Things I'm Loving: Fashion

I'm loving a lot of things this winter, especially fashion-wise. Here are a few:
1. Cool collars:

from Dorothy Perkins. I got a blouse almost exactly like this on a recent shopping trip!

from Forever 21

2. Sweaters:

from Pinterest

from Urban Outfitters
3. Scarves:

diy from A Beautiful Mess

from Vero Moda. Infinity/circle scarves are awesome!

4. Hats:

from Forever 21

5. Boots with scrunched-up socks:

picture from Etsy

What things are y'all loving this season? xoxo Ife

On Repeat IV

Hi there! The fourth On Repeat is here. I have really been having frun picking songs for you guys. I hope you have been enjoying the songs as well.

Without further ado, here are the songs:

1. Viva La Vida by Coldplay

2. Bennie And The Jets by Elton John

3. Killer Queen by Queen

4. Hey, Soul Sister by Train

5. I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

 xoxo Ife

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

Sparing my Sperry's

      I got Sperry Topsiders last year. They are in terrible condition. Don't get me wrong, they are great and durable shoes, but I was extremely careless with them. I wore them to gym, left them untied, threw them around, et cetera. I really love how Sperrys look on me, but I didn't want to get new ones since I had some that fit me at home. Plus it's usually really hard for me to find shoes with size 11 (!) feet. The perks of being tall, huh? Anyway, like I said in my Pinterest post, I am feeling really DIY ready so I fixed up my Sperrys and saved about seventy bucks. Sorry I wasn't able to get any before pictures or very many during pictures :/ For a tutorial with pictures, go here: http://snapguide.com/guides/clean-your-sperry-top-siders/

Steps:

1. Remove the laces. It might help to have a lacing needle ahead of time.

2. Put the shoe in a bucket or sink full of water. (I did mine one at a time.) Add some soap and use a scrubber brush to scrub the shoe as much as possible.

3. Soak a cotton ball (or ear-cleaner-thing in my case) in nail polish remove and rub on any spots that didn't come out with soap and water. (This works really really well on the lighter parts of the leather)

4. If you can, remove the insoles from the shoes. (I didn't because the insoles on mine were sewn/glued down.)

5. Pop 'em in a pillow case and put the pillow case into the washing machine along with detergent and such. Make sure it is the cycle uses cool water to avoid shrinkage

6. Stuff your  shoes with plastic bags so they will keep their shape and allow them to dry. If you don't want them to shrink, keep them inside.

This is the finished, clean product:

I apologize for the sucky lighting and lack of shoelaces. Anyway, they look really good! Not brand new, but pretty close to it. I just need to buy the laces and lacing needle

xoxo Ife

I'm in love with..

Change.org . I know I say this alot, but I really mean it. Change.org allows you to sign petitions that, well, change the world(!) If you start a petition you have to get a certain amount of signers. Much like fundraising sites like Indiegogo and such, yes? I love Change.org's UI and design. Change.org is a really cool site and I just wanted to blog about it.

xoxo Ife

Stick to it.. and learn how to make white glue

I told y'all about my room make-over in this post. I haven't been able to find a cheap or free dresser so I've put that project on hold in favor of a project that will take less time: customizing my switch-plates and outlet covers! I liked the one with the pages of books and it looked relatively easy, so I said, "Why not?". I decided I would post a how to with how it worked out for me, so I went and gathered materials, only to find that I had no white glue. I was going to give up, but I decided I would find out how to make my own white glue. And I'll share how to do it with my lovely and faithful readers. So here's how:

1. Materials: coffee filter, baking soda, vinegar (I used apple cider), milk, measuring cup, tablespoon, and two bowls or cups
2. Measure out 1/4 cup of milk and pour it into a bowl
3. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the milk
4. Mix it until it starts to curdle (For about 1 minute)
5. Put a coffee filter into the second bowl and pour the curdled milk into it. What I think is vinegar will drain and you will be left with what it apparently "whey" after about an hour (it took 50 minutes for me)
6. Pick up the coffee filter, hold it in one hand while you attempt to rinse out the bowl you just used or get a new bowl and scoop the whey into it. Add a pinch of baking soda and stir it up. If you don't get desirable results check out this site for tips.

I hope you got great glue! Maybe use it to make a custom switch-plate. Does this Spark an Idea? (If you don't get this reference, open up any article on Ehow.)

