Goth Accessory

Ok, I totally "borrowed" this picture from www.actinglikeanimals.com but it was so cute and I totally wish I could have one.



The caption was: Best Goth Accessory Ever. Truer words were never spoken. How cool would it be if we could wear little animals around for a little while. Not dead ones mind you! Live ones where no one got hurt. But they wouldn't mind and everyone would have fun, and then when you were ready to take them off they'd scamper off back into nature.

Just think about it. Real live lizard bracelets. Mice pom poms on your shoes. Bunny shoulder pads. Dang! I wish I was a better artist, I'd totally do a whole line of live animal accessories. And they'd all be kind of funny looking.

Like I'd draw a pretty girl talking to a cute boy, but she has an owl on her head and the owl is supposed to stick one of its wings out to cover one of the girl's eyes to make her look alluring. But the owl is rolling his eyes because the mating ritual of humans is ridiculous to him and you know, he's got better things to do then try and make a girl with a bird on her head look alluring.

Yep, just pretend I drew that picture and posted it here. In any case enjoy the lovely bat goth accessory photo and let's thank the Acting Like Animals blog for letting me borrow it!

Hands

ashinamee.deviantart.com

Hmm, I'm in a weird mood tonight. I'm extremely sunburned after stupidly swimming hours in a pool without sunscreen and I should be unhappy about the coming week but I'm totally not. Maybe I should get out in the sun more. Although I will pay with the mother of all skin peels later I think some of that sunshine sank into my soul.

So to continue on in my strange reflections tonight I have one word for you: hands.


Farmer's Hands

I know what you're thinking. What do hands have to do with anything, Gothic or Victorian or steampunk or Art Nouveau? Well, hands had to make all those wonderful treasures didn't they?


www.dustandrust.com

Hands can kill or heal. Create or destroy. Reach out or do nothing...well, you get the picture. Enough with the bumper sticker. Either way hands are beautiful and living art.



When you think about it, hands are weird too. I wonder if we were aliens who had never seen hands would we still find them attractive? Look at your hands straight for a minute. I dare you. You'll know I'm talking about. They are very weird.


vvens.deviantart.com

Anyway, I wish you deep, blue pools and glorious, soul-melting sunshine. Happy summer everyone.

Rene's Recommendation: Bulletproof by La Roux


This song came out a while back but only recently did I hear it on the radio and really listen to it. For some reason it got stuck in my head. And the more it played in my head the more I wanted to hear it. It finally got to a point where I had to buy it and jump around my room dancing just to fully enjoy it. I recommend you get this song off iTunes or wherever you get your music. La Roux is brilliant!

Scottish Rite Dormitory

You should always keep your eyes on the look out for the mysterious and antique. One such morning after I went to go assist my sister I stumbled upon a most wonderful find that was larger then life and right in front of me. It was in fact, the Scottish Rite Dormitory, where my sister has lived her first, second and third semester in college at the University of Texas at Austin.

I once had dreams of living in such a splendid abode but alas it was not to be. Nonetheless, I've had the privilege of visiting many times since I went to school at UT and always found it regal and well-preserved. But only recently was I there with a Victorian lover's eye which allowed me to fully appreciate it's rich furnishings and decor.

Opening it's doors in 1922, the building was a gift from the Scottish Rite Masons to house bright young women attending the University. I won't bore you with a history lesson but I did want to post some beautiful shots of a few furnishings that I would be more then happy to take off of SRD's hands if they ever wanted to redecorate.



You remember those perfect pillows I've been scouring the world for? Well apparently they're already owned by SRD and taking up space on these plush wedge couch seats.



And I'll admit, I was two seconds away from asking the girl at the front desk where they found these treasures. Then I came back to my senses and realized she would have no idea and not to bother her with such ridiculous questions.



Also I couldn't resist taking a shot of the SRD resident's mailboxes. I mean how cool are these? They had a little combination and everything. So steampunk. I'm in love. Way cooler then my sad metal square of a mail box I open with a boring key. I'd live in the dorm just for these!



Anyway, those were just the few shots I took to post. I didn't want to look like a tourist wandering through my sister's dorm! Thanks SRD for keeping the Victorian look alive and well.

100% Love

Today I wanted to highlight the gorgeous Victorian jewelry box my sister gave to me for my 25th birthday.



This year's birthday was a little weird because even I didn't have time to celebrate it, being so busy with the book and all but I did get some fabulous birthday presents. And this was definitely one of the most thoughtful of them.



Not only is it silver but it has all the beautiful scrolling detail around its sides and the little claw feet to stand on. Then on the top you have a bouquet of flowers which, as I've mentioned before, the Victorians love tying their furniture accessories back to nature.

I can imagine in the future when I have my own family it would be a wonderful box to put surprises in. Chocolates...little notes...pretty coins...toe nails. :D No I'm just kidding about that last one. But anyway the possibilities are endless.

One of my favorite poets is Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894), sister to the famed painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). I plan on doing a whole post on Christina later (and not just because we share first names) but for today I wanted to post a poem that reminded me of the flower designs on my Victorian box.

