The Doctor has a very big place in my heart...as you know.

Tis' the season for wonderful Christmas stories and Six to Eight Black Men has to be my favorite. What isn't to love about David Sedaris. I was lucky enough to get the audio book as a gift from Lee last year, so I can pop it in and sew to it.


A few more tastes of my favorite listens for tree trimming:
Come On-A My House
Champagne Taste
Reindeer In My Heart

Super duper man is coming for a visit - by Camilla

Camilla's title to this illistration cracked me UP! I love it.

Strange fact about me: I am always adding the word 'man' to the end of my mail friend’s names or nickname to make them into super heroes.

Example: Henry an ice sculpture, would be "ICEMAN!" You always have to say it load to get the full affect.

Blabble Sux - by Michael Lachowski

Today is the first day of the holiday season. I am taking off an evening at the gym and work and going to my first holiday function. It is a trunk show for Cristen Guest, a wonderful jeweler in Athens that I met a few weeks ago. I find myself drawn to her wonderful earrings. That could be because I am a total earring SLUT!

My next invitation came from Michael for his annual holiday party (Dec 22). I never miss it! He has been hosting this gather for as long as I have known him, which is close to 20 years. It is an ornament party, which means you have the option to bring an ornament of any kind for the tree. Last year Lyndon House contacted him about putting up a huge tree in the Gallery filled with all of the ornaments he had collected throughout the years. When Michael started pulling out box after box from the attic he realized that there was NO WAY any tree (well, maybe the Rockefeller Center tree) could hold the 30 year collection, so he just pulled out a thousand of his favorites. There was everything from Bavarian blown glass to red Georgia clay starts. It was magnificant. Needless to say, I will just be taking a bottle of wine...like I do every year. -grin

Amstel Light - by Michael Lachowski

KITTY!

Photo by Josh Payne

When this sassy little feline lived next door she was glamorized only by a photographer/owner with a beat up old digital camera that occasionally went out for photo op trips with his buddy about once every few months. Three camera's later and trips around the world and look what Josh can do.

Photo by Josh Payne

Ann has a wonderful interview on Jennifer's blog. I absolutely love to see women empowering women.

A couple of months ago Sono moved her studio from under the wonderful D.U.M.B.O. due to money and developers coming in and displacing the artists that made D.U.M.B.O. beautiful and unique. Anyway, I am so excited to visit her new studio on my trip to NYC that I can hardly stand it. To me it is as if I am a character in a Terry Gilliam movie.

A Walk Home....

The next few weeks will be filled with celebration and work. I have already lined up 4 trunk shows to be part of through December 15th, so hopefully I will bring in cash from handbag sales. This is my first holiday season with Lylou Design and I hope it is the kick in the rear that it needs to take things up a notch.

My friend Heather, in NYC, is also hosting a home show for me right after Christmas. I am really looking forward to this show, for even though I concider Heather a close friend, we have never met. We were introduced through a mutal friend via my handbags. She saw my site, ordered a few bags, fell in love with them...gave me great advice on refining the Jou bag...and next thing you know we are 'in love'.

Places I am taking Brian on his first trip to NYC

a walk around the gardens at the Cloisters, to the top of ESB for a kiss at dusk, a few cold ones at d.b.a, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into China Town for lunch over to Battery Park and then a quiet reflection at Ground Zero .....just to mention a few....I LOVE NYC! (and no, I don't have a shirt that proves it.)

It is Sunday night and the dogs and I finally have time to catch up on laundry and a little bookkeeping...two things that they take very seriously, as you can see from the photos below. If I didn't know differently, I would think they had been outside running around in the cold all day...they didn't. The hardest thing about my Sundays nights is working wrapping things up when I have a cute little beagle behind me snoring...calling for me to cuddle up and watch a movie. Alas, I only have a few more hours until I give up my freedom to CCSD for another week.

Iskq - hindi for LOVE!

Ashanti - hindi for CRAZY!

Jake - American for SWEET BABY!

Then there is me...pulling my hair out from stress...

where is Waldo?

My new logo

Thanks Be to Lee...

The day after the big cleanse I was surprised with a visit from Brian and Lee. It was the day before Lee's birthday (Friday), so I decided to toss together a birthday party for my baby doll. The bottom photo is Lee (right) and Brian (left) showing off the new gladiator doll that was cleverly wrapped in a glittery piece of foil. Boys will be boys and they still make me laugh.

The photo below was taken of me by Brian as I ran out to get my gift for Lee….a boring collection of books…I know, could I be any duller? As you can tell, it is now cold enough for me to wear wool! YIPPY!

