AHOY!

 (This is a real peek into my awesome psyche and also explains how I had and paid for a 24 Hour Fitness membership for a full year without ever entering the building once, except to cancel said membership.)

I went swimming at Temescal Pool today. This was a huge deal for me, as I have talked/thought/obsessed about swimming there for the nearly four years I've lived in this hood, but my anxiety always had the upper hand. It is not easy for me to do new things. I really like swimming, though! I used to swim daily in San Luis Obispo, but the idea of a new and different pool was extremely daunting. I have been taking tiny steps to actually get in the pool since last year. I have had my swim pass since July 2010. I actually got up the nerve to put on my suit and go a few months ago, only to discover upon arrival that the pool was closed due to a government furlough.

However, today was the day. I checked the website to make sure the State of California wouldn't ambush me again. I swam for 30 minutes and now I feel like this:

Down at Lulu's: Pink and Punk

 I got my yearly haircut/color last week. I know I'm constantly yapping about the power of home haircuts, but I like to get the real deal once or twice a year so I have good lines to follow, and also because it is such a nice, nice treat.

My official favorite salon is Down at Lulu's, right on the Berkeley/Oakland border.  Tina is a big, beautiful broad who is basically the coolest person in the world. She knows everything about bubblegum/garage/punk music and has glorious collections of vintage whatnots, but doesn't make you feel like you're any less cool for being a little bit square.

Tina and Seth, co-owners of the salon.

The pink exterior jazzes up an otherwise boring block of Telegraph.

Derek showed me this video when I visited Portland last summer; I was like, "Hey! Those people cut my hair!" I had no idea about the adorable band Hunx and His Punx.

Oh, and here's my hair!

I hit the Oakland Museum of CA's White Elephant Sale last weekend. What an amazing place! A 19,000 square foot warehouse filled with gems that were practically being given away. I got a bunch of craft books, over 20 hardbound classics ($4 to fill a grocery bag), and some bits and bobs for under $10!

This sweet needle set was 50 cents. Since we went late in the day on Sunday, all items were half-price. Score!

Butch Beaver, from a sock craft book.

I really like these pillows!

Excellent colors from a Jaeger pattern pamphlet.

I actually got this above stuff at Pauline's Antiques in Alameda on Saturday, another place I've been meaning to go forever. I have the matching cup to this plate, so I was blown away when I found it!

My new best friend for spring! I love these little honeycomb paper guys. All in all, it was a banner weekend; I mean, I left the house both days!

drawing by Mike Conway

As I sit here quietly drinking coffee and eating spoonfuls of Nutella out of a teacup, it seems mad to think that a month ago I was scurrying around like a chicken with her head cut off. I guess that's the difference between December and January. Therefore, I'm finally put together enough to share these highlights from a hectic December.

Sometimes your nail polish perfectly complements that of your bff's. Such was the case at this Big Sky Cafe brunch.

Amazing wrapping job by the amazing Erin; the rest of our family had issues this year, so we mostly threw presents into old Starbucks handlebags and haphazardly crumpled some tissue paper. Erin really stepped up to the plate; thank goodness!

A super-cool non-Starbucks gift bag from my mom; perhaps I exaggerated before.

Bathroom wallpaper at the Verdi Club in SF, where I did the Noise Pop Holiday Shop. I'd never taken a photo while sitting on the toilet before, but there's a first time for everything.

I got to hit Miette for one delicious moment. Magical!

My purses adorning the bookshelf at ISSUES during my pop-up shop! We had a great time on a rainy December night; I'm so lucky to live practially next door to a place that is so deeply awesome. They work hard to make this neighborhood more than a yuppie paradise by promoting really cool community-building events and by selling the finest selection of reading materials.

The lovely ladies of Fat Bottom Bakery! Not only are they adorably clothed, but their vegan baked goods are fantastic. I inhaled a wee Red Velvet cupcake, and it was divine.

My neighbor returned from his cross-country holiday vacation the other day, and said, "I hope my astral body catches up with me soon." I secretly laughed at the hippie jargon, but I know what he meant. I think a part of me is still in December.

I've been wanting to make this hat for a while, and this wintry weather finally pushed me over the edge! I got the yarn at Piedmont Yarn near my house, and the pattern here. It's a wee bit small, but my big head should stretch it out.

City Livin'

I've been blessed with some great free stuff lately. At my temp job yesterday, where a lucky group of world-renowned "continence specialists" (read: pee doctors!) enjoyed a grand party at the Carnelian Room, there were tons of gorgeous and super-expensive flower arrangements left over. The event team basically forced an arrangement on each temp; they would have gone straight to the trash otherwise.

Mine was beautiful, a mix of purple dahlias and white orchids, but it weighed about 8000 pounds. I could barely lift it. But I had to take it, I just had to! As I tottered down Montgomery Street back to the BART station, it quickly became clear that my weeny little arms would not be able to carry it all the way home,. I looked around for a person to give it to, but the streets were mostly empty. I thought about leaving it on the ground or on top of a trash can, but that seemed depressing. I staggered on, hoping that I'd run into someone who looked like they might accept a huge flower arrangement from a stranger.

