Memorial Day

To all of those who died in the service of this country, we salute you.

Cheers

Once again, it's an early post. This isn't going to become a habit, but I've got a lot of stuff going on right now, as it will become apparent in a little bit.

It's the last weekend of May. If you live in the States, you know darn well what that means. If you don't then allow me to enlighten you:

1. It is Memorial Day weekend, which means that a good-sized portion of the American people have a four-day weekend.
2. Since it's a four-day weekend and the weather at this time of year is the nicest it's been all year, lots of people are going to be having celebratory barbecues.
3. And if there's one thing that shows up at just about every barbecue, it's beer.

So in other words, Memorial Day weekend = Beer. Especially if you're going to be tuning in to watch the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. However, this does not mean that Memorial Day itself has anything to do with beer; it just means that there's a lot of beer leading up to it.

So let's get this party started, shall we?

I have to admit, I had never seen an inflatable glass beer stein until I found this one.

And now that I have, I'm gonna share it with you. I'm generous like that.

Another thing I had never seen before was a hat made out of a case box. But let me tell you, Internets...

...There's a lot of them out there. And here's where you can get one of your very own.

For those of you who prefer your beer imported, you can get a hat that matches your foreign tastes.

Another thing I never realized is that crocheted hats utilizing bits of beer cans were so...prevalent.

Until today. When I found this one...

...I found this one...

...And this one, too. Who knew things were everywhere? Did you? I didn't. But if you really want to make one for yourself, here's a how-to guide.

And last but not least, that most prevalent of the beer hats:

The beer helmet. I personally like that this one says "Thirst Aid". It has a certain frat-boy ring to it.

So on that note, here's wishing a happy Memorial Day weekend for those who celebrate it, and for those who don't, have a happy weekend as well, and I'll be seeing all of you on Monday!

Here Comes The Sun

Depending on where you are, it's beginning to feel a lot more like summer and whole lot less like spring (or Not Winter, in the case of PA.) With the powerful combination of rising temps and clear, sunny skies that are happening right now, it's hard not to see why so many people consider the end of May to be the unofficial beginning of summer. And after so many months of cold and dark, people rush outside into the sun to bask like lizards in the warmth.

And if they're anything like me, all they get a wicked case of sun poisoning and/or killer sunburn for their troubles. Unless they've managed to wise up some over the years, and then they make sure they slapped on some sunscreen/sunblock and grab themselves a sun hat.

Now, back in my day, sun hats were strictly the domain of older women; no self-respecting female under the age of fifty would be caught dead wearing one. Luckily, we've managed to get over that preconceived notion that only ladies who were bucking for a part as an extra on Golden Girls would wear these, and now young and old women alike rock the sun hat with equal style.

So let's look at a few, shall we?

Honestly, it's the orange stripes on this one that makes it for me. It's a cheery color without getting too obnoxious in its brightness.

This one is a little on the heavier side, which works if you live somewhere where it's entirely possible that it could snow anytime. Like, say, NW PA.

Hey; just because it's a sun hat doesn't mean it has to be simple, as this one demonstrates rather awesomely.

Not that there's anything wrong with playing it simple, either. Especially if that means it's capable of being crammed into a suitcase for several hours and remain fantastic-looking.

If only that were true for all of us.

The Sincere Phascolarctos Cinereus

As far as I can tell, Australia as a geographical region would be better named as The Land That Will Kill You Somehow. From box jellyfish to greater blue-ringed octopuses/octopi/octopodes to saltwater crocodiles, there seems to be an abundance of fauna there that can and will top you in one way or another. Even that adorable creature we've all come to associate with the land--the kangaroo--could quite easily bump a person off if they're not careful.

And yet, at the same time, Australia is also home to the koala, which (as far as I can tell, anyway) is not a deadly creature. Oh, they could mess you up if you made one of them mad, but it doesn't appear to be crafted by creator or nature to just flat-out kill you. For the most part, they just seem to want to eat their eucalyptus, take a nap, and be really fuzzy.

So, in honor of the fact that they're the creature least likely to kill you should you ever encounter it Down Under, let's look at some koala hats, shall we?

