Pulp Sushi

Working on New Year's Eve

Yup, here I am at work, four things on my TO DO list today, the rest will be playing around online and listening to music.  I even came to work wearing my  new Motorhead shirt, I'm feeling like Peter in Office Space.  I'm not going to gripe, I'm going to write a book review instead.

Here is a book I just finished reading late last week, Driving With Dead People.  Ok so it is not exactly the most feel good read, in fact it is pretty intense especially the second half of the book. It is a memoir of Monica Holloway, an actress who became a writer.

Monica is the youngest of four in a dysfunctionally dysfunctional family.  The father is a jerk who is obsessed with filming car wrecks over their children opening presents Christmas morning and the mother is so self-absorbed that she doesn't care to acknowledge the abuse going on around her.  So as a child still, Monica finds comfort in death, not in a suicidal sort of way, but in the finality of it all, finally resting in peace, she even becomes best friends with the daughter of the town Mortician.

You may think "Oh, another girl into creepy, dead things" but it is so much more than that. Monica opens wounds in this book that is absolutely heart breaking and gut wrenching to read but you have to. You develope strong feelings for these characters and you anticipate everyone getting what they deserve in the end but then you realize that this is not a fictional tale with a perfect, happy ending, this is someone's life where things don't always end the way they should.

Damn. This seems like such a bummer of an entry. Ok, let me redeem myself. Even though I'm taking an Etsy break, I posted some Chick-Lit, happy, fluffy reads on Ebay.

I hope all of you have a safe and wonderful New Year's. Party for me as I will be home with my boyfriend watching movies probably. I'm going out during lunch to get me a bottle of wine to indulge myself in. My friends are pretty lame, no one does anything. I ask and everyone says "I'm just staying home." Bah! I'm looking forward to 2008. It is going to be quite an interesting year with some big changes I'm sure.

Friday Etsy Finds - Coonies

Can we say C-U-T-E?????? This week's FEF gave me a cavity just browsing through her shop: Coonies.etsy.com from Vancouver, BC. Here you will find polymer clay goodies to wear and add a little bit of sweetness to your day.

SQUEEK!!!!!

Besides clay, she offers brooches in felt with embroidery to wear on your hat, bag, or coat.

Definitely a shop for children of ALL AGES! You can also keep tabs on Coonie and her shop at her blog, Coonie's Handmade Gifts.

Did you survive?

Survive Christmas that is? I did, just barely, but I did.  Every year I say "Next year I'm gonna make this easier....". I think next year I'm going to tell everyone to not buy me anything, except for my boyfriend because he gets me kick-ass gifts all the time, but over the years it seems that I have become MORE difficult to shop for. I don't know why? I have a Amazon Wishlist, recently discovered Kaboodle, I heart items on Etsy, so what's the friggin' problem right??!?!!?!?! 

However, this should not be the time to stress, it's suppose to be a joyous time but unfortunately people get caught up in "I gotta get something for this person and that person! AAAGGHHH!!!!!" What fun is that? So yeah, next year no one get me anything! I don't want to subject people to the stress of trying to find something I would like.  Forget about me, I am a simple person that likes simple things.  I am not attached to anything (except for my ipod and a pair of Bandolino platform pumps) but other than that? Meh.

During lunch I stepped out and headed to Sephora. Yeah I'm one of those jerks that runs out the day after Christmas to use a gift card.  So I picked up some shampoo from Frederick Fekkai and my freebie birthday gift - I'm a member of the Beauty Inside Club, so this year the freebie gift was a small bottle of Naked Body Butter from Bliss. 

Despite the tone I may present at the beginning of this entry, Christmas was very good to me and I hope it was for all of you!

Friday Etsy Finds - Kitsch Niche

I cheated a little bit this week for the Friday Etsy Find. I featured Cupcake Soap by KitschNiche.etsy.com in my Cupcakes & Yoga blog not too long..

The shop is so nice, I had to mention it twice.  Kitsch Niche sells realistic looking soap like the cupcakes you see above, and this adorable jar of cookies!

