Daydream Believer

  According to the an online dream dictionary if you come in to contact with poop ie: stepping in it, then you are having trouble getting rid of negativity in your life. I, on the other hand, have been having dreams about purging feces. For the entire dream I am dropping kids off in the pool. I'm taking this as I am pretty good at flushing negativity out, right? Bah ha ha, see what I did there?

  So, this dream has been reoccurring for three days and finally last night the cycle broke. I dreamed of making pancakes; fluffy, golden, syrupy pancakes! I rather liked what the dream dictionary had to say about that... if you are either eating or making pancakes in your slumbering state you are content and happy with life's current situation and satisfied by the simple things. I think that's pretty stinking awesome.

This weekend is super busy, more on that in future posts!

xoxo,
     Mani

Kick Ass Knock Off

I absolutely fell in love with Anthropologie's 'Stormy Seas Necklace,' the price on the other hand... not so much. It's cute, yeah? But, is it $50 cute?

Anthropologie: Stormy Seas Necklace- $48

I'm constantly asking myself this question.  It's not that I'm cheap, I'm just living within my means, which is quite often zilch. So, with some searching and a little elbow grease, I can hopefully achieve a similar look for less. Here's what I came up with:

My Version: $16.16

The Break Down:
Beads- $7.80 (with a coupon and on sale)
I added a touch of hammered metal rings that gave it a more natural edge, they reminded me of coral.  -$1.98 (optional)
T-Shirt Material- $.90 (on sale) or just rip up an old tee!
Heavy Gage Wire- $5.48 (with a coupon)

Okay, so it's not exact but still, I had enough materials to make two necklaces, a bracelet, and a pair of earrings! I've never made jewelry... ever... so, if I can do this, ANY one can pull something like this off.

Put your cute little crafty minds to work, find something that inspires you, and make a knock off! I'm so interested to see what you've come up with!

-Mani

Growing Hair: In All Of The Right And All Of The Very WRONG Places

If the hair on my head would grow as fast as the hair on my legs, I would be a happy happy happy camper! To be totally real: I'm a hairy beast. That's right, I said it. My Armenian/German heritage has blessed me with the ability to grow prickly, black, Sasquatch leg hair ovvver the course of ONE day. Liar? Not so much, James has taken to calling me cricket. So, it must be fact.  I have to shave everything, everyday.

That being said, it isn't the same for my luscious(cough cough, puh-lease) locks. I have been growing my hair out over the course of the last year and a half from a pixie cut. I loved having short, blond, wild hair, but I want a mane! My goal... mermaid hair! You know, hair that when left down and wavy can still cover the nips. Yeah, that's the stuff. I so dream of being able to sing my siren song, tempting sea captains and conquistadors to my rock, hair aglow in the moonlight... In other words, squawk in the bathtub, using the shampoo bottle as my microphone, while trying to unclog said tendrils from the drain. I'm pretty happy with the progress, though. It's not quite where I had hoped it would be (ie: I had to off a ton of damage because I was bored and wanted to play with color.) Now, it is growing out naturally; I'm dying a little inside from not being able to do anything about it and should have left well enough alone when I thought bangs seemed like a good idea, nonetheless it's not looking too shabby.

Before (Blond Pixie Cut)

Getting down to the nitty gritty, please don't think less of me, yes, I'm going there, well not THERE but there-ish. I, Mani Aghababian, of sound mind and body, have two whisker on my chinny chin chin. So now that that is out there, there is also one on my nosey. I pluck those suckers out.

After (Naturally Growing)

I forgot to mention that I'm growing my eyebrows out, as well. There is nothing worse than this. Beautiful, french, gamine eyebrows, you will be mine, I promise... just hold on and power through the gnarly troll brows. I swear it's as if a 17 year old boy is trying to grow a beard, patchy patchy patchy.

I Think This is the Longest it has Ever Been! Eee!

Well, there you have it. I apologize if that was way too much information or I have in any way shape or form ruined the image of stylists always being polished and with every hair being perfectly coiffed. Lord knows, that would take me forever given how mine like to sprout up out of nowhere. I want to always be real with you, never pretentious, and forever able to relate. It sounds like I'm being super self deprecating, I'm not. I can laugh at myself and with some grace and humility still embrace my own quirks.  No matter what phase of growth (inward and out) you are in, embrace your quirks. Even stylists face the same plight as all women do when it comes to the realm of hair. So, the next time you walk into a salon with uppity hairstylists, just remember to look up from the shampoo bowl, I'm sure you'll be able to find a booger bombed monster nose hair. You can't win 'em all!

 Happy Grooming,
Mani

I spy Mr. Tumnus

I've been lounging on my couch looking super cute (loads of sarcasm) with tissues strewn about. It is that time again, Little Mani is awfully sick. But the weather has proven to brighten my day! Even though I am tucked away inside and missing out on some crucial changing of seasons; it has felt amazing to prop my windows open, hear the birds sing, and watch the squirrels play on my stairs! I have been able to sleep in the sunbeams on the floor wrapped in a blanket and pretend it was the warmest of summer days or that I was a kitty rolling around and showing off in the steams of light.

My yard is filled with these little violets  that smell so incredibly lovely, I just couldn't pass up the chance to snap a few shots! It looks enchanted; my lamp post is straight out of Narnia and I catch myself day dreaming that faeries or gnomes are going to flit about and make friends with my over abundance of squirrels. It really is squirrel heaven, they are all having a party in my yard!

View: Between the House and Garage Facing West

View: South West Facing of Side yard 

View: South East Facing the Back Alley Drive

My Mumma has been amazing, as usual. She made me some soup so I will feel better! Mum makes the most delicious soup and she is the greatest Mumma any girl could ask for, I'm so so so lucky! She is my best friend too so that makes everything extra sugary sweet and she is sssuper pretty! Yep, this is officially one of the dorkiest posts ever but I don't care, I'm a giant nerd bird.

My Mum and I on the Patio of Logan's

Lots of Snot and Love,
~Mani

I Stuffed My Face

Say hello to James! He has been my partner in culinary crime for the passed few weeks. Here is a glimpse at some local joints to jump start your food adventures.

I introduced James to a little place in Caledonia called Soc Trang.  This is a Vietnamese restaurant in a strip mall, and a good way to ease into some more adventurous dishes. James ordered Pho (known for it's robust broth) with tripe, tendon, rare beef, and well cooked beef.  I ordered Nam Vang (clear noodle soup) with crab, shrimp, and beef.

Both soups include lime, jalapeno, cilantro, basil, and bean sprouts as add ins. We also had an appetizer of fresh rolls that had shrimp, cilantro, shredded carrots, and a sweet chile sauce. Everything was super flavorful and really delicious!

James then introduced me to Soul Food Sunday at Sandmann's,  Grand Rapids' famous barbecue joint on Wealthy Street.  We had rib tips, ribs, smothered cabbage, fried corn, mac and cheese, and collard greens with tomato and onion! So so so yummy!

Check out more about Sandmann's here:  http://sandmanns.com/index.html

If you are in search for Thai food try Angel's which is on Monroe Center, downtown.  We ordered Crab Rangoon, I had the Green Curry, and James had the House Lo Mein. They are amazing with their use of spice! I'm a huge fan of spicy hot food and this has just enough to pack a little punch but still be able to enjoy the rest of the flavors of the dish.

So if you are hungry, pick up your spoons and do a little digging, you may be surprised by the local restaurants this city has to offer!

 

Enjoy,
Mani

Brencat!

I am so stinkin' proud of my friend Brenna. She is the total package: smart, tragically beautiful, a loyal friend, and a goofball. What more could you possibly ask for?! The first time I met Brencat we were dating twins, I remember being so nervous to meet the other brother's girlfriend; what if she hates me, was a major thought going through my brain. But she hopped right off her stool at Fridays and gave me a huge hug!

We liked hanging out and we got along just fine but unfortunately, for someone I saw almost every day, we never really got a chance to know each other. Our boys took up so much energy and time that our relationship really didn't turn into all that much. One gigantic positive to parting ways with our guys stemmed from the fact that we had more room to breathe and put energy into things that are a little more lasting, our friendship.

 Bren Bren has grown leaps and bounds this year and I admire the woman she is becoming. I feel so protective of her; I've never had a little sister of my own and I feel like she is quickly taking on that role. She is so brave, works hard, makes me laugh like crazy, and gives the best karaoke performances ever! I mean you gotta love our rendition of Sandra Dee, and how she goes balls out with Limp Bizkit! This is one girl who has a personality and isn't afraid to show it, and it's one thing I absolute adore about her!

Thank you, Lovey, from the bottom of my heart, for being such a supportive friend!
-Mani

I Can Haz Internetz?!

Ah, finally I have the internet at home! As much as I love running to the coffee shop, mostly for a tasty treat, but also to post; I definitely don't get around to it enough. I always get so distracted by people watching or ::eep:: being a creepster and ease dropping on conversations, I can't help it, I find people to be fascinating and I love their stories and speech patterns and hearing about what gets them geeked.

Updates:

• I still am sans camera, this is bad news bears. Fingers still crossed that it won't be for long!
• My Birthday was yesterday, as my friend Jeremy put it, I am now 25% old...
• I was able to stow away to Toronto for Christmas and Chicago for New Years!
• Being single is awesome! (This is definitely not a place where I want to burn my bra, and I could write several posts on this topic, but another person will not complete you. Eff, Jerry McGuire and fairy tales for those silly notions. Be your most authentic self, first and if you happen upon someone, allow them to enrich and uplift the person you are, not take away from it.) Rant over... ba ha ha.
• I am so blessed with the best friends and family a girl could ask for and was able to strengthen new and old relationships over this holiday season! In addition, my clients continue to be so empowering and uplifting to my core! I really hope I am able to give back to them and return as much encouragement as they do to me!
• The February swim challenge is coming up and I'm stoked to start but mostly to be in the company of some great friends! In other recreational news: I'm not ten years old anymore and I am paying dearly for sledding; but I don't regret a second of it! Also, if it were not for this stupid blister on my foot, I would be back on ice skates in a heartbeat. It had been fifteen years, almost to the day, since I had been on the ice and I had an amazing time skating with little kids at Rosa Parks Circle this weekend. I'm pleased as punch that I only fell once!

RPC- Grand Rapids, MI

Goodnight, Sweet Friends

~Mani