Weekend Wind-Down #83

It wouldn't be a proper visit from Missy's parents without some sort of HOME IMPROVEMENT project being involved, though we kept it fairly simple this time around. The last time they visited, they helped us install an ADJUSTABLE SHELVING SYSTEM in our CRAFT ROOM (which also doubles as our MUSIC ROOM). The weight of some of Missy's craft supplies was causing some of the shelves to bow in the middle. The solution was to install a third brace between the two previously installed braces and brackets that would prevent the shelves from bowing. We pulled everything off the shelves, installed the new brace and brackets, and added an additional shelf...











We also installed a brand new SHOWER HEAD (not pictured) in the GUEST BATHROOM (which I use as my own personal bathroom)...it's amazing how something as simple putting in a new shower head can greatly improve your quality of life. And then, on Saturday, Missy's parents were especially kind to gift us with another upgrade - they snuck out of the house early and came back with a brand new 32" FLAT SCREEN TV to replace our out-dated television. Christmas came extra early to Rancho Cocoa!



FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - My parents coming to visit!
RAOUL - Thanksgiving!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Not getting to do everything I wanted to when Mom and Dad were here...
RAOUL - When Missy's dad bought that faulty deep fryer from WalMart...and then having to go back to WalMart to return it.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Standing in the front yard, pouring out oil from the broken deep fryer back into the bottles...
RAOUL - Watching "Tropic Thunder" on the new wide screen TV...especially love the fake movie previews...

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Soap n'at"
RAOUL - "Booty Sweat"

FAVORITE "BLACK FRIDAY" PURCHASE?
MISSY - Bananagrams!
RAOUL - New shower head.

LEAST FAVORITE "BLACK FRIDAY" PURCHASE?
MISSY - I think the shower curtain is kinda boring...
RAOUL - Faulty deep fryer from WalMart.

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Thanksgiving!
RAOUL - duh...Thanksgiving dinner!

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up Nilla's litter box, organize my crafts, draw my comic.
RAOUL - Attend Ohh, Boy's grand opening shindig, pack the car, participate in Craftstravaganzaa.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Laura Marling, St. Vincent, Craftypod podcast, This American LIfe podcast...same crap I always listen to.
RAOUL - Best Coast, The Very Best, Simon & Garfunkel, Human League, Finally Punk, Cryptacize, Phil Spector "Back To Mono" boxset, Mayer Hawthorne's "Hawthorne Radio" mixes on Stones Throw podcast.

New Handmade Goodies!

My Headphones Mini Notepad, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I have been busy as a bee adding new mini notepads to SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE (and soon to MY WEBSITE!) My dad (who owns and operates RECORD PRINTING, up in Pittsburgh) brought these MINI-SIZED RAINBOW NOTEPADS when they came to visit for Thanksgiving. I just love how they turned out! Thanks, Dad!




I have eight new notepad designs, so keep an eye out cos I will try and list them throughout the week, I hope. These are a great size for little thank you notes - I use them for all my Etsy orders! Plus, they make good little stocking stuffers, too!




My Meow Kitty Mini Notepad was a favorite at the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta a few weeks back. I love this drawing, too. It is so Nilla!

Nilla Seventy-Six

Yawny., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here is my alarm clock, Nilla. She gets me up at 4am and I toss her one treat and then I go back to bed. Then she gets me up again between 7 and 8am. I have been up early on our Thanksgiving holiday cos pets need to be fed at the early hour!

Scenes From Black Friday

Missy posing with a giant sub outside of the SUBWAY which was inside of a WALMART:



Looking for a new CEILING FAN at the HOME DEPOT:





Missy reacting to some shocking tabloid news she read while standing at the registers at KROGER:





Missy's dad bought some LOTTERY TICKETS at the Kroger and won TEN DOLLARS. He got ten more SCRATCHERS and gave one to each of us...I ended up winning FIVE DOLLARS!



