Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Blythe Day

blythe and the unicorn box.
Here is an old photo of my very first Blythe doll. This is Hollywood Blythe, but I named her Noelle. I love her hair, and here she is posing with her pink eyes on top of a vintage trinket box that my friends gave to me. So cute. I love her outfit, too. She is wearing blue overalls that my pen pal in Seattle mailed to me. I love this outfit on her - I like how the colors look with her eyes.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Strawberry Nilla

Nilla likes strawberries.
Did I ever tell you that Nilla loves strawberries? She does. Here she is licking the top when I was packing my lunch for the day.

Nilla having a strawberry. Yummy.
Nilla has liked strawberries ever since she was little. I found this out when I picked a bucket of strawberries and the local farm and when I set them down to go do something else, I forgot about them. Well, Nilla found them, was picking the berries by the stems out of the bucket, and then licking them with her rough tongue. So silly!

Strawberry cat.
We always joke that Nilla is a gourmet cat!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

We Buy DIY - Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry

ICE Summer 2012 - 1222
I have loved Cuyler Hovey-King's jewelry for a long time now. The first piece I ever owned of her was given to me as a gift from Raoul - it was the Tiny Chair necklace that he bought at ICE Atlanta many years ago. I think it was meant to be a Christmas present, but he gave it to me that day! I love it so much!

ICE Summer 2012 - 1219
We visited Cuyler's table at ICE Atlanta each year ever since. So I have been collecting her jewelry for some time, and I truly love each piece. I am a huge fan of miniatures (that sounds funny to say!), so her work is no exception. I also love sterling silver, I just feel like it is more my "thing" than gold.

ICE Summer 2012 - 1223

ICE Summer 2012 - 1218
Cuyler works in metals, but also uses vintage jewelry in her designs, too.

ICE Summer 2012 - 1224
And adorable vintage props at her table!

Tiny chair necklace.
So, what jewelry do I have in my own collection? Well, like I said, I have the little chair charm, and I get compliments on it when I wear it! I wear this one all the time.

Bunny charm bracelet.
Usually I do not wear bracelets, but this one is an exception, and maybe after wearing this I will wear more of them. I am at the computer at work, so they sometimes can get in the way, but I wear this one, and it is no problem at all. I love this bunny, even though it is a bit strange for it to not have a face! This is made from a vintage candy mold.

Bunny ring.
Here is my bunny ring, too. Yes, another bunny! You know I can't get enough...

wearing my new bunny necklace by Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry.

Bunny charm by Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry.
And of course I had to have the matching bunny necklace charm. Bunny solidarity! Or else maybe I qualify as a "crazy bunny lady" now. You can check out Cuyler Hovey-King Jewelry on Etsy, or check out her blog, too!

Lemonade Day

Lemonade day!
We love lemonade this time of year. It really is the taste of summer! We made vanilla lemonade from the recipe Emily used. This recipe is so yummy, we make a double batch and it goes so fast at our house.

Making vanilla lemonade.

New citrus juicer!
I purchased a new citrus juicer this weekend, too. This one for sure makes the job so much easier than my old juicer, the kind you twist and twist. This one is easy cos you just squish the lemon in the juicer, and into the pitcher.

My vintage ice cube tray.
Check out this vintage ice cube tray that my mom gave to me! We had this since I was little. It was a little goofy at first, but then it worked like a charm. I think I will make lots of ice from now on!

Adding vanilla.
The yummy part of this recipe is for sure the vanilla!

Lemonade time.
And voila! Vanilla lemonade!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tunesday Tuesday - Tanya Donelly

Tunesday Tuesday - Tanya Donelly
Another artist I have liked since I was a teenager is Tanya Donelly. You might remember her from her bands Throwing Muses and Belly in the 1990's. I have always liked Tanya's voice and her lyrics; they remind me of poetry and zines. As of this post, Tanya is revising her website, but she did have demos for Star as downloads at one point - they were so good! It was neat to hear the songs from Star at such a raw and early stage.

Tanya.

Tanya love.
Our friend Marla has a picture of Tanya wearing her tiara! So this one is for you, Marla!

Here is my absolute favorite Tanya song, and she looks so cute in this video, too. This is the first Throwing Muses song I ever heard. My pen pal put it on a mix tape for me.





And who can forget this amazing classic?

Tell the World About Etsy Athens Style

Over the weekend we had a walk around our town, Athens, Georgia. We took some photos of my handmade goodies from Shoppe Sugar Cookie on Etsy. We took these photos to add to help people learn about Etsy around the world, and to show a little local love for Athens.

