Walks in the Park

Every Sunday I've started taking my dog out for walks in the Parks near where I live. I started off bringing her to Washington Rock, but I found a quieter, lesser known park to go instead. (I was also going to bring her to the Great Swamp Wildlife Preserve, but we found out when we got there that dogs were not allowed) East County Park doesn't even look like a park from the entrance, and I don't think anyone would know it was if it weren't for the small sign on the side of the road before you turn in.

clearly this wasn't taken on the same day

my dog being the usual antisocial creature she is when she sees other dogs walking in the opposite direction toward us, but across the park, she decides she wants to leave spoiler: we didn't run into them anyway

snazzy water pump that doesn't work

creepy trail/path thing that led to bunches of open fields 

(almost slipped and died when my dog decided to walk down the muddiest path to get back to the car)

And then I enjoyed a cup of chicken noodle soup because it was so dang cold outside.

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx

DIY Message Poster

So I've had some canvases lying around my house for about a year and finally decided what to do with them. One I made a super cool New Jersey silhouette (also featured on my instagram @ohmykarin)

But instead of making that, I'm going to show you how to make a different, just as cool piece, which you can customize with your own sayings or quotes you find.  

Supplies Needed: 

Paint; I used red and blue to try and make a blue to purple ombre effect, which wasn't as effective as planned, but still came out nicely.

Foam letters; any kind you want to use because you'll be taking them off anyway

Canvas; you can use any size canvas you want, depending on how big you want your piece to be

and a paint brush; I used a brush like the one third from the left

So I suggest starting out with a saying or a quote that you particularly like and I originally had "They call us dreamers but we're the ones who don't sleep." but I didn't have enough letters and space for that so I paraphrased it to "They call us dreamers but we can't sleep." which I felt worked just as well. After arranging the letters in the words you want I then began to stick them on the canvas. (note: I started out with the word don't then changed it to can't)

After your letters are secured on to the canvas, you can begin painting. I mixed red and blue to create a purple

I tried to create a slight ombre effect by adding more blue at the bottom and having a more purple color at the top.

After it completely dried, I peeled off the letters and then decided to add some little stars with some yellow paint. The letters didn't come out as clean as I would have hoped but I really like how it came out in the end. 

Here it is on my bedroom wall

I really quite like this and like doing these kinds of things. Maybe I'll show how to make the New Jersey piece that is on my instagram.

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx

An Autumn Outfit #ootd

For awhile I've been thinking about putting outfits on here but I wasn't really sure about it. I'm going to try it out with this outfit I put together that can be worn dressed up or down depending on what you plan to do when you wear it. I actually plan to wear this tomorrow when I go to the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.

I started off with this Burgundy dress I got from Forever 21

added one of my go to statement necklaces from Target

because it's getting colder I added a beige (kind of cement colored) chiffon scarf I thrifted

and to finish the ensemble I put on an army green anorak which I think I got from Target, too

I also made a slightly warmer option by changing scarfs from chiffon to a navy blue knit infinite scarf

to complete the outfit I decided on suede booties from Pacsun, beige knee high knit socks from Urban Outfitters, and a Calvin Klein purse.

I would wear my hair in a high ponytail for this outfit and have simple makeup like black eyeliner and a darker pink color lip. 

I was really pleased about how this turned out and may do more in the future. See you Tuesday

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx

My Baby, Ella.

No I do not actually have a baby, but for senior health I did have to do the infamous flower baby project. As if I needed to carry a sack of flour around school to figure out that kids are annoying. Not to mention how unrealistic the project is considering sacks of flour don't make noise or cry or move or are anything like a baby.

So I took this opportunity to make the most amazingly dressed "baby" ever in the history of rectangle-shaped babies.

complete with polka dot skin, pipe-cleaner hair, unicorn onesie,  and name tag for identification (just in case) 

Naturally, I took pictures of Ella everywhere I took her,

on the way home from school,

ready for a night on the town,

her first class in high school,

in the ceramics studio,

Ella in acting workshop,

Ella on stage,

learning her lines,

her first play date,

and napping.

And at the end of the week, after spending over $10 on flour and clothes for said sack of flour, my teacher murdered Ella and donated her lifeless body to a food bank, which isn't that bad. 

Oh and I forgot to mention my partner for this project named her Ella Madison Lebron. (I got to choose the first and middle names if she got to name it Lebron)

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx