12.03.09
I’m just crazy for earrings these days. I love making ’em. I love wearing ’em. And I even love photographing ’em. The pair pictured above feature handblown Venetian glass hollow beads with circus stripes and glittering copper aventurine. Copper findings make these really special.
Another favorite recent pair, in a very limited edition due to the availability of supplies. Cloudy blue faceted semi-precious beads with extremely rare dusty pink enameled floral findings. Glass pearls and brass leverbacks. These are truly gorgeous.
And my little French alter ego, Madame Eclore, has also been cooking up tiny earbob desserts. Made with hand lamp-worked wedding cake beads from China, India and Venice, these are just delicious and very fun to wear. Check the site again soon as Mme. E. has acquired some very rare vintage wedding cake beads to be included in upcoming work. They are just sweeter than sweet.
You are not tiring of my endless pictures of my shoes are you? I didn’t THINK so! Above, my new absolutely killer acquisition, a genuine pair of Doc Marten’s brothel creepers, circa 1980’s and Made in England, yo! They rock so hard I’m not sure I’m cool enough to wear them. But I’ll try to live up to the task. Scored on Etsy, where else?
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06.05.09
So with the gift of this amazing iTouch for Chanukah last year, I’ve finally come around to the world of Podcasts. Until last week, my favorite was The Moth, brilliant live storytelling that has made me both laugh and cry (mostly laugh), and is a must-listen. Recent Moth faves: Michaela Murphy on her family’s obsession with spying on the Kennedys, and Jerry Stahl on heroin vs. crack. Free on iTunes and not for kids.
I still love The Moth, but am now podstalking a crazy couple of midwestern kids–Bridget and Shane–from Omaha, Nebraska, the young geniuses behind Emergency Pants (also not for kids). How I connected with this far-more-obscure content was through the snarky embroidering community on Flickr. I’ve been posting some of my weird projects (above) and Bridget also posts her cool stuff there (below).
Anyway, what IS Emergency Pants? Two friends. Talking. Laughing. Gossiping. In-jokes and out-jokes. The kind of podcast that generally makes me bored, impatient and annoyed. Not this one. Here are the top 5 reasons (out of too many to list) that I love these guys and you might too:
1. THE FRIENDSHIP: If I’ve got this right, Shane & Bridget have known each other for.ev.ah. Like 15-17 years or so. Their enduring/endearing friendship provides this sweet and easy communication that flows like a giggly river. Maybe you had a friendship like this many moons ago. Maybe not. If you did, you probably don’t anymore because you grew up and got serious, moved away, joined a corporate cult, or just somehow stopped finding life funny. Here’s your chance to plug in again.
2. THE CONTENT: Like Seinfeld for the next gen, this is a show about nothing. Nothing, as is observed by two very funny people, whose often dark and/or ironic/and or self-deprecating/and or juvenile/and or sweet sense of humor is just my cuppa tea. Sometimes potty humor (the pooplosion, illustrated above), often hilarious workplace stories (including, somehow, horse semen), a meatloaf cookoff. You will laugh in spite of your jaded self, and if you don’t, well, you are a hopeless human being. And, of course, it’s not really about nothing, but you knew that, didn’t you, smarty (emergency) pants?
3. BRIDGET’S LAUGH: Some people have the MOST horrendous hyena laughs, other guffaws are regular and mundane. Bridget has an unrestrained musical giggle, a laugh that could be bottled and sold for its healing properties, but that she so generously chooses to give away, people, free of charge, each weekly episode. Ten seconds in or less, and there’s the laugh, genuine, warm, and more infectious (and fun) than swine flu.
4. SHANE (+ THE ACCENTS): Shane is a funny funny dude. Geeky, smart and the boyish yang to Bridget’s girly yin. Like a really cool IT guy that you’d actually want to be friends with. (Wait, he IS an IT guy!) And, did I mention Omaha? Well, with my admittedly idiotic sense of geography I actually had to google a map of the US to see exactly where Nebraska is situated in this great land of ours. Because if it’s west of Illinois, other than California, it’s something of a blur to me (sorry! really, I’m sorry!). Both hosts have those flat, broad sort of midwestern voices with just a twinge of Fargo… like the comfort food of regional accents.
5. THE MUSIC: Three words: Men without Pants. Yes… WITHOUT pants and featuring Russell Simins and Dan the Automator. Why Russell and Dan don’t have emergency pants is not for me to say. But anyway, a snippet of their rockin’ tune, When the Girls Go, opens and closes the show. Searing, trashy, silly and ass-kicking.
