It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

We put up our little Christmas tree! Raoul helped organize my vintage Christmas treasures. I think they look especially great this year!






My mom gave me these reindeer and Santa Claus. I have had these since I was little. They are some of my favorite decorations. We could not fit all the reindeer on the rooftop, so there are two more in a box!


I really love the knee hugger elves!




We have all Hallmark ornaments on our Christmas tree. My family has always collected these, and my mom even buys my brothers and I a new ornament each year. She even gets Raoul one now! I just love them and I love remembering all of them since I was little. Now we are ready for Christmas at the Ranch! Are you ready?

If I Don't Save The Wee Turtles, Who Will?

GROUNDSKEEPER WILLIE warns MUFTAK to stop bullying the WEE TURTLES. This morning in the Superdorm, Rancho Cocoa, Athens, Georgia.

Tunesday Tuesday - the Monkees

Okay, so by now we have all heard the terribly sad news about Davy Jones death last week. I am sad over this, as I am a huge fan of the Monkees. Now I know I am a little too young to be from the Monkees generation, but I did catch them on Nickelodeon on re-runs in the 1980's, but in the late 1990's I was having a Monkees revival of my own. I became obsessed. Each time I went shopping at Jerry's I would buy any and all Monkees albums I saw. I have a pretty good collection, and I even have an early pressing with the misspelling of "Papa Gene's Blues" as "Papa Jean's Blues."


Pen pals mailed me Monkees memorabilia, like cereal box records, flash rings, patches, records, and even autographs, to name a few.




I have seen the Monkees in approximately 2000 and 2001 or so. I saw them on their reunion tours, that is the reunion with Davy, Mickey, Peter, but not Mike. The first time I went to see them was in Columbus, Ohio with my friend Nathan. Nathan and I had a great time, but our seats were set far back in the theatre. During the intermission (yes, the Monkees had an intermission!) we snuck into a balcony seat that was much better than our row on the floor! It was a great show! We had a blast. I was in Monkees-awe. We were two of the youngest people there, not counting the parents who brought their children!


That following summer I saw them perform two more times. Only this time it was at two outdoor county fairs. It was enjoyable, but not as nice as being seated in a balcony!


My friend Jordan gave me this framed photograph of the Monkees. This is when I was at the height of my Monkees fan-dom, though I am still an avid fan of the Monkees. Jordan gave this to me for Christmas - I bet cos he knew I had so many of the records already.






Someone mailed me this flash ring after reading in my zine that I was a fan of the Monkees. I love this ring! It is one of my favorite Monkees items that I have.




I have very many (even doubles) of some Monkees Monthly fanzines. They are so good with great photographs, poems, and even a pen pals section! I love the drawings inside, too.


And this is one of my favorite LPs from my collection. I love that Rose-Mary wrote on her album cover! I would never think to do something like this, but it is a nice idea that she made Davy Jones saying he loved her back. It is a strange thing when a celebrity passes away - I did not know Davy Jones, but I feel so connected to this music of an era I was not even a part of, but the Monkees made being in a band seem so magical and fun. I wanted to live in their tv show! It made things seem possible - anything goes! And I love their JC Penney's clothes! Anyway, I thought this NPR story was really sweet.

Here are some of my favorite Monkees songs.

Scenes From The Collection - Vintage Peanuts

Still sorting thru our books and magazines. It's always so hard to organize such things because it's inevitable that you'll spend the evening reading a little bit here and a little bit there. Last night I couldn't help but be distracted by some of the VINTAGE PEANUTS BOOKS in our collection. The pages may be dog-eared, yellowed, and rat-chewed, but we love them...

Scenes From The Collection - Hoop Art

We've got a pretty good collection of EMBROIDERY HOOP ART up here at Rancho Cocoa and it's a collection that will more than likely keep growing...in the WOOD ROOM (a.k.a. the BUNNY ROOM), we've got a trio of pieces by local artists SARA TRIGUEROS and PRAIRIE DOG INC...

We got the embroidered bunny from Jenny at Prairie Dog Inc long before we adopted our all-white bunny, JUMBLES...it was a premonition!



The two other pieces in the room are by Sarah Trigueros...we bought the smaller piece off her at a craft sale and the larger piece from an exhibit she had up at THE GRIT. How cool is that bunny with ANTLERS actually coming off the stretched fabric? We think it's pretty dang cool...





Here's a smaller piece embroidered by Jenny at Prairie Dog Inc that's hanging in our master bath...we sometimes call that bathroom the BIRD BATH on account of a good number of bird-themed art and things that are in it..."just put a bird on it!"



Also in the bath are these hoops holding SCRAP FABRIC that Missy had on hand (DECORATING TIP: scrap fabric with cool patterns + embroidery hoops = instant wall art!)...they kinda remind us of BUBBLES...







Lastly, we have this wayward "CAT BANDIT" piece also by Sarah T...we haven't figured out yet exactly where we want to hang it, so for now, it's sitting on the picture rail in our hallway gallery.





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Scenes From The Collection - Fluevog Love

Now there are a few brands I am loyal to, and I don't usually like to be an advert, but I am a HUGE fan of JOHN FLUEVOG SHOES. I have been for a while, but it took me until 1999 to get my first pair. At least I think it was 1999 or so. My very first Fluevogs were the Familevog!


The FAMILEVOG was made for the DANIELSON FAMILE, a family of musicians that dress as nurses and doctors to promote the healing power of their soulful music. The gold stitching! The handbag heart! What is not to love about these? I absolutely love them, and so does our bun, Oreo.


I love these ANASTASIA Mary Janes. I had to have these when I saw the embroidered birds on them. They had them in a red and blue colorway, but I thought black was the way to go with these. They are great to wear with colored knee highs, skirts, or culottes!




I love Fluevog Mary Janes! They go great with all my dresses and skirts.


And here are my ERIKA FELLOWSHIP shoes. These are sort of saddle shoe-ish to me. This photo was taken at Le Meridian hotel in Xiamen, China last year. I love the doily pattern on this carpet - and my Fellowship shoes! I wore them the whole time while in China.


And here is my very well-worn pair of ANGIES. Oh, Angie. These have been all over the place! They have seen better days! I love these shoes cos they do not have laces and can easily be slipped off on a flight or in the movies.


This is the whole glorious herd together for a family portrait! Check out those boots! They are POWDER BLUE!


Nilla is even a fan of the 'vogs!

So, if you didn't know already, John Fluevog has a contest to see would get to design their next print ad...I am one of the four finalists! YOU can help me win this contest by casting a vote for my design HERE! It's the cute one with the girl walking her dog! There's only a few days left for the contest, so be sure to vote daily. THANK YOU!

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