Dempends- The Hunt for Denim and Little White Shirt Perfection

read comments to find out hot to get her hairstyle!
The tale is of horror and frustration. Hours (narrowed down by years of searching) in a dressing room with a 2 year old and surrounded by copius mounds of jeans, and shirts.

It was a fine day of bargain hunting at the fine establishment other wise known as Ross. The premium selection of cheap, imported goods filled the cramped aisles, searching 3 long rows for that perfect pair, wandering into other sized sections b/c you just *know* they have all been miscategorized...

These things I was certain... I found a pair of SEVENS for only $29. I found a size 0 I could fit into. I found a pair of jeans that was absolutly PERFECT... just a tad too small (so when I found the one size larger 1 hour later... it was amazingly waaaay too big and cut way different!)

I had to make a decision, I had narrowed my choices down to 4 pairs. The ones that fit best were, PETITES size 4. I have never ventured into the Petites before, it has always been junior and maternity sizes for me, so taking that leap was rather (clears throat) difficult, since MOST items in Petites are a little too "oldie" for me. But they fit the best... only they have these pocket things that bell out a bit (what is up with that style?) but they were livable. Then, the Sevens... oh heaven, like manna of the denim world, but too dang long. What tha? Is everyone super model height now a days? Apparently, Victoria Beckham did not get the memo that too long pants are not exactly "in" right now.



I know I *could* alter them, but I will never get around to it, so I cuffed the legs, and it still works! Yay!! A bit hobbo sexy all at once. I suppose that is what boho is? Well, I put on those PETITES jeans (b/c my cords were just not working for me), ripped off the tags (and the tags of the shirt Isaac was wearing since his other one was covered in hair and dust from rolling around on the dressing room floor for 2 hours) walked to the registers and paid for my clothes. (Please tell me that I am not the only one that does this).


sheer white vneck by revolve clothing
Also, white tshirts. What is that all about? How come every shirt I try on is sheer? Not everyone likes to show their goods or layer tshirts!! Heaven forbid I already layer due to low cut v-necks, (which layering is not a friend of a nursing mother)...

So, I give up on the shirt search (it has been months now). I venture over to Joannes to get some fabric for a custom order, and lo and behold I FOUND IT! The PERFECT white t-shirt... for $4.99 (better deal than the Gap Favorite T or DownEast Outfitters t's)!!!!!!!!



It is in the tshirt section, complete with iron on transfers, rhinestones and puffy paint. It is the Jerzee FITTED brand. The cap sleeves are a good length (not to tank toppy like others), the scoop neck is just a bit scoopy, but NOT low cut, and the shirt is long enough to cover the back of your jeans should you EVER wish to bend down without exposing yourself. The material is also, not sheer. Well, it is not perfectly not sheer, but it is pretty close. I can wear it without feeling overwhelmingly paranoid that everyone can see my underthings. If you are feeling spendy, there is always the celeb favorite LnA tee for $60 as worn by Jessica Alba pictured above! (why?)



A ball of jeans... Portland "art"

I got home, put on my jeans and my plain white shirt, messy ponytail (which took me at LEAST an hour to perfect mind you), and my hubby looked at me like I was all dressed up and ready to go out. That felt good :)

Random and most hilarious explaination of the DEMPENDS... every now and then, we watch Cheaters (I actually know someone who was on there, as a cheater)... on the episode a woman with a particularly large trunk was walking around wearing "daisies" so short they looked like denim underwear (thongs, actually). The investigator guy said rather seriously, "It appears she is wearing pants." Surely, this could not happen more than once? Well, a couple months ago, we see a lady wearing the same things! (not a cute, young, toned, hip one either...) We joked around that they looked like she was wearing adult diapers and forgot to put on her pants (warning link is yucky).



diaper cover (for little girls though) by Luca Bleu
I then made the suggestion, that they SHOULD make denim Depends diapers, for wearing ease, a new fashion statement for the old and crusty. Bedazzle them even! I branded them as Dempends (as in Denim/Depends... get it, get, it, hardee har har har?!?!?)



But, for those of you who got through this tale of greatness, I offer a gift. I already know how to shop for jeans that fit, what works for my body type and yada yada, but for those of you still in MOM JEANS (watch this for a dose of hilarity) and tapered (shudders), acid wash jeans, I offer you a little jewel. Oprah's guide to finding the perfect jeans (and bra) fit for your body shape, I have two links you ABSOLUTELY need to click on HERE and HERE. No need to thank me, just be kind to your behind and know that I love you and am not judging you in any way!!



