Mountain Peaks and Antiques

We're back! Our long Memorial/ B-day weekend was full to the brim with amazing views, family, and my favorite: antiques! This is going to be a pic-heavy post because there was just so much to see!

Squirrel Cleavage. Nuff' said.

On Friday night, we drove up to Buena Vista, a little mountain town slightly reminiscent of horror movie mountain towns where they skin and eat people, and got some rest. Saturday morning, we got breakfast at the Rooster's Crow and had some pretty intense creamer stacking sessions:



Please, God, let that be bacon.
Also, how cute is my Mom?! :D

Afterwards, we drove even further into the mountains to a little mining town called Leadville. My family had visited here before, roughly 5 years ago, and even then I was crazy about antiques. They have this huge, two story antique mall just literally packed full of all things old and interesting. We never made it to the second floor five years ago, which has tortured me with curiosity ever since :P We finally got to see it! :D



Antique collector's Mecca.

I had such a hard time trying to look at everything in the midst of the madness! Looking back at pictures, there are tons of things I wish I had bought or at least looked at. I can't wait for the next trip! I went looking specifically for owls because they have been one of the long standing collections and loves of mine. And oh boy, did I find them. :)

Remember that song Ariel from the Little Mermaid sings on the beach when she gets her voice back?
I can hear it now.

They also had this thing:

Kill it with fire.

And a wide selection of hats that fit no human sized head I've ever seen:

The marshmallow hat is particularly fly.

I had so much fun at the antique mall, and cannot wait to go back soon! I can't say the same for everyone else though, heh. They don't share my affinity for old dusty stuff :P But hey, it was for my birthday!

Pictured above: Yeti's "I'm sick of shopping" face.
Also, Momma's and the Papa's record! :D

Later on that evening, after shopping at some more boutiques, etc, we went to see a movie at the world's sketchiest theater. It was actually pretty fun. Even though it was a little run down and tiny, it was owned by some really nice people and the over all atmospere was super cool. It's nice to see people trying to pursue and pervey awesome places and bring their community together.

The screen was roughly three arm lengths wide. Also shown: my gosh darn
beautiful birthday necklace from my yeti! ^_^

We drove back Sunday afternoon. The driving was my least favorite part. Tiny winding mountain roads make me a hundred kinds of nauseous. They give me that same panic I feel on a swing set or enclosed space. Over all though, I had a freaking amazing weekend. I'll have another post soon showing some of the antiques I ended up with. I also have pics from my Birthday picnic, and I'm working on a Home post as well, detailing some of my favorite places in our little abode. Thank you everyone who made my weekend great! I love you all so much! As always, feel free to comment and follow, and have a great day :)

Teagan White

Hey guys, I've been super rushed this week packing for our weekend trip we're taking for my birthday! I'm turning 20 this Monday :) We're going up into the mountains to a few towns known for their awesome antiques. I'm darn excited! Anyway, I didn't have time for a legit post, so I wanted to make it up to you by featuring one of my most favorite artists ever! Her name is Teagan White, and not only is she insanely cute and fashionable, she is genuinely one of the best artists I've ever seen. Proof:

Image (C) Teagan White

I love her use of typography so much it hurts.

Image (C) Teagan White



Image (C) Teagan White

I actually have this one as a shirt too! And hopefully a tattoo someday :)

Image (C) Teagan White

If you want to follow her work (and you should) her website is: teaganwhite.com/

I love that she is so young and successful, while being adorable and kind on top of it. I think this artist feature will become a regular part of my blog too, so watch out for more awesome artists to come!

I hope you all have a great weekend :)

I'll see you next week with some pics from our trip!

Bettie Bangs and Begonias

Hello Readers! I have new Bettie Page bangs!! :D I felt like I needed a hair change, and I've been wanting these bangs for a while, so I just went for it! I hope you've had as lovely a weekend as I did. I was feeling a little under the weather on Friday, but after roughly 16 hours of sleep, by Saturday I felt great! My Yeti took me on a chick flick and dinner date. We saw Bridesmaids (hilarious), got cupcakes and went to Mimi's Cafe, my favorite lunch spot, and later, went shopping at the World Market and spent way too much :P Overall it was such a warm, fun day.

That night, we got into a conversation about how much we've changed since we've been together, now favoring netflix and take out rather than being out on the town. We used to stay up all night and meet people and race and laugh and drink too much caffeine and just generally act our age. In order to get things back on track, me and Yeti took a spur of the moment trip up to a little secluded mountain spot and had a car sleepover with the seats folded down and sun (star) roof open. We got a chance to talk and laugh and reconnect without the distraction of technology and friends and work. We decided to make some big changes, scaling way back on our daily overdose of technology, and becoming more outgoing as a couple. It is so so easy to fall into comfortable day to day routines, and before you know it, become a lame dulled down  version of yourself. We've decided to change that. (It shouldn't affect my blogging too much, but who am I kidding, I have 5 followers :P)

 Also, I'm starting a book club! The members can meet either online, or in person, so just let me know if you're interested, my email is listed under the contact tab :)

Here is a sneak peak of some new paintings I'm working on!:

They're based off the game Runescape, where Yeti bought us both these beast fox masks. (If you ever doubted our nerdiness, you can stop now :P) I'll be posting some literary excerpts that I've been collecting soon, probably tomorrow or the day after. In the mean time, I hope your days and nights are lovely <3

Quieting the unrequited.

This past week, I started maintaining my Daily Booth account again, in an effort to get to know people more. That sounds a little sad when read aloud lol, but with classes being out, and my old friends spread across the country now, the only people I really interact with anymore are my immediate family and co workers. As wonderful as they all are, I get a little antsy mentally and I love to talk to new people and get a different view of things. I got into a conversation with a young girl about liking a boy who doesn't like you back and, seeing as (before my wonderful relationship now) I've had experience in that area, I tried to give her some advice. I know a few people who would do good to hear this as well, so I thought I'd post what was said, and maybe my old heart ache can be put to good use finally.

The conversation will be interspersed with some quote images I found this week, and adore. All found here.

Girl:

I'm in love with someone who doesn't love me back. This feels good. FML.

Me:

I've been there! I'm sorry, I know it's rough. What made everything better for me, was instead of obsessing over every little comment and conversation and look exchanged, I took a deep breath, reminded myself I was desirable and had a life outside of him, and then I moved towns haha. Found a boy who loved me from a distance for years, and now we're married :) life gets better, great even. Good luck!

Girl: You're inspirational. I'm so happy for you - just saw your wedding photos, you and your husband look absolutely gorgeous! It's so hard cause I've been here before, I don't want to go through the same pain as I did first time around.

Me: Aw that's so sweet of you! :)) Honestly, I went though some crazy heartbreak before now, and it never gets easier. Please please save yourself the pain, and know when to get out. If he's with someone else or just a bad guy in general, try to realize it before it's too late and your heart gets muddy and tired and hurt again, okay? :) Because you never know, your future husband may be admiring you from a distance <3

Girl: So what do you suggest I set my focus on?

Me: What helped me a ton was to focus on making myself better. Whatever makes you feel like a beast, tattoos or writing or making things with your hands. Something that sets you apart from the crowd and makes you feel good and worthy. Worshipping God. Charity work or something easy, like learning. Make yourself feel utterly desirable. I feel like the biggest problem with loving a boy who is not yours, is an issue of confidence. Why doesn't he like me, or why is he with her instead of me, or why is he such a player and won't just date me, etc. Remind yourself how desirable you are, and the confidence will come, along with the clarity to see that you deserve someone to chase you. You deserve someone who would do anything just to hold your hand, not kiss you in the dark and deny it in the light. Does that all make sense?

Girl: Yes it does. Wow you're actually so great to talk to about these things. You know all the right things to say to boost someone's self esteem. Thank you so much x

Me: Great :) Thank you. I didn't listen to a single person who tried to give me any advice and I wound up really hurt. I also ended up much stronger though, strength I wouldn't give back for the world. So it's your choice. I hope you have a lovely day :)

A few days later, that same girl posted a new picture, this one smiling, and said this:

"Thanks to Grace, I am feeling much better about the situation. I've decided to put my focus elsewhere and try to move on with things. Sh*t happens, you just have to deal with it and move on. <3"

Me: You're gonna do wonderful.

<3

(P.S. Almost 2000 blog views today! Ahhh :D Thank you everyone for the views! Keep spreading the word and maybe someday we'll have a big grown-up blog with giveaways and sponsorships and everything! :P)



Fever Kisses

This has been a lovely gray Sunday. Despite the rain, and the gloom, my heart is warm and full :)

I got to spend, not one, but TWO movie date nights with my Yeti already.

(By the way, Thor is great, Priest is gory, but great.)

I also got a shopping/movie/pizza day with my sweet sister in law :)

I don't have much to blog about, so I'll just leave you with some writing I've done recently and some outfit pics:

Basically everything above was from target. Target cowl, dress, cardigan, necklace, tights. Antic Shoes.

My Papa, he swore he could track daddy long legs by their scent. "Just like vinegar." He'd say. Daddy long legs are the most poisonous spiders on the whole Earth, but they were made without fangs to inject it. I can see it in his eyes sometimes. Like when I pierced my belly button with a sewing needle or stayed out too late with a boy. I saw the most poisonous venom on Earth behind his eyelashes but he just shook his head and walked away, perfuming the air with disappointment, and the slight scent of vinegar.

She kissed his fever on the throat- the mouth, hips, the tympanic membrane. She kissed his fever into the bright orange light of early morning. She kissed in slow, small circles, like chain links, with the fresh wet cold of night grass. She left out the window in an afternoon storm.