6. THE COMMUNITY (sorry, can’t keep it to 5): When you become a fan/stalker of the show, you will find other like-minded silly souls. One of them, Jamie (ie, Mr. Xstitch), a manbroiderer from the UK, runs a blog that showcases the best and the brightest alterna-stitchers the world over. (Above image from Jamie’s flickr photostream, courtesy of Stitch Out Loud). There’s also partner-in-crime and oft-guest, Tony (if that’s his real name) who drags the kids a wee bit further into the gutter with his hyperactive, campy, and biting humor. Finally, the E-Pants blog will provide you with links to additional content that the kids know you need, threatening to basically hijack your life (as it obviously has mine).
So yeah, check it! And remember: When life gives you lemons, you put on your Emergency Pants.
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05.24.09
At our house, the crafts are always flowing, and one of our favorite materials is TULLE. We just can’t get enough of the stuff… it’s so darn girly and fussy and fun.
With help from some of her super creative friends, Molly has been making the most beautiful tutus! Some of them are traditional princess-style, some (above) have a more goth appeal!
And, these tutus are for sale! You and all of your loved ones can twirl around like princesses, popstars, fairies, and Cyndi Lauper. Available in an array of fantastic color combinations and made to order!
All tutus are made of strips of tulle painstakingly cut and hand-tied onto a fabric ribbon, so the size is entirely adjustable, and they are very poofy and dramatic!
We are ONLY selling locally right now. To order, please get in touch with me, Molly’s Mom, by email or phone. We can talk about available colors and timeframe. NOTE: If you are under 18 you MUST have a parent get in touch as there is no kid-to-kid selling allowed without parent’s permission.
Pricing as follows, pick-up available in the evenings or weekends by appointment:
Toddler: $15
Kid/Teen: $20
Adult: $25
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05.05.08
My parents are adorable,and my Dad just turned 75! Two delcious cakes are better than one, don’t you think? HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
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03.12.08
Here is a sweet and quirky little dawg named Maxi who turns 11 today! I love him so much and want to wish him a happy birthday with love from Molly and Jodi.
And a very happy UNbirthday to Maxi’s adorable little brother, Bernie!
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02.22.08
I love this custom bracelet and I love the woman I made it for… Jen, a Rebel Mom, not unlike yours truly. With some email communications and a photo or two for good measure, Jen and I were able to make her charm bracelet dreams come true in black and blue!
Sterling silver charms, soldered into place for permanence, plus a vintage earring, and some of my favorite glass beads (new & vintage) in denim and onyx.
A special hand-crafted sterling silver Defy charm for Jen’s “question everything” MO. Love ya, girl! Mwwwwaaaa!
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09.17.07
I think there are plenty enough blogs out there showing off the glorious creations of all the would-be Marthas in the DIY crafts/cooking world, don’t you? I know that you do! And for that reason, my friends, I welcome you to my world of poorly prepared, often neglected, but lovingly presented (note the wedding china, did I rock that settlement or what?!) inedibles.
Above (and below, because one picture isn’t enough) please find photos of what happened to my “toasted” bagel breakfast on Saturday morning while I “popped downstairs” for just “wee little” shopping on Etsy. OOPs! And, doesn’t macro RULE?! You can almost smell the blackened charcoal-toasted sesame seeds.
Have you heard enough about my 5oth birthday yet? I didn’t think so. So, last week, my buds Brad & Amy surprised me at my office with a birthday cake! Amy had suggested stopping by Whole Foods to pick up something organic and pretty and fancy (and expensive), but Brad told her about my absolute favorite of all cakes, the chain-grocery-store-bakery white cake with white icing + endless gobs of pink swirly frosting, roses, etc. Complete with a candle per decade and nevermind that the whole affair got a bit lopsided and smooshed on the subway on the way up here… it was DELISH!
And, doesn’t macro RULE?! If you look closely below, just north and east of the flattened rose, you can see little droplets of cake-sweat! Mmmmm, mmm, mm.
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08.23.07
The Ohio State Fair is a sacred holy place for me. I grew up in Columbus and worked at the Fair starting at age 14, in the James Cox Fine Arts building. Days were spent counting attendees on a clicker and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep the sticky fingers of fairgoing kids off the art. During our lunch break we’d walk through the Poultry & Rabbit building across the street, looking for fallen tailfeathers from exotic birds (yes, there are some mighty exotic chickens) with which to make jewelry or tie in our hair. Working at the Fair, I met and fell in love with one of the most influential people in my life, a young surrealist painter who took me to see an Andy Warhol movie at the drive in, taught me about anarchy and challenged everything I thought I knew about art. Fair nights were spent laughing on the midway, eating deepfried mini donuts, and screaming all the way down the Giant Slide which was conveniently located just behind our building. There’s more, so much more to tell.
Thirty-five years later I find I must return to the Fair and have been three times in the past 5 years. My viewpoint has changed, and despite my sophisticated ironic attitude, there is a part of me that loves this place. For real. And although it’s possible I’ve seen (and photographed) it all, walking through the giant gates (pictured above), I am still filled with heart-pounding excitement at the thrills we will find within.
