Tammi's Movies of 2014

Now, we look at all the movies I've seen this year! I see 146 total movies this year, down a bit from last year's 163. Of those, 37 were new movies seen in the theater, 22 were movies seen in a theater, but not new; the rest - 87 - were on DVD or TV. That's a movie (of any kind) every 2.5 days, and a movie in the theater once a week. That sounds about right. Sometimes we don't see a movie for a couple weeks, and then sometimes we'll go 2 or 3 times a week.

I've already written about quite a few of these this year, so here's just a list of some of my faves:

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Interstellar
• Lucy
• Frank
• Birdman
• Nightcrawler
• Gone Girl
• Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
• The Interview

Tammi's Books of 2014

I love to read, and I love making lists, so naturally I make lists throughout the year of how many books I've read, movies I've watched, etc. This year, I read 32 books, which comes out to 2/3 of a book a week. This is more than double the books I read in 2013, technically, but not really, because I read the Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire series that year, which really kind of dominated my reading. 

One thing that really helped me read a lot more was my Scribd subscription. It was useful to me in a couple ways: it gave me access to books I'd otherwise have to pay a lot for, as well as access to books I might not have otherwise found or considered. Amazon now has their own book subscription service, which I have not yet tried out.

I also like to try, though I don't always succeed, to read right before I go to bed. I love reading on my Kindle, but apparently electronics emit a blue light that interferes with your ability to fall asleep (and I already have trouble falling asleep), so I have to make an effort to read paper books instead. I still have a ton of paperbacks that I haven't read yet, so it works out.

For some reason, I went on a bit of a The Hills kick this year, not only watching all of Laguna Beach and The Hills, but also reading the books the cast members had written. Kelly Cutrone wrote a couple auto-bios/self helps; Whitney Port wrote one about herself/fashion; Lauren Bosworth wrote a really random relationship book aimed at teenagers; and of course, Lauren Conrad wrote 2 trilogies of books based on her own life (ish), which I actually really enjoyed. If you're ever looking for quick, fluffy, fun read, definitely check them out - LA Candy, and the sequel The Fame Game.



Some other books I enjoyed this year:

DisneyWar - A very 'inside baseball' look at the Walt Disney Company while Michael Eisner was Chairman and CEO. It was very enjoyable even though it could be considered a bit dry. It was interesting to see how petty and bitchy these high-level men could be; I just kept thinking, if these were women, people would be saying, this is why women shouldn't run companies. Just goes to show men can be as emotionally unstable as anyone!

Gone Girl - Yes, I'm late to the game on this one, but I wanted to read it before the movie came out. I'd heard it was good, but sometimes I feel a bit suspicious of books like that, for some unknown reason. It did end up being really good! I loved all the unexpected twists, and the unreliable narrator aspect. I enjoyed the movie almost as much as the book!

The Fault In Our Stars - Another book I wanted to read before the movie came out. It reminded me of a series of books I enjoyed when I was a kid called One Last Wish, all about a group of teenagers who are dying from various kinds of cancer. Superfun, right? The book was pretty good, as was the movie.

Revenge Wears Prada - Did you know there's a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada?! Well there is, go out right now and read it! It's pretty good, actually kind of dark? Just a little bit to get you interested - It's ten years later, and Andy and Emily now have their own successful magazine, and Miranda shows up to throw their lives into chaos. 

I thought about making a goal for a certain number of books next year, but I don't want to put that much pressure on myself. Reading should just be enjoyable! I try to read everyday, but it doesn't always happen, and that's okay. Sometimes I don't feel like reading, and sometimes that all I feel like doing. Here's to a well-read 2015!

Hungry Games: Turkingjay Part 1

Oh hello there. I haven't been around much lately because I've been very busy leading a rebellion against a corrupt government. Oh wait, no, that was Katniss. I've been lazing around my parents' house and eating copious amounts of foods. If you haven't seen Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 yet, why haven't you? I've already seen it twice! Go do it now, I'll wait right here.

Welcome back! It was awesome, wasn't it? Mockingjay is my least favorite of the books, but I did enjoy the movie quite a bit. Not as much as the first two, but hey, that's okay. Some people have criticized the decision to split the book into two movies, as is the fashion these days, but I think it was a good idea. A lot happens in the book, and it would have been difficult and awkward to make it fit into the beats of a single movie. It would have felt really rushed and probably would have been 3+ hours long. In light of that, I think making it two movies works.

Mockingjay Part 1 is not quite as colorful or as murder-y as the other two movies, but it sets the stage for a lot of the action to come in the next movie. I love that it shows perspective outside of Katniss' worldview, i.e: the districts fighting back against the Capital. You have no real sense of that in the books, and it's really powerful to see it in action here. You finally see what the rebels are fighting for, and how they're fighting back, and it's just really great. There are a few differences from the book, which is totally fine, but there are a couple that make me wonder what it means for the next movie. It could be just that it didn't fit tonally in this film, which makes sense, and will be addressed in the next film.

Oh, also! I loved Natalie Dormer as Cressida! Natalie Dormer is great in everything I've seen her in (Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, the kissing slut in Captain America). I loved how she tried to prompt Katniss in the propos they filmed, and how awkward it was sometimes. Jennifer Lawrence is, of course, amazing as well in the film. When she said, "If we burn, you burn with us!", no joke, I got goosebumps. Both times!! She really sells how messed up Katniss is at this point.

I saw Mockingjay Part 1 on opening night, and again a week later, and both times there were disruptive people in the audience. Remember, folks, if you look at your cell phone or talk to your friend next you, you are incredibly annoying and Katniss (I) will shoot you in the face with an arrow (or ask you politely yet angrily to stop).

PS: Stay until the very bitter end of the credits to see the Mockingjay logo change. If you have to pee (after all, it's been a very long two hours and 45 minutes), just go look it up on YouTube or something, it's not that life-changing or anything.

Movie Monday: Early Oscar Contenders Edition - Birdman & Foxcatcher

I like to see as many Oscar movies as possible, so it's always a good idea to get an early start on watching movies that are possible contenders. We've actually seen several recently that will definitely get several Oscar nods: Interstellar, of course, I've already talked about, Birdman, and Foxcatcher.

Birdman was weird in a super fun way. Michael Keaton starts as an aging actor who played an action hero called Birdman (not Batman, okay? Totally not Batman. Not even similar) when he was younger. He is trying to rekindle his past glory through a Broadway play that he is writing and directing. It gets weird, with Keaton believing he actually has Birdman's powers, but the audience is never quite sure if it's real or not, which was really quite cool. The whole thing is shot in what seems like one seamless sequence (though it's obviously not), and it gives the film a really interesting and unique flow. Keaton deals with all kinds of conflict, both internal and external, as he struggles to ensure that this play will be a triumph and not a symbol that his life, both professional and personal, is over. I have to give a mention to the soundtrack, which is jazzy and mostly drums, so super unique and just unlike anything I've heard before in a film.




Foxcatcher was a movie I was really anticipating. I'd heard good early buzz, and of course I like Steve Carrell a lot, and was looking forward to seeing how he'd do in a dramatic role, especially one that was already getting Oscar buzz. Foxcatcher is about a gold-medal winning yet down-on-his-luck wrestler (Channing Tatum) who catches the eye of a wealthy old guy (Steve Carrell) who would like to sponsor him and live vicariously through him. And then it gets creepy, but not as creepy-gross as I thought it was going to be!

I saw an early screening of the movie on Saturday. Now, I'm a person that generally doesn't not like movies. I love a good popcorn flick, or a heavy handed drama, or anything that doesn't feel like I wasted my time, and most movies tend to generally be worth my time. Foxcatcher is a movie where I can only say: I didn't love it. I don't know, I guess it didn't speak to me? I just didn't find it terribly interesting, I guess. It seemed quite a bit too long; I think shortening it would have drastically improved it. The performances were fantastic, though, probably the best part of the film. Steve Carrell loses himself in the character of John Du Pont; Channing Tatum actually gives a great performance as well in a role that seems fairly suited for him, but he excels in it; and Mark Ruffalo is pretty reliably great. But that's about all I can say about it.

Black Widow: Bad Bitch

 
Since I go to so many comic conventions, I've been wanting to start reading comics more so I can finally discover why people spend so much time flipping through those white boxes. I decided to start off with Black Widow comics, because I'm a big fan of her character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and because she is a badass. After doing some research online, I came up with two titles I read were good places to start - Deadly Origin and The Name Of The Rose. Armed with that knowledge, I went to a local comic store, Pulp Fiction, and was able to find them both! 

Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanov, is a really great character, much more complicated and complex than the movies have let on. Though who knows if she will have the same background in the movies as in the comics; so far, nothing has lead me to believe that, but you never know! She was born in Russia, and her parents were killed when she was young. Some storylines say that Ivan Petrovich then raised her, some say that he briefly raised her before losing her to another guy that Wolverine ends up killing, and some say she was raised in the Black Widow Ops program. In any case, she ends up becoming a USSR spy/badass. Also! She is given a version of the super solider serum (the one that made Steve Rogers become superbuff Captain America), so she actually does have super strength, as well as some kind of immortality. That was some brand new information for me!

Black Widow hooks up with a lot of the Avengers and various other superheroes (get it, gurl): Hawkeye, Bucky/The Winter Soldier, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Iron Man. She also becomes the leader of several superhero teams, including the Avengers, plus other ones I'd never heard of like The Champions (that's not as good a name as The Avengers), and the Secret Avengers.


Deadly Origin shows a lot of Black Widow's origin through flashbacks, and those flashbacks are in a different art style, which was really cool. She discovers a conspiracy that's been a thread through her entire life (mainly her romantic relationships), with her father figure behind the plot. It's kind of a crash course in her backstory, so I think it's definitely a good jumping off point if you're looking to start reading Black Widow comics.

The Name of the Rose was a more complex story. In it, Black Widow has a highly confidential thingy stolen from her, and it's release could completely destroy everything she's built in her life. She's sent clues as to who took it, and goes on a quest to find out who's out to get her, kicking all kinds of ass on the way. Also, the art in this one was really fantastic.

These two books were a really great start to my foray into Black Widow comics. I can't wait to read more! Up next, though - She-Hulk comics!!

Interstellar = Inter[estingly]Stellar!

On Tuesday night, I saw Interstellar and it was AMAZING. It's been in my consciousness for quite some time, ever since Christopher Nolan announced it would be his next film, and then no further information was released basically ever. I didn't know anything about it, but with Nolan's track record, I was on board. I tried not to read too much about it beforehand so I could watch it with an open mind, and I was mostly successful.


We saw it at the historic Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Before the show began, they announced that Christopher Nolan had personally been in the theater multiple times to check on the sound and visual quality, and the theater had spent $600,000 in upgrades just for this film. The theater is also an IMAX theater, so we saw it the way it was really meant to be seen.


Interstellar is almost 3 hours long, but it's one of those movies you're kind of glad is long, because you want to keep being within the world of the story. It follows Matthew McConaughey (you better believe I Googled his name for the current spelling) as a former astronaut, who is currently a farmer because the world needs food more than it needs space exploration. He becomes involved with an expedition to find a new world for humanity to live on and escape the dying earth. SO much more stuff than that happens, with themes of love, humanity, morality, science, and thinking fourth-dimensionally. It's for sure going to be an awards contender, so make sure to see it!! I want to try and see it again before it leave theaters; I think it will be a very different watch the second time around.

Stan Lee's Comikaze 2014

This Saturday I attended Stan Lee's Comikaze for the fourth year in a row. Unfortunately, this year started out on a negative note - the line to get in was insanely long. I feel like a lot of cons have problems with this, and they don't seem to be learning from each other's mistakes. In this case, once we got to the front where we got our badges, there was absolutely no reason for it have taken as long as it did - there were 20 windows open, and the majority were just sitting there waiting for people to come up. It took less than 10 seconds to get our badges. Why, then, was the line so long?? Why weren't they ushering people through the line faster? There's no explanation for this, and kind of no excuse after having had problems with this in the past. 




Well, anyway, on with the show! Once we finally got in, we wove around the aisles of booths. There was a lot of great stuff for sale - large fluffy Alpacassos, more Buffy action figures than I've seen in a while, millions upon millions of Funkos, and of course much, much more. 

