Twelve hours and two torrential downpours later...

... and I'm back in VA. I think it was around hour 8 or 9 that my back started protesting loudly and angrily. But I made it, the car made it, and I have tons of ideas for future posts. Seriously, what else do you do on such a long road trip by yourself. Well, besides the obvious- crank the tunes, dance in your seat and sing as loud as you can. Yes, I'm that person. Laugh all you want but I have fun on my solo road trips (at least for the first 5 hours), plus, it helps to combat fatigue and increases blood flow. Who's laughing now?

Yesterday I posted a series of questions for you to all ponder while I was suffering the horrors of driving. But what am I saying? You were all there, so you know, right? At any rate, I promised to post my answers today (you know, because I'm tired and don't have the brain power right now to write about anything more clever).

Well, here goes... 

* If you have the ability to easily let someone off the hook for something they're sweating over, do you? Or do you think, "Huh, I could tell so-and-so to not worry about it, maybe some other time, however, I'm really curious as to what excuse so-and-so will come up with this time. And furthermore, if this is always so-and-so's idea, and so-and-so always cancels, shouldn't so-and-so be made to sweat over the lame excuses?"

Well, if you're anything like me (and you're probably not, lucky you) you tend to jump to conclusions and assume that so-and-so is hemming and hawing over what excuse to use this time when, in fact, they're just super busy and haven't replied to your text because they were under the impression that you were going to call them (which, after it has been pointed out to you, you vaguely remember agreeing to). So, under this incorrect assumption, you bow out of the plans, citing various lame-o excuses just to save yourself the agony of going through that again, and, in all honesty, you weren't entirely sure it would be in your best interest anyway. And then so-and-so immediately responds to you and expresses their extreme disappointment that you're bailing and tries to get you to change your mind, but at this point, for various reasons, it's too late and then you end up spending the rest of the night (and subsequently, the next day as well) kicking yourself for being such an idiot. {sigh}

* Pennsylvania or New Jersey? PA or NJ? The long route or the aggravating route? PA? NJ?

Pennsylvania. And it actually had nothing to do with trying to avoid NJ. So, yeah.

* Which is more important in life, security or happiness? (I may or may not have recently watched The Wedding Singer)

God, where do I even start on this one? The responsible (and unemployed) adult in me says security (don't judge me, please), however, the romantic adventurer in me says happiness. In a perfect world, we could have both. I'm beginning to believe less and less that we live in a perfect world (I know. Shocking, right?). I've always believed, that above everything else, the most important thing in life is to be happy and live for yourself. Unfortunately, my bank account disagrees with me.

* What's the best music for a summer road trip?

She & Him. TV on the Radio. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. The Black Keys. The White Stripes. The Dead Weather. Adele. The Antlers. The XX. The Killers. According to my iPod at least. If the funds were available, there definitely would have been some last minute additions to the list (read: David Byrne, Noah and the Whale and The Kinks). Unfortunately, I did a piss poor job of prioritizing my music purchases before my gift card ran out.

* Do you believe in soul mates? Explain your answer. And furthermore, is it best to have known your soul mate and lost him/her or to have never known him/her at all? (I may or may not have recently watched 500 Days of Summer)

Okay. I've never been a believer in soul mates. Of course, up until a month or so ago I was also in extreme denial of the romantic that lives inside me. I always felt that the idea of soul mates was all a bit hokey. It was my belief that there were no such things, just people that you can get along with. And once you stopped getting along with someone, you just moved on to the next person you got along with (totally un-romantic, I know, but remember that whole denial thing?). Of course, that's probably the child-of-divorce speaking, but whatever. That being said, I may or may not believe in soul mates now. And we're leaving it at that. Oh, and as for the second part of the question, I'm leaning towards having never known, despite what the rest of you think.

