Musical Merriment and Scranton, PA.

Only hours remain until we can finally leave for our roadtrip to Jersey to see the Bamboozle music fest. And by hours, I mean about 48 of them.

We're still not packed for the trip (despite leaving directly after work TOMORROW!), my car still isn't cleaned out to make room for four people (as opposed to only me), and I have yet to cash my tax rebate check so I have money for the spending out there. What we did accomplish at least, was booking a hotel room and figuring out directions.

Travelling from our place of residence to New Jersey requires us to pass through Scranton, PA. You know, Scranton. The setting of the deliciously amazing television series "The Office". The show my boyfriend can quote every line of every season on. The show my boyfriend is so excited about, he now wants to dress as Dwight for the trip, just so we can stop at the "Welcome to Scranton" sign, and he can have a picture of himself dressed as Dwight. Gotta love 'em.

The hotel we booked apparently has really bad reviews on Hotels.com. Bad reviews as in, the cleaning staff has broken into rooms while people were IN there. The chains on the doors broken, stuff missing... all that good shizzzz. Great. I find this out after it's too late to cancel/change reservations. Hopefully, with four people sharing a room (with two big dudes and two girls), no one will bother us. It's sure to be an adventure, at least.

xo

I love Buffalo.

The city, not the animal. Although the animal is awesome as well. (By the way, the postcard pictured above is from 1910. I found it on an ancestry website).

See, Buffalo is the city I grew up in. And by grew up in, I mean now that I'm out living on my own and have a life, this is the city I go to to get into trouble. Trouble being: getting pierced and tattooed, going clubbing, and going to various shows. I was born in a tiny dinky town about thirty miles south of the city. I hate it there. Mainly because I still live there and have to drive SO far for everything. But when I go into the city, I feel so alive. (Really though, even the town I live in, and the other tiny town I work in aren't really that bad. Sure, there's not a great choice of restaurants or grocery stores, but when I go to the local store, the people know my name.)

Ahhh Buffalo. Where else in the world can you go skiing in the winter and to the beach in the summer, all within a 45 minute drive? And where else are you merely an hour or two away from one of the most breathtaking natural landmarks on Earth: Niagara Falls. Where else can you find the original Kazoo factory, or go to the Toy Town parade thrown by Fisher Price every year? Or visit the original home of the Buffalo Wing? (By the way, my great aunt worked at the Anchor Bar when they "invented" chicken wings [or got the idea to actually sell them and make money instead of wasting the meat], which is an awesome piece of history. I get to say that my aunt made Buffalo Wings famous. Wooo!)

Yes, Buffalo may be a town in serious need of a facelift, and a boost to the economy. But all in all, it's a great place to live.

xo

Best Weekend Ever

Or if not the best weekend ever, then it was pretty darn close to it. It all started Friday afternoon with a foray into Elmwood, which is basically the artsy kind of district of Buffalo. Well kind of. It's awesome, whatever you want to call it. My boyfriend and I decided to get more things pierced (our ears, fyi), so we went to this place that was supposed to be one of the best in Buffalo. (Which, it was. The guy was awesome. And the place was all nice and clean. Score.) So, getting things pierced was a definite plus in the "awesome night" category. But it didn't end there.

It started with the day being absolutely gorgeous, nearly 80 degrees. We had to park about a mile away from the piercing place, because on a gorgeous spring evening, there's NO parking whatsoever on Elmwood. Which turned out to be a good thing, because it forced us to walk and take things in. (And I saw someone wearing a shirt I also own. A shirt I purchased from Etsy. YAY! This almost never happens to me, unless the person wearing Etsy goods is somehow close to me, because I'm always spreading the Etsy is Awesome love. Wooot!) We even found a Greek restaurant we'd never been to and decided to eat dinner there. It was DELICIOUS, and not super expensive either.

Saturday was a lazy day, waking up late, going to lunch at this awesome new Mexican restaurant in town, watching Zack and Miri (awesome movie fyi), and then going up to a friend's cabin for a fire. (Which was fun, but would have been way better if the friend's girlfriend wasn't irritatingly drunk the whole time.)

Sunday, we went to the beach! Yes, the beach. Granted, it's not the ocean, but it's still sandy and lovely and fun anyway. (Did I mention how awesome it was to be able to go to the beach in April? Seriously, I woke up with snow on my lawn on Thursday, and went to the beach Sunday. Gotta love that WNY weather!)

Hmm. That was a bit of a rambly post. But it was such a great weekend, my mind stumbles over the telling of it.

xo

Beadgasm

I'm so glad that I've managed to stay out of my creative rut. Even though I've been crazy busy this whole week, new ideas keep running through my head, and I keep finding different beads and components online that I simply must have. The necklace above has been a work in progress for months and months. It all started with the circle.

