piggies

I've been meaning to introduce you to some very important furry babies in my life, but being the perfectionist that I am, I was always going to take "better" photos. I took these just playing around once so they're occasionally out of focus or have a bit of motion blur. They get so curious when you bring something foreign into their world (like a camera) and never stop moving, smelling, running..

Anyway, the reason I finally organized these photos into a post is because one of our poor little babies, Walnut, is having some trouble. We ran around to a couple vets yesterday because, seemingly overnight, one of her eyes swelled up and got all infected. This could either be from a deeper problem or just be an infection. She got a few shots - which was terrible to witness :( - and some goopy stuff to put on her eye.

Now we just wait to see if the antibiotics work and what the next step will be. Sadly, if she needs surgery, we may not be able to afford it. And surgery for guinea pig is really risky to begin with because of how tiny they are. So we're really praying that she'll rally and any further care she'll need will be affordable.  For now though, she's totally happy, eating, and acting normal. Besides her eye, you wouldn't think anything was wrong.

So today I wanted to honor my favorite little furries and ask for some prayers and positive thoughts for our little Walnut.

That's Walnut! She was actually quite the surprise piggy. We didn't know when we got her that she was pregnant. So we added two more little piggies to our family a few months after bringing her home. :) If you've never seen a baby guinea pig, you're missing out. I mean like weeks old baby. I swear, they are just little heads with giant kangaroo feet. I die.

 Thirsty Walnut.

This is Suzi. She's the first pig we got, a little bit before Walnut. And she won't let anyone forget it. She's half old lady, half puppy. She hates being touched unless you pick her up and hold her. Then she'll practically roll over like a puppy and let you pet her. She can be a pretty big grump though and is definitely the alpha lady.

Suzi is trying to determine if the camera is something she can eat. After realizing it's not, she's over it.

Here's my little Pete! He is one of Walnut's babies, and since we couldn't have him staying with the girls and impregnating them all, I took him to college with me and we were best friends. It was my first time living alone and he was good company. Now he resides right next to the girls and purrs at them when they walk up to his cage.

Checking out what the girls are doing next door.

And finally, Peach, Walnut's other baby. This photo pretty much sums up Peach. Always looking over her shoulder, a little dodgey eyed. She hasn't gotten the idea yet that we don't want to eat her. However, she has the best butt-shake when you give her scratches. She loves her butt scratches.

Suzi photobomb.


I'm glad I finally got it together and showed you my babies. They all have such personalities and are big sweethearts. Even the grump. ;)

What furballs do you hold near and dear?

eleven things

So I've been tagged by Lisa of Lala Faux Bois to do the "11 things" jam. Never one to turn down a good meme, here are my 11 things and all that goes with it!

There are five rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them.

  Why? Because. :)

11 Random Things

1. I broke my pointer finger in 6th grade from running in the schoolyard (I can practically hear the "I told you so's" from every teacher ever) and because of where I broke it, I had a cast almost up to my elbow. To make it better, they wrapped my pointer and middle fingers together for support when they casted it so I had a permanent gun hand for months. I'll have to post a photo sometime. ;)

2. Bats are my favorite animal. My dream pet is a flying fox.

3. Spinach is the only vegetable that I don't like. With an exception for spinach dip. Love that, probably because of all the bad stuff in it.

 4. The sound of things dragging on carpet is my nails on a chalkboard. No one understands it and everyone likes to test me when I ask them to stop dragging their feet or something by doing it again. It makes my blood curdle, it's that annoying. It also makes me want to punch.

5. My first ever sewing project was a puppet of The Great Goblin from The Hobbit. In seventh grade we split into groups and made puppet shows for different chapters. My chapter had the scene where the goblin gets his head chopped off. So my goblin has a velcro-attached head for easy removal. :) Once again, I should post a photo of this one day.