Turns out, the second I saw the BART workers in their little ticket booth, I knew they were the meant-to-be recipients of my floral burden. I went up to the window, said my piece, "This sounds weird, but..." and moments later, having handed the vase over to a totally stoked lady, ran down the steps empty-handed. It was awesome.

I also procured a free dining table and chairs recently, which made me excited about home decor again! Here are some pics of my little city cottage.

My brother and I.

Tin friends.

China collection.

Sewing station.

The table! I am a lucky lady.

Happy Feet!

Something magical must have been in the air last night, because Peter agreed to take dance lessons with me at 200 Grand next month!

This is kind of scary for both of us. I'm a terrible dancer. It is not one of my many, many, many natural skills. My friend once convinced me to join her at an intermediate level salsa lesson, and I still cringe when I think about it. (Yes, I made it out of the room before I started crying.) Pure torture!

I need about double the amount of practice time to catch up with the average person. And that's frustrating because I like to excel at everything immediately without having to work at it. Doesn't everyone? :)

But I've always wanted to know some traditional dances, as well as some zippy swing moves. And now I have someone to practice with. This video of the foxtrot doesn't look too hard...

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Penny

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending the day with ten other East Bay crafters and artists in the Parlour Gallery loft at Pretty Penny, Oakland's favorite vintage shop! Here are a few highlights:

The lovely Monica of Wonderwear. Her work is delicate and really beautiful; just like her! I lusted after a necklace made with a triangle of vintage lace and gems, but foolishly left it behind. My life is a series of regrets!

Lauren Davis of CrookedSister organized the event along with fellow artist Bennykelly; above are Lauren's flowers and bowties, made from all vintage fabrics, many of which came from the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, a resource that we are SO lucky to have in the 'hood. I got two awesome hair clips, but also coveted her hand-embroidered bags (she does everything by hand!). Here's me with my seashell hair clip along with my bunny earrings and my sexy tank from Queen of Hearts.



A rare tolerable side-view pic!



My space. It was fun to scale down from the previous weekend's monster space to my good old wee table. It was also divine that all my stuff was already packed and ready. If only it were always this easy!



Laureen and John are the proprietors of Volta Press, a printing studio that just had their open house yesterday! Their work is just seriously awesome, and their studio is cute and tidy, with butter-yellow walls and a kick-ass Vandercook letterpress. They take the art of letterpressing seriously and it shows! Dare I say that if I ever get married, I know who's making my invitations.


I fell in love with these earrings from It's Scrap, my booth neighbor to the left. They are made from scraps of bookbinding leather, and printed using the same kind of machine that prints book covers. Awesome, yes? Lara, the designer, is also a poet and a super-cool lady; I never thought that I could find jewelry emotionally touching, but there's something about her stamped phrases that really gets me!



I made a handful of excellent trades, including a gorgeous pair of bottle-cap bunny earrings from Lea of Salvaged Beauty, and two haunting hand-sewn notebooks from Allison of Abeo Bestia. My table was located next to these two hilarious ladies, and their good cheer made my day. Seriously, I have never encountered such a friendly group of ladies; it was a total party up there; we dished about exciting things like business licenses and sales tax and small-space crafting, which was great.

Below you'll find me yakking it up with Bess from Bird vs. Bird, a famous Etsian and fellow container-gardening, tiny-home-living, full-time-working, Yahoo-News-reading Oakland lady. Yes!



I just had the best time; from time to time a young man came around to serve us ice-cold beers, which may or may not have contributed to my epic slo-mo fall into a pile of my own purses. If that isn't a sign of a great craft show, I don't know what is. But seriously, this event was so well-curated and I left wanting to hang out with everyone again soon. I also sold a lot, which is always a bonus. Cheers to Pretty Penny, Lauren, Kelly, and everyone else who made last Saturday rock!

I've been busy and have so much to share, but the task is overwhelming. For now, I 'll just let you know that a turtle wandered into our backyard today. A turtle.

CCA Spring Fair

CCA's twice-yearly fairs are the best. I loved going to CCA, and I love going back there to sell things. I always meet nice artists using totally different media than I do, and it's outside and warm and just altogether delightful. If you're in the Bay Area, come visit me this Saturday on the picturesque Oakland campus. Click the birdie for more details!

I wasn't allowed to play Nintendo as a child. But I was allowed to play computer games, and play them I did. I grew up on classic shareware and text adventure games, which generally involved extensive reading of descriptions on an otherwise blank screen. My favorite of all was a game simply called "Castle Adventure." You're a guy, in a castle, picking up stuff. There are lots of corridors. Then you die. I never beat Castle Adventure, but it was an awesome game, and now that I'm unemployed, I might take a little walk down memory lane.


I'm taking Peter to see some nerdcore rappers tonight, where we hope to hear MC Frontalot sing a charming song about his own favorite text adventure game.

I'm Back!

Back to Etsy, back to work (more on that later), back to Oakland. Lots of new things are in store! Stay tuned.