that's hard to see.  above this on the wall is the cluster of frames.

cluster of frames above the book shelf. still a work in progress, as half the frames are empty (and ugh, i fixed the crooked black on in the top right corner, don't worry).  the empty space below the black one is for a decorative plate that i framed but need to get a hook for.   this is in the entry to our bedroom by the way.
another purchase from rustic rooster is this awesome planter's table that i'm using in my craft studio.  it's a delicious blue and perfectly warn in.  i think it's one of my favorite purchases.
a little vignette that sits on the top of the white bookshelf on the left side.  i've played around with these a lot and have a feeling that they will be forever changing, but for now this is it.  the glass case is home to my grandmother's thimble collection.
the other little vignette with an altered book that i made a while ago.  well, i just decorated the outside, i never got to the inside ... maybe someday. 


ok that's it for now, in a bit i'll post some projects!!! 

jobs, obsessions, decorating, etc!

so for the past few months i've gotten increasingly obsessed with the idea of working in a paper / scrapbooking store. but not a lame one like scrapbook your life or even cool scrapbook stuff in poway (which i love, just wouldn't want to work there, i don't know how to describe why). anyway i have always LOVED paper source. like, omg, love that place. in college my classes were mostly in a building RIGHT ACROSS the street from one and god i loved going there. beautiful papers, fun cards & crafty gift things. god, it's just pure LOVE. and then, of course, i read elise's blog, and she works at the paper source where she lives in dc, and the obsession has just blossomed from there.

OK, to the point. yesterday i was browsing craigslist as i do every day because i'm going to be jobless in 4 weeks, and GUESS WHAT?! A PAPER SOURCE IS OPENING IN CARLSBAD. now, carlsbad would not be the most fun commute since i've recently moved from north county to north park .. but, i think i totally would do it. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, a job where i get to be surrounded by PAPER AND PRETTINESS ALL DAY? i don't want to get myself over excited, because it probably won't happen. i don't have a ton of retail experience. BUT i have customer service experience and so much craftiness experience, haha.

i just REALLY want to work in an awesome environment and i love paper stores.

ok, look at me, again, going on and gushing about all this stuff.

so i took some pics on my sister's camera and i was all excited to post them and i realized that i didn't bring the cord that connects the camera to the laptop. grrrr ... so maybe this weekend i'll get it and then i can post some pics of the projects i've been working on AND the on going project that is our home sweet home ...

thats my second biggest obsession ... decorating our home. it's so nice that we finally have our own place that we OWN. greg even sometimes seems interested in the decorating which is awesome. a few weeks ago we hung up a bunch of picture frames for a "cluster" wall ... and the craft studio is starting to get more organized ... it's a slow process but totally worth it.

alright, time to go help with dinner! have a great weekend (it's going to be HOT HOT HOT here paper source, camera woes in san diego)

i could spend hours looking at scrapbooking products

i went to two scrapbook places this week that i had never been (one is BRAND new) ... the first place i went, "scrapbook your life" - was not such a great experience. it's HUGE which you'd think would mean a TON of GREAT inventory, but not so much. i was VERY disappointed in the selection and in the knowledge of the employee. she was clueless about their stock and just in general about scrapbooking product lines. they didn't have ANY of the hambly, KI pop culture, love elsie, or thickers that i wanted. i did get a few pieces of sassafrass paper. i was so sad when we left because i was hoping for some good new stuff to play with.

