Hey there! Phew! The holidays are OVER! I hope everyone survived unscathed and is ready to take on this great new year!

My blog posts have been few and far between lately with all that’s been going on. Here’s what I’ve been up to this past month.

First off, if you didn’t know already, I am my mom’s primary caregiver. She has M.S. and I also help run my father’s construction company and take care of their home, the house I grew up in. So, not only did I have to get my own apartment ready for x-mas and keep the cheer alive there, I had to do it at my folks’ house as well. Taking care of two homes is exhausting enough as it is but during the holidays, I go into this insanely hyper-efficient Martha Stewart mode and it takes a toll on me once it’s all done.

So, yeah, I cleaned and decorated 2 places which meant that once I opened the storage closet, I had to organize that as well. I had to haul everything to my place and then haul it all back after I took it down (since we don’t have enough storage space).

I baked 7 dozen mini pecan tarts, 12 dozen oatmeal cookies and 6 pounds of fudge. That all went in a bunch of tins to give away. I don’t know how I managed to lose weight this month but I did. I guess running around like a maniac will do that to you.

I painted a blatant rip off of this painting by Hannah Stouffer, only I used oranges, reds and browns, which is now in our livingroom.

Then there was shopping… well planned out shopping spread out over 2 months so I wouldn’t be broke come Christmas. Since we were going up to NOVA the day after Christmas to see the bf’s family, I had to add them to the list as well. We had a really nice visit and I finally met his sister after a whole year! She’s awesome.

I got the bf a Navy issue peacoat and books, and treats and tshirts, some xbox thing, and more silly treats. He got me those flashy Onitsuka Tigers with the gold on them that I have been coveting for months as well as a Marimekko shower curtain and fabric panel I plan on stapling to a canvas. Oh, and he told his sister to get me this sweet sweet mounted deer head wall decal from Decor Designs on Etsy. The one I have is like the center one. It’s above a door so along with the painting, we’re getting a real ski lodge effect in there!

“Hetkiä/Moments” shower curtain

“Pelimanni” fabric panel designed by Iiro A. Ahokas

Since my mom can’t shop, I pick out things I want (which is sad and awesome at the same time) so, she hooked me up with a bunch of matching bra and panty sets which I was in desperate need of, a fresh bottle of Kenzo Amour, a handbag, and a few things I’ve mentioned already.

My father made us a round wood kitchen table. Six months in our apartment together and we were still eating on the sofa. My dad makes reproduction Chippendale style furniture and truly hates clean modern design so, he had to put his stank on the base, which really isn’t our thing but oh well, it’s a table and I’m thankful.

We ordered 2 of these chairs and just got them on Monday, from of all places Sears! Seriously, they have a line that’s attempting to compete with Ikea-style design. They’re completely awesome and we’re ordering 2 more this week. They go great in the living room as well so, we will probably keep 2 in there until we have people over for dinner.

It snowed about 10 inches the weekend before Christmas. So there were magical walks and lots of cozying up and staying in. I loved every minute of it!

my neighborhood

 New Years Eve, we decided to keep it low key and avoid the insanity. I fixed a big steak dinner and we took a walk around our neighborhood with a giant mimosa in a plastic container and shared earbuds, listening to music and looking at Christmas lights. It was magical until we witnessed a 3 car accident right at the intersection we were about to cross. Luckily, the bf grabbed the back of my coat before I darted out. My hero!

This past week, I got a wild hair to tackle my parents’ basement, again, but way more seriously than I ever had before. I swear, my father should be on Hoarders. Only, he actually collects antiques with inherent value and they are over running my parents’ home. I have sorted, organized, wrapped and boxed tons of stuff in sturdy plastic boxes instead of the open dusty torn cardboard boxes everything was thrown in. Old toys, trains, antique tools, pottery, old kitchen gadgets, you name it. Then the closets down there needed to get cleaned out so I could get the boxes in there. Holy crap. I filled a huge trashcan in one afternoon and there have been two enormous car loads to the Goodwill truck this week already and it’s just Tuesday.

This Spring I plan to start painting the entire interior of my parents’ home and convince my father to redo the outdated bathrooms and replace my mom’s bedroom carpet with hardwood flooring. It WILL be done.

