this past weekend:: jewelry!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a fun and relaxing holiday weekend. I took a mini blogging break this weekend, but I'm back today. I may not have blogged over the weekend, but I did make some jewelry for my new Etsy shop, Sun Sugar Studio. Right now I'm in "use the supplies I've got" mode, but I did some brainstorming for some new designs and collections, and then made a few prototypes (like the one below).



This one's not in my shop yet because I can't decide if I want to keep it or sell. The business side of my brain says to sell it, but the shopping side says keep it.It's one-of-a-kind due to the nature of lampwork beads and geodes, although I could make a similar piece for myself should I choose to sell this one. So, what do you think? Keep or sell?

52 weeks of downtown lancaster:: stormy skyline (week 15)

Last night we had some crazy weather blow through town. Thunderstorms, tornado warnings. It's been crazy here. (Although, not as crazy as in other parts of the country, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by the tornadoes elsewhere.) I took these pictures from my third floor studio window (when I probably should have been seeking shelter in my basement), which overlooks the (tiny) downtown skyline.

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52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster is my photo project for 2011. It's meant to keep me creative and posting about a consistent topic on a weekly basis. And I'm also pretty hellbent on to getting the word out that there's more to Lancaster, Pa. than Amish buggies, farms and outlet shopping. View the rest of my 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster pictures here.

All pictures taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

outfitted:: chambray and eyelet

I realize the last outfit I posted also included this denim shirt. I'm okay with that if you are. Besides, this is a nice little remixed look, no? One item, two ways. And actually, I wore this one first but am just now getting around to posting it. This little getup was for happy hour with the girls. There's nothing quite like happy with the girls to soothe what's ailing you, right?

Here's a random story for you. As previously mentioned, I got laid off from my job a few weeks ago. And as you also know, I love Ghost Whisperer and have been known to watch reruns on a regular basis. I promise these two things are related. At least in my story.

So anyway, I've been applying for jobs where I can find them (all five of them) and working on updating my portfolio and all that other job searching stuff. But since I've had very little response (and by "very little" I actually mean "zero"), it's been a little discouraging. I feel like I should be doing more. I was discussing this with Mr. DU while an episode of Ghost Whisperer played in the background.

Our conversation went something like this:
Me: "I've been applying for jobs and doing what I can to network and get myself out there, but I just wish I could do more."
Mr. DU: "You can only do what you can do."

At that exact moment, the conversation between Melinda and Jim on the television went something like this:
Melinda: "....I just wish I could do more."
Jim: "You can only do what you can do."

For real. True story. Mr. DU and I just looked at each other and he said, "Well, that was creepy." Creepy indeed. But I suppose Mr. DU (and Jim) had a point. I can only do so much and as long as I keep trying, there's nothing to feel bad about, right?

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{Shop}::
shirt: similar; skirt: similar; shoes: madewell silverlake sandal (in brown or black); necklace: contact me if you're interested in a similar design

recipe:: strawberry and cucumber salad with honey, mint, and lavender

I made this on Sunday afternoon for our little backyard cookout. It was so good, I made a second round and have been eating it every day since.* And - bonus points - it's super easy and quick to make.

Ingredients
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced in half
2 fresh cucumbers, diced
1/4 cup honey
1 T lavender blossoms
1/4 fresh chopped mint leaves

Instructions
Combine strawberries, cucumbers, and honey in a large bowl. Mix until strawberries and cucumbers are evenly coated with honey. Add mint and lavender. Stir until evenly distributed. Serve immediately, or stick in the fridge to enjoy later. You can omit the lavender if you don't like it, but I highly recommend giving it a try!

*Sadly, it's probably the last time I'll be able to eat it since I started getting a rash on my face on Sunday and it's been getting progressively worse since then. Upon visiting the doctor this morning, he made the connection I failed to make- I've probably developed a sudden allergy to strawberries. How sad! They are one of my favorite fruits. This really has not been my month. Here's hoping to a better June, right?

this past weekend:: grilling

Sorry for the long(ish) posting absence. I've been sick for the past few days and sitting in front of a computer isn't really all that appealing. But anyway, this past weekend, we broke out our brand new grill and grilled for the first time in our new house. And even though I was feeling under the weather (and totally wore sweatpants for this event), I had a great time!

I generally don't eat meat (other than seafood), but my friend from college was in town (and wanted to cook for us) and he makes a mean burger (and awesome bbq sauce). So I broke down and ate one. Let me tell you, if you're going to break out of pesca-vegetarianism for one night, these burgers are totally worth the cheat. Sooooooo good. (And yep, those are eggs on top of those burgers. Like I said, sooooooo good.)

styled (and found):: ghost whisperer purple dress

I recently had a reader contact me for help locating a dress similar to the dress Melinda wore in Ghost Whisperer season 5 episode Dead Ringer (since, you know, I'm obsessed with Melinda's style). While I didn't find the exact dress, I found two dresses that are similar in cut and color (the second dress is more on the indigo side than purple, but the fabric, drape and cut were similar to Melinda's). I styled the first dress very closely to Melinda's style and the second, I added some metallic and zebra touches for a fun (but still Melinda) look. Check them out:




Anyone else out there have a Ghost Whisperer fashion mission? Contact me or hit me up on Twitter, and I'll see what I can do!

PS- I also started a pinboard on Pinterest for purple dresses, so stop by and check that out, too.

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{Shop}
Top image:: dress: purple midi skirted dress, topshop; cardigan: hive & honey dolman cardigan, piperlime; belt: wide silvertone link belt, white house black market; watch: stella aluminum silver dial watch, fossil; bracelet: philosophy bracelet by sky koltun; shoes: pour la victoire irina, piperlime
Bottom image:: dress: casablanca asymmetrical draped dress, reiss; belt: 7 hills skinny animal print belt, piperlime; shoes: haertel sandals, aldo

Images of Ghost Whisperer are screenshots from the episode.

outfitted:: raindrops on roses

I'm not generally one to use my blog as a whine (yes, whine) and cheese sounding board, but seriously, the past week has not been good and I don't have much good to say at the moment. So, allow me to vent. In the past week:

1. I got laid off from my job (just a few months after buying a house- nice, right?). It wasn't the perfect job (is there such a thing?), but it paid the bills and I was building my portfolio. Not to mention, the job market here is horrendous and the last time I tried to find a job outside of this zip code, I got zero responses because, you know, it's bad out there in general and why would they hire someone from 3000 miles away when they can hire someone from next door?
2. My iPhone freaked out, froze up, and crapped out, forcing me to wipe it out and reload it with the most recent backup (which was from February - my bad, I know). I lost tons of pictures and a ton of songs and television shows that I had purchased on my phone and hadn't backed up yet (again, my bad, but still annoying).
3. Said house from point number one? Sprung a leak during yesterday's torrential downpour and our basement had nearly a foot of water in it.
4. Said flooding? Ruined our hot water heater. No shower for me today (I guess it's good I didn't have to haul it into an office. It's the little things.)
5. It's still pouring today and I absolutely had to go out it in. As in walking around town in it, not driving around in the dryness of my car. Tuesday is market day (which we live a few blocks away from) and we are completely out of food, so yeah...
6. Blogger freaked out and messed up my blog. Posts went missing, comments were lost, the custom url went down. And that resulted in a loss of functionality for Friend Connect, subscriptions, and apparently the like and send buttons over there in the side bar. So if you liked my blog before, you've got to relike it because it's been reset. Let the good times roll.
   

And so it is. Raindrops on Roses. Because it's been that kind of week (month? year???). Also, doesn't my hair look awesome? Don't be jealous. And those shorts? They're older than dirt. Seriously. I've had them since my freshman year of college. Older. Than. Dirt. They also have paint stains on them and they fall down because I've now lost 20 pounds since January (and apparently, 20 pounds since my freshman year of college, but whatever).

So anyway, I'm off to send some resumes. Thanks for listening. /rant

outfitted:: florals (and I'm a doofus)

I forgot (yet again) about the monthly Everybody Everywear challenge. I need to get on top of this. Next month, okay? Apparently, May's challenge was florals. Here's what I would have worn for this challenge had I actually been paying attention to when it occurred.

