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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

July in Review

Can you believe it's already the end of July? That means I've only got a month left of my summer vacation before classes start up again. I'm not too sure how I feel about that to be honest. I have enjoyed being a student for the past four years but I'm ready to wrap up the experience. I want to move on to bigger and better things in my life. Thankfully I've only got this coming semester left and then I'm done.

Anyways, you might remember that I made a July Goals post in the beginning of the month. Since tomorrow is the first day of August I thought today would be a great time to go over the list and what I've done this past month.

My July goals were...
Get through the next pivotal scene in my novel, Runaway.
Dye my hair blond.
Keep looking for a part time job and get lucky.
Try my hand at watercolours.
Make an art piece or two for the shop.
Meditate more.
Hoop a few times a week.
List more items in my thrift shop.

Look at all the stuff I crossed off the list! It's been a good month. I haven't written as much in my novel as I would have liked, but I did get through an important scene which feels good. I also dyed my hair. It's not as blonde as I would have liked, but after two attempts I called it quits. It's now a nice strawberry blonde with white-blonde roots from spending a lot of time in the sun.

I did get lucky in finding a part time job! I will be working front end at Hannaford (grocery store) which is not really that exciting, but it's a job so I'm happy about it. I will also be working with a good friend of mien so  have that to look forward to.

I also did attempt a watercolour but I'm really bad at it. I know it takes practice, but I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to work on it. Or motivation. On the same note I also didn't make art pieces for the shop, just jewelry. Booo. I really need to get on this.

I did meditate a bit more, usually before bed. It helps clear out my mind and I sleep better. I really need to make a more stable habit of it though.

Hooping didn't happen as much as I would have liked. A good portion of July was super-hot though so hooping was not something I wanted to be doing. Me and Sue did go out a couple times though on a cool night and get our hoop on, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Aaaaand I certainly did list some more items in my thrift shop! You should all go check it out if you're into cool clothes for good prices. And when I say "good" I mean really cheap. It's all pretty good quality stuff as well.

In retrospect, great month! I didn't cross off everything but I got most of it! And I did lots of other cool things such as go to Warped Tour, see The Devil's Carnival (with pre-show Boston exploring!), get pet rats, start an art journal, and practice my tarot reading.

Check back for my August goal list which should be up in a day or two.

How was everyone else's July? I'd love to know.

Tumblr Tuesday + Giveaway Winner

Ready for awesomeness? :D



tentaclesandteacups:

everyonedies:

saffysworld:

LOVE our new lamp

SO CUTE

Actually so jealous right now :O ♥




spiritual-inspirati0n:

Awwww mine!!!:)





I love that Maya Angelou quote, she is one bad-ass lady.


ALSO! The winner of the ad giveaway is Baylee! Congrats, watch out for my email!


Monday, July 30, 2012

A Monday Update

I was going to do a "Music Monday" post today on Emilie Autumn's new album, but I just don't have the motivation to type it out today. I promise I will get to it soon though! For now I just thought I'd pop in to share some of the recent happenings in my life.

I did my orientation and started my training to work as a cashier/bagger at Hannford the other day. It was alright. I'm happy to have the job. Also, I am apparently a size extra small in their shirt sizings O.o Typically I wear a woman's medium.

I also recently updated my etsy shop so you should all go check out some of the cool stuff I listed.


Aaand, today I had my submission to Mookychick published on their site! Mookychick is one of my favourite websites and I was so thrilled to hear back from them. 


I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!


Sunday, July 29, 2012

Liebster Award!

Shell from over at Kitty and Buck was sweet enough to nominate me for a Liebster award recently! Needless to say it put a ridiculously huge grin on my face.

If you don't know what a Liebster award is, let me quickly explain.  It's a blogging award that is given to upcoming bloggers (under 200 followers.) Other bloggers can nominate you for it and leave you a list of questions to answer on your own blog. You answer the questions as well as list 11 facts about yourself, link it to the person who nominated you, and then link (and nominate) 11 other bloggers! Neat, right? I think it's pretty awesome personally and I'm thrilled to have an chance (and excuse, haha) to share more about myself with you all. 

So here we go!

