Friday, February 26, 2010

sleep talking

josh always has conversations in his sleep that make no sense. i am usually awake for these and i ask him questions to keep him talking. then i write down the conversations on the journal next to the bed so i don't forget. sometimes he even opens his eyes and i'm SURE he must be awake, but he has no recollection whatsoever when i ask him about it in the morning. some of these i posted before, and a few are recent. #6 just happened last nite and i was laying in bed laughing so hard i had tears rolling down my face.

#1
josh (rolls over): DOG LIFE!
me: what?!
josh: dog years.
me: what are you talking about?
josh: it means unlimited.
me: WHAT means unlimited?
josh: you don't know how to count good! (rolls back over)

#2
josh (rolls over): are you guys gonna put ed on the show?
me: did you just ask 'are you gonna put ed on the show?'
josh: yeah, that'd be sweet.
me: ed who?
josh: A VIKING!
(rolls back over)

#3
josh (rolls over): i can't tell what's dead and what's not!
me: josh, why are you saying such creepy things to me?
josh (gets an angry look on his face): i'm talking about the damn things!
me: what damn things?
josh: the newspapers!
me: what newspapers?
josh: ohhhhhhh, you know, damn it!
(rolls back over)

#4
josh (rolls over): "PIE!" (rolls back over and goes to sleep)
*note: josh doesn't even like pie*

#5
me: josh, stop grinding your teeth.
josh: i'm still chewing on food!
me: no you're not.
josh (angrily): YES I AM!
me: no, you're not. you're sleeping.
(josh opens his eyes and looks confused, then lays back down and falls asleep)

#6
josh: anything on the menu is $5.
me: what?
josh: she can pick anything on the menu and its just $5.
me: what menu?
josh (props himself up on his elbows and motions to his pillow in front of him): this menu here.
me: that's not a menu, that's your pillow.
josh: don't be dumb, just listen to what i say! (rolls over and falls back to sleep)
*when josh rolled over 5 minutes later i asked him if he was awake and he said yes. this time i asked what he was dreaming about, and he laughed and told me mcdonalds*

Thursday, February 25, 2010

junkin and recent scores

lately i've really been missing my old job at the thrift store. i would find cool stuff all the time and literally come home with bags of stuff daily. this hole in my soul, combined with things like sitting around on monday nites with josh watching "american pickers" has been enough to drive me over the edge! i can't stop myself. i'm so obsessed. SEND HELP!

a couple weekends ago josh and i hit up some local antique/vintage stores in the neighborhood. got some records. ok, got LOTS of records. i loooooove me some old 45s. i find them very appealing. for whatever reason, i think they are more fun to collect than regular 33s. maybe it's because i dig the cool label art and i can store them in all the wonderful 45 totes that i also adore.

one of the antique stores we visited had a lot of taxidermy throughout the store that was unfortunately not for sale. i would have loved to buy these guys and put them in my foyer.

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here are a few pictures of one of the best vintage stores in the area, suite lorain. it only took me about 15 years to finally get here...what was i thinking waiting so long?! i meant to take more photos when i was inside, but i was too busy being distracted by all the awesomeness around me.

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then one day i had a particularly lucky haul from the thrift store.

cute glasses holder to put one of my many cat-eye pairs in:

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weiner dog planter...i kind of love weiner dogs:

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vintage easter decoration:

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fancy vintage beaded/sequined clutch (for $1!):

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and finally, this beautiful vintage picture of virgin mary. i'm not into the concept of religion, but i like the art. old artwork like this can be collectible and is sometimes costly, so i totally scored for $2.

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last weekend josh and i declared a "medina day." we gathered a carload of our friends and headed to medina, the city where josh spent his high school years. we hit up antique shops and the antique mall, as well as some thrift stores. it was such a success we even headed back the next morning for an antique show flea market! BANANAS!

this was one of my favorite finds. i love circus and carnival art! i got this framed poster at the antique mall but i'm not sure when it's from. the frame is too annoying to take apart so it will just have to be a mystery. i would love to start a carnival room in the house, which is why i would be delighted if anyone on etsy wanted to work out a trade for some of your circus/carnival photography!!!

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josh and i found these containers of old monster movie pins. i don't think the pins themselves are old, but there were still plenty of neat ones!

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i picked up this little viking at the antique mall. cute, huh?

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josh found this for me at the thrift store. it had no price tag on it and i almost panicked. luckily he asked if someone would price it and they did. the filthy and worn condition combined with the fact that the kid pricing it probably had no idea what it was resulted in me getting this record tote for a buck. score! cleaned it off when i got home and added another one to the collection.

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i also found tons of cute figurines!

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got these great cat-eye sunglasses at the flea market. the lady who sold them to me not only knocked $7 off the asking price, but she also told me about how she used to wear them around and think she was a badass. that made them even more endearing. old glasses are another thing i have a problem with. what will i possibly do with a whole suitcase full of them? that never stops me, though.

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josh and i are always saying, "you know what we need to get? a back scratcher!" so when i saw this i knew not only was it awesome, it was a much-needed practical buy. when i took it up to the lady and handed her my $1, she immediately started laughing at me. i wanted to say, "what are you laughing at? you're the one that owned a naked lady back scratcher in the first place!" but i didn't. it WAS pretty funny and i had to laugh, too.

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i also had to get these little skunks, because i am a madman and i can't stop buying cute woodland creature figurines.

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as usual, i've also been getting lots of records and books!

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(this "metal" one is pretty cheesy, but it had the mc5 on it so i couldn't pass it up)

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(the grape jam record isn't any good but i like the album cover so i kept it. that's when you know you're a total record nerd, when you buy records just for the cover!)

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(when we got to the flea market, one of our friends who had a table set up told me and my friend billie that there was a guy selling really cheap records, including original pressings of punk stuff like the ramones and the dictators. unfortunately by the time he told us this, someone had already pillaged the lot and most of the good stuff was gone. GUH! ACK! UGH! billie and i were about ready to smack our friend for not buying them up the minute he saw them and letting us buy them from him! still, i managed to get a motors and a generation x album for cheap...some of you might know generation x as billy idol's early punk band. we also made a stop at our local record store, where i found the hasil adkins cd, mistreaters 7" and the compilation called "frolic diner vol. 3")

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(books about serial killers, rock'n'roll, ghosts, and a boy who was raised as a girl...now i'm all SET!)

FINALLY, i had a really awesome find yesterday at the thrift store. usually i miss out on all the cool furniture around here so i was majorly stoked to be at the right place at the right time. i got this cool vintage diner-style table and stool and had to call my dad to pick it up for me because it wouldn't fit in my car. it matches my red kitchen (and the red/chrome vintage table i already had from my grandma!) a big thumbs up goes out to lacey, who hooked me up with the old skool sugar dispenser and mini glass pastry display! sure the kitchen is a little tight, but i can never say no to a good find :)

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josh also recently did a blog post about the kitchen (or "kitsch-en" as he called it...clever one, ain't he?) so you can visit his newish blog here!

i know you might read this post and be thinking, "gee erin, aren't you unemployed? what the hell are you doing spending all this money?!" but the truth is, i lucked out in almost all instances and that is part of the reason why it's so addicting to go out hunting and digging around for treasures. altogether, with everything you see in this post, i would estimate that i only spent around $100.

JUNKIN! YEAH! this is how i get my kicks. it's such a bad habit and a rough thing to be addicted to, but DAMN is it fun!

Friday, February 19, 2010

add swamp rat photography on facebook!

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i finally broke down and created a facebook page for swamp rat photography. please feel free to become a fan if you are so inclined!

xoxo erin & josh

Thursday, February 18, 2010

special delivery

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

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

Monday, February 15, 2010

birthday weekend

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

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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!

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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:

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

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(pogo thought it was her new bed)

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hahahahaha.

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

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

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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! Photobucket

"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 :)

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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!!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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

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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.