The belly rules the mind

That's an old Spanish proverb. It's real old. Like all proverbs. I mean who's got time to write new ones?

Anyway, I've said it before but I'll say it again - I am really only ever concerned with my next meal. I make weekly meal plans. A new recipe finds itself pinned under my fork 2 or 3 times a week. Cooking is how I relax after work and how I most enjoy spending time with the raddest people I know. I care about where it comes from and how it came to be before it began it's journey to my stomach. Hooray for food!

I read a lot about food and the agriculture industry. I watch way too many documentaries and spend too long in the grocery store making decisions, but it pleases me. I hope some of my recent findings please you too! Some exciting stuff, some scary stuff & eye candy too.

I found out yesterday that the first zero-packaging grocery store in the US might be opening right here in Austin, TX! Sometimes when I get excited I will stammer and then say 'there are no words!' but thats a lie. I always have words. If I don't have something to say please lean in and check for a pulse, okay? So, here are my words - this is fucking amazing. Pardon my french, but that is how I feel. They need donations to make this happen though. I am going to toss $50 their way because imagining a store with out brand names and logos and goofy mascots competing for my attention and my pay check just makes me giddy. To think my pantry could be free of these things as well - eek! It means a world with a little less marketing, which don't get me wrong, great marketing really turns me on, but these days we do not get a free moment. Something is almost always blatantly or subconciously trying to get our wallets out of our pockets. It's exhausting and wether we realize it or not it fills our heads with crap that ultimately does not serve us. It forces us to make decisions about things we may never even purchase, causing stress and anxiety in small yet affecting doses. I'd rather just get to the point. Filling my belly with the good stuff while I stop contributing to the landfills that will not always be out of sight and out of mind. And now fine readers In.gredients

Now, on a less thrilling tip.. Here are some terrifying maps! One showing the locations of Americas top 8 burger franchises, the other of places where bars out number grocery stores. I feel that there are some errors on this map because Austin, TX does not show up as a hot spot. If I tried to name every bar in this town it would not only be boring, but exhausting to boot.

Okay, it's gross but... Feast your eyes on this (for a larger view just click on it).

The only thing I like more than food is good illustration. When I found They Draw and Cook my heart skipped a beat! Then I thought 'Damn it! why didn't I come up with this?' but that's a bull shit thing to think (pardon my french again! I have potty mouth today). Seriously though who cares who came up with it, just that it exists! There plans to illustrate some of my favorite recipes and I will surely let you know when I submit them. Until then, here are a few of my favorites! (again, if you want to get up close and personal just click on the images)

Well, I'm stupid hungry now and I turn into a betch when I'm hungry and I don't want to subject you lovely people to that.

xo,

Bonnie Rue

p.s. Remember, you can eat off my plate if I can eat off of yours.

Beach Blanket Bonnie

Last weekend I hit the road with my manpanion and went to the beach. We needed to get out of the city for a while so we booked a little cabin in the quiet little town of Port Aransas. We turned our phones off, slathered ourselves in sunscreen, rode our bikes everywhere & drank micheladas with sand between our toes. It was fantastic! One day I will runaway, buy an ice cream truck and become a beach bum. I believe it is my calling.

We stayed at this cute little place called the Laughing Horse Lodge. It was kitschy & quiet & cheap - in other words a dream come true. Our little bungalow was called "The Hobby Horse" which we felt was pretty fitting.
Before we left town we stopped off to get tropical pedicures! We didn't plan for them to be girly pink and bad boy blue - that's just how it worked out - cross my heart. It was Austin's very first pedicure and I doubt it will be his last.

Since Austin and I both work ALL THE TIME we were "not allowed" to work during this trip. So there wasn't a lot to pack. I did bring my computer though - which I really only used to check the weather and listen to music. I thought it would be hard not to work for an entire weekend, but turns out I was wrong! Dead wrong!
When we weren't laying low or looking like vampires on parade at the beach we hung out at the local pirate bar - The Gaff. A gem of a place that is filled with characters and hosts belt sander races on the weekends. Yes, you read that right - Belt Sander Races. We did not get to see said races which left me feeling cheated, but that gives me another reason to return.

