earrings: Payless (won from a Chronicle Books giveaway)
necklace: DownEast $6
cardigan: the ModBod (free)
belt: dunno
dress: thrifted $6
shoes: thrifted $3

total: $15

Not bad, right? I found this pretty dress at a thrift store in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. I. LOVE. IT. It’s completely see-through so I have to wear a mega slip and an undershirt underneath it, but it’s totally worth it. I love the slightly irregular vertical stripes and the gorgeous (and possibly slightly kitschy) roses on the top & bottom. You can’t tell from the picture, but the super short cap sleeves give the shoulders a more boxy look when worn plain. Shoulders are so hot right now.

How was your weekend? Chris and I went to see Miike Snow in concert this weekend. It was awesome! They really know how to put on a good show. Everyone was singing and grooving along to their super hip dancy beats. We were incredibly lucky and ended up in the very front, less than 5 feet away from the lead singer. It wasn’t so cool when a bunch of drunk girls were trying to push us out of the way to take our spots, but Chris dominated with all of his 212 lbs of muscle. It was so funny to see how hard they tried. One of them probably played powder puff in high school because she was trying all sorts of football tackling moves. Silly drunk girls. My husband is bigger than you. So there.

We also bought tickets to go see Yeasayer on the 23rd. I’m SO excited for that one, too! I’m practicing my uber cool dance moves already. If you’re not familiar with Yeasayer, you NEED to go watch this video RIGHT NOW. Just try not to dance. You’ll find it completely impossible.

What did you do this weekend? Find any cool deals? Dance like a maniac? Craft like a crazy person? Do tell.

Side rambling: We tried using the same account when we first got married. We bickered a lot. His settings and my settings don’t play well together. We have separate accounts now & we’ve been happily married for almost 4 years.

{click image to enlarge}

Ramblings aside, I hope you’ll share my excitement for the newest designs in the shop. The above mini kit is yours for FREE. You just have to head on over to grab a copy. Here’s the link. I put a few fun papers in there that I hope you like. I just love repeat patterns.

{click image to enlarge}

I’ve been mildly obsessed with trying to find hand-lettered cursive fonts these last few months. I’ve been successful at finding a few – my favorite being Nelly script. So I thought I’d try my hand at making my own cursive alpha. I have yet to make it into a font (but I plan to). Snag this kit for $1 for the entire month of February. Here’s the link.

{click image to enlarge}

I made this kit last week (as well as the two below) and haven’t had the chance to blog about them. I hope you like them. They’re really sugary sweet. Here’s the link to the ‘lovely papers’ kit.

{click image to enlarge}

Here’s a set of 8 heart photoshop brushes. Scrolling is a current obsession of mine, can you tell? You can purchase the hearts brush kit here.

{click image to enlarge}

I have to admit something. I have a terrible time coming up with words and/or phrases to make into word art. Copy is NOT a strength. I wanted so badly to come up with some unique phrases for Valentine’s, but the only phrases that came to mind were cliché at best. So I turned to my favorite source of inspiration, music. There are quite a few love songs that are near and dear to my heart, so I turned some of my favorite phrases from those songs into word art. Here’s the list of artists that inspired the artwork. Be sure to give those songs a listen. They’re awesome. This kit includes 9 photoshop brushes and png files. You can purchase the kit here.

we make a pair of parentheses – the blow

you set the fire in me – tom vek

truly, madly, deeply – savage garden*

here is my beating heart – the bird & the bee

you give me rainbows & butterflies – MSTRKRFT

cootie wootie – pinback**

one more kiss tonight – calexico & iron and wine

* I don’t profess to like Savage Garden, or even tolerate it. I just think the truly, madly, deeply phrase is funny.

** Fortress isn’t really a love song, but it’s the song Chris and I were listening to when we kissed for the first time. How romantic, right? Also, I think the nickname cootie wootie is cute.

Penelope, this is the first time I’ve actually posted ON your actual birthday! I’m so proud of myself. Usually I forget about these things. Thanks for being an adorable and sweet baby. Chris and I love you more and more everyday. It’s hard not to when you’re just so adorable.

You’re such a great sleeper. Thank you. I can’t tell you enough. I don’t think I would have survived these last 5 months without so many good nights of rest. Honestly, your sleep keeps my doppelganger away. Thank you.

Thanks for being such a happy girl! Chris and I get so greedy over your smiles and laughs. Sometimes Daddy wins, and sometimes I’m the lucky one winning those precious treats. You’re really sweet to us.

Your daddy and I just love to see how much you can do. You grow so much every day. We love seeing you play with your toes and we also love to count your rolls.

Love you, Nells bells. Happy five months.

.   .   .

It’s so cute to see Penelope’s eyes light up when we start dancing Counting Souvenirs by Junior boys; we both love it. If you see me dancing like a lyrical maniac through my window, you’ll know why.

I enjoy the music video, however it does get a little too literal towards the end when the character starts counting his spoils. Weird. Enjoy.

Note: the record that he swipes is the Junior Boys single “In the Morning”, also a good song.

It was a long wait, but the payoff was spectacular. I was tickled when the museum security guy said that photography was allowed (sans flash)!! YAY. Chihuly’s work is just so yummy, the colors so juicy, you want to eat it all up. Photographing it all was just as good. My favorite two installations were of the vintage fishing boats and the final piece, I forget the name but it looks like the candy fields straight out of Willy Wonka. Here are some of the photographs I managed to take of the exhibit. If anyone reading this has a chance to go, PLEASE GO! It’s well worth the $15 ticket.

I thought it was SO cool how Chihuly made the glass look so much like woven baskets. From the last show I saw, this must be a new direction for him.

When we watched the video on how these were made, we noticed that the captions even included the cheap lounge background music. Chris, Dan and I had “Innocent sex kiss blows my mind” stuck in our heads for hours. Even as I write the song is plaguing me. We not only were tortured by the music, but also seeing the ridiculous lyrics. Blerg.

These forms are just magical for me.

I think this room was probably my favorite.

I couldn’t help but post so many photos in this post, and if you want to see more, visit my Picasa Album here.

And now for your listening/watching pleasure. . .