Tunes & Spoooooky.

The Dead Milkman - If you love somebody, set them on fire.

Lydia Lunch - Spooky. This isn't the best sounding version but please... take a moment, or the whole 2:52 minutes watching this video until you become really uncomfortable watching it after about 45 seconds of laughing. 

I apologize in advanced for putting you through that video. I am now about to adventure out to where ever my friends are going to take me. I hear I'm partnering with a certain Nikki Sixx this year. I wonder who our third wheel is going to be. I obviously, am a baby elephant dressed in 70's inspired clothing, with a black bob on. I sort of look like a groupie that is celebrating Halloween, but with gothic makeup. I guess this makeup could pass as glam though...

From the Weekend : Chicago Renegade Handmade Bound

This weekend was Renegade Handmade in Chicago. I did not have a table for Bird Trouble, but I did spend the day in Wicker Park on Sunday to mingle and "window" shop. It was a hot day, but we're still cherishing those days over here before the cold comes through. Renegade was huge this year and it felt like it took forever to walk through. Especially if you're from Chicago and you run into someone you know that you stop and chat to every 1/4 of a block. I checked out a bunch of awesome vendors including some of my already favorites along with new favorites; Lady Faye Jewelry, Cities in Dust, Steff Bomb, Dolan Geiman, Sara Cramer, Boyfrengirlfren, Debbie Carlos, Modern Adornments. Don't worry, I plan on showing them off a little later in another post. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Beca and Doug from Tumbleweeds Handcraft this past weekend. It was my plan all day. James and I talked to Beca and Doug for a while about things that include : switch blades, smelly ear holes, skate parks, puppies, and only the coolest vans. They really are the most awesome, humble, genuine, and kind people I've met in awhile. I just wanna hang out with them all the time! Pout. For the next few hours after we parted ways, I think James and I only talked about how we want to make our dream van cool, moving to a little house in the middle of the woods, and making a bunch of things.

James gifted me with this necklace from Once Lost Jewelry {Columbus, OH} that he had secretly purchased as I stood only a few feet away. We didn't really give each other birthday gifts this year to save money and I'm totally okay with that, but he was sweet enough to buy this for me as a belated. We've been bug hunting lately and our dead bug collection is vastly growing. Mostly cicadas, moths, butterflies, and a dragonfly. We tried for spiders but they wrinkle up. Okay, anyway, the reason he bought this necklace for me is because there is a real butterfly wing inside of watch lens (yep, watch lens). The chain is 60 years old and there's a little monocole charm hanging down. I love it.

Beca and Doug were kind enough to give James a pair of sunglasses to trade for some Bird Trouble bags. He loves them. It's the first pair of sunglasses that I've seen him enjoy so much. I'm stoked on James owning something handcrafted from our new friends. I think he looks dang good in them and they're perfect for his black t-shirt and blue jean every day attire. Thanks Beca and Doug for making James look top-notch and for bringing smiles to our faces!

Did anyone else go to Renegade in Chicago, or in your city? Experiences? What did you buy?

Until next time, xo.

Chicago Botanical Gardens

I turned 25 years of age almost two weeks ago. On my day of birth, we rented a Zipcar Mini Cooper that was named Meryl. Meryl was a convertible. We rented Meryl for a few hours to enjoy the beautiful - quite rather hot - day at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. We spent a few hours there kicking around and having fun. It was fun being able to run around there while telling each other stories. I didn't plan for much party time on my birthday because it landed on a Wednesday, so really, this was perfect. We ended it at the local bar with my roommate, Max - who happens to be a friend of 10 years - and a couple beers each.

Here are some of my favorite photo captures. I'll have to share the other half in another post because there's a handful.

More next time!

The past few days.

[photos from the Bird Trouble studio. new bags hanging. Photobooth to the right of my work desk to remind me of all the silly, and awesome, people I enjoy. a drawing from a friend that tickles my satanic kitten lovin' heart.]

Lo siento on being MIA on the blog for the past few days. I've been having some really busy and fun days. It feels good to be sitting in my studio watching Girl, Interrupted and focusing on new blog posts and photo editing. 

Saturday, I had the day off from the salon, so I decided to have a sidewalk sale to try to get rid of some vintage clothing, trinkets, new & vintage home decor.

Sunday, I took the Bird Trouble bags to Sheffield's Market Days at Sheffields. It was my first time in their beer garden, and it sure was pretty. The customers came mainly for the local food or for brunch, but I had a great time. I was able to eat Bleeding Heart Bakery for breakfast since they sat across from me, and I came home with local eggs and locally grown corn.

Monday was a short and sweet work at the hair salon, then I came home to a custom project I've been working on. I made a rickshaw cover for a friend's boyfriend. It was pretty wild and I'm pretty impressed by my sewing machine, and the fact that I even made that. James and I finished off the night with dinner outside and had ourselves a basketball game and a nearby court.

Tuesday I worked at the salon early in the day. I had to run to International Camera downtown (super awesome with down to earth employees) and then we enjoyed a walk around the Cultural Center, helped ourselves to a tour to the top floor of some hotel, came home with a 6 pack of Tecate, and headed straight to the Wilson Dog Beach with Ty. We ended up having an amazing conversation and time with a mom and her 10 year old son for 2 hours. It was pretty adorable.

So yeah, it's been pretty busy! I'm going to slow down for a while and get some studio time in. This week, I'm working on some new bags that will be releasing in a few weeks. I'll be introducing a few shots of them to the blog tomorrow. The collection is called Free Bird... I hope to be able to release more than one collection all together, but more on that later.

