Being Fantastical

Headed out to the Beer Garden last night for a few end-of-the-season drinks. It was raining and windy as hell, but we all huddled under a humongous tent with a pitcher and all was well in the world.

As usual, our apt is Grand Central this weekend. A friend who just finished Ranger School is crashing for a couple nights en route to Hawaii, then my parents will be stealing my bed on Saturday night, and as they're leaving, Elsie Q should be arriving. She'll be staying for about a month, as we prep for Bizarre Bazaar Austin.

My roomies and I love having Elsie Q in town; she's really the fourth roommate. Plus, she does our dishes.


In honor of Mikey D's birthday tomorrow, I'm posting these "classic" pics from last years festivities. Here's the "before" pic:




And the after:

Nice!

Don't know where I'm going but I'll get there...

So, it's a BIG weekend. So big that I've got to start talking about it on Thursday.

My favorite band, Assembly of Dust, is playing NYC Saturday night and my entire family is gonna be in town to catch the show. I don't know if going to a bar to see a band with my mom, dad and little brothers should be considered weird, but, quite honestly, there are no people in the world I would rather see this band with.


Mikey D and I have invested god knows how many dollars and how many miles in our quest to take in live AOD shows. There have been some highs: numerous New Years Eve shows, camping out at the Vermont Alternative Energy Fest, and catching super long sets with other die-hards at the New Real Rhythm Revival. There have also been some lows: namely, Mikey D drinking a gallon of rum before a show. Suffice to say, we made it to the front door of the venue, but never actually saw the show. I'm STILL bitter about that one.

Anyways, here's the lead singer, Reid Genauer, at NYE last year:


And here's lil C at his first NYE show, with a look a pure joy on his sweet little face (and some weird dude in the background)


On top of the joy that comes hand-in-hand with seeing a live show, it's also Mikey D's birthday!! (Hence the arrival of my parents). It will be nice to have the whole fam reunited again....

Taxing and Relaxing

I'm starti ng this entry off with a pic of my roomie dancing with an ear of corn. For no reason other than it makes me smile:


I got sucked in by the glitter and glitz of Bigcartel today, and signed myself up for the "Diamond" level. Goodbye $20 a month! But I've been wanting to offer sales and promotional prices for "preferred" customers (friends, family, anyone on the mailing list...) and Bigcartel offers that feature, which is key. Plus, the $20 is a flat rate, with no fee-per-sale charges. Nice. Of course, Etsy will always be my first love.

So, according to the mandates of the NYS sales tax gods, today was a day meant to be pretty much wasted -- spent holed up in my room, completing my quarterly sales taxes and cursing Microsoft Office. Turns out my "Trial Edition" expired this morning, leaving me unable to open an excel file which contained all my sales records for the quarter.

Alls well that ends well I guess. Clomped off to the post office in my new red clogs, and got the tax paperwork (and a bunch of orders) on it's way 10 minutes before USPS closed for the day. Whew!

Every week I read the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times. This week, it was particularly touching. Read it here.

I found a friend in Sven

Got a message from my boss on Friday that, due to a paperwork glitch, I won't be getting a paycheck this week. Whoops!

Granted, I only work 10 or so hours a week, so the paycheck isn't much to speak of. But still, it's frustrating; this happens at the beginning of every semester. Thank God that I sold at Artists & Fleas this past weekend. It was a lovely sunny day in NYC, and the Williamburg characters were out in FULL FORCE. I made my "rent" back after a few hours and left at 7:30pm having sold enough pieces to get me through the week. I met a lovely cast of sellers, including Alice, a recent college grad who was selling funky feather and bead adorned accessories, and Tracie, another Etsy full-timer.

After that, headed out to the Fillmore East to see the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, with Trombone Shorty opening. Nice. Trombone Shorty just gets better and better every time I see him, and the Dirty Dozen are a great band too.

