"Love-ly" Shorts

This project was so fun!
I had a pair of red hand-me-down American Eagle shorts. I have been keen on re-fasioning clothing lately. I hand painted little white hearts on the shorts with a small bristled paint brush, and they came out beautiful! have a look! 
Click "READ MORE" for the "How-To" or the "Buy-Now"

Busy Bee

I've been writing these types of posts more often than I would like, but what can I do. I have been very busy with work and school, chemistry is proving to be a challenge. Recently, all of my spare time has gone to studying and homework and cramming. This past week was my spring break and I tried to enjoy every minute of it. I manage to do a decent amount of crafting and was able to RELAX (a notion that was becoming foreign to me).

What We Missed:
Completed my Reiki II certification!!!!
Made a wire wrapped necklace 
Made a pair of "lovely" shorts
Made an absolutely marvelous dinner
Continued my wood burning project

I plan on making a post about each one of these things.
Happy Saturday!

The Groove Strikes Back

Guess who's back on tour?! If you guessed Event Horizon, then you are correct! They will be on the road for 6 weeks. If you are in the area make sure you check them out! you can get a preview by going to their Facebook or listen to a few songs here.

The Crazy Pin Lady

During my month of recuperation I had plenty of time to get in touch with my creative side. I bought wooden discs from the craft store and got to work on these adorable pins. I think people forgot about pins/brooches. They are such a great accessory for a coat, sweater, hat, bag, you name it! This was a great project because I had the time to sit and paint (somethingI haven't been doing enough of up until now.) Have a look-see. Tell me what you think or which one is your favorite. Click "READ MORE" to see more pins!

Baked Acorn squash with Indian rice

I haven't posted a vegetarian recipe in quite a while now. I was stumped the night I made this one. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to make with the ingredients that I had. But then it all came together pretty well. This dish is full of flavor and its very filling. Click "Read More" for the recipe!
Enjoy!

Pyrography

After seeing this a few times I figured I'd Give it a shot: Pyrography. Otherwise known as wood burning. I bought the pen at Michaels craft store for a little over 20 dollars. I did a few practice doodles on a scrap piece of wood. It is really cool! It takes a lot of patience though. I can tell there will be some fun pieces to be created in the near future!
Here are a few pictures of my practice doodles.

Back in the saddle

I'm happy to say, that after a way-too-long of a break, I sat down, meditated, and gave myself reiki this morning. Almost every morning this past summer I had a ritual of sitting in the garden. I would meditate and then follow up with reiki. Somewhere along the line with school and work I fell out of that habit. The great thing about meditation is that it is a tool that is always available to use; same with reiki (so long as you are attuned.) After my surgery I had all of this time to myself. I repeated over and over again that I would finally have the time and effort to put into my meditation and reiki practice. Well, as the days and weeks trickled by I still hadn't committed to this plan. I did however, receive reiki and that is always great. Yesterday I had a reiki session and it really lit a fire under my toosh to stick to my guns and resume my own practice. So this morning I finally did it. I sat down, turned down the lights, and put on some relaxing music. I didn't put a timer on like I usually do, I just sat. I figured when the time is right to end it, that would be that. So I started with a meditation on the chakras. starting at the crown of my head, then to the third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral, and root chakra. I find this is a great way to start. Its balancing and really brings me to a place of peace. Of course because I hadn't been practicing regularly my mind would wander off but I brought it right back to where it was supposed to be. I followed up with a full reiki session on my self. When I was done, I surrendered and I thanked to universe's energy. I looked and the time and I was shocked to see that, for the first time in months, I had been sitting there for just about 40 minutes. I will be trying to stick to my new routine of daily meditation. 