On totally different note, if you are in the Fort Worth area, we organized a little neighborhood craft and gift show this Saturday from 9 to 2. It is in the Parkwood Hill Estates clubhouse map HERE. There will be an assortment of goods and of course, my jewelry will be there as well. So come on by, support handmade and do some holiday shopping! If you prefer to shop online, I (and many other Etsians) are having a Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale in my Jeweled Ambrosia shop, so take a peek :)!

Twilight Movie Review

Last night around 7 pm some ladies and I went to Olive Garden and ate a little dinner (a first girl's night out for a lot of us in "a while" please read Edward style). We then went to the theatre to see the midnight showing of Twilight.



Our theatre had about 4? theatres open for the movie. We got there several hours early and the rooms were pretty much full, so we sat way back and on the side... but that was better than in the very front. One uptight little blonde woman got thrown out of the crowd for cusing out the audience, it was rather hilarious!



The movie started out good, but soon turned a bit... awkward and it was a little weird, Edward was a little weird. The story just kind of moved from awkward dislike between Edward and Bella, and then all of a sudden they were in love... it didn't really show why or how that happened, so it was a little sad for the book readers and probably really confusing for non book readers. I have to say first, that I am really happy I read all the 12 chapters of Midnight Sun, it really offered a lot of perspective that made you feel more like an "insider" on Edward.



But, after all of that awkwardness wore off, the characters settled into their skin and it was a great show. Bella and Charlie had some great moments as well. The cast was pretty much perfect in my opinion... but poor Jasper, looked more like Edward Scissorhands than anything else, I actually felt a bit of pain of embarrasment for him more than once. But I TOTALLY blame the director, not him!!



Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Jacob, the "bad vampires"... all did their parts perfectly... even though their parts were pretty non existant! I mean, some made up waitress at a diner who was not even in the book had more air time than sweet Alice! I am not even going to go there, it's just too depressing. I really wish Alice would have tricked Bella into getting ready for the prom, Alice decorating Bella up for events she hates is a big part of both of their characters.



Carlisle, loved him, although his haircolor looked, really... off, they added gray patches to his blonde hair near his temples and it looked weird. Esme was sweet, but not as sweet... she did not kiss Bella's forehead, not even once! The vampire make-up was a bit (okay a lot) atrocious in the beginning of the movie. Some serious cake make-up was used that creaked in their face lines, which is fine for stage (I have done many shows of awful cake make-up so I know what works) but definately NOT okay for screen, especially with HD and Blu-Ray technology. It was quite painful, but towards the end of the movie, the make-up looked a lot better.

The meadow scene was absolutely not magical, not romantic, sweet and sincere though, but not much more. Edward glittered a little, and his angry "I need to show you my skin in the sun" line was a little... weird.



Over all though, I enjoyed it! Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson did an excellent job and they had great on screen chemistry! There was a lot of banter and dry humor that I loved, the audience giggled and swooned at the right moments and really, there could have been more popular quotes and scenes extracted from the book and put into the script in place of unnessecary adaptations, but that was fine (or at least that is what I am telling myself).



Of course, I know some people LOVED it, some people HATED it, I am neither of these people. I thouroughly enjoyed it, will watch it again, but am a little saddened that it wasn't more awesome. But really, you can't please everyone!

Now, go and get this lovely vintage style, Swarovski crystal Twilight Bella bracelet I made! *hint hint wink wink



Note, lovely above images are from movie stills, various photo shoots and Entertainment Weekly photo shoots. Lovely, aren't they?!



(added in later) I have now watched this movie again, and I love it even more than when I first saw it! The first time, I was all uptight and critical, that it was hard to just enjoy it for the essence of what was Twilight, not knowing what would be added in and what wouldn't be taken away that I mostly watched for my favorite parts as opposed to watching they story they offered. But now, with the second time around, I was able to relax and enjoy it for what it was without the anticipation and critiscm already built up. Hope you know what I mean!

Life List

Laurel Hill Sterling Banner Necklace

You just copy the list into your blog and highlight the things you've actually done. How much easier can it get?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (hiking)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (from the beach)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (well, my brother is adopted)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (when I was like 4)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie( Do commercials count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee



My JeweledAmbrosia Find your Path Compass Ring

If you do this on your blog be sure to let me know in the comments so I can visit. I got this list from Bonita.

