you go girl!

My bestfriend in elementary school had this clear plastic purse that said "YOU GO GIRL!" over and over all over it. At the time, I thought it was pretty awesome, but have never since even bought myself to utter those words I just typed (twice) aloud.

But this has brought me pretty damn close.

If you're like me you've been following this reality-tv "Devil Wears Prada meets Top Model" show called Stylista. Perhaps it's partially fueled by my unfufilled desire to work at a fashion magazine (mine was craft and although it was stylish, it was definitely not an Elle or Nylon.) Perhaps I just love watching really well-dressed people run all over Manhattan. But towards the end, I discovered another reason to get behind Stylista:





I'm talking here about the hardworking, smart and very, very chic Johanna, who also used to blog over at A Serious Job is No Excuse. If you haven't already read her blog, go - now! I give you my permission. It's full of Johanna's witty and enigmatic writing about fashion, beauty, and the disgrace that is corporate DC fashion. After poring through nearly all the back entries, I was rooting for Johanna in a way that was both unhealthy and unprecedented. She was such a good writer! And cute! And stylish! and she truly, truly wanted the job at Elle more than any other catty, bitchy, immature (yes and well dressed) fashionistas.

but yay!!! She won!!!! I downloaded the final episode to watch on the plane back from DC and (I kid you not) started tearing up when they announced she won. Maybe it was related to the air pressure, or the fact that I missed my boyfriend, but I also some sort of vindication. Finally - a girl that proves hard work, brains, and a well planned wardrobe can get you everywhere.

on buying handmade

this may sound a bit sacrilegious coming from me - someone whose major goal for 2008 is to make her business profitable to live (at least halfway) off - but do you ever feel that giving handmade is somehow "less than"?

Of course, I like giving handmade, especially if it's something I made, because I think it reflects on my relationships with people better. Rather than saying: oh hey, here's a dvd or a sweater, it's: oh hey, here's a hand-crocheted stuffed owl made to look like Hedwig or here's a giant dog bed with your dog's name embroidered on it. There's no questioning that not only a lot of effort and thought went into those items, but also love.

However, I usually relegate handmade gifts to those I'm closest to. But with people I don't know as well, I worry my items may not have as much value in their eyes. I mean, this has to do more with what they like - things that can be measured on a monetary scale. But if you're making an effort to buy handmade and support small businesses, what could you get these people that they won't think is cliche?

any thoughts?

handmade christmas, pt 2

Happy 100th post! I can't believe I'm only at 100 - this blog is almost two years old! Of course, we all know why that is (um, 3 month absence) but I am now trying to make at least 3 or 4 posts a week.

So of course I handmade some gifts this year...



For my mom, I made these heart-shaped lavender soaps. This was my first foray into soap making, and I did a double layer situation with colored glycerin on top (with embedded lavender flakes!) and shea butter on the bottom. Soap making is super easy - I didn't even have to use a double boiler. I also just used my Ikea heart shaped ice trays, taking a page from this lady's book.

Then, inspired by an online domino article about terrariums by a favorite blogger of mine, I made two terrariums for my mom and sister.

For my sister's I used mainly succulents - she has a black thumb like me.




For my mom's I used ferns, and other leafy greens, and used sheet moss to finish off the dirt. I then stuck in some purple ornaments.






I wrapped them all up (ok, not the terrariums, but my other gifts) in a brown paper bag turned inside out.) I loved making the terrariums but it was not as cheap/easy as I thought it would be. I think it also depends on the types of plants you use, and how much they cost.

Tune back in tomorrow as I'll be writing a post about giving handmade items (that you yourself handmade).

handmade christmas, pt 1

We have a few x-mas traditions in my family: getting new pajamas on Christmas eve, stockings-first during present opening, and my favorite: a new ornament each year to put on the tree. As you can imagine, a have quite a very ornaments (at least 23, plus several "baby's first christmas" ornaments and whatever else my mom wanted me to have.) But my favorites are the ones I've made myself throughout the year. Here's a little tour...






This one I made in Kindergarten. My favorite part about this card ornament is not the doodles on the front, but the fact that the pop-out picture of me on the inside is totally seasonally inappropriate. I mean - they couldn't tell us to wear Christmas colors for one day? Not only am I wearing shorts, but I'm wearing BRIGHT ORANGE FLOWERED shorts with matching shirt. Fashionable, I was.


Here's a blue-eyed Santa I made, possibly in first grade.


I made this crap-tastic "ball" ornament at McDonald's one year - I kid you not. And yeah, it's pretty much what it looks like: a styrafoam ball with jewel-y things pinned to it.


This one's pretty cute - a cinnamon stick santa/angel thing. I think it's a santa/angel because although it's painted with a santa hat and beard, it's got red pipe cleaner wings.


Ok, seriously? I know for a fact that this is a "doll" and yeah, I know what you're thinking?: wtf??!! See the part at the top, above the green ribbon, is supposed to be the head. This possibly, at one time or another, had arms and legs, but in more likelihood I just had a big imagination.


