a little slice of Turkey

I've been meaning to do this post for a few days now but I've been so stinkin' busy with work and selling crap online. Anyway, I've been dying to share River's new outfit for the faire this year! 

I found this authentic Turkish ensemble on Ebay with a starting bid of $5. Afraid I would miss the final bidding war, I asked the seller if she would cancel the auction and sell it to me for $10 and she accepted my offer! 

Because of the new little one coming in September, we're not going to be able to drop a ton of money on new costuming so we're going a more affordable route for the faire this year. Gypsy costuming is SO easy to do and authentic ethnic clothing is significantly cheaper than American made reproductions. 

I'm going to be the "gypsy queen" of the faire this year, dressed in a fiery reds and yellows and even a crown, so I guess River will be my little Turkish gypsy prince!

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The details of this costume are amazing. It's well made and there's plenty of room for him to be able to wear it another year.

BEST. BUY. EVER.

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.

unicorns are for gangstas

Today after lunch with a new friend I decided to take advantage of the rare occasion of having a vehicle and went to Target for a little clearance rack raping.

 I got this great floral print hi-lo dress for about $12. I rarely pay that much for a dress but the dress is very light and it's dang hot here. I don't do fashion trends but the ho-lo is a trend I really dig. I've been looking for an affordable hi-lo forever and this one was the only hi-lo there and it was my size... I'm pretty sure it was meant to be.
Sorry about the one blurred photo. A ghost walked through in front of the camera.
No worries. He doesn't bite.

 I also got this dress for $6. The material is pretty heavy so I'll probably only be able to wear it when the sun has long since gone down. I looooove me some stripes and this will be great for the fall.

In town we have a store called the Dollar Tree. Everything in there is a dollar. No more, no less. It's impossible to go into the Dollar Tree without coming out with bags full of completely random stuff. Since we have no used book stores in town the Dollar Tree is THE spot to get new books for... you guessed it: one dollar. Most of these are new releases and I have no idea why they're only one dollar. Overstock? Typos?

 I got the top four books yesterday and the bottom four I got last month. I've only finished one of the books (A Gentle Axe) and I'm currently reading A Separate Country. As you can see from the covers of the books, I mostly read historical fiction.

I also found these fun and colorful wall hangers at the Dollar Tree along with baby socks, stuff for a fairy costume I'm working on, nail files, nail polish and a bunch of other crap I don't need.

Are you a Dollar Store Whore like me?

We discovered someone hit my car yesterday. I'm not sure exactly when or how and I'm not even mad about it but the offender could have at least scribbled out a little note on the back of an old receipt that said, "Sorry I hit your car. I didn't feel like waiting for you so I left. Here's a note."

Has this ever happened to you?

Me? This is like the fifth time over the past ten years.

there's something on your upper lip

Today I have a meeting with the owners of the Arrow Bar in downtown Texarkana about my upcoming beard and moustache competition (fundraiser for the faire). The competition was supposed to be on the 20th of this month at a very large and very popular sports bar in town but when I met with the owner a few weeks ago to CONFIRM THE DATES of the event he acted "all brand new". Meaning: even though we discussed the event thoroughly over the phone in the past, it seemed as if he had NO IDEA what I was talking about when we met in person.

The meeting went something like this:

OWNER: So what's all this about?

ME: I'm sorry?

OWNER: What are we meeting about?

ME: Um... the beard and moustache competition...

OWNER: And what's it for?

ME: The Renaissance Faire... (you've gotta be effin'  kidding me) 

OWNER: Oh, yeah... So what is a beard and moustahe competition?

ME: (explains)

OWNER: And you want to have it here?

ME: Yes... (No we wanna have it at Disneyland. I just wanted to get your opinion first.)

OWNER: And what's this for again?

It's become clear to me that the owner is either just too busy to keep up with things like this or he's just got a terrible memory... or both. I had to re-explain everything to him- all the way down to what a beard and moustache competition is. Plus he wouldn't give me a definite yes or no and was very hesitant about the whole thing so I've decided to move on and find a different venue. 

  Some amazingly generous Etsy sellers have already donated items to use as prizes for the competition including teas, spices, moustache wax, stickers, magnets and some extra goodies just because. (I'll share the items in a post later). So with that being said, I MUST host this event! Word has already spread about the competition... plus, I don't wanna send all that stuff back!

