In The Hood

Awesome Little Red Riding Hood illustration by SkoLzki.

It's Confession Time again, Internets: I like hooded stuff. Not sure how this came about, but it's the truth and basically the best way to ensure that the clothing item you give to me as a present is on the fast track to becoming my Most Favoritest Thing EVAR is to make sure it comes equipped with a hood. Seriously; I will wear it until it is falling apart if it has a hood. But, just like there's always someone out there to harsh another's squee, there are two forces that work to keep my love of all things hooded neatly under control, and their approved Internet sobriquets are The Husband and Rufus The Roommate.

They kind of work like a team: Rufus focuses on my daily wear, refusing to let me have more than one gray hoodie sweater at a time; The Husband's areas of concern are jackets and coats, and works diligently to make certain that none of them have the dratted hood. Together, they succeed in making sure my wardrobe doesn't look quite the way I'd like it to.

So why all the hood-hate, you ask? The common consensus is that hooded things make me look like a little lost waif, and they're both sick and tired of getting carded whenever they're out in public with me. Which I can understand (seeing as I'm not all that fond of getting carded either,) but even so, I don't think that the hoods are to blame; I think it has more to do with the combination of being petite and having a baby face. But I guess it's just cheaper to focus on the hoods than it is to get me some growth hormones.

So since I don't think I'm the only person who loves them a nice hood or two, here's a few that might just work with your winter coat this season:

This cable-knit hood is called a poncho, but I think it's short enough that it would work with a nice, thick coat rather well.

If you're wanting something that would fit a little more neatly into a coat, this beautiful little blue hood looks like it would do the trick quite admirably.

Hey, Internets; remember those Snowbaby statuettes? This hood reminds me of those, but definitely in a good way.

And just because I can, here's a real, honest-to-goodness red riding hood:

I couldn't resist, folks. I just couldn't.

And on that note, see you Wednesday!

Movin' On Up

Eco-art by Yuken Teruya, who makes really awesome stuff. Check her out.

As we all know, trends tend to keep coming back, and the trend of environmentalism is not exempt from that. "Going green" has been a buzz phrase for about five years now, and even if you haven't traded in your gas-guzzler of a car for a hybrid, chances are you are still wondering how to lessen the impression of your carbon footprint on the world that doesn't rely on the hoary old mantra of "reduce, reuse, recycle." Well, now you can add a new word to that mantra, and that word is "upcycle."

From what I was able to learn from Urban Dictionary, upcycling is the practice of making something new out of something old with the intention of making it cooler in the process. Oh, and apparently hippies really love upcycled stuff, but that was probably a given.

So since this is a hat blog, you can probably guess what this means for today's post. Yep, it's upcycled hats!

For the most part, the majority of upcycled hats look a lot like this one:

And that's not a bad thing, really. It's cute, it's environmentally-friendly, and it looks like something I could feasibly whip up at home.

But then you see hats like the following, and you realize that upcycling can be serious business.

Yep, that's a bomber hat--complete with pompoms--made completely out of old stuff.

This hat was made out of a man's suit and an old jacket.

...Yeah. Upcycling: Not for the home-economically challenged.

Who knew an old sweater could be turned into something this cute?

This one looks like it belongs in a baby boutique, and yet it's made from upcycled materials.

And lastly, just because my jaw literally dropped when I saw this one:

It's an upcycled octopus hat. And it's gorgeous. Seriously; you need to head over to the shop and look at this one up close, because otherwise you'll miss all the colors in the octopus itself.

In short, upcycling is not only good for the environment, but also can result in some awesome hats.

See you next week!

Return of the T-Bird

Creative turkey sandwich idea from Cute Food For Kids.

'Cause let's face it; there's gonna be a lot of these in your near future.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the States, which means a lot of different things to different people. To me, it involves travel, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (you don't get to decorate the house for the winter holidays until Santa rolls up at the end, folks,) avoiding any and all major shopping areas for the next two days and, of course, turkey.

So, just like last year's T-day post, it is time once more for turkey hats. And this time, they're all made out of something other than paper!

I like the fact that this turkey beanie has ribbons for the tail feathers, although I think I would have gone with a bit more color than just red and orange.

Like, oh, say, this next one:

This one has way more color, and it looks more like the paper turkey hats, but it's made of felt. So not only is it more colorful, you could probably bust this sucker out for several years in a row.

I gotta admit: I really like this one. For no other reason other than it would embarrass the crap out of The Husband if I ran around in public in this thing.

And seeing as last week I rationalized that cozies are basically hats for inanimate stuff, here's a turkey cozy for an apple:

Because even apples deserve cozies. Especially holiday-themed ones.

Happy T-Day, everyone, and I'll see you Friday!

Nature's Bandits

Raccoon wall art from Style Kid.

