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Twitter - I put off signing up for Twitter for a very long time.  I think because I was afraid of getting totally hooked.  Which of course I did as soon as I signed up last weekend.  I’ve become a little, shall we say, obsessed.  If you’re a Twitter-phile too, you can check me out here.

Dance Dance Party Party - I kept hearing about this amazing girls-only-get-your-groove-on phenomenon and decided I wanted to help get one of these started here in New Orleans.  No DDPP NOLA until after the first of the year, but we have a tentative kick-off date & time for a late-night version at Z’otz on Oak Street, Saturday January 10, 2009 from midnight til 2am.  If all goes well, hopefully we can make that a monthly thing there, and I’ve also got a tentative location in Metairie for a regular weekend afternoon DDPP.  Let me know if you’re interested in joining in the fun or helping with organizing and promoting!

button scarves at Loup Scarves - These cute hand-knit wool scarves are short and sweet, just the way I like a scarf.  (The neckwarmers I make are a similar style… long scarves just get in my way!) These are made by Yulia in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and she also makes cute hats and longer scarves for guys and girls. Check out her Etsy shop, where she’s offering free U.S. shipping for the holidays.

the Stuff You Should Know podcast & HowStuffWorks.com - I came across this podcast recently on iTunes, as it’s one of the most popular audio podcasts there. And no wonder why! It’s totally addictive for someone like me who loves learning and random trivia. The site is equally addictive. There’s more information than you could ever want to know, on just about anything you could possibly want to know!

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Hi everyone, just wanted to make a quick post and let you guys know that I’m back at home in New Orleans now, safe and sound. I’d like to thank everyone who sent their well wishes and thoughts and to also thank the lovely Ashe Mischief for posting to let everyone know I was alright. Today is my first day in over a week with internet access, so I’ve been spending the day trying to play catch-up in a big way.

I haven’t really had time yet to go back and try to see any of the recent national coverage concerning the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, but I’d just like to say that while this hurricane was no where near along the lines of Katrina, it still managed to wreak a pretty significant amount of damage on much of Louisiana. At one point I think I heard that almost half of the homes and businesses in the entire state were without power. Some of the hardest hit areas are supposed to be without power for up to 6 weeks. For those of you who have never spent any time in this area during the summer months, let me tell you, September in south Louisiana is HOT. Hot and extremely humid and pretty miserable with no power for refrigeration or air conditioning. Organizations like the Red Cross and even FEMA were doing a pretty good job this time at getting everyone supplies like ice, water and non-perishables to the people who needed them most, but in many areas it’s going to be rough going for the next few weeks.

Anyway, just wanted to check in and let everyone know I’m home safely. It might take me a couple of days to get caught up, but hopefully I should be back to posting again regularly soon!

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So today is the 3rd year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and it looks like we possibly have another storm on its way.

Everyone around here has their eyes on Gustav, but it’s still a bit early to tell. Nevertheless, preparations are definitely underway. I’ve already spent the last 3 days at work dealing with advanced just-in-case preparations and now that it’s become a weekend of wait-and-see, I’m working on making a checklist of what to grab if we need to evacuate New Orleans.

I’ve gotta say, as much as I’ve been trying to reduce clutter and simplify my life over the last few months, there’s still quite a bit of stuff around. One of the things that Katrina taught so many of us is what is truly important in life are the intangibles - friends, family, a sense of place, a feeling of home. That is why so many of us have chosen to stay here and why so many of us are possibly dealing with this all over again. That said, it also makes me realize how few possessions I would really care about if they were washed away. Most things are replaceable, and while replacement incurs expense, it’s not unmanageable in the long run. The what ifs that really scare me about this scenario are the possibilities of losing friends and family all over again, scattering us around like leaves in the wind.

Pray for the best, prepare for the worst. Like I said, it’s still too early to tell, but I think that’s what most of us are doing, anyway. Hopefully this will all blow over (pardon the pun), but the timing certainly makes for an eerie feeling.

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The Worn Again Fashion Show was Friday night, and it was a blast! Worn Again Jr. featured kids ages 8-15 strutting their stuff in their own recycled fashions that they made themselves. The main event included more than 50 models and all sorts of recycled fashion - everything from totally wearable stuff that looked like it could have come from a chic department store to amazing costumes to totally avant garde fashion!

The picture here is me on stage in my recycled outfit. I received a bag of clothes and fabric that included this puffy winter vest and some white mattress batting. This is what I transformed it into… You can’t see the detail very well in this picture, but there was a LOT of handsewing and tiny detail that went into this. I had a lot of fun, but I’m so glad it’s over now!

The thrift store art edit was really cool as well… I got this horse drawing that I transformed into something even more utterly ridiculous. (Anyone remember Lisa Frank? That’s what it reminds me of.)

My boyfriend also did an incredible job on his thrift store art piece. I don’t have a picture of the original, but it was this scary clown poster that he turned into an amazing light box with curtains (he sewed them himself on my machine!) and three dimensional hands and bingo balls. It’s Ronny Numbers from The New Orleans Bingo! Show!

