Spoiled Spongecake

All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all have a wickedly delightful day/evening. This is my most favorite holiday and to me, the best time of the year! So have fun, visit a haunted wood or house {a real one, none of that fake stuff}, or go trick-or-treating! And if you do go wandering for sweets make sure you don't go to this house:

mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Tail of the Yak

Today on the way into San Francisco I stopped at Tail of the Yak in Berkeley. I love this store, it is so beautiful, but seriously, the prices are even more insane than the last time I visited. I only say that because I'm jealous. Jealous of the person who can walk in there and buy whatever they want. So unfair...I think I am quite deserving of a $12,500 santos from 18th century England. If I don't deserve it than who does I ask you? Who?

All the santos in Tail of the Yak are so soulful; just stunning. I could stare at them all day {that sounds a little psychotic doesn't it?} This time around they also had some Victorian taxidermy including some domed birds {I would seriously sell some of my organs to buy more Victorian domes...they are so lovely and delicate...I want them all!}

Tail of the Yak is definitely not a store to say, shop in, but more just a place to stare at unique, lovely, enchanting things you could never afford. It's museum-like in a way, which is probably why I love it so much. I did in fact buy something today...not the $1500 Victorian Sea Weed book I coveted or the $1200 antique penguin skeleton that sat high atop a cabinet...but some little bottles and a small Christmas gift that is beyond adorable. And yes, those little things do make me happy. Who needs dead birds and crusty old books? {I do I do! Please, let me win the lottery!!!}

This image was taken by Ullam {ullam/typepad.com}

She is way smarter than me since she remembers to carry a camera with her.

The store really is nice enough just to visit. It's very small but so eclectic the size doesn't matter all that much. If you're in the Berkeley area anyway it's definitely worth stopping in just for the decoration. And how can you not want to visit a store that houses a big fat white {live} bird in a ginormous birdcage right smack in the middle? Ambience overload...I adore it.

Oh, and of course stupid here complained forever that I forgot my camera and couldn't take any photo's of Tail of the Yak for this blog. Then I promptly walked outside, got in the car, drove across the Bay Bridge, and realized that I have an iPhone. That takes pictures. Very nice pictures. Duh. Ya, I'm so 21st century everybody. I apparently need to pull my head out of those 19th century domes I love so much and get with the millennia. Sigh.

Petfinder

Have you ever gone to Petfinder.com? I am so in love with them right now! I had heard about them, but didn't realize that they are a website that advertises pets looking to be adopted from shelters, pounds, and rescue organizations. I thought it was a site to look up dog breeds and find breeders; I was so wrong!

Petfinder.com is such an amazing website! I stumbled upon it this weekend when I was trying to show my Mom an image of a Chihuahua/Pug mix {currently the top of my puppy love list}. When I went to the site through Google I realized it's a huge adoption center ONLY for rescue animals and animals in danger of being euthanized. There are over 300,000 listings of sweet little doggies on there! More than one description not only broke my heart but preceded to shred it into little pieces {so don't go on there just to read descriptions of adoptable dogs if you are sensitive and/or emotional about the plight of millions of unwanted dogs in this country...you will seriously lose it, like I did, and cry all afternoon}.

I have no ties or anything to Petfinder.com, as I know this may be coming off like some sort of ad, but I feel it is beyond necessary to get the word out. Too many precious dogs get killed, abused, and abandoned in this country every year because people will not stop buying from breeders, pet stores, and puppy mills. It is atrocious! The great thing I realized about Petfinder is that you can find the dog you want; the breed or mix you want is on there! I always assumed that when I go get my next pup I wouldn't be able to get the breed/mix I wanted because I refuse to buy from breeders. I will only get a rescue or shelter dog and I guess I always think those dogs are just mutts. But now I know from searching on Petfinder that there are over 200, just in my area, of the mix breed I want! The site is really cool too because it breaks down each dog into special needs, about to be euthanized, age and breed/mix {if known, a lot of the times they have to guess of course on those things}, if they can be around kids, cats, or other dogs, etc., with a handy and easy to read key system.

There is no excuse now to buy from breeders people! No excuse! I know there are a lot of reputable, licensed, state and city checked breeders around but I still don't support them. There are way too many dogs in shelters or kill-shelters craving a home and love for there ever to be an excuse to support breeders. They're just creating more surplus of dogs when there are already so many here who want to be loved.

If you're looking for a doggie...go go go to Petfinder.com!!! Oh, and there are not only dogs on Petfinder but cats, exotics, reptiles, barnyard animals, birds, horses, etc. It's a pure haven for rescued animals. I am totally in love with it. SPAY & NEUTER...SPAY & NEUTER...SPAY & NEUTER {that was my message of the day for you}!

Some adorable pups for you to see, all available for adoption and listed on Petfinder:

Shiloh {Pug/Chihuahua mix}

Tonka {Lab}

Merry {Pug}

Jace {Golden Retriever}

Oliver {Pug/Chihuahua mix...I couldn't help putting another one, I love them!}

Bela {Akita/Alaskan Malamute mix}

{you can go on Petfinder.com and search these dogs by their breed and name! Isn't that awesome?!}

So Close To Hermitville...

It was snowing here {up in the canyons} the other day!  That excites me to no end.  I love snow!  I've been sad I'm missing all the fall colors back in North Carolina as autumn is my favorite time of year.  So the light snow action made me feel a tad better.  Of course the next day it was around 85 degrees.  Blast!

