crows can't walk

i found myself watching a crow walking in the gutter on my street. crows really suck at walking - they need knees. this crow ambled down the road, bobbing from side to side. he swung his head from side to side with each step, too. i wondered if it made him dizzy, then i wondered if crows can even get dizzy. why didn't he just fly? he really wasn't made for walking. it felt like my life, in a rather steinbeck-ian tortoise kind of way. wow, that's deep.

linus was hell bent on being in my picture today.

blue blondie t shirt: the gap '06

tiny blue crocheted boob top: anthropologie

skeleton key cuff: bayousalvage.etsy.com

cameo necklace: estee lauder in the 70s (it was my grammie's and it has an estee perfume solid inside that smells just like her!)

strawberry head stretchie: target

white and red skirt: forever 21

blue half slip: goodwill

tights: i think i've had them since i was 20!!!

strawberry clogs: dansko

ankle bandage: ace

you never know what you'll find at a thrift store

it snowed last night! how weird, huh?

the whole excursion began because kalilah casually mentioned needing to buy some ribbon. the best fabric store EVER is the Pacific Fabric Outlet Store in the sodo neighborhood.

"i will SO take you there!" i said to her. "wait for me to finish my shift and we'll go!" i have a deep love for that store and rarely leave without bags full of remnants, gallons of mod podge, decorative feather trims and assorted random buttons. plus, it's just down the street from seattle's biggest goodwill and salvation army stores...

after we picked up our ribbon (and my feathers, ten yards of burgundy tulle, four boxes of rit dye, oxyclean pen, sewing machine needles, etc....) i really had to beg and plead for kalilah to agree to a thrifting excursion. i think it took her like 9/10s of a second to emphatically agree. some people!

so i've been raving about how much fun we've been having together and today was no exception. check out the hijinks.

if you've had your fill of "sweatin' to the oldies"...

how about "stretchin' to the classics"? so glad he's wearing bike shorts for this video. he spoke at the NW womens show a few years back and when he came out on that elevated stage in his breezy shorts, i saw more of him than i ever wanted to!

size 18 shoes are bigger than kalilah's head!

the PERFECT candlestick for your reptile themed living room.

now i like creepy pictures but these are downright scary. look at that kid!

what do you do when your sunglass arm melts sideways? donate your glasses to the goodwill!

this is the mother of all sectionals. HUGE! the saleslady was kind enough to tell us that it would be half off tomorrw. how sweet, because your $2500 price tag seemed like such a bargain but half off that is even better! (some of their prices are insane!)

there was also a hideous puke green 70s couch with an ancient woman in a yellow slicker asleep on it. i really wanted to take a picture but this man kept giving me the evil eye when kalilah and i laughed about it. c'mon, she was snoring!

i don't know if these were supposed to be baseballs, snowballs or snowmen who could only afford one ball bodies. whatever they were supposed to be, they turned out disturbing!

we did get some great bargains - kalilah found a big gift box of unopened burt's bees body products for only $2.99 and i scored 5 killer dresses for about $3 each. yay! when we realized it had gotten so late, we called an order in to (sarah) pailin thai and headed back to west seattle. yummy noodles and veggies in peanut sauce and fun thrifting and crafting expeditions. yay for today!

vintage gunne sax dress: stepupinthecloset.etsy.com

sparrow necklace: pickypicky.etsy.com

magic caravan necklace: thecaravan.etsy.com

wooden custom bangle: palomasnest.etsy.com

storybook apron: kimmi.etsy.com

hair flower: jonelle lind

burgundy boots: frye

got my etsy on, G

getting stuff posted right now, including a gorgeous 50s black taffeta that i'm sad to sell (but i never wore it!!! it's been six years!!) and a 1940s beaded dress with swingy tassles! go get em!

1000 item "to do" list

i have one thousand things to do. that isn't an exaggeration! i actually merged all my "to do" lists and prioritized the tasks and there are exactly 1000 things that i need to get done. high up on the list are things like "fold laundry" and "take etsy photos." boring, i know. the fun stuff is towards the end, items such as "tell a really good lie that gets you on oprah", "kiss a rockstar for more than 30 seconds" and "locate amelia earhart's plane wreckage." it was that last item, #927, that inspired today's outfit.

vintage poly ruffled white hostess blouse: retrorenegadevintage.etsy.com

luna park buttons: luna park cafe

steampunk aviatrix goggles: darklysewn.etsy.com

black jumper: forever 21

grey slouchy socks: target

black knee high boots: palladium

bangles: claire's and forever 21

happier parts of yesterday

my nephew has his very own digital camera. we took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. yes, he is wearing a tiara. the bandana is his hair. it's very little edie, don't you think? i bought grey gardens for his mother and i suspect he's watched it a few times himself.

