sunny traffic

Japanese Goodness!!!

so...I got my package from Leslie of Goodness!!!!! I am loving every bit of it! I hated to even separate all the goods from their cute little nest, but it had to be done....they must get put to good use! she threw in some candy and even some really cute Russian Dolls fabric! she's so awesome. for more views of all the fabric and goodies, go here.
on to other exciting news, I ordered some Lotta Jansdotter fabric this morning, also from Leslie. (photos to come upon arrival). she is really making it hard for me to save money. I made a mad dash to work this morning, just so I could get here at 10pm Japanese time, the minute she started putting the Lotta fabric on sale...and I made it!!! I think I have spent all of the money from my second job on fabric this month...I guess that's why I have a second job right??...screw the credit card debt. now i'm looking at her shop for more fabrics I'm wanting. i have an addiction, and i like it.

meat-tastic.

i'm not a big meat eater, but i just had the biggest beast sandwich i've ever attempted to put in my belly. we went to the italian market and i ordered the 'half' sandwich and out came double what is shown here. so what you see is a quarter. i could only do the quarter, and i barely succeeded doing that. it's insanity. pure italian, delicious, olive-y, prosciutto'y, cheesy, insanity. this was followed with a chocolate malt w/ espresso from Bobby's dairy dip...it's friday. what the hell.

maddog turns 13!!!

so last night we celebrated maddog's 13th birthday!!! 13!!! it's unbelievable. she's friggin 13!

she chose PF Changs, always a winner, and had 2 of her friends along for the ride! the ride of teenage-dom! a good time was had by all, and they ended our chilly & drafty dinner with some

bday fare.

after changs, we headed back to the house for more cake (a mini) and presents!!! she received the sewing machine she asked for...of course!!! i was thrilled she wanted one!! among other treats, there were her Tom's shoes, some clothes and goodies from Grandma & Grandpa Anderson, clothes from us, and a carrying tote for her Janome! now, it's life from here on out...with a teenager! (dun dun dun...) she is the best teenager anyone could ever ask for...and a great pseudo-stepdaughter!

mr ethos, of course, was behind the camera the whole time, so there are no daddy/daughter pics...we'll have to fix that this weekend at her official birthday party! (for more birthday fun, please see mr ethos' blog)

cotton and cupcakes, oh my.

i got new fabric in the mail yesterday!!! i love the way it looks all folded, crisp and untouched. it makes me happier than a new Green & Black's chocolate bar.
speaking of chocolate, we made Maddog's cupcakes for her to take to school today on her freakin THIRTEENTH birthday...a tradition that Mr Ethos and I look forward to each year...baking til the wee hours to produce THE PERFECT CUPCAKE. and he he also made this little fingercake...just to make sure the icing hadn't gone bad after 5 minutes. way to look out for the kids, mr ethos.

it's still raining

i want to be right here, right now.

in a nutshell

it's raining & i need a craft room

i'm sitting here at work on a monday, drinking a soy dbl latte'-hoping to feel it's benefits soon (aka fake energy), it's raining, and all I can do is search blogs and flickr and martha stewart for pictures of awesome craft rooms. her craft room is awesome, yet way too organized and conservative. (still want it) my craft room really only has a crafty corner..but then the rest is junk that won't fit in the rest of my 800 sq. foot house. this weekend...this weekend it's gonna happen. i'm moving all the junk out to the studio in the back and i'm gonna have the best dang craft room I can afford right now. i mean, even these freakin dolls have a craft room in their dollhouse! wtf man? they can't even move, much less sew!!! i need some storage, some shelves, a few jars, get all the old block prints out, oohh..man, I can't even focus at work. all I want to do is go home and get started. i just ordered a ton of new fabric today from cia's pallette and quilthome. i found an awesome blog called good-ness. i found her b/c she has an etsy shop from where I bought some fabric--all from Japan, b/c that is where she lives. anyway, more importanly...she has, in her possession, in all it's wonderfully magnificent glory, Lotta Jansdotter fabric!!!!!!!!! i hope to be there the minute she puts it for sale in her shop. i need it. i have to have it.

so, speaking of Lotta Jansdotter, I have been pretty slow about hitting some of the projects in her book Simple Sewing. I also ordered this awesome book from good-ness that was only printed in Japan..it's also by Lotta Jansdotter called Handmade Projects. i havn't recieved it yet, but it looks awesome. apparently, it's all in Japanese but has drawn out diagrams. here's hopin'!
that soy latte' didn't do a damn thing.
did i mention it's raining?

simply inspiring

there is a blog that I absolutely love called Simply Breakfast. it makes food look like art and inspires me to eat better. the photographs are great with the most amazing natural light. not to mention, I absolutely love food...love to look at it, love to eat it, love to talk about it, and love to arrange/display it. it makes me remember why I go on the search for the perfect vintage dishes...your food really does look more appetizing when you can appreciate the palette on which it sits. here are a few images from simply breakfast.