6. I've never been to Disney World. You would not believe the faces I get when I say this. Unless you're making one now. ;)

7. Mine and Charlie's one year anniversary was on 7/7/07 which everyone everywhere kept saying was going to be such a lucky day. (Remember that?) We went out to dinner that night and just happened to choose a restaurant on the bay whose foundation collapsed just as we were waiting for the check to come. Because of the mad dash to evacuate, we got our seafood dinner for free! Luck comes in strange and scary packages.

8. I have four guinea pigs. We got two girls the summer before my senior year and by September, one of them (surprise!) had given birth to two wee little piggies. Baby piggies are the cutest thing. They look like tiny kangaroos because their feet are so big!

9. I really want to take swing dance lessons sometime soon.

10. I still want to get a tattoo someday. Not sure what or where but it will have to be someplace easily hidden due to my profession.

11. I'm a big time sleepwalker. I've woken up in different pajamas, I've eerily rearranged things in my room, and I sometimes wake up in different rooms altogether. The best is when people tell you the things you did on one of your rampages. It's like being black-out drunk without getting to attend the party.


Lisa's Questions

1. What was your favorite vacation?
Any vacation to the beach. Just give me hot sand, waves, and ice cream and I'm content!

2. What is your first childhood memory?
I have a brief memory of being in my walker. It's just like a view almost of looking up at the kitchen table from my low seat. But that's the first thing I remember that I know of.

3. Cats, Dogs, or both?
Both. I already know what kind of dog I want when I move out and what his name will be, but I would like to get a cat one day. They just fascinate me with their nonchalant-ness and their general independence and snobbery. :)

4. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Britney Spears. Ha!

5. What’s your favorite thing to cook/bake?
I like to cook and bake new things, so that's probably my favorite. I like eating new things and I also like trying to make the new recipes successfully. 

6. If you could time travel to any decade, what would you choose & why?
Tough. I'm torn between the 40's and the 20's. Or maybe even the Victorian era? That'd be a tough choice if I had to pick just one. But let's go with 40's then in that case, for the fashion, the music, the cars, and the dancing! I'm just fascinated by that time.

7. Describe your perfect day off.
It would start with getting up early. I have a crazy hard time with this part because it's so nice to sleep in, but I just enjoy the day more when I get up early. So after that I would want to get coffee and breakfast with Charlie, and then we'd spend the day walking/shopping/browsing through one of our favorite little towns. Then dinner outside because that's fun when the weather's nice. Then I'd finish it all off with ice cream!

8. What’s your dream job/career & what was it when you were a kid?
Absolute dream job is to own my own creative company.. some sort of designing, whether it's paper based, fabric, or other materials. When I was a kid I was pretty sure of what I wanted to do. I actually have two projects saved from when I was little and one says I wanted to be an artist and the other says teacher. Today I have my BA in graphic design and I'm going for my Master's in teaching. Following my 5 year old heart's desires yo.

9. What clothing item is your weakness & you can’t stop buying?
Sweaters and cardigans, without a doubt. Just thinking about it reminds me of all the colors and styles I still "need" to acquire.

10. What’s your favorite holiday?
Christmas, hands down. I actually go through a pretty intense withdraw all through January (and sometimes February) where I long for holiday foods, movies, music, and gatherings. Everything is so much prettier and more fun during the holidays! It usually takes a spell of warm weather for me to get over it. ;)

11. What’s your sign? :)
Scorpio!


Here's my questions..
1. What food do you typically crave?
2. Do you have any superstitions? Things that are lucky or unlucky to you? Explain!
3. Would you be friends with high school you? Why or why not?
4. What was your first pet?
5. What's one TV show you'll never get tired of?
6. What has been your favorite age so far?
7. What's one product you couldn't (or at least wouldn't want to) live without?
8. What is your favorite summer beverage?
9. Now that summer's on the brain, what is your favorite warm weather activity?
10. Is there a recent trend you just can't/couldn't get on board with? What is it?
11. What's your idea of the perfect night? (Out or in!)

