Ramsey Thanksgiving

Cute autumn socks, fresh out of the package!

Thank you Just a Dollar. You're my only friend.

We spent Thanksgiving this year at the husband's parent's new home in Nacadoches, TX. 

Heh, I thought the photo above would be a good way to bring up this next pic. Get it? Buns in the oven? GET IT?!?!? DO YA!?  The husband's sister and her husband came down from NY. It's always a joy to see them but it was an extra special visit this year since they have a little one due in the spring.

 Little River had a blast. He finally got to swing and play in leaves for the first time ever.

It's been miserably wet and cold in Texarkana so all of our leaves are limp and soggy and the ground is ridiculously muddy everywhere.

 The leaves at his Granny's house were so crunchy and perfect, everyone wanted to play in them. 

  We had a decent and relaxing time even though I was pretty dang tired the entire time from lack of sleep due to a poor mattress and a possible kidney infection. 

We ate, we played games and there was lots of flatulence....

No kidding. After the Thanksgiving meal, we all sat around in a small room and played a game. There were a lot of farts that were not being claimed that evening and I didn't appreciate that one bit.

And what's worse is that they were ninja farts: Silent but deadly.

So how was your Thanksgiving weekend? (Or you know, for most of you just the weekend...)

soupy twist

First of all, welcome to all my new blog followers! 

You're going to regret your decision. 

Hope you have fun!

 Autumn is by far my favorite season but it hasn't been the vibrant crispy colorful autumn that I've been longing to see here all year long...

It's so friggin wet and soggy. I've never seen an autumn produce so much dadgum rain.

At first the rain was wonderful because it would chase away the lingering heat from summertime... but now after a month of the wet stuff, I'm ready to scream. 

Oh, well. I guess I should make the best of it.

Time to roll up my sleeves, find some wood and gather two of every animal...

Now that it's cold I can wear my favorite coat. It's a handed down double breasted military style wool coat with a high standing collar. When I got it last year, it was too big. Now I can't even button the dang thing which sucks because when it's buttoned to the neck, I look and feel like a militant gothified high priestess. I like that look.

Sweater: Thrifted 

Skirt: Old clearance rack find

Leggings: Etsy

Boots: Hand-me-downs from mom

But seriously, who cares? I know I don't. I just wanted something to put in this space between these two photos.

  Here's one of latest fascinators I've been working on. I had to stop working on it because I ran out of materials so it's not finished. It's gonna be huge and stupid! Yay!

 Alright folks, I'm off to finish my ark.... so here's my... face. You know, because I have a face and I want you to look at it.

 BYE!

you're not the boss of me

A couple of nights ago my husband surprised me with an early Christmas gift. He got me a new camera!

I've been needing a new camera for years but I'm not the best at saving up to get what I want so he did it for me. He's been stashing away money here and there and went out to find me what I've been needing and wanting for so long now. Sweet, sweet dude.

The new camera is used, it's only 14.1 mp and it's missing the lens cap but compared to the duct taped piece of poop I was using before, this new camera is gold.

I've been going around the house snapping shots with different settings, in different lighting to see how it works and what I need to do to make it work better for me.

I figured it would be cool to show you a few of the shots, not because I think they're stellar pics (because they're not, sunlight is rare these days) but because I wanted to share with you a little bit of my home decor.

In the three years we've been married, my husband and I have spent less than $500 on home decor and furnishings. Almost everything you will see was found, thrifted, handed down, upcycled and even recovered from abandon trailers here in the park and dumpsters. If it's something that actually came from a retail store, then it most likely was a wedding gift.

And here's the fridge, because you know... why not?

 Alrighty folks. I'm out like Vanilla Ice. It's time for me to go work on my Christmastime fascinators.

Have a great Sabbath and never sneeze with your eyes open.

2+2=5

Silly me, I totally forgot to share with you guys this wonderful little gift I got from everyone's favorite gal pal, Ally from Shybiker. It's a massive and extremely fashionable mug and an awesome card featuring her very own Spy Girl  fashion sketch. I wish I could have gotten better photos, but it's a webcam sort of evening.

If you're not familiar with Ally's blog then... too bad for you. You're missing out on something wonderful!

Well lately I've been swept up in a rare but severe hurricane of family drama for a couple of weeks now. It has nothing to do with me but I've been thrown into it in the worst kind of way.

I've been assigned to be peacemaker.

It's a family war that's been going on for about four years so far and now everyone is at their breaking point.

They're coming to me, desperately seeking help because I'm neutral ground.

Now I've got to grab my whistle, put on my referee shirt and pray that I come out of this alive.

 In between the constant phone calls that deliver nothing but more bad news, I've been working on my line of fascinators for a new online shop I will be opening some time next month (hopefully). 

 The fascinators and headdresses will be large and unusual with a few quickie lower priced barrettes and bobbies that I've made out of leftover materials.

I know you've already seen this autumn piece before, but I just wanted to share it again because I loved it dearly!! I sold it on eBay last week so I can start on Christmas shopping for my husband.

Sometimes when I make crafts I like to do a few pieces fast and without any specific planning just to see what I'll come up with - I guess you would call it "free association crafting". You know like free association writing but with feathers and a glue gun. I came up with this piece in just a few minutes.

Apparently there are some strange things running around in my brain...

I don't know what this is supposed to be.

Hmmm...

{source}

Here's a better photo of the autumn fairy headdress I started on a couple of weeks ago. Now it's hot glue cobweb free and ready to wear.

  I'm trying to make a piece a day, but with all the drama, much needed deep house cleaning and a teething ten month old baby, it's just not happening.

