2010 - WELCOME!

Last Nights New Years Party was so much fun. Although the music weren't that good, the people certainly were. I'm so happy to have celebrated the coming of a New Year with them! Last year, at this time, I was in Las Vegas, which is probably why last year was so good too!

No New Years resolutions. They only make people paranoid at the end of the year, which is why I haven't had any for.. ages. My goal will instead be to maintain my motto "to never say anything about someone that you wouldn't tell them face-2-face".

This year I've become better at: organize, tell people what they mean to me and to be more open with my feelings (well, except for anger that is, haha).

Year 2009:
Jan: Leaving Las Vegas for a last semester at BYU Hawaii. Get to know Brittany.
Feb: School continues, I spend most of my time in the Math Lab.
Mars: Brittany & Heathers Birthdays, party held at TB.
April: Leave Hawaii to go home to Sweden again. A bridal shower is held for my childhood friend Amanda.
May: My sister Sabine turns 20. Graduation party á la Stephanie. Realize that FIDM will be WAY too expensive and decide to stay in Sweden. Apply for The Pattern cutter Program.
June: Steph graduates. I get a job.
July: Got accepted to the Pattern Cutter Program. I go as a leader for a YW/YM conference! Start to think that it might be nice to go back to Hawaii again, and start to re-apply.
Aug: Visit Paul & Brittany in Oregon. A roadtrip to San Francisco. School Starts! Got re-admitted to BYU Hawaii.
Sep: I turn 22 and celebrate with great measures. Get to know a whole bunch of cool people from YSA, like Miriam and Marlene. Start Applying for Scholarships.
Oct: Get 2 new jobs. One back att Espresso House and a new one at the baby/childrens clothing store Floralin&Junior. Start registering for classes.
Nov: Work 24/7. Get scholarships from BYU Hawaii and start arranging for living.
Dec: Work, but not 24/7. School ends, and I get an Honoring Award with a diploma and a gift certificate. Celebrations in different places and in different ways are held to enlight the month of December. Packing for Hawaii starts.

All that is left to do now is pack, pack like a maniac. There are piles of clothes on my ironing board and on my carry-on bag. United airlines make you pay for your second bag! If I'd bought my ticket in september, my second bag would've been free... 50 dollar for a second bag. GOSH! I hope the people at Arlanda Airport here in Sweden let me have my second bag for free anyways. One can only hope.

All done for the New years Part last night, with false eyelashes and all. :)

Happy New Year, and see you soon!
Jacqueline

Merry Christmas Friends!

It is Christmas Eve in Sweden, the day we celebrate Christmas. And I'm loving it! It has been such a good day. Sleeping in, gift opening, breakfast and getting ready with the family, then us going over to my Grandmothers place to celebrate Christmas with her and my Aunt Catarina.

Tomorrow awaits Christmas Celebrations with my Dad and his wife Elena.

Merry Christmas to all of you!


Christmastime @ My grandmothers


Miriam and the Aussies.

Christmas Baking and Rock Band @ Gabriel & Thomas. (and Yes, gabriel made us wear 3d glasses for a while.. haha!)


Glögg!


and.. Partytime!

December 19, 2009

The perfect Christmas weather is right outside my door. Snow, cold (but not to cold), glistening christmas decorations and people gift shopping. Some parents are pulling their kids in little plastic sledges while the kids laugh and tell them to go faster.

Easy to say, that I really enjoy being home for Christmas this year. And we finally have snow for Christmas, that stays on the ground. Last time we had this much snow for Christmas, was probably 10 years ago. It always melts away, or only small patches of snow stay on the ground before they melt.

Last night, my sisters, my mom & I, sat up putting a puzzle together while listening to Christmas songs. It couldn't have been more of a perfect Friday night!

It has been an awesome week. And the most effective Saturday ever! I had my last day of school yesterday, that was celebrated with a lunch and The Principal giving out Honoring Awards. And guess what? I GOT ONE! For best Pattern-constructing student. A diploma with the honoring award and a gift certificate at Sweden's version of Barnes&Nobles. I was so happy! Everyone in my class kept congratulating me, and my teachers talked to me for a long while after. I never expected to get an Award, and was really chocked when they called out "Patternconstructor: Jacqueline Usterud". Needless to say - I was ecstatic!

Today I finally booked my flight to Hawaii (and got a haircut, that was seriously needed). I'll leave early morning on January 2nd, and arrive in Honolulu at 8.30pm the same day. YAY!
Good thing I got some serious Christmas gift- and clothing shopping done today, 'cuz I need to start packing... I'm leaving so soon!

