Shades of Grey

I am drinking beer while writing an article for March’s issue of the Nevada Rancher.

I have a side of rawhide soaking in the bathtub, which means that when Adrian goes for her nightly soak in the tub, I’m probably going to get my ears boxed.

My poor little Roo dog has a bad back and is currently sitting in my lap feeling poorly, and I can’t fix it.

I found my favorite braiding fid that I thought was lost forever in the move and I have some callouses finally starting to form where the rawhide strings rub up against my fingers.

The ground is parched and thirsty and every horse, cow and tree I pass looks miserable and ready to dry up. We need rain.

Life is never black and white, wonderful or terrible. It tends to be a shade of grey…and that’s all right.

Happy Hump Day, peeps! 

xo xo Liz

Buckaroo Barbie's Braiding Series - How To Tie A Turk's Head Knot

Here is Part 2 of the Buckaroo Barbie Braiding Series! I know I promised a "What You Need" video next, but several people already said they were getting started on some projects so I wanted to make sure they could finish them off without fear of unraveling :) I will film the promised video this weekend hopefully!

I’ve also been getting questions about where to buy rawhide and kangaroo. When you’re first getting started, I’d just get the spools of kangaroo from Tandy. You can also buy pre-cut rawhide string there, but it is not good quality in my opinion. If you’re going to build gear you plan on using, it is better to invest in a string cutter and cut your own strings. It doesn’t matter how good of a braider you are, your gear is only as good as the strings you cut.

Have a lovely weekend, Dolls!

xo xo Liz 

Buckaroo Barbie Braiding Series - Introduction to Braiding and Rawhide

OK, here it is Dolls! This is the first of hopefully several instructional videos that will help you get started braiding! I hope you enjoy and if you have ANY questions just holler at me! Thanks to Tatum, Mesa and Audrey for encouraging me and suggesting that I do this in the first place! I love you ladies!

*Like I say on the video, in making this I in no way, shape or form believe myself to be a great braider or rawhider!! But I do remember desperately wishing I had someone to talk to that could help me out when I was getting started, and enough people asked...so here you go!!

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and the blog! 

xo xo Liz 

My Sunday Afternoon Delights

The light streaming through my bedroom window is that pretty color that only happens around 3pm. The house is empty and I’m wrestling demons and words and old memories, shaking hands wrapped around a now cold mug of coffee. My little sister’s Christmas gift to me has made me think about things that I have not wanted to think about for a very long time. I miss my cowboy days, even though I am 100% sure that I am on the right road in life now. Turquoise and silver glints from my knuckles as my fingers fly across the keyboard of this computer. Turns out I’m a good typist, and when I am practiced up I can type at least 83 wpm. It’s just like playing the piano, except with less melody.

 I turn Ian Tyson on, whether to ease the pain and ache in my heart or to make myself feel worse, I’m not sure. I think of all the different things that make me ME, and smile.

This will help.

I sweep the clutter off my desk and onto the floor and carefully assemble my favorite things into a little cluster. The pictures don’t do them justice, not like the girls I follow on Instagram who have perfected the art of capturing a “flat lay.” I am not perfect and neither is my life. It’s easy to hide behind a smile and filters in today’s digital world…what you don’t see is the grittiness of struggle, except the parts I share with you. You don’t see the occasional cigarette smoke that drifts above my head, or the early mornings spent in the Word. This is a little collection of all my favorite things…I hope you enjoy. What would make up your flat-lay collection??? 

Western Chic Couture Cuff, Clinique Happy Perfume, George Elsner spurs, ForLife tea cup, 

xo xo Elizabeth 

Lady Legs & Stretching Hides

A few stormy days ago I was sitting in front of my wood stove, toasting my feet and working on the How To Hair: Vintage Roll Updo post and feeling rather poorly. Our sorta neighbors, the Dunlaps, blew in with a gust of wind after checking their cows and some great news: there was an old cow down who would be perfect for braiding if I wanted her. I could go get the hide the next morning once she had expired. After giving me directions to where she was, Jim and Julie blew back away. I was a happy little gal. The next morning I woke up seriously under the weather. Like bad sick. Like, can't get out of bed sick. I was so upset, there was a hide down there waiting for me and I couldn't go get it!! It turns out that Jim and Julie are actually angels in disguise because that night there was a freshly skinned hide waiting for me on the fence. I might have even shed a little tear of happiness. Thank you both. :) 

I don't have a frame right now and since I wanted to stretch this hide now, I improvised and pretended that the barn frame was my frame. I don't need to do my arm-workout this evening. I also wore my Pretty Westy cap, which actually made me feel pretty westy. hehehe And I used my new lady's leg knife from Lil' Red Roan. I'm pleased to announce that this knife holds an edge and can also double as a can opener. BAM. Awesomeness. 

You're looking at my future pair of reins right there....happy dance! 

Hope you all have a wonderful evening! 

xo xo Liz 

Go For A Ride In Your Cadillac

When I look into the future,

I hope to see

A row of collared white shirts, hanging neatly in the back window of the truck.

Sourdough biscuits that I’ll have finally mastered,

Dripping with honey.

Your hand

Heavy on my thigh as we drive,

Throwing out mineral block as we go.

Dark hide

Slowly built into a set of reins during long winter nights,

Buttons all match up and swing with style.

An impromptu fishing trip that consists of you,

Laughing at me and not catching a thing.

A writing desk, be it the top of a cooler in camp or a wooden table,

Resplendent with my notebook and favorite pens,

To catch the words as they appear.

Reata

Tied to my saddle.

Backhand thrown consistently.

Little grey mare turning just fine in town.

Sunburnt hand clasped in strong hand in prayer before a meal.

Boots thankfully traded for slippers,

And one small whiskey before bed.

Come on, baby

I wanna jump in your Caddy and go on a trip around the moon. 

xo xo Liz 

Things That Just Make You Smile

Heading over to another displaced BB college student’s house and taking an unfinished hackmore to work on while you’re there. You watch as another girl unpacks her book bag and out with the computer comes a bag of rawhide.

Finding an old pair of sunglasses in your mailbox (which does lead you to ask yourself why in the heck you decided to put sunglasses in there in the first place) that fit perfectly under your hat and around your head. Major score.

Getting 2am phone calls from cowboys who may or may not be slightly intoxicated and call you ‘darlin’. It’s kinda of cute. Especially considering the cowboy.

That first sip of the year’s first Arizona iced tea.

Roping the dummy in the back yard.

Signing up for the next semester’s worth of classes. It could feel sad if you let it, but realizing you’re just that much closer to achieving your degree is a great feeling.

Steer head, hide-on earrings. Mooo.

Drinking beer and eating hot wings with delinquent friends who understand the obsessive need to collect more silver and discuss who is with whom in the cowboy world.

Making literally the best spicy pork shoulder you’ve ever eaten. Feel free to perform small, triumphant happy dance right there.

Deciding to just go ahead and keep that hackmore you made and use it yourself dammit.

Scoring an original pair of Cruel Girl’s on Ebay for $15.99….oh yeah baby!

The feeling of the tires hitting the dirt road that takes you back home to the mums and dad and cows and horses and mountains. Contentment and excitement settle in all at once and you smile.

Hope you Dolls had a great Monday! 

xo xo Liz