Welp, back to work. I'll post more pics of the new pieces soon.

Thanks for reading and always wipe from front to back.

what's that smell?

A few years ago, waaaaay back in the ancient times of Myspace, Xanga and Live Journal, it was the hot thing to fill out surveys about yourself. The surveys asked random personal questions that you answered so that your friends and family could get to perhaps know you better?

It's beyond me how people kept up with each other's interests and beliefs before the internet.

I've heard tale that people used to actually talk to each other. You know, like... with their mouths. And listened to the words being spoken - with their ears. Weird, no?

I'm not trying to make any kind of point with my opening paragraph. I'm really just trying to find a creative way to embark on rather lazy blogging journey.

With that being said, how 'bout I tell you a bit about myself with some quick random facts.

I have three phobias: snakes, heights and mild agoraphobia that I've learned to deal with fairly well over the years.

I hate cheesecake.

My middle name is Danielle.

I spent half my childhood in the suburbs of Marshall., TX and the other half on a farm in Kildare, TX (a tiny, tiny town with a population of about 40). 

If I ever hit the lottery, I wouldn't tell a soul.

My favorite food is toaster waffles.

I only finished one year of college and I don't plan to go back. 

I was a virgin when I got married.

My son River was not named after River Phoenix (yes I have been asked)

I love to read but I only read books in the tub, in bed before I go to sleep and... on the um... water closet...

Here's what I'm reading now by the way:

I really like McDonald's food. I think it's magical. No worries, I only eat it like once a month.

I play the bass guitar and the djembe .

My favorite color is black.

I wanted to be a professional belly dancer but I lost sight of all that when I got married. Lately, I've been brushing up on my skills and trying to lose a bit of the happy marriage weight so I can teach lessons for a little bit extra spending money.

I'm allergic to cats.

I dye my hair black to make it...well, you know blacker.

I don't watch TV or listen to the radio.

My poison of choice is gin.

So do you feel like you know me better now?

How much do we have in common?

Are you wearing any pants right now?

I would love a bite of your sandwich.

I'm not a chicken. You're a turkey.

Before I begin this post, I ask that you please forgive me for the junky background in these photos.

Lately I've been taking my photos in front of the double doors to our bathroom, but I accidentally broke one of the doors off the hinges while fighting three ninja zombie cowboy robots last week.

It was brutal.

I didn't win.

 So anyways, I haven't been feeling too hot for the past few days. It's nothing serious. I'm just bleeding to death, is all. Too much info?

Today I'm going shopping to find us all (me, husband, baby) outfits for a private wedding this weekend. The bride has asked all the guests to wear specific colors and it just so happens to be colors that we ain't got.

 I'm really not excited about going shopping and spending money on something we're all just going to wear once. I even might have to **GASP** pay full price for a dress!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Moving on:

May I introduce you to my latest .99 cent Ebay find? I'm so darn stoked to be adding another blinged out arachnid to my collection.

I'm linking up with Bella Wella Bo-Bella for SHOE SHINE: THE SHOE FIEND EDITION. This is my first time linking up at her blog so I'm pretty excited about it. She's sexy and so are my shoes.

Faux suede Walmart brand flats bought a couple of months ago for $7. This is my first time wearing them because... I forgot I had them.

 Well actually I only got to wear them for about an hour until I discovered how short my dress was. I bent over and I could feel a breeze on my bum. I reached behind me and sure enough, no coverage. No coverage at all.

There's just something about wearing leggings and boots with a shorty short dress that makes it seem less short. You know what I mean?

I'm out.

Have a good week.

Don't talk to strangers and say no to drugs.

pretty young thing

Last weekend I finally had the chance to do something I've always wanted to do:

Hit up a post-Halloween sale.

Since I host a lot of events and parties I need costuming stuff. Lots of it. And now that I have a husband and a baby to dress for these events as well, I need triple the amount of costuming accessories.

The Halloween shop's prices weren't as low as I expected, (only 50% off) so I didn't score the haul I was expecting. I did, however, manage to find some heart shaped sun glasses and pilots cap. Two things I've always wanted. Not just for costuming but for everyday kind of of wear. I got some other doodads but nothing that compares to the awesomeness of hearties and a pilots cap.

The pilot cap has been begging me to dress up as Bessie Coleman, the first black female pilot who just so happens to be from one of my hometowns, Atlanta, TX.

 

I think I could pull it off!

This post is about to get a bit random so bear with me.

Here's another one of my .99 cent eBay finds. Isn't it lovely?

For the past week I've been making fascinators and other headpieces for myself and also to sell in my Etsy shop for a little Christmas shopping money. What do you think?

This one with the colorful feathers is still in the making.

And a lace tiara! Would be great for a wedding, no?

All aboard the Random Express! Next stop: pumpkin cornbread!

I've never cooked with pumpkin before until recently when I tried a recipe for pumpkin cornbread dressing with sage and country sausage. It was STUPID AWESOME! My husband bought too much pumpkin so I've been trying to find ways to get rid of it. Ladies and gents: pumpkin cornbread. 

Prepare two packages of sweet cornbread mix (I used Jiffy) and then add a can of pureed pumpkin and cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix. Eat with honey and butter or just by itself... er after you bake it of course. It's like and autumn party in your mouth! (And it's the start of making aforementioned pumpkin dressing)

So that's what I've been up to! How are ya'll doing?

Er, I mean "you all". Not "ya'll".

You.... All.

Sorry.

Watch this video. You wont regret it and it's River approved.