ha wah ya?!

That's how my dad says Hawaii! haha What a silly goose.

 With that title, I'm sure you know what that means...

A Hawaii string art! 

My co-worker's sister lives in Hawaii, and she wanted a pair of string arts. The first was a neon green one of her current state. I love the color on that dark stain!  

I'm not gonna lie, it was a tad more challenging than most states. 

Especially the little heart over Honolulu. 

In addition to Hawaii, she wanted her home state in hot pink. Good ol' Alabama!

I dig the pink! 

They look great together! 

They finally arrived after being held hostage at the post office. I googled how long it takes for things to arrive to Hawaii (bc that's where these were shipped). Everyone said about 6 days. It took almost three times that long! EEK! 

Thank goodness they finally arrived! 

I think the universe wants me to go to Hawaii. First, my roommate went, then my coworker, then I did this string art (not to mention the dozens of TV shows that just happened to keep showing stuff in Hawaii). 

Who wants to take me? I want to learn to surf, dammit. 

stream of consciousness

Ugh, sorry for the lack of posting. Not only do I have a million string art orders, but wedding season is starting up, so I've had multiple save the dates I've been working on. 

And let us not forget football season. 

Auburn just had 2 home games in a row, and it just about killed me. There are FOUR in a row at the end of the season. Pretending to be a college kid is fun, but I've gotten to where I need about 2 extra days to recover.. Not to mention the fact that it takes a couple of days away from projects when I'm out of town. I brought some boards, nails, and string with me to Auburn this past weekend, which is laughable because WE ALL know it just sat in the car the entire time. We have an off weekend coming up this weekend which means I'll be hanging out with my string art the. entire. time. 

I went to Auburn on Thursday night last week. I was not going to get caught in traffic on Friday, so I took the day off work. I was talking to roomie Katie before I left, and she was talking about getting the new iPhone 5. When she asked me if I was thinking about getting it, I said: well this one has to survive this football season before I get the new one..

Famous. last. words.  

Gah, I should've knocked on wood. I was taking pictures of Samford Hall while walking back to my sister's house and I dropped it on the sidewalk. Ol' swearing Herring came out in full force. How could Sammy do this to me?!? (Sammy is what I call Samford Hall for those who aren't aware). I was so mad. I've had this sucker over a year and was so proud of my non-cracked screen. 

At least it still works. I have a screen protector on there that's holding the shards of glass together.

(Note: I have so many emails because I get my work email on my phone. And I wasn't about to go through them all so I left them.. Also, I don't check voicemails.)

Can you see that the screen saver is my niecey pup, Possum? She is a nut.

Saturday was game day, and it was packed. It took forever to get inside, and I was terrified I would miss the eagle flying. 

But I didn't! I was there just in time. I practically ran up the ramp. 

I had a feeling all day that we were gonna win. It's the same feeling I got when we beat #2 Florida back in 2007.

Sadly we did not win. BUT we played better than we have all year. When you hold the #2 team in the county (LSU) to a 12-10 game, you KNOW you're improving. Watch out, everybody else! 

On Sunday, we had a yard work day at my sister's house.. it was miserable. Below Binky was being a vegas feather dancer with the branches.

Three swearing Herring's yelling at each other. Can you imagine?! hahaha I am dying laughing as I write this. Mom kept crazily ripping the branches down, cutting me, Binky, and Colby (bink's roommate) with minimal cuss-age from us. But when Binky accidentally cut something too soon and it whipped mom in the face, you would've thought you had just poured water on the wicked witch of the west. Now I'm not comparing my ma to a witch, but the instant screeching reaction was priceless. 

Look at that big pile of sticks! 

Have I mentioned on the bloggie that Binky is walking again? She still has the nickname Little Moe with the Gimpy Leg, but at least she can get around now! Sadly, she can't wear heels, but it's real nice for me to wear them and be her height. HA! 

::::::::

Did y'all catch that elusive post I made about the mysterious glasses? Turns out it WAS my roommate's boyfriend. He had brought them in here to clean for his friend that was waiting out in the car, and accidentally left them in the sink. Why the friend didn't notice he didn't bring them back is strange, but I'm super relieved someone hasn't been hiding out somewhere in the house!