  1. I am almost done with college and have been majoring in English Lit. Yes, really. Call it useless all you want, but I have a deep fondest for books and a knack for analyzing literature. Book nerd to the max!
  2. Me and my boyfriend have 4 pets total -a cat (Eli), hedgehog (Lucy), and two rats (Senna & Aerith.)
  3. I have lived in New England my entire life but I have a serious wanderlust itch. I want to travel the world by whatever means necessary.
  4. I usually try not to match my socks. I pair an ankle sock with another ankle sock but after that it's a free for all. I also don't own a single pair of white socks -bright colours and patterns are way more fun.
  5. I had a pony when I was a little girl. Well, more like a miniature horse, but still! I used to live with my grandparents and my grandmother had horses so when I was about 3 or 4 I got a miniature horse of my very own. She was blind in one eye and her name was Buffy. I used to share my donuts with her.
  6. I am a really big Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books multiple times, watched the movies all within opening weekend (three midnight premieres!) and have written copious amounts of fanfiction for it. Oh yeah, I'm that bad. No regrets!
  7. I have a coffee and tea addiction. I love them both so much. My day does not officially start until I've had a cup of coffee and my tea cabinet is a little out of hand.
  8. I really want dreads. I think they're absolutely gorgeous and I'm just waiting for my hair to grow out more before I get some of my very own.
  9. I have three facial piercings -lip, septum, and a regular nose piercing. The lip piercing didn't hurt at all but I did have to drink through a straw for a few weeks. My septum probably hurt the worst, mostly because they put a clamp on the web inside your nose to loosen up the skin before they even stick the needle in. It definitely didn't help with the pain.
  10. I really love Monster High dolls. I don't care if you judge me for it, haha.
  11. I love for my house to smell like candles and incense. To me there is no better soothing smell. Especially earthy scents like musk, patchouli, and sandalwood.


1. Would you rather explore deep space or the deep ocean?
Tough decision! I'd have to go with the deep ocean though. As cool as space is, I am completely fascinated with the Earth and nature. 

2. If you could be any character in a movie, who would you be? Why?
Luna Lovegood! I just love her whole attitude and all the fun clothes she wears. I try not to care what other people think, but even I am not at her level with it. 

3. Which blog do you read first every day?
To be honest I read things in order the way they come up on my blogger dashboard.

4. Skirts or pants?
Oh what a choice! I love both so much. I'll go with skirts though, simply because then you get the option to wear tights and I have a serious love for tights.

5. Name 5 people from any time past or present who you'd invite to a dinner party.
Emilie Autumn, Evanna Lynch, William Blake, Queen Tomyris, and Marie Antoinette. That would be a seriously wonderful and crazy interesting dinner party!

6. What is your dream holiday destination?
I want to go so many places that picking one is really difficult! I'm going to go with either Greece or Egypt.

7. What is your favourite book and/or film?
I have a lot! 
Favourite books include: Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, Anita Blake series, Oryx and Crake, 1984, Interview with the Vampire, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Grey.
Favourite movies include: 10 Things I Hate About You, Thor, Underworld, Queen of the Damned, Interview with the Vampire, Grease, Pretty in Pink, Beetlejuice

8. Tell me one of your dreams (a nighttime one, you know, that you have when you're asleep)
I have a really hard time remembering my dreams to be honest. But when I was 5 I remember having a terrifying dream about a vampire trying to stuff me in an oven. I had no idea that vampires sucked blood so that's what my child-brain substituted for torture, haha.

9. Who was your first crush on? (mine was Astro Boy, then David Bowie - bonus answers from me!)
Christina Ricci. Between her in The Addams Family and then in Casper I fell in love. 

10. If you had to choose one food to eat for the rest of life, what would it be?
Hmmm... I would have to go with bananas.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
A published novelist!


Let's see... 11 awesome people I want to know more about? Piece of cake! I'm not sure they all fall in the category of under 200 followers, but that's okay. I'm sure no one minds if I bend the rules a tiny bit.

1. Marissa of Moon Daughter
2. Amanda of Dragonflight Dreams
5. Katelyn of Gypsy Moth Sol
6. Rachel at Rachel Arielle
7. Magda from Mute the Silence
8. Charlie from Polka Dots Are Love
9. Magen of Crumpled Fantasies
10. Juli of Dear Sweetlings