There.  Now excuse me while I go and plan out those super kick-ass posts I came up with on my journeys. Or not. In case you haven't noticed, I'm the kind of person who frequently starts things and then never finishes. Or never gets around to starting in the first place. True story. In fact, I have 4 drafts just chilling out, waiting to be finished. Or started.

And of course, since I really hate posting without pics, here's a few from my adventures in Northern NY.

Oh, and one more thing... 

Remember how you I used to regale you with tales of my adventures that were just so shameful I couldn't actually tell you about them? Man it's been awhile since I've had on of those weekends, huh? It may interest you to know that I'll be attending a party in DC this weekend. I am assured that drinking games will be played (wanna come? Seriously? Want to?), which means, I may have fantastic and humiliating stories to tell you on Monday that I will be too ashamed of to tell you about. Yay[ex.pt.]

Previously on OBG... 1.6

                  

Although inspired in part by a true incident, 
the following story is fictional 
and does not depict any actual person or event.*

        

When we last left OBG...

                 

...she had an enjoyable weekend in Alexandria, despite the presence of obnoxious people and hair bugs. She also enjoyed watching horror movies, killing zombies and playing a new video game, which, for the life of her, she can't remember what it was called. Her attempts to create a debate between the pro- and anti-Nicolas Cage camps failed as did her campaign to bring down the tyrannical 1 and !. She also expressed her disgust for all things celebrity and social media related and chose to take a break from reality and traveled to Northern New York for a pseudo-reunion of sorts.

We now join OBG on Saturday evening at "Cobble" where she is hangin' with Twin and some former high school classmates.

Twin: I can't believe my son is three already and my youngest little guy is going to be one in August...
Cess: I miss my gremlins. I wish they could have come with me. Lu is so precocious and Mase is getting so big and Laney is growing up so fast...
A.T.D.: I left the kids at home with Dad. I wear the pants in the family and he's my bitch. He had no choice but to stay home with them while I came out and partied with the girls...
Terra T: Sorry I'm late. I had to wait for the babysitter to show up...
Rye-Dog (pulling photos from back pocket): Did you see the pics of my new baby girl? Isn't she beautiful? Just look at those eyes. Don't they make your heart melt? Yeah, she's at home with the wifey while I'm out for some brews with the guys. I'm probably in the dog house, but...
K.T.: Did you see the blond hair on my little guy? Isn't he so cute? Check out those glasses? He's such a nerdy three year old, but aren't those specs so endearing? Did I tell you about my upcoming nuptials...
Twin: Seriously guys, Benny Bugger is already starting to walk and Owen B'Dowen says the darnedest things. For example, just the other day we were in the kitchen and... 
Cess: Oh my god, you would not believe what Lu said the other day. We were in the car and...
A.T.D.: I can't believe T-Welch couldn't find a babysitter. Actually, I can't believe she couldn't get J-Welch to stay home with the kids. They're his kids too...
Terra T: My mom was so late showing up to watch the kids, but I love that she'll watch them so I can go out...
Rye-Dog: Have you stopped in and seen the wifey and the new baby yet? You really should. Feel free to stop in anytime tomorrow. I won't be there, but she will. No, anytime is good for her, I'm sure...
K.T.: Yeah, I was driving home with the fiance's daughter and I couldn't believe the attitude she had after spending time with her mother, and I told her...
OBG (looking up from her red plastic Solo cup at the circle of people): Damn. Anyone else think these drinks are extremely weak? I mean, is there any liquor in here? All I can taste is soda. What the fuck? 
Twin, A.T.D., Cess, Rye-Dog, K.T., Terra T (Conversations come to an abrupt halt. Blank stares all around).

Next time on OBG...

