my aim is true

Come support Moutheater and pick up their new record, Ornament. There will be a few nifty colors of vinyl to choose from, or so I hear.

Check out the bands playing: heathens | surroundings | swallowed up | brain damage | moutheater

You guys, I forgot to post the winners of the Hot Blossom giveaway (although I did email them and send out the packages)! I blame this new dog, who has totally taken over my life and three-fourths of my brain. Remind me why we adopted another dog? Life has been officially disrupted! Whew!

Congratulations to: Rayna | Pam | Jess | Dee dee for winning the fabulous prizes!

We have been considering adding another fur kid to our family for quite some time. We were very close to adopting a brother for Kyla from the same rescue group we got her from, but right about the time we found a dog that we wanted to bring home, she had to have surgery and the rescue group didn’t want to wait for her to get better.

That was ok, we just decided to wait until the time was right. Then our friend Shan called us to let us know that a cute little Boston terrier named Jasper had turned up at the Norfolk Animal Care Center.

Jasper was turned over by his family after nipping their 10-year-old while playing! What a shame! But all the better for us, because now he is part of our family!

He’s a beautiful boy with a sweet temperament. I’m sure as he gets adjusted to his new home we will be able to see more of his personality. So far he loves everyone he meets and he’s very gentle. He and Kyla don’t love each other yet, there are lots of squabbles over toys and space on the couch - but I think with some time they will get along.

They do great on walks together. They still haven’t played together, but I think Kyla is a little pissed off that she is having to share things and tolerate this filthy cretin invading her kingdom. We are doing a 7-week basic obedience class with them starting July 9, I’m hoping that will help them bond and give them both a refresher course. Jasper knows “sit” and that’s about it from what I can tell. We may decide to change his name, we aren’t sure yet!

More pictures soon I hope, for now I’m breaking up fights with a squirt bottle and crossing my fingers.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to a fabulous new fabric line - Hot Blossom - by the awesomely talented Josephine Kimberling. She graciously sent me some swatches to review as well as some awesome prizes so I could host a giveaway!

The Hot Blossom line, which is a collaboration with Robert Kaufman, comes in three colorways: sunset - pinks, fuschias, oranges and violets combined with black and white for bold contrast; spring - aqua, apple greens and browns for a colorway that’s very “now” and fiesta - a fun, warm color story with bold teals, oranges, yellows and warm browns.

The collection has a mod - yet bohemian - feel and combines soft organic shapes with more solid geometrics that when Josephine puts them together, feel like a natural combination. The shapes and colors scream girly, fun and fashionable while still being just a little quirky.

The fabric itself is soft, 44-inch wide Kona cotton, which is perfect for quilting, home decor items or garments.

To find Hot Blossom fabric at a retailer near you or online, go here or here. If you win, or if you buy some of her fabrics, I hope you’ll post your creation to the Hot Blossom Creations flickr group!

For more about Josephine, check out the interview with her on True Up {part 1} {part 2} - she has a fascinating and varied background! Also check out her blog, which features all sorts of creative pursuits, and her flickr page which is full of gorgeous photos and awesome inspiration for project ideas.

So about that giveaway! I’ll be giving away four, yes FOUR, prizes of one yard of 44-inch wide Kona cotton Hot Blossom fabric to each of four winners. Josephine has packaged them up so very nicely, and chosen some lovely patterns for you to create something with!

To enter, please leave a comment telling us what you’d make with your yard of fabric. You may comment until 11:59pm on Thursday, June 26. Four winners will be randomly chosen on Friday morning, June 27 and your packages will ship out that day!

So, what can you see yourself making with these beautiful fabrics? Good luck, everyone!

Check out this super cool video about Crossfit Virginia Beach, where I work out! Now I really regret not being there that day, and yes I have done that workout before.

The Time Traveler’s Wife is my favorite book of all time. I even had a quote from it - To world enough and time - printed on our wedding programs. It is just the most amazing story to me; it’s one of those books where you just feel emotionally bound to the characters from the start. Plus the book is filled with all kinds of awesome music (punk) and art references, which I think made it all the more relevant to me.

The movie is coming out August 14. I’m gonna organize a big girldate around it so I don’t have to bawl in the theater alone haha . I bet the movie is going to be really really good even if you haven’t read the book (which you SHOULD). People go see this.

