• Book Love,  Holidays,  Life,  Movies and TV,  School School School

    Monday Update

    It’s been a looonnnnggg but boring and busy few weeks, with minimal time for creating bloggy material and content happening in my life, so I figure it’s time for a quick update on what’s been keeping me occupied. I’m… …working on: grading research papers. I’ve got 105 five to seven page papers to work through. Even just looking at the stack is overwhelming. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s all for the greater good. And that the massive amounts of unpaid time I use notating and commenting on their writing will help them in the future because they’ll take what they learn from this experience and apply it…

  • Home Dec Love,  Purchases

    Flea Market Finds

    So I found these beautiful watercolor paintings at an indoor flea market a few weeks ago. The guy who sold them to me said they were from the 1930’s, which would make them pre-war productions (he re-matted and reframed them). They seem to be somewhat mass produced – the outline of the painting is pressed into the paper, and then an individual artist added color. He may have been full of shit (although he was a super nice and interesting guy who seemed to know what he was talking about – we spent a lot of time talking about the fossils he was selling and he def knew what was…

  • Home Dec Love

    So I Fixed an Antique Table

    So it’s been a while since I’ve posted about something productive on here – I honestly just haven’t been that crafty/industrious lately. Except, I fixed a table. My Aunt had given this table to us when we first moved into this new apartment. The one catch was that it was broken – specifically, the dowel pins that stabilize the table had rotted away and broken over the years, leaving the legs detached and wobbly. It was an easy fix, but not something she was willing to put the time into, so ours it became… …and then it proceeded to sit in her garage for a year because me, Jim, and…

  • Life,  Movies and TV

    Monday Update

    I know I’ve sort of dropped off the radar lately – it’s been a crazy couple of weeks, and I just have not been good about keeping up with things. So here’s a little bit of what’s going on with me to at least let me feel like I’m not COMPLETELY neglecting by bloggerly duties. I’m currently… …working on: Powerpoints. Powerpoints, upon powerpoints, upon powerpoints. I’ve never gone the powerpoint route for the class I’m teaching this semester – but now that I’ve started I’ve gotten myself into a jam, because I’ve set a precedent. So now I have to make them for EVERYTHING I cover this semester. And let…

  • Nail Polish Love

    Mani Monday: China Glaze Bat My Eyes (2013 Halloween Collection)

    On this Mani Monday (which is turning out to be a MANIC monday in every other way possible, but that’s another story all together), I’m currently wearing China Glaze “Bat My Eyes” from the 2013 Halloween Collection. I’m a little late on the uptake on this one – I didn’t actually buy this one when the 2013 collection was out – I only picked this one up last week at Ulta. They must have found a few strays in the back from last years collection and put them out on HEAVY discount (I only paid $0.97 for this!). That said, I’m not sure why I passed this one up the…

  • Baking and Cooking,  Recipes

    Magpie’s Super Easy (& Super Quick) Fall Chili

    So I LOVE Chili in the fall. Like, a lot. It’s seriously the perfect fall comfort food. Pair it with rice for a filling meal, use it as dip for those lovely Tostito’s Scoops, or just eat it alone… you really can’t go wrong. As long as it’s not too spicy. I don’t like spicy. But I’m a weenie with spiciness, so there’s that. Because chili is absolutely perfect for the way the weather has been lately, I figured I’d finally get around to keeping track of and sharing the recipe for my hearty fall chili. Magpie’s Super Easy (& Super Quick) Fall Chili Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time:…

  • Life,  Magpie Runs

    So I Guess I’m a “Runner” Now?

    So, I haven’t really been talking about it on the blog here, because talking about the fact that I’m working on something can sometimes give me a false sense of accomplishment (which often results in me slacking off on exactly that thing I’m working on), but this summer I started a Couch to 5k program. Now, I’ve been going a bit slower than even the program suggests – It’s been an awfully long time since I ran regularly, so I’m taking it one baby step at a time. I was also about 25-30 pounds lighter last time I did this, so I didn’t want to stress out my joints too…

  • Nail Polish Love

    Mani Monday: Zoya India

    Just popping in with a super quick Mani Monday, featuring my super short and stubby nails (cello gig season again!) and Zoya’s India. I picked this polish up in Ulta yesterday – it’s part of their new fall Ignite collection, and it’s seriously like one of the most perfect fall colors ever. It’s a deep red – really almost burgundy – with an absolutely gorgeous shimmer. And bonus? It’s seriously almost a one-coater. Downside is that I’m not sure about it’s staying power – I’ve already got some chips on my right hand. BUT, that said, I didn’t use my normal base coat, and the health of my nails on…

  • Life,  Pet Related Posts

    New Addition…

    We got a new addition to our apartment last week. Blogosphere? Meet Olive. The apartmentmate got her last week, and we all fell in love instantly. She’s about four months old, and seriously one of the most energetic, friendliest cats I’ve ever met. And this face! The only real problem is that she’s VERY hard to photograph. Between how dark she is, and the fact that the only time she’s sitting still is when she’s fast asleep… it’s pretty much impossible. Except, sometimes I get lucky.