Friday, November 26

Mad Orange Sale!

15% off everything in the Mad Orange Shop today through Monday, November 29th!! Enter the coupon code HOLIDAY2010 at check out.

Monday, November 22

Make.







This week's Words To Shoot By is Make. I really love all the submissions. Well, I always do, but sometimes they seem particularly fabulous.

I also love that Will is building a drum set! He's so great at making things, I am glad that he finally has time to make something for himself. Something that he loves. And the shells he bought are super awesome!

I had fun taking photos of him working yesterday.

Sunday, November 21

New stuff.

20101117_XSi_014

Nothing like waking up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning!

I actually had two decent nights of sleep earlier this week, but then it was back to the usual crap sleep. After we went to the movies on Friday, we finally went to check out mattresses. Will hates our current mattress and while I don't hate it, I have this tiny hope that a new mattress/bed is going to be the answer to all the restless nights. We're leaning toward getting a Tempur-Cloud because we slept on one while we were in Arizona and really liked it.

Aside from the movie and the bed shopping, all I have been doing is working. Knitting. Crocheting. Felting. And knitting some more. I love it, really. I love knitting new designs and using new colors. I love watching it all come together (so to speak) in the washing machine, the shapeless pieces turning into sturdy felted pieces. And I especially love it when something turns out even better than I could have imagined. Felting is magical.

I was accepted into the Poppytalk Handmade Holiday Market No. 2 which I am super thrilled about. Poppytalk is one of my favorite design blogs so I feel quite lucky to have been accepted into the market. It opens tomorrow so please stop by and check it out!

I've been working as fast as I can to get new things in the shop. This past week I added many new bags, nested bowl sets and even some more colors of zinnia pins! And there will be more to come.

Etsy is now allowing coupon codes, so if you are interested in making a purchase, I'm offering 10% off all regularly priced items through November 25th. Just put in the coupon code "MADORANGE10". Then over the weekend (Black Friday through Cyber Monday), I'll have some other discounts available like free shipping and 10% off selected items.

If you are at all interested in making a special order, please contact me by the first week of December so that I have ample time for production. And the cut off date for made to order items will be around December 10th. That way I have time to make everything and get it mailed. Last day for mailing ready to ship items will be December 19th.

And remember, even if you don't buy my work, you should buy handmade!

Thursday, November 18

Nine years and tapas.

The life of a cat is so very difficult.

Simon thinks he has a pretty rough life. I beg to differ.

And the photo has nothing to do with our tapas dinner, it's just what I have.

Yesterday was the day that I met Will...nine years ago. Perhaps not a true anniversary, but it is always a happy day for us. A happy memory. Will is incredibly awesome and I am a very fortunate woman.

To celebrate, we went out to a local tapas restaurant, La Boca. We've been meaning to go there forever because Will got a bonus from a gig that he did in February and said bonus was a gift certificate to La Boca.

It's located in downtown Santa Fe in a fairly tiny unassuming space. But it was comfortable and the service was great. I threw my digital point and shoot camera in my bag just in case, but alas, I did not take any pictures. I will share what we ate with you though because I know there are one or two of you out there who like to hear about food!

We ordered a bottle of Tempranillo which sadly is not listed on the online menu and I can't remember the brand. (Found it on the receipt, Araca.) It was a 2004, that I remember, and it went quite well with all our food. (It was also the cheapest bottle, but hey, you know how it is.)

We shared tapa de la casa while we studied the menu. It included catalan olives, mracona almonds and manchego cheese. All delicious.

Next up, the arugula salad with drunken goat cheese, avocado, lemon, olive oil and roasted peppers. I have no idea what makes goat cheese drunken, but it was really good. Totally different texture than regular goat cheese.

The next tapa was one of the specials so let's see if I can get it right. Crab croquettas with morcilla sausage and spicy red pepper sauce. Amazing. And not too spicy for me.

Tapas are small portions, but for some reason, after the crab, I was already feeling totally full. And usually I have quite the hearty appetite. (I suppose it might have had something to do with the leftover chicken friend steak, scrambled egg and English muffin that I had as an early lunch.)

No matter, we had to try a few more things.

