The Last Few Days...

...have been a little trying.

Full of ton's of emotions...

Luckily though, I have an amazing support system...and I want to thank everyone for checking in with me via email, the blog and phone throughout the day...

I didn't want to panic anyone, but I guess figured in my naive way that people who follow my blog, guessed sometime within the last couple of months, that I did indeed meet the most wonderful man (actually through the fact that we both blog, and a great story that I'll share someday) and you have been following both of our blogs ever since...

and that you may have noticed that sometime last week, Rich had received a fabulous chance for an interview for what sounds like an amazing job opportunity...

So, he's packed up the Airstream and headed out to Colorado Springs...

And, I am excited for him...
So very excited!

And, I am sad...
And scared...
And pissed...

Yes, my therapist would be so proud...I'm feeling it all. Sometimes all at once, some times one at a time...but they're all in there.

So, NO Rich is not dead...he's not walking away from me...he's not going away forever...and this morning did not find me outside the Airstream throwing myself around his legs yelling, "take me with you!" (cause, that's plain rude on a Sunday morning...and really, how much can one do with a grown woman hanging on them?)

He's just temporarily unavailable to Prescott...

There, that was supposed to make me feel better.
sigh.
(dramatic eye roll)

And, wouldn't you know that I jumped at the opportunity of popping over to see him tonight when he asked? Then I remembered that he was in SantaFe, and by the time I got there, he'd be ready to pull out for another day of travelling...so, I decided to sit tight and enjoy my phone updates, and reading his blog...

And here I sit...watching out the window at the lightning in the distance, and waiting, something that I do (maybe not well at times because I have previously perceived myself to be the most impatient person on the planet...but, that may indeed be a made up story) for the next chapter to unfold, and to tell the truth, more than a little excited to see what's next....

And...while I will not mention the exact number of phone calls I received from Rich over the course of the day, while he checked in to see how I was doing, to giving me the latest update on the weather, or filling me in on exactly where he was and what he was doing, or just to be silly (it was just like another day of my life since he's walked in) let's just say I thank my lucky stars that not only have I met such a wonderful person...

but that we both have Verizon!

Into The Sunset...

Thank you so much for opening my eyes again to my corner of the world...

And, for a million other things in life...

Good - Bye...

Have a safe trip...


Hurry home.

Wrapping it Up...

Well...I was just browsing through my photos, desperately trying to come up with some kind of content for a post that wouldn't bore you and me both (there's a lot happening here that I don't want to even try to talk about right now) and realized that I forgot to tell you what I ended up doing on the 4th...

I took the day off from work as planned and went to Jerome with my good friend Steven...

It was a lovely day, although hot...

We started off the day with a hefty lunch from Su Casa down in Clarkdale (my all time favorite Mexican food restaurant...their salsa bar? Amazing!) And, jetted back up the hill to Jerome to try and walk off our food...


It was also Steven's birthday the day before and no one remembered.

Not even me
(I do hang my head in shame)

So, I did take him out to lunch...but would not buy him that tu-tu...he didn't actually say he wanted it...but I could tell! Then again, maybe it was the giraffe?





Jerome is such a fun little place...I haven't been in ages, and I really needed a day away from this place...I mean, a lovely change of scenery from my every-day life.


Really, it keeps one sane.









And, as I now find myself at the end of another week...I am confused. Confused about where the time is going. The sand is running through my fingers, and it seems like there's so much more left to do...so many things I wanted to do, and I can't keep hold of it.

I just stand helplessly and watch it go.

Maybe there's a window of opportunity that I haven't seen yet, maybe a door that hasn't opened...

I hope I find it soon.

Have a good weekend.
(good lord, are we having another Friday the 13th?)

Tutte le nuvole nel cielo

Ahhh...no weird lighting incidences to report from yesterday.

It was almost a little boring...almost.

And, I decided to take my dear Gadget's advice and truck out to The Dells to photograph the sunset...

You know, in hopes of changing my lighting mojo.

The Breakdown...

The 8' fluorescent light bulb burning out at the Snap Snap...4 days without light in that section

A 2-pack of the wrong 8' light bulbs...A trip to Home Depot & $16.00

The right 8' light bulb...A trip back to Home Depot & $11.00 (for one only)

Installing the right light bulb in under 10 minutes and having it work...Satisfaction of a job well done

Then watching the bulb burn out in the shoe room when you open your shop...What tha?!?!?!
Doing it all with the perfectly matching eyebrows...Priceless.

