DIY: Last Minute Lady Gaga Costume

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I am not planning to dress up, nor do I have plans to, but that didn't stop me from making a costume this year. From what I gather Lady Gaga is the costume to be this year. But making a pantless leotard just didn't sound fun, instead I went with one of her wild MTV VMA's outfits for my under $10, less then a hour to make costume. Here it is in case you need a last minute costume idea for your Halloween parties. This project entertained me on Friday night for sure and I'm sure these pictures will entertain you as well. Gaga sure is wild!
This outfit was too weird I just had to recreate!






I am still laughing that I made this costume and posted it! LOL! Now all you need is a someone in leotard with booty shaking moves (Beyonce). A girl in a ball gown with a shocked look on her face (Taylor Swift). And a guy with sunglasses, a microphone and a sign on his shirt that reads "I'ma gonna let you finish". Then you'll have the whole 2009 VMA crowd! Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Icon of Desire

I spent my Wednesday night watching not one, but two PBS documentaries. The first one was The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World based on the Book by Micheal Pollan. The documentary explored the evolution of the apple, tulip, cannabis plant and the potato. And how these plants adapted to survive through the needs (and desires) of humans. It was incredibly interesting, I just ordered the book. It reminded me how important my weekly trips to the farmers market for food and lovely flowers really are. See you Saturday mom!

The second doc was on the oh so gorgeous and iconic Marilyn Monroe. She has me wanting a bottle of bleach, lipstick and some big hair curls at the moment. I think a Marilyn Monroe movie marathon will suffice(That MMMM would make a GREAT scattergory response BTW). Every time I watch a Marilyn Movie or Audry Hepburn movie, it immediately sets the tone of my outfits for the week, so be forth warned. I will though, avoid any subway grates while wearing a dress, I'm not that cool.

Image from allposters.com
Image source unknown

DIY: Picture me Blogging

After months of watching Holly Berry transform unwanted Craigslist finds into gorgeous pieces, I finally decided to try my hand on one. Or I mean, convince Casey to paint something for me. If you haven't checked out Holly's blog make sure you do, the girl has a great eye and her gorgeous pictures serve as great inspiration. I am so bummed my before pictures of my craft station, a hideous craiglist find, were deleted somehow. So here are the after pics of my craft area, that Casey finished painting this weekend. I, myself, am no Holly but I have a good painter on hand to assist me! I did though spend my afternoon filling my craft station up with all my wanna be Martha Craft Items. This is how it looks for now, I was so excited to set it up I'm sure it will evolve with time though.
EDIT: Before Picture as recovered!
This is the after pic, much better then before it was painted white by Casey.



Filled with Wanna Be Martha items.

Can you Picture me rolling? Oh wait that was Tupac.
Can you picture me blogging here? Well I am ;)


Crayola's serve as a source of creative color. They also serve as a reminder of the Last Lecture's Randy Pausch's idea to keep a crayon in your pocket when you need to be reminded of your childhood dreams. Day Dream Believer.Craft paper and card stock. I make my own cards, no need to buy Hallmarks here.

Inspiration Binders and Notebooks. The Black and White covered binders just happen to be in one of my inspiration notebooks, a Pottery Barn Catalog pic circa 2004.

May I suggest?

May I suggest the following for your entertainment?
-Going to wordle.net then pasting your blog URL and see what design comes up, and then share your word cloud with me. Thank you Karen for posting this awesome site on your blog. I am obsessed!
-Voting for my friend Gaelyn at Rock and Roll Bride and check out her wedding planing and totally awesome DIY's.
-Reading this great New York Times article article on the blurred line between news/reality/entertainment and how the media was responsible hyping up the balloon boy. As well as how it eerily mirrored the Real Estate bust, a rather scary pattern. And then watch this totally hilarious "I'm in a box" balloon boy spoof.

