My Candyland Baby Shower

I'm back. Been off the radar since the ending of the contest and feel like I've gone from normal Sophia to plus size and pregnant. No, I didn't win, but it was close. Thank you to everyone who voted, tweeted, promoted, and unfollowed me in the process. I had to do it.

The next day was my 1st baby shower which I selected a Candyland theme for cause that was one of my favorite games when I was little, plus I don't like pastels too much. All the decorations were made by my friends and mother. They did a great job at executing my vision. Except baby daddy who drew the line at painting the Candyland characters on canvas. What? A bit much? His sister was nice enough to get some images for us that we were able to print out and use as well decorations. There was a lot of food and everyone had a good time. I wanted to make it worth my guest's while since you know baby showers are l to the ame. Everyone was really sweet to me, a preggo out of wedlock. And no one asked when I was getting married. Good, cause I don't know. This was like a wedding to me. A lot of planning and exhausting. I've never wanted a wedding and now, well even more so.

 

Baby daddy laid this poster board Candyland board for me in the hot sun. About 40 minutes into it he took off his shirt. 

My friend Lisa made me this amazing cake. I didn't want to eat it. My boyfriend's aunt sent the flower gelatins.Everyone was also scared to eat and ruin those.

Lollipop topiaries made out of Dum Dums. Really easy to make.

 

Opening presents with my mom, I swear it was like the happiest day of her life. In all the pictures she is smiling. She is a little too excited for the arrival of this baby, "stop kissing my stomach, the baby can't feel you, only I can feel you and it feels gross."

 

Pretty much me the entire day, sippin on some horchata, poured some out for Dora. My dress was thrifted from the Goodwill when I first found out I was pregnant. My shoes were leopard print Jessica Simpson but I didn't get a pic of them.

 

Gum drop wreath. If you ever have 3 hours to kill, make yourself one of these. They are super heavy. I have 2. Love them.

Candy bar, for everyone to make bags and take home. Stole the idea from my friend Meredith's baby shower. She is the one who took all these pics for me so thank you to her. My friend Rabiya made this awesome diaper cake and brought it all the way from San Jose. Thank you Rabi! I will be using all my decorations again for my next baby shower in So Cal.

I tried not to exploit any of my guests by putting their pictures on the internet, but I know this Fetcherella won't mind. With my friend Janessa who wore chevron print for me. She should have a Mexican baby growing in her womb in no time. 

And a side view of my stomach for Lakota who asked for one a long time ago and linking this post to her tah-duh Tuesday http://faithhopeandcharityshopping.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/ta-dah-tuesday-how-to-remove-glitter.html

Have a Candyland party, it's such a fun theme,

LaSophia

DIY cat shoes

So I had been drooling all over Charlotte Olympia's cat shoes and despite my hard fundraising efforts, couldn't find a sponsor to shell out the 485 pounds or even bigger number U.S. dollar equivalent. Thank gawd for blogs, or else I would have never stumbled upon the tutorial to make my own kitty flats on P.S.-I made this I immediately ordered the plain black loafers from Amazon and enlisted baby daddy to do all the hard parts, you know, like painting the shoe and cutting the ears out. Ok, pretty much the whole damn shoe. All I did was glue on the ears, crookedly, twice.

Maternity wardrobe essential, cat flats.

 

I paired them with a thrifted black lace dress from the G-Will. 

They were perfect for the long day we spent in L.A. Starting at Cal State L.A. visiting my mom's good friend from college who works there. It was memory lane for them. From there we went to East L.A. to get my favorite Mexican sweet bread, so soft and tasty at La Mascota. I ate 3 conchas between East L.A. and Lincoln Heights. Yeah, it was pretty bad. 

 

He puts up with all my shenanigans, visions, and projects. I pay him in bread and water and harvest his seed in my womb.

We ended up in Pasadena with my nina. Didn't get home till midnight, but it was a lot of fun. Good thing I had flats to wear or else I would have been spent by lunch.

(Scissor) Happy

Let's get real. Spring is here, summer is coming, I'm almost 6 months at this pregnancy and I ain't getting any smaller any time soon. All these factors had me back on my feet at the thrift store last week going hard like I used to when I still had a period every month. I came across this floral print floor length dress, which is "trending" right now. I mean, I don't get it, floral has never been a trend for me, it's a great print, any year but this is coming from the girl who left her faux Target x-mas tree up in her apartment in college all year long cause it "looked cute." I decided the dress would look better with another trend, an asymmetrical hem. So I made the measurements, made my unborn baby's father sketch an arch and cut it. I couldn't wait to put a proper hem on it. I wore it today. 

 

So what if I accidentally measured 11 inches from the waist instead of the hem. I wore shorts under the dress for damage control. (Unlike last weekend at the park when my boyfriend had to use my Hello Kitty purse as a shield to cover my big a$$ as I laid under a tree in a dress).

 

"What kind of hat is this?" I asked him.

"A blossom one," he answered.

 

Palms in Palm Springs.

 

From the back it gathered wind. It was thrilling. 

 

dress, hat, and bracelet- thrifted

boots- Target 2011 *last year

DIY Bow tie

bow tie- DIY

shirt- thrifted

skirt- thrifted

socks- Eff 21

boots- Steve Madden

Look Ma, no sewing machine! 

Well well well, seems like you can teach an old perra new tricks. I watched a lot of videos on youtube and in the end was able to produce a legit bow tie. I used a black velvety dress I got for free at the Goodwill on Black Friday. The had 200 items free in the store and you had to find them. The dress was useless until now. Also cut up some old clothes I was going to give to the Goodwill. I think the bow tie classes up an outfit. My mom said from the waist up I looked classy, and from the waist down I looked like a hooker. She always gives me grief when I wear fishnets or over the knee socks with short skirts. I don't understand the stigma of socks that go above the knee but I guess I should listen to her, I mean, she was a modest dresser in her day....

Yes, a Harley Davidson crop top with no bra, is truly modest. 

LaSophia

Red fish tail and mint fizz

No, those aren't my new favorite types of sushi, they are the names of my new favorite dress and the paint color I used to restore this vintage vanity.

dress- salvation army $2.99 - 60% cause it was 60% off day.

shoulder pads- included

Got this bad boy at a yard sale down the street from my house for $25 dollars. The lady even delivered it to my house for me! 

There went my weekend. After sanding it like I was sanding off the genitals of an ex-lover who had wronged me, painting it with 3 coats of mint fizz paint, and screwing on 8 knobs that cost me $3.69 a piece, it was time to bring it inside. 

I still don't have a stool for it so I just sit in my favorite yoga pose.

yogi nalgona. 

So I left out a little drama. My dad wouldn't let me bring it in the house so I had to cover it with a holy tarp while it rained for 3 days in the backyard. By then it was a little warped on the bottom but I didnt care. Then while I was sick and dressed as an animated dog, I purchased a GALLON of paint (so stupid) cause I wasn't thinking. That set me back another 25 bucks. Then after I painted it, the drawers were getting stuck and I was all stressing out about trying to fit the mirror on so I laid down on my floor and cried. Luckily my uncle saved it for me, by showing me how to shave off some wood and paint and screwing on my mirror for me. My dad told me to just go buy another one, that this one was a piece of crap. But I had so much invested in it, he did not understand. These are the theories of junk my family lives by:

My dad: everything is junk in this house, unless it is mine.

My mom: I don't see any junk. Don't touch my stuff. I don't touch your stuff. 

My former boyfriend who lived with us: Because of the over abundance of junk in your trunk, I will turn a blind eye to all other junk surrounding me.

Mint fizz b*tch*s,

LaSophia

Jewelry Storage DIY

 I thought I would show you guys how I store my jewelry using my favorite mediums.

Wow, that was one scary Google image search. Ok, jokes aside, I mean one of my favorite craft mediums: vinyl records.

I heated this record in my oven until it was malleable then shaped the bottom part under to create a flat surface. I then made the holes by piercing the record with a hot nail. I heated the nail over a candle, to have a constant open flame and it melted right through. I wore gloves of course, who do you take me for? 

If you are not comfortable with heating vinyl in your oven, you could just leave the record flat and pierce it with holes, then put it on a plate stand. Or you could hang it to the wall by lacing string through some holes. I like this method of storage cause I can see my earrings. Outta sight outta mind when it comes to jewelry thats not displayed for me. I forget about it. 

Next, are my rings 

I use ash trays I brought back from Mexico to put my rings and some bracelets.

I stole this necklace hanging idea from my friend Lorena. I had this cat coat hanger thing since I was a little girl. I found the other one in my downstairs closet. I try to keep my metal necklaces and colored ones separate. Again, I like to see my jewelry! As you can tell I'm very into my own name and typography. All the car emblem necklaces I made myself.

These are my bracelets. I just put them in the tops and bottoms of a box I got with my L.A.M.B. perfume many a Xmas ago.

So thats all I got. Thats as organized as anything in my life gets. If I showed you the rest of my room you would fall physically ill. I blame it on my lack of space and hoarding. Have a great weekend. 

More birds

Broadcasting live from Home Depot.

Ugh. I've been to Home Depot too many times for my own comfort this year. What brought me in on this day was a collapsed closet rod? bar? I have too many clothes. This romper is not thrifted, its actually from my retail days when I was getting paid. Got it at Urban Outfitters for 9.99 2 years ago. My shoes are from a 2nd hand shop. 

