Joe Ley Antiques

One of our favorite places to visit in Louisville is Joe Ley antiques. I've only ever bought one thing because it is really expensive, but it is so fun to look around! I looked up the other time I posted about this place and here it is, from 2012. I was cracking up looking at it because there is so much stuff that was there three years ago that I saw again this time.

If you go in and straight back you end up in this cage thing surrounding by amazing stuff. And I guess none of it is for sale? Because you don't see any prices, and you couldn't get to that stuff if you wanted. So weird. I'm really interested in that chalk clown n the book case....

Another weird thing about this place is nothing is priced with actual numbers. You get this little scrap of paper when you walk in and use it to decode the prices. We've talked about it a LOT and can't figure out what it is all about. Travis asked the guy at the desk once and he said it helps with his inventory system. What?

So, for instance, those penguin salt and pepper shakers are 15 dollars to start, then the D3 after means you take three dollars off.

Sweet little dolls.

There are three stories and a warehouse and you won't believe the stuff you'll come across. From fancy bedroom suites to a little pile of coffins.

These fun house mirrors are so cool! I love this long leg look.

I'll take that lamp. And that mountain goat with the neat painted background!

If I hadn't just bought a long photo like this, I would have been seriously tempted. It is an office picnic from 1954 and I love the variety of people in it! From elderly ladies in sensible outfits to young girls in bathing suits. I'm actually feeling a little remorse about leaving it behind. I'm sure it will still be there next time.

Out in the warehouse there are even more piles. And the same mint green dentist chair we saw the first time. But the carnival ticket booth was gone.

This is a lamp/radio set made from Popsicle sticks by someone in prison! It has been in the same spot for a few years. I really love it, but I would hate to dust it!

There is a yard outside too. The basement was closed this time. That place is CREEPY! It is really damp and dark and  you feel like a ghost is going to tap you on the shoulder any minute.

Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

Short Trip to Louisville

We went to Louisville a few weekends ago for a short trip. Travis and I love that city and always have a good time. Our best friends Crystal and Marc came with us and we did a little exploring on Saturday. We tried a new to us place, Ramsi's Cafe of the World on Saturday morning. Apparently there was a big St. Patrick's day parade later because everyone we saw asked us if we were there early getting a good parade spot.

The best thing we had was some vegan hot chocolate! It had pink peppercorns in it, and some kind of vegan cream on top. Yum!

We also had these weird but yummy onion rings.

The rest of the food was just ok. I had a sandwich with barbecue tofu on it. Eh. We probably won't go back.

The best part was this cool door behind the place! I loved it!

When Crystal is with us sometimes I'm in photos too.

Why Louisville is one of my favorite stores in the whole world! I wish every state had one like it. It it full of Kentucky themed souvenirs and shirts designed by indie artists. I have SO many shirts from there.

Cute Walt wax statue. They have a wax Colonel Sanders at the other location. The guy who started it is building a theme park in Cave City in the next year and I can't WAIT!

Cute stuff and photo ops. My kind of place.

We passed some vendors getting ready for the parade. Nothing says St. Patrick's day like a dophin with shamrocks!

If you are ever in Louisville you have to check out Bardstown road. There are tons of cute shops and good places to eat. Heart and Soy is our favorite! The store below is Dot Fox I think.

I love traveling with my best buds.

The whole reason we were there was to see the Rupaul's Drag Race Battle of the Seasons Tour. It was amazing! We got to see Sharon Needles, Alaska, Detox, Bianca Del Rio, Jinkx Monsoon, Adore Delano AND Michelle Visage! We laughed so hard all night! My favorite part was when they did a live Snatch Game and Alaska did Laganja Estranja. She might be my favorite queen of all time. Are you watching the current season? It hasn't grabbed me yet, I'm not sure who to root for. I love Pearl but I don't think she'll win.

Don't you worry, I have some more photos coming up from the weird and wonderful Joe Ley Antiques. It isn't a trip to Louisville if we don't go there to see the same expensive vintage stuff they've had for the last 5 years still sitting in the same place.

I love Chatbooks!

I'm a huge fan of Instagram and I've been looking for an easy way to get my photos off the app and into some kind of book. I've been seeing Chatbooks everywhere and decided I had to give it a try. It was hard to tell what the quality was like since everyone I saw posting about them was sponsored and didn't really give much info, so I thought I would write my own unbiased review. I set it so I get five a month, and I just got my second shipment. Once I get caught up to my current photos, I'll probably set it to get one a month.

Verdict: I love them! The app automatically imports your Instagram photos, then you go through them and delete any that you don't want in the books. You can also change or delete the captions. At first I was taking out hashtags and @ things, but I decided they didn't bother me after all.  You get 60 pages per book and they cost six dollars each. Blurb is my go-to for photobooks, but it can get pricey fast! These feel really affordable to me. I really like having a tangible way to flip through my Instagram photos.