Also, I'm not sure who has me in their contacts via email... but I changed my email address. I haven't deleted the old one, but I will soon enough deactivate it and move permanently over to alexz [at!} birdtrouble [dot] com. 

UNTIL NEXT TIME.

Alexz

[What if I start going by Alexandra? I might think it's too weird.]

Around Chicago : Water Taxi Boat!

We recently went on a $10 ($5 each) one-way water taxi ride to Chinatown from downtown. We actually didn't know there was such a, basically, dirt cheap water taxi before finding out that day. It was gorgeous that day too. I felt really lucky to be on the water for the first time. Oh, and to all in Chicago, I'd like to let you know that it smelled fine.

I saw some amazing sunset views of some buildings I have never noticed before. The vines on that building is my favorite. I've always loved any building that is being taken over by vines. The way the clouds looked that evening, and the sun starting to slightly set, only added to all these new views.

Talk about detail on the Civic Opera Building!

I'm looking forward to riding it again! Chicago's Chinatown isn't too exciting (not anything that I have found. Please share if you do know of some fun there!), but eating food and drinking sake is always fun. So that's what we ended up doing. We took the Red line home and were glowing from our last minute fun adventure. I've been recommending it to everyone!

Around Chicago : Baha'i Temple in Wilmette, IL

Hey guys! I had a few favorites from a batch of photos that I took when we went on a few adventures right outside of Chicago this past weekend. I'll be sharing them with you in the next few posts because summer in - and right outside! - Chicago is the best ever. I sold my car a few weeks ago so I could save a lot of dough and pay off some debt, so we took the train to all these places because it's so easy to get around Chicago and find fun cheap things to do by just using our public transportation.

We took the CTA Red Line toward Howard and took it all the way to the last stop. We then hopped on the free transfer to the Purple Line and took that to the very last stop of the line too, which eventually stops at Linden. The Linden stop is stationed in downtown Evanston, and in a super short walk, we ended up in Wilmette. We knew we wanted to walk toward Wilmette because they have their own beach that is supposed to be cleaner than the beaches in Chicago. While walking to the beach, we saw this huge building in the distance. Once we got closer, we stopped in amazement at the architecture of the Baha'i Temple.

The Baha'i Temple is open to visitor walk-ins and they also have a welcome center that tells you about the history. Since it is a place of worship, you're unable to take pictures from inside, but if you look closely at the pictures above, you'll see all the small detailed cut outs in the buildings. I'm a super curious person and I love details, so naturally, I love looking at architecture. I made it a point to go inside and enjoy what other people use to worship. 

Image yourself inside of the temple, looking up above, and looking through all those small detailed cuts straight to the blue sky. It's quiet. So quiet that your foot steps are a little alarming, and you tip toe to the nearest chair, while walking in aw at the wording and building's design. Instantly you feel calm, and a peaceful feeling after you sit down. You're able to hear the birds chirping from outside as you look up at the cut out pieces of the sky. 

I must say, it was wild and beautiful. I'd never seen anything like it! If you'd like to skip imagining what it looks like and take a peak for yourself, you can visit the Baha'i Temple website and check out their visual tour. Walking in the temple is free, but the train cost $2.25 and a little bit of your time to walk. 

Over all, a $2.25 adventure to see something new and to learn a little bit of history? Totally worth it.

Leon's Frozen Custard :: Milwaukee Road Trip : Part 4

I stopped at Leon's on my way into Milwaukee. I ordered a hot dog with everything on it, one scoop of ice cream with hot fudge on top, and a hot chocolate.
Everything was, really, real frickn' good. 

Milkwaukee Road Trip:

part one, part two, part three

Milwaukee Road Trip :: Part 3

Pulled off the highway and into Antioch to take Ty for a walk. It was cold, but it was still light outside. The town was real dainty.

While I was in Antioch, I went thrifting at this thrift store. I'm still thinking about both of those lamps. Shoulda, woulda.

The next day in Milwaukee, I enjoyed some food and a coffee at Alterra.

"As you ramble down 

the road of life

whatever be your 

goal...keep your 

eye 

upon the 

donut and not 

upon the hole"

part one, part two

Milwaukee Road Trip :: Part 2

Milwaukee itself is extremely old world. I was taken away by the beauty of the architecture and the fact that it still grasped on to the old world feel. I drove around aimlessly Saturday morning while Anna was at work. I had some coffee at Alterra (the one by the lake - a little drive from the Art Museum) and would like to thank Kate from Otillie's Closet for that recommendation through twitter! It was lovely. I sat by myself and let my phone die while I ate my breakfast. Totally in peace as I stared at this man's hairline who was had his back to me.

On my way back, I drove through Anna's neighborhood. I wish I could get a tour of every single one of these homes. And...of course, I screamed and hit on my breaks when I saw the boarded up home. Think about exploring that!

Milwaukee Road Trip :: Part 1

I have a few more pictures that I took while I was thrifting that I can show you guys later.
Besides all these Milwaukee posts, in the real world, I am working on a giveaway bag because the Bird Trouble etsy shop reached 1,000 admirers! It's cupid themed colors... and I'm really crazy about it. I was originally going to have it done by tomorrow, Sunday, but I've been so behind on sleep and time at home. This week was filled with an adventure day off during the week, and then a lot of work, with some catching up with friends. One of my dear friends, Allie, is moving back home to Tennessee so I went to her prom themed party for an hour yesterday. I'm going to miss her until I can see her next... Tennessee road trip?!

xoxo, Alexz