Shea and I went to see UP last weekend (it is an excellent movie and you should see it if you haven’t already).  I won’t say too much more about that, because I don’t want to spoil anything about the film.  But I was thinking about how sometimes there are these little things that you miss about someone; little things that probably don’t mean a whole lot to anyone but you.

When I was a kid, my grandparents would pick my sister and I up from school, and we would wait at their house until my mom came home from work.  I spent a lot of those afternoons out in the backyard.  One day, I found a little green lizard like the one in the photo, only this one was a tiny baby–not more than two inches from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.  It was so cute!  I got the idea that I wanted to show it to my mom when she came to pick us up.  But it was still pretty early, and I knew if I set the lizard down, he would, of course, run away.  So I sat down on the back steps, cupping the little guy in my hands and occasionally peeking through my fingers.  

After a while, my grandmother came out into the yard.  She asked what I was doing, and I told her, reluctantly–I knew that what I was doing was kind of a “kid” thing, and I was pretty sure she was going to tell me that my mom didn’t really need to see the baby lizard, and that it was too long to wait, and that I should just let him go.  Instead, she got a thoughtful look on her face, and after a while she had me (and the lizard) come into the kitchen with her.  She found a peanut butter jar with just a little bit of peanut butter left in it, washed it and dried it out, and used an ice pick to poke small air holes in the metal lid.  She said, “We can keep him in here until your mom gets home.”  I put the lizard in the jar and she closed the lid.

The funny thing is, I don’t even remember showing the little guy to my mom.  But I remember the jar so vividly. 

At my house, we have been watching the HBO series Carnivale.  It was recommended by my friend Lisa, and it is very entertaining.  One of my favorite things about it, though, is looking at all the 1930s fashion and housewares.  Pretty much every episode, I see something (but usually more than one thing) that I wish I had in my closet or my home.  I came across some pages from an old Sears catalog, and it made me realize that if I had a time machine, one of the first things I would do (and yes, I do have a list), would be to go back to the 1930s with a bunch of cash, and buy a wardrobe-full of dresses, shoes, and jewelry.  I mean, some of those dresses are, like, a dollar!  But then Shea reminded me that money today doesn’t look the same as money did in the thirties.  Dang.  I guess every great plan has its flaws.  Back to the drawing board!

One thing I really like about thirties fashion is the juxtaposition of sharp, geometric lines with feminine elements, such as ruffles or floral prints.  I couldn’t help but incorporate those ideas into some new pieces.  

1930s necklace:

Geometry earrings:

xoxo,

Sarah

Are you ready to find out who is the winner of my first blog contest?  I am pretty excited to announce it!  But first, I want to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s entries.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I am going to make blog giveaways a regular feature on the maneki blog!  So, if you want to enter the next contest, you can keep informed by:

1) becoming a fan of maneki on facebook

2) following maneki on twitter

I will announce the giveaways on both of these two sites.  Of course, you can always just subscribe to the blog or remember to check back often!

Alright, enough of this chit-chat!  I know what you’re waiting for!  The winner of the first ever blog giveaway, as chosen by the random number generator, is…wait for it…

adding

some 

space

here 

for

suspense…

Nadine says, 

“Best thing about summer in the Pacific NW is that on the hottest day of the year, I can at least for a moment imagine that I’m in Austin, even if only in winter.

Really, though, the best thing about summer, hands-down, is watching my kids on waterslides for the first time of the season.”

Congratulations, Nadine!  I am going to e-mail you just as soon as I post this entry, so if you don’t get an e-mail from me really soon, check your spam filter or send me an e-mail.

Thanks again everybody!  I can’t wait for the next giveaway!

xoxo,

Sarah

Check back tomorrow to see who it is!

Want a chance to win the first ever maneki blog giveaway?  All you have to do is comment on this entry and tell me what you like about summer!  We are having a heat wave here in Austin, and it would be nice to be reminded of all the good things about this time of year!  One winner will be chosen at random, and that lucky person will receive this locket:

A couple of rules about the giveaway:

♥ Be sure to leave a good contact e-mail in the comments form (don’t worry; your e-mail address won’t be visible to anyone except you and me).  Entries without a valid e-mail address will be disqualified–I need to find out how to get you your necklace!

♥ Only one comment per reader, please

♥ This first giveaway is open to US addresses only

♥ Winning entry will be chosen using the random number generator at random.org

♥ All entries must be received by Monday, July 6, at 5:00 p.m. CST.  

Good luck!

I just added some post earrings to the shop.  I think posts are great for the summer!

Last night I saw Jenny Lewis at Stubb’s with my friend, Caroline–I’m sure you can tell who the band was from the awful iphone pic above, right?!  

It was a great show!  She was charming, and the whole band was great live.

If you don’t get my post title, you need to rent The Wizard immediately.  I was so jealous of Jenny Lewis when I was a kid, because she got to be in this movie!  I mean, come on, Fred Savage, the power glove, and sneak peeks of Super Mario 3?  Oh my goodness, I remember waiting for that movie to come out!  I remember sitting on my grandmother’s front porch with my cousin Zachary, predicting what we thought the latest Mario installment would be like.  It did not disappoint.  And it was so intimidating when Lucas Barton opened the case and pulled out the power glove!  They gave us tiny copies of Nintendo Power magazine at the door–I wonder if I still have mine in a box somewhere at my parents’ house.  It’s pretty funny that I loved that movie SO much; at the time, I had no idea that the whole thing is basically a really long commercial for Nintendo.  All I knew is that it combined two of my most favorite things, Nintendo and Fred Savage (ahem).

Clockwise from top: UNWORN Seychelles wedges in my size, peep-toe Bruno Maglis, and gray and cream vintage-style mary janes with stacked heels.

I got all of these for $30.

Yay!

It is pretty fun to have something to collect.  I had it in the back of my mind that I was looking for some vintage dishes, but I wasn’t actively seeking them out.  Then one day, last summer, when I was housing some hurricane refugees (my mother and aunt Becky), I took them to my favorite antique store in Austin.  I came across a lovely set of dinner, salad, and dessert plates for a very reasonable price, and I took them home.  As I was washing them, I noticed that the some of the plates were stamped on the back, and I went to eBay to see if I could find some more dinner plates to fill out the set.  Well, I guess this was a popular pattern in the 1960s, because there were all sorts of pieces to be found–I got my dinner plates, but since then, I have also added tumblers, juice glasses, berry bowls, serving bowls and platters, a creamer and lidded sugar bowl (pictured above), and a casserole that looks like a large version of the sugar bowl.  I’ve also found (I’m proud to say), the highly-coveted butter dish (the one with the loop on top!) and salt and pepper shakers.

I love having something to search for in antique malls, thrift stores, flea markets, and on eBay.  I always have an eye out for pieces to fill out my collection!

Blue Cameo Earrings