TWIMO Crafter-noon Xmas Style

Before I left Atlanta for the holidays I was feeling particularly crafty and decided to whip up this wreath for my door and decorate my lovely silver tinsel tree.



The wreath was made by wrapping yarn around a Styrofoam wreath form. Then I tied a lovely bow out of some Amy Butler fabric scraps I had. I believe I was inspired by something I saw in an Anthropologie catalog, but for a while I just thought I was a crafting genius.



My tree I have given the name "the friendship tree" as many of the ornaments were contributions from some dear friends. TWIMO-er Britt (my DG little sis) gave me the laser cut wooden snow flakes from Roost and the red and white vintage-esque ones are from TWIMO-er and comment contributor Ms. Alison. Thanks for making my Christmas bright! I also used my grandmother's vintage lace as a garland and made a tree topper by cover a wooden star bought at Michael's with that lovely Amy Butler fabric again. Next year I will be adding lovely glass ornaments I bought in Germany.

Hope all you TWIMOers have a lovely holiday wherever you may be and remember the world is your oyster so be merry and make it lovely!

ICE: Indie Craft Experience

Hi All,

So as you may or may not know, I recently got back from a river cruise with Momma TWIMO down the river Rhine through Switzerland, France, and Germany. It was pretty sweet and I'm all in the Christmas mood now, but I haven't uploaded my pictures yet, because my camera cord is misplaced and perhaps is in my luggage which is god knows where in the world right now, so the Rhine Retrospective will be coming soon, but I felt I was neglecting my loyal followers so I thought I'd write about this awesome Indie Craft Fair I went to in November with one of my new friends from my graphic design class. The indie craft experience was this craft fair in a great old warehouse building in a not so good area of Atlanta. All the stuff was super awesome and I really wish I could make a living just crafting. Perhaps I'll look into it. I think I might have a calling as a professional crafter.

Here's what I bought:

Clockwise from the top:

1) Resin Necklace with some sort of berry encased in it. Look at the super cute grass packaging...

2) Felted hair clip. So cute. Check them out at Blue Eyed Freckle on Etsy. I also think I could make my own which is why I bought this to look at construction etc.

3) Fabric covered button earrings. I'm kinda obsessed with plaid this winter.

4) Background: Poster bought as a Christmas Gift.

A lot of cities these days are having these Indie Craft Fairs so I highly recommend finding them and start shopping for Christmas next year. Remember I've been a very good girl and should be at the top of your list! ; )

Princess Plan B

So as you may know my boyfriend, Prince William, recently got engaged to another woman... Naturally I was devestated. I've been a huge fan of the English royal family since I was a young princess in waiting watching PBS specials on my future family and drawing pictures of Princess Diana. I kid you not. I even have a shot glass with the princes on it. It's amazing. So to ameliorate my disappointment of not getting that sapphire ring on my finger I've decided to embrace Miss Middleton (well mostly those AMAZING hats she wears) and buy my own damn ring, because QVC has obviously knocked it off for $35.



So my advice to you other princess to be-s (okay wannabes) go out buy a TWIMO thrifty engagement ring and get your glue gun and make a fab hat and strut your princess stuff. That's what I'll be doing. I mean there is still one prince left. I'm not picky if a tiara is involved.

Maybe I shouldn't call myself a reader...

Recently a lot of TWIMO-ers (Courtney via FB and Erin over at Noveltease) have been posting this list originally posted by the BBC. They claim that most people have only read six of the hundred books on the list. Luckily I have read more than six, but without the help of high school, I may not have. NOW I did not read the article so I don't know what the criteria for the books being on the list are, because I've read more books than this, they just aren't on the list. And I have read one Harry Potter book, but not the whole series (I mean that's like a 10 year reading commitment and where was the Twilight series, cause I've read all of those), so it's things like that that I think make this list a bit bogus, but here is what I've read. Not quite the 61 out of 100 that Erin has read, but now I'm going to make it a point to read more of these featured books so I can catch up with the reading maven!

Items in BOLD are things I have read and completed.

Items in Italic are things I have started and not finished or read an excerpt from. (This seems to be my downfall. I start, but don't finish)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Hoop Skirts and a bubbly beverage

The Glee episode I missed this week because I was sitting in the last row of a plane where I swear every passenger had to go to the bathroom (GROSS) flying back to the ATL from Houston, is not working, so I thought why not blog. I have a lot to blog about so hopefully over the next few days I will get you caught up on my ohhh sooo important and exciting life.

First up, Angie, my college roommate for 3 years, came to visit. She's in med school in Chicago and was in town for a residency interview at Emory (GOOD LUCK!!). Since I'm Angela's FAV person on earth she decided to come for a few extra days, so I could show her the ropes of Atlanta and how we Southern Belles mind our P's and Q's.

