Asheville

There's something about Asheville.


I first heard of this city on a cross-country train trip that I took in 2009. I met a girl who was moving there in a few weeks, and I was mystified that such a city could exist and I had never heard of it.

A few years went by and the name kept popping up in random occurrences, and finally, after reading about it in Eric Weiner's Geography of Bliss , I decided to put it on the top of my list.

After talking to a co-worker and friend about travel, I mentioned I was planning on visiting Asheville in the near future. It turns out, she also had Asheville on her mind and wanted to visit a friend, and as fate would have it, we had the same days off, so we booked our hostel and signed up for the flights.

I was planning on visiting for a few days - I wanted to see some bands play, get to know the city and just explore. About 5 days prior to our trip, I had something come up that couldn't be rescheduled. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided I was just going to call the trip off and go another time - take the loss of the hostel cancellation and just hope that I'd make it to AVL in the near future. As I was on the phone with my friend explaining this, she got a call from her friend, and told me regardless, she was going to go. I then decided that I'd go too - after all, my obligation wasn't for a few days and I could probably swing a night there.

Just one night. That's all you need in Asheville to make you want more. Do you like beer? This city is for you. Do you like mountains? Live music? Good, local food and businesses? Nice weather? Nicer people? Consider this your next visit.

Not only is getting from AVL (the airport) to downtown easy, it's $1 on the bus. (Check the bus schedules, they only run every hour or so until 6pm. We waited 45 minutes, but that beats a $45 cab ride.) Accommodation is incredible - we stayed at the Asheville Hostel & Guesthouse ($40 for one person/two beds, $50 for two people/two beds) which was incredible. It is clean, quiet, has a full kitchen, and the owner, BJ, was so friendly. He even called us to make sure we weren't lost, and met us halfway from the bus station. The hostel is located downtown, and it's a 5 minute walk from the Orange Peel, Wicked Weed Brewing (a new and really fantastic brewery) and 11 minutes max from everything else.

We had a drink at Thirsty Monk, where I tried their Chile Beer ("The brew is a blend of Asheville Brewing's Escape Artist Ale, with 127 pounds of smoked jalapeno peppers added. Not macho enough to try a pint?! Why not mix a half pint of Fire Escape with your favorite Stout, Porter, or whatever?") and had great conversation. It was here I decided on my 2013 Halloween Costume (stay tuned- also, if anyone has any dvd rewinders let me know, I need one) 

All in all, the 12 hour visit I had to AVL was amazing and I can't wait to go back as soon as possible, I need to spend more time in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Plus, I didn't take hardly any photos, and I'd be a terrible blogger if I didn't go back and get some good ones. The things I do for you people!! 

If you're trying to find your next weekend trip, I have found it for you. You can thank me in beer, or a home for my foster cats.

flying in

At Wicked Weed, they have a pretzel/mustard station. Amazing. 

The Evolution of a Tote Bag

I remember this day incredibly clearly: I was to attend a show for my friend's band that night, and I had a few hours prior to myself. I decided to make a tote bag.

It took several hours of sewing, seam-ripping and desperately trying to remember what I learned in 3rd grade sewing class to complete this tote, but when I was done, I was ecstatic. I took it with me to the show, showed it off to everyone and posted it on facebook. This tote was my design, my pride and my joy, even if it had a few, um, sewing mistakes. I was, and still am, proud of my tote, which has inspired many more like it.

Here she is, 4 years old this spring. 

My pocket, which I designed (obviously)

Hidden kitten pocket! And the bag is LINED! 

One of my little mess-ups.. not exactly sure how this happened, either. 

This one was made today. Some of the similarities are obvious (the patches all came from the same place) but this one is much more.. refined. 

Another polka-dot lining. I suppose my design sense is pretty stable. 

Definitely no mess-ups on the bottom this time. 

Close up of my abstract patch. I like using little scraps and blending colors. 

Here's another tote, this one has the same straps as the original. I'm not even sure where I found them, but I added the pink color. 

What DON'T you do with felt letters? 

A better photo of the strap

Another, simple tote, that just goes to show how far my sewing skills have come! 

6 Year Tally

I decided to go through my sold items on etsy and make a tally to see just how many of what I've sold over the years.. and I was actually surprised! My numbers that I thought I'd sold were completely different than what I've actually sold! Here's a synopsis of my inventory sold:

Dresses: 78

Sweaters: 62

Coffee Mugs: 69

Shoes: 32

Books: 50

Shirts/Blouses/Vests: 106 

Suitcases: 37

Carry On Bags: 73 

Seriously, WOW. I've packaged up 73 carry on bags? 69 coffee mugs and only ONE broken?? (the VERY first one I ever sold) 78 dresses!! It's amazing to see these numbers and really puts into perspective the hard work I've put in over the yeas (although it hardly feels like work!)

My shop sold number is 970 and I'm hoping to hit 1,000 by the summer! I have just updated my shop with some unique items included an owl block, sporty mini duffle and scarf! Enjoy :)

owl block - $3

sporty duffle! $16

mini nino bag - $10

gorgeous silk scarf, $14

Young Folks Library Set & More

Last night I stumbled upon this amazing set of hardcover books from 1955. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them! Each book is in amazing shape - the only wear is from the sticker I had to peel off that had the price on it. (So angering!)

These are so visually pleasing. I can see these in someone's home, proudly displayed, as well as someone buying these for their children.

Here are the pictures from the listing, plus a few more:

I also found some other great antique books! This one caught my eye right away

I have a soft spot for these Junior Deluxe Books - you can probably buy the entire collection in my shop! Plus, this one is about a dog, which I love. 

Bow WOW

Friends, I just created this one of a kind tote bag and I am in love! It's always an amazing (and doesn't happen regularly) feeling when you set out to create something and you do so with out any major mistakes in the process! I feel like I'm finally starting to get good at this sewing thing.

This tote was made with a variety of products:
A vintage dog patch that I thrifted years ago
Gold and White striped fabric that I got from my mom's stash
Floral fabric that I bought in Chinatown in San Francisco
Sheer Polka dot fabric (the lining) that's from my mom's stash as well
Seafoam stripe fabric that I thrifted awhile ago

That's kind of a lot of stuff!! I love that my fabric stash has things from all over. It's so fun to just go in and put things together, and then think "what part of the world is all this from?" I have fabrics from Bangkok, London, all over the US, Cambodia, etc..

Anyway, this tote is for sale in my colorblock shop!

Here are some extra photos of the tote, since Etsy only allows 5:

A blend of floral & seafoam.. so visually pleasing! 

I love the polka dot lining, it's the perfect touch!