//There was that one time.

//There was that one time when you were canoeing with your dad and both of your older brothers, Jor and Ben, and Jor wanted to fish so he made you steer even though you were sitting on the floor near the middle of the canoe, and you zigged and zagged dramatically and Jor had to grab the paddle and rescue you three times in five minutes, but then you got the hang of it and became a pro, even figuring out fancy strokes by yourself.

//There was that time when you got so hot in the sun that you and your bros plopped out of the canoe and sat in life jackets *just so* so as to have a backrest as you lounged in the flooded river, sailing down the fast current, cool and refreshed, laughing and swimming behind Dad alone in the now-nose-heavy canoe, you alternating between pushing the canoe around and hitching a ride on the side, and then dunking underwater and listening to the pebbles swirling and clicking and rasping against the stony bottom and remarking how they sounded like a swarm of locusts and Jor pointed out that you’ve never heard locusts and you retorted, it’s how I imagine they would sound!

//And there was that one time when Jor went a few inches under and disappeared in the murky brown grossness of river water only to blub up out of nowhere, facedown and motionless like a corpse and holding that pose until he spluttered up grinning and shaking his hair and you couldn’t help but laugh with delight.

//There was that time when you were tired and freshly showered and you sat by the fire with Jor and Jill and Ben and Mom and Dad and watched the sunset sky and ate snickers s’mores and slapped mosquitoes.

//And then there was that one time when Mom made a bet with you and lost and therefore had to take you out to lunch and you ate the whole meal rather sloppily with chopsticks and your waiter had a Balkan accent and said, the food is verrry beautiful, yes? and you agreed wholeheartedly and then went to Barnes and Noble - feeling very empowered with a gift card in your purse - and there was a chubby man in a top hat walking around the bookstore being followed by a giant droopy dog who was wearing a green t-shirt, and the man told you her name was Bella Gabriella.

//There was that one time when you were home alone and you played a Simon and Garfunkel record and brushed the dog’s ears and she closed her eyes in bliss, and the record crackled and you sang along off key and it was perfect.

//There was that time when you and your sister Kris stayed up until nearly 2:00 a.m. talking about anything and everything in the quiet warm darkness.

//There was that time when Kris had to get up early and you said maybe you should too and she said, HA!, simply dripping with scoffing like that’ll never happen, so you got up early just to prove her wrong.

//There was that one time when you watched a nighttime downpour pounding the roof so hard it created a mist above the dim shingles and then you went to bed to the sound of thunder and got up early again and watched a monarch caterpillar thrash its way out of its own skin to become a jade-colored chrysalis and later you got literal goosebumps from realizing something beautiful and then you went outside and the sun was so blinding it hurt behind your eyes.

…

//There was that one summer when you were sixteen and you were growing and you could feel it and life was full of good things.

Oh, you know ...

just scanning my face again. Another normal day!

Stuff and things

//Hello.
This is a random blog post.
But I, Inna, am in a random mood.
And this is my blog.
Therefore I do not have to justify myself.
;)

//I have 4 pet monarch caterpillars. Their names are Piggy-Wig, Carrie-Jean, Pablo, and Mike.
It doesn't matter how many times I raise caterpillars, the magic of them turning into butterflies simply fascinates me. Hopefully I'll be able to share pics of the process as they start growing up.

//Attached to a letter I received, there was an envelope saying I owed our mail carrier 20 cents since the letter didn't have a proper stamp. So I put the money in the envelope, and included a little note. Mail carriers need a little love too, ya know:

//Why is it that hair is so attractive when attached to a person's head, but as soon as it's detached and lying in a clump on the floor it becomes so revolting?

//Remember my friend Maddie? We both went to the same outdoor musical on the same night without planning it! My reaction was half :D and half O_o. Pretty sure this is a conspiracy  ... what're the odds??

//Yesterday I had supper at 11:30 p.m.
Today I had lunch at 3:30, and supper at 8:30.
I have issues.