                        

...will OBG ever have anything in common with her high school classmates again? Did K.T. actually call OBG an alkie? Will OBG ever be able to return home to visit without feeling like the walls are closing in on her? How come the same fuse keeps blowing in OBG's car, and how many times will she have to replace the damn thing before she breaks down and has it looked at? How much longer will OBG's laptop last? Has it really begun to eat her files? If not, where did those missing files run off to? Will it ever stop raining? Will OBG have the energy to drive back down South tomorrow or will she delay her return trip one more day? And how come she never gets to see the people from her hometown that she would really like to see? Will she get the chance to meet up with Pooh, Stormey and/or SMos on her way back through the Hudson Valley and NYC? And furthermore, was there any alcohol in those drinks? I mean, seriously? And how did OBG manage to go to the bar with $50 and leave with $55?

Stay tuned for the next episode of OBG, where all of these questions will be answered. Or none of them. It could go either way.

* I freely used my poetic license for this reenactment. The conversations didn't quite go as I have alluded to here, but this account wasn't that far off the mark either.

If I made a list of every place I've left my panties...

  

...well, I could add one more place to my list. My sister's bathroom. Lovely. Usually I leave stuff at my family's houses when I leave (a razor, a washcloth, soap). Apparently I'm raising the bar and leaving decidedly more embarrassing things behind when I arrive.

And I really don't want to know who it was that picked my dirty undies up off the floor, folded them, and then placed them on the bathroom counter. Was it my 14 year old nephew? My sister's boyfriend? My sister? (Oh please, dear God, let it have been my sister.) Here's hoping I get out of the house tomorrow without having to see any of them. You know, aside from the hour long car trip with my nephew when I take him to hockey camp in the morning. *Sigh* I mortify myself.

Now imagine these are yellow and white striped with a blue picot trim, the ribbon on front is blue, and take away the eagle. 

Oh and throw in a few rhinestones. Yup! That would the undies in question.

So, in case you missed the memo, I'm in New York for a few days. I intend on having tons of fun with my sisters and nephews. So much fun I won't have time to blog (well, that and I will have no access to high-speed wireless internet. Only *gasp* dial-up!). 

So, have a great weekend and catch you all on Monday. Or Tuesday. Definitely Wednesday. Yeah, Wednesday.

(For the record, I hate the word panties, but underwear didn't quite fit in the title.)

Mountain Girl, meet City Girl

"Well, I guess you're the city girl."

Or so says my mom, the last time I spoke to her.

I guess she's right.

I couldn't imagine returning to my hometown for any extensive length of time. A weekend is fine, a night is better, but anything more than that is just unbearable.

I grew up in a small town in the Adirondacks in Northern NY. As in, two hours north of Albany (yes, NY State continues beyond Albany, and I'm not talking about Buffalo either). I suppose it could have been worse. I mean, if we're talking crime, well, crime was pretty much non-existent in my hometown. A picturesque town boasting a population of 1,250 (2008), my hometown is one of the most serene and non-threatening places you could raise a family. Of course, it's also one of the most boring, uneventful and seriously lacking in opportunity towns to grow up in. It's no surprise that very few young residents stick around after graduation. In fact, as soon as I graduated, I cut out of there as fast as I could.

 My hometown. Yes, this is actually a picture of the town I grew up in. Believe it or not. 

In case you're wondering, my homes (yes, plural) were miles away from here. In the mountains.

Ever since I left, I've been trying to find my place in the world. So far, that journey has taken me to five different regions in NY state. It seems the closer I get to large, metropolitan areas, the happier I am. Despite my introverted tendencies. I'm pretty positive I was born to be a city girl. I blame the ADD in me. I crave activity and nightlife and excitement and chaos and attention and sushi at 10 pm and pizza at 3 am. I want it all. I need it all. That wasn't always the case, however.

I am a born-and-raised, true-blue, mountain girl. I spent my summers barefoot. I swam in mountain lakes and rode four-wheelers down mountain roads. I picked blackberries with my sisters, while keeping an eye out for bears. I can drive a stick-shift, and I know how to drive in the snow, ice and rain. I know what it's like to have to hike up the driveway because it's too muddy/icy to drive up. I've seen deer gutted, skinned and hanging from the rafters of a garage. I know what poutine, Red Hots and Michigans are and I know where to get the best of both.