This is a TX ornament I made my parents this year, so it's obvious I have gotten a lot better at my ornament-making.


Now, this one is not a handmade ornament, but it is hands-down my favorite ornament on the tree. This is the "devil angel". It was a gift to my mom from her boss. It's not supposed to be a devil-angel, but just an angel-angel, but for serious, this is the most demonic looking ornament ever. It's become my duty to put it on the tree.

merry christmas

wow, I am a nerd, obviously, but I had some free time on my hands! Here is my lovely Seymour wishing you and yours a happy holiday! By the looks of the picture, however, which was taken about 2 years ago, Seymour has gained some serious weight. That sweater wouldn't even fit over his head now. I know someone's New Year's resolution...

<3 kristen

home coming

ok, I admit it: as I'm writing this I'm wearing a pair of cat socks, argyle pajama pants and my basketball team t-shirt from when I was eleven. Did you know I get asked all the time (well, I used to, since I started walking around with T I think I look a little shorter) if I played basketball? One time I was on a plane waiting to get in my seat and some guy who I found out used to be a girl's basketball coach was staring at me so I finally stared at him back and he said "Oh, my, god" (serious) "please tell me you played basketball." It helped that it was a teensy plane and my head was basically touching the ceiling. So yes, I played basketball and aside from being a little loopy and a little too aggressive, I was pretty good! I mean, I blocked a lot of shots...

So yeah, I'm wearing some totally embarrassing clothes right now (to be fair, I wear the cat socks all the time), drinking coffee out of a mug with my childhood dog on it, and tip-tapping away on my dad's laptop (mine seems to not want to unlock the internet - why oh why did I bring that clunky thing?) Where else could I be but in my (newly redecorated) childhood home?

When I lived in NY I came home a lot more often, mainly because I could take the train for as little as $60. But the longer you stay away the different everything looks, especially if, as I said before, they re-painted your room and took all the crap out of it that you don't want to take with you yet to your grown-up house. Mine includes: lots of cold weather clothing (I didn't think it would be that cold in TX!), childhood t-shirts (my dad used to get me one from everywhere he went, also hence the basketball jersey), books that mainly include plays and intellectual books I used to write papers in college but I did find my copy of Raymond Carver's What we talk about when we talk about love, lots of jewelry I haven't worn in over 10 yrs, and a ton of little trinkets and knick knacks. And before you have to ask, yes I will be taking pictures of the best of them, even if it includes using my dad's camera since mine is kaput.

Speaking of, here are some crappy pictures I took with my camera phone:


This is Kelsi, my childhood kitty-kat. I have had him since I was twelve and he still likes to sleep in my hair.


This is the awesome sign below our number plate. It's been in our family for many years - it was my grandparents. FYI it says "Pumphrey". That's my last name. Hence the Pommes Frites kinda sounds like "Pum-free". Also I like french fries.

Alright my dad is home and I've got to go to Home Depot with him. Seriously, I'm back in middle school, except this morning I was able to accept a shipment of wine. xo.

super mega blowout!!!

so as I mentioned in my last post, Haunted Housewares is going out of business. I sold some pillows at Etsy Austin's Holiday Bazaar, but I'm still left with six (count em) state-shaped pillows. I've lowered the price to MEGA SUPER SALE ROCK BOTTOM BASEMENT BLOWOUT PRICES, but I'd still be willing to accept a barter and go lower. Convo me via Etsy.





all available at haunted housewares mega blowout sale.

(ps - I'm going back to VA tomorrow until Friday so items will ship when I get back!)

only one more day to shop!

The Holiday Bazaar has so far been a great success - but you've only got eleven more hours to check it out (four today and seven tomorrow).

And in other news, Haunted Housewares is liquidating our stock - yes unfortunately after only four short months we are no longer. Of course, Pommes Frites is still going strong, and you can except some great plaid hair bows and other plaid-adorned things popping up in the shop soon (gotta do something with all those scraps). So if you've wanted a pillow and are in the Austin area, now's your chance! (hint: prices may even be dropping below $20)

tomorrow at the Broken Neck from 2-9 pm!!!! (4701 Red Bluff in East Austin)

I also have seriously delicious smelling candles yum!!

cheeseburger in paradise!

remember when I mentioned an awesome birthday cake a couple of posts back (and setting it on fire, but I made a new one!). Here it is:



Yessir, that's a big ole cake shaped like a cheeseburger. It's relatively simple and inexpensive to make - if you're got two 9" round pans you could bring this cake in for under $10. You'll need a box of yellow cake, chocolate icing, and different colors of icing to pipe on - I used a tube of red, green, and white and used some food coloring to make yellow icing. I'm a terrible cake artiste, but under the dim lights of the bar this cake looked pretty classy. But then again - doesn't everything?

shop update!

new books up in the shop and to celebrate I finally tinkered around with poladroid to bring you these lovely pictures. If I am, in fact, not the last person on earth to experience poladroid and you still have not heard of it - what are you waiting for? It's much cheaper than actual polaroid, plus you still get to watch them "develop".

click on the images for links!

rudolph the red nosed kia

today I saw a little kia that had antlers and a puffy red nose, a la our favorite x-mas reindeer. this is not a picture of it but it's one I found online instead:



all I have to say for this picture and anyone else who does this to their car is this: that is awesome.

bleh

so today is T's birthday and I totally just caught his (would have been) awesome birthday cake on fire. that's like something someone would joke about when referencing my sub-par cooking skills but no. it really happened.

