Once again as a result of my moving home I must come up with a solution to a new problem- an overflowing cabinet of spices. My mom had a ton of spices and of course so did I and now it is a crazy amount of spices and they insist on attacking me every time I try to get anything else out of the cupboard. For inspiration I am looking at good ol' flickr:

I have a penchant for retro things. I have sort of always had it but I am finally embracing it full on and letting it become more and more of who I am on an everyday basis. I grew up watching black and white films, I love all things to do with the '50s, I have a slightly odd obsession with vintage pin-ups and I am now moving towards a more retro inspired wardrobe.

To get my retro fix I like browsing the Rockabilly flickr group and contemplating how I can make my hair do that. For help with that I have Lauren Rennell's fabulous book "Vintage Hairstyling". If you are going for the retro look at all you NEED this book! I also read her great blog. I lust after outfits here and here. I have recently started hanging out online at Sew Retro which inspired me to head to the thrift store to get some old sewing patterns.

My best friend is getting married this weekend! I am so excited I can not stand it. I have never even been in a wedding before! Crazy right? Well I was just a little to old to snag a flower girl spot (damn younger sister nabbed with that head of curls she had) and I have yet to be close enough to anyone getting married to be a bridesmaid. Now I am MOH! Yesssss! Not that I know what I am doing but I am still excited and I have been reading tons of blogs and basically I really just want to plan my own wedding. (I seem to be missing something though... oh right a fiance...you dont really NEED that though do you?)

As excited as I am for my friend's wedding mine would be full of vintage fabulousness like this picture here. Isn't it great? I really wish we could have these bow-hat things. I am kind of in love with them. I wonder what the bouquets are made of? Looks like ribbon and....?

Now I just have to finish writing my toast and pray that the dress still fits and that everything goes smoothly.

Well it seems that posting gods are back on my side...for now.

New items in the shop today with a few new colors.

I love the zoo. Especially the Minnesota Zoo because I have such a long and storied history with it! I mean every field trip to the zoo was always an adventure but 6th grade I got to go on the best trip ever! For the people that signed up we got to go to the zoo AFTER CLOSING TIME and hang out with some of the zoo peeps. I remember making t-shirts with paint and animal shaped sponges. Mine featured a dolphin and some seaweed. Then we got to SLEEP OVER at the zoo. How cool is that? The boys got to sleep down by the tropical aquarium and the girls got to sleep right in front of the dolphin tank! Sure the ground was pretty hard and most people were too excited to sleep but I still remember it being a really magical night. At 3 or 4 am they turned on the speakers that picked up the dolphin sounds so we could hear them chatting it up. Damn that was cool. I will never forget it.

So before the summer got too crazy busy on all of us we decided to go to the zoo. Well only 2 of us ended up going but it was still really really fun and I am glad we went! We grabbed sandwiches on the way up and I packed us zoo themed snack packs. (Including old school juice box, zebra cakes, animal crackers, frosted animal crackers, and goldfish- are you sensing my theme here?). It was a gorgeous day to be out and about and although the place was swarming with kids and parents it was more adorable than annoying (which surprised the heck out of me!).

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day, you can see more over at the flickr.

Gala Darling has started another fun tradition over on her blog- namely 'Curious Tuesday' in which she asks a few random questions that give quite the insight into someones life. Reading through the comments I feel like I have a sense of what these people are like. I decided to join the fun...

Curious Tuesday 002
1. What are you most excited for RIGHT NOW?

The 'Murder by Death' concert next Wednesday in Minneapolis! It is going to be insane.

2. Who is your style icon? What inspires your look?

I am really trying to figure out my look- but people who inspire me include Dita Von Teese, Auntie Mame, old movie stars, etc.

3. If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you invite?

Vincent Price, Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney. Dinner would probably have to be in a haunted mansion.

4. What did you dress up as for your first Halloween?

I love Halloween so much! The first Halloween I remember dressing up for my dad was the Cat in the Hat and I was 'Thing One' and 'Thing Two'. I was an only child at that point and so they just attached a circle that said 'Thing Two' to the back of my costume. It was pretty adorable.

5. What are you improving?

Stress management. I have a stressful job and I have trouble letting go of little things that annoy me- but I am trying!

So three weeks ago I finally had the guts to get my new tattoo. This is the tattoo I have been waiting for my whole life and I feel like it has brought me full circle. But let me back up a bit...

I started playing violin in 5th grade. They literally sat us down in a room, put a list of instruments in front of us and told us to choose. I picked the violin for one simple reason- Sherlock Holmes played the violin- and since he was my favorite literary character at the time I thought that was good enough choice as any.

In middle school my dad introduced me to Apocalyptica. They were cello players who played metal music. I fell in love. They have been my favorite band ever since. I own all their Cd's (the first two stolen from my dad's collection) and I have seen them live TWICE!!! The first time I saw them live I was a sophomore in college and it was one of the best nights of my life.