Speaking of vampires at the beach - we forgot to pack our kites so we went on an adventure to find one. Luckily this tiny town of 3,370 people has a kite shop and we picked up the most bad ass delta you've ever seen! It was black with a big bloody vampire mouth smack in the middle of it. Did I get a picture of us flying it? Sadly - no. Whatever - you try to take a picture of something flying next to the sun and see how it turns out. I guess you'll just have to trust me about the "most bad ass" part. Flying it made me want to get chinese take out and watch Lost Boys like 4 or 5 times in a row. So instead of pictures of a killer kite flying session here's a shot of me looking totally washed up:
The whole trip was totally effing delightful! Going back to work Monday morning felt worse than any sunburn, but you can't have the rainbows with out the rain... right?
Take my advice - raid your piggy bank and get out of town! Make like a tree! Shew! It doesn't have to be a big deal of a trip to make you feel brand new.

To see more pictures of our adventures check my flickr account!

xo!
Bonnie Rue

p.s. Best song to listen to at the beach? Summer Time Rolls ... if you ask me

Crush Alert!

Allow me to introduce Hilah Johnson - the lead singer of one of Austin's most bad ass local bands, The Hot As Shits & the host of Hilah Cooking! Bust out your bar wear, slip into your favorite apron and get ready to learn and laugh your ass off! She's Hilah-rious!
...I know. So very cheesy.. I couldn't help myself.

Here is a little teaser video where Hilah will teach you how to make one of my favorite adult beverages of all time ~ The Michelada!



xo!
Bonnie Rue

p.s. This is not becoming a food blog. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a spork in my eye.

They've got the beat!

I was recently interviewed by Leslie Henkle at Tom Tom Magazine - a magazine ALL about female drummers! Leslie had some really unique questions that were fun to answer! Check it out ;)
Pretty flattering to be interviewed by such a bad ass! Leslie not only curates the Crash Crash Craft series for Tom Tom, but she also editorializes over at A Mutual Respect.org! She doesn't quit there though - Leslie works for a nonprofit called Bags for the People that hosts bag-sewing workshops all over New York City and now in Jamaica too! PLUS she writes the Tight Pantsy Drew Mysteries, serialized cozy mystery zine set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, starring hipsters, anarchist freegans, “Chad P.”, and of course the super-sleuth Tight Pantsy Drew!


So - what are you still doing here? Go read about some wild ladies who have a beat you can dance too! www.tomtommag.com

xo!
Bonnie Rue

There's no place like home! There's no place like home!

Summer is so serious! It has been NON STOP! Between the heat, work, Model Citizen & trying to find a new place to live I have not had a moment to even begin to update my blog. Which saddens me to no end. It's not like I don't have a place to hang my (fabulous) hat in this heat, but as I've mentioned before, I am staying with friends and living out of boxes during this record high summer. But - that brings me to the big news!

Austin (my manpanion) and I have decided to say Buh Bye to renting and Hello to home ownership! After 10 lovely years of living in Austin we feel it is high time to plant some serious roots and buy into this city that we love so. It's not the most original idea, sure, but we are very excited! It's kind of weird though - all of this is happening while he is on the road touring with his band. So, I've been house hunting rather than blogging, designing and going to yoga.
While I day dream of something like this:

The reality of my bank statement is keeping my head from floating into the clouds.

Ooh - look at the time! I'm off to look at a house now! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Rhinestones & Roller Skates

Because packing is boring & crafting things is way fun I took a break from the boxes to create these awesome new Rhinestones & Roller Skates earrings! I'm making tons for the derby next month, but for all you non-Austinites they are up in the shop & ready to roll (pun intended)! Yes there really are little rhinestones in the wheels that catch the light & add to the awesomeness of the retro rollerskates. Soon I'll also have the Skatin' Worshiper Skorts available in LG & XL. If you are interested in either of these sizes you must let me know now as I am doing a limited run of them and most will be going to the tournament. Do you know a team or are part of a team that would like to sport some of my Skatin' Worshiper wear?! If so it is available at discount prices if you are buying for the whole team.
Speaking of discounts there are a few electric blue & hot pink Skatin Worshiper T's marked down in the shop. Once upon a time they were $26 & now they are $15!
Only 3 left so get 'em while you can!

Upside Down Cake

No, this isn't a post about baking or even cake.. Sorry to disappoint you, but my life has recently become just that - an "upside down cake". For the past six years I've lived on the greatest little corner of the world in an old two story house built in the 1930's. It's where I've been loving and creating my little heart out. It truly has been my home. This is where the upside down part comes in... My land lady has recently informed us that she has to sell this house due to rising property taxes. We didn't see this coming at all & after the heartbreak set in we thought about our options and decided that it's best if we move NOW. Since I run Model Citizen out of this house it feels impossible to keep it all up and running while realators show the house to potential buyers. PLUS Austin is leaving on tour soon and will be gone for most of the summer, so if we had to move in the next few months, I'd be doing the bulk of it alone. I'm not into that AT ALL.

