Weekend Roundup

Greetings Fanatics!

Happy October! We're well into the month, but I'm so happy October is finally here. It's usually our busiest time of the year, activities wise, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and write until now.

What's been going on with us?

• We've been taking every chance we can get to go outside and hike! The weather is finally tolerable, so Memorial Park and the Houston Arboretum has been seeing us more than usual. The parks are jam-packed this time of year, reminding me of the short sci-fi story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury, where school children on Venus are let out to play in the sun, which only appears for two hours every seven years. Read it if you love to cry. This weekend is filled with more hiking with a trip to either Froberg's Farm or Dewberry Farm for hay rides and pumpkin picking.
• Sister Hannah's outside cat Fage (like the yogurt) gave us an autumn bounty of 4 black Halloween kittens, born just this last Saturday. I'm hoping at least one of them turns out to be a female, so that I can have one (Aaron doesn't want another male cat because of the health problems they often have)
• Aaron and my anniversary is later this month, celebrating 5 years of Fanaticism.
• We recently went to the Houston Grand Opera's costume sale, which was pretty much a bust for everyone there. Though we did manage to snag 2 sweaters, 2 cardigans, and a dress for $9. The last time they had a public sale of their costumes was 15 years ago and after this weekend, I wouldn't miss it if they never did a sale to the public again, instead just having a sale for schools.
• Halloween is coming up and I'm making Isaac's first Halloween costume.
• Next month, I am participating in Pop Shop America's Winter Fest Market on Black Friday, so I'm also preparing for that.

I have some stuff coming in the mail and some events that we'll attend soon, so there will be some reviews coming up. I've been trying to get Aaron to write a series on the habitats in our house but he's very structured in his writing and is taking forever. So maybe look for that. 

In any case;

stay Fanatic,

Megh

Weekend Roundup: Squirrel Nut Zippers, Shiny Ribs, Halloween Quilt

Greetings, Fanatics!

Hope you had a nice weekend.

Well, next week is the first official day of Autumn and the days are actually starting to cool down. Not "crisp air, sweater weather, drinking hot coffee outside" cool, but a cloud or two has started meandering in front of the sun and staying out in the late evening has become pleasant. 

On Friday, we had the pleasure of seeing the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Shiny Ribs live at the Miller Outdoor Theater in the Museum district. I've been a fan of the Squirrel Nut Zippers since I was Isaac's age and I was ecstatic when I heard that they'd be playing for free at the MOT for their 20th anniversary revival tour. The three of us packed up a picnic and arrived early to make sure we'd get tickets for the seated area instead of having to sit on the hill in the back. This was Isaac's first concert and he seemed excited, even if he did have to sit on our laps with our hands clamped over his ears for much of the show, the ear plugs we brought for him being woefully insufficient. He actually ended up falling asleep toward the end of the evening. 

Shinyribs opened for SNZ. I'd never heard of them before this concert, but apparently they've got a pretty big following! Several people in the audience were singing/participating during the 60 minute set. Shinyribs is pretty great. Touted as an "American country-soul, swamp-funk band from Austin", it's almost impossible to smile at one of their high-energy shows. The band is lead by pistachio suit clad "Mr. Ribs", a jovial man with a rich voice and pretty killer dance moves. 

After a brief intermission, the Squirrel Nut Zippers took the stage. There's a lot of drama surrounding the group - front man "Jimbo" Mathus very clearly voiced the distinction that this tour was a "revival, not a reunion!", and I have to admit that I was too young to care about the falling out between the founding band members. I just like the music. Excitement was buzzing in the air as they played;  people were getting up to dance in the aisles and when the highly anticipated "Hell" began to play, throngs of swingdancing fans mobbed the front of the stage to join in the singing. A full moon hanging over the hill completed the feeling of the evening. 

 With October fast approaching, I've been putting the fabric I bought last Halloween to good use as a Halloween quilt. It's my first quilt, just a patchwork design, but I'm proud of it. So far, I've only got the columns stitched up - I ran out of black thread and haven't had the chance to run to the craft store for more. I've also been busy working on Halloween dolls for Megh's Menagerie (formerly TIM + BEN Dolls) and I've got a new shop in the works for Etsy, so keep your eyes open! 

Stay Fanatic,
Megh

Shop Review: Em and Sprout

Greetings Fanatics!

My holiday shopping has begun and today's review is on shop Em and Sprout. I've previously purchased from Em and Sprout; a few years ago I bought her now discontinued "Things in Space" t-shirt as a reward for doing well at a convention. It's taken me 2 years to revisit the shop, but when I saw this very cute Jack-o-Lantern necklace on the shop's Instagram, I fell in love.

My current necklace model.

Em and Sprout's style can be summed up in one word: cute. Large eyed animals stare sillily at you from shirts and bags and sweet looking ghosts dangle from necklaces and pins. Em and Sprout specializes in screen printing her designs on totes and hoodies and making dresses out of printed fabric featuring her art.

I'm finding myself drawn to Jack-o-Lanterns this season - the seemingly endless variation of expression on orange faces amuses me and I can count at least 5 Jack-o-Lantern items from around my room that were purchased within the last month. This necklace from Em and Sprout is fairly simple- made up of two laser cut pieces of acrylic and a black ball chain- but the simplicity is something that I like about it. It reminds me of vintage Halloween cards - the 2 tone design reminiscent of stamps from my childhood. Looking at this necklace makes me nostalgic and happy. I can wear this necklace around to add an obvious Halloween theme to my outfit or have it hanging on my wall as decoration.

If you love cute or kawaii themed art, give Em and Sprout a try.

Stay Fanatic,
Megh