Friday Links for 04.30.10

• A Wild Nobility: An Adam Ant Exclusive By Simon Price Propbably the best interview I've ever read. Whether you are a fan of Adam Ant or not (you should be) this is still highly entertaining.

• Storque Spotlight: Shop Red Leaf I love this Etsy shop and I love this interview just as much. Nice in-depth account of what it's like having an Etsy business as your full-time job.

• Behind the Curtain: 20s & 30s Class Gaps A lover of Old Hollywood investigates why the Class Gap is so prevalent in films from the earlier part of the 20th century.

• Sewing Tutorial: Perfect Bows A nifty sewing tutorial from the lovely DearBeatrice!

• Sesame Street's Monsterpiece Theatre presents "Twin Beaks." This is pretty much the Slu version of Twin Peaks:

Friday Links for 04.23.10

• Tim Gunn critiques superhero costumes I will watch anything with Tim Gunn in it, I think. There's a part 2 coming soon, too! I don't know if I could "own" anything with a boob window, though.

• Floral wallpaper "blooms" when the heat is on. I want this! There needs to be more home decor this rad.

• How to write search-friendly product descriptions Might be helpful to a lot of my readers, since many of you are Etsy sellers.

• Cats and Pizza This needs no introduction...

• What type are you? This short video personality test not only tells you your personality type but also your type, by which I mean your font. I'm Marina Script! Which one are you?

Friday Links for 04.09.10

This week I bring you 100% goofy links, both new and from the vault. Because, why not?

• Cat Shirts I found one of these on eBay, forgot the link, and then stumbled upon this gem. I wish there were more, though! Also great if you like bad puns.

• Kermit Bale I never get sick of this extended comparison between Kermit the Frog and Christian Bale.

• Garfield Randomizer A great way to kill time.

• Cast and Crew of Mad Men sing "Bye Bye Birdie" Need I say more?

• The Garry Shandling Movie Poster Project It's kind of embarrassing how funny this is.

Also this isn't funny butbe sure to enter my Abarne necklace giveaway! I announce the winner Monday!

Friday Links for 04.02.10

• Dharma Initiative Alarm Clock The item in Think Geek's "April Fool's Stuff" that I'd most like to own. And the Tauntaun sleeping bag.

• Sketchy Easter Bunnies With Dogs What's a major holiday without creepy costumes scaring small creatures?

• Some Enchanted Morning My Twitter friends have already seen this, but why are deer so friggin cute? They get along with pretty much every animal one would have as a pet. Prince Purrsalot and Lord Kissyface, hahaha.

• How To Be A Little Princess A general list of tips to feel beautiful and positive everyday.

• Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride Horrifying yet hilarious detailed instructions for a new bride on her wedding night published in 1894.

• The Sex Scholar: Clelia Mosher Speaking of Victorian sex for ladies, get a load of the findings of this pre-Kinsey survey.

• DYI Pillbox Hat An easy little tutorial and cure for not finding your dream hat on Etsy.

Friday Links for 03.26.10

• They are reissuing The Babysitters Club books And this is a really interesting editorial stating why it's important that they do get reissued.

• Spring Cleaning: Detox Your Space There's a million articles about cleaning out your closet, but this one had me at "What fashion enthusiast wouldn't lust over a closet that could pass as a little boutique?"

• Spool No. 72 I am lusting after all these delicate Spring items, especially the tops, even though I can't afford them. Story of my life, though. Swoon.

• "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" Worth it just to see Patton Oswalt as Dr Demento.

• DYI Tutorial: Make Your Own Kraft Packages A must read for anyone who likes sending post that's anything but ordinary!

• Do You Alter Vintage? Jennine at The Coveted asks, and defends, her answer to this question. I, too, am torn and can see both sides. I hem a lot of garments, sometimes take them in, but have yet to do a "dramatic" rehaul. I'm really curious of everyone's opinions on this. Please share!

Friday Links for 03.19.10

• That Mitchell and Webb Look, "Cheesoid" Since I finished Peep Show I started watching That Mitchell and Webb look cos I can't get enough of those boys. Last night I saw this skit and I've watched it 4 more times since then. I will almost always laugh at a robot joke, too. PET-RIL.

• Kotex Gets Real Kotex has a new line of menstrual products, and a new self-ribbing ad campaign to go along with it. I can dig it.

• AV Club's LOST reviews If you're a LOSTie, these are the best discussions of the episodes on the web IMO.

• Starbucks announces free pastry day Tuesday, March 23. It shouldn't be a surprise that I am gross, but free food when I buy my coffee? What's not to like? Who doesn't like free food?

• Etsy's Tips and Tricks for writing an engaging profile I like how it compares talking up you and your shop to chatting at the register. A must-read for any Etsy shop owner!

• American Apparel Nail Polish I'm a bit iffy when it comes to AA, but these colours look really really good! And the price isn't too bad either, especially when you buy a 3 pack. Found on Twitch Vintage's blog.

Friday Links for 03.12.10

• Mattel makes Mad Men collector dolls Um, how awesome do they look? As if I need another reason to get back into my Barbies. Also, check out the picture posted in the first comment.

• An Open Letter To Pixar begging for a lead female character in one of their films. Oh wait, they will! On their thirteenth film. Oh, and did we mention she's a princess? Yeah, read on.

• How To Succeed By Being Completely Unrealistic Interesting food for thought, especially if you are having a quarter-life crisis.

• Anja from Clever Nettle on the ModCloth Blog Anja was asked by ModCloth to make paintings of a few of their dresses and they look amazing! Check out her blog, too, for more pictures and an interview.