Missy's dad was really really wanting to DEEP FRY his own FRENCH FRIES, so he bought a deep fryer while we were at WalMart. He filled it with oil, only to find out that the darn thing wouldn't even turn on! They ended up pouring the oil back into the plastic bottles and they did it in the front yard so it wouldn't spill over everything. The neighbors were scratching their heads, wondering what was going on. Missy wondered when the madness was going to end:





Missy's dad was hell bent on frying up some potatoes...so we went to TARGET and bought another deep fryer. We placed it in the trunk of my car, to the left of the deep fryer we were taking back to WalMart. This is probably, hopefully, the first and last time TWO deep fryers will ever occupy the trunk space in my car:



We ended up back at Home Depot to buy an extra shelf to add to the adjustable shelving system in our craft room. Missy posed with this huge SANTA RUG...it is supposed to look like she is sitting in his lap, asking for a pony:



We stopped at the PEACHMAC across the street from Home Depot so that Missy could buy a case for her new iPOD TOUCH. The nerds running the shop seemed to be in a good mood:



We stopped in at BORDERS and I scored this awesome SIMON & GARFUNKEL BOX SET for HALF-OFF...I love BLACK FRIDAY!



During one of our visits to Home Depot, I treated myself to a brand new SHOWER HEAD. Of course, it was on sale...I'm looking forward to some pulsating water massage action tomorrow morning:



Missy's dad was finally able to make the scalding hot golden brown fries he had been obsessing over the whole day. And yes, they were delicious:

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Americanos! Hope everyone is having a nice time...if you're lucky, you're enjoying a 4-day weekend off work...I know we are!

Last week, work gave everyone in the company a FREE HAM for Thanksgiving...that's close to 300 hams that they handed out! Naturally, both Missy and I were given hams...which meant that our house ended up with two of them...and we're totally VEGETARIAN! Luckily, Missy's parents weren't, so they instantly became the recipient of one of our superfluous hocks of meat. We ended up giving our other ham to BEN & MICHELLE who live next door to us...Ben works at the MAYFIELD DAIRY and he routinely hooks us up with free milk and juice. The other night, Michelle knocked on our door and brought over a buncha bottles of EGG NOG (the non-alcoholic variety) and we in turn gave them our other ham. We love our neighbors! The egg nog went pretty quickly. Mmmmmmmmm...



Missy's parents drove down from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and arrived in town yesterday while we were at work. Today, we basically cooked and ate all day while parades and football games played out on the television screen in the background. We basically did what everyone else was doing today. Missy keeps saying she wants to get up early to take advantage of some "doorbuster" deals on BLACK FRIDAY, but I don't know yet...there was some talk about getting a brand new BIG SCREEN TV, but I highly doubt it since Missy treated herself to a small screen iPod Touch yesterday!

Weekend Wind-Down #82 - I.C.E. Atlanta Edition

This past saturday we participated in the INDIE CRAFT EXPERIENCE, ATLANTA (I.C.E. ATLANTA) holiday craft sale...but before I can even talk about that, we have to skip back to the Friday night beforehand. It has become a tradition of ours to load up on PIZZA the night before a huge craft sale, and we always load up at the TRANSMETROPOLITAN pizzeria, just down the street from our hood. We always order a large vegetarian pizza - way more than two people can handle - eat a couple of slices, then take the rest home. We learned several craft sales ago that cold pizza (or rather, room temperature pizza) makes for a great meal when you're stuck at your booth during a busy craft sale. We just wrap the individual slices in tin foil and place in an insulated lunch bag. When the munchies strike...voilá!...a hearty slice of pizza is at hand to chase away those hungry feelings...







Early Saturday morning, we headed out for Atlanta and the old SOUTHERN MILLS building which houses the cavernous AMBIENT + STUDIO photo studio. Our load-in time was at 7am, which meant we had to leave Athens at 5:30am, which meant that we got up at 4:30 am. This wasn't as bad as it sounded, because we loaded the car the night before and pretty much had everything prepared way ahead of time. Actually, this was probably the most prepared we've ever been for a craft sale. We've been doing this for several years now, so I guess we can chalk it up to experience. One thing that we did that was really helpful was that we actually set up our table in our LIVING ROOM about a week before the sale. Before we even got to the sale, we had already planned where everything was going to be and how everything was going to work. That, combined with a four hour buffer between load-in and the start of the sale, equalled a relatively stress-free job setting up our tables...





