Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Losing a pet is always tough, and Littles left some big paws to fill. We knew we’d eventually get another cat but didn’t know when the time would be right. Tidbit needs companionship since we’re gone during the day so we started looking shortly after we lost Littles. A trip to Petsmart to visit the cats/kittens from local no kill shelters was good, but we didn’t bond with any of them.  The next week, my father-in-law, Pete, was playing on the local Humane Society website and found a cat he thought looked really good so he sent us the link.

“Amy” was a pretty cat, that’s for sure, but we still weren’t convinced it was time to take the leap into new cat ownership. Frankly, I’ve been nervous about how Tidbit would react since he tends to be a jerk. Steve was convinced we needed a kitty but I wasn’t sure we were up to the challenge of all that energy. Saturday, we left the house thinking we’d have a day to ourselves. The first stop was lunch at That Lebanese Place, a food truck we’d heard rave reviews about. The reviewers weren’t lying; we’ll return! Between bites, we decided to take a trip to the Humane Society “just to look.” Yeah, right.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a gang of kittens named after playground equipment: Teeter-totter, Swingset, Merry-go-round and Slide. They were adorable. This was going to be tough. Pete and Diana met us there so we all went into the cat area to look around. I was immediately taken by an energetic little black kitty with white tufts coming out of her ears. She was ready for playtime! Steve was more cautious than I because I found myself bouncing from cage to cage holding out my fingers (despite signs telling me not to do that!). I was loving on an orange tabby, but knew we couldn’t have him because he was male and we needed a female. We got out a couple of cats, but none were a good fit.

Then we met Amy. She sure was pretty. Big blue eyes and gorgeous coloring. She was a little shy, but became lively and curious when we got her out of her cage. She plopped down and began purring when we scratched her ears. We were done, that’s for sure. Pete and Diana agreed she was a looker and quite a sweetie, but we wanted some one-on-one time with her, so we took her to a private room to bond.

That was it. The little girl was coming home with us. Pete and Steve took care of the paperwork while Diana and I perused the other “kids.” I wanted all of them. Monday, Amy had her spaying and I picked her up from the Humane Society after work. She was alert, but cautious. She’s currently residing in the guest room with her own bathroom, new food dish (of course), toys and all the room she needs to roam. She enjoys being under the bed, but has become more animated and outgoing in a short 24 hours. She’s a lover and we’re over the moon.

Her name will be changed because she’s not an “Amy.” I’ll keep you posted on her progress. Thanks to Pete and Diana for all their help in finding our new family member!

Last Friday, my new steel line debuted at Waverly House Gifts and Gallery. The opening night reception was a great success and I enjoyed spending time with the many friends and family who came to offer their support.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may remember that I’ve been working all summer creating new pieces using steel, sterling and gold. It took me several months and a lot of experimenting, but I think I have found my design voice in this material. I’m loving the look I’m achieving with the mixture of metals.

Steel is great because it’s inexpensive and strong, but it’s dirty and takes more time and patience. In the end, I get a look I can’t quite achieve with silver. I also feel like I can experiment more with it since the cost of waste is much less than it would be in silver or gold.

If you missed the opening reception Friday, the show continues at Waverly House through October 27th. Stop by and see it if you have the chance. I don’t think you’ll regret it!

I’ve started this blog post in my head at least a dozen times over the last few days, but I just don’t know where to begin. Please excuse the writing and choppy thought process.

Last Saturday, I was beginning my day with a cup of coffee when I message popped up on my computer screen from a friend asking if I’d heard about another friend, John Lambert. I hadn’t heard anything but alarm bells went off in my head. John, his three children and a family friend had all died in a tragic plane accident early Saturday morning. I was shocked.

I knew John and his oldest son Grayson, from the gym. John was the kind of guy who would light up the room with his smile. Cliche, I know, but very true. We used to joke that John was the only person who could make me smile on a Monday morning. I watched Grayson go from an adorable child to a sweet young man. I met John’s other children, McKinley and Joshua, and found them to be as bright and energetic as their father.

John had been dealing with some personal stresses over the past year, but you’d never know it to talk to him. Even when we had a serious conversation, John would end it with a smile and tell me everything was going to be ok. He always asked about “my man” and made sure I told Steve he said hello.

