the brighter the better!

happy hump day! well today will be my 3rd day at work and so far so good, so very good! the two ladies i work for are awesome plus they know almost every one that works on the area so there are visitors that come by all the time...super fun! yay!

today is another work outfit however this was taken a couple of weeks ago when i was at my previous job! this new job i get to wear jeans so once in a while i will through in a bike chick jean outfit, YAY!

so when it comes to clothing, i love bright colors and the brighter the better! also pattern too! which is nice because when you are brightly colored on a bike you stick out more :D the the cardigan i scored while in ny and has been my favorite thing to throw on and add a little pop to my outfit!

i am thrilled you guys love the owl earrings! i think i will try and add them this weekend to my etsy and i will for sure let you all know about it! also keep a look out for my blogaversary post because that means giveaway time! it should be rolling up anytime ;D

shop update shout out!

hello lovelies! how was everyone's weekend?

among the many things we did this weekend updating the shop was one of them! we took advantage of the beautiful park and it's falling leaves and took some great pictures of my crafts. here are a few...

check out the rest of my other goodies here.

tonight i am picking the winner of these cuties so if you haven't entered leave a comment here!

 xo,
cb

holiday craft fair!

happy friday! i am torn...i am happy it is friday but it will be a long night tonight. i still have lots to do and on top of that it might rain on saturday...please rain gods be good to us hard working crafters and don't rain!!

i want to thank the mister for being the best ever! he has been so awesome this week while i freak out and run around like a crazy trying to wrap everything up. loves you to pieces my sweet!

so for you bay area peeps, come check out the CCA holiday craft fair. there are some amazing artists and one of a kind crafts.  the mister and i will be there with lots of bike embroideries, chickie paintings, owl earrings and fabric necklaces. the fun starts at 11 and ends at 3, there is live jazz music and great food. hope to see some of you out there!

the rest of my weekend is pretty packed too....after the fair we are going hunting for a christmas cactus!!!!!!! we have been talking about getting one for years and this year we really want to get one...so...we are! can't wait to show you pictures :) saturday night we are making a favorite dish...argentina beef stew....SOOOOOOOOOOOO yummy! and then on sunday it is my grandparents 60th anniversary! i can't wait to celebrate with them!

hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!

xoxoxoxoxo,
cb

just keep stitching stitching stiching

i am on a dead line people and i am going to make this work! i have a craft show at my old college, cca dec. 4th and i am determined to have an army of my crafts ready for purchase. it is the winter holiday craft fair and every year for the past 3 years i have gone and every time i have lots of fun! each time i learn more about myself and my little business. i love seeing all the creative alumni & student's work and i always walk away with some goodies. i will never regret going to this school even if it is costing me an arm and a leg, okay another leg and maybe another arm...oh who am i kidding the whole damn body..hehehe but all jokes aside i truly found who i was while going to that school and that to me is priceless. i have always been a creative person. my mother is an amazing artist who taught me everything i know and when i met the mister i knew it was a match made in heaven, he is truly one of the MOST talented people i know. i would KILL for his talent...but there is something so wonderful about being around creative people who feel sooo free expressing themselves that you can't help when some of it rubs off on you...oh alright to make a long story short...i am  busting out as many bike embroideries as i can...here is a finished one but not yet put into the dark avocado wood frame.

this one is called "a camping we shall go"

equipped with panniers, sleeping bag & pad

 and i am working on this cute little mixte and have the boy & girl bikes and two others left to do and then i think i i am set....unfortunately these won't be going up in my shop yet....if they don't sell i will for sure put them up....but don't worry i love making them so much and have tons of frames still that if you want a custom one made just shot me an email...i still have a couple more things to do like....

.....like make 7 owl earrings, a couple of my fabric necklaces and some hair clips! i was hoping to get some skirts banged out as i have 4 really cute fabrics but i can do those after..they are soo easy that i can get them all done in a day...only problem is that i like the fabrics sooo much and the skirt silhouette, that i might keep them for myself! we shall see..here is my first skirt ever! i LOVE it so so much!

skirt fabric

left over scraps for fabric neklaces

oh i LOVE being crafty...fills my heart & soul with utter happiness!!!happy crafting!

xo,
cb

embroidery goodness

a while back becky from becky's blog posted a vintage owl embroidery she had finished and i just about died when i saw it! i told her i would pay for one and this amazing talented lady sent me an email telling me she would send me an owl embroidery for FREE...i was so filled with joy i almost peed myself! so while we were on vacation a little package awaited me! i mean not only did i just get back from a relaxing vacation with my mister, but one of the greatest presents awaited me!!! i ripped open the package and squealed with utter joy! becky had embriodered this little guy on a canvas apron but there was no way in hell i would ever want to get him dirty so i cut him out, ran to the thrift store and bought a frame and now he is hanging in my owl room, also known as our "powder room"!

