THURSDIY: Canvas Art!

Our living room walls were looking pretty scarce for awhile and we finally got our acts together and decorated them! We went through several ideas for the walls. At one point we wanted to put up posters that represented us, but it just didn't work out. We finally decided making custom canvas art. My idea was the quote painted over newspaper while Phaedra's idea was the melted crayon art. So, in a way we ended up doing exactly what we hoped to do with the space. Creating both are super simple there are millions of tutorials about them online.

All it requires to make this is a canvas, newspaper, some sort of adhesive (hot glue or mod podge work best), and paint. The hardest part of this was choosing neutral newspaper clippings to use for the background, but I managed. I snagged this idea from one of my favorite blogs A Beautiful Mess. I chose the sentence "Revel in it" partly because "revel" is my favorite word and partly because the phrase promotes just being foot loose and fancy free, two things I don't do enough of.

Crayon canvas art is so much fun and so easy to make. All you need is a pack of crayons (Note they have to be crayola and we suggest getting the 64 pac) hair dryer, and a canvas. First you you hot glue the crayons on the canvas in whichever way you want, some people get fancy and glue them in shapes. Let the the crayons dry you take your hair dryer and hold it over your crayons until they start to melt. Some girls bleed faster than others, your reds will go pretty quickly. If that happens just move the blow dryer over the areas that aren't going as quickly. You can blow the melting wax around to blend colors and create a pattern. Be careful not hold it under the blow dryer for too long or else some of your colors will start thin out or blend into brown. 

Our living room feels so much more complete now! Happy creating :)

~Turtle & Bunny

WENSDOM: Staying connected to campus

(One of my favorite walkways on campus.)

Moving off campus brings on a lot of changes, some pretty obvious like having to budget time for cooking and being respectful to neighbors. Amongst the obvious changes come quite a few I didn't consider namely staying connected to the comforts of my campus. The luxuries of having a postal service nearly a yard away, easy accessible meals, more free time in between classes, and most importantly my friends at an arms reach. I'm a pretty sociable person, so I'd like to think. Last semester I lived in a dorm that housed my core friends while I'd see the bulk of my friends in the dining hall for meals or around campus as I hung out during the day. When I started school last week the first thing I realized was how quickly the distance of my new apartment could drive a wedge into my friendships and social life if I wasn't careful.

In efforts to prevent this I had to create systems that blended the old ways I interacted with my friends with the much needed new. Every day I eat at least one meal in the dining hall, normally lunch. I try to sit with different groups and really spread my time evenly. I visit my old dorm weekly to catch up with the lovely folks I left behind there. I don't hesitate to invite people over to the apartment, nor do I use the distance of my apartment as an excuse as to why I can't participate in something...no matter how tempting. I also have figured out that including my friends as much as possible in my new change helps keep them close. I keep them updated on apartment happenings that are funny or silly through texts and photo messages. Pics of my cat are always crowd favorites. In addition to joining my friends for lunch I initiate grabbing meals out around town and hanging out in other ways off campus.

Even though all these new systems of keeping up with people are great I still reserve some good old traditions. Every Saturday I have make sure to have brunch at noon with friends, I bask in the sun on my friends couch in her dorm when I need to think things over or pass time, I read in the Lit House in between classes, and nothing will ever beat just walking around my beautiful campus talking with someone.

~Turtle

Taste Test: Stewed Chicken

I watched my mom prepare this meal one night over the summer and was shocked to see how easy it was, yet how gourmet it looks. If you like chicken and want to impress people with your cooking skills I'd whip this up. 

What you need: chicken breasts (enough for however many people you're feeding), a can of stewed tomatoes, four different color peppers, and a dish to put it all in. You'll also need to budget about an hour and a half for this meal's preparation and cooking time.

Step one: Season your chicken. I used garlic powder, season all, and poultry seasoning. Don't be stingy either, it's okay to get a little heavy handed when applying them. 

Step two: Place the chicken in the oven to bake on 375 for 30 minutes. 

Find something constructive to do while you wait but hang around the kitchen to check up on it. 