last sewing class

so..last night was my last sewing class. I was taking a night class at Watkins called "It's Sew Easy". and introductory course to sewing. it's taught by the very crafty and talented Beth Howard, who hopefully will be teaching another class on quilting. cause I wanna make quilts. anyway, our last sewing project was this zipper pouch that turned out pretty cool. then when I got home, I made my first wine tote. i think it's my favorite thing I've made. i'm hoping other people will like them and want to give them as christmas gifts, or any gift. i'm really loving sewing...i mean, i love making books, but this is way better. no f'n glue to deal with...just fabric and thread. yowza. here's my wine tote with a real human..sans the wine. needs the bottle for bon-a-fide-ness, but this'll do for now. (thanks ally).

three potato four

did i mention how much i love this website? it's called three potato four, run by a husband and wife. great finds, vintage and new.

one fish, two fish, red fish, sea bass

i like fish. last night was my parents' 59th birthday (11 days apart) and we went out to dinner and had some good food, good drinks and got rowdy. i don't know if I have ever had such a variety of 'creatures of the sea' at one sitting. dad and sis got the sea bass, mr ethos and i got the rainbow trout, mom got the shrimp, pam got the mahi stuffed and baked with shrimp and scallops,( john and rick got some land-roving beast), we all shared a variety of apps including, but not limited to: ahi tuna sashimi, calamari, crabcakes, and shrimp & scallop ceviche. it was a tasty tasty night, washing all of this down with ketel one tonics and 'tini's.
mr ethos and i were on our best behavior, as usual, and we were totally "that table" that snapped pics with 150 watt flashes every 3 minutes. it was awesome. oh-and upon viewing of said pics, i realized my middle finger is really crooked. in fact, both of them are.
so, since I've picked up some shifts at the bar after work, i feel it's annoyingly cutting into my precious sewing time. mama do not like. i'm really into making wallets for guys right now since they're not the mainstream in the market of 'arts and crafts'. yeh, they get some silkscreen shirts, etc., but we have it all. purses, skirts, wallets, clutches, wristlets, cosmetic pouches, the possibilities are endless. boys need some homemade goodness in their lives too. mr ethos has inspired me with his specific instructions for a non-wallet, and I believe this will be the new black. (in my domestic fantasies) i can feel it. photos to follow. he has his own arts and crafts...throwies. him and maddog made some one night and spattered the town with their ominous glow. (look closely at the bottom of the arrow sign)
speaking of mr ethos, his post of maddogs 13th year of life is up. this, actually, might be the new black. thirteenthreesixtyfive

first blog, first post.

okay, so I'm blogging. it feels good. it feels right. it feels like one martini down..2 olives. this isn't going to be one of those publicly interesting fun-blogs, so please--all you blog-judgers out there--refrain. you already attacked my comrade imacookoo, who's blog is full of fun, found and made-by-her awesomeness. my man, mr ethos, also will be creating a blog soon. his daughter's (we'll call her maddog) 13th b-day is coming up and it will document every day (or every few days) of her 13th year in life. name to come soon.

this blog will probably contain a clusterfuck of arts/crafts/sewing, creative envy, and maybe a little personal purging along the way. other inspirations also came from emotional mullet, who teaches me things from excel and company benefits to emotional support in times of need. (thus the mullet) thanks emo-mul.

so, sitting here at my desk at work on a monday morning in an unusually & freakishly hot october, i'd like to look back on the awesome weekend i had. sister flew in from california on friday night, went to Robert's country western bar for Caryn's b-day where a mad fit of sharpie tattoo applications occurred, got really drunk on cheap beer, woke up the next morning, went to Octoberfest where more beer was consumed to feel normal again, only to be followed by the Nashville's best reuben and deep fried oreos.
after Hotoberfest, mr ethos, maddog, myself, my parents and my sister&beau went to Arrington Vineyards where we brought a picnic of fun little delectables and drank wine on a balcony while the sun was setting, sitting in amazingly carved wood table and chairs...all while surrounded by vineyards. (and a peek at the interstate). good family fun. and the best part was...it was chilly enough for a scarf--it's about damn time.
sunday brought on house cleaning, a jog, and a road-trip-search for the perfect hot pink hair dye for maddog. of course it was found at Sally beauty supply, and the remainder of the afternoon was spent bleaching a significantly sized underneath hair chunk of maddog's hair only to be zapped hot pink an hour later! mr ethos threw some pink in his too, but the grey rejected the pink. "i'm here to stay!" said grey. his sexy salt and pepper locks are now more of a periwinkle and pepper. still sexy. i am also sporting some pink. family's who dye together, stay together.
then I had to go work at the bar. now im working at work. music publishing in a cube.
this was fun.