Other fun soap molds you'll find are sewing kits and guitars.  Great novelty gifts for anyone. 

Maybe soap is not their thing (which is gross because soap should be EVERYONE'S thing, I mean really!), Kitsch Niche has adorable ceramic owls hand painted in the color or your choice or you can request a Fully Customizable Ceramic Mounted Deer Wall Hanging!

One of my birthday presents

  One of my birthday presents 
  Originally uploaded by Marilyn P. Sushi

This is a book I had on my Amazon wishlist and it was given to me yesterday. I can't wait to start reading it! I know it's backwards but it's Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco.  This is one of the gifts I received yesterday.  I also got a great pair of Steve Madden pumps that I can't wait to wear. It will looks great with this bag, it's almost the same color.

I swear I gotta write a shoe entry some time.

I got a lot of birthday love yesterday between here, MySpace and Livejournal. Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes.  You all make me smile. It was a very nice couple of days.  Now I am off until next Wednesday from work and the only real plans I have is for Christmas day.  Other than that....FREEDOM!!! LAZINESS!!!! WINTER BUM!!!

Happy birthday to me!!!

Etsy wished me a happy birthday today, awww! They remembered. :) Today I'm 32 and I'm feeling pretty good. No early mid-life crisis has set in. Overall, I'm loving the 30s. I'm very comfortable in the 30s, I think I'll stay here.

Here is a horrible camera phone picture of the cake my parents had for me yesterday. I stayed in the city last night since I won't be around on my actual birthday.

They even sang to me, just the two of them, they were very cute. This morning my mom sang to me again while I was half asleep and practically had me in a headlock. I didn't mind. I think it's sweet. I always make sure to enjoy the babying my mom gives me on my birthday, especially as I get older because there will come a time where I won't have it anymore.

My Weekend - By Me

I do not even know where to begin. Well, I guess at the beginning with Friday night. Levitate Yoga had their Holiday Cocktail party and I was actually able to go this year. Usually their party is the same day as my little shin-digs so this year it worked out perfect. I've been practicing at Levitate for 3 years(???), I think that's right. I don't talk about my yoga practice much on here because I leave it for my other blog. Connie, the owner, I consider a good friend who is very sweet and supportive. She once dropped me on my head during class but I've let that go....sorta.

Saturday I had a little get together at my place (early birthday/Christmas). I was worried about the weather but of course it did NOTHING until Sunday. For once, I was glad the weather folks were wrong. I had quite a few glasses of wine, made some awesome olive spread and mini-cupcakes (which I did not take pictures of STUPID ME!!!) and a friend took a picture of me in a wrestling mask that I must, must, must get my hands on because it was just too awesome. But instead, here is a toothy picture with my friend Ricky.

Sorry about the mess, and I do mean my hair. It was the end of the night so what do I care? It was a good time. I got my annual loaf of Zuccini bread from my friend Kate which was just YUM-MEE! And a gooey peanut butter chocolate cake from the lovely Tara. So I can't complain not one bit. I like having little get togethers but since I've moved to the 'burbs, it takes more work for me to see my friends.

Up next, I am the featured seller at Crafts of Texture. Click the screenshot below to read.

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It seems like lately I've been all over the place but I expect that to slow down after the holidays. This year was definitely more plentiful than last and I'm so happy for that. I continue to learn so much. I have still yet to learn how to use Quicken on my computer. It's there! Might as well use it right? Instead I use spreadsheets for all my bookeeping, it is long and tedious but it's what I know.

One last thing I wanted to share, in case you didn't know, the NY Times did a nice write up about Etsy and buying handmade gifts. I haven't read the entire article yet - I printed it out and will read it tonight on the train ride home, but I do know that Emily from The Black Apple is featured and noted as Etsy's biggest success story. I played a small part in that. :) But it's really cool to see Etsy in the Times, read for yourself.

Friday Etsy Finds - Nyneve

I wanted to start a new feature on my blog, sort of in line with the random Etsy Item of the Day but I wanted to something more regular. I like to be on a schedule and what better day to do than FRIDAY! So welcome to Friday Etsy Finds where I'll showcase an Etsy seller who I just think are dreamy.

