foolsewoode

Sniff Sniff...

2011-03-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for my absence here again lately, but allergy season has started in full force in my little mountain town. This is not unusual for this time of year of course, but what is unusual is the severity of the allergies that have descended into our town.

I remember thinking that it's been a hot mess around here as everywhere I've gone lately, people are sniffing and sneezing and rubbing their eyes. So, I'm not alone...and everyone who happens to be sniffing and sneezing and rubbing their eyes have all complained that this is one of the worst allergy seasons they can remember.

Myself included.

I've had to double up on the pills I take a couple of time, and it still didn't prevent me from getting some pretty severe flu-like symptoms this last week. Although, I've talked to a few people who say when they get allergies, they actually feel like they have the flu (which is new to me) So, I've been taking it a bit easy the last few days and trying to get over whatever it is that I have, be it flu or allergies.

Luckily we just got some more snow (yipes!) yesterday, so I think it's tamped down the pollen for a bit...I'll let you know.

Now We're Cookin'...

2011-03-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just in case you're looking for new vintage goodies for your kitchen...we've got them at Snap Snap.

This is the beauty of having so much room and a creative partner such as my mother...who is also a vintage textile lover. We have plenty of linens in stock and more coming in every day.

Including a much overlooked little basket of linens for 10 cents. I'm unsure of why it is overlooked, as it's right at the front next to our front counter, but there you go. Perhaps it's the startling low price? But I can almost guarantee that of you dig around you can find a whole set of napkins or a few little towels, perfect for home projects you need single linens for or if you're just looking to replace throw away paper towels for meal times...

Let There Be Light...

2011-03-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

As I've recently mentioned, there's a lot of redesign going on around Foolsewoode...A whole lot. It's not that I don't love the things I've spent a lifetime collecting, but some of the things have had to go to other parts and rooms, and some things have had to completely go and find new homes all together.

And my bedside lamps are no exception.

Which was kind of a surprise to me.

I always enjoyed my bedside lamps, one my father designed and made, and one I received as a gift many years ago. The one that my father made has been relocated to the new boudoir as it makes more of a dramatic statement in there, and the other one doesn't really gel with my decorating style anymore...and that's when I found these cutie little vintage teapot lamps at the thrift.

They practically jumped into my hands, and at $3 a piece I figured it was a small investment to make in a little bit of the new bedroom style. The only unfortunate thing was the shades that came with them. While I'm assuming they're original, they're not the prettiest shades I've ever seen.

So, I started researching shades and found that the ones I really like are more money than I want to spend on new shades. I also thought the original ones were not only a bit awkward, but a bit big...and then I had an idea.

I am reupholstering a chair cushion a chair that I am putting in the bedroom, and maybe I could use the same fabric on the lampshades that I use on the chair cushion?

I suppose this is a good time to mention that the material is a vintage damask pattern I'm using from a dress that I made into a skirt which I was never that fond of after I made it, and I was just thinking of junking the skirt all together...but that damask pattern is just so darned cute!

(which is why I hung onto it so long in the first place)

So, Sunday I made a pattern for the lampshade and started cutting out fabric. I then applied the fabric to the existing shade with some glue and *poof! A whole new look for the lampshades...

Which makes the shades look just the right size and a whole lot cuter...plus? I still have more than enough fabric left over to remake the chair cushion eventually.

And I think it's a perfect solution for my new little lamp cuties to update them just enough for the room redoux.

I am still considering finding some cute black trim to finish the tops and the bottom of the shades, but for now they're working just fine.

Vintage Cowgirl Inspiration...

2011-03-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

And here's what had me gluing my fingers and other parts of my hands to everything in Kari and Jay's studio...Totally vintage inspired necklaces.

These were Kari's original design using vintage Cowgirl photos with burned edges that were then attached to the rusted buckle charms (this is where it becomes dangerous for the fingers...well, my fingers in particular as everyone else seems to have a whole lot more experience with glue in this area than myself) and embellished with charms and bling, and all attached to the copper and silver ball chain necklaces.

I just helped out with the design execution in the end.

And right now they are a Prescott Snap Snap exclusive (and a Cheyenne exclusive if you happen to be in that area) and were lovingly arranged in the shop by yours truly just today.

We also made one Eight Ball charmed necklace and one Mini Flask necklace as well. We also made a full sized flask, but that's still at the studio as we're perfecting the exact design on that little beauty.

Stop by and see them when you get a chance, as I don't normally make jewelry (being that I'm still biting the glue off of myself) but had a wonderfully inspired and fun time doing these little beauties with Kari, because I love me some sweet old cowgirl illustrations.

Can I get a Ye-Haw?

Or a Yippie-I-O?

Working With Metal...

2011-03-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

For the last two days, which are usually my days off...I have had the pleasure of working with some good friends at their Metal Fabricating Shop.

And by working I mean I've been introduced to metal cutting machines, shocking metal (which is a process of almost instant rusting large sheets of metal) getting to know the lay of the land, filling orders, packing boxes, making jewelry, being creative, and generally getting down and dirty.

Working with metal can be a dirty job...but only in the best of ways.

My friends Kari and Jay own Universal Iron Works here up in the Northland of Arizona and it is awesome!

They supply metal to a whole lot of people in the world, including Snap Snap. They can do anything you want, which I kind of already knew...but after having the pleasure of stepping into their world for the last couple of days, I have a whole new appreciation for their entire operation.

This is a true Made in America company where everyone rolls up their sleeves and dives in...and while it is a lot of fun and a well oiled machine, I am finding myself a bit exhausted from running around...but in a great way for sure.

Everyone is super creative and highly skilled at what they do at the shop mixed up with the whole element of being laid back and having fun...truly enjoying all their work.

Plus? There's about a million and one things to do, and that work changes from moment to moment...which means that there's never a dull minute of the day and there's something exciting going on around every corner.

Lucky for me, I've been invited to join in the operation and will be heading out at least one day a week to lend a hand wherever they need it...

Though I'm not sure I'll be welding.

Or branding...

I'll be leaving that to Jay and his helper thankyouverymuch...welding and branding is hot work and looks a little more firey and scary to me than I'm use to. I mean, I hardly ever use fire in my line of work, what with clothes being so flammable and whatnot.

And as an added bonus, I get to help create new ideas (which is almost too easy, because we're working and throwing out new designs to each other all day) and also grab exciting metal goodies to put in Snap Snap...like a whole slew of new jewelry I helped design, or rather glue. Which was kind of a hysterical mess at some point seeing as I started gluing my thumb to things and then to itself and at one point glued a pair of needle nose pliers to my person as well.

Sigh.

At least I'm good comic relief.

It's almost too enjoyable when I'm there to call it work...maybe it's just because it's a wonderful change of pace from what I do in my regular working day, which adds just the right amount of the inspiration I crave...

Red Hot Vintage Linens...

2011-03-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

I absolutely adore monogrammed vintage linens...in fact, I love them so much I collect them. Don't worry though, with all the purging and cleaning around here, I have a great project in the works at the moment to utilize them, so they will be seen (as I am using this as a new standard in which to keep things around here...I have to be able to see things and enjoy them) and not stuffed in drawers or closets...much.

Ahem.

My mother and I being total textile lovers means we also happen to have tons and tons of vintage linens at Snap Snap...and by tons and tons, I mean my mother has been madly pricing and has gone through no less than 100 tags today...which means, we have a whole lot of amazing embroidered, beautiful embroidered, and just plain linens.

They are also affordable prices and range anywhere from 10 cents (oh yes, that's right) to 10 dollars.

Come one come all...

But this particular one caught my eye, and I had to snatch it right up because it had me in stitches...mostly because it says "Hot Muffins" on it...

And mostly because it also seems to have this rather large burn hole in it...

Hot Muffins indeed...

Life in Redoux :: Being Seen...

2011-03-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

As I was saying yesterday...I got rid of my armoire. The big pine one that sat in the corner from the minute I moved into this house 8+ years ago, being moved of course, from my other home where I lived with it 3 years before that.

I loved it...I did. I picked it out for my eX and I, and while it served me well...it was for our TV and our TV just outlived its lifespan in my house. I have been toying with the idea of getting a new TV for quite some time now, so after a whole lot of asking around and researching, I settled on something new and with that came the problem of where and what to do with the new piece of electronica.

So...out with the old, ahem...which is pictured above (and believe me, I had to search for this picture of the armoire) and in with the new:


New console. And yes, that's a rather large hole in my rug. I wish I could figure out a way to hide it better, but I just can't...however, this is a 1920's hand tied silk Chinese rug that I bought at an estate sale for $25. Without that hole I would have paid hundreds of dollars more. That hole saved me a TON of money...so in a way? I'm totally celebrating it.

After searching and falling in love with many other consoles, I had this one delivered from JC Pennys (for free and right to the house, and loads cheaper due to online coupons) where I assembled it right on the spot. According to Dina, the same company that makes furniture for the Pottery Barn makes it for Pennys...so if it reminds you of them, that would be the reason. I absolutely adore assembling most things, so this went together pretty fast.

The three little drawers that are in the center of the console are actually not drawers, but a door that opens to reveal three shelves! This is a perfect place for Blu-Ray's and Wii's (in case you have such things) but not so much for your stereo system (which actually can fit quite well to the right of the whole shebang...and may move later or be replaced with something that can fit on one of those shelves behind the door)

Unloading a armoire that you've used to ummmm...~~stuff~~ ~~store~~ ~~throw things in and quickly shut the door~~ organize your household paperwork and other electronic items in for many years is an adventure within itself.

I had a ton of DVD's (which are now stored in my coffee table) old taxes (which have been gone through and organized and stored in another location) and a ton of warranties and instruction manuals...which have been thrown away (if I no longer even own the actual appliance it was for...good grief) or stored (if I still actually did own the actual appliance it was for)

Phew.

Seriously.

And there were four extra little shelves, two on each side...that I now had the responsibility of filling up. This (as you can imagine) was not a huge problem.

In said large armoire, I had quite a few things I'd been saving for myself. The only problem was, I never could see these little things. I have had them for years (in the case of the small wooden dolls, which were brought by my father to me, from parts all over the world when I was a small child...the rest I've just saved) and I have been storing them. For what I don't know?

So, I decided that they needed to come out and be displayed and enjoyed. I realized as I stood with my hands on my hips organizing everything, that I've spent my whole life collecting all sorts of lovely things and...well? I can't see a lot of them.

These lovely things are packed away and hidden.

It all of a sudden started to dawn on me that this is a bit ridiculous...and then I realized that my whole house is full of things I've collected, and it may just be time for me to start going through things and saving only those that I truly love, and also actually have room to display and enjoy...all without cluttering the place up (like it has been)

I realize that I may just have my work cut out for me here.

So...out came the collectibles I wanted to keep (including one of the most rare Flinstone items ever made...that crazy plastic "rock" phone up there) and the others went to the new Snap Snap to be sold.

And you know what?

Getting rid of things wasn't even that painful.

It was wonderful to reorganize, dust, and display the things I've kept hidden all these years.

Really wonderful.

After the few days it took to totally unload, move out, rebuild, and situate the new TV I sat with my feet propped up enjoying my new HD picture and looking around my newly refreshed living room...my totally completed new paint job (that pesky corner that had been waiting to be painted and matched to the rest of the room, but was behind that armoire that I couldn't move by myself) and two totally new walls for the art I have had waiting for such a space to open up...I was just getting ready to toast myself to a job well done, and that is when I heard the whispering.

It was coming from the bedroom...and it was my old bedroom furniture.

Now it's ready to leave too...ready to find its new forever home away from Foolsewoode. It's sitting at the ready already unloaded and waiting to be moved out.

Who knew?

It was at this point that I realized that I have been thrust into the middle of a total life redoux...

Now all I need is a truck and some muscle.

Life in Redoux :: It's all in The Details

2011-03-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

Upheaval and change.

This seems to be the theme of my life as of late. When it comes to change, it can either be the things you can't control, the things you can...or even the delusion that you think that you actually control anything at all. In my case at any rate...you think I'd get it by now as they say the only constant is life is change, eh?

Sometime in the middle of moving and loss and letting go the letting go theme just waved its hand and started to gallop out of here...in droves.

The whole thing that started it off was the purchase of a new TV. This is something that I have been wanting for a while now...which means I've been researching and asking friends and studying, and decided to make the leap during the week of Super Bowl (apparently this is one of the best times to purchase a new TV because of the sales) I love my new TV, shamelessly. SO much so, that I'm almost sad it's not smaller and I can take it with me wherever I go...

It also meant that I had to get rid of my Mexican pine armoire I used to house my old TV...so out it went. And in came a whole new console. Something a bit more Pottery Barnesqe, more me, more modern and sleek...and oddly enough, black. I had along with my TV research, looked at new media stands and I was very attracted to the black ones for some reason. I have no idea why...but I did end up ordering one and having it ship directly to my home (for free...thank you JC Pennys! Dina also said that the same people who design for Pottery Barn often do have items at Pennys...in case you were wondering)

I assembled the new console and TV in one night (including painting the ONE last green wall corner in the living room that happened to be sort of hidden by the old armoire that has NOT matched my living room now for ohhh...5 years? Ahem!) and hooked everything up and sat back to enjoy...and then looked at my coffee table.

Gah.

This thing.

I love this coffee table...it's old, it's Italian and what's not to love? I purchased it from my mother years ago and covered its very distressed green paint with terracotta...didn't love it, but have decided to live with it. The details are incredible, and it's a lovely size, and there are two doors that open and give me a ton of storage.

I was using this storage for blankets, but have now switched it to DVDs...moving an armoire you've stuffed things into for years does take away a large amount of storage...

But, it was calling out for its own redoux, which is exactly what happened.

Well now. That's so much better. Seriously better. The kind of better that makes me smile every time I step into the room.

I also love the rich look of black paint with a little red underneath, and since I was already working with terracotta...I decided to try a little experiment of painting and then taking paint off.

I really love the way the table turned out...I have always enjoyed the details and lines of this piece and I think with the paint and rub technique, I've been able to coax them out a little more...

Which is good, because I've got some major big plans for this house, and needed to practice some new painting techniques. New plans...change...All of a sudden. Oh yes I do...

(Including the crazy blue blanket chest in the background of the picture of the coffee table...bah!)

Collecting Lemons...

2011-02-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well.

Here we are on the very last day of February...and as I poke around in the recesses and the corners of my head, I see a whole lot of good intentions. Currently they're not making eye contact with me, but slinking further into their own shadows or scuttling out of view. It makes me wonder what happened here?

Then I look around at all the things that have happened since I was last in this space and nod my head knowingly...I have been a bit overwhelmed.

The first thing is, I moved my shop. I moved Snap Snap within earshot of its 16 year Birthday to a newer and bigger location downtown...a couple of streets over. A better part of the downtown neighborhood...location location location. And, I've gone into business with my mother...but we've mostly talked about all of this haven't we? If not...let me know what your questions are, and I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

And I had the greatest fantasies that I would blog each step so that I could document everything that was happening, and then during the middle of moving, organizing, and refluffing, my 97 year old grandmother got gravely ill and passed away. Or passed on...however you want to put it. I don't want to really put it at all myself, as I have been feeling a lot of sadness about this huge loss. Of loosing someone I've known every day of my whole life thusfar. In fact, there is a huge part of me that hasn't wanted to post anything here until I could dedicate a post to my grandmother, and then I could get back to my life. I'm unsure if I can do that...just write it and get on with it. Unfortunately, this has meant that every time I've turned on my computer, I've pushed away the blog, and pretended it didn't exist. Which isn't what I really wanted at all.

So, in the spirit of taking a deep breath and pushing forward and knowing somewhere deep in my heart that it's OK to put certain things off...I have decided to take a deep breath. And just write instead. And when I need to, I will write about my grandmother.

Because, I miss writing. I miss that part of my creative process. And most of all, I miss this space. I miss you. And so many things have been happening that I have wanted to share...even exciting things that have made me smile from time to time.

Like: During the month of January, we celebrated my mother and Rozzilyn's Birthday...it was death and birth in one month...

And I had a whole lot of Meyer's lemons...

So, I made a Vegan Lemon Layer Cake.

From scratch.

Which I think is the very first cake I've ever made from scratch. Isn't that incredible? It is to me, because I love to cook and bake...and we're kind of baky people in our family. So, it seems a little silly that I haven't ever done something like this. And no...the irony was not at all lost on me that probably until the week my grandmother passed, she could have made a cake from scratch...using recipes that she's always had in her memory...and here I was, just starting out.

However, with the allergy problems we sometimes face in our family it can be challenging to bake anything and have it both turn out and taste semi-normal. But, what really attracted me to this cake was the fact that it had a whole different middle icing layer...which I thought would introduce a whole other flavor into the cake overall.

Which is exactly what it did!

