Recently, my dad went on vacation to Mexico. And he sent Josh and me.....THESE!

(and for anyone concerned about animal safety - we did not actually bodyslam our small dog.)

I love this!



Originally seen on Gala Darling's Icing

I've spent the last few days obesessing and being upset about the postcard quality the printers has presented me with, and I am sick of it. (I can't wait for it to be resolved!)

Sooooo....instead, and as promised, new things I love!

Fatzilla and Fat Kong! (by Robin E. Kaplan)

I love it! I even got Fatzilla in a necklace!

And the girls from Robin's booth (one of whom was Robin I think...) were so sweet and excited about my slips. It made the day so nice to have such lovely people around!

Which also brings me to another very sweet girl whose name I've already forgotten...but not because she wasn't adorable and sweet as could be! I traded with her for an incredible feather fascinator:

Love it! It looks great and once it stops pouring rain every 10 minutes, I am going to get dolled up in it and go do something. I can't wait!

I also bought a fantastic present for my mom's birthday (Today! Happy Birthday!) but I don't want to give it away since she hasn't received the package yet. (Read: I haven't sent it yet. Yes, I am that person.)

Tonight Josh and I are heading over to a friend's house for corned beef, cabbage, and Irish car bombs.
Now, I had a conversation with some British friends not so long ago about the general inappropriateness of that name. Yes, we could also make a drink called 9-11, but for the life of me I can't figure out if there is a better name for the carbomb drink.
Any insight, send it my way! Maybe we could call them Irish Milkshake Booze Drink. Or, curdled cream, whiskey, and beer drink.

On the other hand...no one would be the least bit enticed by my names for drinks...so I guess we'll stick with it.

New things:

1. I re-homed the guinea pigs. This means, they belong to someone else now who will love them like crazy and not have a predatory 15 lb. dog trying to eat them.

2. The Hip Happening was good. Due to a scheduling issue, Scout (the dog) got to/had to come with me to the show. He slept in his crate most of the time. The other part of the time he spent tied to the crate and jumping on my lap. He was a big hit. I got some aMAZing (imagine my voice getting high with the "MAZ" part) stuff that I will take pictures of and tell you all about, it's amazing and you will definitely need to check it out. I will do all this once I am not so tired and waiting for the pizza to be delivered.

3. I'm moving into a 2 bedroom apartment next month, so I can have a little room for my studio. This means no more clothing racks in the living room! I am not the only one who is really excited about it.

4. Went to a great clothing swap party the other night, got some fantastic things. Pleated plaid skirt! Lilac colored satin skirt with pockets! Floral button-up shirt! Teal corduroys!

Ok, maybe those things sound incredibly wierd. But they are great, assure you. And hot.

I'm off to space out, relax, and drink pizza and eat beer. Even Scout is asleep in the closet right now. It was a big day with lots and lots of loading and unloading of boxes, tables, and clothes racks. We are tired. But very happy!

So far, today is not my favorite.

9:30 am

Dentist. 2 cavities. Thinks my neck problems/jaw grinding is very serious. Numerous appointments to come.

12:00

Home from dentist. Call the printers about the bad color on my new postcards. Only course of action is to drive over to the east side and discuss. How much do I not want to do this? A lot.

2:00 pm

Must be in lower SW for work at the toy store.

8:00 pm

Dodgeball game.

I am just not that excited about this whole schedule.

But, the giant inflatable crab is back on top of Jakes.

I do like that.

This Saturday I'll be at the Hip Happening in Sellwood. Come see me!

I did it - I am now going to experiment with this new fangled thing called Twitter.

Follow me!
I'll follow you!

Let's do it!

Yesterday we were featured on Modish! How exciting!! Thanks Modish!!!

Somehow I've found myself in the midst of a little shopping flurry this week.

Maybe it's the need to get out of the house, killing time waiting for the restaurant (where I went to work on taxes yesterday) to open, or just realizing I am in close vicinity to some store I haven't been to in ages.

But all excuses aside, this was a really successful shopping flurry!

I went to Target to find a folding table for craft shows - there is no telling how many folding tables I have bought that seem to disappear when I move! And....well, I got a cute strapless swim top for my honeymoon, a summer dress with pockets (dresses with pockets! must haves!), a pair of rather impractical but hot gray high heels (I've been dying for gray heels and for $20, well, I went for it), and Lip Smackers Vanilla Frosting lip gloss.

Now, Lip Smackers was the go-to lip gloss when I was age 8 through probably 14. My question is: Why did I stop using it? It's fantastic! Vanilla Frosting! A little sparkle! It doesn't leak in my purse! I am a re-convert.

It does seem like the selection is smaller than I remember. The local cosmetics corner store when I was a kid had nearly half an aisle devoted to Lip Smackers. Now, only a couple rows. Hmmph, maybe todays preteens are more sophisticated than I am even at 24!

While we're on the topic of shopping - most of you have probably heard of Mohop shoes. If not, go check them out! Or check out their Etsy shop. And the big news is, they are now HALF the price they were last year.

You know, last year when I bought them for my upcoming wedding.

But this hasn't soured my love for their new wedge style. And I do love ribbons.

Besides, they were worth it when I bought them, so that must mean they are DOUBLEY worth it now!



(Ha! Now that I've finished printing and doing my taxes I've managed to write an entire post about shoes and lipgloss....I promise this does not mean I am not working hard!)

The new collection can now be viewed in all it's glory on my website!

I'll be working like mad today to get everything listed for sale in the shop, so be patient and check back - I'm busting my ass to get it up there!

I'm so happy to have finally gotten to this point, I was so excited I kept waking up last night!

