Feature in Of Corgis and Cocktails Blog

My new blog friend Katherine writes a great blog called Of Corgis and Cocktails. She recently wrote about some of my goodies from Shoppe Sugar Cookie, and would you look at her cute photos she took? Here she is wearing my Happy Squirrels Hairpins on her trip to Gettysburg, complete with more lovely photos right here.


And check out my little Hedgie Wood Pin worn on her hat! I just love that red bow, too. You can see more photos of Katherine here.


Here is Katherine and her corgi, Teemo! They are so cute together in this post! And if you look closely, you can see my Tiny Acorn Hairpins in her hair! Perfect for autumn!

Weekend Wind-Down #152

A couple of weeks ago we popped into TREEHOUSE KID & CRAFT here in town to help them celebrate their 2-year anniversary. We had some cupcakes, did some shopping, and took some pictures (Treehouse is just too damn photogenic)...we ran into Ryan and his daughter Poppy (above)...she took a break from riding on RODY to proudly show off her MISFITS outfit...





Missy's FLOSSY BOBBINS hang out by the cute twine and ribbon...







...and they also carry some of her NOTEPADS (they all make great stocking stuffers! wink, wink)...

















FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Having my fambly come visit!
RAOUL - Hallway bathroom redux!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Wanting to go to Dudley Park on game day...$20 for parking!
RAOUL - Dealing with game day traffic was terrible.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - When Dad said he gave Mom a butterfly tattoo with a Sharpie!
RAOUL - Getting everyone addicted to Korean programming on KBS.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Meatballs"
RAOUL - "One dollar burgers"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Pizza at Transmet was really good.
RAOUL - Your dad's homemade veggie meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

WORST MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I didn't have any bad meals.
RAOUL - Those veggie wraps at IKEA were pretty disappointing.

THREE HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE DONE NEXT?
MISSY - Make over the master bedroom, fix up and organize the shed, plant more plants.
RAOUL - Paint the SuperDorm, install a screen door to the mudroom entrance, install an electrical outlet in our enclosed backyard patio.

HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE LEAST?
MISSY - Making over the master bedroom.
RAOUL - The kitchen - only because it's going to be expensive.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Laura Marling, Gold-Bears, Alpine, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Dave Hill's Podcasting Incident.
RAOUL - Belle & Sebastian, Architecture In Helsinki, Tiger Trap, C.O.C.O., The Crabs, Ruby Fray, Bjork, Ride.

Tunesday Tuesday - Alessi's Ark

Today I am happy to spotlight one of my all time favorites, Alessi's Ark! I have loved Alessi's music for quite some time now. I first read about her in Amelia's Magazine and I have been hooked ever since. Her music was hard to find in the US for a while, until today! You can get her first album Notes from the Treehouse right here. You will be glad you did, as it is a fabulous album.




We had the pleasure of meeting Alessi when she was recording her next album right here in Athens! What a surprise to me when I heard she was recording right here where I live! We made plans to hang out and had so much fun together. I really love Alessi! She was so busy recording, so I am glad we had some time to squeeze in some fun. We showed her around Athens, had some nice food, and saw some great bands, too!


We also got to go thrift shopping some! Here is Alessi trying on a great skirt that she took home to London with her!




We also had fun eating grilled cheese, meeting our pets, and coming to the Ranch with her! We had such a good time, it makes us miss Alessi! But at least I can listen to her music, even though she is far away.


Alessi has such great style! Check out her little necklaces and charms! ❤

Now let's take a listen to some of her music - it is like candy for your ears. I hope you like it.


I think this is my favorite song from her last album!

Happy Birthday 2012, Missy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISSY! We love you! We're over here at the Ranch, with Missy's parents, celebrating her birthday. We just got done stuffing ourselves with pizza and cake (Boston Creme, if you must know). Time to go pass out!

Renegade Handmade L.A.

I'm finally posting up my photos from last month's big RENEGADE HANDMADE craft fair which took place in a park on the outskirts of Los Angeles' CHINATOWN. My two sisters and two nieces took shelter from the unrelenting California sun under PINK PARASOLS:



The first thing we noticed when we arrived at the park was a line of FOOD TRUCKS and a MOBILE WOOD SHOP. The wood shop was pretty impressive, with all these perfectly appointed individual workstations:









We decided to take advantage of the food truck situation and fill-up before the trucks ran out of food. We loaded up on Mexican food, Belgian waffles, and gourmet popsicles, and found a nice shady spot for an impromptu picnic...





















Once we had our fill, we headed into the fray, with the Los Angeles skyline looming in the background...











We geeked-out over this faux LIBRARY INDEX CARD FILE CABINET tablecloth:







I couldn't resist this CONSTELLATION PRINT that featured the title of one of my most favorite SMITHS songs...I ended up buying the very last one they had on hand:





















The LOS ANGELES ZINE FEST had this cool makeshift ZINE LIBRARY set up at the fair...















































We saw these AZTEC FOLK DANCERS with these amazing FEATHERED HEADDRESSES milling about. They performed several ceremonial dances for the fair-goers as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. It was a great way to end our day shopping at Renegade Handmade...































After the fair, we headed over to HPK (HIGHLAND PARK KITCHEN) for dinner...for dessert, we made TABLETOP SMORES (we would have tabletop smores the following night at my parents house, too)...











After dinner, the kids went back home to Riverside, while my sister Cynthia, Missy, and I headed over to the ARCLIGHT THEATER in Hollywood to see the new Wes Anderson flick, Moonrise Kingdom, with Missy's friend Jamie. Of course, this being Hollywood, the Arclight had ORIGINAL COSTUMES from the newest BATMAN MOVIE on display in their lobby...







We saw this painting in the theater which perfectly encapsulates the sultry air-brushed sexiness and subversiveness of HOLLYWEIRD:



Following the movie, we headed over to the HOUSE OF PIES for a late night snack. Growing up in Southern California, the House of Pies was always a great place to stop on the way home after seeing a show in L.A...It's a lively place to see showbiz-types, cops, immigrants, hipsters, and tourists rub elbows while having a cup of coffee and a delicious slice of pie. It was the perfect proverbial cherry-on-top of an excellent day out...