PoMo Golightly

Ten on Tuesday: Shopping Edition

Thanks for sharing my joy in the Miracle of the Wedding Ring.  To clarify, Neal has lost (and found) the same ring three times.  The time before this one, he lost it in the fall and found it in the spring while cutting up part of the front yard for sod.  Our yard likes to hang on to the jewelry for a bit!  Margene shared a really nice story about wedding rings.  It's worth clicking over to read!

Now on to Ten on Tuesday!

Today's assignment was to list Ten Places I Love to Shop Online.  

1.  Scout's Swag.  Sure, she's my girly, but have you looked at the colors she puts together lately?  She's got a fantastic array of cool bags and notions, too.  Her customer service is great.

2. Stitched by Jessalu.  Jess's bags are beautifully constructed.  I'm partial to the bucket bags; I have one for hairpin lace projects, and one that hangs off my loom to hold extra bobbins.  The box bags I have are big enough to hold lace or sock projects with room to spare.  I also have my precious Bosworth spindle in one of her spindle bags. Jess is one of my online friends who became an IRL friend, but even if I didn't know her, I'd love her bags and customer service!

3.  Pineapple Seed.  Beautiful and affordable jewelry.  I wear my Perseverance bracelet almost every day, and my number necklace (13 for me!)is dainty and edgy all at once.  Everything comes packaged in a neat tin can, too, which makes gift giving more fun.  

4.  Journey Wheel.  The Bosworth spindles and shuttle I have are among my most treasured tools.  Just as important as the high quality craftsmanship is the great customer service (see a theme in my list?!).  Sheila is quick to respond to email and offer advice, and the products are always joy producing.

5.  Satsuma Press. I adore Lynn's style.  I've been buying her calendars for years, for myself and as gifts, and they are lovely.  Simply lovely. (shh...20% off until midnight 11/30 using code "secretsale")

6.  Floto Imports.  I've been buying bags from them since 2003.  Each one is beautifully crafted and of excellent quality (and stuffed with Italian newspapers!).  When I've had problems, Floto has taken good care of me.  Another sale code: 25% off through Friday using "thanks10" at checkout.

7.  Serenity Stitches. I'm partial to Christina's fiber, and she also has some cool handmade "go green" tools--snack bags, bowl covers.  Nice quality, great customer service (and yes, we've become friends!).

8.  Amazon.  I've tried to keep my list focused on small Indie businesses I love, but I'd be lying if I didn't list Amazon.  Here's how I try to make it a more worthwhile experience.  When I know I want to shop on Amazon, I go to Ravelry, click on a book that leads me to Amazon, then shop.  Even if I'm not buying the same book, Ravelry still gets the affiliate money.

9.  Janine King Bags. Her work is high quality, and she uses great fabrics.  I don't want to say anymore because I've already done some Christmas shopping there and the recipient may read my blog.  Just go take a look.

10.  Title Nine.  The clothes are great, fit well, suit my style, travel like dreams.  Customer service, when I've called, has been amazing.  They make the only sports bra (small bones and back, large breasts...not easy to fit properly) that I can wear running.  For that alone, they have my loyalty!

Sort of random, and I am sure I'm missing a ton of great places to shop online.  I'm looking forward to reading others' lists to get more ideas.  How about you?  What's your favorite online shop?

 

Miracle of the Wedding Ring

Earlier this fall, while playing catch with the dogs, Neal felt his wedding ring slip from his finger.  We couldn't find it.  My pleas to St. Anthony* did no good.  We had no access to a metal detector.  This was the third time his ring has been lost.

This weekend, while raking, he found it.  

*I don't post my pleas online.  And, yes, despite no longer being a Roman Catholic, I do still practice some of my old habits!

 

Project 333, Week 8

Week 8 already?!  Only one more month before Round 2 of Project 333 begins.  

I asked Neal if he would give his feedback on what he thinks about my Project 333.  He's a man of few words, and here are the ones he had to say:

• I like the reduction in laundry.  We're saving money and making a smaller carbon footprint.
• I like the way you've incorporated texture, shape, color to reflect the season.  Instead of wearing fall colors, there is a coolness to what you're putting together that speaks to the cooler weather.
• Less choices free up the mind for higher thoughts.  I think it was Edison who had the same clothes and wore them day after day.  There's something to be said for that.  You're channeling that creative energy into a different place.
• I'm fond of the daily pictures, not as a record of your day-to-day outfit, but as a way of seeing the subtle changes that you can miss when you live with someone.  I guess they are like a historical record.

