"Red ! ", she said!

For the past couple of days, I have been thinking a lot about the color RED. I don't know if it's because Valentine's Day is coming up, or just the warmth of the color itself. Perhaps i just want spring to get here faster.... Red is so far removed from cold colors like blue and green. I'm not a sentimentalist by rule, but I do remember things by color and scent( strange, huh?) When I see a certain color or smell something it is implanted in my mind forever. I'm not just talking 'color'... I'm talking exact hues and exact odors. I always admired my Mother-in-Law's knack for mixing prints together. She could take the most compicated patterns and materials and pair them like Galliano! She never failed to amaze me.
Today I went to the yarn store, and bought this yarn. Let me first say: I LOVE NORO!!!
this one is 100% wool, which I adore, and the colors range from a deep black plum to a pink berry with some red in it. Today I was wearing my Noro beret I made a couple of months ago, and some old lady asked me about it when I was at the register. She asked me about the yarn, and then asked me about the pattern. The owner of the store, Bridgette, was telling her which yarn, and I told here where the pattern could be found. Bridgette and I burst out laughing, because this little old lady had a meltdown right there. She started yelling" I don't know what the heck you are talking about!" and was waving her hands like she was dismissing us! It was very funny. I went to Marshall's and checked out the clearance stuff. Found this leather Arcadia bag for 75% off. I always look at these bags, which are real patent leather, but they never go on sale, and if they do, they get snapped up so quickly. (and this one is RED!!!!)

It reminds me of the finish on a car. so sleek and shiny. this picture doesn't show it, but it is almost metallic. It has two zippers which close towards the middle, which I love because then it opens up really wide. I need to be able to fit a magazine in any purse I use.

Just a couple of pictures of Harley that were on my camera. This one is nice. It reminds me of the way she looked when she was a puppy.

She just got groomed on Tuesday so she looks lighter. (undercoat) You really can't see it here, but she has markings on her back (just where shoulderblades would be) that look like angel wings.

I love that!

Fish

Lesley Gore - Judy's Turn To Cry

This has always been my favorite Lesley Gore song. It's sort of the ending to the "It's my Party" story.
I love the Mondrian shifts the dancers are wearing.
this is sooo 60's!

Gainsbourg, The initials BB

this is typically Serge! the BB stands for Ms. Bardot, with whom he had just ended an affair. . I tried to find the english traslation, but I couldn't. I'm sure it's quite illicit!

Paris: One way, Please!!!!!

I was reading French Vogue today and saw there is a retrospective of Serge Gainsbourg at the Cite' de la Musique until March 1!!!! I want to go!!!!!

I love Serge. He represents the typical stereotype of the drrrty Frenchman to me. So lecherous, so cool. The French loved to hate him. He so loved Jane Birkin , who was innocent-looking. She made Serge look like a pervert ,but they were so in love!
He used "police cars like taxis and they would drive him home when he was drunk" (according to Frederic Sanchez, curator of the exhibit)
Serge offended everyone from politicians and clergy to the everyday French citizen.
He won numerous awards for his satire, music, writing and acting.
I would love to take a look at some of his personal belongings! I read that there are Dali's, and self portraits among his stuff. Cool. So cool....
I have been busy, but nothing has been really blog-worthy lately.
I went to the dentist on Saturday, and he FINALLY fixed the crown he put on there last month.
it is so much better now. He also filled (for the millionth time...) another tooth with old fillings.
the next day, I noticed that tooth had crack all the way down the side of it. It just cold not take anymore, I guess . So, I had to go back and get that taken care of today. 2 more hours in the dentist's chair. He cut it off, and put a temporary crown on it. another crown!
I'm chalking this all up to menopause.....I think my teeth are starting to rebel.

Joan and Jeff.

One of my favorite old movies is "Female on the Beach" with Joan Crawford and Jeff Chandler.
It is the story of a woman, Lynn Markham, who's husband has died and she is figuring out what she's going to do .
She was a dancer or something shady and her husband was older, rich, or something that could afford the life she's come to expect.
Part of his estate includes a beach house, which she plans on selling. She goes to check it out with a local real estate agent. Upon looking around she finds out that the tenant who had lived there until just recently has made an unexpected exit. She is dead. The agent tells her that the woman was a quiet older lady, but Lynn sees different. Assorted men's belongings are strewn about here and there. This tenant was spending time with someone..... It's a mystery. she's intrigued, but pissed. She wants her property left alone. Period. The next morning, she awakes to find a man in her kitchen making coffee and toast. She confronts him. He's Drummy, the local flavor of the month. he explains that he comes and goes as he pleases, and that" it's the way things are done around here" She repels him with her icy demeanor. He gets 'sore' (like most people in the 40's and 50's did....) and leaves.
He has his boat docked at her pier. She wants him out. She tells him she knows his kind, because that's the world she comes from. Like recognizes like...She tells him straight out that she grew up in a large family and had to share everything. Now she wants to share nothing. ...get out Drummy.....
She meets her neighbors. She doesn't know them but she recognizes what they are. They are shifty users. They ask her to play cards. She agrees because it will amuse her to put one over on them. Surprise....Drummy lives with them. He is their "protege". They use him to bilk $$$ out of lonely widows. He was connected to the tenant that died. Lynn is even more intrigued.
She finds that being totally alone isn't all she thought it would be. She gets lonely. She goes and spends time with Drummy. He's fixing the boat. He's dirty. She moves closer. She asks a bunch of personal questions. He gets all quiet. She reaches out. He says something like I'll get you dirty". she responds "I don't care". It is typical dialogue, but no one delivers it like Joan Crawford.
Lynn starts falling for Drummy. He tries to break away from the neighbor's control.
Lynn then finds the previous tenant's diary stuck behind a stone in the fireplace. She reads it.
it is EXACTLY what is happening to her. She starts getting suspicious, and puts herself in danger to figure out just who Drummy is and what happened to the tenant.



Jeff Chandler is handsome, but he's so lackluster. His voice and demeanor are so creepy to me.

These pictures of Joan and Jeff together are also kind of creepy.
They are waaaay more sexual than I've ever seen from photos of this time period.

Supposidly these two dated. I don't doubt that. JC dated a lot of men.

I love this movie because it is so 50's. It has that weird lonely saxaphone music playing in the background.

I love the wardrobe.

Joan Crawford was so deliciously good.

Today's Man Candy

Guess Who????? TR Pescod! He's sort of cute...... We don't want to piss off Ina though!

Asleep, Awake, Eggplant....

I was reading a magazine and there was an article about his photograph:

I've always loved this set of photos...they remind me of my grandmother. I've seen these photos around since then, and when I found a set of modern copies, I bought them and hung them in my powder room. They are titled: Cupid Asleep/Cupid Awake and were taken by M.B.Parkinson in 1897. The little girl is a the daughter of a friend. Her name is Josephine Anderson, and she was 4 years old when she mused for Mr. Parkinson. She continued to model and collectors still try to find pictures of her later in life.The rights to this photo were sold to Ohio Art ( of Etch-a Sketch fame....)I made Eggplant Fries for supper tonight along with polenta and salad with grilled chicken..We've had these "fries" a couple of times at Italian Festivals but I've never attempted them. They were quite easy to prepare. you see them here served with a side of marinara.They were not greasy at all, and not bitter as eggplant can sometimes be.

Today was a boring day for me. Mike's car has a dead battery, so he drove my car to work and then he went on to go watch the SU game with friends at the bar. I felt so house-bound today.

Tommorrow I will make up for it!!!!!!!I will run errands, possibly get a haircut and get a very large cup of Starbuck's .

Surfing the web....

I love to look at Asian cosmetics and cosmetics ads. The models are always so sweet and innocent-looking. So different than the in-your-face sexiness of the west....
This must be from a calendar. I like the brand DHC. I've used a few of their products. I especially loved the lipsticks they recently discontinued. I have a weird yellow undertone to my skin (from sun-damage) plus red (also sun-damage...) I find a lot of colors meant for asian skin work on me. I am always looking for the 'perfect' red lipstick without being too bold. DHC had some really nice ones. I like the color of this sweater. Very nice!

