My Style throughout the years

 I figured I'd do a style post of how my style has changed through the years. Though I have noticed, I really love the color black : )

 Freshman year - t-shirt and black skirt with punker belt. Lots of rubber bracelets and big ball necklace and don't forget the Converse All Stars

Sophomore Year - Still into the punker/goth style. Black t-shirt with my A.F.I buttons and purple plaid zipper pants with my long comfy black sweater. Don't even ask what's going on with my hair.

Junior Year Winter Formal - Probably one of my favorite dresses from high school dances. The embroidery on the bodice is so pretty.

 Senior Year - A little more girly and hippie. You can't see but my hair is down to my butt.

17 years old - Got to go to New York. Dyed my hair red in the middle of senior year and haven't change it since. However as soon as I came back from New York before I started college I chopped off my hair. 

Tada! 18 years old - Super Short hair and kinda funky

 19 years old - College Student having picnics in the park. Wearing a polka dot dress.

 20 years old - Playing dress up in a black corset and Daniel's hat. 

 21 years old - In Las Vegas with Daniel. Wearing the dress from Twilight (no I'm not obsessed with Twilight it's just a really freakin cute dress.)

22 - Army green pants, Knee high Docs and a skull shirt

23 - I little more business - Light Pink chiffon shirt with a high waist skirt and nice wool coat. And I usually always wear glasses I just try to not wear them in photos.

My god the years have gone by I can't believe I'm close to 25.

The Birthday List - 24 Before 25

I've seen this from a couple other bloggers and I thought since I love making lists and I have made one of these before I should do one and post it. Since my birthday is almost exactly six months away it won't be an overly ambitions list, but ambitious enough. I will post when I have crossed something off my list.

1) Finish taking my CBEST for Substitute teaching. Which means passing the Math.
2) Get a well paying job or at least two jobs so Daniel and I can move out into our first apartment
3) Move out of my parents house (it's ambitious to do in six month especially without not having a good job right now. But it has to be done.)
4) Get a head start on Christmas for my etsy shop and create more pieces as well as work on packaging. (I know that was a couple in one but I could make a whole entire list of what I need to do for my etsy store.)
5) Start a schedule for blogging once a week
6) Find time to enjoy the little things and moments with Daniel.
7) Try to get most of the hard work for my first book done.
8) Read more - a book a month would be nice. That's six books before I'm 25 which is beyond doable considering how fast I read. It's just finding the time to actually read that is hard
9) Save money from each paycheck. I don't have to have every dvd and cute clothing I see.
10) Go to the Gaslight Gathering in San Diego again.
11) Get out of my comfort zone more often. I can't hide behind Daniel all the time. Converse with people I don't know, make contacts, put myself out there.
12) Start eating healthy and exercising again.
13) Help Daniel finish selling the rest of his 200 cds.
14) Write more poetry or edit old ones and submit them!
15) Organize closet and room and keep it that way
16) Organize my photos and documents on my backup drive
17) Make a four crafts that are on my pinterest page and post them
18) Finish making my resume perfect
19) Have a perfect day at Disneyland with Daniel before our annual pass expires
20) Get more involved with crafts fairs again
21) Go to the beach for the whole day
22) Take more photos
23) Try and not be depressed about turning 25
24) Have a big birthday party!

Another Day at Disneyland

 Another great day at Disneyland. My pass is almost up so whenever Daniel and I have a day off together we try to go. I was so happy I got to get my Princess Leia shirt!

I love Daniel's long hair. Maybe I'm weird. Am I one of the few girls who like this? Maybe it's from growing up in the 90's with all the grunge bands and Hanson : )

My Outfit 

Striped Dress - Forever 21

Vest - Forever 21

Pashima Scarf - I've had it for a long time I don't even know anymore

leggings - Target

Sketchers Shape Ups Shoes - Sketchers Outlet

Feather Hair Accessory - Hand Made from a head band that I can't wear cause it gives me headaches

Happy Be-lated Easter

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and had a great Easter Weekend. I've been so busy I haven't been able to post photos from Daniel and I's Easter yet. I still live with my parents but they went on a road trip for the Holiday so Daniel and I had the place to ourselves. I don't cook at all so it was an interesting experience when I tried to make an Easter dinner for Daniel and I. But we managed and it turned out pretty well and it was a wonderful day.

Outfit Details-

Vintage flower Dress - Yard Sale

Vintage Pink Sweater - Yard Sale

Brown Shoes - Mossimo Target

Liebster Award

  
I was super surprised when I got a message from Selina that she had nominated me for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much Selina. If you would like to read her wonderful post you can read it here. 

So, here is how it works: 

1. You must thank the person who gave you this award (it's just polite)  
2. You must display the Liebster heart on your blog  
3. You should nominate 11 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 subscribers  
4. Each person must post 11 random things about themselves  
5. Answer the questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you 
6. Create 11 questions for those you nominate to answer  
7. Notify your nominees and provide a link back to your post.  
8.  You’re not supposed to do “ping-backs”

11 random facts about me 

1) I watch Nightmare Before Christmas every night before I go to bed on my ipad. I can't go to sleep without it.
2) I don't eat the ends of my french fries because they are crispy and hard and my fingers were touching the ends.
3) I have a huge DVD and CD and Record collection. I mean 350 DVDs and and about 500 Cds and another 200 records. 
4) I like to collect a lot of things. Things from my past, things that I like, times I want to remember. I'm not a hoarder I promise. I keep most things tucked away in hat boxes or I make something out of them.  I have a collection of fortunes from fortune cookies that I made a piece of art from.
5) I tend to feel like I'm a Jack of all trades but master of none. 
6) I don't like to share too much. Part of me wants to make friends and share all of my secrets but it takes me so long to get there.
7) I listen to Brand New's album Deja Entendu at least once every day and have since the day I bought it for my fifteenth birthday.
8) I'm trying to get enough courage to take the CBEST Math exam for Substitute teaching. (I'm horrible at math)
9) I know it's super corny but I believe in soul mates and I know my boyfriend Daniel and I are.
10) I have had five heart surgeries. Two open heart and three other ones to help keep my ventricle open from scar tissue.
11) I think in pictures rather than words.    