Step three: When there's about five minutes left for the chicken cut up your peppers. 

Step four: Combine the stewed tomatoes and the peppers with the chicken. 

Step five: Place the dish back in the oven for additional 30 minuets.

And you wait some more...

And voila! You may want to serve it with rice to add a little something else to it. Easy isn't it! It'll be a hit whether you're just looking for a colorful dish to try or perhaps trying to impress that special someone. For a vegetarian spin kick out the chicken and add beans. Enjoy!

~Turtle

Heading back to school with a bang!

(Our kitchen chalkboard is a crowd favorite. Loved waking up to all these silly notes.)

To kick off the beginning of the fall semester, Phaedra and I threw a back to school party. Marking it the first major bash our little apartment experienced. Despite a few chaotic moments, the night was amazing and whether good or bad it was definitely one to remember. I blame the hard lemonade recipe a friend gave us. I was surprised at how in order the apartment was post party. I think cleaning as the party is in flow keeps the workload for post night much smaller. We had out clearly visible places for our guests to dispose of their trash as they saw fit, that helped tremendously.

(Phaedra and I on our balcony.)

We also put a drink cap on for the night so at one point we weren't having to worry ourselves with constantly cleaning. In addition to the drink cap keeping down on trash it also keep down on things getting to out of hand. Before the party even got started by way of enforcing a cap we encouraged BYOB. You never want to wakeup to find $40 dollars worth of alcohol down the drain in one night.

 (Jacki, me, and Em in my room.)

 (The much missed Mike who's finally returned from studying abroad and Phaedra.)

(What too much fun looks like.)

Since we live off campus now we don't live with a major friend group anymore and with our differing schedules during the week it's hard to see one another so the party was a great place to catch up. We had a good time and most importantly all of our attendees did too.

~Turtle & Bunny!

Oh the anticipation!

(Sinatra lounges on my bed when I'm gone.)

With the start of the semester this coming Monday, Phaedra and we can barely contain our excitement and anticipation for what's to come! We can't wait to see our friends, start classes, and we both will be starting new jobs this semester as well. Before we can get to all of that we both have to survive this week. We are frightfully busy this week. By the time we get home the last thing on our mind is updating our blog and we apologize for that. Don't worry this won't become a habit. Curious as to what has kept us away? Well, I started training for my section editor position of my school's newspaper. It's been a lot of fun. I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing. While I'm mastering programs like photoshop and Indesign, Phaedra has been training and preparing for her new position as a peer mentor. We both start our days around 8am and end our days around 8pm.

In the morning we both wakeup, she puts on a pot of tea, while I make coffee and moan and complain over what to wear. Then we return to end up talking for nearly three hours about our days. It's been blissful. More to come very soon!

~Turtle

P.S. expect a lot of exciting changes around here!

SATURDAY DIME: Party Planning!

(Our friends Reanna, Brittni, and Jacki at Brittni's 21st party.)

It's official! Phaedra and I are officially living at our apartment full time now. Upon settling in and putting those finish decorating touches in certain rooms, we had to stop and plan one of the most important functions of our apartment...PARTIES! Now, we love themed parties, and our friends really do too...or they at least humor us and go along with it. So, we sat down and comprised a list of ten ideas we hope to execute over the course of the school year.

1. Back to School/Open Apartment: The weekend of every semester is always a lot of fun, so we figured we'd start the year off with an awesome back to school get together. And to show off the new digs to our friends.
2. Halloween Costume Party: I'll take any excuse to be in a costume!
3. Black Dress party: Little black dress parties always seem so sexy and classy. 
4. Murder Mystery: Phaedra is a pro at these and we have a lot of friends who would be way into playing a character all night. 
5. A mustache party: We want to throw a party that is so hipstery it's ridiculous, just for kicks! 
6. Moving drinking game party: Nothing can top sitting around watching an old comedy or bad horror film and drinking along to it. It's so much to yell at the screen together, laugh, and just be merry! 
7. Board game party: Sometimes just staying in popping open wine and playing a board game does the trick.
8. Drinking game party: Basically you take birthday party ice breaker games and add beer. 
9. Arts and crafts party: Who doesn't love sitting around making fabric flowers and friendship bracelets?! 
10. Christmas party: It'll be nice to end the semester with a fun Christmas party!

Can't to start posting as we plan!  

~Turtle 

WENSDOM: Envisioning your life

Have you ever heard of those people who write themselves a check for a million dollars and promise themselves that one day they'll cash it? Or someone who hangs a picture up of a house in their studio apartment with the goal of one day owning it? Well, no matter what the goal or vision, they all achieved it or made the dream a reality.  It's one thing to set goals for yourself, it's another to create a tangible reminder and force yourself to look at it daily. Much to my mother's insistence, I finally sat down and put together a vision board for myself. Unlike the million dollar check or the house dream, my dreams are much more abstract than that. I don't simply wish to one day be a millionaire or own a house, not that I wouldn't mind if such happenings where find their way into my life, but I have lots of goals and hopes and aspirations so a vision board was the best way for me to showcase what I hope for myself.

It was so rewarding putting the finishing touches on that board. It felt like a huge step in the right direction. Something about clearly stating what is you hope to achieve and do with your life that gives yourself a sense a purpose. I think a lot of young people today fall victim to apathy and the unwillingness to sit down and really envision things for their lives. I don't mean things like getting married, I mean career goals or lifetime achievement goals. I'd say think of something that doesn't necessarily involve someone else (relationship wise) to achieve, like wanting to stand on Mt. Kilimanjaro, or shaking hands with a king. For me, one of my major hopes is to always work in a career field that allows me to express myself creatively through writing, fashion, and photography. If you're wadding through your young adulthood like a zombie maybe you should sit down put together a vision board for yourself too.

Making a vision board is really simple. It's narrowing down what your vision is that can be the challenge. I pulled from my inspirations first, like Josephine Baker because she became an adoptive mother of twelve due to childbearing complications and I to want to become an adoptive mother. Or Andy Warhol, because he didn't just prosper in one career field he led many different careers and I also have huge ambitions to do many different things. I then started pulling from huge reaching for the stars goals, like the magazine clipping. It's a clipping from my favorite magazine column which I have dreams of one day writing for. I also pulled from not just career goals but personal life goals. The word "beyoutiful" is something I have to tell myself on my journey of self confidence. The photograph of the map represents my desire to want to travel and see the world and connect with people of different cultures. 

Armed with my vision board and my goals clearly stated I plan to never sell myself short and never to lose sight of them.  

~Turtle

SATURDAY DIME: Why We Love Ikea

 

1. The prices aren't ridiculous. You can get a bed frame, mattress, and slats for under $500. Also their cookware and dishes are a VERY good quality and price.

2. The store is super user-friendly. You can just pull bed frames off the shelves and be confident that it's the right product in the right place.

3. The merchandise in the store changes within a season so there's always something new to find. Every time you go back, there's bound to be something new.

4.The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Plus they actually know where items are, which is especially helpful for first-time visitors. (Ikea can be a bit of a maze)

5. Everything is basic and simple so your personal style can shine through. Kind of like the American Apparel of furniture and home goods.

6. Their product's last! (Kay has a table and chair set for kids that she's had and it's still being used by her little cousin in North Carolina!) 

7. It's a DIY playground. You can take everything there and make it yourself and personalize it any way you want.

8. You can drop your kids off! (This is super helpful when my sister wants to go but doesn't want her children touching everything)

9. It's clean. It's not like one of those furniture stores with crushed cheeze-its in the bunk bed section where the last child was hanging out. It's a really well put together place.

10. They serve food. Who doesn't get hungry while shopping? Plus you won't break the bank if you come with a family. (The meatballs and lingonberry juices are the best.)

~ Bunny & Turtle

PETFO: Perry is getting a new home!

