i never really understood the physics of your eye turing the world upside down. [single lens relflex.]

my grandfather, who i called bop pop, passed away this summer. he was many things i will never be- a doctor, a republican, a captain on the water, a hunter, a frequent flyer on the concorde, a kinda mean person, +a member to many clubs ....but he was two things that i can so deeply relate to on a daily basis..: he was a dapper dan and a shopaholic.

as a dapper dan-he taught me about-the delights of unexpected bright colored socks, the fit of hand made saville row suits, the appeal of thick round rimmed glasses, the idea of accessories or print as an accent that pulls it all into the next level, the class (+point) of a delicious gin martini....

as a shopaholic...well, he didn't actually teach me this. (he wasn't really generous actually.) but i believe that, like martini's, the shopaholic blood runs through me. i collect and want so many things-clothes, trinkets, jewelry, +well-as those who really know-pretty much everything..

i mention this because of this tiny alligator in a hand made sailor suit, a real one, in a jar.
i just found this old iphone as i was cleaning out my iphoto (i'm up to july 2009 finally! i love my 4 terabyte drive by the way) taken at his house in georgia a year and a half ago.
mostly you might think..wait, wtf?! why on earth would you buy this? why would you make this? where do you get such a tiny well dressed alligator? and wow, that's ridiculous.

i'll tell you why, he bought this because he was a shopaholic and a compulsive collector.
i can relate to that.
the point of this story is to let you know that i reallyreallyreally hope to inherit this teensy taxidermied alligator....
+guess what!? i might just get to cause as my mom says, "nobody but you would want that but you."

so RIP bop pop i hope you have your martini, hinkley+huntsman suits up there.
in honor of your passing, i'm going to start getting rid of things this fall. cause frankly, i don't need this much stuff+c'mon, i need to make room for this mini gator sailor.
p.s. taz, i'm going to try to start channeling your minimalist ways more, i swear...at least when it comes to packing..