meet our sponsor: tumbleweeds oddities

i'm so excited for you to get to know beca, half of the tumbleweeds team! she's got great style, she's super sweet, and she can thrift things the rest of us only dream of! if you haven't seen them already, she has a blog as well as an etsy shop with handmade and thrifted finds. i was lucky enough to get a package from her last week because she's just that rad.

1. tell us where you're from and where you currently live. We're southern babies. Doug was born in Belle Chase, LA and I am from Decatur, GA. And yes, we both say ya'll often and without shame. I moved to Arizona just shy of 5, and Doug in his early teen years, however, both of our families are split between Florida and Arizona. We met in Tucson and started a life together. We recently packed our home, 3 dogs, a giant cat and our beta fish named Jack into a 1979 Dodge van and moved to beautiful Southern California. San Diego has been good to us so far.

2. what do you think an ideal vacation would be if money were no object? We often talk about going to Tasmania in search of the elusive Tasmanian Tiger. And also, have you seen their coat of arms! So neat! But really, our dream vacation would be to take a summer and travel coast to coast of our incredible country in search of the best flea markets, estate sales and junk stores to fill our shop with treasures. Someday you may find us in our van with a little trailer attached cruising the back roads with our brood.

3. describe your design and decorating style and where you find inspiration. We're gypsies at heart, and the styling of our home reflects that immensely. We work where we live and we surround ourselves with an eclectic collection of muted folk art, tapestries, taxidermy and stacks of wood and leather. The design of our shop is very similar. Our photos are backed by warm browns and natural lighting, recycled paper confetti and recovered metal letters. The tags and business cards are made from wood. We use a lot of burlap and raw cotton and recovered suede in our packaging and our handmade items. Like true gypsies, we also incorporate bright pops of colors and rich textures. I think the both of us find inspiration from our family. I am incredibly lucky, both grandfathers are craftsmen, my Dad and older brother are carpenters, and every woman in my family is a handy with a needle and thread or yarn. The story is pretty much the same for Doug. His Sister is the best treasure hunter I have ever known. She puts the rest of us to shame!

4. if you could spend time with an icon or celebrity, past or present, who would it be and what would you do? Doug says, and I quote "Morgan Freeman, and just chill." As for me, probably Stephen King. I'm such a nerd and I love his books and movies. You wouldn't believe the countless times I defended his screen writing while I was in film school! And I would let him use our guest pass to the zoo, because it would probably be pretty neat to go to the zoo with Stephen King, right?

5. how did you get into vintage, and what do you look for when you're on the hunt? I have been obsessed with vintage since I was a young teenager and discovered that I could get more junk for less money at thrift stores. I guess I was (am?) kind of a hoarder..ahem...collector, and as a kid, collected books, old photobooth photos, cameras, weird paintings, other peoples journals, records, animal figurines, you get the picture. Doug really has the eye though. He can spot vintage-scientific-cat-organs-in-resin from 200 yards away through the red sea of junk and trash and cheap Chinese straw hats. When we go treasure hunting, we usually keep a list of what people are looking for, and things that we have seen a trend in. I like finding special treasures that people request or I know that our customers are looking for. Mostly though, we just look for stuff we like, pieces of American history, folk art, oddities, curiosities and the like. Albeit, we always take requests and will always work extra hard to find those special treats for anyone who asks.

please tell us 5 interesting facts about yourself that you think we should know.
-all of our animals are black and white.
-Doug's last photography show was all macro insect portraits.
-Our last three vehicles have been from the 1970s - a Dodge Dart, a Ford F-150 and our current beast, the Dodge Van.
-I have an irrational fear about spiders laying eggs in my face...thanks to the book "Scary Stories III."
-We have a killer rock collection that has been combined from my Grandpa, his Dad, and our own adventures.

meet our sponsor: dreams & drifters

time for another interview! i love interviews because they can introduce you to some pretty amazing people. the spotlight today is on mandi from dreams & drifters, a self-proclaimed music fanatic, crafty lady, and mama extraordinaire. and if i may add one thing, stylish lady. seriously, i wouldn't mind having her dress me. okay, here we go!

1. tell us where you're from and where you currently live. I've spent almost my entire life in a little town called Amherstburg, which is located just outside of Windsor, Ontario. It's a good place to grow up or raise kiddies, but I try to spend as much time in the city as I can. It seems so full of possibilities and adventure when compared to my tiny hometown. I also spent three of my teenage years living a few hours north, in Guelph, Ontario, which still holds a huge piece of my heart.

2. what is your favorite memory from childhood? We lived in quite a few different houses as I was growing up, but there is one that has always stood out in my mind. It was an incredibly beautiful, and very old house. We had a big backyard with a playhouse, and wild strawberries which grew in our garden. Many of my earliest, and most pleasant memories were spent in that yard. I have two strawberries tattooed on my chest as a reference to that time of my life.

