Three things (or people) I love

So, I was thinking I would share my little Alternative Press piece today, but I ran down to the Union Sq. enormous Barnes & Noble when I was out running errands, and it is still not on newstands yet! Boo.
Instead, I'm going to share 3 things that I love, in no particular order (accompanied by lovely pictures, of course):

Item 1: Ashley G
I love this little lady for many reasons...she's super talented + I love her work. She is kind and thoughtful.
AND she is maybe the only person in the world that I know of that has almost my identical life (at least as far as our work + businesses go!). So we experience many of the same troubles (occupational hazards, etc.) and also good things, and it's really nice to know there is someone else to chat about that stuff to.
I also love her because she sends me impromptu presents in the mail, full of amazing things:

This was a wonderful suprise that made a boringish afternoon turn totally lovely! Do you see the little "E"'s on that cafe fabric?! Love!!! I love it. And there's a whole bunch of it... All the better for decorating future kitchens with...
and
This little darling...who was a legitimate puchase of mine, but still somehow feels like a present:

I'm just in love. That's all there is to say about that!

Item 2: The Ronettes

I just love Ronnie Spector's voice so much. And the songs!!! The songs. And the production (obviously...I mean it's darn famous for a reason!)
Anyway, I love the Ronnettes because they are the perfect anytime music. I love thinking about teenage love & grownup-versions-of-teenage-love and all of the horns and strings and, oh, everything. They're the best.

Item 3: Bleaching Fabric
I went on a bit of a binge last week...filled up the tub with a ton of water and a scary amount of bleach, and went to town. I actually became a bit of a maniac, throwing in tights, shirts, whatever I could find that seemed bleach-able and therefore could be part of my mad science experiment! Obviously, the things that turned out the loveliest were the 100% cotton printed fabrics that were just a little too...bright? Annoying somehow?

Ack! I love them so much now I just want to hoard them! I wish so, so much that I had had the forsight to take some "before pictures" (because comparing side-by-side is half the fun of it!), but believe me, the background on the umbrella girls was an annoying violet, the baby deers were a bright teal, the fruit-florets were very bright, and the japanese apple fabric was a bright green, with  bright orange and vermillion apples. And I just like them so much better bleached!
It is so fun...and addictive. Because of the "experiment" aspect, which I've always been a total sucker for.

So, now I'm going to go listen to "Be my Baby", whilst sitting under my lovely new painting, and stitching away with some of the newly lovely fabric. Well, maybe I will.