I just happened across an article about Linda Evangelista "designing" a bag.

I'm not a fan of Linda. She was such a spoiled brat in the 80's and 90's. she wouldn't get out of bed for less than 100,000/day...she had a "four hands" rule, where she would not allow more than 2 people to work on her at a time.

She's supposidly partnering with Ron Arad, a London-based architect who has designed some really recognizable modern furniture, and this:

Every modern home has this bookshelf/cd rack hanging on the wall.

She supposidly wanted to carry something that resembled the back of one of Arad's chairs. The project is being bankrolled by Maurice Ohayron who is one rich dude....

Here is a pic of Mr. O, Linda and Mr. A. with the bag.

I think it is quite ugly.

It is described as "a leather elipse with a large porthole covered with a film of liquid crystal"

and is made for "ladies who might not be sleeping at home". (hmmmm......)

It also features a battery inside the bag that makes the porthole change from opaque to transparent.

This just reminds me of Britney and Jessica designing stuff, but on such a grander scale.

More for the Left-Bank art crowd. I bet in a year or two I'll see a pleather copy at Target, where Mr. Arad will be designing a line for the masses.

Snow makes time stand still

It just kept snowing today.....We got about 6 inches, which isn't bad for us, but the wind just kept whipping it around all day. This is a picture out our front door earlier :

I felt like baking today... I made Oatmeal cookies with mini m&m's in them:

I love this recipe. It's from The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond.

I heart this site! Every recipe I've made from there has been fantastic!For some reason I was thinking about Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. I'm not a fan of the red-dye #2 cherries. I also made a loaf of Banana Bread because I had two lonely old bananas and knew if I didn't use them today when the oven was on, I would end up throwing them out. I made Bean Soup yesterday and I think banana bread would go great with the leftovers.

I did make some headway on my Aran sweater today. I don't have much left, but it's been over a year, and I want to finish it. I usually knit the arms last, but did them first, and had the back finished, and then ran out of yarn. It took me a while to find yarn to match. the different dye lots in the same brand/color made a huge difference.... too yellow toned or too brown .... I had to go all over looking . When I finally found a suitable match, I was on to other projects, and just let it sit for over a year.

Off now to do some laundry. I had nothing better to do today!

Tuesday , Just Tuesday.....

Whenever I write a post, the hardest thing for me to do is write the title. I want to be witty, but sometimes after I type something, it just looks so lame.

Went to the mall today . I wanted to go and just lose myself browsing. I haven't done that in a long time. I found a nice bag at the GAP (which I could not find a picture of online.) I got this really beautiful silk scarf at Forever 21:

It looks very asian, like a block print and it's real silk not that polyester stuff. It's pretty large (like 35x35) . this picture doesn't really show how saturated the colors are. The edge is a wonderful taupe color.

I also got this watch at ALDO. When we went to the outlet mall I happened to see it there. I kept thinking I should've gotten it. This picture is so tiny...the watch is huge. I've had big-faced watches in the past, but this is the biggest I've ever worn. It has three faces on it. One large and two small, and they are all functional. I have them set for east coast/west coast and Italy time.The band is black leather.

I also went into the Body shop and picked up a body souffle in Ginger. I saw they had them on sale. I love that scent. It smells exactly like fresh-cut ginger.

My shoulder and arm have been killing me. I fell asleep on the couch the other night and ever since then it has gotten progressively worse. It feels like my muscles are beaten.

I am having post-holiday stress-related ailments this week. I think I kept it all together before the holidays and now, afterwards, my body is letting go of all the stress that's been percolating. Plus, I've been having acid reflux a bit. Soda and coffee are not my friends, I guess.

It's supposed to snow and ice up around here over night and through tomorrow. Mike says we are going to be house-bound. LOL I'm going to clean up around here and knit. I haven't been doing that too much lately.

Happy 2009!

This was the most delicious pork roast! We tried putting the little booties on the bone ends, but they looked wrong. Then we put the stuffing inside and added the obligatory tomato rose and parsley leaves.... I think it's really pretty!
I'm still 'doing dishes" but taking a little break.
It was a most enjoyable afternoon...... Relaxing......