Nilla Seventy-One

Nilla sits., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I took these great photos of Nilla last night. One of Nilla's many talents is her ability to sit very much like a person. This makes her look more blob-ish than she really is, too.


As you can see, she got really relaxed while I took some pictures of her!




Snowdrop cat!

The Decemberists, Laura Veirs & The Hall Of Flames

Saturday night, Missy and I had tickets to go see THE DECEMBERISTS performing with LAURA VEIRS & THE HALL OF FLAMES at the CLASSIC CENTER in downtown Athens. The concert was the same night as the big UGA football game and we knew that the parking and traffic situation was going to suck. Our plan was to park across the street from The Grit, have dinner there, then walk several short blocks to the venue. By the time we were done eating, the light rain turned into a heavy downpour, with the wind blowing raindrops sideways. On the way there, we delighted in watching the tailgating football fans dealing with the rain. As we hurried to our destination we passed by the mysterious FUR BUS. Was it all furry inside? We imagined all these soaking wet football fans sitting inside of it, and all this wet fur...



We picked up our tickets at will call and somehow, we were able to get into the Classic Center early. One of the promoters saw us and asked, "How did you guys get in?" We told him that we just came in through one of the doors, which I guess was supposed to be locked. Instead of kicking us out back in the rain, he actually let us stay inside to dry off, while all our fellow concert goers stood outside looking in on us. We were soaked up to our knees from our walk. Missy kicked off her Fluevogs in an effort to dry off her socks a bit...



We saw this cool painting over by the bathrooms...



Eventually, they started letting people into the concert hall. We made our way down to the orchestra pit and marveled at how close our seats were to the stage...







Soon enough, Portland, Oregon's LAURA VEIRS and her backing band, THE HALL OF FLAMES, took the stage. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome they were. They had that classic "pacific northwest sound", if you know what I mean (some of you do)...

DEC 6327 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

After Laura Veirs, they started pumping the fog machine, in preparation for THE DECEMBERISTS. They ended up putting on a hell of a show, performing their entire "rock opera", THE HAZARDS OF LOVE, front to back, with no break in between songs...







The Decemberists were joined by BECKY STARK, of the L.A. band LAVENDER DIAMOND, and SHARA WORDEN, of the band MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND. Becky played the part of the protagonist's "angelic wife". Dressed in a white gown, she looked every bit the part...and she looked a bit like PRINCESS LEIA...

DEC 6349 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Shara played the part of "the temptress" or "the devil" and you could tell she relished playing the part. She definitely stole the show with her powerful singing and stage theatrics...

DEC 6350 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

DEC 6358 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Band leader, COLIN MELOY, sported mutton chops, successfully blending in with the local townie hipsters...he told the audience this really convoluted story about how the worse song he ever wrote caused the formation of legendary Athens band, R.E.M...











One of the highlights of the night came when they performed a rousing rendition of HEART's epic "Crazy On You", with Becky and Shara taking on the roles of sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson...it was the 70's cherry on top of a wonderfully theatrical night of prog rock...

DEC 6391 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Weekend Wind-Down #74

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - A Hawk And A Hacksaw with Damon & Naomi at The Melting Point!
RAOUL - The Decemberists were awesome, but I'm going to have to go with A Hawk And A Hacksaw and Damon & Naomi as well.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting stuck in the rain on our walk to the Classic Center to see The Decemberists.
RAOUL - Walking in the rain to the Classic Center last night on our way to see The
Decemberists.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Raoul's freestyle singing at The Decemberists!
RAOUL - Seeing all the football fans dealing with the rain in their own unique ways.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Oreo's last name is Cookie"
RAOUL - "The wanting comes in waves..."

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Left over mac and cheese, steamed carrots, and roasted asparagus.
RAOUL - Big Daddy burger and mashed potatoes at The Grit for dinner last night.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR GROCERY LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Bananas, pineapple juice, fake bacon.
RAOUL - Apples, pickles, bread.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR "NOT TO DO" LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Stay up late, get to work late, forget to feed the pets.
RAOUL - Slack, get up late, spend too much money.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Beirut, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, The Monkees.
RAOUL - Best Coast, Dr. Dog, Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Venice Is Sinking, My Brightest Diamond, Ruby Isle, The Buddy System, Beirut, Black Kids, Watercolor Paintings, Stereo Total, Microphones, Bis, Peechees, Delgados, Comet Gain.

Sketchbook Sunday

raoul balloon, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here is a drawing for Sketchbook Sunday that Raoul made!

Oh And O!

Snake letter O to spell "Plush You", originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I made this letter O to be sent to BLUEBOTTLE GALLERY in Seattle. It is for a sign to spell out "plush you" for this year's PLUSH YOU! show. It looks like it is going to be a fabulous exhibit with lots of great plush artists, so if you are in Seattle, be sure to check it out October 9 and 10 at Schmancy, Nancy, and Fancy.


This is a little detail of the snake's face. I am learning embroidery, so I appliqued the eyes on using a sort of made up blanket stitch when I really meant to make it a split stitch.


My snake O got shipped yesterday! Here he is all curled up and ready for the post office.

In other news, I sent a bunch of new zines to NANCY in Seattle, ATOMIC BOOKS in Baltimore, and BIRD IN THE HAND in Australia! There's also a new shop that I sent to called BENTO in Pennsylvania, it is a cute shop so check it out, too!

Stuff

We got these STUFFERS from the grocery a little while ago and the other night we decided to finally try them. They're like these doughy buns filled with cheese and broccoli, with a light breading on the outside. They kinda look like fuzzy little potatoes. We baked a couple of them, grilled some asparagus, and steamed some little carrots. I made a little BIRD creature sitting in a nest made out of asparagus while Missy turned her stuffer into a TAMAGOTCHI. They taste pretty good...you definitely have to eat them with something else I think because they're kinda rich and you need something to balance it out. If you're a vegetarian, it's something good to have on hand if you need something in a pinch...or if you're feeling too lazy to cook something more involved, or if you're feeling too lazy (or too broke) to go out to eat...

Damon, Naomi, A Hawk, And A Hacksaw

Last night, Missy and I, headed out to THE MELTING POINT to see DAMON & NAOMI and A HAWK AND A HACKSAW. It ended up being what will probably be the best show we will see all year. For starters, Damon & Naomi were two thirds of the influential indie band GALAXIE 500, back in the late 80's/early 90's. They rank as one of my all-time favorite bands and they helped inform the way I write music and play guitar. Anyways, the other member, Dean Wareham, went on to form the band LUNA, who I've seen a million times, and the other two members, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, went on to form Damon & Naomi...duh. Needless to say, I was waaaaaaay excited to see them perform, especially since this was the first time I ever saw them live. They played a lovely, mellow set and closed their show with an awesome rendition of LEONARD COHEN's "Bird On A Wire"...

HAWKHACK 6248 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

After their set, we filled up with some sweet potato fries. Missy was genuinely excited that we could order fries in between bands...



Where Damon & Naomi were launguid and a bit melancholy, A HAWK AND A HACKSAW were frenetic and bombastic, a whirling dervish of gypsy sounds from the Middle East and Eastern Europe...Jeremy Barnes (formally of legendary ELEPHANT 6 band, NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL) and Heather Trost make up the core of the band, playing accordion and violin, respectively...they came fully armed with a tuba player who looked like he hiked down from some Alpine village, a horn player, and a dude that played clarinet and some sort of lute...needless to say, they were incredible and you couldn't help but move in your seat. I half expected Gomez and Fester Addams to jump out and dance the Mamoushka! At one point, Heather played this strange old timey-looking VIOLIN-TRUMPET HYBRID that made these eerie scratchy sounds. You could bow it or you could drag this loop of string across the other strings to make a tone...

