Well, I *was* supposed to leave today at 5 to fly to Lubbock where I was going to help my sister and her soon-to-be-husband make the dreaded drive to Houston. Had the ticket, packed my clothes, contacted Adri to let her know when to pick me up....and then bam, "you are not cleared for takeoff." Something came up (I'll tell you guys later, it's fun!) and now I won't be able to go. I feel like a bad sister. "Best laid plans," I guess.

Since I had some free time, I decided a trip down Cut+Paste's links list would cheer me up but unfortunately for my empty wallet...

Buying this stuff would cheer me up more:
Perfect solution for after eating yummy but messy popsicles in the park
Remember those cute little stencil rulers you got as a kid? (second row, 3rd from the left...hmm, I wonder if I could make one.)
Cute Cheap Hair Thingies
Willie always cheers me  up (except when he sings You Were Always On My Mind)

I thought of another thing that reminds me of Fall...Butter Beer! Mmm, it just *sounds* so good! (I know you understand, Becky!)

I decided to look up a few recipes for Butter Beer but I can't tell which one would taste better:

Ingredients:
     1 pint vanilla ice cream (softened)
     1/2 stick butter (softened)
     1/3 cup brown sugar
     2 tsp. of cinnamon
     1 tsp grated nutmeg
     1/4 tsp. ground clove
     1 quart apple cider
 
Directions:
1. Cream butter, sugar and spices together.
2. Beat in the vanilla ice cream.
3. Re-freeze the mixture.
4. Scoop out the frozen mixture into a glass.
5. Pour hot Apple cider over the ice cream mixture.
6. Optional: add an ounce of rum for an adult treat.

OR
 
Ingredients:
     2 1/2 cups of milk
     2 tablespoons of brown sugar
     1 teaspoon of vanilla
     1 level teaspoon of butter

Directions:
1. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with a small handmixer if you have one, to make it frothy.
3. Bring the mixture almost to boiling, but not quite.
4. Pour into mugs and serve!

What do you guys think? For some reason, I remember hearing that it's supposed to taste like Butterscotch...maybe I should add a little to the recipes?

Wow,  I think this takes the cake for the "Dorkiest Blog Entry Ever."

Well, things are going pretty well with the whole cat situation. At first, Kitty wanted no part of the new Richard Parker but we walked into the living room yesterday and found them cuddling together. This morning I saw them chasing each other and play fighting. So cute! It's kinda sad though, Mr. Parker got some nasty bug and is really sick. We had to take him to the vet three times in the last week. Not fun, for him or our bank account. Comes with the territory, I guess, but he's just so dang cute!

It's been overcast here for the last couple days and it's making me long for Autumn. It's by far my favorite season. I absolutely love the colors, smells and memories associated with Fall. This year I'm starting up school again so I have a feeling it's going to feel even more reminiscent of traditional Autumns.

More things to make me long for Fall:
Sol Bag from Uplifting Arts - She has the magic touch when it comes to finding some of the prettiest fabrics!
The Renegade Craft Fair- definitely something to look forward to!
Animal Bookplates - nothing better than reading a good book on a cloudy Fall day. 

Some things are just too ridiculously cute (that's a good thing!):

 

   

 

Well, I just finished working out, Mr. Parker is sleeping on my lap and Kitty is in the same room behaving nicely. Things couldn't be nicer...well, maybe if I had some fun bath stuff...*that* could be nicer.
 
Indie Bath Stuff that Could Make My Life Nicer:
- Soap Cakes from The Body Bakery
- Body Bar from Oyin
- Anything from Bewitched Bath & Body (by the way, I remember reading someone's blog about how great a certain fragrance was...ring any bells?...please remind me!)
- Cute Robin Eggs soaps
- Chocolate Bar from Pisces Soap
- Sweet (and cheap) Animal Soaps (scroll to bottom of list)
 

We got a new kitty! He's been a bit of a pain in the butt and Kitty is less then thrilled to have a new companion, but he's absolutely beautiful and super sweet. Don't you think he looks like a tiger?

Wanna see more?:
I love the stripes on his legs
Rrrr!
One of the few times in the last 24 hrs that he's been sleepy

Interaction with the world around us can definitely make one hardened and pessimistic. I'm usually a happy, light-hearted person but having to deal with mechanics sure can get me in a foul mood. That's why every once and a while, you just need a break from reality.

This weekend Jim and I took a break...and made our way to Phoenix, AZ! We hung out with my Aunt and crazy cousins, drinking Micheladas and watching movies all Sat. Met up with Crafty Chica, who quite possibly is one of the cheeriest and most outgoing people I've ever met (it was a joy meeting you, Kathy!). It was great meeting someone who is becoming so successful in the indie business scene and yet be so humble and kind at the same time. And then spent Sun. afternoon with Jim's Aunt and Uncle. They are amazing, completely young at heart and wonderfully liberal.

We got back early Mon. morning, completely exhausted, and yet decided to make the most of our day off by visiting the local Zoo. And since the Humane Society just happened to be a block away from the zoo, we decided that it was finally time to adopt another kitty! We're going to call him Ricard Parker, who was the tiger in Life of Pi. He's got the most beautiful tiger stripes. We pick him up tomorrow...hope him and Kitty get along!

Hmm, I was going to come here to talk about a few shops who have some things that I am absolutely coveting but while I was organizing my thoughts on these sites, I realized that they could all be found on the fabulous Plain Mabel .

Indie Products I Would Sell My First Born For:
- Light Pink Pansy on Black Choker from Little Queen
- Happy Owl Pendants (bought one of the cute glass Super Owl Pins and I'm in love with it!)
- It is almost ridiculous how cute the dogs over at Sewing Stars are! I love looking at the Custom Doggie Requests. I wonder if she'd be up for tackling Kitty. And how cute is Plain Mabel's Pug?!!

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Roswell went wonderful (and tiring) and we got to meet Merle Haggard who was a very nice man with wandering eyes. Oh well. Willie wasn't looking so hot (it was his first concert since his hand surgery) but gave a fantastic performance anyway.

Being in Roswell during the UFO Festival was quite the experience. Any promotional item you can think of with an alien head on it...someone there was trying to sell it.

Everything went pretty smoothly until about an hour outside of El Paso when the front tire blew out. It was too damn hot!

Jim came home last night and as if to toy with my emotions, said that we might have to film an interview with Willie Nelson...eeeks! Jim said that if I behaved myself, he might let me pin the microphone on Willie...yikes!

My fascination with Willie probably sounds kinda wacko to most of you (my sisters understand!) but we grew up listening to Willie Nelson and to this day, his voice has quite the calming effect on me. I dunno, just one of those subconscious things, I guess.

On another musical note, I finally found another radio station that I'm pretty happy with!

Any big plans for the holiday weekend? We'll be celebrating ours in Roswell, New Mexico while Jim is location to shoot Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson for Country Music Television.

I'm not a huge country fan but I grew up listening to Willie Nelson and well, Merle Haggard is Merle Haggard, not much more to say about that. Plus, we've been wanting to make the trek over to the Annual Roswell UFO Celebration for a while now. It should be interesting if not fun!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and be careful around the fireworks!