3. tell us about your personal style and your fashion icons. My personal style is a bit of a mix. I'm attracted to anything overly girly, frilly, pastel and lacy. I also find myself drawn to 'boho' and earthy styles. My biggest fashion icon is Nicole Richie. I've never seen her look anything short of amazing.

4. what are some of your hobbies? Unfortunately, I have more hobbies than I have free time lately. When I do get a spare minute, I love sewing, crafting, playing dress-up, reading, thrifting, baking, dancing, nature walks, live music, and um, plenty of shopping.

5. if you came into five million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with it? The first thing I would do is spend some time traveling with my mister and our little girl. I've done a fair bit of traveling in my time, but I'd still like to explore Europe and Australia. Once I got the wanderlust out of my system, I'd build a small, solar powered community of cabins, to house myself and my loved ones.

please tell us five things about yourself that we don't know already.

- I enjoy the company of animals more than that of people. I can be quite shy, and I feel like animals understand me better.

- I don't have a middle name. My parents thought they'd give me the option of choosing my own when I was old enough. When I was four or five, I began demanding that my middle name be "Tree", so I was never given one. I still think Tree would be a pretty good one.

- I spent the first 12 years of my life as an only child, then within the next three years I accumulated a half-sister, two step-sisters and a step-brother. Luckily for me, they're all pretty awesome.

- I've had the same best friend since I was four years old (except for a brief stint as enemies in grade seven.)

- I'm usually lost in my own world. It might sound charming, but as a result, I'm very spacey, clumsy and oblivious to my surroundings. I find myself saying "Oh, I didn't notice." several times throughout the day

meet our sponsor: sadie rose

if you look over to the right, you'll find sponsor buttons from fellow bloggers and shop owners. be sure to go say hi if you get a chance! today's interview is with sadie rose, blogger and owner of the eclectic shop sadie deluxe on etsy. sadie's shop is filled with a collection of vintage clothing and accessories as well as handmade items from her line "lost boys and lovers."

1. tell us your name, where you're from and where you currently live.

My name is Sadie Rose - I'm originally from the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe, and then I spent college and the 5 years after that in Oregon. Now I'm back in Northern California, surrounded by fruit trees and flowers and endless sunny skies.

2. what are some of your favorite hobbies?

Clothes times a billion. I love to find, fix, and sell vintage, and I also reconstruct anything and everything. Textile art is what I love spending my time on. I also make jewelry and accessories - another hobby that I love. Other than that, I don't have time for too many hobbies...I'm also a mom, so I spend much of my time raising my sweet little boy, too.

3. because we all love a good laugh, tell us an embarrassing story about yourself.

Oh jeez. I try to avoid these things as much as possible. I suppose what first comes to mind is this: a while ago, I sent an ex-lover a sort of dark and steamy email. The next morning, I had a reply to the email - but it was from the female web developer that had been hired by the company I worked for (I had been corresponding with her, and somehow her email address popped up in the auto function, and I didn't notice). She simply said "Sadie - I don't think this was intended for me."

I COULD HAVE DIED!!!

You never realize how ridiculous your sexy emails are until you realize they've been read by the wrong eyes.

4. what are some of your favorite blogs and daily reads?

My absolute favorites are by people who I know, or who I've come to know through the Etsy community. My latest daily reads are Urban Revisions, Scout & Catalogue, Gather, and The Girl Who Married a Bear.

5. where do you find fashion inspiration?

Everywhere - especially the internet. I'm constantly taking notes when I'm out in the world, too. Watching who wears what, and how. In Chico, I'm surrounded by lots of reconstructers-of-clothing, so that's cool. Online, my tastes vary. I love the vintage bohemian Northern California look, and my favorite of these is Nicole of Flaming Hag Folkwear. She puts together the most amazingly killer outfits ever. But sometimes I do get a little nostalgic for the classic hipster-ness that I was immersed in up in Portland, and then I'll usually browse through the archives of Urban Weeds.

6. please tell us five things you think we should know about you.

five whole things!? well - i love cleaning (it makes me feel good), and i rarely brush my hair. i don't really like to drive and i longingly dream of owning a clawfoot bathtub (or two - one for outside). and finally, i lost a spelling bee in high school because i spelled "rhinoceros" wrong. I'm still a little bummed about it.

meet our sponsor: of roses and hello

meet morgan, from of roses & hello, a self-proclaimed lover of animals and old things. that alone makes her sound amazing, right? well guess what...she is! it's sort of funny how we met. during a roadtrip north, she stopped in a south carolina store and bought a dinosaur toes bullet necklace, then further into her journey, she even visited lynchburg, va, my home! i've been loving her blog and store ever since, and i think you will, too! here's a little more about morgan...

where are you from and where do you currently live? i'm from columbia, sc and i live in columbia, sc at the moment. i do a lot of moving around and this is where i come when i'm out of ideas.

what are some of your hobbies? my greatest passion is riding horses. unfortunately. sometimes i would give anything to feel that same away about something less expensive and easier to accommodate. also, i love playing piano, reading books, watching movies, traveling, and procrastinating, of course.

if you had to suddenly leave your life as you know it and only take 5 things, what or who would they be? my horse, cadillac jack. my german shepherd, sabrina. my two cats, kit kat and heathcliff. and brian. i guess that doesn't leave room for anything else.

what is your favorite food? ice cream.

what bands are you listening to these days? iron & wine, death cab for cutie, regina spektor, bloc party, the temper trap. but the always&forevers are chopin (my all time favorite composer), mozart, then the rat pack, duke ellington, ella fitzgerald, nina simone, billy holiday, and so on.

i thought this video from her blog was beautiful!