See, awhile ago I decided that I probably should never be trusted with a torch. I'm quite the klutz, and trusting me at all near an open flame is probably not a good idea. So, soldering is quite out of the question (not to mention, it was more costly than I had the money for at the time). But I still wanted to work with metal and make cool stuff, and I ended up making several of these nifty little circles. And then I had no idea what to do with any of them. There they sat, abandoned and alone for months on end, with me having no creative ideas whatsoever. But then I bought these Czech faceted glass beads, and the colors are so fabulous I needed something simple to offset them. Thus, "Cecilia" was born. And I love this piece so much, I'm definitely wanting to create this one in several different color patterns.

xox.

tick...tock...

Waiting for the end of the workday to come is probably the most excruciating pain I'll ever know. Here I sit, staring sightlessly at my computer screen, watching numbers parade past my line of vision without really taking it in. Tick...tock... another second goes by.

Today was the rare occasion when I was actually excited to go to my day job. Which probably starts with the fact that I got this unbelievably awesome skirt in the mail yesterday from AstraeaApparel.etsy.com. It's a great shade of purple, with fancy little swirls on the bottom. I LOVE it so much. I tried it on as soon as I opened it, and of course had to wear it today. Paired with a black tshirt, leather sandals, a light tan cardigan, and a long necklace, I feel really bohemian today. I should take pictures.

But now, the end of the work day is near. And I have all of my tax return money ripe for the spendin', so I especially want to just leave, pick up my boyfriend, and go shopping.

Come on work day. End Now!!

Happy Friday =)

I didn't realize until recently that there actually ARE roads named Lover's Lane. I found this one whilst taking a different route home than I normally do. Of course, I had to take pictures. And I really HAD to play with it in Picnik...as always. Driving down the road though, I was mildly disappointed. There are wayyy too many houses for it to be a good "necking" spot. It still has a nifty name though.


In other news (lol!), I went crazy making bunches of new stuff, taking pictures, writing new listings. This week has gone by so fast, but it's been a great one. I'm still glad it's finally Friday. Two days to relax, spend time with the boyfriend, sing some Karaoke, and make even more new pretties.

Happy Friday
xo.

(oh, and clicking the post title will take you to a video of "corona and lime" by schwayze. it's been stuck in my head all morning.)

I want to change the world.

Okay, I don't usually post twice a day. I realize that I have posted twice a day for about three days in a row now, but sometimes I get things in my head that I just HAVE to share with the world at large.

This is one of those things.

I think that if I'd been born in the fifties, (or forties I guess), I would have participated in the civil rights movement and Vietnam protests of the 1960's. I often think I must be the reincarnation of someone who did all of those things and died tragically young. I'm a flower child at heart.

I have a love of the earth and the people who inhabit it that defies logic. As I get older, I see myself shifting in a way that I want to help people, and put other's happiness ahead of my own. Not at the expense of sacrificing who I am, but I'd rather give my last five dollars to a homeless person than spend it on my own dinner. I learn about things like the genocide in Darfur, and find myself weeping over people I'd never even met.

All I want to do is help people. I have no ambition for myself, to finish schooling or get a good money-making job. I want to be one of those people who helps build houses for people who've lost theirs in a storm, or help feed a family who's lost their source of income, or even be one of those people in underground groups helping squatters find homes.

There are times when I hate living in such a "me, me, me" society. And there are times when I'm the most selfish person in the world.

But mostly, I want us all to be able to join hands, singing "Cumbaya", and passing around a peace pipe of love and happiness.

xo.

A Burst of Creativity.

After a couple of weeks being SUPER busy and not creating anything, I finally was able to sit down for a couple of hours and work on new ideas that were running through my mind. Lots of new stuff, sleek and simple but colorful, finally! I have a tendency to get bored with things easily, so I'm glad my jewelry muse came back to bless me with some fresh designs. I even finally found a use for these neat circles I made months ago. I can't wait to get home and take more pictures =)

And here's probably one of the most awesome webcomics EVER:

http://asofterworld.com

An Homage to Allegro.

I found this picture from last summer, when I was the "beer girl" for a golf tournament. I hate golf, by the way. The only awesome thing was getting a TON of free booze. In this case, mini bottles of Rolling Rock. And stumbling across it, it reminded me of Allegro's wonderous blog full of Beer. I needed to put this one up in his honor.

Rolling Rock is probably one of my all time favorite beers. I know little to nothing about the different flavors and such that make up a good beer vs a bad beer, but in my opinion, Rolling Rock is a Good Beer.