Case closed! 

:::::::

Did I mention I'm going to be in ANOTHER art show?! It's called Art & Music on the Green, and it's here in Hoover (basically Birmingham). There's another wine/beer tasting event at the same time called Uncorked on the Green. It takes place Saturday Oct. 13, and guess what?

They are getting me to do the poster and tshirt design! I just sent the lady the proofs, but I want y'all to see the one I hope she picks: 

Yes, you read that right. FREE ADMISSION! There's gonna be beer and wine tastings, y'all! I'm super excited! 

:::::::

Have y'all seen this video? It's called Hot Cheetos and Takis, and it's sung by these kids, and it is hilarious! It's so funny to me for them to be singing about snacks.

Let's be honest, if I had to rap, it would probably be about snacks too. 

finally a W and a birthday!

Yesterday was one of my very best friend's birthday! My dear sweet Katie is a few months younger than me, so welcome to 27, my friend! You may have recalled me talking about Katie before on the bloggie. We have been friends since kindergarden and are currently roomies! How many people out there have known your bff for 22 years? This is what she had to say about old age: You know you're getting old when you have to buy 2 boxes of candles. Haha! 

I love being in charge of decorating the cake, so of course this year was no different. A few days ago I saw something on Pinterest I knew I had to try..

Gum lettering! 

It looks pretty neat in real life! I used the ever classic bubble tape.

I just eyeballed the length of the letters and cut the bubble tape with scissors. Since the icing was a little thick, I had to carve into it with a knife just a little bit before sticking the gum into it. Pretty nifty, eh?! The only complaint I would have is that the bubble tape is a little flimsy, so some of it didn't stand completely straight. I think sticks of gum would work well (I believe they are just a bit thicker). Anyhow, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE! 

In weekend news...

My sweet baby Auburn Tigers finally won a game. I've only been alive for one other season where we started 0-2, so it was quite a relief to pull this one off, especially since ULM had just beat a ranked Arkansas the week before.

I didn't take pictures during the game, but it was HOT in the stadium. Like I had to get out of the sun and sit under the shade hot. Here's Binky, Caroline, and I after the game. 

pic via Binky 

I did get to take some shots of my favorite place later on in the evening.

It was full of toilet paper! EEEE! 

Tons of it everywhere around my poor poisoned trees..

These night time pictures are a bit deceiving of the state of the trees. I found this one below that my mom shared on Facebook. Isn't it just the saddest thing? I think they were extra covered in toilet paper because it might be one of the last times people get to take part in the tradition. I fairly certain they won't be there next year.

via

Many people don't understand the tradition or why these trees are so important to Auburn. I will spare y'all the novel of reasons of why/what I think, but I will say this: It's really sad when there is something you take part of with your parents and grandparents then it's destroyed so your own children and grandchildren can't experience it. 

LSU is coming up this weekend. It's gonna be tough. One of my favorite Auburn blogs, warblogle.com, wrote this hilarious article today about it, and you should check it out if you're already thinking Auburn doesn't have a chance. I'm so excited for this weekend! I can't wait for all the corndogs to arrive in Auburn! (Click here if you don't get the corn dog reference..HA!)

featured at eclectically vintage

Happy Saturday everyone! 

Today I am being featured over at Eclectically Vintage! 

Hop over there and check it out! Kelly with Eclectically Vintage does tons of awesome projects and has a beautiful house. Check out her kitchen: 

via Eclectically Vintage 

Beautiful counter tops, herringbone backsplash, farmhouse sink, white cabinetry.. LOVE! Oh, and what's that peeking out from the back there? JUST A RED OVEN! Click here for more details on this awesome space, and visit Eclectically Vintage to see more from her inspiring house!

And because it's Saturday..

Happy gameday to all! 

the case of the mysterious glasses

So it is almost 2am and I have officially freaked myself out, so figured I would write about the mystery that occurred earlier today/technically yesterday.