Charlie the Clown greets us as we enter this year’s Fair.
We did not eat the Beef Sundae. We did eat deep fried pickles, free Mentos handouts, free ice cream and loads of candy.
Molly stands at the gates of heaven.
Inside we are not disappointed, although later we are to have a candy disaster (read on, my friend).
Best of show in Youth Arts & Crafts. By Tiffanny (with two n’s).
I am not sure why the judges didn’t pick this as Best in Show. This piece gets my personal award for Best in Show, so there.
I had to seriously talk myself out of stealing this award-winning cake. It was just sitting there. I wanted it soooo bad.
Molly always makes me go on rides that seem fairly innocent, but are somehow terrifying all the same. This one gave me a stomach ache, a mid-level anxiety attack, and a pending sense of imminent doom. It was fun though! I got Molly back by making her go on the Rock & Roll ride (which used to be called the Himalaya). Another seemingly innocent ride during which we screamed bloody murder and gave up our atheism for about 90 seconds. At least the ride designers (who HAS that fantastic job and where do I apply?) had the good sense to picture The Godfather among the graphic representations of great musicians (below).
This is my favorite of this year’s photos. It somehow depicts the glory and terror that is the Midway.
The sheep building is a very fragrant place. Sheep are terribly cute, but incredibly stinky. Second only to goats.
A person could spend an entire day looking at the bunnies. Who knew there were so many adorable, strange, wonderful varieties. Some were for sale; as pets and also as food. Most of the bunny exhibitors are young girls who are happy to talk with you and tell you the bun’s names, personalities, breeds and anything else you want to know. We spent the beginning and the end of our day at the fair visiting the bunnies. Unfortunately, due to being so utterly distracted by the largest bunny I’ve ever seen (“Tiny,” pictured below, weighing in at 15 pounds), we left our 6 pound bag of bulk candy in Poultry & Rabbits as we suddenly realized time had escaped us and we’d be late for our friends picking us up.
There’s always next year.
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07.24.07
Mayhem
Mischief
More Mayhem
Mischief & Mayhem
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07.20.07
Yes, it was quite a night.
Oh, not Iggy the rockstar or Michelangelo the artist… what kind of girl do you think I am? I’m talking about Iggy and Angelo, our two new family additions and the sweetest, most adorable, most funniest kittens on the planet. Pictured above is the entire litter; Iggy is in the middle demonstrating his “all toys are mine” punk rock ethos, and Angelo is on the far right, twice the size of Iggy (and smart, very smart) but a much more pensive laid-back sort of Renaissance cat.
Molly and I adopted these babies last weekend in Adams Morgan at a MetroFerals event we stumbled into on Saturday. There were so many lovely kits that needed good homes, and after pondering it for about 5 minutes that evening over Chinese food, we decided we had to go back the next morning and choose from the “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe” litter, as they’d been temporarily named. Needless to say, neither of us could sleep that night from the pure excitement of it all.
The scene at the foster house on Sunday was a loving four-ring circus! The litter had been so well-cared for by David and Norm (the Cat Whisperer) and we sat on the floor while the tiny ones dashed around the small bedroom in a gray blur of kitten energy! It was sooooo hard to choose.
At first glance the foursome looked completely identical and we wondered how we could ever tell two of them apart from one another. But Angelo quickly stood out as the grayest of the bunch, really beautiful, with no white or beige markings and the only one with a super stylish black nose and black pads on his paws. He was the biggest and super friendly so Molly picked him first.
Iggy and his two look-alike brothers were another matter. But Ig was the tiniest — the runt of the litter — and I’ve always had a soft spot for runts (Rosebud, RIP, was the runt of her litter too). We loved Iggy’s assymetrical white facial markings, and his too-adorable-for-words pink nose and pads, not to mention his joyful and reckless rock and roll personality. Sadly leaving the others behind, we made our way home with two furry creatures in tow.
I’m happy to report, the kitties are doing splendidly. They are really bonding and are sequestered in my bedroom until they feel a bit more secure. It’s been such fun hanging out with them, although I am getting tired of sharing my bathroom! Litter on the floor in the middle of the night and a perpetually knocked-over water bowl… not such fun. But more than worth it!
Iggy and Angelo have been keeping me awake at night too with the loudest purring I’ve ever heard, in stereo, along with this other simultaneous weird chewing/sucking noise that is also quite crunchy and loud! And it’s true, last night, Iggy really was trying to stick his tiny #4 sandpaper tongue into my mouth (ewwww, I love you but where has that tongue been???) while Angelo gave me a seriously awesome back-scratch with his tiny claws.
Kittens just rock, you know? I will try to get additional pics soon and before they grow up (kittenhood goes by SO fast), but thusfar, it’s all just a blurry mess of kitties in motion!
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