Oh, and have you seen the Valentine’s Day stuff in the stores already? OMG.

Some shoe styles just elude me. I ranted about floppy shoe styles a while back and still can’t stand them.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a ton of shoes with things dragging on the ground. Big satin bows and suede fringes on shoes (some are really expensive) that will inevitably get destroyed. I don’t get it.

Christian Louboutin – not too bad but still, at that price point do you want delicate satin to look like total crap after one wear?

Paris Hilton – obviously a genius at work here

Roger Vivier – now these just kill me! Really?

Do you remember the show Reading Rainbow? One story has stuck with me since I was a child. It was called Tight Times. A family is going through financial troubles and the little boy finds a kitten outside and of course wants to keep it. Things are so rough that the parents get upset about having another mouth to feed but after everyone breaks down and starts crying, they figure that they indeed can spare a bit more to keep the kitty. (watch the episode here)

Everyone I know is having a hard time staying above water right now but still want to give those they love a meaningful gift, so here are some inexpensive but thoughtful suggestions to get your Christmas shopping done without breaking the bank!

I am a huge TJ Maxx fan. I honestly think you could get all your shopping done there. It’s full of practical luxuries, so cheap it can make your head spin at times. So here are some frugal gift suggestions that could be knocked out in a jiffy at everyone’s favorite discount store.

I recently purchased a small high quality wok great for quick side veggies for $4.50. This and a package of asian noodles, some sesame oil, a head of garlic and a small ginger root (picked up on your next grocery trip), all bundled together could get your favorite foodie inspired for around $10. You could do the same thing with a pasta strainer or large bowl, some interesting sauce, and a bag of fun pasta. A friend did this, with bottles of wine added, for everyone she knew one year and it was a huge hit. It also makes an excellent hostess gift for any parties you attend.

Another nice combo gift great for mom, grandma, or any lady friend is the fancy tea cup/tea package. There are tons of random patterns of china tea cup/saucer sets, mugs, tea pots, kettles, and a bevy of fancy flavored teas and cocoas available at ridiculously cheap prices. Pair some tea up with a thoughtfully picked out cup or pot, and maybe even a box of cookies, for a gift that should be well below $20.

Practical gifts like scarves and gloves can be boring unless chosen in fun colors that the recipients normally wouldn’t pick out for themselves, but will be excited to work into their wardrobe. There are tons of gorgeous Italian and Irish wool scarves available right now for both men and women at about $15.

Babies all the way to teens aren’t left out. For baby, there are adorable hats, pretty storage boxes for nurseries, a slew of cute onesies and clothing, soft blankets, toys for all ages, and classic books. For older kids there are small electronics like colorful ear phones (usually some from Skullcandy) , portable ipod speakers and cases, hip room decor like bright throws and mirrors, there are tights (usually from Betsey Johnson), fuzzy slippers, pajamas, and luxuriously packaged bath products (for anyone really), all hitting well below $20.   

 If any of the above suggestions don’t work for office pals, there are tons of stationary and desk organizing tools.

There are loads of beautifully designed hand soaps and towels both for kitchen and bath that would go well together.

There are name brand wallets, cosmetic bags, clutches, yoga accessories, men’s accessories, cook books, coffee table books, photo albums, handblown glass vases, picture frames like crazy, scented candles, kitchen tools, gourmet spices… all at inexpensive price points.

When it comes to presentation, I really can’t stand the suggestion of wrapping a gift up in an additional gift, like a jewelry box wrapped in a scarf. No, I’m not spending an extra chunk of change to wrap the originally intended present. Then there’s the ideas of painting or stamping your own paper. Please. The season is hectic enough.

For wrapping gifts, I usually hit the 50%-75% off sales after Christmas and stock up for the next year. Take advantage at the stores you shop at and ask for their complimentary boxes, especially for odd sized items. A well wrapped gift can make a small item pretty fantastic to open. If you need to stock up on gift wrapping supplies right now, I highly recommend the dollar store. They have tissue paper with designs and huge packs of solid colors, curling ribbon, rolls of wire edged fabric ribbon for luxurious bows, bags of traditional bows, tags, tape, gift bags and boxes of all sizes and the usual seasonal wrapping paper – all for $1. Sometimes just sticking with a solid red or white paper or the big rolls of brown craft paper will allow a $1 ornament to stand out as a gift tie-on. There are glitter snowflakes, large sequined balls, and other novelty ornaments. You can also check the craft section for bunches of berries, fake birds and raffia ribbon for a rustic look.

