reality check

I just saw Mandi's "Getting Real" post and it inspired me to do a reality check post myself. I always love learning little quirks about my favorite bloggers, so posts like this are fun to do. Getting to know people on the internet is so strange, you only get to see a certain part of them. That's why I like videos and stuff like this- hopefully it makes it a little more personal!

• Lately I can't stop sleeping in. Probably because I don't have to be anywhere in the morning, but it still makes me feel like a lazy bum!
• I probably only wash my hair once a week at the most and the only time a brush ever touches it is in the shower with copious amounts of conditioner.
• When I was a toddler the babysitter's dog attacked me and bit my face. I have a little scar on my right cheek because the stitches got messed up somehow and it didn't heal right.
• I rode horses competitively for about ten years, doing hunter/jumpers.

• I almost never wore make-up before college. Now I still don't wear that much, but I do love me some cat-eye eyeliner!
• I'm broke and eating ramen on a daily basis but loving living on my own again in a new city!
• I have a habit of taking off my shoes and criss crossing my legs when I'm sitting at tables, even at restaurants! I think it's because I'm so short my feet don't reach the ground.
• When I was younger I had a horrible habit of chewing my nails. I got over it in college but on my Brave trip I started again- hence the acrylic nails, they're my training wheels for growing my natural nails out again.

We like eachother.

Can you tell? Haha, we are goons. Thursday night I went out to karaoke with Dan and Ben (Johnny Cash! Queen! Pulltabs!), and then afterwards we came back to my place, got our Jr. High on and played truth or dare with cards (red: truth, black: dare).

For some reason the last few days I've been a total recluse. I just spend the whole day holed up in my little apartment, occasionally venturing out for a photoshoot. Probably has something to do with not being able to afford going out! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to getting my first paycheck!

I've been feeling plagued with a bit of laziness lately as well. I stay up too late, which means I sleep in too late, I watch too much stupid TV on Netflix, and I don't read as much as I've been meaning to. I really have been wanting to make a huge effort to revamp my life a little bit. As unnatural as it is for me (I'm a natural born night owl, so mornings are always always always rough on me), I want to wake up earlier, eat breakfast (I hear it's the most important meal of the day!), exercise, pray, read and kind of jump start my day rather than wading through the first few hours I'm awake. As I'm writing this, it's 3 am... so I might not be starting this new life of mine today. Whoops!

photos by Dan + Ben

Shop Ruche Giveaway!

This week I get to giveaway these two pieces of jewelry from Ruche! One lucky reader will get to take home both the Picture Perfect Camera Ring and the Secret Garden Key Necklace! To enter, just leave a comment on this post letting me know where your favorite place is to to go on adventures! Don't forget to leave a way for me to get in touch with you if you're drawn as the winner. One entry per person. Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, Feb 2 at 9 pm PST.

And the winner of the A Wild Tonic giveaway is...

Divya!

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DIY // paper bunting

Yesterday I decided I needed some bunting in my life. I made some for the Winne and I remember some of you asking me to do a DIY post on how I made it, so I documented my process yesterday! It's super easy and a pretty quick project. All you need to make your own cute bunting is a pair of scissors, tape, thumbtacks, string and some pretty paper!

Start by cutting out a triangle with a little tab on the top. I made my bunting one sided, since you won't see the back. Once you have one cut out, use it as a template for the rest of of them. To figure out how many to make, I cut my string to the length I needed it, layed it on the ground and measured how many would fit. I put a few inches between each one.

Once you have them all cut out, fold over the top tab, tape it to the string at the crease, then fold the tab down and tape it. Once you've taped all of them, you're ready to hang it! Tie a little loop on each end of the string and use thumbtacks to put it up. Easy as that! I also made a tiny version for my door and wrote my name on it.

There yah go! Now go forth and make cute bunting for your room!

nature is a haunted house

Yesterday it was a beautiful day, so I decided to drive over to Pt. Defiance for an afternoon of frolicking in the woods. Someday when it's not pouring down rain I'm going to bring Daniel and go for an afternoon of hiking through the mossy forest. So far, Pt. Defiance and Ruston Way are two of my favorite scenic places in Tacoma. I feel like there's so much to explore! There's also an amazing duck pond and a zoo at Pt. Defiance, both of which I really want to go to. Ducks and exotic animals may just be in Delightfully Tacky's near future...