Sorry about the shiny makeup-less face. It's hot in here!

 Shirt and skirt: recent Goodwill snags

Vest thingy: Listia auctions for free stuff

Sandals: Pay Half in NY

Necklace: Gift from belly dancer (ex) friend 

 I''m hoping and praying that the owners of this new location have their acts together. If they don't, I just might have to host the event illegally in the Walmart parking lot or in my trailer. Forgetful bar owners??? BAH! "Ain't nobody got time for dat!"

Wacky Fashion Wednesday

Cheese and crackers!

It's WACKY FASHION WEDNESDAY!

In case you're new to this craziness, WFW is where I recreate terrible runway fashions made entirely from items found in my home.

Today's look is:

"All the way down"

Today I decided to stroll off the runway and into the homes of ordinary people with not-so ordinary taste in fashion.

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Now this is a fashion statement I've seen all too often- and one that I just don't understand. I've tried to see things from the sagger's point of view but it I don't get it!!

Maybe some people just like to feel the breeze on their bum? Airing out a diaper rash?

Coat and underwear: Husband's

Tee shirt, boxer shorts and pajama pants: all hand-me-downs

So I see your pants and I accept that challenge, sir.

I'll prove that I am the better sagger.

But wait- I smell an even greater challenge...

I am the master.

Is that the best you can do?!?!

Oh, I can do better...

Don't you walk away from me! I'm not done with you!

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Well, that was refreshing. Now I'm off to try to figure out why this look sometimes includes a belt as well...

Now, here's a little video for your viewing pleasure.

What look will I recreate next week? Stay tuned to see!

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kisses for the misses

You know how I'm always griping about my troubles with thrift shopping? Well, I actually had a pretty good run at Goodwill the other day. I've just come to accept that yes, they've raised their prices, but it's not going to kill be to buy a used dress for $5 or a pair of shoes for $3.50. Man, I'm cheap. When I go to a retail store and I see an awesome dress on clearance for $20 marked down from $80 I'll say to myself... "mmm, I bet I could go somewhere else and get 3 dresses or 5 shirts or 2 pair of shoes or 6 purses for $20."  So I'll go to a an even cheaper store with an even better sale and I usually don't find the 3 dresses or 5 shirts or 2 pair of shoes or 6 purses for $20... and I'll come home empty handed every time.

Ok, these are self-taken photos. How the heck did I manage to reset the camera and then run back and get into the same stance in the exact same spot?!?!?

 

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Dress: Goodwill

Vintage rain jacket: garage sale

Leggings: Walmart

Boots: hand-me-downs

Speaking of being cheap, I've been going .99 jewelry crazy on eBay lately. I can't even keep up with how much jewelry I've bought over the past couple of weeks or so. People tend to shy away from cheap jewelry like this because it'll fall apart after just a couple of wears, but now that I make jewelry I feel totally comfortable buying cheap jewelry because I can just fix it myself if it breaks or reuse it to make something else!

I found these adorable shoes at my Goodwill run. How do you like my rush-job airbrushed legs??

The red leather wrist band is another one of my .99 eBay purchases.

...another .99 eBay score. Every since I bought a pair of 50s chiffon gloves from Bella's Etsy shop a couple of weeks ago, I've been going glove crazy. I have another pair of white lace gloves with ruffled wrist cuffs on the way.

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Dig this all-Pinterest dinner I whipped up last week.

Just click to get to the recipes.

Oven roasted corn (AWESOME)

Black Bean Fritters with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce (A vegetarian dream)

Honey lime shrimp (SUPERB)

If it wasn't for Pinterest, we'd probably have tilapia and broccoli every night because I'm an impatient and lazy cook. Thank you Pinterest.

Wanna know something crazy about me? This is as far that I can stick out my tongue.  Hee hee! I'm tongue tied, meaning that little bit under my tongue that attaches it to the bottom of my mouth is almost at the very end of my tongue. I do indeed have a very light lisp because of it- but it's nothing major. No one seems to notice and I couldn't care less about it, so it's all good!

Do you have any fun "deformities"?

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