You have probably noticed how hipsters can take old, uglyassshit and make it totally sexy. Ref: discarded huge reading glasses worn with confidence, howling wolf sweaters improved with strategic tailoring and the addition of fringe, florescent colors used sparsely paired with neutrals, et cetera.
And my old, uglyass handbag
Totally ugly, very practical, and generally excellent handbag of mine, I adore thee. But damn.
I mean, DEEEEAAAAMMMNNNN.
Hanging out with kids gives childless adults a good excuse to get crafty. This weekend, I had lots of time with my littlest sister and even-littler brother, and in order to take full advantage of kid time, I made it a priority to come up with an Easter project.
Enter natural egg dyes:
I remember enjoying the result of egg dyeing adventures of my childhood… but I don’t seem to remember the actual process of dyeing them. Hopefully, as Littlest Sis grows up, the sweet aroma of boiling cabbage, hardboiled eggs, and onion skins will bring a wash of memories (if not nausea) over her.
Red cabbage, which is actually purple, produces blue dye. Color confusion!
To achieve this remarkable blue, we chopped and boiled a head of red cabbage in 3 or 4 inches of water for a good 20 minutes. Strained it, added a couple glugs of white vinegar, added hard boiled eggs, and left it in the refrigerator overnight. For orange, we did the same as above, only substituted skins from a couple yellow onions for the cabbage. For a mottled grey-brown (which I had expected to be pinkish-grey), we emptied a bottle of cheap red wine along with some white vinegar into a bowl and added eggs. I wonder if vinegar is necessary for the wine dye… a weird curdled-looking film gathered on the eggs dyed in wine, and I think it may have been the addition of the vinegar that caused this.
As an egg dye, I give wine a two thumbs meh. Although I love the way this particular flower turned out.
For the super-awesome shell-tattoos, we “borrowed” a pair of my Not So Little Sister’s stockings, some flowers and confetti, and string. We placed the flower / confetti against the undyed egg, put the egg in the stocking (after cutting the stocking so it will stretched tight around the egg), and tied it off. The stockinged egg went into the dye and WA-BAM: overnight eggshell excellence. (Littlest sis had the great idea to try the confetti. Way to go, smartie pants!)
The most impressive color came from the unassuming yellow onion skins. Who knew yellow = orange?
Cuteness overload. This is Littlest Sis and Even-Littler Bro. Awww!
Craft-time success!
There we were, The Old Man and I, minding our own business, abiding by our recently implemented austerity measures in a local thrift store, when suddenly this happens:
It reminded me of that one time a toilet seat and the eighties adopted their cousin, this seat cushion.
BUT. Somehow I was drawn to this chair. I felt compelled to know more about this chair – to learn her story – to know what went wrong… and I found that underneath it all, she had a heart of brass.
And the body of a hottie.
Is it inappropriate to discuss lady-boners in a blog? Let’s assume it is, and move on.
To find out who was responsible for this amazingness, I inspected my new infatuation and discovered:
SHE’S ITALIAN! ONE MILLION EXTRA POINTS!
Upon a google, I found that a set of 4 vintage Cidue chairs on a European website sold for 500 euros!!! (Roughly 1000 dollars.) I buy for 20 dollars per chair?!?!
ONE TRILLION EXTRA POINTS!
Problem: The Old Man was completely unimpressed. Disgusted. Distraught by my enthusiasm. Unconvinced that I was in fact not joking.
But, as you might have already guessed, the poor bastard despite himself and his better judgement eventually said, “I cannot believe this.” And we left that store a few chairs richer.
For at least two days, he eyed the one chair suspiciously, muttering curses under his breath at it. Only one chair had been allowed upstairs. But slowly, slowly, he has relented. Three chairs now live in the apartment. The Old Man still glares at them if they step out of line, but he now admits that he hates them only a little.
File this under “Awesome Sauce”.
Yesterday was an exceptionally indulgent day.
It started off on an excellent note since both The Old Man and I had the day off from work and got to spend the morning playing music together, with our cat Nancy providing the cuddles. Apparently, she enjoys the sound of the harmonium and front row seating.
After filling up on musical togetherness and kitty lovings, we decided to drive up to Santa Ynez to pick up The OM’s mom’s wine order… which – since she generously added us to her membership at Gainey Vineyard – had the added benefit of allowing us a free wine tasting. Not a bad deal.
