Some Things That Happened In May

Overall, the weather was pretty spectacular with the exception of some rain. I put out my hammock at mom & dad's. Got as many snuggles in with Mac cat as possible while he was still a sweet munchkin. Somehow, I finally managed to find my camera's battery charger (clutter rules my life). Then I serendipitously fell into a temp job with a family friend where I got to use a typewriter everyday for a few weeks. There were wild & rowdy patriotic beers on a sailboat, followed by one super serene night at my peaceful place on The Sound.

I took a bunch of drives down my favorite faux-country road to my hometown. We were hit with an insane heat wave, which included a night bartending without functional ac. I wore yellow nails (though never as well as I hope to). Oh, and I got a tattoo of the constellation Orion! Trey decided to sneak into the apartment hallway to cool down on the old tile floor, I fingerweaved a few bracelets with jersey fabric, and spent a quiet weekend alone in my adorable little town.

I'm amazed we're already over a week into June. My birthday is creeping up fast! I'm attending a tiny house fair in Vermont next weekend and can't even begin to explain my excitement. No idea what a tiny house is? Check out my pinterest board for for a peek -- I'll definitely be explaining more before I leave on Friday. Anything you're looking forward to coming up before July?

Caturday + Garlic in My Socks

Well, it's nearly 1 o'clock, so it's a little degenerate to say good morning. So hey -- happy Saturday! Gratuitous cat & boyfriend picture aside, I hope you're all out there having a great weekend. I've been fighting a terribleawfulnasty cold + fever the majority of the week, but I'm feeling pretty ok now. While I was more or less incapacitated, I took some over the counter meds to combat the shittiness, but also dabbled with a few all-natural remedies.

Turns out that I didn't have many of the ingredients needed for the homeopathic recipes I found online (apple cider vinegar, grapefruit seed oil...), and I wasn't about to venture out of the house. But, I did have garlic. Sweet, glorious garlic. You guys, it's amazing for chest congestion via, wait for it ---- your feet.

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I know it sounds insane, but it's honestly miraculous. I did it twice, thinking the first time might have been a fluke. It wasn't. It works.

Here's what you need to try it out for yourself:
garlic | olive oil | plastic wrap | socks

Here's what you do:
1. Crush a clove of garlic under a knife, then let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Put it in a little bowl & add enough olive oil to cover it up.
3. Wait a half hour or more, then slather the oil on the bottom of your feet.
4. Wrap your feet up in plastic wrap & throw on your socks.
5. Sleep, or don't, but try to leave the oil on your feet for at least 5 hours. The longer the better.

Within a few hours your breath you will stink of garlic, but the tightness/congestion in your chest should be gone. I kid you not. It's wild, and I highly recommend that you try it out.

Do you have any favorite all natural remedies for what ails?

Happy Labor Day

A Monday mashup of pretty, if you will. Here's an image, a quote, a song, and a tattoo that make me smile. Enjoy!

via

If you talk to the animals they will talk with you  and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.
[Chief Dan George]

jake kearney tattoo via fyeahtattoos

I hope you're all enjoying your holiday, whether working or not! I'm gonna get off the computer and back the video game playing boys in the living room. We've had such a relaxing couple of days. I love when Baby (our dear friend Sean) comes to visit.

20 Tattoos I Dig

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm still dragging ass from a late night in the city last night watching the Mayweather fight and drinking beers with the boys. Scanning my tumblr, I decided to share some of my favorite tattoo porn. Hopefully this format will stick for future "Things I Dig" posts... 

(However, I must start using my mouse, design via trackpad sucks.)

1. Sarah B Bolen

2. [no source]
3. [no source]
4. Cory Norris
5. via Wake Up, Lovely

6. via Cream & Sugar

7. David Hale

8. guy le tatooer 

9. Dan DiMattia

10. via Fuck Yea Tattoo

11. via Fuck Yea Tattoo

12. Kyle Markiewicz (sehnsucht is an amazing word)

13. via Fuck Yea Tattoo

14. [no source]

15. via Fuck Yea, Tattoos!

16. via forrecreationaluseonly

17. via Drops of Jupiter

18. Len Levine

19. Jake Miller

20. via Fuck Yea Tattoo

It's fairly obvious that blackwork is my preference. I don't have any colored tattoos yet, and don't plan on any in the future (though, who knows how I'll feel about this later). My tattoo artist Gene-O has a version of me as #4 ready to go the next time I trek north for ink. Beyond that I have at least 3 solid ideas for future tattoos. It's been a while (2 years) since my last, and I'm getting antsy. Anyone else get the tattoo itch?!

The Song That Lindsey Likes

I sorta kinda couldn't have decided to start this whole blog thing with a better Tunesday Tuesday than March 20th.
This story might be a little long, apologies in advance...
Well, first off, here's the jam:

Dave Matthews Band - The Song That Jane Likes
(LYRICS, these are important)

linds & i before jr prom. an all-time favorite.

In high school, my best friend Lindsey (born March 20, 1985) once told me, in that "I- have-no-idea-why-really-can't-give-you-a-good-reason" way, that this song made her think of me. It wasn't one that we listened to any more than the others in our early Dave Matthews and folky rock repertoire, but for some reason the opening of the song made me pop into her head. I took it; just never gave it much thought.

In May 2005, Lindsey was murdered while we were in a stupid fight and hadn't spoken in months.

Now, I've never been one for flaunting my tattoos online. This is for a couple of reasons, one of which is maintaining my originality. I cringe every time I see another birds flying from feather tattoo. Don't get me wrong, I understand that some people aren't as tied to each of their tattoos having deep meaning as I am. I digress... 

I knew I'd memorialize her on my skin, and immediately went and got a tiny star tattooed on my foot. Not only had we discussed matching tiny star tattoos years earlier, but I'd even carved one into her ankle with a thumbtack in an adolescent attempt at scarification which would quickly fade (to go with the heart I cut into my foot, duh). But the star wasn't enough for me.

see the tiny sand-covered star on my right foot? near my pinkie toe? it's there, i swear.

I needed more Linds-ness, and it took me a while to figure out how exactly to get it. Until I listened to this song, for the god knows, thousandth or so time. The lyrics finally hit me. "WHILE YOU AROUND HERE PLAY, warm on the wild and far away." Now if anyone was ever playful and wild, it was Lindsey.

I went so far as to piece together bits of her handwriting from an old card:

But ended up going with tattooey (new word I just made up, love it?) script instead:

I've since added even more to the tattoo -- but for the sake of (at long last) brevity, and in keeping with the Tunesday theme, that's quite enough. The Song That Jane Likes inspired one of my tattoos, and reminds me to live like Lindsey.

Here are a few more that do the same:

320 from lgaston1 on 8tracks.

Happy 27th Birthday Dear Angel.