Thank you for reading, feel free to comment and follow. Have a great night :)

Arteries and Veins

Hello readers! I have to, again, apologize for my absence :(. Last week I came down with what I thought was a pretty wretched cold but ended up being strep throat. Then, on top of that, I got a spider bite on (of all the lovely places) my cheek! It was ridiculously painful and my cheek was swollen and super gnar looking. In any case, I'm almost all the way better and my poor cheek is on it's way to healing. I've been having some strange luck lately heh. So, I wanted to stop in and say hello :) I hope you had a lovely week. Despite being pretty beat physically, I managed to get the Yeti and the Vamp themed Matryoshka doll finished!! :D

Front and back :)

The first two are Yeti and the Vamp of course, the second two are Growlithe and Celebi (pokemon who I even referenced in my wedding vows :D) and a flower and bee. After just a few weeks of dating, Calvin started calling me his Mountain Flower, and I'd call him my honey bee so the two tiniest dolls were just a given!

Tehehe, yeti tushy! :D

I'm not actually totally sure about how we became Growlithe and Celebi, except that when I get excited I make a Celebi-ish noise. In any case, "You're the Growlithe to my Celebi." made it's way into my wedding vows, and subsequently, into this matroyoshka! I'm actually pleased as punch with how the whole thing turned out!
Lately I've been seeing some Etsy posts featuring hearts or other shapes cut out of antique maps and framed, and since our room is mapily (new word) themed, I thought I'd do my own cheapo version :)

I just used a huge paper map of Colorado, folded in half and cut like 1st grade :) I liked how it looked against the original cardboard back, so I just glued and wa-lah! Discount style. I love how the roadways and interstates kind of look like arteries or veins along the heart, and when it comes down to it, I think where we're from and where we're going is just as much a part of us as our veins. The portion that I cut out even has our home town on it! As well as a stop called, "Last Chance" *shudder* heh, I wonder how bad a place would have to be to get that name.

While we're on the subject of things creative, I thought I'd also post the picture I made Calvin last week:

Matryoshka Doll themed, of course! :))

I make Calvin pictures for no reason in particular, I just love him, buuuut our 5-Months-of-Being-Married-aversary is coming up this 14th! :)) Even though it was a little early, Calvin took me to Build-A-Bear to celebrate tonight! :D

Or "Build-a-Marital-Wolf" in this case

I know its pretty immature, but I had never been before and ever since I was a kid those adorable puppies and bears and other assorted animals with their big cute eyes were just calling to me! If you don't have a Build-a-Bear where you're from, its a wonderful place where you pick out, stuff, and dress up a little pet to adopt! Its actually all super cute, you even put a little silk heart inside and name it and everything :P I just love our wolves, too cute!

I'm pretty sure I got my sickness from ITZ : Family, Food, Fun! (and near death inducing child-borne germs.) We went last weekend to celebrate Calvins twin brother's 7th birthdays :)

They are just crazy adorable.

My sister-in-law and I made this cake for the occasion. If you can't tell, its a creepy crawly dirt and grass themed cake, and they loved it! It was actually pretty delicious, I guess watching every episode of cake boss was good for something! :D

I apologize for the huge gap between posts, then huge rambling posts when they do come! I'm still new at this, and if you have any blogging tips or comments in general, feel free to leave them here or email me from the link at my contact page. Have a great night everyone, and thank you again for reading! :)

A Great Need

I just wanted to post a quick update and a little bit of writing for you on this cloudy grey Monday. The Yeti and I have been doing well. Time spent with family and friends and of course, the deepest companionship of all- our God, have been keeping us in high spirits. Honestly though, ones of my most favorite and comforting things of all is just resting and relaxing in my big Yeti's arms! He's everything I've ever wanted, all rolled up in one handsome package. :) Or as my Grandma called him, a tall glass of water, tehe.

And oh boy, was she right!

I wanted to post a little piece of writing I did, in honor of him:

And the curve of your collar bone makes me ache for things I've forgotten, like my Grandma's willow tree and all of the flowers that have died in vases right in front of me and windy home videos with no sound. It makes me remember why I ever held your hand or wrote your story into mine, thoughtfully and completely, like a bright stained tapestry made with tired hands and sold out of a trunk at the grand canyon. After my Grandpa died, fuzzy and dry and repenting, my Grandma had a man come cut that weeping willow down to just the stump, because she was tired of mourning.

----------------------

Also, I found just the most gorgeous picture of a nautical sailor Matroyshka doll that I just love and NEED as a tattoo. I've inquired with the artist to see if I have permission to use it as a tattoo design, but have heard no response yet, fingers crossed!

It was found here: Sacred Stitches.

I've always loved those little nesting dolls and recently, me and my adorable sister-in-law started painting our own sets of them from Hobby Lobby. Mine is all Yeti and the Vamp themed (of course :P) and I'll be sure to post pics as soon as I'm done!

Thank you (to Neptune and back) for reading, I hope you enjoyed your time here. Feel free to comment and follow, and have a great Monday :)

I'll leave you with this gorgeous poem by Hafiz:

Out
Of a great need
We are all holding hands
And climbing.
Not loving is a letting go.Listen,
The terrain around here
Is
Far too
Dangerous
For
That.

 ♥