Return To Fudge Mountain

Early Christmas Eve, Missy and I ran around town buying last minute Christmas gifts. We stopped at a local roadside attraction, a little shack on a busy stretch of road that sold fudge. The locals affectionately call the lady who runs this little shack the FUDGE LADY. To my surprise, Missy had never ever stopped at the shack to buy fudge, so I made sure that we stopped there on the way back to her family's house. The Fudge Lady was nice enough to let Missy pose for pictures inside of her shack:





Back at the house, Missy baked a roll cake that would form the base of her BUCHE DE NOEL. She frosted the log and put a few decorations on it as a test, using the BAKE IT PRETTY kit she bought at THE BIG CRAFTY in Asheville, NC a couple of weeks ago:















We went to dinner at Greg and Christina's house where Missy put the finishing touches on the buche de noel...





















Missy's dad, John, was pleasantly surprised by the Visor-ganizer that Greg got him...THE ONION (God bless 'em) makes these gift boxes disguised as really silly "as seen on T.V." products. Much to John's relief, there was really a shiny new iPod wrapped inside...

Merry Christmas Eve!

(me, high-fiving Santa, somewhere on the road to PA, winter 2006)

Hey! Just wanted to wish a very MERRY CHRISTMAS to all our friends and family wherever you may be. We're hoping that your holidays will be special, and if you're traveling, we hope your journeys will be safe. At the last minute, Missy and I decided to drive up to Pennsylvania again, to attend a party that her brother Greg is having today, on Christmas Eve. We say "last minute" because we weren't sure if the weather was going to be good or not. For some reason, all the crazy winter weather that's been hitting everyone from New England to the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, somehow avoided to hit Western PA. According to the reports, yesterday was set to be a beautiful sunny day throughout some key parts (namely, Pittsburgh PA, duh, and Beckley WV, where there is a mountainous pass that we head up and over) and we took advantage of that window of opportunity. We actually saw far less snow and ice than we did last month when we drove up for Thanksgiving. We made it here in record time, in less than 12 hours...

Anyways, more on our adventures later. Until then, have fun and be merry! We love you all!

Weekend Wind-Down #36 - Since Wednesday Edition

So, last weekend was a pretty crazy one for my family, who are back home in Riverside, California (hi Fam!). A week ago, last Saturday, my mom took a misstep in our front yard, which is being re-paved, and she fell face-first, hitting her head on the brick border framing parts of a garden. She got a pretty big gash on her forehead and both her eyes swelled up as if someone punched her in the face. They rushed her to the hospital to get treatment for her injuries, and thankfully, she's OK. I got to talk to her the day after her accident and except for being sore all-over and having a swollen face, she swore she was fine. Anyways, later that same day, my little niece, Julia, had a dance recital. After the performance, she fell in the parking lot on the way back to the car, and hurt her finger really bad. So once again, my family rushed to the hospital. Turns out she sprained her little pinky pretty badly (that's her and her injured finger above) and ended up having to wear a splint.

Then, the following day, last Sunday, my sister Belinda (who is Julia's mom and totally preggers) was getting ready for the baby shower family and friends were throwing for her. A couple of hours before the party, her water broke, and once again, my family rushed back to the hospital. MY POOR FAMILY! The hospital staff must've got tired seeing them there...

Well, LILLIAN NOELLE McDONALD is a week old today! Here's a photo of Shawn, my brother-in-law, Belinda, and my new baby niece, LILY, shortly after the stork dropped her off, TWO WEEKS EARLY...we think that the stress of the two accidents, plus the stress of getting ready for the baby shower hastened the baby's arrival:



FAVORITE MOMENT SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - Getting an email from a girl in Sweden who is getting a tattoo of one of my drawings!
RAOUL - The moment we finished cleaning the house this afternoon!

WORST MOMENT SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - Having to re-make gifts on Saturday that I messed up on Friday.
RAOUL - Dropping the ball on the Flicker Holiday Craft Sale.

FUNNIEST MOMENT SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - Mom saying Joe was playing with his "PCP" instead of his new "PSP".
RAOUL - The McGruber skit on SNL with the ping pong ball...you know the one.

WORD OR PHRASE SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - "Holla!"
RAOUL - "I'm having a banana - it's nature's cookie"

FAVORITE MEAL SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - Two samosas and the split-pea dal at The Grit.
RAOUL - The veggie chili dog platter at The Grit.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE XMAS GIFT YOU GOT AS A CHILD?
MISSY - Gumball machine.
RAOUL - ColecoVision!

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK SINCE WEDNESDAY?
MISSY - Christmas Music at work, Laura Marling.
RAOUL - Wolf Parade, New Order, LCD Soundsystem.

Happy Holidays!

Ho ho ho! Happy holidays! I did some decorating at home just in time for Christmas! Check it out. Here is our mantle. My mom made the Santa in the center from a bleach bottle. How crafty!

As you can see, I collect vintage Christmas decorations. I mostly have elves in my collection, but I do have some angels and Santas. Some were Raoul's that he mailed to me before he even lived in Athens! Can you imagine? Some of the elves I bought at a shoe shop that was going out of business in my hometown. They are probably from the 1950's, complete with color fading from the sun! I still love them, though.


Here is a Santa my mom made me for Christmas one year. He has a little pouch and you can fill it with candy. She also made me the little snowman, too - see if you can spot him. He has cinnamon sticks as arms and pepper corns for a face! I love those, too.




Of course we have a tree! We have a tiny fiber optic one that we got at the local garden center, Cofer's. I especially enjoy this one cos it has the cut out Merry Christmas that changes colors when the color wheel inside spins. Raoul said this tree was good cos Nilla would probably tear up anything that was bigger. He also said she would tear up a real tree! Maybe some other time we can get a real one, but for now I really like our tiny tree!

Last-Minute Shopping!

Hey Y'all! If you're in need of some last-minute gift items and you're looking for something unique and handmade, then have no fear - the FLICKER HOLIDAY CRAFTS SALE is here! Missy and I won't be participating (we basically dropped the ball on this one) but many of our friends will, and no doubt, we'll probably stop in to do some last minute shopping ourselves. Instead of dealing with all the traffic at the malls and big box stores, c'mon downtown and getcha some locally-made handcrafted stocking stuffers and presents. Buy local and support our community of crafters, artisans, and artists! The craft sale is being hosted by the FLICKER THEATRE & BAR and was organized by HANDCRAFTED INDUSTRIES. It runs TODAY and today only, from 11am to 5pm...and if you stick around a little while longer, I do believe that there will be a special performance by VIC CHESNUTT and friends, in the intimate theatre portion of the Flicker. Crafts, beer, and good music....what more could you ask for?

Nilla Thirty-Six

My niece, JULIA, enjoying some lazy time with NILLA, summer 2007.

Weekend Wind-Down #35 - Hump Day Edition

(Missy working on her comic strip while waiting for Sunday Brunch at The Grit)

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Seeing my friends at Hand.Craft.It!
RAOUL - Lillian Noelle McDonald - I'm an uncle again!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Not having enough time to finish everything I want to.
RAOUL - Running out of money for Christmas shopping!

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - The special surprise present I drew for a custom order.
RAOUL - My sister Belinda having her baby two weeks early - a couple of hours before her BABY SHOWER!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - "Santa on the bicycle"
RAOUL - *yawn*

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - The french bread pizzas I made.
RAOUL - Dinner at La Parilla.

TWO THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Get gifts ready and mail out orders.
RAOUL - Wrap presents and send presents.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH?
MISSY - Finding a good pair of boots.
RAOUL - Getting out of the lazy funk I've been in the past couple of months.

WORST THING TO PUT IN A CHRISTMAS STOCKING?
MISSY - Underwear.
RAOUL - A severed foot.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - April March, Saint Etienne, Siouxie Sioux, Mirah, Mt. Eerie, Indie Radio Podcast.
RAOUL - Lavender Diamond, Velvet Underground, Beck, Built To Spill, April March, Saint Etienne, LCD Soundsystem, A Familyre Christmas Vol.1, Merge Records 2004 sampler, Radio Hawthorne's rare Motown mix on the Stones Throw podcast.


