Boston

It is only a few hours after the bombs went off at the finish line for the Boston Marathon. Questions are still swirling about who, why...more senseless acts of violence. I don't understand it.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston.

Til next time. -Erika

Weight Loss Check In

This pretty much sums up my check in. Til next ti....

Oh, I guess I should give you a little more info, huh?

In short, a week spent at my sister's place, sick (many thanks to my nephew for sharing his day care germs with me), scarfing pizza like it was going out of style, a week of so-so, half hearted attempts of getting back into my eating and workout regimen, then a week of my mom heading down to see my sister which plunged me into a full-on college coed diet of tortilla chips and ice cream.

Before all of this, I had gotten myself down to a low of 182. After coming home from my sister's house, I was up to 187. (Insert mental image of me freaking out and shouting expletives while standing on a scale here.) After my half-hearted week, I lost 2 lbs. Not bad for not really trying too hard, I guess.

But once again, I hit a wall at 185. Just 15 lbs from goal. I am so close, yet so far. So that's where I am. Sitting on the ground next to my wagon and searching for the motivation to plop my rear end firmly back in the driver's seat.

Til next time! -Erika

Theories on Inexpensive Art

In addition to the new section of a library I brought home, I also found a beautiful statue that I added to my collection while I was on vacation.

I caught the statue out of the corner of my eye while strolling through The Front Porch of the South. The fact that it was only $4.00 was a bonus. The statue itself is well-made from wood and metal, but the form and grace of the piece was the ultimate clincher for me. When I saw it, I immediately thought of traditional goddess statues, carved in different cultures. I knew I had to have it.

When I am looking to buy art, cost is always a factor. If I bought every piece of art that I wanted, I wouldn't have any money left over for things like food and my mortgage. When I am considering a piece, I look some key things:

-Content: Obviously, I want to purchase a piece of art that speaks to me, that has something in it that is significant.

-Quality: Regardless of the cost of a piece, I want, no, I demand quality. Any money paid for a piece of art is an investment and eventually, I want to be able to pass my collection on.

-Cost: You know, the food and mortgage thing. 

There are some things I don't consider, too.

-Resell value: While art is an investment, like any investment, return on your investment isn't guaranteed. It would be amazing if I could buy a piece for $100 and find out it's worth 100 times that, but whether it will ever happen...let's just say that's not my retirement strategy. I'm sure there are people who do buy art as a way to make money, but I'm not smart enough to fall into that category.

-Does it match?: I look for good content, but I don't worry as much about whether it "matches" other pieces in my collection, just that it has that special something. My whole house is pretty eclectic.

So, what other kinds of art do I have?

A little bit of everything. Landscape watercolours, photographs, mixed media, sculpture, whatever I find that fits my standards and my home.

I have some of my own art hanging in my house as well, to inspire me to keep working. The piece above is a pinhole photograph I took back in college. It's one of my favourite pieces.

Ultimately, I want to be surrounded with creativity and beauty. What more could I ask for? Until next time! -Erika

Recovered from my Birthday Hangover

Each year, I spend pretty much the entire month of February celebrating my birthday. For the second year in a row, I was able to wrangle a two week vacation from my job and I took a flight down to see my sister in the South.

When I left on my flight down there, I had two books with me.

Coming home, I had...a few more.

Thirteen more, to be exact. Between the Last Chance rack at Barnes and Noble, the book sale at the Columbus city library, a huge indoor antique shop called The Front Porch of the South and my sister's library, I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to fit everything into my luggage home.


It may be safe to say that I have a small addiction to books.


Til next time! -Erika

Nail Strips - The Results

A few days ago,I blogged about how impressed I was with the Sally Hansen nail strips and Gelous top coat. I have long since changed my nail polish, but I wanted to let you know how it worked out.

To remind you all of what it started out looking like, here is the Day 1 picture:

At Day 5, I was impressed that my nails were still looking fabulous. On day 6, that's when my nail polish started messing with me.

