new year's preparation!

Current view: Project Runway: season 6

I stayed up late last night getting ready for a small New Year's party at Matt's flat in Albany!

lots of cheese grating!

which was used on top of my homemade taco dip!

a party favorite of piglets in blankies and some home baked herb feta cheese!

After cooking I came up with the idea of applying my newly found skill of paper hat making. So I decided to make pirate paper hats for the party tonight!

hat making: in progress.

"Hello, 2009! You're looking fine..."

I had a little supervisor with all my crafts.
One of my chubby kitties, Ryo-okki.

I've been busy preparing with food and paper hats, so I will be posting the recipe to these little cute party dishes during my next post! I've been making messes and creations since I've been home, so I'm hoping good things will come out of them!

I hope tonight goes swell as everyone celebrates the new year! I enjoy little parties and getting ready for them, so I'm excited!

See you next year!

bowling for pizza

Current tune: "Heavenly Peach Banquet" by: Monkey

Saturday Matt and I went bowling with my family for my sister's birthday. Since I was in Canterbury during her birthday we decided to have it after so she could invite friends. The seven of us went out to the only surviving local bowling areas in the area and then out for some pizza!

My sister bowlin' on her b-day party

Some bowling shoe love.
Matt has smaller feet than I, but he has his own nice bowling shoes to make up for it.

After bowling we had the BEST veggie pizza I ever had at an Italian restaurant a town over from ours. It was loaded with these little yummy mushrooms, chunks of fresh tomato, broccoli, onions, and slices of black olives. It was sooo delicious!

I hope local friends will recognize this lovely guy.

On a different note, I've been enjoying my new incense that I bought before Christmas. I missed burning it when I was in Canterbury, and will miss it again when I'm back at school.


This is the company that I buy incense from, but indirectly from my favorite gypsy/hippie store in Saratoga called Magic Moon.

http://www.auricblends.com/

Their scents are great, their products are very reasonably priced, and their message, praying for peace, is both wonderful and inspirational.

glitter pens and glue sticks

Current tune: "Hold On" by: Eskju Divine

Hehe....trying out new fonts....I don't know if everyone can really read the tiny font I choose to use in my entries. So! I hope it is better!

After a bit of work I've been catching here and there I was inspired to make my own "thank you" cards for Christmas to mail to friends and relatives!

I was excited to see how to see how much my local wal-mart had to offer in scrapbooking options, paper, scissors, pens, and just crafty flair.

I was happy to choose the 100% recycled paper and envelopes to mail my cards out in!

Simple. Cute. And to the point.

I wanted to make them my own and I do hope people appreciate them!

I have no specific craft room. I don't have a place where shelves are decked with labeled art supplies and materials galore. I work where I feel like and when I feel inspired.

It's good for me. And misunderstood by my family.

New Year's is coming up! And I hope to try out some yummy recipes from my new cookbook!

...you look like sarah palin

Current tune: "Remind Me" by: Royksopp

Merry Christmas! (..or belated for that manner....)

My Christmas was very small, filled with awkwardness and not enough Christmas cookies!
I cheated a bit this Christmas, and how I want to every Christmas, with Matt as we exchanged presents on the 23rd to work around busy schedules and family separate family visiting. I received a tiny orange mug, some burt's bees lip balm, a panini maker, an electric hand held mixer, and (of course) a cookbook! Only, this time it was a vegetarian one I pointed out in Borders. I prefer cookbooks with pictures....<3

Matt and I both received record players, so like the cool indie children we are, we will be hitting up some used record stores to add to our little collections.

Christmas commenced with homemade pancakes for breakfast with my family and present opening around the tree in our livingroom. This was the first Christmas that we each only did one or two gifts for each other. Among the ups and downs, it was still pleasant. We then made our rounds and dropped off homemade presents and pictures to my grandparents. From there we drove to my other grandma's for Christmas dinner with her and my cousins; where I introduced to-furkey to the fam.

The Christmas tree in Westernville.

I then went up to spend time with Matt's family in Westernville. I reacquainted myself with the Disney classic Dumbo with the little children. Matthew's little cousin felt the need to tell me the most hilarious and random sentence a little child has ever told me in my life, to this date...."Caroline....you look like Sarah Palin....because of your glasses."

His family was busy and all over the place as usual, but we got to spend a lot of good time and little adventures. While I up there I took pictures of the little "relationships" that seemed to be cultivating in the doll house in one of spare rooms in Westernville. I enjoyed them.

And we'll ride to the hills.

You're a lazy son-of-a-gun.

I'm armed with love.

If only you could be real...

I had Matt take this picture on his iPhone...I just couldn't walk away from this bundle.


I got to draw this on their table. <3

Happy Holidays!

...and more snow!

we're going to skip along

Current tune: "In the Waiting" by: Zero 7

Despite the consistently depressing mood of my holiday stay at home, I began wrapping holidays gifts for friends and family today. The day was spent doing monstrous loads of laundry from my suitcases (that I had yet to unpack), tracking down gifts I had bought overseas for people and chocolate, and making more cute gift tags.

I had a late night last night and am going through a mood that will probably last awhile while I am home. The depression that is beginning to sweep our nation has been less than kind to me, and I have a personal vendetta against it.

I do, however, have full faith in our newly elected president. I do not know, honestly, why I have so much faith, hope, and confidence in his ability. I read more articles about his wife than Obama. But I do. Unfortunately I also believe things will get worse before they do get better.

But! Listening to "In the Waiting" makes me feel better. Every time I listen to it all I can picture is one of my favorite movies, Garden State. Those who have not seen it, go rent it at your local video store (preferable on privately owned).

This is one of my favorite scenes.

The good news of staying up late...I created these little do-jiggies:

They're cute, small....and kinda pointless. I enjoyed making them and enjoy looking at them. They just kind of put a smile on your face.

I hope I can get very inspired while I am in my personal economic drought to make some very cool things!

and so it begins...

Current tune: "Countdown" by: Jupiter One

So today I felt like a real artist. Why? Because.
I woke up. Made coffee. Only had coffee. Made art. I'm completely broke. Wearing the same clothes I wore for the third straight day. And haven't showered. Pissed at my employer for not giving me work. And pissed at the world.

But this is what I created today:

A to-do list.

A grocery list.

A calender.

These are just some of the things I made. Theoretically I would like to have them made into prints to sell. I could see my friends and family using them and supporting me, but that is far off.

I don't know how to get myself where I want to be. I'm doing this by myself with a couple dreams created in my head and doodles on backs of assignments.

Any and all help would be appreciated! Links, advice, etc.

retro replay

Current tune: "Nothing to Lose" by: Dimitri From Paris

While my mom and sister baked pies for girl scouts with many other little girl scouts in our house, I attempted to stay away from all the chaos and clutter and keep myself occupied by making crafts and taking pictures of the mess.

I only realized how retro my home really looks in photos. And was kinda impressed.

My family's kitchen.

Ingredients for pie making.

When everything was done I began making cute Christmas gift tags. This, in part, was to curb my boredom, force myself to be crafty, and to make cute things.

I used some very cute stamps we had lying about, colored pencils, and puffy paint. I'm hoping people will enjoy them.

I also did these. They're just pretty cursive words. They have potential, I just don't know what to do with them.

All in all, I'll be posting cute crafty things to keep myself busy since no one sees fit to give me work. Happy Holidays!

make way for the queen

I couldn't resist the inspiration. Plus I got to fool around with photoshop a bit and see just how much I had forgotten from Spring semester '08.



The last pictures look rather pink, but photoshop is not my expertise, it is Shanna-love's. I attempted to doctor up the first one and just left the other two. I was momentarily inspired while at Matt's during a small snow storm in his mom's room. She collects odd things, which makes me happy inside.

I've neglected my poor blog again in a wretched manner. But I suppose that is because I have not been up to much. I intend on doing MAJOR cleaning and revamping of my own personal things and such.

Photos of creations, newly acquired recipes, and baked goods will be up asap!

I now have new wonderful recipes from online and Bahar to make wonderful veggie goodies for the holidays!

computerization rules the nation

Current tune: silence (in the library)

I just finished one of my final exams for my British History class (2 hours later) and am in the library using the wifi and checking this up when out of no where I stumble upon a program that I never knew was there!

I have a cracked, flat-out copied by Microsoft shittier version of photoshop on my computer! Of course it doesn't even compare to CS3, but hey it's something to touch up my photos!

So I've been fooling around with things and it's making me uber happy! I'm getting closer (at a snails pace) to being my computer literate! yay! Matt would be so proud, and I'm sure Shanna would just laugh.

<3

make art, not papers!

Current tune: "Post Modern Girls" by: The Strokes and Regina Spektor

Sooooo...my brain is utterly fried. I've been writing notes of five upcoming exams that I all have tomorrow. 5 exams and 5 hours of hell....yippie!

So I'm sitting with Christina's friend, Andrew, finishing things up, and I thought I would document what's been going on in my pad.....aka....the kitchen.

A lovely picture of my dinner. Mild curry ramen. Cooked in a pot on the hob, rather than in a bowl in the microwave.

My work area. The kitchen. A disaster.

There's a piece of nutell'ed bread, some hard cider, a computer and my notes on none other than sketchbook watercolour paper.


It is officially 2:40 am. I am tired, drained, and exhausted. I have a looooong day ahead of me and just enough life in me to get things done.

Good news: tomorrow I will be skipping my ethics class to go to Chromos (my fave Canterbury art store) and purchase some spraypaint to start the shopping cart project. Which! Will get done before I leave.

