Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Would you wear the same thing every day for a month? Stylist [Valerie Elizabeth](http://www.societystylist.com/) has challenged herself to wear the same black dress for 30 days, only changing her accessories. She’s trying to prove that you don’t need a huge wardrobe or a lot of money to look fresh and good. I think this is a lesson we can all learn from and enjoy.

I feel like I wear the same thing every day. Matter of fact, in some cases, I do. I get up, throw on some workout clothes, work out, shower, then put on some jeans (crop in summer, long in winter) and a t-shirt. This is my uniform. I work in a metals studio and get dirty so why in the world would I wear something nice? But I like nice clothes which is why I work at a clothing boutique. Thing is, I tend to wear the same thing to work too. Mostly it’s white jeans or dark denim and a black top. I have a wide variety of black tops, but I gravitate towards three or four different styles. So why do I have two closets full of clothes? Because I want choices. I want variety. I want to know I can change my mind or style whenever I feel like it.

Someone once told me that most women wear about 25% of their wardrobe and I agree. While I have a vast array of jeans I tend to wear the same few pair every week. I have many, many pairs of shoes, but still grab the same few styles daily. Again, it’s all about choices. I love taking my favorite Gap jeans and wearing them with a variety of jackets or t-shirts. Since shoes need time to breathe, it’s best to not wear the same pair two days in a row (same for bras). Some days I feel strong and tough, while other days I feel chic and feminine so I like to have different styles for my emotions.

Would you wear the same thing every day for a month? After reading Valerie Elizabeth’s blog, I’m wondering if I could do it. Maybe I should challenge myself to a week. Nah, I know I’d never make it!

The last time I had a garage sale, I vowed I’d never have another. It rained all morning, my iPod got wet and shorted out and there was a raccoon in the garage when I opened the door to start the sale. It was not a good experience. Steve and I discussed having one when we moved, but since we weren’t sure what we would want for the new house we decided to take all our crap with us. Fast forward almost a year later and we’re full of stuff we don’t want or need and a garage that’s in need of cleaning. So I caved and decided to have a garage sale. Again. For the last time. Maybe.

Saturday I worked on getting tables set up, boxes emptied and clothes hung. I have learned that hanging clothes means less folding on tables and a neater presentation. It does seem a bit weird to have old t-shirts on hangers but they look nicer and allow me to use table space for such valuable items as mis-matched glasswear. What I hate the most about having a sale is pricing. It seems to take forever to accomplish and I always end up wondering if things are priced correctly. Sunday Steve and I took out all the tools and things that we’re going to keep and organized them. The garage is already looking so much better now that the workbench is cleaned off and the tools are hanging on the wall. Once all the garage sale stuff is gone it’s going to look great.

The good news in all this is that my mom is going to help (when she can ’cause she is serving on too many committees) so I won’t have to babysit the whole thing alone. Steve will be here on Saturday so he can help box up all the leftovers and take them to the thrift shop or Goodwill. Plus, it will be nice to have a few extra dollars and a clean garage. Stop by if you need some quality crap this weekend. My loss is your gain!

When Steve and I travel we make a point to eat at local places and never at chains. When we revisit cities, like Kansas City or St. Louis, we usually have a couple of standard places we like to visit, but are always on the lookout for something new. Last weekend we were in KC for a baseball game but had Friday night to ourselves. We had discussed eating at the [Blue Bird Bistro](http://www.bluebirdbistro.com/) where we’d eaten on our anniversary last year, but decided to find something new. Steve, being the Internet-savvy guy he is, immediately turned to his iPhone application Urban Spoon and started searching. That’s where he happened upon Oak 63, a little place in the Brookside neighborhood. He called for more information and the hostess described the cuisine as Southern French. She also mentioned they were featuring an accordion player that evening. Steve and I started to discuss it and I finally just said we should go for it.

