Self-Indulgent February

February was full of knitted socks and podcasts and some other bits and things.

*Life Hacks*

AYL Mini Portable Speakers

Speakers are really useful, especially portable ones that you can keep in your bag and take out at a friend's house. The AYL mini speakers are definitely worth the 15 dollars I spent. Some cool features: the size is so small and can twist open to blast more sound, the headphone jack folds in, and it has a little outlet to attach to other AYL speakers if you want even more sound. 

Kikki-k Time Planner

I'll go into further detail about this particular purchase in another post. A lot of craft blogs are dedicated to cute and trendy planner decorating and I pretend I'm above that silliness but I secretly love the layouts and designs anyway. Of course I wouldn't spend the absurd amounts of money on a planner that many people do, but this beautiful Kikki-k one was 50% off!

*Beauty Choices*

Aquis Towel Hair Wrap

I picked up one of these at Bed Bath and Beyond. It's one of those things I would never get around to buying but I'm glad I finally did. I have a lot of hair and keeping it bundled up in a heavy full-size towel practically breaks my neck. Do I feel incredibly superficial writing a blog post about this? Yes. 

*Recent Readings*

Can't we talk about something more pleasant? by Roz Chast
Roz Chast is one of my favorite artists. Her cartoons show up in a lot of places in my life. Her newest book was a memoir about her aging parents. I thought it was really well done. It had a few moments that actually made me laugh out loud but a lot of it was surprisingly emotional, and for lack of a better word, 'real'. I also really loved the photographs she included and the old sketches.

Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger
Weird, weird, weird. Of course I love me some volatile Salinger characters but wow, this was odd. It definitely had me thinking for days. I can't say I fully understood these short stories or that I liked them completely but they were definitely cool pieces of literature. 

*Internet Obsessions*

EarBiscuits
Rhett and Link are my generation's Oscar and Felix. They think deeply about new media and so I think it's perfect that they created and host this podcast. I'm impressed that they've kept this up every single week for over a year. So many of my favorite YouTubers have graced the round table of dim lighting. The interviews are wonderfully in-depth and I think they'll go on for a long time.

Not Too Deep
In a beautiful stroke of genius Grace Helbig created the antithesis of Ear Biscuits, and it works just as perfectly. The interviews are the opposite of in-depth. They never get 'too deep' and stay silly and stupid and just incredibly hilarious. I'm so glad I live in a world where thoughtful reflection and just, ridiculous humor can coexist so beautifully.

 

*Art Explorations*

Loops & Threads Woolike Yarn
I've been knitting socks this month. It's been too cold for too long on the east coast. It was time to make something warm. I bought this Woolike yarn in some gorgeous colors and I'll do a separate blog post about how I made the socks. The yarn is incredibly soft. 

Sue'sCountryCreations Deluxe Animal Felting Kit
Another separate blog post to come but this felting kit by Sue is so thorough. Her color selections for the wool are perfect for animal felting and she provides every single tool you can think of for crafting them. The price for all of it was only $40 and buying this all separately would have cost me so much more. Her kit is seriously well done. 

*none of these images are my own

Folding Origami Dinosaurs

I enjoy doing a fair bit of origami. Knowing how to fold a couple complex origami figures can make some of my boring classes go by faster. Maybe I'm a bit delusional but I like to think it's kind of impressive to the people nearby. I should probably get a cooler party trick. Well anyway, one of my favorite folds is the Brontosaurus Design by John Montroll. Here is one I made in chemistry the other day:

(Just a tiny origami dinosaur in a big world!)

Learning how to fold more complex figures is all about reading diagrams. Like learning a new language you need to understand the drawings and terminology. Montroll's book "Animal Origami for the Enthusiast" took me a while to decipher. Once I did it was all a matter of practicing the folds over and over until they became a part of my muscle memory and I could make complete figures without referring to the book. The Brontosaurus has become one of my favorites to fold.

Mix CD Exchange Party

This year my friends and I collaborated on a CD exchange. It's a bit old school but everyone had a great time. We also all shared our spotify playlists which meant we could combine the best of the modern world too. 

At the party all 10 of us made our track lists and covers. I had actually made mine the night before using a typewriter, maps, and collaged images. I took the whole thing and made copies of it in black and white for an extra DIY feel. The rest of the images are from the actual exchanging during the evening. Great food, great music, great company. We're hoping to keep it annual. 

What an intense deliberation process: