Contain Yourself: Narrowed Minded New York Nest

In past posts I have made it abundantly clear that I have a bit of crush on Cary Grant. I think he's dreamy and he makes my heart do the cha-cha. He always seemed to portray in his films some version of the "man-of-the-world," or of himself, which seems to me to amount to the same thing. I believe he was the last of the truly elegant men. He was cosmopolitan but strong, absurdly good looking, but self-effacing, a cutup who could be a bit of a scoundrel, even a little wicked, but in the end, he would always do the right thing. In short, he was the man women yearned for and men yearned to be. He was one-of-a-kind, just like his former residence in New York.

If you missed last week's post featuring a home constructed from shipping containers you can check it out here.  In today's Contain Yourself post, I'd like to share photos of Mr. Grant's former home at 75 1/2 Bedford St. in New York City. At 9½ feet wide, it's the narrowest house in Manhattan. And you're in luck because it is back on the market. But, you will need long pockets if you want to live there because the asking price is a whopping $4.3 million, which is twice what it sold for in 2010. Other luminaries who have slept between its narrow walls are Pulitzer Prize winner Edna St. Vincent Millay, actor John Barrymore, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and cartoonist, William Steig.

The home has been meticulously renovated.

Just enough room for a bathtub.

 

The house has become part of New York's tourist trail

Photos courtesy Curbed, Daily Mail, and Alamy

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Brilliant Bergeres, Barbara Barry Wannabees and Chinese Take-out

As I've said many times before, I think custom furniture is like couture in the closet. Take this pair of beautiful vintage Bergere chairs, for instance, and have our studios reupholster it in a fabric of your choice and maybe jazz up the woodwork with a new stain or a painted effect.

These 1950s reproduction Bergere chairs would look marvelous re-worked in a heavy linen or maybe a rich velvet. The square upholstered back joins a padded arm above a down and duck feather cushion with a serpentine apron raised on graceful cabriole legs. These simply exceptional pieces would elevate the class and grace of any room. Their frames are sturdy but present fabric is worn and needs replacing - each chair will need 6 yards of a solid fabric and 7 yards of a fabric that is patterned. The leg can be either left with the original patina or can be re-stained or treated with a paint effect.

Second in line are these signature chairs that possess a back design that is composed of a couple of graceful wood ovals that create a beautifully intriguing form. There is something about these chairs that remind me of Barbara Barry's Bracelet chair. The clean lines and elegance of the back make them timeless pieces and the seat cushions can be revamped again and again. The wood can be left as is with its worn patina or can be re-stained or treated with a paint finish. I have three of these chairs available.

Last on the list of new inventory is this vintage reproduction Black Chinese Chippendale End Table is stunning! It has a removable rectangular lacquer tray with repetitive gilt border on a black lacquer stand. The faux bamboo turned legs have marvelous gilt accents and are connected with a second fixed black tray.

Hope you all have a marvelous weekend and if you get a moment, I hope you can check out my other new inventory listings here.

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Want It Wednesdays: Cerise's Pieces (get it like Reese's Pieces!)

Photos courtesy Lomography, Design Shop UK, 1stdibs and Shrimpton Couture 


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Contain Yourself: Debbie Glassberg

Everyone has their porn. Mine is home design. I also dabble in DIY, which I'm pretty sure is a kinky subculture - the S and M of home decor, if you will. I'm not entirely sure how this happened or when, but this much I AM sure of, shelter magazines, home improvement shows on TV, and big-box stores constantly enabled me. I futz around my house with the tenacity of an obsessive compulsive - think Monk or Rain Man only with ovaries and a paint brush. Don't misunderstand, a neat freak I am not - far from it. As a matter of fact, there are times when my house can be so cluttered that one might need a sherpa to find his way safely from the bedroom to the kitchen. I'm sorry to say that my housekeeping skills don't serve so much as a good example as they are a horrible warning. I've never claimed that cleaning and organizing are my thing. I flunked "tidy" but I'm top of my class in "topcoat," "tack hammer" and "painter's tape."

So, with that in mind, today I would like to begin a new series of weekly (unless I get lazy) posts called "Contain Yourself," where I will share photos and links to what other home design junkies choose as containers for their families, their stuff, and their lives.

Today's home is from Debbie Glassberg, an industrial and toy designer from "Our Man Stan's" hometown of Kansas City, who recently took on something a little larger, seeing homes where others saw only metal boxes.

