Home Sweet Home

This week, I went home on my day off to visit my Mom and Dad. I was a perfect fall day- breezy and cool but sunny and promising. I love the smell of the freshly fallen leaves in the air! Most notably, I took some photos of Spencer in the same places I first took photos of him this summer when we brought him home for the first time. Spencer is a big boy now at 6 months of age but still a bratty little monster always looking for trouble. Oh well, what can you expect out of a puppy?!

Retro Mugs

Inspired by Style File's blog entry on retro mugs, I went on a search to find some retro mugs for myself. I scoured the thrift shops high and low and you can guess where I found the coolest of the cool mug...... At the Crowded Closet, of course!

Here are the mugs featured on Style Files:

And here is my bad ass horoscope mug from the Crowded Closet. It says on the bottom that it was hand painted in Japan so it has to be pretty old, I would say. I love it and I must find more!

Candy Cigarettes for the kids

I found a real treasure at the country market while I was shopping for meat with my mom- CANDY CIGARETTES! I thought they outlawed these cause they encourage kids to smoke, but nope, for only 20 cents a pack, kids can get practice smoking with Lucky Lights and Round Up candy cigarettes. Sweeeeeetness!

Introducing Spencer, Our New Puppy!!!!

Will and I are very happy to introduce our new puppy, Spencer!!!! On Thursday afternoon, I Googled where to get Welsh Corgi puppies and found the website for Denning Farms, a local breeder who had Corgi pups ready to go just a few miles South of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. I emailed the breeder and got a reply back that evening. After making a few phone calls, the breeder and I arranged a time to come and see the Corgi pup for sale on her farm. He was the last little guy left! The clearance puppy!

Of course, we couldn't resist the little guy so we payed up and the kind lady handed over some kibble and the AKC registration papers. Our new puppy took one last romp with his family before we left his home for good.

Will was having soo much fun petting the grown up Corgis. They were sooo friendly!

This was kind of sad. Our little guy said one last goodbye to his mother before he left his pack to join ours. Seriously, kinda made me wanna cry!

Will was soooooooooo giddy! Spencer! Our new pup!

Spencer looked a bit unsure on the car ride back to my parent's house, which we stayed at all weekend.

Don't worry little guy, we will take good care of you!!!!

Our pup loved to run around freely at my parent's house. They have tons of grass for him to romp around in and soo much new stuff to explore.

Pretty much instantly, our new pet rid himself of his insecurity and dove right into his new life whole-heartedly. What a fearless puppy!

Spencer started to get a little roudy right away.

My puppy! OH MAN! I love him:)

I love this photo. A man and his dog. Awwww!

Spencer is such a photogenic doggy. What a ham.

My mom pretty much adored him, even though she was scared to death that he might pee on her carpet.

What a good looking pup. He looks like a fox in the face with big, perky bat ears attatched at the top.

Spencer likes to take a big run and then rest for a bit in the middle of the yard.

Look at that tongue! What a happy boy!

The little guy likes to snooze in the car.

Aurora loved playing with the little puppy. Here, she is trying to get him to drink some water, but is more or less playing with the water.

That is one passed out puppy.

Will is equally tired and joins in for a nap. I had no clue how exhausting raising a puppy would be.

Our first family photo!!!!!

We took Spencer to the beach but sadly, his is kind of an indoor kid. On the farm, he was kept in a nice, air conditioned garage and never had to deal with the hot sun or dirty old pond water.

Spencer gave it a try and then decided to say hi to everyone on the beach instead..... Including jumping into this little kid's sand castle.

Explorer pup! Taking it little bit by little bit with those tiny little legs of his.

Instead of getting abused by the sun like Will and I, Spencer spent his day under the picnic table in the nice cool sand. He even dug into it a little bit to make it more cool.

Our guy passed out down here most of the afternoon.

I love this one because you can get a glimpse of his sand covered nose.

My puppy has a heart on his butt! I love this, as it turns the grossest part of a dog's body into something pretty frickin' cute.

Chewy Mc Chewster and his new toys.

All in all, our first few days with our new puppy have been pretty amazing. Spencer is fearless, playful, loving, cute, and extremely intelligent. It took about 5 minutes of work to get him to come to his name, he can heel behind your feet as you walk, and he has learned to sit already. Housebreaking him has been super easy so far, and he really seems to have bonded well with Will and I. Spencer is the best puppy, ever!