The photo shoots are done. The website is so close to being done. I'm still working on some plans for some kind of launch event, but I will definitely be at Crafty Wonderland (in Portland at the Doug Fir) on March 8. Come see me!

In the mean time, and because we all want to see photos anyway - out takes / behind the scenes of the photo shoots!

Steaming slips with the (not so) trusty "Steam Buddy".

Mimosas for all!Katie (day 1 photographer) and Maeve.

Anna thugs out.

Leah (day 2 photographer and fantastic helper, supporter, and awesome.)
Colleen the stylist.
And then, me.

The first photo shoot has taken place. It was amazing. I don't to give away the awesome-ness yet, so for now you just get this fantastic, blurry, colorful teaser.
I know, it looks like so much fun! It was!

P.S. I'm having a buy one get one half off SALE! Now!

March is nearly upon us! This means two things: the new collection will be launched really really soon, and I am freaking out just a little.

Naturally, I have left several rather large steps to the last and am now racing around in both life and my brain trying to will things into getting done.

I am soooo looking forward to a little breathing time after the launch. And it will definitely be little - I've got to start making wedding invitations pretty much, well, now. (This is the moment I curse myself for deciding to do it myself!)

In other news,

1. New typewriter! Love!

2. My epiphyte is blooming! Which means that I have not killed it, but in fact it is thriving! This is a major victory in Amelia vs. the black thumb.

3. Sneak Peek!

Portland has been lovely and sunny these last few days and its been hard to stay inside working. I've been talking about how much I've been making and working on without any proof for months now, so I've got a couple snaps just to show that I'm not alllll talk.

Check it out! A huge stack of clothes! All printed! All really neat if I do say so myself!

And look at these! Candles! They smell terrific and they make your home look super snazzy and loved.

I'm actually in the process of looking for a photographer who would like to shoot some photos for the new collection's lookbook and web site. Email me if you know someone! Or you are that someone! Or you take cool pictures and have recently decided to call yourself a photographer!

In other, wedding related, news...I visited the English Department this weekend on my hunt for a little shrug. This dress makes me wish I hadn't bought a dress yet! (Mine is great too, but this one - the buttons!! the net straps! le sigh. its also a size small, which I am not so much able to fit into.)

I'm on my short (albeit self imposed) lunch break and now I'm back to sewing tags.
I'm going to leave with a list of new things I am doing or like very much:
1. thermals all day long
2. hula hooping in the living room
3. epiphytes
4. melatonin
5. Mad Men

Happy New Year!

I'm a few weeks late, yes. But its about this time of January that it finally begins to seem like a new year. Holiday festivities are finished. New projects and ideas are in full swing. And finally, it seems new.

I don't generally make resolutions, but I do try to make a list of ideas and inspirations I can revisit through out the coming year to reflect on what I thought was coming and where I thought I wanted to go. I jot down notes and sketches, paste in pictures and draw on them too, and make list after list.
This year I am:
- going into business more or less full time for myself.
- getting married.
- going to (re)conquer my scuba diving anxieties and swim with whale sharks.
- going to cook more.
- diligently training my dog to be a better behaved little beast in public.
- and more.

I am excited.
I hope you are too.

The website is back. Honestly, I think most of the posts on this blog are about the website having problems!!

We're in the middle of a cold snap (everywhere seems to be, so maybe its not just a snap...) and the snow is bringing out my most intense hermit nature.
It's not really even snowing that much. Mostly its icey slush patches and a wicked cold wind that crawls under your scarf and freezes your nose.
Yesterday I didn't even go to my day job because of the snow and my bus being out of service, only for the snow to become rain and the roads to be pretty much fine by mid afternoon.
Today I'll be stomping my way to a bus that's actually in service (come on 44, what's the deal!!) and schlepping myself to the toy store.

I'm slowly receiving all my supply orders and organizing, planning, reorganizing things in preparation for the printing bonanza taking place next week.
I can't wait to actually MAKE these things I've been plotting for months now!

Quick note: my website is down again but hopefully will be back up in a day or two. If you need to get a hold of me, just contact me via my Etsy shop, or email me directly: amelia (dot) hopefulmonsters (at) gmail.com

I've already said it, but November just blew by. I can't believe its December!

After being out of town for a week (just a week!! seriously!) I have a barrage of phone calls to make and a whole list of stuff to get done before I can really get down to the business of making things.

But it was definitely worth the time off. The wedding in Berkeley was beautiful and I am so glad I was able to go!

After a few days in Berkeley full of tea times, Devonshire cream, and pie Josh and I spent an afternoon poking around San Francisco (mostly we went to the Moma and a Turkish restaurant that we were thrilled to find) and flew off to L.A. to have Thanksgiving with his family and family friends.
We ate to near explosion and then drove up to Portland.

Its nice to be back home with our dog and the pigs (one of which is trying to climb onto my lap as I type).

I'm still hard at work on the new collection and it's finally starting to look put together!! I am really looking forward to the launch!!

Whew!
These last couple weeks have felt so busy!



Halloween was fun. I was sick so it was a pretty early night for me, but we went to Nosferatu (the silent vampire movie from the 20s) accompanied by live music. The band was Mood Area 52, I guess they normally play sort of stylized tango music. It was really cool.
Here we are all in our costumes (ok, Scout didn't have one). You can't see it in this photo, but I have a little foam whale tail too. For a costume that was so easy to make, I think it turned out pretty well.

In other news, I'm getting ready to go to the San Francisco area for a good friend's wedding. Any tips on things to do around there? I'm sure we'll be sufficiently entertained, but I'd love to have some places to see if we get a chance.