I got home from work and the dishwasher needed to be unloaded. My least favorite chore for some reason, but there were dishes in the sink so it needed to be done. I unloaded all the dishes, and started re-loading the dishwasher with the stuff in the sink, and I noticed a pair of eyeglasses just sitting there next to a pan. Weird, eh? I just put them on the windowsill and went about my chores thinking maybe someone accidentally dropped them in there. 

Later in the evening, I was sitting in the den, and Kate asked whose glasses they were. I said "Oh, I found them in the sink. I figured they were one of y'alls." Both of them wear glasses, but not all the time. In fact, I also have glasses, but I only wear them when I'm going to sleep. Well they weren't either of theirs. I brought up that they could've been Katie's boyfriend's, but he hadn't been at the house. My next thought was that they were my mom's. She left quite a bit of stuff during her stay here this weekend, so I asked her about them (I'm still waiting on a response). But that still doesn't explain how they got in the sink.. They are far-sighted (aka reading glasses) and have a weird glue-like substance over the screws.

They weren't there last night (Tuesday), and they weren't there this morning when Katie put her cereal bowl in there. She hadn't been in the kitchen since she got home, so I was the first one in there for the day around 6pm. 

WHERE DID THE GLASSES COME FROM? 

I was not too worried about it until I got in the shower and freaked myself out (I shower before I go to bed). There are only a few logical explanations: 

a. Someone came in here, didn't take anything, but poked around and left their glasses in the sink. 
b. My mom left her glasses here, and somehow one of the dog's deposited them into the sink.
c. Ghosts

When I was in the shower, I kept thinking someone was going to jump into the bathroom to attack me. Sometimes I get paranoid, and I create these elaborate "what if" scenarios in my head. I had to sing Hakuna Matata to calm me down enough to finish getting conditioner out of my hair. Who does that?! Twenty seven and I still sing Disney songs.. However, it is logical though, right? Someone gets into the house, somehow accidentally drops their glasses into the sink, hides out upstairs, and jumps out to attack little ol' me once everyone has gone to sleep. 

My eyes are getting heavy, but I just felt like I should write about this mystery since I couldn't sleep. I will keep everyone posted if there are any new developments..

UPDATE:

I sent my mom a picture of the glasses, and they aren't hers. I also asked my neighbor who has a key if for some reason he happened to come over to borrow something in the kitchen. Nope, he did not. And as far as I can tell, nothing is missing (jewelry, computers, etc. are all there). 

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?!?! 

all over string art

I gave you a little sneak peak of these all over string arts the other day from an Instagram photo, but I finally took some fancy camera pictures to list them on Etsy. 

For some reason, the navy always looks royal in pictures. I assure you I am well aware of Auburn's colors, and I have not mistaken them for Florida's. 

Same with the crimson.. it doesn't show as crimson-y in pictures as it is in real life. 

You saw the stained ones the other day from the big ol' string art post, but I threw them in here for good measure.

Find these puppies newly listed and ready to purchase in my Etsy shop! 

Thanks to everyone who crossed their fingers for me to find my notebook with Artwalk contact info. It's been found! Somehow it ended up in my mom's car. I'm sure you were all worried, so I just wanted you to know you can rest easy! 

artwalk

Artwalk has come and gone, everybody! I had tons of fun, sold some stuff, and made lotsa contacts. I barely took any pictures, but here are the few I have. It was real dark in there. My mom came to help me (thank goodness!). 

We were allowed to set up on Thursday night, so I took the big stuff and some of the smaller things I had finished. We bought some tables from Sam's and sheets from WalMart to use as table cloths. Thank goodness my stuff is colorful, or else it might have blended into the darkness. 

The show started Friday at 5pm, and when we got there that afternoon, my name was on the sign outside Easy Street! EEEE! I was so excited! 

(Please bear with me with the iPhone photos). 

The walls were navy, and the lighting was less than desirable, so I bought a couple of clip lights and attached them to the corners of the tables. I brought a bunch of wood from the carport to lift up the tin flags in the middle, and mom and I brought tons of picture stands to hold up the shorter items. 