Ang and I at the World of Coke

Being the delightful, wonderful friend that I am, I drug my ass out of bed at 5:45 am to pick up my dear friend... and then I made her buy me breakfast at the Majestic Diner (an Atlanta Establishment). The food was typical diner food, although I got 2 eggs, yogurt, granola, and a waffle. I think I was really up set about waking up so I ordered everything on the menu. Later in the day we donned our hoop skirts and went to Margaret Mitchell's (the author of Gone with the Wind) house. I've never actually read the book, but I've seen the move several times, so it was a pretty interesting site. I have to say my favorite thing was the video they showed on the making of the movie. When watching it you forget that it was filmed in 1939... Anyway they showed how most of the backdrops and scene were actually painted onto glass and then combined with the live action film. It's like pre-historic Photoshop. I was wowed.

Another ATL site I insisted we go see was the World of Coke. I had been there when I was little, and remembered it being AWESOME, so naturally I drug my dear friend to the carbonated wonderland. Despite the overwhelming bombardment of marketing and branding (and let's face it, Coca-Cola is pretty much genius at this) it was really interesting to see how the brand evolved and made itself one of the most recognized brands in the world. Oh, and we both got some good burps in at the world showcase of sodas. It's like the Epcot of soda machines. AMAZING. After our stomachs settled from chugging the worldly sodas we took a spin around Centennial Olympic Park. Verdict: Not that exciting.

Sculpture to some guy at Olympic Park. I'm using it as a stage.

Giant red tree at obviously... the world of coke.

Lastly I enlisted Ang in helping me give my dear dog, Clair a hair trim. She hasn't had a haircut since August (most likely because I spent her beauty budget on shoes), so she was having some trouble seeing. Well needless to say Ang and I are crossing Dog Groomer off our potential career lists. Clair looks awful, but at least we got a good laugh.

So, everyone cross your fingers for Angie getting a job at Emory, because I'm a mean tour guide and showed Ang how the world is her oyster ATL style. I'm taking reservations for tours for next year FYI.

Graphic Design Humor

IKEA Cooks

A woman in my graphic design class is designing a cookbook for her capstone project, so another student found this cookbook that IKEA has produced, because they felt you needed something as cool to do in their kitchens as their kitchens are cool. So hats off to the simple minimalism of what I like to call the IKEA flat pak cookbook (See how they've deconstructed on the ingredients (just like those damn Besto bookcases come in a million pieces). I just hope you don't need a hammer and little wooden pegs to put these recipes together!

Things I Dislike

Hi TWIMOers. Once again I apologize for not being around. I think my dreams of TWMIO making the big time are slowly waning, but in an attempt to remain positive in other aspects of my life I’m going to use TWIMO as my platform for complaining about things that currently irk me.

1) People with jobs. J/K. Okay kinda kidding. In truth all of you working people don’t really annoy me, but I’m jealous. Really jealous. And starting to wonder what is wrong with me. Verdict: I love you anyway.

2) Over the Knee Boots. I’m sorry. I know these are the “hot” new thing right now, but quite frankly I think they make people look like hookers. Once again maybe this is a subliminal jealous streak, because I’m pretty sure those boots wouldn’t get up over my chubby knees. No, that's not it, they really just look like hooker boots. Verdict: Skip this trend peeps. Save your money and send it to me at the Save the Sarah Foundation.

Case in point. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

3) Glitter Nail Polish. Apparently this trend has made it full circle circa 1996 as I recently saw that OPI was advertising a new glittered nail enamel collection. Now I know it might seem cool, but think really hard. Channel Hanson and the Backstreet Boys and remember how HARD that stuff was to get OFF. Verdict: Glitter is meant for christmas ornaments and preschool craft projects, not your fingers.


*Side note. I heard a rumor that Justin Bieber is making a line of nail polish. This makes me want to barf, especially if it has glitter in it. Blech....

4) Wine-o Painting Studios. Do you know what I’m talking about? In Atlanta at least these places are popping up like the plague. Basically you pay money for a painting lesson and can bring alcoholic beverages with you to sip on while you paint. Hence why many of these establishments have the name “Sips and Strokes.” Now really I do think this sounds like fun (a bunch of girlfriends, vino, and paint), but the artist in me can’t see forking over at least $35 to paint a picture that looks like bad hotel art (because you have to follow along with the instructor). Please look at the link to one of these place’s calendars and see what I mean. Verdict: I’m going to leave these places to the novice painter and buy myself a bottle of three buck chuck and sip and stoke my way to a REAL masterpiece.

*I just read this and realize what a huge snob I sound like. Oh well... I paid a lot of money to be an art school snob.

5) Extremely boring book club books. If you didn’t know, I recently joined a book club (the Scarlet O’Hannahs (you will only get this if you’re a DG)) through the Atlanta Delta Gamma Alumnae chapter, aka my favorite things, books, learning, and sorority girls! So I went to the first installment in October where we read The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I go to B&N to purchase the book thinking oh yay! something like The Other Boleyn Girl. No. Not quite. The book is not fiction, could be used as a weapon as it weighs 5lbs, and is 500+ pages long. Regardless, it actually was pretty good and the conversation that ensued was entertaining. The leader is writing a book on the lessons modern women can learn from the six wives, so she wanted us modern women to give our opinions. This month’s book is killing me though. It’s called Revolutionaries (like the men who founded America) by Jack Rakove and it is boring. Like makes me want to put a bayonet through my eye. I ask you where is the chick lit? Where are the fun, imagination jogging fiction books? This is a SORORITY book club for gosh sakes (disclaimer: not that sorority girls are only chick lit readers. The members of this club are very successful, intelligent women) Verdict: I’m going to book club with only half the book read. I just can’t take G.Washington’s antics anymore unless he starts drinking a martini and puts on a pair of Manolos.

So there you have it. Things that annoy me. Remember I have a lot of time to think about such things. So if you’re feeling down and out focus on the positive and blog about the negative because the world is your oyster.

Happy Almost Halloween!

As I'm preparing for one of my favorite holidays (I mean come on, candy, creativity, pretending to be someone you're not. What more could you ask for?) I have stumbled across this article in the NY Times about this woman who is a sociologist (swoon) and writes about the history and impact candy has had on American culture. She calls herself the candy professor. Now as a self professed history buff, culture maven, and sweet tooth I'm obsessed and during my graphic design class the last few days (when everyone else was learning what a cursor does. I'm a little more advanced than that. I mean look at this blog?) I read most of her posts on the NY Times website, so check it out! Learn something. And obviously go eat some candy in honor of one of my favorite holidays. Also, check out my recipe for Halloween Delish: Peanuts and Candy Corn.

Dump bag of candy corn in with large amount of peanuts. Mix. EAT A LOT.

All for my art

This weekend the lovely Sara D. invited me over for a pumpkin carving party, so with much enthusiasm I purchased a pumpkin and packed up my trusty serrated knife and headed over. Having not carved a pumpkin since 2005 when I was studying abroad in Florence, I was a little out of practice. I successfully cut the top off the pumpkin, scooped out the pumpkin's slimy, gooey innards, and tediously separated out the seeds for Sara to roast, and carved an homage to the great Salvador Dali's moustache. My masterpiece was complete and all of my fingers were intact. But wait! It would not be an evening with Sarah if a weird, unfortunate event did not occur. So, as I'm heading out the door the knife I had brought breaks through the plastic bag I was carrying it in and falls to the floor grazing my big toe. It immediately begins gushing blood and the blood drains from my face as the reality of having to be rushed to the ER floats into my thoughts (okay maybe I'm being a LITTLE dramatic). Luckily I was in a room full of future doctors who jumped into action, stopped the flow of blood, assessed that I would not die and that I did not need stitches and bandaged up my toe. So as usual I hurt myself doing nothing, but at least I have a lovely halloween jack-o-lantern to show for it!

Etsy Finds + TWIMO Observes: Pop Culture

Ok, ok. TWIMO-ers YOU ARE SLACKING!!! I MISS YOUR COMMENTS and I FEEL YOU AREN'T GETTING YOUR TWIMO GOSPEL WHEN YOU DON'T LET ME KNOW YOU'RE READING IT!!!

Okay just got off my soapbox. Now I know you're all thriving young professionals and don't have much time to waste, you know watching television etc. and keeping up on your pop culture so I feel I should do my job as the only unemployed person of my friends and inform you about what's happening in the world outside of you know, your JOBS.

1) Starbucks is going to start serving wine and beer. Well, only in Seattle for now, but I'm sure if it makes them a BAZILLION dollars in the West it will soon move East.

2) I've been watching a lot of this show on TLC called Sister Wives about a polygamist family. First of all I don't understand why any man would want to have 4 wives. Think about all that hormonal shit you'd have to put up with. I wouldn't want to put up with 4 of me. Also, they have all these polygamist jokes which I think is funny and WEIRD.

3) While watching Sister Wives I was blessed with seeing the commercials for the up coming reality show called Sarah Palin's Alaska. Yes, that's right folks, Sarah Palin has a reality show. Attention whore, anyone?? Now I abhor this idea, but let's be real, I'm going to watch it. I'll fill you in, in case you miss any wonderful Palin moments.

4) A teen mom on the MTV hit show "Teen Mom" may be charged with domestic violence charges for beating her baby daddy. Poor guy. He just couldn't keep it in his pants. He can't help it. I just feel bad for the kid (the baby. Not the kids having the baby.)

Now hold onto your britches it's ETSY TIME. Recently to A) keep me busy in my boredom and B) calm my nerves I have been working on a needlepoint eyeglass case that my mom bought me. Now every time I sit down to stitch I think, "What am I 80?" but no shame here. In hopes of finding some hipper needlecraft projects I went to Etsy and found these great projects that I know you're all dying to stitch up. *Please note that when I came across these pieces I had simply searched for cross stitch patterns, nothing like pornographic cross stitch patterns.

Um yeah... and this was a tame one.