Until next time, 
xoxo Ife

Tips for Productive Shopping

I went shopping on Saturday and got loads of cute stuff. A lot of times when I go shopping, I don't get very many things because I don't know what I need/want. I used the below book to decide some necessary clothes and made a list of things I wanted based on that.

My list included:

• Jeans (1-2)
• Graphic Tees (4)
• Belts (4)
• Casual Dresses (2-3)
• Skirts (4)
• Neutral Cardigans 
• (P)leather Jacket
• Shirts (5)
• Rain Boots
• Boots

I didn't get everything on my list, but it's alright. Here are some tips to make the most of your shopping trips:

1. Decide how many of each item you want
2. Define which items you want
3. Wear clothes that are easy to change into and out of
4. Start the day off with a hearty breakfast, especially if you will be walking around a large mall or store
5. Think of what you can wear a piece of clothing with
6. Search for inspiration on blogs and cool websites like this
7. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes

I'll post what I got later today.. Stay tuned 

Pinterest

I decided to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon. And guess what? I am loving it. I used to have all sorts of fanciful ideas for crafts but never really completed them. Now, with Pinterest it all feels so do-able.

I am going to give my room a make-over! I am starting with my dresser. I am going to buy a cheap plain dresser:

Like this 

And transform it with chalkboard paint that I might tint purple to match my room decor:

Add cool drawer pulls:

.. And yeah. That's all I've got so far. But I will definitely keep y'all up to date on my progress. If you are going to make-over your room, and need some dresser inspiration, check out this website: http://www.casasugar.com/How-Transform-Dresser-17903149

 

How to make an English Binder Cover

I'm sure you guys saw my previous post on my binder covers and were jealous, angry and confused. Don't worry; I am here to show you how you can get binder covers as awesome as mine.

Final Product

Materials Needed:

• Photoshop or Microsoft Word (Photoshop preferred. Remember that you can download a free 30 day trial.)
• Creativity
• Starting Picture

Directions:

1. Download your starting picture. I am using one from deviantart.com: http://ome-13.deviantart.com/art/English-Binder-179043247
2. Open the picture on Photoshop.
3. I will assume you are using my starting picture. So crop out the binder spine with the crop function (The fourth button.)
4. Right now the picture is pretty boring. It needs some color. What I did is highlight random words, but you can also add a border, underline, or whatever. Since we didn't take the time to type this ourselves, we'll have to add a shape, which will require finesse and precision. Haha just kidding, it's not that hard.

• Create a new rectangle shape. 
• Drag it over one of the words you want to highlight. 
• In the layers path on the right, bring down the opacity until it is to your liking. 
• Duplicate the layer and move it over whatever other words you want highlighted. 
• To change the size, transform the shape (Ctrl-T) and drag the corners to an appropriate size. The process is similar for an underline. (If you want to underline, do the same thing just create a line shape instead of a rectangle.
• Add your name, using the Arial Black font. If you want it to be similar to the text "English.", make it all lowercase and don't forget the period.
• Do the same thing in Word, but copy and paste instead of duplicating the layer and all that jazz.

   

Why I love Photoshop

Hello world! The school year is fast approaching, and I was looking for cool binder covers. Thanks to the vastness of the world wide web, I was able to find some great inspiration and key pieces for awesome binder covers for my core classes. I figured you guys might be looking for some binder covers as well, so I says to myself, I says, "I should post the binder covers that I made with the wonderful Photoshop CS6." So here they are, along with links to great websites. I will provide tutorials later.

Links:

http://www.deviantart.com/

http://www.dafont.com

http://www.rgbstock.com

http://www.patternoftheday.com
http://modernkindergarten.blogspot.com

http://www.sodahead.com

English

History

Math

Science

 Jealous? My binders are going to be really cool! These inserts were really easy to make though. As I said earlier, I will be providing tutorials in later posts. I hope you guys like them!

Woah! It's been awhile since I have last blogged to you, Universe.

I'm way sorry. I've been busy with crap (not really) like school, boarding school applications, et cetera, et cetera. I'm really disappointed in myself, you know getting your hopes up then crushing them down. I do it a lot, actually. I should really stop. Another reason I haven't blogged is I have no idea what to blog about. I mean, to tell the truth, my life's pretty boring. Just a cesspool of blah. I suppose I wanted to spare you the uninteresting details. But I'm selfish. I could only hold myself back so long, and I enjoy blogging. So, now that that has been cleared up, let us commence into the bloggery!