There’s no reason to go broke this holiday season! Have fun being a thoughtful smart shopper!

In the spirit of the Secret Society of List Addicts, I’ll share with you some jobs I’ve considered over the course of my life.

• Veterinarian – first job I said when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up… until we had to take the sick beagle to the vet and I saw how they took temperatures. I was done.
• Animal cop – maybe I’ve been watching too much Animal Planet but I think I would actually do better as a vigilante because the red tape of the job ticks me off.

Watch – The Sick Kitten

• Astrophysics – I adore math and thought I had the potential to be one of those math geniuses… until I had the worst physics teacher known to man in high school and was ruined on the physics side. The fact that almost everything in life can be explained with an elegant equation is something I can really sink my teeth into. My bf thinks I’m a freak.  Let’s do this.

• Statistician – my psych major exposed me to data collection, manipulation, and analysis with delicious SPSS software, which pretty much taught me to never trust any stats you hear on the news. In all seriousness though, it’s a tangible and pretty reliable way to learn about the world.

CHECK! THIS! OUT! and THIS. (I promise, it’s worth your time.)

• Florist – super green thumb here, think I have a good aesthetic eye… currently working on bonsai, would love to learn Ikebana. Who wouldn’t love to play with flowers all day?

• Fleeting thoughts – architectural artist, cupcake baker (but Richmond already has a few), line cook (been there, done that for every station, miss it), blogger (yeah right), RN (horrible decision, bad school choice, dropped out), any type of psych research (will be trying to get my foot in the door eventually)…

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My Thanksgiving post from last year still rings true today.

+

• When I was a kid, my mom let me build a terrarium in this gigantic round glass vase she had. It had tiny plastic deer, soft moss, mini trees, everything! We had to set it on the floor one day and I accidentally kicked it, and was ruined for terrariums ever since. I don’t think I could do anything too terrible to this tiny gem!

via

• I didn’t think the chrome look for nails was truly possible. Having tried every silver polish making the claim and being sorely disasppointed, Wendy B shared an out-of-the-box approach to getting cybertastic nails! The directory on the site will let you know who in your area provides the service. I’m definitely hitting up one of the Richmond locations soon!

This lace effect is killing me as well!

• Back in the day, I used to want to be covered in tattoos. I had big serious painful gorgeous plans. Then… I changed my mind. Imagine that. I still managed to get two. One is an Olivia pin up girl on my stomach in flesh tones which is finally fading away after 12 years. The coloring I wanted was so light that no one could make it stick. It would heal and when it peeled, the ink came right out with it. So yeah, over 8 hours of pain for nothing. I couldn’t take it anymore and went to the renowned but expensive Timothy Hoyer (when he was still in RVA and had Alive Gallery). He made it happen in no time. The other tattoo is peonies at the top of my back (done by one of my best friends Scott at True Tattoo). I have been wanting to add a slew of exotic flowers and ivy to my back with a bit curling down my shoulders and up my neck but I vacillate between being ready to make the appointment or totally bailing and making an appointment for laser removal. That’s no way to be when you’re about to permanently mark yourself. Either way… the point of this whole revealing rant was to show you this neat thing I found. It’s some application that will add ivy to your pictures. I haven’t tried it yet but here you go. If only tattoos were that easy.

one day maybe

• Oh! I love me some CERN and they just started the Large Hadron Collider, had some first collisions and Earth didn’t explode! Here are some pics right before they got to banging those atoms! Oh, and I really want a print of particle tracks for my wall. Geek! Anyone know where I could get that done?

