It's Leap Day!

What a hectic week. As I finalize some deadlines at work, prepare for my BFF trip to Santa Fe next week, and keep Tefi Designs motorin' along, I want to stop to pay homage to this once-every-four-years event..........okay, there. That was nice.

I'm so excitied about my trip. Jen and I will get our yoga on, our shopping on, our mud bath on, and tons of walking and hiking. The hiking part I'm not too keen on, but she is and I know it will be fun so long as I keep it lowkey. My ol' bursitis knees can't take too much.

I'm gonna be a regular Willie Loman, too. I plan to pack my bag with some of my charming fabric bookmarks and hair goodies, and see if I can't get some of the shops we visit to carry them. Work it, work it. The worst word I can hear is No, right? And it's only made up of two itty-bitty letters. *shrug*



Tomorrow night is Jason's and my first in a series of movie nights. I call it "Bitchin' B-Movie Bonanza" with our first installment to be Westworld starring Yul Bryner. Also on the horizon for other BBMB nights: The Warriors, Logan's Run, Soylent Green, and The Jazz Singer. Awesome!

Date Night Recap: Every Wednesday, Jason and I have a standing date night, and this last Wednesday we went ice skating at Plaza of the Americas. I used to go there a lot as a kid and it was weird going as an adult. Everything was so much smaller.

We had so much fun, and altho I did a few twirls and he did a few oh-oh-oh-OH!'s, neither of us fell down! Check it out - that's Jason on the right swingin' his arms like an Olympian (I took that while skating backwards!) and me doing a bit of disco dancin' on the ice:





Have a great weekend everyone!

Funky Finds: Jewelry Giveaway!

Jessica at Funky Finds is doing her February jewelry giveaway, and guess what! Tefi Designs donated a pair of super-fun and definitely funky earrings called "Chocolate Drops." They are brown crocheted beads with silver findings. You can eat 'em up!

Click here to read about the giveaway and enter to win some handmade jewelry!

A big fat smoochy wet one to Jessica for hosting this great contest. Hurrah!

Scout the Guide Dog

Today I had the honor of meeting a woman named Alice. Alice is blind and has a guide dog named, Scout. Sweet little (big) Scoutski is a yellow lab and he's sooooooo sweet. Wait, I said sweet twice.....okay, you get the idea. Just look at him!



I took this pic with my cell phone camera while we were walking outside Plaza of the Americas. Alice and I were part of a workshop summit-type thing and I took Scout for walks five different times throughout the day. She was happy to let me walk him, and I was thrilled to do it! I've never seen a dog so proud of himself for urinating. He'd jump at me twice to let me know he was done. For all he knew, I couldn't see!

Being around Alice and Scout today reminded me of the important role animals play in our lives every day. I feel priviledged to be around them, so kind and gentle. And even the wild ones are critical to a healthy and balanced world. This is why I remind you of my pledge to give 10% of net profits each month to an animal rescue group in my community.

Won't you make a similar pledge? Just Google "animal shelter (your city)" and consider making a donation to help the helpless, unwanted, and abused furry friends who cannot help themselves. Woof! Meow!

http://www.operationkindness.org/
http://www.dognkittycity.com/index.htm
http://www.spca.org/

Morrissey and I Have the Same Birthday

It's true. We were both born on May 22, smack on the cusp of Taurus and Gemini, if you believe all that razz.

Tonight J and I are headed to the DMA to (finally) see the exhibit the world won't listen. It's a video installation by Phil Collins (no, not that one) of The Smiths' fans singing their songs karaoke-style. It was filmed in Bogota, Istanbul, and Indonesia.

Had Mr. Collins come to Dallas to film me singing The Smiths, I certainly would have picked "Panic" and "William, It Was Really Nothing." When I listen to that last one, I'm thrown back to the year 1989, the year I fell into The Smiths. I am standing at the doorway of my old bedroom, watching myself smoke a clove cigarette (my mom thought it was incense), surrounded by The Smiths posters, being really maudlin and misunderstood. I'm on the bed, inhaling and exhaling, dreaming of being an adult...............

Where did my youth go?

William, William it was really nothing/It was your life...........Here's a video of The Smiths doing this song on Top of the Pops. It's cheesy and lip-sync-y, but it's still beautiful to me after all these years.

Fight the Power, Fight the Dirt

These curious little mini hand soaps are just about the cutest, creepiest things I've seen in a real long time. This photo (above) reminds me of the Black Panthers, and now I've got Public Enemy stuck in my head. The revolution has come!

There's really not much more I can say about them other than....uh...yeah. Get them here.

Sunday - An Art Story

It was a bit of a chore getting up on Sunday morning after the night we spent dancing at the Mambo Room followed by bacon and eggs at the Metro! Diner. (I added the exclamation mark because it's simply that good.)

At 1pm, Jason and I headed down Jefferson Avenue to the 35-acre site of La Reunion, located at the western edge of Oak Cliff. For the past few months, Jason and I have been members of the development committee for LaR, working to find ways to raise funds and get the projects moving along. The largest and most important project is the artist residency, which will be housed on this land.

Seeing the site in person was amazing. The land is still a bit on the Grizzly Adams side, but we did see the work that has already been done. LaR hosted a tree-carving/tree-decorating event a couple weeks ago. This event has created an outdoor art exhibit of altered trees - all of them dead, dying, or non-natives. My friend and kung-fu brother, Tyler Sharp, is working on a tree with his sister, Molly. They are in the process of creating a zen-like moon garden.