  1. Did you have any pets growing up? What were they, what were their names?
  2. What is your favourite summertime activity? Are you a beach gal or more of a site for hours in the ac type?
  3. Do you collect anything? What do you collect and for how long? (bonus non-existent points for pictures!)
  4. If you could keep any animal for a pet (without worrying for your life) what would you get. (I would definitely want a tiger personally.)
  5. What would be your ideal life? (Job, Location, etc)
  6. What kind of phone do you have? Is is a fancy smart phone or something else? Do you like it or not?
  7. What kind of relationship do you have with your family? Are you super-close or the only-see-you-on-the-holidays type?
  8. Best concert you've ever been to? (Mine was Emilie Autumn, by far!)
  9. Tea or coffee? Or are you a sucker for both? Or none? (I can't imagine not liking either personally.)
  10. What was your favourite tv show/movie as a kid? (Anyone else love The Addams Family and Beetlejuice, or was I the only 5 year old into that?)
  11. What are your favourite internet haunts? (Tumblr, Facebook, etc)

I can't wait to read everyone's answers! Hope everyone is having a lovely day!
*****P.S. Don't forget to enter my AD GIVEAWAY*****



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Meet the Rats!

Senna and Aerith are the newest additions to our home and I am so happy to have them as a part of the family. With the two of them there are now twice the amount of animals in our apartment then there are people, which is kind of the way I prefer it.

Anyways, these two rat sisters (we're pretty sure they're sisters) are just too cute! Senna is mine, and Aerith is Mike's. Aerith is a little more skiddish and keep trying to run away but we're sure she'll calm down with time. She takes food from our hands at least, which I haven't been able to get Senna to do yet.


Don't mind the awkward sunburn on my forehead, got it at Warped Tour xD
They have very similar colouring but are easily told a part because Aerith has a larger brown/black patch on her back as well as more brown on her tail. They're super cuddly together though. Rats are actually very intelligent and sociable creatures. It's recommended that you have more than one that way they have company and someone to play with.


That's Senna half buried in her bedding with Aerith sitting beside her cleaning herself.

They really like being on your shoulders. They just sit up there and clean themselves and occasionally move back and forth between them. Senna kept trying to climb in my hair last night and then would stick her nose in my ear.

Me and Senna:



She's so adorable <3

I currently have a bunch of websites bookmarked on rat care and training and plan on immersing myself in it. I'm hoping I can get them to react to their names and simple things like that. 

Anyone else have rats? Any tips or advice for me or just things I ought to know? 

Lady Unlaced

*****P.S. Don't forget to enter my AD GIVEAWAY*****




Friday, July 27, 2012

Feminist Friday: Things That Aren't Other Peoples Business

Alright ladies, I'm sure you've all noticed this and been the victim of it at some point in your life. When you're a woman people seem to think that you need to justify your decisions -particularly ones revolving around relationships, sex, and pregnancy. It's extremely difficult to be a woman and state that you want to be single or married. If you want to have casual sex with someone, only with people you love, or not at all. If you want to have 9 kids, 1 kid, or no kids at all but maybe a few cats.

No matter what you want regarding any of these topics people are going to question you. They want to know why you want that many kids -don't you want to focus on your career? They want to know why you don't want any kids -don't you want a family? I'm sure you'll change your mind. And they definitely want to know how much sex you're having and all the reasons behind that very personal decision -why would you sleep with someone if you're not going to get married? Do you want to be labeled as a slut? You're not having sex!? What are you, a prude?


The double standards are ridiculous. And in case you are one of those people who happen to think that you're entitled to know all the reasons behind someone's personal decisions and also have the right to judge them for it, let me spell that out for you.
R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S.

Being a woman does not mean that I have to report to anyone. Having a vagina does not mean that I'm incapable of making my own decisions. The only person in charge of your life is you. No one has the right to tell you how you should live it or to judge you based on trivial things like how many people you've slept with or whether or not you want kids. It doesn't matter. 

I don't care how much sex a girl has had or with how many people. I don't care if she has a friend with benefits or has one night stands. She is not a slut and slut-shaming is not okay. And choosing not to have sex or to be more picky about who it's with does not make her a prude. We all make our own decisions and those decisions deserve to be respected without snide comments or rude names being tossed around by those who think their decisions are better.

And its not just men who provide this double standard so don't think I am singling them out. I'm not at all. Women are just as guilty of this because they have been taught from a young age (however indirectly) that having "too much" sex makes you a slut and having "too little" makes you a prude. The thing they fail to tell you is that there is no middle ground. There's no winning. You're shamed either way. Someone is going to go out of their way to judge you and try to bring you down.

.

Its not just sex either. If you're a single, independent woman then for some reason people seem to think you are in need of a relationship. People ask you if you have a boyfriend. They ask if you've been on any dates recently. They ask you about your ex. They want to know your thoughts on marriage and when you'll start a family. It can quickly become the main topic of discussion. Your job, friends, hobbies, dreams, and opinions are often easily thrust aside so that they can talk to you about your relationship status. It's insulting, first off, as well as not their business.