It actually turned out to be such a nice day yesterday that the moment I stepped outside I almost regretted putting on tights! And then I proceeded to sit at the tables outside (yes, outside) the coffeeshop and had a conversation with a friend + mentor for about an hour and a half. With no coat. I officially love this town. I'm getting spoiled after years and years of sub-freezing winter temperatures.

dress/forever 21 :: scarf/mom's :: tights/target :: boots/kensiegirl :: hat/claires

My first shift at work went pretty well! I was doing the closing shift and learning how to close down everything, in addition to the stress of it being my first shift, felt like trying to shove way too much information into my brain at once. I'll get the hang of it eventually. I'm really looking forward to being a barista again. I like that it'll put me in the midst of the community and give me an opportunity to interact with people. I'm a natural introvert, so being put in situations like that will help me feel more a part of this town.

One fancy-shmancy feature of my new Canon is that I can take continuous self-timer photos! I'm sure this is old news to all you people who have cameras newer than 2003, but my old Canon was ancient and didn't have such capabilities! It's kind of fun to make little moving pictures!

Now accepting sponsors!

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a hard rain's gonna fall

I've probably worn this outfit three days in a row. So comfy. It's more of my "biking through the rain" outfit than anything else. Dan and I rode our bikes to Bertolino's yesterday afternoon and it was raining, so I told him to take some pictures of my soggy post-ride self so you can see what I look like when I'm not so put-together. I feel like the photos don't actually show how wet I felt. Interestingly, I don't own any waterproof clothing, even though I live in one of the rainiest regions of the country (or at least it seems like it!). Perhaps a raincoat would be a good investment, eh? A rainproof body suit would be even more useful.

hoodie/fred meyer with Jose Parla screen print :: jeans/courtesy of Jessica Simpson :: shoes/courtesy of Blowfish

My sophomore year of college Jose Parla came as a visiting artist to our art department. Parla was my absolute favorite visiting artist all four years at school. I was kind of amazed that our little school got him to come! He did some work in my painting and printmaking classes and one day my printmaking class brought in t-shirts to get an original Jose Parla screen printed on them. I didn't really want a t-shirt, so I brought in a little sweatshirt instead. I just recently found this little hoodie again and it's been a great warmer article of clothing on rainy Washinton days. Plus, it matches my little Hodge Booties perfectly!

rainier

I drove around Tacoma trying to figure out where I wanted to take my outfit photos (and using up all my gas), and I ended up at Ruston again. Actually, I took them here because it was a gorgeous sunny day and Rainier was out in all it's glory! I thought it looked so majestic looming over downtown Tacoma. It's so cloudy here, Rainier is usually hiding in the haze. It is kind of surprising to see it out so clearly! I love having mountains around. Reminds me of home.

Lately, my uniform of choice has been my polka dot tights and these boots. They're so comfy and go with what seems like everything! Thankfully the weather here has been pretty warm lately, so biking around in tights isn't too chilly!

Well this'll be a short post since I have a shift interview this morning at the coffee shop I interviewed at a few days ago! I'm praying I remember how to do everything. Nerve wracking! I hope it goes well. Wish me luck, folks!

cardigan + tights + boots/target :: top/scrapbook :: skirt/thrifted

the night is young and so are we

Last night my friend Stephen had a pancake party at his house which was uh-may-zing. Seriously. I was going to wait to post these tomorrow, but I couldn't wait! Chocolate chip pancakes + great friends + dancing = awesome. I think I inhaled two pancakes immediately upon setting foot inside. I'm so grateful to already have so many great friends here. I haven't had a group like this since college. Sitting at the coffee shop and seeing people I know all the time is my favorite. This place has quickly made me fall in love with it. Such high quality individuals here. I feel very much a part of the community, which is the best feeling- to feel like you belong.

I took some video of the party too. I'm loving having a DSLR that can shoot video. I'm really enjoying making these little videos that show snippets of life. I'm not a master filmmaker by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like making quick little films!

song in video//Electric Feel-MGMT