June things....feelings, ideas....

I had some thoughts while on vacation. Some more inspirations I guess.

The first thought I had when I came back was.....I want to go back to that beach. Of course, don't we all want to go back on vacation when we come home? I just love, love, love the beach. We went to Sanibel Island and I will say this as an idea for you all: Go there at some point in your life. No matter who you are, you could go there for a week and totally be unrecognized by anyone. It is, in my opinion, one of the best islands of the United States to visit. It is so peaceful, so serene, and so beautiful. Sanibel Island is known for their shelling, and no joke..................you find millions of shells! The shelling is almost like a scavenger hunt. You want to find more and more and more! Now, what to do with the three bowls of shells I brought home? Well, I am going to turn some of the Sea Fans into jewelry and hair pins. They shimmer the most beautiful colors. The conch type shells will probaly decorate my sea inspired bathroom. The rest? Who knows. Just looking at them takes me back to the ocean. Maybe I'll find a large glass container, put some sand in it, and then add the shells so I have a little beach of my own in my home. My mom gave me that idea last night. Shells are incredibly "in" at this moment. I paid close attention to the conch/nautilis type of shells. Something about their spiral type shape. I love holding the shell to my ear and hearing the ocean again. Remember doing that?

We also drove to Orlando to go to Disney World's Magic Kingdom for my June 11th birthday. (Gemini oh so much). It was free for me to get in because right now anyone that fills out their birthday form on their website and takes it to Disney on their birthday gets in free that day. A one day ticket to Disney runs about $75.00, so the free ticket was very welcome. They give you a birthday button with your name on it and then every worker in the park that sees it will wish you a happy birthday. It was fun and took me back to being a kid. I am totally a kid on many days of my life, and people tell me that all the time. I believe thinking like a kid, not giving a care in the world, and using your imagination as much as possible can be a good thing for adults. Adults often forget what being like a kid is. If we could connect with our kid like feelings again, I think things may be a little happier sometimes. Try Disney World or any other kid activity at some point this summer and see what happens.

While on vacation, I found the Burberry hat I wanted. Well, almost. We went to a magnificent mall in Orlando and the Burberry store had my hat on sale! It was unfortunately in the wrong size. I was so disappointed. But then, the sales woman asked "Would you like me to try to find the hat in another store?" I jumped on that opportunity! She found it at another Florida store and had it shipped to my house. At the sale price! So, here's a tip: If you ever find the perfect outfit or accessory but it's not in your size, ask the store to try to find it in another store and have it shipped to you. Even if it's on sale, you can still try to get it!

Try outlet shopping. Orlando had some good outlets, but I know there are tons of outlets out there in the world. Las Vegas has some of the best! Not all outlets have great prices, but try them out and see if you can find a deal. I found a Lacoste polo shirt for $25.00, and it was orginally $74.00. Try on everything you find if possible. You never know if the reason it ended up in the outlet was because of sizing, color, or past season. I really feel like designer things are way too expensive. Sorry design labels!! But, that's how I feel. I always think "Why is it marked up so high, but it always goes on sale for a reasonable amount?" I understand the concept......you know.....it's designer, so it's better, so it has to be expensive. But I just don't know about that.

When I came home from vacation, I immediately started organizing my home. I know people do their cleaning in the spring, but I am a summer cleaning girl. After spending the whole last week in a clutter free hotel environment, my stuff at home really got on my nerves! I guess this thought is happening because I am getting older.....wiser? But....my thought is, I don't really need alot of stuff. I was content having the few items I had on vacation and didn't miss the bulk "stuff" I have at home. I felt this way last year when my husband and I had to move into an apartment because we sold our house and didn't have another to move into immediately. I really didn't miss anything that was in our storage unit, other than my photo albums. I think constantly to myself, as long as I have my husband and my animals around, I really have all that I need. I know I talk about the things I want to purchase in this blog sometimes. I do like to shop, but I know there are more important things to living a life. I know we all need a roof over our heads, food, heat, etc., but the extra "stuff" is just that, STUFF. So with that being said, I am getting rid of a ton of stuff. I will be calling charities around town and getting rid of anything that hasn't seen the light of day since we moved into this house last July. I encourage everyone to do the same. We, for some reason, have an extra couch, dining room table, and dryer in our garage. It's going to be GONE soon. My old purses that I swore I would use again, GONE. That sewing machine that I wanted so bad because I swore I would be making all my curtains for my home, GONE. I will be selling some of the items and putting that money towards my home renovation, but everything else that is in good condition is going to charity.

I just read in Woman's Day magazine about people that spend more of their money on experiences instead of clothes, shoes, or material things, are happier. The article said we will never get tired of our good memories, but we will get tired of that pair of shoes you just bought. I like that idea. With that thought, comes an "in style" thing to do that so many people forget about. Go to the Drive-In this summer. My friend just did and had a great time. As we drove home from Florida, we drove many back roads to avoid the Bonaroo concert traffic. We passed two small towns and saw Drive-In's filled with cars in both towns. I will go this summer.

When we got home from vacation, my husband's father washed and waxed his car for him. (We took my little convertible on our trip instead of my husbands large car....I was so proud of myself for fitting a week's worth of clothes into just one duffle bag!). The wax he used was Turtle Wax Ice. It goes on clear, so you don't have to worry about getting it on the black areas of your car. The car looks brand new. While you are washing your car this summer, try giving it a good wax. You will be glad you did.


The color yellow really stands out to me. Blue is still great, but yellow is so happy. I love wearing the color.

The best snack that is selling out everywhere is Edamame. We have been eating it here at home for over a year now, and we love it. We buy it frozen, boil it for a couple of minutes, drain the water, sprinkle a little low sodium soy sause on them, and they taste amazing. We buy the ones in the pods, then pull the middles out with our teeth to eat them. I guess you could eat the pod, but I don't like to. Try them with Teriayki sauce or a little bit of salt too.

Look to the sky. I know I've had dreams about storms for a while now, but wow. The weather continues to be active. It has been incredibly active for almost a year now. I love looking at the sky. It can tell you so much. My Nani told me to always look to the sunset when you want to know how the weather will be the next day. She said if it was a beautiful sunset with many colors, the weather the next day will be wonderful. If the sunset is not so great, the weather the next day may be bad. I do this alot, and usually the sunset is correct in some kind of weather forecasting. The book I just read, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, had a character in it that paid very close attention to nature. He got very in tune with it and, well, good things happened.

Wow..........I had alot to say. This may have been my biggest single blog to date. Hope it didn't bore you too much. :)

---C

Just a quick thought............

I know I've said this before, but...............

The Sun. Pay attention to it. Sunsets, sunrises, the morning sun, the afternoon sun, the evening sun; They must be a focus for the next couple of months.

More...Carolyn Braden's May Inspirations

Here are my latest feelings.....

There is something about July. I don't know what, but something about the seventh month.

Ducks.

Pinecones. In fall decor maybe?

Sporto Waterproof Duck Shoes. Great to slip on and off this summer instead of the boots.

Google Eyes. They are funny.

The color blue.

Roses.

Rainbows. Again.

Balloons.

Of course this summer is all about the sun and the sand and everything that has to do with that. Such as.....mermaids, seashells, sand, sunscreen, sun hats, the beach, and whatever else that has to do with summer feelings.

New Thoughts by Carolyn Braden

Spring is here in a big way!!! Everyone is done hibernating and is out in full force. The rain is bringing on the beautiful green grass and things are starting to look good.

Here's my forecast for now:

Burberry. Something about it. I want a Burberry hat and I am searching for the perfect one. If you can't afford a Burberry hat, try any cute page-boy style hat. Baseball hats are fine, but try something with a little style if you want to turn heads.

The color white. You can wear it. Yes, if you are like me, you will probably get something on it (dirt, food, etc) by the end of the day, but it's fine. It happens to us all. :) Carry a Tide to Go pen with you just in case.

Buttons. Something about them is standing out in a big way.

Rainbows. Look for them everywhere. Rainbows are universal symbols for so much.

Water color. The water color look will show up in fashion and more.

Kangaroos and Austrailia. I don't know why, but they are standing out to me.

Pinecones? Just a thought.

---Carolyn Braden

What now?

As always, I never know how my ideas will be interpreted into the real world. All of my ideas come out in the world as fashion, in movies, on television, on commercials, in the stores. I don't know how, they just do.

Here is my latest knowledge:

Monkeys. They are showing up everywhere. Reminds me of that story/song "Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" and the game Barrel of Monkeys.

Patches are coming out. I am about to sew/iron on patches on my knockoff H&M Member's Only jacket I just found. Couldn't find a real vintage one, so this one will do. I am making it unique by putting the patches on it.

Something about the British right now. British comedy, food, or cars. It's something to ponder.

Bubbles. Real bubbles, glass bubbles, the form of the bubble is out there.

The sun. Can't wait for it to shine a light on my life.

The beach. My next vacation will involve one.

Cookies/baking. Try doing it with your kids. Let them experiment and mix some of their own ingredients in and see what happens.

Olive branches/doves. Maybe new symbols to represent what our world needs now more than ever....peace.

Reggae/tropics. I think this is happening in music. Love those steel drums. Just the sound reminds me of warm weather and the time I spent in Barbados.

Musicals. Try showing your children Annie. It is such a great one to see again and again.

Clovers. Could this be because they are green or because they are lucky?

Zippers. Try them in fashion. On hats/shirts.

Vintage tunes. Download some 80's or 90's songs to your Mp3 player and listen to them while you spring clean. Cleaning is always a little more enjoyable when you dance and sing.

Roller skating. Do it! It's great exercise.

Puppets. Use one at home with your kids when reading or telling stories. Kids love puppets.

Laughter. Try watching a funny comedy from the past. Watch some commercials instead of fast forwarding them because you DVR'd something. Some are really funny right now and people are talking about them. We all need to laugh a little more.

Knowing your brain. Are you right or left brained? Creativity, thinking, and intuition come from your right side and reading/writing/arithmetic (remember that saying), come from your left side. My right side is working double time right now. I just hope someone notices it.


Dreams. I love dreaming.

Signing off....

C

What's In Style for January 2009!!!!

Happy 2009!!!!!! Here is my first blog for style for 2009.
Here's what is up and coming in the style/television/music world:

The first two inspirations are some things I knew were going to be popular back in September 2008. Our local paper, The Courier Journal, did a quick little blurb about me and what I liked. I didn't know it quite then, but my style ideas were right on! I am starting to see these ideas in magazines right now.

Oils!
They are wonderful to mix in unscented lotions to make your own custom scent. I do this myself by picking some up at Whole Foods or go to Aveda and pick out a few scents for them to make for me there. It's actually really inexpensive and the all natural idea doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. I love the scent of clove mixed with Nivea Firming Body Lotion.

I really like my Vaseline Cocoa Butter scented gel oil. It's really good because it is in gel form and not as messy as regular oil. I got it last year at Walgreen's, but I am sure they still carry it.

My mother in law got me Avon Skin So Soft Whipped Body oil and I really like it too! Not only is it not messy, but it has a lovely, clean, almost baby like scent.

Flowers.
Whether they are the print on a shirt, dress, or you just have a bunch in a vase at your house, they are so wonderful! Having some fresh greenery or flowers around the house really bring the outdoors in for me.

Tye Dye!!
The current designer at Target has it all over his collection right now. I will be featured on HGTV's show "That's Clever" doing Shibori (Japanese cloth dying). They filmed the episode back in 2006, and the 400 series (my series) is finally on the schedule! Check out http://www.hgtv.com/thats-clever/show/index.html to see when my episode will air. I must have been onto something back in 2006! Thanks to my Fiber Arts teacher, Lida Gordon, for showing me how to do Shibori while I was an art student at the University of Louisville! I just bought a really cool peace sign (blogged about that a while ago!) t-shirt at Target for 10 bucks. It's really cool!

