Here is to kickin' ass with Gold Lame in 2009

I rather dislike New Years Eve.

When I was younger I attempted to do the party thing, the big fabulous- make a big deal out of nothing-thing. Somewhere in my 30's I just got tired of pretending it was something special, this ordinary night, and went to sleep early. Against my better judgement, we're headed out to a gathering tonight. It will be nice to see my friends who have made the big effort of this event but really what I want to do is watch a movie in bed. That's the kind of exciting I am.

It's been an interesting year this 2008. I think you'll all agree it's been a doozy. So I thought I would don my best kick ass heels for you today and begin the year as a Diva Super Hero, and wish you a gold-lame-spike-heel-bad-ass-2009.


Photo: JD Ferguson for V magazine because, I seriously think if we all wore these Super Hero shoes from Rodarte for just a bit of time, to the grocery store, to the mall, maybe even to Target that we could change the world with kick-ass-ness.

Benjamin Button

I think Cate Blanchett is my new fav. Like, I mean, more beautiful than Mr. Pitt's real girl. I'm not joking. I of course say that after seeing Benjamin Button last night. I can't say enough good things about the movie. Really make an effort to go see this in the theater. As my guy said driving home, just when you think you've seen every story imaginable on screen they do something like this. The special effects are astounding. I think it might be one of the greatest love stories ever.

My Favorite part? The post cards he writes toward the end. I won't say anymore and ruin it. Thats when I really lost all my grace and composure. Here is a trailer incase you're across the world or haven't watched TV in a while.

New Years Eve Makeup -liquid eyeliner

The last time I attempted liquid eyeliner I was 12 and in my girlfriends mom's makeup bag. It was wiggily hard to get a line, wet and cold. I never attempted again.

I got a little wacky and purchased Covergirl's Line Exact liquid liner pen which I have to say is kinda brilliant. Shaped and handles like a felt tip pen, it's easy to do and easy on the purse. I went with the gray version and have to give the color itself a thumbs down. It's too blue and needs a little more black in it to make it a richer color but I liked the liner enough to go back and try the black one. Plus, if it's good enough for Angie, you know it's good enough for me.

One Quarter

A quarter, 25 cents, .25 inches. It doesn't seem like much standing alone but when applied to something crucial it becomes so important. Yesterday I was made aware of how much .25 inches makes, say in a pair of jeans for instance. I put on my new jeans from my pre-christmas sale purchase. I own the same pair of jeans, same size, same company yet I suspect that whomever was making them was off from the pattern by a measly .25 inches or less. They fit very differently than my other pair.



The reason I say this is that they are just a little more snug than the first pair I purchased, just off by a hair. Enough off to trigger an all day bad mood that I could not pinpoint until I took them off late in the day. I barked at my guy for no reason and cursed traffic that was ordinary. Until the .25 inch thing came into mind. .25 inches makes you painfully aware of your muffin top, that you ate a second helping of homemade mac and cheese, or had a dessert 2 days in a row over the holidays, or perhaps even had a handful of M&M's when normally you would have not. It also reminds you you have not been on a walk in some time, or to a yoga class for months.

A quarter of an inch, say in your spine, makes things very different as well. Say when the muscles in your left side contract compensating for the surgery on the right and your leg is .25 inches shorter [or more] and throws your gait off just enough to cause pain. Say, like an ice pick in your left hip 24-7. That is something I deal with regularly these days.



A quarter of a second makes a lifetime of a difference when someone decides to run a red light because they are in a hurry holiday shopping. A good friend and client was hit on her sportbike a couple of weeks ago when a woman ran a light. She nearly bled to death during surgery where they put together her pelvis with metal plates. I would venture to say that a quarter of an inch [or less] makes a big difference when it involves your broken pelvis. That quarter of a second and quarter of an inch involves multiple surgeries, a couple of broken bones, and 3+ months in the hospital which is much more critical than my jeans and a lot less fun.

What's the point in all this? I don't know really. I guess to say there is a lot to be said for just a little. A little bit of time, a little bit of money, a little bit [or less] on your plate. God is really in the details and I hope you get to enjoy the little things this holiday season with your loved ones.