the day after i got out of the hospital in 2006, my mother was adopted by a family of wild peacock chicks. they're all grown up now. they came up to the window and honked until my mom went out to feed them. we were eating dinner at the time and we all dropped our forks to go and see them.

when he fans his tail, it sounds like hissing or something rattling on the top of a drum. it's hard to explain if you haven't heard it.

with his tail all fanned out, this bird is gigantic. they have no fear of people, either. he even lets xander touch his tail.

i just happened to be wearing my peacock sweater from anthropologie. cheesy and blurry picture, i know. it's the only one i got with me in it, though.

while my parents were checking on my grandparents, i met up with my friend jacob for a beer. this tavern has been operating in bremerton since the 30s and it is very twin peaks.

this sign was posted above the bar.

but this cat was wandering around the whole time we were there.

jacob and i have known each other since junior high and we were hoping we'd get to catch up, but i got the word that i needed to get up to the hospital. the cardiologist wants my grandfather to have a defibrillator installed. he had fallen and banged himself up pretty bad at about 3a. the doctor said that was probably when he was having the onset of the heart attack. he's a very strong and stubborn man but he gladly held my hand while i was at the hospital. he's totally coherent but the doctor wanted us to understand how serious the situation was.

i didn't sleep last night and i'm very thankful i was able to take the day off work today. i'll be back at work tomorrow and will hopefully be able to get my etsy updates posted. everything will be dependant on my grandfather's health, though. i need to be around as much as possible and my family lives across the puget sound. that's a 40 minute ferry ride or an hour to two hour drive depending on traffic. i want everyone to know i'm fine but since i'm very close to my grandparents, this is tough on me. i'll keep posting updates and let you all know how things are going. thank you for all the sweet words of support - it means a lot to me!

quick update

my grandfather had a heart attack and took a nasty fall. i'm helping out a bit as my parents have to take care of my five year-old nephew and my younger sister who has MS. hopefully i can get some time to post a real update tomorrw. all is ok - grandpa is in the hospital and and doing alright. just scary.

crappy day

that's what i'm having. everyone has one every now and then. right? i stubbed my toe really hard and my car is being mean and my camera crapped out on me and linus tried to mount lucy AGAIN.

i think i ate bad chinese food, too. yuck. sick and stressed and having one of those days. tomorrow will be better.

sunny day

when the sun is out in seattle, the city comes alive. luckily, sunny days are a somewhat rare event. luna park cafe is located at the end of alki beach in west seattle. today was sunny so everyone headed down to alki and we were slammed.okay seattle, just because you see sunshine, that doesn't mean it's warm!!! can i tell you how many people were running around in shorts and t shirts in 50 degree weather today? are they all crazy? i had to scrape ice off my car this morning and i saw a chick in a bikini sunbathing when i got off work. wtf?

everyone wanted milkshakes, too. thank goodness people were in good moods for the most part! i got stuck at the shake machines for a while since orders started piling up. we make hand dipped shakes, too. that means when someone orders a banana split shake i have to scoop the ice cream, mash the banana, add the strawberries, chocolate and butterscotch, blend the whole mess, pour it into a shake glass, whip cream it and add the cherry. i love that we do it this way but it can slow things down when tables of eight people decide they all want complicated milkshakes. it cracks me up when they see me over there blending like mad and still ask if their shakes have been forgotten. silly fools!

right before i left, a lady came in and ordered an IPA. we don't serve IPA. did we have it in bottles? no, i'm sorry, we don't serve it. what do we have on tap? manny's, roger's, nine pound porter, pyramid hef and pbr. no IPA? uh, no. we still don't serve it. okay, she's going somewhere that does serve IPA. buh bye, lady!

kalilah and i went out for thai food after work. one can only stomach so many gardenburgers before luna park just doesn't sound appealing anymore. our food is great, i'm just sick of it. pailin thai is just down the road from our houses so we headed there. we were seated next to the aquarium and they have the weirdest fish ever! there was one that looked like a worm with fish eyes bulging out from the top of his head and he watched me the whole time i ate. kalilah and i started making up voices for each fish and creating a sorta twisted story about them. i almost spit beer out my nose at one point. kalilah got mad at me because i called the restaurant "sarah palin thai." we've been having way too much fun together lately.

i am propped up in bed with my bad ankle elevated by three pillows. i think i need ice. today was such a workout. time for rest and more torchwood - the next two dvds arrived today along with my new goggles and my gorgeous new gunne. yay! i know i say "yay" a lot but i tend to be less than eloquent after a hard day of work. remind me to go to thesaurus.com over the weekend!