After these wretched exams I will be making art, and getting fucked.


What's better than making art in an altered state of mind? I've got my youth to spend, and knowledge to gain. Oh, won't you take my hand to that neverland we built in our heads. The kind with upholstered walls and fluffy beds. Be my lover, and we'll live like kings of our kind.

badger, badger, badger...

Current tune: "Lex" by: Ratatat

Well, I'm almost done with all my studies in Canterbury! yay! It's a fantastic feeling, but a sad one as well. I am getting ready to accept the fact that my time here is over and I must return home. People who love me miss me, and I need to see them to make myself feel better as well.

I gave my last presentation today, which was rubbish, about the '08 Presidential Elections based on articles from two British newspapers called the Guardian and the Sun. It was for my communications class, which I loathe, so I'm not too stressed about the outcome.

I stopped in to see Shanna and to pick up this!

This is my newly acquired badger mug! It was actually one of Shanna's flatmates mug's but I claimed it. I had adored it the first time I saw it and would sip my tea out of it when I would stop over to see Shanna. After finding out it was Mark's I offered to pay him for it. In the end, I gained possession of the cuteness that is the badger mug and Mark will receive a Caroline drawing!

That was a light note of my night, though I have mountains of research to accomplish (and cleaning, sorting;etc.) ahead of me. Plus a couple ASDA runs and maybe a coffee run down the road for some cheap Costa coffee at the 24h convenience stores.

I heart convenience stores! They remind me of home.

picture love

Current tune: Rainbows in the Dark by: Tilly and the Wall

So I've had these pictures on my desktop for about 5-6 days and I figured I should finally post them.


Gracie and I went into this store that we love, called Merchant Chandeller, I think. It's a cool shop filled cool tablecloths, curtains, furniture, baskets, pillows, cushions, and candlesticks.


It's great. We like to just walk around and look. Since Gracie and I were walking down Orange St. we though we'd stop in. I took pictures from Gracie's camera for inspiration. If Gracie and I ever get together to open up our own coffee shop, we want to draw inspiration from this place.



Gracie took this picture on her "food" setting of her camera. It was a candy stand in the Christmas market off of High St. Doesn't everything look yummy? Mmmm.....


The Christmas tree in front of the Canterbury Cathedral! Gracie and I took a picture in front of. It was a surprising find and gave warmth to the cathedral.

Basically, some pictures I took with Gracie on a day in Canterbury center. Things I'm fond of, will miss dearly, and things I hope to remember when I go home.

vegen dinner

Current tune: Tuesday's Gone by: Lynyrd Skynyrd

Thursday night was filled with awesome, and long awaited, professor dinner excitement! Gracie, Erica, Shanna, Nikita, and me all ventured down to the East Train Station of Canterbury to go Sander's and Bahar's flat for a vegan dinner and social event.

It was a small, yet stylish flat. Stylish in the sense of what three months of being abroad can manage.

Shanna brought over sparkling grape juice that just so happen to explode over the livingroom floor everywhere. Which was kinda sad, but hilarious at the same time.

For appetizers we had little toasted pieces of baguette with olive oil and vegan mozzerella cheese. They were small, cute and yummy!

The next course was this really good veggie soup that was made out of a turnip from the middle east. It was a puree that was sooo good. We drank the soup out of little glasses that made the experience even more cute.

For dinner Sander's brought out the vegan haggis, which was in the shape of our tofurkey and soooo good! It contained veggies, tofu, nuts, and just goodness. To go with it we had mashed potatoes with kale (a recipe that I will surely get from Bahar), and mashed turnips. I remember growing turnips in our back garden the first year I grew our garden, but didn't eat them. I think I was just turned off from them to eat them. After being a vegetarian I have been reaquainting myself with vegetables. It has been a relationship that has been growing with age and getting better.



Dessert canceled out our delicious and nutricious dinner completely. That is because it consisted of fried oreo cookies and mars bars. I only had one, thank god I'm turned off from deep fried dessert dishes from the south.


Above: Bahar and Sander's. They're cute philospohy-vegan-travelers.

Bahar later whipped out this jar of utter cookie-peanut butter bred goodness! It was a dutch peanut butter cookie paste that was as yummy and addictive as crack.....if I was a crack addict. We had to try this tasty treat with wooden chopsitcks because we had used up the rest of the utensils and dishes. Below, gaze into the goodness!

The whole experience with good friends and professors was wonderful! We walked back home on the castle wall of Canterbury where I nearly wet my pets from laughing so hard from Gracie and Erica walking like utter nincompoops. It was a good time, though.

We walked through town to see everything lit up and then I departed to meet up with Mandi and Chistina in the Jolly Sailor.

All in all, it was a very good experience. I will be hounding Bahar for all her fantastic and delish recipes and will be looking forward to out next vegan dinner experience in the future!

Shanna took the picture, but she was there!