It is time! As much I don't want to have to...Perry has to be moved into a glass enclosure since it has a lid. Before the harsh tortoise critics start throwing their tomatoes at me, I do have good reason! My cat has finally realized Perry is in his bin and last night I found him inside the bin eyeing him. That's just too close for comfort, so for Perry's safety I'm putting him in a glass terrarium. I'm not sure what Sinatra's intentions were...he was just checking him out most likely but to keep the peace and give me some peace of mind Perry is getting a new home. I'll post an update post all about how to safely move your tortoise to a new home and how to make them as comfortable as possible in the new setting.  

~Turtle

FANCY FRIDAY: Sunday Best

I love this sundress I found in my mom's closet! She'd had it forever apparently. It's a little loose on me so I decided to belt it, but I just adore the chiffon and the floral print. I really fell in love with it because it has that loose shapeless cut that was popular in the late 90's! I paired it with these brown oxford heels I got earlier this week, I need to break them in! (Thanks mom for the photography!)

~Turtle

SATURDAY DIME: Apartment TLC

I can't believe it's August already. I also can't believe school starts back up for us in just three weeks. Upon school starting back up Phaedra and I plan to host a nice back to school party for our friends to kick off the year and show off our new digs. It then dawned on us some of those projects we keep saying we're going to do...it's time to do them! So here is a list of all of our short term apartment goals!

1.) Spice up our entry way hall. We have this great big foyer hallway, and we keep meaning to put some sort of table or shelf in the far corner to create a more welcoming feeling. We'd also like to add a runner of some sort on the floor too. To both protect the floor and give it a nice look.

2.) We have a lovely patio big enough to entertain on! Yet it's not very inviting...yet! We're going to add string lights to the balcony and a tapestry of some sort to the corner.   

3.) We both love flowers and plants and love the bohemian look they can give a space. Plus if we grow the right things we'll be able to feed the harvest to the bunnies and my tortoise! We figure we're going to try and line the patio with plants that will be easy for us to maintain.

4.) In our living room we have a great windowsill, but right now it's pretty blah! So we plan to add something that's decorative and possibly functional like a watering can with flowers in it.

5.) We have so much wall space and since painting is out since this is a lease, we've been brainstorming ideas to still have our personal style come through. We're thinking of adding shelves for Sinatra's cat tower and a custom canvas art to this wall. Stay tuned for DIY about this!

6.) This wall is huge and it's a focal point wall! So we're going to add decorative shelves and place knick knacks on them. 

7.) Kitchen's don't need much because you don't want to fill a highly functional space with impractical decorative things especially if the space is small. But we figured we'd put some sort of picture here just to liven the space up a bit. 

8.) This wall is pretty big and pretty plain. We're not exactly sure what we want to go here...but we'll know when we see it! We're thinking something iron or brass since our kitchen's theme is steampunk!

9.) Phaedra also found a stack of old 45's that we've yet to do anything with. We're thinking we'd hang them up on the wall that's right of the TV in some sort of formation.

10.) We still need to add things to our room to tie in our looks so stayed tuned for updates! 

~Turtle & Bunny

WENSDOM: Me, myself, and I!

Today I was talking with one of my friends and she shared with me her feelings on being single. At first she sounded as though she was treating the situation like it was a problem. This mentality always puzzles me. Why do us young women talk about being single like it's a medical problem that can fixed after applying a certain amount of steps to our lives? Being single, while can be lonely at times, is not a medical condition, I assure you. It's not a problem at all, or at least shouldn't be viewed as such. As people, not just young women, we need to be able to be alone in order to be with someone else. It's when we're alone that we learn who we are. It's when we grow, change, and come to understand what we want and need from other people. We can't let the constraints of societal concepts of quote on quote "needing someone" hinder us from enjoying life no matter what our relationship status is. This summer was the first summer since my senior year of school in which I was single for the entire time. Not even one of those weird flings that lasts a few weeks, nothing...and I LOVED every minute of it. I needed it, I think. 