WHOAAA Bella and Edward. Isn't Twilight for pre-teens??? Oh who am I kidding this is probably considered G-Rated in today's tween world.

For the more tradition ladies out there. Mr. Darcy anyone?

And lastly but not least (Erin this one's for you) an RPatts Pillow. Be ready to see that under the tree come x-mas Etabs!

The conclusion I have come to is that women who might buy these projects probably just sit on their couches a lot and make cross stitch pillows so they aren't getting a lot, so these little projects probably keep them a little hot and bothered. You know whatever you gotta do, because the world is your oyster.

Prescription for overly ambitious parents...

So, you may or may not know, but to put a little money in my pockets I have been proctoring mock SATs for a tutoring company. It's really good money for just sitting. The other day one of my fellow proctors said the funniest thing that I thought I'd share with you. First you have to understand that these kids are coming sometimes two weekends in a row to sit for 4.5 hours to take a FAKE test of a test, that let's face it, is kinda a stupid test. So in regards to the PSAT he said, "Yeah, I don't get taking a mock PSAT. It's like taking a fake test for a fake test." I thought this was hilarious as it is SO true. My message to you over achieving parents, TAKE A CHILL PILL, your kids will be good smart people despite their SAT scores (even if I do judge people I go on dates with by their scores. Whatevs).

TWIMO Observes: A Cat Lady

Yesterday I stopped in at Target on my way home from my seasonal employment interview at Vera Bradley, because obviously I want to be a maven of over priced patterned, quilted tote bags. Verdict: LAME. I'm going to with draw my application. Sorry, TWIMOers, no VB bags for you for X-mas. Anyway while the clerk was ringing up my essentials (pee pads for Clair, TP for me, and a box of Mac and Cheese) an older lady pulled up behind me with her cart and proceeds to unload about 40 cans of cat food, a HUGE container of kitty litter, and lastly about a 50 lbs. bag of dry cat food. I immediately judged this woman as a crazy cat lady and looked to see if she was wearing a glittered puff paint t-shirt adorned with a cat and if that murmuring I heard was her talking to herself. I quickly realized that in fact the murmuring was the gawking noise coming out of my mouth as I imagine the 400 cats this woman was going home to. Right then and there I vowed to myself never, ever to become a cat lady, even if I do spend many of my Saturday nights alone and can't seem to find a boy I like. I, Sarah, will never wear a puff paint cat shirt and buy my weight in meow mix. Period. Let's face it, there are other options, because the world is my oyster.


P.S. Never google image search for "cat lady" photos. The results are horrifying.

TWIMO Goes South

Wait! What? Georgia isn't the South you ask? Well, it is, but I recently as in I'm still there had the chance to go even father South to Vero Beach, Florida to visit the lovely TWIMOer and good friend of mine, Alison. So here is a rundown of my absolutely wonderful trip visiting absolutely wonderful people.

Saturday afternoon I arrived in West Palm Beach. Now I've been to Florida before (Orlando, Tallahassee, etc.) but I've not really ventured into South Florida. So as I stepped off of the plane I quickly realized I'd forgotten to wear my stiletto heels and bring my Louis Vuitton bag. Darn! I also realized Florida is much warmer than say Northern Georgia. My lovely friends Ann and Alison then picked me up and we jetted into West Palm Beach where we had a lovely meal at a French bakery (it was really French too, as in the many of the staff spoke French and they had a French radio station playing.). I got a roast beef sandwich with goat cheese on crusty, warm French bread. YUM. Then we drove to Palm Beach (the really rich area) and checked out the giant VACATION home estates of the rich (and probably some famous). Now the interesting thing about Palm Beach that Alison pointed out is that residents are not allowed to build walls more than 4' or so high to protect their mansions from the prying eyes of the plebeian likes of oh... Me. So to keep my gwaking looks out they build instead giant walls of neatly manicured shrubs.

Giant manicured shrubs to keep me from looking at fancy houses. Boo.

After my tour of the West Palm Beach neighborhoods we ventured to the Breakers Hotel (you know, the famous one) where we proceeded to look for the back entrance to the hotel because we decided we did not look fancy enough. Once finding said entrance (we were slowed down by the immaculate croquet course near the entrance with perfect, carpet like green grass that we had to a) admire b) take our shoes off and see if it felt as great as it looked. Verdict: Not so much.

Fake Carpet Grass at the Breakers

We prefer middle class grass). So finally we make it inside the beautiful turn of the century hotel modeled after an Italian palazzo and made our way to the Seafood Bar (the bar has fish swimming in it) and enjoyed a highly overpriced cocktail while looking out over the crashing waves of the Atlantic.

The view of the ocean from the Breakers Promenade

After I snapped out of my dreams of wearing 1920s attire and sashaying about the Breakers with my Vanderbilt boyfriend we headed back to Vero Beach to see The Social Network, the film about Facebook that everyone is raving about. Verdict: What's all the commotion?