Not a bad deal at all.
After that, my delightful neighbor and artist-friend EmmieBean invited myself and our other two neighbor ladies to an event at a nearby salon celebrating the one year birthday of a local blog called LOVEmikana. (I highly recommend visiting the LOVEmikana blog if you live in or plan on visiting Santa Barbara. The ladies of LOVE can always be counted on for the best current tips on where to go and what to do around town.) The salon that hosted the event is a gem of a place on upper State Street called Salon U wherein we were delighted to get to sample delicious eats, ogle gorgeous accessories from Stella and Dot, and best of all receive free hair and makeup demos. See below for awesome braid event happening on my head.
The final indulgence of the day: seeing The Hunger Games premiere at midnight. SO GOOD!
So many indulgences! On a weekday! Such an unexpected delightful pearl of a day… thank you for allowing me the extra indulgence of getting to write about it.
If you’ve got an indulgence you are planning on treating yourself to, I would love to hear about it! Please feel free to leave a comment decadent with details. I’d love to know!
I admit that when The Old Man and I went to Ireland and Spain last year, I was planning on writing many detailed posts about every meal, every adventure, every milestone. Instead I wrote two posts (this one and this one), neither of which detail the delicious food we experienced. So, let me take this opportunity to talk about Ireland’s lamb stew.
IT IS SO GOOD. Especially when it is freezing and raining outside (which it was) and served with soda bread (which everything is) near a hearth fire (of which there are many). Our favorite place for stew in Dublin was a pub near Trinity College called The Duke. It is two stories tall with nooks and booths to hide away in, there are several hearths crackling, comfortable seating, lovely servers, and – of course – delicious lamb stew. It was so perfectly warm and welcoming in The Duke, and the stew was hearty and flavorful; a happy combination perfectly suited to weary travelers on a chilly afternoon.
In honor of all things Irish, on St. Patrick’s day whilst pining for beautiful Ireland, I made my own version of Lamb Stew. See below for the recipe.
And since I neglected to snap any photos of my stew, please accept this Instagram shot of Ireland instead.
Galway
The Domestic B’s Lamb Stew
Makes almost enough for 8 neighbors in your backyard on St. Patrick’s Day.
Ingredients:
4 to 6 pounds of lamb (Ask your butcher which cuts he / she recommends for stews. I like to make sure at least one bone is included for flavor.)
1/2 pound end cut bacon pieces
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
flour (enough to coat pieces of lamb)
a handful of carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
5 to 7 small red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 leek, chopped
5 cups of water
3 beef bouillon cubes, dissolved
1 can / bottle Guinness beer
grapeseed oil
2 bay leaves
thyme
Instructions:
1) Fry bacon pieces in a pan. Remove from pan, cut away as much visible fat as possible, cut into bite-sized pieces and add bacon to empty crock pot. Discard fat, or toss a little back into the pan.
2) Re-heat pan (using the bacon fat that still remains), and add whole pieces of lamb, lightly browning the outsides. Remove from pan, cut into pieces and remove as much excess fat as possible.
3) In a bowl, add plenty of sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and flour to a bowl. Coat pieces of lamb. Re-heat frying pan and add the lamb pieces. Fry until cooked medium rare. Add to crock pot.
4) Sautee chopped leek and minced garlic in pan for a few minutes (use a drizzle of grape seed oil if all bacon fat is gone). Add to crock pot.
5) Add 5 cups of water and beef bouillon to the crock pot. Cover and turn on high. Allow to cook for 1 hour.
6) Add Guinness beer, carrots, celery, potatoes, barley, and bay leaves to the crock pot. Sprinkle a pinch of thyme on top, stir and cover. Cook for 1 hour.
For best results, serve on a cold and rainy day with soda bread near a crackling fire. Have lots of craic.
Few things are as satisfying as living room redecoration, and few decorating moves are as effective as living room sofa pillow cover change-out. I had the genius idea of making my own (this was supposed to be an amazing DIY post. FAIL)… and then succumbed to my need for instant gratification and ordered some from Etsy. And I am SO happy I did. They’re glorious. And sturdy. Much unlike anything I would probably make.
Before these beauts arrived, our poor couch was littered with this:
Barf.
