GIVEAWAY Amalia Versaci Zipper Magnets- CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS .... ROSCATA on Etsy (chosen by random number generator 342)- check out her amazing shop! A great big thank you to everyone who entered!

I am imagining that as a child someone may have told Amalia Versaci to just "zip it" and being a very literal and creative and genius child - she did!

Her amazing vintage zipper creations always make me so happy. They are totally unique and totally recycled and totally fun!

I have one of her zipper magnets and it is gorgeous and sturdy and perfect fidget material for a fidgeter like me!


WHAT YOU GET:
One lucky winner will receive a set of 4 vintage Amalia Versaci zipper magnets!



These will bring inspiration and organization to any magnetic surface and carry with them the memories of the dresses (and trousers) they zipped and unzipped in their younger days (oh, the stories an old zipper could tell us- good thing they keep their mouths zipped so our secrets are safe with them, huh?)



HOW TO WIN:
This is one of the last easy, peasy ones for summer- just leave a comment below with your contact information

For additional entries:

(5) Follow my blog
(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone (worldwide shipping).

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, Sept 6th!

A Little Too Much Reality TV ...

Hubby and I have an ongoing argument that can leave both of us drained and grumpy for days ....

This argument always happens in front of strangers and usually in the television aisle of the local Sears or Best Buy.

It starts with hubby standing slack jawed in front of the plasmas, hand reaching slowly for his credit card like a distracted gunslinger.

Me - "Ok, we just have to get that USB plug."

Hubby - *crickets*

Me- trying new tactic "Wait, is Van Halen's new ALBUM out?"

This catches hubby's attention but also causes the salesperson who has been totally ignoring us to take notice- surprised either by the unfamiliar term or startled by a sudden realization that we must be borderline elderly and easy marks.

Salesperson - "Some amazing sales today"

At this point hubby may actually start to drool a bit - he could not care less about sales, but knows this may be something that catches my attention. It doesn't. We all stare at the episode of COPS glaring at us from 20 different screens.

Hubby - (you need to picture one of those 'thought' bubbles here) hmmm, sale- she loves sales

Me - (another thought bubble) is that wallpaper in the perp's house on COPS- I thought you were safe if you didn't have wood paneling ...

Salesperson - (you need to picture the Peanuts sound when the grown-ups talk) WAH, WAH, Dolby, WAH, Surround Sound, WAH, WAH

This scene always turns into a argument - with me declaring that spending our money on something like this is making a statement that tv is very important to us and hubby asserting - EXACTLY.

I have often offered the compromise of getting a bigger screen for the livingroom if I can take the tv out of our bedroom, but he stubbornly refuses to sleep with just me and not Letterman, so here we are arguing about this ... again ....

My Locket Giveaway at KindOverMatter

Don't miss the amazing Amanda and the amazing Jenn's amazing blog (you definitely want to follow this one- total inspiration here!) KindOverMatter where you can enter to win one of my Polarity Artist Lockets! Ends Wednesday, Sept. 2nd!

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away

Rainy days (particularly when they occur one after the other) really can bring me down (and Mondays, too, of course- damn that song!)

Seeing the rain as nourishment for the plants and animals, and obviously for us, makes it a little easier to bear those washed out weekends.

According to the American Water Works Association, we use 150 gallons of water per person in the U.S. everyday (how is this possible?) and almost 60% of that is used for ... landscaping! On a planet where 1 in 6 people do not even have clean drinking water this is a real tragedy.

How can we reduce our water usage? There are many ways- but an easy way to reduce the 60% used for landscaping is a rain catchment system. A rain barrel is a great way to collect and store water that runs off the roof - which is an average of six gallons of water per square foot for every inch of rain.

What would you do with this free source of extra water? Well, even though rainwater is natural, it isn't safe for drinking unless it's been filtered and treated. All that rainwater washing off your roof is carrying pollution with it, not to mention bird droppings and parts of dead bugs (yum).

It's still great water, though- plants love it. You can water your pots and flowerbeds, your grass, clean off your siding and driveway and wash the car.

You can also use it to water your thirsty vegetables, but not in the same way as you would use tap water. When watering your veggies with rainwater, keep the water flow at ground level, away from the stuff you'll actually be eating, and don't use rainwater within a couple of days of harvesting your veggies. After harvesting, always wash your vegetables thoroughly with tap water.

Keep the top of your barrel firmly in place. Exposing rainwater to sunlight and open air will encourage algae growth. Make sure the screen is secure to keep out water-loving bugs, like mosquitoes (you will probably need mosquito dunks).

I've also heard you can keep goldfish in the barrel (sans lid) and they will eat the larvae, but I could never keep a goldfish alive in my house and can't imagine how this would be possible in my rain barrels (love the idea though, but wouldn't want to sacrifice any of the little cuties to try it out).