Plus, the bottles are green, which is awesome. Green being a favorite color of mine and all that.

Plus plus, they come in MINI bottles too. And cans.

Now, if ya'll know what's good for you, you'll click on my post title to buy yerself something pretty from good ol' lego. Cuz he's da bomb. Or would have been back in 1998 when that phrase was still cool.

Guild of Calamitous Intent

I absolutely ADORE the Venture Bros.

Mostly because of Dr. Girlfriend, Brock, and The Guild of Calamitous Intent. How genius is it to have an organized guild of supervillians? A guild that has healthcare and dental plans? A guild that matches you with your perfect archenemy, and gives you henchmen? Ooooh. Awesome.

Which got me thinking. If I were a supervillian, what should my villain name be? I have yet to come up with something that isn't totally lame.

xo

I really heart Facebook.

My sister finally uploaded all the pictures she took a couple of weeks ago during our limo ride downtown for my friend's 23rd birthday. Well, she took a few while we were in the clubs too, but she was mostly hammed by then. And because of the miraculousness that is Facebook, it let me know that she tagged me in some. Which allowed me to steal them. And make pretty pictures with Picnik out of them.

This one is of my boyfriend & I.
I heart him.
He's cute.

xo

Love me, love me...

One of my favorite websites by far is asofterworld. ( http://asofterworld.com ) This weekly webcomic is right up there with PostSecret and Etsy on my list of frequently visited websites. (Yeah, I visit PostSecret almost daily even though he only puts new ones up on Sundays.)

Well, after reading literally their entire archives of comics, I was inspired to create my own, modeled in the style of asofterworld. Mainly because I enjoy wasting time playing with photoshop and such instead of doing things I'm actually supposed to do.


Oh! And my title links to the Cardigans video for Lovefool. So if you feel like getting that song stuck in your head for about a month, go watch it.

xo.

An Epic Adventure.

In case you couldn't tell by now (and really, shame on you if you haven't picked up on it), I'm a big music fan. Obsessed, actually, with almost all genres and forms of it. My boyfriend is much the same way. So, imagine our suprise and delight when we discovered the Bamboozle music festival thingy. TONS of bands we love and listen to constantly, all together in one fantastical weekend musical orgy. Fall Out Boy, Metro Station, Asher Roth, Boys Like Girls.... OMG. And in case you weren't aware, I'm more than somewhat obsessed with Metro Station. Because ya know, Miley Cyrus's brother is the singer. And super hawt. Like, forreal.

The problem? We live in Western New York. Near Niagara Falls & Lake Erie. Bamboozle, the most wonderous musical event EVER is in Jersey. Hours and Hours away from us out here in no man's land.

The solution?
A road trip of epic excellence. That's right kidlets, an epic adventure. It'll probably take nine or so hours to get there. The show starts on Saturday, but we can't even leave on Friday afternoon because our epic friend who's accompanying us HAS to work that night (damn bartender), so we'll have to leave in the wee hours of dawn, probably right after the bar closes. And since I'm usually one of those patrons who doesn't leave til the bar's shut down, the both of us will probably be a crazy combination of drunk and sleepy. And after that, my boyfriend and our other friend will have to pick us up. Then proceed to drive us to Jersey. Where much merriment and musical enjoyment will commence.

Can we do it? I hope so. Where there's a will, there's a way, no?

Giveaway Winners!

Oh Mondays. I bloody hate Mondays. Having to wake up at the crack of dawn (kind of) after two blissfully work-free days is my least favorite thing to do. I imagine many people feel the same way. So, is there a better way to start a Monday morning than by discovering that you've won free goodies? I think not!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my first Giveaway from my LolitaRose Etsy shop!! It was fun to learn other people's favorite cover songs, which led me to find some new favorites of my own. I put everyone's name into a hat (well actually, an empty coffee mug...it works!), and pulled out three winners. Here's who they are:

http://www.circlesareforever.etsy.com
This lovely lady makes the cutest jewelry and trinkets using upcycled bottle caps. Everything in her shop is awesome. Plus, she makes custom bottle cap jewelry too! How neat is that??

http://www.sillylittlelady.etsy.com
This fab Etsian makes lovely handknit items and handspun yarn. Her shop is full of beautiful scarves and hats that almost make you wish winter would stick around longer, just so you have an excuse to buy some pretty things.

http://www.olliegraphic.etsy.com
This awesome Etsian makes customizable stationery, name prints, cards and more! Everything in her shop bears her cute graphic designs, all customizable to look like you or your child. And some of her items are printable PDF files, which means you don't even have to have it shipped to you!