So, to put it lightly, this is a bummer. BUT, at the end of the day I have to admit that a change will do us good. *This is me trying to embrace change rather than resist it* We're going to get rid of all the extra "crap" that has accumulated here, then throw a massive dance party in the empty house & move on.

I'd be lying if I said that the neighborhood hasn't changed. It's happening everywhere! You've all seen it. Old houses and buildings get bought up, torn down & replaced with condo's and town homes. I'm not sure why I thought we were immune to this trend. Naivete I suppose or maybe just wishful thinking. I love these old houses & watching them get torn down & forgotten breaks my heart. I can only hope that whoever ends up here will try to keep the charm of this neighborhood alive by not building some mcmansion here. *fingers crossed*

Since this is all happening so fast & we are unsure of what our next step should be, I will be moving in with a friend for the summer & all of our earthly belongings will go into storage. I think it will be like sleep away camp all summer long, which is really very exciting! I do want you all to know that Model Citizen will remain in business through this process though! If you are in Austin & you want to see the latest & greatest of my creations, you can come check them out at the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls Banked Track Tournament on June 20th & 21st. I've got tons of new stuff for all you skatin' worshipers out there!

Well, I'm off to pack & make a trip to Goodwill. Bye Bye stuff!

Bake and Destroy Giveaway!

Spring is in the air & new springtastic designs are in the shop!
Including the much awaited confectionary collaboration between myself & Natalie Slater of Bake & Destroy! I've always said that my Tiger Lady designs are inspired by women that I *R-E-S-P-E-C-T* & naturally, this one is no different. What is different about this shirt is that this is Natalie down to the unicorn tattoo on her leg and when you purchase the shirt you will recieve a free cupcake recipe created by her. She is a working mama who finds time to whip up unique & tasty treats, keep an awesome blog about her baking adventures & she also writes for many other publications & websites about topics ranging from getting tattooed to professional wrestling and anything having to do with zombies! She is no one trick pony - that much is certain. Where does she find the time?!
Natalie, what is your secret?
AND she does it all while looking cute as a button & her son Teno in tow. No small feat.
I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting for me to reveal her cupcake recipe that comes with the T-shirt & the time has finally come! I really am glad you are sitting down. Drum roll please......

Nacho Cupcake!!!

Don't resist it. Nacho Cupcakes = pure genius! I mean can you say h'orderves?!
Picnic lunch? Midnight snack? I'm really just too excited about them.

So to celebrate this collaboration finally becoming a reality, allow me to announce my first ever blog giveaway! One lucky winner will receive one of these fantastic Bake & Destroy T's (either with the white or without), the Nacho Cupcake recipe that Natalie created & one Krazy Kitchen embroidery pattern by Sublime Stitching!


To win this trilogy of awesomeness all you have to do is comment on this blog entry! A winner will be selected randomly on Friday, April 17th, 2009. That's one week from today. Comment about anything. Visit Bake & Destroy to check out Natalie's other uh-mazing creations (i.e. horchata cupcakes) & report back. If you've ever used one of Sublime Stitching's patterns before ad a link to your finished project. Or - a great knock knock joke is always welcome!

I can't wait until next Friday!

I want to thank Natalie for teaming up with me on this & I'd like to suggest you all do the same. Contact someone that inspires you, flatter them & then put your heads together! Get Crafty!
I'd also like to thank the nice ladies @ Sublime Stitching for donating this awesome Krazy Kitchen pattern!

Whistle While You Work

That's what I'm going to do.

SXSW is moments away! I've been a busy B trying to prepare for the shock to my system. Busy & super excited! Guests are flying in Wednesday and the house is almost ready. My boss is out of town until mid week so I'm holding down the fort by myself... Plus I'll be distributing all copies of VICE Magazine's SXSW Music Guide! Oh right and I need to restock Hovercraft & The East End Craft Gallery with spring goodness. Hoodies & Tanks here we come!
*Have I bitten off more than I can chew?*

No Way!

So what's been getting me through this hectic time? Well I've been listening to a lot of ladies from the west coast.
Hailing from Sacramento - Agent Ribbons - would be at the top of that list. She will be performing @ SXSW 5 times!!!
DO NOT MISS HER!


Also passing through my ears these days? My all time favorite (!!!) Songs for Moms. *Listen to "My Skin is a Grave Yard" - it's my favorite to sing in the car while I drive too fast*
If Dead Milkmen had not been men and rather women - they'd have been Songs for Moms. I love this band so much I actually did mail them a fan letter. If you find yourself crushing hard like I did then drop them a line:

Songs For Moms
1127 Peralta St.
Oakland, CA 94607

I'll probably be tweeting more than blogging during SxSW. Not following me on Twitter? Why not? I thought we were friends.

xo!
Bonnie Rue

Sunday, Bloody Fabulous Sunday

*Stretch & Yawn* What a fantastic weekend! It has been so fun and relaxing. Oh yeah & it started on Friday! I decided to play hooky so I could run around town with my dear friend Kym. We sipped Tea Sparklers from Whole Foods while participating in some shop therapy. Like everyone else, I've been super frugal lately. Not spending a dime on things that aren't entirely necessary. For the weekend though - I said "eff this" & picked up a few things that I felt I could no longer live with out. We hit up Parts & Labour* first where I had to say "no" to an adorable dress from House of Dang (out of Dallas). It was something I knew I could wear to death, but was about $50 out of my price range for the moment. Then we slipped into New Bohemia where I couldn't help but pick up this little rock n roll sweater tank that screamed "Debbie Harry" & was under $20! I will 'wear it to shreds' this summer! In fact - it may be unrecognizable in only a matter of months, because it is so comfy & will totally work in the hot hot weather that has already started to come around. Thanks New Bohemia!
Next we were off to Toy Joy (pictured at the very top) where Kym purchased tons of kitschy little Japanese toys. This place is so overwhelming in the most perfect way possible. I love it for it's over the top whimsy & amazing collection of plastic bugs, dinosaurs & deep sea creatures. They have bad ass board games too. I was ten seconds from buying the Dirty Dancing game when I decided on a flock of pink flamingos instead. That sounds logical right? Finally I felt a little too cross eyed & temped from being surrounded by soo many toys so we hopped back in the car & trucked it to BookPeople, the largest book store in Texas. I walked in with a shopping list, that if fulfilled, I would certainly have gone broke. After shuffling around for a while with an arm load of books I reeled it in & checked out with The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girl's Guide to Handmade Jewelry & a copy of Elle. Which of course I am thrilled with both. Feeling a little 'spent' we ended our Friday shopping spree & headed home to play with our goodies. Friday night I stayed in with my manfriend & studied my readable purchases. Best. Evening. Ever. The Working Girl's Guide to Handmade Jewelry is FANTASTIC! So very creative - it will make you look at literally EVERYTHING as a craft project possibility. I know Jennifer Perkins to be hyper crafty & the book really tips you off to whats going on in her head. She urges you to collect "stuff" & always be on the prowl for things that can be reborn as something wearable & totally unique. Which I appreciate, It helps justify my hording to a degree.

Saturday I stuck around the house to clean & organize things. Geez - I feel like I'm always *trying* to organize things! Anywho, speaking of looking at everything as a craft project possibility... Austin found an old drawer tossed out in someone's yard & brought it home the other day. So - Saturday morning we drank our coffee, spray painted that sucker & screwed it to the kitchen wall, turning it into a most unusual spice rack. Spray paint really is as necessary as duct tape in my world. See our collective crafty work:

It's so perfect! I'm in love with it & I'm so glad that it was Austin's idea. High 5 Austin! Once it was mounted he headed off to work & I continued on the path of cleanliness & order. The pile for Goodwill doubled in size as I went through our clothes.The living room got a mild make over & then I had to stop working on the more "fun" projects & pay attention to the grown up stuff. Doing our taxes this year was a little messy & we made our selves a promise that this will never happen again. Allow me to introduce our new filing system!
Never again will we go hunting for anything. Piles of receipts & accordion file folders that can be moved around - NO MORE! It all has a home now & it's so colorful & organized.
It's hard to believe I did this. But I did! If you too are organizationally disabled I am here to tell you that you can overcome. You can know order! You can know where your keys are or even that receipt from the record store that you can totally write off as "Research". You just have to focus. Use the Force! Don't go to the Dark Side...

