Birth Daze

[nggallery id=34]

I admit it. I love making a big deal about my birthday. It's partially that childlike desire to have people shower love and gifts on you, but it also has a lot to do with the time of year I was born. February is rough for a lot of us. It's been winter long enough but spring is still pretty far away. The holidays are long gone, our vitamin D levels are woefully insufficient, and it's fucking cold. In other words, it's the perfect time to throw a party. This year Graham and I got some other friends involved in the planning process, and we ended up having my 29th birthday celebration at some friends' big ol' party house, complete with four friends taking turns DJing, a keg, tons of delicious food, and an awesome music studio that served as the sort of chill out space for folks not outside smoking and not wanting to dance at the moment.

That's The A Team there on the top left- Ariella, Amber, and Amanda. I wore a wicked little lace skirt that I had thrifted a few days before. Graham wore his favorite (hella vintage y'all) Toyota hat. Owen, DJ & keg master, wore this AMAZING green shawl. Which I love him for.

[nggallery id=35]

The dancing and music making lasted well into the morning. There was a spontaneous drum troupe performance, an epic late night jam session with folks passing the microphone back and forth, and plenty of ass shaking under the disco ball. Everyone had a killer time and was grateful to escape the daily drudgery for a while.

[nggallery id=36]

Okay so what's going on here??? Well the next morning, after Graham cleaned the hell out of the house (SO awesome of him), we and our new friend Bobby passed this freaky thing by the side of the road on the drive home. We immediately pulled over and Graham jumped out to snap some photos. The man who built this... thing came charging over to him with a hammer in his hand to ask just what the hell he was doing. When Graham assured him that he was just admiring his art the man loosened up and told him all about the patent he has pending on this... thing and how he rigged up an alarm to her to make sure no one tries to take her and steal his brilliant idea. He plans on making more of these to sell (guess the windshield fixing business isn't immune to the economic disaster we've made of ourselves) which begs the question... is this the end of the sign holding industry as we know it? (And yes the... thing has mechanical arms that move the sign around in a circle).

[nggallery id=37]

After picking Mycelia up from Graham's mom's house we decided to take advantage of the clear skies and wander around downtown Nevada City for a while. We went to a school playground and Graham and I relaxed and recovered on the bench while the little'n "painted" mud onto the side of the building with a stick. (Sorry Nevada City Elementary, but I'm sure it already washed off when the rains quickly returned). Then we spent the last $10 we had on coffee and french fries. Hey, it's my birthday. Or rather the day before my birthday. Or maybe the day after my birthday party. Okay so I haven't exactly recovered yet...

[nggallery id=38]

Finally, here are some photos taken yesterday (my actual birthday). I decided that the skirt was a one time wear only, especially since I wore it on such an awesome night. Time to pass it on. So we took some photos of it and I'll be listing it in the shop later today. I'm glad we got our new camera in time to photograph a little of the place we are living now, because (as you may know if we are friends on Facebook), our landlord is for reals psychotic and we are trying to get the hell out of there ASAP.

But enough about me and my impossible living situation and the lack of sunshine hitting my pineal gland and my late winter depression... let's talk about this dress! Seriously, happy prints and bright colors go a long way toward making me feel a little lighter when times are hard, and this outfit definitely brightened my day. The dress is vintage, made in India, and I got it from Fruit Salad Vintage. The tights are Target, and the shoes I blogged about here before. Even Graham liked this one ;-)

P.S. How old are you and do you feel old? And when did you start feeling old? Just this winter I'm like "Oh my god. I'm aging. I can feel it in my body and see it on my face. This is it." I don't mean to complain, it's just... new. A glimpse of what's to come. A reminder to take good care of myself.