Missy's plush BOILED PEANUTS stewing in a black cauldron turned out to be a big hit!





















































Business was brisk and there was virtually no let down in the action...we barely had enough time to leave the tables and look around the studio and do some shopping of our own. In the end, the sale ended up being one of our best one ever! As the sale wound down and the sun dipped into the horizon, we pulled out our battery-operated LED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS to help illuminate our tables, enabling us to squeeze in a few more sales before finally calling it a very successful night...













FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Having so much fun at the craft sale!
RAOUL - I.C.E. Atlanta!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The magnets not fitting on the back of my one-inch badges.
RAOUL - Not getting enough rest before the sale...but that's a given.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Raoul talking in "emoticons"
RAOUL - Girl: "what does F.M.L. mean?", Me: "Fuck My Life", Girl: "What does J.A.H. mean?", Me: "that's JAH...you know, it's what Rastafarians call GOD...it's for the Rastafarian that comes to the craft show thinking, 'there's nothing for me here...wait, mon...look at THIS!'"

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Sometimes she's in the office, sometimes she's getting fat" (in reference to the comic strip "Cathy")
RAOUL - "What does J.A.H. stand for?"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Zyka, in Decatur!
RAOUL - Indian food at Zyka, even though it gave my tummy a green sad face the following day.

FAVORITE THANKSGIVING DISH?
MISSY - Mashed potatoes and gravy!
RAOUL - Dressing/stuffing.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up, make a Christmas list, and figure out what kind of dessert we want to have for Thanksgiving
RAOUL - Fix the vaccuum, clean up the house before Missy's parents get here, catch up on sleep.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Beirut, Bjork, The Cure, Alessi's Ark.
RAOUL - The Cure, Tuscadero, Finally Punk, Stereolab, The Very Best, C.O.C.O., Adam Green, Vampire Weekend, Cryptacize, Mayer Hawthorne's "Hawthorne Radio" mix on Stones Throw podcast.

Sketchbook Sunday

Raoul as a garden gnome., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I was just thinking of how cute Raoul looked as a garden gnome. This is a little drawing I used for my Fierce and Nerdy comic from October!

Yesterday at ICE...

More boiled peanuts and long bunnies in the back., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

We had the best time at ICE ATLANTA yesterday! We got to see so many of our old friends - and we even made some new ones. It was great to see everyone out and about and in the holiday spirit, even though it is not even December yet!


This is the eighth time we had tables at ICE (I think), and this was our best year yet! I feel like we were very organized and prepared, even more so than other years. Everything went so well - we were on time, we were busy, and I loved our display.


We had a good time setting up and making everything really colorful!




Our friends who came to ICE said how crowded it was!

Thanks so much to Christy and Shannon for making ICE such a fabulous event! I can't wait for next year!

Jimmy Carter says YES!

So, if you haven't heard already, Missy and I will be selling BOILED PEANUTS this weekend at the big I.C.E. ATLANTA HOLIDAY SHOPPING SPECTACULAR, featuring over 100 indie crafters, artists, and makers selling all manner of handmade awesomeness! If you're going to be in the area this saturday afternoon, we highly suggest you come by to browse, shop, and hang...in addition to shopping, there will be food, spirits, a kick-ass DJ, and even a photo booth! Plus a whole lot of other stuff I'm probably forgetting! You can check HERE for all the nitty gritty info...or click HERE. Maybe we'll see you there? We've got tons of NEW STUFF as well as all the OLD FAVORITES...come by and say "Hey!"

Business Carded

I'm so stoked right now! Missy's dad owns and operates his own printing business called RECORD PRINTING...he rushed a couple of boxes of business cards to me and Missy which we received today, just in time for the big I.C.E. ATLANTA holiday craft sale this weekend. This is the first time I've had business cards for my EXTRA CREDIT CRAFTS and I think they came out really awesome. Missy did the design (she's a pro) with some art direction of from me. Dontcha dig my plush ICE CREAM CONE on there?



Missy also had her dad make her a couple stacks of BOOKMARKS that we'll be handing out as promo items...reading IS cute!

Thanks, John (and Rita and Joe) for the rush job on the business cards, bookmarks, writing pads, and Rice A Roni...we appreciate it!