PS- Finally got the custom domain working again, but now it seems that scheduled posts are vanishing. So this is the second time I've written this particular post. Also, comments have still not been restored on my blog. Good. Times.

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{Shop}:: dress: modcloth orchid grey dress (last year), similar colors, similar cut/silhouette and floral pattern; cardigan: madewell curator cardigan (sold out); shoes: madewell oxford slingback

52 weeks of downtown lancaster:: week 14 - hmb designs

This is dangerous, you guys. This adorable shop is way too close to where I live. It's stocked with lots and lots of sparkle, all by artisan jewelry designers, and much of it is handmade. Plus they've got lots of other accessories, like belts and bags, and wine stoppers made with antique pulls and door knobs, and original art by local artists. What don't they have? Those pretty little lampwork earrings in the last picture because I snapped them up during the Art Walk (and immediately wore them). See, I told you. Dangerous.

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52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster is my photo project for 2011. It's meant to keep me creative and posting about a consistent topic on a weekly basis. And I'm also pretty hellbent on to getting the word out that there's more to Lancaster, Pa. than Amish buggies, farms and outlet shopping. View the rest of my 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster pictures here.

All pictures taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

testing:: is this thing on?

Can you see this? It's me, Displaced Urbanite. My last two posts have completely disappeared from my blog- they're gone from the main page and gone from my edit posts page. It's as if I never even posted them!

I just switched over from .blogspot.com to my own .com yesterday and it seems both of the posts I posted after that disappeared, but they were published and one of them received a comment, so I know they're out there somewhere? Has this every happened to anyone else?

Edited to add: I just noticed the sidebar edits that I made to my page yesterday are also gone. What's happening to my blog?!

in the mood for:: tropical brights

To say I'm obsessed with the Anthropologie Spectrum Caftan is a bit of an understatement. I just love the happy watercolor tropical print and the drapy cut of this dress. The bright colors put me in a happy mood. And I could use a happy mood right now.

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{Shop}:: fig.1: anthropologie spectrum caftan; fig.2: tropical sunset lampwork bracelet by sundaez child; fig.3: neon turquoise and blue chalcedony earrings by sparkle couture; fig.4: pink gerbera eyeshadow by noella beauty works; fig.5: kate spade lemon drop small framed lella; fig.6: nine west blanca, zappos

housekeeping

Happy Thursday, everyone! A few Displaced Urbanite housekeeping notes-

1. I now own displacedurbanite.com and I've updated my RSS feed accordingly. You should still get the old feeds from displacedurbanite.blogspot.com, but feel free to resubscribe to the new feed over there in the sidebar (you know, in case I decide to migrate on over to Wordpress in the future).
2. There are a few extra links over in the sidebar now, too. You can now follow me on Pinterest and on Tumblr (where I'll be posting iPhone photography exclusively). I'm trying to get the iPhone photography off of this blog and reserve it for my higher-end photos. Plus I thought it would be cool to have a blog of just pictures, no? So for that, Tumblr it is!
   
3. Lastly, DU has a slightly updated look. I simplified it quite a bit to allow for the content of my posts to stand out. What do you think?

And now back to your regularly scheduled postings.

beagle mania (not) monday + stella

It's not Monday, but I sure could use some beagle mania (plus Stella) cuteness today, you guys.

As far as Mondays go, yesterday was probably one of the worst I've had in a while. As if Mondays aren't annoying enough, I got laid off from my job yesterday afternoon (yep, on a Monday), and unfortunately the area where I live isn't exactly swelling with opportunities in my field. I'm doing my best to view this as a positive thing, but in this area, in this economy, that's sort of tough.

What it does free me up to do is some freelance work, jewelry design, and blogging, so expect some more frequent blog posts. Although, I'm (obviously) on a shopping ban since the income stream has been cut off. So now I guess I'll get creative with what I've got.