It started with a little tiny chip on my right hand. I'm sure the manicure would have lasted a few more days if not for the fact that I immediately start picking at chips.

So, to summarize, 6 full days before I suffered a chip using the polish strips with Gelous top coat. My conclusion: I don't know if the longevity of the manicure was a result of the strips, the top coat or the combination of the two together. I haven't used the top coat too many times before, so I would have to try it with regular polish to see if it lasts as long. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the combination and I would definitely use it again, especially if I have a special occasion.

If you try this combo, let me know how it works for you. Til next time! -Erika

A Polish That Really Lasts?

For Christmas, my cousin got me some Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips.

These are little boxes of one time use, pre-measured nail polish strips that you apply to your nails, no dry time required. They advertise that they last up to 10 days. Now, I've used a lot of nail polish in my time. Most of them have promised not to chip or shine really beautifully or mop the floors or made some other outrageous claim at one point or another. Very few have ever lived up to their promises, so I wasn't really sure how well this product would really last. I was afraid that after a couple days, they would be peeling off and there goes my $9.00 instant manicure.

I decided to give them a try since a) they were a gift and b) they couldn't be any worse than the nail polish I usually use. I am exceptionally hard on my hands. I have never been able to resolve the fact that I am constantly working with my hands with the fact that I like to have nicely manicured nails, short of getting acrylic nails, which are not an option for me.

So last Saturday, I sat down and read through the directions and started applying the strips to my nails. About 40 minutes later, I had a pretty decent looking manicure. The only problem that I had was that I wasn't too thrilled with how weak my nails still felt. My nails are fairly thin to begin with, so I added two coats of Gelous top coat and let it dry. This was the result.

Not perfect, but not bad for my first time. I was pretty happy with the results.

Now here it is, almost 5 days later. I have been to the gym 3 times, crocheted on a scarf, hammered on a piece of art, painted, typed, showered (which is a death sentence for my usual manicures) and this is what my manicure looks like tonight:

Almost no difference! You can see some nail growth, but no chips that weren't already there (had a few boo-boos from when I put them on.) 

The product says it lasts up to 10 days. I am going to see how long they go without chipping. Stay tuned!

Til next time. -Erika

Making Art on a Budget

I have been making art since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I loved making art so much when I was a kid that I even pursued a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art.

One thing I learned quickly about making art is that it is expensive. Art supplies are not cheap. I firmly believe that this helps contribute to the "starving artist" phenomenon. This is where it's important to get creative.

In one of my recent thrift shop excursions, I found some 8x8 kid's room art canvases that were $0.97 each.

At an art store, these size canvases will run you starting at around $3 each. If you have the tools, you can save yourself a bit of money by using second-hand canvases. This is also good if you have canvases that you've already painted and maybe you aren't that thrilled with.

If you get a canvas that you want to paint over, you need to prime the canvas to ensure that the first painting does not show through. The canvas on the right shows how the printed image shows through the purple paint that I laid down. If the paint is thick enough, it's possible that this might not happen, but why take the chance?

To prime your canvases, you'll need every artist's friend, gesso. This tub cost me roughly $8 with a coupon. Regular price, it's probably about $15 or so. This is good item to have in your studio. In addition to priming canvas, I also use it for an image transfer technique using magazine images.

Priming canvas is simple. Use a broad brush to apply two coats, one in each direction. Let the coats dry in between.

There you go. Simple, saves money AND reduces waste by reusing canvas that might otherwise end up in the trash. Bonus!


Til next time! -Erika

What to Watch When Your TV has Died

Yup, it's true. My second-hand TV that my neighbor gave me when I moved into my house has kicked the bucket.

I'll be honest, I'm fairly lazy when it comes to watching TV (this should not come as a shock to anyone that I can be lazy about things.) I have never had cable in my house, so when it went, I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and went on with life.