Roses Blushing Red And White *

Roses blushing red and white,
For delight;
Honeysuckle wreaths above,
For love;
Dim sweet-scented heliotrope,
For hope;
Shining lilies tall and straight,
For royal state;
Dusky pansies, let them be
For memory;
With violets of fragrant breath,
For death.
-Christina Rossetti

*Disclaimer: As I was searching for this poem I ran into a number of different titles and this may not be the poem's true title. But nonetheless, the poem is the same.

And for anyone who is curious (because I wasn't sure) about what sort of flower a heliotrope is, here is a picture of it with the heliotrope fairy. It's also called vivid lavender.

Conference: OVER!

Ok, yes it has taken me quite a while to get back on my blog writing horse. But in my defense I did just finish writing a whole novel! So that's my lame excuse. ;)

However I have a confession. I am not great at keeping up with journals even though I enjoy writing. But to counteract that I may have to scale back from my intense blog regimen that I was on before the Writer's Conference. I wanted to write about Victorian things and add a recommendation on the end every day but I think if I'm a little easier on my blog then I will be more apt to keep it going. With that being said let me tell you about the conference!

The Writers' League of Texas Conference was a blast and it was even better then I expected it to be. Yes, the weird and wonderful prevailed again and I got some real positive feedback on my story. I am currently doing more rewrites on the novel and am waiting to hear back from some agents. So yay!! Honestly I wish I could live in that world every day. Surrounded by writers and readers and lovers of the word. Ah...what heaven that would be. I made some very nice friends there and found out I had a pretty good pitch as well.

And so to tie in my blog theme to my life I wanted to show you the steampunk necklace I made and wore to the conference.



It was an easy piece to make, except for taking the watch apart. It's basically two pieces. The front part is a vintage wrist watch turned backward and I attached the chain to it with some epoxy glue. Yep, that baby ain't coming apart. I got compliments on it and everything. I had been considering selling my jewelry pieces on Etsy.com because a lot of people sell steampunk jewelry on Etsy. But really I'd just be selling it so I can buy more steampunk jewelry. Hmm, kind of defeats the purpose. So why not just make my own?

Anywho, soon I'll be posting on the lovely jewelry box my sister got me for my birthday. Stay tuned and keep after your dreams!

Cross my Fingers and Say a Prayer

To all my wonderful blog readers who I've so long neglected I send my sincerest apologies.

I hope when I start this thing back up in two weeks you will not have lost all your confidence in me as a faithful blogger.

Currently I've been so busy, bordering on the ridiculous, finishing up my novel for the Writer's League of Texas conference I'm attending next Friday. I know I mentioned in my last post that I was almost done two weeks ago but this is the future me telling the past me that you are wrong about that! You are not almost done at that point past me. Get comfy.

Anyway. That's the reason why I've put off writing in Treehouse of Wonders for so long.

I probably should have communicated all this earlier but to be perfectly honest I didn't think anyone would really miss the blog if I didn't write. But since that time I've had a number of people tell me I should post again so that has let me know I have an attentive audience and I thank you for that my dear blog readers.

So until I return, be on the look out for the weird and wonderful in your own every day world. I look forward to blogging about my new treasures and discoveries I've made since I last posted as soon as the conference is over.

Until then, may God bless you as you live and breath and in all sorts of weather. :)

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."
-Richard Bach

A Pretty Penny for a Pillow

Oh dear. Forgive my absence my dear readers. I have been working very hard to finish my novel. It's nearly done, but it's taken me away from the joy of writing in my blog.

But I thought I'd do a short little post for today. So here goes...

You would be shocked, shocked how hard it is to find a decent old fashioned pillow.

I mean, between weird fabrics, lack of embellishments, incorrect sizes, being overly boring or overly bright, finding a good throw pillow has been like searching for Montezuma's treasure.

The closest I came was a few weeks back when I was sifting through a home decor store.



This pillow I found was so close to what I'd been looking for. It was large enough. Had a nice Jacquard fabric pattern. Had some lovely tassels as well and do you want to know how much it was? A little over $300!!!! For a pillow?! I'm sure it was from a famous designer or something but holy cow! It was just crammed in the back room of this little shop. For that much it should be in a museum. Maybe it was stuffed with gold or something. I don't know.

I am one stitch away from sewing my own pillows. They might look a little ghetto but maybe that will make them look all the more authentic. Yeah, corporate America, you've dropped the ball when it comes to mass producing throw pillows. The search goes on...

Rene's Recommendation: Flightpath Coffee House

http://www.flightpathcoffeehouse.com/


This recommendation is for all you Austinites out there (or for any one visiting our fair city). Of all the coffee shops I've been to, Flightpath is one of my favorites. It's a big comfortable shop that's quiet, inviting and unique. I personally like that they feature local artist's work there, and they make a mean steamer (steamed milk + flavor) to boot. So if you're looking for a good coffee shop, fly on over to Flightpath. It's where all the cool kids are hanging these days. ;)