Things That Make My Heart Melt

Santa is bringing my 8 yr old nephew a new fancy bed. Plots are being made so that he stays at Grandma's house Christmas Eve so that Santa may install said bed. There were concerns that it may be difficult to pry him away from the house and Santa's arrival. I think my brother and sister-in-law have been working on him for a while now so that he thinks it was his idea. My mom [Grandma] got a call the other night from him. The conversation went something like this, as told to me by my mom:

[H] Grandma, I was thinking of coming over on Christmas Eve to stay the night with you so you're not lonely.

[G] Oh good, I was worried about being lonely that night, I would love for you to come over and stay with me.

[H] I mean, I know Aunt Richie will be there but I just want to make sure you were ok.

[G] Oh honey, Aunt Richie isn't coming this year, she's going back East to stay with Chris' family. So I will be all alone.

[H] Ok, then for sure I'll come over to keep you company so you're not by yourself.

[G] I think that would be great.

I mean, seriously...does it get any cuter than that?

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I'm heading back east for the holidays. If I don't get a chance to post anything have a very merry Christmas.

A week of gift ideas Day 3: The Girl

Ok, so I'm not doing so well with this list thing, I mean I'm wrapping gifts with packing tape at this point. It's a disaster. Plus, anyone still shopping is probably on a mercy shop, right?

But if I can just give one word of warning to husbands, boyfriends and the like.... no household stuff. This means, yes, she wants a set of knives for the kitchen but NOT FOR CHRISTMAS [or birthday or anniversary], this also means no vacuum cleaners. Trust me on this. To illustrate this point I might direct you to this very funny, funny clip.



Total props to JC Penney and their agency Saatchi & Saatchi, New York awesome work.

A week of gift ideas Day 2: The Dude

For the manly man.



Do you follow the Satoralist [see Those Shoes]? He's been showing some of these guys lately. I think it's sort of funny since my guy has been the plaid, Red Wing guy forever.Red Wing Boots JCrew.

Speaking of Dude how about some plaid?:



Filson is another company my guy turned me onto and that I've been seeing mentioned in men's fashion lately. During his days as a fly-fishing guide this was the stuff that really worked and lasted forever. Their wool is unbelievably soft and beautiful. This western style shirt is super cute on him with cuffed jeans, a tee and some converse. On Super Sale right now too $78 I bought my dad one of their wool shirts last year for his birthday and his testament to the quality was "hey, it feels nice and all the plaids match up" Gotta love dad!

PJ's


It's effin' cold out there folks! [I say as it just hit 60 degrees here] PJ's RULE. He's going to tell you he doesn't need or want them. Then, he'll totally wear em' and you'll have to pry them out of his dirty little paws in 5 days to get them to the washer. Target has a smokin' deal $14.99 on sets available in store.



I mean please. How can you go wrong with a gray v-neck sweater on any guy? perfect for any man from funky to conservative, to Dad to brother. I think Gray is the perfect non-color as well. May I suggest Merino wool? totally wears well, and last a long time. Look for the high V on the neck.

A week of gift ideas Day 1: The Foodie

Day 1: The Foodie

A Day At El Bulli You may have not heard of El Bulli but if you have a foodie to gift this season, he or she has.

Worldly known as the best chef and restaurant in the world. Spain's El Bulli Restaurant headed by Chef Ferran Adria has reservation requests topping 2 million, with only 8,000 spots available. You do the math, not so likely you and I will get in. This super chunky book has pics of the staff, menus and prep along with info about the day to day workings of The best in fine dining.
$32.97 via Amazon



via Publishers Weekly:
An enormous undertaking, this monumental tome, complete with more than 1,000 photographs, chronicles one day at revolutionary eatery elBulli in northern Spain, arguably one of today's most influential restaurants. Adria, the culinary genius behind this success, along with restaurant manager Soler and brother and fellow chef Albert give the reader a firsthand look at day-to-day activities and the innovation for which elBulli is known. Lavish photographs are the main attraction in this work; text is sparse and offers only glimpses into activities. While there is an examination of the team's creative methods, most topics are only touched upon briefly, such as creative sessions, testing and utilizing a mental palate. Given the highly technical nature of the dishes served at elBulli, recipes (Pine Nut Marshmallows; Steamed Brioche with Rose-scented Mozzarella) are rare. A glance behind the scenes at a pivotal time and place in culinary evolution, this book will delight serious foodies, and its stunning package guarantees it will grace many a coffee table. (Oct.) --Publishers Weekly

Other ideas for your foodie
subscription to Wine Spectator or a cities Michelin Guide $11.53
••••••••
REAL EATS

Send them a mountain of cheese:


My dad who's a cheddar man to the core, recently said I got him hooked on a cheese from Zingerman's when I sent a B-Day gift treat one year. I love this company not only for their foods but for their business practices. Employees become part owners and part of the foods they offer are grown from local farms or sourced from local dairys.