HAWKHACK 6253 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

HAWKHACK 6256 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

In true Elephant 6 style, the band marched off the stage while still playing and led the entire audience into the cozy little bar area tucked to the side of the main room. They finished their set with a couple of rousing numbers, sans PA, in true old world style...truly, it was one of those special "you had to be there" kind of moments and I count myself lucky that we were there to witness the whole spectacle in person and to be there in the midst of so much greatness and goodness. The night was an E6 fan's wet dream, with three-fourths of Neutral Milk Hotel standing in the same room, as well as many other members of the Elephant 6 clique in attendence to show their love and support...

HAWKHACK 6270 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

HAWKHACK 6271 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

(OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROLl's Pete Erchick watches intently from his seated position)

HAWKHACK 6274 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

(Missy stands in line behind Scott Spillane - NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, THE GERBILS, etc.- at the merch table. We came away with a tour poster and a Damon & Naomi dvd - a few things on the table that we didn't already own)

Birthday Loot

Pouches Raoul made me for my birthday., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

So my birthday was last week and before i get too busy tonight, I thought I would tell you about some of my awesome birthday loot! First, Raoul sewed me some new POUCHES in two sizes - big and small. The big pouch is perfect for my ipod, lip gloss, and mirror - so I can find them all in one place! The other one is for my pencils, pens, and other assorted drawing supplies. I always need those!


Raoul found some more perfect gifts for me, too. MARTHA'S NEW CRAFT BOOK has some great crafts inside. I can't wait to start folding origami or making silhouettes to decorate the house! He also picked some good cookbooks, just in time for the gift-giving seasons ahead. FIELD GUIDE TO COOKIES and FIELD GUIDE TO CANDYy. They both have some really great recipes in them. Pfeffernusse, anyone?


My family sent me a goodie box for my birthday, too! Inside I found some rice, potatoes (!), a DRESS, and a TOP my mom sewed for me. Fabulous!


Raoul's family also sent me this cute TOTORO mini music box that has acorns! How cute is that?

Hoot, Scoot, And Boogie

Saturday morning, Missy and I were determined to get back to IKEA, despite the sheets of rain and flooded freeways. We were determined to get the matching bookcase we had left behind last weekend, due to the limited space in my car. I don't know if you know this, but once you buy a new piece of furniture - especially a piece of furniture that makes your life easier and more enjoyable - it's kinda hard to stop. We were in love with our new BILLY bookcase and we wanted even more shelves, even more storage space for our newly re-minted CRAFT ROOM. The rain did not stop us, nor throngs of others for that matter, from making the pilgrimage...















We worked up quite an appetite at IKEA...afterwards, we headed out to Poncey-Highland and grabbed a bite to eat at SOUL VEGETARIAN before walking over to YOUNG BLOOD GALLERY, where we ended up buying some original art and prints by DETH P. SUN and PRETTY LITTLE THEIVES. Of course, a visit to Young Blood goes hand-in-hand with a visit to the ATLANTA CUPCAKE FACTORY, where we picked up a six-pack of scrumptiousness to go...









From Poncey-Highland, we headed out to LITTLE FIVE POINTS to do some record shopping at CRIMINAL RECORDS...the record store was full of buzz and excitement when we got there...and then I realized that we had *just* missed YO LA TENGO performing an in-store there. The saddest part is, I KNEW about this performance, but thought that it had already happened on friday. If we didn't spend so much time in Poncey-Highland (which is just around the corner from Little Five) we would've been at the record store right on time. We decided to console ourselves with some retail therapy, and ended up buying a bunch of new music...







We rushed back to Athens so that we could attend the third and last day of the KINDERCORE RECORDS / OWL SCOOTER's "HOOTENANNY" at the fabulous 40 WATT. Owl Scooters (run by Kindercore's head honcho, Ryan Lewis) was making their debut and they were celebrating by raffling off a couple of brand new scooters...we were feeling mighty lucky! We got to the club just in time to catch VENICE IS SINKING. The crowd was pretty decent-sized and we liked our chances. After Venice Is Sinking came THE YOUNG SINCLAIRS, sounding a bit like the Monkees at some parts, and like The Turtles in others...Missy practiced her pinball skills in-between acts...







