one of my favorite things

kassi and brandi asked me to share my favorite thing about my trip. i actually have two (and one may be pretty obvious) and choosing them was a no-brainer! one of my favorite things was visiting pebble beach and carmel. seriously, so beautiful it almost hurts! i took way too many pictures, walked on the beach, played in the water even though it felt colder than ice, and watched sea birds, sea lions and little sea creatures. also, you may notice in my picture posts that i'm the only person, making it look like i took a trip by myself; i did have a travel buddy, amy, but i only have one picture of the two of us, and she basically made me swear on my life that i wouldn't share it with anyone. ever. i really tried to pick out just a few of my favorites, but this is still REALLY image heavy!

i loved those starfish! i've actually never seen a living starfish before then (no, i didn't kill it and keep it), only sand dollars in florida. i told amy that if i thought i had to live my life knowing that i could never visit pebble beach again, it wouldn't be worth living! i LOVED it!

how has your weekend been? do anything fun?

i'm baaaaack...

...and i'm not happy about it. i don't mean to be a debbie downer, but i just really wish i lived in san francisco. anyway, i still haven't gone through all of my pictures (yes, there are that many), but i wanted to let you know i was still alive, and that my plane didn't go down or anything. here's some fun news, amy and i got upgraded to first class on each one of our flights, thanks to lots of frequent flier miles! i could get used to someone serving me drinks, meals, snacks, hot towels, etc.!

music is a must for me, and i need it! since i can't share all of my pictures yet (since i'm still not sure of what all i have) i figured i'd share a few songs i added to my ipod specifically for this trip. under those clouds up there lies chicago.

never disappear - the twin atlas
fortune - little dragon

endless summer - still corners

wooden dolls - nico vega

sweet jane - the velvet underground

fangela - here we go magic

hey low halo - karl blau

i'll try to have some pictures to show you in the next day or two. i also have a few polaroids and five rolls of film from the trip. don't get me wrong, digital is great, but i still love film!

so long, farewell

auf wiedersehen, goodnight. don't you love the sound of music? anyway, i didn't get a chance to do wishlist wednesday yesterday (but i'm still using the theme for the next one!), and i didn't have a chance to blog about the "sexy el camino" because i'm just so pressed for time getting orders pacakged and shipped, and getting everything in my suitcase for san francisco. so i'm leaving tomorrow, but i'll be back with pictures (and tears since i'll be "san francisco sick" which is kind of like being super home sick, but worse) on thursday.

have a good weekend, friends! i'll see you soon!

what i've been working on

sorry for back-to-back jewelry posts, but i didn't get pictures of the things (not jewelry) that i wanted to share with you today, so the post i was going to do on thursday is being done today. lately i've been hammering and hammering and hammering and hammering. and more hammering. just yesterday, chris asked me as i was hammering a bangle if i'd ever smashed a finger. i told him that i smashed my thumb a few months ago and it instantly turned purple under the nail. so, now i'm thinking he's a jinx because this afternoon i smashed the finger that i drilled a hole through last year. that finger can't catch a break! i'm starting to think i don't get paid enough to endure all these injuries! here are some things i've been hammering lately that haven't left me bruised...

in addition to hammering, i've been trying to get my suitcase packed. i'm so happy to have a break from this heat and humidity, but at the same time, i'm kind of at a loss for what to bring! i've been to san francisco before, so i know what the weather is like, but i'm so used to wearing clothes as cool as possible that i'm finding it difficult to think about cardigans and jeans!

also, i just got off the phone with my brother, derek, who lives in pennsylvania, and talking to him always makes me happy, so any throbbing i felt is temporarily relieved because i'm in such a good mood! if there was anyone else on this planet who had a personality to match mine, or completely understand it, it would be derek. i love my brother...a whole lot. how about you, do you have brothers or sisters? are you really close with them?

tomorrow is wishlist wednesday, and i already have my theme picked out. a hint: it's a current obsession, and you saw above what it is (no, it isn't jewelry)!

lately i've been stalking...