Weekend Wind-Down #81

Over the weekend we purchased a vintage DINING TABLE SET from a brand new boutique in town called OHH BOY! (more on them later). We've been wanting to replace our old dining table and chairs (which are also vintage) for quite some time now. The old dining room furniture was all tubular steel and we wanted something that was made out of wood that had more of a mid-century feel that matched better with our other pieces of furniture.



Except for a few nicks and dings (especially on the table leaf), the table and chairs look pretty much perfect. The few imperfections are nothing a cute tablecloth can fix in a jiffy. The solid wood construction is heavy and sturdy and will probably last another fifty years. As cliche as it sounds, they really don't make things like they used to. We even don't mind the black upholstery on the chairs, which is in near mint condition. We thought that if the seats were worn out, we would easily re-upholster using some fabric that Missy designed, but it would be sort of a waste...why fix something that ain't broke, right? We got a quality vintage six-foot long table and a set of six chairs for only $200. Ask me if that's an awesome deal...it is. Ask me if we're in love with our new table and chairs...we are!




FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Bringing Oreo home from the animal hospital!
RAOUL - Getting Oreo back to one hundred percent.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I didn't feel good this weekend.
RAOUL - Those couple of times I went to bed too late and got up too early.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Oreo drinking her medicine.
RAOUL - Oreo sucking down her medicine from a syringe like a crack addict!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Bunny salad"
RAOUL - "Borborygmus"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Roasted kale, mashed potato, cornbread dressing, and soup from The Grit.
RAOUL - Veggie Thanksgiving sides from The Grit.

THREE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO IN PREPARATION FOR I.C.E. ATLANTA THIS WEEKEND?
MISSY - Sew mouths on frogs, glue eyes, pack up.
RAOUL - Pound snaps, staple some pages, set up our "mock booth" in the living room.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Siouxsie & The Banshees, Le Tigre, Lavender Diamond, Microphones, The Cure.
RAOUL - Finally Punk, C.O.C.O., Lavender Diamond, Beck, Flying Lotus, The Very Best, Girls, The Boyish Charms, Nothing Painted Blue, Nerdy Girl, Paradise Island, Ruby Isle, The Spinto Band, Luna, Yo La Tengo, Snuggletooth, Spider And The Webs, D+, Lucious Jackson, Le Tigre, Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez, The Very Best vs. Architecture In Helsinki, JSBX vs. DNSS.

Happy Birthday Moms!

Did you know it is Raoul's Mom's birthday and my Mom's birthday today? Yay! Happy Birthday to both our Moms! Yay Moms! We love and miss you both. I hope you have lots of cake for your birthdays. I wonder if Raoul's mom has to bake her own birthday cake? She is so good at making beautiful cakes! ♥!

Autumn At Our House

Leaf from our yard., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Nilla Seventy-Five

Nilla and the mice I sewed for her!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I thought I would post today's Nilla photos early so I can catch Project Runway later on! Here is our puff, Nilla. She has two toy mice I made for her. She loves (and I mean LOVES) these little mice I made for her. I made them from felt and they have a little jingle bell inside and some catnip. The grey one is one I made for her when I brought her home from the humane society, so it is looking a little - pardon the pun - ratty. The green one is a present to Nilla on her adoption day a few years ago. She since has received a few pink mice, too. We find these all over the house. She carries them around as if they were her baby - we never see her do this, so it leads me to believe that she does this all in secret. Oh, Nilla, you are so clever!

Flossy Rides Again!

Flossy at the barn!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Well, I got a very sweet message today from ALISON about her FLOSSY! If you are just joining us, you can learn all about Flossy the Pony Bobbins from THESE POSTS. Please have a look at ALISON'S BLOG - what a nice birthday gift! I also did a bit of looking at ALISON'S ETSY SHOP, too. She has some very cute designs! Thanks again, Alison. Your message made my very rainy day wonderful!

Weekend Wind-Down #80

(Missy with a fresh batch of TOFU BABY plush dolls, ready for market)

We've been super busy these past couple of weeks gearing up for a couple of big craft sales - I.C.E. ATLANTA and CRAFTSTRAVAGANZAA. We've been sewing a lot of plush and pouches, cutting and stapling zines, and pressing tons of ONE INCH BUTTONS. Our friend, co-worker, and ex-roommate Matthew (of ASAURUS RECORDS fame) was kind enough to lend us his button making machine. Missy and I have been considering getting a button making machine of our own for some time now, and Matthew thought that we could take his for a test drive before deciding...we pressed about 1000 badges last weekend...














FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Pirates Of The Airrrrrrr show at Canopy!
RAOUL - Not having to spend a ton of money getting my car fixed!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Oreo getting sick.
RAOUL - Having to take Oreo to the UGA Vet School (she's OK now)

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Nilla playing with that leaf in the kitchen.
RAOUL - Talking like mafia thugs the other night after watching Soprano's

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Waffle"
RAOUL - "Umami"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Waffles at IHOP.
RAOUL - Pecan pie pancakes at IHOP.

CURSE WORD YOU USED MOST LAST WEEK?
MISSY - I said "poo" a lot because I wanted Oreo to poo.
RAOUL - "Shit"

TWO THINGS ON YOUR TO DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Give Oreo medicine and go grocery shopping.
RAOUL - Run off zines and catch up on sleep.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Belle & Sebastian, Laura Marling, St. Vincent, Little Wings.
RAOUL - Arab Strap, Yummy Fur, Heartworms, Beck, Kraftwork, Beat Happening,Teen Titans, Ladies Who Lunch, Tel Aviv, True Love Always, Magnetic Fields, Fotraque.

Do Work, Son!

Little Rainbow Buttons., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

We have been hard at work getting ready for the up coming holiday sales here in Atlanta and Athens. I added a bunch of those handmade goodies to my PERSONAL WEBSITE and SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE.




As you can see, we are making alot of button badges and even some magnets. I made some new designs, as well as some old favorites.




We found these neat little MATRYOSHKA doll chocolates at the local European Deli. Oh, and how cute they look with my buttons that match! It was such a coincidence to find these matryoshka chocolates around the same time I made the buttons! I think they look great together.


These are just a few of the many new buttons I have been making lately! As BIG says, "Do work, son!"

Nilla Seventy-Four

Nilla, the queen of Oreo's castle!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Nilla has visited Oreo twice already. We are slowly getting them used to each other. The last time Nilla went in to Oreo's pen for a visit she sat on top of Oreo's Woodland Getaway Castle. Oh the irony...


She sat there for a bit and watched Oreo be the usual busy bunny that she is!


Oreo just wanted to play, but I am not sure if that is what Nilla had in mind!

Inside The Hot Dog

(It's official. We saw it. The sticker sez so)

Yesterday, Missy and I went back for seconds. We found out from a co-worker that the OSCAR MAYER WIENERMOBILE was to make an appearance at the ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY, as part of a fund-raising drive. How crazy is that? We were intrigued by the absurd juxtaposition of the two seemingly opposing notions...and, we wanted the chance to actually set foot inside of the Wienermobile. So we clocked out for lunch and headed out to nearby Watkinsville...











In addition to seeing the inside of the Wienermobile, we learned a buncha cool facts...we learned that the first Wienermobile made it's debut in 1936...and we learned that the drivers of the Wienermobiles (there are currently six of them) are called HOTDOGGERS. They spend an entire year on the road, travelling in teams of two. About halfway through their tour, the Hotdoggers meet, shuffle Wienermobiles, and trade partners. They share stories of their adventures on the road on the HOTDOGGER BLOG...





The inside of the Wienermobile was pretty cool. It's really spacious for just two people, with more than enough seats to go around. The floor had a squiggle of MUSTARD (of course) and the ceiling was a trompe l'oeil sky, complete with fluffy white clouds...

















As we exited the hot dog, we were each given a plastic TOY WHISTLE shaped like a Wienermobile - proof that we successfully completed the basic "Wienermobile experience"...cross THAT off our BUCKET LIST!

Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx with Me!

Wow! I was featured as the "Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx" on the fab INDIE FIXX website! What an honor! Thank you to my friend ROSE SALSEDA for the interview. You are the best! You can check out the interview by clicking HERE.

Wiener Dude Attitude

(My HOT WHEELS version of the OSCAR MAYER WIENERMOBILE)

Soooo.....yesterday, we were stuck in line at the bank just up the street from where we work. We were parked at the drive-thru teller when all of the sudden, we saw a flash of red and yellow rush past us...it was the OSCAR MAYER HOT DOGS WIENERMOBILE! We let out a scream and I fumbled through my backpack for my camera. It made a u-turn and then rushed past us again. I only snapped a few blurry photos and then it was gone...





