beaucoup vintage

you know how there are times you go somewhere and sort of forget to enjoy it until you're gone, and then you realize you didn't need to be in such a rush? such is the case with my (quick) visit to beaucoup vintage. a few weeks ago i made a little pit stop in fredericksburg, va on my way to northern va to see carla. megan, the stylish owner of beaucoup vintage contacted me about a business deal involving my bullet necklaces and her store, and since i love an excuse to actually visit a store that sells dinosaur toes jewelry, i couldn't say no! while i was there i took a few pictures to share, but of course after i left, i wondered why i didn't stay a little longer to browse (and possibly buy, but i can't say too much since my husband reads this). even though i was in an unnecessary hurry, i can still tell you that megan has put together quite an impressive collection, and i'm trying to think of an excuse to drive the two hours back to fredericksburg...

doesn't that look like a shop you could seriously have some fun in?! i totally could. oh, and before i forget, i did not take the beautiful second picture, i got it from megan's twitter page, but i love that she has origami cranes hanging in the windows!

if you're near fredericksburg and you're a fan of vintage, you should definitely stop by and say hi...and be sure to spend more time browsing than i did. and if parallel parking freaks you out, it's totally fine, because you may get lucky like i did and have the man whose car is behind you walk out of a store laughing and tell you he's about to leave so you'll have more room to attempt parking (one or six more times).

natural history, natural beauty.

i have a two part blog post planned to fully cover chris's birthday trip, and for the first half, i have to go straight to the best part! auntie amy gave chris two train tickets to washington d.c. for his birthday so that the two of us could enjoy it doing something different. our last stop of the day was the smithsonian natural history museum, my childhood favorite. on the ground floor is a native bird exhibit, and if you're anything like me, you just stare in awe at the beauty surrounding you. part of me is on a natural high being able to see so many beautiful birds native to this area, but the other part of me is sad thinking about the life that is no more. i took a lot of pictures with a vintage film camera, but i just couldn't wait to share these so you get a peek at what we saw!

aren't they gorgeous?! it shouldn't surprise you to discover we spent the majority of our visit to that museum in the bird exhibit. i can't help it! i love birds! i'm really curious though to see what the pictures look like on film, but i'm also a little nervous as most of the museum is dimly lit, and i don't have a flash for that camera. and i know this has nothing to do with birds, but you know how much i love stones, so look at the size of this baby...

i can't remember how many thousands of pounds this hunk of awesomeness weighs, but for comparison, i'm 5'2" and 100 pounds (or a few more if i'm being completely honest) and this quartz was MUCH bigger than me!

"you wanna borrow my TI-82?"

i've been wanting to tell you about carla time, but lately it seems like i've had a lot of ideas for blog posts and not enough days! first, let me start by saying that no time with carla is enough time because she's just that rad. and if i could pull a star trek move and teleport to las vegas, i would do it often. VERY often. our first day started out with a little pho, and all i can say is, i'm glad the storm knocked the power out so that only carla could see how big of an idiot i am with chopsticks! we did some blog talking, some space talking, some speed shopping, some hanging out with the most awesome mini carlas, and good old-fashioned bonding.

you probably can't tell, but in the second picture, there's an eye to the left of the blue streak; that's carla's. and there's another eye to the right of the red streak; that's mine. that's what happens when you have the camera on the wrong setting and try taking a picture in a very dark club. that night was amazing. we went to see darwin deez at the black cat club, and i think we could have stayed all night long just listening to his music and dancing. when we left the show we walked a few doors down to bar pilar where carla romanced me with a tall glass of "flying doggy style pale ale." funny name, great beer. i haven't told you before, but my driver's license photo looks more like a gangsta mugshot than law-abiding (for the most part) citizen. carla first saw it when we were going into the show, but then when i had to show my ID to get my draft, the guy asked me if i was looking for a job, and said that he could use a mean face like that for a bouncer! i swear, it's terrible! and that face below, that looks cherubic compared to the driver's license picture.

if you're friends with carla and i on facebook, be on the lookout for our little photo series. it's like if planking actually got funny, then smoked crack while high on giggle juice. it's gonna be good, and it's even better to have a friend you can do these sorts of random and hilarious (to people with a very broad sense of humor) things with! now is where i get all emotional and serious... i think the best thing to come from blogging is my friendship with carla. i know the cosmos work the way they're supposed to because there's no way she and i could have continued leading separate lives and not become friends!

literary GREATNESS. and a snack.

last night was the book club meeting, and i can't even begin to tell you how excited i was to finally be able to talk about the thorn birds with people who actually wanted to hear about it! side note, i should probably apologize to my pop, my sister, and my husband, who heard about it non-stop for the last month even though i'm pretty sure they didn't want to. anyway, book club was great and we all enjoyed the book, so there actually wasn't all that much to discuss since we all agreed! if you have a copy that's been sitting unread, or if you're looking for a good read, i strongly suggest this book.

