why saturday was superb

^My beautiful girly-friends, Lacy and Laura, who I convinced a few folks were my sisters, and Ty (photographer), took a trip to the SouthSide!

on lacy: target tee, target skirt; on laura: american eagle dress, h&m belt; on christen: velvet shirt dress, anthropologie necklace, kookai belt and mossimo belt, modcloth shoes

^And we even matched! Coincidence? I think not. Corny? Wouldn't have it any other way.

^We went to the Chili Cook-off together (like, soup chili - don't be fooled by these blow up chillies. And hey, might as well throw it in there that the weather was anything but chilly). We got to walk around and try a bunch of samples, then vote for who we thought had the most delicious chili. 

^We were thrilled to find an I Made It! Market in an empty store by the festival. Ty got a clay dino and a children's-book-turned-sketchbook (we were all drooling over their coolness and cleverness of this), and I got a rock with a bird painted on it. Don't ask why, I just couldn't leave without it (thanks, Lace, for the 50 cents!)

^As if the chili wasn't filling enough, we cruised over to Hofbrauhaus and got Bier cheese fries. Seriously, go there. Get these. You will strongly consider a second order, and I can't honestly discourage you from doing so.

^We took cues from all the little kids and took a run through the fountain for a nice cool-off.

^...and then did some hardcore loungin' (and sketchin' in Ty's new book!). We figured if the world was going to end any moment, we might as well get comfy. Thankfully, we survived that prediction ;)

^Look what we saw before we left! The world's most insane looking dog (in a good way, but also sort of a terrifying way). The only thing missing from the best Saturday ever was Shane!

-christen

a new take on an old classic

In the never ending debate over whether Pop Tarts or Toaster Strudels are tastier (is this a nationwide debate, or are my friends and I stuck in junior high?), I'm finding more and more that Pop Tarts fall in the sorry second. So yesterday, Lacy and I decided to give them a chance for a comeback by making our own, inspired by this recipe from Smitten Kitchen!

And yes, kids, definitely try this at home. We filled ours with cinnamon sugar & brown sugar, strawberry jelly (a crowd favorite), and Nutella. The only thing we wished we would have added is a little icing on top, but they were healthier without it anyways :) They aren't difficult to make at all, are ultra delicious, and are much more filling than your average store bought Pop Tart! In fact, they were so filling that we sort of...

...zonked afterwards ;) (isn't she adorable?!) The next homemade snack from the past we want to make are whole wheat goldfish crackers. Can any of you recommend a recipe for homemade versions of old favorites?

-christen

baseball banquet food chain

I'm lucky enough to still play a sport in college, and our end of year banquets are always a trip. Players are late, still in bed, dressed in clothes reeking of beer, and/or at the wrong location to begin with.  We're in college and therefore allowed to mess up, am I right?  But a few times a year, I'm given the precious invite to one of my younger brother's many sports banquets.

Now, I don't easily forget a banquet experience, so I know when and what type of food is served, where the ordeal takes place and exactly how long the ceremonies last. Needless to say, I plan accordingly and drive separate when necessary. Last night's banquet lacked neither raucous high school banter nor delicious food and gave me a reason to dress in something other than my monotonous jeans and t-shirt work outfit. When the buffet line opened I stocked up on buttery corn, thick mashed potatoes and succulent roast beef, but what really got me laughing was the banter between players and the surprising ease of acceptance into the gang as I bellied up next to my brother and co. ousting many other late comers and teammates for seats at the round table. As the awards ceremony began I slyly snuck out the back and vanished with a full stomach and a memory full of laughter. I snapped some pics by this historic cabin and drove my 3-cylinder Jetta (normally a 4-cylinder but technical difficulties had her only firing on 3) home in a torrential downpour, then slipped into a food coma and the rest is forgotten history.

perry ellis glasses, royal blue h&m button up, steel blue bullhead jeans, sperry loafers

calvin klein belt

Overall, it was a night of hilarious, never-ending commentary and a priceless view back into my own beloved high school sports team moments.
-Shane

creatures (for a while)

When we hit the soft dirt trail yesterday at Tuquan Glen Nature Preserve, our feet had not a clue of the magic that awaited their eager tread.  We softly slid over trees with root systems whose organic growth patterns outmatched even London's beautiful, flowing street grid.

Moss bedded springs met us at every turn and the stream reflected only the purest shades of green and sunlight.

Some things never seem more real and yet so far distant from our normal everyday surroundings. This place was the definition of such a dreamy contradiction and all the more stunning because of it. Nearing the end of our hike to the Susquehanna River we rocked-hopped right past the smallest, intriguing creature we've ever laid eyes upon. As we swept baby turtle off his tiny clawed feet our hearts turned to jelly and our mouths instantly curved into massive smiles.

I must admit young turtle attempted multiple escapes to the river by hurdling himself off rock faces and flipping as far as possible but he undoubtedly enjoyed his travels at human height and added yet another charming experience into our cosmic voyage into the woods. We returned the little bugger near his place of abduction and hope he lives a long prosperous life. So venture to the edge, dive deep inside and dance with the fluidity of timestretched organic material. Return with everlasting enjoyment and appreciation for our earthen brethren.

Trek on my friends

-Shane

if only skeleton boys could B-reel

I have this really cool friend.  He's full of really cool ideas--some for the money, some for the exposure and others just for the sheer challenge.  A few weeks ago I had my own idea about this idea-making machine.

I call it Art O.D.  Somewhere in the midst of discussing B-reel (roll) filming plans, pinpointing the countless photo shoot spots around town and how we can all team up to work for our own collective hiphopphotographyfilmwriting crew I had the genius idea to make a show for the tele called Art O.D.  The basic gist of the show would be a raucous idea-creator spitting out ideas like there's no tomorrow.  Meanwhile, myself and the crew are frantically trying to coordinate all the projects and get them done in a timely fashion.  As you might have guessed we simply can't keep up and drown ourselves in the images, paint, paper and various supplies of half-assed attempts at coherent art, hence the overdose in the title.  Would any of you watch it?  Why not, right?  If it's on TV someone will most definitely watch it.  All this overdosing on art ideas and projects didn't end right then.  My next question was WHAT IS B-REEL FOOTAGE!?  Currently, between Christen and I only a few feasible ideas have come to mind--stock footage of animals/scenic views of the natural and built environment and anything not involving people who would have to be specific actors.  I encourage any readers to shout out a good idea or two and maybe you can be on the pilot episode of Art O.D. when it all comes to a crashing halt before we get started on the next insane project!  This sideshow film footage stuff could be my calling.
Friendly Fires-Skeleton Boy

By now you might ask where all these negative-Ned brain waves are sprouting from and I'll tell you.  Not a day goes by that I don't see or hear some type of artistic endeavor that fails to absolutely blow my mind.  Be it painstakingly animated music videos or lyrics to a song that sincerely sound as if they were written with myself in mind I get caught in this funk of flatlined feelings.  Does the massive wheel of ingenuity of the world ever stop, sit down and truly enjoy the absurd amount of delicious candy it creates?  I guess this is my message to you--take a deep breath of your favorite flavored air some night, dim the lights and go hunt down something off the main grid of web-born mediastreams.  Keep clicking and searching, and delving deeper into artspace until you find something that trips you back into so much nostalgic bliss you'll be left to ponder why we ever move forward and why we can't move behind.  Posted above is a recent treasure found during a walk down my own path of intermeddling and a personally shot pic (see below) that I feel displays the cosmic oceans of exceptional art that awaits your arrival.

Happy trails my friends.
-shane

diy death by ray gun

We weren't attempting to track the movement of our factory workers to simplify tasks and increase efficiency like Frank Gilbreth and his wife Lillian were doing but believe it or not, through the same process, we captured what might appear to be a cosmic assassination of our very own Christen.

Pretty cool, huh?
Now before you write it off as some fantastic, time consuming process of hyper-real photography, take a second and ponder....I'll let you in on a little nugget: it's possible for even you and your generic digital or film camera! Don't get all crazy legs on me just yet. If your camera doesn't have an ounce of shutter speed adjustment your best bet is to simply revel over the day when you come across someone with said camera. If you're lucky enough to have any type of shutter speed range, it's your gosh-darned lucky day. So snatch up a flashlight, glowstick, sparkler, keychain light or anything else emitting a glow. Put your camera on something sturdy and set the shutter speed to stay open as long as possible. Depending on the time of day/amount of light coming in you'll need to adjust the aperture appropriately to compensate for the longer shutter speed, (usually they have an inverse relationship-longer shutter speed=smaller aperture (higher number)).
Now comes the real fun. Set the self-timer to give you enough time to get in the frame, don't forget your light source and start waving that thing like you're directing Snoop Dog's Pimp Plane into your backyard. For ideal results you can pre-map an image to draw, check it out in review mode and try again! It takes time, it takes patience and a creative hand but with plenty of practice you'll be pumping out Picasso-esque light art before you know it!

-Shane

from sneeze to shining sneeze.

Somewhere between slaving over forty page papers and being in constant need of an entire box of Kleenex, we managed to escape to one of the greatest getaway spots of Western PA: Ohiopyle. It's more of a creek than a sea, but I couldn't resist making our blog comeback title as magnificent as Shane's face in the picture below.

It was too cold to swim, but staying dry isn't an option when rock hopping. Our final destination: the huge rock below. Try to wrap your head around the unorthodox amounts of fun that were had on this thing...

too much.

-christen

going cuckoo without us?

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Don't worry - we'll be back in health in no time!

martha stewart, can you hear me?

clockwise: anchor pendant, red lipstick, teeth paper clip, travel gnome, easy button, tide to go pen, mini sewing scissors, wooden matchsticks, tei-fu essential oils (which heals everything)

clockwise: drink umbrella, balancing game block, vintage gold chain, mechanical pencil, burt's bees lip balm, tennis ball keychain and keys, essie nailpolish in 'shorty pants', liquid eyeliner, votive candle

clockwise: chip bag clip, my wallet, nollie perfume, finger puppet from old boss, my toothbrush, sponge bob band-aid, gogo squeez apple sauce, push pins

Anyone who's still holding a grudge over 'camp cupcake' can go trash talk Martha somewhere else, 'cause she never stopped being my idol! Last time I opened up an issue of Martha Stewart Living, I literally tried to live on the page. I may or may not have gotten kicked out of the store.

This post was inspired by where is harriet?, who was inspired by the flickr group organized collection. I was so in my element digging for things in my apartment (I lose things all the time) - although the result of that digging isn't normally a nice and neat desk...I'd be lying if I didn't admit to putting all these objects back into their respective messy corners of my room to make space for a new photo. I'll have to work on that. Maybe Martha's up for hire?

'til next time,

christen :)

blame it on the weather man

I'm really not sure what this weather means for the world, but I know it can't be good. It's 70 right now, it's going to be 45 tomorrow, and then it'll bounce around between 49 and 68 for the following four days. How's a girl supposed to know how to dress?! Make up your mind, weather man!

h&m nantes trench, f21 sweater, delia*s black jeans, rite aid headband. that's right, rite aid.

Anyways, I love this place. It's perfect when in need of escape...it's this mysterious structure that simply looks like a big stone wall from the highway, but when you approach it on foot, you find steps on either side, leading up to a little castle-garden-type thing. And when you sit down, the passing traffic never knows you're there. It's marvelous. Even in the rain =]

-christen

what you see is what you get

new era A's hat, arizona long sleeve, bullhead flannel, levi's 511 navy blue, blue nixon supras

 It's your captain checking in and the sea is looking mighty fine today.  Chance of mermaid rainbows and stella-lunar dancing once the big yellow ball decides to drop.  I see my fellow sailors are rarin' to go so lets not waste any time shipping out!  

Its been a radical past few weeks with loads of great flicks seen, outdoor adventures embarked upon and at the end of it all I'm still intact and sporting my patented mixture of blue and earth-tone greens.  Water and nature remain two of my most prized possessions in this world and lucky me they're all over the place!  Wilderness meets its more shapely cousin, the city, in these two pinups and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the results ;)

sonoma long-sleeve, levi's trucker jacket, bullhead olive jeans, classic supras

all hail is breaking loose

Lacy made a pun today, and that put me in the mood to make some too. Hence the title. 


I should have snapped some pictures of the ping pong ball sized hail (I refuse to succumb to calling it golf ball sized!) that fell over Pittsburgh earlier, but I was too busy playing umbrella tug-of-war with Shane on our treacherous walk to Taco Bell, to really care to document it. 
So then, I figured I'd find a breathtaking picture that somebody else in the world was courageous enough to take, and prove their dedication to magnificent photography over a shantily protected noggin by posting it on the internet...but apparently there is no such superhuman. And thus, I shall post pictures of other things that only sort of relate to hail.


Like this queen.

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And this queen-sized bed.

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And these pictures of me bearing extremely loose resemblance to a queen, on my queen-sized bed.*

express sweater, modcloth tutu

*it's secretly my couch. ;)


-christen!

kisses, not pinches!

