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13.6.11

The Glass Eye

Happy Monday Readers!
I hope its been a good one, or at a least mostly tolerable one in my case :P

My newly tatooed arm is huge and swollen up to Popeye proportions, so I haven't been able to take pictures or anything for a new blog post. I did, however, discover an amazing website for artists called Odosketch. Its super fun and I freaking love how all of the tools look so realistic. If you enjoyed Artpad's sketching tool, you neeeed to check this out!


I wish I had a tablet to use with it, but its still pretty fun and versatile with just a mouse. I ended up illustrating a little story I wrote a while back using it, and unfortunately blogger won't embed the file, but if you want to watch it, follow this link.


 It goes a little bit fast, but the words are:

The girl with the glass eye loved him; the boy in the hospital bed across from hers.
He flew her paper cranes when the doctors weren't looking.
He held her hand the night she couldn't see.
Hopefully my arm gets back to normal soon and I can continue regular update posts. Thank you so much for reading, and have a beautiful night.

12.6.11

Painted Skies

Oh geeze, today has been magnificent. To start, I woke up before everyone else and crept out to our gorgeous little mountain spot. It has the most amazing view of this huge rocky valley in the middle of the city. Also, it's where Calvin proposed so it's extra special! I sat still for the longest time just breathing in the morning and watching the sun change the sky colors, like spilled paint seeping into carpet. It was gorgeous and quiet and still. I thought a lot about a lot, but mostly I thought, "This is so freaking lovely I can't find words." Then I came home and we got ready and left to get my new *drumrolllllllll*




Tattoo! :D


Progression of crazy pain.
Yaaayyy! :) I finally got the nautical matryoshka tattoo I blogged about a little while back. To be honest, it was really freaking painful. Which is why there are no pictures of my face here, because I was mostly doing this:   D:

It sucked fiercely, but it was all very worth it in the end! One step closer to my sleeve :)
Afterwards, we got lunch at Jason's Deli, whose BLT's make me weak in the knees. I'm a big fan of bacon, just gonna admit that now, heh. Then we hung out at home a little while, until Vikki remembered about an open mic night downtown and we decided to go listen.


While we were there, we found this perfect little alleyway for picture taking. My splendid sister-in-law took the photos. and as it turns out, she's freaking amazing at it, so you'll be seeing lots of her handywork and this alley to come! :)

I'm wearing a thrifted floral skirt which was actually the bottom to a terrible matching suit, paired with a nude colored tee from Target, thrifted white floral watch, black studded belt and bag from Charolotte Russe, and I believe Target flats as well.

We hung out inside for a while, sipped drinks, played some silly games, and listened to some people play whose band name I completely don't remember, oops! I got a caramel jiva-cino to sip, and let me tell you, it was delicious! If you live in the Old Colorado City area, definitely check out Jives. It was a discovery by Vikki, and we love it there now :) There is so much to adore about summer these days. It's filled with cool night breezes and fresh morning grey. A bright little home and the sweetest company. I cannot wait for every single day of this summer. I almost miss it already. I'm a big melancholy sap like that.

This is how we have to kiss: on tip-toes and bending down :P
So, thank you to Greg at Art in Motion for my fabulous new ink. Thank you Vikki for taking such quality pictures, and Calvin for posing with me. Thank you BLT maker, and old man dancing to music downtown. Thank you summer for having perfect temperatures and the most delicious tree and grass smell. Thank you everyone for this beautiful life, I cannot be more grateful.

I genuinely hope you have a million days like this one, readers.

P.S. Here are some outtake pics I thought you might enjoy :P We sure did.


Yeah, pretty sure that's a heart drawn on the wall in poop.

On that note, please follow, and share your thoughts; good, or bad.
And as always, have a beautiful day.

9.6.11

New Feature


1. This easy and gorgeous DIY Doily Lamp Tutorial by More Design Please


2. This Remarkable Dress by Alexander McQueen


3. This Image Taken from  'Revenge of the Lawn' by Richard Brautigan


4. A clever idea for a Magnetic Makeup Holder via Decor Hacks


5. These images and many more of what people would take with them if their house was burning via


And on a more personal note,
I also love:

1. Calvin's new adorable nickname for me:

I see tattoos and blog names in our future.

2. This picture from our wedding day.

Nothing more perfect.

3. And lastly, I love the way his eyes shine when he's looking at me. The way he holds me tightly against him when we sleep. The notes he leaves me every morning in the water droplets left on the shower window. I love our story, from the very beginning, and knowing it will have no end.


Readers, have a beautiful day.