Our first F.E.F? Nyneve.etsy.com, an artist from Brooklyn, NY! And what a coincidence, her birthday is a day before mine!! Sags rule!

I am just a big sucker for art showing innocent looking girls but tell a bigger story just from their eyes and facial expressions.

She keeps it soft with her choice of colors. I just keep going back to looking at their eyes, gorgeous! Her prints are very affordable which I plan to take advantage of soon.  She also has her girls on nice size tote bags, great for shopping and you know, saving the environment and stuff. 

Indie Collective Spotlight 12/10/07

Indie Collective Spotlight 12/10/07
Originally uploaded by Marilyn P. Sushi

Hey I never said I was good doing Public Relations. Maybe that can be a resolution for 2008. So I just happened to find a nice little write-up about my shop in the Indie Collective Style Blog. This is because I am in their Holiday Gift Guide this year. I think it has brought me business this holiday season. I received a lot of buyers new to Etsy. I can't complain.

Snowstorm #2 for this winter is on it's way. They're making it seem like it's gonna be messy. To be on the safe side, I'm staying in the city tonight again and crashing at my parent's place. I'll be closer to work and it's not like they close for snow EVER. I'm surprised they closed when we had the blackout a couple of summers ago. It shouldn't be too bad but they say this Saturday we'll get hit hard.

Hmm...the weather folks are never ever ever right. I hope they're wrong again about Saturday night because I got plans!

Cool In Your Code

Cool In Your Code
Originally uploaded by Marilyn P. Sushi

Why lookie here! I was featured in Cool In Your Code'sAround The Blog. Quite flattering, although I did have someone make fun of me for being the "Creater" of Pulp Sushi. I thought that looked funny when I first read it. That's why she's the Journalism major and I'm just trying to get by. Anyway, go read it, leave a comment, check out the other sites listed (it is still a relatively new feature).

Cool In Your Code is a local TV program where every episode features a zip code and the goings-on in that area. Places to check out, restaurants to eat in, boutiques to spend money on, you get the idea. It's a fun show and found out some pretty neat stuff. I was excited when my neighborhood growing up was featured.

I grew up near Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx. Growing up I didn't think it was a bad area and it still isn't by other neighborhood standards but things did start going downhill a little when I started High School. Everyone I grew up with and played with went in a different direction than I did and turned into folks I didn't want to be associated with. As the years passed, certain folks moved into my neighborhood that really brought the quality of life DOWN and I just had to get out of there before I lost my mind. Unfortunately, it left a permanent bad impression with me that I can't shake. I'm not being ignorant, they led me to it, I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway, my parents finally broke free and moved to midtown and I couldn't be happier. They are in a nice building where things get fixed and the people are courteous and clean. It doesn't hurt that they're not too far from my job so I can just walk over for a free meal!

So THANK YOU CiNYC for the honorable mention!

Bust Craftacular 2007

  MrsTattooedGeek 
  Originally uploaded by Marilyn P. Sushi

I went to the Bust Craftacular. It was INSANE!  I felt like I was at a horror convention because it was soooo packed! I knew this was going to be good when I stood online outside for 20 minutes just to get in.  I walked away with some neat treats:

-A cupcake candle from MrsTattooedGeek

-A top for my niece by Fort Cloudy

-Lip balm from My My

-Soap from Biggs & Featherbelle, I ALWAYS get soap from them.

-Some Mango Papaya yumminess from Lollibomb.

I took a couple of pictures, not too many because it was just to crazy, but you can check them out on my flickr.

Vacation Day Friday!

  Vacation Day Friday! 
  Originally uploaded by Marilyn P. Sushi

Yup, I'm home today.  I'm using up my remaining vacation days because my silly place of employment won't let me carry it over. Boooo!  Whatever, a day off is a day off and I'm currently adding some stuff to the shop.   