When we arrived, we instantly felt like we’d made the right choice for dinner. The dining room was one large room with high ceilings, but it felt warm and cozy. Although it was billed as a Southern French restaurant, the accordion player was in the middle of the “Theme from The Godfather” so it felt Italian instead. Our waitress was casual and friendly and when we told her we were in no hurry to eat dinner she said she understood completely and we were welcome to take our time. We began the meal with a bottle of unoaked Chardonnay by Four Vines. It was smooth and buttery and quite refreshing on a hot night.

We discussed splitting a salad so we’d have enough room for entrees and, hopefully, dessert. We started with the spinach salad. It was served with roasted beets, bacon and homemade Roquefort dressing. The split portion was small, but perfect for the pace of the meal. The fresh spinach was lightly tossed in the dressing so that the two flavors complimented rather than overwhelmed each other. Once the plates had been removed, the waitress asked what we would like next. I loved that she never asked what we wanted to order until we were finished thus ensuring a slow-paced dinner.

Steve made the decision to order a side of their Mac & Cheese as an appetizer. Since the salad was small, I didn’t argue and I’m glad I didn’t. It was divine. Five cheeses blended together to create a creamy, tangy dish. It was baked in a ramekin and served piping hot. I liked that it was another small dish and was the perfect taste of a very rich entree. At this point our waitress brought out some bread which seemed like carb overload, but she encouraged us to try it. Wow, what a bread. It was a homemade French bread with a chewy center and crispy crust. I told Steve it seemed like an insult to butter it because the flavor was so rich and tangy. The waitress told us it had been made by the owner, Jeff, earlier in the day. He bakes it in a Dutch Oven and finishes it on a stone to get a nice crust.

Now it was time to order dinner. We were assured that the portions weren’t huge so we forged ahead and each ordered an entree. I wasn’t in the mood for heavy beef and I certainly wasn’t going to eat duck, so I decided on the fish tacos. Steve ordered the shrimp pasta which surprised me because he’s really picky about shrimp and rarely eats it. My two tacos consisted of crispy tilapia, spring mix and fresh pico. They were light and crispy and not at all greasy. They did not come with any sides, but they didn’t need it because they had enough spring mix to make a small salad. Steve’s pasta arrived with four huge shrimp on top of a small portion of fettuccine. I say it’s a small portion, but really it was the right size rather than one of those huge pasta bowls. The sweet vermouth tomato cream sauce was tangy and spicy. He loved it.

We were about an hour and a half into dinner and were getting full but we didn’t want to miss out on the homemade desserts. The choices that evening were a fresh blueberry tart or deep chocolate mousse so we ordered one of each. The nice thing was that none of the portions were large so we felt satisfied but not stuffed, even after multiple courses. The owner, having been told we were raving over everything, came to the table and introduced himself. We told him we were from Springfield and he mentioned he had friends who lived here. Steve then asked who they were as I laughed that Springfield wasn’t that small. Apparently it is because we knew both of his friends! They are professors at Drury and I had taken classes from both of them! Small world. We told him we had thoroughly enjoyed our evening and would be back again.

Next time you’re in Kansas City, do yourself a favor and check out Oak 63 for lunch or dinner. I don’t think you’ll regret it!

You know your week is going slowly when you start asking, “Is it Friday yet?” on Monday. Yesterday Steve and I both kept thinking it was Wednesday so it’s obvious we’re wanting the weekend to start now.

Yesterday started early when I decided to get up at “Steve time” (5:30 a.m.) and go to the gum with him. It was just us and another regular since Pavel decided to sleep late. While I didn’t enjoy how early it was, I did enjoy having the place to myself and getting my workout done. Because I’d accomplished that so early, I was able to get ready for work in plenty of time to stop off at the optometrist and return my glasses. As I suspected, the lens (actually both of them) is defective and needs to be returned for a replacement. I asked that the order be rushed, but since they are going to an outside lab (per insurance instructions) I’m betting I won’t see them until next week. Oh well, it’s better than dealing with defective lenses.