The string art was by far the most popular, along with the funny stationery cards. I wish I had made more of the big string arts and ones with hearts around Auburn and Tuscaloosa. Some people told me they had seen the art on Talk of Alabama. How exciting! 

There was so many people! I barely sat down the entire time! I took several tiny string arts on Saturday to work on, since I figured it would be really sparse early on in the day. It was not sparse, but I did get some finished. People bought almost all that I had. Mom and I took a radio to listen to the Auburn game, along with keeping up with it on our phone apps. All I can say is I'm glad I had Artwalk to keep my spirits high! 

Gosh, I was real excited about that lanyard.. haha! 

I was so tired after it was all over, but I can't wait to do it again! I am still putting away all my supplies that have been spread from downstairs, upstairs, and out to my car. Please cross your fingers I find my very important little notebook filled with people whose orders need filling (basically the most important thing I took from the show). 

Are you ready to see more house projects?! Once I get all my orders filled, the side patio is the first thing on the agenda. I also have several thrift store transformations waiting to go up on Etsy. So many activities! 

my tv debut and artwalk info!

I did my TV segment this morning! EEE! If you recall from the post yesterday, I was on Talk of Alabama this morning on ABC 33/40. Here is a link to the video (terribly sorry, it wouldn't allow me to embed it):

Talk of Alabama 

Woowoo! By no means perfect, but I think it went pretty well! Some pictures, shall we?! (Because you know I can't go anywhere without acting like a tourist taking pictures)

I arrived right on time at 8:30am, and they gave me a cart to load up all my art. You know I couldn't just bring 2-3 pieces..

They took me back a little early to get setup. Once I got my art in place, I took some pictures of my stuff and the studio. 

I met Scottie, the chef who did the cooking segment, and he was my instant BFF! He pretty much told me the ropes of what was going to happen. Thanks, Scottie! 

He made a delicious Greek meatloaf and Greek potato salad, which happens to include my favorite ingredients: meat, potatoes, and feta cheese. It. was. awesome. 

It went by pretty fast! They did the opening segment, then the first part of the cooking segment, then me! 

Afterwards, I had to quietly load up all my stuff onto the cart because there was another segment later in the show at the table where my stuff was. I did, however, get to stay in there to watch the rest of the show! 

Of course I had to get a picture with the lovely anchors after it was over! 

At the end, they let everyone hang out and eat the food from the cooking segment. Yummy! 

Did you notice the one thing I forgot to mention??

ARTWALK!!!!!! 

Jeez, that was one of the main reasons for me going on the show this week! It's ok though. One of my lovely friends, Sherri Ross, wrote this awesome article for Magic City Post today that talked about Artwalk and featured my art! Yay! Sherri is one of my biggest cheerleaders, has totally helped to promote my art as a social networking genius, and she is just all-around awesomesauce! She blogs here at yougotrossed.com (high five for last name bloggies!) so go give her a visit and tell her I sent ya! 

Click here for the article by Sherri!

via www.magiccitypost.com

Isn't that header design awesome? I've ogled it for a while now, and I was so excited for my art to be on the top of the home page! EEE! 

And for the third exciting thing that happened today, I got TONS of new likes on the ol' bloggie Facebook page! I just needed a few more to merge the two pages I had, and you guys just totally came to the rescue x1000! THANKS Y'ALL! I'll be merging the two soon, so be on the lookout!  

Today has been a very good day here in my little fish tank (aka my world). I seriously tap danced at work today several times because I was that excited about all this coming together! 

Here's some quick info about Artwalk. Have I mentioned it's a free event? There is no fee to attend, and there's art and music! Who wouldn't want to come to this?! 

Dates and Times:

Friday September 7   5:00pm to 10:00pm

Saturday September 8   12:oopm to 6:00pm 

My location:

Easy Street

2209 1st Ave North Birmingham, AL 35209

(next to Matthew's Bar and Grill/M Lounge)

Map:

I'll be down there towards the bottom left where the number 2209 is located!

via Artwalk Facebook page

I'M TOO EXCITED TO SLEEEEEEP!