Getting all gussied up for Christmas

Look at how huge Spencer's tongue is here!!! My pup got sooo excited when we got his sweater on that he started running around like a maniac. Needless to say, it was close to impossible to photograph the boy then. We even tried to bribe him with Cheerios and I think that just made him even more crazy. The dog will do anything for food, what can I say!

We held Spencer up so he could sniff the tree. In reality, he could not care less about human stuff like Christmas trees and whatnot. For Spencer, he mostly just wants to eat, sleep, play, chew and poop!

Christmas Treeeeeeee!

Will and I put up the Christmas tree the other day and it is very cute! We got a little tree at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off, a set of glass ornaments, some cheesy tinsel garland, and fancy twinkle lights. The tree seemed to be missing something so I started to search the house for other stuff to add. I spotted my fake fruit and thought, "Genius idea!" After the fake fruit, I then added some fake Hawaiian flowers into the branches as well. Our tree turned out beautifully! I love it.

Last night, Will and I turned out all of room lights and turned on the Christmas tree. We watched it twinkle until we drifted asleep. I felt very nostalgic and happy for this:)

Our wreath. I love this thing. I paid 50 cents for it!

This year, I am going to learn to like Chirstmas....

I hate to be a drag on all humanity and goodwill but I so happen to hate Chirstmas. I hate the colors red and green. I hate the corny commercialization of it all. I even hate Santa Claus. Since I have a child this year (Spencer the dog), I am going to give my best effort to learn to like Chirstmas. The catch is that I must do Chirstmas my way the way I like it. This means that all of the decorations have to be gaudy, strange, and vintage and gifts have to be flippin' sweet, hip, and one-of-a-kind. Nobody is getting a sweater or bath set this year. Chances are strong that I still will not enjoy all of the sentimental bullshit others enjoy during the holidays but at the very least, maybe this year I will be able to put on a happy face and act like I like this stupid fucking holiday for the sake of the ones I love.

Today, I hit up the Crowded Closet for some cute Christmas decorations and came home with a few things. Well, some are not exactly Christmas-y but it is the best I can do without gagging. Will wants us to get a Christmas tree this year and I am begging for one of those wacky retro tinsel ones. Maybe a blue one!!!!!!

I figure, if I start the fake enthusiasm early on in the holiday season, I may be able to fool myself and actually start to like it! We will just have to see how this turns out as time goes on.

New Art for the Apartment!

Today, Will helped me stretch some vintage fabric onto stretcher bars. I love the effect!

Owl Lamp is a Hoot

I finally got a my owl lamp together today! I found it last week at a top secret location and feel like the $3 bucks I paid for the base and 75 cents for the lamp shade, I feel like it was a pretty decent deal:)

Fits right in our retro-esque apartment!

Bowling! Yeah! Yeah!

Oh man, there is rarely an activity on the planet that energizes and excites me quite like a good round of bowling!!!!! Everything is sooo 70's and cheesy and space age and hitting down wooden pins is pretty fun too:)

Colonial Lanes in Iowa City, IA is the cutest bowling alley ever. Nothing has changed, everything is all painted up silly, and they have a bonus bar in back and putt putt golf.

Anna Sui for Target:)

My love for Target is everlasting- on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at 8 a.m., the new Anna Sui for Target collection made it's debut. Coralridge Mall was the only mall in all of Iowa to get the collection. I have been waiting anxiously for this thing for..... months. Anna Sui has been my favorite designer since I was 10 and wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up.

So on Sunday morning, I woke up startled and already late. I threw on some clothes from the floor and hauled my ass straight to Target.

9:03 a.m. - I power walked into Target like a fashion crazed monster and frantically searched for the whereabouts of this insanely fabulous collection. It was nowhere to be found.

I then went to the fitting room and practically demanded to speak with the manager in charge of softlines. It was my old boss, Brooke. Her exact words? "I should of figured it was you!"
I guess Target didn't realize little girl's dreams were at stake here cause they hadn't even bothered to put the collection out yet. The nerve of it all!

So Brooke, the softlines team leader rolled out the collection for me from the backroom and I was like a kid at a candy store. I felt so special shopping the collection straight off of the rack before the general public got their greedy and jealous little paws on it. Muhahaha!

I ended up coming out with the metallic sparkle dress, the puffy vest, and some ugly shirt I later returned. I have not quit wearing the puffy vest. It is so retro and comfie and cute. And all I can do right now it keep trying on the dress with heals, tossing around my hair, and applying more eyeliner. Dreams really do come true!

Screw all that crap about Gossip Girl. I tried to watch like one episode and got so utterly bored that I turned it off after about two minutes. I am all about the Anna Sui goodness!

This collection is hot! Love it!

Eat my Glam!

Expect glam from me, damn it! I am sooooooo happy for Target this summer.... Here you see my awesome Dwell Studios shower curtain, my Anna Sui for Target dress, and my Erickson Beamon for Target cocktail ring. Can Target seriously be any more hip and rad? Seriously, bring on the radness, Target!

Cocktail ring: Erickson Beamon for Target
Dress: Anna Sui for Target
Necklace: Target

I will be totally wearing this dress and all of the fantastic jewelry to Amber's wedding next week! I am so psyched for a reason to wear a pretty dress:) Yay!

Yup, our apartment is da bomb

I knew eventually things here in Iowa would get better. I knew I wouldn't be living in my boyfriend's bedroom with bitchy assholes living in the basement forever. Alas, since moving to our new place, things in life have gotten vastly better. I quit my shit job at Target as a cashier for $7.25 per hour and started working at Journey's as the store manager and making bank.

So it's all good! I bought us a couch, our new table and chairs are fantastic, and decorating has been a blast. I love it!

I used the Orla Kiely table cloths that I got at Target as curtains in the living room. It looks very retro, I think.

I love the brown cabinets! And having all new appliances and a pantry is nice too. Sure beats the hell out of cleaning up after Mike and Sarah's sorry asses.

My cookie jars!!!!!!! Thanks, Orla Kiely for Target:)

The kitchen curtain the the bomb-diggity, don't ya think?

Will stretched a piece of my favorite fabric with stretcher bars. I love it! And the table and chairs is perfect.

Yum! Fake plastic fruit!

Our IKEA Expedit bookcase is double sided..... It acts as a framing device for our living room and serves as a bookcase and display for all of our good stuff.

I framed some of the paper dolls and stickers I picked up in Korea.

Picked up the "Marushka" piece at Artifacts for $12 bucks. Framed some sweet art from High Fructose magazine for the toilet area.

My corner of the bathroom is totally Asian-fied.

I am so happy to have a place to live that I love. I wake up everyday and think about how lucky I am to have a cute boy, a cute dog, and tons of cute stuff:) I am very fortunate.