Today at work, I asked if anyone in the Art and Graphics departments happened to see the Wienermobile and one of our co-workers said she just saw it parked at a nearby hotel, which is basically across the street from the bank we were at yesterday. SWEET! On our way home from work, we found the Wienermobile parked behind the hotel. There was no one around, so we took our time taking pictures and peeking in all the windows...it sounds cheesy but, I've always loved the Wienermobile and never imagined that I would actually see it in person...




(Missy makes like she's got the keys to the Wienermobile...in your dreams!)

Weekend Wind-Down #79

Saturday morning we paid a visit to the EUROPEAN DELI to pick up some German egg noodles and Russian candy and pastries. We were floored by the disconcerting image on this box of Russian stuffed cabbages, featuring A BABY IN A POT. Makes me wonder what kind of meat is stuffed into those cabbage leaves...



A new edition to the deli were these banners showcasing different FOOD PYRAMIDS from various European countries - mostly Eastern Bloc. We thought Missy's dad would get a kick out of the POLISH FOOD PYRAMID, which seems pretty accurate:



We hauled home this GIANT RAISIN DANISH, mostly because we liked the CUTE SNAIL on the label...that thing was bigger than our cat!



FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Seeing all the Halloween costumes downtown!
RAOUL - Watching a zombie rock band cover The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" and The Ramones' "Teenage Lobotomy"

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - My Grandmother passed away...
RAOUL - Missy's Grandmother passing away.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Libby's banana costume and Jo dressed as Porky Pig!
RAOUL - Jo's Porky Pig costume was pretty redonkulous.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Trick or treat!"
RAOUL - "I'm sorry but, I don't check my Facebook all the time...someone needs to text a bitch."

FAVORITE COSTUME YOU SAW ON HALLOWEEN?
MISSY - Jo and Andre as Porky Pig and Yosemite Sam...and Bender! And Coco The Hobo Clown!
RAOUL - Bender!

WORST COSTUME YOU SAW ON HALLOWEEN?
MISSY - Some girl in her underwear.
RAOUL - Too many "sexy" Alice In Wonderland costumes...boring!

ALL-TIME FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY?
MISSY - York Peppermint Patty!
RAOUL - That would be Smarties.

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Brunch at Jo and Andre's house.
RAOUL - Jo's birthday brunch!

TWO THINGS ON YOUR TO DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Sew and feed Nilla.
RAOUL - Take the car in for an oil change and clean the bathroom.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Halloween music on WUOG...Earthfare had good Halloween music too!
RAOUL - Siouxsie And The Banshees, Krazy Bald Head, Pixies, Bratmobile, Bikini Kill, Sex Pistols, Erase Errata, Asthmatic Kitty mix on XLR8R podcast, Themselves' "ThemselvesRADIO" mix on Anticon podcast.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad loves sweets., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Today is my Dad's birthday! Hope you have a good one Dad! I love and miss you. Hope you have a nice cake or ice cream, too. <3!

Wild Rumpus

Last night, Missy and I hit the town, determined to have some fun on HALLOWEEN, despite the threatening rain. The first order of the night was stopping off at THE GRIT for dinner. As we sat and waited for our food to arrive, the restaurant quickly filled with hungry celebrants, almost all of them in some sort of costume. Andy Warhol, The Bearded Lady, The Bride Of Frankenstein, and Mad TV's Ms. Swan sat in the booth behind us...



As the rain started to drizzle down, we made our way over by the 40 WATT CLUB and took shelter under some umbrellas in front of a tattoo parlor. From our vantage point, we watched the freak show pass us by and waited for the WILD RUMPUS PARADE to start. PAULA DEEN and a GIANT STICK OF BUTTER passed us by and I quickly took a blurry photo...



Luckily, we didn't have to wait too terribly long before the procession started...led by MAX from Where The Wild Things Are and DJ LANCE ROCK from YO GABBA GABBA on drums, the parade featured a mish mash of monsters, characters, and costumed oddities, and even included a pair of real live LLAMAS, pulled by none other than ABE LINCOLN himself - just for the heck of it. We fell in line behind the GIANT SKELETON ON STILTS and followed the parade as it snaked through downtown Athens...

