Urban Outfitters

A couple of days ago Urban Outfitters opened in downtown Norfolk to much fanfare.  From what I heard, UO sells trendy, eyebrow raising clothes at high prices, as well as unique books and novelty items. Even though the stuff there might be overpriced and not my cup of tea, I decided to give the place a look earlier today.

The store was located in the old A.A. Adams building (I used to go to Relative Theory records on the second floor several years ago). The building was done in a very funky industrial way with exposed steel beams and brick, which I kind of liked. Even though I was impressed with the building, I was not impressed with the clothing and shoes: they were way overpriced and were of cheap-flimsy quality. I was not going to pay $42 for a sleeveless Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures" T-shirt or $34 for a t-shirt I can see my hand through-HELL NO! I know that this is not saying much, but Wal-Mart, Target, and Old Navy have better quality clothing than what UO has and for a much affordable price. The jeans and pants at UO only went up to size 10 (I am a size 14) and most of the clothes were aimed at a younger crowd (backless dresses, Daisy Duke shorts, bustiers-not for this near 40 year old).

Even though I was unimpressed with the clothing, UO had a great selection of unique books and items. The books included "100 Years of Fashion," "Dads are Hipsters," "The Stoner Book," and "What the F*@# I Should Cook for Dinner?" (a cookbook with curse words). I got "How 2 Be Awsum: A Lolcat Guide to Life" a book by the creators of  I Can Haz Cheezburger for $12 (my 'big' purchase). There were some really cool items such as vinyl records, a record turntable with USB ports, posters, a iPod dock that looked like a classic boom box, and a digital camera that looked like the old fashioned flash camera with the flash cube.

All three levels of the store were packed-mostly people browsing out of curiosity like me. When I checked out I got a reusable shop bag. Upon leaving, I headed towards MacArthur Mall and went to Eddie Bauer and got a ribbed black tanktop (lot better quality than UO) for $9.95 on sale (regular price $15.95).

The reusable shopping bag.

My big purchase, that book made me laugh out loud.

Shrinky Dinks

As a child growing up thirty-some years ago, I was always working on some arts and crafts project, whether it was drawing the planets on copier paper that my father brought home, or playing with Shrinky Dinks. I remember getting my first kit (Christmas 1978?) which was a Super Friends playset. I had a ball coloring Wonder Woman, Bat Girl, and Superman; then watching them shrink in the oven. I had several Shrinky Dinks kits throughout my childhood, including Snoopy and Garfield. There would be often blank scraps left over in which I would draw various doodles on them and watch them shrink. I still have a couple shrunken Garfields, a shrunken Wonder Woman, and a Charlie Brown which are now homemade refrigerator magnets.

My interest in Shrinky Dinks reignited when I saw a craft article in Bust Magazine talking about how to make jewelry with them. I knew I had to try it. I went to Michael's and got some Shrinky Dink paper (both clear and frosted). I created various geometric shapes with designs or with just plain solid colors, and used a standard hole puncher to create holes. I used both colored pencils and permanent marker with the frosted paper and got good results. I could only use permanent marker with the clear paper, but it proved troublesome because the ink had a hard time spreading out smoothly.  This created a textured effect after shrinking, but nonetheless it gives the effect of stained glass.

It was fun watching the cut-out shapes shrink in the toaster oven, it brought back childhood memories. All I got to do is attach jump rings to shrunken shapes. I might use them for bracelet or necklace charms.

The Shrinky Dink charms of various shapes, sizes, and designs.

Close up of the shrunken charms.

Just like stained glass.

Mulder

I have been feeling a little down today, because three years ago my cat Mulder died of kitty cancer. He and his brother Spot adopted me and my ex-boyfriend twelve summers (years) ago. He was the most charming and playful fellow you would ever meet (he would touch my nose with his cold nose, he would play with my hair and even try to eat it).  Both me and Spot greatly miss him, but life goes on. This picture was taken a month before he passed away.

Mulder Smith

Born: June 1, 2000 -- Died: July 17, 2009

Sidelined

I have not had the chance to really blog. I have been dealing with a skin infection that has been painful off and on. I won't go into too much detail though. The hot weather does not like my skin. I wish today's medical care was more personable and not so rush, rush, though.

My door lock was finally fixed last week (last Monday), in which a new lock was installed. In other news, I rearranged my small apartment for better efficiency and to make it appear less cluttered. I have been paying the bills and trying to save money here and there. I am trying to make more time for artwork and jewelry making. I did make some glass and plastic bead elastic bracelets, two Saturdays ago when I was having minor aches and could not sleep.

I need to start taking better care of myself. Especially watching what I eat-I am starting to gain weight again. I need to relax more: artwork, more sleep time, hot baths, spending time with Spot, reading, and yoga.

Light Show: Part Two

I got to see the Fourth of July fireworks up close last week, for the first time in nine years. The last time I saw them up close was at the Virginia Beach oceanfront in 2003. After that, seeing fireworks was hit or miss: I could barely seem them from my second or third floor apartment windows due to trees and buildings obscuring them or the fireworks were not shot high enough. I finally got a chance to see them up close this year off the Hague (Elizabeth) River. I tried taking pictures first, but couldn't get a good shot. I finally got some awesome video footage shot off from my cell phone.

Best I could get on photo, the Hague lit up bright red when this firework went off.

 

The fireworks on cell phone video. The Hague was a variety of colors.

Screaming Yellow Zonkers

Something caught my eye earlier this evening at Walgreen's. It was a box of  Screaming Yellow Zonkers. I haven't seen a box of Screaming Yellow Zonkers in twenty years. It was one of my favorite childhood snacks. It was also my late mother's favorite snack. I loved the sweet buttery flavor.

I would always see Screaming Yellow Zonkers in the snack aisle of the neighborhood grocery store, then one day they disappeared. I never saw a box of the yellow and buttery popcorn snack again, until this evening. I had to pick up a box.

Brings back childhood memories.

Made me smile after a frustrating day.

Light Show

Last night, lightning was abound. There was some rain and wind, but plenty of lightning. It was like watching  a light show. I tried to take pictures, but it was next to impossible. I decided to use the video camera function of my cell phone. It was very hard to catch the lightning on video, because it was kind of "blink and you miss it." Sorry for the poor sideways quality of the video.