Hopefully these people haven't done it already, but I'll tag Kate, Cosmia, Lauryn, Kait, and Megan.

Anyone else can do this too! I just don't even know who hasn't done it at this point!

Hope you're having a great week!

a year in review

I finally decided to do this after seeing it on many other blogs. I originally wasn't going to because I didn't feel like anything particularly earth shattering happened in 2011, but then I realized it was actually a great year for me. I have tons of good memories and actually did a lot of important things for myself last year. There are some years, well one really, that when I hear it I actually shudder because of how awful it was. So why not give props to a good year where they're due? That said, if you're not totally sick of these yet, here is my year in review. :)

In January I rang in the new year with close friends at a beautiful house in the mountains. We popped champagne and I brought along champagne cupcakes! I started grad school so that I could do a little 360 on the career path. It's been amazing so far and I am really happy with the decision. I also had the opportunity to read a book written by my great uncle, recounting his time as a POW in Korea.

In February we celebrated our fifth Valentine's Day and I made granny squares for the first time! Piles and piles of em. :)

In March we went to the Union home opener where, as you can see above, it was freezing, and we went for a walk on a gorgeous day and pretend house hunted in our favorite town. On a less happy note, we said goodbye to a beloved friend, Charlie's childhood dog that I had come to know and love, since I had never had a dog myself. 

In April I screen printed home studio style for the first time and made shirts for Charlie's work, and my family took a mini trip to the beach for Easter.

In May I went to Miami with Charlie's family for a mini vacation and made tons of food for our Memorial Day BBQ. I also passed my Praxis test!

In June I started my super intensive summer semester and consequently fell off the face of the earth for a while. But I did pop back to take my hair from dark brown to ginger red and attend a decade party for a few family members' milestone birthdays, dressed as a reject from Pretty in Pink.

In July I battled made cake pops for the first time for a 4th of July BBQ, went to Kutztown where I scored a blue Ball jar, a vintage movie camera for Charlie, and a honeycomb because why not? Also, Charlie and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. :)

In August I figured out how to make delicious iced coffee at home with my french press, and had a relaxing time at the beach before school started up again.

In September I took part in the Twitter Tea Party for which I made the above scones. It was good fun! I made angel food cake for the first time which is my one true weakness when it comes to baked goods, and did my first commissioned paintings of the famed Dublin Doors for a friend.

In October I celebrated my one year blogiversary with my first ever giveaway. We went on a little getaway to the mountains with people from Charlie's work where we had a very successful trip to a giant antique store. I scored some amazing Pyrex dishes to add to my collection. We also went apple picking which I was super excited about, and finished up the month with a trip to Gainesville for The Fest.

In November I celebrated my 24th birthday (eek!) and finally got a food processor which I was way too excited about. :) I had an awesome Thanksgiving with family and took a day trip to LBI with my dad and brother, so my brother could do a workout/physical test with other guys he would be seeing later on in boot camp.

In December my brother left for boot camp which was pretty tough right before Christmas. To try to keep things normal, I made tons off cookies, worked hard on my blog redesign, and started subbing for the first time. I had a great Christmas with family and ended the year with a trip to Atlantic City and a party with friends to ring in the new year.

What do you remember most about 2011? If you did a post like this leave a link so I can check it out!

random tidbits

I saw this on Angie's blog and knew I needed to do it. I loved reading her answers and could imagine mine as I read along. It's especially good for a day like today when I didn't plan a post because I was supposed to be sending off my brother but he got delayed. Such is the navy apparently. So here's some fun, incredibly random facts about me for today and probably tomorrow since that's when he actually leaves. Let me know if you do it! I'd love to see your weird answers too!