vintage poly sailor-ish dress: estatesale.etsy.com

lucky caravan necklace: gift from thecaravan.etsy.com (i almost slept in it last night - i didn't wanna take it off!)

luna park cafe button : we sell them!

black tights: old navy

clunky shoes: hot topic

a day of blessings

the world isn't perfect. my life isn't perfect. heck, even my grammar isn't perfect! today wasn't perfect but it was such a glorious day that it makes me believe that even in our messed up perception of reality, perfection could be possible.

this morning i put on an adorable polyester sailor style dress that i found at the goodwill and it actually fit me! i bought it for my store, but it has such a sweet 1920s look to it that i decided to keep it. i also wore my special caravan necklace, a gift for being the 100th sale at becca's beautiful etsy store. i think she put magic in it! (btw, as i write this, i'm enjoying the incredible scent of the cherriepie soap i picked up from her. i've been keeping it next to my bed since the aroma is intoxicating! i need to get another bar to use and a third to keep in my lingerie drawer!)

i kept forgetting to bring my valentines to work but i did remember to grab them on my way out the door today. they're the hilarious hipster valentines from automne's gorgeous etsy store. before the lunch crowd came in, all of us "luna parkers" had them spread across the counter and were laughing our asses off about them. i let everyone pick one out to keep - kalilah snagged the "i'll cut you for reals, valentine" card as soon as i said to pick one. i love automne's sense of humor. check out her blog if you haven't yet.

my friend kim stopped by for lunch today and can i tell you what good people she is? she's just super sweet and genuine and fun and always a hoot to be around. what a treat to see her today! i gave her one of the funny lesbian valentines from automne's assortment and she loved it.

the sun was out, the day was warm and gorgeous, and we had the busiest weekday lunch crowd in months. it felt like i spent the entire day running. kalilah and i maintained sanity by yelling, "i forgot the safety word" (from automne's valentines) and, "ooooooooooh, pancakes!!!" (from a little boy six months ago who repeated this phrase over and over in a softly mournful voice until his food arrived) above the din of the jukebox and conversations. i really do have a fun job. too bad it doesn't pay well or have benefits. then it would be perfect.

i dropped kalilah off on my way home and i think we laughed for the entire duration of the drive. my tummy muscles are good and flexed! when i got home, i had two boxes on my porch. one was my to0-good-to-believe 1940s nurse uniform and kick ass poly blouse from jerri at retro renegade vintage. there was also a box from sasha at violet folklore. this was a total surprise! i opened it up and found the most stunning ice blue slip with soft ruffled lace and a watercolor-like long poly dress!!!! sasha wrote the sweetest note about how the dress and slip were just waiting to go to the perfect home. i am a firm believer in vintage pieces finding just the right person to belong to, and i love that sasha has the same notion! kindred spirits! she also sent congratulations on getting my flapper collection up (i still have so much more to post!). i just heart that girl! what an absolute doll!

i'm going to take a bit of rest now and watch some dr who while i construct a sweet thank you card for miss sasha. i haven't really made any "art" in years so it will be so fun to see what i come up with. the almost perfect end to an almost perfect day. yay!

vintage brown poly sailor dress: goodwill

magical caravan necklace: thecaravan.etsy.com

orange hair flower: jonelle lind

brown tights: nordstrom rack

brown knee high socks: anthropologie clearance

burgundy boots: frye

oh, my nephew adored his little people and their house! he giggled and played with them for two hours, even saying, "ma ma ma ma" when he picked up the mom. so fun!

hate to post and run, but...

...my sister invited me over to her place for dinner. i'm not the kinda girl to turn down free food. EVER. plus i got a toy for my nephew and it has special signifigance.

here's the deal - when i was a little girl, i would spend hours playing with my fisher price little people. i called them "my friends." i had so many of them that i didn't have towns for them, i had bustling cities. granted my favorite playset was the barn, so they were very odd cities. the barn would be sandwiched in between my parking garage and my sesame street apartment building. i will admit that i played with them for years longer than i should have - i think i stopped out of embarassment when i got to junior high!!! this explains why they have such a special place in my heart.

so i'm shopping at target today and something compels me to walk through the toys. little people have changed so much over the years (screw you, ralph nader! i never choked on mine!) that i hardly even recognize them anymore. i am halfway down the aisle when i stop dead in my tracks and do a double - no, a TRIPLE take! there on the middle shelf is the little people anniversary set with reproduction classic figurines! they come with a baby and two parents and a "tin" house carrying case. the only thing that's different is they're about four times as big as the ones i had. but really, who cares? i grabbed them and hugged them close to me, knowing that even though i'm giving them to little ty, they'll be just down the road if i ever need them. and guess what? they've REISSUED THE ORIGINAL BARN!!!! would it be too cheesy if i tracked one down and bought it for myself? i swear i wouldn't really play with it! *truth be told, i actually still have my barn from when i was a kid. sshhhhhhhh.......) what a cool afternoon!

