magic arrow

i'm kind of in one of those phases where i'm wondering what i even have to say, what i can possibly blog about, and why i even have a blog at all.  it's weird how that happens, and probably next week i'll have a dozen posts in my head!  anyway, i've had this song in my head for the better part of a week, and it seemed like a good starting point for a post...


do you listen to songs and get pictures in your head of people, landscapes, houses, outfits, or anything else that just seem like they belong with that song?  i do.  so i guess this is a different take on a wish list of sorts, but the movie i have playing in my head when listening to this song looks something like this...

find these babies here: with care goods, southwest vintage, in haus press, pine and main, lost kat photography, sky parlor, amelia mays jewelry

so that's what i've got for now.  do you have songs stuck in your head or new items you've added to your wish list?  i find that my wish lists always grow when it's cold or wet outside because i spend more time at my laptop.  oh well, with new seasons come new habits!

the one where i show some home decor and share a music-related opinion

i'm not quite sure where i'm going with this one, but i have a few things to share, so let's just mix it up like my grandma does with all the food on her plate (side note - my grandma was in a near fatal car accident when i was young, and since her teeth and some of her mouth isn't real, i used to figure that made it so she couldn't taste anything, therefor explaining why she mixed all her food together). first order of business, the sun conure. i was given this sun conure statue a few years ago, and recently i've been thinking about doing a little makeover. maybe a year or so ago in one of design sponge's sneak peeks, i spotted a large white parrot figuring similar to these, and i've wanted one ever since. being the cheap skate that i am, i wasn't willing to pay what some of them have been going for, so i decided to do the next best thing: spray paint!

before and after. i'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and i think i have gloss finish to thank for that. now the albino sun conure can become part of the albino flock in the den. and you can ask my soul sister, i'm all about the absence of color.

lastly, on the home decor front, i was talking to rosita earlier this week and i told her that as luck would have it, i was in possession of a large antique frame in which the kona painting fit perfectly. i told her that now he looks like a member of royalty being surrounded by this huge gesso frame, and she was curious as to what it looked like. so here you go, prince kona bear hair of virginia...

moving right along, this is the part about the music. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i think the best music EVER came out of the 70's. and one song in particular just never gets old; whenever i hear this song i sing like i'm ann wilson and air drum like i'm michael derosier. i will tell you though that i only do this while i'm driving alone, although my right leg starts twitching for a little bass drumming when i have passengers, but i've managed to hold it together thus far.


my brother and i have discussed music from the 70's before at length, and his theory is that musicians in the 60's over-rocked and over-drugged and took the 70's as a decade to just mellow out, which is reflected in the music, but i think musicians in the 70's still knew how to tear shit up! so random, right? it was just on my mind so i thought i'd share! what's your favorite music? and have you done any DIY around your house lately?

p.s. mister dinosaur toes is now on twitter.

i always thought i would be...

...a drummer. Okay, so maybe it sounds silly, but it's true. I've always loooved percussion, and I played drums for a bit when I was younger. I think it goes hand-in-hand with my love for music, and I just knew that I was going to be in a band like the ones I admired. Well, obviously life has taken me in a completely different direction and I'm clearly not a drummer, but if I could choose for one of my crazy dreams to come true, I'd still choose that one!

Okay, since I'm talking about drums, I figured this post wouldn't be complete without one of the greatest drum solos of all time...Church Lady on Church Chat! How about you? What big dream did you have when you were younger, and if you could choose to be or do anything, what would it be?

earth day (a day late) & fill in the blanks

I was so busy yesterday searching the very darkest corners of the internet trying to find the lowest price on a plane ticket that I neglected my blog. Sorry! So, even though the official earth day was yesterday, there's no rule saying I can't love it today!

images from weheartit.com.

Do you do anything "green" on a regular basis, or did you do anything special for Earth Day? I refuse to use disposable dishes (even if I'm at someone else's house), I only drive when it's absolutely necessary, and I recycle anything I can. I love our pretty planet, so I try to help out a little!

Now time for "fill in the blank friday." If you want to play along, you can link up on Lauren's blog!

1. One song that always takes me back to my youth is "paradise city" by guns n' roses. I swear I was their number one fan before I even started school!

