Matthew Mead's "Flea Market Finds"

Just received my copy of Matthew Mead's latest book "Flea Market Finds"! It's chock full of lots of Springtime inspiration and has hundreds of projects and tips for finding and freshening up your vintage scores.

And, if you want to get a little extra funding to further your finds, Matthew is currently doing a giveaway of six $100 Visa gift cards! I mean, I'm all good with a little chocolate this weekend but I wouldn't mind a little 'lettuce' either. That'd put a little extra happy in your Easter now wouldn't it?

Better hurry... winners will be announced on Monday! What are you waiting for, kids? Hop to it! (I know, I know. But, you knew I was gonna go there.)

PHOTOS BY UNCLE BEEFY

Are Rue talking to me?

COVER OF THE LATEST ISSUE OF RUE ALONG WITH THE CUTEST EDITORIAL TEAM PHOTO OF ALL TIME!

Yes! Yes they are! Kids, in case you missed it, your uncle was featured in the latest issue of Rue Magazine! In the Blogger: Side by Side column! They teamed me up with Christian of Maison 21 and after our little brief banter you're likely to find out that we share an odd cartoon character connection and would likely stir up trouble if you put us together in person. Good trouble, of course!

This is one of their best issues yet! And, I only say that because I'm in it. Kidding! Although, I am a bit biased given that I know/"know" others featured in this issue as well. Let's have a Rue Magazine roll call, shall we? (Pardon this interruption, but Fergus is destroying magazines behind me and this requires my immediate attention. He should know better in this house than to disrespect a magazine! ... Okay, now where were we? Oh, yes...)

Here are the illustrations from the feature of Christian and yours truly. I know, you were expecting something more provocative from me, huh? You'll have to wait for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition for that one. Rowr.

Seattle pal Kelie Grosso has her design studio featured and I'm pleased as passion fruit punch as she's one of the sweetest people I know. And, talented? She is 1st on my roster to call when I win the lottery and have to have a designer! Next, is the lovely Lisa Thiele of With Style & Grace who I had the pleasure to meet at Alt Summit! With her blog on all things nutritious, gluten-free, and tasty, she's serving up some smoothies. (Food Network? You need to talk to this girl about having her own show! Gorgeous and gluten free?! I mean, seriously! We can talk about my Baking with Beefy show later.)

Then there's this amazing abode. I mean it. Uh. MAZING! Raina Kattelson of A Stylist's Life did a complete remodel on this place with her husband that has to be seen to be believed. They're renting it out to some other people at the moment. I've never been so envious of people I don't know in my entire life. This place is bomb diggity gorgeous!

And, there's still plenty more! Get to reading, kids!

Alt State of Mind

Okay, kids, if you've been strolling through the blogosphere lately, you're probably tripping up on one post after another extolling the virtues of the recent Alt Summit. This post ain't gonna be any different. And, if you think we all drank the Kool Aid? Well, they didn't actually have that, but they did feed us which certainly helped in the conversion process. But, next year, Kool Aid could be a nice tongue in cheek addition.

So this was the third year in what will likely (hopefully) be a long running conference. It was my first appearance - my debut, as it were. And, kids, your uncle felt a bit like a celebrity. But it's not hard to get noticed when you're one of a handful of men in a sea of hundreds of women and you have all the wallflower capabilities of a circus sideshow performer. Plus, as a former Women's Studies major, let's face it, I can hang with the ladies.

KELLY, YOUR UNCLE, & LISA WITH VICTORIA BEHIND THE CAMERA.

But enough with the hardy-har-hars and wink-winks. I have to say that I almost don't know what to say or where to begin in regard to my own Alt experience. How people have already put together their Alt recap posts is beyond me as my head and my heart are still spinning. If you were there, then you know what I'm talking about most likely. And if you weren't there? Then I hope you can either bear with me or feel a bit of vicarious inspiration.

Now don't worry. I won't go on some kind of a bullet point spree here, kids. Plenty of other bloggers have have discussed the finer points of Alt with plenty of details. And I'll do my best to keep my images edited, although that is a much taller task for me as I love a good visual. So we'll see how that exercise in restraint goes. (Don't hold your breath!)

What I will say about Alt Summit is that it was like a breath of freakin' fresh air! Woosh! Ahhhh! I mean, it was awesome to hear about the ins and outs of other bloggers' experiences, the business side of blogging, branding, etc. All great. (Jasmine Star could have had a gospel choir along with her given the inspirational charge she brought to a room!) But, what resonated the most deeply with me was this feeling of camaraderie. In short, bein' with m'peeps, y'all! That was a long time coming. More than I realized.