Thanks Be to Sewing

Thanks Giving Day I spent my entire day getting my studio ready for this weeks upcoming Bazaar. It was a wonderful balance between sewing up loose ends and cleaning, organizing and listening to Godfather on TV. By 9pm I was tired and hungry with only pasta in the house, so guess what was for dinner?

memories

I recently sold a couple of this bags that remind me of 'the good ole days'. When mom made me sleep on antique brass beds that had to have custom mattresses made for them, because they stopped making that size long before I was born. She would have to custom sew the mattress cover and it was ALWAYS out of this fabric. It is a wonderful and casual design in cotton that is soft to the feel, but very durable…a combination that is not easy to find. I have been trying to push it on my women to carry, but most of them leave towards the more dressy fabrics. It is only those designer jean wearing sassy young girls that have found this fabric as appeal as I have…is that telling me that I am a sassy young girl at heart (without the designer jeans?). teehee

Heather Smith Jones

Heather Smith Jones

I flipped out when I saw this print by Heather . A couple of years ago I started surrounding myself with white. I started with my bedroom, then the two bathrooms, then the TV and slowly I am consuming myself with white. It happened after my divorce. I think of it as a cleansing and purification, but to be honest I have always loved white walls, white sheets, white curtains....I will leave the color for the second home I acquire in Belize. -wink

Flowering Teas

Flowering Teas by Numi

These are my new favorite things to wake up to!

Grandpa and Grandma's wood pile

Georgia is in such a terrible draught that even the Universities are restricted from watering their historical gardens. It has been so warm and so dry that the wood shack hasn’t even been touched. The say that if Atlanta doesn’t get rain in the next 30 days there will be NONE left for them to use. Fortunately, Athens is using another lake at this point and rumor has it that this ‘blue’ little town is doing very well at conservation. Even the Bulldawg fans that attended the home game this weekend restricted their flushing to every six uses, when doable…but what is a draught in Georgia when things like this are happening around the world.

Weather today: Sunny, warm a high of 72. (normal late November: Sunny to partly cloud, chance of an afternoon rain, high 40)

On a personal note, I am so unhappy at my day job that I almost cry when I have to come in to work. I have applied for a couple of other positions in the district, but haven’t heard from them. I think at this point most of the departments are waiting until after the first of the year to interview. I have even thought about looking outside the district for work, but the benefits are so nice that it would be hard to replace them and the job security is so great here that if things didn’t (which they won’t) work out with Lylou Design I have a good thing going here.

I can’t wait for 3pm this Wednesday! We have early release from work, due to the Thanksgiving Holiday and I am going straight to Lowes to pick up primer and paint for the ½ bath I have been renovating and getting cracking on wrapping things up in there. Who knows, I might even buy the toilet for it that day.

Grandma's little white devil, Savannah

Athens autumn leaves - almost dayglow

These are two out of three of my favorite reds ...the other one is up north, too far away to take a photo of today, but I guarantee you I will have plenty after my trip to NYC over the holidays. (Hint: It is Leslie)

I had a wonderful weekend in the sewing room. I was able to get 8 bags done on Sunday and have a wonderful dinner with my parents. While I was catching up on orders, Brian was cooking chili. It is always nice to have the smell of good food lingering around the house while I am wrapped up in winter clothing busy at work in the other room...and even better when I am not cooking it. Isn't it funny how ANYTHING prepared for you by someone else ALWAYS taste better then the one you prepare for yourself...from a cheese sandwich to pot roast.

Brian's beard

There is always a silver lining and even though the weather is changing from warm to cold and the sun is setting around 6pm, there cold weather foliage is coming out in full gear and the streets are lined with pine bunnies (as I like to call them). The days are filled with cool breezes and the perfect weather for locking myself inside with my sewing machine.

Here is a fact for you: I took up sewing a couple of years ago as a less expensive way to entertain myself over then winters then photography and oil painting. Who in the world would have thought that a couple of years later I would be spending all of my spare cash on starting up a handbag business? I love surprises like that!

Shower - self portrait by Lylou
I been tagged by Bibbi tonight and will follow the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as wellas links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Five random or weird facts....

1. I performed a silly dance number for Mother Teresa when she visited my school in 1974. Immediately following the show, she came back stage and introduced herself to us and thanks us all with big hugs.

2. I grew up a cowgirl on the eastern slops of the Rocky Mountains and I am still a cowgirl at heart.

3. Almost everyday I wake up with the fear that I am going to fail this handbag venture and wouldn't know what to do with the rest of my life....then someone buys a bag and I snap out of it (at least until the next morning).