#1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?
Jessie. Only family calls me that and anyone else who does, only does it once. ;) There's also Cece. My brother used to call me that when he was little because he couldn't say "Jessie". Every now and then someone whips that one out just for fun. :)

#2. What's a weird habit of yours?
This is the first thing that came to mind.. I always give my towels a good shake before I use them after showering. This is because of an experience I had quite a few years back, where I grabbed a towel and held it out it front of me getting ready to wrap it around my head. I suddenly noticed a rather large spider repelling down the side of it. I have never been the same since. I actually noticed recently that it has become such a habit that I don't even think about why I'm doing it anymore, I just do it. Damn spiders.

#3. What's a song you secretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you're alone?
What don't I love to blast and belt out when I'm alone? I totally don't sing in front of people. I get great pleasure from belting out some Muse.. hittin those high notes.. oh yea. X) That's why I don't sing in front of people!

#4. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
I have to pick just one? There's sooooo many!! How about.. people who don't use their turn signals.. when merging, when changing lanes, when turning, when pulling over.. even if you're in a *turn lane* I don't care!! I don't trust you! I've been cut off by enough people shooting out of lanes that they didn't realize were "turn only" that I assume if you don't have your turn signal on, you have no idea where you are and you are going to screw up. Use it!! It's not hard!! /rant

#5. What's one of your nervous habits?
Biting the inside of my mouth. Like the cheek area. When I'm extremely nervous, I'll do it until it bleeds without even realizing. And then I'm in a ton of pain for a few days. It's a great habit. :(

#6. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Wall side if there is one. If not, then the side farthest from the door. Self preservation baby. Kidding. ;)

#7. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?
Not sure what the actual *first* one was but the first and main one I had an attachment to was a Jammie Pie that I named Red Baby. Because he had a red hat. :) Not an animal, but it was stuffed. Sad story though - I lost it in my youth and now they sell on ebay for $200. Crazy right? I'd love to get it back but I don't know about that price. :S

#8. What's the drink you ALWAYS order at Starbucks?
Unless it's the holidays - ALWAYS an Iced Venti Vanilla Latte. Always.

#9. What's the beauty rule you preach.. but never ACTUALLY practice?
Probably to always wash your make-up off at night? I know it's terrible for your skin to leave your make-up on when you go to bed but sometimes I'm so tired I actually forget to wash it off. And when I do I'm usually reminded in morning by a cute little pimple.

#10. Which way do you face in the shower?
Away from the water. Unless I'm cold, then I find myself huddling under it, directly facing it like my life depends on it.

#11. Do you have any 'weird' body 'skills'?
Hmm, body skills.. not sure I even know what that means.. I can do that thing where you make a clover with your tongue.. and my thumbs are double jointed..

#12. What's your favorite 'comfort food'/food that's 'bad' but you love to eat it anyways?
Cheese fries. Such a guilty pleasure. And I indulge in them way too often.

#13. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
Bullocks! I've been watching too much Coupling. ;)

#14. Time to sleep- what are you ACTUALLY wearing?
Usually a cami or tank top and long pants or shorts. Even in the dead of winter I can't wear long sleeves to bed. It makes me too hot. I need to be able to poke an arm out of my mountain of blankets when I get too warm!

p.s. Have you seen my call for sponsors? Pssst.. it's free!

24

That's how old I am today. Oh good gracious I am feeling old. I actually have a lot to do today to get ready for some festivities tonight so I'm just going to post day 4 of 30 Days Hath November today. Not just because I'm busy. But because I feel like the topic is totally appropriate for my birthday.

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Day 4. A Friend I Adore

Honestly, my best friend in the whole wide world happens to be my guy but I talk about us a lot on here. ;) Today I wanted to introduce you to someone who has been my best friend since birth. My cousin Liz and I jokingly refer to ourselves as twins. We even have each other programmed into our phones as "Twin". :) We were actually supposed to be due a month apart but I was very late and she was a little early and we ended up being born exactly one week apart. Her birthday is next Friday, which just happens to be 11/11/11. Crazy.