Look, I spend a lot of time in the tiniest room of my home perusing inspirational finds at ungodly hours of the morning with the current bulk of my socialization limited to twitter or my pets. When I do find myself out in the world, the mention of being a blogger will more often than not bring about feigned interest and/or a virtual head pat. Sure, what we do may not always be earth-shattering, but those of us who tuck ourselves away in pursuit of finding and sharing things of beauty or inspiration actually work pretty hard at what we do. Not that everyone is obligated to appreciate that fact, but some days the dismissive reaction of others can be pretty dejecting and leave you feeling like you're wasting your time and maybe everyone else's.

And yet we continue to do what we do irregardless. The whys of that fact would likely be different and multi-faceted for each blogger, but it's worth noting that we all share that common, needling pursuit. To bring together en masse a group of individuals who share that mutual appreciation for all things aesthetically pleasing, well designed, and just plain sparkly is bound to create a stirring. But, you can also count on two other things - gorgeous shoes and "kumbaya" moments.

TOP PHOTO: MY ALT POSSE! (L TO R) KATIE, ESTELLE, MOI, JEANNE, BRANDI, KIMBERLY, MELISSA, & MELISSA (SERIOUSLY!). AND I GOTTA GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO BEE AND COURTNEY. NOT PICTURED BUT SO PART O' THE POSSE! BOTTOM PHOTO: (L TO R) CAPREE, KATHLEEN (BEHIND MY GIANT HEAD), DANIELLE, CARINA, & KELLY.

Yeah that's right. Your uncle came away with some seriously soulful connections and my own designer-y version of the "Ya Ya Sisterhood". It wasn't uncommon over more than one bonding session to have an Oprah-worthy tear or two shed. I was ridiculous on one occasion. Uh huh, I'll admit it. (Hey, I cried during "Finding Nemo" and that wasn't half as life affirming as Alt Summit was for me!) But, to be in the company of generous and talented people who understand what you do and why you do it (even if difficult to articulate) can be a profoundly moving experience. And it certainly was for me. If you're a fan of the "Joy Luck Club", then you might sum it up with the line "I see you." (You need to get a tissue? Don't worry, I'll wait.) So to walk away feeling that all of my 4:00AM posting sessions are important on some level was more than I could have asked for.

So now I sit here, post-Alt, feeling refreshed and buoyed by a host of supporters new and old. I'm feeling invigorated and motivated by the moving keynotes that were given by Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest, and Gretchen Rubin, writer of "The Happiness Project". I'm also feeling a deepened gratitude for each one of you who comes here to read, peruse, comment, or click on any number of your 'follow' options. I know there are a ton of blogs out there these days so the fact that you would take even a moment of your time to check in here means a great deal to me. It really does. Allowing me to share my thoughts, musings, inspirations, or trivial moments with you brings a joyous quality to my life. And, I thank you for all the days, months, or years that you have allowed me to have that comfort and gratification.

In the end, Alt cracked some things wide open for me. One of those was the decision to put away the top-hatted cartoon that has so long represented "me" and put my face to these pages. I'd like to feel like we're getting to know each other a little better, a bit more authentically. That's a gift that you all granted me a long time ago. Alt just helped me unwrap it.

Yours in gratitude,

SPECIAL THANKS TO CARYL FOR MY PHOTO.

Postcard from San Francisco

Lovely

Monday Morning

Happy Beefday!

The super cute present from Kristine! In my favorite colors! I want a tie like the ribbon!

She's My Cherry Pie

Yes, photos styled and shot by your Uncle.

Behind The Blog: Melissa of Ruby Press

First of all, thanks ‘UB’ (my nickname for Uncle Beefy, aka Bradford!), for asking me to join you here in The Bedlam of Beefy land!  I am so honored to have been invited to share a little about myself and Ruby Press!

You may know our blog, the Ruby Press Blog, which is an offshoot of my PR agency Ruby Press. I started my career as a fashion editor in NYC (I was at Harper’s Bazaar and Mademoiselle) where I lived for eight years. Even though I adored New York and loved every minute of being a fashion editor, I craved a new challenge as my thirtieth birthday approached. In the spring of 2000, I was offered a dreamy position with a new fashion website in San Francisco, and decided to take a leap (a huge, cross-country leap!) and move to the west coast.

Unfortunately, the dot-com bubble burst just as my dog Lulu and I moved into my new apartment and within two weeks I was laid off. For the first year, I did a lot of freelance editorial work and signed on as one of the first contributing editors with Lucky magazine. I also took the position of fashion editor with a local San Francisco city magazine that just launched, called 7x7.  Through both jobs, I started to meet a lot of really talented designers and small business owners and saw the need for a PR agency based out here that could help these businesses acquire national press attention.

When I first launched the company in May of 2001, the company focused on SF Bay Area-based companies, but that changed pretty quickly. (Within two years we had clients based as far away as Australia!) Now, nine years later, we still select our clients very carefully, but they all still fall into the lifestyle category - our clients range from home décor to beauty to fashion accessories. (You can see a list of our clients here.) We produce events as well, and you can see photos from some of our events by clicking here.

We started our blog two years ago this month and we are thrilled to have made all of the friends that we have in the blogging community. It’s hard to imagine not having the blog!  In fact, ‘UB’ was one of the first blogger friends I made… I think we both started blogging around the same time!  I’ve filled in the questionnaire to the best of my ability… hope this paints a little picture of who I am!  Thanks!! xx

LOVE it!
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Film... Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (This movie always makes me smile and I could probably recite most of it off the top of my head!)
Book... Circus I have always been obsessed with vintage carnival and circus styles…remember that show Carnivale?  That kind of sums it up.
Food... Savory: fish tacos    Sweet:  cotton candy
Libation... Why champagne, of course!
Album... Wow, so hard to choose but maybe my desert island pick would be Joni Mitchell’s Blue?
Day... I think that would have to be Christmas morning!
Clothes... I love vintage clothes and jewelry and I think that all of my very favorite pieces are vintage.
Band... This almost impossible to answer, but some bands (or singers) I never seem to tire of would be The Pixies, Bon Iver, old R.E.M., The Smiths, PJ Harvey, Adam Ant, Carly Simon, The White Stripes… 
Blogs... Check out our blog roll.
Place... New York City or Paris.  Hard to choose. 
Person… My husband Sam (who’s also my business partner!) 
Smell... Fragrant garden roses 

HATE it!

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Film... Time Bandits (don’t ask!)

Book... Any science fiction or fantasy book.

Food... Clams

Libation... Scotch

Album... Again, so hard to choose, but any album by a boy band would be right up there.

Day... The last day of a great vacation

Clothes... Itchy, pilly acrylic sweaters

Band... The Dave Matthews Band (sorry guys!)

Place... Mens clothing stores…or mens shoe stores.  They make me so bored I want to rip my hair out!

Person... Now I wouldn’t be a good publicist if I told you that, would I?

Smell... Spoiled milk

It’s all in the details…

The best sandwich is made with…toasted fresh bread and an herb aioli. 
The place I feel safest…is at home in front of a roaring fire with my husband and two sweet dogs. 
I love the sound of…my name being called when I’m waiting for a table at my favorite restaurant. 
A singer I unexpectedly like is…Steve Perry (why does Journey sound so good these days?) and Jeff Lynn from ELO (ditto!) 
The first poster on my bedroom wall was….Michael Jackson! 
The vice that I am glad I got rid of…My vices are champagne drinking, tanning and sweets-eating and I’m afraid I haven’t gotten rid of any. 
The one that still has a hold on me…all three: champagne drinking, tanning and sweets-eating. 
I am most embarrassed by…home movies circa 1983. 
As a child I wanted to be…an actress or dancer. 
The first time I got drunk was…from drinking blackberry schnapps!! 
I really don’t like…racists or homophobes. 
The best way to cook a potato is…to slice it up into strips and fry it! 
At night I worry about…how our two big dogs and my husband will all be able to fit in the queen size bed with me. 
The first thing I do in the morning is…let the dogs out and check my email. 
Plane, train, or automobile…definitely plane, unless we’re talking about an amazing vintage car or old-time train with sleeper cars.

Fresh n' Fruity

Beefy Go Seattle Go Boom

Sacre Boeuf!

Hi, Kids. Okay, so couldn't get logged in to blogger yesterday which derailed getting any posts done. And, more important, our friends Jeff & Kathleen are visiting from Paris for a few days. So instead of giving y'all hours of delight with my endlessly fascinating insights and scathing wit, I'm gonna have to give what I got to my peeps. Y'feel me?

Blogging will commence on Friday morning. Yes, just before the weekend! Look I am doing the best I can! Jeesh! Y'all get so greedy. ;) Happy Tuesday!