(billboard outside of Flowerland)

Crafty For Christmas

Saturday was the HAND.CRAFT.IT. holiday sale in Madison. The venue - the MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER - was an old school building and gymnasium, transformed into a museum-slash-performance space and an event hall. The venue and grounds were beautiful and it was perfect weather for a craft sale. In the sculpture garden I spotted this yellow faceted sculpture that kinda reminded me of PAC MAN:









Billy from HANDCRAFTED INDUSTRIES spotted me in the parking lot after we had both moved our cars...he asked me to take pictures of his booth because he had forgotten his camera:







Business at first was slow. I'd say that most of the crowd averaged 40 to 50 years in age and that this explained the slower sales. I don't think they were accustomed to this sort of indie craft fair. The crowd was very "Laura Bennett" - you Project Runway fans know what I mean. Anyways, we wanted "Jeffrey" and what we got was "Laura"...where were all the punk rockers, indie kids, street-savvy urbanites, and art fags we were used to seeing at these craft fairs? As the day progressed, business picked up and in the end, we actually made a good amount of money. Maybe not as much as we're used to making in Atlanta or Athens, but definitely enough to justify doing it again if we get a chance...













The food table was conveniently located near our booth, and they served up tasty grilled cheese sandwiches, chili, and miniature cupcakes all day long. The DJ was also conveniently located near our booth. Unfortunately, one of the speakers was pointed directly at us - earlier in the day, the music was so loud that it probably helped to drive customers away from our booth. Eventually, he turned down the music to a bearable level. The music might've drove me crazy, but he was a really good DJ, the same one that deejayed at the I.C.E. Atlanta show. He gets major props from me because he played Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Fishbone, a rare Visage instrumental, cuts from the "Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambataa and Soulsonic Force, Yellow Magic Orchestra doing a killer version of Archie Bell and the Drell's "Tighten Up" which I had never heard before...HOTT! The funny thing is, the DJ shared the stage with the children's activity tables....one of the tables featured a "make your own jumprope" station, and as kids finished making their jumpropes, they would immediately test them out on stage, causing the records to skip every now and then!









Even Missy found time to visit the jumprope station:

Nilla Thirty-Five

Better late than never...

Hand.Craft.It!

Tomorrow (or today or yesterday, depending on when you are reading this post) is the big HAND.CRAFT.IT. holiday craft sale. It's being held at the MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER in beautiful Madison, Georgia. There's gonna be 60+ vendors there selling all kinds of crafty goodness - everything from jewelry to homemade soaps to plush toys to stationery - you name it! And, there will be three great bands - BOWERBIRDS, HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER, OLA PODRIDA - performing on the same stage where R.E.M. shot their video for "LOSING MY RELIGION", which is also the same stage where OF MONTREAL shot their video for "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse"...wow, how cool is THAT!

The sale starts at 11am and goes on until 7pm, and it's totally FREE! The music portion of Hand.Craft.It goes on until 9pm, I think, and there is a cover charge. So, if you live in the area, come on over to Madison to find unique handmade gifts for those special someones in your life...or come browse and check out the art exhibit that is running in conjunction with the craft and music fair. Don't miss out on what is sure to be a very special event!

Missy and I have been fluttering around getting things ready for the sale. We've been spending time at Kinkos running off more zines to sell at our table:







HYPNOTIC!

I started a new series of limited-edition zines called "NEVER-ENDING 8-HOUR SHIFT", just so I could have something new and different to sell. I'm having a lot of fun putting these together! The first three installments will be available starting tomorrow at the sale, and then maybe Missy will post some to the Shoppe Sugar Cookie sometime next week:

















After Hand.Craft.It. we plan to hurry over to GALLERY RFD in Swainsboro, Georgia. A new exhibition called "MAKING IT" opens that night, and MISSY has a couple of pieces in the show! This exhibition of crafted and handmade objects is curated by Christy and Shannon of I.C.E. ATLANTA. If you happen to be in Swainsboro between now and January 3rd, please stop by Gallery RFD to check out all the great art and craft on display:



Lastly, we also wanted to mention a post on Michelle's blog, A HUCKLEBERRY OVER MY PERSIMMON. She graciously featured a bunch of local Athens artists and their wares...Thanks, Michelle! Have a look HERE.