If you too are craving a quick and easy living room re-do, allow me to recommend the Etsy shop ElemenOPillows. Karen is very quick to respond to inquiries before and after orders are placed. And her selection is fresh, modern, and interesting.
DO THIS.
As a life-long appreciator of cinema, clothing, and reasons to drink with friends, I always look forward to the Oscars. This year, The Old Man and I opted to celebrate Hollywood’s Annual Horn-Tootin’ by attending the Oscar party thrown by [my favorite independently-owned shopping haven] The Closet. The lovely ladies of The Closet who are all incredibly nice, hilarious, and adorable goddesses of fashion, had a pre-Oscars champagne and cupcake event in-store. Shoppers were encouraged to fill out Oscar ballots and reconvene at a nearby restaurant / bar to watch the red carpet arrival and award show. Prizes for most accurate ballots and best-dressed were to be awarded at the end of the night.
I am proud to announce that I won!
Everything!
Because I was the only [non-employee] attendee!
HORRAY FOR ABSOLUTE VICTORY BY DEFAULT!
Actually, I won almost everything. Because another group of three Oscar-watchers sat near us and joined in on the ballot action. And totally kicked my ass. Luckily, there was only one woman in their group, so she was the only eligible contestant and walked away with one of the three gift certificates. I made off with two. BOOM: $30 shopping sprizzle. Also, I should make clear that I was the only female attendee. The Old Man was also present. Surrounded by five of us designer-dress-drooling-oogling dames. He wins the prize for best husband in a supporting role.
I had so much fun. And I am very much looking forward to The Closet’s next cinematic event… WATCHING THE TITANIC IN 3-D on April 4th!!! Anyone reading this blog should plan on coming along. The girls are seriously so cool, and how can you not want to re-see TITANIC?! That was Leo at his beautifullest. I will keep you posted on news for this event, or you can become a fan of The Closet on Facebook and keep up to date that way. https://www.facebook.com/theclosettradingco
And since I am a blogger who wants to learn new and exciting blogger skills, I took this opportunity to get to know my Photoshop. Look what I made!
It’s my first attempt at anything Photoshop, and I know it’s pretty rough, but damn it feels good to be a Photoshop-literate gansta.
The above collage represents a few of the notable dresses by notable designers on notable ladies at the Oscars / after parties. Honorable mention goes to Viola Davis in Vera Wang.
And Kristen Wiig in J. Mendel
And Octavia Spencer in Tadashi
Horray for new skills! Photoshopping stuff It takes so much time! Why are there fingers growing out of Berenice Bejo’s hip?! The type is too little! So much more to learn!
(All photos originally from style.com.)
I am proud to announce that today marks my Old Man’s FORTIETH DAY WITHOUT A CIGARETTE!
(Trumpets!) (Applause!)
It has by no means been easy for him. And he hasn’t quit “cold turkey”… more like warm turkey. Or cold game hen. But he has gone forty days without a cigarette. There have been easy days, there have been hard days, and he still does have cravings, but for the most part, he has made a most excellent transition from being a real smoker to a fake smoker. Or, as he likes to look at it, “a smoker who just isn’t smoking today”. His transition would not have been nearly as smooth had it not been for the help of a few new friends:
Friend #1: His e-cigarette. If you are unfamiliar with these contraptions, the e-cigarette is a little cigarette-like battery-operated apparatus that is made up of two main parts; a cartridge containing liquid nicotine, and an atomizer which, when puffed on, vaporizes the nicotine, making it breathable. They look like this:
E-cigs make you sexy.
They are great because they satisfy the nicotine craving but omit all the bad chemicals and additives in real cigarettes. The Old Man, being a good combination of nerd and Virgo, did a lot of research on e-cigarettes before quitting and found that there are quite a few e-cigs on the market. Since they are still relatively new, there has not been an enormous amount of research on them, but from what he gathered, he learned that most e-cigs are manufactured in China, and some are made in the United States. The ones made in the US use only vegetable oil and nicotine in the cartridge. The ones made in China… no one really knows what are put in them. So he opted for the slightly more expensive US-made version. (His particular brand is 21st Century Smoking. His favorite flavor is Atlantic City. You can find these e-cigs at kiosks in malls, or online at the link above.)