Once again I'd like to thank everyone for participating, and congrats to the three that won =) I look forward to my next giveaway!! Make sure to check out these awesome shops!!!

Happy Monday
xo

25 Things

Awhile ago, I was tagged in one of those silly facebook note thingys. The one for 25 random facts about oneself, preferably secrets. I kind of liked it. So I felt the urge to post it here:


25 Things about me (Traci Lee)

1: I am scared to death of rodents. All of them. little guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, woodchucks....yeah all of those. Plus bunnies, kangaroos, opposums... you get the drift.

2: I love snakes and spiders. I've wanted a pet snake for like a gazillion years, but can't get one because... I'm afraid of it's food. hah.

3: The people I consider my closest friends are all guys. I probably couldn't have chosen a stranger set of besties. I don't know what I'd do without them...and they probably don't know how much they mean to me.

4: My sisters are amazing. If you hate them, chances are, I hate you.

5: I used to think that potatoes were my favorite food. Then my boyfriend pointed out that I eat mac & cheese pretty much every single day. Mac & cheese IS my all time fave. I can't believe I didn't figure it out on my own.

6: There are exactly four people I've never lied to in my life. None of them have a clue they're that important to me. (And by people, I mean people I've had friendships/relationships with. Not people in general. I don't generally lie to the public at large.)

7: I should have dated my cureent beau longer back in high school. I secretly think we're probably supposed to end up with each other. Like, always. Ish.

8: The only ring I ever wear lately is from my BFF. It does an effective job of confusing people about us. Much like our cuddling and inside jokes.

9: I hate living with other people. (But I hate being alone...)

10: I voted for McCain. But I'm glad Obama is our President.

11: I won't eat hamburgers. But I love meatloaf and sloppy joes.

12: I hate dark beers, but have recently discovered a deep rooted love of Guinness Extra Stout.

13: I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. (I wish I had some sort of direction...)

14: I make jewelry. It's pretty. I sell it too. ( http://lolitarose.etsy.com )

15: I can crochet. I've never finished anything I started though. (EXCEPT that I finally just finished two washcloths. Go me!)

16: Music is the most amazing gift on earth.

17: I love Britney Spears. While at the same time being an avid Atreyu fan. Yeah...

18: I have six tattoos. Yup. Six. I can't wait to get even more.

19: I kind of have a mohawk fetish. If you have a mohawk, I will attempt to rape you. True story. (I'm pretty hawt though, so you'll probably enjoy the rapeage.)

20: I miss the friends I had in high school. I'm not close enough to any of them anymore. It makes me sad.

21: I wish I had rebelled more in high school. Maybe my parents wouldn't be so disgusted with me now. (This is why I always feel as though I'm trapped at age sixteen...)

22: I'm writing a novel. (Right now, I have *maybe* a chapter finished. It's mostly consensual rape. Yep. I write erotica well.)

23: I love other people's little kids. I secretly want one. But not yet. (Or maybe not ever...now.)

24: I drink to forget. (always. there's never another reason for my drinking. ever.)

25: My family means more to me than I can describe. (I wish they knew this. But no one will listen to me long enough to let me tell them...)

Black and White.

Wouldn't the world be much easier if it were confined to these two colors? Right and wrong, evil and good, love and hate all compartmentalized into these neat, tidy little categories, in such a manner that eliminates the need to second guess yourself.

But the world is full of color. Shades of grey, then blues, reds, yellows, oranges, purples and browns. There is nothing in this world that can be called simple. Even the most basic of human relationships can't be explained away in black and white.

And it's the shades of grey that make my next step so hard to choose.

Seacrets...no, not the bar.

"i still believe in mermaids.
and part of me stil believes that one day,
they'll save me from this place
and let me live with them forever."
(inspired by my many visits to PostSecret, and the photo is a stock photo from public-domain-photos.com, which I edited using Picnik)

I've always been drawn to the sea. The Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite movies (both the disney version and other versions, more closely based on the fairy tale). It's no wonder that I've got tattoos of a koi fish, a mermaid, and a seahorse.

I've been a certified SCUBA diver for several years now... since I was fourteen I believe. I spent my fifteenth birthday on a dive trip with my family in Bonaire (a tiny island off the coast of Venezuela, but owned by the Netherlands), exploring gorgeous reef systems. Once you've actually been under water and seen these wonderous creatures in their natural environment, any trip to a zoo or aquarium will make you a bit sad. Because as lovely as these animals are in captivity, it's NOTHING close to how beautiful they are in nature.

As much as I love the ocean, and being underwater, I am also absolutely terrified of it. I can't even go in the deep end of a pool for fear of drowning. No one ever wants to dive with me because I'm always the first to run out of air (hooray for hyperventilation), just because I'm so scared.

But I still retain the fantasy of living under the sea.
Maybe that's my Heaven...

Banners, and giveaways, and stormtroopers oh my!

Today, I got a bit carried away with myself. I'm one of those people who gets bored easily, and likes to change things up often, so I'm prone to changing my Etsy banner often. Not to mention my avatar... But about the banners. I have just discovered that using the magic of Picnik, I can make my own shop banners without even opening my annoying photo editing program on my computer (the one that slows everything down every time I try to use it...ugh!). Via the magic of the interet, I can create pretty banners with the pictures from my Flickr page (yay!) or any number of other social networking sites. Woooot! Well, I ended up making three new banners thus far. THREE. And now I can't choose which one I like the best. Phoooey. I'll probably just save them all into my rotation.

Of giveaways: I've posted a Giveaway a few blogs ago, giving everyone a chance to win some pretty things from my Etsy shop. But... I need more entries! So I'm extending the giveaway into next Monday. Check it out!!

Of Stormtroopers:
Pez is delicious. The most wonderous and awesome candy ever invented by modern or ancient mankind. The ONLY thing that can even improve upon its wonderousness... is eating it out of a Stormtrooper Pez dispenser. Oh yes. I'm THAT nerd.

xo

Unagi

Is apparently a specific type of sushi. Something to do with eels... and it's also my father's favorite kind of sushi. Which under normal circumstances would have no bearing on anything, except that tonight my wonderful beau is taking me (and a few friends) to one of those spiffy Japanese restaurants that make the food right in front of you. Apparently, they have sushi. And my dad insists that I'll love unagi if I try it. I'm skeptical. I'm not a fan of seafood at all, and basically, to me, sushi is just raw fish. If I don't like it cooked, why would I like it better raw? Oh well. I suppose I'll find out.

Either way, I'm excited to go someplace I've never been. It should be fun.

Hopefully I'll find something good to eat...

And I'm here...

To remind you, of the mess you left when you went away.

(Yet another song I can't get out of my head. And of course, not the original Alanis Morrissette one either. I know I misspelled her name too. Oye vay.)

I can't seem to stop taking pictures of myself and other things lately. Which is a nice change from being pathetically camera shy for YEARS and years and years. But also makes me realize how often I wear certain articles of clothing. And considering the astonishing size of my wardrobe, you'd think I could find something else to wear. But favorites are favorites for a reason. They're comfy, and get compliments, or they're just fun.

Like my colourful zebra print hoodie. That I seriously wear every other day. I just love it. I'd probably not even bother with the every other day thing, and wear it every day, but friends have started worrying about the health of the poor hoodie. They just can't understand the love affair I have with this particular piece of nostalgic whimsy. (Why it's nostalgic is beyond me. Although I'm fairly certain I was wearing it the night I first hooked up with my boyfriend. Probably.)

Anywho, here's another fabtabulously edited photo of moi, helped by the magicality of Picnik (best site EVER, minus Etsy), and all pretty and suhweet looking.


Don't forget to participate in my giveaway!!

xo

GIVEAWAY!! Where have all the good men gone...

And where are all the gods?
Where's the streetwise Herucles, to fight the rising odds?

Yes, my friends, I've had that song stuck in my head for about a week now. "Holding out for a Hero". Not even the original Bonnie Tyler version, but a cover by Emery (which amuses me greatly, as it's a guy singing about needing a hero...haha!), and every single time I hear it, I picture the Fairy Godmother from Shrek 2 singing it in that red sparkly dress, which just adds to the hilarity. But I digress.

I'm addicted to cover songs. Any song that anyone sings that was originally someone else's song makes me happy (quite a sentence there, eh?). Because of this, I decided that the theme of my first giveaway from my Lolita Rose shop would be... Cover Songs.

So, on with the contest!
Rules:
-Leave a comment here or convo me through Etsy with the name of your favorite cover song, the band who originally sang it, and the band who covered it.
-Tell me your name and Etsy shop name (or if you don't have an Etsy, then just your name).
-Contest begins like, now, and ends at noon, EDT on Monday, April 6th.

What you could win:
-One of the items pictured above. There will be THREE winners. (Provided enough people respond, of course).
-I will then name three of my pieces after the chosen songs, crediting the winners (with their shop names) in the item listing (exposure for your shop! yay!).

How will you win?:
-I will put your names in a hat (or other receptacle) and choose randomly.

Let the games begin =)