Have a great weekend!

Tofu Baby Totes Are Here!

Here are some cute Tofu Baby tote bags I had made. My good friend Nick screen printed them for me. He is great! He is fabulous! He is SATISFACTORY! Here I am carrying all these goodies in my tote - and I am hanging out at Borders! Oh yeah! You can have a fab Tofu Baby tote straight from MY WEBSITE or from SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE ETSY! Speaking of Shoppe Sugar Cookie, I broke 1000 sales tonight!! I am soooo happy. We did a pre-celebration with hummingbird cake at the Grit! Hip hip hooray! Thank you all so much!

Page Magazine, Ja!

Back in September I got a message from PAGE MAGAZINE in Germany. They were contacting zine publishers and asked me all about my zines and how I got started doing them. I also mentioned my band, THE FRENCH TOASTS, and that for each live show we perform we make a zine to remember that performance. Well, the zines are made, whether or not we want to remember the performance is another story (uh, haha?). Well, I am pleased to see this write up in print form in the very amazing design magazine, Page! If you are in Germany, please have a look. This means you, Alexander, cos I know you are reading this! Sehr toll!

Meet Ariel!

I have adopted a manatee with my SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE ETSY earnings a few weeks back, and finally, FINALLY, she wrote to me! Raoul and I went to the post office one morning and he told me to look on the bottom of a stack of mail, and lo and behold, there it was! My official papers on my manatee, Ariel! Isn't she fab?


I have learned alot in reading the newsletter and reading material sent with my official adoption papers. Things like Ariel's age - she is only a few years older than me! She is about 2500 pounds, and is the daughter of Betsy, another adoptee at Homosassa Springs! Jimmy Buffet (of Margaritaville fame) helps with the SAVE THE MANATEE program, too. It makes me respect him more than I ever had before. What a wonderful world!

Weekend Wind-Down #34 - Hump Day Edition

Earlier today, Missy and I drove 3 hours up to Asheville, North Carolina to attend THE BIG CRAFTY holiday sale at the ASHEVILLE ART MUSEUM. It was a bit weird being at a big craft sale like that and not actually be a part of it...actually, it was pretty cool because we didn't have to worry about manning a booth and we could look at all the arts and crafts at our leisure. The museum was huge and packed with vendors and shoppers, spread out over two floors. Often times, the crowd was elbow to elbow making it difficult to negotiate the walkways and aisles. Despite that, it was a great atmosphere and there was plenty to see and do.

Here's Missy checking out the YEE-HAW INDUSTRIES booth...I really liked the super-cool election poster they had for sale but the $250 price tag was well out of my budget...







I blew my entire shopping budget on one of these awesome ceramic pieces...can you guess which one? They re-mixed different ceramic pieces together, so a bird body might have a baby's head, or a human body might have a deer head, etc...the effect is kinda creepy and totally cool...very Victorian, if you know what I mean:





We were stoked to discover that the museum gift shop had an ART-O-MAT vending machine!



The DJ (who was also one of the vendors) kept spirits up by spinning vintage christmas songs on vinyl:





We walked around the downtown area as much as we could stand it - it was freezing cold and windy! Missy tried to warm up by touching a giant iron:



We had planned ahead of time on having lunch at the LAUGHING SEED CAFE, the best vegetarian restaurant in Asheville. Missy got the Carribean Empanadas and I got the BBQ Tofu Wraps. We also shared an order of Jalapeno Fries. Good Lord, it was so delicious...







After lunch, we popped into a yarn shop:





We both liked the old school graphics on this pharmacy sign:



There was this cool little coffee shop INSIDE a double-decker bus:



We stopped at the craft sale again before heading home and things were still rockin':





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting to hang out with my family and going to Zenith.
RAOUL - Brunch at Zenith.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The end of our vacation!
RAOUL - The end of our Thanksgiving holiday.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Greg imitating his co-workers.
RAOUL - Definitely Greg crackin' wise.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - "I like a sweet after a salty...or a greasy"
RAOUL - "Why fart and waste it, when you can burp and taste it"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - My curry burrito at Zenith.
RAOUL - Brunch at Zenith.

WHAT'S ON TOP OF YOUR TO DO LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Go Christmas shopping.
RAOUL - Craft craft craft craft craft...

WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE XMAS MOVIE?
MISSY - "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer"
RAOUL - "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Stereo Total, St. Vincent, The Decemberists, Lykke Li, "A Gift For You From Phil Spector", Danielson.
RAOUL - M, Flying Lizards, Silicon Teens, Pet Shop Boys, Human League, New Order, "A Very Special Christmas", "A Gift For You From Phil Spector", Band Aid, Bjorn Again, Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass, Danielson, Takako Minekawa, Ladies Who Lunch, Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, Stereo Total.


(the RUNNY BUNNY ceramic lamb-bunny hybrid I bought at The Big Crafty)

Tissue Pals and More...

Here are some of the Tissue Pals I have been sewing! I made these for some of the holiday craft markets we have been attending. They come in handy and make great little pressies! I know I use a froggie one each day. I love it. I have added a couple to my Etsy, SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE. My shop is also stocked with new button designs and a few Tofu Baby shirts, too. Won't you have a look?

We will also be at the HAND.CRAFT.IT. holiday market and music festival. This takes place on Saturday, December 13 at the Madison Morgan Cultural Center in cute little Madison, Georgia. It should be a very good time! Madison is a cute town and they have a really good chocolate shop and antique shops, too.

Sunday Morning

(the flora and fauna inside Zenith's main dining hall)

Last Sunday marked the final day of the Thanksgiving weekend and we - Missy, her brothers Joe and Greg, Greg's wife Christina, and I - decided to end the holiday with a bang by having brunch at ZENITH, Pittsburgh's premier vegetarian joint:



The main thing to know about Zenith is that it is an "antiques boutique" that happens to double as a "vegetarian restaurant" (fellow Athenians - imagine what would happen if AGORA and THE GRIT joined forces and you get the idea). They boast that everything in their shop is for sale, including all the utensils and furniture in their dining areas. Like the plates you're eating off of? Let the waiter know and he'll wash them and wrap them up for you. Like the chair you're sitting on? Take it home with you after your meal! Because of this (and because the food is bomb-ass delish), the place is always packed with people, waiting to bask in Zenith's many charms. We put our names in with the hostess and proceeded to wile away the 30 minute wait...









We emerged from the various nooks and crannies of the store when they called our party. They led us through the crowded dining rooms to a nice bright spot by the window. We hungrily considered the options on the menu. Missy and I both chose to have the "curry chickpea burrito" as our main dish, and then hit up the breakfast buffet, which consisted of various pastries and salads...





















Walking back to the car we spotted this piece of graffiti on the back of an abandoned pizza shop:



The next day, Missy and I got up early for our long trek back down to Georgia. We bid Missy's parents good bye and then hit the road. A return trip from Pittsburgh isn't complete until we stop at KING'S and pick us up a pack of their famous FROWNIES. A Frownie is basically a brownie with a sad face drawn on it with icing. Legend has it that the Kings's franchise wanted to counter their rival - EAT N PARK - who had been serving up SMILEY FACE COOKIES...thus, the Frownie was born and soon catapulted into Pittsburgh icon status...anyways, the King's restaurant we went into totally smelled like farts and we were glad to quickly get out of there with our pack of Frownies. A six-pack of Frownies is called a PITY PARTY...haha...







Driving through West Virginia we encountered snow. We stopped at BISCUIT WORLD for a proper breakfast, as the snow started to come down. By the time we hit the road again, the weather had gotten much worse:













Thanks to Missy's skillful driving, we managed to make it back to Athens in one piece...yay!

