Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School

I love the photo styling of this shot from Bona Drag's online boutique. The Capezio lace up slippers could, in the wrong hands, be overly sweet but the black tights, cut away t-shirt and black bracelet give them a perfect bad girl edge. The photo made me want to slip into a pair and blast Warren Zevon's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School!

Any Warren Zevon fans out there should visit warrenzevon.com and sign the petition to have him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Affordable Luxuries # 3: Tulips

Thank you Holland for tulips! They always suddenly appear in stores just when I think I can't take another short grey winter day. For less than $10 you can create your own beautiful still life. I love buying a different color bunch each time. Yesterday I resisted the purples and yellows and was drawn to a simple white bunch which now look very serene on the kitchen table.

The painting is Still Life with Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase by Ambrosius Bosschaert from the Rijksmuseum collection.

To Make Resolutions or Not to Make Resolutions

I know I should have already made them already it’s January 2nd! I guess I hesitated to start the New Year with what is basically just another to do list but tougher. It all seemed pretty heavy considering I barely get through what I have to do each day without being super fit, super healthy and super productive! So I think I’m just going to have to try and accomplish a bunch small things that don’t involve crunches.

Happy New Year!

I’m looking forward to the possibilities of 2009. Recession or not I’m optimistic 2009 will prove a positive year. Well wishes to all!

Alternate Realities # 2

I loved Kar Wai Wong's 2046. I watched it two years ago on my Mac (not ideal, but cozy) while sitting in the glow of fairy lights I had strung on the windows for Christmas. It was such a great escape I watched it twice. Even after two viewings I still don't think I completely took it all in. The cinematography is so gorgeous it's like watching a series of living paintings. I particularly liked the roof scenes which reminded me of those special times when one finds a spot that seems outside of time.

Bracing For and Hopefully Embracing Winter

I finally just finished racking and bagging the leaves and now the first snow has fallen. It was just flurries but winter has set in. I love the winter sky and the freshness of cold winter air after a snowfall but I miss the light and long days of summer. I'm bracing for the cold and hoping not to get down because of the short days. I'm definitely believe in Seasonal Affective Disorder and am determined not to get down. Here's a list of things I think might help keep lifew bright over the next few months:

• Put up a Christmas tree (Mame was right, we need a little Christmas right this very moment!)
• Get a great fake fur throw for snuggling up with a good book
• Making an inspiration wall
• Paint my toenails a vivid red or better yet splurge on a pedicure
• Build a little snow girl for my daughter
• Feed the deer apples and carrots and fill the bird feeder with seed
• Find time to draw
• Send notes to friends via the post
• Catch up on missed movies (the list is huge)
• Learn something completely new and outside my normal interests
• Visit the library and check out a book on an exotic subject or place
• Plan my garden for spring
• Finish one of my knitting projects so I have a sense of accomplishment
• Take on a tough corner of my home and make it happy
• Take on my abs with the help of the Ab Lounger Pro (on my list to Santa) and win!
• Put candles in the windows
• Listen to a new musical genre
  
• Keep the Christmas tree up as long as possible which shouldn't be a problem as this year's model was grown by General Electric! Sadly, there is no fir scent but also no skin rash requiring a visit to the dermatologist either.
• Be unnaturally optimistic despite everything!

Recession Fun # 4: Cat Napping

As the mother of a one year old who is now walking, (Hurray! And which way did she go?), sleep has become one of the most rare commodities and a nap, one of life’s most enjoyable activities. Yes, it is an activity. Ask any cat! There’s an art to it – finding the time, the right spot and balancing between the world of wide-awake and dead to the world. Who hasn’t envied a cat snoozing in a sunspot on the floor or tucked into a deep fold in the blankets. Unless you completely subscribe to a “snooze you loose approach” to life, napping is fun, it’s free and fashionable. The stylish Bästis Krona kitty chaise from Ikea will give you another reason to envy your feline friends. Shouldn’t there be a larger version for the humans of the house?

Alternate Realities #1

I'd like to be alone with this work by Takashi Murakami for an hour or so. I think it would lift my spirits or at least make it difficult to feel grumpy about all of the little stuff. I could see myself drifting off to sleep counting the little flower faces. I wonder what one would dream about. Any a little visual escapism would suit me just fine now.

Affordable Luxuries # 2: Digging into a Good Book

I found myself getting in a serious reading phase again. It was kicked off by a considerable daily train commute that allowed me to get in a good number of chapters each day. I’m trying to keep it going now that my commute is on hold while I seek gainful employment. Now more than ever slipping into a fictitious world for a half hour or so seems like a real luxury. My fiction of choice right now is from Haruki Murakami. I always love his work. The quirky multi-leveled realities his characters inhabit are neither too saccharine nor too dire, but odd and complex and manage to feel similar to real life even at their most surreal. I just finished “After Dark” and have started “The Elephant Vanishes”. Even better, I swapped books with a fellow Murakami fan. Yeah for sharing and the ever affordable luxury of a good read!

Recession Fun #3: Jumping in Leaf Piles

Well the economy continues to tank and I have joined the ranks of the unemployed, so it seems appropriate to start back with another entry in my Recession Fun (Things That Cost Little or No Money to Do) Series. This past week the trees suddenly lost all their leaves in a matter of two days. As I face racking and bagging them all up, two things come to mind, how much fun it was jumping in leaf piles as a kid and how great it would be to have a leaf blower. Last time I did the yard myself I ended up with forty bags of leaves (thanks in part to three very large trees but also because of neighbors with very large leaf blowers). Lucky for me racking leaves is free too.

This leaf pile was made by Don Davis. Quiet impressive.