Working hard or hardly working

Since I've begun my internship, my day-to-day activities at work have been a learning experience that I am grateful for. While I'm disappointed I don't have a career at the age of 25, I feel as if I might be done floundering soon and that this will be one of the many life changing events that gets me where I'll end up (and I plan to end up somewhere good).

My co-workers make life here delightful outside of work too. I'm exactly halfway through my internship and so far:

I've stood in the rain all day on a Saturday filming a marathon,

I've celebrated the 20 year anniversary of German Reunification,

I toured Wilheim-Kaiser Kirsche and saw breathtaking mosaics,

gone to a terrific local movie theater for a regular event called "Cine-man" where you watch manly films and they hand you a beer as you walk in the door (on a side note, in Germany they also do this magical thing where they turn the lights on between the previews and the movie in case you'd like to buy some ice cream from a girl with a box around her neck like at a ballpark),

I've been to Potsdam to take photos of "Sans, Souci,"

I've visited my favorite person in the world in London for a weekend (here we are at the Prime Meridian),

and I've even signed up to run a 7.5 km run this Saturday (as if I'm fit enough to do it or something). Reference: http://www.festival-of-lights.de/veranstaltungen/lightrun/

But this last snip-bit gets me to the Festival of Lights.

I intend to take and upload a lot more photos soon so you can fully understand the magic, but this is a portion of October when they light the buildings and trees in Mitte like a fairytale with blues and reds and greens and rope lights and designs (and the occasional alcohol advertisement). It's so nice considering how little daylight I suddenly have access to. It used to be bright when I woke up at 6:45 - the sun and I were on the same schedule - but now she doesn't wake up until I walk out the door at 8 and she goes down at 6/6:30, right after my walk home from work. At work I have a big window that I'm grateful for, but it's not the same as getting to wander the streets in natural light. If I can't have the daylight I'll settle for enchanting fake light. Maybe even join a mob and run through it.

Now I'm off to see Museum The Kennedy's :) Hope it's bright where you are.

Living in Berlin

Language is so beautiful.

I am trying to soak it up as much as possible, but I think one of my silly hurdles is that I tend to zone out when I am wandering the city, taking photos, getting lost. And then I'll get home and realize I didn't learn any new words! What's wrong with me? I've started writing down difficult words I hear or read and practicing them at night. It seems to be getting darker earlier and earlier and, even though I feel pretty safe, I'm not one to wander alone at night. Reading and writing are my city friends.

Since I always tend to focus on issues close to home I'll write about my darling apartment. It's a hodge podge of "leftover" furniture. It's a sublet from the old tenants and I think I have all the chairs, bookshelves and dressers, a futon and a couch they just did not want to take with them. Not to mention my carpet is blue. :) (I was still putting clothes away in this photo, however many have remained camped on my bookshelves)

I love it though. It has a great view, lots of natural light and it's filled with things I brought, even if those things are really just the bare necessities (old Disney tune popping in to my head - just ignore it, keep writing!); those are still things that are familar and I cherish that. Perfume, a pair of shoes, a stolen pair of my mom's socks. Hehe.

I thinks the one thing I am still fighting through (somedays more than others) is that I am all alone here, and want so much to share it with everyone I love. My parents, brother and sister-in-law, my co-workers and friends back in the states (even some who I don't talk to much anymore, if at all, those that are sadly gone from my life forever), and above all my man. It's weird the way an event will spark a desire to tell someone! Here is some of the noticing I've done that I have wanted to share with you (yes, you):

10. Men after work, in their business suits, ride bikes home or grab ice cream cones on their walk to relocate. This flashes images in my head of every single one of them as little boys, and how nice it must be to live in a country where the nesting doll children that you harbor inside you, your younger versions of yourself, get to come along for the adult you's life.

9. There are three churches within a block from my house, and I love the bells all going off each hour come from every direction.... no idea which is singing what tune.

8. The smells on each block, as you walk down each strasse with cafes, grocery stores and bakeries. Everything smells delicious. And I'm trying new foods contray to popular belief.

7. Everything feels like magic. I tend to have mood swings easily - there is so much to be happy about, there is so much to be sad about, there is so much to be hopeful for - and it's exhausting; but here I snap back pretty quickly. A herd of bunnies nearly surrounded me in the park the other morning. How does a herd of bunnies even exist? It was intense and made the rest of my day pretty spectacular.

6. I'd like to share the weekends; they seem so much more exciting here. Maybe it's because I'm not waitressing, so I've recliamed Saturday and Sunday as "me" days. But living in a city, regardless, allows for more opportunities, and possibly at a lower cost. I could have A.D.D. the way I zone out and walk for miles at a time, completely relaxed and calm which so many new things to look at. It may seem focused, but it's not.

5. Back to bicycles. Cars really are very mindful of the swarms of cyclists everywhere! I can get behind a society that rides bikes to work, and people at all walks of life really do here. Men and women in suits and dresses and slacks, to jeans and tee-shirts. I'd say "sweats," but everyone always looks so put together here...

4. and I think I'll vote for that too. Looking nice everyday feels good. It's not me being insecure about laying around or whatever, but a skirt and sweater is perfectly cozy and everyone else here seems to put on something lovely in the morning and I want to share in that. What an instant mood boost!

3. Architecture. Every city offers their own brand of this, but what I love about Berlin is that so much of what I feel is seamless, and neverendingly lovely, was sewn together in the last twenty years. Oct. 3 marks the 20th year of the reunification and what a neat time to be here. There's a 40,000 person marathon on Sunday, and Oktoberfest is in full swing, and this city has bounced back so fast from something so saddening. I think it's proof of the resilience of the human spirit.

2. I'd also like to share in that moment before sleep, when I hear music outside and it's bouncing off the buildings and maybe it's a resturant, or another apartment, or the polizie zooming past, but it's music, and I want you to hear it too.

1. Lastly, I'd like to share the breakfast. Sunlight comes from nowhere and the room's awake, and my little Kueche Tisch hast zwei Stuhl. But you're not here. No one is. Mornings can be lonely.


All my love, from Berlin.

Fall cleaning

I know that people typically "Spring" clean, but I feel highly motivated with my mom in town to go through everything. She's super honest, sitting on the couch with her coffee in hand; we started at 8 a.m. this morning because I couldn't sleep and she's an early riser. With The Today Show chatting away in the background I was finally ready to face the fact that I no longer wear the same size clothes I did when I started college a million years ago. Over the years I've become so good at deceiving myself that I even had a clear bag in my storage room full of dress pants that are my previous size, waiting for me to become a little girl again. There is an extra inch or two on my waist that - even if I were to lose it - doesn't account for the truth that clothes go out of style. There was no way those pants were ever going to come out of retirement.

The reason why I'm so motivated? Easy - I'm leaving for my Germany internship in two weeks and certainly don't wish to return to an apartment filled with things I will never use again. I think everyone needs to try this! What a great mentality! Pretend you're going to leave your home for three months, 6 months, a year (be as adventurous as you'd like), what items would you have forgotten about while you were away? What outfits will you probably not be wearing a year later? What is worn out/ doesn't fit/ in need of repair/ a gift that isn't "you"/ just plain clutter?

We all need to take control over what little we can.

Well, enough about that. Another reason I couldn't sleep is nerves. I'm nervous! In two weeks I'll be packing up my life here, spending a few days in my hometown, and then flying to another country to live. Was es das? I must be crazy. I'd love nothing more than to simply know how my life will unfold from this moment forward. I told my mom yesterday we should go have our palms read by this old lady in town who has a "psychic visions" place in her home. Not that I believe "Tina" could tell my my future, but it's definately on my mind to want to know. I'd like a little reassurance right about now :)

I applied for a job yesterday that would be an excellent fit for me at this point in my life, and I think that returning to school in the Spring (while I love school, don't get me wrong - I'd like to get 24 degrees like silly Noah Wyle in "The Librarian" movies) feels like a giant step in the wrong direction. I'm losing at the Mother May I game of life. Maybe just for asking I am tempting fate to send me back further, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Anyhow, whether you're going back to school or not, the end of August/beginning of September just feels like the right time for new beginnings. Take care to find yourself one.

And now...

