Remember my friend Jillian, who got the wrist cuff of Henry Darger’s Vivian Girls?

Well, I opened up my inbox the other day and found out she’d run off and gotten yet another gorgeous tattoo, this time of the Velveteen Rabbit! My heart melts when I look at this. I can’t wait to see it in person someday!

Photographs and tattoo were done by the always amazamazing, Mel Metz. Seriously, if you’re in Northern California and fixin’ for a tattoo, look this girl up!

(via riot jane)

Chris recently posted a song on his blog that I had wrote the lyrics and (very basic) chord changes to some years ago. He recorded a version of it upon finding the text file on his computer and called it “Loud and Brave.”

Now he’s asking folks to record their own version of the song and share it on his blog, in a “I show you mine, you show me yours” fashion. You can grab the lyrics and chords from this post.

You know… Since I’m totally tone deaf and can’t record my own version for myself. ;)

Once, when I was still under the delusion that I could play music, Chris and I decided to start a two-man band. This was my first woodcut and our first poster ever. :P

As I’m sure every artist will agree, everyone has their ups and downs in terms of creative flow. There are days when you just can’t wait to spill your heart out, and others where it seems like you’ve been hit with a thousand year drought.

To counter those lows, I spent the last couple of days building a website and blog to help Chris document his progression as a musician and songwriter. Even though our band never made it past the first poster and a couple rough draft songs (I’m the worst band mate ever), Chris has kept the name alive.

You can download all of his previous recordings on his new site, but if you’re unfamiliar and want a recommendation, one of my all-time favorite songs of his is Winter Moon (right click, save as).

Like what you hear? Follow his adventures in music at www.elgatoguapo.com!

(via Hot_Boxer)

Since I already blog about food and cats more than I probably should, I try to keep my limit on cat posts to a minimum. However, I couldn’t believe my eyes when a friend forwarded me this article about how black dogs and cats are often overlooked in animal shelters.

Say… what?!

Of all the ridiculous things!

Thankfully, shelters recognize this unfair assessment. One even gave a colorful costume to a hopeful kitty, so as to attract more attention. Awwww.

And, while the article states that there isn’t any real data to back up the “black dog syndrome,” I believed it in a heartbeat. All-black animals get bad raps (cats will never live down Halloween!), and as an owner of a black cat I can vouch for how ridiculously hard they can be to photograph sometimes.

So, if you’re planning on adopting a pet sometime soon, take an extra minute or two with the black fuzzballs. They may not have gotten much attention that day!

Thanks to Lisa for the head’s up.

I got these in the mail yesterday as a surprise from one of my favorite gals, Ms. Jessica. Back when we both lived in Redding we used to hang like there was no tomorrow (remember when we dropped that jar of alfredo on Lake Boulevard, and there was a stain on the sidewalk for weeks?!).

Sadly, we haven’t actually been face to face since I got married and moved away, so it was extra special to recieve this random gift from her.

Anyway, she bought the earrings from this amazing Etsy shop, Shmuzz, who specializes in “jewelry designs from the road less traveled.”

What really got me hooked was the fact that the artist doesn’t stop at Mario Bros. & Zelda themed jewelry. Lovingly beaded earrings from Earthbound and Secret of Mana– photographed in front of original SNES cartridges– prove that this girl isn’t trying to profit off the video game niche, she’s just as addicted as the rest of us.

Shmuzz’s video game inspired creations go for $15-$20. I’ve been wearing my Yoshi ones since I got ‘em and can’t wait to get some more. And, of course, they accessorize with my tattoos oh so well ;)

Thanks Jess!