The cake was a hit...as my mother and I both love lemon anything (Rozzilyn wasn't too convinced...she's more of a chocolate girl herself)

I used Spelt flour for the body of the cake, and followed the recipe exactly...oh well except that I researched a vegan lemon curd concoction that I poured all over the top of the cake, to make it even more lemonish flavored. And yes, while the cake was more time consuming than a mix, it was so lemony and moist it was well worth the extra effort!

Except for the zest. Holy cow this whole endeavor called for a lot of zest and zesting Meyers is a bit hard...because they are super soft and get a lot softer while you're trying to grate them, and then they tend to smuch down and get very juicy and messy.

Perhaps I need a better zesting option?

Thank you for bearing with me during my long absence. I still have a lot of good intentions, but I will be moving slowly back into blogging if that's OK with you? (even YOU the commenter who left a comment for me to tell me what a humorous man I was and how I need to check out your site...thank you especially. I needed the laugh)

I will more than likely continue to be picking lemons this life...and I guess it's up to me to figure out what to make with them. But, I'll try to check in more often from now on...

Valentine's Window...

2011-01-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

The first window I've really put together in the new space...and one that's been on my mind tucked way in the back for a little while now. That's how my creative process is...things hide in there and pop out every once in a while.

(I just hope they do it at the right time. So far, so good)

This window has a rather large gold Cupid (I've been saving forever oddly enough) blowing glittering red hearts out of his horn...and even though you can't see it (because it's darned hard to take a picture of the entire window...from the outside I have too much glare, and from the inside I need to make myself into a contortionist!) The floor is lined with fluffy red and white crinolines...which kind of makes it look like our lady there is standing in clouds.

See?!

For everyone who secretly (and not so secretly) rolled their eyes at my insane crinoline buying binge this year...I did find something to do with them.

And heavens, when you stop to think about it...the possibilities are really endless.

(mostly because I still have about 12 that aren't being used...because they were too colorful for this particular window. Whee Anyway!!)

We have two large windows at the shop, so it should be both challenging and fun to dress them up. There's nothing more fantastic than creating a vignette that makes people stop and look...and yesterday, I noticed that both of the windows have little finger, hand, and forehead marks all over them.

Which is usually indicative of people stopping to lean and peer against the glass trying to see inside...

What a wonderful compliment!

Heavy Metal...

2011-01-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

One of the new things we're carrying at Snap Snap are the most incredible little charms made by my friend Kari's metal fabrication shop here in Prescott. There are tons of different shapes and designs to choose from, including but not limited to (of course): Hearts (with stars, hearts, and piece signs in them) winged hearts and guitars, Guitars (with stars, hearts, and piece signs in them) Stars (with...well, you get the picture) Cowgirls and Cowboys...Flaming Hearts, Flowers, Clovers, Butterflies, Dragonflies...etc.

They are all ready to go and perfect to wear as charms on a necklace...and Kari has loaded us up with piles of Ball Chain that is just ideal for you to create your own jewelry design. And the ball chain is incredible! It varies in sizes from very small to very big (pictures to come)

Or you could use these to make words for signs or names or just about anything else...little tags for gifts, or complete gifts in themselves for those creative people in your life.

Oh Wait. Did I mention that we also have an entire metal alphabet as well?!

We do!

And there will be more to come...different fonts and different sizes, and we will be able to do most custom work to fit whatever creative indulgences you may have.

The little metal charms are completely affordable being only $2.50 each or 5 for $10.00...

So, come on down and check them out, they've already been flying out the door...

Especially the ones with the wings!

Now Open...

2011-01-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

After about a week of moving, organizing, hanging...and moving large heaving things (like shelving, furniture, and all sorts of objects like that) we've officially opened the New Snap Snap on Cortez St Sunday January 2nd!

It is no where complete as far as we've had it pictured in our heads, in the land of imagination and creativity...which is a little surprising to me (I think sometimes I'm under the impression I can snap my fingers and everything will just magically come together in seconds.) However, there's something you need to know about me. I think the way I picture things in my head and the way they turn out in reality are very different.

And you know what?

That usually means that it turns out better and in ways I've never expected.

This is also such a large and open space the possibilities for how to arrange things is endless in my head and a bit overwhelming for me...thank heavens for my mother! She has owned and worked in so many large spaces she comes up with the greatest ideas and awesome arrangements! When I opened the other Snap Snap almost 16 years ago, the space could only really be laid out in a certain way and somewhere in my head I keep thinking that I walked in and everything magically looked like it did later when I was open.

*poof*

Instant store!

What I'm not remembering, is how many days I stood on top of a ladder painting...how I added and subtracted racks, displays, frames, mannequins. And, as this space evolves, we'll be doing the same things...always rearranging always changing.

We are working on decorating and fluffing, as well as solving some pesky wall rack problems. The walls in this old building are different than the walls in the other old building I was in, so they need to be addressed in a different way. I don't have that knowledge, but I am working on meeting with people who do.

We still have to install dressing rooms. I do have the three walls, and they just need to be secured to the space designated for them and painted...and there are two wall racks that need to go up, and when I left yesterday some extra shelves we aren't going to need at the moment were being taken to storage, so I am excited to get to the shop to see what space that opened up or a few floor racks to spread out into (because try as I might, I haven't been able to picture it in my head.)

Did I mention during the middle of all of this moving and arranging and setting up shop that we had a rather large snowstorm and crazy Prescott deep freeze?

Well we did. Which relegated me to walking everywhere I needed to go for 3 days. Anything else I needed was saved until I felt safe enough to dig my car out and attempt to drive down my street and not go down sideways. Luckily it wasn't that bad...after the first day.

We also had a major medical scare in the family...so it has been quite a week indeed.

But a good one, and the new shop will all come together in time in surprising ways in which we haven't anticipated. Sure we have things to iron out, but after both my mother and I running shops for so many years, I think we can both agree that this is to be expected when owning your own shop. There's always something to be ironed out and something to work on and improve.

That's what makes it yours.

So, we'll see you downtown in our new location on 133 N. Cortez!

Snow and Design...

2010-12-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Just a small teaser picture of one of the windows of the new shop.

...says the woman who keeps forgetting her camera.

...says the woman who has consecutively woken up at 4 am for the last two days.

Ahem.

My mother and I have been knee deep, or maybe hip deep (come to think of it) in preparations for opening the shop.

Things like:

*Moving heavy heavy objects all around the new space. My body is so sore it's amazing. Luckily most of the times we're pushing, hauling and lifting things around we inevitably have to break for laughter...which makes it all worth it, and things are starting to really come together, amidst all the laughter. What a fun way to create!

*Making many trips all around the shop with armloads of clothing, as all of the clothing was delivered yesterday and we ran out of places to hang it right towards the end and had to come up with a more alternative plan and lay them in piles on the ground. Walking around a space that is almost twice as big as the other one is exhausting, but in an exhilarating way!

*Working through our first real snow storm of the year...which set the delivery of the wall racks back a day (and only one, I hope) and feeling mighty lucky that the clothing move was scheduled for the sunny day, and not the snowy/blizzard one. Which gives us more time to fluff and design the rest of the space, and come up with different ideas for placement...I tell you, there are times when I've looked around and thought that not all of the clothes are going to fit...but I know the space is so much bigger that I'm just being silly!

*Hand washing little loads of Vintage doll clothes, and receiving emails of inspiration from my mother...which lets my mind relax and wander into the realm of window design. What we have up right now is something we put together in between pushing and pulling furniture, shelves, and showcases...what is going on in my head (and both of our heads) is more exciting. It's like seeing a whole other light at the end of the tunnel...or seeing a whole other door open in a room with a lot of other open doors and windows. It's another fun part of the shop...and the part you can let sneak in when you're in between moving and your mind relaxes a bit in a different way.

*And that Murano glass chandelier up there in that picture? It's totally wired and working...I just forgot to turn it on for the photo (I would love to see the whole shop hung with chandeliers like that one.) But I promise that I will take more photos soon. We are shooting for an earlier opening date than we had originally discussed, and we'll see if we can make that happen.

For now?

I think I'll sit and watch the snow come down and dream...

All Things Glittery and Sparkling Bright...

2010-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Oh my.

Could it be that Christmas is just a hop skip and a jump away?

I think it might be, and I can see it rounding the bend, and if I squint just right...there it is...in my near future. Thank heavens things around Foolsewoode are all sparkling bright this season, and the little dusting of snow I woke up to this morning helped with my holiday mood. Of course, it helps and mostly all comes together when you find a ridiculously cute vintage scene in which to welcome the season.

Yes indeed. What you see in this post is two little sweeties skiing, with a deer, and a whole slew of flocked ornaments, including (but not limited to) bells, and some crazy pink looking shrubbery...all mounted on a Styrofoam base trimmed in pink ribbon.

Of course.

My mother remarked that when I get married in the future I absolutely must do it at Christmas and then I could use this as a center piece. I told her if I got married at Christmas I'd use this as a cake topper!

And I don't even ski.

But, it would be worth it, no?

(I'm picturing a pink wedding dress trimmed in white marabou...anything that goes with pink and blue ornaments and my tiara...)

Until that day, this little piece fits in nicely with all the Holiday Trimmings in these parts and will probably enjoy a long life with me no matter how it's used. I mean, I suppose I could just throw a holiday party and design the whole soiree around this diorama (of sorts)

I'll let you know when that happens.

(I'm now picturing Ambrosia...again in pink or blue? And I can still wear my tiara...)

On this eve of Christmas eve (that's a lot of eve's isn't it?) I wish all of you a very happy holiday in case I don't make it back to write in this space...and you enjoy all of your celebrating in the coming days. I think I'm going to reflect on this last year and spend a little time thinking about what I was doing on this day a year ago...and maybe just a little bit about what the future may hold...

And wait to see if Santa got my letter this year.

(I've decided to bribe him with peanut butter and chocolate fudge instead of cookies...I hope that works!)

I've Got My Eye On You...

2010-12-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

The thrifts have been a regular treasure trove around these parts lately...and I realize that I haven't done a thrifting post for a while...what with not hardly posting at all, I suppose that's to be expected?

At any rate.

During my annual Christmas Vintage Treasure Hunt during this time of year, I am sad to say that I haven't come up with buckets and baskets of vintage goodies...but it may be because I started the whole holiday treasure hunting season out with a bang and found the most delightful silver aluminum Christmas tree (with pom poms on the ends of its branches) as the very first vintage Christmas thing I purchased this year

Now, add to that the fact that the thrift had received it in its original box, with each branch in its original paper sleeve protector, nestled sweetly with its original instructions...And then we can talk about how someone somewhere in their back room decided to save all of that. So, not only did I get this beautiful tree, but all of the other perks that came along with it.

And then I got a vintage color wheel at an estate sale, which I haven't seen in ages. And I snapped that up too because I really wanted it for both the new silver aluminum tree and the pink aluminum tree I have at home.

So, while I haven't been raking it in by the boxes full, I can honestly say that this season it has been quality over quantity.

The tree is safely tucked into the window display at Keystone Antiques, my mother's antique store downtown where it is being displayed in all of its glory.

It is the perfect window display tree for sure, and I am picturing it being used as a window display for Snap Snap for many years to come...

But, I did want to share with you the new little vintage glasses holder I got as well! That's me in the picture up there hiding behind it...It's a little metal silver and gold-tone holder with red jeweled pupils...and perfect for my Lulu Guinness glasses that were just laying around on the side table in my bedroom. I currently have two pairs of glasses, and I use my Lulu's for my stylish out and about glasses and I use the others for...um, other things?

Anyway, I've been worried something was going to happen to my Lulus just laying there, so now they have their own silly little home.

Snap Snap Update: I was just at Home Depot this morning getting paint mixed and supplies purchased for the painting party that is happening at the new space on Sunday. I have one question to ask. When did all of that stuff get so expensive?! Gracious. But, it's the fastest way to give a total face lift to a space and usually the most inexpensive way as well...which is almost a little hard to believe as I totaled up my purchases, but I know it will be worth it when it's all done and ready to be designed and set up.

A local shop in town is going out of business, so I was able to run over and purchase a lot of new racks for the new shop. They were a fantastic deal for me and I really needed to update some of the racks I have (even though between my mother and I, we have a ton of clothing racks...and a lot of hers are amazing vintage ones) as I have been using the same racks since I opened almost 16 years ago! And I also scored some lovely new half mannequins, mannequins, and mannequin heads all for display. Now all I need is some more chandeliers (although, I did dig some out that I have been saving for a special occasion...oddly enough.) so we will light and hang what we have and keep our eyes open for the rest that we will need!

We're also meeting with a friend about metal. Sounds intriguing? I'll say. We are looking into having all sorts of metal shapes, letters, and numbers for the new space...along with signs, jewelry...and whatever else we think of coming up with. It's so fun to create with so many inspiring people!

I scheduled the movers for the 28th early in the morning, so in a Snap (ha!) everything will be removed from here and over in its new home...the wall racks will come down the 29th, and we will be fluffing and designing until January 2nd, which will be our new opening date! What a great way to start off the New Year...

And the Holidays Just Roll Right In...

2010-12-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

No matter what changes are running rampant through my life right now The Holidays can't wait...as a matter of fact, they're rolling right up with reckless abandon.

Heavens.

Could it be that there is less than a week left until Christmas?

Yes, I am all ready...gift wise. Things have been sent out, they have been bought and stashed...but they have not been wrapped. And not one thing has been baked...Nor have I sent any holiday cards like I usually do...

Sigh.

But, I did schedule the phone to be switched over to the new shop, and I also have a mover set up to move the Snap Snap to its new home...and I have announced my last day open in the original location as December the 27th (and painting as much as I can of the new space December 26th) And, we're shooting to be open in the new location January 2nd...even if things are a little rough. We are used to working around rough edges and it will be easy to work while I'm actually at work, so to speak. I think we're both finding it hard to really design the space until we know exactly what we're really working with. So there's that.

And in the midst of all of this change and excitement is the view from my home, decorated for the holidays. As I sit here snuggled on the couch contemplating exactly what holiday movie to put on for tonight's enjoyment I am also pondering if I like the view from the inside or the outside the best...

I put up the tree at it's normal early time and it sat here with just lights on it...along with the mantle. The thought of decorating seemed to be a little too much in the midst of everything else, and I figured that I would just call it a day and live with simplicity, because all of the lights are just as beautiful...and then all of a sudden one night I jumped up and started in. I mean I kept thinking that I collect all of these lovely vintage ornaments, candles, and village houses and since they can only be brought out one time a year then it's high time they see the light of day.

After decorating (which probably took all of about an hour) and then sitting here watching the white lights glinting off all the sparkle and fluff I was immediately happy that I did.

And I can enjoy the view...

(good grief! I was just looking at the picture I posted and it looks a bit blurry. I actually used a soften effect...hmmmm)

To Do Lists...

2010-12-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

Photo Credit

I am here to say that the amount of To Do Lists around here have reached epic proportions.

This is only to be expected, as my mother and I are currently elbow deep in the negotiation of the moving of 2 businesses (well, 3 if you count the reorganizing and revamping of her other store Keystone Antiques, which will be even more packed full of goodies when we get towards the end of this month) and as I was totally and completely ready to go early this morning (I'm getting to the stage where I am having a hard time relaxing and feel more comfortable if I'm doing something instead) I offered to help my mother out before I dashed to work for the day myself...whereupon completion of said help, we were catching our breath and my mother was rearranging her lists in front of her.

This is exactly the point in which we started laughing.

She had spread out in front of her no less than 3 envelopes with things written on them and arrows and exclamation points and things crossed out. It was impressive. She's a big believer in reuse and recycle (which could be only one of the reasons we both work in the secondary market; Antiques, Collectibles, Resale Clothing...the other is our joint passion for such things) so she usually snags old envelopes from bills and letters she saves and routinely uses them to make lists on.

Which is just as well, seeing as there may be a lot of list making around here for some time to come...I tell you, it's impressive indeed.

Snap Snap Update: The Book Section and all of the Jewelry are moved out of the Snap Snap and are already at the new location on 133 N. Cortez St. Also, I have counter tops and a large lit case with adjustable glass shelves, in case anyone is interested in buying displays for a shop...While cleaning out the jewelry case, I did open the doors on the bottom of it and found a blue mirror I used to use for display, 2 pairs of vintage wrap around safety glasses, and a vintage "Grand Opening" cloth banner. I think all of those things will come in handy at some point, no?

I also think I narrowed down a color for the walls of the new location, which kind of lends itself to a lovely rich cream hue. We really want to have a neutral palette in which to build off of (and not clash with the amazing wood floors that grace the new shop.) While I did paint the original Snap Snap with a lot of whimsy and color...We both feel like we want to take the new shop in a different direction. Since we will be offering so many other items for sale at any one time, stock will be changing constantly, we will build and design our displays off of all the baubles and fun items we have in at the moment instead of relying on a static wall bling.