i shipped out two boxes of etsy orders today and came home to find another sale! yays and yays!!! i have got to get out to the thrift shops again. i have a lot of stuff at home but so much of it needs repairs and cleaning that i want some things that are good-to-go to keep my shop from looking so bare. looks like i'll be a busy girl this weekend!

the shake blender wigged out and sprayed me with ice cream today, so please forgive all those giant spots on the front of my dress. it happened in front of my blue-eyed horror movie friend, too! why? at least he thought it was funny.

vintage "babydoll" dress: goodwill (someone altered it and did a lousy job but it gives it a great 90s grunge effect.)

doily embellishment held in place by amanda palmer tour buttons

old pocketwatch worn as necklace

assorted bracelets: claire's

brown tights and striped socks: target

boots: frye (my ice cream covered boots for work!)

a little bit of etsy newness

not in pain, just singing keely smith songs!

i posted two more items to etsy tonight. i photographed six but i'm too sleepy to post more tonight. watch this space!

like finding a pearl in an oyster!

i just discovered torchwood. gorgeous immortal alien hunter captain jack harkness, gorgeous dr owen harper (guppy from bleak house), gorgeous ex cop gwen, gorgeous cinematography, secret organizations, alien technology, a glove that brings people back to life... could it get any better? oh yes it can - just add james marsters (SPIKE!!!!). i feel so blessed.

i think i'll be staying in bed the next two weeks, watching the entire series on my computer. nerd alert!

a night of sin

well, it was service industry night at motor. i dressed a bit naughty but there was no real sinning going on. can you believe i actually went out? lame ass shut in left the house. surprise!

vintage sheer nylon blouse with ruffle: lastamericanhippies.etsy.com

vintage jacket with rhinestone buttons: goodwill when i was 17. it had long sleeves and came down to my ankles so i altered it and made it cool.

bow comb: gift from boringsidney.etsy.com

zippered nylon mini skirt with built in petticoat: luella bartley for target

silver shoes with ribbons: anthropologie (they actually have navy blue ties with silver dots but i switched them out for the night)

ostrich feather and "bend" button worn as brooch

the invite to the party said to dress to the nines. i had actually planned on going totally 20s for it but, as usual, i went a completely different direction when i started getting ready. i somehow ended up as a cross between marla singer and "new romantic" era adam ant. i'd look so much cooler if my acoustic had a whammy bar.

my friend james hunnicutt opened the show with his band, the revolvers.

here's what our view looked like since the bar and the stage are separated by chicken wire.

i think kalilah looks a bit sad here. in actuality we were making fun of two strippers who decided to do some weird noodle dance in front of the stage. there's at least one at every show, right?

kim and melinda showed them how civilized people dance. don't they look swank?

one of the fire dancers set her pants on fire. i tried to get a picture of it but the "spotter" put it out too quickly. damn.

after we got sick of making fun of the strippers, the chick in the dalmatian dress, and the nikki sixx wannabe guy, we resorted to getting as drunk as possible as fast as possible and taking pictures of ourselves.

we kick ass. truly.

show me your "tough" face.

i finally tracked down james the rockstar and made him pose with me. we grew up in the same podunk town and we made plans to hang out there in a couple weeks. don't worry - there WILL be a pictorial!

but then we had to go home since i was opening today. we were slammed the whole day and we had the worst family EVER come in. on top of being totally obnoxious, yelling, riding the batmobile non-stop (it's REALLY loud), and generally pissing me off, the three bratty kids knocked over and broke Touches The Clown, our toy machine with the creepy clown head. the machine was so full of quarters that it sounded like a car wreck. Touches was at least 50 years old! what did the parents do? not a damned thing!!!! they didn't even reprimand the kids!!! everyone in the restaurant was livid. i almost cried when i went over to inspect the damage. the other patrons were talking very loudly about what wretched children they were and how appalling it was that they were allowed to misbehave in such a way. the parents didn't seem to notice, even when other people told their kids to go away or sit down when they started running through the restaurant again. what is with people?

my pictures are kinda weird today since the my camera was pointed towards the sun. spooky, huh? (check my flickr if you wanna see better views)

grey dress with ruffles tons of black buttons: alice temperly for target

apron: vintage

vintage pocketwatch worn as a necklace: had it forever

feathered mask worn as a hairpiece (i pulled hair through the eyeholes!): birthday gift from my friend mike

black cable knit tights: nordstrom

clunky shoes: hot topic