• 101 Cookbooks Karen pointed me in the direction of this awesome recipe website. Everything is vegetarian, a lot of it with whole grains and fresh ingredients. I made the mushroom casserole this week. Yum!

• Expert Hair Colouring Tips I like to think I am a budding pro at the home dye job thing, but even I learned a few neat tricks from this article.

Friday Links for 03.05.10

image from weheartit

Here are your Friday links, ladles and jellyspoons. I'm gonna try to start doing this weekly! Yay!

• Never Seen Lost Overly detailed accounts of LOST episodes by people who have no idea what the hell is going on. Pretty great read if you are a fan of the show.

• Dear Golden's Spring Dress Preview Only part one? Yowza! I cannot wait until these are all listed. Which is your favourite?

• Guide To Sewing: The Tools A great post for budding seamstresses from Casey's Elegant Musings.

• Top 25 Comfortable Ways of Sleeping in a Box Keeping with the underlying cat theme of this post/my life, I present to you a myriad of pictures of cats sleeping in boxes. Your daily dose of "awww."

• Peep Show Series 1-5 on Hulu If you like British and/or awkward humour then you have to watch Peep Show. I'm about to start series 6, which just ended and is not on Hulu yet, but it's pretty dang funny.

• Matou En Peluche I've been obsessed with this Etsy shop all week. These illustrations are amazing and so very me. Birds, cats, pretty ladies, great clothes, and various combinations of the aforementioned? I'm sold!

• Tweets Of Old Twitter account of lines from 19th century newspapers. Hilarious, especially if you are into oldie timey humour. One of my faves: "The average Chicago man is so bow-legged that when he wears knee breeches he could be mistaken for a pair of runaway ice-tongs. PA1886"

• Vintage Arizona Flickr Pool Makes me nostalgic for Arizona, even though I've never been there before. Maybe in a past life? From Nika Rebekah.

Just A Few Little Links

I am really going to finish my Wisconsin recap I swear. I just haven't had time the past few days to resize all the photos and edit everything (working long hours, trying not to get sick...) so in the mean time here are some links related to me and my blog in case you care to follow me elsewhere...

• my tumblr

• my twitter

• facebook fan page for a blog of no importance

• follow this blog on bloglovin

• my chictopia page

• my weardrobe page

...also don't forget to ask me anything!

Things I Love Thursday - 10.01.09

• monthly astrology forecast - Every first of the month I think "Oh boy, a new astrology forecast!" Read yours here.



• vintage hats - Now that my hair is getting long my hatred of hats is subsiding. It might also be in part to it not being worn as curly as it can be lately, though. At any rate, I find myself searching for an everyday-yet-glamourous topper. This beret found on ebay is cute, but it harkens the DYI spirit inside of me. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few months time I have a full-on millinery hobby budding!

• fall baking - As the temperature drops, my appetite becomes more ferocious. I see more leisurely breakfasts of french toast, bacon, and coffee on my days off in my future. But aside from that, I long to have an excuse to try my hand at a pecan pie, pumpkin muffins, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and of course whipping up my tried and true banana bread.



Left to right: birdqueen, tree & kimball, both on etsy.

• jewelry making - Another creative surge of energy I am getting is from the endless amount of inspiration I find browsing etsy looking at gorgeous jewelry. I have been meaning to experiment with that for a while, too, and am browsing supplies all over the place. Here are some of my favourite etsy sellers lately, whose work I love to ogle:
birdqueen
chinacherie
mama's little babies
ragtrader
tree & kimball

• the great closet purge of 2009 - I'm getting there! I photographed a bunch of stuff for etsy and ebay last weekend, and the etsy listings are gradually being put up. I'll have a bigger post when I'm finished, but I added about a dozen things so far if you want to have a look.

Things I Love Thursday - 09.10.09

• Renegade Craft Fair - Saturday and Sunday in Chicago is the Renegade Craft Fair! It's pretty much like walking through Etsy if it was more selective and in Wicker Park. A lot of things I do not buy, but it's great for getting ideas and picking up cards for possible holiday purchases. I realized a week ago that this will be my fourth year going to Renegade. In 2006 I didn't purchase anything, in 2007 I bought this ring from Lucky Loo Loo, and last year Michael bought both of us some cute stationary from 16 Sparrows. Check out the official website here.

• The Violet Hour - I hate promoting this place even though it's the best bar in Chicago because I like how tucked away it is (or was). This place is perfect- expertly crafted cocktails in a classy and divine setting, very dim, perfect for groups or an intimate date. Just look at the menu! Yum. If that doesn't persuade you, check out the inside:







• fashism.com - Fashism is my new guilty pleasure; it's like Hot Or Not but with clothing. I love voting on good or bad outfits, and offering up advice. The only problem I have with it is it isn't updated too often (but I guess that's a good thing cos I'd waste too much time on there otherwise).



• the little black vest - It's not exactly the same as the dress, seeing as how it's almost more accessory than apparel, but the plain black fitted vest looks perfect, on any body type and with any outfit.

• Melissa Shoes - These Brazilian-made plastic/vinyl sustainable shoes are conceived by a variety of famous footwear designers including Vivienne Westwood, Zaha Hadid, and J. Maskrey. They are unfortunately out of my price range, but just barely so I may invest in a pair on sale. They look like they would be uncomfortable but they are surprisingly very, very comfortable, based on the flats and heels I have tried on. When I can find an excuse to I will definitely be getting a pair of These Vivienne Westwood designed t-straps: