PRINTING

I feel like singing Back in The Saddle Again. As you can see, the indecisiveness continues- I could not decide on a color so I went with both. The text will be the opposite color + registered in the pant leg, between the arm + shoe.

OOh- this feels good. I was a little if-y about this design in the beginning, but I really do love it- it's just plain fun.

Below I'm wearing my most comfortable outfit: great wide-leg linen pants (ALMOST perfect pants) + my Crocs flip-flops. And I really do understand what all the fuss is about over aprons- I love them! I put on my printing apron + I hate taking it off (in fact I'm still wearing it as I type this).

LOOK AT THE CALENDAR (one year later)

Yep, that's right- two posts in one night.

Last year, around this time, I realized that the wall calendar I had just was not working because it left no room to write in events + I ended up missing things. The biggest disappointment was missing the annual World's Longest Yard Sale, which runs from Ohio to Alabama. We have attended every year since we moved here, except last year, because it was written so small + I did not notice it.

My boy has been hinting about a big event coming up, which he was surprised I had not mentioned. I was at a complete loss! He kept asking, "have you figured IT out yet?" my reply, "nope, but I hope whatever IT is you won't let me forget about IT."

Then there was this anonymous comment left on my blog the other day:

LOOK AT THE CALENDAR

http://laladexpress.blogspot.com/2006/08/look-at-calender.html

Very cryptic, but I looked up the dates for The World's Longest Yard sale + it's THIS WEEKEND!!! I ran to tell my boy + he laughed because HE was the anonymous commenter!

I would be lost without my generic office calander

The plan is to drive down to Chattanooga + follow the sale north to a little town called Pikeville. I have never been to this area of Tennessee + understand that parts of it resemble an area of L.A. I lived in called Topanga Canyon.

I will say that The Goodwill Outlet has NOTHING on this treasure trove of amazing goodness, crap + "what The Hell is THAT??" The best part, great finds aside, is all the people- people from all walks of life.

Amy, if you have never been, it's definitely worth the trip.
Tonya, I hope you get to go + we'll compare notes next week!
And to anyone else who lives anywhere near Hwy 127 in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama- GO! It's a whole lot-a fun!

And don't you worry one bit...there will be photo taking.

TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK

Ever since we saw Knocked-Up I've wanted to watch Undeclared again.

I'm back in the studio + feeling pretty creative lately. In the last few days I've had 2 new ideas for postcards (well, they could transfer over to the card form too).


First I did the completely mundane task of cutting chipboard- lots of cutting- which will give me 190 postcards. Luckily I have the Judd Apatow crew to entertain me.


And later, working on one of those new ideas. I've had these images of cartoonish human forms squeezing into the space of a postcard, or the front + back of a card. Please don't read anything into it, I don't feel trapped or anything like that. This is my extra long French clown + I'm going to do a test, some of the postcards will say "Bonjour," printed with lead type, + some will have no text. See, I can't decide if I want text, so I'm being wishy-washy.

THE SIMPSONS AT THE DRIVE-IN

Who knew that there were still drive-ins? My boy was investigating pre-buying tickets to see The Simpson's Movie (we've been HUGE fans since they were crudely drawn characters on The Tracy Ullman Show) + found out there was a drive-in near us + they were playing the movie! I had not been to a drive-in since 1984, when I saw Gremlins.

Here's a new twist- they don't have the speakers that hook on your window any more. OK, call me dense, but they had to explain the concept of listening through the radio (cue Owen Wilson in Zoolander, "listening THROUGH the radio?"..."it's IN the computer?"). An employee offered to have someone dig out an "antique" speaker for me.

we adjusted our position so that truck was not blocking our view

As for the movie, it's a must-see for all Simpson's fans. I guess like any movie based on a TV show (I'm thinking The X-Files Movie, not The Brady Bunch Movie) it plays like an extra-long episode of the show, more to enjoy! One of the funniest things **NOT a spoiler** is at the very end of the credits it says "filmed entirely on location in Springfield______."

So that was our fun Saturday night, it wasn't roller disco or anything having to do with roller skating, I've actually recently done that at our local skate center, but we were both REALLY excited when the sun finally set + the movie started. We plan on checking their movie listings regularly because it was so much fun.

And in case you are wondering, yes it was a double feature + no, we decided not to stay for Live Free or Die Hard.

2 days later I'm still singing this:

can he swing/ from a web/ no he can't/ he's a pig

FROM A CO-WORKER'S GARDEN

They weren't big + juicy, so no one wanted them. I split the bag with a co-worker who also knew a good thing when she saw it. I am making a cold sauce with roasted garlic + red peppers, topped with a handful of basil. On Saturday I'll mix the sauce with some pasta for an excellent dinner to go along with our fun plans!

