Rockabilly Inspired // Last Minute Hustle.

I texted him: "I Don't have anything to wear!"

My friend Alex was in town visiting for the weekend from Texas and we had planned to meet up, have some coffee to catch-up & have some photo-shoot fun. And of course, even though I had known about this meeting months in advance, the morning of -I am pulling things out of my closet, not liking my options and telling myself, that next time, Next time I PROMISE to plan ahead... 

Then I reached for the suspenders.. I have been wanting to wear the red+navy suspenders f-o-r-e-v-e-r but never knew how to pull them off.. but I decided today was the day..

Then I pulled out my favorite red vintage shoes, followed by a pair of skinny jeans that I cuffed over my shoes and ideally I wanted a white shirt to complete this outfit, but considering the fact that I refuse to buy white shirts because they are a magnet for stains (especially when I eat) I decided a bright yellow t-shirt would be just fine. 

Then I rolled my hair into a fun rockabilly inspired victory roll-ish type of do and I put a flower in it. 

Done & Done. 

pardon the dust, but this was a last minute hustle. 

I promise to plan ahead next time, someone remind me to plan ahead. :)

// t-shirt + skinny jeans: somewhere in my closet
// suspenders + shoes: vintage shop 

// earrings + bracelets: Mano y Metal 

I feel like summer is near. 

Thanks for stopping by <3

xoxo, 

Desiree, Mano y Metal 
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All Photos taken by: Alejandro Lavin

website: http://alavin.us

twitter: @alejandrolavin

flickr

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Urban Garden(ing) Project

I got it in my head that I would grow my own lettuce this summer... I read in one of my magazines that growing lettuce is the easiest vegetable to start with, and considering I usually kill any plant I bring into my house, I figured I should start with the safest route to my little-indoor-home garden.

Of course, as soon as I walked over to the garden area of the store I convinced myself that I could grow all of the 8 packets of seeds you see pictured below. I am super impulsive that way and I figured it couldn't hurt to try...

 

and so the Urban Garden(ing) Project begun one month ago and I planted: 

Spinach, Lettuce, Lavender, Basil, Cilantro, Parsely, Oregano & Kale

with high hopes for a salad by the end of the summer!

I planted each seed packet in a ceramic pot, placed the pots next to my sunniest window and held my breath in the hopes of seeing some green..

 

Week One: 

4 of the 8 seed packets I planted surprised me with itty-bitty green promises!

 

Week Two: 

 The growth from one week to another is amazing! The Cilantro sprouted this week and the Kale was taking the lead with overflowing green sprouts.

Meanwhile, the oregano hadn't grown beyond the first pic, and the lavender, spinach & parsley remained just pots of dirt...

 

Week Three:  

Cilantro Leaves and basil leaves were making an appearance! I also totally over-watered the plants this week and thankfully they survived my over-drowning of them! :) This week, the parsley sprouted two tiny green promises and the oregano remained at a standstill in growth.. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that it might grow though!

 

Week Four:  

My baby plants turned 1 month and are proving to appreciate the sunny windowsill.

The scent of the basil leaves and cilantro plant started to radiate around the plants this week too! I'm already looking up mixed drinks on pinterest that call for fresh basil leaves! Might have some basil drank fun this summer. :)

So there you have it, even if you live in an apartment and don't have access to a yard you can still grow some leafy greens! Even if you don't have a green thumb and have a history of killing plants (points to self) there is still hope for you, because if I can do it you can too. :) It is also pretty fun to see the growth. All you need is a sunny windowsill and basic watering skills.:)

Planting anything this season? 

xoxo, 

Desiree, Mano y Metal

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to all the baby mamas

To all the baby mamas: May your day be filled with love, family, sunshine, delicious food & smiles. Also, don't wash the dishes today, I refuse to clean or cook on Mother's Day-- ha. cheers!

My son asked: "How come there is a Mother's Day and a Father's Day and not a "kid's day" mom?" 

My answer: "Everyday is Kid's day." 

I mean, seriously. 

Happy Mother's Day! 

xoxo, 

Desiree, Mano y Metal

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WIWW: Hello Spring & Creative Mojo Talk

It's been 80 degrees the past few days over here in Chicago, and that means I can take out all the sleeveless shirts I had stored up and start wearing them again. First sign of spring time is vibrant colors, actually, I don't need a season to wear vibrant colors.. I kinda gravitate toward the brightest colors on clothing racks in stores.. Anyway, as if my shirt wasn't bright enough I snagged this amazing yellow sheer scarf at a vintage shop and decided it was a done deal with this combo. Besides, Chicago weather can give me whiplash with the abrupt turn-around in weather from one hour to the next, so even though it starts off warm, a scarf is a good back up in case the breeze picks up and starts to propose a cold night. 

Why aren't I smiling in this photo? I don't know, I think I was evoking Frida Kahlo... had to be the scarf, the scarf made me think of Frida Kahlo...

Also, I know I have been M.I.A from the blogging world lately... actually from facebook too.. and twitter... I fell into a non-creative slump is all I have to say for myself. I was working at the cubicle, running around everyday on Mother duties, family, so many personal issues arose... but most of all my etsy shop Mano y Metal has really kept me busy as I have gotten a lot of orders in the recent months.. and I'll admit I found myself coming home from working at the cubicle to working on mom duties -putting the kid to sleep, then working on orders... and working around the clock without a break for months can really zap you into a drone of a sort.. and I found myself walking around everyday just feeling overhwhelmed... just non-stop overwhelmed... and it turns out I cannot be that creative when I am perpetually exhausted and overwhelmed... and I kept feeling that the hours of my days would evaporate right before my eyes and before I know it: today is tomorrow... and yesterday is last week and entire months passed me without me posting anything new in my etsy shop, or facebook or twitter... and photo-shoots.. I haven't made time for photo-shoots..

So anyway, I'm trying to reverse all that-- get my creative MOJO back... I need to fight for it because it is worth saving... because ultimately, I am pretty empty if I am not being creative... gotta get it back...you know, all "Stella Got her Groove Back" about it. :) So, this is me saying hello... I know I took some time off... but I'm feeling like Spring Fever will do me good and my son and I had this photoshoot on Sunday... I'll post more pictures from this shoot soon... and I have to say, it felt good getting back in the creative groove of thangs... my thangs.. like photo-shoots, vibrant colors & blogging again. Hello Spring.

Have you ever fallen into a creative slump? What do you do to get your creative mojo back?

xoxo, 

Desiree, Mano y Metal

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Linking up with: The Pleated Poppy // Rolled up Pretty // Rae Gun Ramblings // Translantic Blonde

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

I was pretty excited about Halloween this year, actually it's pretty much my favorite time of year because it gives me a reason to play with makeup and dress up! 

There was so many awesome tutorials out there and I wanted to try them all... and I was drawn to experiment with a masquerade mask design...

so i totally winged it and came up with this fun DIY! 

 If we are buddies on instagram, you already saw these, if you didn't, Forgive the instagram filter quality distortion! :)

Anyway, it is pretty simple and you don't need fancy makeup to accomplish this look, as you can modify the products with your favorite choices.

Let me know if you give it a try! 

 Hope you had a fabulous Halloween! 

What did you dress up as?? 

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Dia de los Muertos SUGAR SKULL tutorial!

Hi! Hola! Anyone else have Halloween fever? I was wondering what to "be" for Halloween... and I thought I'd give a Sugar Skull face paint/make-up a try! It was a lot of fun but considering this was my first time ever trying this look out and applying this much face paint at one time... I did learn a lot... like:

• I should have drawn out/"mapped out" the design I drew on my face PRIOR to... you know, recording... because I free-styled it... and all I knew was I was going to avoid the spider-web on the forehead.. because I don't like spiders or spiderwebs.. but then I kinda let my hand lead impulsively and drew swirls & hearts.. Anyway, next time I am either printing a picture of a design I like or drawing it out before so I can have a much clearer design... you know, design with intent! :) 
• Anyway, another things I learned: color inside nostrils... I know, I know that sounds gross BUT I'm talking about the brim of the nostrils because I noticed in the editing of the video/photographs that my skin peeked through around my nose and it was cause' I didn't get down and dirty with the black face paint like I should have. :) See Picture below! ha! :) See? PAINT the inside of your nostrils! :)

 Other than the trail and error (heehee)-- it was really fun to create this look! I recorded my face-paint adventure (see YouTube video below) so you can see how I achieved the look and give it a try. I'll be honest, it does take a while.. I know I crammed it all in a 5minute tutorial... but I seriously spared you all the over an hour process. :)
So if you do try this look here are some tips:

• Have a print out of the image / design you want to create 
• Reserve an 1hour to 2hours to apply the sugar skull face. 
• Be creative! Add or Subtract as many details as you want, that's the fun thing about this look, it lends to creative freedom in color choices and design. 
• If you "mess up" don't freak out, just add some white face paint to fix it and remember there are no mistakes in art! :)
• I also used mainly Halloween face-paint to achieve this look and easily accessible products such as eyeliner pencils & eyeshadow creme-based pencils for the colored parts.
• The rhinestones I used for around my eyes I got at a craft store. :) 
• Let me know if you have any other questions in the comments below & I'll do my best to answer them! :) 
• Oh, and PAINT INSIDE your Nostrils! :) 

♥What are you planning on dressing-up as for Halloween?♥

 

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