Nilla One-Hundred And Thirty One

Did I ever tell you that Nilla loves strawberries? She does. Here she is licking the top when I was packing my lunch for the day.


Nilla has liked strawberries ever since she was little. I found this out when I picked a bucket of strawberries and the local farm and when I set them down to go do something else, I forgot about them. Well, Nilla found them, was picking the berries by the stems out of the bucket, and then licking them with her rough tongue. So silly!


We always joke that Nilla is a gourmet cat!

We Buy DIY - Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry

I have loved Cuyler Hovey-King's jewelry for a long time now. The first piece I ever owned of her was given to me as a gift from Raoul - it was the Tiny Chair necklace that he bought at ICE Atlanta many years ago. I think it was meant to be a Christmas present, but he gave it to me that day! I love it so much!


We visited Cuyler's table at ICE Atlanta each year ever since. So I have been collecting her jewelry for some time, and I truly love each piece. I am a huge fan of miniatures (that sounds funny to say!), so her work is no exception. I also love sterling silver, I just feel like it is more my "thing" than gold.




Cuyler works in metals, but also uses vintage jewelry in her designs, too.


And adorable vintage props at her table!


So, what jewelry do I have in my own collection? Well, like I said, I have the little chair charm, and I get compliments on it when I wear it! I wear this one all the time.


Usually I do not wear bracelets, but this one is an exception, and maybe after wearing this I will wear more of them. I am at the computer at work, so they sometimes can get in the way, but I wear this one, and it is no problem at all. I love this bunny, even though it is a bit strange for it to not have a face! This is made from a vintage candy mold.


Here is my bunny ring, too. Yes, another bunny! You know I can't get enough...




And of course I had to have the matching bunny necklace charm. Bunny solidarity! Or else maybe I qualify as a "crazy bunny lady" now. You can check out Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry on Etsy, or check out her blog, too!

Tunesday Tuesday - Tanya Donelly

Another artist I have liked since I was a teenager is Tanya Donelly. You might remember her from her bands Throwing Muses and Belly in the 1990's. I have always liked Tanya's voice and her lyrics; they remind me of poetry and zines. As of this post, Tanya is revising her website, but she did have demos for Star as downloads at one point - they were so good! It was neat to hear the songs from Star at such a raw and early stage.




Our friend Marla has a picture of Tanya wearing her tiara! So this one is for you, Marla!

Here is my absolute favorite Tanya song, and she looks so cute in this video, too. This is the first Throwing Muses song I ever heard. My pen pal put it on a mix tape for me.





And who can forget this amazing classic?

Tell the World About Etsy Athens Style

Over the weekend we had a walk around our town, Athens, Georgia. We took some photos of my handmade goodies from Shoppe Sugar Cookie on Etsy. We took these photos to add to help people learn about Etsy around the world, and to show a little local love for Athens.


Here is my Flossy the Giraffe Embroidery Floss Bobbin hanging out at the fabulous 40 Watt. How can you not love the 40 Watt? I have seen so many amazing bands here, it is for sure the best venue to see music in Athens. LUV!


Everyone in Athens knows that the University of Georgia's team mascot is a bulldog, so these statues are all over town. This one is interesting cos it looks like a postcard with the type going across, and the other side (not pictured) has illustrations of local stuff. This photo features my Flossy the Pony Embroidery Floss Bobbin.


I also took this one with Tofu Baby.


We came across my Tiny Record Player Button in the window of Low Yo Yo Stuff! We did not even place that there, we just came across it this day. How cosmic!


Lastly, we went to see the double barrel cannon. I placed my Pickle Plush inside, then we called it a day. Hooray for Athens!

Dining Out at Gymnopedie

Over the weekend Raoul and I had one of my favorite meals ever. We visited local restaurant, Gymnopedie. Gymnopedie is Athens tiniest restaurant, but good things come in small packages, no?


The first thing you will notice is how cozy this space is, complete with handmade quilty curtains on the wall, fresh flowers, and adorable artwork. The quilt makes me think of miniature doors at the top of a mountain peak.






The menu changes each month, and you can keep up with the changing menus via their menu page and by signing up for their email list. So what did we eat that was so amazing?


First, we tried some pickled veggies. Here we had some pickled garlic, chard stems, cauliflower, and some beets. My favorite were the beets and chard. So good!






We also had some homemade bread and olive oil for dipping. The bread was so soft and yummy. I think it was baked with love.




We decided to order one of each entree, so we could try each other's dishes. Mine was the summer squash casserole - it was so light and fluffy and summery - it was perfect. The side salad with my meal was made from local celery and had some dates on top, too. The dates were especially yummy. I do not know if I ever had dates before, but I for sure would like to have these again! Even Raoul said they were delicious.


Raoul had the veggie lasagna. It was made from zucchini, tomatoes, pesto, and cashew ricotta cheese. This lasagna was purely raw, and was very good, too. Raoul said it was cold, but had the same savory feel as a cooked lasagna. The zucchini was noodle replacement, and Raoul also mentioned that he did not even miss the noodles that are in a regular lasagna.






I had some tea, too - this one had a lemon flavor to it. And look at the cute little teapot!


As dessert I tried the pineapple crumble. Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits, and this was excellent. I also liked the mini ice cream scoop on top, too. Raoul liked this dessert as well.


Raoul had the cocoa cola, which is not really cola, but it is carbonated foam. I love chocolate, and I really liked tasting the real cocoa-ness of this, so it was not overly sweet, but more dark chocolatey and fluffy. Raoul described it as having an Areo Bar in liquid form.


The bubbles really did not collapse when we ate this dessert! It was magical!




We had such a lovely meal at Gymnopedie, I can't wait to go back!

Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there, and especially to my Dad! I love my dad cos he knows how to fix things and is a super handy man. He knows how to do everything - fixing cars, installing ceiling fans, cooking, and much more. I love you Dad!

Weekend Wind-Down #148

(the colorful "INSPIRE EACH OTHER" MURAL we saw in Decatur, Georgia)

Yesterday, Missy and I headed out to Decatur, Georgia, to spend the afternoon with our friends Marla, Lance, and their daughter, Ruby. Missy first met Marla "back in the day" at the BEANTOWN ZINETOWN zine and small press convention in Boston...way back in 2000. They are both old school "yankee zinesters" who somehow found their way to the DIRTY SOUTH.

We never really explored Decatur that much, so we were looking forward to having Marla and Lance show us all the cool stuff there. They live just a short walk from the downtown area, so after taking a walking tour down some charming residential streets, we headed to RAGING BURRITO, a Decatur institution, for lunch...









Of course, no trip to the Atlanta area is complete without stopping at a KING OF POPS cart. Even though I was filled to the rim with mexican food goodness, the KEY LIME PIE popsicle was a nice antidote to the spiciness of my dinner:





Missy swimming around in LITTLE SHOP OF STORIES, a kid-friendly bookstore:



I was tempted to steal this poster for the ATLANTA ROLLERGIRLS. You know I'm a big fan of STAR WARS and I really liked the way the artist re-made BESPIN (a.k.a. CLOUD CITY), from The Empire Strikes Back, into the shape of a ROLLER SKATE:



We went to this cool little gift shop called HOMEGROWN, that carried a lot of handmade items from local artisans, artists, and crafters. In the back corner of the store, there is an ever-growing SHRINE devoted to the incomparable MR.T - I genuflected and then pitied the fool:















Not wanting to disappoint Mr.T, I ended up buying this POSTCARD featuring an illustration by local Atlanta artist, R.LAND:



"Welcome to Atlanta..."



These cute CAT LOAVES looked like TOFU BABY's cousins!



After touring the downtown area, we went back to Marla and Lance's place and hung out with their cat MIKKO (their other cat was too shy to hang out). He played some CAT GAMES on the iPad, and then let Missy groom him...lucky guy!









After we cooled off and rested, we all drove over to the nearby OAKHURST neighborhood, to try out a new bakery called SUGAR MOON. It was the perfect way to cap off a fun afternoon...











FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I liked hanging out with Marla, Lance, and Ruby and checking out Decatur!
RAOUL - Yep. Hanging out in Decatur with Marla, Lance, and Roo.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Oh, I didn't sleep good almost the whole week.
RAOUL - Finding ants in the garbage.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Dropping the medicine in the car.
RAOUL - I'm sure it was something I heard on the Professor Blastoff podcast.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Bunny Yummies"
RAOUL - "Moose Knuckles"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Dinner at Gymnopedie. Sooooo good.
RAOUL - It's a toss up between dinner at Gymnopedie and the spicy chimichanga from Raging Burrito. Two different ends of the spectrum.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT DECATUR?
MISSY - I liked how everything was close and walkable from Marla and Lance's place.
RAOUL - The "walkability" of Decatur, yes. But also, I got some pretty sweet deals while we were out shopping.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Ummmm...get up earlier?
RAOUL - Make a time budget and stick to it. Posting this Weekend Wind-Down on a Sunday night is a good start. It's been a while!

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Leslie Gore, The Great Lakes, Rachael Dadd, Rose Melberg, Sleater-Kinney, Calvin Johnson, Ruby Fray, Tiger Trap, Professor Blastoff podcast.
RAOUL - Brown Recluse, The Hidden Cameras, LAKE, of Montreal, The Ladybug Transistor, Laura Veirs, Little Wings, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, Gigi, Glo-Worm, Tiger Trap, Polvo, Marriage Records' "Is Orange Birds" compilation, Professor Blastoff podcast.