Thank you Trudi + Kristen for your disco-related guesses about our Saturday night plans, but I'm not telling until Sunday.

Enjoy your evening everyone!

Later: Where The Hell have I been? Countdown until Sept. 29th begins NOW!

5 SERIOUSLY ROCKIN' GIRLS

Susan @ Sulu-design included me on her list of Rockin' Girl Bloggers, so I must move it along by naming 5 other Rockin' Girl Bloggers. Honestly, If she had not named me, I would have named her, but since I can't, I'm going to name 5 rockin' gals I have gotten to know in real life through my blog. Actually, these are 5 Rockin' Girls who happen to have blogs.

Beth @ stitch.rip.repeat

Beth is from MO. + what I have determined in this life is that people from MO. posses my favorite type of humor- quick + dry! I can swear around her without apology + above all, she's an excellent seamstress (no, I'm not jealous of her talent.).

Heather @ Rough New Prize

I actually met Heather at work, when she only had a My Space page, but she was the catalyst for me to start a blog by simply saying, "you should do it, it's fun!" Heather is the best person to go thrift shopping with because she is my competition- it can get quite nasty, but all in the name of a good laugh!

Jenn @ More Adventurous

This lady can knit! you should see what she can create + she's only been knitting for a couple years. I'm also going to live through her for awhile because she just bought her first house.

Heather, Jenn + me at lunch today (we missed you Beth)

Kathleen @ Cake + Pie Creative

Supportive of the Nashville arts community does not even begin to describe her- in addition, she's the person I turn to when I get frustrated over grocery check-out people not understanding the concept of bringing your own bags, it just has not caught on here yet, but the two of us aim to change that!

Tonya @ Ugly Is The New Pretty

When Tonya sees injustices, she acts! She's outspoken (in an extremely educated + thoughtful way) because, as she told me, "I don't know any other way." She's also been a tremendous supporter of my work, shares an interest in collecting Pyrex + coveting her neighbor's vintage lawn furniture. Update: She just moved over to Typepad.

And to the 60 additional bloggers listed on my Bloglines- you all rock!

KEEP MOVING (BACKWARDS)

What's a gal to do you do after staring at a computer all day? Go to The Goodwill Outlet, of course. Among today's great treasures (but I missed out on a Paul Frank Julius belt- poop) I found a pair of my absolutely favorite summer shoes- Dr. Scholl's wooden sandals (they must be the wooden kind) + a Madness record. This is not just any Madness record, it's the one with my favorite Madness song- Wings of a Dove. This gave me incentive to unpack the turntable.

As my co-worker said this morning, "it's Tuesday, at least it's not Monday."

Big plans for Saturday night, but nothing you would ever expect- I was squeeling when my boy made the suggesstion. Let's just say that it's something I have not done since 1984, which totally fits in with the Dr. Scholls + Madness record- like, totally!

THAT'S THE PLAN, STAN

You know what they say about making plans...
...and here's my current one.

I'm eager to get back into the studio. I've rested my mind + body (printing is very hard the back + joints) + I'm about 2 days away from finishing my scarf, so I'll return to my studio sometime this week.

Part of my collection of postcards from friends, relatives + neighbors

I bought a stack of chipboard + will get back into the swing of things with new postcards. Growing up I required everyone I knew to send me a postcard from any vacation spot, the cheesier the better!
I L-O-V-E postcards.

THE WEATHER IS WONDERFUL

Our very good friends are in South Carolina for the week + asked us to take care of their menagerie of rescued animals (9 of them) during their absence.


First off, there is Maggie Lu, their rescued pit bull, who was found in such horribly neglected condition that she will have life-long medical issues. She is so loving + has come a long way, but has neurological + anxiety problems which cause her to constantly twitch (taking the above photos was quite difficult). I want to put my hand on her and say, "shh, just relax sweet girl, it's going to be OK."

Then there are the 3 adopted shelter cats + their very old Maine Coon- all are low maintenance, phew!


Lastly there are the 4 abandoned kittens my boy + the husband rescued. These little cuties need a lot of attention because they are not that far removed from feral + our friends are fostering them for The Humane Society's pet adoption program at Petsmart. The more they are handled + played with, the better chance they have of being adopted. Well, all but Grumpy...he's probably going to stay with our friends because he's not very friendly + we suspect he has some cognitive impairment + some type of Palsy. I just hold him + stroke his little bottom, lulling him to sleep, attempting to get him past his fears. He is just learning how to play with his brothers + sisters, but his constant hissing will probably make him unadoptable.

