pictures from my trip home

I'm back! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and excellent weekend. The past few days have been so full and busy! A lot happened in Texas: two Thanksgiving meals with different families, a couple of mini-reunions with high school friends, visits to favorite restaurants, and a lot of general hanging around with people! Here are the prettiest things that I was able to capture.

Zazie, my sister's hedgehog!

That's MY DOG. We got him when I was 12. I haven't seen in 9 months! He's crazy. Do you like his outfit?

Most of the rest of these pictures are nature shots. My parents recently bought some land and we got to spend an afternoon there! It was originally a Christmas tree farm, so there are plenty of overgrown fir trees, along with a pond and a shack! Really, the building on the land was appraised as a shack, and for good reason. My mom is planning to fix it up for fun. They're not going to live there, but it's a neat place to visit! I had a lot of fun finding little things to photograph.

This guy is just a neighbor! He wouldn't come talk to us.

Caterpillar buddy

Sap! They were chopping down some trees to clear a little road.

Peeling paint on the door of the shack. I like it.

Grasshopper pal!

The view from my sister's front door.

The pool at my sister's apartment complex. MONEY!

All in all I think it was a nice visit! But it's good to be back. And there's plenty to catch up on here!

thanksgiving break

I hope everyone is having a splendid week. If you're in America, you probably get a few days off for Thanksgiving - hooray, long weekend! I'm heading to Houston today and won't return until Saturday. I won't be blogging from there, so I thought I'd say so long for the moment.

Horse and Buggy skirt from stephaniebracciano

But I couldn't leave you without something pretty to look at. Yesterday I began trolling Etsy for possible Christmas presents. While going through my favorite shops, I spotted this skirt -- isn't it amazing? I love it!

And on that note, goodbye for a little while!

happy friday / weekend!

carrot bread

For a tasty recipe, pop on over to the hungry lemur! Just so you know, I only enjoy carrots when they're shredded up and baked into something tasty...

I've tried to like carrots, raw and cooked, but I just can't do it. When I was a kid, my mom always had baby carrot sticks around, in hopes that my sister and I would eat them as snacks and become less picky eaters. Occasionally I would forget what carrots tasted like and grab a couple to eat. But I could never get past the first bite. I vividly remember riding my bike around the neighborhood, chewing on a mouthful of carrot and trying to make myself swallow... Pretty hilarious.

hair long enough to braid

Hey, check it out! I was playing around with my hair this morning and realized that it's now long enough to braid. That's somewhat of an accomplishment-- and so bittersweet, because I'm planning to get a haircut tomorrow. I think I will aim for longer hair, though, and just get a trim and have the layers shaped up. I sort of miss my long hair from a few years ago!

Top: Delia's / Pants: Forever 21

I think I've had these pants since I was a senior in high school. They're an old standby. And the thermal top is from at least 3 years ago, but it's so good! Check out the thumb holes and cartoon owls printed all over it. I'm glad it's cold enough to wear again. Today was a day for nostalgic fashion!

Hat: from my cousin / Hoodie: ??

I had to add some layers later on in the day. The hat was a necessity as my hair had become quite messy -- it's long enough to braid, but not long enough to stay in place very long. This little red hoodie has been around for ages. It's funny how I can wear a 40 or 50 year old dress and not make a big deal about its history, but this thing was with me on my first dates with my first boyfriend. Hahaha. I think I've had it since I was about 14... Is that cute or scary?

In other news, I listed a purse in my etsy shop today... Nothing too exciting! And although it's been two months since Robert and I added anything to our food blog, we haven't forgotten it! A new recipe is on its way - promise! (Hint hint: write the text, Sir Robert!)

recently

I've been kind of quiet here lately. To be honest it's because I'm trying to figure out what happens next in my life. Big, vague ideas! Anyway, part of that is trying to spend less time online. And spending less time reading blogs. I sincerely hope that no one feels ignored - I'm still catching up on all of your blogs when I get time, but often I'm so behind that I just reply to the most recent blog entries!

Just wanted to put that out there. I have time to catch up tonight because Robert is at a basketball game with a co-worker. Isn't that weird? It's weird for him. It may be the "manliest" thing he's done in his whole life. Heh, male bonding! I think it's cute that he was invited out. So, here are some pictures from the past week!


I think I may keep the above shoes, which are from the vintage stash which Robert's grandmother passed along to me. She wants me to try sell everything, but I'm afraid these aren't in good enough condition - the insoles of the shoes are barely clinging on. I don't know if they can be glued [anyone have any advice?], but I wouldn't be comfortable selling them in this condition. I still think they're very elegant!

Madeleines from dozen

Yesterday afternoon, Robert and I went for a little walk and got somewhat lost... It was exciting! I didn't realize that the main road we live off of went on for so long. We've never walked out that far, but we found some amazing fields and were able to see barns in the distance.