As always, I managed to find several cute things to buy. I saw this wooden nerd bunny necklace from Unpossible Cuts, and immediately demanded that they take my money. They had a ton of other super cute necklaces, earrings and coasters intricately cut from wood. I also got a couple She-Hulk trade paperbacks - Sensational She-Hulk and Savage She-Hulk. I've been getting more into comics as of late, and I had a ton of fun at this show flipping through the comic boxes searching for the books I've had my eye on. I got this great shirt from a 5 dollar bin that says, 'I didn't get my acceptance letter from Hogwarts, so I'm leaving the Shire and becoming a Jedi'! So perfect, three of my favorite fandoms in one shirt! As you may know, I love a good mystery/grab bag, so when I saw one at an Alpacasso booth, I had to get it! My favorite item in the bag was the wolf spirit hood with scarf mittens; that alone was worth the price. There were also 2 anime related items, and a Star Trek shirt. I think I can make my money back from selling those on eBay.

Sorry for the terrible quality of this pic!

Comikaze has a 'Main Stage', which is basically a stage off to the side of the convention floor, where they hold most of their bigger panels. It's a cool idea in theory, it helps make the exhibit hall even more lively, but the thing is... who wants to stand around watching a panel for an hour?? My feet already hurt from walking around, I don't want to just stand in one place for an hour. We watched about 15 minutes of the Game of Thrones panel, with Alfie Allen (Theon, and that guy that kills John Wick's dog), Esme Biano (who played Ros, the prositute who's name you probably didn't know), and Gwendoline Christie (what a great name) (oh yeah, she's Brienne), plus Adrienne Curry of ANTM fame (also some other stuff, but that's the only thing that matters to me) was the moderator. Once they started taking audience questions, we bailed.

The next panel on the Main Stage was the True Blood panel. Stephen Moyer (Vampire Bill), Kristin Bauer Von Straten (the awesome Pam), and Tara Buck (Ginger, the girl worked at Fangtasia and screamed a lot). They used some new app that was sponsoring the show, Waav, to have fans at home ask questions. It was not great. They displayed their selfie-esque image on the big screen, and let's face it, nobody's face looks good that big that's not a movie star. Again, we bailed once they started the audience questions.


We also attended a panel in one of the regular rooms, for the documentary 'The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened?' It was a Kickstarter project by a guy who was fascinated by the movie that never was, The Death of Superman, which would have been written by Kevin Smith, directed by Tim Burton, and starring Nicholas Cage. You may have seen that one picture floating around the internet of Nic Cage in the Superman suit, following by a mocking joke about it, because yeah, that seems like a hilarious choice for Superman. But during the panel, they mentioned that, at the time, Cage had just won an Oscar, and had starred in some action movies, so it really wasn't as weird a casting as it seems today. They showed a lengthy clip from the doc, which I found riveting. They're going to start screening it in March of next year at several cons (all of which we'll be at, actually), and I can't wait to see it!

Each year Comikaze usually boasts several unique events and reunions. This year, they had a reunion of the cast of MadTV. I didn't attend that one, but I heard it was great. This year's con also hosted an attempt at setting the world record for most people dressed like Tetris pieces or something. I hope they succeeded, if only to make the $30 price tag on those costumes worth it. If I was going to be a Tetris piece, I'd be one of those ones that looks like an L. 

Things I Love Thursday!

Here's a few things I'm loving on this beautiful Thursday!

Covet is like playing paper dolls for grown ups. It's an app you can play on your phone or your tablet, so if anyone asks, you can just say you're checking email or reading a book, so no one has to know you're playing grown up paper dolls! Basically, you dress up your person for themed challenges using clothing that you've purchased (using the in-game money). Each challenge has a little story behind it, as well as guidelines, such restricting your outfit to only formal gowns, needing at least 3 striped items, or requiring an item from a particular designer. Once you've submitted your outfit, you earn money to buy more clothes, and then other users will vote on your outfit against another outfit and choose the better one. If you get a high amount of votes, you can win more clothing items! The really cool thing is that all the clothes and accessories are real items that you can actually buy, except you can't afford them in real life, so you can live vicariously through the game! Nothing is cartoon-ized; it all looks pretty realistic - for example, if you put a belt on an outfit, it will actually cinch in, instead of just being superimposed awkwardly over it, like I thought it might. Covet is a surprisingly fun app, and I think anyone with even a passing interest in fashion would really get a kick out of it.

One of my new favorite clothing brands is Pink Rose. I went shopping a couple weeks ago, and bought 3 Pink Roses pieces at 2 different stores, completely by accident. I love how soft and cozy their clothes are. They've got a lot of great sweater-y clothes, so perfect for winter. I love the description on their website: "You're a laidback girl who always has an eye on the latest trends.You never sacrifice your comfort for style, but you never give up your style for comfort, either." 

I've really into watching makeup tutorials on YouTube. I've watched a ton but I still couldn't do a winged eyeliner if you held a gun to my head. Honestly, I really have picked up a lot of tips and tricks from a few of them. They always make want to go out and buy a bunch of makeup that I don't know how to use. One of my favorites for makeup tutorials is Lauren Curtis. She has a great Australian accent and looks like Barbie. She used to a makeup artist in real life, and now she gets paid to put makeup on herself in front of her computer! What a great life that must be! Someday I'm going to pay super close attention to one of these videos, and use all the exact products they do in the exact same way they do, and then maybe, finally, at the age of 30... my makeup will finally be perfect! Until then, it's fun to have them on in the background while I play Covet (look, it came full circle!).

John Wick: Or, Why You'll Get Murdered If You Kick A Dog

John Wick is the latest in a line of movies featuring dudes who no other dudes want to mess with, that's how crazy and good at murdering they are. It was just as good as any of them, and this one had the added bonus of starring Keanu Reeves. Where you been at, Neo? You were missed. I know his acting can seem a little wooden, but I thought he did a great job of being growly and angry and punchy in this movie. 

John Wick is about a former contract killer who got out of the game for the love of a woman, who ended up dying of non-murdering-related things. After her death, to help him grieve, she sends him a puppy posthumously. This puppy's adorableness helps to start John Wick's healing process. At least, until Theon Greyjoy comes along and kills this poor puppy as revenge for Wick not selling him his vintage car and also because he is a dick. I knew this part was coming, and also knowing this movie was somewhat graphic, I was completely on edge waiting for some brutal puppy-killing scene. Thankfully, it is more implied than anything, so I didn't need to start crying right there in the theater.

John Wick then goes on a killing spree trying to find Theon Greyjoy (dude, Ramsey Bolton's got him locked up in the North and is totally taking care of it, don't worry) (am I mixing up my fandoms?), and it's pretty intense. The fight scenes are really well choreographed and super realistic. When someone gets punched or shot in the face, you feel it. When he shoots people, he doesn't just shoot in their general direction, hit them in the shoulder, and then they fall over dead like it seems in some movies. He shoots them several times and then in the head for good measure (aka zombie killing best practices). 

Adrianne Palicki is also in the movie as another hitperson who is staying in the hitperson hotel where John Wick goes to get information on Theon's whereabouts. BTW, another cool part of the movie was the world they set up, where you call a cleanup crew after you killed a bunch of people and say 'I'd like to make a reservation for dinner for 12' and that's how they know how many bodies to bury; and where there's a hitperson hotel with no-killing rules and a cool club and sauna. Anyway, she was super kick-ass, and I kept wondering where her spin-off was. Where are all the cool hitwoman movies?? 

Anyway, in conclusion, John Wick was a pretty good time at the movies, no puppies were harmed in the making, and I need to write a movie where Adrianne Palicki is the one who kills everyone after her boyfriend dies and someone kills her kitten.

Candy, Rides, and Good Times at Mickey's Halloween Party 2014!

In case you somehow weren't aware, I'm a pretty big Disney fan. My boyfriend and I have been Annual Passholders for several years. This is our second year attending Mickey's Halloween Party. Halloweentime is one of my favorite seasons at Disneyland, second only to Christmastime (obvs). There are Mickey-shaped pumpkins and ghosts everywhere, and all the characters are in costumes. There's also a lot more villain characters out and about than usual. Two rides even have Halloween overlays - Space Mountain with Ghost Galaxy, and Haunted Mansion with Nightmare Before Christmas. Frontierland has a Dia De Los Muertos theme, and Big Thunder Ranch has all kinds of Halloween activities for the kids.

The castle during Halloween night.

For Mickey's Halloween Party, the park closes down to the general public after 6pm, open only to those with wristbands for the party. It still seems like there's a lot of people there, but the lines are much shorter. We didn't wait longer than maybe 15 minutes for any of the rides we went on - and we went on a ton! Astro Blasters, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Jungle Cruise (which was really cool to do at night), Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones - and these were all within the span of a few hours. Normally this would take a whole day, at least! 