I started a new workout routine on Monday and it’s kicking my butt. Pavel is doing a circuit training-type program which means working out the entire body per session rather than focusing on two areas at a time. I was thinking I was in good shape until I started this thing on Monday and could barely finish. He assured me, as I was wheezing and complaining this was too hard, that everyone starts out slowly and builds up. He said in two weeks I’d be great. If I survive. I messed up my rotator cuff on Monday so today we concentrated on light weights and more lower body work. My thighs are in flames. I just hope I can walk tomorrow!

After Monday’s meltdown (literally) in the studio, I was a little reluctant to granulate again but I can’t be scared of a little melting so I came home from work yesterday and continued my piece. No meltdowns! I also did an inventory of what I have in stock and made a list of pieces that need to be made by the end of September. The St. Louis show will be here before I know it! I’m hoping to get some studio help but I’m a bit broke right now so that will have to wait. In the meantime, I’m trying to devote time every day to getting a little bit of work done. Even if I have to work in the store, I try to come home and work in the studio until Steve comes home.

Speaking of work, I need to get in the shower so I can be presentable for the public. Have a great Wednesday!

Whew! Time flies and I forget to blog (or I don’t have much to say). Last week was a blur and this week is shaping up to be another busy one.

Yesterday was one of those days where I just wanted to crawl back into bed and start over. I began by torturing myself at the gym with a new workout. It’s a circuit training-type routine and I ended up hurting my shoulder. I told Pavel I wasn’t sure if this was a good routine for me but he assured me I could handle it. Now I’m under instructions to ice it 3x a day and take Aleve for the pain. It wasn’t even 9 a.m. and my day wasn’t going well.

When I got home I received a call telling me my new glasses were in. Hooray! Looks like my day is going to improve. When I picked them up, I noticed one lens seemed fuzzy like it had a huge smudge on it. I didn’t think much of it because most places don’t clean my glasses as well as I do. Upon returning home, I cleaned and cleaned them and can’t seem to remove the smudge. It’s something you can’t see unless you have the glasses at just the right angle but it created a starburst effect if you look into the light. Grr. I had too much work to do to go back to the optometrist so I’m going over there today when I get off of work. I’m betting they have to send them off for a new lens which means another week of waiting for my glasses.

Steve did do me the huge favor of shopping at Sam’s for my Boca burgers for lunch. I was busy trying to get some work done in the studio and things weren’t going well when he called me at 5 p.m. For the first time since I can remember I completely destroyed a granulated earring. A special order one, of course. I had to laugh because it’s so funny to see a partially melted granulated project. Funny to me anyway. Guess it’s metalsmith humor. Still, I had to make another one to match the earring I hadn’t melted, granulate it and work on the pendant I was making to match. Fortunately, I didn’t melt anything else. I figured it was time to quit granulating so I decided to take inventory. By the time Steve got home I’d misplaced an entire bag of pendants I’d just made and counted. I looked and looked around and couldn’t find them. By this point in the day, I was wanting to call it quits but, being the obsessive person I am, I refused to leave the studio until I found my pendants. I finally started cleaning up my bench and found them under a rag.

While I was tempted to open a beer, I decided against the calories and just went upstairs to watch tv. Steve offered to cook dinner which was a delicious pasta with organic chicken and steamed broccoli. That was a nice end to the day.

Today I have to work until 4 p.m. and then I’m going to get this lens thing taken care of. Hopefully, today will be less stressful and more productive. If not, I just may have that beer.

Last night Steve and I did something we rarely do: we went to the movies. [The Moxie](http://www.moxiecinema.com/) was showing Food, Inc. and it was something we really wanted to see. My sister had seen it last week and told us a bit about it so I knew it wasn’t going to be an uplifting film. I got really upset watching the abuse of the chickens and cattle and had to turn my head during several scenes, but I’m glad I saw it. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see. It sheds light on the meat industry, the farming industry in general and how we, as consumers, drive the force. It’s easy to blame our government for all of this, but it’s really the consumer who is to blame. We’re the ones driving the fast food industry who, in turn, determines how things will be processed. McDonald’s, for example, is the largest buyer and producer of beef and potatoes in the U.S. But the movies isn’t just about meat. It also discusses corn and soybeans and how the seeds are genetically engineered to resist pests and grow larger. It’s all a vicious cycle. Do yourself a favor and see this movie. Even if you don’t agree with everything in it, it’s still an important eye-opener for us all.