I really got to thinking and you know I think the best piece of advice I ever got from someone on being single, is when my mom told me times are different now. Women aren't expected to get married right out of high school, they can go to college, start and have careers, move to a different country, change their perspective, and just revel in their freedom for as long as they choose. We really shouldn't sell ourselves short when it comes to that department. Love will find us and love will be so kind to us when it does, if we just live our lives. We can't wish the days away. We need to focus our energy while single not on finding the next relationship, but on bettering ourselves. Pick up hobbies, learn and really devote to mastering a trade, make new friends, change up the pace, and most importantly be happy for other people because it'll be hard watching as we get further into our twenties our friends getting married before us and starting families but we'll have to be happy for them. Also, don't put a timeframe on when you want certain things in your life like a marriage and a family, you'll find you really can't control that. It may happen sooner than you expected or later than you expected, but believe me it'll happen when it's supposed to. I also wouldn't look at that as settling down, I'd look at that as stating yet another journey only this time with someone else.

So ladies promise yourself to not be too hard on yourselves, to not fall victim to needing a relationship, and to allow yourself to enjoy being single. Get to knowing yourself and get to loving yourself! And for the nights that are really lonely tune into the wonderful show of True Blood there's a guy for everyone! I'm team Bill, while Phaedra's team Eric, and our friend Maddie who came to visit, she's team Jason!       

~Turtle      

TASTE TEST: Fabulous fruit wine

Phaedra and I love the show True Blood and decided some wine would go great with the latest episode last Sunday! She then got the brilliant idea of adding some fruit for a decorative treat. After we drank the wine down to the fruit we ate them. They were so tangy and tart, it was great! These bottles of wine were also my first liquor store purchase since turning 21!! I had a lovely white wine, while Phaedra had a nice red ine.

In mine I've put grapes and strawberries. 

In Phaedra's she put strawberries and blueberries.

Just a fun fruity way to jazz up a glass of wine.

~Turtle

       

Guess who's 21?

I'm finally legal! At first I didn't want to do anything since my birthday fell on a Tuesday, I know how lame is that. You're supposed to get like black out drunk on your 21st birthday, but I may or may not have already done that the week prior in the Dominican Republic (ahem). Last minute my mom decided we could at least go out to dinner with close friends and family. So we got all dressed up and went out to one of my favorite places in D.C., Bus Boys and Poets.

Me, tasting my first glass of wine (legally)! It was so good. Very flavorful and tart.

I got my second tattoo on my actual birthday with my good friend Veronica holding my hand the whole time. Man it was rough, I knew the foot was supposed to hurt more than most other places, and it DID! But so worth it. It says "To a Skylark".

Thursday my mom and I snuck away to Pittsburgh for the evening to paint the town. We went out to dinner at this place called NOLA's, the staff was amazing. 

The following morning we went to the Andy Warhol museum and it was to die for! I never wanted to leave! I plan to go back and spend more time in it. So many floors of Andy ahh! Overall it turned out to be a really good birthday. I had plans to return to the apartment for a friend's birthday party, but my car had other plans. It decided to die on me right ear the tolls. So I'm back at my parent's house waiting for it to be drivable again. What's more is my phone went crai on me too, so I'm pretty much in the dark ages and carless. To add insult to injury I'm nursing a sudden case of bronchitis. Boy I know how to celebrate! Maybe all this rush of bad luck is an omen for something or perhaps something amazing is about to happen to me who knows. The good definitely out weighs all the bad!

~Turtle

PETFO: Curving your cat's curious climbing

Sinatra's appetite for exploring has grown as quickly as he has. We find him everywhere! The dining room table, nightstands, hampers, desks you name it. As mesmerizing as it can be to watch him climb on to and around all of these things, this behavior isn't always safe for him or us i.e. the tabletops. A cat's curious tendencies is in their nature so how to do your curve it? Easy!

We had to start to designating things and rooms he can climb around in. For instances, my bedroom is free game and he has come to understand that. He's not allowed in the dining room anymore (which he's still grasping). We had to have consistent enforcement in telling him "no" whenever he climbed onto something he wasn't allowed to. 

He really does not like water and will get the point pretty quick once a spray bottle is brought into the picture. Now, the big thing is because climbing is in a cat's nature they need to be able to get it out somehow if not on your furniture. So investing cat towers or allowing them a room like my bedroom or our screened in porch will help with training immensely. Any tips, questions, or stories? Feel free to drop a line in the comments!

~Turtle