•  She’s been blogging for 3 years but I just discovered Kristopher Dukes and I think I’ve found my personal style idol/hero. She hates patterned clothing, loves nude heels, loves simple elegant clothing and sticks with what works, is a product fiend, appreciates well designed luxury, wreaks of sex, called satin elastic ankle pants a year ago, and she is unapologetically superficial in a brutally honest (and sometimes offensive) way. Obviously she has a much larger well-earned income than myself but it’s fun to live vicariously through others sometimes and it’s nice to read down to earth, quick-witted critiques on so many glamorous things I would love to have. Her post format is great – a particular thing broken down into what she already has, what she would rather have, and what she hates. Love it.

-

• I looked at my Google Reader the other day and was wondering why the heck I was subscribing to blogs that I couldn’t relate to in any way whatsoever. I’m not going to name names but my life isn’t sparkly and full of rainbows and unicorns. I don’t wear hot pink, nor do I have a constant positive spin on life. I also don’t like wondering where the hell a 25 year-old is getting all that damned mysterious money to waste on total crap. All that being said… I do like a good voyeuristic romp once in a while so I will probably revisit these blogs every blue moon. I just don’t want to see them or the tweets every day. Because I’m going to vomit.
• My hair is taking forever to grow out from my scene boy cut. It’s finally past my shoulders but it’s all sorts of crazy layers and then I gave up on the blunt bangs and they’re growing out at well. So how to you begin to take care of split ends when it’s a mess? I guess I’m going to have to get out the tiny scissors.

I wish

Holiday season is upon us and that means everything in the stores has a thick crust of sequins on it. I would like someone to tell me how all these things are going to wear over time because I have experienced nothing but heartbreak. (We aren’t even going to talk about glitter because if you own it, you deserve to suffer the consequences. In the early 90s, my bff bought a pair of fuchsia glitter Doc Martens and they started looking pretty rough rather quickly.)

Sequins are made of fragile plastic with a metallic paint coating that rubs off and eventually looks worn out. They are also prone to cracking in half and falling off. Then there are the ones that are glued on. You can spot a missing or misaligned sequin a mile away. At least I can, but I may have a mild case of OCD.

If you must wear them… there are good sequins and bad sequins.

GOOD SEQUINS

Not much can happen to this embellished tank. You still have to carefully hand wash it in cold water and it won’t last forever but you still have a chance.

To avoid looking like a Miss America contestant, sequined dresses should be short and to the point. This dress will also require special care but with no belt to rub, cap sleeves, each sequin neatly lined up (not shingled) and tightly secured, and being all one subtle color, this would work well. Minimal accessories needed.

Other good sequins can be found as a light mist on something sheer, a pair of panties you don’t plan on keeping on for very long, and as the most delicate of details that makes something plain very special.

BAD SEQUINS

You know how your shoes wear, so what’s going to happen at the bends of these Converse? They’re part of the fabric so you can’t even sew on new ones to repair!

These sequined leggings are almost $350 at Saks. What is your ass and the backs of your knees going to look like after a while? Like a worn out Las Vegas hooker, that’s what. $350 at Saks or $20 at F21… they’re both going to look like hell after a few wears.

More bad sequins – on jeans but at least they would be easy to remove when they go bust, on handbags (those giant sequin bags and tiny 80s prom clutches), those hoodies everyone got obsessed with (my hoodies earn their keep), and anything else tight that would bend harshly with your body, and doesn’t respect your hard earned cash.

So ladies, you may want to spare yourself the trouble and financial waste and just put on a sparkly cuff bracelet instead!

A while ago,  I went through a tiny stud earring phase. I bought a bunch of little earrings made of gears and old plastic camera workings. I bought them from etsy and most eventually fell apart. (There just is no lasting glue for binding plastic to metal.) Just recently on NotCouture I spotted these sterling silver watch gear earings by jewelry designer Graciela Fuentes for Tiriana Jewelry. Steampunk? Maybe. Awesome? Yes.

Just for good measure, I checked out what etsy had to offer again. I was a little disappointed. I’m really not a fan of something looking soooo handmade that it’s sloppy, unprofessional and childish. Do you have to add cheap beads to everything? These are the best things I could find.

treasurecast

slvrlily

Of course, you can start digging around online to find gears and have yourself a little DIY fun. 

I hope this is going to be my last food post because honestly, I don’t like them on my blog. I just really want to share this recipe with you. I don’t like keeping good things a secret. It’s catty. This recipe for pound cake has been in my family for 4 generations (at least) and it’s killer and so damn easy. 