He's done talking about me and my clothes  (you can see all of my outfits here).  We've got a lazy day ahead of us.  I'm hoping to do some crafting and get a jump start of Christmas gifts that I want to make.  

Hope you have a great day-after Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spent some time this morning walking in the woods with a pack of dogs and some friends.  Now on to making butternut squash soup and bread pudding.  First though, a moment to wrap up Thankful Thursdays with today's list:

• I'm thankful for the health of my loved ones.  There have been some scares this year, but all seems to be well right now.  
• I'm thankful for my friends. All of you.  The ones I've known since childhood, the ones I've made as an adult, the ones I've reconnected with via Facebook, the ones I've met online.  Old and new, in person and online.  You all enrich my life so, so much.
• I'm thankful for a day set aside to enjoy a beautiful meal and reflect on the goodness of life.  

How about you?  What are you most thankful for today (if it is dessert, give me extra details, please!)?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

Ten on Tuesday, Thanksgiving Edition

Carole gave us another great topic this week: Ten Things to Love about Thanksgiving.

1.  Spending time with my family.  I am fortunate to live within a twenty minute drive of my folks.  It's always more special to hang out with them on a holiday, though.

2.  Mashed potatoes.  I rarely have them.  I guess to my way of thinking, they're a side dish for meat, and I don't ever fix meat, so I don't fix mashed potatoes.  Hmmm...maybe I should change that.

3.  Stuffing.  I have a very kind sister-in-law who goes out of her way to accommodate my being a vegetarian.  She always makes a little bit of stuffing sans meat for me.

4.  A morning hike.  I love to take the dogs on a long, vigorous walk and build my appetite.  Thanksgiving hikes are somehow more fun.

5.  Stuffed celery.  The bane of my childhood holiday meals.  How I dreaded shoving the cream cheese into the stalks of celery.  I was a particular little girl and could not stand cream cheese being all sloppy on the celery.  It was a real chore to get it right.  The leftovers, though, rock my world.  That's one of the tastes of my childhood holidays.

6.  Variety. So many sides to try!  So many desserts to nibble!

7.  A long weekend.  The university closes just after noon on Wednesday, and I don't have to go back to work until Monday (although I did promise students revising essays that I would check emails over the weekend).

8.  Memories.  Neal and I had our first date (back when I was 18) the weekend after Thanksgiving.  In 2006, just after Thanksgiving, Neal asked me to marry him.  It's a sentimental time of year!

9.  Lack of pressure.  The day is all about the meal.  It is purely about the joy of sharing food. (Can you tell I'm not cooking the full meal this year?!)

10.  Gratitude.  It is far too easy for days to blend together without pausing to be grateful for all the wonders in the world.  What a lovely thing to have this day to remind me to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

What do you like best about Thanksgiving?

Project 333, Week 7

Here are this week's pictures:

 
Lots of little corners of the house for you to see!

Time for my weekly musing about Project 333.  I've had a few laundry emergencies when I've realized that if I don't hop to, I'm going to be stuck wearing jeans to work.  Since I am drying everything on lines in the basement, I really do have to think ahead.  Other than that, caring for my clothes has become so easy.  There isn't much to fold or put away once the laundry is done, and there isn't much ironing, either. 

One of my students complimented me on my shoes recently (the pink and black Pearl Harts if you care).  We chatted about clothes, and I told her about the project.  She was in the camp of "I could never do that," but then she admitted that she probably doesn't wear most of what is in her closet. 

The ripple effect.  That's what I think I am liking about the project this week.  Lots of people (okay, women) have had a similar reaction as my student; it was MY reaction when I first read about the project.  Really, though, for three months, a person can do about anything.  It is all a matter of choice.  I know most people aren't interested in challenging themselves when it comes to their wardrobe, and that is fine, of course!  But if reading about Project 333 here or on any of the other blogs has made you think about joining, guess what?

Round two begins January 1, 2011. 

Learn more on the Project 333 Facebook page. If you'd like to see all my Project 333 outfits, check out my Flickr page.

In the meantime, tell me about your plans for the weekend.  I think I might go see a movie in the theater.  You know, about a kid with a curious scar on his forehead? That one.

Thankful Thursday

If you've been reading for a while, you'll recall that I spent most of the summer and part of the fall of 2009 without a kitchen as Neal ripped every bit of what had been out, pushed back counters, made new walls, built cabinets, and created my dream kitchen.  I am still astounded that I showed my clever husband an old sugar bowl, said "I want the kitchen to look like this," and he did it.

And thankful.  I am thankful for my husband's ability to use his skills and imagination to make our little yellow ranch with the orange door an adorable, sweet place to live.