since erin just had a beautiful baby girl not quite a month ago, we all met at her house instead of going out to eat, and we decided we'd all bring either an appetizer or a dessert. it took me about 2 seconds to decide what i was bringing (because i really look for excuses to make this)! if you don't eat meat or don't like spicy foods we can't be friends then this may not be the best idea for you, but if you like both, then you should make this buffalo chicken dip! it's delicious and SO easy!

you'll need: one chicken breast, 8oz. package of cream cheese softened, 1/2 cup chunky bleu cheese dressing, 1/3 cup (or more if you want it extra spicy) frank's red hot sauce, tortilla chips.

-boil the chicken breast and shred it up once it's completely cooked.
-in a baking dish mix up cream cheese, bleu cheese dressing, hot sauce.
-add chicken to the baking dish and mix it all up so everything is evenly distributed.
-bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
-enjoy with tortilla chips and don't leave a single bite or angels will cry.

a crotch rocket daycation

sundays are date day for chrissie and i, and every now and then it's nice to just do something different (translation: "sometimes it's nice knowing you don't have to spend date day grocery shopping"). last night we decided we'd ride the motorcycle to roanoke to eat, ride around, whatever. the weather has been unseasonably comfortable, but it was actually cold riding this morning! even though it only takes about 45 minutes to get there, it felt like 2 hours since all we wanted to do was stop to warm up! we ate breakfast on the way then headed for downtown.

honestly, you'd think we never used a camera before! we have 10 seconds before the timer goes off and takes the picture, but in that short period of time, we'd forget about it and we couldn't seem to get it together and get a decent picture! in the first one we weren't ready at all, then in the second one chris was, but apparently i still hadn't remembered the whole 10 second deal, but luckily by the third picture we were both ready! we decided that a picture of the two of us was necessary because we got dressed at different times, without knowing what the other was wearing, and we both picked out jeans, an olive green shirt, and black shoes! oh, and our motorcycle helmets match, so it really looks like we planned the matching.

we did a little more walking around, we looked for a gem and mineral store which we never found, we did some pigeon watching, and we ate at a mexican grill which i can't go to again. for a while there i was convinced the food was going to kill me. yeah, it didn't settle so well. but all is not lost, my friends, oh no! i see the bad food and i one up it... chris and i are cooking dinner on the grill, but the real treat is our reese's peanut butter cup ice cream for dessert! i mean, since it is national ice cream month after all, it would be a crime not to eat it, you know?

carla, carla, CARLAAAAA!

just a little hello and goodbye until this weekend! tomorrow morning i'm rising bright and early to head north. my first stop is fredericksburg, va at beaucoup vintage, which will provide a new home for some bullet necklaces, then it's D.C. to FINALLY see my soul sister again, CARLA! can you tell i'm excited?! and just to give you a little taste of the show we'll see tomorrow night...


i hope you guys have a good week and a good weekend, and i'll see you in just a few days!

what i've been working on.

in a way i've been working, and in a way i haven't. that doesn't make much sense, but some days have been super busy and i feel like i've gotten a ton of things accomplished, and other days i pretty much sit in my pajamas wasting time like a pro. so yeah, that about sums it up! i've added a few new things to my website, but yesterday when i really sat down to update, i realized just how many new items i have that still haven't made an appearance! here's a little peek at what i've been working on...

so what have you been working on? did you have a good july 4th, or canada day, or just a good monday depending on where you live? ours was pretty uneventful, but we did eat some delicious burgers and watch fireworks from our front porch in our underwear. we don't have neighbors, so underwear is acceptable outdoor attire.

kiss me go

lately i've been spending a little more time store stalking on etsy, and it's both good and bad; good because i find so many amazing new artists and wares, and bad because i don't think there's enough money in this town to buy me all the things i decide i want and can't live without! one of the shops i've fallen hard for is kiss me go. it's fun and colorful, and a few of my favorites include...

isn't it complete cosmic eye candy?! i think so! don't ask me why i would need a fox mask, but seriously, i'm getting a little upset thinking what it'd be like to live without one! i'm sure i could think of something, like maybe when i'm having a bad hair day, i bet no one would be paying attention to my hair when i have a fox with pink triangles in front of my face. see? SEE?! i knew there was a reason i needed one. and the swallow garland? perfect excuse not to make my bed when i'm having company coming over, because birds on my wall will actually make my bed look chic, like the one in the picture. i'm telling you, i can't stop staring at everything in this shop!

what are some of your new favorite shops?