As we headed to bed Saturday night my hostesses with the most-esses gave me some options for the following day's activities a) Miami b) Disney World c) See the wonders of Vero Beach.

Sunday morning we wake up bright and early and I revealed my pick for the day's activity. Duh... Disney World. So we pack up the car and head to Disney World where we have decided to spend the day at my favorite park: Epcot. For those of you unfamiliar with the Disney empire, Epcot is kinda like the nerd's park. All of the rides and exhibits are there to teach you something whether it is how they test cars for market via Test Track a high speed car ride or take you around the world in the World Showcase, a mini world's fair if you would.

My home land: Germany at the Epcot World Showcase

Now I LOVE the world showcase, as I love travelling, so we spent most of the day walking around it and sampling the delightful morsels they were selling for the 15th annual Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Here's a run down of my menu: Crab Cake with Slaw (America), Sausage in a Pretzel Roll (Germany), Riesling (Germany), Purple Haze Beer (they had 15 beers you could sample to celebrate their 15th year), and to top it all off a chocolate lava cake with bailey's Irish cream ganache. Can we say YUM.

I was trying to get a date at the Norwegian pavilion by showing them how good I looked in a Viking helmet and how much I love moose.

After this very exhausting yet extremely wonderful foray back to my childhood visits to Disney we headed back to Vero Beach.

Today my hostesses have to work, because obviously Florida does not care about Columbus and his mistaken landing in America, I have been having a great time hanging out with my dog Clair's frienemy Bear.

Bear the Chihuahua and hostess with the most-ess

We took a walk on the beach, bought some local orange juice and had a delightful lunch staring out at the ocean. What a perfect little holiday to take my mind off my unemployment woes...

The Design Guru Observes

Lately I've been foraying into the world of technology, as many of you may already know, I (okay with the help of Momma TWIMO) purchased a brand spanking new Mac Book Pro. SWOON. I'm so in love with it, although I have been a little timid in jumping into the transition between the PC and Mac worlds. Fellow TWIMOer E, has convinced me to dive in and I'm taking her advice, so full steam ahead I'm becoming a Mac (I just need to add all 12 of the apple stickers that came with my computer to my car's bumper to make it official. Can we talk about genius viral marketing?)

Any hoo in the process of getting a new computer by the design geniuses at Apple and needing a new wireless router to go along with it, I have noticed the move in product, packaging, and instructional design to be shifting into a phase that calls for ease and simplicity. For instance, Apple is so convinced that their products are so user friendly that they do not require instruction booklets (disclaimer to Apple: I got an ipod touch which came with no instructions whatsoever and I did not know it had a power button until Miss Alison showed me. Apple, some of us just aren't as smart as you). Coming from the world of the PC this is a mind blowing concept. When I opened the sleek white apple box I was greeted simply by my computer. Beneath it was a tab that helped me remove the machine from the box and then I found beneath the computer two neatly packaged books, one labeled For Everything Mac and the other For Everything Else. How simple and direct could that be! Genius. Also, let's not forget the sleek, shiny, design. I've included pictures of my PC clunker (which is only 3 years old) and the new baby for comparison.

My Big Bertha Computer with the slim, sophisticated, just like Justin Long mac. (Ignore my messy desk. If you know me this should not be a suprise.)

Those famously simple instruction books. I'm treasuring these forever.

The packaging on my router was similarly simple. The router lay one top then a tab opened to a compartment beneath the router to reveal the power cord and LAN cable. There was a simple USB drive stuck in the lid that said insert in computer and begin. No manuals. No extra pieces of paper to keep and hoard. This new way of life could really help me streamline.

Nice, right?

I've come to the conclusion that this influx in simplicity is being brought on by the Millennial generation (I am a strong believer in the power of generations to create paradox shifts in a whole society's way of thinking, as my SCAD friends know.). As a generation we demand simplicity in our overly complicated lives. We want to be able to do things quickly and easily, yet we want our technology, objects, packaging to go above and beyond and provide us with lots of function. What an oxymoron create something simple that has many functions. I think it can be done as they companies are starting to prove. Now if they would just hire me to further their simplistic endeavors.

Oh and what cute laptop does not need a cute laptop bag? Check out the one I got in my absolute fav. color scheme! (Couldn't find a picture that blogger would let me post, sooo check it out via this link!) I got the one in the Baroque pattern. So happy!

Why October is one of my favorite months.

