Money Money Money

I really do try not to complain on my blog that often and I definitely try not to rant either, but this situation calls for a little of both. For those of you who do not know, Appalachian has a textbook rental program which allows students to rent the books and return them at the end of the semester. This is a great idea and it is supposed to help cut down on the money students have to spend buying textbooks. Sadly, the system doesn't work as well as it should. What most students don't realize is that you DO pay for the books, there's a fee in your tuition and fees each semester around $300 that you're charged and you don't even get to keep the books. On top of that, you can't sell the books back at the end of the semester for some extra spending money. This also means that you usually have to wait an hour to get your books at the beginning of the semester and deal with grouchy volunteers who yell every 5 seconds for you to "Have your Appcard out!".

None of these things bother me, what bothers me is that even with that system, students are still forced to buy books for classes and these books are usually expensive. As an Apparel and Textiles major, I have had to buy around 5 books for my major classes alone. These books range from around $65 to $110 a piece. As if that's not bad enough, there's repetition I now own two fashion illustration books that have the same exact information. I realize that a lot of college students are wealthy or at least their parents are, but I am an exception to that idea. My parents are not wealthy and seeing as I have no car or time for a job, I am broke. Still when my professor said we had to purchase our Fashion Illustration book, I scoured Ebay and found it for around $80 and received my order before they even had the textbook at the bookstore. So imagine my horror when today I find out that she told us to buy the wrong book, the book I bought is now a rental and there's a $91 book that we have to buy. Also there's still a $64 book that we have to buy as well. I'm sorry but this makes me furious and more than that I just want to tell these professors "I'm not rich, I'm flat broke. I don't even have cable or internet because I can't afford it, so the last thing I want to do is pay $150 on textbooks for your class, especially after spending $80 to buy a book I didn't even need to BUY!" I don't understand how we are expected to keep shelling out money on top of our tuition for things like textbooks when there's this rental program that is supposed to alleviate the high textbook costs.

Don't even get me started on the fact that we have to pay tuition while we do our internship. That means not only will I be doing 400 hours of work for free at an internship, my parents will literally have to pay for me to work, hence I will be paying to work.

College, you are ridiculous.

Good Movie, Great Song

I was doing my usual late night Netflix routine and I decided to watch a French film "Heartbreaker" or "L'Arnacoeur" in Francais. It's a movie about a guy who, along with his sister and brother-in-law, breaks up bad relationships by seducing the woman (only kissing, nothing else) and then helps her to see that she deserves better. The basic storyline is that he falls in love with one of his "targets", Vanessa Paradis' character whose fiancee isn't a bad guy. I really didn't know much about her other than her relationship with Johnny Depp, after watching this movie I'm a fan. I not only loved her character, but I also love what a unique beauty she has with her gap-toothed grin a la Lauren Hutton. The movie is cute and part of it is set in Monaco which is absolutely beautiful and has soared to the top of my "Places I Want to Visit" List, but I have to admit, there was a song in the movie that stood out to me more than the actual film. The song is "Doing the Wrong Things" by Rebecca Young and it's just a simple beautiful song that I've been listening to over and over again since hearing it.

Google thinks I'm a loser

When I started a blog I didn't realize how difficult it would be to get views and followers. After writing around 58 posts and having this blog for a few months, I've truly realized this. Still, my blog is more of a way for me to get my thoughts, ideas, and work out there and keep in touch with family and friends than it is a money maker. So when Google sent me a card with $100 worth of free advertising in order to "Grow my site" aka get more web traffic, I was slightly offended. That was until I saw that the card was printed on recycled paper which contained wildflower seeds with the instructions to put the paper under a light layer or soil, place it in a sunny spot, and water as needed. Thank you Google, I appreciate the gift and though I won't be using the free advertising via AdWords, I will be planting your card and working on my green thumb.

On another note, pretty cute idea Google...real cute.

The Next Chapter?

