Want. Need.

Winter and all of it's gloom has left the building! It makes me want to lay in the warm shade all day long, reading and doodling my life away. Yes, I have a trillion things to do and there will not be nearly enough lounging, but a girl can dream. So - inspired by Spring, here's all the shiz I am currently fawning over. Get it? Spring, Fawning? Anyway...




My friends say I'm pretty competitive, and it's true. Not in a Heathers kind of way. I'm a nice girl. I'm thinkin' though - if one were to pick up a bottle of Strawberry Flowers by Fresh you would have a good shot at smelling even more lovely than the honeysuckle wafting in through my window. Take that Mother Nature! I am sold!




What could be better than swaying down memory lane in my hammock? Well I can think of a few things but I'm not going to put make outs & margaritas on my want/need list because they are both a given. Anyway - Did any of you ladies live for the moment when your issue of Sassy would show up in your mailbox? I sure as hell did. It was the first magazine I ever became fanatical about. When they went out of print I felt like my BFF had moved to Canada over night without leaving a forwarding address. Dramatic much? Totally. I was 15. Back then I had no idea how expensive it is to run a magazine. All is forgiven though. I have a few old issues & soon I will own How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time by Kara Jesella & Marisa Meltzer. The reviews are great & even if they're wrong... I sort of don't care.

Once I get tired of lazing about all on my lonesome I think I'm going to need this fantastic little Bodum Grill so I can feast outside with my gang on my merry-go-round. I feel the need to cook as often as possible over a fire - outside of my adorable, yet frighteningly warm kitchen. Peaches & figs with balsamic glaze! Mussels & grilled lettuce salads! Tofu dogs with grilled onions & homemade spicy wine mustard! I'll stop now. I could go on like this all day. Are you a pit boss? Have a favorite recipe you'd like to share with me? Please do! FYI - the photo here is from the NYT and not of the grill I'm dreaming of. Please click on the link if you want to peek at the grill.

Rompers! Sundresses & Skorts! Oh my! If spring & summer ever had a uniform - this would be it!
When I moved into my new place I purchased a desk off craigslist that is PERFECT for sewing! I'm a little rusty but my Mom sent me some really cool old patterns that claim to be quick & easy, so I'm planning on getting my sewing fingers back! I'll post the results (even if they are hideous). Cross my heart. Is anyone else doing some spring sewing? Care to share? If not, but you wish you were - Etsy always has great vintage patters. Burdastyle is another amazing place to check out. They have some of the cutest patterns and sometimes they are FREE!




Last but never least... Anything from the Irregular Choice spring collection.
*heart melting* I am not 100% positive that you could play badminton in them, but croquet and lounging should be a breeze. C'mon - tell me you don't love these?




Well, that is enough wanting and needing for today! I am going to go now & be content with the things I have. Please forward on any recipes or feel free to share what you are reading this spring. AND of course, I want to see your sewing projects!

xo!
Bonnie Rue

Becoming a Modern Day Model Citizen Pt. 3

Once upon a time I started a series of posts all about fun ways to become a Model Citizen... and part 3 has been a long time coming. What else has been a long time coming? Spring! Luckily spring is in the air, blooms are all around and it has inspired me to finally finish this post! So, lets recap - Part 1 was about fun ways for all of us ladies to go green & stop contributing to the landfill. Part 2 was Charity for charity's sake & covered tons of opportunities we have to give back to our community without busting out our check books. So what's the topic of discussion today you ask?

Making the world a lovelier place by any means necessary! Ready to get your hands dirty? Literally? Let me start off by admitting something... I have black thumbs. BUT this is something that I don't like about myself - that I CAN CHANGE! Do you have black thumbs too? Do things go from garden to graveyard in the blink of an eye? Lets make this change and grow together - pun intended! We all know that reading is the best way to learn about anything and I have to say that You Grow Girl by Gayla Trail has really opened my eyes as to where I've gone wrong in the past with my garden patches. You'll learn all about starting from seed, composting, irrigation, container gardens & more! She also has a new book that just came out - Grow Great Grub. I don't have a copy yet but you can bet your pretty pink garden shears that I'll be picking one up soon and you should too. If you are broke but ready to get growing check out her blog.
Fun Fact: The National Gardening Association says that on average families can get up to a $500 return on their investment in gardening. For $500 me & my manfriend can spend a long weekend at the beach! Gardening here I come!

So, maybe you want to see things spring up and grow.. but you don't have any dirt to dig in? Think again! Dirt is everywhere. Sure it may not belong to you but that doesn't mean it's off limits. Grow rogue! Look around your neighborhood. There are medians, patches of grass next to bus stops, unused space in local parks AND yes - vacant lots that are screaming for a little love & affection. There's plenty of fun and sneaky ways to spread that love. Get Fresh Cut put together this rad video that will teach you all about DIY seed bombing and inspire you to transform your neighborhood!
*I will say that you may not want to plant veggies and herbs for consumption in these public places. You don't want to eat kale that was pee'd on by a drunk or fogged out by traffic exhaust. Just sayin'.. Okay - on with the show:


Did that get you all riled up and ready for more guerrilla style beautification tactics? Yes? Fantastic! Let's talk graffiti! No, don't bust out the Krylon just yet.. You will need a beer & a blender though for this most amazing and gorgeously green way to decorate your hood. Mossgraffiti! Okay, this won't work perfectly in all climates - including my own. Not a lot of moss here in Austin, TX... but that doesn't mean I won't give it a shot. You can create any image you like with moss and adhere it to any surface. All you need is:
*1 can of beer
*1/2 teaspoon sugar
*Several clumps garden moss
*1 plastic container (with lid)
*a blender
&
*a paintbrush

It's simple really. Just throw 1 beer, sugar & moss into a bender, mix until smooth or "creamy", transfer it to your plastic container and march out the door to your chosen location. You then paint it onto your surface using a stencil or go freehand if you like. It may not look brilliant at first, but if you stop by your lovely work of art and make sure it stays moist (using a spray bottle for misting) eventually the little bits of moss will start to recover and root springing forth your work of art. After time the moss will grow beyond that and take over the area, which is always a pretty site - in my opinion. North Westerners - I am calling on you to do this! I'll try it here in Austin, I've been scouting locations, but with 107 degree days on their way I'm feeling a little dubious about the outcome. I'm thinking my neighborhood needs one of these devil girls I drew lurking in an alley somewhere... *fingers crossed*

If none of these projects appeal to you but you've already got your hoe in hand and no where to grow you can find a community garden near you at CommunityGarden.org. On the other hand if you are an avid gardener please share your tips of the trade with me! Me and my black thumbs are all ears.. hmm that's a weird sentence. AND if you do or have tried out one of these projects will you take pictures? I'd LOVE to see them! Okay ladies - time is of the essence! Grab your gloves and grow!

Happy Harvesting!
Bonnie Rue

I've got a lot of dancing in my future

Is it just me or has this been an incredible social holiday season? Every morning I say to myself "self, we are going to stay home tonight & we're going to hunker down in our creative bunker!" but this is a promise I seem incapable of keeping. There is simply too much going on! Too many great invitations to turn down. This past weekend went by in a flash. My friend AD and I went to see the Sound & Style show at La Zona Rosa on Friday, which was unexpected and a lot of fun. The Sounds from Sweden (love them!) played & then they wrapped up the night with a fashion show. Team Fabrication, Goodie Two Shoes, & Boudoir Queen all had new pieces to romp around. I kinda dragged my feet about going, but in the end I was glad I didn't turn down a free night of dancing and inspiration. Then Saturday was pretty full. Awake @ 8am to package up holiday orders and hit the post office line. Then I was off to help out with the Lions photo shoot before their show. Spending my afternoon crawling around Trophy's roof w/ Danielle Thomas, Cory Ryan & 4 half naked boys. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see the shots that Cory got! She is one of my favorite Austin photographers. A few hours after cleaning up from the shoot I was back at Trophy's for the Lions & Local H show. Those boys are loud, proud, and ready to party! I think I crawled back to the house around 4 am. I know what you are thinking 'fashion shows and rock n roll, where's the pictures?' I'm very unhappy to say that my camera is currently out of commission. Sad but true. Getting it fixed is at the TOP of my to do list. Cross my heart.
Sunday I did manage to hibernate. I worked on some new designs for spring. They will be printed up next month when my social butterfly stops flapping her tired wings. I also worked on an illustration assignment for a story about Portland OR that will appear in Shebang, a music based fanzine out of the UK. It's no where near finished but I did finish some other drawings featuring knit and crocheted hair.
Once upon a time I was obsessed with knitting. I'd spend hours cruising around Hill Country weavers fawning over their impressive Japanese yarn collection, then my evenings purling my brains out... until one day I realized that I just wasn't very good at it. It was a hard thing to come to terms with, but hey - can't be good at everything, right? So I gave away all my yarn, my needles, my pattern books and now I think I'll just draw the things that I couldn't knit into reality. It all works out, my taste in yarn is a little pricey.
Anywho, while my list of things to do takes on monster proportions so does the list of things I want to do. Paleo, one of my favorite singer songwriters is playing on my birthday (Dec. 18th) @ the Parish) while The Dedringers & The Jungle Rockers are playing the Continental Club. That should be a late night. Then Friday Rio Rita is have a xmas dance party with all the Sock Hop Dj's. AND then there is the matter of the Trophy's annual x-mas party. It's a formal affair that I can't say no to.
My feet and liver are already tired. Maybe I'd just be happier if I stayed home...
or not.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures of my holiday escapades. Keep your fingers crossed for me.