Tired of working the left side of my brain I took a trip to Domy Books for some craft fair action & to see Nicole Eriko Smith's Consent to Play opening. It was incredible. I love her work. Mischievous, expressive creatures drawn out with a very light hand & precise detail. If you are in Austin DO NOT miss this show. It will be up until March 14th.

While at Domy I picked up something I've been wanting for quite a while! Hand Job by Michael Perry. I haven't fully absorbed it yet. An inch thick catalog of type - all hand drawn obviously. I think I will leave you now & spend some time in the hammock flipping through this monster!
Hello Inspiration Station!

Have a fantastic Sunday!
xo!
Bonnie Rue

Event Of The Season

Tomorrow night (January 10th, 2009) my dear friend Jen Morris will be hosting an art raffle! She asked all of her crafty, creative friends to do what they do best and make something for the event. Tickets are $5 - and that gets you in the door with a cold beer in one hand & a raffle ticket in the other. I did make something for this event, but Im not going to unvail it now! No way. You have to get your tookus down to 3100 King St and buy a raffle ticket. 14 other artists work will http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifll also be available. And what event in Austin TX would be complete with out live music? So yeah 8pm-2am, Art, bands, & beer. Come support your favorite local (and starving) artists. We will love you more for it (I know - seems impossible right?).
Other participating Artists include, Clayton Kalman, Larissa Swindle, Flip Soloman, & Amarin Enyart, to name a few.
be there or be square...

Dreams do come true

All my wanting and needing paid off. I am now the proud owner of one super cute pink soprano ukulele! My mister got it for my birthday, because he's the greatest human on the planet! He of course is incredibly excited because this means that we can finally start our band. Well, after I learn to play it we can start our band. Which could take a while. I spent most of my evening trying to tune it... only to make it *you guessed it* more out of tune. I will not let this deter me though. I can figure this out.
There are some pretty big plans for this tiny pink thing. So many covers to come! Currently "Making Whoopy" is at the top of my list. Old Blue Eyes is a good place to start right?
As always, I will keep you posted on the progress made.

Hello Saturn

In less than a week I will be turning 27. This will be the beginning of my Saturn Return. Which I had never thought about or even actually been aware of. I know that for many people (celebrities & us regular folk) this has proven to be a time of serious struggle. I have friends who are even fearful of it, worried of what it will bring, & maybe a little resistant to it. I'm not going to give into any of that though. I'm just not. This is going to be the time where all my hard work pays off and by the time my 30's hit I'm going to be living large. I'm not saying I'll be super wealthy or have my name written in lights, but I will be happier, healthier, more successful & better traveled. That's my forecast.
In the future when I feel like I need some sagely advice I'll be reading Goddesses Are People Too which is written by my friend Ash D. She is a wealth of inspiration & has a lot of great life experience under her belt. Not only that but, she tells it like it is. Truly one of the loudest and proudest I know. Go forth and love her as I do.
So what are your 2 cents on this thing they call the Saturn Return? Did you feel it? Did you get your boat rocked? I'm dying to know.
Well, I had better sign off. In efforts to keep the positivity/productivity train moving forward, today I am filling an order for a new store. Hovercraft! on Congress Ave will now be carrying Model Citizen. I also just changed the look of my website. Tell me what you think.

Lions & Tigers make for a messy household

My household/life is taken over with the two mightiest members of the jungle kingdom.
Model Citizen's designs are heavily dominated with Tigers & Tigresses then there's my manfriends band, LIONS. The evidence is everywhere. Stacks of posters, albums, T's, random promo materials, jewelry, etc. Everywhere you look there is a fierce cat staring you in the face. It's empowering but all these things are making a mess at the house these days. I'm in the middle of holiday season & LIONS are re-releasing their second album No Generation and gearing up for some dates with Local H & The Toadies.
I did manage to clean up a bit the other day and take some photos @ the house with my dear and talented friend Knoxy. I normally don't shoot in the house, but she convinced me that we should use my funky interior as the back drop for these new designs. I'm pretty pleased with how the pics turned out. Once all the craziness of this season is over & order returns to our lives I plan on shooting the house to show off our little corner of the world. I mean, why not? It's my favorite place on earth. We've lived in this house for almost 5 years now and it says a lot about who we are.... but like I said right now it just says that we are messy. It's impossible to do it all, i.e. be organized, work a plethora of odd jobs, follow your dreams, do yoga, eat well, relax, create, party, shower, show up on time, grow up, keep the kid inside alive, pay bills (once again, on time), keep the car clean, ship out orders, read books, etc... So, for now I guess I can just be okay with total lack of organization. Either that or I'll have to be put in the looney bin. Padded walls are cool right? I mean even Jane Lane was jealous of Daria's padded room. Speaking of Daria, why oh why have they not released the entire series to the public yet? You can purchase the Beavis & Butthead collectors edition or even complete seasons of The Hills (um, yuck) so why won't MTV give the people (ME) what they want? Which is Daria! I've become re-obsessed since Halloween if you can't tell. Anyway, I digress. I'll be posting more new items soon as I am about to undergo another jewelry making extravaganza!
In other news you can now find Model Citizen goods at BookPeople (the largest independent bookstore in the country), East End Craft Gallery, & Hovercraft on Congress (same owners as Creatures Boutique) . All of these stores are located in Austin, TX. If you know of a store in your home town that you think would like to carry Model Citizen please pass along the info. If it turns out that they carry the line I will send you a "Thank You!" surprise in the mail.
Okay - I'm going to put the coffee down, stop rambling and start marking things off my to do list....

