Well it's been a little while since I blogged about unboxing a Pusheen Box. I think this Spring one knocked it out of the ballpark! Everything they included is useful, (except for the vinyl figures, but they are so cute you can't resist their charm.) This box marks the 10th box they have shipped out, and there was a little special prize inside.

Here's my unboxing video. I filmed it after a 12 hour work day, so I'm a little tired, and I say "dingle" more than once. I'm also using the Pusheen Mug from the Winter 2017 box. It's my fav mug and I drink my tea from it almost every night.

The packing list...

1. A Pusheen Tape dispenser. This is coming to work with me.

2. Gold Pusheen Photo Clips. I think these are coming to work with me too.

3. Vinyl Figure.

4. Pusheen Mouse Pad. I need a new one for work, this is purrrrfect.

5. Pencil Case. I plan on using this as a makeup bag.

6. Blanket. This will go nicely with the Pusheen Pillowcase from Fall 2017. Ginger has already claimed it.

7. Stationary Set with Stickers. Always handy to have.

8. Water Bottle. I drink a lot of water.

9. Slippers for my constantly cold feet.

10. Gold Star Pin. Already on my jean jacket! In honor of their 10th box!

Congrats Pusheen on your 10th box!!!

You can watch me unbox the Fall 2017 Pusheen Box and Winter 2017 Pusheen Box too.

Today we have a guest appearance by my dear friend Jodee Bowie! She won the Curry Creeper Crate and I asked if I could film her unboxing it. Being the sweetheart she is, she said, "Yes, and you can come over for dinner!" Who am I to say no? I love food.

We were going to do full on Rocky Horror Picture Show costumes and possibly have outfit changes, it's not like we haven't done it in the past....

(Don't Dream It, Be It. Our friends in group costume 2017. 

I'm Columbia, Jodee is Dr. Scott, and my husband Andrew is Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Picture taken from The Next Generation Swing Dance.)

BUT with the weather being 30 degrees STILL, both of us were unmotivated. HOWEVER Jodee is an amazing chef and baker and we are still in theme with... Curry food! We ate delicious nibbles including a hummus and veggie tray, Samosa Dumplings (that she turned into egg rolls), Curry Roasted Cauliflower, Tandoori Chicken Bites and rice. I brought a sour cherry beer, La Roja du Kriek from Jolly Pumpkin, and you guessed it ~ I bought it for the devil cat label. And another friend brought Freak Show wine. It was delicious. The cauliflower was so soft and tasty you could even mash it into a spread.

Veggie tray & Samosa Egg Rolls

Tandoori Chicken Bites, Curry Roasted Cauliflower and rice.

La Roja du Kriek, Sour Amber Ale with Cherry Juice Added.

Ok, now that you're hungry, here's the Curry unboxing video...

Included in the Creeper Crate is...

1.  Beep Beep Richie decal from Creeper Crate.

2. & 3. Sweet Transvestite Body Wash and Don't Dream It Be It Body Lotion from Dearg Due.

4. No Light totebag.

5. A nice and sinister Pennywise Art Print by Drac Makens. This print is available on her website. (And she sells cat toys!)

(There was a note about the necklace not being in the box too.)

After all is said and done, Jodee and I talked about how it was a little disappointing there was nothing from Clue in the box, but I guess that's not creepy enough to be in a Creeper Crate! That's the joy of Tim Curry, he can be funny AND dark. She was happy with the box and I was happy to be with her at the unboxing.

The Dr. Frank-N-Furter print at the beginning of the video is from local artist CJ Szatkowski who is a huge Rocky Horror fan and dressed up like Frank-N-Furter a few years ago. I think at some point everyone I know has dressed up as a character from Rocky Horror!

Thank you Jodee for letting me take over your living room and I'm looking forward to the Puzzlebox (Hellraiser) Box from Creeper Crate!

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM CURRY!

Past Creeper Crate Fluffy blogs...

MacNeil 

Overlook

Trick 'r Treat

Coven

Slasher

My friend Michelle always says "We live in a Magical Place." The magical place being Tonawanda, NY. It's about fifteen minutes north of Buffalo, in Western NY. I do enjoy it except for the depressing dreary weather we have most of the year. BUT one thing that makes me happy is cats, and North Tonawanda has a place you won't find any closer ~ a Kit-Cat Klock dealership. Just a hop, skip, and jump from my shop Cats Like Us is a spot that's been in business over 90 years, Walker Bros & Monroe Jewelers where they sell Kit-Cat Klocks.

 

You may ask what's a Kit-Cat Klock? I'm sure you've seen them. I always called it "the Felix the Cat clock." It's a cat shaped art deco novelty clock with eyes and a tail that moves back and forth in rhythm to the ticking seconds. They come in tons of colors and have been made in the US since 1932! A Kit-Cat Klock is sold every 3 minutes!

They even have a Creed:

Put a smile on everyone's face;
Love in everyone's heart;
Energy in everyone's body;
And be a positive force in everyone's life!

The shop down the street is such a reputable company that the largest Kit-Cat Klock in the world was on tour and stopped there last year!

When I walk by Walker Bros & Monroe Jewelers I always stop and visit the Kit-Cat Klock in the window. It reminds me that I'm the youngest I'll ever be right meow, time isn't waiting, so you should have fun.

Happy Belated Friday the 13! So I'm still flying from an Dario Argento directed Suspiria high. Suspiria is in my top 10 favorite horror movies and I was able to catch the restored version on the big screen at The Screening Room with some friends this past Friday. The first time I saw it, I think it was a Netflix recommendation about 15 years ago and I fell in love.

The central story is about a young American ballerina ~ Suzy Bannon ~ that goes to study ballet in a prestigious German school, little does she know she's walking into grisly murders and supernatural horror! 

The first kill in it's colorful glory or should I say gory?! Muahaha. 

It sets the tone for the whole film.

There's quirky characters with extreme close-ups, and even characters that are never seen completely on screen such as the mysterious ballet school director and a persona I call "glowing eyes". If you've never seen the movie, I'm not going to give too much away. The premise sounds basic but you really have to see it to experience the full impact that this nightmarish movie bombards your senses with.

"Glowing Eyes."

It's a giallo style film aka Italian directed murder mystery with elements of horror where the killer isn't revealed until the end. The late 1960s through to the end of the 1970s perfected the giallo movies which were also precursors to the modern day slasher films. American examples include Psycho and Alice Sweet Alice.

Stylistically the colors and cinematography play a huge role in Suspiria. The colors are vibrant and surreal. The palette is red, red, and more red. There's so much red, from the blood and wine that looks like red paint, to the stained glass of the school, to the outside of the school building, to the red lighting throughout. Sure there's some green and blue hues, but red overpowers the whole movie. It makes the film cartoon-like and floods the frames.

Red wine, blood or paint? Hmm.

Inside of the school.

 So many red light filters.

Contributing to the giallo aesthetic is camera angles. They are often bizarre and disorienting with close ups and shock cuts. You'd think that would date it, but because of the extreme psychological violence and gore it could be a current movie. One scene in particular that may have inspired the Saw movies has to do with jumping into a room full of razor wire to get out alive or the woods in the opening scene could easily be the opening of Twin Peaks. Even the raining maggots scene could be pulled from a contemporary horror movie.

Suspiria woods.

 Twin Peaks woods.

I hate to say, Madame Blanc played by Joan Bennett is terrible in this ~ her final movie. Her acting is extremely wooden and it sounds like she's reading a cue card. In comparison to playing Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in the vampire soap opera Dark Shadows this was not a good use of her talent. In my opinion she's the worst part of the movie. Maybe she was supposed to play her that way? Oh well, her vintage dresses and jewelry are fab!

Joan Bennett in Suspiria.

There's a cameo from one of my fav cult actors Udo Kier. He only has a small part in the film where he talks smack about witches in his mint green blazer. His blazer is everything!

Udo and Jessica Harper in Suspiria.

The other star of the show is the soundtrack from the band Goblin. They set the unnerving  tone of the movie, with dissonant chords and suspenseful soundscapes. Picture a bloody cult ritual and the background music ~ it would be Goblin with it's bong sounds and disembodied voices. I will forever regret missing Gobin in concert on Halloween in Toronto years ago.

Suspiria theme... 

Jessica Harper, the actress that plays Suzy is great in the movie. She's known for other roles in the cult classics The Phantom of the Paradise and the sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment. Rumor has it she will also be starring in the remake of Suspiria that comes out this year. Yes, a remake. It was supposed to come out in 2017, for the 40th anniversary and I heard Dario Argento was not consulted and isn't happy about it. The new version has some huge shoes to fill and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I might see it.

 By the end of Suspiria you'll be asking yourself, "Do you really know anything about witches?"

Suspiria trailer... 

Bonus reason I love it: The main character is named Suzy Bannon and it always reminds me of my favorite band in the whole world, Siouxsie and the Banshees. Siouxsie Sioux's real name is Susan Ballion. (I know, not super close but close enough for me.)

My husband Andrew, surprised me with a new pair of shoes!

These are the Sassy Black cat shoes from B.A.I.T. Footwear. They come in a bunch of colors, but I like the black because it reminds me of Felix the Cat. They are also a "Shelter Cat Love Flat" and a portion of the sales go to Cat and Dog Rescue. So what are you waiting for? Surprise someone with a new pair of shoes, or just buy them for yourself. Felix says, "It's a win-win!"

You'll hear me often say, one of the huge advantages of living in Buffalo is the proximity to cool things. I've written about my fun day trips in a couple blogs including driving to Toronto for Harry Potter food and tiki drinks, Toronto for Guillermo del Toro, Rochester for a Creepy Garage Sale and beer and this past weekend Andrew and I took a day trip to Hamilton, Ontario. It's about an hour and 10 minute drive from Buffalo, NY and you pass it on your way to Toronto, but this time we stopped. What's in Hamilton you ask? Well there's an event called the Bazaar of the Bizarre. 

The Bazaar of the Bizarre is a one day event held three times a year and it usually takes place in Toronto. It's put on by Toronto goth / alternative clothing designers Plastik Wrap. They've been around for a long time and are pretty well known as some of the best gothic clothing designers in our area. 

So back to the bazaar, I wasn't sure what to expect and mainly went because I'm nosy. It's a craft show for people into weird and creepy. Ok, to call it a "craft show" sounds lame, like everything is hokey jewelry and handmade scrunchies, but this display was impressive! It had a quality grouping of vendors that varied from booth to booth, and if I didn't know any better I'd say it was a juried show. There was everything from clothing, leather goods, photography, taxidermy, tea, books, and more! Of course I found the homemade mulled wine "Blood Harvest" preserves from Ritual and Revival, and they had to come home with me.

The location for the bazaar was the Spice Factory. It has plenty of free street parking and very cheap parking lots nearby. The venue hosts music and art events, weddings, corporate gatherings, and workshops. The Bizarre took up two floors and they even had a cash bar, a food counter, and DJs on hand creating a comfortable atmosphere. I only was able to take one picture of the inside since it was SO crowded! (As it should be.)

We grabbed lunch only a couple blocks away at Merit Brewing. It is a big open restaurant with a very casual ambiance. They serve in-house made sausage along with some vegetarian options. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sausage and it was really good, BUT I have to say the fries were even better. Fresh cut, crunchy outside, lightly salted, I could have eaten a GIANT tub of them ~ I highly recommend.

The beer was ok. I had a tough time choosing because their menu described some of them as having lactose. That leaves me out since I'm lactose intolerant. (Side note, so are cats, you can read my blog about it here.) I went with the Chanan. It was a little too hoppy for me. I should have known better. That's my fault. Anyway their branding of the place is something to write about, I mean look at these glasses!

Overall it was a fun day trip to Hamilton. Kudos to everyone involved in the Bazaar of the Bizarre looking forward to the next one, and this time I'll save up some spending money!

This is going to sound funny, but I've been blogging less frequently to spend time with my cats Ginger and Vicktor. So the question is, how much time should you be spending with your cat? It really varies by cat. I've been finding that as my cats get older, they are needier. Every time I sit down, Ginger has to sit on me, every time I get up Vicktor follows me to the next room. And if I'm at work all day, or in and out of the house running around outside, they get agitated towards me since I'm not home.

Ginger on my lap.

Vicktor laying on me.

You'd think your cat wants to sleep all the time. They can sleep up to 19 hours a day! So why won't they leave me alone? As younger cats they definitely slept this long, but now as grown cats I think they know their time with us is limited. We love them and they love us, so time spent together is precious.

Vicktor & Ginger laying on me.

When they aren't sleeping or on/near/following me, they have "Cat TV" aka windows to look out of, and we hide toys around the house for them to find when we are at work. I'm lucky that Vicktor and Ginger have each other to keep company when my husband and I aren't home. When we are home, we take the time to play with them until they get pooped out, usually about 10 min a day. (Our cats are lazy.) Really you should have interactive play with your cats a couple times a day for about 15 minutes. It will build trust, keep them from getting bored, stimulate them, and can even stop bad behaviors. Another thing to help bond with your cat is you can trim their nails and brush them, Andrew my hubby, is home less, so this responsibility falls on him.

Ginger watching "Cat TV" our neighbor's kitty.

If you have a normal work routine, and are gone everyday, your kitty may be just fine. If you start to notice them going outside the litter box, not grooming, not eating, or being pissy, take some time and spend it with them.

About to go to bed, but Vicktor has to boop me first. You can read about boops here.

Remember, an easy thing like sitting and watching TV with your cat will help them feel included and loved, and vice versa!