Vintage Shoes

For those who don't know, I work in a nursing home. I was taking care of a woman who's daughter was going to move her down to florida. You don't see that very often, someone actually willing to take on the huge task of providing care for their elderly parent/ family member. So this woman and I were talking about fashion, and different eras and things along those lines. She was telling me about all of the beautiful clothes and shoes that her husband had bought her when she was younger, and how with her moving to florida she would no longer need these things. She asked me if i would like them... I said YES! in a heartbeat. So the next day she said "look in the closet." I opened the closet door and hanging there was a beautiful, long, black velvet evening coat. If my jaw didn't actually drop, it sure felt like it did. Then came the shoes and the dresses. She had her daughter bring in four pairs of shoes two black one red and one white pair. The dresses were stunning as well one long white dress with long sleeves and a band of colors around the waist. The other was a long yellow dress straight out of the sixties. Although not in line with today's trends, these dresses are in such great shape. its like they were never worn, let alone 50 years old! And the same goes for the shoes and coat. I haven't taken pictures of the dresses, but unfortunately the shoes don't fit me. They are too small and I am selling them on etsy. I wanted to give the back story because I really didn't want to sell them. They are special pieces that belonged to a very kind woman. Did I mention that she is 92? Well here they are two pair of the shoes, I gave the red pair to a friend and the other black pair I am not ready to part with (black suede oscar de la renta peep toes!)

The white pair are Garolini's made in Italy. Size 7. And the black pair are Daniel Green's size 6.5 (not for wide feet) made in USA. Both were made in the sixties and are in excellent condition. If you have any additional questions go to my Etsy site and message me there http://www.etsy.com/shop/AStardustSmile

Keeping Busy.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I had my surgery. Well let me start off by saying that everything went smoothly. I wasn't sure what to expect afterwards...and boy did I underestimate the pain. Today has been the best day as far as pain goes, which is good news. It has only been three days since the surgery and I am already so bored. I've been trying to entertain myself with the computer, tv, and movies. That hasn't been enough. I hate to sit and waste the day by watching tv or staring at a computer screen. Since my mobility is restricted for the time being I cant do yoga, or do some of the things I did before the surgery. So I've been working on these miniature wooden brooches. All I need for that is my hands, good eyes, and a LOT of patience. So far I've done four of them. Here are some pictures of my past few days!


pre-op                                              post-op

The Cold Buster

In the past weeks there has been a slew of colds, viruses and various other yuck going around. Tis' the season. Today I made a vitamin and protein packed soup that was amazing. Lentils and soy beans are packed with protein and kale is a great source of vitamin k and fiber (it also lowers cholesterol!).

Click "Read More" for the recipe!

Recent set-backs

After quite a long absence I am hoping to get back to daily blogging. In October, after a routine PET scan, it was discovered that I have a tumor near my spine. It is in fact, benign. With school in full swing (as well as my stress levels) I was unable to find the desire to update my blog. As one can imagine, I was expecting the worst. I felt a huge relief when I found out it is not cancerous. I will be having surgery to remove the tumor this tuesday, and hope to be back on track with my life!

A Sad Time

Words cannot describe the pain that the relatives of the children and teachers of Sandy hook elementary school are feeling today. I can't imagine that anyone will have the answer to why the shooter took his emotional and mental problems out on 20 innocent children. What I find so unsettling is that he won't suffer the consequences. If there is a compensation for every bad thing that we do, it usually, one way or another, comes back to us. The shooter took his own life after his rampage. I feel like this is an easy way out.. if he killed himself will he receive any kind of consequence? or was the consequence his life coming to an end? My questions are not important in. The lives of the families involved in the crisis is what matters. Right before Christmas the families are dealing with the loss of their own children. I cannot imagine what that pain must feel like, but all of my empathy goes out to them. We hear about all the these instances in the news, but it has never made me feel the way I do about this one. Just a mere 45 minutes away and something of such tragic stature has occurred. It can happen anywhere, at any time. It is real and absolutely terrifying. 

FREEDOM

For my comp and lit 2 class I have to write a paper on what freedom is. It sounds like a relatively easy concept, but what the hell is freedom?? To what extent are we free? I live in the united states, a country constantly preaching its biggest selling point.."freedom." Do we really believe we are free just because we are told that we are? For example, what if someone decides to sit in the park one night, but because it closes at dusk a police officer asks you to leave because you are now trespassing.  How about when the sun goes down earlier in fall/winter than it does in spring/summer? If that particular night was 5:00 pm in fall, it is past dusk, you are trespassing. In the spring the sun didn't set until 7:00....well now your not trespassing. This seems absurd, but who decides that is not your freedom to sit in a park at night? Who decides what time is best appropriate to enjoy a stroll in a park? "You are not FREE to sit in a park at 5:00 in fall, but come back in spring, you will be FREE to stay until 7:00!" So again, I ask, To what extent are we free? What is freedom? Should it be governed? legislated? Are we free when we allow ourselves to question what is preached and find out for ourselves what we truly believe? Let me know what you think.

Event Horizon's On Tour

Listen Up! Event Horizon is going on another tour. If you are in the area, check them out. With great energy, electrifying vibes, and the sexiest members alive, Event Horizon will have you groovin' to the movin'. 

Here are their tour dates:

1st- Mount Holly, NJ - Hebe Music
2nd- Sicklerville, NJ - Jumpzone
3rd- Wilmington, DE - MOJO 13
4th- Baltimore, MD - The Sidebar
5th- Washington DC - Casa Fiesta
6th- Leesburg, VA - Balls Bluff Sports Tavern
7th- Newport News, VA - Buddas Place
8th- TBA- TBA
10th- Nashville, TN - Thats Cool
11th- Mursfreeboro, TN - 3 Brothers Deli
12th- TBA - TBA
13th- Louisville, KY - Hideaway Saloon
14th- Cincinatti, OH - Whisky Bar
15th- Columbus, OH - Victorys Live

Have a listen...

The Liebster Blog Award

It was a pleasant surprise to see that my blog was recognized for the Liebster blog award. Thank you to Sadia at styleinspire for the recognition! I've had this blog for less than a year but it has turned out to be a great outlet. Also, it is a wonderful way to connect to others from all over the world. 

To claim the blog:
1. Link  and follow the blogger who awarded you
2. Blog about the award
3. Give the award to 5 other bloggers preferably with less than 200 followers
4. Answer the 11 questions I ask and give 11 of your own to the bloggers you award.

Here are a list of 5 up and coming bloggers:
bedroomocean
dollinsugarcoma
wonderlandscloserthanyouknow
91peachykeen
intheruinsofberlin
                                
                                11 Facts:

• I was born and raised in New York
• I used to own a horse name Dustin and a miniature horse named Odette
• I battled cancer when I was 16...and I won
•  My favorite place I've travelled has been Australia
• A starry night always astonishes me. 
• I am addicted to yoga
• Winter is my least favorite 
• I have a huge sweet tooth
• I am studying nursing
• I work in a nursing home, and like my job

Sorry for the delay!

As you might know, New York got hit pretty hard by hurricane Sandy. And while I was out of power for 6 days, I still am fortunate enough to say that I have my house and my loved ones and all of my belongings. Many of the areas just 45 minutes away from us have it so much worse. We don't realize the little things we take for granted, until they are snatched from us. For example, all I wanted was warm soup and a hot cup of tea, but there was one problem.... no stove! So we got our fire pit nice and fiery and I boiled myself some water. Problem solved. So, due the the storm my blog was on a brief hiatus. What did we miss?? Well for starters Halloween was basically cancelled this year, but not to worry we had a postponed halloween show. here are some pictures of my week! enjoy!

LOST mug

After my first experience with the mug project, I loved it! This one is for all the LOST fans out there! The swan...need I say more?

For directions go here. 
Happy Saturday!! 

Nails

This weeks I was undecided on whether to paint my nails orange or this beautiful purple/pink. So I did both! click "read more" for the how-to

Event Horizon

So as you know, Event Horizon just released their new EP. Musical excellence is an understatement.
You can buy their songs on itunes HERE. Check them out!!

Enojy!!!

DIY Shorts

Hello hot pants! Although it's cooling down in New York, it's still warm somewhere else. Heck! throw a pair of maroon tights under these and you can wear them now! Click "read more" for the "how-to."