On our first day in Dublin we decided to head on over to the Guinness Storehouse. I highly recommend this to anyone visiting Dublin for the first time because it is 1. Fairly easy to find 2. Really fun in a nerdy museum-about-beer way and 3. At the end of your tour you get to have a pint on top of the world!

My favorite part of the Guinness Storehouse was the section on advertising. They had some fun rugby themed adverts as well as whole glass cases filled with different Guinness bottles, glasses, and every sort of trinket you could imagine...including a rather odd book that looked like it was a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Upon further inspection of this propped open book it WAS Alice in Wonderland with (you guessed it) Guinness! So strange and so unexpected this was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.

We have the Walrus, Mad Hatter, March Hare and Door Mouse all enjoying a pint on one page (with little pints running around with the oysters) and on the other page the White Knight is having a pint while talking with Alice.

"For Guinness is as Guinness does" I love it! After some research (and by research I mean a 5 minute google search) I have not found out too much information on this mysterious little book. It does look as though there were postcards of Alice in Wonderland+Guinness and also magazine ads. Does anyone out there know anything more about this?

You have to check out Pearls and Swine. I just stumbled upon them in the flickr Craft pool and I am totally digging these super sweet fascinators they have going on. I like that they have some that are really 'something' and not just pretty little hat like things (although i loves me some pretty little hat like things). This one of a sacred heart is just too cool for words. I would never have an occasion to wear it but I still want it- and in my book that means it is pretty darn cool.

FiberArtsy has created this fantastic work of stitchery! The image is from Tim Burton's book 'The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy'. I have always thought that his sketches would translate well to stitches and here is the living proof. And isn't it great that she is the pincushion queen? I mean how much more stitcherific can you get than that? I also think the pincushion queen would make a really cool/creepy Halloween costume. Part voodoo doll/part crafty-creepy this may have to be added to my list for possible costumes this year.

Too early to make a list of Halloween costumes you say? HA. Never too early for Halloween costumes.

This amazing necklace is from Opulent Oddities. Her collections are simply breathtaking! Check our her flickr and her etsy shop for lots of jewelry goodness.

The title 'Inventors Wife' just seems so perfect for this. For Christmas I was lucky enough to get a collection of H.G. Wells novels and I just finished reading 'The Time Machine'. I can just imagine the Time Traveler's wife (if he had one) wearing this necklace.

Isn't this sweater clip perfection? The mini-tie, the blazer, the whole look is really working for me. I love the look of a tie but I don't like the way they look on me- since I have a larger chest. This little mini tie would give just the right amount of 'business' to any outfit!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Have a safe and happy holiday.

Christmas time is here! We 'decorated' our apartment this weekend and it looks like a bunch of drunken elves had a decorating party. It looks a lot like one of those Christmas stores that looks like it should be a log cabin. All sorts of teddy bears and stuff. Not really my style at all- but my roommate brought all of his decorations for Christmas since I went a little overboard with Halloween. So now I am knee deep in quilted teddy bear-with-santa-hat place mats. Sigh. At least it is Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Stuck at work right now so before I get to go home and bake my pie I figured I should take some time out to make a list of what I am thankful for. So in no particular order:

-My job: I am not in love with it and I complain about it a LOT but it is a job that pays the bills until I can figure out what I want to be when I am a 'grown up'. And not to sound preachy but in this economic climate when so many people are struggling to find work and make ends meet I am going to try to be a little more positive that I even have a job.

-Friends: The farther we get from college I fear the farther we will grow apart but so far those friends that are the backbone of my existence have remained close- in spirit if nothing else. I really appreciate it when we all take time out of our busy lives to make sure we get together and spend time with each other. I have also been blessed to be a part of my friends lives as they are approaching huge milestones in their lives. I thank you for including me and I look forward to this upcoming year!!!

-flickr: Maybe a weird option but this is my first year on there and it has helped me connect with so many other cool and creative people. I feel like I finally have people who 'get me' with all my crafty weirdness. In this category I would also like to add sites like blogger and etsy - online communities that have really inspired me to do more.

-PUSHING DAISIES: I finally discovered this gem of a show. I bought both seasons on DVD and have already watched them multiple times. I love everything about the show and I am sad it is no more. But I am keeping the love alive tonight as I attempt to make a pear pie with gruyere baked into the crust!! (pictures to come if it turns out!)

-My roomate: Neither of us wanted to keep living at home and neither of us could afford to move out on our own. I love living with him and sharing this wonderful experimentation in being a grown up. (At what point does it stop becoming an experiment and just starts being my life? Hmm.)

-THANKSGIVING!!!: As a holiday all by itself I am not the biggest fan...but for me it is the OFFICIAL kick off of the Christmas season and oh man I do loves me some Christmas. Christmas music for a solid month! YES!!! Christmas movies every weekend!! YESS!!!! Holiday baking!!! SO EXCITED!

ok. I am calm. And also thankful. I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you all have lots to be thankful for as well.