ode to the tattooed girl

I love to read Inked. (And I love that Brody Dalle of The Distillers was on the cover of the May issue.) I love the tattoos, the photography, and the girls. Strong, beautiful and covered in art. Here are some of my favorites.

trisha lurie

trisha lurie

kat von d

heather gabel

laura santana

pink

allison burns

siri garber

tara mcpherson

theo kogan

twinkie chan

misfit dior

(if you haven't already, be sure to click on the links to read these girls' interviews ... )

summer love

Lotus and I have been picking peonies from our yard to bring into the house. We like to 'save' the ones that are bending too close to the ground.

And I'm declaring almost every day this summer 'ponytail day.'

As long as she lets me actually do her hair. Because sometimes it just makes her mad.

But ponytails are just so cute. They make her look so much older!

I got one of these insulated-looks-disposable-but-it's-not Starbucks cups and it makes me happy every day. It keeps my drink cold for hours, too. Favorite thing numero uno.

Well, except for this. Bo got me my first Moop bag for my birthday. I have been eyeing these bags ever since Jamaica blogged about them awhile back. I had to email her to tell her I finally 'Mooped.'

It's The Messenger in gunmetal. I can tell I'm going to be carrying this one for a long time. The shoulder strap adjusts so I can wear it cross-body. Which is very good. It's waterproof inside. It has tons of pockets and straps that aren't a pain to quickly un-do. And all of L's gear (pluse mine) fits perfectly in it. Score!

Erin and I survived our first Market Day last weekend. We had a super great turnout, perfect weather, and the most awesome cupcakes I've ever had in my life.

One of the girls who helped with the craft show made 100 cupcakes for our shoppers and the best, hands down, were the pink lemonade cupcakes.

I sold all but one pair of booties, which was exciting. Sorry, it was kinda dark in there so these pics aren't great.

Met Nathan and Lizzy (not pictured) of Theophilus and of course, hung out with Erin. Good people made the day even better.

And it was my turn to post at Work Your Soul, but I threw out my back/hurt my neck and was on ice for a few days, so my favorite girl Kim filled in for me in my time of need with some gorgeous collage inspo. Love that girl; Kim, I really owe you one!

Here's her lovely work. Go see more here. And I'll try again in two weeks.

New Dare is up – check it out here. I actually worked ahead on this one, so I was ready.

And even though my neck is still pretty sore, this makes me feel better. Bo scored tickets to see Rancid and Rise Against. So the non-stop Rancid playlist is in effect until then. They're absolutely one of our very favorite bands ever. Their new album is fantastic, by the way – the extended version includes acoustic sets that are so incredibly cool. So get the extended version – it's worth it. Highly recommended.

summer love

Lotus and I have been picking peonies from our yard to bring into the house. We like to 'save' the ones that are bending too close to the ground.

And I'm declaring almost every day this summer 'ponytail day.'

As long as she lets me actually do her hair. Because sometimes it just makes her mad.

But ponytails are just so cute. They make her look so much older!

I got one of these insulated-looks-disposable-but-it's-not Starbucks cups and it makes me happy every day. It keeps my drink cold for hours, too. Favorite thing numero uno.

Well, except for this. Bo got me my first Moop bag for my birthday. I have been eyeing these bags ever since Jamaica blogged about them awhile back. I had to email her to tell her I finally 'Mooped.'

It's The Messenger in gunmetal. I can tell I'm going to be carrying this one for a long time. The shoulder strap adjusts so I can wear it cross-body. Which is very good. It's waterproof inside. It has tons of pockets and straps that aren't a pain to quickly un-do. And all of L's gear (pluse mine) fits perfectly in it. Score!

Erin and I survived our first Market Day last weekend. We had a super great turnout, perfect weather, and the most awesome cupcakes I've ever had in my life.

One of the girls who helped with the craft show made 100 cupcakes for our shoppers and the best, hands down, were the pink lemonade cupcakes.

I sold all but one pair of booties, which was exciting. Sorry, it was kinda dark in there so these pics aren't great.

Met Nathan and Lizzy (not pictured) of Theophilus and of course, hung out with Erin. Good people made the day even better.

And it was my turn to post at Work Your Soul, but I threw out my back/hurt my neck and was on ice for a few days, so my favorite girl Kim filled in for me in my time of need with some gorgeous collage inspo. Love that girl; Kim, I really owe you one!

Here's her lovely work. Go see more here. And I'll try again in two weeks.

New Dare is up – check it out here. I actually worked ahead on this one, so I was ready.

And even though my neck is still pretty sore, this makes me feel better. Bo scored tickets to see Rancid and Rise Against. So the non-stop Rancid playlist is in effect until then. They're absolutely one of our very favorite bands ever. Their new album is fantastic, by the way – the extended version includes acoustic sets that are so incredibly cool. So get the extended version – it's worth it. Highly recommended.

back in the saddle

It's good to be back. Although I've really enjoyed my little break from the internet. But today, a new challenge is up at the Creative Type. All about messing with your letters. Covering them, painting them, sanding them, throwing ink on them. It is fun, I tell you. Come play.

And now I feel like I'm overdue for a Vegas re-cap. Don't worry, traveling pals – I promise, nothing too embarrassing here.