On the way home we made a kitty friend! This gorgeous little cat was very cuddly, but wouldn't stay still for a good photo. It also tried to follow us home, and the best idea we could think of was to run away. We just started running, and the cat followed for a few feet but then gave up. We felt really silly and we laughed about it the rest of the way home. I just didn't want to lead it too far from home!

Speaking of, I'll be headed back "home" for Thanksgiving next week - it will be my first trip back to Texas since February. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed here, and all that has happened!

the ostrich set

Hello! Just wanted to pop in and mention that there are two new items in my Etsy shop! A matching purse and pair of shoes, ostrich style...


Both of these things belonged to Robert's grandma. She called me a few weeks ago to ask if I would like to sell some of her vintage clothes! I agreed: a week later my father-in-law knocked on the door with a box full of shoes and purses, and a few items of clothing.


It seemed right to start by listing this pair of items, which she called "the ostrich set." I think that's so cute! They're not even the same brand, but they do match quite well.


This shade of pink is not my style, but I do find the well-worn shoes very charming for some reason. I think the purse is made from synthetic material, but the shoes are made from real leather that's embossed to look like ostrich skin.

Anyway, since I'm doing this for someone else I'm going to try to be efficient about it and get everything listed quickly... Hopefully I'll have more items to share very soon!

the interconnectedness of life

I have had the most excellent weekend. I'm sure I say that every week, but this one was seriously exciting! I hope my blog isn't becoming a bore to anyone, but lately all I can think about is local stuff. I've been reading and enjoying Wendell Berry lately. Local food, local economy, the local scenery... I feel like this weekend was a good model for how I'd like to live all the time.


And luckily, it IS becoming how I live more and more. I'm glad that Robert and I can practice what we preach most of the time about sustainability and local food. We were very responsible consumers this weekend. I don't know about all of you, but buying stuff usually makes me feel bad. However, when I support a local business, especially by buying food that is grown or made where I live, I feel really good about it. I would like to get more involved with the community, though: being a consumer and contributing money is one thing, but it's not the same as doing and getting personally involved.


We ate too many sweets and drank too much coffee this weekend, but I don't regret those things! The sweets came from a new baker we met at the farmer's market who uses local ingredients (including the very milk that we had to drink after eating one of her cookies)! And we spent a good 3 hours talking to some new friends at a great little coffee shop in a small town.


We also spent an afternoon touring Noble Springs Dairy. We buy goat cheese every week from them at the farmer's market, so we were pretty excited when they announced they'd be doing tours! We got to meet all of the animals - although they only produce goat cheese to sell, they have horses, cows, chickens, goats, bees and even some dogs and cats. Best part? They're only 5 miles away from where we live: so close!


Robert and I had an awesome time petting the goats, and we even got to try our hand at milking. That was a special little experience... After the tour we had a nice snack and bought some of their honey. It was the best way to spend an afternoon and I'm so glad we got to do it! I'm sure we'll be returning in the future. :)


I didn't want to overflow my blog with pictures of goats (though I hope no one would mind; they're pretty cute!), so these are just a few of the many photos taken. You can see more on my flickr.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately! Apologies to anyone looking for fashion pictures or creative inspiration - those things just haven't been on my mind much lately. However, I hope you enjoy what I'm sharing here, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Do you care about this sort of stuff?

I'm just happy because today Robert said he wouldn't mind living on a farm -- I was trying to convince him we needed to buy one last week! I think now that he's met some friendly farm animals he's seeing the appeal. We're not at all prepared to make a jump into that kind of lifestyle, but I like being able to see it as a future possibility.

shiny shoes

Hey, everybody! Can you believe it's already November? It's surprising to me, especially upon realizing that I didn't list anything in my Etsy shop at all during October! I just sort of fell out of the habit. However, I'm hoping to begin listing some neat items that have piled up around here - for de-cluttering purposes as well as to make some extra money for buying Christmas presents!


So, ogle these shoes with me. Aren't they dreamy? Some of you long-term readers may remember them from this post back in May: I bought them from a burlesque dancer. I've been hanging onto them because they fit me and they're so perfect, but... every time I plan to wear them in real life, I walk around for a few minutes and end up putting them back in the closet. They're a bit tight on my toes, and the heels are almost 3 inches. I feel silly wearing them!


It is a sad story. But now they're up for sale! To be entirely honest, I didn't know they were really vintage at first. They look brand new, but they're by Johansen -- a quick Etsy search will show you some other gorgeous vintage shoes by the same company!


Here's what I learned from my research:

• The Johansen company has been making shoes since 1876.
  
• They are now owned by a company that makes the standard Oxford shoes for all branches of the US military.
• Johansen also produces the Paradise Kittens brand, a pair of which can be seen here!
  

Once again, the collective sigh of so many people wishing for tinier feet! Or, more realistically, wishing that there were more vintage shoes available in bigger sizes!

I'm going to try to get around to adding some actual clothes to my shop this week as well. Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!