Since I'm not feeling well today, I'm going to try something different today; instead of writing up several paragraphs leading into the hats, I'm just going to try summing it all up in a haiku. If it works, great; if not, we'll all have learned something, and that will most likely be that I should leave poetry to the experts.

Ready? Here goes:

If you're a varmint

Be cuter than the opossum

It works for raccoons

...Yeah, I shouldn't hold my breath on waiting to be declared poet laureate, should I?

Okay--here's the hats.

This raccoon hat plays it simple; just letting the shape and the stripes to the work.

Meanwhile, deLux goes the full nine, with just about every detail you could imagine and a matching set of mittens.

It's the contrast of the white eyes against the black stripe that makes this hat work.

Fact: Your cute kid will look ninety-billion times cuter in a raccoon hat.

And finally, for those who have always wanted to rock a Davy Crockett-style hat but are concerned about certain animal rights groups getting huffy about it, your prayers have been answered:

Ta-da! A knit raccoon-skin hat! It's like Christmas came early!

And on that note, I'm going back to bed. See you Wednesday!

Get Cozy

The only thing this tea cozy doesn't do is recite "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat."

Back in the day, I used to work for a big-box housewares store (because they paid me to,) and one perplexing question I received frequently over the course of my time were about tea cozies. It seemed like once the weather took a turn towards winter, everybody and their mother wanted a tea cozy. Which would have been fine, except for the fact that, well, we didn't sell tea cozies.

By the way, on the list of experiences I never expected to have in my life, having a septuagenarian lady from Prince Edward Island lose their marbles because we didn't sell tea cozies ranks pretty highly. You would have thought I had insulted Anne of Green Gables or something. In any event, she left the store tea cozyless, and I was left wondering if anyone actually made or sold tea cozies anymore. Heck, the only place I'd ever seen them at all were on old British sitcoms on PBS.

Hey; I live in the States. We're not exactly known for our massive tea intake. In fact, as far as cozies go, we apparently make them for just about anything but a teapot.

And so, in the interest of doing something a little bit different today, here's a bunch of cozies that have nothing to do with tea. Besides, cozies are kind of like hats for inanimate objects, aren't they?

For those of us who like our morning coffee with a pump of chemistry, these reusable cozy sleeves have the molecule for caffeine embroidered on them.

Of course, if you prefer gaming to chemistry, then maybe this cozy sleeve is a little bit more up your alley.

But what about your mug at home? Doesn't that deserve a cozy, too?

Don't worry, there's cozies for them, too. I just happen to like the sentiment embroidered on this one the best.

Even your iPod/iPhone/iTouch can have a cozy.

Must resist urge to make joke about keeping iProduct toasty...must resist urge to make joke about keeping iProduct toasty...

Okay--now the iDoohickey-cozy-making-people are just toying with me; making it nigh-on impossible to not make a crack about listening to pop stars from a pop-tart-cozied iThingamajig.

Luckily, though, I found one iWhosywhatsit cozy that is impossible to make fun of. Behold:

A Stormtrooper cozy. The only way it could be better is if Droids are compatible with it.

And that's it for this week. See you Monday!

I'm Just A Little Black Raincloud

Cumulonimbus cuteness from Mochimochi Land.

Not sure about your neck of the woods, but yesterday was one of those days where it was just plain miserable outside; gray skies, dark all day, cool temperatures and hours of non-stop rain. It might have lightened up here and there, but it did not stop once. In short, it was everything I have ever hated--and most likely will continue to hate--about November.

Okay, okay; it could be worse. It could be snow, but that doesn't stop November rains from being pretty dang depressing. Really, when the weather gets like this, the only thing for it is a cup of your hot beverage of choice, a cozy blanket and a good book.

Speaking of which, you might wanna round those things up before diving into this post. They'll make you feel better, I promise.

This cloudy little hat comes from one of the creative minds behind parsnip & pear and poppy & pinecone.

Methinks that once she gets her hat store off the ground, it's going to be just as awesome.

Because turning old sweaters into new hats is what's hot in the streets, one member over at Craftster.org made this cloud hat with her daughter.

Of course, with the weather we've been having lately, maybe the best kind of cloud hat is the kind that comes with a bobble on top.

And finally, there's this fascinator:

Is it an awesome little raincloud, or is it a weeping bagel? It all depends in how you look at it.

And on that note, I'm out. See you Friday!

Something Feels Fishy

I've got just two words for you: origami fish.

As hokey as this is gonna sound, I believe that inspiration isn't something you have to actively seek out or woo like the ancient Grecian Muses. From where I'm standing, inspiration tends to be all around us at all times; it's just a matter of whether or not we have the eyes to see it.

See, the thing about inspiration is that we like to think it arrives on a strategic shaft of light, accompanied by a host of rotund cherubs and backed by the Hallelujah chorus, when in reality inspiration is far more subtle than that. In my experience, it's been more like finding a penny on the ground or picking out a soft voice from among the crowd. It's just the impact of said inspiration that makes it feel all big and dramatic.

Case in point: Yesterday, I was checking Facebook when I saw this hat by Obey My Brain:

And as soon as I saw it, I said to myself, "Self, you should do a post about fish hats. Not just because you haven't done one in a while, but because THIS HAT NEEDS TO BE SHARED WITH THE WORLD."

And because it would be kinda slackery of me to just post one hat and call it a day, here's a few more.

I'm not sure what it is I like best about this fish hat; if it's the detail of the scales or the floppiness of the tail.

Or maybe it's just awesome. That might be it.

Stripey-fish hat goes OM NOM NOM.

Of course, if you like your fish hats with a little more color, Maize Innovations has you covered.

And now, to wrap it all up, I bring you the grumpiest-looking clown fish hat I have ever seen:

Seriously, look at this thing. It looks downright surly; like it's heard one too many Finding Nemo jokes or like it's currently employed at the local DMV branch. OR POSSIBLY BOTH. AT THE SAME TIME.

And on that note, see you Wednesday!

Stick Your Neck Out

Frosty leaves brought you by Treehouse Chronicles.

If there's one thing I've never really liked about the end stages of autumn, it's when it gets to that funky in-between place where it's too cold to do without those little extra layers but it's not always cold enough to bust out your heavy-duty winter gear.

Take this week for example; it's been pretty warm around here during the day, but at night it does get a bit on the curse-inducing chilly side. But even so, it's still not cold enough to warrant digging out a winter-weight coat, so really what I could do is just haul out a scarf and be okay, but scarves still seem a bit excessive. What to do?

Luckily, I have discovered a middle road between the extremes of freezing-to-death and looking-way-too-overdressed: the scarflette. Or cowl, since a lot of these get labeled as those, but I'm rolling with "scarflette" because it's just more fun to say (give it a whirl sometime and I think you'll agree.)

So why am I championing the scarflette? Let me show you my work:

In an odd bit of coincidence, I came across this scarflette right around the same time that Fashion Me Fabulous declared the shop their Etsy Shop of the Week.

In short, serendipity declares this lady's stuff as being awesome, and you should definitely check it out.

Quick question: If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what would two apples attached to a scarflette do?

Not even gonna lie--I like this one purely for the colors. They're so nice and autumny.

Ratcheting the fabulous up a couple of notches, this scarflette brings to mind the Edwardian era.

Whether you'd want to try your hand at a Gibson girl upsweep while wearing it is up to you.

Oh, and I'm just posting this one in order to trigger Rufus The Roommate's drool reflex. She has an all-consuming love of things black and transparent, and this was the closest scarflette I could find to match her tastes.

What I like about this scarflette is that it's simple and yet not really all that simple.

And finally, because I would totally remiss in my duties if I didn't post this one:

Yes, it's a robot scarflette. And it. Is. AMAZING. IwantitIwantitIwantitIwantitIwantit.

So as you can see, scarflettes run the range of being super freakin' dressy to being perfectly casual, and they'll keep your neck warm without feeling like you're dragging around a Tom-Baker's-Doctor-Who-length scarf when the weather just doesn't feel right for it.

My case; it is made, and I'll see you all next week!

Acting Squirrelly

For more about this cute little squirrel, click here and bring your German-speaking skills with you.

Every once in a while, Mother Nature likes to throw everyone a bone. For example, this week it's been nice outside. Really, really nice; the temperatures in the 60-70 range, clear skies and no trace of those nasty winds. If it weren't for the fact that most of the leaves are already down off the trees, I'd swear this was actually early October, not early November.

However, apparently not every living thing is alright with this sudden shift in weather. Why do I say this? Because the squirrels around here seem to have lost their furry little minds.

I'm not kidding. Yesterday, Rufus The Roommate and I went out on a quick errand, and during said errand we almost ran over three--count 'em, three--squirrels. That's an average of one squirrel every five minutes folks. Luckily, we managed to avoid them, but it seemed like every time we turned around there was a squirrel testing to see if it was their fate to become road pizza or not.

So seeing as I'm one of those types that takes inspiration from what goes on around me, guess what kind of hats we'll be looking at today?

First up, we've got this adorable cashmere hat, complete with the little ear tuft things.

And I'm certain that that is the scientific term for them. "Little ear tuft things".

The lesson we can all take away from this hat? Squirrels: They share the love.

Or, alternatively, that squirrels think love is of equal value to nuts. You make the call.

If you're one of those people who gives out matching hat-and-scarf sets during the Holidays, might I suggest this squirrelly set?

I think I might have just found the hat equivalent of Snakes on a Plane: Squirrel on a Mini-Beret.

Although, I suppose if you're wanting a squirrel hat, you really can't go wrong with a squirrel hat made from recycled materials like this one.

And finally, tell me what you think of this squirrel hat:

Does it look like it's giving people the stankeye? It looks to me like it's giving people the stankeye.

See you Friday!