...carrie bilbo's jewelry store. do you ever find things, or a collection of things by a designer, and no matter how many times you look at them, they never seem to get old or lose their beauty and interest? that's how i feel about some of the jewelry from carrie's shop. i first found her shop when i noticed one of her cone rings; it was love at first sight. i love that her jewelry is simple in its styling, but each piece has so many details and really makes a statement; each piece of her jewelry is more like an accessory in its own right.

do you have stores or designers that you just can't get enough of? what or who are they? i'm always drawn to designers that use metal in various forms. maybe it's just something i do to torture myself because I WANT A KILN SO BADLY, but until i have one, i'll enjoy looking at what everyone else is making.

oh, and i've just recently started watching true blood after hearing so many other people talk about it. it took me a few episodes to really get interested, but i finished the last episode of season one, and i can't believe that character died (the one who was in andy's car at the end...i didn't want to spoil it for anyone who hadn't seen, if there is anyone other than me)! i loved him!

my lackluster weekend

when i say "lackluster," i'm not even kidding! i kind of planned on not doing anything this weekend since i'm leaving this friday for san francisco and i know i'll be super busy getting orders shipped, working, and packing, so i'm not at all upset that i did almost nothing! today i woke up, read some of my book (i'm re-reading "remember me?" by sophie kinsella because, ironically, i couldn't remember it), then fell asleep again. later this afternoon chris and i went to the video store (they didn't have anything worth watching) and the grocery store. the highlight of my shopping trip is the powdered donuts i cam home with!

on our way back home, i saw a turtle in the road and told chris to pull over. when we got home, i sat mr. turtle in the backyard and then went in to get the camera. chris got this little turtle magnifying glass and said he was going to "examine the turtle with a turtle." for some reason, we thought that was hilarious.

sorry i'm so boring! tomorrow i plan to share with you a new favorite shop i've been stalking. hopefully that will be a little more interesting. so what have you been up to this weekend?

more shooting.

this is going to be a quick post, unless i stay true to myself and over-explain everything so that even the quickest stories turn into long ones. anyway, pop had so much fun target practicing last saturday that he wanted to come back down today once he got off work. of course i'm happy to spend as much time with him as i can, so i couldn't wait! we didn't shoot the pistols as much this time, but we really went through some ammo in the .22 rifles, and luckily we each had our own! so we lined up our empty water bottles and took turns shooting them off the top of the wooden pallets, and then pop thought he'd be clever and sat just the cap to the water bottle up and told me to go first. my response was, "why, because you think i can't hit it?" keep in mind we were 90 feet from that tiny cap. i shot, and the cap flew off! i looked over at chris and pop, chris' eyes got big, and pop yelled, "holy shit!" well, actually he said, "sheeit" because he has that strong virginia accent. in that moment, i was ecstatic! i still am, actually, because i seriously didn't think i'd get it in the first try! so, that's all i have to blog about today, mainly because i'm still on the sharpshooter's high. this is totally unrelated, but since i always like to include at least one picture, this is one of my favorites of pop and i...

can you keep a secret?

chris and i had originally planned to go to florida for our anniversary trip, and visit several places in our week there. because of some issues with chris' job, we weren't sure we could still make the trip, but we wanted to do something for our anniversary. i mean, it's 10 years, and that's a big one! so chris did some researching and found a relatively unknown gem...shhhhh! cape lookout national seashore in north carolina is probably the last beach on the east coast that isn't commercialized and overrun with crappy tourist shops and hotels...

images from google

aside from a lighthouse and an abandoned historic colony that dates back to the 1600's, there is no sort of civilization on these islands. what is there: wild horses, shorebirds, dolphins, humpback whales and three species of sea turtles! the time we'll be going is right at the end of the baby turtles making their way to the ocean, so fingers crossed we'll see some! seriously, could this be any more perfect for me? uninhabited islands full of animals? it's too good to be true! so chris and i will pack up the camper and drive the 5 or 6 hours there, then we have to get on a ferry that takes us a few miles across the sound until we reach our island. i seriously cannot wait!

in other exciting news... remember how i told you about going to get ice cream on sunday at one of pop's favorite places? well, while we were there, i saw someone get a dreamsicle soft serve cone, and i swear i must have been foaming at the mouth. i love anything orange flavored, and i've been about to die to go back and try one. today, i made it my lunch. and it was glorious!

wishlist wednesday!