8.6.11

Diner Date

The other night, Yeti took me on a cute little retro dinner and shopping date :) We went to a restaurant here in town called Gunther Toody's, and if you don't have one where you live, you're missin out :P They have the greatest shakes and malts, walls covered with cute 50's kitsch decor, red vinyl booths, and swing tunes on the jukebox :)

Obviously I felt right at home :)
It was such a fun sweet silly dinner. As much fun as it is to visit a different time like that, I think too often we romanticize the past. I can't tell you how many times I've heard girls say, "I was born in the wrong time era." As they're texting and listening to their ipod. How completely we take the present for granted! We think, well, 50 years ago, things were different, you got to wear cute dresses and men courted you good and proper. And yes, things have changed, for the better and the worse, but there is no time more worthy to be lived than the here and the now. There is no point glorifying 50 years ago or 5 days ago, this is the day that we have. It is your choice to be a part of it, or be a ghost haunting your own memories and conceptions of bygone eras. Besides, there are men who will court you good and proper these days too, you just have to get lucky, and find one who is part Yeti :)


The restaurant also had a whole huge selection of weird vintage pictures and posters and signs. I particularly love the terrifying anthropomorphic Mr. Peanut :)
Also, shown above is my asian face. I make this face when I laugh too hard apparently, and being with my Yeti means I make this face often. I am not proud of it.
I also really enjoyed this sign:

It's basically my life's motto :P
After dinner, me and Yeti went downtown to a little cool second hand book store/ cafe called Poor Richards. We shopped and giggled and drank coffee and listened to live music. Then we ran around downtown, carved our name in a tree, danced to rap music in the street, swang on light poles. It was a perfect night.

There was some street smooching as well :P
I hope everything is going well for you this week, readers. I hope you have beautiful summer nights and someone to dance with. And as always, have a wonderful day.

7.6.11

Sweet and Spoiled

This has officially been the longest birthday in history. We didn't have time to celebrate it as a family last week, so this Sunday we had a crazy delicious BBQ and my very special pink with dots birthday cake :)


My Mom has made me this cake, pink strawberry frosting, confetti vanilla cake, decorated with Dots candies, five or so times over the years now. Nothing says birthday like it :)


The BBQ was at my parents cute little house, in the next town over. It was so nice to spend time with everyone and have even more cake! :P I love them all so much! Speaking of which, our little family has had a change recently, my sister in law moved in with us! It feels a little funny having a roomate again, but its so nice having her with us, she's freaking darling :) She's goofy and fun and we get along great!


According to Calvin, I have ANOTHER birthday surprise coming, and I'm finally getting my birthday tattoo this weekend, whew, I am one spoiled girl :) Even though I don't deserve it, thank you everyone for making 20 an amazing year so far!
And thank you to my new followers as well :) I hope you enjoy it here. Feel free to comment and share, I'd love to get to know you! As always, have a beautiful day.

4.6.11

Story People

Me and the Yeti just decided to sign another year lease on our little town home, and in honor of this place we've come home to for three years, I decided to do a post highlighting some of our favorite parts. The "tour" starts in the master bedroom:


When you first walk in, on the right there is a humongous black dresser, with the new antigue globe from Leadville, the T.V. we use to watch Bleach every night, an adorable Target storage container in bright blue that holds DVDs, and a matching little fake tree I've made into a photo tree. An owl sock puppet is perched on top :P Above it hang a board of memories from mine and Calvin's relationship, updated from the very very beginning until now and I'm sure until the very end. And above the T.V. hangs the map art heart I made a couple of weeks ago. The bed is in the middle of the room facing out, and above it we hung a few matching typography pictures. "See the Good in All Things." One reads, another is a tandem bicycle, a photo of us, and a few clocks. The record player my father bought me in High school and records is to the left of the bed, and if you turn to the left you'll see:


The bookshelf is a cluttered towering monster that has taken on a life of its own. Upon it rests the owl collection, books, cameras, figurines, a 1930's jewelry box, and a painting by a senile Russian. On each side of it, are chairs that me and my Mom reupholstered and painted, sock monkey Calvin and Grace that she made for us, and our build-a-bear wolves. On the wall hangs a huge fork and spoon painted matte white and black, the antique Aspen picture, and a picture Calvin bought me in Manitou Springs by the Story People which says,

"I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand & the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, But all that comes to mind is the way you move against me in your sleep, & there are no words for that."
 It made me cry.
Go to the left further and you'd see the disorganized deck, Calvin's desk, and further left is the bathroom:


The bathroom is bright and blue, it has a bird cage shower curtain, a little wooden stool from our wedding, a gold-leaf antique ashtray to hold jewelry, and a basket of matryoshka soaps. The shower is guarded by a plastic red octopus, but he is camera shy. If you walk out of the bathroom, passed the counter and sinks, then out of the bedroom, you'd be in the kitchen:


It is tiny and the stove has an analog timer. Everything is red and chrome and Coke themed because, like me, Coke is syrupy and nostalgic. There are more flowers, because there should always be more flowers. They are in just a few of many milk glass vases I've collected. On the fridge is a faux wood wall decal that says, "Bake Stir Sprinkle Mix" which is adorable, but a little misleading as I rarely cook. The kitchen is open to the living room:


Which is home to a big plain tan leather couch and a lumpy green papasan chair who are best friends. There are more books and another T.V., my favorite decoration of all; the home sweet home plate, and a retro coke thermometer. There is also a fish named Ponyo, and a sucker fish with no name, but they are also camera-shy. To the right are the stairs that lead down:


Above them sits a little castaway round table with an antique mirror, my dried wedding bouquet, a left over wedding flower centerpiece, and a glass bird. Hexagon shelves with sticks and flowers and candles in them hang above it. Down the stairs is mostly storage and clothes and a parakeet with split personality disorder, but I like this corner with it's chair that may be stolen, and a shelf full of curiosities and more chrome.

Dear little home, even with all of our clutter and knick-knacks and nights stayed up late, thank you for loving us and being warm and bright and keeping all of the bad out and the merry inside. Thank you for all of your quirks and for accepting all of ours. I hope we have many years together to come.

2.6.11

You Only Live Once

As you guys may know, last Monday the 30th was my birthday. The big 2-0! It fell on Memorial day this year and we had the day off of work, so Yeti took me on a lovely little birthday picnic in the park. We ate my favorite foods and had cake and cuddled and just plain enjoyed each other's company :) It was so darn nice.


I wore a dress and hat we got in Salida, the little mountain town with the sketch theater I wrote about earlier. They were from a boutique called YOLO: You Only Live Once. And holy crap, that store was amazing! I wanted everything! But I settled on this adorable, wickedly soft, ruffled dress with cream bow print, a gorgeous black and purple blouse I'll wear later on this week, and the hat shown above. That hat was not only super cute, but super smart! It had an adjustable lining, so despite the wind of that day, it stayed on my head the whole time, and kept my face from getting burnt unlike my shoulders :( I am so bad at remembering sunscreen, and I never realize I'm getting burned until its way too late. I need to get better at that this summer!


To sit on, we brought this freaking adorable quilt my Mom made me a little while back. At the time, red black and white were my favorite colors, and at each cross section of red, she added a different red, black, or white button, cause she knows I like things a little eclectic :) It was too windy out to actually light the candles, but I pretended to blow them out anyway :P It feels a little strange to be 20. It sounds too old! I kept thinking, when I was a kid and I thought of being twenty, was this what I imagined? Am I who I hoped to be? I think in many ways, yes. I found the man of my dreams and married him, we're youthful and fun and lively, our little house is finally coming around to being kinda sorta cute, we have jobs and cars and working on school. I never gave up on art and writing, which is something I was always afraid I would grow out of or lose interest in. But most of all, I'm so glad I'm happy. We're happy :)

These were some of my Glamour Shots that Calvin took, haha.
I think, too often, we let ourselves forget who we wanted to be when we were young. We excuse it as childishness, but we had those dreams for a reason. Before our hearts and minds were clouded with fear and convention and the expectations of others, we dreamed dreams we knew were right- either because they were honorable or fun or we knew it would make us happy. When I was a kid, I had my whole future mapped out. I wanted to be an artist until I was old, then retire and run a little flower shop and live above it. I'm working on the artist part, and maybe a flower shop is in my future, but most importantly, I won't forget the reason I dreamed that future- creativity. I try my hardest every day not to lose it.

Thank you for reading. If you're new here, I want you to know this is a safe warm place. This is your blog away from home, if you want it. Feel free to comment and follow, and have a beautiful day.

1.6.11

The Lost and Found

In my last post, I detailed the activities of our weekend trip, but it was getting a little lengthy so I decided to do a new post to show they antiques I found. There is just something about knowing the things you're touching have been touched by hands before, knowing people existed before you and also realizing people will exist after you and these things, however insignificant as they seem, show a little part of who we were as a human collective. I just want to be a part of it.


There are a few antiques that I got which are absent from this photo, including a Momma's and the Papa's record that is in wonderful condition and has California Dreamin' on it :D
This is the majority of what I purchased though:

-Handmade Mint Green Floor-Length Gown
Fits like a dream and has gorgeous pearl beading at the bodice.
 -Brittle aged poster designed for Aspen, Colorado
I love the coloring and artwork on it.
-Vintage Cracked and Yellowed Globe
I love that the blue has faded to a foamy green. It goes great in our bedroom!
-5 New Owl Figurines
For my ever-growing collection. Features one huge sad and ruffled owl, one adorable owl carved out of grey stone with huge black eyes, one teeny tiny detailed owl carved out of wood, one figurine with two owls on a log (me and calvin :) and little red mushrooms, and one carved and polished wood barn owl that my Papa picked out :)
-A 2"x3" tintype photograph of a woman in a blue dress
-And lastly, a wooden carved kindney bean shaped bowl
Calvin saw fit to store some of his Magic cards in it :P

I think, overall, it was a pretty good haul considering the inordinate mass of things there were to look through. It was so much fun, and I just love everything I ended up with :) I'm working on a post that shows how we decided to use these in our home along with the rest of our decor. In the meantime, I hope you're all doing well! Have a wonderful day :)