Anyway, I'm off to tweak the resume and make some jewelry. Happy un-Monday!

outfitted:: brushstroke green

This past weekend was the downtown Lancaster biannual Art Walk. Mr. DU and I decided (okay, I decided and then volunteered him) to go since First Friday was so crowded and I saw some things I wanted to check out more closely (ahem, buy).

It was a beautiful weekend and I thought it was worth breaking out a cute summer dress sans tights. I love tights, but my pale, pasty legs have been dying for some freedom (and for a tan, but whatever). I guess I did good with this outfit because a total stranger stopped me on the street to tell me how cute it was. Don't you just love when that happens?

Also a shout out to two indie boutiques whence some of these pieces came (yes, I just used "whence" in a blog post) - the dress is from The Islander, one of my favorite shops on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ, and the lampwork earrings are from HMB Designs, an artisan accessory boutique just a few blocks from my house (they may have been one of the items I purchased on the art walk). One of the bracelets is from Etsy seller, It's Me Mary. I plan to stock up on more of these.

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{Shop}:: dress: similar; cardigan: similar; shoes: madewell silverlake sandal (sold out in the color i have)

52 weeks of downtown lancaster:: week 13

I'm way behind. I've missed a million weeks. But instead of posting a million weeks' worth of downtown Lancaster this week to catch up, we're just going to pretend I never missed any of those weeks and just pick up where we left off and keep it rolling from there, okay? Okay. So that puts us at week 13, which happened to fall on May's First Friday.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the First Friday idea- shops, galleries, museums, theatres, et al, all stay open late, give out free wine, and sometimes have special deals. Traffic is a mess and restaurants are fully booked, and it's shoulder-to-shoulder in every shop, gallery, museum, theatre, et al, because everyone from the 'burbs comes into town for the night. Usually, I avoid this insanity because I live so close to everything and I can just wander down whenever I feel like it, but it was such a nice night on Friday that one of my good friends and I decided to venture out in the craziness.

We went late, so (thankfully) much of the craziness had died off and we could navigate around pretty easily. And then it appeared the sky was going to open up and pour down on us, so we ducked into Crush Wine Bar to have some wine and cheese. All-in-all, it was a good way to unwind on Friday night after a nutty week at work.

All photos taken with my iPhone.

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52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster is my photo project for 2011. It's meant to keep me creative and posting about a consistent topic on a weekly basis. And I'm also pretty hellbent on to getting the word out that there's more to Lancaster, Pa. than Amish buggies, farms and outlet shopping. View the rest of my 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster pictures here.

All pictures taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

weekend recipe:: scrambled eggs with ricotta and dill

I stumbled upon this recipe on Epicurious and it called for fresh chives. Since I didn't have fresh chives in my herb garden, I substituted fresh dill and it was really tasty and really easy to make. If you like dill, I highly recommend this. The recipe is below (my modifications are in italic).

Ingredients
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
4 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick slices whole grain bread, lightly toasted and buttered with fresh dill butter

Instructions
Whisk eggs, dill and salt together. Spray pan with non-stick spray (or melt one tablespoon butter in pan). Scramble eggs until fluffy (don't fry or brown the eggs). Remove from heat and mix with ricotta cheese. Place on slices of toast and top with more fresh dill.

View the original recipe here.

shopping list:: la vacation

In just over a month, I'll be packing my bags and leaving on a jet plane for sunny LA. It's been over a year since I've been to California, so I'm ridiculously excited. And of course, I need some new wardrobe stuffs (mostly because I want some and partially because a lot of my clothes are starting to get too big- big yay!). I'm always cold when I visit California, so lightweight cargo pants, a breezy striped top, and a versatile cardi are a must. As for the shoes and jewelry, well...a girl can never have enough of those, right?

{Shop} fig.1: russet shore bracelet by seashore glass, fig.2: perfect storm boro lampwork glass ring by the venerable bead, fig.3: mooring line top, anthropologie, fig.4: bronze curator cardigan, madewell, fig.5:XL stella rose gold silver dial watch, fossil, fig.6: the whistlestop sandal, madewell, fig.7: christa cargo pants, abercrombie & fitch