Before I go any further, I wanted to show off my latest Etsy purchase.  It's this pendant from MissFickleMedia and I absolutely love it! It was on sale because it was "flawed" but seriously, it's not bad at all.  I did some Christmas shopping in her shop too which I'm sure will be a hit.

One thing that's new is a choker featuring a pendant my boyfriend put together.  I came across these old Geisha plates and wasn't sure what I could do with them so he gets all the credit on this.

He's painting one up that so far is coming out pretty awesome. I can't wait to show it!

The tags end HERE!

I don't like tagging, I really don't, I have been tagged in the past and respectfully declined to do it. But in this case, I will do it because Candice at Kopah's Soap Box makes some of the most yummy soaps I have ever encountered AND is a fellow New Yorker, I will do it. Just this once! And I will not tag anyone else. Because I'm horrible party pooper pants.

The topic? Seven random/weird facts about myself:

1. When I was a baby, I ate a glass Christmas ornament.
2. I sometimes think I'm a male chauvinist pig trapped in a woman's body.
3. I talk to myself....a lot.
4. A lot of things people find disturbing, I find funny.
5. Zombie movies give me zombie dreams ALWAYS.
6. My favorite snack is grape jelly on white bread.
7. I am not a fan of tagging.

Now the cyberinterwebs know all about me. Move along.

What's this? A new look!

Yeah the pink is gone, sorta.  There's still a little taste of it. AND THEN I realized that this is about the same color as my other blog. Whoops! It's a kickass color regardless.

Did I share the treats a friend gave me this past weekend?

I HAVE AN IDEA....or two or three. :) Stay turned in the new year!

Are you on Kaboodle? Man I wish I discovered this site more than THREE WEEKS before Christmas. Anyway, it's always nice to window shop. Here's a slideshow of my "Dream Shoe Collection"

Dream Shoe Collection by brideoffrank

I love high heels. I really do. I love the way they look! They make my feet look sexy! However, the high arches in my feet don't like them very much and as a result, hurt the tops of my feet. I did see a Podiatrist once and he told me that heels would be better for me rather than wearing flat shoes. WTF right?   Although I do find that thicker, platform sole is a little more tolerable than a flat sole.     Anyway, back to Kaboodle, here is my profile, it's a work in progress.

200?

#@@%$!!! I have my first Etsy Deadbeat. I've heard about it happening to other sellers. Why would you go through the trouble of purchasing an item but not pay for it? Do you think this is a silly online shopping game? This is money we're talking here! No communication so I had to put a request for Etsy to cancel the sale. Oh well. They can't all be pleasant folks.

I have made a silly goal to make 200 sales by 01/01/2008 12:01 am. Will it happen? I don't know but it's nice to have goals. It is also nice how SUPPORTIVE all of you have been this past year. I love, love, love seeing you guys wear my stuff so keep em coming! I have so many ideas for items to add after my break - I'm thinking Christmas week through to mid January.

I don't think I'm going to make rings anymore unless someone puts in a request. I'm just gonna stick to magnets, buttons, jewelry (earrings/necklaces), notepads, and maybe hair pins. I know the market for those things are insane, especially jewelry, but I like putting pieces together and making new things out of them to wear. It's fun!

Season's Change

Just a couple of entries ago I posted some lovely Fall images from my neighborhood.  This morning when I got out of bed, I saw this outside my bedroom  window

SNOW!!!

And my window is not dirty, that is a screen.  A friend of mine spent the night so this morning, me and Senor Muerto helped dust off her car.  I love playing in fresh, powdery snow, so FLUFFY!!!!!  It is suppose to rain later on so hopefully it won't ice up and get really slushy and gross.  I don't like snow once it turns brownish, BLEEEECCHH!!!!!

If you live in an area hit by snow, please brush the snow off the top of your vehicles! It is just inconsiderate to think "Once I get on the highway, the wind will blow it off", yeah it will.....right on to another car's front window!

/psa

While I had the camera out, I wanted to show off the Black Apple ornament I have ready for my tree

Doesn't she look cozy all snuggled in her box?  Have a HAPPY SUNDAY!