( For all those who wanted to see Dina's genius)

Yesterday...

...is not today.

It's not.
Cause if it is...

I'm done,
I'm out,

and I don't want to play anymore.

I have been counting down the very minutes until Mercury popped out of retrograde and went direct. That happened yesterday...oh yes indeed, it did. But, as most astrologers would tell you, sometimes things will affect you for 3 days after as well.

Usually, I scoff...
well, no more, I tell you...

No more.

The day started off promising and then took a turn for the worst. Now, it wasn't so many horrible things that happened...and looking back it seems a little funny (almost) A light bulb at Snap Snap burnt out...one of the 8' fluorescents, the ones that are in the horrible light fixtures? OH these things are rich...

Picture if you will, little me, in my new Capris (and fabulous eyebrows) balancing on the horrible little rickety ladder that I inherited from my mother...I painted the entire store using this ladder (and I keep saying I'm afraid of heights...It's becoming apparent that I may not be as afraid as I thought I was) with my arms stretched out over my head wrestling with the cover of this stupid light fixture (those were not the words that were coming forth from my mouth at the time, but I am trying to preserve the PG rating of the blog at this point...lets just say it was like this picture of Ms. D pushing around the boulders) and it's HOT...cause' there's a little bit of humidity in the air, which makes the swamp cooler just chug along. So, I finally wrestle everything off...and the exact minute I do anything in the shop...a million people come in.

Fine.
I'm used to it.

So, I'm up there with people swarming around me, there's dust and 8' fluorescent all over the place...and I go to put up the new light bulb. The genius at Home Depot sold me the wrong one.

Perfect.
Brilliant.

For the rest of the day, the light fixture hung open there in space (just the professional look I go for) and I trucked up to HD after work to wait in exchange line hell. Done though, the new light bulb is sitting at the shop waiting to be installed. And this was only one little frustrating moment out of what turned out to be a long butt-kicking day.

But, I had a date with a sunset and someone super special at The Dells last night. And, of course, I forgot my camera (of course) But, Rich took tons of amazing pictures. You can see them here...and visit his Flickr page as well (we got super silly while titling the photos) Although, I am disappointed in myself because I could have really used the sky as the perfect palette for my vision...

But, it may have been hard for me to slow down and take pictures with all the rock jumping I seem to be doing up there
(again with the fear of heights and uncoordinated? Silly rabbit)
And, the laying down on the rocks to stare at the heavens.

Plus, it may have been hard to see the camera screen through all the tears...

Shed for the horror of the day...
And the beauty of the night...

All in perfect balance.

(hello drama queen)

I'm off to take a shower...

don't drown...
don't drown...
don't drown...

Sunday July 8th...

Ok...I certainly can't start this post without the expression of what a wonderful entire weekend I had. It was just the right amount of relaxation, and adventure and creativity...exactly what I needed!

I started Saturday with a trip to Fossil Creek...Ok, It was supposed to be a trip to Fossil Creek, but it turned out to be a small jaunt down the extremely wash-boarded road on the way to Fossil Creek before we looked at each other, raised our eyebrows, and decided our time would be better spent on a smoother paved road (a recently washed truck played into that decision too) and headed up to Strawberry instead...on the way, we witnessed quite a forest fire brewing in the mountains out that way ('tis the fire season here) we saw quite a few slurry bombers, helicopters, and hot shot vehicles, but no flames (thank goodness)

We made it to Strawberry and toured around a bit before heading back home...all the while enjoying sight-seeing, multiple viewing of clouds in the sky, heated fun discussions, and a lot of arm waving...well, on my part anyway. I do tend to be quite expressive with my hands when I talk, I'm kind of like a muppet that way (and the roads were safe however, as I was not driving)

On our little trip, I was wearing a pair of long shorts. I only own one pair of long shorts, as I don't usually go out in public in shorts (I like Capris... cause' I'm not too hep on the way my legs look right now and I'm Irish, so I don't tan) but, it's so danged hot and as we were planning on creeking it, I decided to wear the shorts. I also decided that one pair of shorts would certainly not do with all the outdoors I have been enjoying of late...so, after a quick lunch, and cartoon viewing, we headed up to Manzanita Outdoors to browse about. I looked at all the shorts, and was taken back by the prices. You see, I'm terribly spoiled because I usually get all my clothes used, and suffer from sticker shock...I did buy a new lovely pink Nalgene bottle...and was inspired instead, to make my own shorts.