Today is the beginning of October, one of my favorite months of the year. First, it is usually in October that fall (my favorite weather season) sets in. Here in the ATL, we're running a sunny 75 with a slight breeze and it's fantastic. October is also the start of my favorite holiday seasons. First we get Halloween (when I scoff at people that say it is just for kids. Trick or treating is for kids. Halloween is for everyone). I LOVE dressing up and pretending to be something I'm not. Last year I was a "desperate" housewife and it was fantastic fun running around Savannah with my dear grad school friends. The best might have been E (a lumber jack) chasing her log, Miss C-line. Good times. Then comes Thanksgiving my all time favorite holiday and then Christmas, which doesn't really get me all hot and bothered, but this year I'm living abundantly, so the fact that I have very little family left is not going to bother me. :) Now other reasons to love October:


1) Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Having a family plagued with this disease (both my grandmother and mother and the very high chance that I too will get to deal with it) makes me want to spread the word. Go out there support the cause! Since it's directed at women, there are lots of cool products you can buy that give money back to research, for instance this new bracelet I just bought from Ann Taylor Loft designed by Me & Ro (really awesome jewelry designers that I could not afford otherwise). $5 of the cost goes to research AND if you're a TWIMO thrifty shopper, like myself you will have scored this beautiful find for 50% off retail ($35) (Loft is currently running a %25 off everything in the store sale and I had a coupon for %25 off full price merchandise, hence %50 off). So go get one!!! If you're less into material things may I suggest a book to read about the language of cancer, Disease as Metaphor by Susan Sontag. Not as fun as a bracelet, but it will definitely get you thinking. Also, PSA, don't forget to do your monthly breast exam. The DJ on the radio this morning wanted me to remind my friends. So you've been reminded.



2) Oktoberfest!

Now as some of you might know, I come from German heritage. Oh really Sarah? With that last name? A few years back when travelling in Europe I checked into my hostel in Munich and the receptionist said, "Welcome Home." So I may not look like Heidi Klum, but I'm German and one of my favorite parts of German culture is their FOOD. That's right. Hook me up with some sausage, German potato salad, mustard, pickles, and pretzel and I'll be all right. Now if I just liked beer... I think that gene got lost somewhere. Anyway back to the point. In honor of Oktoberfest the lovely people over at World Market are having a sale on German food items. I saw the sale advertised in the monthly e-newsletter I get from them and saw the gem of all gems being thrust at me through my computer screen, Curry Ketchup. Now I know what Miss E is thinking. Disgusting. Well, it's not. Trust me. I discovered curry ketchup while travelling with my ex boyfriend in Europe. We were always on the look out for a cheap eat so in Germany we became obsessed with Curry Wurst, which is essentially a hot dog/sausage with this tomato-y curry sauce aka curry ketchup served piping hot with a little fork. Yum. So now I can have all the curry wurst I want since I am now the proud owner of a giant bottle of curry ketchup.



So go out crack open a nice brew (or lovely Germany white wine) and raise your glass to October.

DIY Monday

And we're back for DIY Monday... I've got a lot of DIY posting to do today too (mostly because I am refusing to apply to jobs).

Quick aside. On the job front I've changed my strategy, because let's face it, I'm 25, I have a masters degree and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up (don't tell my parents), so I've of late been applying to places I may not be trained to work in, but that I think I would be great at and would love doing. Now not all of these places are in Atlanta, which might make my dad have a heart attack if I actually get hired by any of them. They range in places from Columbus, OH, Chicago, and Boston. Oh, and Martha Stewart Weddings in NYC. HAHAHA. I think it just makes me happy to apply to these places and right now that is my main concern. My happiness. Anyway I applied to a Marketing/ Retail strategy place called Big Red Rooster and of course they want to talk to me, because as my mom pointed out you're going to sound really funny when people ask you where you work and you say Big Red Rooster. You know what mom? I think it would be AWESOME. So.... back to DIY.

1) Halloween Costumes

With Halloween fast approaching (only one more month, people) I decided to buy a ticket and join my friend Mandy's Alice in Wonderland brigade in Columbus as the White Rabbit. Plus, I felt bad, because she made me a costume without me even committing to coming. Anyway at first I thought OH DEAR when I saw the costume, but now I'm pretty stoked. I get to wear a wedding dress and let's face it I'm always going to be the bride's maid so I might as well relish in this delight. Plus, Mandy is letting my make my ears, so DIY project coming up. I'm thinking birdcage veil with the bows etc. on it. I'll post pics when I'm done.

My White Rabbit Gown

2) Penny Tile take a whole new meaning...

Yesterday I was wasting time on Craft Gossip when I came across this Apartment Therapy (awesome blog, check it out) post where a hotel in D.C. tiled their bathroom in pennies. Kinda ironic in the nation's capital, where they made money. I think it's pretty, but my OCD is also grossed out, as money is pretty dirty (not that I would lie down and roll around on it. Okay, maybe if I was drunk). Also, I wonder if it is legal to use money as a flooring material? Isn't there some law about defacing money? Anyway start saving those pennies so you too can tile your floor, as I think this might be the ultimate DIY, because you're literally saving your money.

Penny Tiles for those of you who are not interior design geniuses

And "penny" tiles for those of us who take things a little too literally

3) A last bite of summer recipe

This weekend I went to Athens, GA to visit the lovely TWIMOer, Erin and we had a great culinary tour of the city. We had dinner at this great little place called Farm 255 which has all local and organic foods. I had shrimp and grits which was delicious, but we also had a fresh peach crostini with cracked black pepper that you could totally make at home and enjoy those last bits of juicy summer, so here's what to do:

Toast or Broil some lovely bread. I like a rustic French.
Spread some ricotta cheese on it.
Top with sliced peaches and sprinkle with some cracked black pepper.
** Now being a chronic sweet tooth I drizzled the final product with honey and I have to say it was magnifique!