I have also redesigned all the Shop Tags (a more flowy background and static font, instead of a hand lettered font like I have been using since 1995) with the help of the lovely staff at Staples here in town. Dina and I also got together and designed a lovely flier for my BIG move as well...so it's plastered all over windows and being handed out.

That's all for now. I'm off to start making lists...

The Time is Now For BIG Changes...

2010-12-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well I have exciting news...After almost 16 years at the exact same location, towards the first of 2011, I will be moving Snap Snap!

I know.

We haven't even had New Year's Eve, and there's already big changes happening in my corner of the world...and Snap Snap's corner of the world too for that matter.

The new shop will be a joint venture between my mother and I, in a much larger space for me (although, we will be keeping the name Snap Snap and our phone number) and on a much busier street in the town....Kind of known around these parts as Antique Row. I will be moving everything to 133 N. Cortez St. Besides gaining space, there will be some wonderful new changes at hand.

Along with all the fantastic things I carry now at Snap Snap (name brand clothing for women and men, jewelry, handbags, shoes, hats, and any other wearable accessories...) we will be expanding into and exploring the idea of a whole Resale Lifestyle.

Which simply means that we will also be offering Antiques, Collectibles, books, vintage household items, vintage supplies, and things in which to feather and fluff your entire life...

Resale Mind, Body, Soul.

In anticipation, I have begun finding more display items and other ideas in which to grow Snap Snap up and bring it into a different stage in its life. We both have creative ideas of where to take this new space, and still let it remain a more than affordable, alternative, and exciting place to shop in Prescott.

People keep asking me Why Now?

Well, it seems like the right time for me to set my sights on something that my mother and I have been tossing around now in the air for more than a year...it seems like it is the right time to combine our creativity and see where we go. Between us we have more than 30 years worth of experience running shops in Prescott.

It's time.

*I will be updating this space regularly with news about the big move...Here We Go...

NaNoWriMo...Check.

2010-12-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Happy December 1st!

Did you miss me?

I missed you...like the Dickens, which is somewhat appropriate as we're almost in the season of Dickens. Well, so far as A Christmas Carol and things having to do with Tiny Tim and such. And I missed writing in this space too.

Oh I was writing, you can believe that. I WON NaNoWriMo! I did it! I wrote a 50,000 word novel in one month...I wrote 2,000 words a day. For the first two weeks, and then I didn't and I was just going to let myself slide because I have a TON of new things going on in my life right now, and then Andrew and Angie made me write.

They went about it in a very sneaky was as well...I spent the afternoon at their house on Thanksgiving where I taught them how to play Cribbage, and they introduced me to the joys of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (only the most loved and watched show of most of my favorite people in the world...I'm just slow on the uptake I guess) and after we were all hooked on both of those things, hey slyly suggested that I come over a couple of days later and we'd play cribbage, watch Buffy, eat leftovers, and write for NaNo.

And there I was hopelessly trapped between leftovers and Buffy and before you know it, I actually wrote approximately 25,000 words in 3 days.

(it helps that I write average 900 words every 15 minutes)

(I have a lot to say)

(stop laughing)

But, I finished my novel yesterday before 2:00 pm and entered my words onto the official NaNo page and they counted them and said I needed about 250 more. Seriously. The program I was using said I had 25 more than I needed, so I actually had to reach deep and find 250 more words I hadn't already overused...

But I did it.

And I'm amazed at myself. I am such a strong started when it comes to certain things, but I always thought I had a hard time finishing. However, I've realized as I've gotten older, this may be an old story and I'm getting much better at finishing the things I start.

Which is good because I got some fabulous news to let you all in on, and I'll do that tomorrow...

I'm not sure what will be next for my novel, but I did learn some interesting things:

Once I start doing a project, when I get in the flow of creativity, it is hard for me to stop...I never knew I did this with writing too.
I honestly thought I could sit down and write a manuscript that was ready to be published. I quickly realized that not many people probably can do that, and it will take a lot of revising and editing. This is not a bad thing, but it was surprising to me.
I know who my characters are because they're in my head. I found it very funny that I hardly described them in words...no one else would be able to figure out if they even liked these people.
Winning NaNo does not give me any grand prizes other than a downloadable certificate and a funny video of vikings singing my praises. It also gave me a great sense of accomplishment and a very large smile...and bragging rights.
I can do most anything I set my mind to if I give myself the chance to do it. (although sometimes I work better with a deadline...and at the last minute) (but there's always enough time)

And I'm not sure if I'll do NaNo again next year, but you never can tell...it was a great time (all said and done)

All Souls Procession...Tucson Arizona 2010

2010-11-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Well hello there!

I'm sure with the silence for the past couple of days, and you knowing that I went to Tucson's Day of the Dead Procession, you were probably wondering if I maybe had gotten swept into the river of souls that were parading and remembering and calling attention to on Sunday?

I almost did.

The procession was a very powerful experience coming on the heels of what was a very relaxing weekend with Andrew and Angie, who accompanied me down south for the trip. We happen to travel quite well together (although I didn't have any doubts) and I have no idea whether it's because I was traveling in Arizona, or the fact that I've been to Tucson more than several times in my life, but we were seriously chill. It was a whole lot of meandering around, finding fantastic little coffee shops and other little boutiques...chit chatting and discovering the most wonderful food

(it's Tucson, they're serious about their Mexican food down there. Very serious. Also? Megan gave us a little list of good things to check out. She did not lead us astray.)

We stayed at the Quality Inn Flamingo Hotel which is a cute little historic hotel they've re-done very close to Fourth Ave. and UofA. I have always wanted to stay at some sort of Flamingo Hotel after I totally blew it and didn't stay at Andy Womaks Flamingo Motor Inn when I lived in Flagstaff (it was a wonderful old Route 66 Motel, although I'm not sure if it had ever been updated, so it may have been dicey...but one should try as hard as they can to live out their dreams...yes?)

There were no flamingos at the hotel anywhere, which I'm sure they could have done with at the pool area, but I'll just bring mine from home next time.

HA!

We kind of got a bit mixed up with the schedule of what was happening the weekend of the Day of the Dead, and we probably should have stayed until Monday and then come home, but we all got a little flexible and made our weekend work for us. Which means we got to see the Angel Procession which is in honor of all the children that have passed.

This was a smaller procession of children at a nearby park. Also at the park there were several families with altars set up for their loved ones while they sat and looked on. There were also performances by several schools and very talented children (a lot on stilts. Tucson has a very large "circus" and performance culture that starts with all sorts of camps and classes for youth) there was also several places you could write the names of your own little family members and a slide show of pictures being projected onto the side of the building...which was so touching, it was hard not to cry.

I don't know any of the people in the pictures, but it was wonderful to see them all...and so very many pictures of people's animals as well. I will think to pack waterproof mascara next time.

The night of the big procession, which is held on a Sunday (NowWeKnow) the members of Flam Chen, the amazing fire performers (who also perform a huge finale) were running around in the crowds handing out and collecting pieces of paper from people who wrote blessings, messages, or things they want to let go of, so that they may be burned at the big ending ceremony.

I have seen Flam Chen perform several times in Prescott thanks to Tsunami on the Square...but it's still very hard to miss one of their performances if you're right there...but we did have to get home and it is about a four hour drive from that very place.

We were there about an hour early to check everything out, and when the procession finally started, people crowded close to the route, and I had the feeling of standing on the river bank of a very somber and sacred flow of...well, death, love and memories.

There were a lot of people holding pictures and lit candles, floats...for the wolves that are being killed in Arizona, Water, Our AZ education system, The BP oil spill and the sea life that was lost there, Names of the children that have committed suicide from the bulling in school, various propositions that passed in AZ during the most recent election...it was absolutely amazing.

And totally profound.

I can't say that I was overstimulated or even overwhelmed. I was just there, standing and watching it all go by trying to acknowledge all the memories and thoughts people had brought with them.

Día de los Muertos...

2010-11-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well once again, I'm off!

Like a shot out of a gun...here she goes.

Seriously.

(at some point I may actually catch up with myself)

(but really, when you have a surprise New York trip thrown smack dab in the middle of your life, and you've already planned other things it makes for some fun and busy traveling)

(which I adore)

This time I'm off on a road trip with wonderful friends to enjoy Tucson's Day of the Dead celebration, which was pushed to this weekend because of Halloween falling on the Sunday before All Saints and All Souls Day.

I am very excited as I have always wanted to go to their celebration and I have no idea why I have never made it down there, but there you go.

And here I go!!

Although, I don't know if I'll see anybody as cute as my Prescott sweeties were for our Day of the Dead parade...The Sun and a Moon baby and a witch.

Which really is the perfect threesome if you think about it.

Have a fantastic weekend!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (only I wouldn't know that for sure, cause' I didn't get to Brooklyn. But I did see the bridge.)

2010-11-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

A Tree Lined Street!

Dave spent a fair amount of time laughing at me because I kept exclaiming that very sentence while we walked all over The Village. It seems kind of silly because I do happen to live in the mountains, which are surrounded by protected national forest, and I happen to care take some trees on my property (I don't figure I own them, not really) but there's something more quaint about seeing these sweet tree-lined streets with all the brownstones and beauty.

LeSigh.

Do you hear that City Of Prescott?!

Can I have a new tree to replace the one you ripped out in front of the shop 5 years ago?!

Please?

Actually, I walked around a lot in The Village kind of amazed at the amount of decorations and flowers and pumpkins that were all around. Not only in front of the many shops, but in front of the brownstones as well. There they were in all their glory, with no one touching them.

Wha?

You may not know about the battle of the planters/flowerpots I have had in front of Snap! Snap!, but finally gave up after having them stolen from in front of the shop, having the flowers ripped out and trailed down the street, people urinating and leaving their beer bottles and cigarette butts in them, having one of them picked up and thrown through a car window (apparently the continuation of a bar fight) and the last straw? Coming to work and finding them kicked apart while a homeless man who used to stop by and say hi and tell me how much he appreciated seeing my flowers, stood there with my shredded flowers in little containers he found at the thrift because he felt so bad (after cleaning up the entire mess with a borrowed broom from next door, all before I got to work because he knew how much I loved the flowers and he didn't want me to see this latest horror...such a sweet man. Seriously.) I walked by all this beauty and flowers in The Village, in the middle of Manhattan and I marveled at the beauty all around me that people chose to leave there totally intact so everyone could enjoy it. I have no idea why people aren't vandallizing these things in a big city and why they are in our small town...but it did make me stop and wonder.

I'd love to hear your theories on the matter though...

Here is one of the mighty old fountains in The Village. Obviously it's no longer working, but Dave said they take great pride in cleaning and restoring it.

I am totally in love with the face above the tile and can only imagine how beautiful it is when it's working.

We did take a little jaunt through Washington Square Park, which is under renovation, so Dave said they've been digging up skulls and other human remains for quite a while now.

Apparently Washington Square Park was a burial ground for mass graves at one point.

It was still very crowded though and can you believe it? Not one person solicited me for drugs! Last time I was there it was drug free-for-all where you could have gotten anything you wanted.* I mean, it was a Drug Market to Washington Square as it is the famous Farmers Market to Union Square.

*I did not take anyone up on their offer of drugs, I just found it mildly amazing coming from a small town and only being 21 and whatnot.

Dave said it was probably because it was 10 am and it was a bit early for the drug dealers to be out and about on a Saturday.

And here's Dina talking on her phone in front of Tinsel Trading Co.

Oh Tinsel Trading Co.

Let me tell you a little story. My mother had just gotten a book on Tinsel Trading Co. or more specifically, what was in their basement. Apparently once there was a man who was into some sort of banking in NYC who was the son of a tailor and who loved trims and notions and beautiful things. I believe he inherited his father's shop and during his lifetime his family never stopped buying notions and trims...even if you had just a bit of something leftover from someone, he would buy it.

Well, they have a shop full of the most delightful trims and notions, and I mean it is overwhelmingly eye-popping in there...and his grand daughter is now in charge of all things Tinsel Trading, and since they recently moved their store, she let a photographer go through their basement snapping shots...which no one had ever done before.

I had a wonderful time poking all around, and honestly could have probably spent hours in there, but as it was I gathered up a bag full of the sweetest little baubles and beauties for my mother. She was amazed when I texted her where I was and said, "I don't believe it! Is it the REAL one?!"

Yes indeedy it was...right smack dab in the middle of the garment district!

I am so happy that she shared this book with me before I left for NY!

Come to think of it, I think we were looking at this book a month before I even knew I was going. We're so intuitive in my family...

And here's Dina doing a little high kick at Rockefeller Center's ice rink.

We've already discussed how I chickened out because I was afraid I would fall and break something...and you would not believe the flack that I'm getting from people about this. To which I have one thing to say...

I invite you to go out to New York and ice skate on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center and tell me how much you enjoyed it.

So there.

Rockefeller Center.

And a final stop in our trip to New York...and a place I've been longing to see since my first trip 19 years ago...the famous Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park donated by George Delacorte (the famous publisher and philanthropist) upon the death of his wife Margarita on what he declared to be the best plot in Central Park. The giant bronze statue is surrounded by little sayings which you can read for yourself if you follow this link.

As you can see, I shimmied my tush up onto a mushroom and am hanging onto the door mouse and I have to say, I just love this picture about the mostest out of all the pictures of New York.

So, that's about it...our Fabulous New York trip in it's entirety. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-11-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here I am.

Standing on the last privately owned piece of land in Manhattan, the Hess Triangle. Or maybe I'm trespassing? That would probably be more accurate.

Apparently you can not own land in Manhattan, only buildings...the land belongs to the state? I'm not sure, I think that was what Dave was talking about...but you know how I am about historical sites covered in mosaic tiles...I tend to get all snappy with the camera, which may or may not lead to me tuning people out.

Ahem.

AKA: after googling and reading the history of this triangle I think we can say the City is a big ole' bully and an over user of Eminent Domain.

But it is an enchanting little piece of history nonetheless (although probably not for the Hess family when their building got demolished) and I'm so happy I was there.

The Big Apple...

2010-11-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Look at that. Isn't that quaint?

It was the front of a little brownstone on our block, all decorated for Halloween. We were staying at Restaurant Row (I know, perfect for people such as myself) (perfect in the way that I almost eat nonstop while on vacation) at The French Quarters. It was a lovely homey hotel that was mighty easy to come home to at the end of a long day.

They also had a Keruig in the room, so that was extra special. They use L'Occitaine as their toiletries, which is one of my favorite companies ever for body products...and they serve breakfast daily...including New York bagels and hard boiled eggs.

It was very hard to come home and not have someone make me breakfast and coffee.

And this is Dave.

He's a little blurry cause' we're getting onto a subway to go to The Village, and I'm totally excited so I'm probably shaking.

Dave is a very good friend of mine from days gone by, and whom I just thought to try to reconnect with on facebook on total accident a mere three weeks before my New York trip, and even before I knew myself that I was going. We reconnected, and oddly enough the next day he was on a plane to visit his parents here in AZ and we saw each other for the first time in ten years...and then *poof* here I was in New York seeing him again!

Isn't life amazing?

He's been hanging out in New York working off Broadway this whole time. I am wonderfully proud of him and miss him terribly all at the same time. Dave is one of those people who has a piece of my heart with him...and that's good, because I know he'll take care of it no matter how far apart we are.

And this is a picture of the Slaughtered Lamb Pub. Dave said it is a pub with the theme of

(wait for it)

Scottish Werewolves!

(there's a werewolf on the sign, but the sun was apparently in the way...silly sun.)

Pretty narrow target market, but there you go. We didn't go in as we were on our way to The Red Lion to listen to music, but I here tell there's a dungeon in the basement. With skeletons.

And I thought Whiskey Row was wild...

This is a picture of Kari walking in the subway...we were just about to start our walking tour of New York, only we didn't know it.

We jumped on a whole slew of subways during the day, but we ended up walking down Madison Ave to the Met, and then part of Central Park, and then they were working on Bleeker St. (and some other stops) in The Village and we had to get off of the subway stop at the end of the line at the Brooklyn Bridge...and walk to Bleeker.

That was the part of the tour that took us through China Town, Little Italy, The Bowery (where CBGB is which happens to be the birth place of punk rock music...or rather was, apparently they lost their lease and the landlord asked them to go. The owner smartly replaced the walls and took the originals with him as they were signed by a whole slew of famous musicians. HA!)...we stopped to eat at a pub and then rode back to our hotel where we both collapsed.

Seriously.

We also saw Ground Zero.

I wasn't as emotional as I thought I would be. I'm not sure why this is but not only can you not see the actual site due to all the construction going on for the memorial, but maybe enough time has passed since the attacks and it's not so fresh for me anymore? I'm not sure. It was amazing to be down there standing near the site though, and just remembering.

