Weekly Song List: Friday, November 2nd

And so, here we have the first Weekly Song List of November! I love this time of year. I feel like the first day of November is a sort of clean slate. Halloween is done, you've got the "holidays" in the not so distant future. Starbucks breaks out their Christmas stuff. I'm a big fan of peppermint hot chocolate.

But I'm getting off topic. I give you 7 songs that I've been listening to non-stop, and the reasons that I love them.

1. Lilies. Bat For Lashes: From her new, gorgeous, brilliant album The Haunted Man. I love this album. It was really hard to choose just one song for this list, but "Lilies" it is. It's the first song on the album. Beautiful, haunting, hopeful song. Well done Natasha Khan.

2. Who. David Byrne & St. Vincent: Heard this song on WERS this week and immediately loved it. I bought the album later that same day. David Byrne sounds better than ever. And St. Vincent is someone who I'm really interested in and intrigued by. I've loved a lot of her solo work and was excited to learn of these two working together. Their styles and voices work really well together. Love this song! It's definitely one to listen to on repeat.

3. Danse Caribe. Andrew Bird: Oh my. Andrew Bird. My newest music crush. Again WERS introduces me to someone new and wonderful. "Danse Caribe" is one of my favorite songs of his (so far). I still have so much to hear of and learn about this fellow.

4. Skinny Love. Bon Iver: Love Bon Iver. Love this album. For Emma, Forever Ago. Love this song. Justin Vernon's voice is so beautiful and delicate. Heart melting for sure.

5. Shank Hill St. Shovels & Rope: I was lucky enough to see Shovels & Rope (Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent) open for Jack White earlier this Fall, and I just bought tickets for one of their Winter shows as well. I'm very excited. They're amazing live. This song is from their album O' Be Joyful which I bought this week. This song is a favorite. Rich, heavy drums. And the lyrics are nice and dark.

6. That Was My Veil. PJ Harvey & John Parish: My favorite PJ Harvey song ever. A real gem of song. Super atmospheric. Gritty. Gorgeous.

7. Here Sometimes. Blonde Redhead: Another new album for me. Penny Sparkle. Blonde Redhead had completely fallen off my radar, and then a couple of weekends ago I was hanging out with a friend and she was like "I love the most recent Blonde Redhead album" and I was like "what album are we talking about?" Oh my sweet goodness. Penny Sparkle is so good. The whole entire thing. Very atmospheric. Odd in all the best ways. I'm very excited about this album.

Photo: Shovels & Rope

Evan Peters E! News Interview

I read a pretty great interview with Evan Peters today that was done about a week after the American Horror Story finale aired. As we all know by now, the show is set up to change completely each season. New characters, new location, new house, new ghosts. But, Ryan Murphy has said that some of the cast might return next season, though in entirely new roles, which could be interesting.

In the interview, Peters is asked how he would feel about coming back next season. This is what he had to say: "I think it would be really awesome to get back...If I don't come back, then that's great too. I had an awesome time and I learned a lot. I'm pretty emotionally exhausted, so I'm cool to move on and go do a comedy or something like that. I'm happy either way."

On his character Tate, and the general darkness that came with the character: "At first it was really fun and then it sort of became...I mean it's still fun to get into it, but it just became harder and harder. It's not real, so there's only so much time you can spend going to that place before it starts to take its toll...I was constantly battling that from the beginning and I was just like, ‘Okay, this is cool, it's just a season. Just got a couple more episodes. And then I'll just listen to a lot of Christmas music!' "

I love that Christmas music is Evan Peters' antidote to the darkness that is Tate Langdon.

Merry Christmas From Fussy Gussy

Merry Christmas from Fussy Gussy (and Sam Winchester!) I love this photo of Sammy decorating the Christmas tree. Note that he's using tree shaped air fresheners. Awesome.

I'll be heading into my annual Wintertime hibernation, which will include lots of hot tea & chocolate, and also posts about:

1. the last two episodes of American Horror Story

2. all of the holiday movies I'm going to see this week (like My Week With Marilyn, which I'm very excited about!)

