Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

We decided to embrace our fleeting childhood and decorate eggs again! So here's what we turned out with:

As much as I like the fancy eggs, my favorites are still the plain (but extremely vibrant) red and blue ones. Also, my parents were awesome and sent me a "monster egg" making kit!

It came with stickers, fake hair, and pipe cleaners. And this was weird:

 so this is what one of my eggs looked like in normal light. Cool, normal, nice. But then I took picture in sunlight instead of the kitchen light, and this is what happened:

It was glowing! Crazy!


Anyways, it was fun! I also made Easter dinner with the guys. And a bunny cake, but I'll have to upload that later.

Hope you all have a great Easter! Enjoy one of the many random activities we decided should be used to celebrate this day!

Things I Learned From My Father

I found this today while I was internet exploring (not on Internet Explorer though, so... I guess while I was "Safari-ing" the internet?). I thought it was an extremely good list, so I wanted to share it with you guys.

It has some cuss words, but I think it's a very, very good list. Some good practical advice, some funny things, and some facts about life that everyone can use!

I especially love number 20, and 35 and 45 are great too.

Blondies- the Naive Cousin

Have you ever tried blondes???

I had honestly never tried one of these bad boys until monday, when I made them for the first time for an activity. And I'm addicted. Completely. These are way good!

I call them the naive cousin of the brownie (get it... cause it's like they're blond... so... blond joke. you're welcome dad).

Make them next time you have to bring a dessert, it's a good switch up from the normal array of sweets without being too out there.

Herewego!

You're gonna need:

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup oil
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

(eggs not pictured)
Turns out, I had EXACTLY 2 cups of flour left! how awesome is that? except, now I'm out of flour.
But hey, no flour means no making dessert for fun, which means no temptations around the house to ruin that whole "eating healthy" thing...

Mix together all the dry ingredients. The salt, bp and bs are in there. It's just hard to tell, cause they're all the same color. I swear. No really! Fine, don't believe me...

Then you mix together the egg, vanilla, and oil. It looks like some of the abstract art at my school.

Next, we add in my new favorite food in the world: brown sugar!

After that's all mixed, we add the dry ingredients.

Stir that all together.

Then put it all in a greased 9x13 pan. It's gonna be pretty thick, not the normal consistency of brownie mix, no worries.

Now we bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (or until a knife comes out of the middle clean)

FRICKIN GOOD! The golden crust is my favorite part. And after it cools, you can add a little fanciness to the top. (that's my baker's talk for "sprinkle with powdered sugar")

Be sure not to bake a whole batch by yourself, you may not be able to stop.

Weird Internets and Eggs

So the internet at my apartment has been rather weird lately. Mix this on top of me not having any free time, and it leads to the sad fact that I have not updated this blog in a while. But fear not readers! I have a few recipes to put up and a story for ya'll! coming soon!

But until then, please enjoy this picture of an egg I stood on it's end on the spring equinox.

With mad skills.

 Cool, huh?

Stake Conference Notes

So today was stake conference. An extra hour of sleep! But, also, two hours of sitting on the same bench. In the same spot. Without sleeping.

No promises that that last part happens all the often...

But not the point! There point is, I have a story :)

Here's how it happened:

It was the end of the 2 hours, and I was running out of things to distract myself with (expect for the number count down me and my brothers use to do to pass the time, I still do that) and that was the moment when I saw the string.

In front of me, hanging out from the little slit between the bench seat and bench back rest in front of me, was a leather string.

Being my curious self, I reached down and pulled on the string. And you know what happened??

Another string came down! Now there were two strings hanging from the bench in front of me! What was I to do?

Well, obviously, I couldn't just leave it alone. So I did the logical thing. I tied them together.

But that didn't do much. I mean, what was the point of that?

So obviously I had to do something else.

I reached down and ripped off a piece of paper from my notebook. I wrote down the following words: "Hi :)"

At this point, I took the two strings (which I think were attached to to girl's belt or dress who was sitting in front of me), rolled up the paper, and tied it in the strings.

I don't know if it stayed there when she stood up or if she even noticed but I like to think that at some point, she saw that small note and read it and is sitting in her room, questioning who that note came from or if there was a secret meaning to it! I be she is sitting on her computer while talking to a team of agents from the CIA trying to identify the handwriting to find who gave her this note! Her life may depend on it!

Ok, maybe that's exaggerating. A little.

But only maybe.

Men's Style- The Basics

I have found one of my favorite things to do is help guys build new wardrobes.  Aid them in their evolution from Aeropostale tees to nice, patterned button up shirts and well fitted jeans!

A man in a well fitted suit...
Yes.

But there are still plenty of guys who still seem to be a little stuck in tee shirts and baggy jeans.  I'm not exactly sure if the main reason is because they don't want to have to take time to put stuff together. Or they don't want to seem, well, less masculine to other dudes.

If it's the first one, good news! It doesn't take long! If you have good clothes, then it will be just as fast to pick up a button up and chinos than it would to grab your faded jeans and that graphic tee you've had since you were 16.

If it's the other reason, also good news! I don't want you to dress in pink! I'm going to show you how to look sharp without looking questionable. You're welcome.

Look! even this adorable little boy can do it!

Actually, I just wanted to show the picture. Look at this kid, what a stud!

Ok so lets get started.

Here's the first rule to live by for the rest of your life in what you buy and wear: Fit.

Did you hear that?

FIT!!! 

I can't begin to explain how important this is.
Even more important than how much I hate short sleeved button up shirts on guys! (which is a lot, btw)

You can have a pretty boring, pointless, or stupid outfit, but as long as it fits you will look ten times better than the man standing next to you that is drowning in his clothes.

There's lots to talk about in fit, but just make sure you don't drown in it (both in how close it is to your body and in where it hits you length wise all around).

Oh!! Also, here's a huge deal:

NO PLEATS!

pleated pants only make you look more baggy around the hips, and even if you want to look bigger than you do, this is not flattering. Ever.

Also, along the lines of "looking bigger", buying baggy clothes doesn't help this. If you buy things that fit well you actually create a better illusion of looking in shape, rather than a big gelatinous blob, or even skinner.

What already works?

Next, you should clean out your wardrobe.
If it's bad quality, falling apart, or doesn't fit correctly (not just that it's too small, make sure it makes you look good) then you should throw it out.
If it does fit and is still in style (no tie dye headbands guys... lets just pretend that never happened) then awesome!

Now some basics:

I'm gonna name my (and a lot of fashion men will agree) top 10 basics every guy should own!

1.     Dark Grey Suit- every man needs at least one suit. Navy works just as well. Two or three button, single breast suits look good on nearly every body type. No pleats, and focus on fit!

2.     White Dress Shirt- perfect blank canvas. Avoid button collared to keep more versatility. Go for a good quality one, as this will get a lot of use.

3.     Navy Sports Coat/Blazer- nothing can pull an outfit together like a well cut sports blazer.  Navy also works well with any color and can be casual as well as work appropriate.  Avoid any brass or gold buttons, look for medium weight material to wear year round, and keep it simple (no double breast or four button style).

4.     Dark Jeans- look for a nice fit: not baggy but not skinny.  Stay away form designer labels that are visible.

5.     Black Dress Shoes- these will also be worn a lot, so invest wisely.  Avoid square toes, look for something rounder.

6.     Khaki/Chino Pants- typically khakis are more casual of the two, chinos are normally lighter and more fitted.  Either work great, as long as they fit you and your style.  Again, stay away from pleats!  Stick to a flat front.

7.     Sneakers- at least one pair, go for a subtle color that matches well with jeans chinos or whatever other casual pants you own.  Converse Chuck Taylor’s are a good bet for classic, lasting style.

8.     V-Neck Sweater- a V-neck allows this sweater to work great with a button up shirt, a t-shirt or polo, or by itself, expanding the versatility.  One with ribbed cuffs, collar and bottom help to fit your build more.  The V should be large enough for collared shirts but small enough to look normal over a tee.

9.     Watch- the only accessory on the list, but a very important one.  This small detail can make something you threw on look like an outfit.  Make this a nice classic choice- no sports watches.  Think, “What watch would get me into Ocean’s Eleven?”

10.      Polo Shirt- although it may not be a first thought, this piece works well in many situations.  If your wardrobe consists of mainly neutral colors, this is your chance to add a nice pop.  Try a deep red or dark green.  There are many options for fit, just make sure it fits your body.  And, as a general rule, never pop the collar or button the top button.

Now this isn't everything, obviously. You will need some great belts, ties, socks... these 10 are just the top things that if everything else in your closet were to burn, you might want to buy these things first.

And underwear, you need that.

Yeah actually go buy underwear first, then find these other things.

Defining it.

If you're gonna remix your style, there are four components that are the main factors in deciding what to do.

Most of these are pretty simple to understand.

• Only buy what you can afford.
• Keep in mind where you'll be wearing these things (as in your daily routine as well as weather)
• Obviously you need to keep in mind what you look like physically.  This is wear fit will help out so much! There is a lot of in-depth stuff I could talk about for how to fit each body type and what helps you look taller, thinner, etc, but in basics: make sure it makes you look good.
• Make it personal! If you don't like a pattern or color, don't buy it. Only go for things you like, cause if you don't love it in the store you won't wear it when you get home (thank you Blind Side)

Expanding and Layering!

After you've got all the basic, you can expand into other things.  This is where fun t-shirts and those cardigans would come in.  Maybe even a scarf if we're feeling adventurous!

Whoa, ok, scarf was too far? 

Just bring it back in.

No scarves, my bad.

Here I plan in explaining how to go beyond the 3 part outfits (top, bottom, shoes) and mix and match.

This adds individual style but it also allows you to be much more versatile with what you own, so you can do more with less!

But I'm gonna leave this for another post. Cheers!

My Experimental Blog

I'm sick.

And tired.

But not sick and tired, cause that would imply that I am annoyed with something.  Unless I can be sick and tired of being sick and tired, cause I guess that's true.

Anyways this is the first time I have gotten sick in a long time (which I am pretty proud of) but sadly, my nose is stuffed and my throughout is sore.

So, I am planning on staying in as much of today as I can. So here's my post I promised!


I am a college film student.
Which means that we have a lot of projects that may require some artsy thinking.  And one of my classes (the one all about creativity and finding inspiration) has us do some pretty interesting projects and then post them on a blog.

There are some pretty cool things some times. And then some interesting ones. And then some weird ones.

So I'm gonna post the link to my blog here:

http://quietonthesetmb.blogspot.com/

The projects are all assigned.  Don't worry about reading the "artist statement" after each thing, it's just part of the assignment requirements, and normally full of randomness that is made to sound like an artist.