Andy Warhol Looks A Scream

The Saturday after Black Friday, Missy and I met up with her friends Steve and Cara at the ANDY WARHOL MUSEUM. As with the Carnegie, photography was strictly prohibited - but not entirely impossible. Once again, dodging the docents and security guards, I managed to sneak a few snaps:



Some original posters:









A working photobooth under a staircase...we had meant to take some photos before the museum closed, but totally forgot. Oh well...next time:



The main exhibition going on featured RON POPEIL and his company RONCO...it was a celebration of all the "AS SEEN ON T.V." gadgets and inventions the company pumped out during the 60's, 70's, and 80's, an ode to late-nite consumerism. Mixed in with the Ronco stuff were commercial works that Andy Warhol did before he became a superstar:







Another room was done up in LUCIENNE DAY's iconic CALYX fabric pattern:









My favorite room (and I think most everybody's favorite room) in the Andy Warhol Museum is the balloon room, filled with swirling silver foil balloons, the same kind of balloons that used to decorate Warhol's infamous FACTORY:









Afterwards, we took a stroll across the ANDY WARHOL BRIDGE into downtown, to get some dinner:









At the end of the bridge was this sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist, GLENN KAINO. We had read about this sculpture in a recent issue of GIANT ROBOT and were eager to check it out in person. The sculpture looks like a giant TRANSFORMER, with Pittsburgh's many bright yellow steel bridges forming the limbs and other body parts. It was as if the entire city had transformed itself into a might robot:







By the time we got back to the museum parking lot, it was cold and dark. We made our way to this sad little hole-in-the-wall bar called KOPEC'S, to see Missy's friend Jordan perform a brief stand-up comedy routine, before finally calling it a night...

Nilla Thirty-Four

Raoul asked me to post a Nilla Day cos he forgot to last night. I guess with all the Christmas parade excitement and so on, it just slipped his mind! Well, here is one of my favorite pictures of Nilla (and this is a fav of our good friend Eric, too). This photo was taken on her adoption day, which is March 23. This is from her two year adoption anniversary, and just look at the amount of fun she is having! I mean, did you ever see a cat so happy in all your life???

Just contact CUTE OVERLOAD right now, okay???

Isobel's Trip to Pennsylvania

Please meet Isobel Creampuff. she is my Happy Harbor Blythe doll. She had a nice trip to Pennsylvania last week. She even saw some snow. Here she is in the backyard, on the picnic table.


Isobel found out that she really loves the snow. In fact, she loves it so much, she decided to dress as a snow bunny while she played in the melting snow. I am sorry the snow was almost melted by the time we went outside to play, Isobel!


We had a good time anyway! There was not enough snow to make a snowman or throw snowballs. Too bad, but there is always Christmas!

Life On Mars, Part Three

The dinosaur exhibit gave way to the Carnegie Museum's collection of avian taxidermy...a logical progression since dinosaurs eventually evolved into birds...





Missy found the PORTAL to the RIPE VESSEL (this will only make sense if you've seen the movie "BEING JOHN MALKOVICH")...



One really morbid display case had examples of cartoon bird characters coupled together with their real life counterparts, like TOUCAN SAM and TWEETY BIRD. We thought it was odd the way they displayed the dead birds...imagine how many kids were traumatized by this display...





From there, we made our way to the EGYPTIAN wing of the museum...here, a hapless pharaoh presents the falcon-like god HORUS with the gift of snowballs:







Inspiration for the next TOFU BABY comic:



This looked like the entrance to PRINCE's newest club:



No joke...Missy really liked the MUMMIFIED CAT...





We were magically transported from Egypt to the snowy climes of THE ARCTIC:







This could easily double as a display in OLD NAVY or THE GAP:





Eskimos segued into a celebration of Native American history...Missy experiences what it's like to be inside an "authentic" PUEBLO...



...and then an "authentic" canoe...







A display case with "authentic" INDIAN BINGO paraphernalia:



After 3+ hours wandering around the Carnegie Museum, we felt that we had our fill of culture and that it was time to go fill our bellies with food...



