Adios Frida & Diego, Pt.2

WE'VE MOVED! The post you were looking for can be found on our new blog HERE: RANCHOCOCOA.COM

Jumbles Wears a Hat

Thank you to the lovely Alessi for sending a box of great goodies to us! It included this hat that I let Jumbles wear! It also had some sugar mice that are too cute to eat, British candies, chocolates, and cute notebook! Thank you so much! We love the treats.

Vote Rocker

Missy decided to rock her VINTAGE BICENTENNIAL POLYESTER SHIRT at the polls this election day and fulfill her civic duty in style. In hindsight, the shirt kinda reads as "TEA PARTY FANATIC", which Missy assures she is not...

Midge From Modern Girl Blitz Blog

Please have a look at my pal Midge's blog called Modern Girl Blitz! Her blog is one of my new favorite blogs. I really like Midge's style, it reminds me very much of the movie Ghost World! Plus, she likes lots of the same things I do, such as Halloween, zines, and fashion!


These are pictures that she took wearing some of my handmade goodies that can all be found in Shoppe Sugar Cookie! I just love how the Tiny Record Player Wood Pin looks with the peter pan collar, don't you? I also love seeing my Strawberry Wood Hairpins in her hair! Such style!


And here are some of my many one inch pinback buttons that are in my shop, too. Did you know I offer over 100 button designs in Shoppe Sugar Cookie? Yes, it is true! Please have a look and then read Modern Girl Blitz, too!

My Sleeping Bunny and the Dainty Squid

Do you know Kaylah from the Dainty Squid? She is one of my all time favorite bloggers. Please check out her blog, I especially love her outfit posts. Aw, look! Here is her photo of her wearing my Sleeping Bunny Wood Pin. Doesn't my wood pin look great with her jean jacket and vintage dress?


I also love the woodland backdrop with such a lovely outfit. Kaylah is the cutest!


You can get your very own bunny pin from my Shoppe Sugar Cookie on Etsy!

Buon Appetito

Knowing how much she likes to cook, my parents got Missy a CHEF'S HAT and APRON, embroidered with her name, for Christmas. We brought them up to Pittsburgh to show Missy's parents. Also knowing how much she likes to cook, her parents got her a GIANT NON-STICK PAN for Christmas. It's like they all planned it! We couldn't help but take a photo of the whole shebang...

Happy Acorn Wood Pin and the Dainty Squid

Please check out one of my favorite blogs, the Dainty Squid. The other day Kaylah featured my Happy Acorn Wood Pin in one of her fashion photo shoots. All of these photos belong to Kaylah and are used from her blog. Aren't they gorgeous? Isn't Kaylah the most adorable gal you have ever seen? Here are some more of her pictures.


I really love the color of this sweater with the vintage dress that she is wearing in this photo. Perfect for autumn and winter.


So please check out the Dainty Squid and Shoppe Sugar Cookie for more handmade goodies!

What's Your Project? Sewing A New Top

My weekend project was something I have had on my to do list for a while. I sewed a new top! My mom is the best seamstress I know. She helped make this top with different fabric last July, so I felt confident to give it a go on my own this past weekend.

I used THIS BUILT BY WENDY SEWING PATTERN for my top. I also designed the actual fabric and had it printed through SPOONFLOWER.




Here is a detail of the fabric. It is teeny tiny macarons I drew and made into a repeat pattern special for my fabric. The fabric is cotton knit, so it is pretty nice. I also love this shape top!




I am so proud I finally made a cute shirt! Raoul took these pictures of my process. It was a fairly easy pattern to follow, but since Mom helped me make it before, I just remembered what she did when she made it. The one thing I did differently was sewing the yoke interior by hand. The directions tell you to topstitch on the front yoke and catch the interior (lining) yoke with that. I just simply whip stitched the lining by hand cos I did not think I could top stitch so neatly. I like it better the way I made mine. I also hemmed the bottom and sleeves by hand, too. I am not sure, but my machine might be able to do a hem stitch, but I quite like sewing by hand, so that is what I did.