5 random things about yourself:
i eat ice cream for breakfast
i sleep in a bed full of animals.
i never answer my phone.
i could sleep through both a hurricane and an earthquake at the same time.
i would love to live in africa. hypothetically. but i think that's mainly based on how much i love the movie out of africa.

so go get to know morgan, i promise you'll love her! and if you like vintage, stop by her shop and see all of the pretty treasures she's found!

getting to know the talented kjrsten

i'd like to introduce you to kjrsten of k. madsen photography. she's a stylish mom, blogger, artist, and all around amazing person. she was in the first group of people who started commenting on my blog, and she's still one of my favorites! kjrsten and her sister share a blog with outfit posts, home tours, and pieces of their life, but she also has a beautiful photography blog that i think you'll love! kjrsten was our first sponsor, and her photography makes me want to marry chris again! i did a little interview with kjrsten, and she was kind enough to offer a special giveaway, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see!

how did you get started with photography?

My mom was always trying to find ways to keep me busy during the summer when I was a kid (because she had 6 kids). I usually took art classes. When I was 11, I signed up for a darkroom class. (My mom had to pull some strings to get me in there since I was so young.) Seeing my photographs come to life in the developing tray was like black magic! It was so unreal to me that I made an image from start to finish... and that was it!

what was your first camera, and do you still have it?

I don't remember, I was 11 (that's 22 years ago), but I still have the first photograph I developed from the dark room. It's a photo I took of my baby sister, she was in her swimsuit playing in the sprinkler (I still remember that day, and exactly where we were standing).

tell us some of your favorite locations to photograph or use as a backdrop.

Oh man that is a tough question. I think it changes all the time. As far as photo sessions go, I like trying out new locations, I get bored fast in life, even with my photos. Shooting in new places feeds both my desire to explore, and the need to try something different.

if you could photograph any celebrity, public figure or icon, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

J.D. Salinger, at his home in all of it's reclusive glory. I am intrigued by him. And the fact that he gave his last interview in 1980, certainly would make the experience all the more extraordinary.

do you like cotton candy?

Oh fluffy pink sugar?! You bet your bottom dollar! I pretty much live on sugar. I am the ultimate suck of the universe cook. But I can bake sweets like there's no tomorrow.

tell us 5 facts about yourself and/or your photography.

1. I shoot 100% FILM! I prefer the look of film to digital. And also, it simplifies things for me, I can spend more time shooting and no time editing.

2. I met my husband in Moscow, Russia. That's where an american girl from Seattle goes to meet an american boy from Salt Lake City to find true love (apparently)!!! Yes it was romantic.

3. I adore shooting weddings the most. It's such a sacred day and I am honored each and every time I am selected to document it. I wish I could transport myself back in time to photograph the wedding of Dick and Raquel Dyer (my grandparents) Their love story is amazing, and plus, they were just a handsome looking couple!

4. I still spend time in the dark room on a weekly basis. It is the only place in the world where I can loose myself for 5 hours straight, and I don't even need to check my phone or eat, it's still magical for me. Although I wish we could bring Diet Cokes in there, I could use some of that while I am printing.

5. Have Camera(s) Will Travel. Yes, I am in Portland Oregon, but that won't stop me from shooting your wedding! My travel rates are competitive, drop me a line and we can chat. kjrst1@yahoo.com.

*i'm so in love with the horses kjrsten photographed that i had to know if she makes notecards. she says that she's been considering taking the plunge into an etsy shop. let her know that she should!

it's time to talk bidness

first, i have to tell you that i do NOT say "bidness," but i do have a redneck client who says it, and every time he does, i want to scream, "there is no D in business!"

anyway, i'm getting to my point. so, business talk isn't all that fun, and that's why i'll never be a high-powered mogul. well, that and the fact that i'm happy being a wallflower and working behind the scenes. but, a little business talk is necessary no matter how powerful your empire may be. if you hadn't noticed, i added a section over in my sidebar about dinosaur toes sponsorship. it's $10 a month for a 200 pixel by 150 pixel space. many of the dinosaur toes readers are crafters, photographers, etsy sellers, independent business people and all around inspirational. a sponsorship would be good for your blog, website, or store. if you'd like to be a dinosaur toes sponsor, or if you have questions about my blog's views or other specifics, please send me an email; i'd love to hear from you!

last, i made a new blog button! the smaller size is also over there on my sidebar complete with the code for you to copy and paste if you'd like to share it on your blog or site!