2. My first concert ever was sorry, I can't remember the band's name!

3. If I could create my dream music festival I'd want these bands to be there: woods (my current favorite), bat for lashes, blondie, tv on the radio, menomena and you say party! we say die!

4. The best make-out/"boot knocking" song ever is uhh, yeah, i can't say that I've ever "knocked boots" to music!

5. The best concert I've ever been to was Bush.

6. A memorable musical moment for me was when my dad bought me my first cd (soundgarden) for my very first cd player!

7. The song on my iPod that's getting the most play these days is two of them. this one and this one.

this post has no point.

I'm sorry, but I'm still all groggy from waking up from a much needed nap, so excuse my senseless rambling! Today it started pouring down half way through my work day, and of course I was wearing flip flops; being rained on and having it rainy outside always makes me want to sleep. Even though the rain has moved in, it's still in the 60's which I won't complain about!

image via weheartit.com

Did you ever build indoor forts or tents as a kid? My brother and I basically lived in one we built from sawhorses, afghans mom crocheted and floral sheets from the 70's. It was so awesome, and what made it even better was when we got new school shoes, and since we couldn't wear them outside (until school started), we got mom to agree to let us sleep in them inside of our fort! Now I couldn't imagine wearing a pair of hi-tops under the covers! Ah, good times.

Since I'll be all rested up, I plan to jump on the trampoline (assuming we'll have breaks between showers) but mostly I need to drill more .22 shell casings for bullet necklaces. I got so behind while I was sick, and I HATE being behind!

I like to have music playing pretty much any time I'm working, be it house cleaning or hand making, and here are some of the things on this weekend's playlist (all mp3's): what's a girl to do / bat for lashes, to clean / woods, young bride / midlake, playground love / air.

So I guess that just about sums things up! Sorry I don't have a more interesting life to share with you. What are your weekend plans?

what i've been working on

Today it isn't all about what I'm working on, it's about what these other lovely bloggers are working on, too! I was so excited to get a few emails telling me about these projects. If you'd like to participate in this weekly post, you can send me pictures and descriptions of what you're working on to kissparrotkiss@aol.com

My first project was the bow necklaces. They're cold forged and hammered in 14kt gold filled and sterling silver. The second thing I've been working on is more .22 bullet and stone necklaces. I almost ran out of small stones, so I had to stock up yesterday; more yellow topaz and aquamarine on the way! The third item is a tote I sewed from yellow cotton duck with a scrap leather pocket decorated with embroidered vintage trim.

Rice Babies says: "I am working on this doll. Can't show you all of her because she is not fully stuffed and has no legs...lol. That's why I am still working on her, ran into a few kinks."

Brittan from little owl arts says, "These are photos of some of my nuno felting that I do. I hand dye the silk and then layer on the wool and felt it into the silk which creates really beautiful textures and patterns since the wool shrinks around the silk."

Lauren from the little things we do says, "So....technically or maybe not so technically this is what Craig's been working on....our new bed. But I've been working on little decor projects for the room too myself." (Lauren, I had to show those pretty windows!)

Catherine from fraise des bois - edelweiss says, "I have been working last weekend on a necklace that I have just finished this morning actually. It is made of amethyst (I love semi-precious stones), Japanese cotton fabric bought in Hawaii (I am so addicted to craft that where ever I go, I have to find either a bead store or a craft store for retail therapy), metal looking leather (I love everything that shimmers) and of course Swarovski crystals. I called it Aloha Flower Puff necklace. The art movement Pop Art and Hawaii inspire and I love flowers. So this necklace is a combination of all these different inspirations." *Note from me, Catherine is doing a giveaway of this necklace on her blog. You can stop by, but I'd prefer you didn't because it will hurt my chances of winning ;)

What do you guys listen to while you're working? I like to have some sort of noise in the background, and these songs have been on repeat in the dinosaur toes factory (you can even take them if you'd like):

tape song by the kills
the funeral by band of horses
weekend wars - MGMT

ear candy

Finally, FINALLY!!! I finally got this CD after talking about it for a few months now! Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros make me want to put a flower in my milkmaid braids and dance in a field of daisies while wearing a soft cotton sundress...

ear candy

I heart this song. I actually happen to like all of Matt & Kim's songs! It's a bit of a stretch from my usual classic punk preferences, but who says we have to fit into one, single proverbial music mold? Not me, ooooooh no!