So go out start planning your Halloween mischief, tile your floor with pennies, and eat some fruit. As always, the world is your oyster.

Listography Sunday

This week's list: List your past jobs. Now I have to admit I don't have that many past jobs, because I'm a spoiled only child whose mom thought it was more important for me to be a kid than making money and learning to be responsible, so I went to summer camp, did summer school, and then eventually my senior year of high school got a job... so here goes.

1) Day Camp Counselor at my school's summer program: I aided in teaching art classes and making sure the kiddos got fed. Pretty much I just played with art stuff all day. It might have been the best job I've ever had.

2) Bob Evan's Waitress: Although I HATED this job, I still talk about it, so it couldn't have been that bad I guess. I feel like it was a right of passage and now I know I can waitress, if I ever need to, which I might. Like next week.

3) Ohio Citizens for the Arts: An internship I stumbled upon, which was for a lobbying group for the arts. I really enjoyed it even though the work I did was lame like send envelopes through a machine that wet them for closing (okay that machine was pretty cool). I also got to work in a big fancy office building in downtown columbus (okay in the basement of a a big fancy office building. The arts have to take what they can get).

4) Duane Reed Gallery: I was an unpaid intern and it was really boring although the girl I worked with was super nice. I guess it was cool to see the business of art too. I guess... I did get to experience a Japanese business man searching for a picture of a cowboy to take back to Japan. That was amusing. We didn't sell cowboys, just Chihuly...

5) WashU Libraries Preservation Dept.: This might have been the dorkiest job I've ever had. I fixed books. It was pretty awesome. Like getting paid to do book binding, which I found enjoyable. I also could set my own schedule which made it perfect for a college student. I did almost get smashed in those stacks that move back and forth to condense space. That was kinda scary.

6) Pier One: Stacking candles was sort of therapeutic. That's all I have to say about that.

7) Intercontinental Hotels Group: Um... I designed hotel rooms with the lovely E which are really being put in hotels. That's pretty much amazing right? I also got to go in a private plane with snacks.

8) Proctoring SATs: This is what I do now for pocket money, while I'm waiting for someone to discover my talent and hire me, because they can't live without me. PS. this is like the easiest job EVER. I sit and get paid and occasionally say "Pencils down. Stop working."

Do Brunettes or Redheads have more fun?

Most of you know me as a blond. My natural hair color is a dirty blond color, but I've been enhancing it with highlights since 7th grade (I learned early that blonds have more fun). The only time I've ever tried to change it was when I lived in Italy and had dark brown reddish highlights put in it. I have to say I didn't like it, but I'm getting bored and wishing fall was here (as in it not being 90 degrees) and drinking pumpkin spice lattes just isn't cutting it. So, maybe a new fall/winter hair color will do the trick? Here are some options and I'd love your opinion.

A nice strawberry blond like Amy Adams?

Or perhaps a nice hazelnut brown (that's my name for it) like Audrey?

DIY Monday- Fancy Fingers

Today I made like a housewife (a real housewife of Atlanta, mind you) and headed to the nail salon for a mani and pedi. I know, I know, how un TWIMO thrifty of me, but I have an excuse. I have very flat feet that cause very bad calluses that hurt (I know, gross. I know, this is the internet, a public domain. Now people know I have gross feet. Maybe someone will feel bad for me and hire me). Okay, back to business. So I got a mani and pedi and it was wonderful and my feet and fingers look great EXCEPT I always ruin the nail polish before it dries all the way which then makes me very angry, because I just spent good $$ on it!!! So to save you the agony of ruining your professionally polished digits I will tell you the secret to doing your nails at home, which is usually what I do unless my calluses get bad. So, I don't know how to do that whole cuticle cutting thing so I leave that to the pros, but I do know how nail places get that lacquer hard polish that lasts months, so if you follow my tips and let your nails dry appropriately you will have a salon quality paint job.

Step 1: Apply Bonder. This is a sticky top coat that makes the polish bond to the nail. I use the Orly Bonder which is available at places like Sally Beauty Supply.

Step 2: Polish with a high quality polish. My weapon of choice is O.P.I. I know, I know it is $8 a bottle, but in this case you get what you pay for in my opinion. Plus, $8 will get you a lot of paint jobs and is a heck of a lot cheaper than $20 for a mani.

Step 3: Top coat with Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat. You must use this brand! This is the true key to the ever lasting mani. I think this is the problem I have at some nail salons. They don't use something like this product and then I go and ruin my nails. When I do them at home they dry close to instantly with this stuff. Also a bit pricey at $8, but sooo worth it. Also available at Sally Beauty.