BUT, today was TOTALLY AMAZING. i went to Paper Tales, an awesome little paper boutique that JUST opened this month. IT IS AMAZING. first, it is decorated beautifully. it's cozy and welcoming and feels like a place you could spend time, not just a giant faceless warehouse. it has personality and feels like someone's studio. i think i loved it even more because it totally matches my decorating tastes. ANYWAY, the inventory was great. all the new lines that i had seen online - got some hambly, and HEATHER BAILEY! ah! also got a few other things ... can't remember off the top of my head and too lazy to go upstairs to the craft studio ... sorry! SO FREAKING AWESOME. anyway i felt like such a dork while i was there because i was totally just gushing over the place. the owner, michelle, was friendly and knowledgeable and we talked about blogworld, which obviously was exciting since the only other person i really talk to it about is the boy, greg, and he's clearly not that interested in my paper / blog obsession. SO, the bottom line is that if you are in san diego, you must must must go to this shop. i can see myself spending a LOT of time there in the future.

ok, time to go play with my new stuff!

camera drama & so on.

i finally have my sister's camera, and i set out to take pictures of some of the things i've been working on lately, along with the prettyness that is my new home. BUT i can't get the pictures to come out well ... the color is all distorted and they don't look pretty like the photos that other bloggers post. haha, of course, that has NOTHING to do with the photographer right? i CAN'T BE TO BLAME for the crappy pictures. i think i just don't know how to play with the settings on her canon powershot and all that stuff about lighting and whatnot. i'll make an attempt again this weekend when i have some more time (& patience) to play around with technology.

so, once again, i'll leave you with some flickr love. sorry this blog is so dull. (oh, and a mini flickr rant - i hate when i want to post mosaics and blocks show up blank because people opted out of the mosaic thing, it makes me sad that i can't share the beauty!)



"1. more blues, 2. 20/366, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Dining room storage, 6. valentine leaves, 7. ready to go, 8. making stuff, 9. sidewalk 4, 10. from the doorway, 11. greens, 12. Untitled, 13. 035 : 365 dec 28 pause., 14. happy new year, 15. postcard / rare device, 16. 341: 1.7.08, 17. Ruby Reds, 18. suitcases, 19. christmas project #3 : advent boxes, 20. the houses, 21. green shelf, 22. my latest display, 23. new wall, 24. shadows, 25. hand made rolodex, 26. Dandelion World, 27. My Pastel Pink Heart, 28. Bingo journal, 29. Inspiration013, 30. Vintage game pieces, 31. Studio44, 32. Weird colored but delicious, 33. my desk-spot, 34. oranges, 35. Untitled, 36. at rock:paper:scissors">


OH, and as soon as pics can be taken i'm going to post some stuff to etsy for the first time, SO EXCITING! yey me.

blog world sometimes makes me feel like a major stalker.

oh well.

aw, flickr is love. i can't get enough of it.  

1. D, 2. D, 3. d, 4. ., 5. All Products, 6. DSC_0050, 7. DSC_0048_2, 8. 20 things, 9. My craft shop in the barn during the summer season., 10. unexpectedly, 11. Cherry Blossom Sky, 12. finding / found, 13. neonbike, 14. Dahlia XIII, 15. immediate embarkation, 16. Les vols éclo[t]s, 17. Untitled, 18. let your heart speak, 19. without a word, 20. Etsy: Take 5 Tuesdays, 21. Me, completely exposed and covered in glitter., 22. In the arms of the angels may you find some comfort here, 23. ..., 24. more blues, 25. 20/366, 26. Untitled, 27. Untitled, 28. Dining room storage, 29. valentine leaves, 30. ready to go, 31. making stuff, 32. sidewalk 4, 33. from the doorway, 34. greens, 35. Untitled, 36. 035 : 365 dec 28 pause.

so my sister comes home from college next week and i'll finally get to snap some pics of the things i've been working on, since she has a working camera. yay! 

i have so many mini books going on ... they are totally my new obsession (thank you elise).

i really wish life wasn't so stressful so i could finally sit down and figure out blog world // the online scrapbook  / paper art community ... i feel overwhelmed by all the blogs / challenges / sistv / kit clubs, etc etc.  it's like whoa, where do i start! 

i've been realizing lately how badly i'd like to have some local crafty friends to do projects with.  i totally love being in my craft room working on stuff, but it'd be super fun to have a friend or two who was also into this stuff.  my friends from college & i used to do craft nights every week -ish and i really miss that.  i miss having good girlfriends.  making friends as an "adult" in the "real world" is hard.