Toy Army Tuesdays - Ugly Dolls

Hi all, another installment of Toy Army Tuesday. I apologize for skipping last week but it was Valentines day sooo I think you didn't mind too much. This week I thought it would be fun to talk about the oddly cute and quirky Ugly Dolls.


My personal collection. (Left to right - Big Toe, OX, Ice-Bat, Babo, Brip, and Moxy.

According to the Ugly Doll website - UglyDolls.com, "'ugly' means unique and different, and celebrating who you are inside and out is the new beautiful." These best selling toys were created by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, and were first launched in January 2001. Since then Ugly Dolls have risen in popularity and were awarded Specialty Toy of the Year in 2006.

How Ugly dolls came to be is adorable. The following is and excerpt of an interview with David Horvath from CrownDozen.com - "Back in 2001, Sun-Min Kim forever changed the course of history when she sent her then long-distance boyfriend, David Horvath, a hand-sewn plush doll modeled after a little character he frequently doodled into the corners of his correspondence with her. The apron-wearing little fellow was named Wage, and he was the very first Uglydoll. Eventually, Sun-Min would bring to life even more of David's drawings, and what began as a huggable love-letter of sorts would result in a hugely successful line of plush dolls." In addition to the adorable love story, David and Sun-Min helped kick-start the designer plush movement.



Initially I was drawn to their oddly cute appearance. I also loved that each doll had a unique name, story, and personality attached to it. I received my first Ugly Doll, Babo (the second Ugly Doll design ever created), senior year of high school and have been collecting them here and there ever since. Today Ugly Dolls have exploded. You can purchase plush dolls, apparel, accessories, vinyl toys, tin toys, ceramics, books, blankets, bags, tin toys, and luxury items. With such cute faces, why wouldn't you want to surround yourself with and Ugly Doll army?

I could go on and on about the different types of items designed by the Ugly Doll creators, but you can check it all out for yourself at - UglyDolls.com.

I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday. Please let me know if and which Ugly Dolls you own :]

Most Wanted Mondays - Pastels

Hi all. Sorry for the late start this Monday, I drove back later from my mom's than I anticipated. I had a fun and relaxing weekend with the family. Saturday my mom, sweetpea, and I drove up to Starved Rock to check out the bald eagles - pictures to come later this week :]

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On to more exciting news - If you haven't noticed on the side of my page I have gained two affiliates! Shabby Apple and Revolve Clothing. I am so excited and honored that I can help sponsor their awesome sites. Please check out their stuff when you have the time! (And get your shop on!!!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

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Anywho, for this MWM I thought I would go with a pastel theme since I am wishing spring were here already. Enjoy.

1. ASOS - Darling Lace Amelia Dress.

2. ASOS - Skater Dress with Embellished Detail.

3. ASOS - LULA Pastel Color Block Ballet Flats.

4. Bomobob - I Remember Summer.

5. Shabby Apple - Alice.

6. Shabby Apple - Giverny.

7. Shabby Apple - Bellissima.

8. Petit Plat - Macaron Pendant.

9. ModCloth - Light of Dawn Top in Sunshine.

10. ModCloth - Bookish Babe Jeans in Aqua.

11. ModCloth - Bubble Gum Glamour Shoe.

12. Bumble and Boogs - Felt Garland Pastel Flowers.

I solemnly swear to catch up on all your comments and blogs tomorrow!

Sans-MacBook

Hi lovelies!

I am home visiting my mom for the long weekend :] Unfortunately this means my blogging is limited to using her PC with on again - off again semi stable wifi internet connection. This greatly limits my blogging abilities, so I apologize for not having a Thrifted Thursday this week, also for not getting back to your comments yet. I have read them all but am unable to write back at this moment, I hope to get to all of your comments tonight by the very latest. It is sad, but I get so jumbled when trying to use a PC after having used Macs for the past few years #graphicdesignerproblems. I am planning on some fun posts for next week, I just wanted to keep you all in the loop. In the mean time I plan on snuggling up with sweetpea and hitting up some new thrift stores with my mom. I can't wait!

Latest news: My first website design for a local business went live Wednesday. Wahoo. I feel weird sharing it on here/having it linked to my personal blog, so I have posted only a screen shot to show you the gist of it (I designed the logo as well). Overall I am happy with how it turned out.

Image from Jame Karas Reviews.
Wednesday night my Mom and I saw South Pacific at the Cadillac Palace. It was wonderful. I loved the story, music, and men in navy attire - what more could a girl ask for? I also want all of the girls swim suits from the show, they were adorable. If you haven't seen this show you should definitely check it out.