I'm counting the days until my last wedding of the year is over {only 2 more weeks}.  My very last wedding of the year canceled...they broke-up!  It was very sad.  But I must admit I was excited to know there was only one wedding left before my escape into hermitville.  ;)

I will miss having fun on Halloween once again this year {as I seem to every year} as I will be in San Francisco preparing for the wedding.  I dread going to San Francisco because it disappoints me more every time I go back.  It's taunting me I think.  Like, "You used to love it here but now it is more destroyed each time you come back so all your memories will become tainted!"  Yes, I made up a voice and personality for the city of San Francisco.  I've been shut-in and editing for too long I suppose. 

Other than that, there is really not much else going on.  Today I mentioned to my Mom that I miss Christmas shopping.  I never really thought about it until I just said it out loud to her while we were talking about whether it was a good idea to remodel a kitchen in a french country blue color.  I haven't done "traditional" Christmas shopping in so many years I lost count.  I kind of miss it.  I only have about five people I buy gifts for anymore and I've become a complete internet shopper.  But I do kind of miss the feeling of going out and walking around to shops while being surrounded by Christmas decorations.  I'm so unfestive nowadays!

"Johnny You're a Creampuff!"

It's like I've died and gone to 80's teen movie nerd heaven.  I just stumbled upon this music video called "Sweep the Leg" by a band called No More Kings.  The song is all about Johnny, the bully, from the great movie Karate Kid {ya, I said GREAT} and the famous line by the evil Sensei Kreese: "sweep the leg..."  I loved that movie as a kid.  I still love that movie.  It takes me back to 1984, when life was simple and a karate montage to the song "You're the Best" really inspired my 9 year old soul.  Ah, youth.

Now, don't ask how I stumbled on this video, I'm a full blown nerd but I don't want to explain to what depths I'm a nerd.  Anyway, the video was written and directed by William Zabka, Johnny the bully himself, who is now a grown-up {and still kinda bully-cute} and Academy Award nominated producer/director.  Didn't know that did ya?  I did, when I saw his name listed on the ballot in 2004.  Ya, I'm a huge film nerd.  This video reunites all the original Cobra Kai, Daniel-son, and even the evil Sensei Kreese {!} from the movie in a hilarious video.  They even throw in Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell for good measure {who knows why}.

I don't want to be to rude but the song sucks.  The video is sublime.  Skip ahead to 1:50 to start the Cobra Kai reunion.  Ah, the 80's...how I freakin' miss them... {oh, and if you are a true nerd, like me, go to SweepTheLeg.com to see a crystal clear version of the video...this You Tube one is kinda sucky...}

Pushing Daisies

So, one of my fave TV shows premiered this week, Pushing Daisies. The art direction on this show is eye-poppingly brilliant. I think the art director, costume designer, make-up/hair crew, and set decorator all deserve awards. It's so new and quirky and different from anything else on TV and it is so refreshing to see color in a TV show.

I love the odd, slightly nonsensical plot-lines and the guest stars they get for each episode, including Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman, who I loved seeing again {come on, the guy got a bad rap...if he did what he did yesterday instead of 1991 no one would care or remember past the weekend}. The guest star type casting is so old school TV and they all fit perfectly in the shows unconventional way. I also love the way they have cast the leads for the show very outside-the-box, at least for Hollywood. In no other show would you find a lead female character look like Chuck {Charlotte} - and by that I mean looking totally normal and adorable with a real physique and not blonde with ginormous boobs.

My only complaint with the show is the amount of "talkiness". There's a lot of talking and it's fast talking. I understand they are trying to be quirky but I don't know if I can sit through one more conversation between Chuck and Ned - they talk so rapid-fire I can't keep up and it gives me a headache.

All-in-all I find the show very inspiring. As a filmmaker, and obsesso film-lover, it is always great to see people doing different things and succeeding at it. This show is a true vision {each week is a totally new concept/color palette!} from a crew who pulls it off and I appreciate that. It could so easily fail and at the end of each episode you could go: "What. The. Hell. was that?!" I can't think of another show that has gone on to a second season that features a restaurant shaped like a pie {The Pie Hole!}, a waitress who sings songs from Grease, two bizarre women {one complete with an eye-patch} who used to perform as traveling mermaids, bakers who lace their pies with drugs to make people less melancholy, and episodes entitled things like "Corpsicle". Love it.

Dead Garden Birds

I really want to buy this photographic print, Dead Garden Birds, from Polly Morgan:

But, it's a little pricey, the size I want is the 24" x 32" which runs 330 GBP.  Perhaps I can wait a little longer as the British pound is finally dropping against the US dollar for the first time in about three centuries.  Yay for me because I love all things Victorian!  It's not like this image is brand new or anything either, I think it is at least a year or two old, maybe even older, but it's limited to 18 prints and we all know my genius timing...the 18th and last one will sell the day before I go to purchase mine.  I think Polly has a show going on in London right now too at La Bete; I would love to see it!

In other news I only have three more weddings left to shoot for the year and nothing could make me more happy than that until I only have two left, and then one, and then none.  I am so tired and exhausted from shooting these things.  It's been an experience; fun, tiring, challenging, and I've learned a lot but I'm ready to have like a month in front of me with nothing to do but get these films edited, out the door, and outta my life!  Woo hoo!

I'm also sick of traveling, in the United States at least.  Each of the last three weddings is in a different place: San Diego, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.  After those I don't have to think about driving or flying anywhere for a while which is a huge relief.  My suitcases and camera's are literally going to be the death of me as they crush every bone in my skeletal system due to their insane weight.

Oh!  But most important:  it's finally October!  My favorite month!  And since I am going to spend most of it at my parent's in Utah I will get to smell that crisp mountain-y campfire smell I love so much that reminds me of autumn as a kid.  I would actually love to be in North Carolina instead as I would love to see the leaves turn colors and all but the weddings are all out west and it's just cheaper to stay in Utah until they're finished.  Either way I don't really mind because I love October!  Yay!