We hiked the trail that had been cut, tread across a couple of ravines to the pond. There is a large portion of a train trestle leftover from the locomotive days. It's really an awesome structure (pictured). Executive director, Sarah Jane Semrad, heads LaR with co-founder Catherine Cuellar. Check out the site to see all the great programs going on with La Reunion!

Saturday - A Craft Story

Wow and wow again!

My fellow Etsy Dallas members and I had such a great time at our second and largest trunk show. In celebration of Cupid and his arrow shootin' ways, over 40 local artists and crafters filled the corridor of South Side offering up such great items as jewelry, art, soap, bags, photography, scarves, and stationery. Be on the lookout for a video of the event, shot and edited by Jason, my fabu boyfriend-slash-videographer.

Alright, you've been hearing me go on and on about this event since we began organizing it a month ago, so I'll leave you with this simple, eloquent statement: Etsy Dallas Rocks!!!!

P.S. Did you see the great press we got in the Quick and The Dallas Morning News? Whoa nelly!

P.P.S. While I'm always sad to see my pieces go, I'm thrilled to know that they are going to people who will love them, treasure them, and wear them with pride. Here are a few that I sold over the weekend. Goodbye my darlings!


Coral Celebration I


Little Treasures


Little Peacock


Wish Box

Friday - A Love Story

This past weekend was awhirl with plans and get-togethers. Friday night I spent the evening surrounded by popcorn, chocolate, and estrogen. That's right, a girls' night movie night was in effect at my cousin Jennifer's house. We watched Love Story starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw and let me tell you: Love means never having to say, "Oh my god this is cheesy."

Press for Etsy Dallas!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I'm super excited. Can you tell?

Etsy Dallas got some great press this morning. First off, we got top listing in Pegasus.com's Valentine's Day events listing. Yay! Also, we got a blurb in today's Dallas Morning News Guide section along with a fabu picutre of one of Patricia's boxes.

And, and, AND...We supposedly got a mention in DMN's Quick guide - the daily freebie that focus' on what's happening around town. But I haven't seen it yet! Have you?

Put the Horse Before the Cart

I love Feist. Girlfriend is beautiful, Canadian, and up for four Grammys! Two of them is for her song and video, "1 2 3 4". I posted this months ago when it first came out, and here it is again. It's that good.

"Sleepless, long nights - that's what my youth was for." *sigh* Ain't that the truth....



Also nominated: Lily Allen and Tom Waits. You can bet I'll be watching the entire Grammys for the first time ever!

Silver Hair, You Mock Me

Lately I've been noticing a certain glistening je ne sais quoi in the mirror. It's not a new tan nor a "glow," but rather, silver hair.

Now, I'm no spring chicken, but I'm no winter duck either. (Yeah, I made that up. Go on, take it.) I mean, for chrissake! I'm only 32. There is this one particular silver hair that grows straight up from the middle part in my hair. Looks like some sort of Alfalfa joke. I pluck it when I see it, then booooooooop! There it grows again.

So to keep myself feeling young, I make fabric button jewlery that has a flair for fun, youth, and color. In fact, I'm wearing one right now made with this fabirc by Alexander Henry, and I've gotten several compliments on it today:



I made these fabric button pendants awhile ago and could not figure out how to make the backs look fabulous like the fronts. They were just a plain metal backing with a glob of glue attaching the eye pin. Horrible. But alas! I've figured out a way to make the backs pretty, and now these guys have moved out of the prototype phase and into the Buy-Me-Now phase. So enjoy!



Pictured: Mornighton Crescent, Wasabi, and Rock Me Amadeus - all available at my Etsy shop!

One If By Schmap, Two If By Sea

You are looking at a newly published photographer. Now, I barely know diddly-squat about photography, yet Schmap! chose one of my pics (Newman's Window, taken at the Old North Church) for their Boston guide. Click here to see my photo and others taken of churches around Boston.



So what's Newman's Window and why is it important? Here's an abdriged part of the story taken from www.oldnorth.com:

Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty had prepared for this troop movement and set about to alert their countrymen that the British Regulars (Redcoats) were heading their way. Revere...knew...that lanterns shining from the steeple of the tallest building in Boston at the time would clearly be seen on the other side of the harbor. Robert Newman, the church sexton agreed to help, so about 10:00pm that evening, he...climbed the 14-story steeple in complete darkness.

When he reached the very top, he lit and briefly held up two lanterns in the steeple window (one if by land, two if by sea). Although Newman hung the lanterns for probably less than a minute, it was long enough to be seen not only by the patriots, but also by the British troops. As Newman was coming down the stairs, British soldiers were at the front doors, trying to break in to investigate.

To escape arrest, Newman came down the center aisle, and escaped through the window to the right of the altar. It is now called the "Newman" window in his memory. Above the window is the replica of Newman's lantern that was lit by President Gerald Ford on April 18, 1975, to begin our nation's Bicentennial Celebration.

When Jason and I visited Boston last May, I fell in love. It is my all-time favorite city and I felt such at home there, such an affinity for the place and the people. It is such an honor to be a descendant and fellow countryman to the revolutionaries who fought hard to attain independence from the Brittish. They are true heroes!

Want to appreciate where you come from? Visit Boston! Here, this should whet your appetite...