John, you and your family have touched so many lives and we will never be the same. I’m just glad I had the privilege of knowing you for the few short years that I did. May God welcome you into heaven. I know it’s a happier place with your bright smile and positive attitude.

Marriage is work, that’s not news. The best relationships, whether they’re marriages or great friendships, take work from both people to make them successful. In a long-term marriage, sometimes you’re the strong one and sometimes you’re weak. Usually, both people aren’t weak or strong at the same time. Unfortunately, Steve and I have been a little weak lately and it’s been hard to prop up the other person.

Fortunately, this is temporary and we know it. We’ve both been stressed at work and have brought it home. The three-day weekend was good, but unfortunately, we have several other house-related issues to deal with.

Early last week, the speaker on my cell phone started sounding static-y. I thought it was everyone else’s phones, but soon discovered it was mine. We cleaned it out really well, but that didn’t solve the problem. Now, the volume has faded significantly. Good news is that Steve is traveling to Kansas City tomorrow and will take it to the Apple store for me. One problem solved.

Then, the hard drive on the computer quit. Kaput. Now, since I’m married to a tech wiz, he had installed Time Machine, a back-up system that saved everything from complete failure. Once Steve had assessed the situation, he managed to set up a temporary solution with an external hard drive. Man, this guy is good! While not perfect (no back-up in place) it will suffice until he can buy the new hard drive and install it. Second problem temporarily solved.

Last night, I went to feed the cats and discovered the drain in the basement was overflowing. The sump pump wasn’t working. Steve first checked the breaker, then jiggled the pump to see if it was stuck. It made noise, but didn’t pump. We suspected a rock from the bottom of the pump area had been sucked into the pump, gotten stuck and the motor burned out. Grrr. Luckily, Lowe’s was still open and Steve had some birthday gift certificates he was willing to use for a new pump. He got home around 9:45 p.m. and proceeded to do the install. Of course, he accidentally bought the wrong size connectors. Good news is that we have something in place temporarily until he can make the exchange and finish it tonight. Third problem to be solved today.

So while things have been stressful and machines keep breaking, at least I’m married to a guy who knows how to fix the problems. Thanks Steve, for being my husband, my best friend and my handyman. I love you!

I think it’s good to challenge myself every so often. I mostly try to challenge myself in the studio, but this month I decided to do something heath-wise. I gave up drinking for the month of August.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t drink that much or that often, but alcohol = sugar and I was determined to eliminate as much sugar from my diet as possible. I figured I could make it through a month without a single sip of wine, and I did. I had some hard moments, but all in all it wasn’t that difficult. The biggest challenge was telling my friends and dealing with their reactions. Mostly I heard things like, “why would you do that?” and “you’re no fun.” Let me be clear here: I’m a lot of fun!

The first Friday night of my “cleanse” was hard. Usually when Steve gets home, we celebrate the weekend with a glass of wine. I told him to go ahead and enjoy a beer while I sipped on my water. After about an hour, my craving passed and it was no big deal. The next week, we had dinner with some friends and I sat at the table with my water while they all enjoyed their cocktails. Again, no big deal. The hardest night was dinner at some friends’ house when they opened a really nice bottle of wine and proceeded to talk about how wonderful it was. Thanks, guys.

I anxiously awaited my weigh-in/measurement day which was yesterday. Would I meet my goal to lose 1% body fat? I weighed and found I’d gained 1 pound. No biggie since I’d upped my workouts and figured it was all muscle. I felt great. Then Pavel started measuring. I looked at the numbers for last month and saw that they had gone up. WHAT?! How could that be? After entering all my numbers, I found out that I’d gained 1% body fat. Well, s*&%. That wasn’t my goal.

Honestly, I don’t regret doing the challenge. And I know a 1% gain isn’t a big deal. Truth is I’m still in the healthy range and I feel great. Yes, I’ll celebrate the weekend with a glass of wine, but I won’t give up my quest to better myself health-wise. It’s a journey.

