Instax Photo Friday: Xena

The story of Xena (or as I like to call her, Beaner) is awfully sweet. My family didn't necessarily pick her so much as she picked us. She was a stray dog wandering around our neighborhood when I was about 16. For some reason she decided hanging out in front of our house would be a good place to be, so naturally we felt sorry for her but tried to keep our distance since we already had a dog at the time and didn't think two would be a very good idea. Well, she was persistent and would spend entire days outside of our house and chase our cars down the road when we would leave.

Eventually, I caved and gave her food, played with and pet her. I fell in love pretty fast. She must have too, because the next day I came home and she was in our house. The only strange thing about this was no one let her in. She dug a hole under our fence and let herself in through our doggy door. After that we decided she was ours, or rather she decided we were hers.

Beaner and her "don't steal my soul with your camera" face. 

After about a month of calling her random names a kid who lived in a nearby neighborhood identified her as Xena. She had been his dog and his family was going through some rough times and as a result she was forgotten about. Upon seeing how happy she was with us he told us to keep her. She has been a sassy pain in the butt ever since, but I do love her very much. Who doesn't love a pint size dog perfect for cuddling?

Wordless Wednesday: Originality

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, although sometimes it doesn't feel like it. But having someone be so inspired by your art that they use yours as a basis for their own does sound pretty darn flattering—that is if you choose to look at it that way.

Twenty Five Things: Characture

Some of my twenty five before twenty five are really ridiculous, like this:

Yeah, unfortunately I'm that corny. Or maybe fortunately? Unless you happened to be with me while I was getting it drawn, then that's unfortunate for you because:
a) Lots of people felt the need to stare at me like a zoo animal
b) I was pretty darn giddy and couldn't stop laughing during it
c) You had to let the general public know that we're friends, embarrassing...

I didn't realize I had a such a giant forehead until this was drawn. Maybe I should get bangs to cover that monster up. Although, the man who sketched me advised that I make a few hundred copies for all my boyfriends. Flattery works on me because I gave him a nice wink and a tip. Oh boy!

Music Monday: The Black Keys

The Black Keys' new album Brothers came out last week and I was pleasantly surprised by how great it is. If you're ever in the mood for some no fuss blues/rock The Black Keys are a great place to start. I have already been peeking at their tour dates trying to decide which one's would be best to skip work for. At this point, I'm sure any would be great.

This is the first single off the album, Tighten Up:


"He smells like ranch dressing"

Instax Photo Friday: Dawes

I really like Dawes and this was my third time seeing them live. I almost didn't make it due to only getting  four hours of sleep the night before. The sleepless Angela mind works in mysterious ways, meaning I convinced myself that sleep is overrated and I could do without it. "I'll sleep when I'm dead," yeah I said that, sleepy Angela has ovaries of steel because I only got another four hours of sleep the next two nights. 12 hours of sleep over a three day period = major case of the absent minded goof.

Aside from the lack of sleep, Dawes was great and I had a good time. This song was their big finish and it's one of my favorites off their album North Hills:

Things I Love: Missed Connections

Missed connection postings can be creepy because let's face it, Craigslist is just creepy in general but I really love coming across the sweet ones even though they are few and far between. The hopeless romantic in me wishes that the post is stumbled upon by the right person and the two of them can have a date to go along with their meet cute. I don't believe in coincidences, I like to think that all things happen for a reason and that maybe missed connections is a second chance at not taking advantage of a good thing in the moment. I'm sure it's rare but wouldn't that be a great story?

In The Pursuit Of Craftiness: Anti Stress Kit

It seems like I have been coming across a lot of people feeling stressed lately whether it is from work, school, family, wedding planning, you name it. So, I thought it would be nice to do a post for an Anti Stress Kit. Honestly, this is so simple to do it probably shouldn't be classified as a "craft" since all you need are a few supplies and a thoughtful mood.