Eating healthy is ALWAYS IN STYLE! Try organic.
The prices of organic foods have really fallen over the past year. I know because my husband and I really pay attention to this. Woman's Day magazine suggested taking a spinach wrap (try a low carb/calorie one...they usually have quite a few calories if you don't watch it) and spreading a little low fat cream cheese on it. Then take some fresh veggies like carrot sticks or peppers or whatever you like, and put them in the middle of the spread out cream cheese. Then roll it up, cut it up like pieces of sushi, and voila! You have a healthy snack or lunch meal that looks really cool too! Try giving this to picky kids who only will eat food if it looks fun!

Try painting your own shoes!
My agent told me about a leather spray that you can spray shoes with to change the color. I always knew you could have shoes dyed, but never thought to spray them myself. I found a website, www.shoehardware.com, that sells NuLife leather shoe spray. They also sell Angelus Acrylic Leather shoe paint. I bought some raspberry and pink sparkle spray to paint my vintage fab rollerskates (been looking for some cool ones forever and my husband finally found some!) and I bought some neon red, neon blue, and neon yellow paints to paint the white areas of my Adidas Samba shoes. Oh yeah....the Samba is back baby! I wanted mine to look different, and the paints will make this a reality. Dying shoes is a huge process, so I think I'll stick to having a shop dye my dream scarlet red toe shoes for me. I just love scarlet red shoes. SATIN scarlet red shes. Toe shoes in scarlet red are really rare and the girl who wears them in any ballet automatically becomes the star. I am seeing Revive's Rite of Spring in April and the star will be wearing scarlet red toe shoes. Just beautiful. I just want a pair to put on display in my closet.


Old School Children Television Shows!
Did you know the Electric Company is back???? I am so excited! I don't know much about it yet, but it is back. I also hope that Sesame Street really gets a good media pump up soon. I loved that show as a kid and would love to be on it now as an adult. Who knows, right? Teaching has prepared me for many things, so maybe a kids show could be one of them. I know Sesame Street airs still, but not in my hometown, Louisville, KY. What's up Louisville? Get Sesame Street back!

Last, but not least: Watch these two guys called Mysto and Pizzi.
They are a young producer duo that are up and coming. They remixed the song "Somebody's Watching Me" for the most recent Geico commercial, and it is really good. They have already done re-mixes for Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears, so they are going to do really well.

Wow...this was a long one! I had a lot of inspirations over the past couple of weeks. Thanks for reading!

Till next time,

Carolyn

Good Luck Charms

There is something about charm right now.

Whether it's your own personal charm or a good luck charm, it's in style.

My good luck charms consist of my "crystal" bouncy ball. I found it at Dick's Sporting Goods back in August or September. Now, these balls are everywhere. Mine is really big and has purple swirly, sparkly glitter in it.

My other good luck charm is a little elephant I found at Hobby Lobby the other night. Actually, one of my students gave me a sparkly elephant ornament for Christmas. I saw it as my cartoon character "Ed the Elephant". My student liked that idea. I bought a few of the little elephants at Hobby Lobby and I am going to give them to the people in my life that I feel may need a little good luck. I am keeping one for myself. :)

In going through some of Tommy's old toys, I found a little golden dragon. It is Dawn the Dragon. He is friends with Ed the Elephant and they sit together on the mantle in my bedroom. They sit next to my crystal ball.

I always have liked four leaf clovers. I used to find TONS of them in a patch outside my Fern Creek house when I was a kid. My mom and I would find them, then save them. I have a four leaf clover idea for my book.

I've loved ladybugs for a long time. I have a tiny ladybug tattoo on the inside of one of my ankles. Betty, my mother-in-law, buys me little ladybug things and gives them to me every once in a while. Therefore, she became Betty the Beetle in my book. She's a ladybug. :)

Charm bracelets. I found my old charm bracelet I started as a kid. There are many charms I haven't put on it yet, so I am going to be taking it soon to have all my charms put on so I can wear it.

Tiaras. I just found another tiara. It is beautiful. I didn't realized it until finding this most recent one, but I collect them. :) They seem to appear at big moments in my life. They have been around my whole life. They must be a good luck charm for me. Weird that I just figured that out.

That's all for now. Merry Christmas.

--C