I am going to Star Wars tonight and I had not really planned to see it anytime soon. I haven't been too excited about it as it seems to me that movies are constantly the same these last ten years. Well, I guess I am caught in the snare as well. I did watch a few trailers of continuing franchises this morning and this is the one that caught my eye the most.
400th PIECE!
A little post to share my happiness over selling my 400th piece of jewelry this holiday season. This actually happened a couple of weeks ago and I have sold more since but I was pretty excited.
It was shipped to New Mexico!
You can stop in my shop here: GirlyGeekChic.
Books, Books, Books
I'm going to share my favorite books I read this year on the blog soon. But start with this video of John Green making suggestions of books to give as gifts. To yourself of course.
Christmas Trees for Weirdos
I am not putting my tree up this year for a few reasons but the biggest being the three new cats in my life. They would surely bring it down at this point. They're not very well-behaved yet. I'll just say we're working on it.
As such, I've found myself exploring trees on Pinterest. I, of course, like the odd ones the best. Actually, the ones hanging from the ceiling are my favorite. I wonder if I can figure out how to do that one year. All of these pictures are from different places but I pulled them from the magical land of Pinterest.
Scenes from an Open House
It took a lot of work to get an Open House together this year but I managed to pull it off. Here's some snap shots:
There's still time to have gifts shipped! Stop by my shop to have a look! Thank you!
The Challenge that Ate November
So this is what I've been doing....How have you been?
If you're doing the challenge, good
luck and happy writing. Don't forget these:
Meet Trouble
New Things! New Things!
I am starting to list things for my Christmas and Holidays update. I love how some of my pictures are coming out with my crystals, stones and antique Jet charms...
I would love it if you stopped by my shop GirlyGeekChic.
PUMPKINS!
Yes Halloween is over. At least, the calendar date of Halloween. I am someone who has a little Halloween around all the time. You just sort of have to when you love Dark Fantasy books and movies. Some people in my neighborhood carve these amazing pumpkins each year. I took some snaps with my phone.
A Fairy Tale for Planned Parenthood: The Unicorn Visit
To quell my frustration over the continued attacks on women's health rights, I've taken to writing fairy tales about it. We'll start here:
The girl came into her room after being out all night and was surprised to find the unicorn standing by her bed.
“Good morning,” the unicorn said in a clipped British accent. “Did you have a good time?”
Unsure what to say, and feeling a blush creep into her cheeks, she stood awkwardly by the door and shifted around in stocking feet.
“My, my! It must’ve been a good time if you can no longer speak,” the unicorn teased her.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” she stammered. “I’m just quite shocked to find you in my room. My father said unicorns only visit pure girls. Girls who’ve no sexuality or sexual relationships with anyone. He told me I am not a good person, as I’ve a boyfriend.”
The unicorn raised its eyebrow skeptically. Well, it would’ve raised its eyebrow skeptically if unicorns had eyebrows to raise.
“I beg your pardon, Miss, but I must say, your father is a bit of a judgmental creep. And not just a small amount of a hypocrite,” it finished, muttering to itself.
“What? I’m sorry, Mr. Unicorn, I didn’t hear that last part.” The girl stepped a bit closer.
“Nothing, dear. If you don’t mind, please do not call me ‘Mister’. I prefer to be a non-gender-specified creature so I can visit anyone I wish and not make them uncomfortable. A side note, darling, ask your father what he gets up to on Tuesday nights down at the tavern, and we’ll see how judgmental he is then.”
“Okay?” The girl cocked her head to the side and, sweet as can be, tried to puzzle out what that meant. “What is that on my bedside table?” She pointed past the unicorn.
“Ahh, yes. The reason for my visit. Now, I most assuredly do not presume to judge you for having sexual relations with anyone who is a consenting adult. However, I’ve made it my job to visit people of all shapes and sizes and preferences and make them accountable to their safety and their partners’ sexual safety. One can be fun, but one must also be wise. That’s what we really do, us unicorns… Educate. Honestly, I am quite tired of these silly, faux tales of us running around judging everyone. We enjoy a good romp as much as the next beast. That said, go ahead and open your gifts.”
The girl set her smashingly cute high heels on the floor and wove over to the table. She unwrapped cheerfully festooned boxes full of condoms, birth control, dental dams, and many other things to make life a bit easier.
“Do you think you might find those useful, milady?” the unicorn asked in a silly voice, trying to ease the girl’s discomfort. “Really, you’ve nothing to be ashamed of. And most importantly, you should be taking care of yourself. Never mind what these ridiculous people try to tell you to control you.”
“Why, yes, I think I would find them useful.” She turned and looked at the unicorn. “Truthfully, I do get a little tired of hearing the crap people say when I know they are full of b.s. They’re always telling us to look to the princess for virtuous leadership.”
“Believe me when I say, when she gets her chance the princess will speak out, as she enjoys a good time as much as anyone. Now, dear, I also left you a daring little number in the closet. I must be on my way. The princess in question has asked me to visit her ladies-in-waiting. Waiting for what, I always wonder?” The unicorn laughed and strutted out the door, but not before turning around and reminding her, “Being sexually active is a great deal of fun, but do not forget your annual exam.” With that, the unicorn disappeared into a puff of glitter.
Since we don’t have unicorns, we need Planned Parenthood.
Visit Planned Parenthood to donate or get access to healthcare.
NerdCon Stories
A few weeks ago I attended NerdCon. A first time convention put on by Hank Green and Patrick Rothfuss. Hank Green is of course the brother of John Green and that is no small part to play. Together they do projects that seem destined to educate and possibly even make the world a better place. Patrick Rothfuss is best known for his Kingkiller Chronicle books and is from Madison, Wisconsin. The best city in Wisconsin.
The convention itself seemed well attended for a first timer. And decently organized. In my mind there did not seem enough things to do but keep in mind the conventions I regularly attend run 4 days straight for 24 hours a day. Every one is different. The panels at this one were some of the best I've ever been to and I was especially happy to find ones focused on diversity. Something that books and media in general need more of in my opinion (and others as well!). One of my favorite speakers at the convention turned out to be Dylan Marron who is best known for his role on Welcome to NightVale. His talks and conversations about being a minority and gay trying to get cast into films were insightful and heartbreaking in a lot of ways. Something that is becoming more and more important to me as I write and just get older in general is carefully exploring commonly used phrases and just basically trying to see outside my own experience. So many things that spill from our mouths on a daily basis are steeped in racism. And that's often not an accident. People being out there trying to change the direction and raise the level of conversation is more important than ever and I was pleased that many of the guests at NerdCon wanted to talk about this subject. It's going to take place here again next year and I am really looking forward to attending again. I have a few snapshots but I didn't take many pictures. I generally was just trying to pay as close attention as possible. I didn't get one single autograph either. Which is fine as I am terrible at talking to people anyway.
Everything You Need to Know About Books in Under 10 Minutes.
A couple of weeks ago I attended NerdCon Stories here in town at the Minneapolis Convention Center. It was a pretty great experience in some ways. It was the first convention of it's type and the panels and MainStage performances were especially fun. I am used to attending a convention that has stuff going constantly for 4 days straight, 24 hours a day: this was not like that. However, what it lacked in insanity it made up for with quality. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was a portion of the MainStage performance put on by Paul of Paul and Storm fame. The point of this convention was to explore on many levels why it is stories matter. But you can't do that without having some background information. So if you want to learn and laugh and love a completely nerdtastic book joke, watch this video:
Thursday's Treasures: Accidentally on Friday
I am taking a break from the house at the moment as my partner puts up a range hood. Which is way more complicated than it needs to be. Anyway, here are few things that I am coveting this week.
So there is a round -up of things that would just make life all the more pleasant this week.
Scathingly Brilliant
As I continue on with my current house projects, I am recalling other spaces I've found so charming through the last few years. I think it's funny that I get a kick out of so many pastel rooms when I don't want to live in that myself. One such pastel princess is Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant. Her blog and work are adorable. She's a girl who is close to her family and self-admittedly had an apartment briefly and then decided she wanted to be back with her parents. Now this is something I cannot relate to but I do think it's sweet.