By the time RUBY ISLE and a newly re-united I AM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER took the stage for a hi-NRG performance, the 40 Watt was completely packed and the odds of us winning a scooter went out the door. We couldn't help but make our way out of the suffocating and increasingly rowdy crowd, and settled with watching San Francisco's STILL FLYIN' from the back, near the merch table. From the stage, Ryan announced the winner of the ultra cute Owl Scooter, and needless to say, it wasn't us. Oh well. I took a photo of Missy posing with the scooter that coulda been and shoulda been ours...

Weekend Wind-Down #73

This weekend, Missy and I went ahead and got another BILLLY bookcase to go along with the one we got last week from IKEA. This time, we bought a couple of glass doors and a glass shelf to go along with it. We're really loving the Billy storage system and all the different accessories and options you can get to customize it. Anyways, the new bookcase makes for a perfect place for Missy to store and display her collection of BLYTHE DOLLS, which she moved from the built-in shelves in our dining room to the craft room...we're still re-arranging books and things and the room is still quite a mess...





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - My birthday!
RAOUL - Your birthday...despite the rain!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Hearing that my grandmother isn't feeling good...
RAOUL - Just missing Yo La Tengo at Criminal Records in Atlanta...boo on my part.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Joey telling me about Uncle Tommy's t-shirt design ideas.
RAOUL - The freak show at Target the other night!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - "Han Sani"
RAOUL - "Sniiiiiiiiiiiiif"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Soul Vegetarian...I like their bakes - not fries, BAKES.
RAOUL - The veggie "pepper steak" at Soul Vegetarian was mmmmmmm good.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Draw my comic, maybe hopefully sew, pack orders.
RAOUL - Get through the mountain of dishes, sew, take care of some school loan forms.

ANIMAL THAT BEST DESCRIBES THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - A duck...because it was so rainy!
RAOUL - An owl...because of the Kindercore Hootenanny.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Watercolor Paintings, Lois...and the same stuff I always listen to!
RAOUL - Cryptacize, Le Tigre, Juniper, Pipas, Bella Vista, Beck, Watercolor Paintings, Stereolab, Unrest, Yo La Tengo, Lavender Diamond, The Queens Of Sheeba, Jacob Smigel, Adrian Orange And Her Band, The Aggrovators, King Tubby, Fol Chen, Prefuse 73, Jeremy Jay, YACHT, Marine Girls, Lootpack, NWA, Lois, School of Seven Bells, Hercules & Love Affair, Pterodactyl Squad's 8-Bit Weezer comp.

Steamy Kitchen!

(photo by Kelly Ruberto)


Awesome! We love it when TOFU BABY shows up in places outside of our little hometown...she was recently mentioned in the "Friday Favorites" section of the STEAMY KITCHEN blog. Click on THIS LINK and then scroll down to number 6 on the list. Thanks to ANNE for giving us a heads up and thanks especially to the Steamy Kitchen! Wuv!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN!

Hey! I just wanted to give a birthday shout out to my nephew, EVAN, who is turning 5 years old today...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN! From us to you, have lots of fun today and eat lots of cake! We love you! (we put a package in the mail for you).

These photos of Evan doing his version of "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" were taken by my dad...and then I stole them for the blog. Hope you don't mind, Dad!

Birthday...

Me and Raoul balancing cupcakes!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

So yesterday was my birthday! I had a pretty nice birthday. It was a little rainy in the morning, but by evening it was pouring! I can't complain too much cos our plants needed the rain, especially my blueberry bushes. I shared cupcakes at work, got some lovely cards, and later Raoul treated me to some yummy food at the Grit. We went shopping after that and returned home. We had one last cupcake "nightcap" and watched Project Runway to finish the night.