And children are where people really get annoying about your choices. I have personally chosen not to have kids. I made this decision when I was still a teenager and at 22 years old my position has not budged. I don't want kids. It's not that I don't like them, I just don't think being a mom is for me. And that choice is something people really like to have a go at. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I'll "change my mind" or that someday I'll "think differently about it." Or better yet that I'll surely want them when I "find the right person." It's infuriating. I'm not going to change my mind, and seeing as I'm the only inside my head, I'm the only one who gets to call the shots on how I think and feel on the matter. Plus, I don't think "finding the right person" has much to do with it. Maybe some people find the love of their life and decide to have children, but that doesn't hold true for everyone and should not be something that is brought up.

To be honest, none of it should be brought up. When you tell someone you don't want kids they should accept it and move on with the conversation. Same goes if you tell them you do want kids. Or that you're single. Or married. Or in an open relationship. Or celibate. Or having sex 20 times a week with 3 different people. Whatever.

The point is, it's no one's business but your own. You do not have to justify your decisions and people shouldn't demand that you do.

This post has been long and if you stuck through it then I seriously commend you. I usually post happier, more positive things on my blog, but some things just have to be said, which is the whole point of Feminist Friday. Besides, once you free yourself from caring what others think about you and your life you'll be much happier anyways. 


*****P.S. Don't forget to enter my AD GIVEAWAY!*****

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Sponsor Unlaced Heart + Ad Giveaway

August will mark my first month venturing into sponsorship waters! It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile I was just waiting to build up my readership a bit. I think I am at a point now where I can offer ad spaces on my blog for a very small fee. All money made from ads will go into sponsoring other blogs or buying shop supplies.

Check out my brand new sponsorship page *here* for sizes and prices. 

To celebrate this new chapter in my blog I am offering a FREE LARGE AD SPACE on my blog for the month of August!


That's right, it's free. 

Not only does today mark the first day of my sponsorship program, but this is also my first giveaway.

So get your entries in!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway ends on July 31st and I will announce the winner who will get an email from me asking for a banner and link that will go up on August 5th with the rest of the ads. Good luck to everyone! And thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

Thrifty Thursday

Today I am going to share two of the shirts from last Friday that I scored at Salvation Army last week. I bought three that day but I wore one and now it's in the wash so I don't have pictures of it. I will try to remember to share it at a later time though. Same goes for the clothes I got at The Garment District, they're all in the wash waiting to get clean before I wear them.

But, in the mean time, here are two of the awesome shirts I got last week. The pictures I feel like don't do them justice at all.


This shirt is not as big as it looks. And it's really comfy, the material is soft and I love the way it clings in some places and doesn't in others. And I love the zipper detail.


I really wish I could get a better picture of this shirt. Its a nice grey colour that I absolutely adore. It's fitted around the torso but the sleeves are loose and flowy. 


It's actually from Old Navy, a store I would never usually shop at. I don't want to know how much this shirt originally cost. I only paid $0.99 for it. I paid the same amount for the first shirt as well as the other one I got not shown here. I seriously love thrifting, I save so much cash.

Anyone else find anything cool recently?



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

July 21st: The Devil's Carnival

This past Saturday my wonderful boyfriend Mike brought me and my other half into the Boston area to see The Devil's Carnival. The short film (part one of a to-come series!) was having it's encore tour and I was so glad I got the opportunity to go as I missed it the first time it came around. If you've never heard of The Devil's Carnival before, let me quickly explain.


The short film is only the beginning in a series about Heaven and Hell, written by Terrance Zdunich and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman who are the brains behind Repo! The Genetic Opera. You might also be familiar with Bousman's name from the Saw movies, which he also directed. Anyways, The Devil's Carnival is a musical about Hell (a carnival!) where Terrance Zdunich plays the Devil. It also features Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn, Sean Patrick Flannery, Alexa Vega, Ogre, Maggie Lally, Contessa, Dayton Callie, Briana Evigan, and more. Full Cast List Here.

Lost souls (sinners) enter the carnival only to be faced with the sins they have committed in their lives. The first installment of this series centers around 3 different individuals as they get caught in the carnival's web.