The house my dad built. Literally. I lived here for a majority of the first 15 years of my life. 
My dad used to own over 100 acres of the surrounding forests.

I've partied in the woods, around a bonfire, with mosquitoes nipping at my ankles. I've partied on the Lake while middle-aged women parade around in their obscenely small bikinis. I've partied in run-down bars in the middle of nowhere featuring strippers who were missing their teeth (a story for another day). I've partied in bars with rednecks, hicks and townies. I've partied at pig roasts. I've partied in fields with guitar-playing, bongo-pounding hippies. I've partied with the band. I've partied with the cooks. I partied on the Swastika (there's a story behind this). I've partied in the snow, the rain, the sun, the sleet and the mud. I've partied in tents, in trailers, in trucks and in back-woods camps. Oh yes, I have partied in the mountains.

In the mountains, function comes before fashion. In the mountains, sometimes you have to bathe in the lake when your well has dried up during a particularly dry summer. In the mountains, you know how to live with no power for a week when there's an ice storm. In the mountains, you can't get cable, high-speed internet or cell phone coverage. In the mountains, your neighborhood is the woods.

Growing up, my sisters and I spent hours playing in the woods. I loved the smell of the woods, and I loved to wander through them and imagine that I was in some other country or fantasy land. The woods were my refuge when I was sad, angry or lonely. Being so surrounded by nature was calming and peaceful. Of course, it was also very isolating and restricting.

 The areas of NYS that I've lived in. See how I've been making my way down the state? 
Obviously the city has been calling to me for years and drawing me closer and closer.

I fell in love with big cities after my first trip to NYC. It only took two more trips to NYC and a trip to Philadelphia to solidify my desire to live in a metropolitan area. In a couple of days I'll be moving to the outskirts of DC. While in my heart I will always be a mountain girl, I'm super excited to become a city girl. I can't wait to explore the DC area and discover new things. And hopefully find a job along the way as well. Call me crazy, but I love the idea of walking everywhere and riding public transportation (I'm sure that novelty will wear off pretty quickly).

Over the past eight or nine months, I have made several trips to NOVA and the DC area, and I'm psyched to become a part of the city lifestyle. While I have some reservations about my move, these reservations are limited to the personal aspects of my life. I have no reservations about living in NOVA/DC. The food, the nightlife, the hustle and bustle and excitement of it all (and hopefully better job prospects)... I can't wait!

Me, in the mountains. Some of you might remember this picture from my first ever blog header. 
Or was it my second?

Of course, my change in lifestyle will inevitably affect my blog. While I hope to maintain a constant presence in the blogging community, I can't guarantee that I will be able to follow through with that. That being said, here's what I anticipate for my blog down the road:

• I hope to make "Previously on the OBG" a regular feature on Mondays, but those posts are a lot of work and not always worth it, but I anticipate my weekends to be more fun and exciting, so I'll probably have more to write about. Eh, let's see how this one goes.
• Random Shit Tuesday will stay. I always have random shit to say.
• I expect to dedicate my infrequent weekend posts to the shit that I like. For example, my I ♥ Etsy posts and other things that are more for me as a way to document me and my style preferences. No one reads blogs on the weekends anyways, right?
• As for the rest of the week, I expect to still bring you the intelligent, insightful, clever writing that I've been bringing to you all along. Wait, what? Yeah, you heard me. I'm insightful, intelligent and clever. And you will be hearing from me. I just can't guarantee it will be every day. Like I said, we'll see how it goes.

I'm sure I'll have lots of tales to tell and experiences to report upon. Maybe I'll find myself a job and regale you all with work-related posts. Or maybe I'll make tons of new friends and share my wild times with you. Or maybe I'll just bitch about the horrors of moving and starting over. Or maybe I'll become one of those bloggers who talks about my personal relationships. No I won't. Don't worry, I'll never be that person (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not for me). 