Let me just start this post off by saying I never win giveaways. And I am totally going to allow myself to believe that this is good karma for all the giveaways I’ve been hosting on this here blog lately.

I won an iPhone!!!

Squarespace (an online content management platform that I’ve heard lots of good things about) is hosting a contest on Twitter where they give away one iPhone every day for 30 days. To enter, you simply have to send a tweet with the #squarespace hashtag included. They choose a winner at random once a day, who wins a $199 gift certificate to the Apple store!

The truly mind-blowing thing is, I didn’t even know about the contest. I saw a couple people on my twitter friends list do the #squarespace thing and finally sent a direct message to my friend Joe asking what it was all about. He told me, and I sent a tweet right then saying, wow squarespace, how did you guys know I was thinking about getting an iPhone this summer? (Which is true - our contract is up in August and I was totally planning to get us a pair for Jimmy’s birthday!)

Hours later I get home, log in to twitter, and I have over 100 @replies telling me congratulations, and an email from Squarespace’s marketing director asking where she can email the prize! Talk about mind blown! I couldn’t believe it! It truly must have been a one in a million chance. Many, many people are entering the contest multiple times a day, every day. I sent one tweet, and won!

Everyone should be entering this contest. I mean, you know someone who won, that has to make the odds seem better, right? Follow Squarespace on twitter, and keep those #squarespace hashtag tweets coming!

And speaking of giveaways, we have a totally awesome giveaway coming up this week, probably tomorrow. Lovers of fabric and awesome color and design, you are in for a treat!

Bracewar | Naysayer | Gaining Ground | Pushing On | Out of Step

Out of Step is Jimmy’s new band! Come on out! $7, doors at 7, all ages!!!

I had a really productive meeting with the 7 Cities Crafters yesterday. I’m very excited for Handmade Parade 2009, our big ol’ holiday craft show. I think it’s going to be a bigtime hit and I have so many people who want to help make it so. Watch for more details coming soon. This week is gonna be a whirlwind, I am seeing No Doubt with Paramore (I’m a total fangirl, don’t even care) on Wednesday night, and then my show (and Jimmy’s new band’s first appearance) is on Thursday. Mixed in between will be work, a little crafting and some crossfit. Whew! What are y’all up to?

1. RIP Mr. Bunny, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Herbs and radishes ready for spring rolls, 5. Beautiful Brooke, 6. for the show.., 7. IronMaidenKid, 8. closer, 9. Loot from our Boston trip, 10. beautiful day, 11. charity baby socks #2, 12. Pink and Teal @ Jerry’s, 13. stink eye, 14. bahar başıma vurdu…, 15. Untitled, 16. Pannonian sea, 17. may 14, 2009, 18. Awaiting Doors, 19. Lily-loo!, 20. roses, 21. Untitled, 22. eggs, 23. easter_2009 - english pea soup, 24. Two, 25. my favorite rainbow, 26. picture this, 27. cookie–thinks women are people, 28. TRUE, 29. paint, 30. Straighteners, 31. tulips., 32. Hoppers, 33. Trio, 34. Ranunculus, 35. And I will consider you gone. 11/52, 36. Chef Tim Grandinetti

Yeah I’m still alive. Life is a little crazy lately, but just in a routine way and not in a big things are happening way. Booking & going to shows, working out at Crossfit, making websites, trying to grab every spare second with Jimmy and my family, and going out of town to visit this pretty lady.

Pretty much every time Genevieve and I hang out, I forget to take pictures. I guess we just are so comfortable around each other, it feels like we hang out all the time, even though I never get to see her. So it doesn’t feel like a picture-taking occasion? I did have to snap this garden growing out of my sushi though.

I love the town she lives in. Winchester, Virginia, is a charming little place and I’m mad jealous of the excellent Thai restaurant within walking distance of her apartment. I had a really relaxing getaway weekend, got to see Matt and the weenie dogs, got an amazing facial from Gen and the best pedicure ever at Le Papillon, the day resort where she works. I felt totally pampered. It was a much needed little sojourn. Now I’m back to busy life. I miss you already, lady!

Watch for an awesome giveaway this week that I’m really excited about!