I got some mad loot - and thanks to everyone for the cards, well wishes, and pressies! Raoul got me Martha's newest craft book. I hope to try some of her projects, but they are really involved. I did not have some of the supplies on hand, and some of the crafts I have never done before (hello, marbled paper?) but they look like fun. We also liked these "field guide" books, so we have the Field Guide to Cookies and the Field Guide to Candy. I was surprised to see a recipe for mochi in the candy one! Plus these books give a history of the cookie or candy right before the recipe, and it also tells the best time of year to make the sweets, too! Terribly interesting stuff to me cos I love reading cookbooks for fun. My mom sent me a big box earlier in the week. She always is good about sending food - I think there was some rice, crackers, and a box of potatoes (!), along with some cute clothes and a two tops mom helped me sew, oh, and a card! Hooray! Raoul's family sent a lovely card and a Totoro music box, complete with acorns.

What a fabulous birthday!

Happy Birthday To Me!

My birthday cupcakes!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Today is my birthday! As you know, I am exhausted from birthday fun. It was a nice day! It rained all evening - I have not had a rainy birthday in a few years, so it was a welcome change. My friend Paul said it was good luck. More birthday posting tomorrow, when I am less sleepy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISSY!

Hey, today's MISSY'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISSY! I love you with all my heart and hope that you're having fun today - despite all the heavy rain! - Love, Raoul!

Weekend Wind-Down #72

Yesterday morning, we decided to get up early and head out to IKEA to get a new BOOKCASE for our CRAFT ROOM. We didn't have anything in particular in mind - just something cute that looked good with our new paint scheme, doubled our storage space, and would replace a puny white laminate bookcase that followed Missy since her college days. It was definitely time for an upgrade and we were hoping the swedish giant would deliver. We got to IKEA a little after they opened and decided to "power up" with some fresh hot CINNAMON ROLLS and LIGON BERRY JUICE. The cinnamon rolls were so sickly sweet it was like eating pure, unadulterated diabetes. Missy was especially fond of the generic IKEA FOOD typography emblazoned on her drink cup...







We settled on the blonde wood BILLY bookcase...we thought it might go along with another bookcase that we had and that the colors complemented the lavender walls in the craft room. We were ready to buy TWO bookcases, but when we went to go fetch the flat-packed bookcase from the self-service aisles, the length of the package worried us. Would it fit in my little hatchback car? We decided to just buy one, and if it didn't fit in my car, we would immediately return it. Luck for us, the bookcase fit...just barely! The bookcase was only a little bit obtrusive...









We decided to hit up ANTHROPOLOGIE on the way home, to see what other home furnishings we could find (and so Missy could rummage thru the sale racks)...we showed remarkable restraint and ended up not buying anything from there after all. I did however take a couple of snapshots of this GIANT OSTRICH whose feathers were made out of rolled-up and fringed paper...





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Finish painting the craft room!
RAOUL - The moment you painted over the last trace of blue in the craft room.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Even though it was a 4-day work week it felt long...
RAOUL - Only getting three hours of sleep on Saturday...ugh.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Penny roll"
RAOUL - "Eating Raoul"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Pizza and peanut butter cheesecake at Transmet!
RAOUL - Same...pizza and the peanut butter cheesecake at Transmet.

FAVORITE PIECE OF IKEA FURNITURE THAT WE OWN?
MISSY - The ROBIN cd racks that I have because they don't make them anymore...and the new bookcase.
RAOUL - The POANG recliner and footrest, even though I don't sit on it enough.

LEAST FAVORITE PIECE OF IKEA FURNITURE THAT WE OWN?
MISSY - The ROBIN cd shelves because I kinda want to hide my cds now.
RAOUL - The pair of bentwood stools that I have in my room...they look good but they're kind of uncomfortable to sit on for long periods of time

HOW MANY TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
MISSY - I think 29.
RAOUL - I'm too lazy to count...I'll say 64.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I listened to the same things I listened to last week!
RAOUL - Beirut, Pixies, Stereolab, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Unrest, D+, Built To Spill, Beat Happening, Julie Doiron, Calm Down It's Monday, Ethnobabes, Grizzly Bear, UUVVWWZ, This American Life podcast.

Nilla Seventy

NILLA immediately laid claim to the flat-packed BILLY BOOKCASE we brought home from IKEA this afternoon...Nilla loves the texture of CARDBOARD and she will lounge on any piece of cardboard, big or small. If she can sit on it, get inside it, or climb on top of it, she will...

Scenes From The Collection: School Desks

So, I'm starting a new feature here on RANCHO COCOA called "Scenes From The Collection"...every now and then, Missy and I will focus on something that we COLLECT based around a certain theme...and, for our purposes here, the collections will have to include three or more items centered around that theme. I thought that, since our craft room was relatively empty at the moment, I should start with our collection of SCHOOL DESKS...

A couple of months before we bought our house I had gotten a hold of three classroom-style STUDENT DESKS, each for only five bucks apiece! Some guy was selling a whole lot of school furniture out the back of a truck and we just happened to pass him by early one weekend while we were out hitting up some garage sales. I bought as many as I could fit in the back of my hatchback and planned to come back later for more. I never did return because I realized that I simply had no room to use or store more than the three desks I had acquired. Right now, Missy uses the desks in our craft room as her "COMPUTER STATION"...I totally love the way the dark wood desktops match the dark grain of our floor...



The VINTAGE TEACHER'S DESK was left behind by an old roommate of mine who moved back to Detroit. When he left Athens, he left a considerable amount of junk in the room he stayed in, including this desk:



His room was considerably bigger than mine, so I took it over, cleaned it up, and inherited the desk. It does duty now as Missy's SEWING TABLE...it's where her sewing machine sits in our craft room. Most nights you can find Missy hunched over the desk, working on a project...

Sketch Balloon Friday

I am up at around 4am right now...I slept for a couple of hours and then woke up like I just took a nap...and now I'm wide awake. So, I spent these early morning hours (not all of it, but some of it) stealing these photos of my neice, JULIA, from my sister BELINDA's Facebook page (thanks, Bin!). I love CHILDREN'S ART, and I especially love Julia's drawings. Here, she's mimicking Missy's balloon-designing skills, drawing cute animals with some help from a couple of ED EMBERLEY books that Missy got her a while back. Needless to say, WE HEART ED EMBERLEY! and we love Julia's drawings. Belinda's favorite is the bird with the big feather on top of it's head...I think it's my favorite drawing too! This was also Julia's homage to Missy's SKETCHBOOK SUNDAY posts. So CUTE!

T.G.I.F.

Happy Friday! This week may have been shorter for us but it sure didn't feel like it...Missy and I ended up at TRANSMET - a.k.a. TRANSMETROPOLITAN PIZZA - after work earlier this evening. The new westside edition of the restaurant is just walking distance from our street. We figured if we got a large pizza tonight, then we'd have something leftover to eat tomorrow morning...

Getting Back To Normal

(some OLD NEWSPAPERS that Missy's parents brought down the last time they visited)

I don't know why, but now that we're done painting our CRAFT ROOM, it's taking us forever to get it back together. It took us several days before we finally picked up all the NEWSPAPER off the floor and removed all the painter's tape...so far we've only managed to move our school desks back in and a couple of bookcases. I think we're so wanting to add new furniture to our new craft room that we're a bit reluctant to move all our stuff back in. We're hoping to replace the mis-matched bookcases and curtains at some point...some point sooner than later...


(dried LATEX PAINT that Missy peeled off the bottom of one of our paint trays)


(we're genuinely excited about our brand new REGISTER! so fresh and so clean)


(still far from being done...)

Snuggle Bunny Labor Day Monday

Oreo the puff!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Oreo and I had some sweet hang out time today. I took lots of photographs of her and Nilla as they relaxed in the morning sun. Here is our puffy bunny Oreo. Her shape reminds me of a Hershey's Kiss in this picture. Don't you think?

Weekend Wind-Down #71

(SEBADOH's "Bakesale" is fun to paint along to)

The last day of our three-day weekend started off pretty much the same as yesterday - we painted the edges around the outsides of each wall and around the trim again before using the roller to apply the second coat. We barely had enough paint to finish and even ended up watering down the scant last bit of paint we had in the bucket, not wanting to have to buy more for the tiny bit of painting we had left to do. Missy even scraped paint off the inside of the pail and applied it onto a tiny roller, which she used to touch up some spots. Luckily for us, it was *just enough* to get us through...in retrospect, we probably should've primed the walls first with Killz instead of having to use two coats of lavender...







Later in the afternoon, we took off to LOWE'S to buy a shiny new REGISTER to replace our mangy old one...





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting another room painted!
RAOUL - Finally seeing the blue paint in the craft room disappear.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Thinking we weren't going to have enough paint...
RAOUL - Having to be at work at 6am for a meeting friday.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Giving Jay his prize!
RAOUL - Presenting Jay with the "Guess That Townie" prize at Stevi B's Pizza.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Which townie am I?"
RAOUL - "Penny Raaaawl"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The "Holla Berry" (scoop of choco ice cream on top of raspberry ice cream cookie sandwich)
RAOUL - Lunch from La Parilla - veggie burrito with fries on the side.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Put furniture back in craft room, draw my comic, clean out Oreo's home.
RAOUL - Re-arrange the craft room, buy some zippers, sew more pouches.

FAVORITE PAINT COLOR WE'VE USED IN THE RANCH SO FAR?
MISSY - The pink "Sugar Floss" in the mud room.
RAOUL - I'm gonna have to go with the lavender in the craft room.

ROOM YOU ARE LEAST LOOKING FORWARD TO RENOVATING?
MISSY - The hallway bathroom, sorry to say.
RAOUL - The hallway bathroom...it's a damn mess.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The Receptionists, Of Montreal, Beirut, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Antenna, Sebadoh, Lou Reed, Jellyfish, Laura Marling, Damon & Naomi, Rough Trade's "Unnecessary Niceness" comp, This American Life podcast, CraftyPod podcast.
RAOUL - Burt Bacharach & Friends, The Softies, Yaz, Public Image Limited, The Gaylords, Little Wings, Lou Reed, Beirut, Beck, Damon & Naomi, Sebadoh, Antenna, Stina Nordenstam, Of Montreal, The Receptionists, Codeine, Watercolor Paintings, Cotton Candy, Courtney Love (the band, not the person), Rebecca Pearcy, Julie Doiron, Calm Down it's Monday, Twa Toots, Run DMC, Built To Spill, The Very Best, Jason Traeger, DNSS vs. JSBX, Park, Gritty Kitty, Poopiehead, Orange Cake Mix, Hushpad,
Bunnygrunt, Cub, Yo La Tengo, YoYo-A-GoGo comp, Rough Trade's "Unnecessary Niceness" comp.

Operation Cutify - Bye Bye Blue

We got an early start on our CRAFT ROOM today, determined to finally cover all the walls in LAVENDER paint...we brought in the boombox to help keep up our spirits. While I finished up the ceiling, Missy finished edging out the walls and trim. After that, Missy made quick work of the walls with the roller. Before we knew it, the first coat of paint was down and the ugly blue went bye bye bye...yay!

Operation Cutify - Sky's The Limit

Saturday we began painting our CRAFT ROOM in earnest. We removed all the plates from around all the wall sockets and light switch and finally removed all the GLOW-IN-THE-DARK STARS left on the ceiling by the previous owners...



We decided to start with the ceiling first...WHITE SEMI-GLOSS PAINT is going to liven up our dingy ceiling and make the room feel bigger and fresher. Missy got up on the ladder and started to paint a foot wide band around the perimeter of our ceiling, where it might be hard for a roller to be exacting. When Missy got tired, I took over on ceiling duty while she started on the baseboards and the trim around the windows and door...











By 11pm we were totally beat. Painting makes your back and shoulder muscles sore, especially painting the ceiling. With most of the ceiling out of the way, and the first coat of paint drying on the trim, we're excited about finally putting more LAVENDER up on the walls, making the ugly blue paint job disappear for good...it'll also be good to finally move all our junk back into the finished craft room, instead of having it clog up all the other parts of our house!

Pizza Party 2!

Missy recently held a contest on FACEBOOK for all of her local Facebook friends. She slowly revealed a list of clues and invited friends to guess "WHICH TOWNIE AM I?" After only 7 clues, our friend JAY guessed correctly (the answer was GORDON LAMB). Earlier this evening, we presented a prize to the winner of Missy's first annual "GUESS WHICH TOWNIE AM I?" FACEBOOK CHALLENGE - dinner at the local pizza buffet, STEVI B's PIZZA. The prize even came with a snazzy hand-drawn certificate to commemorate the occassion....

Operation Cutify - Into The Blue

Tonight, Missy and I started prepping our CRAFT ROOM for more painting this weekend. We're replacing the blue walls with a nice lavender. Hopefully, the new color will be refreshing and more conducive to creativity. We already have one wall down, but have three more to do, plus a ceiling. We started by pulling some furniture away from the walls and moving things into other parts of the house. We pulled out nails and started to patch holes with spackle...

Nilla Sixty-Nine

Missy snuggles NILLA as she sleeps on a box...

Pizza Party!

The post title sounds way more exciting than it actually is...after a grueling week at work, we decided to kick-off the 3-day weekend with a bit of thrifting. We didn't end up finding much except for some old records...like THE GAYLORD'S "LET'S HAVE A PIZZA PARTY"...it looks like a rockin' 60's record, but actually, it's more like "Let's Have A Spaghetti And Meatballs Party" than pizza...when I think "Pizza Party" I think of something "youthful"...instead, we're treated to old-timey Italian folk songs sung in Italian - the kind of music that wouldn't be too out of place in any of the GODFATHER movies. You know, something the aging mafioso in you would totally enjoy. But don't take my word for it....here are a few thoughts from the liner notes:

"A pizza pie, a jug of Chianti wine, and The Gaylords beside me singing in the wilderness....When The Gaylords sing music to have a pizza party by, listen here, signore, they know what they're singing about. True, they didn't learn these endearing melodies along the canals of Venice. To be exact, they picked them up along the banks of the Detroit River. But these are the songs The Gaylords have heard and sung all their lives, from the time they were first spoon-fed some mashed pizza as little bambinos...

...here are copies of the original articles: the songs from the old country, sung in the old country tongue and old country style to add a special flavor to your pizza - and your pizza party"

I also scored a couple of choice vintage 80's TWELVE INCH MAXI-SINGLES to add to my collection...a couple of remixes of YAZ's monster synthpop dance hit, "DON'T GO" (no one could belt one out like Alison Moyet) and PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED's "RISE", sheathed in the iconic PiL "generic" packaging. I was especially stoked to find "Rise", as it's easily one of my favorite PiL songs...even more so than "This Is Not A Love Song"...and it's among my list of favorite songs from growing up in the 80's. Ah, Memories. The repetitive refrain from "Rise" perfectly fit my mood for when this week finally ended - "I ain't got reserve energy, I ain't got reserve energy, I ain't got reserve energy, I ain't got reserve energy..."

Spoonflower Luv!

Diamonds Pattern colorway 2, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

So I am in the test group for the Spoonflower Marketplace, just like our good pal Becky. I have added three of my favorite patterns so far, and these are all patterns I have made from Spoonflower before. I love the way they come out and they are great to sew with! So far I have made some handbags and wallets. You can check out my fabric designs here!