Note: for some reason, the photos weren't loading when I tried to post this on Thursday. So I'm posting it today, instead!

finders-keepers headband courtesy of Ty, h&m shirt, h&m sailor pants, j.crew flats 

I put notes written in green pen under my pillow and tied green strings around my finger all week, and still I forgot to wear green for St. Patty's Day! Yet somehow, the only pinch I got was one I told a friend to give me (I gave her one and felt bad not getting one in return)...although now that I think of it I should've just held off and placed bets with someone on how long I could go without getting pinched. Winner gets a pot of gold. Now that would've been festive. I'll have to remember not to wear green again next year ;)

Instead, I dressed like a sailor...a bag lady sailor. Even my dad knows you're not supposed to wear wide legged pants with a slouchy shirt (he sometimes reminds me). Don't ask me what I was thinking. I must have accidentally been sold a circus mirror that makes me look all...not how I really look.


Photo cred: friendly dudes walking down the street, whose names have now escaped me. Sorry, guys! I hope apartment hunting went well!


-christen

post-war sci-fi bunkers

 I came across this article while daydreaming about the beaches of Normandy and what became of all the defunct structures still dotting the coast.  The pictures are cooler than I imagined and are a slightly creepy reminder of what lies in once tragically wartorn areas.  I can't help but wonder what they'll be used for in the future if this group of wildcats are already holding bizarre climbing events up the low stone walls of bunkers in Holland.  They call it bouldering and quite frankly I found it a little wack.  I can dig the fact that its fun to freeclimb just about anything but seeing the fun up close and personal is funky.  Let us know if you could see yourself going bouldering anytime soon and we'd love to tag along!

-shanetrain

sharing different heartbeats in one night

explode on screen. twist volume knob well past ten. let the noise be your smell and see with your eyes

while all you cheery kids hang loose under the sun there is a far darker world waiting for you in the North.  Dismally wet and windy, it's been a day of zones and 1 dimensional vibes.  The rain never stops, the drips never cease falling..trick, trock, blip blooop but have no fear. Being the masters of our own biology we can reside in the warm dry recesses of our nature-dominating structures and longingly reminisce over a time we may never have experienced.  This music video is a combination of iconic visions of the 70's best coast and sounds that I may have known in a time before.  It's oddly nostalgic and utterly joyous to watch.  The ass-kicking electrons fronting the wonderful tunes are Swedish pop duo The Knife.  Their album Deep Cuts is a walk on the wild side between funeral and rebirth; taking you to places your brain mysteriously claims you know...It takes two to groove so grab the knife by the blade and delve into a scene we all can dream about.


-mcshimmey shane

scabs & hags

You wanna know the best part about Iceland? That it exists. And it has people standing within its borders that have enough valuable mush in their skulls to broadcast that. Look! (Open it up and make it full screen.)

Tyler said that the two "girls at the beginning = Scabs and Hags"...which would be me & my girl Lindsay. I just saw curiosity flicker in your eye. Hers (Hags) makes sense because it comes from her last name, but mine...well, mine has no rhyme or reason to it whatsoever. I happened to have the faint remnants of a scab in my nose leftover from wintertime when I got the nickname, but that's about it. The way I see it, the more unflattering nickname, the more flattering girl. We'll go with that for now...

Anyways, we learned the dance the girls do (it's our new secret handshake), and I don't know about Hags, but I have full intentions of getting an Iceland-inspired sweater in the n.t.d. future. To wear during the summer, of course. Hmm..?

-christen

the eye patch

I was going to open up this post with a golden picture of me in a seaworthy pirate stance on this couch I swashbuckled (I turned that word into something new), but it ended up rather Lindsay-Lohan-getting-out-of-a-car, and I didn't want the tabloids all over me, so instead you just get me plain old standing on a nasty abandoned couch. Just what you've been waiting for!

aa dress, j.crew striped tee, aa tights, f21 legwarmers

Man, my skin really blends in with that paint...I guess now I know if I ever need to hide I can just take off all my clothes and stand by that wall.

Hiya! Okay, now here's the eye patch in action ^ and really, it's true, I do very much have only a half-view of the world with that thing on.

And now for a statement (because if I call it a confession, it'll give it more of a negative overcast than I'd prefer): Today is Day 22, my self-declared final day of the 30 for 30. Say what you will, but with a fresh new month of springiness dangling its good vibes in my face, I'm too eager to tell you all about nail-biting adventures instead of standing around in the same old clothes around my apartment everyday. Ya know? Maybe when I'm no longer a student (so soon...why did I remind myself?!), I'll give remixing another go, in another season. Cool? Cool.

Goodbye, winter 30 for 30! It's been real, it's been good...but has it been real good?

<3 christen