L~ they can play with a rubber band for hours
R~ Grumpy getting comfortable

Both our animals are rescued + the thing I love about rescued animals is that they seem to understand how lucky they are. Nothing beats that look Monk gives me that says, "thank you."

I said that not much is going on, but truthfully, taking care of "the zoo" is taking up most of our evenings.

The fortune our friend got when he + his wife took us out to dinner + asked us to watch their zoo. We were all puzzled, it's more of a statement than a fortune.

{ON A WEDNESDAY}

It's 90 plus degrees out, but I'm thinking ahead. As the lady said, "if you buy winter in the summer + summer in the winter, you will have a better selection because most folks are looking for summer in the summer."

Not much going on around here + that's the way I like it...at least for the moment.

ON A SUNDAY~ A ONE DAY PROJECT

At Sir's Fabrics I fell in love with this yellow silk blend fabric but almost did not buy it because I did not know what to do with it. Heather suggested I make a throw for my bed~ great idea because it's a little dull in our bedroom, mostly shades of tan + off-white. 2 yards for $6.00 + I decided to make a duvet cover.

We decided not to continue to look for a couch + are enjoying our chair collection~ Sometimes we clear out the chairs + roll out the yoga mats + it's a great space for large scale projects, like this one.

The boys napped while I sewed.

Heather also brought up that the fabric complements the pillow on our bed (thank you again Leya, we're still enjoying your gift). In the warmer months we just use the cover as a top layer + in the colder months we have a really toasty roasty down comforter.

And that's it, my one day project. Thanks for the suggestion Heather!

SIR'S FABRICS

Saturday was spent with Heather, Beth + Jenn, on a day trip to Sir's Fabrics, in Fayetteville, Tn (near the AL border).

First stop~ The Goodwill for some fun + a few great finds

I found this fish necklace, which helped me get over my jelousy about the really great clogs Heather found.

I love it! "Open House of Savings"

Jenn + I were so overwhelmed- the place is HUGE, but very well organized + they played THE BEST music~ light rock hits from the late 70's/ early 80's. There was dancing + singing in the aisles.

Heather taking a break

Rummaging through the button bin- just before lunch + we were all a little batty at this point.

I could have come home with half the store (I think Beth did~ see her arm full of fabric in the previous photo) but I only bought fabrics I had specific plans for. The blue + white fabric (almost 2 yards~ $3.75 total) will be kitchen curtains- the yellow fabric (2 yards~ $6.00 total) is for a duvet cover.

Honey's Resturant- great old diner with a lunch counter, but we did not eat here because everything on the menu was fried. Thank you ladies for adjusting your lunch plans to fit my diet!

Outside the bathroom of the resturant we ended up at~ a cute little country store/ sandwich shop.

I guess we looked like tourists because a nice lady asked if we were from out of town + offered to take a group photo.
L to R~ Beth, Jenn, Heather + me (new hair cut).

Our traveling mascot- DONNIE OSMOND!

Where to next ladies?????

HAIRCUT

I just can't figure out what to do with my straight, thick, brown hair. My last cut I experimented with layers + hated it, so I had it evened out + it's now a bob. I'm still not completely happy with it- I like Sofia Coppola's hair in this photo, sort of plain, but my hair type. In a couple months it will be that length.

Have you seen the movie The Pillow Book? I watched it again the other night + was reminded just how breathtakingly beautiful it is- layers upon layers of visuals.

Tomorrow is going to be a really fun day + I'll tell you all about it on Sunday.

IS IT WEDNESDAY ALREADY?

I decided to spend my lunch hour driving around, exploring the area around my office + found Temple Jewish Cemetery.

I love old cemeteries.

stones on top of the tombstones

For Gracia + Louise's {On a Wednesday} Flickr group.
More pictures from the cemetery.

IT'S QUIET IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

logs outside a local gallery

I have to admit, when I check my bloglines lately I'm actually a little happy when there are not too many new posts. I love reading posts by my favorite blog people, but I'm happier imagining that they are out enjoying real life.


I am about 1/2 way through my scarf, but other than that, no new crafty pursuits, just organizing the paper in my flat file drawers (riveting stuff!) + finding out that the 5 windows in my studio do open! I thought they had been painted shut, but with a lot of effort...relief from the stuffiness + fresh air enjoyment for Dexter.

Dexter trying to get my camera while enjoying an open studio window

We have been very diligent about eating meals at our kitchen table + not in front of the TV, although we are not really big TV watchers. Weekend mornings are spent making espresso (I finally learned how to use my espresso maker) + tea (my boy has sworn off coffee), eating breakfast + talking- lots of talking. Most lunches + dinners are the same. We eat flanked by Monk + Dexter, who seem happy lying on the cool floor, hoping, with every part of their beings, that a morsel of food will drop.

And because Cesar can only help us so much, we have enrolled in a dog training class for adult, mostly rescue dogs. Monk got to meet 4 new friends all at once + was labeled a "peace keeper." We were so happy, mostly because he did not have to wear a red bandanna, The Scarlet Letter signifying that he does not play well with others.

My earrings arrived from Ambika + I love them so much. Oh! + more moo. Thank you sweetie, I hope you have recovered from your move.

Whatever you are doing, I hope you are enjoying yourself!

YOU CAME ALONG

JUST LIKE A SONG
AND BRIGHTENED MY DAY
(you know you're singing along)

I've not worn earrings in a zillion years. I had a total of 5 holes in Jr. High, but really regretted ever getting my ears pierced, wondering what I must have done to my pressure points by piercing them.

Years ago I received the most beautiful silver earrings from my friend Nina, who bought them on an emotional trip back to Iran. It was her first time returning since her family fled during The Revolution in the late 70's. I wore her beautiful gift, thinking about what that trip meant to her, but they really hurt my ears + I would always have to soak them with rubbing alcohol afterwords.

I have long admired Susan's Sulu-design earrings + have wanted to buy so many pair, but that earring problem was always a deterrent. A friend suggested I wear a really good pair of earrings for awhile, ride out the initial pain + get my ears used to them again. It worked for her + it seems to be working for me!

Susan + I have discussed my earring dilemma + have worked it out, but in the mean time I made an impulse purchase from Ambika @ The Fray. I cannot wait for my Okayama earrings to arrive!

MY HAPPY PLACE

Some people might say it's the beach or next to a waterfall, but this is my happy place~

The Goodwill Outlet

This is the source of all my amazing finds + it's only a 5 minute drive from my work... convenient!

It is the type of place that you either LOVE or LOATHE because it has it's quirks, but when I go I can always be assured of the same scene each time + maybe that's why I find it so comforting.

• When I walk in the door that thrift shop smell always hits me.
• The overly friendly employee with mild Mental Retardation will always come over + greet me by name, mumble a little something I pretend to understand + end each sentence with "you got that right." And he'll always ask where Heather is (he NEVER forgets a name).
• The old ladies, who go there to catch up with friends + get a bargan, will always have something wise to say, such as "if you buy winter in the summer + summer in the winter, you will have a better selection because most folks are looking for summer in the summer." Words to thrift shop by!
• The West African employees are always huddled together talking really loud + really fast.
• The group of old junkers, who are there every day to hunt for things to resell at local flea markets, are always trying to out-do each other, gloating about their finds + how much they think they can sell them for.
• The stronger male employees, who unload the trucks + haul around the furniture, always discuss the latest sports news story + when nothing newsworthy is happening, they talk about The Titans.
• Despite my repeated attempts to get a smile out of the cashier in the wheelchair, he will always look at me as if to say, "move along, your transaction is over" when I wish him a good day.
• I always walk out the door with a great treasure.

Today's treasure: a pair of Frye Campus Zip boots in my size! And as always, shoes are $1.99. So, are you still wondering why this smelly place with it's collection of crazy characters is my happy place? If I could take each + every one of you on a field trip, you better believe I would!

Update: I think most major US cities have a Goodwill Outlet. Google "Goodwill Outlet (your state here)" + I hope you too will find your happy place (just remember to bring the hand sanitizer).

TIDYING UP

After pretty much ignoring all of the messes that have piled up in my studio this past week, I'm getting back in the swing of things + spending the day cleaning-up. I am also taking care of packaging up some special orders, monsters + a joke gift bought for an old high school friend in November! Since buying it I have been to L.A. twice + packed it up for the move in March, but yet it's still in my possession! This should dispel any notions you might have about me having my shit together (for those of you who know me in real life, you probably figured this out long ago).


I'm also coming along on my scarf- about 1/3 of the way there (I like my scarves l-o-n-g). I messed up once + am not good at tink-ing, as my friend calls it, but I am also not so delusional that I think I'm working on a masterpiece, just practicing. The important thing is that I'm relaxing + enjoying my weekend!

I cannot leave without mentioning a "long time reader, first time commenter" who left me the kindest comment the other day. I have to mention her because she's just so friggin' talented! Amy @ Papa Studios Fine Prints photographs old motel signs, carves linoleum blocks + prints them on her Vandercook press (lucky girl!) in her compound of creativity she shares with her equally talented husband.

Enjoy the remaining hours of your weekend.