We didn't make Erin re-visit Taco. But we did have a good laugh when we saw this sign.

Since we had covered the strip pretty well last year, this time we ventured to Fremont Street to see the old Vegas sights.



And lights.

We made a stop at The Griffin, which led to some of the best times of our whole trip. And the funniest photo ever. Which I don't have because it's on Erin's camera. But trust me, you'd laugh.

Attempted to hit up the Beauty Bar, but no luck.

And watched a super rad lazer show.

But our most adventurous night (and my favorite part of the trip) was spent at the Double Down, which is apparently somewhat of Vegas punk rock legend. They never close. They serve things like a bacon martini and offer puke insurance. The guy who carded us at the door initiated us by walking by our table every once in awhile and thwacking one of us upside the head. We sat down, took a look around and found our Vegas home. (Because I'm not even going to tell you about the night before when we attempted to go to Ghostbar or Rain at the Palms. On Memorial Day weekend.)

Bonus for us was seeing Brutally Frank play a pretty killer set. (That's the lead singer actually standing on the upright bass mid-song.)

The Double Down is also home to one of the most fantastic bathrooms I've ever seen.

Covered, and I mean completely covered, in paint.

Which may gross some people out, but I assure you, it really wasn't that bad. Okay, that floor is bad...

You couldn't help but sit and admire the crazy artwork covering every square inch of the walls and ceiling. (Okay, we're out of the bathroom now. The entire bar was painted with murals.) Unreal. Wish I had been brave enough to take pics of the whole place, but yeah, it was just one of those bars where I really didn't want to be that girl. So you only get photos of the bathroom.

Erin and I afterwards at the Hard Rock. (And our biggest regret? No photos from Wasted Space.) There really is no dressing up for us. Vans and Converse. And many, many, many good times. Sorry Vegas, we had to leave eventually. The midwest needed us back.

market day!

Hey local kids ... if you're thinking of hitting up the Farmers Market this weekend, be sure to stop by the first-ever Market Day indie arts and crafts show this Saturday. Market Day is a casual, monthly bazaar for art, vintage, found items and handmade goods.

I'll be there with my usual goods ... some hand-knit items and screen printed kids' t-shirts. Market Day is located in the 120 year old Market Building at 118 SE 4th Street. Hours are 9am-2pm. Click here for map. See you there! (Also, yes – I'm back and I survived Vegas ... more to come on that.)

the jacket

So, a few posts back I was gushing about the YYYs 'Zero' video and Karen O.'s studded leather jacket. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Because it's been everywhere. Lucky for me, I have a black leather jacket that I think will work for a DIY version. So I've decided to go for it. But it's definitely going to take a long time.

Mine has a different design on the back than Karen O's, though – I couldn't put her initials on it. Although I guess KO could have stood for 'knock off. ' I didn't quite know how to start, so I looked to the mother of DIY. No, not Martha. The other mother. I'm talking about punk rock.

I'm going the slow and painful route ... best demonstrated here. Using nothing but an x-acto, needle nose pliers, and my fingers. I really think it's the only way that works.

I have to admit that I broke down and bought a Bedazzler after a few nights of finger torture, but the bad reviews are spot on – that thing sucks. (Cheap plastic, doesn't set the prongs correctly, your studs keep falling out... really not a fun experience.) So I returned it. Besides, the hardcore kids have done this by hand since, well, forever. Punks don't Bedazzle, I can assure you. So late at night, I sit on the floor with my Bad Religion playlist and work on the jacket.

Lots of punk jacket inspiration here. No pain, no gain. Get your leather, leather, leather, leather on. (also, happy birthday Dad!)

and off we go.

Yup, we're going back.

Travel mates include Erin and Trisha plus new pal Shannon. Representing Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, respectively.

Last year brings back fond memories and inside jokes.

Hazzzaaaar.

Breakfast pizza.

Perez.

Zoltar.

Britney. (Okay, we didn't actually see her... but she was there.)

Beer pong and Guitar Hero.

Taco.

Gerbils.

Get ready, Vegas. Here we come. (See you next week.)

digits

Just in time for the 3-2 yesterday, we posted a challenge at the Creative Type that's all about numbers. Which is the perfect opportunity to record an infinite amount of random facts about your life as it is right now. (Yeah, 643 Twitter updates, 244 blog posts? Woah. I can't even tell you when I became that kind of girl. And I didn't even get into my Tumblr stats.) I dare you to play along – you have two weeks to make a page using lots of numbers and link it up here. Go forth.

Also, speaking of Twitter. I am currently taking CZ's microblogging class. It's basically perfect for me. I love to embrace the inner monologue. You scrapbook your Twitter updates. To describe it in 140 characters or less, it's genius.

I had always intended to do something with the 'good' ones (because it really is cool to read back over the past year and see what kind of random stuff I had posted) but sometimes it takes a little push from an pro to actually get me to put it down on paper. Stoked. (Okay, there, Aaron. You said I Twitter about blogging, but asked when I'd blog about Twitter, so here you go.)

today

the new ride.

So excited to get a new car after five years with the old one. Bo has a Civic hybrid so now we are officially a 100% hybrid family.

And I'm so not even worried about what my neighbors think of me by now. They already know we're weird. Had to get the jump shot; I have no shame.