Saturday, January 4, 2014

2014 New Year's Wishlist

Most Every girl loves making wish lists. If you don't write them down, you constantly have a list memorized in your head. Don't deny it. It's what makes us girls. However, there is always that dream item that stays on your lists for months, and eventually months turn into years. For whatever reason you've been putting it off, there comes the time that you finally decide to set some money aside and buy the darn item. Let's face it, nobody likes a (wish list) hoarder. So below I have a made a list of items that I have wanted, but have put off, for one year or more.

3. WELL-FITTING DENIM

If you see me on a regular basis, you would've figured out that I do not own a pair of jeans that fit me properly. Not only are most of them worn or the color is severely faded, but they are all unforgivingly loose in the bottom and waist area. It is not a flattering look. If you are 5'8" with no hips or derrière, cheap jeans are not an option for you. As a new years resolution to myself, I promised myself that I would do myself the favor of splurging on some well-fitting denim.

2. A PROPER CAMERA



I want: Canon EOS t3i

I've always enjoyed taking pictures. Sadly my family has not caught onto this because, sadly, they hate taking pictures. Yet, after our last trip to London I have decided that I am going to save up for a Canon EOS t3i by myself. Chasing people around with a poor quality iPhone 4 camera is just not cutting it. Unflattering lighting and grainy pictures is not something that I'd care to look back on.

1. TIMELESS WATCH



I want: Daniel Wellington, Classic St. Andrews Lady watch

OK. I have been dying for this watch for a good two years now. It's clear that the $225 price should no longer be an objection to me. You might ask: Why would any young adult in the 21st century need a watch!? Trust, there have been several times when I have been without a phone and wished that I had the time on my wrist. And for left-brained folk, like me, knowing the time at all hours of the day is essential.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Outtakes from Impomptu Photoshoots Mean...


Yikes! I'm already running a little behind on my blogging schedule!
I've noticed that many bloggers update their blog from once a day to every three days.
How do you all find the time!?

Anyway...
I just wanted to let you know: I'm still here!
Expect two great posts from me in the next few days!
From Milan,
With Love.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Dorm Project: Getting Graphic


A very small fraction of my dorm. Sadly the photos that survived my mad iPhone dumps don't do my dorm justice.
     Let's be honest: If you were/are a girl going away to college, the first thing you thought about was how you were going to decorate your new space. I even went as far to design the layout of my dorm beforehand using pastel drawings! <--If you couldn't tell from the large Raiders of the Lost Arc poster in my dorm picture, I'm kind of a nerd. My dorm wasn't a masterpiece, but it was neater, cozier (not sure if that's a word, but we'll pretend it is) and more homey than most.
    Although my dorm life has come to an end, I'm still thrilled to take on another design project! Wait for it... Furnishing my new apartment that I will be sharing with my old roommate, Molly! Since I'm in the process of decorating a new space, I plan to make a regular series of posts on this blog called The Dorm Project.

    Since the main items that people use to decorate their new spaces are, you guessed it, pictures, I thought it would only be logical to cover that first.

WHERE TO GET YOUR PHOTOS
 
As ubiquitous as graphics/photos are, some can be very pricey!
Places with OVER PRICED graphics include:
1. IKEA. Everything in that store is well priced except for their photos.
2. Typo. $50 for a poster of the New York City skyline!? I think not.
3. Target. The same problem I have at Typo is the same problem I have a Target.

        A cheap, and often better, alternative to buying photos the traditional way is printing large photos off of Google at places like OfficeMax. You may say tacky! But I say a bargain! You can print out four 8.5 x 11" photos on glossy paper for less than $3! If these sizes seem too small, try printing out multiple in different sizes and make a collage on your wall :)

A framed 1920s Vogue magazine cover I bought at an antique fair.

   We all know that vintage is in. So what better place to look than at antique fairs!? Although some paintings/photos can come off as pricey, more often than not you can talk the seller down. The magazine cover in the picture above was originally priced at $30 dollars! Yet, I still managed to talk the seller down to $7 :)

      Speaking of magazine covers... SAVE 'EM! For my study corner in our living room I adhered a few limited edition Time magazine covers (one had Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding kiss on the cover :P) to the wall. Not only did these make me feel more studious, but they gave the corner a more modern look.

WHAT DO WITH YOUR PHOTOS
 
      Depending on where you're living, you might not be allowed to put holes in your walls. To avoid this, last year I used double sided adhesive (BEWARE! This might peel off the wall paint!) Unfortunately, an adhesive that wouldn't damage the walls wasn't strong enough to hold a picture frame... so my photos had to go with out :( However, if you are able to use picture frames, that's wonderful!
Great places for picture frames include:
1. IKEA. What!? Expensive photos but cheap frames?
2. Ross.
3. Antique stores. Can never go wrong with these!
    Never worry about the color of your frame when you're buying. Depending on the material, you can always paint over it to give it a cleaner or more worn look.
    For tacking up smaller pictures (of my friends and ticket stubs) I used large pin boards that I propped up on my desk.

    Although I can ramble on about this post, I will spare you and just leave this post to the basics :) I hope that this post proved, somewhat, helpful!

     I'm curious, what photos have/are you decorating your space with?
From Milan,
With Love.
 


Take Me to the Ball Game



I don't always go to baseball games, but when I do it better be for free!
Which is the only reason why I visited the Angel's Stadium today.
My friend, Jess, was nice enough to take Shannon and I to an Angel's game with tickets she got from her job.
What a good friend and I can't thank her enough!
Not only were the tickets free, but they were club level seats!
I'm not a baseball fan, so I'm not sure if club level seats are anything to be excited about.
However, I still pretended like they were a big deal :)

With this being my first visit to a baseball stadium since my days in summer camp I learned quite a few things:
1. You must rep your home team with their colors! (This should be obvious.)
2. If you're not wearing your teams colors (and shame on you if you're not!) make sure that you're not wearing the colors of the opposing team!
3. The rules of baseball are pretty similar to kickball :o (I know, I know that this may be evident to the average person.)
4. Baseball food is surprisingly good! Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks puh-lease!! And maybe some nachos too!
5. Baseball players are kinda good looking. OK, really good looking ;P

With or without the good food and eye-candy, the game was still fun.
Having an excuse to whoop and holler is always a good thing!
And knowing what was going on for once helped make the game more interesting :P

So, is baseball now my favorite sport?
Sorry, but no.
Would I go again with friends?
Definitely!
From Milan,
With love.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Countdown to Zero [Days of Summer]

Today is Monday.
Meaning that I have exactly three more weeks until starting my second fall semester at SFSU.
Where did the summer go!?
It went where all of my other fun memories went... in the past :(
Although my many fun outings helped my summer break fly by, I can't say that I met everything on my summer checklist.

MILAN'S SUMMER CHECKLIST:
[X] Re-read the epic poem Beowulf
[sadly, I missed this for work.] See Youngblood Hawke at Make Music Pasadena
[X] See Imagine Dragons live
[X] Celebrate my 19th birthday with close family and friends
[X] Take up swing dancing
[] Visit an art fair
[X] Visit an exhibit
[Not yet! But this Thursday I will!] Go to the beach
[X] Start cycling four days a week
[X] Perfect swimming skills

Not bad for completing more than three quarters of my summer checklist!
Normally I will only check off one!
What did you guys put on your summer checklists!?


From Milan,
With love.