First, this is the kind of cake pan you need. It’s a two piece tube cake pan (or angel food cake pan) with a removable bottom. I have never tried this recipe in loaf pans but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You would just have to figure the cooking time out for yourself. You can also use a bundt pan but the best part (the crunchy top) ends up getting smooshed on the bottom.

So here goes (a hand mixer is fine) -

2 sticks of butter (at or near room temp in a big bowl) (you can also use 1 stick of butter and one stick of margarine)

Cream the butter with 3 cups of sugar and 6 large eggs.

Slowly add 3 cups of all-purpose flour (sift if you want… or not) and one cup of milk (or heavy whipping cream, or 2% milk…)

Here’s the fun part: You can add a splash of vanilla extract and leave it at that or, you can add lemon extract and lemon zest, orange extract and orange zest, vanilla-almond-rum-coconut-lemon-orange extracts all together for a super tasting poundcake, any of the above flavored extracts and 1/2 cup or more of any type of chopped nuts (dust with flour first and then fold them in at the end, pour into pan and sprinkle some on top- black walnuts are weird)… really do whatever the heck you want to with this thing.

Spray the pan with some Pam (or grease however you like) and pour the batter (which should be thick) into your pan. (My pan has never leaked but you may want to put some aluminum foil on the shelf under the cake the first time.)

Pop into a cold (non-preheated) oven at 325 degrees and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. The top will get golden and crunchy and it’s almost like candy.

Let it cool for about 15 minutes then gently run a knife along the edge of the cake. Put a plate on top of the pan and flip it. If the removable bottom part of the pan sticks, use a knife for that too. Place whatever stand or plate you want on the bottom of the cake and flip again.

This cake can get dry fast. I use a glass domed cake stand and put the lid over it and let it steam until it’s completely cool. You may want to wipe the condensation out of the lid at least once so that it doest drip down the sides of the lid and make the bottom soggy, or just edge the cake with rolled up paper towels under the lid until it’s cooled off.

If you don’t have a cake stand, plastic wrap it up on a plate.

If you want to make one well in advance, they freeze and thaw beautifully under plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They make great gifts. It’s awesome with coffee, great for strawberry shortcake in the summer… I pretty much have one baked at my folk’s house every couple weeks and amazingly, they’re not huge.

Could not be a more simple and forgiving cake. They are so hard to mess up. Hope you enjoy!

This isn’t my pic but basically this is what it will look like… only mine looks better! Ha! (photo via myrecipes.com)

Rarely do we have guests over but with all the Thanksgiving entertaining posts in full force, a little part of me is dying for a dinner party. (I think I want to design centerpieces more than anything.) Cooking for a group was something I had always fantasized about and thought I would be doing a lot of when I moved but we never even made getting a dining set a priority and we don’t have enough seating in the livingroom. (What do we do with our money?!) I have been collecting chair ideas for some time now. Some for the living room and some that would be suitable around a simple dining table. Let’s not even talk about prices on the high end stuff. I’m just digging the designs. I believe it was design personality Nate Berkus who said on Oprah that he didn’t have a sofa for a year or two until he found the perfect one. Totally feeling him on that – don’t settle for less than the vision you have in your head. A deal will come along eventually. Only problem is, I’m not even looking that hard.

This “Copenhagen” chair designed by Alvaro Uribe is made of fiberglass. I like the splash of color it would bring to our neutral living room. Yes to a red chair!

 The classic 1958 design Cherner armchair

I’ve posted these before - Bistro chairs - low seating has always been appealing.

Kenneth Cobonpue’s Noodle chair

Target’s chair selection had a lot of modern pieces like this, a 4 chair set influenced by an Eames wire chair.

Also from Target (and now out of stock online), I saw these in person and wish I had swiped them up. A serious deal, at 2 for about $60, stackable and good to have around in a pinch.

I love acrylic chairs! Of course it would be ideal to have the Philippe Starck Ghost chairs but these from Target and Ikea would do just fine!

 Last but not least, this Wishbone rocking chair by Toby Howes takes the frump out!