jewelry preview

[different patterns/textures on reverse sides]

there is a lot i still need/want to post before i get into the etsy things, but i thought a preview would be fun!

earthquake and plaid manicure

[heather's plaid manicure to start her college career]

manicure breakdown:

sally hansen - wet cement

milani black striper

colour club purple striper

jordana - the designer glitter striper

oh and yesterday i lost my earthquake virginity.  it was surreal.  i live 60miles from the epicenter and still felt it.

skyline drive, virginia 8.21.2011

[veiw from blackrock on the skyline drive at big meadows 8.21.2011]

i had every intention to update on saturday seeing as that was a day off, but family mountain picnics and sharing a computer room with my little sister-in-law(kind of..) who is visiting before she's off to college, while still giving her privacy leaves me really only able to peek at this from my phone.  today is another day off, and while the boylove and heather are in the living room watching "monster in the closet", i figured i could squeeze that update in.

like i said, heather has been visiting with us since the 16th when she flew in from albuquerque, nm.  she'll be here until the 25th when we leave to take her to start her college career in pennsylvania.  she's is really excited, and i'm so excited for her.  it's been a blast having her here visiting.

there has been work during her visit, but i had time off still so i decided to use some to be able to spend time with her while she was here.  in between work, and sleep, we've been able to get out and show her a non-winter version of virginia.  this has included foiled trips to a nearby lake, dinner at my parents, and trips to local mountains.  on saturday, we all went up to big meadows on the skyline drive to have a real picnic together.  always fun, but i always forget how much of a loudmouth cosette can be.

[the hike up to blackrock]

[cosette on blackrock]

[heather making face]

[heather, cosette, and i]

[me and the bean]

[weirdo..so happy i found my old wildboyz shirt]

stripey horns

[stripey horns that were made for me years ago by a dear friend]

peek more at her art and her very fun tumblr:

liselotte.tumblr.com

and

www.LiselotteEriksson.com

one down, one to go

[this is what i was doing at 9am yesterday on my day off.  i passed my written theory exam to become a licensed nail technician!  one more to, the practical.]

[the test was in charlottesville, va.  this is chris greene lake right outside of the city.  we'll be visiting here again soon.]

[my hand at the lake 8.13.2011]

p.s.  i apologize that all of these photos are from my phone.  at least they are decent quality!

nails and insects

[china glaze - flour leaf clover with claire's - bedazzled]

[hello cicada!]

bargain shoes

[black + t strap + platform wedge = gushy nicole]

forever21 wedges found for $12.99.  swear.

not long now

[halloween picks]

i hate summer.  really.  i know that sounds harsh, especially with all the lake and outdoor gushing that i've gone on about in the last two posts, but really i do.  i can't get comfortable, i can't layer, i live in the south so the humidity paired with the heat makes being outside unbearable at times.  yeah yeah i should break out some cheese with all my whine..


but then it seems when it's the hottest out, michael's crafts is already gearing up for the holidays and halloween is always the first to peek it's head out.  seeing this makes the last two months of summer a little more bearable because i spend a lot of time daydreaming and planning about the change of season and everything that comes with it.

getaway day 7.30.2011 pt.2 - peaks of otter winery

[doesn't look like much...]

as we were driving toward smith mountain lake, we passed a road that led up toward two distinct looking peaks.  when my sister, meg, saw the sign she immediately started to freak out and point, "it's up there!!".  apparently 5 years ago she went up to the peaks of otter winery to a tasting and fell in love with their "sweet heart" wine which is made from apples and pomegranates, and has obviously left a lasting impression on her.  she was shot down with the typical mother response "we're going to the lake.  we aren't doing both." 

now i'm not sure if it was planned from the very beginning or not, but it was a nice surprise and a nice ending to our day spent on the lake.  this was my first wine tasting and probably one of the more unique ones that i'll ever do, so i'm glad it was my first.

[starting out]

[meg and jeremi going over their wine information sheet]

[not your average wine flavors here..oh no]

[the one i wanted to try the most.  pumpkin pie.  i think it would be better chilled than warm served]

[yeah.. i kissed the devil.  it hurt.  the thing with this wine is that it is made from 30 types of chilies.  when he said half of those 30 were habanero with some ghost chilies thrown in...yeah.]

["chili dawg" wine.  lick spray cheeze off your finger, then taste.  instant chili dog...so weird.]

[stolen from my mom.  this is 5minutes in after trying "kiss the devil".  they gave us an apple wine chaser, but it hurt so bad i could barely get that down.  pain lasted about 15minutes.  the things i'll do for a sticker.]

so what wine did we end up with?  the "plumlicious", "blueberry muffin", and jem had to have a bottle of "kiss the devil".  meg was able to leave with some of her coveted "sweet heart" wine, which is a good thing because they can't ship wine to california.

[meg and i. bedford, va]

[jem and i. bedford, va]

[yay us!]

we're the type of family that finds random suspension bridges and decide to have photo ops on them :)