Seeing Red

Hi all, happy Monday! The weekend sure flew by, huh? Losing an hour yesterday threw me off a bit, but it is so nice to have more sunshine - so ready for spring. My weekend was pretty low key. I went out with a group of friends Saturday night which was a fun change of pace. I feel like I have been cooped up way too much this winter. It was nice catching up with everyone. Other than that I don't have too much to report.

I am still in a bit of limbo when it comes to my blogging. I am trying to get back in to the swing of things while planning out new things to cover. Once things warm up a bit I would love to do a ongoing series about neat places to visit in Chicago. There are so many interesting shops, parks, etc. in my neighborhood alone that I would love to share with you guys, so I am hoping to make that happen soon.



As for today I just have some random snapshots. I go through strange phases. Over the summer I was obsessing over crazy prints and now I find myself drawn to the color red. I am not sure what it is or why I get on the kicks that I do but right now it is all about red. My life is currently valentine themed, and I am a-ok with it.

The color red is the color of energy, passion and action. I suppose my wardrobe reflects my current state of mind. I sure could use a little more of the above going in to this new year.

What are you currently drawn to?

Have a lovely day everyone!

Wizard of Awesome

Hi guys! I definitely hi-jacked todays post title from the dress I am wearing in this post - just a heads up - too darn cute to pass up. Speaking of Awesome - last week I won a $100 gift card from ModCloth for taking one of their surveys - how lucky am I!?! I am saving the funds for a rainy day :] Aside from that, how is everyone's week going? I am frankly exhausted and it is only Wednesday. I am really looking forward to the weekend, however, because a few of my close friends are coming up to the city Saturday night and I don't see them enough which needs to change - ASAP. I am hoping once spring weather hits travel will be easier.

Anywhoooo... today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite dresses that has me desperate for spring. Isn't the poppy pattern pretty neat? Feeling sleepy? I can't help but think of that scene from the Wizard of Oz every time I put this dress on, sorta weird...not going to lie. Maybe avoid wearing this dress while operating heavy machinery...haha, alright, I am just rambling here since it is nearly past my bed time.



Outfit Details: Dress - Bernie Dexter via ModCloth - Wizard of Awesome Dress, Boots & belt - ModCloth.

Please excuse the hair straightner on the floor in these photos - whoops, blogging fail. It is just too darn cold out to snap outfit photos so I have brought the show indoors. I still haven't worked out all the kinks. Does anyone have tips on combating overhead lighting? I haven't mastered my flash yet...

Until next time my lovelies! Have a beautiful day :]

Toy Army Tuesday - Traveling Circus

Hi everyone! Today I have something very exciting to share with you all - the Traveling Circus (show opening) by Circus Posterus at Rotofugi.

WARNING: This is about to get geeky.


For those of you who don't regularly tune in to my blog the Circus Posterus Collective is a group of (my favorite) artists. Their home base/gallery - the Stranger Factory is located out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, making it very difficult for me to attend any of their shows. Over the past few years I have tried attending a handful of their shows and workshops but unfortunately my plans have always fallen through. Thankfully, my dreams came true when CP decided to have a show at Rotofugi - my local designer toy shop and gallery.


(Wall of work by Amanda Louise Spayd.)

I was beyond excited when I got word that CP was headed to town! It was my first time attending one of their shows, and even more exciting was that a handful of the artists were going to attend the opening - of course I had to be there. I have been a member of "The Sideshow" which is their fan forum/chat boards just shy of one year and I have been using it to keep on top of news in the CP world as well as meeting fellow fans. The CP forum is a bit like family, I swear, next thing I knew I was being invited over to a fellow boardies home to have dinner with some other boardies as well as with the artists!! I went back and forth that entire week debating if I should go or not, thankfully, I mustered up enough courage and headed over there. Everyone was so nice and down to earth, it was so surreal. I still can't believe it happened.


(Work by Kathie Olivas & Brandt Peters)
(Work by Stephan Webb.)
(Work by Valency.)
(Work by Ferg, Travis Louie, and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Jen Musatto and Travis Louie.)

The morning of the opening - Saturday, February 15th - my room mate and I camped out in front of the store at 5am in the lovely -6 degree Chicagoland weather and waited for the store to open at 11am so that we could be the first two people to receive tickets to purchase art from the show. Haha. It was a bit overkill, but I wasn't sure what to expect. The next person to show up in line didn't arrive until 8am. I thought my room mate was going to kill me. By the time the doors opened only 8 people were standing in line - I honestly regret nothing.


(Work by Chris Ryniak.)
(Work by Shing Yin Khor - Sawdust Bear.)
(Work by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Joe Scarano.)
(Work by Time Lee.)
(Work by Stan Manoukian.)
(Work by Katie Carillo.)

I am continually blown away by the work these artists produce. It was nice to inspect each piece in person for a change as opposed to looking at them from fellow boardies photos in the forum. I have to make it out to one of their shows in New Mexico some time soon.