before i get right into the lovely things i'd buy if money were no object, i wanted to say hi to the new followers! i'd be lying if i said it didn't make me smile A LOT when i see a new picture in that box! now, onto the wish list. for about the last ten years or so, cardigans and i have had a pretty serious love affair, and if it's at all possible, i will incorporate one into my outfit. it's partially my longing for days that aren't 100 degrees, and partially my upcoming san francisco trip which make me think in layers, that inspired this cardigan wish list...

found here: modhuman, esphee, jawaddel, SimpleThrift, milkvintagestore.

if you have a wish list you'd like to share, please link back to me from the list and leave me a link in the comments section so i can see! also, who doesn't like winning things? don't forget to enter the dinosaur toes giveaway on annie's blog!

one more thing. i've loved reading the responses you guys left me when i had a little rant about people and their comments regarding my child-rearing status. i'm sorry you have to deal with that crap, too, but i'm glad i'm not the only one, and thanks for making me laugh!

two things i love around my home: the crafty edition

sometimes i get in these sort of insane creative overload type phases and i've got more ideas than i have hours in a day, or days in my life, even. lately that's how i've been, and i just look at some of my favorite supplies and want to use them in so many different projects! two of my current favorite supplies/sources for inspiration are my dangerously low supply of stones and my designer bolts of fabric. i kid you not, they were going to throw this fabric out if i didn't agree to give it a good home! good thing i like sewing!

i've had this idea for a bag utilizing a scrap of vintage floral fabric and some left over canvas. neither piece could make a bag on its own, but together they could make a pretty nice tote! i'm almost excited enough to make it today, but will i? probably not. i tend to procrastinate on sewing projects.

i should tell you, in case you're not already familiar with them, i am not the creator of the "two things i love around my home" posts. kassi is the one who came up with them, and i think she should start them again, don't you? if you like them as much as i do, go visit her blog and leave her a comment saying: 1. i love two things tuesday 2. you're pretty, and 3. i'll join two things tuesday if you start it up again.

also, this isn't so much a sales pitch as it is a little plea for help on behalf of the animals. this month, and maybe months to follow, i'm donating 25% of my sales to the lynchburg humane society. it breaks my heart (literally, it physically hurts my heart) when i think about and see all the animals who so desperately need homes, food and medical care, so i want to help since i can't adopt them all.

and one last thing, my good friend annie is having a dinosaur toes GIVEAWAY on her blog, so be sure to stop by and enter (and tell her she's pretty and be sure to congratulate her on finishing grad school)!

i'm going to san francisco!

aaaahhhhhhh! i'm so excited! it's my favorite place on earth, and i'll be there in less than two weeks! auntie amy and i are going for a few days just to have fun and non-stop girl talk. on my list of things to do: walk around telegraph hill talking to the wild parrots (but that one is obvious), go to haight-ashbury and get vintage clothes, and if we have enough time, we're driving down to carmel and monterey for the day to take in its beauty (but that's really up in the air as there is so much to do in san francisco we may run out of time).

images from we heart it and google search.

here's my one problem with traveling: i'm too cheap to check my bag, and i have a really difficult time fitting everything into my carry-on. since california weather is SO different from the weather in virginia, i know i'll have to bring extra clothes so i can dress in layers, so i'm thinking about using lauren's idea from when we all met up in june and basically shrink wrapping everything in ziploc bags so it takes up less space! she's a genius!

i know the city is huge, and there's so much i haven't seen, so if you have any suggestions for food, shopping (keep in mind i'm a cheapskate) or anything else, let me know! i don't require much sleep, so i like to try and cram in as much as possible on trips!

have you taken any trips this year? do have any planned for later in the year?

ice cream sundae on sunday

i like to call this weekend, "the weekend of pop and pat." even though my pop and i don't live far from one another, we don't get together as often as i'd like thanks to his ridiculous work schedule. anyway, the weekend started with my pop and my step brother coming down to do a little (actually about $50 worth) target practicing. we had loads of fun and plan to do it again soon. then today, we went to pop's house and visited for a while, and later went to get ice cream somewhere chris and i had never been. pat (we call her that for laughs, but her name is really tricia) and i got this creation called "the hot apple dumpling" which was a whole baked apple covered in pie crust, then topped with caramel, vanilla ice cream, pecans and whipped cream. pop got his usual, a banana split. my pop is seriously an ice cream junkie and probably thinks it makes up every block on the food pyramid. yesterday, while laughing at him for wearing his ice cream (like he usually ends up doing), he said, "i like to take it home, show it where i live." i said it before, and i'll say it again, my pop is the funniest person i know! chris got the strawberry shortcake - shortcake, strawberries, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, and it looked divine.