The mountain of cheese is a gift boxed collection of cheeses from Switzerland, northern Italy and wherever mountain style cheesemaking thrives. $75. They also have kits from France, and A cheese of the Month club.

Or perhaps you could send a "loving heart attack in a box"Go ahead you know you wanna.
Praise the Lard box. When bacon just isn't enough. $75
or
Bacon of the month club $99 [3 months] or 6 months $180 when bacon, is all you need.

Nice is nice

I am nervous about a lot of things right now, my job, the economy, the world. This made me a little less worried. Because in the end we can make our universe anything we want it to be with a little thought, a lot of creativity and good people.

via Superhero Journal. Thank you

Call Me Crazy...

Call me crazy....but I do not want my house to smell like hashish EVER. But if you do, you now can do it legally and most likely without any of the fun via Jonathan Adler.

Based on some of his pottery, Jonathan must be a big ol' pot head along with his husband Simon Doonan the creative director of Barney's who's campaign of "have a hippie holiday" falls oddly in line with it all.

This made me smile today

This ice cream parlor called Serendipity 3 that is opening in Boca Raton Hotel in Florida is a branch of the original in New York. It reminded me of a Foster Freeze when I was little in Woodland,CA. Now I want an ice cream with whip cream and fudge on it.


I know it's not much ... I'm finding a few words but things might look a little like this for a bit.

I'm Spent

I'm spent. Tapped out. All out of juice. Taking off a couple days to possibly find a creative thread left, maybe even something interesting and witty to say! Whoo nelly... that would be big.

nice coins via this lovely person

little people

I've been busy this weekend with new freelance projects, one of which was a photography client [their children really]. The cutest family ever.

Friday Fun

The Tag

Capturing the Seven and Lucky Seven Cat Ranch tagged me to do the 6 things -dealio. This is perfect because I had nothing to write about tonight so here ya go: 6 mundane things you may not know about me.


1. I'm horrible with technology and kinda afraid of it really.
I have no idea how I ended up blogging or writing for Apartment Therapy way back when. Computers and all their stuff freak me out. I use them because I have to. I can do it, but it takes me a really long time and I lose brain cells every minute I have to play the IT person at my office or fix and repair the many printers we have that freak out on a regular basis. Somehow I got relegated to that roll unofficially. Speaking of...can anyone help me figure out how to rehook up my Google analyics? I updated my site in Sept and I lost everything. I'll totally send you a prize in the mail if you make it work. Yes, I added the code but nada. Check out my Google graph above Snazzy hu?



2.I dream of doing invites to fashion shows: right now I'm obsessed with Rodarte who are a Los Angeles sister duo.
I do these wedding invites [which I love] and such, as you may see occassionally pop up here. But my super big dream is to do a invite for a major fashion house's runway show. I love fashion so much, and this is the way I see myself having this mini link to what they do. I have an idea that I'm working on currently so I'm working on making this dream a reality.

I am the black, art sheep of my family
3. I was mentioning this to a long time girlfriend the other day and she was surprised to learn that most of the women in my family own their own guns. My mom, aunt and grandma [although she's too old to do so now] all own their own rifles and go deer hunting every year. My family are hunters in general: duck, pheasant, deer ect. I'm the artsy-fartsy one that wanted to rent the movies with subtitles and go to the ballet. They never knew what to do with me.



4. I really, really want to learn to speak French.
Dunno why...just do. I haven't done a damn thing about it though, probably because I'm afraid I can't do it. I cheated my way through Spanish in high school so odds are it's going to be a hard road. Me and memorization...not so good together.

5. I'm turning 40 next May.
My goal is to get carded sometime next year. I know this is really dumb in the spectrum of things but I've put a lot of time and money into keeping the wrinkles at bay with SPF everyday and my obsessive Clairins habit [nothing else!]. I still get carded now and again but must admit...it's been a few months at this point.

6. I keep my fingernails really short.
In highschool I use to be obsessed with long fingernails. They were a full time project painting every day, filing etc. One day I saw a guy friend of mine with a long pinky nail and the reality of what fingernails are really grossed me out. I cut them all off and have kept them properly short ever since. But, since then, I have a hard time wearing anything but a pale pink or clear on my hands, I end up feeling like a hooker...but my toes? Bring on the red.


7. And a bonus just because it's funny:
Starting in the 3rd grade probably through the 6th, I use to curl my hair in giant feathered wings [remember those?] and because I wanted my hair to stay perfect all day long I would spray on gobs of hairspray. So much so, that when the wing caught my hair on the playground the wings would stand out at attention from my head. Funny enough, I don't even use hairspray any more. Can you imagine a giving a third grader a curling iron? Lordie, I wanted to be 15 from the time I was born.

I've lost my gift mojo

I've been known to give good gift. I didn't realize I was a good gift giver until I lived with my friend April and she pointed it out to me. I just thought I paid attention. She said I was different than most, which is great, I mean, I guess, to be known for that sort of thing. She of course felt stressed that she had to reciprocate and then this thing that came naturally to me, became a OMG I have to think of something better than last year. It's not her fault, it's the over-achiever in me. This year for her birthday I totally choked and all I could muster up was a pair of earrings. They were pretty, hand pounded, silver earrings, but just earrings. It made me sad that my mojo officially left the building.

[Big Jim was a sentimental childhood toy of a guy I dated, he was stunned I found it and that I remembered. I even managed to find it in a box in Spanish which was his native language. ]

Previously, I've been known to scour Ebay for vintage toys because someone mentioned a special toy they had as a child, buy someone an ipod and steal their CD's to load them up prior to wrapping, often they weren't large gifts but I attempted to put a lot of thought into them things like a "date kit" complete with labeled box gift certificates for dinner and a movie [babysitting if needed], Movie kits with Jiffy Pop and favorite DVD's. The Diva Kit which is great for girlfriends [works great on birthdays too] complete with red lipstick, fishnets and various other treats. I was big on kits.

[Jiffy Pop is cute but individual microwave bags are better unless you have kids to do the work]

I think I used up all my good ideas. All I can form together right now are chinos from JCrew for C. this Christmas. Chinos? are you kidding me? That's IT. That's all I've got right now. He's to blame if you ask me. The man never wants for anything. He's not one of those people who talks about "stuff". He lives simply, maybe covets a shirt here or there but that's about it. I need a "I wish I had blah, blah, blah" mention in September or even July to file away. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

[The last good gift I gave him, which was pretty awesome really, was a surf board he'd been coveting since the day I met him.]

I have to begin my shopping this weekend. Things have to be packed and shipped for the rest of the families and I have no friggin idea what I'm doing. Mojo please come back I need you.

How about you? Gifts? And don't tell me you're done.

It might be time for a new set

I generally look like a crazed homeless person after 6pm. I'm sitting in front of my computer right now with pink polka dotted pjs that once were flannel and have paint splatters on them from 8 years ago, a thermal tee turned inside out, a giant wooly red scarf and socks. I don't know what happens to me when I get home but I lose any sense of style and I'm generally cold. Whatever happens to be in front of me and warm gets thrown on my body all at once.


sueded picot-edged sleep set$39.50

We're going home to see the C's family later this month. They are proper East Coast folks, not psuedo-homeless folk like myself. I think a decent set of lounge wear is in order. These are pretty cute and not too pricey.



dotted flannel set Gap $39.50

I totally gave myself a Movie Depression

This

plus this
has put me into a movie depression.

I never watch movies, I especially don't watch two back to back. I was so excited to curl up on the bed last night to totally indulge in doing NOTHING before returning to work today.

It was like a train wreck I couldn't stop watching. Two of the saddest lives ever. Ok, maybe there are sadder lives but I should have just turned off the first movie [And Then She Found Me] all together when the opening scene involved her mom hounding her to have a baby because she was 39.5. oh lordie. Why do I do this to myself?

Independently? Thumbs up on The Savages, Thumbs down on the other [and not just because of the subject matter]