Pretty Paper Petals

These are not paper, but aren't they pretty. It's a volunteer that started growing in my side yard. I don't know what type of flower it is but I'm glad it made its home outside my window. Fall is here and the apples are ready to be picked on my tree and the garden is looking more and more sparse. Time to start thinking of winter projects! I have many new stories to write and hobbies to hone. I want to get ahead on my Christmas gifts this year, I don't want to scramble like I always do. What are your favorite hobbies.

 

Paper to Petal is a book I recently splurged on and I can's wait to make some of these flowers!!! They look amazingly life like and will last far longer than real flowers. Rebecca and Patrick are magicians. This is a must read, and it even has templates! I will keep you posted on my progress. 

Throwback Thursday Vinyl: Boots by Nancy Sinatra

I picked this little number up on my thrift trip for a scandalous 75 cents at an antique store in Galesburg, IL. It's fabulous. The delicious Nancy Sinatra is the ultimate razor sharp blond bombshell who could hold her own in 1966. She covers everything a teenager was feeling in the 60s high on the drama of love, lies, and loneliness. What surprised me were the Beatles, Dylan, and Rolling Stones covers on this album. These tracks are ultimately given the Nancy Sinatra camp stamp but what makes me laugh is if the artists weren't pleased with them, who would dare insult the daughter of Frank Sinatra. You better prepare for a swift boot print on your face. Besides the obvious title track that is one of my all time oldie favs, "In My Room" is a dramatic affair that makes me want to stand in my house like I own the place and the cover of "As Tears Go By" is a dreamy serenade. Definitely pick this up if you get the chance and support your local record store.

Happy Fish, First Fridays. and Ribbon Records!

 

Friday night my cousin and I partook of CIAO First Fridays in Peoria, but first I had to make it out of her home filled with swanky vintage treasures from her latest road trip to northern Illinois. Happy Fish Sushi was our dinner of choice, a cool little joint in Campustown with super fresh sushi, although the tables are a tad too close together and there is that awkward moment where you feel like you are dining with the strangers next to you and you almost reach for something on their plate :) Carrie and I highly recommend the Miami Roll and the White Dragon roll.

 

Our next trek was Ribbon Records, a new favorite of mine, you will have to excuse the impressionistic photo I took below, but it is jam packed with bins of used records and the coolest vintage clothing collection you will find outside of a big city. This is a must see hole in the wall in Peoria. You can listen to music at your leisure as well!

 

We then traversed the artist studios of the Murray Building on Walnut street (Ribbon Records is in the first floor, artists are on the next 3 floors). We met Ken Hoffman, Ken Tiessen, Tracy Frugoli, and a few more very talented folk. Our night ended under the stars eating ice cream and discussing our life's passions. It was a pretty stellar Friday.

 

Carrie wants this lamp.

Hello New Job!

 

What a summer. I got a job!!!! So I've said goodbye to my old job with Numéro in the warehouse district of Peoria and hello to a design position with Blick Art Materials in Galesburg. As much as I enjoyed my old job, I'm adjusting nicely to the security, plus the 401K and benefits aren't too shabby either. I'm proud to work for a company that supports artists, and products I can truly get behind. I've got some more writing and illustration projects which I will post on soon. What exciting things happened to you this summer?