//The Newsies on Broadway in NYC. I legitly want to go.
The dancing in this absolutely kills me. A few of the jumps and turns are ones I've tried in ballet, and I know how ridiculously hard they are. Which makes them so much more impressive and beautiful to me.
And then there's those moves that I can't even imagine attempting...
Oh, and the singing's not bad either. ;)
*Sigh* Some people are just so gorgeously talented it makes me sick.
And this is just a little advertising! Gah. I die.


Well. This has been fun! Maybe I should do more random posts ... what say you? :)

Embroidering photos - a DIYish

This is a pretty self explanatory project, so I felt weird calling it an actual DIY. But it's still something fun to Do Yourself, and it's a project idea that you may not have had otherwise. You see my dilemma. So DIYish it is.

But since all good DIY's (even the ishy kind) come with directions ... well. I might as well put 'em in.

Step 1. Poke a few holes in a photo with a needle. I used some of my underwater pics. 

Step 2. Thread needle with embroidery floss or thick thread and play around with going in and out of the holes until it looks good. :)

Of course, if you're better at embroidering than I am, you might actually try some fancy stitches or something.   :P

This is a super fun way to add a bit of pizzazz and texture to your photo album, journal, scrap book, or whatever.
And it's a great project to do indoors when it's hot and sticky out! Win!

Summer mint lemonade recipe

I'd forgotten about homemade lemonade for a while, but I recently rediscovered it ... plus a trick to make it even better! So even though this is so simple and a lot of you probably know how to make it already, I thought I'd share. Basically just as a reminder about how good fresh lemonade is. ;)

Ingredients:

Lemon juice, sugar, water, & fresh mint leaves - which are optional but highly recommended. :)

Pour approximately equal parts lemon juice and sugar into a pitcher. I used half a cup of juice, and little less sugar. Fresh squeezed lemons are best, but I often kinda cheat and just use real lemon juice out of a bottle. ;) Stir it up, and fill the rest of the pitcher with water. Now give it a taste, and add more juice, sugar or water to suit your fancy. 

You can leave it as is for plain lemonade ...

But! If you want to make it even better ... add mint. :D
Get a handful of fresh mint leaves and wash them with HOT water. This seriously makes the flavor come out beautifully.
Throw 'em into the pitcher and let 'em set for about 15 minutes. I usually remove them after that, cuz if they soak too long it gets kinda bitter.

I just love the subtle hint of mint ... it makes the lemonade so much more fancy and delicious. Perfect for summer! 

Enjoy!

Underwater photos!

For some reason I got the idea that this summer I wanted to buy a disposable underwater film camera. Which is weird because my sis is a professional photographer, and I'm used to superb quality in photos. And disposable cameras aren't exactly known for quality ... 

But I couldn't seem to get it out of my head! So finally I went and bought it. :)

If you want to try it yourself, I got the camera from Target for 12ish dollars. And developing them cost about $6 for double prints, which I got done at Sams Club. Normally I feel a bit guilty spending money on something just because. But not this time! I'm so glad I did it. To really truly enjoy something just because every once in a while is ... glorious. 

And at the risk of sounding very young ... it was super fun not knowing what a photo looked like immediately after taking it. ;) 

There's something really magical about the whole film process and the end results. Even the duds are mesmerizing and beautiful in their own way, especially as a group:

{linking up}

Chair makeover DIY

I think I got this old school room chair at a second hand store for a couple bucks.

Like, two years ago.

And I finally decided to redo it!

The first thing I did was use a pencil to make a dot towards the top left hand corner. 

Then I drew lines out from that center dot.

I used painters tape to cover the triangles that I wanted to leave wood colored, and covered the rest of the chair with newspaper.

This is VERY important. Taping is like, the main part of this project. Do it wrong, and the whole thing goes kaput. 

Tip: run your nail along the edge of the tape once it's in place. You want it very tight so you get a clean edge!

Then I got out a mask!

This is also VERY important. 

Spray paint is awful awful awful for the lungs.

The primer I used:

After priming!

Then, leaving all the tape on, I sprayed it white.

Tips: spray paint on a non-windy day.

Unlike me.

Uhhh ... yeah. Heh.

Do as I say and not as I do.

Or just do it like I did.

Whatever.

It wasn't that bad.

Just don't stand downwind. ;)

After letting it dry, and still leaving on the old tape, I put more tape over the triangle that I wanted to stay white.