Supplies:

1. Paper bag
2. A hole punch and paper (to make confetti)
3. Pennies
4. Rubberbands
5. An Eraser
6. Snickers
7. Starburst
8. Hershey Kisses
9. Marbles (unfortunately I couldn't find any but if you can, add them)
10. Something to write with

List each item on the bag and what they can be used for to reduce stress:

• Eraser: To make all your mistakes disappear.
• Pennies: So you will never be broke.
• Rubberbands: To help you stretch beyond your limits.
• Starburst: To give you a burst of energy at the end of the day.
• Marbles: To replace the ones people say you've lost.
• Snickers: Laughter is the best medicine.
• Confetti: When you feel like throwing something.
• Kisses: To always remember that someone cares.

Just toss all of the items in the bag and give it to your sweetheart, friend, co-worker etc. It's a little corny and  won't relieve any serious stress but I do think it will put a smile on the face of a person you care about.

Music Monday: Explosions In The Sky

The quickest way to make time pass for me at work is to listen to music. But music with lyrics can distract me sometimes, especially when I'm coding so I try to stick to instrumental music like classical or jazz. For the past week I have been listening to Explosions In The Sky while trying to be a code poet and Your Hand In Mine is one of my favorites:

Music Monday: Nick Drake

I was recently watching yet not watching TV (you know, that kind of it's on for background noise but you're not really paying attention, kind of TV viewing) and all of a sudden I heard Nick Drake playing in a commercial. I stopped what I was doing and took in the moment. The first time I heard his music was years ago in a commercial for Volkswagen, they used his song Pink Moon and I instantly fell in love, figured out who he was and bought the album. Turns out that folk music is great for advertisements, who knew?

His song From The Morning was playing in the commercial that stopped me for a moment:

Things I Love: Income Tax Wish List

I got my income tax money back and if I weren't such a guilty shopper (I tend to talk myself out of purchasing anything that is not on sale or isn't deemed a necessity in my mind) I would snap up these things pronto:  














I want the Fujifilm Instax Mini so bad. Since I can't get my hands on any Polaroid film (The Impossible Project is amazing but man, that film is pricey) this would be the next best thing for instant photos, besides that, I think it would be fun to have.

I love this geeky necklace. Don't you wish that ctrl+z could work in real life sometimes?

I have this vision of a wall covered in photographs and art, it's basically a jumbled mess of ornate frames but somehow they all flow beautifully together. I'll have that someday and I would like this illustration to be among those random beautiful things.


And I would like a wicker basket for my bike since I have Farmer's Market trips planned out in my head and will need a basket to hold any food that doesn't get consumed by the time I make it back home and a weekend trip filled with sun/sand/water would be lovely too.

Cinco de Mayo Snack

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Mi español no es muy buena, mi Spaniglsh es mejor. Te prometo que soy mitad Mexicana, pero no lo sabría.

  


(Photo via WeHeartIt)


Translation: Happy 5th of May! My Spanish isn't very good, my Spanglish is better. I promise I'm half Mexican, but you wouldn't know it.  


Today is Cino de Mayo and you'll probably want a yummy snack after you're done polishing off a few Mexican beers or Margaritas, right? This snack is really simple, even Gringos can handle it:


1. Take a flour tortilla and heat both sides on your stove. No pan needed just toss it on your gas burner and flip that baby with your hands, of course be careful not to burn yourself. No one wants to spend Cinco de Drinko in the hospital.

2. Take the tortilla off the burner and put a pad of butter on one side. Spread the butter around so it melts evenly. 

3. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on the buttered side of the tortilla.

4. Roll up and enjoy! 


This used to be one of my favorite snacks as a kid and was a cheap/quick dessert in college when I had no money to buy something to curb a sweet tooth attack. 


Hope everyone has a fun and safe Cinco de Mayo!

Music Monday: Passion Pit

Have you ever met someone and just had an awful first impression? They didn't look/act like someone you would want to spend your time with and to top it off the converstion was labored and went no where. But then upon running into each other again, something just clicks and it turns out this person is amazing and you wonder how the heck you had ever thought any different of them?

Well, that's how I feel about Passion Pit. It was tough for us to find common ground in the beginning, I thought we wanted different things but it turns out they were just what I needed. The more I listen to them the more I fall in love. I can't get their song Seaweed Song out of my head. "Nobody knows you the way you know you, but I think I do" keeps playing in repeat in my mind.