You know those metal shipping containers that you see on rail cars? Yeah, the ones with the graffiti and the rust. Well, Glassberg has designed a home, made from those metal containers and placed it in the aging Kansas City neighborhood of Brookside.

The home is made from five shipping containers. It’s a little over 2,000 square feet. Her container home is green with geothermal heat, soy foam insulation, bamboo flooring, and LED lighting. Debbie’s father, who owns a factory in China, was able to negotiate with individual Chinese manufacturers for all aspects of the interior of the home cutting thousands of dollars from the cost.

In the middle of the house is a galley kitchen. She didn’t have a lot of space because she was using just the container space. So on one side she made a more of a shallow counter and filled it with energy efficient appliances. There is also a window in the kitchen to serve your guests outside.

The master bedroom is constructed of two nine and a half foot containers that are joined together. She made a his and hers closet that is designed very simply with two boxes and rails making for really sufficient hanging space. Then she created one nice drawered piece of furniture to hold all her other things. Additionally, on the second floor adjacent to the deck is a rooftop edible garden.

Cargo containers are now gaining the attention of many architects, engineers, and designers as a useful architectural material. Glassberg joined with many other container lovers and had the Home Contained built. Aside from the cargo containers, the Home Contained has other earth-friendly features, which include green roof, geothermal heating, insulated walls and solar panels. With these features, occupants will be able to save on their energy usage and money as this will surely keep their electricity bill lower than it should be if they chose to use first hand materials, opt not to have solar panels, and the like.

Photos and video courtesy Home Contained, igreenspot, and YouTube

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The Honey Trees: Magic in Music Form

If you have a pulse, it's likely that you have seen Audrey Hepburn perform Moon River in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This is a beautiful cover done by The Honey Trees that I can't wait to share with you.

Artists Becky Filip and Jacob Wick are The Honey Trees, and according to their very brief bio, are a band that tries to create magic in music form.

I think they're a couple of very talented "Houdinis!"

Video by Meg Isaacs and Luke Severn, audio by Travis Whitney, editing by Kyle Hammond, produced by Ben Ayers, video courtesy The Lofi Sessions.


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Ladies of the Land

This is my sister D'Aunn presenting my Mom with flowers on a Mother's Day many years ago.

On this Mother's Day, I would like to honor a group of women I like to call "The Ladies of the Land."  They consist of not only my mother, my daughter, my aunts, sisters, and nieces but of all of the women in my life, past and present.  I want to thank and honor not only my mother, but all of the women who make up a small, but critically important circle of support; support and love that I have had the privilege of receiving my whole life long.

These women sail through their lives and mine while doing that "limping-one-minute-carrying-the-next" thing that women do.  I have conferred with one or the other of them about bumps and moles, teachers, carbs and stained rugs.  Together we have worried about who seems down, who looks happy, and who has lost their figure and/or their mind.  Many have offered guidance when I'm spiritually perplexed, held my hand through heart-breaking loss, and celebrated with me in times of great joy.  They can tell something is wrong by the way I say "Everything is fine," and have lived their ordinary lives with extraordinary grace and strength while teaching me how to star in my own life.  If I killed someone, they would show up with shovels and help me bury the body - accessory after the fact be damned.  They have rallied around me and held me up when I was bringing a new life into the world and stood beside me and honored the memory of a loved one as they left this world.

More often than not, over the past forty-five years, I have been the fortunate recipient of wisdom passed out around kitchen tables while questioning the pros and cons of parenting, marriage, Spanx, government, and the minutia of life in general.  My life has been built upon the bones of these conversations and I find myself referring back to these talks for answers. My life would not have been as full or as happy without the influence of all of these women and I am immensely grateful for the education, love, and comfort they have provided for me.

I love you all more than you can ever know,
LeAnn

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Cantilevering My "Buttress"

It's getting warm and my garden is getting a little overgrown and I need to tend to it.  When I'm working out in the garden my attire consists of a swim suit, running shorts, a crappy pair of tennis shoes and zinc oxide on my nose, to add to my hot-ness.

When I was younger swim suits were fun and sexy.  Bikini's were one of the main implements in my seduction tool kit - the other was being really cling-y - men love that!  Anyway, my point is this, swimwear used to work for me - I couldn't wait to get out on the lake in my new suit.

Well, that was then and this is now.

Now, I wouldn't be caught dead in a bikini.  Now I buy costly one piece contraptions that Isaac Newton would marvel at.  I ask a lot from my swimsuits these days, to begin with they have to lift and separate.  And if I'm really fortunate I can find one that helps cantilever my "buttress," if you know what I'm sayin', while generally defying gravity.