Over winter break, I was in a wreck and sadly my beloved first car Ruby was totaled. It was a red 2000 Ford Focus and sadly there was too much damage done to the frame of the car and to the underneath of it. It took a while for it to really hit me, but it did about two hours after my mother told me that they had totaled it and I started crying over the loss of Ruby. Luckily in Boone, I don't necessarily have to have a car, I can easily walk to class and many other places and I have a great boyfriend who drives me where I need to go. I'm really glad about this because I really want to take my time finding a car since it will be the car that I'll be driving for probably the next 5-10 years. In an ideal world, I'd love to get a KIA Soul, but I'm not sure that it would be financially possible for me. Even with the down payment that will most likely be provided by the insurance company, I'd have a monthly payment of around $230 for a while. Still a girl can dream, I love the "Denim" aka blue KIA Soul l mostly I love the size because I'm a pack rat and I love shopping for furniture at thrift stores and usually had to have them hold items for me because I couldn't take them home in my car. I'm going to take my time and hopefully find a great car for me, but Ruby will always have a special place in my heart-she was an awesome first car and I know she had quite a few years left in her.

Friendships that Last

I'm not too proud to say that I have lost quite a few friends in my life, it's never the product of a huge betrayal or anything, it just gets pretty hard to maintain friendships. Sometimes physical distance is the culprit, sometimes it's just a matter of growing apart. There are some friendships that survive almost anything, I have two friendships like that. The first is my best friend and cousin Millie, I've known her literally since she was born and one could say that our friendship lasts purely because we're related, but I know better. Mostly because, even when we haven't seen each other for months and months at a time, when we get together we still have tons of things to talk about and we still have common interests. More than all that, I know that we will always be friends because we grew up together and we know each other better than most friends ever do. The second friendship I have like that is my friend, Michelle. There's very few people that I could have as much fun with as her. I'd venture to say that's it is a rarity for two people to spend an hour at CVS laughing at the cards and making up even more hilarious scenarios that the cards would work for. I know that we'll be friends because once again we have lots of things in common and we always have things to talk about. Even more than that, I think we'll always be friends because we've been through a lot. We've went months without talking because of a petty fight and I think we both realized that we don't want that to happen again and that the friendship means so much more to us than the petty stuff ever will. So I think what truly makes a lasting friendship is understanding the other person and wanting the best for your friend. So Shout out to two of my favorite people, Michelle and Millie. I wish you both the best in life, love, and everything in between.

Me and Andre

Yesterday I met a wonderful new friend, his name is Andre. He has a bubbly personality and his humor is extra dry. Best of all Andre could be yours for the low low price of $5.49 at Harris Teeters everywhere. New Year's Eve was the first time I'd had champagne in years and I realized that I really love the taste of it, plus drinking it makes you feel pretty damn classy. Sadly, champagne isn't the cheapest drink out there, so you could imagine my excitement when I found a delicious drink for a little over $5. Bottom line is champagne isn't just for New Years Eve and Weddings, it's an every other weekend cocktail in my opinion. Well gotta go hang with my new pal, Andre! (just kidding)

No Mo' Creativity

So I'm having a little trouble with two of the big projects that I have for my Apparel Design and Production class. The first assignment is due tomorrow and I'm stumped. We have to make or style an outfit that represents kitsch. I had a pretty decent idea but due to time and other constraints, I don't think I could execute it as well as I'd like to. Therefore, I'm thinking of going the sentimentality route of kitsch and wearing a few somewhat tacky things that I own but never wear. Things that I keep just because they mean a lot to me. Its due tomorrow so hopefully I can figure something out tonight, David's driving me to Goodwill after class so maybe I'll find something perfect there. If not I have a few ideas from things I've seen at the Dollar Tree too.

The other project is a collection of at least 5-7 pieces based on an auditory inspiration. It can be a song, an album, or just a sound, like raindrops. For this one the problem is that I have too many ideas and I'm not sure which one to try. I'll keep you updated and include pics of the one that I end up doing.


***Update, for the kitsch project I ended up dressing as Little Edie from Grey Gardens. I think her style was pretty kitschy.

Blue Patterned Dress with Long Sleeves

For quite some time now, I've been on the search for the perfect little blue dress with a cool little motif repeated on it. I don't know why this dress has haunted my dreams or why such a simple dress has managed to be so impossible for me to find. I want it to have long sleeves and the closest I've come to finding my ideal dress is a trip to Goodwill where I found exactly what I wanted except it was way too small and red instead of blue.

The Picture is the basic idea of what I want, I found it this past summer on Refinery29.com, it's from Lauren Moffat's Fall 2010 Collection. I'm beginning to think that if I still haven't found a dress like this by the end of February, I should attempt to just make it for myself, since I'll be making clothes for my Apparel Design and Production class anyway.