Clean the filter regularly and inspect your rain barrel every once in a while for leaks. Keep your roof gutters clean and make sure that water is flowing freely to and through the downspout when it rains.

A pump makes it easier to water your large areas (one pump can be used for multiple barrels), although depending on the size of your lawn or garden area, sometimes just gravity will do the trick. They have to come down in the winter, but you won't be needing this water during the off-season anyway.

It is a bit of work, but really not as much as I have made it sound like here (ugh!) and harvesting water will give you a really good, warm and fuzzy feeling and make those rainy days (maybe not Mondays though, sorry) less likely to get ya' down...


1. Beautiful Girl Under Umbrella Dress by Foxlor
2. Bumpoershoot Umbrella Earrings by CleverGirl (who really is!)
3. Adorable Umbrella Couple Dish by TheBrickKiln
4. Mint Cameo Umbrella Pin by the amazing OhHelloFriend
5. The Umbrellas Digital Art Print by LittleBranches
6. The whimsical Rainy Day by TummyMountain

Some Hump Day Honey from NotCot

These hump day goodies come to us courtesy of the amazing uploaders at Notcot.org. I was once lucky enough to have a cork necklace featured on their site and it definitely got me some attention. I don't know who uploaded me- but if you are reading this- Thank You!

I have submitted quite a few links to them and gotten a few cool finds on there. So here's a few goodies from their first few pages:

Mixing glass to light, Belgrade Aleksandra Stratimirovic work is midway between mosaic and stained glass and made from thousands of medical vials filled with colored liquids.

Build your own fiberglass chair at Modernica.

Clothespins become clothespens- modern version of the geeky bic and a pocket protector.

Animal tattoos for your hands - how flippin' adorable are these?

Dennis Belenko teak teabag press for any size glass or mug

Nate Page Beautiful Decay series- we love those celeb pics without make-up, right?


George Petty's wonderful 40's pin-up girls.

A clever Lego rolling cookie cutter.


Simply pretty's Pretty Pretty bird cookies look amazingly yummy- can you tell I'm hungry?


Urban Outfitters brings back a few Polaroid camera sets- there is an entire Polaroid movement afoot!

Swedish Hasbeens pure awesomesness for fall.


Recycled crate shelving - why aren't we all painting our crates?

GIVEAWAY Mudpuppy Baby Head- CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS (closen by random.org #141 out of 396)= Melissa Nucera.

Melissa is an amazing artist and has a stunning Etsy shop called ThisYearsGirl- make sure to check it out!

Mudpuppy is the totally amazing ceramic work of Colorado sculptor Michael McDowell.

Michael has a problem though. Michael needs a coffee table. After a hard day of sculpting and casting and glazing and firing he really needs a place to rest those tired tootsies.

Luckily for Michael, his amazing baby head planters are in a modern furnishing contest on ModLiving.Com and the prize is, you guessed it, a coffee table!

I am not above begging for your votes to get Michael's well-worn loafers (did I tell you he is a size 12) off the back of his tired pooch Rusty, well- not really sure he has a tired pooch named Rusty, but he really, really needs your vote and I have heard that all is fair in love and war and coffee table contests, so I thought I'd throw that out there.

This is an easy contest to vote in- just go to this link Modlivin and vote for #42 Mudpuppy (circle left column) and then hit VOTE on the bottom of the page!

Mudpuppy (and Rusty and Rusty's massage therapist) would be so grateful!




And here's HOW TO WIN your very own Mudpuppy Baby Head Planter:

Leave a comment below with your contact information

For additional entries:

(5) Follow my blog
(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, August 30rd!

When Good Bangs (and Hubbies) Go Bad

So, I thought I was done posting for the week with my fantabulous Friday finds when something happened that I totally need to vent about and let you guys

(notice the term "you guys" because I am from New Jersey after all and if you don't know what I am talking about here check out alamodestuff's blogpost on regional "you" usage)

know exactly what I am up against. It is a hair thing. And it is a guy thing. So you know where I am going with this isn't going to be pretty.

I have had bangs forever, although sometimes they annoy me and I clip them back, and they are not big old eighties bangs (anymore) but more wispy side parted things.

So this morning I just gave them a little trim myself and hubby was getting ready for work and I asked him if he liked them -

(I so know better than to ask him something like this, but the words were out of my mouth before I could catch myself)

and he replied --------

"yeah, it makes your face look bigger"

which, of course, is exactly the look I was going for and he then added

"it looks better today because yesterday it was a little frizzy"

and I wasn't sure if he meant my bangs or my super-Walmart sized face ....

*sigh*

Guerrilla Art in the Jersey Suburbs

So after being totally inspired by Color Me Katie's amazing shadow project and Banksy's often stunning guerrilla graffiti

but being way too lazy and lacking in actual artistic ability to attempt anything like either of these

and having seen something like this (it offered COURAGE) in a dentist's office years ago, my daughter and I set out to create a kinder and gentler New Jersey. We may have our work cut out for us ....