      Selina's Questions

1. Do you prefer warm or cool colours? 

Cool colours like green. I don't really care for the bright colours in the warm spectrum. 
 

2. Cheese or chocolate? 

Cheese. I don't like chocolate believe it or not.  

3. Do you prefer the 1961 or the 1998 version of The Parent Trap?

1961 version of The Parent Trap. More than one Lindsey Lohan is too much for me. 

4. Tea or coffee? 

Honestly neither. But if I had to choose probably coffee.

5. If you weren't your own nationality, which other would you be and why? 

   
 I would be french. I mostly want be be French because I love the language and I have always wanted to go to France. It seems like a beautiful place. Maybe it's cause of all the movies I saw growing up.

6. What do you think of ripped jeans? 

    I think they can be cute if worn right. If they are jeans that are really dirty and have tears in the wrong places (as in I don't want to see your skin on your butt) I don't think that's attractive. But I've been known to make my own ripped jeans. No need to spend money on Abercrombie and Fitch Jeans.

7. Do you have scars and birthmarks? If so, what do they look like and where are they?

    Ok. So This is a bit on the serious side. I have a lot of scars more than I will mention. Scars have been a part of me since I was born but they don't define me and I wear them proudly. The first I have two huge scars on my chest from two open heart surgeries. The first one you can barely see anymore and most of it is hidden from the second scar also I have diagonal scar where I had a stomach tube, I've had that scar since I was three days old. The second one is about ten years old. The other scars are on my arms and wrists and I have a couple of burn marks and one looks like a smiley face. 

 

8. What songs epitomize each season for you? A song for winter, summer, autumn and spring please 

 Winter - Jason Webley - Millennium Bug

 Summer - Lady Gaga - Poker Face

 Autumn -  A.F.I - ...but Home is Nowhere

 Spring - Regina Spektor - Samson 

9. What is something you wear now that you didn't do before? 

 Up until I was a junior in high school I hated wearing dresses and skirts. Now it's the only thing I wear. 

10. What do you think of Eurovision? A drag or a hilarity?

Can't say I know what it is.

11. Name a film you never want to see again and why

      

Requiem for a Dream. Don't get me wrong I love crazy movies. My favorite movies are Eternal Sunshine and Stay but for some reason Requiem for a Dream is just to much for me. Plus I don't really care for drug centered movies. I feel the same about 'Candy' as much as I love Heath Ledger that movie is a bit too much for me.

11 Nominees

1) Lauryn from Paper Wife
2) Sonja from Blackthorn
3) Lauren from Introvert's Introduction 
4) Blythe from Blue Roses 
5) Vera from Witness the Miracle 
6) Amy from A. Loo's Closet 
7) Alex from Typical 90's Child
8) Danni Roxanne from Creative Collective
9) Emma and Katie from MRnKT
10) Olive Midori Kimoto from Moths of Memory
11) Alice from Pretty Confused

 

My 11 Questions

1. Where is your favorite place to shop?
2. If you had to explain your style in one word what would it be?
3. Do you think in pictures or in words?
4. What is the best book you've read lately? And why?
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
6. Book or movie?
7. Who is your favorite villain from Disney?
8. What's at the top of your bucket list?
9. If you could move anywhere in the world where would it be?
10. What was your favorite thing to do when you were a child?
11. What do you collect?

Steampunk Jewelry - Amber Ily's Steamcrafts

 For those of you don't know, I make Steampunk Jewelry on Etsy. I haven't posted them on here yet so I'd thought I'd dedicate a post to showing everyone my jewelry. I love making jewelry. It helps me take my mind of things. The couple that I have posted here are a part of my spring collection. They have a bit more of a shabby chic look to them. Anyway, if you get a chance check out my shop. It's a lot of fun.
Amber Ily's Steamcrafts 

 Steampunk Vintage Victorian Cameo Necklace

 Steampunk Vintage Photo Gold Necklace

 March Hare Alice in Wonderland Necklace

March Hare Brooch

Steampunk Birds Nest Necklace

Steampunk

That's right I absolutely love Steampunk. If you haven't already figured this out, you should know by now I'm a total geek. This includes my love for all things Steampunk. I even make Steampunk Jewelry. I am actually wearing one of my pieces. Sadly this one is not for sale on etsy. One of the only ones I refuse to sell. I decided I should make one for myself. 

For those of you who don't know what Steampunk is, it is a subculture/genre of science fiction that  that typically features steam powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by Industrial civilization during the 19th century. Think of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, or Wild, Wild West.

There is something that I love so much about Steampunk. Maybe it's because I wish I was born in a different time period and an alternative one. Maybe it also stems from my long love of every thing Victorian. Which is something I love to adapt into Steampunk. I love taking Victorian styles and trends and adding Steampunk to them. Last year at the Gaslight Gathering I did my own version of Alice in Wonderland. Of course that will be for a different post.
 

My Outfit -

Striped Dress - Forever 21

Black Lace Skirt under my dress - Forever 21

Steampunk Harness - New Age Couture from etsy

Steampunk Doorknocker Necklace - https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmberIlysSteamcrafts

Brown Leggings - Target

Black Knee High Socks - Apt 9 Khols

Brown Boots - Forever 21