I'm thankful for an abundance of food.  I remember all too clearly times of living close to the financial edge, times of having one egg a day, some cereal, maybe.  You probably know how that goes, too.  Sometimes when I make a meal I can savor or spoil myself with an exotic piece of fruit, I stop and think what a treat this would have been in those days of struggle, and the food tastes even better.

Lately I've been thinking about my gratitude for my colleagues.  Academic departments are notoriously political, and as a non-tenure faculty member, it would be easy to feel on the fringe of the department. I'm fortunate to have several colleagues who are excited to share ideas.  Our job, like most, can be frustrating, can feel thankless.  In those moments, it is great to have colleagues who have become friends, who can encourage, commiserate.  It is nice to know that if I'm writing a new assignment or determining what to do about a plagiarism case, my colleagues are there to consult.

What are you thankful for today?

Art Show

Earlier this week I went to my nephew Dan's first college group-art-show opening.  It was cool to see his new work, and I enjoyed talking to him about it.  He has long been articulate about his art, and it is a pleasure to be shown around the gallery by the artist himself!  

This piece is called "Freshman Minus Fifteen"

It refers to the stress of entering college, which in Dan's case resulted in not eating for a week!  Want a close up?

The walls of the gallery were covered with works on paper.  This pencil drawing was near the ceiling, which explains the wonky angle.

The students drew more traditional self-portraits, then did a second one based on research they did about Halloween.  There were some scary pieces (one with sewn lips gave me the shudders).

I am crazy for this piece:

Thanks for taking a look at Dan's work.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Ten on Tuesday, Movie Edition

I'm excited about today's Ten on Tuesday topic:  Top Ten Movies I'd like to see in the Theater.  I have been fortunate to see several movies that might have been on the list in a theater: Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz (what great fun: I was on tour w/my ex. and we were killing time before an evening gig.  Only other people in theater were a grandmother, mother, and daughter trio.  Much singing ensued.), The Rear Window.  There's a fantastic Paramount theater where I used to live in New York, and I saw many, many classic movies on the big screen there.  Still, there are plenty I'd like to see:

1.  Breakfast at Tiffany's

2.  Star Wars

3.  Fantasia

4. Sabrina (the original, of course)

5.  The Sound of Music

6.  Mary Poppins

7. Jaws

8. Funny Face (Think Pink!)

9.  Dirty Dancing

10.  Top Hat

These are all movies I've seen on the little screen.  I chatted with Neal to get ideas, and he poo-poo'd my choices.  "Epics," he cried.  "That's what you want on the big screen!"  I disagree, though.  I want to see some of my favorites (Jaws and Starwars aren't faves, but I was too little to see them in the theater when they came out) in their full, original glory.  

How about you?  What would you like to see on the big screen?

Project 333, Week 6

This past week marked not only Week 6 of Project 333, but also the two-year anniversary of Coco Chanel's arrival.  She is one funny little puppy (even at two, she's still the puppy to me).

Anyway, want to hear more about P333?  Check out Cheryl's 30-day post, Suzanne's status report, Monica's Day One Report, and Meg's recent report.

And here is my status update in the form of confession.  I have worn my rain boots to campus two times (I change into P333 shoes as soon as I get inside...but there are some deep waters on campus when it rains!), and I wore an old rain jacket to work this week.  It was torrential out there, people, and I could not face a soaked jean jacket.  What does this tell me?  That a good transitional coat is necessary.  I'm thinking that I should admit that Tim Gunn knows of what he speaks and start the search for a fabulous trench.

Another confession: I wear a little clip in my bang sometimes.  I'm growing the fringe out, and there are days I just can not take it flopping in my face.  I suppose I ought to call it an accessory, but I'm not going to.  

One more confession: I tried on those khakis in order to pin them so I could hem them and finally wear them.  To my delight (I've been working hard at this), they were too big*. Into the "out" pile they went, and I replaced them with a pair in my "fighting weight" size.

I'm excited that my L.B.D. is slated to arrive by mid-November (although there have been a few delays, I have faith that I'll be able to wear it for Thanksgiving).  I'm also working hard on a sweater (I left a space on the list for one hand-knit sweater) that I want to wear on Thanksgiving.  Both will re-charge my wardrobe!

I'm getting closer and closer to understanding what I want and need to make a simple, fun and elegant wardrobe that will keep my closet as empty as it is now while giving me lots of good-fitting options.  Can you tell I'm crazy for Project 333?

See all of my Project 333 outfits on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my clothes!

*this is a post for another day, when I decide whether or not it is polite to discuss my weight and fitness issues.