WEEN 7341 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

WEEN 7345 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

After the parade had dispersed, we headed back over by the 40 Watt to wait for yet another parade to start - one that featured GIANT PUPPETS. Along the way back we saw lots of other rad costumes...





This was either the WASHINGTON MONUMENT or else a giant VIBRATOR:

WEEN 7347 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

We ran into our friends NICK and MELINDA, who run SATISFACTORY PRINTING. Nick was decked out in a suit that was covered in hundreds of super bright LED LIGHTS, while Melinda was dressed as CORALINE...



We ran into one of our fellow GNOMES and just HAD TO have our photo taken with him!





We eventually headed into the FLICKER THEATRE & BAR to look for our friends JO & ANDRE (Jo owns and runs HONEY'S SALON - it's where Missy gets her hair did). Earlier in the day, we were at their house for Jo's "Birthday Brunch" and there was talk about her PORKY PIG costume which was to incorporate flesh colored tights, some stuffing, and a bald cap...needless to say, we were dying to see how the costume turned out. When we finally found them in Flicker we were bowled over, laughing:





We found Jo's hubby, Andre, dressed up as YOSEMITE SAM, book-ended by a pair of lascivious "ladies"...



A band called ZOMBIE HALO was set up and ready to perform. The band was a ZOMBIE four-piece, with the word "BRAINS" awesomely spelled out in lights on their bass drum head. They wittily entertained the inebriated crowd with very appropriate cover songs, like, "Teenage Lobotomy", by The Ramones, and "Where Is My Mind?", by The Pixies...on our way out of Flicker we ran into DOROTHY, from THE WIZARD OF OZ, who was trying to calm down a very shaky and nervous TOTO. Apparently, the loud zombie rock was a bit too much for the poor thing to bear...

Occupational Hazards 4

(Missy and I kickin' it gnome-style in one of our conference rooms at work)

Friday was not one of your typical "casual fridays" at work...a few brave souls showed up to work wearing HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, many with the hopes of winning this costume contest that was being sponsored by one of the balloon companies that we sell and distribute. They were giving away TARGET GIFT CARDS for winning entries and Missy and I were hoping to win in the "best group" category. We rolled up in our GARDEN GNOME COSTUMES hoping for the best. Our friend and co-worker BEKY (who runs the neat-o PICKY PICKY SHOP on ETSY) was on her way to work when she spotted these very woodland-looking MUSHROOMS on the side of the road. She pulled over and plucked one, thinking that it might be a great gnome-style prop. The mushroom was amazing, and it looked like something out of a fairy tale book...







LIBBY showed up wearing a GIANT BANANA costume and she clutched two maracas...she was dressed up as "PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME" (if you click on and watch this VIDEO LINK, it'll make more sense). KARLA came dressed as a FLAMINGO, wearing all pink and sporting a beak that she made herself, and BEKY showed up to work dressed as a COWGIRL...Graphics and Art Departments representin'...





They called all the costumed employees down into the lunch room...we were stoked to see our friend, co-worker, and ex-roommate, MATTHEW (who used to run the awesome D.I.Y. record label, ASAURUS RECORDS), dressed up as a PANDA...and then we were totally floored (at least Missy and I were) to see FRANK dressed up as the SWEDISH CHEF from the MUPPETS SHOW...he had took some sort of fur boa and glued it to his face to make ultra-bushy eyebrows and a mustache.





Inexplicably, they made us all line up and parade around the room. Kinda weird because there wasn't really anyone there to watch us, that wasn't wearing a costume. We all took turns posing by the refrigerators, while our photos were taken for posterity. The funniest was Matthew, who just sat on the floor looking a bit glum, just like a real panda. Needless to say, it was an awesome start to the Halloween weekend...







BTW, Missy and I didn't win for "best group costume"...we blame it on "balloon politics", since the winning group utilized balloons in their costume. The one other person who used balloons in their costume ended up winning. in a different category. We're not bitter! Just note - if you wanna win a costume contest sponsored by a balloon manufacturer, then you better use balloons in your outfit!