The crab was followed by a grilled Moroccan shrimp tapa that isn't on the online menu so I don't know what it was exactly. It was served with some sort of blended avocado something or other. The shrimp was grilled to perfection, but I let Will eat most of it because it was SPICY.

Last up was the grilled hanger steak with smoked sea salt caramel or cabrales butter. Our waitress recommended trying both sauces so of course we did. The cabrales butter is all about blue cheese which neither of us like so we stuck with the smoked sea salt caramel which was AMAZING. Unlike anything I've ever dipped my steak in before. Loved it.

And okay, at that point, I was REALLY FULL. But skip dessert? Never.

We shared a chocolate ganache-custard with polverone cookie and a glass of port (I think it was the 1982 Toro Albala, Pedro Ximenez). I'm not big on dessert wines, but I'm trying to have an open mind since I love wine with chocolate. The wine was super syrupy and figgy and I definitely couldn't drink it all the time, but it went well with the chocolate dessert.

The entire meal was delicious all around.

And the rest of the week? Super busy! Will and I are both totally exhausted. On nights like these, we both wish we still lived in Brooklyn where we could order take out from any number of places. In Santa Fe...mmmmm...not really any choices for delivery besides pizza.

Tomorrow...Harry Potter!!

Monday, November 15

****



Busy, busy right now. It's good.

Still waiting for sleep. Not so good.

A new week ahead, exciting things to come.

xo

Friday, November 12

Sleepy days and sleepless nights.

My sweet boy.

We're all a bit sleepy around here right now, although the cats get plenty of sleep so I don't know what their excuse is. Now that the nights have gotten colder, they are both mostly sleeping through the night which is great. They sleep until around 5:00am now instead of 3:00 or 4:00. Sadly this hasn't helped my inability to sleep through the night. I haven't stay asleep for longer than 3 hours at a time for a few weeks and it's starting to get to me. Just once I would like to open my eyes and find that it is morning instead of the middle of the night.

And I can't blame the cats although they do tend to hog the bed and the comforter. The past few nights when I've awakened in the night, I've found that I am pinned down by sleeping cats. One on my legs and one at my side. I like the warmth they bring and the sweetness that is a cat sleeping next to me, but sometimes they don't leave much room to move.

I really need to become a heavy sleeper.

Really.

My dreams have been so vivid and long and weird lately too. It's like I am dreaming so much that I am not actually getting any rest.

Nonetheless, I have been getting loads of work done. Knit, knit, knit. Crochet, crochet, crochet. And then felt. Yesterday I had quite a good felting day of three bags, two sets of coasters, two sets of nested bowls and a handful of zinnias. And today I have already finished knitting up one bag and I am almost done with a second. This week I added a few new things to the Mad Orange Shop. And there will be more. Soon.

That's what the weekend holds for me as well. More knitting and crocheting. It's a good thing that I run five mornings a week or else I'd never get out of the house! (It's kind of bad, this whole not leaving the house thing. I need to get out more.) Sunday will bring a bit of daytime football capped off by the nighttime Steelers game. We'll be cooking up BBQ pulled pork and baked beans. I can't wait.

Hope everyone one has a happy weekend!

Wednesday, November 10

****



The latest Words To Shoot By went up on Monday. It's quite a fabulous celebration of Polaroid. Go take a peek.

Tuesday, November 9

The last of summer vacation.



This morning I posted the last Polaroid from our summer vacation. It's been rather nice, posting our vacation photos slowly, revisiting such a lovely time. It almost makes me sad to be mostly done with the photos. (I actually have film in my Holga that will be developed someday. And then I can remember again.)

It also makes me look forward to our next road trip, this time going east instead of west. During the winter instead of the summer. No beaches, but a place I've never been and perhaps some roads not traveled before.

Another adventure.

Sunday, November 7

Instant Love.

My very first Etsy treasury!



This morning I woke up before the crack of dawn, and with the end of Daylight Savings Time, the crack of dawn was pretty damn early. So I found myself digging around Etsy for interesting Polaroid-related items. A few of them, like the plushie, calendar and pillow, were featured as giveaways during 'Roid Week, and that's what got me thinking about finding more nifty stuff.