3. and finally...how sad I am that I won't be seeing Tate Langdon ever again (except when I re-watch the first season of American Horror Story over and over and over)

And that's that! I love this time of year. Hopefully it will snow soon. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of delicious food and good times with family & friends!

See you in the New Year!!!

Nativity! Is My New Favorite Christmas Movie

I've finally seen Nativity! I've had this movie on my "must see" list forever and a day, but it hasn't been available in the US...until now.

The movie was written and directed by my new hero Debbie Isitt, who also wrote and directed the hilarious (and apparently entirely improvised) wedding-competition movie Confetti (also a must see).

I think this lady is a comic/musical genius. She incorporates musical elements into both movies and a theatricality that is both charming and refreshing.

Nativity! tells the story of Paul Maddens, a primary school teacher who once had a love for acting, but lost this love when he lost his actor girlfriend (played by Ashley Jensen of Extras) to Hollywood. Word has it that she has become a famous Hollywood producer, and Paul feels sort of bitter and sad about this. We've also got Gordon Shakespeare (what a name!), a rival (private) school teacher and fellow actor. And lastly there's Mr. Poppy, Paul's child-like, enthusiastic new assistant teacher.

Both Gordon and Paul (much to his chagrin) are set up to put on a school production of the nativity story, and the hilarity ensues.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot here, but I do want to say that the kids in this movie are amazing. So cute. So funny. And talented, to boot! If you enjoy British comedies with dry humor, musicals in any capacity, and/or Christmas movies (or movies in general) that star Martin Freeman, you'll love Nativity!

Snow People Cookies On Etsy

I am totally loving these adorable snow people cookies handmade from scratch by Debra Buker of Etsy shop Yummy Delicious Cookies. The cookies themselves are a special cream cheese/sugar recipe (yum!) and they're decorated with royal icing.

I love the details of these little snow people. The scarves. The ties. The hats. Perfectly wintery and just in time for Christmas!

Debra is an artist, designer, and baker (of course!) Thank you Debra for creating such fun and festive confectionary delights!

To see more deliciousness visit the Yummy Delicious Cookies shop on Etsy!

Jason Segel On NPR + the Muppets

On opening day of the new Muppet movie called The Muppets, I was lucky enough to catch Jason Segel and Nick Stoller on NPR's Fresh Air talking about the movie, and let me tell you...I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. This interview was absolutely priceless.

Muppets feature pretty heavily in my life. I refer to people as Muppety all the time (I've done so on this blog!) The Muppets Take Manhattan is one of my favorite movies. I have an "I Heart Kermit" lunchbox. The Muppets version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" is on my Christmas playlist. All of my siblings (I'm the youngest of 7) say "the Muppets always remind me of you" aka, me!

And so, listening to like minded Muppet fans on Fresh Air was a real treat for me. Jason Segel and Nick Stoller (of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, another one of my favorite movies) wrote and produced the movie. James Bobin (who has directed episodes of Flight of the Conchords) directed the movie. And Bret Mackenzie (one of the stars of Flight of the Conchords) wrote many of the songs featured in the movie. When talking about Bret Mackenzie and his song writing style, Jason Segel said "He's by nature very Muppety". I have to whole-heartedly agree.

The general vibe of the interview was light-hearted, humorous, and (like the movie itself) smart and very sweet. On how they went about writing the movie, they said: "we wanted to be Muppet purests". I adore the idea of Muppet purests. I really, really like/admire Jason Segel. His musical sensibilities, his sense of humor, his love of Muppets. On the character of Walter, the wide-eyed, innocent Muppet-mega fan, and star of the movie, Segel said: "he reminds me of what Kermit was, maybe, before he became famous, you know when Kermit was still living in the swamp." This cracks me up! My favorite song from the movie is called "Man or Muppet" and features Segel as Gary, a Muppet version of Gary (which apparently the studios allowed him to keep and now lives at home with Segel and his other puppets), Walter (Gary's Muppet brother), and Jim Parsons as a perfect and very funny human version of Walter. They played the song during the interview. It's awesome.