My Word cloud from Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1269490/ambersnotebook

Boofest 2009

Our day started at the pumpkin patch and ended with glowing pumpkins. Throughout the day pumpkins were carved, food was eaten and awards were given. The food seemed to be missed by the camera but the menu included bloody marys, deviled eggs and I scream sandwiches. My playlist and decorations completed the ambiance of the party.
The pumpkin patch where the fun began.
Gourds brought by my Uncle and were grown in his friends garden! These were amazing.
This pumpkin was also grown in his garden and required the sawzall to come out.
My uncle free handed this!
Awards for the pumpkins.



All lit up.

Pumpkin Party Preperation

Every year my family and I got to our local pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins to carve. Today I spent the day preparing for my pumpkin carving party. I started my day my craft bibles Martha Stewart October issues. Then I picked up tons of flowers and local food the farmers market. And now I am putting together a play list and putting a menu together. I love party planning!

I love stealing ideas from Martha.


Then I picked up tons of flowers and local food from the farmers market.
I filled the House with local flowers. The pops of orange everywhere made me feel so Karen!



My hutch is all ready for the party. Complete with pumpkins, flowers, Witch cook brew books and Erlenmeyer flasks (A Martha idea.)

A nod to my favorite witches. Samantha Stevens from Bewitched and the 3 witches from MacBeth. (I am aware the apostrophe is in the wrong place but when I put it on the outside of the "s" it made the number 30 small like the s....sigh)
Erlenmeyer flasks that will be used for drinks tomorrow. An idea from Martha's 2008 October issue.

Getting Batty!!
My itunes playlist thus far. Any spooky Halloween song suggestions would be great! All Pictures can be clicked on and enlarged.

Copy Cat Style: Taylor Jacobson

I *think* I may have mentioned that I am obsessed with Rachel Zoe. Today's Copy Cat style is inspired from her assistant Taylor Jacobson. Taylor wears a very cool sideways cross necklace. Her necklace is made by Kathy at Roseark and is priced at $825.00 ($550 without the diamond). Mine is an Etsy knockoff made by classicdesigns and is sold for $41. Sure there is a difference in the quality, but wow it gets the look across. I love that you can wear it sideways (like Taylor) or if worn up by your collar bone it is right side up. Such a cool piece. Click here to purchase your own. I love mine, thank you classicdesigns!
Image taken from Tinypic.com Photo source unknown

Where the Wild Things Are

Who doesn't have fond memories of reading this book? The Where the Wild Things Are was short 10 sentence story but it was filled with pictures that said a thousand words. I remember spending hours looking at all the small hidden details in Maurice Sendak's illustrations. Sendeck's lovable story has finally come to life in a feature film directed by Spike Jonze. I personally cannot wait to see the movie. And from the Wild Things display I spotted at Urban Outfitters, to these amazing Wild Things designs at Opening Ceremony, it seems like everyone is just as excited as I am. Wouldn't this Max suit be the perfect costume to wear on a cold Halloween night? Or just any cold night for that matter! If I was dressing up for Halloween I would consider fashioning a DIY version for myself. Being cold is my biggest fear on All Hallow's Eve. To check out the entire line of Where the Wild Things Are X Opening Ceremony click here
A vest that would make Rachel Zoe "DIE".
I am obsessed with this Bull Shawl Jacket. And to quote Gwen Stefani "How sick is this"?

Carol headband by Pamela Love. The perfect thing to make you feel a bit wild.

All Images are from Opening Ceremony. Click on pictures to be linked to items.

On the Hunt: Shabby Chic Chandelier

I am currently trying to finish up my girly room. I am looking for the perfect shabby chic chandelier to add some ambiance and illumination to the room. I think a chandelier would be the perfect way to light up that room. I would prefer a vintage one but I will take anything that will work in the room. I haven't come across the perfect one yet but here are some images of chandeliers I could see in my room.
Image fromwww.abitofparis.com

Image from www.notooshabby.com
Image from www.target.com