5 Current Loves of my Life

Here's the five things I'm kind of obsessed with lately:

1. Getting in touch with my secret culinary self.

2. This Nine West Purse that I got for Christmas.

3. My new Tan Suede Wedges from Target.

4. Finding an Internship.

5. The color Teal.

Picture Me

I was browsing Netflix for an interesting movie to pass my Saturday morning and I stumbled upon a documentary called Picture Me. It's an insider look at the modeling industry and was made by model Sara Ziff and her filmmaker boyfriend Ole Schell. Its pretty brilliantly done, it shows the positive things like the incredible amount of money you make and the bonds you form with the other models, but it also reveals truths about the industry like the debt that accumulates from being flown from New York to Paris, etc and living in a model apartment, the overworking, the sexual assault of models usually done by photographers, and also what it does to your psyche. How it makes the models hypercritical of their bodies and the way they look and how constant critiques by designers, photographers, etc just zaps their confidence. It shows real truths about the industry and doesn't just try to make it look like a perfect, glamourous life. With all this truth telling, it could easily put a damper on your day if it wasn't for the "star" of the film, Sara Ziff, who is honest, fun, and overall just comes off as extremely likable. The film ends with her moving on with her life and starting a new chapter as a student at Columbia University in New York City.

Bottom line is its definitely worth renting and was a really great film.

P.S. The animation is also really rad.

Not Completely Sure

I love fashion, I love textiles, I love styling, I love magazines, still after my 4 or so years learning about Apparel and Textiles I'm still not certain exactly what I want a job in/"what I want to be when I grow up". The problem is that I could see myself doing many different things in the industry and enjoying many different jobs.

For one of my first assignments for my Illustration and Portfolio class we were to think about and answer these questions:
1. What kind of career in the apparel, textiles, or related industries do I want to have over the next 10 years?
2. What kind of job do I want to start that career? What kind of internship before that?
3. Where do I want to go after that first job? -- this could be within the same company or moving to another company, or within your own business.

Then make a list of 10 goals for ourselves.

So here goes, I would like a career in textiles, styling, or visual merchandising. Those are the areas of my major that interest me the most.
I would love to start my career at a store where I could learn a lot about styling, visual merchandising, and buying or working in styling or textiles. I would like to get an internship that involves textiles or visual merchandising.
I would love to get a higher position at the store or specializing in a specific field I'm interested in like doing styling for a magazine or being the visual merchandiser for a store.

10 Goals:
1. Expand my portfolio.
2. Get an internship in Textiles, Visual Merchandising, or Styling.
3. Get a job in a similar field to those at a place that shares my aesthetic
4. Eventually work at or at least work with a magazine doing styling, etc.
5. Open my own store one day that sells clothing, accessories, and home goods.
6. Just keep doing crafts, sewing, dyeing, making clothing, & printing.
7. Live in a city that is metropolitan enough but not too large.
8. Work in Textile Design.
9. Continue learning about Fashion and Patterning techniques, Textile Design, and Styling.
10. Delve into Interior Design a little bit.

My Weaving from Textile Design

I took a Textile Design class last fall and loved it. I'm even thinking of investing in my own loom, but they're very expensive. But it's definitely something I'm thinking of buying in the future.

Here's some of my Weaving from last semester.

Cooking Spree

Since I've been back to Boone, I've been trying to cook more. So far I've mastered Spaghetti and Meatballs, Pizza with mushrooms, pepperoni, and peppers, and last night I tried something a little more challenging, or at least more challenging to me. I breaded some chicken tenderloins and baked them in the oven, when they were almost done I put some Swiss cheese on them (which is something my Aunt and Mom have made before). I made some broccoli cheese rice and baked potatoes as well, by the way baked potatoes take a lot longer than expected. Next up I'm going to try to make Chilli and then Steak and Asparagus. I guess I'm getting in touch with my inner Julia Child, or perhaps this all stems from me watching Julie and Julia again while I was home in Charlotte.

Presto Change-O

So a couple of days ago I was in a wreck, I'm fine and the other drivers involved were fine as well. I don't really want to talk about it anymore so as my grandma said when she called me, we're going to just talk about positive things instead.

