You Have No Power Over Me

Spring Break was an extremely busy time for us at work (as bad as the holiday season), so when Mab Graves posted about these limited edition cameos, I decided to indulge in some retail therapy.  Labyrinth is one of my all time favorite movies, so this was very hard to resist.  As with a lot of artists I've discovered lately, I found Mab through another Etsy seller's favorites.

The cameo is printed on archival paper with jewelry grade resin. There are only a few marks on the surface that look like they were caused by air bubbles, but are only noticeable at certain angles. Extremely light weight.  I like wearing it at the shortest length (16"); I also love the type of chain she used as it's very different to what I have in my collection.

I'm very pleased with this first piece from Mab Graves.  Shipping was very fast so I was able to wear it over Sakura-Con, and got several compliments on it.  A good piece to start my collection of her art.

Kickstarter: Angry Cat

Last year, I spent some time browsing around Kickstarter and helped fund a few projects (all successful) and I just got my first reward! The Angry Cat Plush by Amanda Coronado (here is her Tumblr).  I actually found this project through Tumblr and thought it was adorable and had to have it.  I chose The Angry Cat Adopter reward which included the plush as well as an adoption certificate. I would have gone higher but since I chose to fund a few other projects all ending within days of each other, I decided against it.

The plush is much smaller than I thought it was going to be (it measures at about 6.5 inches), which makes it that much cuter in my opinion.  The majority of the line markings match (except at the top of the head) and the top point of the stomach seems to be veering to the left, which while a little annoying, doesn't really detract the overall look of the plush (the embroidery has no fraying which is more important).  Honestly, it's the face that makes this plush so perfect.

Topic #7: Photo Challenge - Day Off

Our next topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge was a photo challenge, a 'Day/Week in Photos' kind of deal.  Nothing really exciting has been happening, and I got sick at the beginning of last week, so I wasn't too enthusiastic about blogging (and I was doing so good at posting stuff).  So, I just decided to detail what I did yesterday on my day off. My days off of work tend to be all about being lazy, but still try to accomplish small things.

I try not to sleep in too late on my days off so my schedule isn't completely thrown off since I get up at 4 the rest of the week.  So I usually set my alarm for 7 but always seem to actually really wake up around 10.  First thing I do is wash my face, followed by eating breakfast if I feel like it.

Current morning skincare products

Phantasmat Collector's Edition

I first learned about Phantasmat when the artist, Gracjana Zielinska, started posting concept art for it on her deviantart. I can't remember how I stumbled upon her but I love her style.  I held off buying the game for quite sometime, until earlier in the week: I really wanted to play something new, so I decided to splurge and get it.  I went for the Collector's Edition because it also included an epilogue.

Topic #6: Food - Recipes

Well, as it's been mentioned, I love food.  I have a list of places I want to try here at home as well as out of state.  And I'm willing to go pretty far to try them out.  I also enjoy cooking, but lately been too lazy to try out any of the recipes that I keep finding.  I tend to find recipes through Pinterest, and I'd thought I'd share some of the ones that are at the top of my list to try my hand at.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

This looks like a lot of fun to eat and I think would be a great breakfast dish, though it would take some time to make, as you do need to let the dough rise.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

My family tends to eat a lot of shrimp paired with salads during the summer since it's less heavy dish. I would love to find other ways to cook or 'dress' shrimp up other than frying them up in butter and garlic.

Chao Shou (Sichuan Pork Dumplings) - Photo Credit: Ariana Lindquist

I love dumplings of all kinds but I've never actually tried making them at home.  These look amazing but I might go easy on the red chile oil.

What are some of your favorite recipes? Always looking for new things to try, especially meat dishes.

Making Some Shinies

I'm participating in my first swap of the year, a St. Patrick's Day one, and I really wanted to hand make something for my swappee. I decided to do jewelry, since I couldn't think of anything to knit, and since this is a quicker swap, I didn't think I could knit something fast enough.

These beads were originally going to be accents for the quartz pendant necklace I had originally planned to make, but the proportions to the pendant were too uneven for my taste (the chain I was working with also broke).  So, after some more supply shopping, I decided to use them to make a pair of earrings instead.

Topic #5: Nails - My Favs

Really late with this post - rough two weeks at work which left me not so motivated to write.  But here we have the next topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge: nails.  I used to bite my nails all the time, at times to the point where I was bleeding.  I started to make a real effort to stop around high school and when I started going to college, I began to paint my nails on a regular basis.  This really helped me get over the nail biting habit.  In the span of a couple of years, my collection of polish grew from 10 to over 200 bottles.  However, my 'obsession' has died down which does help my wallet and while I have still have a long wishlist of the polishes I want to buy, most are on the pricier side of the spectrum and those purchases need to be planned out.

But today, I thought I would so you some of my favorite polishes that I have in my collection. It's a bit random but these would be counted in my top choices.

 CND Stickey base coat.  This has been my go-to base coat for years now.  The brush isn't the best but I can deal with it.  I really believe that the tacky finish it has does help the staying power of my manicures.