Weekend Wind-Down #58

FAVORITE MOMENT FROM THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I liked hanging out in Atlanta yesterday.
RAOUL - Being at I.C.E. but not worrying about running a table!

WORST MOMENT FROM THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - It feeling like summer again.
RAOUL - Suffered debilitating sinus pressure a couple of times last week.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Stevi B's"
RAOUL - "It's always the same, you're always jumping someone else's train"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I thought Soul Vegetarian was good...
RAOUL - Cupcakes from Atlanta Cupcake Factory.

FAVORITE THING YOU BOUGHT LAST WEEK?
MISSY - My camera strap.
RAOUL - New guitar strap.

ONE THING ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Honey, because I didn't buy it last week.
RAOUL - Toilet Paper.

ONE THING YOU FORGOT TO BUY LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Honey!
RAOUL - Car parts.

BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Taking photos of new stuff I added to Etsy.
RAOUL - Putting vegetables in the ground.

BIGGEST REGRET OF LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Not getting up early enough times.
RAOUL - Spending too much money on stuff I don't really need.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Dressy Bessy, St. Vincent, Robyn Hitchcock, Beat Happening, Siouxie And The Banshees, Crafty Pod.
RAOUL - English Beat, The Cure, Tones On Tail, M Ward, Beat Happening, Robyn Hitchcock, Beirut, 4AD/Red Hot's "Dark Was The Night" comp.

New Charms

bis charm, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I love little charms, so I am adding some I made to Shoppe Sugar Cookie! I love sweets, so these two new additions are perfect for those who love a little snack! Above is a little wooden biscuit that I made from my original drawing. What do you think? Good enough to eat? These look like little biscuits that my mom gave me when we were visiting last time. I will have to take a photo of those to show you. They are yummy!


Here is a little cookie charm necklace, too. I love the little scalloped edges on this cookie. It can also be a cracker, if you like those better.

Red Hot Ice

Yesterday, Missy and I spent the whole day in ATLANTA on a shopping spree of sorts. First stop was at CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK for I.C.E. ATLANTA's 2-day craft sale. We're usually one of the vendors at this twice-yearly sale, but were here this time lending our support as spectators and shoppers. It felt kinda weird, to say the least, to be on the "other side of the table"...a side that we seldom get to enjoy...



We got to the park a little before the start of the event so that we could scoop up a couple of swag bags. We stood in line with a couple hundred of people also waiting to get theirs. There were about 500 swag bags and they were gone within an hour...







The food tents set up at the entrance teased the queue with savory smells...



Shannon of PATINA, one of the organizers of the INDIE CRAFT EXPERIENCE, gave Missy a little handmade PINWHEEL after we made it through the entrance. We made our way down the rows of vendors, looking at all the goodies. We both had a spending limit in mind, which we both subsequently blew...there was just too much good stuff to be had! I refrained from photography close-ups of people's booths...I was worried that most vendors would be a bit paranoid about people taking pictures of their booths in order to "steal ideas"...a very real plight as major companies (Urban Outfitters, Target, Walmart, etc.) have co-opted the "handmade look", and in many cases, have outright stolen designs from indie crafters...






(CNN looming over the sun-kissed tents of I.C.E. Atlanta)

My first purchase of the day...a brand new guitar strap from Chicago's SOULDIER, who specializes in straps:



We were pleasantly surprised to see Columbus, Ohio's WHOLLY CRAFT here, manning a booth of their own. Wholly Craft is a brick and mortar store in Columbus which features indie arts and crafts, including many of Missy's (and sometimes my own) creations. We stopped to say "hi!" and formally introduce ourselves...and of course to do a bit of shopping. They had some buttons Missy designed exclusively for SWEETIE PIE PRESS (bottom left). Yay! And we were instantly smitten with this cheeky pot holder...





We ran into the BATSEL SISTERS while shopping...Katy, who writes the wonderful BOTTLE ROCKET indiepop fanzine, and Hannah (a.k.a. M.C. SUGALOAF) who showcases her burgeoning talents on a blog called CHARACTER ZOO:



We checked out the rest of Centennial Park after we were done shopping...Missy played around in the fountains and tried desperately not to get wet...


(Missy is good at mimicking statues)

ICE 4279 from Raoul de la Cruz on Vimeo.

Afterwards, we headed out to the PONCEY-HIGHLAND district for lunch and even more shopping (an area that Christy Petterson - one of the other organizers of I.C.E. - wrote all about in the most current issue of READYMADE MAGAZINE...check it out!). We hit up SOUL VEGETARIAN to escape the heat. Missy had a "fish" sandwich with baked potato slices (which, inexplicably, they called "Hebrew Skins") and I had a plate of BBQ tofu with brown rice and broccoli. By the time were were done eating we were way too full to even try their famous SOY BEAN ICE KREAM:







We walked over to the YOUNG BLOOD GALLERY, where we did more shopping and looked at their current exhibit. We saw more of Missy's items in stock and on display...