Friend #2: Snus. Although the e-cigarette is fantastic, and the “smoke” it creates is not harmful to second-hand breathers, it still garners glares from passers-by and is not always an appropriate social utensil. To avoid those potentially awkward moments (or when the e-cigarette needs to be recharged), The Old Man resorts to snus: a tobacco-filled pouch that is placed against the gums to deliver nicotine an a nearly-unoticable way. They are by no means The OM’s favorite thing, but they are not a cigarette, and do the job in a pinch.
Friend #3: The iPhone app called My Last Cigarette. Since so much of smoking’s allure is psychological, it helps to have any kind of encouragement while quitting. The OM finds solace in this app which tracks his progress by calculating how many cigarettes he hasn’t smoked, how much his circulation has improved, how much money he has saved, and how many days he had added to his life. As of today, he has not smoked six hundred and forty nine cigarettes. CAN YOU IMAGINE?!?!
Stats as of February 24, 2012
This app is more accurate for the cold-turkey quitter since his nicotine intake is still high, and the cigarette savings are offset by e-cig costs, but it is still a comfort for him to be able to track his progress everyday.
As you can imagine, the everyday benefits of The Old Man’s decision to quit smoking have been many. He no longer has to go outside in the cold / heat to pace around smoking and talking on his phone and making the elderly lady neighbors nervous. He also takes fewer breaks at work now (which is a combo good / bad thing). And although I never really minded the smell of smoke on his breath or clothes, I did not like the way his hands would smell – and judging from the way our cat Sid interacts with him – I think the pets felt the same way. All this to say, my husband kicks ass, and you can too! If you are a smoker, ex-smoker, or smoker who just isn’t smoking today, I am interested to know how quitting has gone for you and whether you went cold turkey. How’s it been?
Congratulations on making it through forty days, Husband! Here’s to the coming of your forty YEAR anniversary of not smoking! I am looking forward to celebrating it with a healthy 68 year old you.
One of my very favorite movies – and I know I’m not alone in this – is It’s a Wonderful Life.
I want a BIG one!
As a kid, my sisters and I would watch this movie every winter. I secretly had a big crush on Jimmy Stewart, and I am sure that he is why I have always had an affinity for the tall, slender, good-hearted type man. (And look! I married me one! Thanks, Jimmy!) Somehow, as I grew up, this cinematic gem was elbowed out of my Christmas flick rotation, replaced instead by my generation’s new “classics”. Two years ago, I learned that my Old Man had NEVER SEEN IT. Obviously, this atrocity could not abide. So we watched it and he loved it and our Christmas Flick List has been rewritten.
I must say that watching this movie in this particular economic moment as a socially conscious adult was a whole lot different that it was as a child in the 80′s. Is this not a movie written for the diminishing middle class of today? I say it is!
As a member of this diminishing middle class, I got to wondering about the Building & Loans of yesteryear and whether such establishments still exist. Since doing electronic transfers from the buried Maxwell House Coffee can under the azaleas has proven to be problematic, I wanted to know if a non-bank, non-coffee can option exists for modern folks. I eventually came around to the revelation that Credit Unions might be the answer. I did a little bit of investigation, and this is what I found:
Since credit unions are not for profit, they are not under the same pressure banks are to impress their shareholders with how much money they have made from their customers… because their shareholders ARE their customers! It’s a We-Won’t-Screw-You-Because-We-Are-You philosophy. And because of this philosphy, credit unions do not generally charge the same type of under-handed fees that banks are infamous for. It’s how it oughta be! As I learned from The Golden One Credit Union, when a member joins and opens up an account, they are charged one dollar - essentially buying one share of the company. When it’s time for company decisions to be made, members are asked to vote, and each person - Joe Broke with ten dollars in his account, and Joe Loaded with ten thousand dollars – gets one vote. And on the occasion that the credit union makes a good investment that pays off, it divides the profits up between all of it’s members! (According to Dino at The Golden One Credit Union in Goleta, several years ago, each member received $40 from such an investment. It’s not an everyday occurance, but it does happen!)
But because we live in a world of imperfections, there are of course drawbacks. These include the fact that credit union ATMs can be hard to find.
The Solution: 99% of credit unions accept deposits from members of other credit unions, so any credit union or credit union’s ATM can be used without fees. Also, ATMs at all 7-Elevens are part of the program and can be used for free.
Another drawback is that credit unions have had the reputation for being slow to modernize.