If I don't stop myself now, I'm just going to ramble on about how much I love these guys and the Muppets, and the songs from the movie, and so on and so forth. And so, I'll end by saying this: I'm so, so happy that the Muppets are back, and thank you Jason Segel and Nick Stoller for writing such a touching, funny, and perfectly wonderful movie, just in time for the holidays.

I Love Christmas! On Etsy

It's no secret that I love Christmas. And so, when I discovered that my sexy santa pot holder was featured in a fabulous Christmas treasury on Etsy I knew that I just had to write about it.

The treasury features lots of sparkly retro goodies, like this vintage inspired Christmas card handmade by Retro Rose Collages. I love it!

Thank you Chrysa of Etsy shop Simply a Circle for curating such a fabulously retro treasury!!!

Holiday Craft Fair Season Is Here!

It's that time of year again! Yes, it's holiday craft fair season. My favorite time of year!

This weekend Fussy Gussy will be at not one but two holiday craft fairs: the RISD Alumni Holiday Sale and the Harvard Square Holiday Fair! Fussy Gussy will be selling all of the usual handmade goodies, from pot holders to dish towels, hostess mini aprons to super cute grocery totes. It's gonna be a blast!

What: RISD Holiday Art Sale

When: Saturday December 3rd (10-5)

Where: RI Convention Center, Providence, RI

Click ♥Here♥ for more details, like directions and such!

What: Harvard Square Holiday Fair

When: 13 days throughout December
Where: Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Click ♥Here♥ for dates, times, and other info!

Hope to see you there!!!

Canadian Maple Trees On Etsy

I love this photo of Canadian maple trees by fellow Etsian Raceytay. It's so lush and rich and sort of hypnotizing. I think it's just gorgeous!

It also seems fitting with my new found love of The White Stripes and the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights, which follows the duo on their 2007 tour of Canada. Canadian maple trees, the red, black, and smidge of white in the sky.

Yet Even More Christmas Soap On Etsy!

I clearly have a bit of a crush on Christmas soaps. I think this is my third post on the topic in one week! I just love them. They're always so sweetly wrapped, and the scents are delicious perfection!

You've got to check out these Merry Christmas soap favors on Etsy! I've been a fan of Prunella Soap for a while now, but this is the first time I've seen these cuties. All of her soaps are 100% organic and vegan, and are 100% handmade in Portland, OR.

I also love the way that her soaps are photographed. Very clever and cute.

I'm sure I'll have more Christmas goodies to share with you over the coming weeks! Stay tuned.

Another Yummy Christmas Soap On Etsy

I just had to write about this super delicious Christmas cookie soap that I found today on Etsy. Doesn't it look good enough to eat!?! Those sprinkles, the "buttercream frosting"!?! (I use quotes because it's soap!) And the scent of this perfect-for-the-holidays soap: fresh baked sugar cookies! Yum. Super Yum.

I will most certainly be shopping for my family and friends at Lippicott Soap Co this holiday season. Love their soaps!

Candy Canes + Peppermint On Etsy

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Christmas! And I started my season a week ago by making my Christmas mix and hanging my Christmas tinsel (I make this distinction because I also have Halloween tinsel).

But you know the Christmas season has really begun when you start to hear Christmas music on your local oldies station. Or at the mall. When Williams-Sonoma starts playing Bing Crosby you know it's official. Or better yet, Judy Garland's deliciously heart breaking rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", one my personal faves.

One of my other favorite things about this time of year are all of the candy canes and peppermint! I also love red and white, which of course make pink (my all time favorite color). And so, I thought I'd peruse Etsy (my home away from home) for some red and white and peppermint goodies. I found lots of goodies, but these two really make me happy.

The first (top photo) is a very special candy cane soap from Etsy shop Lippincott Soap Co, a long time fave of mine. I ordered a bar of this soap last year and I am definitely going back for more. It's high quality, handmade soap with beautiful packaging. It also looks exactly like a swirl of candy cane! But for me, the scent is the real zinger. Fresh but sweet, and super cozy and Christmasy.