You can check out more pictures from this year’s show, as well as a few from last year’s, on my Flickr page.

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Check it out, the New Orleans Craft Mafia made the cover of this week’s Gambit Weekly. (That’s the weekly free alternative mag here in NOLA.) There’s a picture of me and NOCM founder Rachelle and overall it’s a pretty fabulous piece of press!

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Long time no post, eh? I’ve been staying pretty busy, as usual, these days. A full-time job and writing for multiple blogs and a monthly magazine column and running dismantled and being a member of the New Orleans Craft Mafia and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life sure is a lot to juggle. It’s totally worth it, of course, but it does feel like a lot sometimes.

I’ve been trying to bring more of an indie-friendly and eco-conscious vibe over to Styledash via my posts there. I’m proud of one of my recent Earth Day posts about the Top 5 ways to green up your wardrobe. I’ve also been doing a regular series called Indie Designer Interviews and trying to showcase more independent artists there.

I’ve got a couple of shows coming up in the next few weeks here in New Orleans as well. I’ll be doing a trunk show this Thursday evening with some other local artists & designers, including some of my fellow New Orleans Craft Mafia members and local Etsy artists. If you’re in town, come by this Thursday, May 1st from 6-9pm. We’ll be at Magazine Metals (2036 Magazine Street) and there will even be free beer (while the keg lasts of course). I’ll also be at the Crescent City Craft Market on Sunday, May 11th from 2-6pm at The Big Top gallery.

What else? This blog is really cool if you want to read more about environmentally friendly style and design. Oh, and I’m totally in love with this adorable dino bag from the new Envirosax kids series of reusable bags. Is it wrong that I kind of want one of the kids bags for myself now?

What have you been up to?

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Now that Mardi Gras is over, I can concentrate more on the local alternative craft scene again. First up, this Sunday I’ll be doing the Crescent City Craft Market with the rest of the New Orleans Craft Mafia, plus some great guest vendors.

We’ll be back to our monthly schedule now that Carnival is over, so in addition to this Sunday, February 10th, you can also mark your calendars for Sunday, March 9th. We’ll be at The Big Top (1638 Clio St. between St. Charles Ave & Carondolet) from 2-6pm.

A little later this month will be the Alternative Media Expo, presented by Antigravity Magazine. This will be the 6th event of its kind and it’s shaping up to be the biggest and best yet, with over 80 confirmed exhibitors and a snazzy new venue.

This will be my fourth time participating in this event, and I can’t wait! You can check out my review of the last event, which happened back in August 2006. Those of us at the New Orleans Craft Mafia will be putting together some sweet cotton tote bags filled with free goodies which the first 150 paid attendees will receive as they walk through the doors. If you have an indie business, you can participate by sending in product samples or other promotional materials to get the word out about your biz. More details about sending in promo items can be found here.

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Well, I’m safely back home after a fun weekend in Austin. I had a great time at Stitch on Saturday and got to do a little shopping yesterday afternoon on South Congress Street.

The weekend was a whirlwind! I was so glad to finally meet Maggie & Michael of Supermaggie in person and I was also very excited to meet Sarah of Fort Cloudy and Luca of Lollibomb Beauty (I picked up two of her yummy smelling roll-on fragrances at the show). Here’s the three of us in a Myspace style photo:

I snagged an amazing clutch made from vintage upholstery fabric from Cahoots Handbags and browsed the fabulous goods at Aorta’s booth (fellow Etsian the Rocket Workshop even snapped a picture of me in action at Aorta’s booth). I also got to meet fellow blogger Jessica of Funky Finds. (If you want a chance to win some Stitch swag, be sure to check out her recap of the event and leave a comment with your favorite funky Stitch designer.)

I also got to see lots of amazing people again, including Rob & Corinne from Threadbanger, Faythe of the Indie Craft Documentary, Shannon from Patina, & Matt from Etsy. I’m sure I’m forgetting people too, there was just so much to see! It was a sensory overload. So much so in fact that I totally spazzed and forgot to snap any pictures. Doh! Luckily plenty of people were there with cameras…just check out the photos here, here, and here.

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I woke up this morning to a phone call letting me know that someone had gotten my debit card info and now my checking account is overdrawn and a lot of money is gone. Brilliant. A couple of days ago I booked a hotel online for next month so I can check out Stitch in Austin. Little did I know that I’d also be making a ton of purchases and withdrawals in Bangkok as well. Unfortunately I’ve never been to Thailand and someone else is having lots of fun at my expense. C’est la vie. So I’m spending the day trying to get this straightened out.

Anyway, I decided now might be a good time to have a little sale in my Etsy shop. So if you’ve been eyeing anything, now is a great time to buy, because everything is 20% off the listed price through October 31st. Just enter the code LIFESUCKS in the notes to seller at checkout and wait for an updated invoice.

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