When I started working in steel, I knew I wanted to created a rusted surface on some of my pieces. Sounds easy, right? All you have to do is add moisture to mild steel and it rusts. True, but controlling the color and preserving the rust turned out to be a bit more tricky than I expected.

I talked to some friends and did some Internet research which gave me a lot of information; most of it a little scary. You see, rusting usually involves nasty chemicals that will etch and change the surface. I was having mixed results, most of them unappealing, and was thinking about giving up when I talked to Eric.

Eric is engaged to a friend of mine and works in metals, mostly steel. He does a lot of surface treatments and was more than willing to share his information. That’s one thing I love about most of the artists I encounter, they are willing to share! Eric gave me some samples of a mild, odorless chemical that would produce rusted results. I took them home and immediately began he experiment. It was  a bit shocking at first when I brushed on the stuff and it turned my steel a bright coppery-pink shade. Uh, this wasn’t what I wanted! My patience was rewarded when the chemical started working its magic and the pieces started to turn. Here are my samples:

The Copper Rust sample produced the color I considered most like natural rust. Eric also gave me a great hint on sealing my pieces with satin polyurethane for wearability. Once I had this mastered, my work started to take an exciting turn.

Working in steel is fun and the material is very inexpensive, but the finishing work is actually more time-consuming than silver or gold. Rusting takes several days and the polyurethane takes several coats and hours of drying time. It can be a week to 10 days in finishing time alone. I think the results are worth it. The color is lovely and the finish is exciting. My new work will make its debut in October. Until then, I’ll be in the studio rusting everything I can find.

It’s no secret I don’t like summer, and this has been one of the worst in memory. I doubt I’m alone when I say enough is enough! Let’s get some cooler weather, and rain, going here.

For me, the best part of fall is not the cooler weather (although that doesn’t hurt), but it’s the wonderful fashions. I’ve always loved the September fashion magazine issues, planning my wardrobe additions for the season, and seeing what’s hot and what’s not. Not all of the September issues are out yet, but I’ve already seen and read about a lot of trends that I’ll be embracing. I’ve also seen several I won’t! So here’s what’s on my radar for fall:

1. Smoking slippers and brogues. If you’re even remotely interested in fashion, learn these terms. These two styles of shoes are on the horizon to replace the beloved ballet slipper of the past few years. Here’s a sample of the smoking slipper:

I recently scored a pair from Steve Madden that I’d been drooling over since late November. My patience paid off and I got them for 75% off. Brogues are similar to men’s wingtip or lace-up oxfords. Here’s a pair I bought:

Gotta love the perk of ordering shoes from work at cost! Anyway, several people have asked about how to wear these unique styles and I always tell them to wear them as they would any flat. Jeans, crops, skirts, dresses, pants are all good choices. I wear them the same as I would my Chuck Taylors.

2. Shoes again! What can I say? Shoes are an easy way to update a wardrobe. Now I’m on the hunt for the perfect pump. I want a pointed metallic cap toe, small platform and shorter heel. Not too much to ask, right? Yeah, well this one’s going to be a challenge. So far, all I’ve found are sky-high rounded toe platforms. We’ll see.

3. Plaid pants. Thanks to my mother, I inherited her thin legs which means I can wear patterned pants without looking like a whale. The key to any pattern is keeping the proportion right and the fit perfect. Last night I found a cute pair at JC Penney (their transformation is looking great) but am still looking. Ideally, I’d like something that looks like it’s from the 70s, but styled like it’s current. Again, not too much to ask.

4. A moto vest. Rather than a motorcycle jacket, I want a vest. I’ve seen several in magazines but all are in the 4-figure range. Not surprising since my taste rarely matches my budget. I figure the style will become more popular and inexpensive knock-offs will be available soon. At least I hope so!

5. Skinny slouch jeans. Yep, this style really exists. It’s like the skinny jean and the boyfriend jean had a kid and this was the outcome. Less tight in the leg, but not too baggy. I’m expecting to see this coming from Gap.

Other trends hitting the stores are leopard print EVERYTHING, burgundy and navy, lady-like blouses, ruffles, fringe (love!), metallic, purple, western details (another love), and tuxedo styling (a perpetual fave). All in all, fall’s looking great!