Missing you

Hey there, bloggy town. I've been missing you. You been missing me?


From Geninne's Art Blog, which might be the prettiest blog ever. Illustration by the super amazing Geninne. Hopefully it'll make it onto her Etsy.

I just ate two big cookies with my lunch. I should not have done that.

Spring is for nerds

I've been having a bit of a fling. With spring. While fall is my favorite season, I must admit that spring does have its fine qualities. And though this particular spring has been busier than most, I won't hold that against it.

Up at school, the girls are all abuzz about graduation...



And at home, I've been all abuzz about new furniture. That's right, the Hoosier is here!



Isn't it lovely?



Sigh. I'm such a sucker for hardware. I bought it from a woman on Craigslist who owned it for years and years and loved it dearly. I can't wait to give it an equally long run in my home!

I've also been all abuzz over MI-5 (aka Spooks for any Brits reading). Can I take a moment to geek out over that? I've been watching the 6th season on KERA. I must admit, I initially started watching just for Rupert Penry-Jones, but now I'm just straight hooked. Every episode, I'm on the edge of my seat. Here's a clippy-clip from an earlier season. Featuring Mr. Penry-Jones of course.



I'll probably end up renting them all eventually. Maybe over the summer..

So yeah, spring. It has a few things going for it. Flowers and such. Babies and sunshine. Patio drinking. Enjoy it while you can. It'll be 100 degrees before we know it.



And one more quick plug for another sign of spring. The Etsy Dallas Spring Bash! It's next Saturday, May 1. Be there or be square, nerds!

Polar Bear Report

What the eff?! So cute. Holy geeze.


polar bear painting by LoucheLab on etsy

Just cos I've been spending a wee bit too much time on etsy lately. It's bound to happen. The polar bears, they find me. And then I share.

Oh my

I let myself just dip a toe into Etsy this morning. Never a good idea in my current financial state, to be sure. It had been far too long since I'd visited Berkley Illustration's store (I was a verified stalker of it last year, when I bought three prints). There are many new creatures both large and small that Ryan has drawn, but oh this one tempts me more than any:



Oh my. Polar bears are obviously at the top of my list of animals I am inexplicably attached to. But lions and horses are quite close behind them. (Although, despite my joy at the sight, that would be one hot, bloody mess if you got all three of them in a room together. Yeesh.)

I may have to add this to the wish list. He would look quite fine alongside my polar bear print. Even better, Ryan should draw a lioness to go along with him. And then my life would be complete. Sigh.

Also, I just discovered something quite strange. When I first started this blog about a year ago, I was living in Austin, obvs, and chose the name. And at one point I tried to find it via google and it was just near impossible (the phrase "Keep Austin Weird" is quite popular, you see). So just this morning, I googled the blog name without thinking (usually I just type the address in) and it was on the first page of google. Wha?? So I think in some highly technical internets way, that is a good thing.

However, I was just recently considering finally changing this over to Keeping Dallas Weird, since it's been almost 6 months now that I've been up here. But I dunno, should I just keep it as is? I'm not sure there's any way to move all the previous entries over to the new address, which is a drag. And the google development is sorta cool.

Meanwhile, I keep thinking that people are stumbling upon this blog and start looking around thinking this is an Austin person's blog and then they're like, "Yo, this bitch lives in Dallas! I'm out." I feel like it's a bit misleading that way. I do still love Austin, and hope in this wee little corner of my heart that I'll return someday, but maybe it is time to let go and devote myself anew to weirdifying Dallas. (Tho regardless of outcome, rest assured I'm still keeping my 512 cell phone number.)

Suggestions? I think there's only 10 people reading at the most, so perhaps am giving this too much thought..

Celebriteh

So I was (discreetly) catching up on some blogs today at work and got such a pleasant surprise, if a bit late. A photo of CJ won an honorable mention spot in Erika's dog photo contest! Yeah, I know, CJ's a cat, but cats were allowed to enter too. And CJ was the only cat to make the cut. He rocks!! I was so proud.

There were soooo many cute entrants. She put together a slide show of all of them - it went on forever, just one adorable dog and puppy photo after another, with a kitty thrown in here and there. I really am excited that my boy was in that top tier. What a bad ass. He's being very modest about it, of course. He gets some Greenies tonight fo sho.

Oh, and here's the picture. I didn't have to think twice of which one to send. I love this photo of him.



So one thing I'll say about Erika, other than that I love her blog, is that she's a huge proponent of adopting rescue/shelter animals, as am I. In fact, I recently bought this stamp to just put on the back of whatever's going into the mail these days.



