I really didn't have that much of an active week. The highlight of my week took place on Monday when I attended Silversun Pickups live on Letterman.

My friend had two tickets to the taping, and I reminded him plenty of times throughout the night how thankful I was that he asked me to go with him.
I took an early train into the city so I can get a good spot on line. He met me there about an hour later. When he arrived, he went to get our tickets. After a few minutes of confusion, we transferred to the VIP line since his name was on the list. He has a friend that works at CBS studio, so we were given semi-special treatment!
We were finally let into the venue, and we really didn't get a bad spot. It was a small venue and had limited amount of seats, so no matter where you sat, it'd feel like a VIP kind of show.

I've never attended any kind of late night talk show. So that night I learned that I surely wasn't attending the taping of the Letterman show. It was only a 45-minute set of the band which was taped to stream on the CBS website. No bit of that live performance was even shown on the Letterman show. I had no idea what to expect, and even though I wasn't there for any bit of the taping of the talk show, it surely didn't bother me. I love Silversun Pickups, and that's who I wanted to see.

I went home with my cool Letterman ticket and a Silversun Pickups poster they passed around outside the venue.

Besides that, this week was full of arts and crafts, friends, and birthdays. It surely was a pleasant week.

Here's the video of Silversun Pickups' performance on David Letterman. The cool thing was that I made it home just in time that night to catch their performance on tv. Good timing.

Here's a fun little DIY-like tutorial I decided to share on how to make galaxy shoes. I borrowed the idea from a friend, and wanted to try it myself.

These are the supplies I used: a sponge brush, masking tape, clean palette, & fabric paint. I use Tulip brand fabric paint.

Find a pair of shoes you'd like to paint. I used these white sneakers I bought for cheap at a thrift store.
Take the laces out and tape up the sections you don't want to paint.

Set up a neat workspace - lay out newspapers! Feel free to watch a movie at the same too!
Squeeze out a bit of each color onto the palette, and start painting.
I find that the fabric paint works well without the need of a base coat. I started by dabbing the sponge into the black, brushing a section of the shoe, dabbing the sponge into another color, and brushing off the part I started painting black. That way you get a nice blend of the colors.

Follow through with that method throughout the whole shoe. When you paint all that you want to paint, go over some colored spots with more paint to make it brighter. If you find you have extra paint in your palette, paint your laces!
When you're finished, let it dry.
For the stars, I found that using a toothpick worked best. Paint tiny dots throughout. Remember to create some clusters of dots and keep other dots more spread out. It makes it look more galaxy-like. Paint some bigger dots and some crosshairs for stars.

After it's all dried up, put the shoelaces on and show 'em off!

Try it out and have fun!

Happy Sunday!
Crazy how fast this week passed.

01. Since we've been getting our bathrooms redone, I've been setting myself up each day with something different to work on. The beginning of the week I finished up these shorts that I made. This was my first handmade pair and it was quite difficult to make it work. I don't use patterns; I tend to use items of clothing where I want to imitate the fit. Being that I estimate everything, certain parts fit awkwardly, so I spent the day trying to make it work. I finally got it to fit right. I definitely want to try and make a few more pairs after this trial and error process.
02. I haven't given myself a manicure in months, so I found some free time to do so. I plan on trying to keep up with my nails this summer.
03. Sometime last year I bought a paper making kit and only had time for one attempt to make some paper. Months and months later, I found some time to give it a second go using some new techniques. They may have came out better than my first back, but they honestly are still a little crappy. Hopefully next time I give it a go, it'll come out much better. I need to practice, practice, practice.
04. Met up with some friends yesterday. We had such a great evening. Got some frozen yogurt and drove to the beach to walk the boardwalk. The first beach we attempted to visit was closed. But we kept traveling south and came across another boardwalk. We walked and talked, and were out until the sun started to rise. It was a long night, but honestly was one of the best nights I've had in a while.

Spent today relaxing and taking it easy after the long weekend I had. Tomorrow night's plans will probably be just as awesome, as I will be seeing Silversun Pickups on the David Letterman show. I've never attended a late night talk show, so I'm quite excited. Can't wait!

Summer's here! The season for ice cream and other cool and refreshing sweets.
I admit, I have a sweet tooth, and although I told myself to start eating healthy, I can't help but sneak some sweet goodness into my meals.

I recently discovered how amazing ice cream tastes with oat clusters. So. Good.
One morning, I couldn't satisfy my sweets craving until I ate some ice cream. So to make it seem more of a breakfast dish, I added some cereal oat clusters and my guilt vanished. Life was all good.

Treat yourself to some ice cream goodness for breakfast. You deserve it.

I've been cooped up at home this week on account of getting our bathrooms redone. Although I'm a bit of a homebody, I like having the option to stay home if I feel like it, not because I have to. I've been home supervising the workers, and even though I've planted myself in front of the television everyday this week, I've been trying to keep myself busy sewing, painting, etc. I can't complain, but I can't wait till this bathroom nightmare is over.

Being inside all day, I don't even know how the weather has been outside. I know last week was not so pleasant due to rain and thunderstorms, but so far all I can see is sun this week and that's great.
Last week was filled with rain, but it didn't stop my friend and I from hanging out.

We took a drive to a town not too far from mine, we walked around this wonderful pond, and took a stroll through the town itself.
My town is is in the center of Long Island, so we don't get to see water like this everyday. Although lucky for us, the island is not too small, so traveling to the north shore or south shore isn't that much of a hike. This particular day, we traveled south. The forecast said rain, but it didn't happen. We spent the afternoon enjoying the good weather.

I can't wait till the bathroom makeovers are done so I can go on another afternoon trip like this.

In the meantime, have you seen Silversun Pickups' new video? It's pretty wonderful.

Pages 07 and 08 from my 002. Ursa Major Space Station art journal.
Life drawing sketch from a previous class + other doodles. "Vampyra" was a name that was tested out in my old "band" back in middle school with old friends. We tested out many band names, but never decided on an official one. I played with a logo for this name when it was an option.

Been keeping my self busy and been pretty productive this week, I'm proud. Can't wait to share!
For now, here's my song of the moment.

So, remember how I've mentioned That Dog were set to play two shows in New York, which were their first NY shows since 1997? Well, I attended their show on Friday at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg, and they blew me away!
Walking into the venue, I had no idea what to expect with the crowd. I knew I'd be younger than most attending the show since I didn't know who the band was during their prime. But it's never too late to get into bands, even if they're disbanded. I surely got lucky being able to see them during their reunion.

I've been to the Music Hall once before, but never really explored the venue. My friend Jess and I arrived early, so we wandered around. We took a cheesy mirror picture in the bathroom.

There were two comedians opening for the band, which I thought was odd. Never attended a show before that had comedians as the openers. But it was a nice change from normal rock shows.
That Dog finally came on, and I've never seen such an excited crowd before. Honestly, the last bunch of shows I've been to, the crowd was more on the lame side - quiet & no enthusiasm shown at all. It makes me wonder what's been going on with audiences and why no one is excited anymore. You pay for a show - you in return should show some kind of enthusiasm. But it was nice to see that the crowd at this show actually enjoyed themselves.
The band played everything great, and were cracking jokes in between songs. They were funny and entertaining. Their set was all kinds of perfect, and I'm appreciative that I got to see them live. I hope they decide to record new material. I guess time will tell!

The day before the show, I downloaded a new camera app for Androids called Pudding Camera. I love the effects this camera has. I used it to take the cheesy mirror picture and this next picture. Wish I followed through using this app for the rest of the show because my photos came out blurry and not so wonderful with my regular camera (as shown in the last photo). Oh well.

Here's a great That Dog song to end the post.