The Curious and Quirky Christmas Wishlist

Christmas is growing ever nearer and even though all my presents are purchased and it might be just a little bit too late, I still wanted to compile a weird and wonderful wishlist to share with you! I hope my strange taste in collectibles doesn't deter you too much!

1 \\ Stonehill Design has a beautiful collection of apothecary jars and medical tools, but this set of pill bottles really struck my eye. I'd love to put the bottles on display!

2 \\ Love these animal anatomy pillows from Myrte Musee! I couldn't choose just one!

3 \\ These make your own butterfly terrarium kits are amazing. As someone just getting into butterfly collecting, this would be a beautiful way to start out before transitioning into preserving my own specimens! Find them at The Amateur Naturalist 

4 \\ If I'm going to have taxidermy, I'd definitely want it to be an animal as interesting as the bat. Seriously fascinating creatures. From bonejewelry.

5 \\ This may seem a little weird, but I would love to have this 1800s hair locket! This type of piece and Victorian hair art in general are quite interesting. Wolf House Vintage.

6 \\ An insect preserved in amber from baltcoast. Combines two of my interests - minerals and insect specimens!

I hope everyone is finishing up their Christmas shopping without feeling too stressed about it...I waited a bit too long this year to get everything I needed online, so I had to make a last-minute-desperation shopping trip! Everything turned out okay though and I'm all done. Now all that's left is to enjoy the remainder of the season!!

See you soon! <3

Style Elements :: Animal Sweaters

 Rebecca of The Clothes Horse

Bonnie of Flashes of Style

Mallory of Ready Two Wear

Kaylah of The Dainty Squid (of all her outfits, this is my all time favorite!)

Coury of Fancy Treehouse

Adrian of Adrian Loves Owls

And last (and possibly cutest ever), this amazing Raccoon dress that Kathryn made!

from Kitsune-kun
 

Animal print sweater but a million times better because it's a whole dress! To die for!

This post came about because I had the good fortune to stumble across two adorable animal sweaters of my own, finally! I can't wait to style them up now that I have a few days off to actually wear nice clothes.

See you soon! <3

A Bone to Pick

This bone harp by artist Evan Voelbel is actually made of cast, painted glass, which I think makes it all the more impressive.

 

Far too many gorgeous bone-related items at Modcloth right now. Sadly the awesome cardigan is out of stock, but sweater has such a beautiful design that it makes up for it.

 

When I saw this sweater from Le Bomb Shop I fell in love with it. At first I hesitated because that's more than I tend to spend on one item, but I couldn't stop thinking about it! So it's on its way to me now!

Wow, if only! From Oddly Custom Creations

And finally, if you're interested in specimen preservation, this video is a nice little intro to that. I had the privilege of helping a PhD student to prepare some taxidermy bird specimens for study once, and I have to say it's a very unique experience. It looks as though preparing a skeleton mount is much more time intensive than just preparing the skin. 

Too bad I don't have access to those helpful little dermestid beetles! They would have made cleaning my deer skull a little easier ;)

See you soon! <3

Fantastic Finds

 

Etsy seller Silent Cheesecake has the most gorgeous collection of specimen jewelry I've yet to come across. I could easily buy one of everything in the shop! From top to bottom: Venus Flytrap with a Meal, Snake Ribs and Fern, and the gorgeous Sea Life necklace.

The Fox Bag from Sweet and Lovely is sold out, but I still love admiring it!

How cool is this praying mantis plate from Catherine Reece? Mantises are probably one of the coolest, weirdest bugs out there and hers are so cute!

 Last but not least, dessert! I really want to wow my family at Thanksgiving with a to-die-for dish, so I've been on the lookout. This beautiful thing is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and I'm pretty sure the name "caramel apple cheesecake bars" speaks for itself!

See you soon!

Favorites :: Specimens

Today the prep begins for my family Halloween party on Sunday! Soon I'll have up some cool DIYS of some of my favorite Halloween crafts/recipes.

For today, I wanted to share with you a special love of mine. I've had great interest in preserved specimens for as long as I can remember. I had never thought of owning any for myself! I passed one up while antiquing not too long ago, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Luckily the other day I stumbled upon an even more beautiful one in one of my favorite antique malls!