It's from my new favorite etsy stamp store. You know me and the stamps. RubberHedgehog's area of expertise is animals. (They've also got a non-etsy store.) So of course you know what kind of stamp I was looking for that brought me to their shop. Uh huh, hello Christmas cards!!



I'd been trying to find a polar bear stamp and knew this one was it. Also purchased, for my sweet 7-year-old niece, is this adorable bookplate stamp.



It's going into her Christmas present, along with some Ramona books. I hope she loves them as much as I did. I also bought a hot pink ink pad for her. Nothing but the best for my pretty girl.

One last tidbit here before I go - what can you say about this photo? What can you not say? Just look at them.



1. I love the dress. Poor Laura's there in this frumpy brown thing and there's Michelle, a vision in perfectly tailored red. FYI it was made by her go-to girl, Chicago designer Maria Pinto.
2. This image says volumes about the years to come, doesn't it? The Obamas are just so young and modern and elegant and fresh and everything that the weary Bushes are not. Change is good. Change is so good.

Keeping Austin Dallas Weird?

Yes, it's true, I did get a job offer, and I have accepted it. Unfortunately, it is not here, it is there. A place I had absolutely no desire to live in. But it was a job in my field (aren't many down here), so I applied for it and, welp, there you go.

This is also my second relocation in a year - something, as I told someone yesterday, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I hate - no wait, loathe - moving. So you can understand why amidst all this, I'm a little less than elated. Even though getting a job is a wonderful thing and I should be grateful for it.

I never spent a lot of time in Dallas, despite growing up in Forth Worth, so I don't really know much about it. Hopefully I'll come to like it. Got any tips?

Meanwhile, this also means I can begin (tentatively) spending money again. I broke the seal on Saturday at Maker Faire with Stacey, home to the Bazaar Bizarre craft fair and rock-em-sock-em robots. It was a perfect Texas fall day (i.e. warmer than you'd prefer, but pleasant). I took lots of fun pictures which it'll probably take me forever to sort through and edit, so we'll just go straight to the product shots.

My goodie of the day was this calendar from ilee papergoods. Here's her etsy shop. She had traveled all the way down from Seattle to sell her beautiful cards, and seems she does custom wedding invites too.



So pretty and perfectly seasonal. And of course the best month is my birthday month - October! Looks like my birthday's on a Thursday next year.



I also got to meet Elizabeth Soule of e.soule, whose pictures of tiny animals I covet. This one in particular of course.



She usually sells them on these wooden blocks and then you put it on the wall and it's gorgeous, but I'm not that financially flush yet. Or, rather, might not ever be. But I was able to buy my favorite little polar bear photo on a card. So that scratched the itch.



She's got a horse collection now too. Did you know she takes these with a Polaroid camera? You can shop her stuff here.



She also sells many of these as just prints. You know, frame-it-yourself deals. I'll keep that in mind going forward. I am looking to expand my polar bear print collection.



And yarn lovers everywhere collectively swooned.

Okay, I better get going. I'm heading over to the local NPR station to take pledge calls. Yeah, this was a commitment I made before I found out I needed to move in three weeks. But procrastination's my middle name, so...

Sappy much?

It was while watching this video this afternoon that it finally clicked. This could really happen.



I do try to not linger too much on politics here. Except for Palin and her polar bear issues. Because really, that's wrong. But all that aside. All of it. Realizing that someone might become president that you would be proud of - and I mean really, truly proud of - well, it's quite a revelation when you get that feeling for the first time. For many people of my generation and younger (define that how you will - I'm 28), this is probably a first for them too.

Suddenly you don't give a crap about what state the economy is in. You don't give a crap about the nuances of the issues. Or about the fact that you're unemployed in a recession. Someone you believe in, who you trust, might become president? I don't know. Maybe it's just been a really long eight years, but, I mean, I started to cry. What a baby.

I know everyone who's reading this is planning to vote, so I won't even remind you to do so. But really though. Please vote. I know you will. And think about the future of this country when you do. All things are possible when people have hope. Okay, now I'm even making myself nauseous. What's next.

One of my favorite etsy shops is having a sale, but the shirt I really want is full price on their main site.



This would help to make my life complete. But you know I'm not much of a fan of squirrels. They dig up the potted plants on my balcony and just wreak general havoc. But maybe if one could be trained to play the snare drum.. well, we could work something out.



That would look good on a onesie too, right? Yeah, they do that.



They put this one on shirts and onesies too. Love it.



Write it down here.