It's was a fantastic movie. The acting was great as were the sets and costumes and the music was unbelievable. It went above and beyond my expectations and I am so excited for another one. The show itself was great -we went to a theater in Brookline and waited to be let in. We were seated around midnight, watched some behind-the-scenes clips from the making of Repo, saw a showgirl act, watched a short video by Emilie Autumn about a contest they'd held, and then after the movie there was a Q&A with Terrance and Darren. And because Mike is awesome and bought the "Carnie" tickets all three of us also got free posters!

That's not the poster we got, I just like the picture, haha.

Before the movie we spent the day in and around Boston. We went to The Garment District (it was my first time going and I got some cool stuff; I can't wait to go back!) as well as ate an aaamazing dinner as Wagamama. I had the Yasai Cha Han and it was delicious! I love a good fried rice dish, especially when there's tofu involved. After dinner we headed to Brookline to hang out around there before we got in line at the theater. We went to a cute coffee shop where we chatted up one of the baristas and got come caffeine in us so we would stay awake and alert for the movie. My americano was delicious, black, and strong, just the way I like my coffee. 

After that we found a bookshop that didn't close until 11pm and browsed for awhile. Me and Sue were ecstatic when we discovered that their basement was filled with used books. Score! I love buying new books, but it's so much more expensive. I'll take the price of a used book over a new one any day. I managed to get a copy of #9 in the Sweep series and The Fledgling Handbook (House of Night series) for 12$ combined. Seriously awesome deal!

After that we hopped in line to wait for the movie, which as I said before was fantastic. If you get a chance to see it, do it! It's definitely worth the time and money.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

My Birthday Haul

I'm warning you all now, this is going to be a long and picture-heavy post. I was lucky enough to receive lots of wonderful gifts and I want to share them all.

My other half knows me well and got me a beautiful book box that she filled with tea!

I took the tea out and am now using the box to store my tarot cards and book. It's the perfect fit!

She also got me this awesome copy of the Tragic Kingdom (No Doubt) record. It came with a t-shirt as well but I didn't take pictures of it because I forgot and now I;m too lazy to go do it, haha. This is the box it came in though:

And this is the record itself. I love the orange colour!

She also gave me a spell sachet and a copy of A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison which hasn't come in the mail yet (read: she hasn't gone to the post office xD)

And her and her brother (who is also a good friend of mine) split the cost of a Skelanimals hoodie for me at Warped Tour. I am so happy to have it. The Skelanimals hoodie I've been wearing for the past few years is falling apart on me. Needless to say I'm ecstatic to have a new one. I don't usually wear white, but this sweater is so adorable the colour doesn't even matter.
Front. It's a pug! 
The back is so pretty.
And she got me a 25$ Michael's gift card. I also got one (in the same amount) from Mike! Seriously, they know me so well, haha. Michael's is like a candy shop for me.

Mike really outdid himself on presents for me. I seriously owe him some epic birthday gifts next year. On top of the gift card he also bought our Warped Tour tickets as well as the tickets to go see The Devil's Carnival for me, him, and Sue (my other half.)
Expect a post about the Devil's Carnival soon!
He also bought me this awesome shirt from Sooshi Clothing at their Warped Tour tent. It's so adorable I can't get over it! And it's so soft and light. Perfect for summer.


Aaaand he also got me my first Monster High doll! That's right, Monster High. I have such a weakness for these dolls and I wish they'd been around when I was younger.


Her name is Operetta and she is awesome. I've wanted her for a long time and I'm so happy she's mine. This is only the beginning though! I'd love to have a collection of them.

Mike also bought me a copy of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare that he hasn't given me yet but told me about, haha. I'm excited to get it though, I've been dying to read it since it came out.

I think that about sums everything up. I don't think I'm forgetting anything, but it was such a busy, non-stop kind of weekend that I might be. Keep an eye out for posts about The Devil's Carnival, our new pet rats, my recent thrift finds, and Emilie Autumn's new album.







Tumblr Tuesday

A peek at what I've been reblogging on tumblr lately. And look, I've made the pictures bigger than usual!

bloodmilk:

petite-abeille:

(via forbiddenalleys, ratjam)

fuckyeahtattoos:

Second tattoo, Evan from About Time in Nashua, New Hampshire, did this for me. I’ve always searched for happiness in my life, in whatever form it may come in, and I’ve also always been a huge Charlie Brown fan. When looking through one of my 1950’s Charlie Brown comic books, I stumbled across this, and knew I had to have it.




That pug gif cracks me up so bad. I thought I was going to die laughing when I first saw it. I probably find it more than it actually is but I can't help it. It's almost as good as this pug gif:


Excuse me while I die laughing xD

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