Hope you all are well,
Merry Christmas until now.

Peace,
Jacqueline

checklist:

Swineflu shot - Check!

its been the sweetest week.

such a tiresome week, but oh so good.

Monday: Girls night with Ben&Jerry's, chips, gossip and chick flicks. School-skipping (well, at least not getting to school in time).
Tuesday: School & late Work
Wednesday: School & late Work.
Thursday: Homework, and school. I aslo stayed up.. way late.. to make a vest. Pictures will be posted! Afternoone Non-Coffee date with David.
Friday: School, Work, then chilling with Miriam, Sabine, Marlene, an Australian & an American boy. Way nice! A lot of Coke, candy and sucky movies.. Titanic and Sweet Home Alabama.. Need I say more? But oh so fun.
Saturday: Well, since we stayed up way late and ended up sleeping on each others butts in the sofa, we dragged ourself into Miriam's room and us girls crashed all over the place. Two on the bed, one on the floor and one on the loveseat. Woke up, went into town and got breakfast at Coffeehouse by George, and then went Vintage shopping. Marlene got this super nice Vintage Chanel necklace that was to die for. I love these girls. I really feel that I've found my kind of girls, which is more than beyond awesome.

I have to make something to ware for New Years. For reals. And I also just got an order for a New Years Dress from a girl that I work with. YAY!

Anyways. My weeks been so busy. But oh so good. Schools been intense, grading charts and grading patterns.

A couple of weeks ago, my boss and I, designed 15 children's garments that are going into production for fall/winter next year. So sweet. I've also been helping her out with measurement lists for some child PJ's.

Peace!

Life is always hard, for the Belle of the Boulevard. Darling dry your eyes.

Dashboard Confessional - Belle Of The Boulevard

mind over matter.

I'm going slightly insane over here. Been working like crazy. Pretty much 6 days a week, along with going to school 5 days a week.

This week is our "finals" week. Tomorrow is my last day of a three day long test in Manual Pattern Constructing. And my brain is FRIED! Can't wait for this week to be over!
I'm already done with the final kit that we had to turn in for the computerized part which was pretty major too. A lot of measurementlists, patterns, flat sketches in Adobe Illustrator (That I've learned to love, by the way!) and detailed sketches and closeups.

And. I miss my American friends. Kind of a lot too. I told my boss today about me going back to Hawaii. And I also told her, and I don't think I've told anyone else but my family yet, that I recieved scholarships for my portfolio! Yay! They cover a lot of my expenses too. So great!

Well. Time for bed. TTYL.

barista, barista!

It was my first time back as a barista last night, and it was s-o-o-o good! I forgot how good the roasted coffee-beans smell, and how fun it is when you manage to make a leaf or a heart on someones latte or cappuccino. And I made a heart on my very first latte, back at Espresso House. My boss is super nice, and the coffee shop I worked in last night was located at a very calm part of a Mall. Everything went well, and not to mention 4 hours of $15/h pay + overtime! So sweet!

I love what they pay you an hour in Sweden! Beats the crap out of 7.25 an hour!!

its skirt time.

latest sewing project. Skirt w/ tulle.

i found them!

Remember a while back, when I said I wanted to find a pair of stud earrings and a necklace with glasses on? Well. I found them. Oh the joy.

minus

the stuffy nose. My sister got me sick.. So convenient when I have a week off. Chucks.

is something wrong with me?

No, its more likely the total opposite. I signed a contract with Espresso House today. (my pre-hawaiian job). That means that I have two jobs (one signed up and done for, today), an internship at a Fashion Department Stores Headquarters starting week 49(end of november) and PatternConstruction school.

It's kinda sick - how everything just flows right now. For reals. Might be sressful, but also absolutely wonderful before going back to Hawaii. Best part about it all is that the Fashion Department Store and Espresso House wants me to come back to them when I'm home in between semesters next year for Emma's graduation. And the didn't care that I was going back in you months. O-M-Gosh. Gotta say, I missed being a Barista for a while. The guests and the people I worked with were so nice!

Blessings, blessings!

-

“ On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock.

Thomas Jefferson.

Well Mr Jefferson, I'd say "agreed" to "stand like a rock" when it comes to principles, but also "swim in your own direction a little, while following the current". Everyone needs to be comfortable with their own style and explore. Don't just follow the current. You need to be YOU. (and I'm not just talking about personal style now.) The people I admire the most are the ones who are themselves, and not just what everyone else wants/expects/tells them to be.

the make of hands.

This is the result of one of my sewing projects. I just had to make this one after all that "Balmain"-ing i did in school.




Hmm.. well, you might not see the broad shoulders as much, but this is the black top I made.

scraped knees and a bruised ego.

Sure. Sick day today. Sabine must have contaminated me. She's been sick all week. And here I thought that I've become immune. Nope.

Saddest thing today is the slip-and-fall I did after picking up the pizzas with Sabine today. GOOD THING no one saw, and all I got was a bruised ego.. Well, that, and a scraped knee and torn jeans. Fantastic way to start this week.

Though unluckiness opened this week, I managed to make a skirt today. White with tulle knots in the front and a big sipper in the back. Picture will be uploaded later.


Now: cough drops, aspirin and some sleep.

hard work, work, work.

I've been prepping for two job interviews this week. Right after I got back to school from the other interview on Wednesday, another place called for an interview two days after. So I had a second job interview on Thursday. Yesterday, the kids clothing store called back and want me to come work for them on Thursday to see how i would fit in with them, and how I would like it.

The funniest thing is that I blamed my interviews on "doctors appointments", but I did have my sketch ready for Jeanette on Thursday. So I didn't really have to be there at 12.30 sharp.

We started a "roll play" this week in school too. This means that each person sketches up a detailed design to give to another person that will make the pattern for it, and then hands it over to a second individual that will sew the garment in toille (which pretty much is a first fitting fabric = really rough cotton fabric). A roll play.

It'll be so nice with flexhours though during the coming 3 weeks of the roll play. Also spelled S-l-e-e-p_i-n.

In school we work with Gerbers patternconstruction program on Mondays & Thuesdays, and I absolutely LOVE it! For me, the program has been super easy to work with, and I wish I could say that about my fellow classmates. But I'm always way ahead of assignments and end up doing my own designs and consturctions from Wed-Fri Manual construction classes. Which also might be what I've learned the most doing.

Man this week has passed faster than no other...

This weekend doesn't really have anything exciting planned out. But I might be getting together for some tea and cookies with Stephanie later today.

Oh, ya! Two of my gift certificates came to very good use yesterday. I bought two wonderful tights from H&M (that have a wide waistband on it = We likie!). GinaTricot then treated me to a nice long cardigan, t-shirt with a Rockchick inspired print on it, a vest and a really cool black ballooned shirt (on sale for $6).

Best part about yesterday was that I met one of my old co-workers, Ammi. We worked together at GinaTricot a few years ago, and she is my favorite person in the world. So sweet, nice and honest. Oh, how I like Ammi. She deserves so much better then all the crap she gets at GinaTricot. but I'm really glad I met her last night.

On top of all the niceness yesterday was to skype with Brittany. I miss her a lot. She is like my sister, and I really can't wait to see her on pretty much a daily basis again. Just skypeing makes it a little bit harder.

This is Brittany. One of the last days I had back in Hawaii too. We were waiting in front of Heathers house to go down to Swapmeet. I miss swapmeet too. It's all crap and cheap tourist bracelets, but I love it anyway.


Love for the weekend folks'!

Comme des Enfants

Today I had an interview with a interior design&childrens clothing store. Everything went really well and I'll get to know by the end of the week if I got it or not. Help me keep fingers crossed!

A jewelery store called me after school for an interview on Thursday as well. On fire or what? :)

<3

all the young dudes

I've finally put my portfolio together, and filled out the application forms for Art Scholarships next year. YAY!

Now I'll just have to wait and see. Kepp your fingers crossed, cuz I got an Art Scholarship last year.

Good'ay!

a few things you DIDN'T know about me:

• was in a Lucia (Swedish thing...) aka Christmas Caroling Contest.
  
• love pears & baby carrots
• am a apple juice addict. (orange too sometimes)
  
• favorite color is navy (or any really dark blue color)
• hate hairspray, and only use it when REALLY necessary
• secretly loves playing Christmas songs on the piano, even if its in the middle of a hot summer.

saturday

Its been somewhat of a slow saturday. Good company though. Dad, I and Sabine visited Emma at work. And I have time to do stuff again, since I'm unemployed. Again. Fricken A.

Top Streetwear, where I used to work, decided to close the store down in all haste. And I didn't even get to know. my co-workers Bobby and Monika told me a week ago. Very very sketch. So everyone was fired.

Anyways.


We got Dad to try on this SUPER UGLY hat at GinaTricot. Shame on those who're gonna be wearing this this winter. not okay. hahaha!