This little phone makes me happy. His face kinda reminds me of Meatwad and his little snaggletooth. (And if you get that reference, you are cooler than I thought.) Anyway, send this card to someone you're missing lately.

Okay, off to go, well, get some work done. That was the plan for the afternoon but instead I've been getting sappy over videos and hand-washing some new yarn developments. And oh yeah, blogging. Total time-sucker.

Daaaaang

"The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, pushing the job troubles of American workers onto the political stage as the presidential campaign enters its final eight weeks.

So far, 605,000 jobs have disappeared since the start of the year, with employers slashing 84,000 jobs in August alone, the Labor Department reported on Friday. And even Americans who are still employed are facing tough times.

Raises have not kept up with the rising cost of living, putting more pressure on workers as high gasoline and food prices curtail their spending power."
-Jobless Report Becomes an Issue on the Campaign Trail, The New York Times, 9/5/08

I guess this makes me feel better. I'm not sure. It's always nice when a whole bunch of people can sympathize with what you're going through. Although I sorta already knew that. Since early July, I've personally known of three other people (besides myself) getting laid off. Plus did I mention that everyone at my former workplace had to take a paycut? As if we were rolling in it to start with.

"Economic downturns are almost always bad for the incumbent party."

Man, sucks to be you Sen. McCain. It's a hell of a year to run as a republican. Good luck and stuff. PS - Gov. Palin, America raises good people in big towns too. Snap.



How did I miss this? Oh the agony. It would have been such a nice pick-me-up. I will watch her store for more. Maybe she will make another one? That would be swell.

Still raining

Um, yeah, so now my cat's sick. Ah geeze, it's never-ending these days. Never. Ending. Like one big fat bummer after another. Bah. So keep me in mind (looking for job and new meaning for life), keep my uncle's family in mind (dealing with great tragedy), and keep my kitty cat in mind. Really good, sweet kitty cat. Who is 15 and dealing with the ailments that come with that age. Hopefully he'll be okay.

Right. So, I was going to show things I own rather than things I want to buy. Yes, I remember. I've been saving my favorite etsy artist for a rainy day. Yep, I'd say it's raining. I own four of Dan-ah Kim's prints. That's a lot for me. I've also bought one for a friend. That one was the first of her prints that I saw, in a shop in Queens. I asked who the artist was and then bought the print through etsy. I think it was probably the first thing I ever bought through etsy. And then yeah, four more.



I own this one. Haven't gotten around to framing it yet, though. I feel like that's me there. I wonder where that plane's going. I wish that I was on it. I've always romanticized planes and travel.



This one too. I love the feeling it evokes about New York more than most any image I took away from my time there. I loved how you could get on that train and come out anywhere.

Dan-ah has some new artwork on her website. Every time she comes out with some new pieces, I always find one or two that I'm completely smitten with. I mean, I just swoon.



Beautiful. She had a show at thinkspace gallery this summer where she displayed some of her newer pieces. Looks like some of those are still for sale. Wow, I can remember when her originals were going for a lot less than that. How exciting for her! Of course, there's always her etsy shop, with more affordable options.



These last two aren't available yet as prints, it seems. But this one.. well, when it does become available, let's just say I hope I have a job by then.

Just as I suspected

My, what a pair they make.



Doncha think? Just a lovely couple. He, all dapper. And she, all sweetness and light, holding her bouquet of flowers. Neither based in any facet of reality, but who cares about that. I'm glad I got this out of my system before the bottom fell out on my finances. Yeah, cos I got laid off. But anyway.

Since I can't really buy stuff these days, trolling etsy is a little dangerous. Doesn't really stop me though. But I thought I'd feature a few things I own rather than those I want to buy. Because, you know, I can't buy them. I bought this pendant back when I lived in Astoria, at a little shop near my apartment.



This gal paints pictures on the backs of little dominoes, then sets them as pendants, rings, brooches, earrings, etc.



So many pretty designs! Her name is Tara Campbell and the company is Odd Bird. Here's her etsy shop. She's Canadian! Despite trying to beat up on them athletically at the moment, we can still show the northern neighbors some consumer love.



Even the back is pretty.



Cutie kitties. There are so many designs, I swear you'll find one you think you can't live without. And on that note, I'll just be navigating away from her website right now...

Mom gets in tomorrow and cat fur is coating every surface. I gotta go clean.

Waiting for it

I think everyone's already seen these prints - now booklets - from OrangeBeautiful. I put a little star by them recently, and then, upon revisiting them today, realized they seem now very appropriate for my current situation.