Here is a photo to get an idea of the size. The paper is thick but not glossy and the cover is like card stock. Sometimes the top of the spine is a little rough as you can see, but it doesn't bother me. The photo quality isn't like a high def photo printer, but I think it looks good for the price. I'm interested to see how it changes when I get to the photos I have taken on my iPhone 5 instead of the 4. The only photos have looked bad were ones I took on my dslr then uploaded to instagram. I'm not sure why! Thankfully there was only one of those. But of course I chose it as a cover. Dang!

I guess they don't have the rights to actual emojis, but the ones they replace them with are funny to me. If you can't tell, that one is two cat faces and a Christmas tree.

I'm so pleased with these little books! I use my instagram like a journal and this physical record of those photos makes me really happy!

If you want to get some you just have to download the Chatbooks app in the iTunes store. Like I said, this isn't a sponsored post or anything, but if you want to give it a try you can use code LRZCJ9W9 and you get one book free, and I get a dollar off! I totally recommend them if you are in love with Instagram like me. The app is really easy to use. I can't wait to get the rest of my books!

And here is a photo of Scout for good measure. She loves hanging out with me when I'm trying to take photos in the kitchen.

Life Update

Hey guys! I didn't mean to take such a long blogging break, but that happens. It seems like everyone I follow is really busy right now. I can't remember if I mentioned but my position changed at work. I got kind of a promotion and my work load doubled, maybe tripled, so I've been flailing a little bit. Now I'm two months in and things are starting to feel better. And I've started going back to acupuncture which really helps me with stress so, yay! Here are some of the things we've been up to:

Vegan Vee opened up a storefront recently and I'm so glad it is out of my way because I would be there every day. Finally a place in town to get vegan donuts! The whole place is actually vegan AND gluten free. I don't avoid gluten but for those that do, every single thing we've tried has been delicious and you would never guess it was allergen free. Yum. I want another lemon raspberry donut right NOW.

We got to dog sit my friend Stefan's pug Bean and it was amazing. Look at that chunk! He was so sweet and liked Travis better than me (what!!) and I hope I'll get to watch him again. He was impatient when we took him on a walk with Priscilla. I never realized how SLOW that old lady totters down the street. Once we put her in the sling Bean was able to go at a normal speed.

Group photo! Not flattering of little Phyllis but look at Priscilla's sweet smile! I feel like these are pugs in small, medium, and large.

Sitting with Travis. Breaking my heart.

This was so long ago now but I won tickets to the Isa Chandra Moskowitz event at City Winery! It was very fancy and so yummy! I'm not really a wine drinker but it was great to have wines paired with the food. They all tasted so good! My favorite courses were the tamale and that cupcake. She makes the icing with tofu instead of earth balance and it was so fluffy and decadent. Yum.

I also won tickets to Oscar night at the Belcourt! It is a fancy fund raiser event so I got to dress up with some friends and drink cocktails and cheer on our favorites. I lost our Oscar pool but I did get to wear a glamorous black and gold look. For those of you that were worried, I have been keeping up my cat eyes eyeliner every day in 2015 goal. Ha! Best news years resolution I've ever had I think.

Last event I'll tell you about, some local lady musicians put on a girl group tribute the night before Valentine's day. The whole band was girls, all girls sang and it was one of the best shows I've EVER been too. All the girl group hits you could want and every single lady there looked adorable. I hope they do it again! Maybe I'll have longer hair and can have a beehive. I went with my best girlfriends and danced the night away!

I've gotten tattooed a LOT this year. Four of them were Friday the 13th little guys, like that rabbits foot. The Dirty Dancing one was a Valentine's special and I just couldn't resist. Have you watched that movie lately? Do it! It is so so good!

Travis bought me this crazy beautiful Lush set and I've been taking a few baths a week. I'm still in love with their bath bombs. I haven't tried the bubble bars yet. It is such a nice way to unwind.

I took these photos in February to talk about how I was deep cleaning our room, but since then I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and things have gotten crazy in here. Have you heard about it yet? I feel like everyone is talking about it. I have a few posts planned. So far 9 bags have left for Goodwill (just from our closets!) and we got rid of MOST of our books. Its insane, and I feel great about it. You'll see! But the drag queen photos are staying in my closet. They are my morning inspiration.

And it isn't an instagram post without a few pet photos. Look at how cute Phyllis is!

I love how Scout will sit on me purring up a storm, but with that look on her face and her ears back. She can't decide what she wants.

Laundry helper.

Teeniest bundle.