(Work by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Amanda Louise Spayd.)
(Work by Shing Yin Khor - Sawdust Bear.)
(Work by Valency.)

I fear this post is becoming borderline overwhelming so I will stop for today. In upcoming posts I will break down the pieces by artist and give you more information about them. For more information about each piece please visit Rotofugi's Gallery - I will re-update this post later with the title of each piece, honestly, I am just up way past my bed time at the moment. As for today - I just wanted to give you a glimpse of what the opening was like. These last few photos with the artists are my personal faves.


Kathie Olivas and I.

Amanda Louise Spayd, Fiddlesticks (my Dust Bunny!!), and I.

Chris Ryniak, Brandt Peters, and I while being photo bombed by Amanda :]

For those interested: the show runs from February 15th through this Sunday, March 9th. Oh, and click on any of the images above to see more shots from the show!

Until next time! Have a great day everyone.

Life Lately - Ch-ch-changes

Hi all! How the heck have you been? I have gone and disappeared yet again, and let's be real - no surprise there. Life on my end has been a bit bumpy and slightly chaotic, but I think things are finally beginning to smooth back out. The first few months of this year have been a whirlwind, but I am so thankful for the lessons I have learned and adventures I have been on so far in these few short months.

This past weekend I spent a lot of time reflecting on things and jotting down a list of personal goals for the upcoming year. I hate New Years resolutions, we all get so hyped and jazzed up on it, but rarely stick with it. We just jumped on board because everyone else had. Now that the confetti has settled and the excitement of the new year has worn off a bit I have been able to breathe and figure out what I really would like to accomplish.

This year I am going to... improve my health both mentally and physically, get my projects up and running, travel - I am thinking Nashville and a crazy weekend in Vegas, explore my surroundings, help out in the community, and open up to new people and possibilities. I feel like I have shut myself off from the world for too long. It is so easy to retreat and come up with endless excuses not to fully live. This year I will be present and in the moment. If I accomplish one thing this year - that would be it.

Anywho... enough about that positive mumbo jumbo. What have I been up to? Aside from working my bum off I decided to do something slightly daring and go back to blonde for the time being. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it, but it is growing on me.



A few weeks ago I also attended my favorite group of artists opening show, which I will share with you all tomorrow for Toy Army Tuesday.

Take care my lovelies :]

Dear Summer, please come soon!

Hi All! How are you doing? I have survived another polar vortex. It was negative 20 with the windchill, brrr. Due to the weather I have been avoiding the outdoors at all costs. For todays post I thought it might be fun to do a throw back to an outfit I shot this summer but never got around to posting. Warm thoughts and photos will make the world just a teensy bit warmer, right? Who am I kidding.

Anywho...



Outfit Details: Dress - Modcloth, Dotted Dessert Dress, Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell, Urban Outfitters.

Diner dude Gus: Get a load of that car outside (old school cadillac).
Me: Uh, cool.
Diner dude Gus: I will take pinup photos of you on it any time you want.
Me: *Blushing* Uh, cool, can I have the tuna melt?

This dress warrants the above happening apparently, haha. I was on a date with my boyfriend wearing this dress and the owner of our local diner asked me to take pinup photos for him. I don't know the guy from a hole in the wall so I politely declined, but it was still a nice compliment. This dress is a lot of fun to wear and twirl in :]

Have a wonderful weekend my lovelies!

Toy Army Tuesday - Candy Coated

Good morning my lovelies! I hope your day is off to a good start. I am just going to jump right in today with my Toy Army Tuesday post because I am way too excited. I will admit, I haven't been keeping up with my favorite collective of artists Circus Posterus, honestly, because I am trying to save money. However, the other day I saw a post that could not be ignored - Circus Posterus is coming to Rotofugi!!! This means I will not only be able to see the work of some of my favorite artists in a gallery for the first time, but I will also have the chance to meet some of the artists live and in person. I feel like such a fan girl and a nerd right now, but this news made my week. I tried all last year to make it to one of their shows and designercon, but unfortunately was unable to manage any time off. Now they are headed to my neck of the woods. Wahoo!

Anywhooooo, I thought it was only fitting to show off another piece I own from this talented group of artists.



This piece is my personal favorite^


Isn't this piece yummy? This Skelve is a Candy Coated Kuma designed by Kathie Olivas. This piece debuted in April 2012 for the Monsters & Misfits 2 show. He is 9 inches tall and is an edition size of 40. This is the skelve that got me in to collecting skelves, honestly. I was immediately drawn to this piece because of the color combo, adorable candy corn like nose, cute butt (check out his little jammies) , and devious face (cute and creepy is the best combo after all). I had quite a hard time tracking this piece down since I had missed out on it's debut, which makes him that more special to me. I don't think I could ever part with this piece.

I am so excited to see what the Circus Posterus has in store for this show. I will talk more about it next week as the show draws near. Stay tuned!