I saw this great tutorial on P.S. I made this on how to turn those old flower vases you accumulate into modern pieces that you can actually use to decorate with. So I thought I'd try it out myself. All it takes is a couple old vases, some puffy paint, and a little spray paint to finish the job.

Step 1: Find a few old vases, if you can find some that are different heights it works even better because there's a little more visual interest.

Step 2: Buy some puffy paint from your local Michael's or AC Moore, it's near the fabric paint and dye section and it's $1.69 for the small tube and about $4 for the large one. Next use the puffy paint to make designs on the vases, dots of puffy paint work better than trying to do long lines.

Step 3: Let the puffy paint dry for a while, I let it dry overnight. Once the paint is dry take some white spray paint (or if you got one of the colored puffy paint, get some spray paint that matches that) and spray the vase. It will probably take several thin coats, it took four coats for mine. Make sure to let it dry between coats and try not to spray the layers too thick or the paint will run.

Step 4: Let your vase dry and then sit back and admire your new modern looking table piece.

Another Project Down

I tried to make a few homemade Christmas gifts for my family, including some pretty neat dish towels. I also just finished a belated Christmas gift for my friend Michelle. I know she loves orange, we once coincidentally ordered the same orange and white Ikea duvet cover off eBay for our apartments which we thought was pretty awesome. So I made her an orange pillow which I printed on with one of my textile design stamps that was actually inspired by that same duvet. I think it turned out pretty good and I hope she loves it!

Add these to my wish list:

For some reason I've had quite the obsession with lights lately, it started out with lamps and now its a full blown love affair with light fixtures in general. Last summer, I had this thing with spray painting the bases of existing lamps that I had, I've kind of moved on from that now. Lately, I've been obsessed with fish basket lights (this is probably not the proper name) since I saw a restaurant/bar remodel on Design Sponge that had them and I finally found something comparable to them on etsy the other day, sadly it's a little out of my price range and in an effort to try to keep it from being sold, I'm not including the picture or link for it. Another thing I've been pretty fond of lately are mason jars doubling as light fixtures. I found the first one on Design Sponge and the other is for sale on Etsy. I'm not sure if its the clever idea of reusing a jar or the fact that Mason jars in general remind me of my grandmothers and their homemade jelly and canned vegetables, but I absolutely love these, especially the green hued one.

And so it begins

Yesterday, I finished freshening up my resume and contacted the professors that I wanted to use as references to make sure it was okay with them. So today, I started emailing places that I might want to intern for. Most of the emails I just saved as drafts, because I want to include a cover letter with my resume and I want the cover letter to sound really good. I don't have my list of Charlotte stores that I'd like to intern for at home, so I'm starting with the ones that are a little further away. I just want an internship at a place where I could learn a lot and where the internship could turn into a job when I'm done. I'd prefer something that focused on styling or on textiles, since those are two of my favorite aspects of the industry. I'm thinking that an internship at a trendy boutique in Charlotte would be perfect, I could learn about buying, practice styling, practice doing window displays and other forms of display and promotion, and I think I have a better chance of getting a job from that, even if the pay might not be the best. I really love Charlotte and I think it would be the perfect place for me to intern, especially since I most likely won't be getting paid-I could live with my parents and save a little $ that way.

Resolutions...

Resolutions...not an original idea, but overall a pretty great idea. I've had my fair share of both good and bad resolutions, I've seen a few accomplished and more than a few that didn't come to be. Still I think it's a good way to start off the year with some goals and personal challenges, that is coming from someone who swears by checklists and to-do lists. So I've been trying to narrow down what my goals for the year are and this is what I came up with, it's a mixture of life goals, personal goals, and some resolutions:

1. Be healthier and lose the last of the weight that I want to.
2. Find an internship.
3. Find a job after the internship.
4. Try to not be so judgmental.
5. Try at least 10 things that I've never tried before.
6. Don't over-analyze things, especially interactions with people.
7. Be more outgoing.
8. Be more accepting of people.
9. Be a better friend, daughter, niece, granddaughter, cousin, sister, and of course girlfriend.
10. Be out of my parent's house and doing well financially by this time next year.
11. Make things, lots of them, especially clothing/garments.
12. Make it to NYC and to Baltimore to see J.R.
13. Have a stronger spiritual connection to God.