The Solution: there’s an app for that! The Golden One has an iPhone app with which you can take a picture of your check and deposit it digitally. Boom: modernity.
Yet another credit union shortcoming is the fact that they cannot offer business accounts.
The Solution: There is no solution. Bummer.
As you can imagine, the Old Man and me opened up an account at The Golden One. I haven’t used it enough to rant or rave about the pros or cons of the actual practice of credit unionization, but I have high hopes.
Mean-spirited Big Banks and Wall Street dookies.
Merry Christmas to you, Mister Potter. (I flip you the partridge in a pear tree.)
Sweet, wonderful Building and Loan middle class darlings.
Credit union group hug!
(If you’re still not convinced, google “Why choose a credit union?” and you’ll very likely get converted.)
I am a perplexed and a little disappointed with Santa Barbara’s non-celebration of the Lunar New Year. We do Solstice Parades, two Christmas Parades, Veteran’s Day Parades, Gay Pride Parades, Fiesta Parades, Fourth of July Parades… but no Lunar New Year Parade? How is it that we can go ALL OUT for Summer Solstice and even make up our own week-long holiday, yet completely neglect Lunar New Year?
In no way do I mean to imply that Santa Barbara does not hold enough parades. As you can see, we have parades coming out of our ears. Neither am I implying that we should have fewer parades. Parades are great. BUT. I am saying that to more than a billion people world-wide, the Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year, and our city doesn’t show a blip of interest. What’s more, according to the plaque which hangs at the former site of Jimmy’s Oriental Restaurant, the two blocks of Canon Perdido between State and Santa Barbara Streets used to be home to our own thriving (albeit teensy) China Town! And in the 1800′s, Chinese accounted for ten percent of this town’s population! Not to mention whatever Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and all other types of Asiankind have called this town home.
Come on, Santa Barbara! Represent!
I propose a take over! I am hereby making it my goal to make this happen in Santa Barbara. Admittedly, I have not-a-whole-lot of experience in the implementing new municipal traditions department, but I envision a parade with a full 20+ person manned dragon dance, fireworks, wishing tree, red envelopes, red lanterns on State Street, fortune cookies for all and lots and lots of Chinese food!
LIKE THIS!
I myself am not Asian. (Although, in high school I nearly convinced a group of friends that I was a quarter Asian since I am half Spanish, and Filipinos are half Spanish. It’s simple logic!) But I do celebrate Lunar New Year. For the past three years, I have diligently (let’s be honest: superstitiously) cleaned our apartment as thoroughly as possible in the weeks leading up to the day. I’m talkin’ scrub the walls, the fridge, the cabinets – get rid of old clothes – steam-clean the couch – wash the outsides of the windows – vacuum under the bed CLEAN. I purposefully do not take out the trash or sweep for the week following so as not to sweep away the good luck brought on by the new year. I wear red on New Year’s Day. I make sure to have mandarins and fresh flowers in the house. And this year, I gave The Old Man a red envelope with a bright and shiny hundred dollar bill. All in the name of good luck. This is nourishment to my superstitious Sagittarius soul. Where I picked this tradition up from, who the eff knows. But I did. And it stuck. And I LOVE IT! And I think other people will love it to!
Lunar New Year balloons in NYC
Let’s all carry balloons!
Pretty!
And dance with gilded skirts!
It is possible that I am drunk on the loveliness of this holiday and am making it up that I will actually follow through and institute a citywide celebration and parade. I have been known to soar to great heights on the wings of brilliant ideas held up on the breeze enthusiasm and gusto, only to glide softly down to earth to completely and unceremoniously abandon my terror bird fantasies for no other reason than “shrug”. But as of today, whether I am BSing or not, I hereby declare that Santa Barbara SHALL have an annual Lunar New Year celebration! Who’s with me?!
So let it be written. So let it be done.
(Name the source of this quote! Comment on this post with the answer and you shall be awarded one hundred extra credit points in heaven. Better yet, comment with an enthusiastic comment of support for two hundred!)
PS. I thought I should mention that The Old Man bet $10 of his New Year’s $100 in a penny slot machine in Deadwood, South Dakota today and BAM! Made $54. Yeehaw for super superstitions!
*All images in this post are licensed under The Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Share Alike License and can be found at http://commons.wikimedia.org. Click on images to link to original.