When I got home that afternoon, I dug through my stash of vintage fabric, and picked quite a few nice pieces for myself, thinking I would whip up about 2 pairs of shorts by the end of the weekend for myself. As I was washing the fabric, I thought back about a pair of Prana Capris I was coveting at the outfitters and thought,

"hey, I think I'll whip up a pair of Capris out of this great vintage fabric!"
(that I rescued from the back of a ruined quilt)

And then I started thinking about fun cuffs. I ran and got a pair of Capris out of my armoire to use as a pattern and began cutting...and dreaming about these cuffs...Needless to say, I finished up the Capris late on Sunday evening. Yes...it took me longer to make the cuffs than it did to cut out the Capris and sew them up. The cuffs took planning...

a lot of planning...
and pinning...
and ironing...
and bias tape even...

And you know I'm serious about a sewing project if I pull out both the pins and the iron. Plus, I sat for quite a while in various places and situations throughout the weekend and mentally put the Capris together in my head a million times...it's part of my process, all the thinking and planning and putting projects together in my head before I attempt it. And, I don't just do it with the sewing projects either. I have to say that I like the way they turned out...not necessarily always straight lines on the cuffs, and I'm not quite sold on the idea that it was worth all the extra effort, but they fit well, and have great detail, plus I can either wear the cuffs so they lie straight or tighten them so they make a ruffle and look like knickers (just kidding, I would never do that to myself) and the weight of the extra fabric makes the bottoms of the Capris hang quite nicely (now I've got to locate some elastic so they don't fall off all day...with all the extra cuff love, I didn't even want to attempt a fitted waistline, cause we all know how challenging for me that is)

I did not get to the original 2 pairs of long shorts I started out making...
damn.

Now, Sunday started out in a lazy lie around sort of way...and quickly escalated into running about catching up on errands, and making things...Dina hosted a little girlie get together at her new house which had me making my famous guacamole with chips and veggies to dip, a bottle of wine (ok, I didn't make that) and some blueberry applesauce spice donuts with chocolate icing.

I used the same recipe as the other day.
The exact same one.

I could not for the life of me, get the stupid donuts out of the pan...without them falling apart. So, I was reduced to leaving them in the pan and icing them.

Stupid donuts.

I'm blaming it on the barometric pressure.
(and yes, that's a large toothpick/palm tree with a monkey climbing on it that I used to try to dig these things out of the pan...don't ask me where my "normal" toothpicks are)

We did pedicures and manicures, hair trimming and eyebrow plucking. And, poor Niko...always walks around watching us warily while we do this various primping and saying, "does it hurt?!" It's hard to explain:

no, well...a little sometimes, but it's relaxing...really.
And, doesn't one have to suffer to be this beautiful?

Dina is the master plucker and the only one who gets to touch my eyebrows, and she out-did herself this time. She likens my "new eyebrows" to a 1940's pinup girl (getting closer to doing those photos aren't I?) Although, she was worried that I would think that I looked too surprised, as we don't usually go that thin, and they are more arched now.

I like them...
they're perfect for my new capris.

Cause' you know you gotta' match your eyebrows to you clothes...

I'm Tellin' Ya'...

It's like Animal Planet around here lately...

The other morning, I was sitting here, just waking up and getting ready to enjoy my day when a sweetie little bird smacked into the large picture window that dominates one wall of my living room...

I grew up in a house with huge front windows, and that was a sound I heard quite often, but it still makes me cringe. So, I peeked out there, and there it was, on it's back with it's little feet all curled up...panting. Oh no. So, I walked away, thinking that at some point, I was going to need to get the shovel and give it a right decent burial in the garbage can.

Even though it freaks me out.
Why does the thought of a dead bird freak me out?

I mean, my sister used to save them for their plumage in her freezer for goodness sake.

So, the cat was outside (oh yes, you can only guess what's coming next) She proceeded to pick up panting/assumed dying bird in her mouth and bring it right into the house. Where it chirped and hopped around the floor...picture if you will, at this point, me jumping around screaming my head off at the cat (even though I read, you're not supposed to do that, cause' it's just their way of contributing to the house...but, I defy you to keep calm when presented with the thought of watching your cat eat a live bird and strew the feathers around you house or usually what happens is the bird is fine and then you have a panicked bird flying around an overstimulated cat chasing it combined with a super freaked out Sadira screaming her head off while waving a towel around...besides, we've already had the discussion of her contribution, and she's supposed to be cleaning) So, I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a towel to throw over the bird and carry it outside...that way I won't crush it, or it won't peck me...and watched it fly away.

