On Repeat III

The third installment of On Repeat. What did y'all think of last week's songs?

In case you are on mobile:

1. Fix You by Coldplay
2. Hole In My Soul by Aerosmith
3. Misery Business by Paramore
4. Same Old Song And Dance by Aerosmith
5. Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2

I'm scared; I'm running out of songs! Now I have a legitimate excuse to listen to Pandora for hours. xoxo Ife

Notice something new?

I changed my background! The heart background can be found here: http://www.junelily.com/2012/02/01/free-seamless-grunge-heart-backgrounds/. I love this background! This design is definitely in the works. I'm trying to have it done by maybe.. Sunday? We'll see. In the mean time: xoxo Ife

On Repeat Two

More songs! Once again, don't judge just listen.

Enjoy!

 xoxo Ife

On Repeat

Hey! I hope you had/will have a lovely day. Welcome (back) to ATBI!This is a new weekly/biweekly feature here at As Told by Ife called "On Repeat".

 It will just be a Spotify playlist of 4 or 5 songs I can't stop listening to. I've been experiencing a musical enlightment, so don't judge, just listen. Okay? Now that that is out of the way, time for the music!

 I hope you enjoy these songs, I hand-picked them just for you! xoxo Ife

Superstorm Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is scary. I live in Houston, hurricane zone, but I wasn't really affected during Ike. I have a sister in Philadelphia. I know, you're probably hearing about New York and Jersey, but it's still scary. I hope any and all of my readers in the northeast are alright! I just wanted to tell y'all to keep safe. xoxo Ife

My Cup of Tea

I really love green tea right now. In Houston it's getting quite cold, maybe about 60 degrees. That is extremely cold to someone who is used to 90 degrees on most days! Hot chocolate and green tea are my best friends during this time. I really like Lipton Superfruit Green Tea in Black Currant and Vanillaand Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers Hot Cocoa. So good! Green tea just tastes so cleansing and refreshing. I like to add cinnamon and nutmeg. As for hot chocolate... I LOVE chocolate in almost any form. Except for dark chocolate. But cheap Hershey's or fancy-schmancy Godiva? I don't care. Just give me chocolate! xoxo. Ife

i haven't given up!

I know I haven't posted in a looong time. I apologize, I just didn't have anything to blog about. And I jammed my finger tossing around a football so it is quite difficult to type. I recently decided to order the missing power cord for my sewing machine.It works now! Hopefully I will have some good posts up soon soon soon. I am going to try to take on the quiet book for my young cousin (duh duh duh). Some of the pages I would like to add are:
-decorate the christmas tree
-road
-mr. potato head
-barn
-fridge
-burger
-noah's ark
-mail
-dress-up
-snowman
-puzzle
These are just my random ideas that I got from various blogs + pinterest. I'm a bit concerned I'll scew it up because 1) children scare me a little, 2) my cousin is six and most quiet books are for three year olds, and 3) I don't really know him that well because he lives thousands of miles away from me. I will still take a crack at it though!

By the way, I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate's program, so if you buy something from one of my Amazon links, I'll get a percentage of the item's cost. Just saying. xoxo. Ife

Photography! (For ultra-beginners)

Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional photographer. At all. These are just some sources I found that have really helped me.
On cell phone photography (and a bit on DSLR): linkbun.ch/immh. Before you get a DSLR, you should learn about macros, depth of field, ISO, et cetera. A great place to do that is camerasim.com:

Sorry it goes off the area for posting, you'll have to forgive me.
On your rights as a photographer: http://linkbun.ch/iron
Great overall sites:

• From my favorite blog: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/photography-tips-and-inspiration.html
• http://digital-photography-school.com/

A few tips:

• Be like me and once you find out about something (like depth of field) that you didn't know about before, search it up! Your current sucky camera or even your phone may have that function. (Especially if its an iPhone which I am in LOVE with. Sigh)
• Before I looked up cell phone photography tips, I didn't even know about the rule of thirds, aperture, ISO, or things like that. If I got a DSLR, like I wanted to, I probably would have been stuck in auto just like with my current point and shoot. 
• Look up different camera types. Not all DSLRs are professional cameras. You might not even need a DSLR, maybe you just need a compact/bridge camera (more megapixels and optical zoom than a point and shoot, no interchangeable lenses and easier to use than a DSLR) or just a point and shoot. Consider your needs and what you'll use the camera for.
• When you decide what camera to use, try snapsort.com
• Get some sort of account on which you can share your photos (Instagram, Flickr, Facebook, et c.)
• Lastly, and the most cliche, have buttloads of fun exploring! xoxo. Ife

My Baking Fail

A couple of months back, I decided to move the baking soda to an airtight containersimilar to the one the flourwas in. Today I decided to bake this cake recipe, because it was simple and I hadn't baked anything in a while. The recipe called for flour and I grabbed one of those airtight containers. I added all the ingredients and poured the batter into the cupcake panI tasted a bit of the batter and it tasted kind of bitter. I assumed it was nothing and popped it in the oven. Twenty minutes later my pan and oven look like this:

Poop. I added baking soda, not flour to the batter. And I get to clean it up. This is such a fail. Sigh. On the bright side, now I have to clean the oven, a task I've been putting off forever! xoxo Ife

P.S. What baking fails have you had? Tell me via email or comment!

EDIT: Baking soda is a great cleaning agent, and now the stainless steel shows through my otherwise burnt(?) cupcake pan

My Fall Wishlist

Fall's soon a-coming and I want... things. Fashion and decor things. I probably don't need them and definitely can not afford them. But I decided to spend my time on a post and this little image below anyway. 

i want: 1|2|3|4|5

one: Jensen Wood Turntable. Is this amazing or what? It also has a stereo output jack and a radio (!) Can I get an amen?

two: Free People Patched Skinny Jeans. This is a much better distressed than what is currently in. The patches are perfectly thrifty chic and the fit of the skinny calf looks fabulous. I love these patched skinnies!

three: 130 Denier Houndstooth Tights. Wonderful, yes? Yes. These FAB-MAZING tights would totally quirk up that rain coat. And with a plain uniform skirt? Yes, please.

four: Dr. Martens 1460. Durable and classic. And they toughen up and girly outfit, such as a floral dress.

five: Via Spiga Double Breasted Patent Rain Slicker. Normally I hate the look of patent, but this slicker won me over. It drew me.. to.. the ... dark.. side! Haha just kidding, but I really am loving that patent. And the double breast. They create an extremely nice effect.

xoxo Ife