Looks like posters with the same idea are available by Micah Max - not sure that was what my dentist had (don't think so because his had a giant happy tooth) or where you can get one- but they may be worth the hunt!

Thank God It's Fabulosity Friday

Some more Friday total randomness to get your weekend started right!

The amazing blouses by Gaby Basora for Tucker, raising plants right (yes, time to get your greenery off the video games and into a good book),

the stunning jewelry of The Beside, JHillDesigns bold and beautiful animal cards, a birdhouse built to look like a security camera (or is it a security camera built to look like a birdhouse, I forget),

Color Me Katie's
flipping brilliant shadow installation art around Brooklyn is totally inspiring my daughter and I to try a little installation art of our own (check back this weekend for pics), awesome teepee livingroom, the amazing textiles of Karen Barbe and the incredibly whimsical world of Katherine Quinn of Sleep and her Sisters AND she has a locket!














I Can't Help You - I am Just a Cookie


So, hubby and I went to a new place for Chinese last night and the food was yummy and the atmosphere was all modern-licious and we were totally satisfied except for one little thing.

(ACK no fortune cookies!)

The manager approached us as we were leaving to see what we were thinking about his hip little restaurant

(at least I thought he was the manager because his tag just said 'manager' so I figure that was either his title or his first name and a very lucky coincidence ... sort of ... for him)

and we noted our lack of cookies which sent him running off to grab us two.

So we left all happy, dappy with our little plastic wrapped cookies and we tore into them as soon as we were back in the car and had adjusted the overhead light just perfectly so we didn't miss anything.

(I should confess that I print out my horoscope every month - because I like to know what is going to happen and they are sometimes eerily accurate ... seriously - and yes, I sometimes peek ahead in books to see if my heroine is still around at the end)

Mine said ... NOTHING ... just a little blank piece of paper which somehow seemed very appropriate for me *sigh* right now

and hubby's said - "BITE ME".

Which is, of course, kind of funny, but not a proper fortune really because a proper fortune would read, "YOU WILL BITE ME", so this was more of an instruction cookie which had hubby laughing very hard and me a bit peeved that we had not received our proper fortunes.

"Your path is arduous but will be amply rewarding"

is the fortune that I have received so many times I have lost count.

This roughly translates to "the hard stuff will make you a better person" - but I am getting a little tired of the arduous path and hoping I am a good enough person to skate through life for a couple years or months or at least until next weekend.

But what do I know, I am after all, a person looking for my future in baked goods (where's that magic 8 ball when I need it anyway?) ...


1. Lucky Fork Shirt by Xenotees
2. Cootie Catchers by KatsKrafts
3. Fortune Cookie Baby Booties by SushiBooties
4. Mr. Magic 8 Ball by Artsy
5. Ceramic Fortune Cookies by YogaGoat
6. Vintage Fortune Tiles by FoundPaperCo

Awesome Purpose Design Magnetic CHALKBOARD Coaster Giveaway

And the winner is CRISTIN WILSON of Hazelnut Designs! #61 of 363 number generated by Random. org. Cristin has a wonderful Etsy shop and a great blog so check them out!


Purpose Design is an amazing shop featuring the most original gourmet spices, spice racks and coasters!

The owner Julie is my Canadian twin (my brother from another mother she says) because we are equally obsessed with cork and magnets and scientific experiments in the kitchen (hers taste alot better than mine though - check out her delicious recipe blog for great ideas of tasty things you can do with her amazing spices)!

WHAT YOU GET:
One lucky winner will receive one of PurposeDesign's amazing 4 piece gorgeous chalkboard coaster sets - they are also magnetic so can be stored on your fridge or some other handy spot!



HOW TO WIN:
This is another easy, peasy one for summer- just leave a comment below with your contact information

For additional entries:

(5) Follow my blog
(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone (worldwide shipping).

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, August 23rd!

Fantabulous Friday Finds

I have to admit to a total randomness with this grouping but if you can't get a little random on a fantabulously amazing summer Friday than what the heck, right?

These are just a few little amazing finds to get your weekend started right. And these summer weekends are ending so don't forget to get outside and enjoy them a bit!

Spirocreations amazing footwear, the stunning work of body artist Emma Hack, the adorable dresses at ModCloth, recycled Vespa lighting, connect the dot tattoos have the potential for some serious fun, Harry Potter covers reinvented as penguin paperbacks- how amazingly cool are these and don't you totally miss penguin paperbacks, my skateboard obsession continues with these Deck Stools - I've posted about skateboards so often lately you'd think I actually rode one and finally the breathtaking art of the amazing Jessica Doyle (and yes, she has a locket!).