4. I HATE chocolate.

5. I suffer from a severe depression that at times gets the best of me and drives me to drink.

TAG! YOU'RE IT!
Jared
One Black Bird
Kristin
that is all I can come up with at this point.....my bad.

Keen Zero's ceramic rattle

I opened my mouth as if to say
‘I once had a cat that couldn’t play-
She laid in the corner from light to dark
In her eyes there was never a spark.’

She reminds me strongly of you on occasion
Working for years without a vacation
When I glace in the mirror and see you there
I dream for that day without any care.

I know most of you have seen the ceramics that are going to follow the next few days, but hang in there b/c I just want to share some of my collection with my favorite Swedish potter, Bibbi

This working clock has a glass dome that covers it. it was too challenging for me to photograph this morning, due to my rush to get to work.

Rosemary has always had a fascination for dolls and enjoys rummaging through salvage yards to find just the right piece to adorn their bodies…offend creating angelic images.

by Rosemary Mendicino

Nativity

My orchard was destroyed by fire
The only safety was in the church spire
I climb the stairs leading to protection
When in the flames I saw my reflection

Alone in the night I pray for my soul
All of the stress had taken its toll
I clung to the memory of my first breath
Realizing the damage and what it had left

A river of tears stretched over my cheek
As I saw in the distance a cool running creek
My feet began to dissolve in the air
When I caught the scent of my burning hair

Inside I cried over the loss of hope
Recalling a time I was able to cope
I was not leaving anyone behind
This seemed like such an awesome crime

November Issue

This holiday season make sure to pick up a copy of Deep and check out all the wonderful vendors they are featuring for unique holiday gifts. (a little self promotion never hurt anyone)

Seeing the November cover reminded me of the wonderful weekend I spent with Brian (it is b/c of the fresh water in the background and us eating oysters). We started out the afternoon with a few food and wine tastings at

Shiraz, Healthy Gourmet and Aromas .

Then fresh oysters and wine at 5 and 10 .

After dinner we joined friends at Flicker Theatre and Bar .

Needless to say, Sunday was spent catching up on house work and sewing a few bags for outstanding orders, but all that running around Saturday called for a short break to watch Ratatouille

My new necklace from photoglassworks on etsy.com

Me? A Cover Girl?

Georgia Magazine

I have no earthly idea why I can't get this to post correctly...so, I gave in to looking as if I was not from this Earth. Another crazy thing is that they didn't use the same photo on the REAL cover as they are featuring on the ONLINE...(FYI: I am not a fan of the online photo)

Third Day of Diwali

2nd Day of Tihar - special honour is bestowed on dogs.

While on the 3rd day the BBC is filled with upsetting news Bhutto's detention. Not the way I wanted to celebrate day three, but this photo distracts me from time to time.

I went home last night and blessed my dogs, but since I lack a camera...no photos. The good news is that one is on its way in the mail today! It is nothing special and NOT high res, but it will do better then nothing. I know how much more entertaining my photos are then the ones I pull from the net, so hang in there and they will be coming soon.

Devil's Tower

33 years ago this month my parents took me on my first trip to Devil's Tower. I was immediately drawn into the story teller's explaination of the scared land and the power it possesses. This wasn't my first experience with Native American Folklore, being that I raised in the west I was surrounded by it...and loving every bit of it. Maybe that explains my fascination with all sorts mythology.

HAPPY DIWALI

The Corn Palace

Bibbi got me thinking yesterday about groovy places I have traveled…places off the beaten path that not everyone has the opportunity to visit. The Corn Palace is definitely one of mine. My parents took me there when I was around 6 and I still have my glittery t-shirt to prove it. It was a warm day during harvest season and one of my favorite family memories.

barbie by lylou

I spent my weekend catching up on bag orders and sleep.

I did spend a few moments contemplating renting a small room in the back of Slippers Boutique to feature my bags. I am going to spend this week brainstorming and seeing what I might be able to do. Renting a boutique space might just be the thing I need to take things to the next level. Show the public the sparkle and voice behind Lylou. Up until a couple of weeks ago it was just my bags. Things seem to be changing (in a good way).

Trunk Show

my dreamy pair of Ann Roth shoes...

I had so much fun at my first Trunk Show and it was all because of Ann Roth! Not only does she make the wickedist awesome shoes, but she is fun taboot! It will be wonderful getting to know her and traveling the same journey of designing with someone so wonderful. You can’t stop with just one pair of her shoes, so don’t say I didn’t warn you….

It seems that the Georgia Magazine cover is helping out a little. I have had a few boutique inquiries to carrying my bags (one already ordered). It will feel good to move out of the consigning gig and into selling outright.