You can check out what I put together here

Saturday, November 6

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Five

The past few days, I've really noticed that I have quite a thing for instant film shots of trees! So many of my favorites are trees. Again, you can check out the entire 'Roid Week pool here.

roidweekdayfivefaves

1. last of the winters, 2. In the midst of the dying forest. , 3. Untitled, 4. The rabbit from my hat, 5. Untitled, 6. Looking Out, 7. Love, 8. The WonderDog, 9. *, 10. end, 11. faraway, so close, 12. winter no 43, 13. pztrees, 14. 'Roid Week 2010: 09, 15. hurricane., 16. Dead Tree, 17. Couch, 18. The raining umbrella, 19. Untitled, 20. Polaroid Week Day 5, 21. London, September 5th, 2010, 22. Untitled, 23. Untitled, 24. Mums, 25. Untitled, 26. Every ending is a new beginning, 27. Alone, 28. You Hum It, I'll Play It, 29. Leaf on PX 600, 30. trees & road, 31. Untitled, 32. Looking Up, 33. Untitled, 34. Untitled, 35. Umbrella, 36. Point Loma, CA

[Created with fds flickr toys.]

Friday, November 5

Day Five.

Alas, today is the last day of 'Roid Week. It's been especially brilliant this time around. So so many amazing shots in the pool. And so many mind-blowing shots with Impossible film. I can't wait to try out more myself!



Another shot with the expired Time Zero film.

Boat.

And a faraway boat on ID-UV film. Another favorite from our vacation photos.

A happy weekend to all!

xo

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Four

Check out the group pool here.

roidweekdayfourfaves1

1. V, 2. The Dogs Barked, 3. Distant forest., 4. silence, 5. Port Macquarie, 6. Untitled, 7. polaroid week: we wander aimlessly..., 8. Lonely?, 9. Spirals, 10. to eat flowers and not to be afraid, 11. untitled, 12. 'Roid Week 2010: 07, 13. Untitled, 14. Hanging Around, 15. Untitled, 16. Montague Terrace (in Blue), 17. the lonely tree that guards the path, 18. Untitled, 19. Untitled, 20. Untitled

roidweekdayfourfaves2

1. Broken Top, 2. Untitled, 3. at kuriftu, 4. Untitled, 5. PX70 Push - Neptune, 6. The Art of writing, 7. This is turning out to be my favorite tree, 8. London, September 5th, 2010, 9. Polaroid Padawan, 10. melvin064, 11. Could you please?, 12. thursday*, 13. why we love it, part three, 14. Untitled, 15. a storm, an accident and the rebirth of leviathan, 16. bex., 17. Nest, 18. Can you see the waves...? ....as its nearly twilight it seems..., 19. Simon, 20. thought

[Created with fds flickr toys.]

Tuesday, November 2

Day Two.



This is one of my absolute favorites from our summer vacation. Sometimes Polaroids are simply magical.



I wish I had used more of my Time-Zero film while on vacation, but I have to admit, I took so much film with me that the Time-Zero kind of got lost in the mix until we got to San Diego. Then I loaded it in the SX-70 Alpha and got stage fright. I never worry too much about "wasting" film, but this stuff, this is it. So yeah, stage fright.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day One

Check out the whole group here.

11/1/2010

1. Birds, 2. start, 3. La Tour Eiffel 1, 4. One day last week., 5. pre-start, 6. ç«‹å±±, 7. the happy couple, 8. Untitled, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. where you can find me most mornings, 12. ., 13. bovroid, 14. Untitled, 15. black sun., 16. Untitled, 17. curiosity caged the cat, 18. Day 1 - Shot 2, 19. Dia de los muertos, 20. Lonetree, 21. Untitled, 22. miss daisy., 23. Portugese Tiles, 24. professionals, 25. Self Portrait, 26. Trees Light, 27. All dressed up and nowhere to go, 28. silent village, 29. Untitled, 30. Polaroid Week Day 1, 31. London, September 5th, 2010, 32. Dusk at Kew, 33. Endless Summer, 34. Untitled, 35. countdown: cannon

[Created with fds flickr toys.]

Monday, November 1

And so it begins...Fall 'Roid Week!



Beach houses.

Here are my submissions for day one. Check out the whole pool here. I'll post my day one faves sometime tomorrow morning...hopefully.

Yay for 'Roid Week!