Stuff I like – Reinvented vinyl

If you are as old as me, ahem, then you remember records.

You know, albums.

Vinyl.

Those big monstrous looking black discs that played music on your parent’s stereo console with a diamond tipped record needle while you are your besties learned to disco dance in the rec room. The rec room that probably had shag carpet and wood paneling.

It’s all coming back now isn’t it?

I wish I could say that I still owned my albums. Thriller, Styx, Madonna, Saturday Night Fever, Journey, Fleetwood Mac and so on. But I am a purger by nature and my albums were long since purged at garage sales,  where they were probably acquired by someone like this artist  who does nifty things with old records. Upcycling I think they call it now…although it’s cooler than that. Trust me.

Reinvented Vinyl is my new favorite etsy shop. Hand to god. This artist takes old albums and magically reinvents them (hence the shop name) into fabulous purses. I know! So cool. You can also send her your favorite album and she will turn it into an fabulous purse.

So I did what any good girl would do. I bought four.  Three for Christmas gifts and one for me (because I deserve a present for doing all the Christmas shopping. You can read about my thoughts on Christmas here).

You might think the best part about shopping for these four purses was sending a check to the artist and receiving a big box of purses several weeks later on my front porch. Close.

But the real fun was the tripping down memory lane part of the purchase. The part where I covertly grilled my besties about their favorite record albums in hopes it could be created into some awesome piece of fashion nostalgia that doesn’t have “Made in China” stamped on the bottom. The part where I am renounced best gift giver ever come Christmas.

Win-win for everyone!

Buy unique. Buy handmade.

Sauk Prairie Cow Chip – Art Show Recap

Sauk Prairie Rules!

The Good:

• There are people. Lots of people. People who apparently are unphased by the federal deficit, the blips in the stock market, recent back to school shopping or rain. The calendar turned to September and it’s a new month with new money to spend. And they spent it. On tye dye. Go me. This means I can pay for my husbands 50th birthday thingy (another entry for another time, promise).

• Pork Chop on a stick. $5 for 12 ounces of bone-in pork-a-licious pig on a stick. Oink! Pork Chop on a stick is not for dainty. Sit down at picnic table, rolls up the sleeves and Fred Flintstone that pork chop down to the bone. It’s a good idea to bring some floss. Worth every single smoked pork-chop-a-licious calorie. Yummy!

• Lots of first time grammas. Cool, hip grammas that think nothing of whipping out the Visa to buy cute little dresses, hoodies and rompers for their grandbabies. I’m putting all Grandmas on a big pedestal. They rule.

• The Square. My new fangled real-time gizmo that authorizes and captures credit card transactions via my smart phone. I received my “free” Square (really, it's free)  in time for Sauk which make credit cards transactions easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. Seriously – slicker then sh*t through a goose. No lie. Major snaps on the cool factor.

The bad

• The weather. This year is was rainy and drippy and overall moist. Not that it mattered. Cow Chip is a one day gig and the people come out in droves. The bummer part was all my stuff was just a tad moist which meant unpacking everything at home to dry out proper.

• Normal hassles with loading in and loading out, but let’s face it I’m seeing dollar signs. Dollar signs are like exercise endorphins. They make me happy.

Woot!

On the list for next year. Check!