All items pictured here can be found online @ www.modelcitizenclothing.com
I'm offering Free shipping in the US for the holy days!

Want. Need. Pt. 3

Recently I've been saving a lot more & spending a lot less. Not letting myself scratch that "shop therapy" itch. It's frustrating & (currently) I dislike it, but it makes me think about the things I really want, rather than just buying things on a whim. Me & my little household have talked about following in the foot steps of San Francisco's Compact. This means we would buy nothing new for 365 days. To learn more please visit their blog. BUT we haven't made the commitment yet so let's get started with Want. Need. Pt 3 - shall we?


Riedell's Vegan Derby Skates!
Let me start by saying that my life is seriously devoid of roller skating. I've been window shopping for skates for quite some time, I don't like the idea of renting skates. I just don't want to do it. They're funky & they're funky because of other people's feet. No thanks. I like these because they are not leather, smokin' hot, & designed by derby dolls specifically for speed. Did I already mention how freakin' cool they look? I don't want to join the derby or anything. I spend my entire life trying not to fall down in front of strangers. I just want yet another hobby ;D



A Blue (or pink?) Ukulele
Austin & I were talking about banjo's & ukulele's the other day & how the chords are the same. I am currently not interested in playing the banjo but the ukulele is another story entirely. After our talk I did some research about the cost, different models available... but before I got too far I found this video posted by the lovely, talented, & hilarious Liz Wood . I am sold! One Ukulele Please!




Number 3 on this Want/Need list needs no explanation, it's just freakin' RAD!
Here it is, A quilt dedicated to Blythe! What could ever be more fun to curl up in? Please tell me. This photo is from Heidikira's flickr photostream - which you should check out. She is traveling across Europe eating many dee-lish looking things & taking lots of pictures with her Blythe dolls.


November is here & in the blink of an eye Thanksgiving will be upon us. Me & mine have chosen to stay home this year & host an orphans holiday... but Im going to need some more serving trays and plates if we are going to do it right. I've got my eyes on these two pieces from Trixiedelicious. Im going to go ahead & file this directly under "NEED"




































And last (for now) but not least, I've been daydreaming about my next tattoo. Im not sure where I want it to go, but I know what I want! Tons of vegetables! A collage of vegetables just like the illustrations on old timey seed packets! It excites me so!

Daria Morgendorffer Makes Her Comeback

Due to messed up priorities & sheer busyness I haven't had the pleasure of celebrating Halloween in the past few years. Which is entirely no fun! Finally this year Halloween was in full effect. Originally me & a few of my lady friends were supposed to dress up as The Misfits (Jem & the Holograms rival band), but group costumes are always talked about with the greatest enthusiasm & rarely ever come to be. SO I went as one of my all time favorite sheroes - Daria Morgendorffer. Unfortunately most people thought I was a mix between Daphne & Velma from Scooby Doo or the nerdy girl chipmunk... My only response to this was "C'mon people, watch better cartoons!" Seriously. I hit the town after carving up a rad Tiger pumpkin with our newest housemate Todd. He hadn't given his costume a lot of thought so I put him in one of my dresses & Prest-o Change-o he was Toddanya, the Bearded & Tattooed Lady. We went to a party, drank champagne, & danced like boy crazy floozies until our feet hurt. Toddanya was a huge hit with the ladies & even the gents! Her dance card was filled all night & she kept telling me how freeing it was to wear a dress. Ha! Guys always enjoy wearing a dress, they are so freakin' jealous of us ladies & many different wardrobe options. There were a plethora of fabulous costumes at this little shindig! I was unable to photograph them all because my camera died. Dang it! I've had a film crew shooting a movie in my house for the past week (long & not so fun story) who ended up moving everything I own into one scary & unmanageable pile. My camera charger was at the very bottom of it, thanks. So, no pictures of Austin's "Eyes Wide Shut" get up or the girl who came as Miss Brazil from Beetle Juice (she was spot on!) but I did get a few before my camera went night night.
I didn't score any candy & stayed out way too late, but the night was a success none the less. Next year I think Im going to have the party at my house. Bake a big cake shaped like a brain, get a Freddy Kruger pinata, & let my friends camp out in the yard.