Craft Fair

Well, I put my shabby goods to use and created a fab display. I used the shutters for earrings holders. I cut cardstock in half, punched holes and stamped the back with my shop name. Then I just put them through the slats. Easy as pie.



I used white ornament hooks to hang necklaces on the wire house, and pretty white shabby trees as displays as well. I definately need to invest in more natural colored busts though for the future. My jewelry really looks much better displayed on a bust and gets kind of lost in a sea of chains and such when layed about. But hey, this was my first craft fair with jewelry so there is always a learning curve!



What I like the best was this banner I made. I used the cardboard backing that comes from cardstock packages to make each pennant. Then, I drilled holes in the sides, hotglued on ticking fabric and put pretty sage green brads to string them together. Go ahead and click on the above photo for a better look!

Then, I used a circle punch to create the letter pieces and I glued them to black paper (which I had to handcut larger circles!) I drew the letters on and stamped the middle with my little s.jane logo that she designed with me. I used lots of rhinestones, buttons, metal quotes, a rusty key and even a pearled butterfly from my wedding cale to decorate this sign! I really really wanted to outline the circles with glitter and add some lace and tassles and such, but I ran out of time. It was a bear to make, and OH so much cuter in person than what my camera captured. Here's me and my mamacita selling up a tiny storm. Ain't she cute?



I know, I know, I probably should have not stayed up until 5:30 am making this thing, and I probably should have tagged my jewelry with prices instead, but hey... it's cute, so there. Lesson learned. Now, I am off to make some more banners and garlands!!



My mom also had her tile coasters there, go and check them out in her Pretty Nifty Etsy shop, she has some cute ones and we will be listing tons more for Christmas!!



I also met cute Etsian Cindy, from Revel Designs. She had such a gorgeous display, and a cute blog! I took a picture, but seriously it is waaay better in person. It had a shabby suitcase on wooden legs, and a pretty shabby door on legs, and the sign so amazing too!



She sat next to a booth that made homemade gourmet marshmallows, called Texas Puffs. These were the best, I scored a bag of peppermint! You must try these, especially in your hot chocolate. This pic I pulled from there site, so it is Halloweeny, but at the craft fair it was really cute and Christmasy. If you are daring, here is a little recipe HERE and a tutorial HERE.

Here is your random fact: Charlie Chaplin once won 3rd place in a Charlie Chaplin look a like contest. Also, on March 1st 1978, the coffin of Charlie Chaplin was stolen from a Swiss cemetery three months after his funeral. It was found miles away, weeks later. Weird!

Shabby Baby

I escaped to the Post Office today to ship orders, and I took the eldest of my offspring with me b/c 2 year olds get cabin fever too (and he loves the post office).

We went and threw money at Evil Old Mc Donalds (but we got "plain" hamnurgers (no, that is not misspelled) and apple sclices... so doing good, right?

Anywho, then I went to the Antiques Mall to get ideas and display items for the craft fair I am doing Saturday. I came home with a lovely white chicken wire plant house, some chibby celedon vintage shutters an AMAZING little mattress spring (so many possibilites) and a cute vintage, very I Love Lucy apron for my sister Pookie's clown costume. I am going to add some cute turquoise flowers and such to match her wig. My hubby suggested I get one for myself, since I am just so cute in it when I tried it on (hah!) Next time I am there, I will have to do some sleuthing, there were tons! Are you in the mood for a vintage or retro apron? There are TONS on Etsy, don't believe me? Then click for handmade NEW RETRO ones, or here for VINTAGE ones!!!!!!



Well, we pulled down some Christmas ornients (not misspelled either, Dad, bless your heart) for our church Christmas service activity tomorrow for decorating. I fished out these little Chinese boxes I made 5 years ago for our wedding reception party favors. I hot glued on artificial leaves, and cute leaf shapes out of pretty ribbon for some shattered edges. Then, I glued on a silver confetti heart. We filled them with handmade blue butterfly soaps tied with tulle.



I hung them on trees and at place settings. The tree idea was from The Return to Oz movie (the part where the lunch boxes are growing on trees). The past several years, I have been putting them on this Christmas tree, but this year, I think I am going to make a garland out of them and hang then in our room. What do you think, what would you use them for? Here is an example of a garland I plan to make with them, from the wonderful Nesting Place. She has a tutorial on them HERE! So go and have some ragamuffin garland making fun.