Check out this website for more detailed info on the TWIMO Indestructible Manicure (okay, okay someone else also knew my secret, but I swear I discovered this on my own, I just found this looking for a product image).

So, TWIMO-ers go out there and get those toesies and fingers polished pretty for the fall. I recommend a nice dark vampy color. Now if only it wasn't 90 degrees out.

Listography Sunday + a gift with purchase

Today's list is "List your favorite films." Now I enjoy a good film (or a not so good film, as my taste in film often leads me to the RomCom category or the ever popular chick flick) every once in a while, but unfortunately I am not one of those people that can remember seeing the film once a few months has past. In fact people who quote movies while we watch them really annoy me, not only because it's annoying, but because I'm jealous that I can't even remember the titles of films after seeing them. Needless to say this should be interesting.

1) Amelie: I own this film on both dvd and vhs. It's a wonderful imaginative world and who doesn't want to be like Audrey Tautou.

2) Dirty Dancing Havana Nights: This is a classic. Cuban dancing and a Patrick Swayze cameo. This is one of the only films I can watch over and over again. Just ask my college roommate Angie.

3) Little Women: One of my first favorite films. I was devastated when I lost my vhs copy.

4) Sound of Music: Who doesn't want 8 brothers and sisters? I certainly did. And I wanted them to sing and I wanted to wear curtains with Julie Andrews. This film led me to try out for the play in 3rd grade (which was a devastating realization that my stage career was going to end before it started), to see Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in concert with the London Philharmonic (they sang Edelweiss!!), write a paper in college on my desire to be one of the VonTrapp children as a child, because of the sibling factor (never mind the whole Nazi, WWII thing), and lastly get really excited when I went to Saltzberg and saw many of the sites from the film.

Stairs where they sing Do-Re-Mi

5) I am Sam: First off, amazing sound track. Makes me cry every time, even when I had to watch it in class in college (embarrassing).

Okay well I'm sure there are more, but these are the first 5 that came to mind. I'd love to hear what some of yours are so that maybe I can see them and improve my film repertoire.

Gift with Purchase!

So I've been wanting to tell you all about a few recent events I've gone to and I'm going to forget about them if I don't do it now.

First was a WashU alumni event where a WashU alum and the vice president of HOK in Wash. D.C. gave a presentation on greening the workplace. She has written a book on the subject that is geared towards a non-design public. Now I think this is a great idea and I bought the book to see how she sells green to the non design world (I have yet to read it, but will let you know if there is anything interesting in it).

One thing really bugged me about her presentation and brought me back to the age old debate between the architect and interior designer conflict was the fact that one of her points was guess what, the occupants of the building matter! She made it seem like this was an Aha! moment for her and all I could think was really? Really? Who the heck are you designing buildings for if it isn't the occupant??? How do architects not think about the human factor or the people that these places are built for??? Isn't the whole point of architecture to provide shelter for PEOPLE? Why else do we need buildings? We don't is the answer. We could live in stick huts. Does the same thing as a "green" billion dollar office building (okay, okay, maybe not quite, but you get the point). So, this brought me to the realization that although I love the design process, I love researching the user more and now I'm looking into being a human factors researcher (because this actually exists! The only downside is that it doesn't exist in Atlanta. So we'll see who gets to me first, my dream job or a design job in the ATL. I'm going to take either).

The second event I went to this week was "The Late Work of Dali," the show that's at the High Museum right now. I went this week, because I didn't have anything going on and I didn't want to go on a weekend, because I hate people and crowds. In this regard I'm a genius. So, in the past I haven't really been a fan of Dali (I saw a show of his in college at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and have to say, just thought it was bizarre). This show gave me a whole new perspective on Dali and his process. Now I will say I'm still not a "fan" but I understand him a little better. First, the show has two dialogues happening. One is his relationship with photog Philippe Haussmann. Together they created a book called Dali's Moustache in which Haussmann asks Dali questions and basically his moustache responds in a series of portraits. I found these really quirky and amusing and bought the book before leaving the exhibit (the back of it says "This book is preposterous." Who doesn't love a book that warns the reader like that?)


The other dialogue was that of Dali's thought process later in life. First off he was a great proponent of Renaissance art and was an intimate follower of Vermeer. I found this interesting, because I'm reading a book on Vermeer right now called the Forger's Spell and I can see the similarities between the two artists' work. Dali if nothing else, technically was a fantastic painter. His subject matter later in life dealt less with dream imagery and the subconscious of his earlier work and more with ideas of religion, nuclear imagery (the atom bombs had recently been dropped on Japan), and pop culture. He also used his wife and love of his life as a model and inspiration in a lot of his work. There was a quote from Andy Warhol that said he wasn't sure what Dali would have been had it not been for his wife and having his watch melt. I thought this was hilarious. Anyway I really enjoyed the show and recommend checking out the High's website for more info.

That is all for now. So go a seize the week, because the world is your oyster, and as always live by Dali's words and be preposterous!