Joe contemplates the fountain:



An example of Pittsburgh-style street art:



We decided to hit up PRIMANTI'S so that I might experience a world-famous Primanti's sandwich...Missy searched the menu for vegetarian options:



We were all really hungry and the service was unbelievably slow...we passed the time by shooting our submission for an APPLEBEE'S commercial that uses footage shot by actual Applebee's regulars:





I finally got my Primanti's sandwich...what makes a Primanti's sandwich a PRIMANTI'S SANDWICH is the fact that they stuff coleslaw and french fries into the sandwich. Legend has it that they started doing this so that the workers could eat an entire meal with one hand. But according to a poster I read in the restaurant, the real reason they started piling the coleslaw and fries into the sandwich was because they simply didn't have enough plates for everything they served. Anyways, I got the three cheese Primanti's sandwich and it was delicious...even if it was a bit difficult to eat. I crossed off "eating a Primanti's sandwich" from my bucket list - Pittsburgh edition...

Life On Mars, Part Two

After making our way back downstairs, we checked out the BARRY McGEE exhibit which was situated in this long hallway:

















Back in the lobby, we stopped at what we called the "wishing wall", a piece by Brazilian artist RIVANE NEUENSCHWANDER called "I Wish Your Wish"...the piece consisted of thousands of colored ribbons with various wishes imprinted on them. Viewers are encouraged to take a wish from the wall:











The wish I selected said "I wish I could get up on time" (sadly, this is true):



Missy took two wishes - "I wish everyone in the world would be happy and own unicorns" and "I wish I could have a live dinosaur":



As we made our way into the natural history museum, Missy stopped to pose with a dead dinosaur:



There was a huge exhibit of the Carnegie's vast collection of gems and crystals:









We moved into the jurassic section of the the museum. Missy stopped to pet a baby dinosaur:

Craftland Is Almost Here!

If you live in the Providence, Rhode Island area, please have a peek at CRAFTLAND! There are so many amazing artists participating there, including, ahem, ME! It is sure to be a fantastic shopping experience. What a great way to shop handmade!

Life On Mars, Part One

On the friday after Thanksgiving - the so-called "Black Friday" - we all decided to go to the CARNEGIE MUSEUM to see the 2008 CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL art exhibition, titled "LIFE ON MARS". Me, Missy, Missy's brother Joe, and Missy's parents, John and Rita, piled into a car and headed out to meet Missy's other brother, Greg, and his wife Christina at their new house. On the way there, we saw this Obama bumper sticker on the back of this van. You know you're no longer in the South when you see Obama bumper stickers written in HEBREW:





The stairs up to the house were a bit icy:





Before splitting everyone up into two cars, we marveled at all the beautiful stained glass windows in the house:









Greg had to fill-up at a gas station before we could head into the city...











I was hoping that everyone would be too busy shopping to even think about going to a museum, but I was wrong...the Carnegie was jam packed! In a way, it was good because the large crowds made it possible for me to sneak a photo every now and then while the docents and security guards were busy minding over other people:





We slowly made our way up to the main portion of the exhibition:



First up was some artwork by MARK BRADFORD:





A painting by Mexican artist Daniel Guzman:



Swiss artist THOMAS HIRSCHHORN installed this humungous multi-roomed man-made cavern, built out of wood and covered entirely in brown packing tape. The inside was decorated like a college dude's dorm room, replete with cheesy posters, shelves full of college textbooks, and soda and beer cans strewn throughout the cave floor. The installation was called "Cavemanman":



I wasn't able to take any good photos in the cave, and of course, the few I did manage to take don't really give you the immense sense of scale involved in the piece:



An installation by MIKE KELLEY, depicting various models of Superman's home city of Kandor, on the planet Krypton:



This painting was part of a different exhibition running concurrently with the Life On Mars one...I'm sorry that I don't know who the artist is:



I was really eager to see works by Scottish artist DAVID SHRIGLEY. We found one little room showcasing some of his work. I love the absurdity and dark humor:





In an adjacent room were all these miniature dollhouse scenes that Missy's mom enjoyed very much:



Another David Shrigley piece hanging at the end of a hallway:



A video installation by Thai artist APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL:



We crossed over into some rooms that displayed some of the Carnegie's permanent collection:













We made our way back down to the lobby area where more parts of the "Life On Mars" exhibit were presented: