So I finally persuaded Jim that I am in dire need of another cat. Ok, ok, perhaps "dire" is a bit extreme but last week I read an article about the huge amount of stray cats being brought into the El Paso shelters and well, we've been thinking about getting another cat anyway. Now's the perfect time!

I am a bit worried about our Kitty getting along with another cat. Does anyone know if it would be better to get a kitten or an older cat? I gotta tell you, Kitty is quite spoiled and I anticipate quite a few issues between the two cats.

To only elevate Kitty Fever around my house, this was posted on The Switchboards.

and then...

Awful Cufflinks had to go and mention the most adorable dinosaur catnip toys.

I tell you, they must be signs for us to get a new kitty!

Well, I'm feeling much better. The nasty congestion has made it's way down my throat and now I have the unique pleasure of coughing up my own phlem. Fun, huh?

A friend of mine invited me to a jewelry trunk show on Sun. and I ended up buying some really pretty earrings. Now that I'm sitting here writting this, with my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding hanging on the office door, I'm realizing that the earrings would match nicely with the dress. What do you think?

Ugh, I hate being sick. Jim was sick all last week and like an idiot I actually believed I wouldn't catch it. I'm feeling a bit better today but there just doesn't seem to be an end to the amount of snot I can produce. Gonna go back to bed now...

Exciting Happenings in the Crafty World:

Lili La Malice - felted items are so cute
Lulette - Can't decide if I like "Cupcake Queen" or " I Heart My Thrift Store" better.
Jen Jen Jewelry - I love all her jewelry but these are my favorite.
Purl Drop - With this capelet, perhaps I could pretend to be sweet and timid...nah, I wouldn't be foolin' anyone.
Happy Owl Glass - What an amazing price for a little piece of art.
Poppy Red Jewelry - From the website to her jewelry, I love it all!
Hobby Farm - vintage brooches are fun and she's got a great selection.

*the links listed above were brought to you by The Switchboards

Crafty Chica is putting together an Artist Trading Card swap on Get Crafty. Even if you think you don't have a creative bone in your body, you should join in the fun!

Learn more:
http://www.cedarseed.com/air/atc.html

Weeeellll, you asked for it...

Finally had some time to upload some of the pictures from our NYC trip. While looking through them, I realized just how much of a camera hog I am! I'm almost in none of the pictures. Probably works out better that way since Jimbo is such a ham!

Hotel Pennsylvania
We were so happy to find out that our hotel was a hop, skip and a jump from Penn Station. Carrying luggage around NY is not fun.

Wow
We were amazed to see such a beautiful site right around the corner of our hotel!

Skyline
Unfortunately, neither Jim nor I are any good at geography and just assumed that the Statue of Liberty was on Staten Island. At first everything was just dandy on the ferry and we were able to get a great picture of the NY skyline but we were a bit bewildered when the ferry floated right by the Statue of Liberty and then just kept on going. By the way, the Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island...makes sense NOW.

Bird Memorial
Found this beautiful memorial to fallen sea men in Battery Park while we were waiting for the Liberty Island Ferry

Butterflies
An art piece that was displayed in Battery Park. Did you know that the name Vanessa means butterfly?

Mariners Memorial
Battery Park was full of amazing memorials. Picture heaven for a history major!

The Bradys Hit New York!
Know why we look so happy in this picture? We're finally on the right ferry!

Statue of Liberty
I was gabbing so much to a cute guy from Australia that he had to stop me and point out that we were passing the Statue.

Statue Close Up
These are just a few of the hundreds of pictures we took of Lady Liberty. It actually was a bit ridiculous to take so many pictures but she was just so impressive up close.

Eiffel Statue
If you ever go to Liberty Island (not Staten Island, by the way!), pay the extra $6 for the audio tour. It's got some great information on the history of the statue and island. This is a picture of a statue commemorating Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel's involvement in creating the iron frame of The Statue.

Ellis Island
Interesting to think that Jim could possibly be standing in the same spot as one of his distant relatives did.

MegoCon Maniacs!
Jim and a few of his fellow toy collectors at MegoCon 2004.

Puerto Rico
On Sun. we decided to make our way to the Guggenheim before our 2:00 Wicked show. We had no idea that we would have to walk 10 blocks out of our way because of the Puerto Rico Parade. My feet are still achin'!

Pretty Church
I love taking pictures of churches. They always seem so magical to me. Snapped this one on the way to the Guggenheim.

Castle?
Another building we came upon on the long trek to the Guggenheim, thought it looked like a castle but it turned out to be some sort of old armory.

Lobby of Guggenheim
The Guggenheim Museum was one of the most amazing structures I've ever seen. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the building is a piece of art in amongst itself. Almost worth the hundreds of blisters I have on my feet...almost.

Brancusi
There was a fabulous Brancusi exhibit there. Got to see one of my favorite sculptures, The Kiss. Also saw some great works by Kandisnky, Picasso and Mondrian. I love Modern Art!

Park Ave.
Couldn't even imagine the rent here! Gotta admit, though, it was awfully pretty.

Ghostbusters
Had to take a picture of the famous NY Library that was in that iconic movie we know and love, Ghostbusters!

Who You Gonna Call?
The couple to the right of us was nice enough to stop their major makeout session to be included in our picture.

Skeleton Wrestling
This is Jimbo hamming it up in front of Jekyll and Hyde's, a monster themed restaurant.

NYC Subway
We absolutely loved the subway system, so easy to get anywhere! This, however, was a bit disturbing.

Gorn
Jim and the classic Star Trek enemy, Gorn, got into a bit of a brawl in Las Vegas. I believe you could say that Jim "got served." (tee hee)

Home
And finally, the sunset over the mountains in El Paso. El Paso really does have some of the prettiest sunsets. Took this picture for my sister, Angelica, who does theses amazing watercolor works of art. Hope you like it!

Whew...we finally made our way back to sunny ol' Texas! We had the most amazing time in NYC, got to meet some wonderful people, shopped until my little heart thought it would burst and as an extra perk...spent almost an entire day in Vegas. The trip was worth every single blister I have on my feet right now! I'm covering the desk at Jim's work today so I can't post any pictures but here's a quick overview:

- Got lost on the subway, with all our heavy luggage, heading out to our hotel. Proud to say that was the one and only time we got lost!
- Saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (accidentally took the Staten Island Ferry the first time...ok, so the subway wasn't the only time we got lost...too many stinkin' islands!)
- Ate yummy pizza that was super thin and floppy, just the way I like it
- Got upgraded to a really big room for no apparent reason other than we were cute (or at least Jim was! You don't want to see me at 7 in the morning after a 6 hr. flight)
- Met a bunch of the toy guys Jim had been talking to for over a year. A bit surreal walking into a conference room and being the only one with out a Y chromosome.
- Had to walk 10 blocks out of the way to see the Guggenheim Museum. Building was beautiful and we got to see The Kiss.
- Saw Wicked on an empty stomach. Surprised they didn't stop the show because of all the noise my tummy was making!
- Bought a great Eyeko lip stain at Sephora (they were all out of the chubby lip balm I've been wanting forever...so sad)
- Shopped in the Village, ate at a cute little Bistro, and bought some fun imports from Kid Robot, Toy Tokyo, and Forbidden Planet.

Overall, it was one of the greatest trips we've ever taken and we definitely will be back. Thanks to everyone who gave the great suggestions!

Well, Jimbo and I take off for NYC in 10 hours, woo hoo! We're planning on doing a Broadway show, Central Park Zoo, MoMA, and a vintage toy convention. Ooh, that reminds me that I need to pack!

Thanks to the wonderful suggestions by my friendly Craftistas, I'd also like to engorge myself with Pommes Frites with Garlic Mayo (totally reminds me of Amsterdam) and try a Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3. If I'm on vacation, I'm going to eat like I'm on vacation...a little. Luckily, all the yummy products over at Lush only sound fattening!

Does anyone know of some cute indie shops I can check out?

I Heart Thrifting!

On Saturday, I woke up with the incredible urge to go thrifting by myself. I didn't have to worry about my sisters getting to all the great buys before me or about Jimbo being bored out of his mind. It was only about me and the clothes. Here are some of the fun things I bought:

Frilly See-Through Top
Natural Fiber Sweater (you want it, 'gelica?)
Dress I'm going to turn into a skirt
Little sweater I'm sending to my little sister
Cute linen pants
Beautiful Military-like Coat

The most expensive was the pretty pink dress at 4 whoppin' dollars...you gotta love thrifting!

Happy Friday!

We're definitely excited about seeing Harry Potter today (by "we" I mean me and my friends, The Beckys. Jim wouldn't know the difference between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade...silly boy)

I've been wanting a Griffendor scarf for a while now (since blizzards frequent El Paso, you know). I've just started to learn how to knit so I don't think I'm quite up for anything beyond a potholder. I'd love to buy one from here.

One of the aforementioned Beckys sent me this Sanrio character link:

Tee hee, Coro Coro Kuririn is one of my favorites. I even have his girlfriend on my PDA...see. So stinkin' cute!

Mmm, I've been researching some vegetarian recipes and now I'm really hungry. The granola and dried prunes I'm eating for breakfast aren't cuttin' it!

I followed a link from Nerddotcom to the wonderfully yummy Post Punk Kitchen site. I think I might try the Tofu Balls with homemade Marinara Sauce. Jim's going to be so excited!

Fun Stuff Happening in the World of Indie Shops
- The Walrus and the Carpenter have the cutest capelets EVER!
- great ball and chain earrings at Fashion Compassion
- how sweet are these magnets from BunniGoods?!
- fabulous flower corsages from Copacetique
- absolutely everything from Pink Thread and More! I traded her for the flower cuff and pink hair clip...I think I got the better deal!

I Miss You Guys!


Ahhh, what an incredibly hectic and fun weekend it was! Family came in for my younger sister's wedding shower. It went so well! Unfortunately, I had such a wonderful time with my sisters (who also happen to be my best friends) and now I'm a bit sad that they're not here anymore. We laugh so much when we're together that it seems as if they take a little bit of my happiness away when they leave. Good thing we see each other in a few months!