The Avett Brothers

I'll be gone until the 1st, staying and playing at the wonderful Camp Bratton Green in Canton, MS. So in my stead I leave you with one of my favorite group of artists (From North Carolina too!) of all time, The Avett Brothers.

I received this live dvd/cd/poster/bandana combo for Christmas. Already watched it twice and it's worth many more. This is one of their best songs, great on the live cd, and extremely impressive when they shoot off the lyrics REM End of the World style in the first verse. Watch the video, and I strongly recommend the Live Vol. 3 DVD and every other song they've ever played.

Mountain Man

Ed Presnell, a mountain craftsman and native of Watauga County, North Carolina, demonstrates and comments on the construction of a dulcimer. Presnell learned his craft from his father-in-law. Film includes a brief performance on a finished dulcimer by his wife, Nettie. This 16mm film is archived in the Thomas G. Burton and Jack Schrader collection in the Archives of Appalachia, East Tennesse State University. -Folkstreams

Watch this great video on Edd Presnell explaining the steps and intricacies of creating a dulcimer and other great movies (Medicine Fiddle is another favorite) at Folkstreams.

Ed reminds me of the Appalachian State University mascot, who's picture here was taken on a recent college trip through North Carolina.

Shopping Spree - J Crew

How about a shopping spree from J Crew to get you ready for Christmas! I have all of these garments (of variations there-of) so this is almost a uniform look for me. The notable exception being the vest, never been big on them before but I liked the look of this one.










Hat - Saint James watch cap (For the Zizou vibe)
Vest - Crescent Down Works, North by Northwest vest (There's a very narrow cold front sweeping through the nation...)
Sweater - Enfield sweater
Shirt - Broken-In crewneck (Easily substituted for a good ol' Hanes)
Belt - BillyKirk small buckle belt
Jeans - Levi's 501
Socks - Marled socks
Shoes - Suede MacAlister boots (Cheating, but I would still choose my Clarks desert boots over these)

The King Is Dead

This makes me very excited. January 18th is the official date for the new album 'The King Is Dead' by The Decemberists. Pre-Order starts 11/22, and I'll be splurging for vinyl. Read up on the story of their latest album 'The Hazards of Love' here.

Books For Fall

I've been reading a lot this fall, here's a few titles.

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. (Great map, more books need maps.)

Holmes.

The House on Falling Star Hill. Great book with another great map.

Plain on the outside...

...But full of adventure. The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay by John Buchan.

Blitzed Brits by Terry Deary. The Blitz is big in British museums right now, which also means the Blitz (and hoards of fallout shelter paraphernalia purchased from ebay) is big with my mom. We have nearly every book in the 'Horrible Histories' collection. All well written, and peppered with illustrations and cheeky jokes as shown below.

The Black Island and Tintin In Tibet by Herge. Can't wait for the Tintin movie! Nick Frost and Simon Pegg are cast perfectly for the Thomson Twins.

Halloween Inspiration Board

My family loves Halloween. We all love dressing up, making decorations, divulging in the scariest books and movies. Here's some pictures I took and found that made me excited for Halloween. This year I'm thinking of going in a victorian/steampunk outfit.



(Pictures from my Mom's recent trip to Kensington Palace)




(Our Halloween decorations)


(Tableware from Blackbird)

(I Sell The Dead)

(Fox ring on Etsy)


(The Decemberists, New album soon!)

(Gangs of New York)


(Poe)


(The Wolfman. Bad plot, great settings and costumes)



(Scottish castles, pictures taken on our last trip)

(Yours truely)


(Who's got their midnight tickets?)

And some music to go with it.

Shopping Spree - Blackbird

Continuing the theme of 'If I were rich and needed to spend some money' is a shopping spree at Blackbird. This look kind of goes together in a Colorado-Utah college professor kind of way.










Hat - Pendleton Timberline Cap
Coat - Pendleton Chaparral Coat
Shirt - Penny Stock Chambray Striped Shirt (And affordable too!)
Bowtie - B14 Dark Floral
Belt - Tanner Skinny Mahogany
Jeans - Blackbird Hazlewood Jean
Boots - Wolverine 1000 Mile (Pretty steep on the price, I think I'll stick to my Clarks desert boots until those lottery tickets start to pay out big)
Cup - Blackbird Field House Mug