This morning, I did a little brunching in A-town, then headed out to the BK to see lil Wyatt and buy an awesome pair of funky/clunky/strange red clogs, which I've been eyeing for a few months now. Probably not the best time for a shoe purchase, but, oh well. Put it on the credit card!

Here is Wy, eating his shoe:

We hung out in Staples FOR-EVER while Jenny screwed around with a busted copier.
Here is Wy looking bored, in the printer aisle:

Why We Love Astoria

Reason #682

Lil C lives down the street!


We went for breakfast yesterday morning at our favorite (weekday) breakfast spot, Grand Cafe.
The food is dirt cheap and delish and the outdoor seating is plentiful.


Spent yesterday running errands ---> (another 200 bucks at Metaliferous)
Then dinner with Michael Borders at Cookshop. I had lamb.

Happy Friday!

Cleo, Part Two

Still decompressing from Chicago. And still unpacking, augh....

After the less-than-stellar turnout at Renegade, I'm swimming in inventory.
So I'll be at Artists & Fleas this Saturday, pimping my jewelry and hangin' out with some hipsters. Whoo!

Heres a new ring:


Yay! I love it and I'm wearing it now.
Maybe someone will want it this weekend.

Duct tape saves the day!

Chicago: The Post-Renegade Wrap-Up

The Not-So-Great

• The rain, endless rain
• Lugging no less than 6 bulging, massive suitcases from NYC to Chicago
• Hanging out in the basement of Juantae's apartment at midnight on Sunday, running endless cycles of soaking wet clothing through the dryer
• Trekking to Target in the rain to buy tarps... only to discover they were sold out.

The Totally Fantastic

• Hanging out with Juantae, Chris and Adam... oh and Elsie Q
• Enjoying an endless lunch/dinner/cocktail hour -- for free!
• Wandering around Chicago (pre-deluge)
• Checking out the Chicago Art Institute - wow
• Chicago-style pizza, a lobster dinner, and a fantabulous Mexican meal
• Meeting other Renegaders from around the country!
• A GREAT brunch at Milk and Honey Cafe on Division street
• The people of Chicago, who braved flooding, endless rain and just downright miserable weather to come out and support us!

All and all, well, what can I say about the weekend? It was disappointing, for sure. The potential for an awesome two days was just crushed by the totally crappy weather. Still, I definitely had a great time!

Lobster says "hi!"

Adorable babe snuggled up to an Elsie Q crocheted cupcakes and a crocheted banana
(artist unknown)

In the park. Juantae kept reminding us that the umbrellas were $50 each.
Money well spent.

Sprout display- looking kinda pathetic and picked over, cause it was Sunday night at 9:30. And cause our back "wall" is garbage bags and duct tape.

Me and Corky St Clair

Poor Elsie Q got suckered into being responsible for waking me up this morning. Little did she know....

It only took her an hour of repeatedly coming into my room, and bribing me with coffee to get me to sit up in bed. Success!!

In my defense, I was up until 4am last night, working on a couple of new pieces, sending some work emails, and watching Waiting for Guffman. Hilarious. "I got off that boat with nothing but my dancers belt and a tube of chapstick!"


Lots of work to do today. Too much to even try to describe or sort out in my head, so i just need to dive in.

Goin back home...

This youtube clip is slightly cheesy, full of both hope and nostalgia, and just really makes me happy. And I'm posting it to celebrate the fact that I BOOKED MY FLIGHT TO JAZZ FEST today. Yup. Last year, I waited waaaaay too long and ended up paying more than $400.




Coincidentally, a Fest Friend sent me this pic today:

This was taken on the last night of the Fest, which is why we all look exhausted, happy, dazed, and sunburned. Ahhhhh.


In other news, one week till Renegade Chicago. I've been working like a fiend, yet it seems like I have nothing to show for it. It seems like as soon as i start to build an inventory, it sells on Etsy. Not that that is a bad thing, but I'm starting to get terrified that all i'll have to display in Chicago is a bunch of empty neck forms.... Ok, back to work.