Even though there's a river between us, she has been the closest thing I have ever had to a sister. We couldn't have been more opposite growing up though. She has a dark Italian complexion and I looked very German with my blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. She was really into soccer and softball while I was a dancer. She's now about 5'4" while I'm 5'10". It was funny though, when I dyed my hair brown at the end of high school, how much more we suddenly looked related. This is my favorite photo of us that my other cousin took where we look eerily similar. :)

Me + my "twin" circa 2006

Now that I've introduced you to that wonderful lady, I've got some cleaning to do! I'm going to crank up the Sinatra Pandora station and get movin'. ;)

Have a great weekend!

30 days hath november

I read about 30 Days Hath November on Angie's blog and it looked like fun so I thought I'd join in! It was started by Desiree of So Fawned so pop on over there to check out the list of challenges and link up if you want to join in! Much like Angie said, I usually crap out of these 30 days challenges after a while but I think I can do this one. I just like things like this that help us get to know each other better. Even random or quirky things! I'm just going to include each challenge at the bottom of my posts because they're just little snippets and shouldn't add too much reading, since I'm wordy enough as it is. I'm just looking out for you guys. ;)

But since I need to catch up, today's post is just going to be days 1-3. So here you go.


Day 1. A self portrait.

This is one of my most recent photos I've taken of myself since I haven't showered yet and have no motivation to go take a photo right now. ;)


Day 2. Three inspirational quotes.

“We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”
- I've seen this attributed to Dr. Suess but most people list it as "unknown" so I can't say for sure who it is by. But it's genius.

"There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for."
-Dead Poets Society

“I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower


Day 3. Something I never leave the house without.

My phone. Must be connected to ALL THE THINGS.


That's all for now. Let me know if you're doing this too!

one year + a giveaway

I'm not sure if you know this, but one year ago today I started this blog. So today would be my one year blogiversary! I went back and reread my very first intro post and it kind of made me laugh because I feel like I sound kind of serious. No photos whatsoever, just a few paragraphs trying to explain myself and my current career switch so that my life might make more sense to anyone willing to read. :)

Oh, remember when this was going to be Halloween Treat Week? Yea, here's something you should know about me.. I'm a great planner, but not always great at executing those plans. After a few flopped recipes that didn't seem blog worthy, I threw my hands up and decided that as good recipes came along, I would post them randomly. So that's where that is.

So today, for fun, I have some stats about the blog from over the past year. Then, I have a little giveaway for you because I want to thank you for making this an amazing year for me. My lil blog is still in its growing phase but I think I've come a long way from feeling like I was talking to a wall for months, to actually having people comment and carry out conversations with me!

But anywho.. the fun part. These are the most popular posts from my first year. It may even be how some of you found me!

Top 10 most viewed blog posts..
made in the 80's
chronic bitchface
ball jar jack-o-lanterns
hair dye fever
summer thoughts
gingey
pumpkin pie spiced coffee
homemade hot chocolate
caramel buttermilk loaf cafe
stuff i love

My thoughts on this.. if you want to drive more traffic to your blog, write a post about 80's clothing. Totally kidding, but you would not believe how many people have come to this blog from looking up 80's costumes and such. Crazy! I bet some of you reading even got here that way! ;)

Also, I'm glad many others related to me on the chronic bitchface front. Kris Atomic is a damn genius for finally giving that plight a name. I'm glad you guys found me cause we bitchfacers gotta stick together! :)

I'm not going to go on about all of them, don't worry ;) but I was surprised to see my jar pumpkins shoot up there so fast! I love those little guys so I'm glad to see them get their time to shine.

I also had a lot of people find me from looking for hair dye tips, mostly about bleaching and putting light colors over dark colors and such. If anyone would like to talk about that at any point, feel free to email me, twitter me, whatever, cause if you can do it to hair, I've probably done it, and I'm not bald yet. ;)

So that's probably enough reminiscing.. onto the giveaway! This is my very first giveaway so I tried really hard to think about the majority of my readers' interests and this is what I kept thinking.. a Tenpenny Splendid reader is a lot like me.. we all like to make lists, obsessively even ;) ..most of us are artists or aspiring artists or experimenting with new crafts and techniques.. and we like to be very planned and organized.

So..

One lucky reader will get a Moleskine gift pack!

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Giveaway is closed! Thanks for entering!

What comes in this you ask? Well that depends on who wins! We'll talk about your current interests and creative needs and I will set up a pack for you. The possibilities include planners, sketchbooks, watercolor books, pocket journals, etc. Hopefully some of you are into this idea so I don't end up just shopping for myself. ;)

To enter..
1. Follow Tenpenny Splendid on either GFC or Bloglovin, and let me know you're doing so in the comments.

Additional entries.. (make a separate comment for each)
2. Follow Tenpenny Splendid on Twitter.
3. Tweet about this giveaway.
4. Write about the giveaway in a blog post.

That's it! I'll have the giveaway open for at least a week but maybe longer if it's sad and no one enters. ;)

Good luck and have a great weekend!

still here

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Even though it may not seem like it! I swear I am! Oh poor blog, how neglected you have gotten in my attempt to stay on top of schoolwork and maintain a proper social life. Yesterday, I had two one-page chapter reflections, two four-page observation journals, PLUS my presentation complete with a Powerpoint slideshow and six-page research paper that just happened to all be due on the same day. In an effort to get it all done in time, I did four of those papers in one day. One longgg tiring day. Just so I could go to Atlantic City with Charlie, his boss, and his wife on Friday, which was an absolutely amazing time. Then I had a Union game on Saturday and drinks with Charlie's parents at our favorite speakeasy for their anniversary. Then Sunday was the infamous decade party. I'll post photos from that later.

I know I keep saying this, but I think I might possibly be able to breathe now. Every time I say that something else jumps on my shoulders but I only have a week and a half left of this summer semester so I think it's for real this time. This was one intensive class. Holy poo. I can't believe I survived it. Two people had to drop it and there was only 13 of us to begin with. But I've almost made it. Thankfully my other class required pretty much none of my "free time".

Just to add a little fun to this post, I snatched this little fill in the blank from Alycia over at The Curious Pug. Pretty appropriate for this time of year.

1. This weekend I'm going to a bbq on Friday and my cousin's bachelorette party on Saturday.

2. My last vacation was in Miami a couple weeks ago.

3. My next vacation will be with Charlie for our 5 year anniversary. :) Not sure where we're going yet.

4. My favorite way to relax is getting coffee and walking around Newtown or having drinks at home with crappy food.

5. When vacationing one should always take pictures, explore somewhere new along with visiting an old favorite spot, and definitely go in an ocean if one is available to you.

6. When vacationing one should never be stressed or in a rush.

7. The best part about a vacation is doing things that are out of the ordinary. Ditch your current routine and just go with it!


Sorry for the lame check in but I just couldn't go another day without a post. I promise to have something interesting to say next time! I'll try anyway!

Hope your summer has had a less busy start than mine. ;)

my abc's

Shirts are almost done! Man, heat setting is some tedious work. I was at the ironing board for hours. We'll be shooting them later today. In the meantime, here are my abc's! I saw this over on Scenic Glory and thought it looked like fun. Random facts are always interesting. :) You should do it too! Make your own post and then click on the link above and link up.

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Here we go..