The second is a collection of highly detailed, simple yet adorable yet charming yet beautiful (and on and on!) peppermint candy vintage buttons from Etsy shop Andie's Specialty Sweets. I read their featured seller interview not too long ago and was so inspired and impressed by their confectionary delights. It's apparent that a lot of love and care goes into each confection, and each and every detail.

Stay tuned for more Christmas features throughout the month, and into December of course. And enjoy!

Vintage Christmas On Etsy

This is my favorite time of year, in general. It's Autumn, the leaves are changing, the weather's getting colder. We may even have the occasional freak snow storm, like New England saw over Halloween weekend.

And Christmas is right around the corner!!!

But, I especially love this time of year on Etsy because there are so many beautiful, kitschy, and unique Christmas themed treasuries! Check out this vintage Christmas treasury created by a fellow Etsy seller, Pretty Little Bikes.

My christmas rockabilly pinup girl pot holder was featured as well as lots of other adorable goodies, like these kitschy bottle brush Christmas trees handmade by Ruin Bibber.

Thank you Pretty Little Bikes for creating such a splendid treasury!

Merry Kitschmas On Etsy

Christmas is my favorite time of year! And so I was extra excited to find that my pinup girl pot holder has been featured in this perfectly kitschy Christmas treasury on Etsy, very fittingly titled "Merry Kitschmas"...love it!

I also love this cute and colorful necklace handmade by Chrome & Cotton (pictured above).

Thank you Amy from Velvet Coco for curating such a kitschy collection of handmade goodies!

All That Heaven Allows

I'm back from my Wintertime hibernation, although Winter is in full force her in New England. The snow is crazy!!! We've had something like 7 or 8 feet fall, and then the snow is plowed and piled up into these giant snow mounds. Lucky for me, I like snow.

Which brings me to the photo above and the title of this posting...the beautiful and heart wrenching technicolor classic, All That Heaven Allows. It tells the story of recently widowed Cary (played by Jane Wyman) who falls in love with the local landscaper, tree farmer, wood worker, and all around free spirit, Ron (played by Rock Hudson). Now keep in mind, this is the mid-late 50s. Keeping up with the Joneses is all that seems to matter to most everyone in this story. Everyone, except for Cary and Ron (and a few open minded close friends).

A wealthy widow and mother of two grown children falling in love with a free spirited tree farmer-come-wood worker!?! Enter: wealthy, judgemental, gossipy society and you've got one killer melodrama. And this is about 30% of why I love this movie. The other 70% goes to Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson who were perfect in their roles, and (of course) to the art direction. Lush, gorgeous landscapes and interiors, some Christmas decor during the holidays, and plenty of snow.

I've watched it a few times now, and plan on watching it again soon. I think I'll make it a Wintertime tradition!

Wintertime Hibernation

Hello all! It's been a while (since early December, yikes!), in large part due to the totally crazy holiday season I had with Fussy Gussy. The holidays were FANTASTIC, and very, very busy. I sold my handmade goods at the Harvard Square Holiday Fair for 13 days between Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas Eve Eve. I love doing this particular craft fair, and the other vendors are very sweet people. I also met so many new customers, and have added a few new retail shops to the ever growing list, "where to find Fussy Gussy".

After the fair was finished, I headed North to spend time with my family through the New Year. Since then I've been in heavy hibernation mode. Watching movies, cooking & baking, reading a ton. It's been SO relaxing and much needed.

My Etsy shops are all open for business as usual, and I'll be starting up with craft fairs again in April. It's going to be a busy Spring and Summer! I'll be selling at the Annual Gore Place Sheep Shearing Festival this year for the first time and I'm SO very excited. It's a fun event, and the sheep are too darn cute.

I hope that you have had a great New Year so far!

Fussy Gussy + The Boston Globe

Fussy Gussy was featured in an article this past weekend about the Harvard Square Holiday Fair!!! To check out the article (and photo of one of my Hostess Mini Aprons!), visit ♥Fussy Gussy in the Boston Globe♥