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How To Make A Vase Garland With Old Wine Bottles

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Inspiration struck when I found this bottle vase garland on Etsy.  I really like blue and green glass.  In fact, if there is wine in a blue or green bottle I will purchase that over just a plain clear bottle.  I started saving my wine bottles so I could do my own DIY version.

Not only is my way quick it’s easy too.  I originally started with 4 bottles.  However, one was splotchy and after scrubbing it I wanted to dry it quickly.  I put it in the microwave for 5 minutes which I guess was too long.  Upon opening the microwave I discovered that the bottle had started to melt so there was a hole in the side of the glass.  I was gonna work this though and found it an interesting contrast.  Unfortunately I ran the hot bottle under cold water and it pretty much exploded.  Oops.

I used rope I had instead of wire to string up the wine bottles.  I first hammered a nail on each side of the windows.  Use a large, thick nail because you will wrap and knot the rope around it.  After you secure the rope to one nail line up the rope  in the window to determine where you want your first bottle to be.  Then tie and knot the rope like in the above picture just below the lip of the bottle.  Continue these steps until you have strung up all your bottles.  Finish by securely knotting the rope to the other nail.

Add wild flowers and DIY is complete!

Keep Your Febreze, Glade Plug-Ins, & Yankee Candles Far Away From Me

I hate artificial scents.  They irritate my senses and make me sneeze.  They are literally poisoning the air you are breathing.  WTF??  Why do that to yourself?  I also am not a fan of the smell of marijuana.  It’s not one of those scents that makes me go, oooh let me smell some more.  On top of that I don’t want to offend my neighbors with the smell of pot smoke.  The solution is incense.

I know some people have a prejudice against incense because they associate it with hippies.  Get the fuck over it.  Incense is the best way to scent your home.  It has the most pleasant, lingering scent.  Most candles you can’t even smell when they are burning.  And incense was around way before hippies.

My favorite is the Magnifiscents line by Shoyeido.  It’s all natural without any synthetics.  It can be found at Whole Foods stores or if you are in Chicago you should check out Eclecticity.  It’s a small local store in Lincoln Square filled with unique items and a friendly store cat.  At $3.50 these are a steal!  Each stick burns for about 30 minutes and the scent lingers for hours.

Each pack of incense comes with it’s own incense burner so you don’t even have to worry about buying one. So if you thought you had to buy the incense AND the incense burner and that’s what was holding you back from making the switch it’s all taken care of.  No more excuses for using those awful artificial sprays with names like summer breeze and escape to the rainforest.  Do you really think that what comes out of those cans conveys those scents?!  Maybe the scents get you high from the chemicals in them and that’s why you really like them.

Spring Cleaning My Marijuana Paraphernalia

Whenever there is a change in seasons it’s always a good idea to do some major cleaning.  A much needed cleanse.  A rejuvenation.  That includes my bowl which is what I use to smoke out of.  I don’t have the skills necessary to roll a joint or make a bong.  Those are fun, but unnecessary complications that would inhibit my smoking.  If you recall my love poem to weed then you should have gleaned that I use marijuana on the daily.  For the most part.  The exceptions are if I’m traveling or there was some bad planning on my part and I’ve smoked it all and my hook up is m.i.a..  Oh, that is when you will find me close to having a meltdown.

I had done some necessary light cleaning/maintenance for my bowl because it was clogging.   I was disgusted by the build up of resin I cleaned out.  This is when I determined it was time to for a thorough cleaning.  So how does one deep clean a bowl like this?  Well, I turn to my trusty rice cooker to handle the dirty work.

All I have to do to clean the bowl is add a little salt and a little rubbing alcohol to the water.  Set it on cook and let it “cook” for 30 minutes to an hour.

As you can see, all the resin that came out of the bowl started sticking to the sides of the cooker and turned the water that lovely amber color. Definitely should have cleaned this thing out sooner.  Word of caution: a lovely stank aroma of funky marijuana is emanated during the cleaning process.

Are you surprised to find out it’s blue and green and not black?!

The actual bowl part reminds me of grassy fields.

The pipe part reminds me of calming, tranquil blue waters.

Taking a moment to relax and reflect on the beauty of the bowl.   Then it’s smoking time.

My California Travels

Adventure was missing from my life.  I’ve never been west of Illinois; that just sounds too sad and depressing.  I may have never ventured west of Illinois, but I have traveled to Europe.

So my desire for adventure led me to California.  Partly because it’s sunny and beachy, partly because Vera lives there and I hadn’t spent any quality time with her.  Unfortunately the trip started off miserably.  I was catching an evening flight from O’hare and it was delayed by 2 hours which might not seem like much, but I would now be arriving in San Francisco around 1 in the morning which is 3 in the morning Chicago time.  Fortunately that is my only complaint.

California definitely charmed me.  I am even dreaming of moving there.  It’s warm, sunny, and laid back; all the things I desire.  However, I need a plan first and Chicago is about to enter into it’s best season of the year so I can wait.  If ever I have a wistful longing for California I can always look at these pics.  Or visit Vera.

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a free moment during the day

i’m a pretty busy person. i go to school full time. i work at a restaurant. i’m a part-time research assistant. blogger. lover. etc.

i also really love taking a few moments for myself when i can allow it. after getting past the guilt, first, of course.

after lots of meltdowns with my sister, arguments with my partner, and whining sessions with my bff, i realized that it is really important to take a few moments to yourself.

here are some things i like to do:

-paint my nails!

-look at pictures of succulents. i find it calming.

-watch pug videos.

are there any things you do when you have a free moment?

Nerdy is in style and hot, in case you didn’t know…

most of my relationships, both romantic and platonic, have revolved around the ability of people to engage in discussions about politics, literature, movies–culture in general– really life critically. of course, this would be impossible without books. actually, this blog would not exist if it wasn’t for books and reading. we all met while doing our BAs in Chicago. it was during this time that the phrase “the personal is political”  (from the Carol Hanisch essay) became a guiding principle in our lives. we took it very seriously and constantly applied to our lives what we read. this blog is a testament to that. because feminism/philosophy means nothing unless you do it. that’s my stance.

thanks to another, wonderfully nerdy, friend i got this video via Jezebel which reminded me of the importance of books in my life, my relationships and in general to women (and men, of course) and how hot it is to read.in fact, these women are advocating to base dating decisions on the persons reading habits. brilliant!

~m