i wish i would have had something in the pictures for size reference because you would not believe how big those suckers were! mine was as big as my head, and chris' was even bigger than his head, and he wears a size extra large motorcycle helmet! it was crazy! i could only eat half of mine, but everyone else finished. how, i have no idea. next time i go, i'm either getting a shaved ice with different fruit flavors or a creamsicle soft serve cone (probably the latter). i seriously need to get back to a regular exercise routine (but i wish i had canine company for walks and jumping on the trampoline), and my dessert today only reinforces that.

how was your weekend? did you do anything fun or special?

shopping for the animals!

okay, so if there is one thing you all know about me, it's my unequivocal love for animals; my need to help and love them at all costs, and by any means necessary. so to share some of that love, i've decided that for the month of august (and maybe for september, too) i'm donating 25% of all sales to the lynchburg humane society. because i can't adopt every animal there (remember that pit bull i told you i fell in love with?), i'm hoping that i can at least help them with a monetary donation. so, if you've had your eye on something in my shop, now's a good time to own it! *obligatory disclaimer: i'm not a salesperson, and to be honest, i'd prefer a world with no money, so please don't feel like i'm after your wallet. i'm not, i'm here for the friendly blogging community, sales are just a perk.

as the first mate of danielle's flock, i can tell you that she really does love animals. sometimes i'm not quite sure why she was even born human, but that's beside the point. i don't really like cats, and i liked dive bombing the yellow lab that used to live with us, but the fact is, i still think that even cats and dogs should have basic animal rights: good food, clean water, and a loving family (and if they're like me, more attention than a baby, and more homemade food that my human friends).

xo,

flojo (aka dinosaur toes)

>> p.s. thank you for the link love micaela, carla and jill! you're the best!

wishlist wednesday!

i really enjoyed searching for things on today's wish list because it's all about the one thing i love most in life: animals! turtles, dogs, rabbits,birds or any other animal (although, i'm not a huge fan of snakes), i absolutely adore animals, and i have a bit of an obsession with pretty much any animal knick-knacky type thing i see! one thing i've been wanting for a long time now is an old birdcage music box that plays either when a drawer is opened, or when it's wound, and if i ever find one, i WILL make it mine, shopping ban or no shopping ban!

sources: merchant of kismet, another feather, violet 64, hperl, restless general store (thanks a lot, micaela)!

if you have a wish list you'd like to share, please link back to me and leave me a link in the comments section so i can see! i also plan to do a post sort of about animals tomorrow, but i'm still trying to figure out how to put it across...

thrifty.

i don't go thrifting nearly as often as i used to, and it's mainly because i just can't seem to find all the good vintage treasures that used to fill the thrift shops. now, when i do go and find a gem that's in good condition, and more importantly, fits me, it's like i won the lottery! i can't really hide my emotions (at all), so i always wonder if i have a ridiculous smile plastered on my face when i come across something i know has been waiting for me. here are my latest finds (and they're not actually all that new, i've just been forgetting to share)...

the first blouse is my absolute favorite and fits like it was made for me. that and the last blouse are soft, lightweight gauze fabric which is my favorite during warmer months. the leopard print skirt makes me feel just enough like a guns n'roses fan without going overboard. last, i love the cardigan, but am not insane enough to wear it during a virginia summer, not even in the middle of the night. it'll have to wait until fall!

sadly, these beautiful vintage moccasin ankle boots do not belong to me, but i'd give a non-vital organ to own them. i've been searching high and low at the thrift shops for these exact boots without luck, and here they are, in my size, dangling in front of my face; but alas, i'm on a shopping ban.

now that my pity party is out of the way, here's a little vintage we can all enjoy. thanks, afp! (thanks, maddy for reminding me to add this, i am NOT in that picture! it's just random silliness).