Since I don't really have anything to blog about, I will continue to selfishly talk about myself and my interests. I've fallen in love with Nutella. It's the single best food in the universe. Hands down. If you've never tried Nutella, you should buy some. Here are some ways that my sister and I eat it:

• With toasted bread
• By itself on a spoon
• By itself off a finger
• Atop desserts, such as muffins
• With strawberries
• With bananas
• In milk, then microwaved
• The list goes on. But here's my one word of advice: NEVER, EVER eat it on a grape. I tried it and it was GROSS.

Now, I came across a YouTube video. It's the audition of Magic Cyclops on American Idol. You may not find it funny, but my sister and I found it hilarious:

I think he's pretty awesome.
 BYE!

From a Distance Picture Challenge

The picture challenge is "from a distance."

It's a picture of me. Planking. I was inspired by the American Idol auditions where a girl sang while her sister planked. That got me wondering what the purpose of planking was. "Planking is an activity consisting of lying face-down in an unusual or incongruous location." Et c. After reading, I feel pretty lame. 

Hey guys! Don't leave just because I haven't posted in two whole days. Man this is a long blog title. Well... bye.

Hi. Welcome to my blog. This is awkward, so I am going to talk about the photo challenge. So on Friday I was  supposed to take a picture of something I ate. I didn't have any pictures, but I have one now. I went to the mall yesterday and I got....

Great Wraps. My sister wanted me to blog about how when he messed up my refill(soda) he didn't want to change it. He said, "I can't  change every time." My sister said that we weren't coming back. That's really disappointing because they had some Great Wraps (pun intended). My picture for Saturday is "from a distance." I don't have any pictures for that right now. And for today "sunset". I don't have pictures for that right now. Sorry. And for the blog challenge. I'm doing my dream wedding. Okay so I'd want a fairy-tale wedding. Like a Cinderella dress.

Like this.

Or this.

And the colors would be baby blue and maybe lavender. I would design my own invitations of course. (I'm artsy like that.) My maid-of-honors would be my sisters. Unless maid-of-honors can't be married. I dunno. Anyway I would have maybe 4 bridesmaids. And pretty much everything about the wedding would be traditional. Except the music and the reception. I would have some sort of elaborate cake with funky colors. And play I Want To Hold Your Hand by the Beatles. OK, that's enough of that. I've watched too much TLC. I know I should probably do two other blog challenges, but I think I have blogged enough. See you tomorrow... if you are lucky :). Anyway, I am off to church.

Sorry for not posting yesterday

The challenge for today is a picture of an animal I'd love to keep as a pet.

As you can see that animal is a Giant Panda. I love pandas! They are awesome. 

Bacon's pretty darned awesome, too. Turkey bacon just isn't the same. The same way waffles are way better than pancakes, even though they are made from the same stuff. I think it's the texture. Anyway.... I don't really have anything to blog about. I'm out of YouTube videos at the moment. Sorry. I got my friends to make blogs! Check 'em out: astoldbyabigaild.blogspot.com and elysethegirl.blogspot.com. They aren't as good as mine though. Just kidding. 

A Song to Match my Mood

I'm hyper. And happy. I feel kind of crazy. So I'm going to do Crazy. Guess who the artist is? My favorite band. Aerosmith! So the photo challenge is a picture of my favorite color.

My friend is behind me talking about how she has nothing to do and reading this over my shoulder. Good, she's gone now. I'm gonna talk about her. Just kidding.

Random YouTube video of the day:

Have you guys heard about the potential SOPA and PIPA act? It's complicated so if you want to look into it, I suggest searching something on Wikipedia, and waiting a bit for the black-out thing. Talk to your representatives! Please. Don't want to be pushy, you know. As you can see my favorite color is purple. Yup. It's awesome. I love grapes. My friend (not the one I was talking about earlier) took most of my grapes at lunch :(. Anyway, remember to talk to your reps., otherwise, the internet may never be the same! Remember, the fate of the internet lies in YOUR hands. No pressure. :)

Bye, dudes and betties/dudettes (I know, I'm all surfer-y)