Slowly but surely

I live right across the street from a little library and I can see right into the windows.  Every night a car shows up in the driveway of it and then all the lights get turned on inside.  I know it's probably someone doing a mundane library job, but for some reason it always seems magical.  Like something whimsical and magical is going on in the vacant library.  Perhaps all the books are coming to life!!

My painting is sort of coming along.  I wish I'd been able to work on it over spring break, but oh well.  I got the interior lines of the Winne sketched in and added gold leaf (!) which was like one of the most instantly gratifying things I've ever done.

Sorry the photos are slightly blurry, I couldn't use the flash because the gold leaf was so reflective it just looked like a bright flash.  Now the hard part starts, namely, actually painting the Winne.  It's a familiar figure though, which is nice.  Makes it a little easier.

It's late!  Past my bed time certainly...

Planes, no trains, and automobiles.

I am utterly exhausted and achy.  

My plane did end up making it out of Anchorage.  Mt. Redoubt decided not to erupt on Sunday, leaving a window of opportunity for flights to make it out (to see why I might not have flown, scroll down...).  Of course it was not without delay.  The flight was supposed to leave at 2:30 am, which is awful in and of itself.  But then, when they were de-icing the plane, the de-icer guy accidentally sprayed it into the door, and since they are designed to be pressurized from the inside, it got gooky de-icing junk inside the plane.  At first they thought it had something to do with a malfunctioning door, so they told us to sit tight as they cleaned up the stuff, and then we'd all have to get off the plane while they tested the door to make sure it worked properly.  All of this would've resulted in me missing my connecting flight in Seattle, which I was not looking forward to.  Not to mention not sleeping at all.  It turned out that it was just a mistake that the de-icer made and that the door was fine so we didn't have to get off.  We didn't take off until like 4 am though.  I'm not sure what I did on the plane could be categorized as sleep. 

But enough complaining.  Here is installment #2 of my epic journey across America.  Signpost Forest!  And other Yukon sights. 

Here's our trusty steed taking a break along the highway.

The Watson Lake Signpost Forest is world famous.  I remember coming to it in the early 90's when we moved to AK from California.  There is a picture of me as a very small person standing next to a Sacramento, CA sign.  We couldn't find that original one, but here I am beneath another Sacramento sign.  It has grown exponentially since then, it's really quite remarkable.  If you ever drive up the Alcan, it is a spot you cannot miss.

And, of course we saw animals of all shapes and sizes along the way.  Here are some Bison we saw along the road.

Next time: Dawson Creek, B.C. (no, not that tv show), and more animals and sights???

Redoubt

Hopefully my flight isn't cancelled due to this little natural phenomenon:Flights to and from Alaska have been cancelled due to the ash from Mt. Redoubt which has been almost continually erupting for the past week.  Luckily the plume hasn't covered Anchorage, but the ash is really bad for airplane engines.  Oh well, so it goes.  The top two pictures are lightning in the ash plume.  The ash is full of ionized particles which cause lightning.  (photos, adn.com)

*edit:  Ash is falling in Anchorage now.  Little grey dust is covering the white snow.  The whole sky looks like it's foggy, but it's just ash-fall*

Red, she said.

I got some great shoes and a Judas Priest shirt from Value Village today. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of them soon. I have been thinking about lightening my hair for the summer months. I'm not sure how it'd go since I've been dying it black for a few months, but the dye I've been using for that is non permanent. I'm no expert on hair coloring though. Maybe someday I'll have a cute short hair cut like the second girl, but I fear my hair is too curly for hair that short and I'd just look like I got some god awful perm. (all Lookbook)

I love this whole fedora hat look. I borrowed one from my brother and I want to steal it, but I think I'll be nice and leave it. I might have to get my own though because I love love love the look.

This girl just has a great style. I love the life she has.

I liked this girl's dress.

And these two just look like great friends. Recently I have been thinking about going out and being gregarious and making new friends. But I'm not a gregarious person and I'm not one to make a lot of friends. I wish I had someone like in this picture though.
So what do you guys think? I'm a person who really dislikes change, but I'm graduating from college this spring and I'm thinking maybe I should start off with a new spark in this new stage of my life. I've never had hair lighter than my natural color, which is a really dark brown. Would my hair look good in a lighter red color? I just don't know!

Fun Day!

Today was fun!  My mom decided to take the day off from work and go shopping with me downtown!  And then I made dinner...the recipe that I shared with you guys a couple days ago.  It was delicious!  One of the best meals I've ever had, much less made!  I added a lot more maple syrup than the recipe called for, and it turned out perfectly!  I highly recommend that recipe, especially if you love candied yams or sweet potatoes.  It's a pretty easy recipe, and if you have the time to wait for it to cook, you should do it!

Here is my outfit today:

 

 

Cardigan : Gap / Shirt : Ross / Jeans : Wet Seal / Scarf : Thrift

And here are some of my items from today!

 

Teal Sweater by Fever

 

Skirt by Eight Sixty

I also got a super cute sundress which I can't wait to wear in the spring weather which will hopefully exist when I get back from spring break.  I will show that one later.

What do you guys think of my new things?!  I really love them...

Thanks for the lovely comments, dolls!  I really love all of them!