I have been doing absolutely nothing crafty these days, except for one BIG thing: finally finishing my Scrapbook.
My Europe trip last summer was a photofest and now, over a year later, I am still dealing with the aftermath. I think the reason it has been so difficult to complete is because it IS such a big project. Between the two of us we took 5,000 photos, and so even after I'd whittled it down to just the images I really enjoyed, or the ones that were best, it is still two scrapbooks worth of memories that require trimming and mounting, and journalling and stickers, etc. My mom is an excellent scrapbooker, and bought me all sorts of papers and supplies. Without which I doubt I could do anything interesting, but put in to piles next to the printed photos and pages it just appears so daunting. But I've really begun trying to get through it again, and it can be fun (especially with the television facing the kitchen table) and I am determined to finish it before I go to Germany this Fall. I'm going to return with an entirely new project, so it's time to put this one behind me so they don't stack up into a never ending line of "vacation homework."And about Germany: I am getting so excited! It still doesn't feel official - I don't have a timeline so I can't book flights or rent an apartment - but I have an internship there that I could not be happier about. The job and life experience are going to be epic, a huge chapter for me. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I just need to save a million dollars in order to afford it :)

Spring Cleaning

I'm a bit of a freak about being tidy. And lately, I haven't been very tidy. I have a half finished scrapbook from my Europe trip (over a year ago!) in plastic drawers in the kitchen, begging to be completed. I have a sea of teaching books and literature readers in the middle of my living room floor wishing to be uploaded into Amazon so they can have a home that wants them. And I sifted through my electronics drawer - I have more cords and plugs and chargers of things than I know what to do with. I have no idea what they go to! What are they for? The trashcan by tonight if I don't realize their prior importance.The biggest hurdle I have, however, is a tiny stack of papers on my keyboard tray. Poetry I never got on to the computer to make sense out of it. And that's what I went to school for. And that's what keeps me calm. I've really been neglecting a lot by letting it pile up so much. I'm working on that today too. There's a writers workshop at the university I just graduated from and (thanks to an old professor pushing and pushing me politely to enroll) I need to have 6-8 poems ready by tomorrow and it's given me a goal and forced me to come back to it. I haven't written in way too long considering my need for it. That's unhealthy. It's a shame.

So why haven't I? I'd say I wasn't motivated but that falls short of the truth (by a lot). And I've been busy too: graduation, working multiple jobs as usual, spending what free time I've had with friends. I really think I forget sometimes how to take care of myself though. Quiet time and staying in and all of this "nesting" I like to do around the apartment has a purpose. It's like a built in mechanism for sanity. My favorite places in the world - the types of places I dream about and wake up to realize they were super happy dreams - are cluttered and interesting, full of so many things to look through and find that you never feel like leaving. Bubba's Garage is my store like that, although there are others (like Construction Junction in Pittsburgh). I want to surround myself with stuff I love. We can all strive to live in our own version of this place : http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/23/garden/20100624-chic-slideshow-3.html.

I'm going to start trying. I found a few new pretty jars. Here's my bathroom sink: body cream by Anthousa, Burt's Bees toner, antique prescription bottle from People's Drug Store, perfume samples (Curve, perhaps?), Dippity-Do setting gel, penicillin bottle that expired in 1963, antique Vaseline jar, and a lovely old Noxzema jar.

Hope you're finding pretty things too.

Inventing furniture!

With some Spring cleaning energy in my system I went furniture hunting today. Like I've said and shown before I have a very small apartment. I have kept previous couches in front of the apartment door and used the glass porch door as my main entrance in order to allow myself more flexibility.

Here is my latest solution:
I was in need of something new to sit on. I like everything to be comfy and fell for a chaise lounge from a sectional that was for sale at a furniture outlet in town. The only two pieces left over from the set were the chaise - priced reasonably low - and the wedge, which was $25! What a steal! I felt that if it didn't fit through the door, or in my living room, I wouldn't cry about the financial loss. But now that they're here, they make up a little heavenly pillow cloud to cup me in the corner as I read or watch "The Jane Austen Book Club" on Lifetime.
Basically anything but grade. But I should.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers.

My Life This Week is...

well, what isn't it?

This morning I woke up at 6 to finish grading papers (when do I not have a pile in front of me?) and then I looked at a 2 bedroom apartment in the same complex as mine. Two previous horror stories about looking at apartments: 1) man said "absolutely no pets" and I said "well I'll still look" and hung up and immediately cried and apologized to the kids and called the next morning and said "no thank you, I don't want to waste your time;" and 2) had another appointment this morning to see a property and realized I did not have time enough and called and said "well I think today is poor timing" and the man said "oh that's good, it saves me a trip. I rented that property yesterday, anyhow." Well what!? Why hadn't I been notified mister? I didn't bother asking; it was a win-win either way.

