Holiday Season Begins Here

October kicks off the holiday season and off we went last weekend, to Marble Falls to Sweetberry Farms.


Pumpkins were piled everywhere, including on a lovely rusted bed and inside an old truck:




Notice any difference between myself and the other visitors? I know it's difficult to see all the people in the bed photo, but I can assure you that none of them were wearing dresses, let alone ones from Anthroplogie, nor are they wearing Camper maryjanes. They were not holding toddlers wearing cute shirts that their friend Abby got for them at Tea Collection sample sales in San Francisco. Pretty much everyone seems to wear jeans, t-shirts and sneakers, and I'm not talking about cute vintage Wranglers or sexy fitting Barney's jeans with Petite Bateau tees or American Apparel hipster ringer tees.

Pumpkin patch (a.k.a rural) fashion was a topic of discussion on the car trip back into town and we came to the conclusion that in country settings where people drive everywhere, fashion is not as important as it is to people in cities. There is less reason to dress and also less inspiration to be gained from the outfits of others. Back in NYC you could easily be entertained walking around any neighborhood and taking in all of the ensembles. Back when I worked up on Madison Ave. there were some pretty awesome outfits to be seen- the creme de la creme of expensiveness, and of course, ridiculousness. You know when you look inside Vogue and think Who the hell wears that crazy rabbit fur bikini top with high-waited jeans and hooker boots? Well, just go walk around the 57th St. area and you will see that there is a real-live market for such absurdity. One of my favorite times of year was the dead of winter when one could spot men donning thick fur coats, looking like life-size teddy bears. My co-workers and I would regularly spot Bill Cunningham (photographer of style for the New York Times) standing back from the street with his camera hanging around his neck. We would non-chalantly pass in front him trying to look like we were laughing or enjoying ourselves in slow motion, just in case we would be good fodder for his Sunday Styles section. Alas, we never showed up in print although several of our other co-workers did, and it always felt like we were somehow part of it too (even though we were in no way part of it obviously). I have to say that I felt a kindred spirit in Angelina recently when she talked about still wanting to be able to get dressed and enjoy fashion even though her daily life doesn't exactly require it. As the no-office-to-go-to mother of a toddler, I really don't have any good reason to get out of my velour pants and thermal shirt, but for the most part I do, just because it's fun and I also feel like I lost my identity during the year that this outfit was the only one I wore (2006 when Harlan was a baby). Now that I get a full seven hours sleep each night and am not breastfeeding, there is really no reason not to get dressed each morning.

I hope I am not offending any country dwellers out there- I'm sure many of you own garments other than hemmed jean shorts and puffy white sneakers, but I have not met you so I'm basing this passage on my own experience with country folk (which is pretty minimal honestly- I am definitely the person that the bumper sticker "Yankee go home" is intended for).

Speaking of fashion, the local temperature finally dropped last week (going down the the upper 30's at night and warming up to a lovely upper 70's during the afternoons) and Harlan got to wear this awesome vintage plaid jacket that my friend Karen got him at an auction up in PA.

Karen is due to give birth to her first child in two weeks, so send her best wishes everyone.

On the drive back to town we stopped at a roadside junk shop and picked up this antique child's rocking chair for $15.

It is not in perfect condition as the wood could use a little shine and the vinyl has a hole on the seat and a paint stain on the bottom front. I plan to refinish it one day and keep it in my future craft room with some softies on it. For now Harlan loves it and it goes great in our living room.

Speaking of crafting (and of chairs for that matter) I got three wonderful books in the mail last week as an early birthday gift (thanks to the magic of the amazon.com wish list) from my father and stepmother in law:


I have had my eye on this one for a while since it features so many great interviews and projects from many great crafty bloggers out there. I have to admit I am in love with Heidi Kenney's tissue box cover:



Just when I thought I was too cool for something as lowbrow as a tissue box cover, I find myself feeling I can not live without making one.

Simple Sewing with a French Twist has been at the top of my wish list for a while. Here is a peek of some inspiring projects:



This folding chair is the first thing I'm going to make (as soon as I finish 100 other things) for our balcony. You just need to find a wooden folding chair, spray paint the frame black and sew a basic seat and back for it by tracing the one you rip out of it.

I discovered this book over on Posie Gets Cozy and have been wanting to try a little ribbon embroidery of my own (project 102 on the list I suppose).

Also in the mail as an early birthday gift came this hand embroidered Chinese top from my mother in law who lives in Taiwan:

Also super inspiring.

I'm working away on the business and here are a couple of hoodies I'll be offering. The one with the initial be available upon order with whichever initial the customer wants. The letters are from a vintage pattern that Karen also got at an auction for me a while back.




I need to get a better lens for my camera so that I can control the light as well as get more detailed shots of embroidery stitches. Perhaps as a birthday gift to myself :)

Speaking of the embroidery business, the shop has a new name. I had to cancel my tax i.d. number in NY and have to file a new Doing Business As name here in Texas. As you know I had trouble figuring out how to keep "Bun Bun" but get rid of the "baby" so that people will not assume that I only make baby clothes and items. I wanted something that indicated both genders and that sounded like it was from a few generations back. I ended up choosing the names of my favorite great-aunt and great-uncle, who are still going strong up in Brooklyn in their eighties. They are Rose and Duke, and Rose is a fantastic needlepoint artist to boot. Here is the postcard for the new shop:


I found a web design team to take over the task of creating a site for me, and it will debut in February. Until then, enjoy your Halloween.