Another fun feature of the Halloween Party are, of course, the candy stations! There are multiple ones spread throughout the park. We like to wander around and find them as we go, but you can also find them marked on the map.They hand you a plastic bag at the front when you arrive to put your candy in. The bags are on the small side, though, so you may want to bring your own! I brought my Mickey Jack-O'Lantern that I bought last year. It didn't hold much more, but it lit up, so that made up for the size. The stations are marked with a Mickey's Halloween Party sign, and usually consist of several different stands that you just walk straight through, bag open. The candy they give out is your standard Halloween sizes of name-brand candy. Last year, several stations gave out carrots and apples, but I found there were far fewer of those this year. We ended up with a TON of candy - probably close to 8 pounds of it.

So much candy!

This year, we found a special Annual Passholder candy station at the Opera House on Main Street, where we got a special Big Hero Six backpack bag, and a big rice krispie treat! They were also screening Halloween themed cartoons in the theater where Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln normally is. It was a fun, unexpected bonus!

Mickey's Halloween Party is also the only time that adults are allowed to wear costumes in the park. A lot of people took advantage of that and we saw a ton of fun and creative costumes. My favorite was the group of people dressed as characters from The Little Mermaid. They even had a guy in a big fluffy Flounder costume! I didn't wear a costume, but maybe next year!

We also tried some new Disneyland foods I'd never eaten before. Pizza Port in Tomorrowland had mac and cheese pizza, which was unsurprisingly delicious! If I'd known that was an option there, I'd have eaten there every time we went!! We also got a bread bowl with clam chowder from Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be added to the list of my favorite Disneyland foods. Now I want to try the one at Pacific Wharf in California Adventure.

The next day, we hit up California Adventure since we got on all the Disneyland rides the previous day. They don't really have much (or any?) Halloween decorations, which is kind of disappointing. It wasn't super crowded, so we were able to get several rides pretty quickly. It was a very nice day, so we sat and people-watched for a while before walking over to Downtown Disney.

California Adventure!

We had a late lunch at Uva Cafe. I got the Uva Burger, which was yummy but pretty overpriced, though I guess that's to be expected in Downtown Disney! We made one last stop before we left - World of Disney! They didn't have the tsum tsums I was looking for, but I did unexpectedly find a set of hard to find vintage attraction posters!

I'm looking forward to next year's Halloween Party! Hopefully I'll have finished all this candy by then... 

Ballooooons.

Candy apples, in the Minnie and Olaf varieties.

Artisanal LA Fall Show 2014

A very large chair outside the venue. I don't know why.

On Saturday, I went to Artisanal LA's Fall Show at LA Mart downtown. Held seasonally, it is what's known as a pop-up community event.

It was kind of like a more hipstery farmer's market. The show hosted a bunch of independent local vendors selling all kinds of food - like tons of jarred stuff like pickled cauliflower and salsa and jellies, jerky, chocolates, cupcakes - and crafts like jewelry, succulents, and pottery. 


The first thing I saw were a couple pens containing a goat and 2 pigs! Of course I immediately rushed over to pet them. The pigs were pretty chill, but when I tried to take a selfie with the goat, he chomped on my hair! Not okay, Mr. Goat. Not okay.

Oink oink!

WTF.

There was a lot of pretty, shiny things to look at and yummy foods to sample. We tried some tiny cupcakes from Cupcake Kissis - they are about the size of a quarter and were super yummy! The Donut Snob had some very yummy looking donuts with flavors like Campfire, Rise & Shine, and the Oinker. We purchased a bottle of ginger beer from Stowaway Ginger Beer.

I also bought a cute little succulent in a tiny ceramic pot from Nora Flower Studio, and a maple bacon macaroon in the shape of a pig from Three Jerks Jerky!

Piece by Paz candles

Piece by Paz were selling cool candles using recycled wine bottles cut in half!! How clever! I love this line I saw on their Pinterest page: "The bottle of wine you drank last night crossed the path of a candle, and they became 1." They had really fun scents like Spumpkin and Old Money.



A full list of vendors can be found here.

In addition to all that, the show also had a full schedule of panels and classes, with names like Making Fermented Soda, Producing Goat Cheese, and Fall Tablescaping. I didn't go to any of them, but I'm sure they were fascinating.

Tickets to the show included a really cool tote bag! You can see the little bitty succulent I got, and the pig shaped macaroon, and the very yummy more chocolates we also picked up.

Stuff I bought!