She has a bedroom it seems in the family home but in her brief stint in her place she did do some pretty unique decorating and I've included pictures. You should take a look at her blog, it's cute.
It's the Great Pumpkin!
This time of year always reminds me of one of the oddest coincidences in my life. Even more so with the Peanuts movie coming out in November. When we would go visit my grandfather as children we would always beg him to order us pizza. He would tell us that he could not order us pizza because no one believed who he was...he would call a pizza place to prove it. We would hear him order pizza, have an argument with the person on the phone about who he was and then hold the phone up dramatically so we could hear the person yell and hang up. My siblings and I would laugh and laugh. Like magic, the pizza would appear in a half hour. My grandfather died the week Charles Schultz retired the Peanuts comic. His name was Charlie Brown.
House Snaps
Since my life is still being taken up with some house stuff, here are some pics. The sad part is that this is only two rooms being worked on. Too bad the whole house won't be painted and floored. Someday I can be this woman: Hardwood Floors.
The other room we are working on is our Rumpus Room as I call it. The bar/theater room. Despite the fact that we live in a town house we are managing to do mini versions of luxury projects. We have a theater screen, projector and bar in one room. We just added these toy shelves for my little movie toy collection. I'm not one for a McMansion and my brief phase of wanting a Victorian to restore disappeared when I realized I actually wanted to have a life outside of taking care of a house. As I will not ever be wealthy enough to pay people for projects and I won't be having children- a townhouse has suited our needs quite well. Much to my surprise. I thought I wanted a giant dressing room and craft room but my walk-in closet has worked fine as it turns out. I actually get tired of having clothes I don't wear so I give them away. And using my landing area for my jewelry making has been just great. It's funny how you learn things about yourself. Often what we think and what we are is different.
I'm sure this won't be the last of the pictures even if we still have a ways to go.
Things Made
My house has been distracting me a great deal and keeping me from making a lot of new things for my ETSY shop. Though I have made a few bits and pieces here and there as well as some more elaborate pieces that I will be posting soon!
The Queen of Boho: Florence Welch
I am about to start a goofy house project but before that I will leave you with this gorgeous little video of Florence Welch's home. Filled with memories and flowers and books, it is lovely. I am sure when she moves onto something larger as superstars tend to do it will also be charming.
Steampunk Fashion: But what do you wear to work?
To go along with the Steampunk lifestyle you must be appropriately attired. As you can see this look often means people are dressed to the hilt. I am not sure where these clothes come from as I would love to tell you but the problem with Pinterest is the sometimes lack of sources. I only ever see people dressed this way at special events so I don't know what they do for work but I am curious...
Steampunk: A long, long time ago but somehow still in the future
I have a great admiration for people who deeply immerse themselves into one style and way of life. Especially if it's far outside the norm. When I was a kid growing up I had a friend whose father was crazy about Coca-Cola collectibles and Star Trek. As such most of the house was obsessively decorated with hundreds of items and pieces of art from those two things. Now a fair number of people have an obsessive collection of one kind or another. Though it often starts out with someone noticing one thing in their house like a cat knick-knack and then everyone starts buying them cat knick knacks and that's all they ever get. Or the Star Wars person. We all have one in our lives. We all buy them Star Wars stuff. Most often these people don't get a choice about such things. That's not what I am talking about. I am talking about people who pick something themselves and then make their life that. One good example of this is people who get into the sub-genre of Steampunk. Or what a lot of my friends joke as being : Goths who discover Brown.
The official internet definition of Steampunk is as follows:
Steampunk refers to a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.
This tends to be a group of people who don't do things in half-measure and I suspect if they all could afford it would go ever further with the style.
As someone who feels like my personality is scattered all over the place and not immersed deeply enough into one thing, I find myself in awe over the commitment. I pulled some pictures of home decorating examples off of Pinterest where there is a wealth of Steampunk photos. I'll do a post of steampunk clothing next.