So the other day, after I had delayed the inevitable as long as I could, I dug last year's suit out of my drawer and began the arduous task of squeezing into it.  First I guided my left and then right foot into the appropriate leg holes and proceeded to tug and heave the Lycra up over my hips, then past my waist (also known as a floatation device,) finishing by wiggling the "breast-icle" portion of my frame into place by slipping the straps over my shoulders with a snap.

As I walked over to the mirror to check the fit I noticed a few things.  First and foremost, I couldn't breathe and I was getting a little light headed from lack oxygen.  Also, I noticed a sharp pain in the booty area - Seems the crotch region of the suit was giving me a do-it-yourself colonoscopy without the benefit of anesthesia.  Additionally, there was a lot of homeless flesh hanging around looking a lot like my own personal floaties.  The only upside to this whole deal was that most of the heft that has taken up residence in my mid section was being relocated up toward my chest.  And for the first time since the birth of my son, I had knockers!  Big-huge-men-would-struggle-with-maintaining-eye-contact-kinda-knockers!  But, even that had its downside because the suit had forced everything up so high that it's possible that I had an extra pair of breasts above my collar bone.  Not only that but, I noticed a new mole on my neck that I suspect used to be a nipple.  

Anyway, as usual, I told you that story so I could tell you this one. 

Last year about this time began a particularly trying and stressful time in my life.  Without trudging through the details I'll just relay that life was dealing me and my little family a lot of hard blows and our spirits were pretty low.  So, I did what I normally do when things get stress-y and little too intense I broke out the 3 P's;  First I panicked, I  and then I prayed and then I planted.  I got this notion from Lady Bird Johnson who is credited with saying that where flowers bloom so does hope.  So, after receiving a few rose bushes for Mother's Day and then a few more for my birthday in June and even more for an anniversary in August I began with this garden.  And I'd like to share some photos of how it looked then and how it looks today.

My front yard had a spot at the corner that refused to grow grass.  Every spring I would put new sod down and every summer it would burn to a crisp.  So last spring I decided to rent a tiller and turn that corner into a rose garden and add a river rock path to my front door.  And since I'm the "Queen of Cheap" most all of the supplies like garden edging, mulch and river rock cost me nothing thanks to a daily habit of scouring the "Free" section of my local Craigslist.  After the $50 dollars it cost to rent a tiller for a day, all I was out was some sweat equity.

So here goes:

 

Above I have pictured just a few of the roses that I planted.  The names of all of the roses are:  Heirloom Hybrid Tea Rose, Arizona Grandiflora Rose, Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora Rose, Sunsprite Floribunda Rose, Mister Lincoln Hybrid Tea Rose, Royal Highness Hybrid Teas Rose, Diamond Jubilee Hybrid Tea Rose and three bushes that were labeled simply Rose.

Below are a few pics of the river rock path, the garden edging and the mulch I picked up for "free" on Craigslist.

And pictured below is how they have grown a year later.  They are all at least a foot and a half taller in height and have been covered in blooms since the middle of March.

Now that is a lot of bloomin' hope!

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City Wide This Weekend

Well, I hope those of you who are brand loyal to Jesus enjoyed your Easter weekend.  I myself am of that persuasion and had a lovely weekend with my kids, my niece and my brother-in-law.  We attended our church services as a group and then my bro-in-law treated all of us to a marvelous lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.

This weekend my plans are a little different - I will be showing at the City Wide Garage Sale at the Palmer Events Center here in Austin.  I've been preparing other goodies for this weekend's (April 30th and May 1st) City Wide Garage Sale at Palmer Events Center here in Austin. My booth is #221 near the red skirted info desk. There is a $7 charge to park in the garage or there is a free parking lot at One Texas Center on the Southwest corner of So. First and Barton Springs, as well.

Saturday morning between 8:30am - 10am, City Wide offers early shopper passes for $10 each.  This allows those who so choose to have early access to the show and get first dibs on vendors' merchandise before the general admission customers enter at 10am.

I hope you get a chance to come and see me, cuz I have some really marvelous goodies this show!

Have a great weekend and I'll see every back here Monday!

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I Don't Think That's a Thing

I'm not very good with "idioms."  I've been known to combine two different expressions resulting in a lot of puzzled reactions from the people to whom I am speaking.  For example, I've found it necessary on many occasions to say, "I just can't seem to get all my ducks on the same page," to suggest that  I'm unorganized.  And I warn my kids all too often to not, "Count their chickens before they get their heads cut off." 