And then for the brightness!

Dear neon yellow spray paint, 

I ain't afraid.

And after letting it dry ... you guessed it.

Cover the sections I wanted to stay yellow.

And spray the blue!

Tip: don't hold the can too close to the chair. Keep the can moving and don't make the layers really thick. If it does get too thick, it will run all over the place making lumps instead of smoothness.

Aaaand after letting it dry again came the scary part!

Removing the tape and hoping it worked!

Tip: have a garbage bag handy. The chair has acquired a lot of newspaper and tape by now. ;)

Ta-da!
At first I was a bit disappointed about the little imperfections (all were caused by my own mistakes, such as not taping well enough or not letting it dry long enough between layers.)

But then ... then I decided that I quite like it just the way it is.
It fits the style of the chair better because the chair has a beat up vintage look, scratched paint and all. So the new colors make it modern and fun, but the little mistakes fit the imperfect chair. 

I'm not a perfecty perfect kind of person anyways. 

Once it's totally dry in a day or so, I'll probably have to cover it in polyurethane to keep it from peeling.

So there you go. Another fun summer project idea!
Got the itch to spray paint anything now? :)

{linking up}

It's the little things: an unlikely story

A few weeks ago I was at a crowded baseball game.

About halfway through I looked over and somehow, out of the hundreds, I saw one face I recognized! My dance friend, Maddie!

I quickly stepped over a bunch of feet, excusing my way through the stands and running down to her. When I was right behind her, I yelled, "Maddie!!"

She started and whipped her head around. She grinned incredulously and almost tripped over the chairs on her way to tackle hug me!
We snagged a phone picture and laughed and chatted about how funny it was that I actually *saw* her in that crowd, and then I went back to my seat ... grinning the whole way.
It totally made my day.

And then on the fourth of July my family went out to see a fireworks display. 

This time there were thousands of people. The stands were packed. And the grass was packed too, full of people on picnic blankets and lawn chairs. 

Cars lined up for blocks. 

I was sitting in the bleachers, listening to the live music and waiting for it to get dark.

And suddenly ... I spotted a slender girl with long straight hair. I stood up in the stands, grinning madly.

And then I repeated the baseball game maneuver. Stepping over feet and excusing my way through the stands, running till I was right behind my friend and yelling, "Maddie!!" 

This time when she turned she almost choked. Her face lit up and she tackle hugged me again!

And we snagged a phone pic. Again.

And laughed about how I found her in such a gigantic crowd. Again.

I'm still smiling about it now.

And yes, perhaps this post seems a bit pointeless.
But sometimes things happen in life that are so unlikely I just can't help but be delighted, and I want to remember that.

P.S. Watching someone's face positively light up just because they see you? ... it's nice. <3

Faux hair wrap DIY

I think hair wraps look super fun, but I didn't like the thought of having one in constantly. So I made myself a removable one, and decided to show you how!

Consider this a happy fourth of July summer fun inspiration project thinger present from me to you! :)

Supplies: 

• Scissors
• Embroidery floss (in fun colors, of course!) 
• Small hair clip. It's best if it matches your hair, since you won't want it to show. 

First cut your embroidery floss. Make each strand about 6 inches longer than you want your finished piece. I  think I used a total of 11 strands.

Now hold all the strands together and lay them in the clip. 

Tie a double knot at the back of the clip.

Cut off the extra thread on top. Now you can clip it onto something to hold it in place while you work.

Take a single thread and wrap it around to the back ...

Bring it in front and tuck it through the loop. You're just tying a simple knot.

Slide the knot up tight, and repeat.

The knots should all line up on the left side. After you do it for a while they will naturally start to spiral around the back and come up on the right side.

Switching colors is easy. Just grab a different thread! Be sure to wrap it around ALL threads, including the one you just used (yellow in the pictures). You can pick up the yellow again later, if you want.

Continue all the way to the bottom. Tie it, and cut off the extra thread!

Finished! Now you have a removable hair wrap that you can wear when the mood strikes!

If you clip it close to your scalp and let some of your hair cover the clip, it looks practically like a real one! 

Happy fourth of July, everyone!

{linking up}