I noticed these Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes the other day at Bloomingdale’s:

They have these little rodent faces on them—I think they’re supposed to be mice? Kind of cute, but also kind of creepy with the haircalf uppers. This vegetarian has nothing against wearing leather, but the cute animal faces made out of calf skin and hair is a little too morbid for me.

Kind of like those cat figurines made of rabbit fur, which have the distinction of being both icky and tacky.

I got the cutest email yesterday. It was from a woman named Rebecca, who had a most amusing story to share about how she came to knit a Bob for her daughter:

So here is the background to this story…. at the beginning of this week we picked up at a thrift store for a quarter a magnetic checker board for the car. All week my younger daughter (she is 7 1/2) has been in the car playing checkers with herself (when her older sister doesn’t want to play) and an imaginary friend named “Bob”. Bob is new to the family and apparentley Bob is only around when the checkers are out. It has been really cute and funny… so fast forwarding…. last night I found your blog and your pattern for BOB!!! So I stayed up late and knitted a Bob for her. Needless to say she is beside herself with joy! Bob and her have been busy playing checkers in the backyard all afternoon. :)

Rebecca also took some very cute and funny photos of her daughter Emi and Bob playing checkers:

Bob getting his game on.

Bob and Emi playing checkers together.

Bob can be a bit of a sore winner.

But Bob and Emi are still good friends.

You can see the entire hilarious play-by-play of Emi and Bob’s checkers game at the Mochimochi Friends Flicker group. Thank you so much, Rebecca, for sharing your darling story and photos!!!

Metacritic is a bit too meta, and the Pitchfork reviewers are a bit too caught up in their own cleverness. So for music recommendations, I am lately all about All Songs Considered, the unfortunately titled weekly music show on NPR.

ASC is just indie-nerdy enough and just mainstream enough to avoid being annoying most of the time. Host Bob Boilen is obviously aware that most of his listeners are a little older, a little whiter, a little less hip than the general population, but he’s not afraid to push his demographic with some music that is new and exciting.

Thus, I must give ASC much credit for my most recent music binge. The following are my first and generally superficial impressions of what came for me in the mail today:

Sound of Silver – LCD Soundsystem

This is my first album by LCD Soundsystem. No objections here—it’s New Wave-funky and chill at once. If I owned a boutique of some kind, I would play this album over the speakers on Thursdays.

Kala – M.I.A.

The international vibe of the album is pretty inspiring, but the huge ad for ringtones and cell phone wallpapers that fell out when I opened the jewel case wasn’t particularly inspiring. Maybe it’s just way postmodern like that.

Famous Blue Raincoat – Jennifer Warnes / Leonard Cohen

The 20th Anniversary edition of this album was recently released, so I figured it was time for me to purchase the original recording, which is slightly more expensive from Amazon, for some reason.

Being Leonard Cohen songs, they are great, of course, but you have to be entirely not squeamish about the mid-’80s sound (i.e. echoey drums and synth) to really enjoy it.

Strawberry Jam – Animal Collective

Lovely. It’s so happy and listenable, I don’t know if it can really qualify as experimental. The first track, “Peacebone,” is my new favorite song.

And the album packaging is a not-to-be-missed experience of ultra-glossiness.

D-D-Don’t Don’t Stop the Beat – Junior Senior

Again I find myself late to the early ’90s retro party. But getting this infectious CD is good enough reason to hold your own party.

Fall is the season for trying something new. For me, new beginnings this fall will be finally mastering crochet (or at least amigurumi), finally getting a New York driver’s license (just a matter of paperwork and waiting in line, but a challenge to get up the energy to do it, nontheless), and finally learning how to use my sewing machine.

My lovely mother-in-law and giver of said sewing machine came down for a visit this weekend, armed with little squares of fabric (which she had purchased in a cute little kit on Etsy) and an entire roll of batting. It was time to face the machine, unlike that last time, when it was only time to think about facing the machine.

“C’mon, kids in China use these things all day long,” she assured me. Well, I can show those precocious child-laborers what’s what, I thought, and so I hunkered down and churned out this little number in two days:

This was before ironing the front flat and adding the back, but I was rather pleased by my progress by this afternoon, when the light was good for picture taking. (Not all the squares perfectly lined up, but I’ve decided not to care about that.) I now have it almost entirely done, and I’m sure it will make a good gift for somebody’s baby someday. At the moment, I don’t know any babies.

I was actually so excited about my now-remedial sewing machine abilities that I ran out and got yards and yards of yummy fabric at Purl Patchwork today too. The next one will be grownup size, and just for me!

One new beginning down, two to go.