Feeling Different.

Have you guys seen these new Michael Kors ads in your magazines? I have been a big fan of his ads for the last few years. They look so fresh and clean and wonderful. I just want to "be" the girl in those photos. They look so perfect. Plus, she always has this adorable, adoring, well dressed guy following her around. And he always looks happy to be there! Holy shit. A guy that's happy to be there! What world is this, people? I want to go there.

Anyway. That is not exactly my point. Although, it is a good one. What I am actually getting at here is that these new ads make me miss snow. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe I just said that. All my life I have hated snow. Hated it! But this year I feel different. Something inside of me seems to be changing. It's a little bit unsettling, just to be honest with you. Last night, when I could not go to sleep even though it was 2:00 am, I stared out the window and imagined the landscape covered with a thick, peaceful snow. What is wrong with me?!? This is not normal.

I'm not sure what the heck is going on. Truly I feel all out of whack. But I'm going to blame it on the new Michael Kors ads. Yep. It's all his fault.

Things You Never Knew You Needed

It's Thursday, dolls. And a rainy one where I am. Perfect time to do a little shopping to brighten this dreary autumn day. May I suggest Elizabelle jewelry? There could be no better way to make yourself feel like a goddess of summer or a mermaid princess than Elizabeth Cosby's handmade rings. Check em' out!

Elizabeth hand carves these beauties herself from natural sea shells. Genius!

This Green Turbo is my favorite. Aren't the colors amazing?

I think these rings make an incredible statement piece. And her packaging is so adorable. Do you need to buy a gift for someone special? You would be the coolest friend ever to give one of these rings! Plus, Elizabeth will include a note in the box if you ask nicely. Of course, I could totally understand if you decided to buy yourself one instead and make everyone else green with envy. The note I would leave in the box? "Ariel's got nothing on you, girl!"

Go add Elizabelle to your Etsy favorites.

~A Story~

Hello friends! Aren't you glad we all made it through last week alive? From what I keep hearing, it was a rough one for just about all of us.
I've been a bit nerved myself and haven't posted much lately. So today I thought I would share with you a little story about what I did last Saturday. With pictures and everything! Woo hoo. I can hear your excitement! Here goes.


I started the day off by finally clear coating these two signs that I painted for my little cousins. They raise chickens and are totally obsessed with the whole process of it. These are to hang on their chicken coops. {and, yes. I thought up those little slogans all by myself.}

My mom came down and took some photos for me so I could list some new items in my Etsy store. Whew! That's a lot of work. Making, photographing, listing. It takes forever. But the results are usually worth it.

Then, while rushing around to get ready, I ran slap into this big ol' chest that sits at the foot of my bed. My husband's grandpa made it for us as a wedding gift. After hitting one of those sharp corners, though, I cussed it for a good ten minutes and even kicked it a few times for good measure.

This is what came of it. A nice knot and bruise that is still sore and blue and swollen over a week later.

I did all this while getting ready to go to this wedding. Which, by the way, was the best wedding I have ever been to. I am not a wedding person {gasp!}, but this one was awesome. Those are two of our close friends. Everyone in the wedding party wore their cowboy boots and the bride's three year old daughter walked her down the aisle and gave her away. Oh my Lord, it was the sweetest thing in the world. ~The End~


So, my dears, that is what went down last Saturday in the world of Miz November. As for the week in between then and now, I don't want to talk about it.

Much love and hugs and stuff. I'll be seeing you later this week. :)

Confession

My new sewing machine arrived last Tuesday and I haven't even had time to read through the manual yet. It is proudly perched on my kitchen table, looking pretty bad ass. I'm only half way through the handbook at the moment, but I'm trying. I promise.

Tag Sale

I just got tagged. It's been a while. These blog tags come through every once in a while and then they disappear. Arjie, from One of these mornings, hooked me up with 7 questions that she thought up all by her brilliant self {well, almost}. I am supposed to answer them and then tag 7 more bloggers and come up with 7 new questions for them. We'll see if I get that far. So, here goes.

If you could give your teenage self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Hmmm. I wish I could have told myself to work harder, not that I would have listened. School and art always came so easy to me that I didn't ever have to try too hard. Now I see that if I would have put more effort into things I could have achieved more by now.

What are you currently obsessed with?
My current obsession is trying to figure out why I feel like crap all the time. It has been my obsession for years, but lately I have actively done more to try to figure things out. As a matter of fact, I decided earlier today that I am going to try a gluten free diet for a week or two. I have considered doing a cleanse, but I'm not so sure I believe in them. I am determined to find an answer.

Is there any one event you look back on in your life and just cringe with shame?
Uh, yeah. Several. I have generally been a pretty well behaved girl, but I have made some stupid decisions in my time. I regret having made my parents worry so much about me. Regret dating some of the idiots I dated. But the one thing that I wish I could take back is a stupid marriage that lasted all of three months. Yeah, you didn't know that , did you? The one thing that I always thought I was too smart to do {marry the wrong guy}.... I did. Don't ever think you are invincible.

Would you call yourself a feminist?
No. Short answer.

What is the one thing that if you don't do in your life you will be really angry at yourself for not doing?
I have already tried learning to breakdance, so that one's marked off the list. If I never make a real business out of my art/design skills, I will hate myself forever. I know that it is possible and that the only thing stopping me is me. So if it never happens, I know that it is all my own fault.