now you get a sneak peak into my "owl room"!

 he is so perfect in every way, oh i just love him! if you haven't checked out becky's blog i would, she does some great embriodery work, she is a great buddy and the most wonderful person! there was no way i was going to let her get away with this for free embroidery madness so i popped in the mail a pair of my black owl earrings! it only felt right to give an owl for an owl :D

and speaking of embroidery, while traveling i knew we had long layovers and 6 hour flights so i packed my embroidery hoop, a needle and some floss and finished this guy! he is an orange fixie, which in bike terms is a bike with only one gear, sometimes no brakes either, CRAZY! this little guy is up in my shop so he is ready to find a beautiful home to call his very own!

 next on my embroidery list is a tandem and a girl & boy bike! can't wait to get those started!

oh by the way i was interviewed by te maari over at the little monarch. she has a beautiful blog as well as great amazing style AND she lives in new zealand, one of the places i must see before i die!!

hope you all have a great and fabulous day!

xo.
cb

a perfect fall day filled with skulls & pumpkins

in some of the windows you can see skulls

 saturday was awesome! the weather was warm not a cloud in sight and any day filled with skulls and pumpkins is a day well spent in my book. my sister in law came over with my little nephew and we headed over to the dia de los muertos art exhibit. i thought it was appropriate to wear my skull earrings...i mean it only made sense ;D

the art exhibit is being held from oct. 8th to nov.14th...i am not sure how long this has been going on as this will be our second halloween here and we missed the exhibit last year and we were super bummed. i was so excited to go because the meek mansion is never open to the public. the mister didn't go as he went on a bike journey so i can't wait to go again and go at night to get the whole effect!

 people from all over hayward participated in the exhibit from grade schoolers, high schoolers and
independent artist...i was so impressed, i thought they did a great job and i especially love the "stained glass" art the best! made me want to go home and whip something up...perhaps next weekend!

i really loved this alter which is in stead of alters of remeberence different people made books instead...so clever!

 since dia de los muertos is a day of remembrance there were little and large alters scattered about remembering family members as well as the former owners of the house the meek's.

there were several paintings done by various local chicano artists that were amazing! i felt so inspired by this that i now know what type of tattoo i want to get next! day of dead birds! can't wait to start designing!

later that night we went over my cousin's house and we carved pumpkins till the early morning! i did an owl and the mister did a GREAT day of the dead skull! here they are at home in front of our little casa :D it was a PERFECT fall day!

hmm not a great picture but you get the point, no?

what is the best memory you have a perfect fall day?

xo,
cb

owls, vintage fashion and a sweetie!

sunday was awesome! i always love hanging out with my mommy! she picked me up sunday and we headed out to sf to the yearly vintage fashion expo! this place is amazing! if you live in the sf area this is a must do! there are tons of vintage stands from all over the sunshine state selling all things fashion from every era! as i had mentioned before we went last year and i bought my wedding ring and the mister bought his shark skin suit there, all in all we walked away with some beautiful things for our special day.

yes, aubergine's shoe collection is crazy, their clothes selection is crazy and their purse selection is INSANE!

 i was really happy to see one of my favorite and not so secret now vintage stores. aubergine is located in sebastopol which is about 1 hour north of sf. it is truly AMAZING! the place is HUGE and they get all their inventory from europe so there are some really awesome finds there, plus the prices are really really great! i have a sneaking suspicion that maybe it is a drug front...every time we go up north we always go there to pick up some great stuff...while we were there i ran into my landlord, who is a treasure hunting QUEEN! she finds the most amazing things! i love her and really would love to adopt her!

as i was walking around, the cutest little lady approached me and asked me if i was cristie...caught a bit off guard BUT  i knew right away who it was...tina from city girl rides! she was perfectly dressed in one of my favorite color combos, red and blue, her hair looked amazing and she is just beyond beautiful! i was soo excited to meet her! she is a fellow bike enthusiast and let me tell you...she really knows how to ride a bike and look AMAZING! i am a little bummed i didn't get a picture but i was so caught off guard that i was a little embarrassed to get her picture so i stole this one from her blog...she bought that amazing skirt at the expo...isn't she AMAZING?!?! ladies...she wore that outfit while riding...pretty sweet if you ask me!

there was soo much to see that my eyes were on overload and so for some reason i only took pictures of owls... guess it shows how obsessed i am with them...

these are hairspray covers!

sadly this owl lamp was NOT for sale :( i had to ask though!

and here is what i walked away with...

a great 60's shift dress with a really awesome pink and green paisley print and this SUPER awesome belt with frog buckle! i am soo in love with this belt right now...want to wear it with everything!


what is your most exciting vintage buy?


don't forget tomorrow i will announce the winner of my bloglovin' giveaway so if you haven't entered today is the final day...also a reason why i will be m.i.a next week!

xo,
cb