I misunderstand the wording of things, as well.  For instance, when I was a little girl I was deathly afraid of weasels because I thought that that was what was being said in the Lord's prayer.  You know, the part were you're supposed to say, ". . . lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil?"  I thought I was supposed to say, " . . . deliver us from weasels."  And I couldn't imagine how weasels could be so dangerous and why we had to impose on God to protect us from them.  Additionally, instead of the Virgin Mary I thought they were saying "the Verg and Mary," which spurred lots of questions like, "Who's this Verg guy? and what were his intentions concerning Mary?"

So, my family has come up with a mechanism to deal with my misinformed expressions and misunderstood words.  When I happen to turn a phrase the wrong way my family says, in the nicest possible way, " Honey/Mommy, I don't think that's a thing."

I find it fascinating how people always bring their own stuff into words and in return can create some really hilarious interactions and situations. We, my family and I, have actually started collecting "I don't think that's a thing" examples from the world at large. We share them with each other on an almost daily basis and I thought maybe you might get a giggle or two out of my most recent addition.

Today's "I don't think that's a thing" happened last week while I was getting the brakes fixed on my soccer Mom van.  I was sitting in the waiting area reading a two-year-old issue of People magazine when a really flustered young woman walked in.  She had what my children might refer to as a "I'm-trying-not-to-catch-on- fire" look about her.  As the young woman began to open her mouth to address the man behind the counter, he gave her the finger - no, not that finger, but the index one - which even I know is the universal symbol for, "Hush up!  Can't you see I'm on the phone?"  As he hung up the phone he turned his gaze back to the young woman and asked, "May I help you, Miss?"  She responded with, "Yes, I think my car is out of gravy!"  He scrunched his eyebrows together, retracted his chin back into his neck, took a deep breath, and shot me a look that seemed to say, "Really?" and then responded with, "Miss, I'm pretty sure neither one of us knows what you are talking about."  She then replied, "Yeah, that little Aladdin's lamp looking-light keeps flashing at me - and I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drive without gravy cuz' it might stall out and then I'd have to be jacked off."

All I can say after that is . . . Money can't buy happiness but it can buy me new brakes and supply me with a funny story and lots of laughs, which is kinda the same.

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Grafters: ¡el grupo!

It's Grafters day on the blog. And today, I have a whimsical piece by a group of designers and craftsmen with a passion to create and influence the world around them called ¡el grupo!.

This playful piece of street art, entitled Moustache Rides, is a see-saw built for waiting customers at East Austin's El Chilito taco stand. The see-saw was built from discarded phone booths and lined with rhino liner, a covering typically sprayed on truck beds for weather protection. The sunglasses and seat backs are made of wood that is burned using a weatherizing process called "shou sugi ban," which is a process traditionally used on Japanese homes. Sugi is known as Japanese cedar, but it's really more of a cypress and it is burned to resist rot and fire.

This is the first project by, a creative collective recently formed in Austin, Texas, as part of The Pay Phone Revival Project back in November of 2010. They have a blog where you can go for more info and photos about the process.

Great fun and very Grafter-esque!

Photos courtesy Nicolas Rivard, ¡el grupo!, and The Pay Phone Revival Project

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Grafter: Frederique Morrel

Hi Everyone, welcome back to my Grafters series. If you missed the two previous posts I featured Shannon South of reMade USA and Carolina Fontoura Alzaga. Today I would like to introduce you to Frederique Morrel.

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of taxidermy. It just seems a bit gross and gory. But that was before I discovered Frederique Morrel˙s marvelous work. Her sense of humor gets me initially, and then the upcycling element or "decycling," as she puts it, grabs my attention next. I so enjoy her work. It makes me giggle and stand in awe. She's truly an original!

Vintage tapestries are gathered by family and friends to fit fiberglass taxidermy molds that have been injected with expanding foam. Realistic details such as teeth, tongue, hooves and ears are finished with resin or latex and then airbrushed. Real antlers, discovered by her "horny" husband, are fixed to the head and then the entire mold is covered with the vintage tapestries.

The special ingredients and materials she uses tell stories of simple and ideal happiness. These enchanting heirlooms have elevated taxidermy to a new level and I would love to have one of her works in any part of my home! Hope you are as taken with her as I am!

This is Frederique Morrel.  She began this quest after being troubled by the fact that her grandmother's needlework was discarded when she passed away. Ever since, she has been obsessed with the idea of making them come back to life, obsessed with the redemption of her grandmother's ardent work.

And this is Aaron Levin.  He is the guardian of the Frederique Morrel brand. He is often on the lookout for rare tapestries.  And together this power couple has taken on the task of re-enchanting the world. And, in my opinion, the stories told through these marvelous works of art have more than accomplished that goal.

Every piece is one-of-a-kind.

Meet Tony and Eva.

Images courtesy Frederique Morrel.

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Want It Wednesdays: Out of the Blue

Photos courtesy Etsy, Quench Metalworks, Brooklyn Retro and Gardenhouse

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Eco Art Youth Recycling Contest

Unfortunately, I just learned of this a few moments ago and the entry deadline is today but, I had to let you know about a great event shared with me by a reader after reading today's Grafter post. Eco Art Youth Recycling Contest, to quote the reader that shared this with me," This is where young grafters are at work!"

According to their web page the Rodeo Austin's Eco Art Youth Recycling Contest gives students the chance to revitalize recycled items to create a work of art, a functional piece or anything else that showcases innovation through re-used materials.

Here are a few of the contest details:

•  Eligibility: Open to any Texas student 5-18 years of age. No school or organization affiliation required.
•  Individual Divisions: 5-8 years of age, 9-13 & 14-18
•  Team Divisions: 14-18 years of age, minimum of 2 or maximum of 6 students per team
•  Entry fee: $10 per entry
•  Entry deadline: February 15, 2011

The entries will be displayed March 24th from 10:00 AM - 07:00 PM. I'll have to get back with everyone about the location.

 

 Photos courtesy Rodeo Austin and Rodeo Austin's Eco Art Youth Recycling Contest

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Grafter: Carolina Fontoura Alzaga

If you missed my first post on my new Grafter series featuring those folks that have a talent for making something out of nothing, no biggy, you can go back and read it later.  Last week I featured Shannon South of reMade USA and today I would like to introduce you to Carolina Fontoura Alzaga a  multidisciplinary artist with a penchant for re-purposing castoff materials.

Carolina Fontoura Alzaga upcycled lighting designs are a step above the rest. At first glance I thought that maybe one of the components looked a little bit like a bicycle rim and then slowly I started to realize that the beads were not beads but bike chains! Inspired by Victorian chandeliers, DIY culture and bikes, the bike chain chandeliers designed and made by Carolina start out as anything but artistic but end up exquisite works of art.

She combines the elegance of a Victorian age with discarded bike parts resulting in a stellar example of grafter art, as well as upcycling done right.

If you are a Grafter or know of someone who is please get in touch with links and photos of your creations.

Photos courtesy Carolina Fontoura Alzaga and Re-Nest.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Image courtesy Wikimedia


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My Little Happy Place: Would you ever?

Many thanks to Alison over at My Little Happy Place!

Simply Brilliant: Local Natives and la Blogoteque

One of the best things I've ever heard said about music is this; Music is what feelings sound like. Before you get all "wow she's profound" about me - it's a quote, I'm just borrowing it. But isn't it true? Music produces such pleasure for me and my family that it would be difficult to live fully without it around our house. My "indie" children, Olivia and Noah, are both marvelous singers and my niece Morgan, plays the piano with élan. Noah strums the strings off his guitar and visitors to our home are subject to impromptu "jam sessions" on a regular basis.

Recently, my daughter introduced me to a marvelous band called Local Natives an "indie rock" band based in Los Angeles. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was first released in the UK in November 2009, and later released in the U.S. in February of 2010. According to Wikipedia, their sound has been described as "afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies." Clash Music has also described their style as psych-folk, or modern worldly folk. All I know is that I like 'em and I hope you do, too.

So, here's the video Olivia shared with me - it's a magical video from la Blogoteque filmed in Paris and posted on their video series called Take Away Show. La Blogoteque describes these shows as a weekly film session with an artist or a group who has been invited to play in the city, a bar, the street, a park, an apartment, with the passage of incidents, hesitations or those moments of madness. The videos are free of mounting cosmetics, with a gross capturing the moment, filming music as it comes, without preparation and without tricks. This video was directed by Nathaniel Le Scouarnec. Members of the band are Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier.

Watch the Take Away Show Here.

Local Natives will be preforming in Austin on Mar 11th at Stubb's Barbeque. Off to get tickets!

Images, film and sound courtesy of Nat Le Scouarnec, Sound by JB Aubonnet and François Clos, Mix by JB Aubonnet, Production Management by Hedwige Hénain and was produced by Chryde for la Blogotheque. The song title is Who Knows Who Cares and is off of their Gorilla Manor album.

