In the Shop | The TARDIS Skirt

^^Click here to visit the listing in the shop!^^

The original TARDIS skirt is now available for purchase!

Order by December 9th and make this the most memorable holiday ever for some special Whovian fashionista with fantastic taste!

Plus, what a perfect wardrobe pick-me-up for those long, grey days of January...

Tell me; how would you accessorize the TARDIS skirt?  I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

I ♥ Thursday | no. 2

The snow is still holding off - after that first heavy snowfall almost a month ago, we've had a great deal of mud.  But it's been a blessing, as I now have a enourmous stack of wood stacked and tarped off.

You have no idea what a beautiful thing uniform, dry, split woodpiles are unless you have a stove of you own to feed.  Whenever I see one in person or a picture, I get Woodpile Envy.  Which is a sort of admiration mixed with longing.

I just finished reading Animal Farm for the first time, and now I greatly dislike pigs.  Tremendously.  I keep finding myself saying "I will work harder."  And "Two legs bad!"    Other than that, and the fact that Boxer and Clover, the faithful carthorses, stole and broke my heart - I really didn't find the book as terrifying as I had always heard it was.  Sobering, thought-provoking, yes.  But it should only be terrifying to those who would seek to follow in the footsteps of the totalitarian dictators of the story.  We the people now have that tale to read, penned by the visionary member of a very different culture to the one we have today.  George Orwell has given us this story to be read, over and over down through the centuries, and armed with the knowledge of the consequences of blind ignorance and obedience to evil, we can have hope.

Thinking I need to make some AF button badges for the shop;)

Speaking of which, the time is drawing near when the revealing of my second Etsy shop will be officially announced!  Hint - it's going to be your one-stop-stop for the perfect small gifts, stocking stuffers, and party favors for everyone on your list this upcoming Christmas season!!!  

{all pictures linked to photo credits where possible}

1) I l.o.v.e. this green alarm clock.  On the lookout for a vintage bell clock, perferably just like this one;D

2) This bee's knees card by Wit&Whistle is so wonderfully weird.  Excellent.

3) And the edible chocolate key necklace (Andes Specialty Sweets) - is simply brilliant.  I love it.

News flash:

I'm sponsoring a prize for Michaela's ah-mazing Giveaway 300!

Click the banner to go join the fun!

And lastly, the epitome of a truth universally acknowledged.

Linking up over at Ashley's!

Happy Thursday!

Giveaway | Holiday Raw Chocolate Truffles

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Let's celebrate the opening of December with a giveaway worthy of the season!

This giveaway comes to you from Ailey Mae of RawChocolate. Her mouth-watering concoctions are crafted from raw, handmade artisan chocolate that is absolutely delicious and good for you too!

Cacao in its raw state is considered a superfood; it contains over 300 nutritional compounds, it is one of the richest sources of antioxidants and it is full of essential minerals, especially rich in iron, zinc and magnesium. Most chocolate is made with cacao that has been cooked and chemically treated, and is usually full of sugar, processed oils, artificial preservatives and emulsifiers.

Raw Chocolate by Ailey Mae has only pure, high quality ingredients and absolutely nothing artificial. It is made with love near Edinburgh, Scotland with a real desire to share the benefits and joy of raw chocolate with as many people as possible!

It is sugar free, dairy free and gluten free.

And I nearly die every time I see these pictures. Heavenly.

Enter below for your chance to win one bag each of RawChocolate's coconut and peanut butter 6-piece special edition truffles!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends December 12.

Outfit | Winterberry

 

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Winterberry Corduroy Skirt - now in the Shop!

lace yoke 3/4 tee - thrifted // clip earrings - vintage gift

boots - Sorrel

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Presenting the Special Edition of the Walk in the Woods skirt, the Winterberry skirt!

New for the Holidays! 

Replete with holiday charm, this beautiful, versatile corduroy skirt is made with the softest and richest of brown baby wale corduroys, making it as cozy as a basket of kittens and incredibly durable.

A glory of hand embroidered vines and berries crowns the figure-flattering sculpted waistband and darling and capacious pockets, adding both heirloom charm and a fabulously unique design detail.

The perfect skirt to add a splash of color and romance to all of your holiday events, or to just curl up at home with a handmade gift project and some wonderful Christmas music.  Thoroughly tested and stamped with approval for the above activities by me.

Where can you see yourself taking this skirt?

Putting On the Ritz

{listen as you read!!}

Take a pinch of nearly all of your favorite things, add a generous dash of Christmastime, and stir it all together.  That was Saturday night for me.  Served at the historic Bing Crosby theater.

I found out about the concert just days before it opened, but as soon as I saw it I knew I had to go or perish in the attempt.

The Spokane Jazz Orchestra was performing a Glenn Miller tribute concert, featuring Miller's arrangement of the Nutcracker suite.

The Nutcracker and I go way back - nearly all of my favorite Christmas childhood memories have either George Winston's December or the Nutcracker suite as the backdrop. The Russian Dance is my favorite movement - it never fails to make me want to do a crazy waltzing romp like I used to;)

And Glenn Miller - no explanation needed.  Glenn Miller is the ultimate!

I had no idea he had arranged the Nutcracker.  It sounded like a match made in heaven.  And my incredible brother said he would take me.

So I reserved the tickets, laid out the new green dress, and listened to Stompin' at the Savoy and A String of Pearls till my feet were dizzy.  

The excitement of getting ready, driving the hour and a half into downtown Spokane, seeing the freeway at night... might not be much to most.  I don't get out very often.

We arranged to rendezvous with Chip and Missy, sweet sisters and friends that I actually met through my blog about two years ago.  Chip is an wonderful accordionist, which is how we discovered each other;)  They brought a friend with them, and Aubrey and I also picked up our friend Christopher for the evening.  We had dinner at Subway, then the six of us strolled down the alien streets of the big city at night.  It was the perfect little mini adventure.

We stopped in an amazing bookstore to while the hour or so to go before the show started.  I was deeply engrossed in a marvelous book on the history of espionage most of the time... espionage is such a lovely word.  Implications aside, of course... and I totally want a wristwatch camera.  The glove-mounted handgun was cool, but a little impractical for my needs;)

Wandering around a giant bookstore at night decked in plaid, vintage jewels, and heels is almost as fun as descending on Subway in said attire.

Chip, Missy, and Yev started back to the theater early, and when my two escorts and I started back toward the Bing, we were having so much fun talking and looking and laughing that we ended up about three blocks behind the theater.  Under a bridge covered in grafitti. 

 Thankfully, I had a 2nd degree black belt on one hand and a GPS wielding bro on the other, and we made it back to the entrance of the Bing in the nick of time.  Whew.

We found our seats, half blinded by the brilliant light and rush and din of people inside.

Then the show started.

And it was gorgeous.  The Bing was stunning.  The music was sparkling, the guest vocals marvelous.

And I was really and truly sitting there seeing it all.

The grand finale, In The Mood, brought the house down.  I almost choked up it was so tremendously superb.  Glenn Miller is very near to my heart as, beside the sheer fact of his spectacular sizzling jazz, my great grandfather was a complete fan.  The first time he heard Glenn Miller was at a Paris concert after being the sole survivor of an air squadron shot down over France in '44.  I never met him, but I know he would have been loving it as much as I was if we still had him.

And the last time I saw my amazing great grandmother, one of her last days on earth, she was lying in a hospital bed in her living room, ravaged by stage 4 cancer.

But she was dancing to in the mood. 

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H

I got a gal in Kalamazoo

Don't want to boast but I know she's the toast of Kalamazoo!

Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo...