They don't call it the Land of Enchantment for nothing!

New Mexico is lovely... much more so than most people think!

All this magic is (literally) right out my back door!

First Snow of the Year

Well, today we had the first snow of the year. By tomorrow, people will probably start referring to it as the "Blizzard of '09". I live in the mountains, but Asheville is still the south and we only get one to two inches of real snow each year. Well, I would say we have already gotten almost a foot today!

Here is what it looked like this morning when I woke up:


And, here is what it looks like now:


Finally, for your viewing pleasure, a gratuitous photo of Petey modeling the sweater that I (very poorly) knit for him. He HATES the snow.

Just Arrived...

... home from a LONG day of traveling! I'm totally exhausted so I'm heading off to bed, but I thought I would throw up a few more Texas photos. After all, nothing says Texas like horses!

Our (very large and grumpy) pony, Max



Max meets my puppy, Petey (who is terrified)



More Max, he's so handsome



Some other horse, what lovely nose!



Petey wants to come in the stall!

10.16.09: Accessories Challenge Day 3

Coat: Target, vintage buttons added by me
Scarf: Ross
Jeans: Gap Clearance Center
Shoes: Ugg Moccasins
Bangles: Boutique
Dog: Petey!

Ok, yes, I skipped day 2. I only went to the gym and really, that's not exactly the best place to accessorize. I promise to wear two outfits tomorrow (and one of them is going to be for a Talledega/NASCAR/Redneck themed party, so it should be pretty exciting). Today I wore this to go to the dog park, goodwill, and grocery store. I'll tell you what, its pretty hard for me to accessorize to go to those places, but I made myself do it. Sonce it was frigid here today, I stayed in my outerwear while running errands so I accessorized that. I wore one of my favorite scarves (I love the colors!) and some of my favorite matching glass bangles. The set came with a white bangle too, but it is mysteriously significantly smaller than the other three and it makes me feel like my hand is breaking when I take it off, so now I just don't wear it. Strange, huh? Anyways, I brought my favorite accessory with me: Petey!!


The leaves were just beginning to get lovely today. This is the park that I get to visit most everyday to walk Petey and get some fresh air. Aren't I lucky?

Shop Update

Here are a few new items that are up in the shop today that I think are just fabulous! Also, there is a little bonus Petey at the end because, really, he has been absent from this blog for far too long!

This is a great maxi dress that is a size M/L. Check out that pattern!

This is a classic, cool and clean 70s day dress. M/L

Teal day dress in XL to XXL!

This week Petey got a bath. This turns him into a thing possessed!

Here is his innocent face. What? I didn't do anything!!

Make my.... UGHHHH

Ok, I couldn't bring myself to make my Monday yesterday. You want to know why? Because I somehow deleted ALL MY PHOTOS off my hard drive. Saddest day in the history of ever. That includes the Grand Canyon (three times!), Spain, weddings, Sewanee, all sorts of things! At least many of them are on picassa/facebook, but I won't have the original high resolution files.

To ease my troubled mind, let me share with you my new favorite photography thing: the F-STOP. Seriously, how did I even live before I was able to manually adjust the apeture of my camera? Now, I'm a total novice with no photo skills except for what I've read on the internets, so don't judge me too harsly when I share these photos with you! Plus, you can learn from my mistakes!

Waiting for the fireworks on the 4th
left photo: Exposure: 8.0 sec, Aperture: 7.1, Focal Length: 29mm= bright as day!
right photo: Exposure: 3.6 sec, Aperture: 13.0, Focal Length: 29mm= dark and mysterious!

Downtown Asheville
Exposure: 10.0 sec, Aperture: 13.0, Focal Length: 29mm= streetlight flare!

Petey!
Exposure: 1/3 sec, Aperture: 5.3, Focal Length: 38mm= shallow depth of field= bokeh (I think I acheived it)= you can't see my messy floor!

Now the only think I adjusted in these photos was the aperture, I let my smarty pants camera do the rest of the work for me (determining shutter speed and ISO). I would love to take a photo class one day, but for now trial and error is turning out to be very educational!

Make my Monday

Instead of the traditional Make my Monday list, I'm just going to share five photos that are making my Monday. 'Cause I'm lazy like that. And, 'cause every Monday needs a little Petey.





Oh, bonus Make my Monday thought! Today I discovered Pioneer Woman. Ok, ok, I'm sure I'm the last person on the planet to add this to her blog roll. Don't laugh! But just in case you are as out of the interwebs loop as I am, you must check out her site. She has all sorts of amazing photoshop tutorials that were written for photoshop dummies like myself. I can't wait to have 3 free seconds (or days) in which to try and figure these all out!

So, anyways, what's making your Monday?

More DIY fun

The dress I made last Friday got me thinking that I don't really make enough stuff! Here is the only dress that I have truly made from scratch.


I've made plenty of skirts and done some alterations, but it is so fun to make something totally from the bottom up. I'll have to add this to my list of 'if I ever find a free second' projects. Speaking of, Petey is talking to me loudly about how he needs a walk. Also, he hasn't made an appearance on the blog recently, so here he is- obviously helping me blog!

Big Decision!

So I've been putting it off for a while, but its high time to get Petey a harness. He is a sneaky little fellow and his neck is much bigger than his head, allowing him to escape his collar the most inopportune times. I've been chatting with Pam of Big Doggy Bling about a custom harness, and now I just have to decide which color and pattern Petey wants. Too bad I can't just ask him (well, I tried, but he is also indecisive)! What do ya'll think?

Red Vintage Trim...

or Blue Monkeys??

Photos from the Weekend

Petey goes (and loves) canoing!

The waterfall on top of which we camped.

I love my tent!

Grafting apple trees with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.

The shade house that we built to house woodland plants.

Tonight's urban sunset.

Weekend Adventures

French Broad River, Hot Springs, NC

Petey's managed to avoid falling off of the unexpected cliffs.

A gnarled tree on windswept point, Lover's Leap.

The Great Smokies!

Last weekend one of my closest friends from undergrad was in town and we went up to Hot Springs, NC on Saturday. It was Petey's first hike! The scenery was beautiful (proof above!) and afterwards, we got to soak in the hot springs. It was a great mini vacation!

A Preview of Coming (Vintage) Attractions...

...and your daily Petey! He is a very helpful blogger.