Problem is there are those moments in life where all you want to do is curl up and vegetate in front of a good show. I've watched all of my DVDs more time than I can count. In light of this fact, YouTube and Hulu have been getting some more hits than usual from me.

The fact that I have found Star Trek: The Next Generation on Hulu makes me incredibly excited! I may have found a replacement for my TV that is going to suddenly make me a little less lazy about watching my shows.

Til next time! -Erika

My Apologies

Between work and just generally not feeling well, I have not been able to sit down and write about my latest thrift shop hauls or my organization efforts in the studio.

I feel like a lump. Once this passes (hopefully quickly) I will be back to enthrall you all. I have an awesome jacket to share with you all!

Til next time. -Erika

Weight Loss Check In

My last check in was on November 4th, well before the holidays. Since then, we had Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's, all of which are dieting pitfalls.

Back in November, I weighed in at 195 lbs. I am happy to report that I made it through the holidays unscathed and managed to drop another 10 lbs. I am only 15 lbs from my goal weight, coming in at 185 lbs. It is an amazing feeling to have come as far as I have in my weight loss!!

For Christmukkah, my sister got me a subscription to Runner's World magazine. I haven't done any real running in about a year since our last 5K together. My weight loss makes me hopeful that I might be able to improve my form and my speed and maybe finally finish the half marathon that I've been wanting to compete for the last THREE YEARS!

At the moment though, I have hit a bit of a wall. Just before Christmas, I managed to bang my pinky toe into a weight that I had moved while I was cleaning. It swelled to Hulk-like proportions and hurt like the Hulk had smashed it, too. After icing it for a bit, I buddy-taped it for a couple days but I was right back to working out and walking on it without letting it heal properly.

So, here I am three weeks later. It still hurts. And now, because I am stubborn, I have to take some time off from cardio so I can give my foot a chance to heal.

I'm sorry for being stubborn, pinky toe.

Til next time! -Erika

Last Thrift Hunt of 2012

Way back in 2012 (because it was so long ago, it was actually just two days ago), I decided to do one last dash to the thrift shop in an effort to clear out some stuff from my house and to look for some much needed jeans. My success in losing weight has left me with one pair of jeans that actually fits properly. Given the choice between buying some new (to me) jeans and being arrested for indecent exposure when I inadvertently leave my pants behind me, I'll take going shopping for new jeans.

First, I need to pass along another rule of bargain shopping. Actually, this is a rule of shopping in general. Know your store hours. I ended up running out of time shopping because I was sucked into the pretty dresses first, not realizing that the store closed at 5 instead of 8 as I thought it did. I left with two amazing dresses...but no jeans.

Before I settled on the dresses that I did, I tried on about eight different ones. From those eight, I whittled it down to three contenders.

Can you guess which ones made the cut?

If you guessed the first two, then you would be right! You win happiness in the knowledge that you have good taste. The third one I liked the shape of, but the pattern left a lot to be desired. It was one of those dresses that looked fabulous on the hanger, but once you get it on, you realize what a horrible mistake you made.

By the way, don't you guys just love my striped socks?

So, for $20, I got two brand new (yes, right from the store with the tags still on it!) dresses and a pair of turquoise faux snakeskin loafers (again, brand spanking new.) I love how cute they are!

What a fabulous way to close out 2012! Here's a tip for you guys: keep an eye out for thrift shops that take clearance close outs from major retailers. The Goodwill that I usually shop at gets stuff that was on clearance from some big box stores, so the stuff still has price tags on it and has probably never been used. It might cost a little more than the "regular" stuff that is on the rack. The dresses I bought were $7.50 instead of the regular $5.00, but the blue dress I got had an original retail around $50. The clearance price was $16. Either way you look at it, I am still way ahead.

I hope you all had a very happy and safe New Year's! Here's to a wonderful, prosperous and creative 2013 to you and yours! Til next time. -Erika