special delivery

yesterday when i left the house, i saw these cute footprints in the snow:











they led right to the mailbox, which made it look like a little birdie delivered my mail.

birthday weekend

i had a pretty good birthday weekend. i wore captain kitty to celebrate:



friday josh and i went to a show. we saw midnight, who are one of the most exciting cleveland bands at the moment in my opinion.



then we saw a legendary performance by soul/r&b singer clarence reid. it was the first show in the northern area that he has played in 35 years! although he had a few songs that charted in the 60s and 70s, he is perhaps best known for the songs he wrote for other artists (including sam and dave, and the song "clean up woman" for betty wright).



later in the 70s, clarence reid adopted an alter ego known as blowfly...the xxx rated porno soul king! that basically means he is the old, black, perverted version of weird al because he takes songs and turns them into dirty parodies. the owner of the bar hired some gross strippers for the occasion to set the tone of the nite. it was very funny, but i could have done without the strippers for the entire show. luckily, i did not get any photos of the strippers...but here are a few of blowfly!











on saturday, josh and i met up with some friends for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. then we came back to hotel hot trash for cake! and board games! and presents! and antics! allow me to illustrate:






(apparently greg is the official cake-cutter wherever he goes. i was not aware.)


(pogo thought it was her new bed)















hahahahaha.

i got lots of nice stuff! josh got me this cute cupcake container:



he also got me the frankenstein bag i wanted from etsy, candy, records, and gift certificates for MORE records! oh, and THIS GUY!!!


i <3 rat fink! now that's the perfect boy for me...one who knows to get me monsters and weirdos and rock'n'roll for a holiday :) i got several books, including this one from my cousin beth. love the cover!

"charlotte" got me this travel mug with her cute picture on it, because i always bring coffee over in the mornings when i go to babysit her :)



beth's boyfriend jon is a graphic artist and does lots of posters and fliers for local shows. he gave me a copy of this awesome one he made a few years ago for the bob log III show. it also includes local favorites uncle scratch's gospel revival, and an appearance by my girlfriends the pussyfoot girls!!



my friend jen gave me this adorable hair clip so i can get all dolled up and look like a pinup girl. i can't wait to wear it!



angie got me a bag full of goodies, including a notebook with some homies. she said this is us girls. HA! i want to be the fly one with no neck.





austin got me a mini marble elvis bust. sorry the picture didn't come out too good because the flash reflected off the king's shiny mug!



by the end of the evening, everyone was all tired out :)



sunday, which was my actual birthday, i hung out with josh and we went to my parents house for dinner. we also celebrated my dads birthday (feb 13th) and my brother mike's (feb 16th) along with mine. i was crabby and didn't stay as long as i would have liked, but it was still nice. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who sent well-wishes, came out to party with me, and showered me with love and monsters!!! i am a lucky girl for being surrounded by the people that i am.

inside hotel hot trash: whatcha got there?

for as long as i can remember, i have loved going to thrift stores, flea markets, antique malls, estate sales and garage sales. i love the thrill of the hunt and the feeling you get when you score something incredible. vintage stuff is my favorite (i was SO born in the wrong decade!) and this is my favorite stuff to collect. the fifties are my favorite decade as a whole, but i like a lot of stuff from the 1950s-1970s. hotel hot trash is a great big mashup of things. sometimes, i come across something neat and i'm not sure what it is or if it has a name at all...i just like the look of it. here are a few unfamiliar things i've collected. if anyone has any info about them, please feel free to share!



a few weeks ago josh and i stumbled upon a hole in the wall junk store and i saw this little guy just poking his nose over the shelf.





he seemed familiar, but i couldn't quite place it. there was no information printed on him and no year included, although my guess is from the seventies. i'm not sure if there was a specific name for these silly shelf noses or if they were just a novelty knick knack, but i know i've seen them before!



i asked the guy behind the counter what he wanted for him and i got to take my shelf nose home for a measly $1. awesome.


then there was this cute guy. i found him at a thrift store years ago and thought he was adorable.



eventually i found two more!



the pink and aqua ones are holding flowers, but i love that the purple one is holding a little pillow that says "i love cookies!" when nobunny stayed at hotel hot trash, he claimed this was his favorite thing in the house. ha!







i can't seem to find out what these are called, but i know they were made by the dakin company and they are from the early 80s. any ideas?


here's a cool thrift store find. at first glance it just appears to be a kitschy stuffed poodle.



but if you turn it over, you discover something neat on his belly. it doubles as a radio! how the...? why the....? WHO CARES, it's a puppy radio!





puppyradio hangs out in the record room, sitting on top of this vintage foot stool with a bunch of other neat junk.



let's have a look, shall we?

first there's a rhythm tote, which is a carrying case that holds about a dozen 45 rpm records:



there is also a stack of show fliers drawn by my friend ben:



i found this dick clark yearbook at the thrift store:





same with this old fonzie coloring book:




heeeeey! right on!

and finally, there is this cute old scrapbook:



more next time!