The exhibit they had on display was called SK8 OR DIE and it featured 100 SKATEBOARD DECKS decorated and re-constructed by 100 local artists:









After Young Blood, we trolled our way through several basement antique shops, looking for cool stuff. By the time we resurfaced and hit THE ATLANTA CUPCAKE FACTORY (a.k.a. THE BEST CUPCAKES IN ALL OF ATLANTA), we were more than ready to treat ourselves to some dessert. The chocolate cupcake Missy ended up getting was super rich and decadent...the perfect cherry-on-top to cap off a day of unfettered shopping...mmmmmmmmmmm!

Fresh Fruit

Missy bought this gorgeous PAPAYA today. It's huge! We've probably got enough papaya to last us through the weekend and then some. Missy sliced it in half and scooped out the seeds which totally look like CAVIAR...we're gonna dry out the seeds, plant them, and then see what happens...

Dirty Dream Number 2

...Decided to post another great video shot here in Athens, Georgia...BELLE & SEBASTIAN's "DIRTY DREAM NUMBER 2" - featuring members of NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL, SLEATER-KINNEY, and a handful of anonymous locals...enjoy!

Hope For Agoldensummer

Wow. We just had to second the emotion expressed by JULIE PHILLIPS at the ATHENS GEORGIA MUSIC & ARTS blog...she recently posted this music video for the song "4TH NIGHT", by local Athens band HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER, shot on location at the J&J FLEA MARKET, which we visited this past weekend, and just blogged about yesterday (see previous posts). We had no idea about this video until now, after seeing it on Music & Arts...it IS beautiful...simply beautiful. I told Missy this evening that I didn't recall our visit to the J&J being this poignant!

Snuggle Bunny Monday

Oreo washing her face with her cute paws., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Here it is, another Bunny Monday. I almost forgot that it actually is Monday and not Sunday! Lucky me that I remembered, or more like lucky you cos you get a sweet photo of our bun, Oreo! This is a very cute photo of Oreo washing her sweet face with her cute paws. Adorable.

For more bunny luv you can read this post from yesterday!

Weekend Wind-Down #57

We didn't go anywhere special this weekend. Instead, we spent most of our three-day weekend cleaning up the craft room, working in the backyard, and running errands. Saturday we ran out to the J & J FLEA MARKET (a.k.a. GEORGIA'S LARGEST FLEA MARKET) to see what we could find. Missy wanted to check out the "BOOK LADY's" booth. She hoped that she would find a couple of cool vintage craft books, but we ended up finding a book on southern gardening instead...









I lucked out and found a vintage EMPIRE STRIKES BACK game cartridge for my old GAME BOY which I dug up at my parents' house a couple of weeks ago and brought back home to Athens. However, I wasn't able to find anyone selling fiber-optic wall hangings (the sort of cliche decor you see adorning the walls of most chinese restaurants), but one out of two ain't bad...







After looking through all 4 buildings at the J & J, and perusing the many outdoor tables, we headed over to WILLIE'S for some Mexican food, and then over to BORDERS where we searched for more books...





FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - People's reactions to my hair-do!
RAOUL - Three-day weekend!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Being too tired to put away the laundry.
RAOUL - Crazy headaches possibly linked to recent (or current?) ear/sinus infection.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE WEEK?
MISSY - "Rob & Big Eye"
RAOUL - "Rob & Big Eye"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Banana bread!
RAOUL - Missy's banana bread.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Bananas, sugar, honey.
RAOUL - Headlight, tail light, external hard drive.

THREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE AN ADULT?
MISSY - Paying the bills, owning a house, gardening.
RAOUL - Listening to This American Life, having a passport, not staying out late on a work night.

THREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A LITTLE KID?
MISSY - My clothes, licking the spoon when baking, bubble baths.
RAOUL - My toy collection, posting on Facebook, playing video games.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - St. Vincent, Of Montreal, Laura Marling, Beirut, Hawk And A Hacksaw, France Gall.
RAOUL - The Cure, English Beat, No Doubt, Dean & Britta, This Mortal Coil, The Bipeds, Beirut, The Field Mice, The Halo Benders, JSBX vs. DNSS, Built To Spill, 2 Tone Records' "2 Tone Story" comp, Kid 606's "Megachurch" mix on the XLR8R podcast.