 Gorgeous huh? I polished it up nicely and now it's a centerpiece in my living room. I can't wait to get more. Perhaps even make some for myself! This is definitely a collection in the  making!

I would definitely decorate every room in my house with these! This one's from  The Vintage Parlor.

This piece from Ruby Fig Atelier combines two of my loves, beautiful glass bell jars and specimens. This shop is a goldmine...I had to force myself to browse elsewhere to preserve my bank account! :)

 

 Beautiful and practical! Butterfly coasters from Olive Owl Art 

I also love the prop specimens that people make. This fairy specimen is from Kelley Emporium

 

Fascinating and wearable! Honey bee necklace from Alice's Eyes Design Co.

 I definitely envy Kaylah's collections! I'd love to get into collecting more of my favorite things. Her collection of skulls is awesome. Plus, check out that butterfly on the stone! Clearly I'm drawn to butterflies.

Anyway, I could definitely browse for specimens all day! But there are decorations to hang and mummy meatloaf to make! See you soon! :)

A few of my favorite things

Thrifting stuff for my house can be difficult. I try not to aquire too much dishware and such, as I don't have a lot of storage. It's so tempting to get every adorable plate/cup/bowl I find. So far I've mostly been able to resist, but I do have a few things I thought you'd enjoy.



My great grandma had powder that smelled just like this when I was growing up. Whenever we'd get out of the bath she'd let us have one puff of powder from the big fluffy thing inside. The smell really takes me back, and I admit I only open it every once and a while when I'm feeling nostalgic. :)



I love this "Nuts" to You bowl. Oh my goodness. Every time I look at it I burst out laughing.



My mom got my this for Christmas. It's a cute little vinyl box that opens to hold some treasure. She said she had a similar one when she was younger.



She also got me this handmade glass box. Not really thrifted, I spose, but it's still really beautiful! Also these resin pendants came from etsy for my high school proms.

See you soon!

Seven Facts

I got tagged by Q of Q's Daydream to share seven random facts about myself! I'm so flattered, thanks a bunch!

1. I love the Three Stooges!! For Christmas we got dvds of all the episodes and I absolutely adore watching them. Classic humor! However, I refuse to watch any episodes with Curly Joe, as I prefer to be a purist and stick with Curly, Moe, Larry, and Shemp. :)

2. I'm learning Spanish and hope to live in Spain one day soon. Yo sueño de España!

Some of my black and white film photographs.

3. I love love love cheese. Any and all of them! I could eat cheese for every meal. My favorite is Swiss, my least favorite is Limburger. The only cheese I ever met that I absolutely cannot stand. Yuck!!

4. My hubby and I have been together for almost 8 years, since we were in 6th grade. People seem stunned by this, but for us it was the most natural thing ever. We aren't actually married yet, but it's just easier to call him my hubby anyway! Especially around campus. We've been together long enough we feel like it's a lot more serious than "boyfriend/girlfriend"!

5. I'm a Travel Channel addict. No Reservations is my favorite show. Though he may be a little jerkish, Anthony Bourdain is endlessly entertaining...I love every episode. His episode about Spain was a dream. I also love Bizarre Foods.

6. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I will try any recipe, no matter how complicated, and I like to think I've gotten pretty good at it! Recently I've made homemade gyros, dolmades (grape leaf wraps), stuffed squash, and banana-nutella bread.

7. Recently my hubby and I have taken up homebrewing. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but it's turning out to be a really fun hobby. We had one successful beer batch and about 6 batches of failed mead. But we're still trying! :D

I really appreciate the tag! I don't know who to tag really, seeing as I've never done this before! I suppose if I had to tag anyone I'd go with Hannah at Heart City Vintage and Robyn over at Twitch Vintage.

See you soon! :D

Daydreaming

I love to see other ladies' inspiration posts, so I figured I'd share a few of the things I've been dreaming of lately.

Saddle Shoes

Saddle Shoe Habitat Group



Tender Turning Quiet

Flickr user meetmeinstlouis's payless saddle shoes...the exact ones I want to buy!

High Waisted Pants

Carys of La Ville Inconnue

Pastels





In Bug's Drawers



Blooming Leopold

I hope you feel a little inspired! Make sure to click the images for the sources. See you soon!