Do you get on better with your mum or your dad?
Interesting question. I get along with both of my parents, but I am closer to my mom. Me and my dad are so much alike that we clash sometimes. Kinda funny.

Every music album in the world is to be destroyed and you can only keep one. Which do you keep and why?
Man, this is a tough one. I'm not sure I can even answer this one. For some reason, tonight, I am going to have to go with Metallica's Black album. I'm sure I would be beating my head against the wall later, wishing I would have kept something I could dance to. But it feels right tonight.

Here's the hard part. I'm not sure I can come up with 7 people. Arjie already tagged my peeps. But I can come up with 7 questions. Blogs I tag: Armas Design, LaLa Lovely, Little Lost Love, Mimi Love, Puzzle Pieces, Slumber Designs, and Varnish.

Your questions, should you choose to participate, are:

1. What scent always makes you happy?
2. What is your favorite mistake? {like the Sheryl Crow song}
3. If you could change one of your physical attributes, {magically, not surgically} what would it be?
4. Is there one food that you could eat every single day and never tire of?
5. You just came into some serious money. What is the first thing you buy?
6. When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
7. You are being granted one talent or skill that you don't already possess. What do you choose?

Go do your homework. I'll see you next week.
xoxo ~Jo~ xoxo

*photo from This Is Glamorous.

Rant and Roll

First of all, it's late*. I should be in bed. But I'm not. I should have worked out tonight. But I didn't. I should have had at least one vegetable with dinner tonight. But thanks to my husband's family's affinity for meat, I had none. But that is all beside the point. I am here to talk about fashion magazines. More specifically, I am here to talk about why fashion magazines piss me off.


I love me some fashion magazines. And everyone who loves fashion magazines knows that fall is the fashion industry's favorite season. Therefore, I have a big pile of freshly printed magazines hanging out at the foot of my bed, all glossy and smelling of perfume samples. Ahhhhh. Fashion design. I love it. But what am I supposed to do when all good fashion sense gets thrown to the wayside? How am I supposed to cope when fashions greatest are throwing pies in our faces? Tonight I give you ..... "A New and Revised List of Stupid Shit I Keep Seeing in Fashion Magazines." Enjoy.

*Models jumping. Why? Why the hell do photographers think that models need to jump? I am sick of it. Who jumps? Do you ever see people jumping up and down besides at a concert? No. Especially not in heels.

*For the love of God, why on earth do designers want their runway models to look ugly? Ugly hair. Ugly makeup. And some of them are not only ugly, but down right creepy or dirty looking. How does making a model look like crap help your clothing? STOP! Be more like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors. Pretty is better. Ugly is just.... ugly.

*I am seeing an unusually high number of photo shoots in the desert lately. Yeah. I just threw on this ten thousand dollar ensemble and am now traipsing around the desert. That happens. All the time.

*Hey fashion industry, you can feel free to stop reminding us that 50 year olds can look like 20 year olds now. We get it. Money can buy the fountain of youth. Next time you put out an "Age Issue", try using people who actually look their age.

*Stop printing political pieces. We all know that you are going to take the liberals side every single time. We are here to see fashion. When I want a political view, I will turn on Fox news. Because, yes, I like fashion AND I am a conservative.

*Androgyny. Okay. This one is killing me. Girls who look like boys and boys who look like girls. And then, throwing all of those boy/girl looking people in a pile and making you guess which is which. I am lesser endowed than most. That doesn't mean I want to look like a boy!! And, for heaven's sake, Stop Putting Lipstick on the Guys!!!! {I'm looking right at you, Burberry} Pick a side.

*When was the last time you took your clothes off and hugged your purse? Oh, just this morning? Well, in that case, never mind. Purses modeled with naked bodies. Don't get it. Also, I am seeing nudity in the oddest of places lately. Not just purse and shoe adds. For instance, topless girl hanging out at the ball court with all her man's friends. I don't have a problem with nudity, when done right. But, come on. Do you really expect this to boost a young girls idea of self worth? About as much as the fact that you still use size zero models.

The fashion industry never has and never will be the best role model in the world. And I wouldn't want them to be. It wouldn't be nearly as fun. But sometimes they do make a normal girl want to bang her head against the wall in disbelief. Who comes up with this stuff? We really don't have to have the shock factor to stay engaged. The blogging world has proven this to great measures. You can see a million photos of living rooms, flowers or Paris. They don't have to blow our mind every time. They just need to portray beauty. Beauty always works. Beauty will always captivate. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and styles.

Let's just call it what it is. Pretty is pretty. Ugly is still ugly. Stupid will always be stupid. And models jumping without a puddle underneath them still makes me say "What the hell?"


*It was late when I started. And then I went to bed.
**I think this photo came from Slumber Designs. Although, I could be wrong.

Panic Attack

I just ordered a new sewing machine.

It's freaking me out a little bit, as I am not one to spend money easily.

My dear sweet husband is praising me for my bravery.

It had to be done. I have piles of leather that cannot be sewn with my current machine. Piles of sketches of new designs. If I am ever going to make any advances in life I have to believe in myself enough to invest in myself. This is an investment in myself. And if you don't hear of any new leather stuff being listed in my shop over the next month, I expect you to stop by and slap me in the side of the head.

Thanks for listening.