Speaking of romance (well, kind of... wedding talk gets me all sentimental, even though it was one of the worst days of my life due to some crazy events), look at this little love note and picture the hubs left for the me other day. (on cue, AWE!) I love how Isaac scribbled on my face right before I took the picture... I am just telling myself he was giving me a superhero mask for being such a wonderful mom. Heh.



And lastly, I wanted to show you this nifty peephole frame I got from SaberToothFairy on Etsy. I had been wanting one for years, and I finally found one! The seller was so sweet, she sold it to me unpainted at a discount since I'm so broke, her shop it temporarily closed, but she may be able to make one for you on request.



I still need to paint it. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is the replica peephole frame from the show Friends (which in production notes, it was originally a mirror, but it got broken on the set so they just cleaned up the glass and left the frame). Yes, I am queen of random facts. Get used to it, since I will be posting crazy trivia facts in my posts from now on. Why? because I like it like that!

UFO and Other Oddities

Sooo, we went to hang out with our new friends this weekend, and I kid you not, we saw some UFOs.

There were 2 that were falling parallel to each other, I thought at first they were comets, but then thought maybe a plane had broken in two pieces and was falling to the Earth, it was horrifying! Then, they just kind of stopped falling, and slowly started to twist symmetrically in a downward spiral and then they stopped, and hovered for about a minute.



(ufo from Builders Studio)


Then, a third one appeared a little to the upper left and it slowly hovered back and forth. The two parallel ones disappeared and we continued to watch the new one. These were so extremely bright and huge compared to passing planes. They had little tails of light as well, it was incredible. The third UFO hovered and every time a plane came near, it totally turned it's lights off and disapeared completely. Once the plane passed, the light came back on. We watched for about 5 minutes and the UFO finally zig zagged down and disappeared. 10 seconds later, a massive military plane flew overhead in the same exact direction the UFO's were. About 2 hours later, a huge comet trailed out of the sky, slowly in the same spot we saw the UFO's earlier. We did film a little bit of it, but only the end, not the crazy parallel part, but here is a video kind of describing what we saw. Apparently, where we live, there have been several similar sightings the past couple of years. Weird, huh?



It was crazy amazing, scary and hair raising. Do I believe in aliens, as in little green men? No. Do I believe something is out there? Maybe....



We were on our way to this yummy resturaunt, Buca di Beppo, and got this wonderful $20 salad, the Apple Gorgonzola. It had cranberries, apples, sugared walnuts... it was so amazing and not too sweet that we just had to take pictures! See HERE for the yummy recipe!! They were about 30 mins late bringing our main dish, so they gave it to us and a yummy dessert for free, score!



Also, today, my teacher friend invited me to bring my jewelery to her school during lunches in the teachers lounge. It was only a few short hours and I made a little bit of money and really got to see how people responded to my jewelry and set up in person. It was a neat experiance and though I have done many craft fairs with my Little Lovables goods (my puppets always do well), I have never done one with my Jeweled Ambrosia jewelery, so it was nice practice. (ps, above craft fair set up is from Plum Vine jewelery. You can go HERE to look at other craft fair set ups of other sellers to get set up inspiration.)



In other weird news, Robert Pattinson, aka Spunk Ransom aka EDWARD CULLEN appeared at the Dallas Galleria Mall today for autograph signings. Thousands of people were there at 4 AM... and he wasn't even scheduled to appear until 6 pm! I wonder how it went, I will have to check the news or something. Funny, how I live about 45 mins away and didn't go, but mega fans drove from 4 STATES away to have a small chance of meeting him. Ladies, he is just a human ;) But, if you want some Twilight Jewelry, come visit my Jeweled Ambrosia shop!

And this pic is one of the many shots taken by my 2 year old. He likes to pose his cars lately.





Here, I am showing the curious minds where acorns come from. It was quite easy, "Up there, in the tree!" Hopefully, explaining other things will go as smoothly. You see what my little turkey muffin is doing? He loves to touch his belly button when is is learning something, sleeping, reading a book, watching a movie... pretty much he does it when is is bonding somehow. Cute little quirke.



Now look at that good daddy. Doesn't he look honorable, trustworthy, honest, hardworking, happy? Hire him already corporate world!





Oh, and for memories sake, I must show you our Halloween pics... we were a family of Scarecrows. My sister, who is now a professional clown (Pookie is available for hire people!) did balloon animals and face painting, I assisted face painting and Grandma took all 5 boys around for the trick or treating. It was a hoot and Isaac still reminds everyone he meets that he was a Scarecrow.

xo
Lisa