Kitty Genius

New Paintings

Samuel

George Blackbeard

Martin

Usually bearded guys are prints of illustrations but these three are the elusive "bearded guy paintings". They all measure 6" × 8" × 3/4" and are acrylic, ink, pencil, and vintage book pages on canvas. These paintings will be available shortly at Velocity so if you're interested I would recommend shooting an e-mail to info@velocityartanddesign.com

Today has been oh so chilly and dreary. You know I love it. I've been sitting in the sunroom fighting with my cat over my new robe. Apparently it's a material she loves. And she won't stop mushing on it. We have come to a compromise: I have a yard of the same fuzzy material from the fabric store and have generously donated it to her. :) I'm in my robe, she's laying on her "pile" next to me, and all is well.

Have a great weekend!!

Gifties!!

I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY indeed!! And I hope you got to sneak a little relaxation in there too. : ) Instead of sharing the goodies I received (that's coming, believe you me) I wanted to finally share some of the awesome Etsy finds I have been collecting/hoarding/trying to keep for myself over the last few months.

a vintage dog from madampickay.

One of these ghostees from axelhoney.

I had the hardest time parting with this trio of mushroom containers from woodenapple. Did I mention they are super affordable and even better in real life? They were a hit!

For some wee ones. These balls from Apple Blossom Baby.

NOT  for the little ones. These awesome postcards from Rar Rar Press.

And these equally awesome removable stickers from mixedspecies.

A Birdlette from Tandoori Chicken.

A SWAKtopus from Bunny Productions.

Two subscriptions (we had to get one for ourselves) from Obsessive Consumption.

A shirt for our Abe Lincoln obsessed friend from Onefifty.

This creepy yet lovely pendant from Moon23.

This poster from Ork Design.

A kitty from Bestieland.

Delicate and beautiful vintage French laundry labels from Alpenhimmel.

A knit cactus(!) in case you have trouble keeping them alive like me. From Catzilla Crafts.

There were many more and it was so much fun!!! And easy. Search, click, buy, wait, wrap, give. That's all I had to do! It was like Etsymas around here. I think I am going to do some post-holiday browsing for myself tonight :)

Gift Tags!!!

A lot of you may remember this post from last year, and I just wanted to let you know you can absolutely still download these in PDF form to print out and put on your gifts! Just go back here and happy decorating!

Things are crazy around here, so I apologize for the slim posting this week. Tomorrow begins a six-day fun-filled extravaganza of friends, family, food, and presents!

Happy holidays to everyone!!!!

Free Goodies!

I hope everyone is had a fun filled weekend of semi-last-minute shopping and, for many of us in the U.S., SNOW!!! I spent the better half of the afternoon sipping coffee at a Starbucks with my mom, sitting in the comfy chairs and staring out the giant windows at all the snow.

And if you're in the mood for some more holiday goodness I am so excited to announce that you can post and personalize for free these four cards of mine to your MySpace, Facebook, etc. Simply follow the directions! And you'll be able to send them over IM soon!

And check out the tons of other ecards Kiwee has to offer. Kiwee is a division of American Greetings. Every time I told one of my friends about this project they excitedly said, "like Care Bears?" Like Care Bears indeed. I had the yellow one with the birthday cake. Do you remember what Care Bear you had, or still have?

I am going to continue to enjoy the wintry weather and meet up with friends a bit later. Today was nearly an entire day off! And it feels fantastic. Wishing everyone a relaxing week!

The Presents Are Wrapped!

First, a big thanks for all the mall support! Again, it's such a hilarious thing that so many of us are sort of the same girl… but I if I know myself I'll have this exact same experience (or close to it) again and again. Sigh.

Last night I finally finished "embellishing" most of the presents for friends and family and I have to share a few of my favorites.

I stared at "Present Mountain" for a long time before I went to bed. It's all so shiny… But I have to say I really liked that not one thing under that tree was from Drew to me or to Drew from me. We picked our gifts for each other a bit earlier but I feel like I have to wait closer until Christmas and our anniversary (since it's a combo gift) to feel like they exist.

And speaking of WONDERFUL holiday things, check out my new all time favorite ornament!

The ridiculously talented Margie made this bearded guy and sent him to me!! She made some "Ashley G-inspired" ornaments for the ornament swap and you can see all of her amazing work right here.

Also, two lovely ladies/bloggers Rebecca and Danielle tagged me, and while I love other people's lists, I feel sooo bad at creating them. If you recall, last time I made Drew write mine. Hmmm… let me think.

1. My right pupil is far more dilated than my left (not David Bowie style, but noticeable). I didn't even know until my sister pointed it out the other day.
2. I am really clumsy. As in: I just am standing and catch myself almost falling over. And many a morning almost miss my desk chair. Again… the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My mom and both sisters have the exact same level of clumsiness.
3. I love how my cat's fur smells.
4. I miss my best friend Loren when I don't see her for a few days and prefer to talk to her everyday. We think of ourselves as Oprah and Gale. We just don't know who is who : )
5. I have been looking for a couch for about four years and still haven't found the right one in the right price range. Is it so hard to find a $400–$600 modern couch that you have ample room to wallow on? YES IT IS.
6. I am currently watching Tila Tequila and Run's House. AND I LOVE THEM! Don't you judge me :)
7. I have worn the same perfume (Egyptian Musk) since I was 15 and don't think I will ever be able to wear anything else. It's the only one that doesn't give me a headache.