Vend, vend, Gacha Pon!

My good friend Stacy is in the process of producing a film! I am even more taken by her ambition by the fact that she decided to make it a Japanese language film. Best of all, I am pretty sure I get to help make it. Awesome!

Screenplay By: Stacy Craft

Directed By: Stacy Craft

Produced By: Matt Fee & Stacy Craft & MumoJumo Productions

Vend (Gacha Pon) - ガチャポン is a quirky, dark romance that explores the binding power of our abnormalities.

This is a Japanese language film.

When shy, young Mieko seeks medical assistance for a strange condition affecting her throat, she is turned away because of her inability to pay for her doctor’s services. Before any kind of treatment can be given, he recommends that Mieko seek out the financial services of a man specializing in private loans. Enter Katsumi, a man of resources, who is immediately transfixed by the discolored lump that Mieko attempts to hide under a silk scarf. When Mieko flees his office after suffering a fit of coughing, an incident that ultimately furthers the mystery surrounding her abnormality, Katsumi discovers that he and Mieko may have more in common than their mutual acquaintance with the avaricious physician. Searching out the young woman with the aid of items left behind during her erratic departure, Katsumi helps Mieko overcome her affliction – a illness that cannot be solved by modern medicine, but instead by tenderness and understanding.

..............I like the idea of a man being oddly turned on by a woman's strange illness and am eager to see how things pan out. My friend Stacy has long been talented with video and storytelling, and I look forward to seeing what types of tricks she has under her sleeve. Stay posted for more as the story and the movie production progesses!

Pimped Out Snuggie

When I first got back from Korea a few months ago, I realized I had missed a few modern phenomena, one of the most amazing of which being THE SNUGGIE. I mean, FUCK!!!! This thing is perfect for any cult member, or you could even think of joining Polyphonic Spree for the next leg of their tour. It keeps you wickedly warm while keeping your hands free to hold a baby, talk on the phone, or even read a book! I feel I was missing out when I came back to America and found out a blanket with sleeves had been invented! What next? Flying cars?!?!?!

ModHomeEcTeacher one upped the generic "As Seen On TV" Snuggie and made her own, plus pimped that mo fo out! Yeeeeeeah boooooy! On her blog are step-by-step instructions to making your very own Snuggie, cause I know you totally wanna!

Check it out:
http://www.curbly.com/ModHomeEcTeacher/posts/6068-How-To-Make-a-Pimped-Out-Snuggle-y

This is one Snuggie that will truely rock your world!

Hebe: An Awesome Downtown Iowa City Clothing Boutique

I really like browsing around the stores in downtown Iowa City and when I do, I always make sure to take a trip into Hebe to see what is new. Hebe is run by a gorgeous Asian beauty who is always sure to be friendly and accommodating to you. But what is better, she has an absolute eye for great clothing and brings only the most fantastic items into her boutique. Expect to find the newest collection from French Connection and Cheap Monday, among many others. Best of all, the prices at Hebe are actually reasonable instead of a passing dream as they might be in other downtown boutiques. Love it!

A Lovely Trip to Artifacts

When thinking about Iowa City, one might first think of the University of Iowa or drinking downtown, but what I think of most is the wonderful little shops we are so blessed to have! At the top of my list would be Artifacts because it is always jam packed with kitchy, cool, fabulous finds from eras past. And besides that, you gotta love whoever is behind the desk! Almost everyone who steps foot into the store for an afternoon or browsing and treasure hunting is sure to get into a lively conversation with either Todd, the owner, or Heather, the fantastic lady behind all of those great handmade signs throughout the store. Her handwriting and doodles are simply adorable!

Artifacts is located on the corner of Gilbert Street, right across from John's Grocery, the Bluebird Diner, and the Foxhead, the local watering hole favored mostly by hip grad students.

You can always find Todd behind the desk waiting to help you out.

Some of Heather's handiwork on the side of the cash register.

I have always adored Artifacts for the insane density of visual stimuli they have waiting for you at every corner. The store is packed wall to wall, floor to ceiling with interesting things waiting to be discovered.

Oh my gosh!!!! This sign is sooo cute, I just wanted to eat it up and absorb some of it's cuteness!