Age: 23
Bed Size: Full
Chore you hate: Vacuuming!
Dogs: I want a black pug when I move. I already have the name picked out! :)
Essential start of your day: A good morning from my dude. :)
Favorite Color: I haven't had a favorite in a long time but right now I love aqua, mustard, and chartreuse.
Gold or silver: Depends! My real jewelry is silver/white gold.. Costume jewelry is gold.
Height: 5'10 meh
Instruments I play (or have played): I'm not a instrument gal. I taught myself a few songs on the piano but that's about it.
Job Title: Right now.. graphic designer. In less than two years.. graphic designer, teacher, and indie business owner!
Kids: 4 fuzzy guinea pigs :)
Live: Philadelphia, PA
Mom's Name: Noreen
Nickname: Jess and a few special ones that my guy calls me :)
Overnight hospital stays: hmm none actually. I've had a decent amount of e.r. visits though :|
Pet Peeve: Slow walkers, no turn signals, people with no self awareness.. the list goes on
Quote from a movie: "Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." -Dead Poets Society
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: One younger brother
Time you wake up: Sometime between 7 and 9am. That'll be changing soon.
Underwear: Uhh from Victoria's Secret.. I worked there for a spell so I have a lot of it.
Vegetables you dislike: Spinach. Only spinach. I don't know why.
What makes you run late: Not planning an outfit the night before.
X-rays you've had done: Oh boy.. multiple wrists, my hand, ankles.. I was a pretty active child and broke/sprained a lot of stuff.
Yummy food you make: I'm getting pretty good at pasta dishes and breads!
Zoo animal: Bats.

I hope you enjoyed the randomness. If you do it too, post a link in the comments so I can check it out! Happy Friday!

chronic bitchface

I know I said I wasn't going to post today but I've got time before the boy comes back from New York. I wanted to take this time to spread the awareness of what I now know is called Chronic Bitchface.

Illustrator and photographer Kris Atomic hit the nail on the head with this one. Chronic Bitchface is plight where one has to deal with numerous strangers and loved ones commenting on their bad mood or telling them to smile due to the look on their face, despite the fact that this individual is perfectly content or maybe even downright happy.

Illustration by Kris Atomic

As a sufferer of this condition I am beyond stoked that someone has finally addressed it! I was really starting to feel like I was the only one in the world who was dealing with this. I can be in the best mood, but while I'm walking down the street (esp. in the city) all I'm thinking about is getting from A to B, how I'm going to navigate around the family of ten that feels the need to walk side by side at a snail's pace while avoiding the woman who's practically spinning around on the curb because she seems to have no idea where she is, all without losing my stride. Yes, I walk with a purpose and I like to be able to get around people on the scenic route. And apparently this produces a bitchface.

Now I'm stuck with strangers approaching me and telling me to smile. Or friends saying they saw me on the other side of the street and I looked mad about something. This also occurs when I'm just working or concentrating on something. So if I don't walk around with a big fat cheese plastered on my face all the time, I must be miserable? What crazy logic is this? I'd prefer to not be approached by strangers. Why does my apparent bitchface make them approach me like a sad puppy? Why doesn't it scare them away? That would be a more practical bitchface. That's one I could get behind!

I swear, I am a very happy person, despite what my serious face might say! If I'm among friends and having a good time, I never stop smiling! Sorry that when I'm by myself, working, or just on a mission to get somewhere I don't look ecstatic about it. If any of you reading suffer with Chronic Bitchface, you are not alone. If you see someone who you think may have Chronic Bitchface, leave them alone!

This has been a public service announcement from Tenpenny Splendid.

;)

But in all seriousness, do any of you share this ailment with me? If so, you know the feeling of wanting to punch the next time some says, "Hey sweetie, you're too pretty to look so sad!" or "Smile darlin', it can't be that bad!"


So happy Friday everyone!! Hope you have a great punch-free weekend. ;)

hair dye fever

If you've known me for the past five years, you know I can't go very long with one hair color. Basically, I've been told I was born with red hair, it was brown by the time I left the hospital, and turned blonde a few months later. And blonde it remained for the next 18 years of my life. Judging by my hair's own indecisiveness when I was born, it's no surprise to me that as a young adult, this urge to change hair colors would reawaken in me and never settle down.