So, I saved it.
I saved it's little bird life.
And, this was all before 10 am.

And yesterday morning when I was on the phone with Rich, I heard some weird chirping/chitting noises and peeked outside to see the cat staring intently at the drainpipe. I was half talking on the phone, and half trying to figure out what the heck was going on, when all of a sudden, whatever was up there fell down a little bit, scaring both the cat and I...One of us shrieking into the phone probably causing temporary hearing loss to the person on the other end and the other getting a rather large and puffy tail...all while running around in a total panic trying not to trip over one another...

(Meena says she's sorry for shrieking at you Rich)

So, I haul the cat inside so that whatever it was that was up there would hopefully find its way out. It chirped and squawked for a long time.

Perfect.
It's stuck.

So, I went out and hit the drainpipe a couple of times and listened to it scrabble about (I was hoping to scare it out, or at least shut it up for a minute)...while having horrible visions of whatever it was, dying and rotting away, only to show it's decayed little body during the monsoon season, as it shoots out of the drainpipe (due, of course, to the fact that there will be a large pile-up of leaves and sticks and water applying amazing amounts of force on it's dead carcass)

Oh joy.
What a special lawn ornament that will be.

After a while though, I didn't hear any more little sounds coming out of the pipe...and as I was leaving for work, I heard a familiar squeak...coming from the birdbath...the culprit? A little chipmunk. Yay...I saved a chipmunk life, I am so thankful that the cat didn't drag that into the house...

And all of this before 10am!

You know, It's times like these when I wish I had someone else living here to deal with all of this, even though I know I'm perfectly capable of dealing with it myself. It just freaks me out. Like the time I ran downstairs to the kitchen to retrieve a butcher knife shortly after we moved to AZ and my mom was single, so she could kill a rather large centipede (shudder) that was crawling around on the ceiling of her bathroom. Now, coming from CA we did not know that you do not under any circumstances cut things in half.

you don't.
you just don't.

Not if you don't want one half landing in your hair...and the other half landing on the floor and running away...never. to. be. seen. again...but, there is something comforting about a resounding round of girlie screaming (even if one of them may be a cat) that you don't get when you have a male around (unless you count the sound my ex used to make when he found a roach) and you're forced to fill a ceiling light fixture with liquid poison and watch a centipede drown as the poison slowly drips onto your sister's bed (shudder...and I wonder why I hate centipedes?)

And, I thought at the time my mother was so brave, but she said in a quite matter of fact voice,

"...it's the centipede or you girls!"
and you know,
after all that?

The stinging wasn't half bad after a few days.

And yes, I already used that one picture of Meena, but I just love it so...
And no, the lizard has nothing to do with what's going on...but it is wildlife, right?
And, it was a total accident my sister got stung by that centipede...but ma drowned it in the end!

Have a good weekend!

Ka - Boom!

Actually, it was more of a sound of a gentle thud in the background as fireworks light up the local skies.

Rich and I made the climb up the rocks in The Dells to witness the spectacle...and not only got to see what was happening in the local neighborhood, but had the view to see Chino as well (you know, just in case we got bored with the ones right in front of our faces)




Besides the swatting off of my legs and killing several larger than normal ants...there was a small silly incident of a strange sound coming from the rocks behind me.

A low scraping sound kind of like a lawn chair, and by the time we both decided that a Mountain Lion would probably not be dragging a lawn chair up the side of a mountain, a little group of other people came into view to watch from the rock pile next to us


Phew...

Cause' you know I jumped up and tried to hide behind Rich, and he just looked between me and his new camera...trying to decide...Plus, he has a great little headlamp he uses to climb around in the dark, so I can't see a darned thing usually unless he's helping me (which he always does) So, thank goodness it was other spectators, because really? There was too much nice camera equipment up there to have gotten attacked, and far too dark to have made a quick getaway...

We both agreed that the fireworks seemed a little low...But, it was quite windy and I'm thinking that it may have been a little dangerous to have them sky-high (excuse the pun) with the extreme temperatures we've been having coupled with the lack of rain...