I also found out the thing living in my wall is actually a pregnant squirrel. awesome.

so I'm off to get more cake mix and hope that by the time I get back my oven is cool enough for me to clean out. In the meantime here are some pictures I took with my camera phone today (in lieu of an actual camera)



I wasn't kidding when I said I shopped at the icing this past weekend and here's the adorable proof!


If you hadn't guessed this is for a Paul Revere plumbing company. Punny.



ps happy birthday T <3 <3 <3

shop update soon!

With just me at the hull of Pommes Frites I sometimes underestimate how much I can get done in a small period of time. I couldn't sleep last night and laid awake thinking about some writing I have to do for a class I'm taking at UT, books I want to carve, shifts I accidentally picked up then realized I had to back out of, and of course, this event:



Don't forget to mark your calendars for Etsy Austin's Holiday Bazaar, Austinites! You have three full days to check out Etsy Austin vendors IRL (in real life! forgive my abbreviation). There will be live music, free beer, skate demos, and of course, tons and tons of vendors - jewelry, toys, shoes, purses - I think there might even be some succulents. Haunted Housewares and Pommes Frites will be there, and in addition to books and pins I'll also be hawking eco-friendly candles.

So when it got around to 2 am I started wondering if T would mind if I turned on the lamp and TV and carved a book for a few hours. I think it was sometime around then, after I sent out a few random emails, that I fell asleep.

Anyway, I am making some book safes tomorrow and Friday, and hopefully will get them up this weekend or early next week. I will be listing a decent amount of flask books, and also send my packages via Priority Mail, so have no fear about delivery in time for the big X.

be-dazzle

here is something that falls under the category of things I want but for sure don't need.



a bedazzler! The sad part is I really wanted one of these in highschool (at least my taste is consistent) and did receive one for x-mas or a birthday, but it never came out of the box. I guess I grew out of my wanting-to-bedazzle stage into my that's-so-cheesy phase pretty fast (I'd say beginning of freshman year to after winter break).

And now I have the urge to get one again - I would say I'm in my that's-so-cheesy-and-AWESOME! phase. I want to bedazzle American flags on thing and rhinestone collars for T's dog (maybe Seymour the cat as well), bedazzle the underside brim of a hat (the kind people wear flipped up, a la Will Smith) - just things to be excessive and ridiculous, which, to be honest, is usually no my style.

If you're not convinced, watch this awesome infomercial!! (please be aware the sound doesn't link up to the video, but it was either this or one is Spanish)



Any opinions? I have a 40% off coupon and also part of a gift certificate at Michaels that I think might cover it...

hello, kitty

I'm usually not into all of that Sanrio crap - considering my obsession with collecting I'm sure it's pretty surprising but hey when I was twelve I was busy collecting international shot glasses and tidying up my keychains. However, I spotted this toaster in a recent selby post and I must have it. Apparently, it also imprints Hello Kitty on your toast. I don't even eat toast but I want it!!




I just found it online at amazon.com and it is only $20 plus shipping. If only I had $20!

oh nooo

so it seems my digital camera has broken, which is unfortunate both for this blog and for my etsy shop. however, my bf just got a digital camera and i'm sure he'd be so kind.

In the past few days we went to a carnival, picked up a lot of free encyclopedias off craigslist (46 in total!), sang karaoke, listened to the rodent that is living in my apartment wall as he nested and scratched and generally freaked me out, watched a lot of lost, ate brunch at hoovers which is delicious, and i made a feather headband and shopped at the icing, which is further proof in case you needed it that I have the taste of a tween!

Then last night I got my car broken into!!! :( I am irritated - they didn't take anything - I mean there was nothing to take aside from pillows. Is it a good thing or a bad sign that the thief didn't see my state shaped pillows as a hot commodity?

Just one of those times I go - I had my car in Brooklyn for eight months and it was a soft top convertible ('97 vw cabrio, hellls yeah!) and it never got broken into. I'm parked on a street that is semi-dark for an hr and 15 minutes? Boom. you freakin jerk!

so today I am finishing up some sewing and stuffing and waiting for the guy to come fix my window. So I no longer have a garbage bag there. Classy.

if you have big feet

you should go bid on my shoes over on ebay!


cutest vintage pumps ever that are a half size too small for me


top shop mary jane flats


the above two are both a size 9.5, and I have two more in my ebay shop that are 10's.

I also posted a few new items up in the shop, including another flask safe.