Flossy the Giraffe Embroidery Floss Bobbin at the fabulous 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia.
Here is my Flossy the Giraffe Embroidery Floss Bobbin hanging out at the fabulous 40 Watt. How can you not love the 40 Watt? I have seen so many amazing bands here, it is for sure the best venue to see music in Athens. LUV!

Flossy the Pony Embroidery Floss Bobbin by the bulldog, Athens, Georgia. #etsyeverywhere
Everyone in Athens knows that the University of Georgia's team mascot is a bulldog, so these statues are all over town. This one is interesting cos it looks like a postcard with the type going across, and the other side (not pictured) has illustrations of local stuff. This photo features my Flossy the Pony Embroidery Floss Bobbin.

Tofu Baby and the bulldog statue. Athens, Georgia. #etsyeverywhere
I also took this one with Tofu Baby.

Saw my Tiny Record Player Button in the window at Low Yo Yo Stuff! Athens, Georgia. #etsyeverywhere
We came across my Tiny Record Player Button in the window of Low Yo Yo Stuff! We did not even place that there, we just came across it this day. How cosmic!

Pickle Plush at the double barrel cannon, Athens, Georgia. #etsyeverywhere
Lastly, we went to see the double barrel cannon. I placed my Pickle Plush inside, then we called it a day. Hooray for Athens!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Dining Out at Gymnopedie

Gymnopedie.
Over the weekend Raoul and I had one of my favorite meals ever. We visited local restaurant, Gymnopedie. Gymnopedie is Athens tiniest restaurant, but good things come in small packages, no?

Table for three.
The first thing you will notice is how cozy this space is, complete with handmade quilty curtains on the wall, fresh flowers, and adorable artwork. The quilt makes me think of miniature doors at the top of a mountain peak.

Interior.

Flowers.

Menu.
The menu changes each month, and you can keep up with the changing menus via their menu page and by signing up for their email list. So what did we eat that was so amazing?

Pickled veggie plate.
First, we tried some pickled veggies. Here we had some pickled garlic, chard stems, cauliflower, and some beets. My favorite were the beets and chard. So good!

Raoul!

At Gymnopedie for a nice dinner.

Home made bread at Gymnopedie.
We also had some homemade bread and olive oil for dipping. The bread was so soft and yummy. I think it was baked with love.

Bug pin.

Summer squash casserole. Soooo yummy.
We decided to order one of each entree, so we could try each other's dishes. Mine was the summer squash casserole - it was so light and fluffy and summery - it was perfect. The side salad with my meal was made from local celery and had some dates on top, too. The dates were especially yummy. I do not know if I ever had dates before, but I for sure would like to have these again! Even Raoul said they were delicious.

Veggie lasagna with summer veggies ad cashew cheese.
Raoul had the veggie lasagna. It was made from zucchini, tomatoes, pesto, and cashew ricotta cheese. This lasagna was purely raw, and was very good, too. Raoul said it was cold, but had the same savory feel as a cooked lasagna. The zucchini was noodle replacement, and Raoul also mentioned that he did not even miss the noodles that are in a regular lasagna.

Sipping some tea.

Teacup.

Time for tea.
I had some tea, too - this one had a lemon flavor to it. And look at the cute little teapot!

Pineapple crumble.
As dessert I tried the pineapple crumble. Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits, and this was excellent. I also liked the mini ice cream scoop on top, too. Raoul liked this dessert as well.

Cocoa foam dessert.
Raoul had the cocoa cola, which is not really cola, but it is carbonated foam. I love chocolate, and I really liked tasting the real cocoa-ness of this, so it was not overly sweet, but more dark chocolatey and fluffy. Raoul described it as having an Areo Bar in liquid form.

Cocoa cola at Gymnopedie. So yummy.
The bubbles really did not collapse when we ate this dessert! It was magical!

Pineapple crumble and tea.

Dessert gone.
We had such a lovely meal at Gymnopedie, I can't wait to go back!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

Dad and Me, July 2011 after we painted our living room.
Today is Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there, and especially to my Dad! I love my dad cos he knows how to fix things and is a super handy man. He knows how to do everything - fixing cars, installing ceiling fans, cooking, and much more. I love you Dad!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

What's Nilla Up To?

Good Nilla.

Hello Nilla! Pawing at the rug.
Aw! Nilla is rolling around on this rug. She is adorable when she rolls around.