If you would like to make a top with this fabric, or any other project, you can order my FABRIC DESIGNS via Spoonflower right HERE. Happy sewing!

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Clothes Horse: Mod Monday

My friend Jean and I decided to have a theme day for what we wore on Monday. Today's theme is Mod Monday. Jean writes Don't Mix the Colors blog, and is one snappy dresser! Here is what I wore yesterday.


My dress is from the flea market in Paris, my bright pink tights are from Macy's, my shoes are Fluevog Fellowship Kathy.


I really love the print on this dress, and it is a fabulous polyester material. I mean, who does not love polyester? I love the navy color with my pink tights, too.


Here is a close up of my bunny charm. It is by artist Sarah McNeil. I really like her work, and I know it is not totally mod, but I was going for size and shape, and I really like bunnies, so there.


Lastly, here is my butterfly ring. Raoul gave me this ring when we visited Pittsburgh once. I think it came from a shop called Sugar. It is vintage bakelite. I wear this all the time.

So, you might ask where my pictures were taken - well, last night we went to see the Decemberists last night in Atlanta. It was a great show and we could have a seat and watch everything from our balcony seats! Here is some of the show. It was really good!







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Thank You For Voting

Thank you EVERYONE for voting on my Fluevog shoe ad. I know it was a close race, and I came in second place by a very tiny margin. I am thankful to be a finalist in this contest, and I am also thankful for all my family and friends and fans who voted, tweeted, and shared on Facebook! I am amazed at the response to this contest. I am truly lucky to have you all as friends helping me out. You are all super! Thank you.

Well, after all this hard work over this contest, staying up late and trying to get the word out, I am very tired! I told Raoul it feels like pulling an all-nighter in college, and I have circles under my eyes to prove it. I think I need some retail therapy. I know, how about a nice new pair of shoes?

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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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John Fluevog Ad FINALIST!

JOHN FLUEVOG makes my most favorite brand of shoes ever - I own several pairs and I love them all. I entered their FLUEVOG CREATIVE AD CONTEST last week and now I made it as one of their four FINALISTS! The design brief was for their new beauty shoe, THE CURIE, which is inspired by MARIE CURIE. If I win, Fluevog will use my ad in a new print campaign. But I can't win without your help! So, please take the time and vote each day for my ad, and tell your friends, too! You can VOTE HERE DAILY. THANK YOU!

Pixburgh Pride!

Native YINZER - Missy Kulik - models her team colors via the infamous TERRIBLE TOWEL...GO STEELERS!

Sketchbook Sunday: Sweater Weather

Today was so very cold and windy here in Athens. We went out to run some errands and I almost blew away! Raoul had to catch me! This windy day reminded me of this comic I drew a long time ago. I was going to do a "sweater" theme zine, but I never finished. This is one of my comics that shows sweaters for every season. Do you have a favorite sweater?

Baby It's Getting Cold Outside

Check out my new pair of adorable owl mittens that our friend LIBBY knitted for me! I love these mittens for a number of reasons, such as they are a beautiful red color that I simply love, and I can wear these in my office when it is frigid and still work on the computer! Libby also does some fabulous pet portraits, too. You might remember the NILLA PORTRAIT that Libby made for us. I love it so much. Libby is so talented! Check out her website HERE.




Speaking of Nilla, here she is letting me hold her for a photograph! She is so good! She looks extra soft and cloud-like in these pictures that Raoul took, doesn't she?

Don't Mix The Colours x Rancho Cocoa

We had fun hanging out with KATY and JEAN of DON'T MIX THE COLOURS BLOG last night. We looked thru our collection of JAPANESE FASHION MAGAZINES, watched dvds, and listened to music, hoping to find inspiration and spark our creativity...we also pondered what kind of foods you would serve at a RIOT GRRL-THEMED get together....