So do you remember I had more beaded birds from that denim shirt? Well I went into my local bead store and added this strand to turn it into a necklace (with much help from the store owner).

I might put some more strands through him (red tail means male) later. As an asthmatic girl who is allergic to anything with fur, I could only have birds and fish growing up. 

Check out this guy. Im obsessed. He has more followers than you and I will ever have. He's done local news, Letterman, and a Taco Bell commercial. Best of all, his popularity and merchandise has generated donations to the Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service where he hails from. All hail Snowball. 

 

DIY- Cassette tape purse

When I was 9 years old my mom was in a car accident. After a routine tire alignment she got onto the freeway and 3 of her tires flew off. She rolled into a ditch and crawled out the window. Fortunately, she survived. Unfortunately, her Gloria Estefan tape did as well. 

She had every Gloria Estefan tape that came out. And I listened to them constantly as she drove my furry 9 year old face around. It's not that I didn't like the music, it's just that you can only listen to Cuts Both Ways so many times before you start having "thoughts." 

So when I found this tutorial on youtube on making a cassette tape purse, I was instantly excited. Because I'm a fan of crafting using recycled materials "upcycling" and I knew I would get a reaction from my mom when she saw me digging through her tapes. 

Revenge is best served with a strong glue and sandpaper,

LaSophia

Sorry Selena but know that no one will ever take your place on my Ipod.

Had to saw some tapes because I made the purse 3x3 instead of 2x2. I dont like small purses. 

Yes, Im at Taco Bell. Yes, I'm overdressed. That's what happens when you live in a small town. I refrained from putting the pic of my lover boy eating a double decker. 

The tutorial I used.

Toto, keep the shoes.

No, this is not an Amy Winehouse tribute look as my dad assumed upon seeing my bee-hive and I come downstairs today. The hive was just a practical use of greasy hair that got me some cuh-razy stares today. "Bite my bee-hive b*tches!" I should have said. R.I.P. to Amy. I'm still mourning Aaliyah, Left Eye, and Michael.  So sad.

dress- thrifted 2.99

shoes- thrifted 4.99

necklace- made by me

I picked up these ruby slippers at a thrift store I found while cruising the boulevard. It just said "Thrift Store" outside. Inside, it smelled like Mary Jane and minimum wage. My kinda joint, uh I mean place. 

"Summer reading, had me a blast. Summer reading, happened so fast."

This book sucked burro churros. I already knew all the stuff in it from my 9 month blogging career. I need to know the good stuff, like how to make my own template, codes, ruff ruff. If you made your own template, I hate you and thank you for reading my ugly template blog. This world needs more tolerance.

God Bless the local library. What a great find. Conclusion: the best way not to look fat is to lose weight or wear your mom's reading glasses. 

Close up of my Coupe de Ville car emblem necklace. Im wearing a Cadillac one in the other. Used to try and sell them on Etsy and then I quit. Might start up my shop again. 

Check out other thrifted looks over at Meagan's Spunky Chateau. She got her dress for fity cent!

http://spunkychateau.blogspot.com/2011/07/thursdays-are-for-thrifters-link-party_28.html

DIY- Parrot earrings

Hey friends, I've missed you. There is no place like Blogland. Do you find yourself talking about fellow bloggers like they're your friends? I caught myself numerous times this weekend saying "My friend in England..." or things like that. Umm ok.

Look what I found this weekend in Berkeley at a thrift store.

Mind the gap crap.

A denim shirt with beaded bird appliques! I did think twice about buying it, it was $5.50. I didn't know what was higher in that store, the prices or the patrons. But it was the bay area, so thats the way it goes over there. Once I figured out I could make multiple things from all the birds, I bought it.

So far I have only made 1 pair of earrings but I have more birds to work with. Prob gonna try and make some necklaces. 

I wore them to my boyfriend's parents house yesterday and my suegra liked them. Go me.

 How to make earrings out of appliques from yucky granny shirts.

1. Carefully cut out appliques

2. Trace applique on a piece of felt and cut it out.

3. Pierce felt with jump ring.

4. Connect earring hook to jump ring.

5. Glue pierced felt to applique with a fabric glue such as Fabri Tac.

6. Wear them in public and see if any one cares.

top- swap meet

shorts- thrifted and cut (were capris)

belt- my moms old one

shoes- Charlotte Ruse but thrifted

My boyfriend made me wear a tank top under my shirt cause you could see my bra. He said he didn't want his family to think, "the stripper's here" when I walked in. 

left side- thrifted bangle

right side- my great g-ma's bakelite bangles. My boyfriend said, oh are they representing Mexico's colors? I said no, they were my German great-g-ma's. Nice guess though. 

Promise to paint my nails next time,

LaSophia