Nothing quite sells the cute factor of a koala like a baby wearing a hat that looks like one.

This one is just adorable in its simplicity.

Of course, if you want a koala hat with a little more bite to it, you could always get one with teeth, like this one.

In the end, perhaps Australia isn't the land of Things That Will Kill You, seeing as, y'know, people have been able to make a go of living there for pretty much forever. Be that as it may, I'm thinking that you have to be pretty darned hearty to not only survive, but thrive in a land where a good percentage of the fauna is predisposed to killing everyone. So to my mind, that means the people of Australia ought to be categorized with Keith Richards, in that they'd be duking it out with the cockroaches for supremacy should the rest of us get nuked out of existence.

Think about it; IT MAKES SENSE.

Hundredthtennial Hatstravaganza!

According to the Dashboard feature on this blog, this makes for my 100th blog post. And I would like you to know that I put a lot of thought into what I ought to do to commemorate this particular little milestone. Set off fireworks? Do a song-and-dance number? Have Patrick Stewart guest-star on this blog? Which one should I do?

Then I realized that pretty much all of those would take either money or extra work to make happen, and seeing as I'm stingy and somewhat on the lazy side, none of those were going to work for me (also, I don't know Patrick Stewart.) So I opted instead to go for the cheap/time-efficient route: take a bunch of pictures of hats I own/have access to.

Hey, I gotta work with what I got. And here's a sampling of what I've got:

Well, there's a Retro-G hat, for starters.

And then there's this flowery one, which apparently makes me make really stupid faces when I wear it.

And this pillbox I got from my husband's grandmother (Vintage + Free = FTW,) which I recently discovered perfectly matches my long-sleeved T-shirt. Bonus!

The Paddington hat, as it is affectionately called by my husband and Rufus The Roommate.

Okay, okay; I fully admit that I am not--nor have I ever been--a member of the military. And yet, it is impossible to wear a military-style cap and not salute. IMPOSSIBLE, I TELL YOU.

Remember this post? Well, this is the ninja bunny hat completely undone. The length of the ears are longer than my admittedly small arm span.

Of course, if I show the ninja bunny hat, that means I have to show it in the full-on ninja stage. It's like giving a mouse a cookie.

...I do this for you, Internets. Not for me: FOR YOU.

Of all the Retro-G hats, I have to admit this one is my favorite. Not sure why, but something about it appeals to me.

POPPLES! OMG!

And then there's this newsboy cap. Which is not all that terribly wild or fantastic, but it is kinda cute.

And that's it for this week. But before I skedaddle, I just want to take a moment to say thanks and RAWR to Rufus The Roommate for helping with today's post (she supplied many of the hats and took many of the photos,) and I also want to say thanks to all of you; if it weren't for your readership, this blog probably wouldn't have made it this far.

So, seriously, thank you. I mean that from the bottom of my hat-loving little heart, and I'll be back next week.

You Don't Have To Bring Me Flowers

Since the unofficial deadline for summer is coming up quick (Memorial Day is less than two weeks away, folks,) that means we need to wring as much as possible out of these last few days of spring. So let's look at some springy, flowery fascinators, shall we?

Once again, you can never go wrong with vintage. This one has a nearly Ophelia-like quality to it.

Okay--admittedly, this one is a bit on the bridal side, but I think that--with the right outfit--anyone could make this sucker work for a night out on the town.

There's something quirky and cute about this one. The colors may be a bit on the neutral side, but it's still sweetly spring-like.

OMG, this one. This one is just too much fun, and it reminds me a lot of my cousin (and HH regular,) Z.

And for those of us who prefer to live loud, we've got this one, which is available in quite a few colors, so don't be put off by the green. I just happen to like the color green, so this one is purely a matter of personal bias.

And on that note, see on Friday, folks!

And Now, For Something Different...

Hey--it's my blog, and sometimes even I get a little tired of talking about hats all the time.

As some of you may recall from my Christmas post, I wear glasses. Thanks to some fantastically poor vision (near-sighted, FTSomething,) I've been wearing them since I was six years old and am likely to continue wearing them for many years to come.

Now, I know full well that I don't necessarily have to wear glasses. After all, I could just as easily wear contact lenses, or get that Lasik eye surgery done and never have to worry about being unable to see clearly more than foot away from my face ever again. But to be honest, I like wearing glasses, and I don't really want to ever stop wearing them.

Which, might I add, is a major change from when I was a kid, and you couldn't get me to wear the blasted things. In my defense, though, my glasses when I was a kid? WERE BUTT-UGLY. Thick plastic, dark brown tortoise shell pattern, double bridge across the nose, lenses as thick as an ashtray--there are reasons I have worked so darned hard at destroying every picture of me wearing the ugliest eyewear in existence, folks. Heck, I worked pretty darn hard at trying to destroy the glasses themselves, but they kept getting fixed and I kept having to wear them again.

I mention that last bit purely because the statute of limitations is up. Also, my dad knew how much I hated those things, so it probably didn't surprise him in the least that a lot of those "accidents" were more along the lines of "accidentally-on-purpose."

But now, in my *cough* more mature years, have learned to stop hating and love the glasses; something that is probably greatly helped by the fact that there's tons more selection now, as well as the fact that I've more or less learned what doesn't look right on my face. And while I admit that my current pair of specs are on the tame side, I know full well that if I wanted to get some fabulous frames I totally could.

Like what, you ask? Well, LET ME SHOW YOU.

How's about a pair of wood-grain glasses? Granted, they're still made out of plastic, but the pattern is definitely funkier than that hoary old tortoise shell.

Of course, if you really want wooden frames, you could totally get a pair.

See?

Seeing as the fashion of late is to have something fancy at the temples, I ask you; why not get a pair with bird carving in the right place?

With these babies, I'd be set for masquerade balls for the rest of my life!

If I weren't nearly the klutz that I am, I would seriously get these: hollow frames you can fill with ink. I really like the idea of being able to change the color of my frames whenever I wanted, but I think I'll hold for something with potentially less permanent staining power.

So, have you seen any really cool glasses frames lately?

Oooh...Shiny.

Oh, metal: is there anything it can't do? From the framework of buildings we visit to the change we receive from the cashier, it provides us with a lot of assistance to make our day just a little easier. Just about everywhere we look, there it is, being all helpful and stuff. And that's not even getting into all the pretty stuff metal can do (which it does a lot of, bud.)

So for today, how's about we look at some metallic hats?

On the one hand, I'm not really seeing how this makes a turban. Headband? Definitely. Turban? Not so much.

On the other, I'm finding myself far too distracted by the sparkly and shiny to make a coherent argument.

Something tells me that Rufus the Roommate is gonna drool all over this one. Call it a hunch. Or an educated guess.

...For the record, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this photo. Doesn't stop me from liking it, though.

Well, that wraps it up for this week. See you Monday!

Paper Beats Rock

One of the many hallmarks of childhood is the use of junk in play. Think about it; didn't you ever take a large cardboard box and turn it into a boat, or a house, or a car? Or how about that old wire hanger that made such an excellent bubble wand once you re-bent it? Sure, the adults were planning on pitching these things, but somehow we were able to save them, salvage them, turn them into something fun and magical.

The most elementary among these being, of course, the paper hat. As long as you had access to yesterday's newspaper, you could whip yourself up one of these babies and be whatever you wanted to be: pirate, soldier, royalty--it didn't matter. With just a few simple folds of paper, you were only limited by your imagination.

So guess what we're going to be looking at today?

Pretty sweet, huh? There's a bunch more where this one came from, but this one is definitely my favorite.

Not sure who Gwen Lecthner is, but judging by these items she's made out of paper, I'd certainly like to learn more about her, wouldn't you?

Speaking of people I'd like to know more about...

moses is darned talented; so much so that his collection of paper hats are now part of the permanent collection at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, CA. You should definitely check them out.

No good lying; if I had a hat like this, I'd probably be making the same face.

If you want to make one for yourself or someone else, here's two videos to teach you how.

Of course, you can't go wrong with a simple bicorne, especially if you jazz it up with little flourishes like Wendy Addison did.

So what's stopping you from making a paper hat today?