We don't want any fires...

at least ones that are not as pretty as these!



Luckily Rich loaned me an extra tripod he happened to have sitting around, so that my sweet little camera was a little steadier, and I think I got some great shots...

The camera actually has a fireworks function on it, so that was really fun!

But, with all the wind, and my inexperience, most of my pictures turned out blurry...


All in all, it was a lovely evening!

fireworks,
photography,
trying to pick out the best of a lot of good pictures,
marathon conversation,
almost getting attacked by local wildlife,

And...you can check out Rich's fabulous photos at here at his site...

Happy 4th!!

Shhhhh...

I've decided not to open the shop today. There are several reasons (like, there's no one else on my part of the downtown block that will be open, and being in the middle of the block does not mean people always walk down there or even notice that I'm open) and I could justify the heck out of it with all other reasons...but I won't. Mostly I looked back at last years sales, and thought to myself, "do you really want to stand down here all day for that...just in case history repeats itself?"

So, I'm off to enjoy my day.

I am faced with a huge looming empty day, and I can think of a million things I would like to do. Since it is predicted to be 104 today, that's limiting some of my choices quite a bit. There is a part of me that wants to just lay around and watch movies and relax...stare at the ceiling. Often though, it fights with the part of me that feels guilty and wants to clean up and organize and be productive, resulting in the other part standing up and deciding that perhaps I should take a little road trip...

that's a lot of parts y'all...

Doh...

...Nut

What do you do, on a Sunday, say mid-morning, on a day when the temperature of the day will reach the high of 100?

I, personally...fire up the oven to a comfy 350, and start baking!

Last week, I found a little donut pan at the thrift for a hefty $1 and about flipped. I have never seen a donut pan (like a muffin pan only with donut shaped things...obviously) as traditionally donuts are not baked, but fried.

I actually haven't had a donut in years. The last time I tried to eat one it was a Krispy Kreme, and it gave me an instant headache (I attribute it to the wheat, but I'm thinking it was the combination of all donut ingredients and the fact that it tasted like chemicals) Plus, we have no donut shop in Prescott...

not a one.

We used to have the greatest one that stood next to a once empty field (now the new Fry's) that was bulldozed to make way for Smith's (both groceries) and they had the greatest mini-donuts on a stick thing...I think what made them so great was that they were 6 glazed ones with the top 3 dipped in chocolate icing...plus, they were cake donuts.

I love cake donuts.

I think the other ones are pure crap. But, I suppose it's a matter of opinion really.

After the first donut store was ground into the earth, someone tried to open a Dunkin' Donuts. All I remember about them is that the one and only time I had a donut there, I bit into it and it was so greasy that all the chocolate icing cracked and fell off. Perhaps that's why it didn't succeed, cause' you'd think in a town of mostly retired people, you could make a go of a donut shop.

Maybe I should open one.
Oh...it could be all cute and vintagey...
with one of those HUGE 3-D metal donut signs in the parking lot?
(sure, in my spare time)

Anyway, after acquiring the donut pan, I fantasized about what kind of donuts I would be making, and settled on using the Applesauce Spice Cake recipe from Joy of Cooking, the one I used for Dina's bar-b-q...And I have been getting rave reviews...I certainly liked them, but it's always nice to hear back from my subjects...I mean, the recipients of said food gifts. I also brought a couple to the shop in anticipation of a friend who said she would be visiting today, and surprised her (cause she no longer eats dairy, wheat, gluten...and there was no egg or refined sugar in them as well, so all the allergy bases were covered)

Sometimes when you have a lot of food allergies, or choose not to eat certain things you feel weird. Perhaps it's the way people's mouths drop open when you mention it? So, I enjoy experimenting with different recipes and ingredients to make things that make me feel like I have a "normal" life (and yes, occasionally I do eat things I'm allergic to...I know this surprises you) For now however...I can have a donut every once in a while...

And here's one for you...
With Red and Blue sprinkles (in honor of the 4th)
You can come and pick it up at my house...
it's the one with the HUGE 3-D metal donut sign in the yard...

l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle...

The love that moves the sun and also the stars...

-Dante
-Divina Commedia

If you've taken the time to look up in the sky at dusk or even night time, and it hasn't been cloud covered where you're at (and the clouds sometimes make the sky look that much more)











oh, and if you happen to have a relatively new 7.1 mp camera...

that's been part of the inspiration for you to slow down and be a participant of what is happening around you...









If you've taken the time to stop and be, to breathe and look around...

you may have been wowed, surprised...speechless.











It has been incredible around here lately...

the beauty has been showing up and parading around in full glory...









Doing everything short of jumping up and down waving it's arms,

begging to be noticed...

exploding in a million different ways,

in all the colors in the spectrum...








And, it's somewhat like a race to catch it all,

the colors,
the shapes,
the textures...

And, I have been lucky enough to tag-along with a wonderful photographer lately myself...

He happens to have all the gadgets and the knowledge to capture all the happenings

Cause' while my camera is fabulous, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles...








Because...


the moon is too beautiful not to be captured...

On Saturday...

...I donned my freshly polished boots, and suited up for the parade...




Which also included a little tiered rayon skirt and a red and white gingham checked top...I felt a little Daisy Duke-ish, but without the really short shorts...cause they don't go with the boots (that and no one wants to see those parts of my body hanging out of clothing)




Rich and I met at my house, to walk down to the parade, which goes through most of the downtown, leaving no parking and quite large crowds...but, as you know, I live quite close...and it's easy to walk down...

The parade is usually scads of horses and cars...and has of late, become a way to advertise the heck out of one's business...It also reminds me of long ago, when there used to be so many people from town IN the parade, there was not many people left to watch it...

After standing around and um, melting...I was feeling a little reminiscent of the times in town when we used to have water fights. Oh yes, we would all cruise up and down Gurley St. and shoot water guns and throw water balloons at people. And, I would like to go down as saying my group of girlies in high school were the first to ever fill up the back of a pick-up truck with water...and then use buckets to soak everyone!

Oh, good times!

The city or county, or whomever decided a few years back to not let us do this anymore however...As I said to Rich, "who are they, and why don't they want us to have any fun?" Of course there were the isolated incidences of people who got hit with water balloons with rocks in them or ones filled with gasoline, maybe the more appropriate question would be..."who are they, and why do they want to ruin it for the rest of us?"

That evening I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of a new art gallery owned by my good friend Ian Russell...So, I polished myself up and went on over (my mother owns a few of his originals that are on the fantasy part of the page of his site) I have known Ian since high school...and the opening was quite fun, as I was able to sit and visit with a lot of my friends from that time period (leaving me to wonder if I stayed all night, would I even have to go to my high school reunion next year, or would everyone just eventually have shown up?) Usually after seeing this group of friends, I am left wondering exactly why we never get together on a more regular basis...

I was really amazed, as I always am, that most people I've known a lot of years of my life walk by me at first, leaving me to reach out and try to catch their eye, as they turn and exclaim, "oh my gosh Sadira...amazing! I didn't recognize you!" And, at first that kind of reaction to the apparent huge change that I've made in my life was really flattering, now I feel a little awkward and invisible.

I'm an Aries. I don't take kindly to feeling invisible.
(but, it's making me want to post some before and after pics of myself)

It also left me incredibly sad about some of the things in my life that I perceive as unfinished...or maybe reminders of things that I've always wanted and don't have...and when I compare myself to everyone around me...I inevitably find myself lacking...and teary eyed.

(Maybe this is why we all don't hang out more, no one wants to see me cry?)

Don't get me wrong though...I did have a bit of fun. I also got to dress up

I love to dress up

I don't go out much anymore, and I am wanting to remedy that as well. I have the most fun wardrobe items that beg me to wear them (do you know how hard it is to look in the closet and hear all that whining day after day? And, I won't even get started on the make-up) I really like to hike around in the beautiful world we have here in AZ, and be oh so simple...but there is also this part of me that loves to primp, pluck and polish myself into beauty, or at least the supposed illusion of allure. I do feel girlie either way, it's just a little different experience in Chaco's and a water bottle compared to Gucci and Tiffany's.

Women can be so wonderfully complicated.
(wink)

So...out came the black ruffled silk dress from Urban Outfitters (from the trip to Phoenix) and the new metallic Juicy Couture bag I picked up for a steal ($3 at a thrift) I suddenly realized as I was putting on the classic strappy black heels, that there is a pair of Gucci heels hiding in my closet, and they match the bag perfectly...

Perfectly indeed...
From cowgirl to couture...

Yee-Haw!

(and you can get a teeny sneak peak at what I did after the art opening here)