At 18, after being tired of paying upwards of $150 every month and half for highlights, I decided to do something drastic. I died my hair dark brown with a reddish tint. It was the most drastic thing I probably could do being in a private Catholic high school. But even this change from blonde to brown shocked just about everyone I knew. (Apologies in advance for the awful image quality.)

Taken 3 days before I dyed my hair.


This is me January of senior year before a formal.

After that, I was hooked. When I started college, I died my hair black.

I have zero good photos of myself with black hair so enjoy the side of my head :).

Shortly after, I added pink extensions.

Yea. I went through "this" phase. Sorry about the blur.

Tired of the black, I decided to go back to brown, but shorty after decided to start bleaching my hair. (My hair probably hated me at this point.) Oh and I chopped a bunch off.

This was actually a happy accident.

Eventually I got it all bleached and rocked the platinum thing for a while.

And a pomp.

Then it was time for more color. Blue this time.

This is actually way more blue than I intended on having but hey, go big or go home I guess!

I eventually bleached all the blue out, got tired of bleaching, and went back to the dark brownish red.

Crop from one of Charlie's photoshoots. :)

Then I wanted to go all red.

Desperately needing my bangs cut at my senior show.

And since red is such a royal pain to maintain, I went back to dark brown and have been that way for a while. (A while= less than a year.) :)

Present day.

And that is my array of hair colors from 2006-2011.

But I've got the urge for change again. That urge that can only be cured by a fresh color I've never tried before. This time, it's copper. Or natural red. Or whatever you would like to call it. :)

I've been compiling some inspiration because I really want to do it right. Here's some examples of the end result I would like to achieve. Some are a little darker than what I want but I like looking at the variation so I can find the *perfect* shade.

1 2 3 4

Just some of the many I've seen. I think when the weather gets warmer this will be on my agenda.

Anyone else out there who can't keep a hair color for more than a few months? What colors are you feeling right now?

six confessions

I know this is going around a lot lately (FreckledNest, srslyliz, I go by Katie) but I kind of like when a lot of people share the same type of things, such as weird quirks or what's in their bag. I plan to do the bag thing sometime soon but for now I have my six confessions for you. I hope you enjoy learning a little more about the girl behind Tenpenny Splendid because I felt like a big weirdo after typing some of these. ;)

After all, this is how I dressed myself as a child.

1. I danced for 15 years of my life which most people don't know about me. I didn't really talk about it for some reason and I didn't go to school with anyone in my dance classes. I did tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, and one year we had someone come in and teach Irish dancing. I miss it so much!

2. I hate wearing pants. Not in the run-around-naked sort of way, but in the I'd-much-rather-wear-a-dress sort of way. Most people don't get that because they see wearing a dress as "fancy" and therefore uncomfortable. Not I.

3. When I was little I had an obsession with mixing different colored soaps together in a bowl while I took baths. My dad would even bring me little hotel shampoos and conditioners from his business trips so I could mix them up. My mom later told me that she thought I was pretending to be a scientist and one day I would cure cancer. I had to break it to her that I was actually making potions and practicing to be a witch. :)

4. I don't like the number 8. I don't know why. I won't take 8 of something, I hate being 8th for things.. weird, I know. I'm starting to feel self conscious now haha

5. I can't whistle and I can't snap with my right hand but I can with my left. The whistling disability is actually a blessing because whistling is my boyfriend's mom's biggest pet peeve. She's known to give death stares to whistlers. :)

6. When people reminisce about Saved by the Bell or the old 90210 I get embarrassed that I can't relate. While kids my age were watching the cool new shows on tv, my best friend and I were watching Bewitched (probably the reason for #3), The Monkees, The Munsters, I Love Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, etc. on TVLand and Nick at Nite.

Well that's some super random and probably weird things about me. Now you know me a little bit better!

What would your six confessions be? If you do this too leave a link in the comments or just type it up right there. Now I have to get crafty. I have some spring inspired things in the works. :)