I know, I'm working on it.



I will, soon. How much time is one really allowed? It's fine for now, but once the sympathy trains roll out of the station - and they will roll - then what?



Yeah, I'm still waiting for that surge. Like, okay, I'm ready to take on the world. I do love that surge. Meanwhile, I don't know. Those are my three favorite words these days. "What are you going to do?" I don't know. I do appreciate the comments from you guys though. Really sweet of you.

So, plans for the rest of my life, I'm still pretty iffy on. But as for right now, I'm still maintaining a modicum of activity. For example, I am..

-reading Ladies and Gentleman, The Bronx is Burning. Holy cow, so good. It's the history/non-fiction lover in me coming out, I guess. And New York lover.

-organizing all my recipes into a binder. I'd started this project a month or so ago in earnest, and then, as goes many things, the work tapered off. I need to create some really cute outside cover for the binder, so it doesn't look like office supply.

-trying to talk myself into working on my resume. That's going to be fun.

-planning new temporary career of buying things and then selling them on eBay..? I can really see that going well. (please note sarcasm) I can at least enjoy going to a few estate sales in the meantime.

-still avoiding well-meaning coworkers. I just can't deal with that. Am hoping plan to sneak into the office late tonight to fetch my stuff works out.

-snuggling with the kitty. He is near constant companion, and very sympathetic.

-attempting to discern the meaning of life. This girl looks like she's got a handle on it. All one needs to do is don bikini and smile.

Getting a little Bob Barker on ya.

I'm web/blog surfing.

Swoon.



But $60? It's so small! This has something to do with the fact that this lady is in the UK and I am not, yes? Because they now use dollars to wipe their bums? Yes, I'm sure that's what it is. $30 would make much more sense, which when you do the math...



For groceries? You are the coolest if you walk out of Whole Foods with this bag full of gourmet cheese.



Hmmm, YES. I would rock this on my car.. if I had one of those cars with like fifty stickers on it.



Fo reals. I am a BIG fan of the lolcats.

Thanks Stacey for turning me onto (and Elements of Style for reminding me of how cool it is) the fabulous website Obey the Pure Breed, which is where those last three came from. Thankfully there are non-pure breed options there (mostly in the vein of lolcat stuff) for those of us who prefer mutts/mixed breeds from the local animal shelter because we would rather save one of their lives than buy an animal from a person who breeds them for profit-- but, er, I should really get off that soap box now. It's an opinion, you know. Just do me a favor and spay and neuter your pets. Meanwhile, someone I know really needs that "I poop rainbows" onesie for their baby.

And now, here is the original lolcat (and shelter cat). My dude.



I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and will return Monday. Not that four days without a posting from me is reason to cause alarm or anything but, you know, have a good weekend and stuff!

Meet Willard!

Isn't he handsome?



Democracy in action my friends. Well, not really. Despite my rallying and voting, the polar bear never won an open vote at the Berkley Blog. But somehow (comments, lots of comments) my pleading and begging was heard. And now he has arrived. Even better, I love his little bio:
"Meet Willard the Polar Bear! This rosy fellow is the Chairman of the Board for a successful popsicle corporation. His ingenuity in the frozen novelty field is unsurpassed and he's currently working on a flavor that is so secret, he has to carry the recipe in a briefcase handcuffed to his arm."

Plus, I can't help but think how dandy and color-coordinated he will look alongside the tray. Yes, that tray. Which, okay yes, I might have bought. But I had a percent-off coupon, and free shipping. And clearly a deep love and adoration for it. Plus I waited like six weeks or so before I finally caved. My, how it will look good alongside Willard!

Thank you Ryan and Lucy!! Here's a little Q&A with them, if you want to know more about these two. And of course the Berkley Illustration store is here. I'm treating myself to an 8x10 of Mr. Polar Bear. Yeah.

Flip it.

Wah. Work has been really busy for me this week. We found out on Tuesday that a whole lot of stuff that we didn't think would need to be done by the end of this week, well, needed to be done by the end of this week. I'm hoping this means that next week will be really quiet. During which time I can catch up on reading everyone's blogs that I like to read. And take my cat to the vet. And obsess over the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Yeah, that would be good.



Oh Mark! My Marky Mark is gone (yes, this is what I call him). I miss him already. I love my little quirky Mark. I'm slightly less excited about the finale now. But it'll still be good. I want another one of those Tabitha and Napoleon lyrical hip-hop deals. Okay, I'm going to stop blathering on about reality TV now.

So my sister-in-law sent out some photos today of the kids and their new house overseas. Get a load of these mugs:



I mean, come on. The good news is, there is a whole lot of grandparent energy that can be put into those three and their seemingly unending cuteness. Which pretty much guarantees that there will never be any pressure on me to reproduce. Thanks bro! I already have plenty of societal pressures to partner up and make babies. I'm so glad none of that is coming from my parents.

Eh, what else. I am..

..learning how to knit.
..hitting my usual summer eating nostalgia disaster. At some point during the summer I seek out hot dogs, puffy cheetos, and lemonade. And for desert, peach cobbler and Blue Bell ice cream. You'll notice there's nothing green in that assortment.
..also rediscovering fruit roll ups.
..reading the hub-bub I seemed to have missed regarding Ellen Tien's story in the May Oprah magazine about divorce. It was all over the blogs a few weeks ago, and people, in discussing it, called her some not-so-nice things. Not that anyone cares, but I know Ellen and her husband, and they are both lovely people and have both been nothing but good to me. And not that this is anything new, but people shouldn't talk smack about people they don't know.
..discovering Joe Venuti. Do you use that Pandora thing? Go to Pandora and plug in Joe Venuti. I listened to that all afternoon. I like when the Stephane Grappelli comes up on there too. Jazz violin. Who knew?
..trying to figure out what the flip is up with my flipping kitchen sink. Every time I put even the tiniest bit of food through the disposal, the flipping sink gets stopped up. I poured flipping drano in there that was left over from the last time this happened, when I was able to successfully de-clog it. That time, I'd put in a huge pile of stuff that I later realized I really shouldn't have. This time, we're talking like not even a handful - less than a handful - of flipping peach peel. And the flipping thing isn't draining again. Fliiiiiip!!!!
..trying not to curse in my blog.

OH, and one last thing! My coworker has started her etsy shop. Of course my favorite is the little bear.



He comes in a set of vintage-y baby cards. If you know a lot of pregnant ladies, you ought to buy some. I know two right now myself. Down from 4 I knew six months ago. Up from 1 I knew one month ago. Yay for babies! I also dig the sweet wagon.



It's so unexpected and happy and bright! The best news? I don't have to pay shipping (because I work with her). Ha ha suckers.

M. F. Squirrel

It's too good. It's all just too good. My newest Etsy crush is on Elloh (also known as Ellen), a gal in Philly making art, who also happens to have a strikingly similar taste in movies and TV as I do (the 80s, Hitchcock, Amelie, and a strong love and adoration for The Office). She's also got this Sarah Vowell thing going on with the obsession with presidential facial hair. I dig it.

So she's this week's "Stuff on Etsy I'd Like to Buy." Here are some highlights from her shop. You have no idea how hard it was to narrow it down.

Pam from The Office. In fact, Ellen has painted ALL of the characters from The Office. And not just the American version. The UK version too. You can find them in her Etsy store. They're amazing. Now that is a labor of love.



The characters from The Breakfast Club. This was the first one I saw where I thought, Okay, maybe I need to buy one of these. This would be an ode to my youth. My brother had videotaped this movie and Pretty in Pink (she memorializes that one too) off of cable, so I grew up watching it with all the curse words in it. I thought it was weird when I got to high school and didn't hate my parents.



I had a love affair with the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in high school. We had to read the book, and it was great, but the movie is what really got me. Gregory Peck as Atticus. I love my dad and all, but having Gregory Peck be my dad was sort of a dream of mine. And of course I thought the world of Scout. This set of paintings of her is the best - I love Scout as the ham.



Also, Berkley Illustration is having another "vote on your favorite animal for Ryan to do up in people clothes" thing, and if you love polar bears and/or love me, you'll go vote for the PBs. Clearly I am doing a lot of kissing up to them but so far it has done me no good.

On the homefront, I should point out that it was discovered that the culprit of my plant upheavals was indeed a squirrel. I caught one in the act last week. I called Nicole (who has had similar problems) that morning and was like, "M. F. squirrels this!" and "M. F. squirrels that!" Except, you know, not abbreviated.

In addition to uprooting my plants from time to time, I discovered a wee pecan tree growing from a buried pecan in my hydrangea. I will also blame this on the squirrels. There seems to be a seasonality to the rodents bothering me. The birds eased up after the spring (migration perhaps?), so now we've moved on to the squirrels. What's next? It's like freakin' animal kingdom out there.

Meanwhile, when I get filled with squirrel animosity, I like to watch this video. If I had a yard, I'd get one and watch the squirrels go flying off all day long. The fun really starts at around 3:40.