i'm adding new things to my list

even though i've yet to accomplish everything on my original one. i'm really good at this.

so, really, this first one doesn't really belong on a list because i don't believe in doing something like this just for the sake of doing it; i just so happened to do it while keeping this blog. but, even though it has no place on my list, i'm going to talk about it anyway. i got another tattoo last night. now i've got five, and i think i'm gonna need to cool it for awhile or else i'm going to end up looking like this. just kidding, my boobs will never be that big.

but seriously, i love this new tattoo. it's the words dona nobis in my maternal grandmother's handwriting, in white. it comes from the song dona nobis pacem, which means god grant us peace, and my grandmother taught this song to my mother, who then taught it to my sister and me. my  mom used to sing this song to us before we went to sleep, and, once we got old enough, she used this song to teach us about harmony. a little over a year ago, my grandmother requested that me, my sister and my cousin sing this song at her funeral, which i know sounds weird but we absolutely will do it for her. then my uncle steve passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last april, and claire, johanna and i sang it at his funeral. i'm glad i got to use my voice as a special way to honor him at his funeral, but i don't know how i made it through the whole song without breaking down. i can't promise to do as much when it's for my grandmother.

this tattoo is also special because it's on my left wrist, and, on my right wrist, i have the word truth in white written in my grandfather's (her husband's) handwriting. that was my second tattoo, and it's what got me addicted to tattooing in handwriting. so now i have my grandparents side by side, and i can carry them with me wherever i go. i also have one in my own handwriting and another in my mother's, which is on my left side close to my heart. i never thought i'd be one to end up with any tattoos, yet here i am with five. it's fun knowing that no one else in the world has the same tattoos as me (with the exception of the heart, as i'm sure many people have that same shape in the same location). even my friends who have copied the ones i have still have made my ideas their own, and i'm glad to have given them inspiration. but like i said, i'm gonna have to cool it for awhile. i think five tattoos in six years is a fair amount of ink.

now, on to the thing i'm actually going to add to my list: i will buy myself a piece of locally made (or at least hand/homemade) jewelry every month. i don't necessarily have any business spending money on jewelry when i'm about to go on a european vacation for three weeks and then move into a house as soon as i return to austin, but i need good jewelry and i realized the other day that i don't have to go to the damn mall to get it. i get as much food as i can locally, so why not do the same with jewelry? this all started when i found the most amazing gold dipped leaf necklace from taylor moseley on south congress. when i happened upon allison's booth, i saw the necklace, fell in love, and bought it immediately without even looking at the price. it is my favorite thing right now, and i get compliments on it every time i wear it (you can see it in the picture above; just ignore the spot where i obviously spilled my drink on myself). it reminds me of my papa; he was a forester and he taught me all about the leaves and trees of north carolina, so having this little leaf (which, i should mention, is a real leaf) around my neck is not only one of a kind and beautiful, but also sentimental. i know i can be annoyingly sentimental sometimes -- the quote "you're gonna OD on nostalgia" from pretty in pink is a spot-on description of my sentimentality.

so once i bought that necklace, i realized i could get really fun and affordable jewelry to add to my collection and spruce up my otherwise boring and solid colored wardrobe. i decided to treat myself to a new piece of jewelry every month, regardless of the expensive vacations and the upcoming move that are in my very near future. the only catch is the jewelry has to be from someone who made it themselves. i'm going to first aim to find things that were made locally, but if i find something i just have to have on etsy and they're not from austin, i'm okay with that.

my second piece of jewelry, a silver ring, came from visiting the austin renegade craft fair. i'm not usually big on rings, but i happened upon this booth by queens metal, tried on the first ring i saw (which is just like the beaded one featured here) and i decided i had to have it. and it only cost $8! i tend to like jewelry that's very dainty, although i don't necessarily consider myself to be a dainty person. anyway, i haven't bought anything yet for the month of june, but once i find what it is, i'll be sure to share.

now: time for dinner. i'm going to be using another coupon i got from living social to get me some pizza and beer at salvation pizza with jj. yummmmmmy. if you haven't heard of living social, or groupon, or localiter, you're seriously missing out. even if you don't live in austin, living social and groupon both offer the same service for other cities, so you should do yourself a favor and sign up. i've gotten some pretty sweet deals from these (remember my thai kitchen cooking class?), and both aforementioned sites even have iphone apps so you don't actually have to print your coupon, you can just show them your phone! yay, good deals and going green all at the same time. :D