Hello stranger

Where have I been?! Well, let's see. The holidays happened. I went to Alabama to visit the Southern side of my family for Thanksgiving. We went to a great flea market where I saw many unique, special and, at times, disturbing items...


...like these beautiful pheasant pelts, although I think they would have been prettier on the pheasant.

...and this poor turkey that is collecting dust. Just look at that face...

...only a mother turkey could love it, but doesn't he look so sad (and dusty!)?

But my dad found some preserves that he loved...

And I found a booth that appealed to the Elle Woods in me.

Then Christmas happened...


and I got engaged!

(yes this is my ring!!!)

Then New Year's, which brought about a nasty upper respiratory infection that has lasted until today. I am finally feeling better and am heading to the warm weather of the West tomorrow. When I return I will be back to posting and planning my future with my boo!

Ain't love grand?

Rock-afire Explosion!

When I was a little girl I spent many Friday nights at Showbiz Pizza Place. I played lots of Ms. Pac Man, Spy Hunter and Whac-a-Mole. I played these games very poorly, mind you, but I loved to play, sweat, get angry when I lost and then gorge on pizza in the dining room. Not only would I eat pizza, but I would be soothed by the sounds of Billy Bob and the Rock-afire Explosion.

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I loved that animatronic band! And now I love them even more...a very clever man, named Chris Thrash, grew up watching the same band as a young boy in Columbus GA. Fast forward 25 years to the present day and he actually has a Rock-afire Explosion band of his very own! Not only does he have all the members, but he has programmed them to perform such hits as MGMT's "Electric Feel", the White Stripe's "Conquest" and Madonna's "4 Minutes". He has posted many of these videos on YouTube and is causing quite a sensation. It is truly amazing and I really think I want the Rock-afire Explosion to play my next birthday party! You can read more about Chris and his hip, robotic band in the newest issue of Spin magazine. The article is online here and now, enjoy a few of the following masterpieces:

What a concept!

Strangely enough, I found a French website, ViaComIT, that has an amazing article on American concept cars from the 50's and 60's. I don't really know what the article says (the French that I remember from high school is only good enough for me to know if cheese (fromage) comes on my ham (jambon) croissant (croissant). But the pictures tell it all! I must admit that I actually love car shows and the concept cars are typically my favorite part. I am also a huge fan of the aesthetic from the 50's and 60's, so this article, at the least the pictures anyway, was right up my alley!

Here are some of my faves:


The GM Firebird, II from 1954 and III and from 1958, looks like a jet on wheels!


This is the Oldsmobile Golden Rocket from 1956. Appropriately named.


This the Pontiac Club De Mer (1956) and if my French serves me correctly, I believe that can be translated as the Pontiac Club of the Sea. Very torpedo-esque.

This is the Ford X 2000. I guess in 1958 they thought, in the future, all cars would come with rudders.


I think this Cadillac Cyclone (1959) is my favorite. It reminds me of Wonder Woman's invisible jet...




This crazy Ford Gyron looks INSANE! It is like a car-cycle. Does it really only have 2 wheels???

There are so many more! Check them out, plus some rad video, here. I wonder what happened to all of these?

Where have you been all my life?

I love having get-togethers...clothing swaps, game nights, whathaveyou. And of course, being the good hostess that I I try to be, I always have snacks and drinks for all of my guests. A problem that I have run into on more than one occasion is not having a way to differentiate one person's wine glass from another's. From time to time, I will see wine glass charms sold, but they are typically tacky beaded ones or have some sort of silly animated character on them. Until now!


They are called VinoTagz, are super stylish and can be purchased right here. Only 12 dollars for 6 of them and they come in 4 different styles. These being my favorites:



I'm seriously so excited to buy these! I'm trying to curb my spending habit, but I'm doing this not just for myself, but for my PEOPLE! You are welcome.

The future is goofy...

Ever since their grand unveiling, I have thought that the Segway is super dorky.

Just look at it in action:


It doesn't matter who you are, there is NO way you can look cool riding one of these things. I don't care if you have one made by Ferrari or not.

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Not to mention, it has got to be THE laziest possible way to get from one place to another. I mean, ride a bike, for pete's sake!

But, believe it or not it actually can get dorkier (and just as lazy). Check it:

Yep, that's a man on a hover scooter. And while the technology may be cool, this gentleman is decidedly NOT. With his tie blowing in the wind, I am embarrassed for him. But, hey, if you think that this might be your thing and you have an extra 17 G's lying around, buy one here.

Or perhaps you would like to sit, since standing can be so very exhausting.


What is that, you ask? It is none other than a motorized monocycle. You can try to be as hip as this guy, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.


Oh future, what other ghastly, technologically awe-inspiring, inventions will you deliver to us next?

I won, I won!

I entered a contest last week through one of my favorite websites Apartment Therapy and one of my favorite stores, Target (maybe you've heard of it?). I was randomly selected from over 650 entries and I won all of these super cool items!

The prize package consists of a DIY Cube Clock, Gama Throw Pillows (I LOVE these!), Gummy Light, and Grobal Self-Watering Flower Pot (I hope to never kill a plant again). Thank you to Apartment Therapy and to Target!

Muppets and mice and pigs, oh my!

When I was growing up I was considered one thing. A nerd. Thick glasses, bad perm and an insatiable need to read. I read anything I could get my hands on and loved going to the library every chance I could get. I turned many pages, but I thought I would share some of my most beloved childhood reads with you.

One of my all-time favorites was The Monster at the End of This Book.


It was SO suspenseful, but then had such a happy ending! And who doesn't love Grover (Elmo is overrated, people).

As I got older my tastes changed and I wasn't much interested in Sesame Street anymore. I was given a book called Alexander and the Magic Mouse and this became my new favorite for quite some time.


The illustrations were gorgeous and would get my imagination running for hours at a time. If only there had been a magic mouse living in my house, my life would have been filled with adventure!

As I entered into early adolescence, my literary tastes changed yet again (as did my hair...enter the bad perm I mentioned earlier) and my favorite go to guide for style and beauty tips was none other than Miss Piggy's Guide to Life.

(Isn't she lovely?)

Within these pages, Miss Piggy gave advice on fashion, love and makeup application (isn't there a saying about lipstick on a pig?.... but I digress). There were great pictures inside and this handy guide went with me everywhere.

Once I went to junior high, innocence was lost. I started reading Stephen King novels and lots of True Crime stories, but the books that will always hold a place in my heart are the ones of my youth.

P.S. Hannah Montana has NOTHING on Miss Piggy.