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Want It Wednesdays: Caught Me Red-handed

Photos courtesy Shrimpton Couture, Etsy, Joe Vintage and The Vintage Supply Company.

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Grafter: Shannon South

In the English language we have a several descriptive expressions to suggest a talent for making something out of nothing; you know, those people who can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and turn convention on its ear.  In Italian the phrase is creare qualcosa dal nulla.

In the urban dictionary these folks are referred to as grafters and are defined as follows: A Grafter is a person who sets his stall out and proceeds to market and trade with whatever currency is available . . . a creative person who is capable of turning a blank canvas into a masterpiece . . .  a free enterprise, a freelance entrepreneur, a freedom fighter who lives to work.  A Grafter controls his own destiny. 

The honorable profession of grafting is a way of life. To be a grafter you need to be self-motivated, a go-getter.  Well, as luck (and a lot of snooping around on the web) would have it, I have found a lot of these go-getters and decided to start a weekly post called Grafter to showcase these marvelously talented people and their work.  Today I would like to introduce you to Shannon South the artisan and brainchild behind reMade USA.

reMade USA is a design company founded by Shannon, that upcycles used materials to make one-of-a-kind accessories. She says her mission is to create beautiful, long-lasting, well-made products that positively impact the environment, our users and our makers. All products are hand-crafted in her studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

This is her marvelous Doily Pendant Lamp

"Every bag we make at reMade USA is made by hand," says South.  And she not kidding - You've got to check out this extremely edited-down photo journal that tracks the steps taken to make this amazing bag below.  The amount of work that went into making this bag exhausts me just to look at!

You can become a fan on Shannon's Facebook and check out tweets on her Twitter, too!

If you are a Grafter or know of someone who is please get in touch with links and photos of your creations.

Photos courtesy Shannon South, reMade USA and Inhabitat.

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I'm a Good Fork

I looked in the mirror the other morning - after wiping a clear spot in all the caked-on tooth paste splatters and the reflection I saw looked like Chris Farley with a hemorrhoid.  That is to say - I don't look my best first thing in the morning.  But who does? Right?  But here's the thing, I don't improve as the day goes on - I just kinda ripen, if you know what I'm sayin'.

So, this year I've pledged to improve a lot of things, my health, my mind, my body . . . well, you get the idea.  Anyway, one of the things that I've decided to do is learn Italian.  I think it is a beautiful language and it's been on my "To-do list" since my sophomore year in college.  I mean since there are so many Italians in Texas and I thought it would be nice to be able to converse with them . . . . . huh? . . . . Exactly! 

To give you a rough idea of the pace at which I tackle my "To-do lists," I'd like to share a little snippet of my daily activities.  The other day I found a letter that I had written to a dear friend concerning my daughter that I'd forgotten to mail.  I figured it just needed a little updating to send, so I steamed it open and after "Olivia is . . ." I whited-out "teething" and wrote in "driving."  I think, perhaps, this particular instance speaks volumes in describing my whole being.  Just to be clear, I'm what comes after the snail when referring to pace.

So, what was I saying?  Oh yes . . . . Italian . . .

I bring up the Italian for two reasons;  (No. 1) Yum!  and here I refer to the men and the food . . . . Am I right?!  and (No. 2)  I'm, as they say in Italian, una buona forchetta - which means that I'm a good eater or rather, quite literally translates to - I'm a good fork.  Please pay particular attention to the "r" in the translation - because without it I sound a little slutty.  And to be honest, I have been a bit of a food floozy lately and in 2010 my diet would have probably fallen on the slovenly side of things more than anything else.  I'm not suggesting that I'm a glutton, but in my family gravy is considered a beverage.

So, it's back to gym with me.  But this time I'm taking the whole family and we are gonna get healthy and in shape and all that junk.  Things have been going really well so far.  As a matter of fact, I've already been to the gym three times this week and yesterday I was named "Miss Varicose Vein" for my region.  Last year I shared stories of Naked Nana and others, but this year my gym stories will probably revolve more around the frightening fact that while I was asleep and away from the gym I went out of style. 

So, I think I will close this post the same way I closed last year's rant on exercise and getting in shape.  Though none of this has anything whatsoever to do with the "vintage" or the "inspirational" premise of this blog, my reasoning behind sharing this is to tell you that there are muscles in my body that have not been flexed since the last Bush administration . . . and now they HURT!! . . . and I feel VINTAGE!

Image courtesy CafePress

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