So what did you dress up as this year? Did you get into any ghoulish trouble? Perhaps some rowdy teenagers threw a jack-o-lantern through your window? Do tell!

Everything hits at once!

September is slipping out the door and now it is crunch time for Bazaar Bizarre!
Luckily for me Austin has returned from his tour (!!!) and now I have some helping hands, which are much needed!
He got into town @ midnight on Sunday, so last night was our real first night together. Austin made vegan tortilla soup*, we watched Heros, & I showed him how to make some jewelry. It was very relaxing. We both needed a night of puttering around. He's been living in a van on tour with the Toadies for a full month & I spent the weekend roaming around ACL, drinking vodka & vitamin water. More on this later...

Pretty exciting news!
Just as Austin & I finished dinner last night I got word that Tinymeat has finished one of the wallets I designed for them! It's now available in their shop - check it!


Also, remember the coloring book I told you about a while back? Well it's done!
It's called Peer: 25 Artists 25 Self Portraits
Who else participated? Here is a sneak preview of the each artists page along with their names & a link to their personal websites. Pre-order for the book begins now & shipping will start on October 1st.
When you get your copy & color it there is a Peer flickr group for you to post your fun to. There is a Peer 25 Vol. 2 in the works, so if you are thinking to yourself "I would love to be a part of a project like this!" all you have to do to throw your hat in the ring is email Rene of Wolfie & the Sneak with 3 images of your work.
nobiting [at] gmail.com



*if you would like our Vegan Tortilla Soup recipe I am happy to share - it is TASTY!

All That Glitters!

Over the weekend I attended a party/art opening @ Frenchy's Beauty Parlor. My friend Kym & I walked around, sipping our Lonestar's & talking about the art. My favorite of the evening was Sue Zola's glitter art. Portraits of popstars, pornstars, film & fashion icons lined the walls. All of them 100% glitter! My friend Ashley, who is a stylist @ Frenchy's, came up as I was admiring the portrait of Mick Jagger, his giant lips sparkling like ruby's & she says "Don't fall in love, he's taken! I bought it!" (!!!)
Then she took my jealous ass to meet the artist.
Sue is talented, friendly & hilarious! She truly is the Glitter Art Diva. She was kind enough to do a little Q n A with me, enjoy!

ME: After meeting you at Frenchy's the other night (such a fun party) I realized that I didn't notice one stray piece of glitter on you! Not in your hair or stuck to your dress, nada! It seems impossible to me! How do you keep all the glitter under control?

SZ: You may not have looked close enough, because believe me, glitter gets everywhere.....maybe it was just hiding in all the places that didn't show!


ME: I'm guessing that you never thought you'd be the THE Glitter Art Diva when you grew up. When you were a little girl what was your idea of a dream job?

SZ: Up until 1999, I was a musician. I came to Austin, the "Live Music Capitol of the World" from New Haven, Ct. to pursue music but ironically, I never actually got anything going.
Instead, I met my husband Dave, bought a cute little house in South Austin, and started doing glitter art as a hobby. Now my little "hobby" has become a career....hhmmm, go figure!

ME: You've been showing off your glittery goods in gallery's since 2001, has there ever been a masterpiece that you regret parting with?

SZ: Oh there have been quite a few pieces that regretfully I had to part ways with. Actually, right now I'm recreating a piece that I did about a year ago; Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
It looks pretty incredible in glitter, although it is definitely my own interpretation.


ME: What's the strangest thing you've ever committed to glitter?

SZ: There have been lots of strange custom pieces throughout the years, but the strangest piece was x-rated.....a certain manly body part that was an actual picture of the aforementioned body part....yikes!

ME: The other night you mentioned that you recently did a group art show in Vegas for Breast Defense with Iggy Pop & Kim Gordon! Did you get to rub elbows with either of them & if so did you mention to Iggy that in the past you have glitterized him & all his glory?

SZ: Oh I wish I had had the opportunity to rub elbows with Iggy Pop, the guy is a living legend, but alas, I have never met Iggy or Kim Gordon.
Who knows what the future holds though....

ME: I know you get a lot of requests for custom pieces, does one come to mind as most challenging or most flattering?

SZ: It is by far the most challenging to do a memorial piece, there's no room for error, plus it's a daunting responsibility to make it come to life and come out perfectly.

ME: You have done so many amazing portraits, have you ever done a self portrait? If so, can we see it?!

SZ: Nope, no self-portrait as of yet. There are too many better things out there to do in glitter than my mug!

ME: Last but not least, what can all of us glitter fiends expect to see in the future?

SZ: Well, rock stars never go out of style, but currently I am still obsessed with vintage cereal box glitter art, and I am on another cupcake kick!
Also, lately I have been in a girlie phase, so I absolutely love making flower glitter art!

You are probably looking around & noticing a serious lack of glitter in your life. If so, you will want to hit Sue up for one of her masterpieces.
Email her allthatglitters@austin.rr.com or contact her on myspace


AND if you want to look like one of Sue's masterpieces I suggest you try this Starry Eyed Eyeliner by Too Faced. They are fantastic & have the most fitting names imaginable! My favorites?
Obsessed Fan * Drunk Dial * Ooh Aah * Super Freak * Gold Digger

we can rest our bones side by side

Austin is on tour again. Missing him is hard, trying to stay close to someone far away is the hardest. I'm glad the band is touring, so it's bitter sweet. We have just always been so inseparable... sigh. In the past I have made mix cd's for us to listen to "together". Setting a time for both of us to pop it in so we can kind of experience the same thing at the same time while he is on the road. Sounds cheesy, but it's fun. So cheese it is. I started to make a mix for this tour, but I only got 12 songs in... I didn't have time to finish it.
So, for this tour our "together" project is writing a daily haiku based on the same topic. We are not sharing what we write until he gets home. I picked the topic today "Bargain Bin" & tomorrow's topic is all his. I'll post the finish product in a few weeks when he returns. As for the mix cd - this is where I left it:

Going Out West - Tom Waits
Sick of Goodbyes - Sparklehorse
Heartache - Violent Femmes
Hate It Here - Wilco
Boring Together - Paleo
Cry to Me - Solomon Burke
Ruler of My Heart - Irma Thomas
When U Love Somebody - Fruit Bats
I'm So Tired - Say Hi To Your Mom
I Love How You Love Me - Neutral Milk Hotel
For The Damaged - Blonde Redhead
Do You Wanna Be Buried With My People - Scout Niblett

Time to meet your MAKER

Not too long ago I learned that Stitch will not be happening this November which broke my little crafty heart as I have been a vendor for the past 3 years. It is the one craft fair that I was sure to participate in every year. It hasn't been canceled, just postponed. Still sad news. So, I started thinking "crap, where am will I be getting my craft fair fix this year? ACL is too expensive... dang."
Luckily I had a little meet & drink with Katie from CRAFT a few weeks ago & she informed me that Bazaar Bizarre will be a part of MAKER Faire this year! I had heard of
this Bazaar Bizarre, but never attended one since it usually resides on the west coast. So that night I put in my application, crossed my fingers & voila! Model Citizen was accepted!

What you need to know:
MAKER Faire is
Saturday, October 18th: 10am-10pm
&
Sunday, October 19th: 10am-6pm

@ The Travis County Event Center & Fairground

What will you find there other than Bazaar Bizarre?
There is no telling! Robots, maybe some segway polo, a larger than life Mouse Trap, not to mention art, crafts, techy goodness, music (!), & all things wired, soldered, & electronically brought to life that you can imagine! In other words, it's NOT to be missed!

As I mentioned above, I do not participate in too many craft fairs.. I have a day job & one million things to do outside of it! So I am asking for your help:
Do you have any awesome crafty idea's for displaying jewelry? Keep in mind that we are talking about a 6 x 6 foot space. I will not be setting up a big table because I will need room for the clothing racks (which will be full of new hoodies, dresses, & T's!).
So lay it on me! I believe in your crafty / organizational powers!