Ok… list complete! Like last time, I am not going to tag anyone but I strongly encourage, if you don't mind, that you leave a list of your own (or just one or two things) in the comments here with your blog link. I had THE BEST time finding out about folks last time and discovering even more awesome blogs to read!

This is What Five Hours at the Mall Looks Like

Not cute and kinda puffy. Jesus… my mom and I went when they opened to exchange something I needed her opinion on, to look at the Apple store for her, and to poke around at the sales. Flash forward five hours. We're still there. My feet hurt sooooo bad that I went into Journeys and asked the very nice sales associate if they had anything on clearance and comfortable. I didn't care what they looked like. For $10 I bought these.

I shoved my shoes in a bag and wore these. They aren't even my size but yes, they are very comfortable. The worst part… I was wearing comfortable shoes. Maybe my feet have hypersensitivity (or I'm a baby) but shit, I see these girls rockin' stilettos and I'm limping in flats. Ahhh.

My love/HATE relationship with the mall continues, but I actually had to go today. The warranties on the earrings Drew got me for our first anniversary and the ring from last year both require six-month "check ups" (as I like to call them) to keep the warranty alive. And if H&M happens to be between the two jewelry stores, what am I supposed to do? ; )

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I have to say I like seeing the mall all decorated. We spent a good portion of our time wandering around Anthropologie. Their display with clear and white straws is breathtaking. We bought nothing there but I felt a little magical when I left. I did gush over these for about ten minutes with a complete stranger.

Also, people like to ask me things or assume I work at whatever store I'm in ALL THE TIME. Maybe I have spent so much time in customer service I just look like I should be helping someone. So today I got to help an older woman pick out a pair of shoes for a black tie wedding. Her feet will look lovely!

Now the Wrapping Can Commence!

Thank you for all the sweet Hanukkah wishes! Today there was some tree decorating!

And what a perfect night for it! Drew and I were cooped up today waiting for some deliveries and doing some tidying (no one has claimed the bathroom yet) and in the late afternoon it started to flurry! It sounds more like ice falling now, but I am warm and toasty and that's fine by me.

Drew and I have some major packaging to do, and I think then I will get a head start on some holiday packaging! Don't worry, I'll make us both hot chocolate ; ) or more likely a strong cup of coffee with a package of good old regular Swiss Miss in it and a spoonful of sugar (I think I'm the only one that adds more sugar) -- that's been my favorite this season. Truly… just like a mocha. Mmmmm…

If you're crazy and love a big cup of coffee, add TWO packets of hot chocolate. Stay warm tonight!

Happy Hanukkah!

It is indeed the first night of Hanukkah! I hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful evening. Drew surprised me with this little loveliness.

A vintage book locket from the 1920s from England! I have wanted one for a looong time and it even has the original photos in it.

They are a bit warped and spooky but makes me even love it even more. That Drew, he's a keeper.

Here's to seven more days of family, friends, and THERE WILL BE LATKES!

For the Camera Enthusiast

Sorry for the quickie post, but I just wanted to let you know if you're looking for a gift for the camera enthusiast in your life or if you're that enthusiast, Drew just listed some of his cameras on eBay including this beauty. The lovely Voigtlander Bessa II.

And you can see all of his auctions here.

I will be back tomorrow!

HELLO December

"Going Swimmingly"

This month you will notice a change to the HELLO Series. The title on Etsy reads HELLO December but the name of the print is "Going Swimmingly". From now on, for the month that $5 of each print sold goes to charity, the Etsy title will read "HELLO (name of month)," but the actual title of the print will be found in the description. And after that month is over the Etsy title will be the print's actual name.

If I didn't make this change, the shop would soon be overrun with "HELLO This" and "HELLO That". Now it will be a bit easier to spot the charity print. I usually have a title for them in my mind, so now they can take on a different meaning with a title other than "HELLO". I like that compromise. But the first thirteen HELLO prints will always be "HELLO (fill in the month)".

Aaaahhh… I hope that all makes sense :) And of course the print can be found here! This month's charity is the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

I hope everyone's December is going swimmingly indeed! Or the first day of it, anyway :) We have been busy with a capital "B" and took a little time off last night to celebrate our friend Jessica's last night at Blueberry Hill. There are pictures but no one would want them shown. Everyone looks a little less then their personal best and a bit tipsy.

Jessica has been teaching and waitressing and is a new mom, so she had (and still does have) a very full plate. This will be her first time having weekends off in years (I sure knew that feeling) so we romanticized Sunday brunches and estate sales. You know Drew and I went to some today. But people were "I'm-looking-for-vintage-ornaments-and-all-things-Christmas-to-sell-on-Ebay" crazy, therefore it was less than fun and actually sort of stressful. Also, being up and out by 7:30 am after a late night… I could have missed a treasure chest of gold coins in front of me. I did find two excellent presents though. Hehee!

And on the spur of the moment on Thursday I did this:

(Drew just snapped this photo as I was writing this post)

I have had both sides of my nose pierced (at different times). I've also had a labret and a homemade flesh tunnel (don't ask). But all of this was when I was 15, so it's been awhile. I had them re-pierce the same spot and the funniest part… no one noticed. I guess that's a good thing. Or I will take it that "it looks natural". Anyway, here's to December, fresh starts, and spontaneity!