And then across the street was St. Paul's Chapel, which is a pretty amazing little old old old church. The church housed the people who were part of the rescue effort for 9/11 gave them cots, and a place to decompress.

It is a pretty amazing little place and the graveyard is full of old little headstones...I mean, old like 1700's old.

I also spied this very wonderful old American Seal painting on the wall in between all the 9/11 memorabilia and do you know what it was hanging over?

George Washington's pew.

As in, father of this country George Washington?

Yeah. That guy.

Apparently he was inaugurated at this church during his first term of President of the United States, and continued to worship here until they moved the capital to Philadelphia.

Who knew?

Seriously. I stood there a bit giddy with the history of the whole place.

Totally amazing.

And there's 86th Street in all of its subway mosaic glory...

I'm not particularly connected to 86th St. but, I absolutely love all things mass transit and I simply adore the subways in New York...a love affair that started during my first trip 19 years ago, and I was happy to find out, continues to this day.

Plus? All the tile work is beautiful.

And there's pretty little Central Park.

OK, little isn't the word for it, but we strolled through bits and pieces the whole week enjoying the changing of the leaves and the little bit of solitude in a busy city...squirrel watching.

They also have a zoo in Central Park, in case you're wondering.

A Central Park bridge.

And proof of fall laying among the cobblestones surrounding Central Park.

And one of the many statues that line parts of Central Park.

I believe this one is the angel leading the soldier down Fifth Ave.

OR...perhaps he's my knight (or soldier...whatever, I'm getting older we don't need to get all picky at this point in the game) in shining armor and he just asked directions to Cartier so he can buy me that Eternity Bracelet and win my heart.

Oh yes, I'm totally sure of it...

(I probably should have tipped her)

(then again, he appears to be headless, so maybe she's just more like a guide dog. Damn.)

New York New York...

2010-11-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Time Square...at night. The first night of our arrival.

Needless to say, Time Square is a bit more overstimulating than I remember it being.

OK.

A lot more stimulating.

The Plaza Hotel.

Incidentally, we were in New York the same time as Charlie Sheen. We didn't stay at The Plaza Hotel, so we missed the whole crazy naked Charlie party.

Which may have been more overstimulating than Time Square.

Also? There's an Eloise flag among the other flags. I totally didn't realize it until I was walking by sometime later and I was just too hurried to snap another shot.

New York's like that.

It gets into your blood quick.

Tiffany's...and their clock.

Sigh.

Located on Fifth Ave. right next to Trump Tower.

New York Pizza.

I seem to eat very very well on my vacations.

And while this looks fantastic, it's right down the block from New York's top rated pizza...which I tried as well.

Of course.

Rockefeller Center.

Yes, the ice skating was all set up. Although, the first day of our trip was the coldest...the rest of the days were in the 70's...which means yes, it was warmer than my little Arizona town. Which also means that yes, I had too many warm clothes with me.

Sigh.

I did not in fact, ice skate. This was purely Dina's dream...I did actually take a photo of her, but I chickened out. While I'm young at heart, I all of a sudden worry about ridiculous things like: If I fall? What is the likelihood I will break my arm? Or worse yet, my hip?

My pink cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery...from our Sex and the City tour.

Yes, a glorious three hour tour all over the city which plied me with so many fun facts it left me questioning if I'd ever even watched the series.

On a special note, we did drive by the Puck Building, which made a little special mention as our guide pointed out that the building was also part of another famous series and did anyone know what it was? Which means that I yelled, "Will and Grace!!"

Because truth be known?

I would have been just as happy to be on a Will and Grace tour as a Sex and the City tour.

We three gals...

That would be me (left to right) Dina and Kari.

Balancing our cupcakes on top of our coffee...which was a special feat because I'd just been inside the Lulu Guiness store in The Village and was a bit over the moon about the entire experience.

Oh Lulu.

You were such a magnificent surprise!

This is a shot from inside Buddakan...the restaurant where Carrie and Big had their wedding rehearsal dinner in the first movie. It was a pretty fantastic fusion restaurant that we really wanted to get back to...But I'm unsure of how spendy the menu was.

Our tour guide said we'd get a free drink if we went back.

I wonder why we never made it back there?

Good grief.

And some random tall buildings.

Because everything is so gloriously big in New York.

This would be Dina and I...all bundled up.

This also begs the question as I was going through photos...why does it look like I'm leaning in towards everyone?

Seriously.

At least she's not leaning away from me.

Also?

That is my FAO Shwarz bag which later went missing. Oh, I know what you're thinking...some nasty person nabbed my bag. They didn't. All the New Yorkers we met were simply delightful...apparently, I'd left the bag to close to the trash can in our hotel and the maid threw it out.

With a special Barbie bag I'd bought Rozz and my Tiffany's boxes.

Drat.

Oh, I did buy a heart lock charm at Tiffany's by the way. In case you were wondering. Also? In case you're wondering, my eye makeup is darker in New York.

I have no idea why this is...but both Dina and I noticed it.

I, for some reason, have not been able to replicate this in Arizona.

Maybe it's a city thing.

This is a shot of a famous church that I don't know the name of, but probably a hundred people will leave it in my comments.

That's fine.

This is Cartiers.

On Fifth Ave.

Cartiers currently houses the eternity bracelet I want. But, I firmly believe this is not a gift for me to get myself. I am very good to me, but this gift? I'm holding out for someone else to give it to me.

Hear that universe!?

This is the very bracelet your lover locks onto your arm and they keep the key.

LeSigh.

Also?

I don't wear yellow gold...only white (or platinum I suppose...but there's no need to get greedy)

And I'll end this installment One on New York with this fabulous black and white photo.

Because New York looks so lovely in shades of gray.

And Home Again...

2010-10-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my six day jaunt to The Big Apple. Although to confess? It seems like I was gone for so much longer than that. It must be because we packed so many things into the days and nights we were there...

That has to be it.

As it is, our plane was late (by two hours) due to some rerouting over Georgia (something about tornadoes...) (goodness) (although I got to see a very cool tower lightening cloud from the window of the plane) So, we got in later than was expected...which made my mind resemble an overripe peach this morning, and by overripe peach I mean that it is all fuzzy and mushy, and here I was completely expecting to sort and edit photos today (if I had the time after playing catch up) and realized I can't do that without my external hard drive...

blah blah blah...

And obviously I forgot all of that because I was standing outside my house this morning desperately trying to hail a cab for a full 15 minutes and not one would stop for me! Believe it or not...not one came up my road, so I decided I would just have to hop on the subway instead...and then I remembered that I was in a small town in northern Arizona and none of those things were going to happen, so I eased myself in my car and hoped I could remember how to drive myself.

It worked...but only just.

And now you'll have to wait for pictures from the trip...

Picture Credit

Just When You Thought...

2010-10-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

I would be posting regularly.

Or maybe that's just what I was thinking...? Halfheartedly. Last week? When I posted more than once. Honestly...I had great hopes for myself.

Sigh.

I'm stepping off the self-whipping post now.

Honestly, it's the words of life. They are still escaping me...someone recently told me maybe instead of talking about what is going on in my life, it was more of a feeling thing.

So, scuse me while I feel all over the place.

(that sounds illegal)

Ok...so here's the happs:

*I think I am mostly over my cold/allergy situation. Just some residual coughing and spluttering here and there. In fact, I made it to the gym today to walk on the treadmill for almost an hour. Lifting weights almost made me collapse, and I was only thinking about it...imagine what would have happened if I would have actually done something more?

*Fall has arrived in my little corner of Arizona. I also decorated my mantle for Halloween...and I know how much you adore seeing those pictures, and I will most certainly post them soon. I promise.

*At one point not too long ago, I totally ran out of hangers at Snap! Snap! and shortly thereafter, I ran out of room...and I still had a 4 foot pile of clothing to be priced and put away and more walking through the door every minute. You'll be happy to know that this pricing/organizing/markingdown/rearranging has happened...and the shop is stocked and fabulous...I have a surplus of everything (which is just fantastic as the weather is about to change and it's time to start thinking of new wardrobe items)

*I have been keeping a secret.

*I know.

*Not fair.

(*It's a biggie too...)

*And, it kind of affects you directly (mostly) (mostly not because I've been so crazy quiet here as of late)

*The blog will be quiet for the rest of the week...because I'm going away.

*Again.

* This is a total spur/surprise trip for me (which means in between having my head in the clouds, I've been packing and repacking the perfect wardrobe...)

*Thursday will find me and two of my loveliest girlie friends boarding a plane to other places. You can follow me on facebook like my Seattle trip if you're so inclined (although, I'm borrowing a point and shoot so there will be scads of pictures and probably words when I get back)

...And here's a bit of a hint as to where I will be landing:

And yes, I am totally delirious.

Totally.

Achoo.

2010-10-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Is it starve a cold feed a fever, or is it the other way around?

Achoo.

I don't want to jinx myself either way...but after waking up with a telltale sore and dry right nostril last night and the inability to want to crawl out of bed and leap into my day with verve and gusto (it's been like this for a few days...I just thought I was being a space cadet) and after spending more than a few days intermittently sneezing, I have come to the conclusion that I either have a fall weather cold or allergies.

The fall weather cold occurs for me most every year due to the days being very warm and the nights being very cold. It's been this way since I was a small tyke (according to my mother) and it seems like some years I can sneak into fall without being sniffled...I really should be more preventative, after all these years...but it's almost like I can't wrap my mind around the idea that this could happen.

Again.

(and I'm old)

(I should totally know better)

The allergy theory is coming about because of the rather large plume of billowing smoke that is ascending behind the mountains and settling on the town due to a prescribed burn.

I think they are trying to kill us.

I say this because more than 50% of the people I'm coming into contact with are sniffling, sneezing, and wiping their eyes. I also totally stopped taking anything for my allergies a couple of months back. Probably too soon...again in denial that they really aren't serious about their threat to burn the surrounding area for three months.

Three. Months.

Roll that around on your tongue for a while and tell me how that feels.

It feels like I need to get my tush up to CostCo and invest in more Zyrtec, that's what.

Or soup.

Because I'm not sure which one of these it is: Cold or allergies.

I shall just take a Zyrtec with a soup chaser.

That should totally help.

I think...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-10-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

I left these horrible little white chocolate and raspberry covered cherries I brought back with me from Seattle at my mother's last night accidentally.

Naughty little things...

I do miss their red cheeriness though.

LeSigh.

Decoupage Art...Sort of.

2010-10-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

A while ago (although I think it was only two or three posts ago, because I'm suffering from ICan'tFindTheWordsToWriteButYouCouldProbablyCallMeOnThePhone and have not been very chatty...in the writey form) I mentioned my new little robot piece I had made for Foolsewoode...? It's so very sweet, so if you'd like to scroll down I'll wait.

OK.

Isn't it just darling?

Well, take my word for it, it is even better in person and sadly, not big enough to take up the entire wall above the mantel, although I'm not sure I'd want a piece quite that large (only I have one, but I can't remember if my father has it, or if I have it...and it needs to be framed. Anywho...) I decided it was floating around on the wall all sad like, so it needed some kind of art companions.

Now, I happen to live with a lot of art. I love art...and it mostly loves me back, in the fact that it hangs on the wall and is beautiful just for me. Well, and my guests. And my cat. And my lovely house mate DaNece...you get the picture. But sadly, none of the art I posses was quite right in that spot. Either it was the wrong size or the wrong subject matter...so I had to really think about this.

Which led me to finally do something with the stack of windows I have that lean against the wall by the mantle. They originally came from an estate sale in town and are a light pink with green showing through all the crackled paint. The have their original green glass knobs, and some 1920's looking hinges. They used to live outside all individually leaning against the house under the picture window (for lack of a better place to put them) and when I had the house repainted, they clashed and had to find a new place to live.

Which really means that they sat in a stack leaning against the wall...and trapped dust, dirt, and spiders behind them. Every once in a while I would trip over them and then think they needed to go elsewhere, leave them there, and go on my merry way.

Luckily, along came Robot and Sock Monkey and I was finally ~~forced~~ inspired to do something with these windows, because I couldn't possibly get rid of them, and tripping over them wasn't doing anyone any good!

I took the rather shiny and glaring hinges off of them exposing the dark unpainted wood underneath, and proceeded to clean them up (because I'd just hauled them in out of the elements and commenced to stacking, so they were dirty. While that made the paint age and crackle even more...it made the glass quite dirty. Ahem...) Because the knobs were still on the windows, and they were connected to their original hardware, which basically means there's a hook extending from the windows about an inch...which then basically means to us, that they won't lay flat against the wall when hung...it was off to the hardware to figure out the best way to hang them so they would remain mostly stable.

Since they were being hung by a canvas, I decided to use round hooks (is that fish eye?) and attach some random wire I happened to have in the junk drawer to them and then hang them on picture hangers nailed to the wall. They are stable, and don't extend any more than the canvas they hang next to, so problem solved!

But now what to do with clean shiny blank windows to make them look like art?

Well...I guess you could run hither and fro and gather all the little pieces of mail, art, cards, prints, fortunes, souvenirs...and all those little sweet things that you can't possibly bring yourself to throw away or get rid of, and use them to create seasonal and sweet little displays (with tape ThankYouVeryMuch) on that clean shiny glass of those beautiful little windows that are finally serving a greater purpose than an obstacle to jump over whenever you walk through the room.

I just adore these little thrown together pieces of art and happy reminders of things I adore, and have absolutely no idea how I did not have them hanging there all along?

Of course, this whole wall art overhaul started with me taking down the three pieces of art that had previously hung on that wall and moving them somewhere else entirely...I will take a few quick snapshots and show you how that all ended up soon...

It's For the Children...

2010-10-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Last Friday evening found a whole group of us, including people I knew and don't know...which is saying something in this little town, out and about.

On the town.

Having breakfast for dinner at Sue Ann's Apple Pan, a favorite haunt here in town...In our PJs.

It was for a good cause, and we all brought a new pair of PJs for a child in the Foster Care System through Arizona's Childrens Association and Hickmans Eggs, who gave each of us a whole dozen eggs free when we dropped off our PJs.

But, the chance to wear my PJs out and be totally accepted outside was too much of a lure to leave me sitting idly on the couch. The place was packed the entire time we were there and the PJ collection box was already overflowing by the time we got there...and we were only there an hour after Sue Ann opened for the event! It was so wonderful to see the outpouring of love in the community...and I hope there were enough PJs collected for the children...not to mention, we got to happily clutch our dozen eggs as we left the table. Our waitress also informed us she was donating all of her tips to the organization that evening. Just fantastic.

I have to tell you how thrilling it was to rush home, put on my PJs, brush my hair...readjust my makeup and run out the door again. I shall note here that I did iron my PJs previously that day (insert eye roll here) and since I was wearing my sock monkey floating in clouds patterned PJs, I decided to don my red striped socks and sock monkey slippers.

Yes, this girl dresses up when she's in her Pjs.

In public that is.

Which I rarely am.

I'm not one to subscribe to the I Like to Wear My PJ pants Outside the House craze...unless I'm not getting out of the car. Because, while I do love my own PJs, I don't necessarily want to subject the rest of the town to them...

I am also sorely sorry that I did not take a picture of my feet. Because they were festive.

So...if you didn't happen to get out for the event, I suppose the only way to see me in my PJs would be to sneak over to Foolsewoode and either look through my windows (which I suggest you don't do, because not only would it scare me...but I think that it is illegal) or knock on the door...and see if I answer it.

Of course there's no guarantee that I will be in those particular PJs, but mostly I'm festive when I dress for bed so you're probably pretty safe.

PS. I stole all these photos from Andrew. Because I still can. not. find. my. point and shoot.

NaNoWriMo...

2010-09-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

So.

I just signed up for NoMoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month.

What?

Stop laughing.

Seriously.

I can totally hear you.

I know that the blog has been rather, ummm...quiet lately? But you'll remember that before all this quiet there was a whole slew of wordy pontification (Bear with me, I have to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November...I'm gonna have to start bringing out the big words.) Like years and years of wordy. It's only been recently that it's been more quiet around these parts.

And that's only because I lost my point and shoot...or rather, misplaced it. I hate to think I lost it. I know it's going to show up somewhere, and if I was a teenager I'd start by looking under the bed...which is exactly where I found a missing and errant purse years ago (after a week of searching. What? There was a lot of mess under my bed.) (Wait.) (I totally haven't looked under the bed OR the couch at home) And besides, did it occur to you that perhaps I am going through a whole lot of weird emotional baggage stuff that I've been carrying around for many years now? Well. It occurred to me when I burst into tears 3 times in as many days. I'm still hip deep wading through this particular set of stuffed emotions of my life...but, I'm getting used to the tension.

Perhaps getting used to is too strong of a phrase. ~~I'm cried out~~ ~~practicing fake it till I make it~~ ~~running away~~ ~~giving up feeling happy 100% of the time~~ Regrouping...taking a deep breath and getting on with it in spite of feeling uncomfortable (I also scheduled a massage in about a week to help my battered sore body.) I'm also realizing that no matter what...it's never too late to run a line through things that have happened in my life and replace them with something else.

~~A better story~~
~~Cupcakes~~
~~Chocolate~~
Wisdom.

Wait.

At some point up there did I say that I just signed up for a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in November?

Ahhh. I thought so.

50,000 words, eh?

No problem.

New Art...

2010-09-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Created especially for me by one fantastic C. S. Fritz.

I had originally seen his work at a show at The Raven Cafe quite a bit ago and had totally fallen in love with his whimsical style, fantastic colors, and totally incredible robots.

The idea of "Robot Meets Sock Monkey" popped into my mind almost immediately as I stood in The Raven and looked at all of his pieces (which were all sold the minute they were hung) and has stuck in there until I could find him and ask when he could put this vision onto canvas.

Mr. Fritz has an upcoming show at The Ian Russell Gallery tomorrow night for our Prescott Fourth Friday Art Walk...and I have had the privilege to see his new pieces hung in the gallery this week. I am planning to head down to the gallery during my Tour De Fourth Friday tomorrow night as well.

I was able to talk to him about this piece about a month ago, right before I left for Seattle. I really had no preconceived notions about what I wanted other than a robot and a sock monkey.

He came up with the rest and I absolutely adore it.

Adore it.

(perhaps more so than this seasons ruffled clothing)

I've had to reorganize my art once again at Foolsewoode so I could feature this wonderful robot who is running through the forest, kicking up the trees as a sock monkey flies along behind him...

Absolutely perfect.

The pieces featured on each side of this new canvas are vintage windows I've saved for quite some time...they've been sitting waiting for the perfect opportunity to be displayed. I really needed something more to balance out the canvas on the large wall and I came up with the idea of using them as a place to display other art, sayings, stickers...other things I love and don't have a place for (I will photograph them soon) I figured that I could change out my little art collages for each season...or whatever whim comes along.

See?

Totally perfect.

A Well Placed Ruffle...

2010-09-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

There seem to be a multitude of ruffles everywhere you look this season. It's as if someone has sampled the fabled potato chips and you know, no one can eat just one (sorry for putting that jingle into your head, you may lambaste me in the comments) Apparently you can neither eat just one, or put just one on a top. Or pants, jackets, shoes, pants...or like the special frock I'm wearing today...a dress.

I would love to show myself off, but darned if I can find my little point and shoot. She is indeed lost at the moment, and I am scouring around thinking that she'll pop back in or is staring at me from somewhere, honestly I am at a total loss here.

As it is, picture this in your mind: A black cotton knee lenght dress with a high pleated stand up collar cascading into ruffles down the front on either side of a buttoned front. Pleated skirt with a tie belt around the waistline. It is pretty awesome. Pretty classic. And looks great with my straight hair. I am also wearing it in honor of Arthur's Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sweet Arthur...

But really, this seasons obsessions with ruffles is sweet...if it wasn't so, well...ruffly. I tried on many a top this weekend (and mostly all at Anthropologie) and while they were cut lovely with some of the most fantastic patterned fabric...there were these crazy ruffles, and ones that were usually placed right at the chest area. Which is cute as a bugs ear on the hanger, but makes one look a little boobalicious when you put them on and they stand straight out, launching themselves off the girls and arriving a full minute before the rest of you does.

We all laughed a bit.

I mean, I have been known to take a fashion risk or two in my day, but seriously?

Ruffles.

I quickly realized that need to be pleated just so, and not too many inches thick or you've got problems.

Serious problems.

A small cluster of ruffles is feminine and fun...a large one makes you look like Austin Powers. In a bad way, not the shagadellic way you want to look. (If that is what one is after...) I saw garments with huge ruffles on the chest of course, but what got me was the ones down by the stomach and hips. Unless you are a serious stick insect, ruffles on your tummy or sticking out from your hips is not a flattering look. Nor is the whole other style we noticed of weird scraps of fabric just sewn willy nilly to the front of a tee-shirt...all crazy like. I kept thinking they were just large pieces of lint that had attached themselves to these garments by mistake and kept trying to pick them off.

Although now I think all of us who sew now have ideas of what to do with our scrap bags.

Testing...1 2 3

2010-09-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Is this thing on??

Oh dear.

I've neglected this space something fierce haven't I? I'm so very sorry...I have been thinking of the blog fondly as I run full speed around in my life though, and I'm sure that has to count for something.

Although, maybe not.

Probably not.

I have actually been very busy. There has been truckloads coming into the shop which takes up a lot of the time I reserve to write in this space...but more importantly? I haven't felt very chatty. In fact, I have been saying to myself, "Self? This is not even that interesting to write about...and besides, what would it be like to just jump ship for a bit?" Which is a very odd thought indeed. I have had just enough energy to wake up before the sun, go to the gym, get ready for my day, work my tail off, come home and vibrate in a chair for a while...call it relaxation, and then do errands (in my off moments). It was in fact, the other day whilst driving home from CostCo that I thought to myself, "Self? We could totally go away...somewhere tropical. We could do that you know. There's not much other than the obvious responsibilities that is holding us back"

Then I realized I was probably being dramatic and mostly sounded a little like Stella, and perhaps all I need to do is try to get my groove back.

So here I am...groovin' away.

I did have a bit of an opportunity for an escape this last weekend however which entailed getting in DaNece's car and riding down the mountain and into The Valley of the Sun...and participating in some long time coming boot shopping. We went to Last Chance and oddly enough, boots were 40% off...so I nabbed a couple of pairs (seeing as that was my focus after all) Needless to say they were both lovely and quite a steal at less than $24.00 a piece (Steve Madden short red cowboy boots and Michael Kors tall dark brown suede boots) I also found a wool cream colored pea coat (which I totally didn't need because I adore jackets and I honestly don't have room in my jacket closet, but it looked so lovely on me...and into the basket it went) and a Michael Kors long black over-sweater thing...oh, and the most fantastic black dress with a stand up collar and ruffles running down the front of it.

Swoon.

I just got my hair cut with a lot more choppy layers in it last week, and I have been doing it straight for a total change so these things look fantastic with my new hair.

Isn't that just the way of it?

Well that and I'm not enamored of anything in my closet and drawers at the moment. I think it's about time to invite my sister home for a once over...she's so good about going through my stuff and making me part with things I think I can't live without (mostly she makes fun of me, but it seems to do the trick quite well)

But, in all actuality I owe her a trip and she's right by the seaside...so maybe I should just scrap it and get my groove back after all...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-09-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night marked the anniversary of 100 years of football at Prescott High School.

I went to the game with Dina...

Someone managed to bring along a very old football player who was in his 80's to be honored on the field before the game started.

I wore my letterman's sweater that I received while attending PHS after lettering in band for two years.

I was a flag girl.

While I'm not actually in my 80's, I did attend PHS in the 80's and thought it was rather bold of me to wear a sweater that if you did some quick subtraction, you could pretty much pin point my age after reading my left front pocket.

(which also happens to house a pin that says "I survived the graduation party of 1988")

(duh.)

I still treasure my letterman's sweater and felt a whole lot nostalgic after I dug it out of the cedar chest, and blew the layer of dust off of it.

(well, nostalgic for the parts of High School I could remember anyway...hee-hee!)

It feels all sorts of special to be a part of Prescott's history...that doesn't include a mug shot or nasty write-up in the local paper.

Dina's lovely and talented niece is in the band as well, and she did an outstanding job marching all over the field.

(they played songs from Wicked...which I thought was very cool)

Of course, I had to critique the current flag line...who was wearing some pretty crazy make-up and hair colors. Dina's mother leaned over at one point and said, "Wouldn't you have loved to do your face up like that?" and I looked at her horrified and said, "Um. NO! I was much too cool to do that ThankYouVeryMuch!"

Although, with age I may be remembering that all wrong too.

Seattle :: Day 4 AND 5 :: Because It's Taken Me Longer To Re-Cap The Vacation Than Actually Take The Vacation...

2010-09-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

You've been so good.

Hanging in there with me, as I recap this vacation (to be truthful, I've lost a bit of interest myself, but I'm not sleeping well lately so that could be contributing to my sudden apathy...) At any rate, I thought I'd reward you with this double rainbow.

We happened to see it when we went to the waterfall on our fourth trip day, who's name escapes me at the moment.

Isn't that horrible?

(the fact I can't remember the name, not the falls...they're quite lovely)

It was very misty from all the falling water, so we got wet...which made me wonder why I'd taken so long to do my hair. Only it takes me about 10 minutes to do my hair, so I wasn't that put out.

There's a very cool lodge up on the left side of the falls that's been there since the 30's or 40's or something like that. I couldn't get as good of shot with the Elph that Claudine got with her Droid...go figure, but I think it's the lodge in Twin Peaks. There was going to be a wedding there that day, which made me a bit jealous because we don't have any waterfalls in Prescott to get married next to.

Then again, I think I read somewhere that Washington has more waterfalls than any other state.

I have no idea if this is true or not...

If I sound a bit confused it sets us up perfectly for what happened next on our trip.

We got lost.

We were trying to get to the Japanese Gardens and we ended up in the most lovely residential neighborhood on the water instead...which is exactly where I posted on facebook that I was looking for my new dream house and scared a few people.

Looking.

I can't imagine I could afford to buy, much less rent something in this zip-code.

And if I did, I would most likely get lost...because our GPS told us our destination was 100 feet on the right and Claudine grabbed my arm as I lept out to knock on the big mansions door and ask if we could see their backyard.

What?

They may have Japanese plants.

We lucked out though because not only was I not arrested for trespassing, but the neighborhood mail carrier was out and he pointed over our heads towards the right direction.

We took the scenic route back by the water and passed the place where Niles moved out when he divorced his wife on Frasier.

I know.

The GPS wanted us to see that so much more than the Japanese Gardens.

Which we found eventually after only getting lost once more.

They are lovely gardens...built around a large center pond, in which lives a whole lot of Koi, and a turtle. In fact, there was a little boy shrieking at the top of his lungs "Turtle!!" the entire time he was there. He's lucky he didn't get pushed in by anyone.

What?

There was no railing on the little bridges. That could be dangerous.

There was also a very cool Heron.

Who was very itchy.

He actually stood there most of the time itching himself.

Poor guy.

All in all it was mostly serene when I couldn't hear the constant shrieking or worry about the poor itchy bird, because I'm not sure how stressed out I was supposed to be walking around this property.

The bird did stop itching about the time we decided to meander on our way.

Thank heavens.

That was one less thing I needed to worry about as we kept getting lost all day.

It was then off to The Smith Tower for a little tour and quick zip up to the top of the tower, and the observation deck.

We've already covered my fear of heights, I know...but there was something special I was after at the top floor of this building.

The Wishing Chair.

After boarding the Otis elevator (and only a few of those are in operation anymore) complete with an elevator operator...and a totally see through door (behind the ornate brass designs) which meant you could see all the office floors we were passing...we were at the top in a very Oriental decorated room.

We spied the chair first thing...

The lore of the chair is that it's a wishing chair...so your wishes come true if you sit in it, and if you're single and you sit in it, you should be married within the year. So we both plunked down in the chair and sat there wondering if there was any sort of chanting or sayings we were supposed to repeat.

Mostly I just sat there and drank my coffee.

And I wished.

You'll be happy to know that I walked along the entire observation sidewalk on the outside of the building, which Claudine informed me was much scarier than the Space Needle.

Oh well.

Maybe it's the age of the building I was in? I just happen to feel a lot more comfortable in old buildings.

And then it was on to Theo Chocolate for a tour I'd set up. They are a very popular place and tours need to be booked in advance. Luckily I scored the last two openings on Saturday the week before and we jumped in for our tour.

(after missing our turn on the freeway and almost making us late)

It was awesome.

(the tour, not the 9 point turn that would take us down the shady alley to get onto the freeway...that was just confusing)

They talk to you all about their Organic Fair Trade beans and let you sample chocolate.

For an entire hour.

They are also certified as Fair Trade, so their business practices are watched carefully too.

We toured their whole facility...

I know...it would be more interesting if I remembered what everything did.

I had eaten a whole lot of chocolate by that point.

Those are large bins of chocolate hulls, or nibs, or seeds...

Whatever.

It smelled divine!

It was somewhat hard to concentrate because there was this German guy who kept asking the most detailed and scientific questions of our tour guide. She did a lovely job answering him, even though it must have been hard because we were all rolling our eyes at this point.

That's him on the right side of the frame.

We also got to sample some confections...which they don't usually ship too far from their factory as they only have a 2.5 week shelf life.

(I brought some home for my mother: Green Tea and Ginger, Chai and Pumpkin Spice, A Salted Lavender Caramel, and my favorite...Dark chocolate with a Chocolate and Basil Ganache. Which I have vowed to recreate because it was so of the hook delicious.)

Also?

I think that was a chocolate Buddha head, but Mr. German Guy had taken up all of our question time, so I didn't get to ask.

In their front room, they have all their chocolates out for sale and sample.

We won't go into the specific amount I spent, but let's just say...

I have some great chocolate at home.

That night we went to the Microsoft building in Bellevue and went bowling. I know...I'm a horrible bowler, but the whole place mostly up and turned into a dance club, so I was pretty much in heaven after that.

And I've decided to wind it up and let you know that we went out to the wine country before leaving on the plane the next day.

To go on the Red Hook Brewery Tour.

$1, 1 hour, 8 beers.

In a small tasting glass, but still...

Very good.

And oddly enough, the original Red Hook Brewery is now the Theo Chocolate building.

It is indeed a very small world.

After all.

And people are seriously in to riding their bikes all around, which made me panic about not being able to ride a bike. I mean, if I moved there I would obviously have to learn how to ride a bike.

Not that I have any plans to move, but I had to feel panicked nonetheless.

(it could have been all the beer I had just recently drank as well)

Then I noticed all these bikers were sitting around drinking pitchers of beer.

Ok.

Now there's something I can get behind.

Drunk people on bikes.

That way no one would notice if I couldn't ride or not, they'd just think I was pushing my bike because I was too tipsy to ride.

One of the great things about eating at the brewery was not only did they hand pull from the kegs before the beer was bottled, but they had organic locally raised pumpkin seeds on the appetizer menu.

Which were lovely.

OK.

That's pretty much it and I would think it's going to be back to mostly normal around here now.

Phew, eh?

Seattle :: Day 3 :: Driving...

2010-09-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Day three found us hopping a ferry in search of vampires and werewolves on the Olympic Peninsula.

OK.

Not really...but we were close to Forks, so it totally could have happened. Then again, I suppose I was about as close to Forks that day as I'm as close to SanDiego when I'm home...I mean yes, I can drive there in a day...but do I have the time?

After landing in Kingston, we drove for miles until we hit Port Townsend. Which was actually a 21 mile detour out of our way, but Port Townsend is one of my most favorite places in Washington and Claudine drove me all the way there so I could have a cuppa at my third most favorite coffee house in the world (that and I kept going on and on about it...so it could have been a defense mechanism...)

(My first favorite coffee house being Macys in Flagstaff, followed by The Caffe Florian...the oldest coffee house in the world who is situated in Venice Italy)

Port Townsend happens to be an epically wonderful Victorian town right on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula...which means you have forest all around you and then Canada right across the water.

Fabulous, no?

A 30 minute pit stop just for a cuppa.

Cause' that's how we roll.

Also? The local architecture is off the hook.

Look at that pretty heart design (you can sort of see it) it's proof they love me too.

And then it was on to Hurricane Ridge.

Claudine had a few stops planned to make, but I think the guide she saw these places on was overestimating the amount of time we had...or underestimating the time it takes to drive between each of these locations. You see, Washington while things are often close together in miles...are on very curvy roads so it takes twice as long to get where you're going.

Which is fine.

Unless you want to go to the Polar Ice Caps, The Rain Forest, and The Beach all in one day (while making a coffee detour and a stop to have lavender sorbet in Sequim...oh, and there's totally a road there called "Kitchen-Dick" Um...yeah. I would LOVE to have my address on that road!)

But we made it at least to Hurricane Ridge...and I just know that all those vampires and werewolves were just over the other side (that's where Forks is actually.) Heck...we could have used a couple of vampires or werewolves and we could have climbed on their backs and they could have run us around to all the places we were trying to get to lickety split.

Maybe the guidebook should have mentioned that?!

Sheesh!

And we saw some awesome wildlife...

A mommy and baby deer.

Actually there were deer all over the place once you started really looking...

This is a picture of a mommy deer teaching a baby deer to lick the pavement:

I was all, "Hey!! I got a great deer tongue in action shot!! Oh gosh. I hope that's not antifreeze!"

This is most likely why people look at me weird and move in a far different direction when I'm at a national park.

Well, except for The Grand Canyon...the Germans just try to push me in when I'm there.

After our 12 mile hike, and by 12 mile hike I mean 2 mile stroll...we went into the gift shop and browsed around. There I found a book about a lady they found in a lake who met with foul play like a million years ago, but her body had been perfectly preserved in its cool Victorian clothing. And now looking back, I wish I wouldn't have picked the book up because I can't get the whole thing out of my head.

Seriously.

The only links I can find look like this: http://www.ladyofthelake.com/ And they're all cheery and pretty and you can have weddings out there, and all I can remember is all these horrible pictures of this poor woman they found all frozen.

I'm not sure what they're doing up there, but I may reserve my marriage for somewhere else thank you.

Why DO I do things like this to myself?

At any rate...as we were leaving we saw a sign posted on the door that announced there was an especially aggressive mountain goat in the area and if you saw it that you should yell and throw rocks at it.

Well good grief.

I hate to throw rocks at wildlife, and if it's particularly aggressive and it saw me throwing rocks at it and it heard me yelling, I would think that it would then know exactly whom it should express its aggression towards.

Although, it was cold up there due to all the glaciers so I'm sure that the run would have warmed me up, but I would have probably tripped over a deer or something.

The Pacific Northwest can sometimes be dangerous.

Apparently.

To be continued...

Seatte :: Day Two :: OR :: When The Girl Really Starts Eating

2010-09-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Pikes Market...also known as one of the longest running farmers markets in our fabulous country!

Only one of the many interesting facts I learned on our 2 hour culinary tour of the Marketplace. I mean, let's all collectively ask ourselves what could be better than strolling around a fantastic gourmet, fresh, and amazing food market for 2 hours learning and sampling the whole time?

Yeah.

I thought so.

This is where I learned of Beechers Cheese and the hands down the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had. They're into the slow food movement, but I have a feeling they've always been into it as it takes time and dedication to make a superior cheese.

Thanks a lot Beechers, because now I'm dreaming constantly of your cheese.

And I'm lactose intolerant...

Yes, that's a dungeness Crab sandwich...which we went back and sampled later.

We tasted smoked salmon from the flying fish portion of the market...which I would have jumped at the chance to bring home, but it was a little pricey to ship.

The Piroshkys from Piroshky-Piroshky were divine.

Not to mention the mini donuts, 2 kinds of chowders, Chukar Cherries, all the fresh organic fruits, and the crab cakes (which is where we learned about the coconut cream pie. More on that later...), the herbal tea, and the shots of espresso.

I seriously recommend this tour whenever you're in Seattle.

We then hopped right on the monorail and rode over to The Space Needle. I tell you, if a city has a monorail, one should ride it...

They're very fun.

We then spent the afternoon visiting the Music Experience Museum...which had a pretty awesome instrument tower. Not to mention the great interactive guitar exhibits, music exhibits, radio exhibits...The Jimmy Hendrix Experiene:

Complete with a smashed up guitar.

And a whole costume exhibit featuring the costumes designed and worn by The Supremes. I have one thing to say: These gals were Tiny.

And sparkly.

That's two things...but both of them are very true. It was awesome to see these fabulous garments up close and personal.

And inspiring.

In case I get a bedazzler in the future.

You can bet I have a lot of ideas swimming around in my head now!

Next to the Music was The Science Fiction Museum.

I love me some Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Claudine wandered around not really recognizing much...but it was still great fun to see all the exhibits that started out with the Pulp Science Fiction and ran through to the most recent goodies.

And they had some great Planet of the Apes memorabilia which I usually find lacking in most museums I visit.

Then it was outside to find the Science Museum...via a stop at the directory to laugh hysterically at the Space Needle arrow pointing to the Space Needle...which was within spitting distance

(although, I don't think they encourage you to do that when you're on the observation deck)

But, I suppose it's nice to have arrows so you don't get lost.

While on vacation.

Or you have no observational powers whatsoever.

(this is coming from a woman who was once in downtown SanAntonio looking for The Alamo and stopped at the most beautiful garden and remarked on it's loveliness and the historical building sitting behind it. Which happened to be, on closer inspection...The Alamo.)

(she could probably have used an arrow or two)

(ahem)

The Science Museum was hands on...and a bit grimy due to this fact, but interesting nevertheless.

We toured the butterfly room, which was wonderful. Especially after you walked through the other insect exhibit trying to avoid the people who wanted you to hold the cockroaches.

Um, ick.

And we also saw a laser show that was choreographed to Bob Marley music...not my favorite due to a stuck tape in a tape player in Kim's car when we were younger, but it was still nice to sit and take a breather at this point.

Then it was back to the Space Needle. Which I spectacularly chickened out of going to the top of the minute we stood under it.

I'm fine with this.

I have a heights thing...and it's easier for me to do things like this in the dark because my depth perception is then so thrown off by the dark I can't tell how high up I am.

Then it was on to Serious Pie for dinner.

Serious Pie is one of a series of restaurants owned by Iron Chef Tom Douglas. We happened to read about it on our Taste of Seattle Tour brochure, and we were given a discount card to use at thier affiliates...so I absolutely insisted that it would be totally irresponsible if we did not run down and try it.

And by insist I mean, I asked nicely with almost no whining involved.

Almost.

It was packed busy when we got there, so we left our cell number and walked down to Lolas, another of his fine dining establishments and partook of the grape drink (which was an insanely tasty mixture of reds) with Bacchus whom sits atop the lovely bar. It was a fantastic wait...made better by already seeing Serious Pie's menu, so I could anticipate.

When we were called back, we sat at a long communal table (much like those in Europe) and I ordered a lovely Italian red (since I was kind of on a red kick at this point) I also ordered my pizza right then and there

I had a Chantalle mushroom pizza with truffle cheese.

Oh yes I did.

Gladly.

And mostly with my eyes closed...savoring every moment.

*drool*

We had also heard that it would be most likely a crime if we were to leave Seattle without having some of his Coconut Creme Pie...which was not actually on the menu, but I ordered it and they assured me that they would have someone run down around the corner to The Dahlia Bakery just for me.

Cause' that's how they roll at their restaurants.


Lola's is right on the corner down there, and those are Dhalias red awnings. The bakery is right next door.

I also savored this insane desert concoction with mostly closed eyes. Cream pies, I have found, are not that easy to create so light and fluffy. Also? I've noticed that most people flavor them far too much...and other than the banana creme pie that they used to make for a restaurant that was once right down the street from Snap! Snap! I honestly haven't had a creme pie that has been this good.

Which was sadly, years ago.

So.

I have decided that I will most likely be adding creme pies to my pie making repertoire.

Which may mean that I either need to double my visits to the gym or buy pants with elastic waists.

Maybe this is why stretch pants are back in style?

To Be Continued...

Seattle :: Start

2010-08-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am warning you now. This is going to be a photo-heavy post. I am also warning you that I am having a hard time grasping all the language about this trip so that I can tell it to you straight. Now, this could either be due to the fact that I am having a hard time processing all the ridiculous fun we had. Or it's left over from my pre-trip I'mHavingAHardTimeUsingMyWords situation (cause' if we've ever met in person, I'm thinking you would have a hard time believing that I couldn't find a million words to express myself)

(ie: I talk a lot)

Whatever it is, I'll just wing it and hope it comes back to me.

Here we go:

Claudine and I got up early early and were off on a Wednesday morning...this was after the night before when I leaned over to look in my suitcase at Claudine's house and smacked my left eye into the wooden back of a kitchen chair. Right on the corner? Yeah. This made my eye totally swell up and form a rather large cut under the skin. Thank heavens I closed my eye...or we would have been much worse off.

So...I was off to the airport mostly resembling Popeye, had time to grab a Chai and board the plane for a lovely flight to Seattle. I love flying, so usually no matter what's happening, I find that I'm having a lovely flight.

After landing and navigating our way to both the rental car company and our hotel The Red Lion in Bellevue (which prompted a growl from me every time we said the name for the rest of the trip) we balked a bit at the ghetto outside, but were pleasantly surprised by the niceness of the interior.

Whatever.
When are you ever in your hotel room on a vacation?
Plus? They use Bath and Bodyworks soaps so I was all Squeee!!

We then ran up the coast, or down the coast, or followed some sort of water way to Kirkland...a fantastic little town on some sort of water for Thai lunch. We first stopped in a residential neighborhood for a sandwich because that's where the phone directed us. Claudine has an uber fancy Droid that has GPS which helped out. Mostly. When we weren't lost.

Also?

The road signs up there can be a bit confusing to figure out...and we're old, so I figure we've had a lot of time to practice...so there were more than a few times we were both muttering and cursing and laughing in between simultaneously trying to listen to the monotonacity of the Droid's voice and reading a map.

Being from Arizona I tend to jump up and down and take lots of pictures of water whenever I luck out enough to see it...because it seems so unusual and fantastic to me. Plus? I absolutely adore the ocean.

They happened to be having their farmers market that day...which we strolled around (after visiting a resale shop and me nabbing a new LeSportsac shoulder bag) and strolling around all the fresh organic (cheap) veggies and fruits made me a bit jealous.

Those berries were something like $1 a pint or some craziness like that.

Also?

The cut flowers are off the hook up there.

All those bouquets up there were $5 and I saw none over $12.

Seriously.

I almost bought myself some because I thought thought the idea of romancing myself was so very lovely. And then Claudine and I discussed the fact that we didn't have a vase. So I took some pictures and recited some romantic poetry to myself instead.

And by poetry, I mean I sang a Cure song under my breath.

We then decided to head to Seattle proper for one of our tours we'd planned for the trip, since it was such a beautiful day (see: Not one cloud in the frequently overcast skies) we decided to boat around the harbor.

This is one of the floating bridges Claudine is so fond of. I think it will help to mention at this point that I was able to really keep in touch with everyone via facebook. It was a blast to let people know where I was and what I was doing. That way I could take all of my friends on vacation! So, I was often texting as much as taking pictures and enjoying myself.

I'm such a multitasker.

Can you tell we made it to the city?

Starbucks everywhere, and while I do not usually like their brewed coffee and mostly go for a fancy drink or Chai, it is also worth mentioning that they make a fantastic cuppa in Seattle...so don't be nervous while you're there that it's going to taste like the cup you get in your local grocery. I also had coffee at Seattles Best (which was the perfect blend of flavor and temperature) and about a million other places, as one could treat Seattle like Italy and go for coffee as much as one goes for gellato.

Now. Would you just look at that skyline? Oh Seattle and the Pacific Northwest...you truly capture a part of my heart every time I am around you.

Seattle honestly reminds me of SanFrancisco only way way way more mellow. Seriously. You could cause car accidents by honking at people on the freeway. No one honks. Seeing as Seattle battles Portland for some of the highest suicide rates in our fair nation (it's all the sunless days) maybe it's because everyone is depressed and has given up? Or it could be the simple fact that it's so beautiful and diverse and exciting, and there's no reason to freak out, just sit back and enjoy.

On board our little harbor ship we hopped...and that's where we ran into this guy:

Yeah.

Dude wandering around without his shirt on...in front of a boatload of people. This made Claudine and I have to laugh and raise our eyebrows a bit...especially as he paraded around with his white shorts practically hanging off his body and a very dramatic and stricken look on his face and his over-sized sunglasses obscuring his eyes.

A lot.

I'm not sure what his wife and son though about his shenanigans, but we were not the only people sitting there with our mouths hanging open.

Maybe he was a famous model.

He was, by far...too sexy for this boat.

When we weren't staring in shock at that guy...there was a whole lot of interesting other things to look at.

We also heard a lot of interesting facts and figures on this trip (our tour guide was young and mentioned things were "very very cool" quite a lot. I agree with her)

...and saw some birds.

And That Guy...who had now taken to propping himself up on the railing of the boat, sunning himself with large sighs...and generally getting into people's family photos.

Yes, he did put his shirt back on...and oddly enough we did see him the next day at Pikes Market...again fully clothed and sadly, not near as dramatic.

And we saw Mt. Rainier...which popped up in the craziest places. First of all, it's a huge mountain with a ton of snow on it...and mostly the base or where you'd expect to see the base was often obscured by clouds making it look like it was floating instead of attached to anything.

This is about as close as we got to it...give or take.

Which is good seeing as That Guy was so hot, he could have melted it, and then we would all be in for some serious trouble.

After having our fill of ~~looking at a half naked man~~ cruising around the bay, it was off the boat and back to walking around.

We were on the hunt for fresh seafood on the water and settled on Ivars. Now, I used to plan the heck out of vacations, and knowing that Claudine is a great planner and I was happy to leave it in her hands...But, the one thing I really wanted to do was eat fish and drink beer on the dock.

This was the view from our window. Other than sitting on that black floating dock down there, I think we did a great job getting close to the water.

We also made it for happy hour...which happens from 3 on every day (so it wasn't that hard) and got some great drinks and fabulous food.

Fish and chips and clam chowder.

I'm warning you now, I ate a lot on this trip.

OK.

I didn't eat a lot at once, I just ate a whole lot of fantastically amazingly good food.

Quite a few times.

It's not that Prescott lacks this. But, Prescott lacks this, like this. So, it was my extreme pleasure to really indulge my taste-buds and treat myself...I mean, who knows when I will be around so much good and diverse food again?

Ahem.

And then we walked all over the downtown...popping into used book stores and coffee houses, up and down the streets at dusk...truly lovely.

We got into the car and drove around The Queen Anne district, after only getting hideously lost once (crazy monotone GPS) It is a lovely neighborhood that made me wish I had a craftsman style house...except that I already do. It's just not big like these ones are...it's all that wood up in the Pacific Northwest that the Southwest desert is lacking.

It was around dark when we decided to pop over to The Space Needle and try a quick run up. Alas, there was no parking anywhere...but there was quite a lovely rotating Elephant Car Wash sign...so that was totally worth it.

To Be Continued...

She's Off...With No Forwarding Address...

2010-08-24T16:00:00.000-07:00


photo credit

Have you ever gotten into the car at the start of a day and thought that it would be amazingly fun to just keep driving?

Instead of doing the right thing, and showing up at all the places one would normally look for someone like yourself?

Who would notice you were gone?

Would anyone miss you?

Well...I washed Honey all up this morning and vacuumed her all out...shined her up and filled her up with gas. My bags are packed. Ms. Mena, Foolsewoode, and Snap! Snap! are being lovingly looked after. It's time for me to flee the mountain for a bit. Change up my perspective...look for new inspiration...dance in the ocean, eat some fish, chocolate, drink coffee and wine, and relax...I board a jet plane early tomorrow with my good friend Claudine to fly away from here.

I will not be posting in this space until Monday...but you can follow my further adventures on Facebook if you wish.

I will miss you all madly...

But. I need this break.

The Eighties Called...And She Wants Her Shoes Back.

2010-08-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

But really not so much, because as far as crazy sandals go...I happen to look marginally good in what is known as The Gladiator Style.

(plus I'll have something to wear when I go back to Rome!)

(Only I didn't really appreciate Rome as much as other parts of Italy and I've been dying to go to The Amalfi Coast...and really, all roads lead to Rome...so I can probably get by with wearing these anywhere in Italy.)

(One would think)

Saturday amidst running errands, like replacing sunglasses and eating my weight in Saturday junk foods...DaNece and I ran by a store here in town and ~~ran~~ ~~jumped~~ ~~muscled our way~~ got sucked into the shoe section. I wasn't even shopping for shoes (I really need socks).

I was just looking.

Just looking I tell you.

I mean, we don't even wear the same size...so I wasn't even in the right section. Which means that the right section was just on the other side of the wrong section...which means that they have open shoe shelves...which means on can just reach right through if they see something that catches their eye. Which totally happened when I spied these gold gladiator shoes.

Although, to be completely fair, I had already seen them once when I was there with Dina...who fell in love with them the minute I placed them on my feet and tried to talk me into buying them then.

Since I have very narrow feet and teeny tiny ankles, I have to admit that Gladiators do look quite sweet on my feetsies. But, I wasn't about to justify the $40+ price tag on them...so back on their shelf they went.

Until I spied them again this weekend at a $20+ discount...

DaNece wrinkled her nose at first (we have different shoe taste) that is until I put them on my feet. Then she was cheering me on.

I need little encouragement when buying designer shoes this cheaply...I mean, it was the same price as going out to dinner and a movie.

So.

They're on my little toesies as we speak...and I adore them. From the little bit of UGG shearling they have in the heels of their ridiculously comfortable cork foot-bed...all the way up to the little UGG grommets that hold their delicate gold leather straps together.

I mean. I seriously adore them.

Like the kind of adoration where I'm gonna wear the heck out of these $20 babies until the snow falls...well that and in the back of my mind I'm terrified they'll go out of style before I get my fill of them.

But.

There's always Italy.

(and I could totally use an excuse to go back there)

Hey Pumpkin Head...

2010-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Look who happened to pop into the shop this week!

(with the help of my mother)

(she was his acting chauffeur)

I know it might be a little early for Halloween (I don't care what you saw in your favorite mass market big box store the last time you went shopping) But, I never think it's too early for being a Pumpkin Head. I think they have a year-round charm personally...and one I keep threatening to try to replicate in my own way. Until then, I can look fondly upon my sweet Pumpkin Headed little men that abound at Foolsewoode...they don't often get packed away with the regular holiday stuff you see...

They need breathing room...

And year-round adoration.

Kind of like my sweet shifty-eyed little snowman candy container

(complete with his stash of vintage candy)

(whom was also delivered to me by MamaClaus)

(she's a great chauffeur)

(and a great Mother!)

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-08-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Another of my favorite shots from Saturday's photo shoot.

Who doesn't love shoe shots?

(especially when they're of the Dr. Seuss nature?)

Luckily Monika feels the same way I do about the shoe shot...So there were quite a few that day, which is fine by me.

There's nothing like capturing a moment in time via shoe styles.

Flying Along By The Seat Of My Pants...

2010-08-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Usually while going through life transitions (see: Rough Waters Ahead) while in the throws of life's little fun dramas (see: Growing Pains) I've noticed that if I take a second to notice (see: Sucked Up In My Own Drama) things in nature are usually trying to get my attention.

In this case lately it's been humming birds and skunks.

Lately.

A lot.

Like, the kind of a lot where I'm sitting outside enjoying the time at home and hummingbirds are flying all around and landing on the trees right next to me (see: I Don't Even Have Feeders For Them, So It's Not That) and I sit there and talk to them (see: "Hey There!" Nothing Too Deep) and they sit and look at me, cocking their little heads and hopping from branch to branch.

So, I've taken to carrying my camera around with me, because it's kind of bizarre...so I can snap a picture of them.

Which I did up there.

Yeah.

I was sneaking around in my front yard and snapped this little guy totally clear.

Except I defy you to find it in the picture.

I'll help you out:

Better?

No. I didn't think so.

Trust me, he's there...hanging out letting me know all sorts of things according to Ted Andrews book that is (and one that I happen to keep handy to look up animals on the fly...get it?)

(Hummingbird?)

(Fly?!)

(No. I didn't think so.)

And there is a very young skunk living on the property of Foolsewoode...who is so cute I might add, that I want to pick it up and give it a big squeeze.

Almost.

(we all know what happens if I try that)

So...both things are very interesting symbols and just a little reminder that usually we all have more help than we are even aware of...which is comforting. Even if I just happen to read about it and then almost immediately forget exactly what they mean, so that I can't possibly enlighten you (see: Sigh)

And even if these symbols of extra help are not showing up in pictures as well as they could...At least I know they're still there.

My Closeup Mr. Demille...

2010-08-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I met my wonderful friend Monika for coffee and chit-chats. We love our chit-chats and we do this whenever she comes in to visit Snap! Snap! Of course, me being at work never makes me feel like I really sit and chit.

Or chat.

(for that matter)

Somewhere in the middle of all the coffee drinking and scone consuming (that would be on my part, ahem) Monika looked at me and exclaimed that while she always enjoyes talking to me she was dying to photograph me.

She's a photographer you know.

Which made me slightly cringe (on the inside) because I'm not usually one for having pictures of myself taken (mostly because I'm totally horrified at the results.) But Monika is an amazing portrait photographer...

Truly.

Which I totally knew going in to this madcap photographic adventure.

Which means we ~~slurped up~~ ~~finished up~~ packed up and ran up to Foolsewoode to find a more colorful appropriate outfit and one that Monika thought could capture my quirkiness (which I always thought my face did um, rather well...)

And would you believe we could find nothing?

Yeah.

Right.

If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting Foolsewoode, you'd know that is just plain untrue. There are tons of lovely frocks lying around waiting for their moment to shine...shoes, jewels, handbags, hats...you name it, it's all there.

Monika dug around in my closet and in my armoire and came up with this outfit, and I'd say that it works rather well.

One of my friends on facebook said she loved the way the photos turned out...there were some happy, laughing, and pensive and dramatic.

Just like me.

And my character laden face.

Seriously though?

After taking about 200 pictures...squinting in the sun, trying not to crinkle up my eyes, sweat off my make-up, sucking it in, tilting my chin up, shoulders back, and fixing my bra straps...I am absolutely amazed by the results. I have never. in. my. life. liked this many pictures of myself.

Not ever.

It makes me wish I would have had Monika take my High School Senior Pictures...only I think we were in high school together at the time.

Or something else more monumental than just some random day...

But this day?

This one random day?

Turned into so much more...

I feel monumental.

I feel beautiful...

I feel amazing...

I feel happy...

And she captured my quirky just perfectly.

Totally perfectly.

And the one random day was full of magic.

*If you are in need of a photographer for a monumental event or the capture of an ordinary day...Please feel free to contact me and I will put you in touch with Monika. Even if you cringe when you think about having photos taken (and yes, even it it's on the inside) I want to tell you...having a photographer who is happy, fun, and trustworthy makes all the difference...and heck yes, it's worth traveling up to Prescott to play with Monika for a few hours.

You most certainly won't be disappointed.

Burnin' Down the House...

2010-08-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

OK.

But not really.

(thankfully)

This is what happens when one accidentally knocks a knob on the stove to Med Hi while they're cooking on a totally different set of burners and then walks out of the house to work...thus leaving the burner on without knowing it.

All day as a matter of fact.

And say someone does this and on the particular burner in question, one has a Kitchen Aid ceramic teapot on it...that was bought because it was red and matched all the other Kitchen Aid things in the kitchen...cause' heaven knows at this point, it can't just be a burner with nothing on it.

Luckily my dear sweet roommate walked into the kitchen and noticed the entire situation when she got home from work. By that time the kitchen was rather hot, and the teapot was black and more melted to the burner than not (no great loss there though, it never ever whistled or worked right since I acquired it.) She handled the whole thing with a calm cool head...

(And, Not to mention the fumes that now permeate the house)

(Let's not mention that, shall we?)

(I should probably mention here that now I'm more than a little nervous about lighting candles and incense to get rid of that smell)

It's been a hard week in the kitchen at Foolsewoode...as far as burning goes.

The other day DaNece was making a pie in the oven and it decided to boil over and through its crust...all over the bottom of the oven. And now me bumping the knob? Yeah. We'd already gone through this once not too long ago...and ever since I bought this stove I've accidentally turned on this burner when I meant to turn on the front one.

Seriously.

I was in shock when I came home, and I'm still not feeling panicked about it. I do feel insanely grateful that nothing worse happened. What if it had been the glass Pyrex teapot sitting there instead? What if one of the potholders that hang above the stove tried to get into the action? What if something would have happened to my Kitchen Aid Mixer...or worse? What if something had happened to the cat because of this?

What if...?

Kitchens are precarious at best. Especially lately.

It makes me close my eyes very slowly and take a deep breath and let it out rather slowly and shakily.

But, I've fixed the problem...

I took the knob off the stove, and set it on top of the stove instead.

(at this point I'm not sure if I'm punishing myself or the stove?)

I honestly don't think this burner is useable as I can't get the charred burnt enamel off (although to be fair, I haven't tried all that hard yet...I'm too scared) But for now? The knob is off and sitting in the teabag holder Rozz painted for me.

Seriously.

What a week.

Just Peachy...

2010-08-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

This is what I was up to this morning.

Peach grilling.

To make the grilled peach salad with balsamic bacon vinaigrette reduction that I made not too long ago...only this was for a wedding shower pot-luck I was attending before work. It turned out lovely. Peaches become even more juicy, soft, and sweet after grilling.

It got rave reviews again.

Although I am going on record right now as saying that I do not like cooking bacon. I do love this particular salad but I'm not a huge porcine fan per se...and cooking bacon is a ~~greasy~~ ~~splattery~~ ~~popping~~ hot mess. My whole kitchen is now seemingly entirely covered in bacon grease...and besides? When I was cooking these strips, a hot large drop of bacon grease popped out of the pan and into my left eye.

It had to go completely behind my glasses to do so.

Rude.

At least with all that bacon grease hanging around the dust will have somewhere to stick.

It's dusty in Arizona.

And if you've never cooked a balsamic reduction you must go to your kitchen and do so immediately. It is a fun process by where you usually dump a lovely balsamic mixture into some sort of hot oil and the hot cloud (somewhat like mustard gas I would imagine) and smell of the vinegar then burns off all your nose hairs. Word to the wise? Don't stand over the pan when you're doing this or you will have a very hairy reduction to deal with. And while last time everything went so smoothly and impressively (luring me into the idea that I am indeed a master chef) this time my reduction seemed to separate. I'm not sure if this was from the amount of time I cooked it or the heat on which I cooked it? I just used my intuition and took it off the burner and dumped a bit more vinegar into the pan before it cooled and that made it congeal right back up....that's what you're looking for in a reduction a thick congealing mass.

Sounds appetizing doesn't it?

Yeah.

Whatever.

My kitchen is greasy.

So is my eye.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-08-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

HA! Just when I get back into the blog-groove I decide to go mostly wordless.

(I know that's what you're thinking...)

(Maybe it's only what I'm thinking)

Lest you think I be a huge ginormous slacker...I present to you, the official tattoo photos:

The owl...and his sweet little face (he's definitely a male. Don't ask me why, I just know.) And a somewhat bizarre circular scar that doesn't seem to want to hold the color right there close to his body under the second set of wings. I'm sure Tony would be more than happy to touch that up for me, but I'm honestly not sure if it will hold color?

The Celtic knot made from tree branches with apples arm band. Which as I am staring at it I notice it's upside-down...but if I rotate the photo it doesn't look as good. Deb (my photographer and editor for this project) certainly got it right the first time.

I especially love the little whips of ink that Tony was able to bring right off the end of the branches...and I'd like to go on record as saying that I was envisioning more of a blocky tree-branch design and he's the one that came up with this...which I love.

It reminds me very much of Snow White as well for some reason, and I think it's more feminine which balances out the male in the owl.

The other side of the owl who is perched on a tree branch and something Tony and I came up with on the fly as neither of us had thought about it...but it works very well. Also immediately to the right (and going out of this shot) is a lovely knot he made from all the branches.

The detail on this tattoo is exquisite and I actually get stopped constantly by people who want to see it closer or talk to me about it...I can only take credit for the idea, Tony is the true artist here...

This shows the underneath part of my arm.

I know what you're thinking.

Ouch!

Not as much as you would think though...The owl in its entirety too about 3 hours from start to finish. Tony and I got up only once to stretch. I'm not a GetUpAndStretch kind of gal when I'm getting a tattoo, I'd rather sit and get it over with...Tony was a bit amazed at how well I did. But he does have a very nice and light touch...The arm band which was completed 6 weeks later took about 2 and a half hours...and he did the bulk of the outlining around my arm as far as he could reach without me moving it...which was honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. It was much quicker than the owl...and honestly, for me?

It's the healing.

I have a harder time healing from a tattoo I discovered with this one. It's kind of worrisome and exhausting to me...and itchy. And the under arm and arm band was very different from the owl...the owl being on the outside of my arm where it didn't rub against anything.

You use your arms a lot in a day.

(who knew, right?)

(or at least I do...since I gesticulate a lot.)

(like a Muppet)

The whole thing healed beautifully for me though eventually, the color is still very vivid (because sometimes red looses a bit after healing) and I just adore it.

Which is good, it being permanent and all.

My special thanks and undying admiration for Debra Duncan...my very talented photographer for this project.

Break Over...

2010-08-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hello there blog.

Did you miss me?

Well, technically I actually had my power cord for the Mac back this weekend, and I took an extra day for myself to collect words up. It's horrible, I know...and I'm sure there's a million little things to update you on, if I could find the words. Words are at a bit of a scarcity for me right now...I attribute it to the way things are going as of late. It's been, um...odd in my neck of the woods.

To say the least.

When Ms. Dina wondered out-loud to me whether or not I was taking a break because of the smoking melty power cord or if I just needed a break? I have to admit I scoffed a bit. Now I'm happy that I took last week off...

Phew.

It's a bit elusive...sometimes I can put my finger on it, sometimes I can't. It's like being bombarded by a million little things. Yes, I can certainly handle them, but when it keeps happening it becomes exhaustive. Especially when I can't remember where I've put my shield. Actually, a lot of my friends have been feeling the same way...and I am ready for it to shift in a different direction and get more better.

So...we'll just sneak into our mother's yards and wiggle the apple tree branches and make off with some instead, eh?

You know.

And apple a day keeps the crazy at bay.

(OK, I'm sure there's supposed to be something in there about a doctor, but we'll just mold it to current situations instead, being the sculptors that we are.)

And we shall concentrate instead on the positive that's been happening while I've been away:

I got my new power cord (I'm sure everyone on facebook was relieved about that)
I went into Verizon to complain about my cell phone. They sweetly replaced it with a lovely new touch model as a total surprise because they could not find the model I had to replace it with, and I only have 4 months left on my contract and they didn't add one day...so, it's like getting a whole new upgrade for free! Verizon has lovely customer service.
I am deelply in love with my new phone.
Seriously.
Hanging with friends.
Recovering rather quickly from a couple of weird yoga injuries.
Attending The Prescott Film Festival at various times over the weekend.
Attending a coffee and truffle tasting at Method Coffee (actually I had a date with both Andrew who wan an MC at the Film Festival that night and then his wife Angie picked me up and I had a date with her...such fun!)
Streaming movies through Netflix via the Wii...If you haven't seen The Price of Milk yet, you totally need to.
Watching it rain, and then pour rain some more.
Baking the first apple pies of the season from the apples grown from my mother's trees (no stealing necessary)
Having the most lovely customer of mine who always drops off clothes for Snap! Snap! tuck a handmade knitted cardigan...you can get lost in the depth of the turquoise.
Having home made apple sauce (courtesy of mom) for breakfast this morning.
Planning a vacation.
Making and enjoying mocha frappucinos (cause' I'm talented that way)

And we won't concentrate on the negative.

Until I can rewrite it into a funny anecdote...because I know it can be done.

After all, if you're laughing after the 3rd time something hurtful has been said to you...it must be ridiculous, and I believe I can do it.

So.

Let's you and I set a date for a meet-up here tomorrow in this space, and we'll see what I can come up with shall we?

Melty and Sparking...

2010-08-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all.

I'm writing to tell you that I'm taking a bit of an unscheduled break.

Its a forced thing at this point.

You see...I noticed the other day that my power cord for the Mac has started to be a little flaky. By the time I really realized it and admitted to myself and researched buying a new one (hello $80 from Apple...for a "known issue") Cause' we all know that is the process. I started smelling a little weird smell...picked up the cord and watched the sparks fly.

eep!

Oh dear.

No burning down of the Snap! Snap! or Foolsewoode or myself though.

So...I will be a little quiet here until I get my new power source and I can then fill you in on all the happenings.

I will see you all soon...

Carry on.

Waterproof Mascara...

2010-07-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

My my my...look at those gray skies out there beyond the trees.

This is what we've been staring at for a couple of days. It's monsoon season you know, so this is nothing unusual. Today we were treated to quite a bit of thunder and lightning and steady rains.

Which means it feels like we're all breathing through water.

It's the humidity.

We're not used to it way out west.

Which means it's a bit sticky...and muggy. Although, we all wade around in all of this nodding to each other patting each other on the back and saying, "we sure need the moisture" Because we do. Every once in a while someone will come out with the reminder that we're in the middle of a drought. It seems like I've been hearing that statement for about 10 years now...I am still unsure of how every one knows we're in the middle of it? If it's been the middle for 10 years, I'm a little nervous about how long this drought is supposed to last.

Until then, I've invested in a lot of waterproof mascara.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Things have gone seriously awry at Foolsewoode.

Not only has there been a stomach flu...but look at the hot mess this guy's gotten himself into.

Apparently he is an Airbender that has been stuffed into an red ant pile.

I'm not sure if he's the last Airbender...or what the deal is, but thankfully whomever buried him only buried him up to his waist, so technically he should be able to dig himself out of this fix...unless he is indeed an Airbender and can't manipulate the Earth?

I'm not sure.

But he's been like this since this morning.

I fear the worst.

Fluish...

2010-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

ugh.

Sunday I woke up feeling a bit...strange.

Which led to laying on the couch and resting all day, not getting out of my PJs (as I will spare you with the details at this time)

Stomach.

Ick.

Then I woke up this morning dizzy. I went to the gym and floated through my workout. I thought it would pass...I met a friend for a photo shoot of the tattoo...so you could all get a better look. I drank coffee and chit-chatted. Then I went to the shop and things started slipping a little sideways.

I got a delivery of ginger-ale and Saltines.

A customer said she was battling with the same thing this last weekend...I noticed time passed quite strangely today.

Stomach.

Ick.

I drank broth for dinner and will most likely rest for the duration of my evening...my feet propped up, sipping ginger-ale.

I'm hoping this passes soon...I have decided that nausea and dizziness in such a spectacular combination are not my favorite way to spend the day.

Stomach.

Ick.

image credit

Monsoonish...

2010-07-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Enjoying all the monsoonishness...

Along with the snails

(apparently)

(now, if I could only get them to give me a foot massage...although that might be a little gross)

Have a wonderful weekend all!

From the Land of Orange Plasticy Goodness...

2010-07-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

A new old design that I just recently picked up at one of my mother's antique shops...Gypsy Street Antiques. To be entirely fair...while I don't usually hone in on the color Orange for wearable objects, this orange plasticy goodness practically jumped up and down and waived it's little anthurium petals at me from across the shop...

In a very provocative way.

So, I slipped it on to indulge myself, because it's not often that a piece of jewelry so decidedly and so obviously flirts with me, and then once around my neck, decided that I may just have to have to bring it home with me.

The fact that it is crazy vintage plastic and orange are all secondary bonuses.

Today this sweet piece made its fashion debut around my neck and I have gotten a whole slew of compliments.

(the tellers at the bank were especially sweet as all of their jaws dropped when I walked in and they said, "You look totally hot today! Would you mind going out and walking back in?" Which made me more of a giggly blushing person...and added a bit of twinkle to my eye and a bit of confidence to my step. Now, normally this kind of thing doesn't happen to me...and it's happened a lot today, perhaps it's due to the navy fitted dress that I've paired this necklace with, along with my matching orange wedges...maybe it's that my gym time has finally caught up with me...perhaps it's my Dior decorated eyelashes or the fact that some day's you just got it? Whatever the case may be, and no matter how amazed I am to hear all the compliments, I would be lying if I told you they weren't making me smile...and now at this stage? I'm seriously considering adopting this as my official uniform...)

So...

Sweet surprises from the land orange plasticy goodness indeed.

On Air...

2010-07-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Goodness.

I almost totally forgot what with life creeping in at every corner and whatnot...I was recently interviewed for the radio by Andrew Johnson-Schmit for his show Prescott Art Beat. It was a wonderful interview (although to be perfectly fair, Andrew is very easy to talk to...and if you put a fez on that guy's head up there...that's pretty much what Andrew looks like. Give or take a line drawing or two...) about fashion as art.

Or something like that.

We talked about clothing and shoes and vintage as well as current couture and style...these are a few of my favorite things!

It makes me so excited to think about it that I figured I'll have to re-listen to it, won't I?

So...if you want to hear my melodic voice

(ahem)

Please Click Here.

Lather Rinse...Repeat.

2010-07-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Weekend Pampering.

Ahhhh...

Not something I've done in a while...I've been more of a sporadic pamperer lately...a pedi here, a facial there...exfoliation, tweeze...cha cha cha.

And this weekend? Well, Ms. Dina and I threw ourselves together and jumped into the beauty pool. I have to admit that she's usually the one I do this with the most. It's not that all my friends aren't beautiful...they most certainly are...it's just that Dina keeps up with and puts on make-up in a way I wish I could.

It's almost silly isn't it?

Sometimes I feel so late to the party...

My sister is talented in this way too...but me? I read a couple of articles and look at pictures, try things out, horrify myself...wipe it off and go on with my day.

I was actually at Ms. Dina's for a birthday party recently and leaned over to tell her niece I thought she was stunning and how jealous I was that she did her eyes so well. She looked at me and said, "Sadie? You need to watch the videos on Youtube..."

Ahhhh...out of the mouths of 13 year-olds indeed.

So I did.

I realize that like fashion, make-up changes through the years...applications and techniques and since I've always thought I've been rather bad at this aspect of beauty, I found something that I thought worked for me, coveted the latest techniques and just went on my merry way.

I'm realizing this may take some practice...so, I'm going to approach it like that. And I'm hoping to bring in the skills of a fine painter. Not that I'm a fine painter, but I am creative and I can paint. So, was it a fluke or just a well timed coincidence that Ms. Dina and I found ourselves chit chatting about make up and eyes and brushes this weekend? Perhaps. I like to think it's fate.

Which found both of us running here and there talking brushes, pigments, and mascaras.

Oh my.

I walked away from this weekend with a renewed vigor (and the realization that I'm going to have to give myself more than my allotted 10 minutes face/eye time in front of the mirror as I am using no less than 4 brushes on my eyes...and 3 on my face...gah!) I learned that I need to shampoo and condition my brushes regularly (who knew? Yeah...you're right, you probably did) I went through make-up bags with a cutthroat determination and threw away things that were old and that I haven't used in a long time (ie. That make up that I bought when I was still married? Yeah. That was a bit long ago) I then I washed and conditioned...individually cleaned off plastic containers, and threw the mess of make-up bags in the wash.

Things are clean and sparkly and organized...and I think I may just have achieved that smoky eye I have been coveting for some time now.

I did buy some new key things this weekend as well. After wandering around in Target with Ms. D...and having her point out what each brush did (seriously. I know there's a whole lot of brushes out there, but this is major if you haven't been keeping up) I walked away with a new flat brush for applying foundation (so you look all air brushed and whatnot...simply more amazing than a sponge in my opinion) and a new eye-brow combo thing (cause I was currently using the head of a very broken one for some time now and there was no handle and most of the comb tines had been broken off...ahem) some new pigment shades, a gel eye-liner (which is fab for someone who's always thought they look dead after applying eye-liner) a blending brush, and the thought that I may need a Kabuki brush for powder...that is until I dug out all of the brushes I already own and realize I have a lovely Smash Box Kabuki brush already (and another one I didn't realize I had) Ahem again.

Besides.

Brushes are serious expensive business if you want the good ones.

I also inherited a rather amazing bottle of Dior mascara, which I can't remember the name of right now, but after applying it this morning I realize why people pay a little more for some products. When I looked back at my own reflection, I could hardly believe it was me staring back...My eyes are framed in a way they haven't been since I bought the Urban Decay mascara a few years ago and used until it dried up and went away. And I loved it, but it wasn't waterproof and got a bit smudgy here and there.

Thanks for the reminder Dior.

Oh and Dina.

Who invited me over to top off the weekend with a DIY manicure that has to be one of the best ones I've ever had. I can't remember the exact products we used, but I can already tell it's going to warrant another trip out to Sally's. Oh wait...D just emailed me the spot she found it!!
(we also dipped our hands in ice water at the very end to set everything and it's the perfect icing on the nail polish cake for sure. Although, that cake would kind of taste icky, eh?)

It really is all about the little things isn't it? Feeling like you're looking your best all while mastering (or trying to) a new technique or style or look...topping it off with great conversation and feeling a little more girlie and pampered than I have in quite a long while...

And...

2010-07-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

Changing the windows at Snap! Snap!

Incorporating:

Strings of Vintage wooden thread spools

Vintage wooden shoe forms

Vintage clothes and Current Fashions

Watching:

The rain pour down outside

The end of the week slip by

People come and go

Eating:

Not a darned thing, as I was totally going to run by Pangaeas this morning before work and grab a macaroon...and I totally ran out of time. I'm somehow remembering that they close before I do, so I may just have to remain macaroonless.

Wondering:

If I accidentally left the cat out?

And about a hundred tiny little things I have no control over and...

and.

...

Cat In The Hat In The Shoe...

2010-07-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

I suppose there are about as many reasons to like facebook as there are...well, probably to hate it. Currently facebook is helping me stay in touch with people who are important to me (some of whom live in the same town and I see in person as well) And the other day while I was be-bopping around on the Internets I saw a flashy ad for Converse shoes, right there on the sidebar of facebook.

It just happened to be featuring their new Dr. Seuss designs.

I love Converse, and have since the moment I got my first pair of Converse...a pair of lavender hightops C. 1982. I thoroughly wore them out only to replace them with a pink pair and so on...until I can say with some sense of ~~snobbery~~ ~~know it all-ness~~ authority that there is usually always at least one pair of Converse in my shoe collection at any given time...

Which is as it should be.

But, as of Tuesday, I now have two pairs of Converse. The pair of pink glitter sparkle ones (obviously...I mean, sheesh) and the all new red and white and black striped Cat in the Hat's Hat inspired ones.

I'm sure I should be minding my P's and Q's and not buying more shoes...but how could I possibly resist these?

From their absolutely darling style and comfortable fit, their packaging, free shipping, a Dr. Seuss backpack/bag, not one...but three pairs of different colored laces...and again with that packaging?!

Seriously.

These are a must have for anyone who is a die hard Dr. Seuss/Cat in the Hat fan.

And you so totally know that I would have gotten the Thing 1 and Thing 2 hightops if they would have come in my size...so I didn't go that overboard.

Mostly.

Someone just happened to remind me (again via facebook) that they might indeed go nicely with the red petti-skirt I have also been coveting...as would the pink sparkle ones.

Oh.

And my tiara.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

A particular favorite red and green zebra striped tomato from last weekends Market haul.

Delicious.

Proving you can be both functional and beautiful...

The Storm of the Century! OK. Not really...but there was a whole lot of hail to contend with, so that's something...

2010-07-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official.

Monsoon season in Arizona has started!

(OK, it may not actually be official, but it's been raining...and on one case hailing ((at my house)) for a few days now. Also? Since I mostly refuse to watch the news, I think the mere fact that the swamp cooler at Snap! Snap! is barely making a dent in what is humid ((yes, for Arizonans that's a totally different scale...for instance: Usually around 5% humidity I'm sticky...what? It's dry here! But my good friend Claudine called to say that it was 107 and 40% humidity down in The Valley...and while that may not be a lot, together it's crazy ridiculous ThankYouVeryMuch)) So, it may or may not be official about the start of the Monsoon season, but I am drawing my own conclusions here based on observational facts and being a long-time resident.

So there.

During the crazy hail storm Sunday Mena actually looked at me, rolled her eyes and got down from her perch on the back of the couch (she lays there to catch the cross breeze from the windows) and got on the floor, where she sat rather pathetically looking at me out of the corner of her eye while I ran around the house from window to window to make sure that the insane amounts of water were not flowing down the driveways and into the back door.

Although, I think I may have helped that problem out with all the hoe-trench-digging I did a while back.

Then again, one can never be too sure about such things.

So, that was a scary storm for the cat...and she was probably further traumatized by me running around because I was being further traumatized by the memories of me with a hoe in hand running around in ankle deep water with lightning striking all over while trying to divert water...In my pink sparkly socks.

Which didn't make it through that particular storm.

Like the casualties of war...

Socks: The Casualty of weather

(and a poorly planned out drainage system...although, the be completely fair...the house has sat there since 1925, so perhaps the dirt and silt has finally just caught up with everything?)

Luckily though, we mostly came through that unharmed...except for the cat, who was traumatized, and a couple of shredded leaves on the plants outside. And later when I was sitting on the porch, I watched a little bird jump through all the branches of the pyrocantha bush knocking water on itself and taking a bath.

Which can only mean one of two things:

1. Birds also do not like hail

2. I need to fill the birdbath with water because there are some dirty birds out there who are being forced to bathe in my bushes...

The Prescott Farmer's Market...

2010-07-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Which is usually where you'll find me early on Saturday mornings during their run of summer...but where I haven't been one time since it started this summer. Can you believe that?

Me neither.

But...I did make time to go out this Saturday to pick up some sweet fresh organic produce.

I bought radishes...

(don't you LOVE how it looks like the little Day Of The Dead gal up there looks like she's enjoying a little handful of the radishes? I'm sure she would too...if she wasn't sewn on to a tank top.)

And, my colorful tomato vendors were out there with their piles and piles of sweet tomato goodness...which always makes me very excited.

Tomatoes totally do that for me.

I fact, I have both of those things in my lunch salad today...although, I'd just as soon eat them both raw for a snack, that will do too.

Someone was also selling figs...which I snagged for of for the price of $1.00...they were $5/lb but I think you'd have to get a ton to make the scale move...my 4 didn't really do anything, and now I wish I would have grabbed more. My mother adores figs, so I usually try to grab them when I see them for her...but I hid one in reserve for myself.

Actually, it was sitting on the stove out of the way until I ate it with blueberries for breakfast yesterday.

Cause that's totally how I roll.

Dinner Party...

2010-07-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

On The Menu:

Grilled Peach Salad with a bacon balsamic vinaigrette reduction

Grass fed organic burgers with blue cheese

Waffled potatoes

Lemon Meringue martinis

And the best company of good friends, candle light, and the cool evening of Northern Arizona.

The perfect way to start the weekend.

Christmas in July...

2010-07-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

One of the local thrifts in town decided to have Christmas in July sale...which is exciting to me just in case there are any vintagy Christmas things lurking around their place and may find their way out on the floor...

(although I just realized Christmas is about 5 months away, so there is that)

I haven't seen anything that's caught my eye and made me jump up and down until yesterday, which is when I came upon all these cute vintage Christmas cards...and for 10 cents a piece I was pretty jumpy. It's kind of strange though, because I was honestly thinking not too much earlier in the morning that I may not send out cards this year since the price of postage keeps going up, and I would just create one card and direct all my friends and relatives to the blog instead...Not the same, but whatever.

(guess what Post Office? We're all having to readjust in this economy and a lot of us aren't making as much money as we once did...I mean, Rain, Hail, Sleet, and Snow doesn't stop you...but a struggling economy does? Harmph...)

And then here these little sweeties pop right into my life.

I got a whole handful of the Santa ones, and the other ones just one a piece (which I thought maybe I could decorate with them instead?) The cards actually came with their original envelopes which is great...although I was wondering what the shelf life of licky glue is on these things and will I get sick if I then lick the envelopes to seal them?

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

A group of old friends.

Or rather...

Friends from the past.

(cause' we're not old)

(though who can tell with all that squinty on my face?! I swear...I do. not. squint. that much in real life...although, I had been having margaritas and my right contact was slightly foggy...I need to learn how to smile for pictures...cause' squint is not a good look!)

At Kim's Bar-B-Q for The Fourth of July.

Please note that I am the only one dressed patriotically...You can see my little rhinestone flag pin, and cherry skirt. Although, I'm not too sure cherries are patriotic...but more of something that George Washington would rather not be reminded of.

Oh the folly of youth...

From In to Outside...

2010-07-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

Late afternoon sun streaming around the corner of the house, through the tree branches, and reaching its way across the front of the house...its little fingers waving a sweet good-bye for the day as the sun finally sets.

And...what I am currently enjoying in the evenings at Foolsewoode when I happen to be lucky enough to be home and not out and about.

You see...it's feeling a little warm in the house when I get home to it being closed up all day...no, I don't have air conditioning. I suppose I could install this, but I chalk it up to being a long time resident of Prescott...that I can feel the heat, but not be too bothered. After all, not only does it totally cool down at night, but I have various fans and a swamp cooler placed in mostly strategic areas...

And when it gets too unbearable, as it is wont to do in all of Arizona from time to time...I just take it outside instead, light a slew of candles, and put a foot or two up and enjoy.

Sometimes I even eat Popsicles...

Pies and Stripes...

2010-07-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend of The Fourth was kind of a kick-off to pie season around here...

Apparently.

I had a fun bar-b-q to go to on Saturday, and it being a potluck and me being a pie master...I dug out the dough, the fruit, and the extra special pie-love that flies around the kitchen, and got to covering the surfaces of the counters with pie goodness.

Ok.

Most of the goodness went in to the pies...I mean, of course, it was a bit sticky here and there when all was said and done, but well worth it.

I have no clue where my love of making pies comes from, but I find it some of the most satisfying work I do in the kitchen...it's the perfect amount of zen and creativity to keep me bustling around in my apron, totally content and usually dancing to whatever pie making music is happening that day.

This time it was a techno-Latin-Portuguese-Calypso thing...

Yes.

Barefoot in the kitchen...

The perfect stereotype.

Kind of...

As it was, all of that hard work yielded a fresh strawberry pie and an apple pie.

Both were deliciously tart and sweet in all the right ways...

My mother currently has the left over apple, as she thinks I'm the best apple pie maker in the world. I'm not sure about that, but I hold that compliment quite close in a happy place I have reserved just for pie-type things. To be fair, this was the woman who taught me how to cook and was a great experimenter of recipes who also told me that often you have to fudge a bit here and there when making certain things to get them right to your tastes...which is exactly what I do when I'm making most things...Loosely follow a recipe until I get it down, and then all bets are off.

My mother also happens to have apple treas that are just laden with fruit waiting to ripen as we speak...in which case, there will probably be a whole lot of other pies happening around these parts very soon...

But until then, I'm taking requests...