Having the majority of the day off, I decided to spend a bit of time catching up with my Flickr stream. Or, at least, my 365 project– and just in time to celebrate the one-month countdown of the whole project!

It all took a plunge when we raced home two weeks ago to be with family; all I had time to do was take photos, but not process them. I couldn’t believe how much I’ve shot and still have left to pick through– there are still photos from Election Day that I am yet to edit! Thankfully, Thanksgiving break is right around the corner, so while I’m not busy working on final art projects or planning tasty meals, I’ll be able to play catch up for reals.

Anyway, these photos are from today’s 365 and the first real effort I’ve made in awhile. If you’re wondering, the dress and leggings are both from Forever21, the cardigan is from forever ago at Wet Seal and the shoes are from Ebay!

If there’s anything fall puts me in the mood for, it’s writing letters! Email is pretty handy, but it’s always a sweet surprise to open up the mailbox and find a handwritten note from a friend or family member. I put together a set of 5 autumn-friendly postcards for $10, which includes shipping and handling.

Click here for more photos and info!

Being back in Arcata inevitably means having to pay attention to my studies again. Seeing as this is my last semester at HSU, I need to make sure I finish all my classes and actually graduate, despite everything that’s happened in the last couple weeks.

I decided to play around with watercolor and gouache in my sketchbook the other night. I’m still trying to get the hang of things while figuring out where my sensibilities lie with the medium, but am enjoying where it’s taking me.

Excuse the bad photo quality– I wasn’t able to make it to a scanner today and had to rely on my hovering skills with a camera. Which is unfortunate because I also whipped out a quick gesture series of contestants from Paris Hilton’s My New BFF. Awful reality TV + Drawing = One great afternoon. Am I turning into my mother? So long as I don’t start inserting myself in the drawings, I think I’ll be okay ;)

My apologies for having disappeared for a whole week from my blog… We had planned a fun visit home to Redding last Friday which, at the last minute, turned into a sad week at home instead. The day before we left, Chris’s dad, Larry, died of a heart attack. He was way too young and it came as a huge shock, but there is a lot of love back home and we felt it all week long. For my final project in my photo class I’ll be documenting this experience, as a way to keep myself busy without ignoring my emotions during this tough time.

The last week or so we’ve been drowning in torrential downpours and ruthless winds, which have left me with very little to do at my job. It seems no one is ever in the mood for a sandwich when it’s cold and rainy outside.

On Saturday, when I got home from my dreadfully slow workday I laid on the couch with Chris, watching Die Hard: With A Vengeance (one of my favorites!) on TV until Chris suggested we go out for ice cream. Sounded like a crazy idea, but I’m never one to let some rain get in my way of a good time! Chris let me choose the flavor we shared, which was maple nut.

Afterwards we decided to brave the freeway and drove to the Eureka library, which was closed. Our consolation prize was a double rainbow.

Remembering that Mervyn’s is going out of business, we went to the mall where there was an unusual amount of gulls flying uncomfortably close to the ground. After being pooped on by a seagull in junior high I’m overly cautious of low-flying birds. Inbetween helping Chris shop for new pants I drooled over all the booties that are on sale. At the moment they are only 25% off, and 25% of $60 is still too much money, but I told Chris to keep his eyes and ears peeled for any updates.

As my fellow Americans are well aware, yesterday people all over the country took time out of their busy lives to stand in line and cast their vote for the next president, as well as some very important measures. While I don’t normally care to voice my opinion on political matters, I must say I’m glad last night didn’t end with the same sinking feeling I got in the last two elections. I’ve actually been quite emotional the last couple of weeks and am glad this whole mess is finally over with!

My cat is officially insane! While wandering around the yard the other day he emerged from the shadows with yet another bird in his mouth. I always knew he was evil (as evidenced by the last bird he caught) but this proves him to be certifiable.

The rest of these photos are what I managed to capture before Felix ruined the mood!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween this year! We threw a spooky-ooky dance party, full of dorky good fun: we bobbed for apples, ate loads of sweets and most importantly, danced our pants off! Kudos to Kristina (mime) and Katie (bee) for their excellent playlists.

Jamie (bear) and Katie were awesome enough to create a backdrop for me to take photos of all our guests as they arrived. Granted, a few of them got away without their mugshot being snapped, but for the most part the montage above documents the folks we danced the night away with.

And now, a day later I’m doing the unfun part: nursing my tender feet and swollen belly… It was worth it! :)

I’ve been hanging out with my cat in the back yard a lot lately. I figure I should soak up as much of that evening sunshine as I can before the rain starts to pour in. It’s always fun to grab my camera and follow Felix around the yard, seeing where his favorite hang out spots are.

After an obligatory post-class unwinding, I spent the rest of the day– from about 1 until 8– holed up in my room, guzzling soda pop and working on my drawing portfolio, which is up for review tomorrow evening. I’ve missed a few classes and had to make up some assignments, as well as finish work I never finished in class.

I’m still not done, though, despite my tenacity. I have one alternative medium drawing to do (suggestions? My first was in colored thread) and a few 10-minute drawings left, but everything is coming together; I think I’m looking at a solid B here. I’d love an A, but I just don’t have the energy to actually work for it (the scary truth of senioritis!).

Anyway, I meant this post to talk about how amazed I am by what I can accomplish just from getting off the internet for one day. I finished my watercolor of Felix and did an awesome* gouache of a Buddha statue I took a picture of at Rigdzin Ling last year. This is my first time seriously working with both of these mediums, so I was pretty excited by the results.

Imagine what I could do if I spent this much time off the computer every day. But we all know that’ll never happen– not as long as I have a digital camera, anyway!

On a side note, I listened to a lot of music while working on my portfolio today (natch). I mostly just turned one thing on and let iTunes do its thing. I’m currently on round 2 of Nas, Hip Hop Is Dead, though, and I’ll be damned if I’m not enjoying it. Every time I listen to this album, I’m blown away again and again. Highly recommended!

* Awesome for me. I know to any seasoned painter these are pretty shabby, but I like to think it’s a good start! :)