So after looking at this 2 bedroom in my unit I've decided, no, maybe I will simply not move, so I'm going at 3:30 after work (yes, I'm blogging at the office, what do you wanna say about it?) and I'll renew my current lease. BUT I still intend to box a lot of stuff up, go through all my clothes as if I were moving, get the carpets cleaned etc... so that it still feels like starting over.

Because it is.

This summer, after graduation (and Bill Clinton is the keynote, so, wow, and stuff) I will be waiting tables and babysitting. With my fancy degree I will bring soup, salad and breadsticks and thank everyone and wish everyone a good day and dream about some day paying back all my debt. Oh well.

In the Fall I'm going to Berlin, however. Doesn't that just make everything feel super? I'll be there for three months for an internship that I will fill you in on later but, all in all, it's incredible and I couldn't be happier.

There is always so much future to be looking forward to. You just need to see it.

<3
-L

Sometimes Time flies

I haven't written in a long time. Sorry.

I'm in my last semester as a grad student at WVU and working three jobs. While applying for a real job/career post-graduation in early May I've had very little time for being crafty. Christmas I was snowed in and didn't get home until days after I had planned to leave, but we created a makeshift tree from the dressform nicknamed BB and my green apron. One string of holiday lights and we were set - what's more "in the spirit" than this?And it's "green" too! No need to store a big artificial tree or chop one down. It's a space saver (esp. in my small apartment) to think outside the box.Recently I decided that, since I'm going to have to move soon and I don't know where or when, I'd like to complete some of my potential projects that I have lying around. This way I don't end up moving two huge boxes of corks and an empty frame, but instead move a corkboard. It only took two nights and felt very worth it. I had been thinking about it forever, and in a world where I have no idea what's coming next it is nice to have something I could control for once.This isn't the best photo, maybe I'll replace it later, but you can probably tell it's a bit large. I used it to hide a box of guinea pig snacks that is underneath a low lying corner table for a while. It was nice on the floor. I'm trying it out over the sink for now, but since I'll be boxing everything up in a month it's probably best not to make new holes in the wall. I think the dark frame looks nice around those light corks.


Any suggestions for what I ought to do if no jobs come through before my lease it up? I'd love a house boat or a neat Airstream <3

Pretty pleased with myself

I've been busy getting those spongy corks out of the house (they had stock piled... ah) and, with about 70 to a wreath, I made three more after the last post. They don't have bows yet, I might enlist a friend to help me make them pretty. Look at all those regular corks, forlorn in the foreground.

I also made four lamps last week for my mentors. A pretty blue Dellitori (sp?) bottle, a Little Black Dress bottle (which was lovely and had a lovely cork as well), Jim Jim (for a man named Jim, imagine), and a stout Dos Lomos bottle for one that lived in Argentina.
I reuse bags when I can, and the Anthropologie bag was lovely for those of you who shop there.

Finally finished!

How long did this take? Too long, but mainly because I was picky about having too many of the same corks close together. I have about fifty Ecco Domani, Kendall Jackson and Robert Mondavi corks, but I wanted this wreath to have a lot of variety. I think my next wreath will merely have three or four brands repeated and I can finish it a lot quicker. Working at Olive Garden part-time really helps me acquire more corks than humanly possible (if I were drinking my way to a final product) so I end up with a lot of the same ones.

Speaking of, I need to be at the OG in 40 minutes, so I better get moving soon...

All you need are some eyelet screws, heavy hanging wire and time... just drink as many different brands of wine as you dare to acquire multicolored and interestingly designed sponge corks.

Doesn't the bow just look excited? I left enough wire on either end so that I could easily twist them around one another with a pair of small pliers and they naturally made a hook. Here's another image so that you can kind of see the wire twisted at the top. I'm not a great bow maker, however; any suggestions?

:)

It's beginning to be Fall outside

These days I'm writing about Norway, and have been using the slides I purchased last year around this time to help. They're incredible: vacation photos from a couple in the 60's and 70's. They had three magazines from Norway alone, and their images are just lovely. I feel lucky to have found them. I am the type to really care about the unclaimed slides of strangers with gorgeous photos of themselves, in love and traveling.

What are the legal stipulations to publishing these prints? Does anyone know?

AND - I need good holiday gift ideas. Things that are inexpensive but nice, typically homemade or repurposed. Here are a few sites I think are a good start:

I love the napkin rings here -
http://www.curbly.com/ModHomeEcTeacher/posts/5587-sixteen-recycled-handmade-gift-ideas

For those of you who can sew, or like to cook, or know a chef -
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42826/apron-made-from-repurposed-jeans-skirt-back

Or you can get your own ideas from looking through - http://hottiehomedecor.com/index.html - they repurpose sweaters for the home. Talk about "nesting."

http://myrepurposedlife.blogspot.com/ - She does this one thing with a bowling ball - wow - and a few great sewing machine projects. :)

Let me know what you do when it's time to budget crunch.
Hope you're doing well.

Some Blurbs About Where I Live

It's amazing how much work new pillows can do. I also got a new rug and throw blanket, however, the other Lauren has already spilled various foods on the rug so I won't brag about it too much. The blanket's the softest thing ever invented.This table is a personal favorite. It's completely beat up but lovely and unique. Built from shipping crates and painted black, I think I could figure it out if I spent the time to really try. It pulls apart, so the odd drawers go left and the evens right. See the pull on the left there? Imagine pulling it to the right and two drawers staying on the left column and two moving to the right. Maybe I should have taken more photos?
I'd like to add wheels to the legs so that pulling it apart is easier. Right now it's on carpeting and in such a tiny space I never get in there, but some day (hopefully when I move in May) I'll have more space to utilize it and not just admire. That's when the wheels would be most appreciated.

Everything is cluttered and depressing in this apartment. My wishlist for a future apartment? Hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves, kitchen flooring that's not peeling up, maintenance people that actually fix the ceiling when a pipe in the apt above me bursts, or don't make it difficult for my cable man when he comes out here to rewire their 30 year old cable. The countdown begins. Seven months to finish my thesis, get some publications, find a job, a new place, move.

Framing your board

Back in action! I've been slacking on the blog, but in my defense I am having a VERY busy year. I am currently teaching, waiting tables and attempting to put together a thesis that's worth something.

But with Christmas fast approaching I know I need to get back in touch with my more hands-on creative side, especially since I lack the funds necessary to purchase gifts worth gifting. Previously I've offered suggestions for ways to frame your corkboards, but I don't think I mentioned the cheap and easy way to provide a really "polished" product. That, my friend, is buying an empty frame. Duh. Accessory and home stores often will sell frames for more than half off if the glass from them has been cracked while on display. This is perfect, since you don't want frames with glass. Also, some craft stores will sell empty frames and you can create your own backing pretty cheaply with a lightweight board. I found this beauty at Michael's and I think it's going to be lovely when I find the time to cut the corks to fill it.
Also, if you have a marrow space, or want one that's more dynamic in your space (I always imagine them in kitchens, although mine is on my office desk) create one that's long and skinny. This one's only 2 corks wide and it's 19 long. It'd look really smart above a sink or on an awkward partition wall. AND - it doesn't have a frame, for those of you who want to make the easiest version possible.
Hope you're well and more productive than I am these days.

June 11th, update

Back from the U.K. and Ireland, and back to reality. I've just come home from Micheal's after a day waiting tables and I realize I've neglected to blog. Before the trip it was all packing and getting my life in order, and after it's just been unpacking and work, so there hasn't been much worth reporting. I'm babysitting two little girls a few days a weeks now too, so they've given me reasons to get back to being crafty. I bought a birdhouse, some smaller terracotta pots, some more boards for corkboards and a little tray with birds carved into the sides. Sounds like fun, no? This is all not to mention I want to scrapbook my vacation. I've got much too much planned for summer. :) Sounds just perfect to me.

Hope you're doing well.
<3 -L

Finally done

Since the semester has finally come to an end I can finish all the little things I had started that just stayed lying around the house. It feels good.

Ta da:This board has been mailed to my brother and his wife as a sort of happy birthday/belated housewarming gift.

I got the lattice border from Micheal's (it was easy to cut with a thin knife) and painted it to (sort of) match the ribbon. i drilled two holes, 4 and 6 inches in from the border for symmetry and hung it with a sweet little messy bow. i love this one and might make another for myself. They just take SO long to get a decent variety of corks for. Never throw your corks away!

To commence shortly: a quilt, another corkboard, the organization of my life. But first, a trip. Nine days until I leave for London. Hurray. :)

April was full of showers - Hello May

A month has come and gone since my last post and I'd be lying if I said I feel genuinely sad or sorry about it. What I do feel sad about is the fact that I haven't blogged because I haven't had time. My life is pretty non-stop. All of my creative projects have come to a halt; maybe summer will be more fruitful? I'm grading today, and next week is the most downtime I've had all semester since my students will be compiling their work for a final portfolio. Then it will be back to grading around this time next weekend. I am just shocked exam week is so near. Where did this semester even go? Working two jobs is exhausting, but you never realize how quickly that time seems to fly.

Current non-work related news: I am finally reading the Harry Potter series. I can't believe the first book is twelve years old, or that there are still three movies to be released. I really missed out when I was younger. I would have been eleven or twelve when this whole thing started, but I guess I thought I was too cool if I ever heard them mentioned before the movies. I saw the first movie my freshman year of college. I lived with 4 or 5 really "cool" dudes (at least they considered themselves to be) and they loved this DVD. It was weird (for lack of articulation today - I'm tired, be kind). I was sucked in too, but couldn't really put my finger on why. The movie was already three years old and I was just an old enough that I wasn't really the intended audience.

Something about getting to start over, to having a secret world to be incredible in, even if you aren't incredible day-to-day with your family or school, must be the huge appeal here.

Speaking of incredible: 3 and 1/2 weeks until I leave for the U.K. I must give the due amount of praise to my travel guru (the other Lauren) for teaching me about TripAdvisor.com. If you've yet to use it I am recommending it to you now, so there's no excuse for not knowing. It consists of forums to ask trip related questions, and hotel/hostel reviews from people who've stayed there. These reviews are anywhere from 1-5 stars, with descriptions of the good, bad or ugly, and members upload photos from their stays at the place, sometimes of the gorgeous views, lobbies or beds, and sometimes of the dirty bathroom, broken windows and... well, the ugly I mentioned before. I think the real testament to this site is that you can see over time if a place has become rundown, or if they've made a change in the last few months since the comments are listed chronologically. This one place we booked in Piccadilly Circus has been having an issue really recently with people leaving with rashes or bug bites - needless to say, we canceled our reservations and found a new/better/slightly more expensive place. It's good to have that sort of reassurance. I'll pay more to avoid bedbugs and I'm glad people took the time to make those comments. You'd think a site like this would only be hotel bashing (as if only the disgruntled leave comment cards) but people are quick to praise too, if they believe it's worth it. I think when I get back I'll leave comments on all of the places we stay. It's only fair considering how much the site has helped me.

I also have a new fondness for travel books and guides. This mysterious system of recommendation and ranking is very readable and interesting, but how do they claim such-and-such is THE thing worth seeing, when there always seems to be so much? I'll just have to see when I get each place if I think Frommer's or those "Unofficial Guides" were right.

Wish me luck surviving these weeks until.

Day Trip to Pittsburgh 2

3-20
Tanger Outlet Mall (new this year)
-worried other Lauren-Giving me bunny ears isn't cool.Indulging ourselves at the milkshake and chocolate store in Southside.A late Saint Patrick's Day. One lonely Guinness at Fat Heads.
And THIS guy, who had the largest gauges I've ever seen (that weren't hollow). It's like he had hockey pucks in his ears.Overall, we were stoked to be there. I bought rain boots, a bag and two new pairs of pants at the Gap. Best of all, we ended the day at Ikea where I picked up some seriously exciting stuff: new rugs, some baskets, votives, and a hanger thing for belts (that of course I have always needed, I just didn't know). <3
-L

Day Trip to Pittsburgh

Problem worth complaining about: having money makes me feel more comfortable spending money. After two days in Pittsburgh this Spring Break, I'm aware I need to go back to feeling poor.

3-14-09
Enrico Biscotti Company
If you lived above Enrico's, your apartment would smell delicious all day long.Fun truck some Rasta man was selling his woven goods out of.
Some memorable seafood place:
Where do they think they're going?Of course I loved this wine store. They were full of all sorts of accessories too. BUT, they had one "cork"board and they didn't cut the corks in half. Several had come unglued and were missing. This is tacky, don't do this; they are too heavy that way.Spices, mmmmm.Next we went to the famous Roxanne's Dried Flowers. It smelt incredible and I wanted one of everything. There were so many visually stimulating fabrics, bags, jars and crafty tabletop cluttering thing-a-ma-jigs. I mainly took photos of the labels so I could remember the lovely words, but this is what's worth sharing:
Mural. Train.
And last, but certainly not least, why not a photo of Big Mama's House of Soul? (next to the, apparently not defunk, Club 1601. Oh yes, people party there...)
<3
- L