In the meantime, if anyone has any NOVA/DC advice or suggestions, I would love to hear them. I'm talking about good places to live. Good places to eat. Good places to go on the weekends. Good places to shop. How to survive the Metro. And so on and so on.

I hope I'm making the right decision with this move. This Mountain Girl is about to become a City Girl. Wish me luck!

And I stepped in dog pee too.

You know those mornings when you wake up, look around, find yourself on the top bed of a bunk bed and are confused by all the pink, girly things surrounding you, and you wonder:

Where am I, and how did I get here?

and then you roll over to find a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 year old standing there, staring at you, and that's when you realize that you're sleeping in the bedroom of your friend's six year old daughter?

Welcome to my Sunday morning. I've certainly woken up in worse places.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I partied (too hard) like a rock star with some old friends from high school on Saturday. It was a blast. 

See you on Monday!

I can't believe I forgot about this!

    

A couple weeks ago I won my first giveaway, yay! I had recently started following the blog Along the Ausable. I used to live in Jay, NY so I enjoy popping over to Along to take a trip down memory lane. One evening I wandered over and discovered that she was having a giveaway! Along had recently made a discovery while visiting Devin's Garage and Deli*... jewelry! She was so excited that she decided to giveaway a pair of earrings to the first person to comment on her post. Of course, yours truly was the first person. Yay for me! (see, sometimes it pays to stalk people) Pop on over there, and read about it yourself. It's a cute story that reminds me of the small things I miss about living in small towns.

Anyway, I had completely forgotten that I had won, what with all the chaos currently occurring in my life. So, I took my (bi) weekly trip to the post office today (I always forget to check the mail), and look what I found in my mailbox!

Earrings! And a postcard of the Jay Covered Bridge! I was so excited. I rarely ever get real mail, and I rarely, rarely ever get packages in the mail! I'm thrilled about these earrings. They're so cute and they're green too! One of my favorite colors. I can't wait to wear them (I promise to post pictures when I do, of course). And check out the note on the back:

Awe, thanks! This has made me feel nostalgic, and I feel like reminiscing about the things I miss about living in Jay:

•  I NEVER forgot to go to the post office; it was right across the street! And I could walk there!
• sitting on our roof on the 4th of July, watching the three, yes three, different fireworks displays over the river. And they lasted forever!
• hanging my laundry out to dry.
• the neighbor's HUMONGOUS cat. That thing was seriously huge. In fact, it woke us up one night when it was fighting an owl over a rabbit. The cat won.
• walking down the hill in our backyard to go tubing in the river.
• the sense of community.
• music in the village green. We never actually went, but we could hear the music from our house.
• the weather. It was so weird, but living in Jay was like living in a weird weather bubble. If it was snowing everywhere else, the sun was shining in Jay!
• the scenery. I can't find most of my pictures, I think they're on my computer packed away in storage, however, I was able to scrounge a few up on this computer. It wasn't the most beautiful day, but I'm sure you'll get the idea. This was our backyard. Please disregard the date stamp. These obviously weren't taken in January. Or in 2070. If you want to see some prettier pictures, check out this gallery. Enjoy!

* Devin's Garage and Deli is a great place. They used to change the oil in my car. And I could walk there!

Mountain Getaway

  

I just returned from a weekend back home in the mountains. I haven't been home to visit since... uh... well, I'm embarrassed to say I don't know when I was there last. Maybe last August? Or was I there for Thanksgiving? I don't remember. I wish I could say it was purely a social/catch-up/self-reflection visit, which it was, but I also went home to attend the wake of the mother of one of my good girlfriends from high school. It's hard to imagine that we're at the point where worrying about our parents and their health has become a part of our lives. I still have a hard enough time coping with the idea that most of my high school classmates are married or have children or are going through divorces or all of the above. I, as you may or may not know, have yet to reach any of those stages or milestones yet (ever?). It's hard to imagine we're going to have to start dealing with losing our parents.

So, Friday night my sister, a good friend of ours and I attended the wake. There were some familiar faces in attendance, and while it was good to see them, it certainly wasn't the best of circumstances. Part of the evening was spent reminiscing, part was spent crying, or more accurately, bawling, and the other part was spent discussing breast feeding, Dora the Explorer, potty training, and... well, I don't really know because I stopped listening at breast feeding. I had originally planned on returning to NP on Saturday, but I was easily persuaded to stick around for "girls night out" (which, I am sad to say, is nothing at all like "girls night out" used to be) on Saturday evening. I also liked the idea of spending another day with my nephews. Here's a pic of Owen B'dowen telling me to, "Shhhh. Be quiet" because his brother was sleeping:

I had forgotten how deliriously giddy and stupid my sister and I can get when we're tired and haven't been around each other in a while. I've been told we have our own weird system of communication. We probably do, but when you've known someone since conception, I guess that can probably happen. Here's a pic of my sis when I was trying to show Owen B'dowen how the smile function on my camera worked. For those of you who don't know how this works, the camera can recognize when people are smiling and then automatically take a picture. For some reason though, the camera wouldn't recognize my sister's smile, but would instead snap away whenever she made a goofy face (I'm posting the tamest pic):

On Saturday, I was able to enjoy some of the previously unacknowledged (by me) perks of the mountains, no internet (well, my mom has dial-up, but that's so painful, she might as well not have it), no cell coverage and no television (again, my mom has a dish, but her tv is so small and old, she might as well not have one). In other words, complete isolation with very few distractions. This was something I hated about the mountains when I was growing up, but as an adult, with a ton of work to do, this was actually quite welcoming. My sister had hauled the boys off to a birthday party, so I was able to complete a few hours of work in silence. I think there's something to be said for the whole recluse in the mountain cabin thing. If I had a mountain cabin, I'd spend the next two weeks in it to get this thesis completed on time.

Saturday evening, my sis and I ventured out in a small caravan of minivans, sedans and SUVs to the middle of nowhere and drank around a bonfire campfire pile of coals with about five girls we graduated high school with (and the band members of E'town Express, as well as a few other folks). There was more reminiscing, and of course, more kid talk (yawn). The evening made me realize two things: 1. I miss having close friends, especially my high school girlfriends. They were the absolute best, and 2. I have very little in common with them anymore. Oh, they're pretty much the same people as they were in high school, a little more mature with a few more laugh lines, but, for the most part, I can't relate to their lives (read: kids, marriage, divorce). We were able to bond over our latest (mostly failed, or failing) adult relationships. We commiserated over our unemployment woes and reflected on the fact that we were entering (in the case of my sis and I, have entered) our 30s, and for the most part, none of us find ourselves where we thought we would be at this point in our lives. Now that I reflect back on it, I guess we do have more in common than I thought. All in all, it was good times. A little chilly, sure, but no one's shoes caught on fire, the police didn't show up, and no one fought over anyones boyfriend. Isn't it amazing what age can do? Just for fun, here's a pic of a "girls night out" in high school. Please, by all means, be embarrassed for us. Fashion didn't seem to exist back then:

Good times. So, this morning I woke up to snow. It is only March, you know. It's been known to snow in the ADKs in May, so this shouldn't have been that big of a surprise to me, but I feel like I've been gone for so long I had forgotten about this type of weather pattern (it had been sunny and in the mid-60s the day before). It was good to get back to the 72 degrees in NP. Overall, the weekend was good for my mental health. I reconnected with some good friends, saw my favorite nephews, completed some thesis work and was able to clean out some of the cobwebs in my head and do some spring cleaning/organizing in there. I hope everyone else out there in blogland had a productive weekend as well!

OH! I almost forgot! You know how I have a not-so secret, long-standing crush on Christian Slater? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to catch a repeat episode of My Name is Earl Friday guest-starring none other than Mr. Slater. And when I returned home tonight, and decided to turn on the TV around 8:50pm, low-and-behold, there he is again! On Extreme Makeover:Home Edition (which I don't actually watch, but I suffered through ten painful minutes of a very scary looking, spasing Ty for two brief glimpses of Christian)! Why didn't I know about this?

I am a golden god(dess)!*

 

.... and I make golden creatures!

Stay tuned for a possible future project with these guys! And they'll be joined by friends. It'll be a grand ole woodsy time!

(If you want more of an explanation of this process, click here. I did use the gold leaf included in the kit on these creatures.)

*If I have to explain this reference to you, you might as well just stop reading now and walk away. We can no longer be friends. 

I ♥ Etsy! The family edition

  

I come from a family of very talented and crafty individuals. I am about to partake in some shameless plugging of the familial kind (that actually sounds dirty and really wrong. Maybe by the time I'm done writing this I can come up with some better wording). Here goes...

This is my mom
(and Owen B'dowen or is it Benny Bugger? Crap! They look so much alike!)

She's on Etsy. You can find her shop, Adirondack Crafts, here. For as long as I can remember, my mom has been sewing. Whether it be Halloween costumes, clothes for our Cabbage Patch Kid dolls or clothes for my sisters and I. In fact, I have a vivid recollection of a shirt I had to have my mom make for me. One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world had this really cool striped shirt. I wanted one too. We hunted and hunted for the perfect fabric (it was perfect to me, me with no concept of how to sew or that any one fabric is more difficult to sew than another. I'm pretty sure my mom was pretty hesistent about it). I was so excited. So my mom whipped up the shirt, and.... the stripes were going the wrong way. I was devestated. I cannot recall if I threw a fit about this or not, but knowing me, I suspect that I did. Thanks anyway, Mom.

Nowadays, my mom sews for the grand kids and for baby showers and what have you. She also makes these little Adirondack* inspired balsam pillows that are available at her Etsy shop. Here are a couple of examples...

 __________________________________________________

This is my step dad  
(with classic step dad face)

He is also on Etsy. He shares a shop with my mom, Adirondack Crafts, that you can find here. He is one of the most talented men I have ever known. He builds stuff. Lots of stuff. He has, in fact, built me a jewelry box, two bookshelves and a coat rack. Not to mention numerous things for my siblings. I don't know how he puts up with us and our crazy demands, but he does, and we love him for that. 

My step dad was recently laid off (it's a tough world out there right now for carpenters. Please don't tell him I told you this, though, he's a very proud *ahem* stubborn man). He is currently making some really great wooden cutting boards and recipe boxes (he cuts and mills his own wood! I told you he was awesome, right?) that are available at the Etsy shop. Here are a couple of examples...

  __________________________________________________

This is my sister  

(last one, I promise. Isn't she just the cutest?)

 

She also has a shop on Etsy (duh, that's what this post is all about). You can find her shop, SMWartworks, here. She also has a website** featuring her other work. You can find a link to it on the right hand side of my blog under the heading, "Things I Think are Pretty." My sister has always been artistically inclined and has a BA in Metals, or something along those lines. My family and I look forward to Christmas every year just to score some of her handcrafted goodies, whether it be jewelry or a tear-jerking charcoal portrait.

My sister makes really cool silver jewelry, available at her Etsy shop. She recently moved to Maine and has started making seaglass jewelry out of genuine seaglass that she picks up from the beach in her own backyard, on the ocean! Lucky girl. If I had a job right now, I'd buy a good number of pieces from her. I'm not kidding. It's that cool. Here are a couple of examples, or four, whatever...

 __________________________________________________

* don't tell my mom, but I'm personally not a fan of the whole "Adirondack" style. I do however, like things that remind me of the Adirondacks. Click here.

** this website is currently under construction and may not be available yet. My sis is trying to find a new, cheaper host, or something like that. I don't pretend to understand. Check back later if the link doesn't work. 

UPDATE: I just clicked on the link mentioned above for my sister's website and discovered that it takes you to her NEW blog! You can probably find your way to her website through that, eventually.

I crack myself up...

    

I came across this pic as I was uploading photos for a post on my alias blog, The Bitter Blonde. I had completely forgotten I took this! 

Last week, we actually got hit with some snow (about 6 inches. I know, extreme, right!? Someone call a state of emergency, stat!). Being the ever-ready, Adirondack-born, mountain girl that I am, I have been storing my winter gear in my car. I know, I'm super smart. 

In my defense, the last "blizzard" we got here resulted in about three inches of snow. In the Adks, I still wore my flip flops in three inches of snow* (and I still have all my toes. Amazing.)!

Well, I took it upon myself to go outside about midday and shovel the steps and walkway to our house (my housemates are all, what we 'dackers would call, city-folk and can't be trusted with this task).  Being sans winter boots and winter jacket, this is the stylishly fabulous outfit I doned for the job. 

Please take particular note of the jeans tucked inside the thermal socks (the longest pair I own). This was to prevent the bottoms of my jeans (which are no strangers to mud and puddles, mind you) from dragging in the snow and becoming sopping wet all the way up to my knees. 

Really, I should be ashamed to call mysef an Adirondacker or a mountain girl or claim roots in the North Country. I can feel the slickerness of the city slowly taking over...

* I have a very funny story of a time when I had to help my step-father haul buckets of water from our house to his garage in order to put out a chimney fire. It was the dead of winter, I was home sick from school, and I was barefoot. To be continued...

I ♥ Etsy! The ADK Edition

    

For whatever reason, I have been feeling very homesick for the mountains recently. Maybe it's the depressing pseudo-winter I'm experiencing in this part of the world (it's been cold, then warm, sunny, then grey and very, very little snow). Therefore I present to you, the Adirondack version of I ♥ Etsy!. All items can be found on Etsy.com and are either inspired by the Adirondacks or made in the Adirondacks (or both!).

(left-to-right; top-to-bottom)

White-Tailed Deer Mug,  Adirondack Owl Journal, Rustic Maple Bowl, Adorable Adirondack Celadon Baby Cardigan, Adirondack Wonders, Eco Friendly Cedar Adirondack Chair, Wooden Cutting Board, Authentic by Sweetwater, Adirondack Chairs, Neptune by Tula Pink, Sky Blue Tags, Addie's Summer Lounge, Old Barn in Flowery Field, White-Tailed Deer Bowl, Adirondack Laid Back

I ♥ Etsy!

    
I do. I really, REALLY do. I can literally spend hours browsing this site. I'm addicted, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. My favorites list grows longer every day. Below are some of my favorites of my favorites...
     

Alfred Hitchcock THE BIRDS Pillow by regansbrain

I suffer from insomnia, and way back when we couldn't afford cable, so, I would spend the wee hours of the morning watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents (gotta love PBS). Maybe that's way I was instantly drawn to this pillow, or maybe it's the colors. Either way, I love it!

  Sea Glass Ring in Sterling Silver - Brown and Apple Green by SMWartworks

I am a huge fan of combining green and brown, which is one of the reasons I love this ring. I also like that the artist only uses sea glass that she herself hand picks from the beaches of Maine. Plus, the ring is adjustable, so no need to worry about sizing! (and the artist is my sister. So...)

Silver Peas in a Pod Necklace by sudlow 

I hate peas. Bleh. They're small and mushy and smushy and just plain gross. But, I can totally get on board with these peas! So sweet and delicate. I love that you can order these necklaces with as many peas as fits your needs!

Wooden Meat Cutting Board with Juice Groove - Hard Maple, large by AdirondackCrafts

New to Etsy, this seller cuts, mills and handcrafts these boards in the heart of the Adirondacks. As a native mountain girl from the Adirondacks, I love to support other born and bred 'Dackers. (and they're made by my stepdad)