My bud Billy and I
Yesterday I visited two good friends of mine from school - Billy and Lindy. They graduated last May so I haven't seen them in awhile. It was so good catching up. I am so glad to be done with school but the one thing I miss is having all my friends so close by. With everyone graduated, or graduating shortly, everyone is packing up and moving all across the state and country - eeep! I really hope to keep in touch. I think I need to start writing some snail mail...

Anywho, I am off to get my thrift on. Hope you all have a lovely weekend! See you Monday.

Valentines Day 2012

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!
For todays post I thought it would be fitting to talk about my valentine - my boyfriend Brian.
I haven't shared much about Brian on here up until now, so here goes nothing...

First of all I just want to say that -
Brian is my main squeeze - the peanut butter to my jelly if you will - yin to my yang. I don't know what I would do without him some days. He is the most laid back and up beat person I have ever met, which is great because I tend to be tense and anxious far too often.

We have been dating for -
Just over 2 years now. We don't have an exact number of months, hours, and minutes counted like some because we don't have a set anniversary. We also broke up for 3 months after having dated 3 because he studied abroad in England for a semester - we got back together as soon as he got off the plane though :] But that also complicates things when choosing an anniversary.

How we met -
I stalked him. Alright - a bit of an over-statment, butttt I did notice him long before he noticed me. I transferred schools my Sophomore year of college and spotted Brian moving in across the breezeway. I would see him from time to time getting on the elevator and I thought he was pretty cute but of course I never said a word to him.

Speed up a year later to mid October - our friends had an apartment where everyone would hang out and throw parties. At one of those parties I saw Brian and decided I had to do something (act like a little girl and tell all her friends she thought he was cute). Half way through the party my ex (yes this was super awkward) walked up to Brian and told him he should talk to me - and guess what! He did :] Unfortunately the party was winding down and I am pretty sure it got relocated to someone elses house so I didn't see much more of him that night. The next morning I received an fbook message from him asking if I was going to another party later that night (yes all that ever happened on weekends were parties in my college town). We met up later that night and chatted the night away, yadda, yadda, yadda next thing I know we are hanging out every day digging one another :]

Today -
Here we are today happy as clams. I love him so incredibly much. As for our valentines day plans - I am cooking him dinner (stuffed shells and bruschetta) and we are staying in to watch a movie. Brian isn't big on Valentines day, this is our 3rd, but this year he is acknowledging it and i'll take it, haha. I am not that big on the holiday either - I just like that it is another excuse to eat chocolates and snuggle up to my cute boyfriend.


[This goofy pic was taken at my birthday last April. To explain the caption: my room mate had a bachelorette disposable camera because it was on sale.]

Hope you all have a great day!

Most Wanted Mondays - Lovey dovey

Hi All. I thought I would jump on the Valentines day badwagon for at least a few posts. I am not one of those girls to go overboard for the holiday. I love chocolate - don't get me wrong, but standing in the aisle full of hearts and what not kind of gets my head spinning. But for those of you who like all the mushy gushy love stuff, here is some cute Valentines day stuff :]

1. ASOS - Moschino Cheap & Chic Heart Scarf.

2. ASOS - twenty-seven names Heartbreaker Silk Midi Dress.

3. ASOS - ASOS Big Hearts Sheer Tights.

4. Fred Flare - Betsey Johnson Pink Patch Love Cropped Cardigan.

5. Fred Flare - Heart Shaped Sunglasses.

6. ModCloth - Find It in Your Heart Handbag.

7. ModCloth - Keep 'Em Perforated Heel.

8. ModCloth - How Could You Nantes? Dress.

9. Vpauld - Vintage Valentine Reproduction Trick Dog Dachshund.

10. Nasty Gal - Heartbreaker Dress.

11. Nasty Gal - Ikat Heart Blouse - Black.

For Valentines day I plan on telling you a little about the man in my life :] Until then, have a great day!

Headshots pt. 2

Hi all. Lazy day around the ranch. Just met with the client and they loved the website I designed for them :] It goes live on Wednesday so I will have to show it off once it is up. I am so excited to have my first website design for a business up an running. Other than that I am just looking for jobs. Woohoo.

I thought I would try a cutesy DIY tutorial today for Valentines day, but once I got to the store I was overwhelmed and over the holiday haha. I will be posting a cute post about me and my man on Valentines day however. In the mean time here are some of the headshots I took of my brothers girlfriend. I had posted my brothers headshot awhile back so I thought it might be fun to show the ones his lady picked. I think they turned out pretty well. Let me know which one you like best. Thanks!



Isn't she pretty? She is going to be a Broadway star as well so look out for her in a few years.

Have a great weekend everyone!