Speaking of movies, Steve and I were reminded last night of why we rarely go to the theater. It seems that most people have completely forgotten how to act in public, especially in a theater. We arrived about 20 minutes early and chose our seats. The theater was filling up but we found some good seats anyway. The movie didn’t start on time because a local farmer spoke briefly beforehand, but I was amazed at the amount of people who wandered in after it started. Here they are 20 minutes late and wandering around trying to find a seat. I think I would have just chosen another night to attend rather than rudely interrupt the beginning of the movie. It took about a half hour for the theater to calm down. Then, a girl near me felt compelled to comment on everything she was seeing. I gave her several annoyed glances, but she didn’t seem to catch on. The dude in front of me needed to check his iPhone a couple of times, but that was mild compared to little Miss Chatterbox. All in all, not my best theater experience, but the movie was great.

Whew, it’s been busy here and I haven’t taken the time to blog. The big news is that I’m going to do my first big jewelry show out of town. On October 3 and 4, I’ll be in St. Louis at the Botanical Gardens for their Best of Missouri Market event. I hesitated to participate mainly because the entry fee was so high, but I did some research and decided to go for it. The event is invitation only for artists and is in its 18th year. I chatted with a fellow artist friend who has done the event since the beginning and she said it was great. Apparently, it’s a bit crafty but she thought my work would do well. The big Shaw Art Fair will be going on across the street so there’s a lot of traffic to both events. My fears are not enough inventory and not enough help. Steve’s coming along to assist, but mom can’t come since she’ll be in Des Moines taking care of the cutest kids we know. I’ll survive. I’m currently devoting quite a bit of time to work in the studio and trying to get ahead. I’m hoping my intern can come back in August to continue working.

Speaking of new work, I’ve been granulating like mad lately. I had some ideas and have really enjoyed implementing them. This is the piece that started it all:

Then I made some matching earrings:

Then decided to take that idea onto a round piece with circles cut out:

Although I’m on a roll with granulating and I don’t want to stop, I need to balance that with the production work that needs to be done for the show. [Nena Potts](http://www.nenapotts.com/), the artist I talked to about the show, suggested I have plenty of pieces that reflect themes of nature. While I don’t do a lot of them, I do have several bird silhouette necklaces and I’m planning on bringing back a limited edition flower design I made last year. Gotta serve the audience!

I’m back and I apologize to the handful of you who have checked this blog for a new post. The only excuses I have are that I worked every day last week and really didn’t have much to say. I had three days at [The Harem](http://www.haremboutique.com/) and two days in the studio.

Friday was Stacey’s (my intern) last day and it was sad. She was a great addition to the studio and a hard worker. I met Stacey a couple of years ago, and we had some classes together, but I never got to know her as well as I did other members of the class. Stacey is very smart, a little kooky (and I say that in a nice way) and talented. She was quiet in class most of the time so we never really talked. What I liked about her as an intern is that she picked up on things quickly, had good hands and didn’t complain that the work was repetitive and boring (which production work is). She’s off to [Arrowmont](http://www.arrowmont.org/) for a class on casting then she’ll graduate at the end of the month. I hope she continues doing metalwork and I hope to hire her this fall to help me with the holiday season. Sarah came over Friday with champagne to celebrate Stacey’s last day and we had a nice happy hour. It was a great way to honor Stacey’s achievements and a good excuse to start the weekend.

The best part about Stacey being here was that it forced me to take scheduled time for metal work which has led to several new pieces. I’ve taken Sarah’s advice and continued with my granulation and am quite pleased with the results. I actually have some ideas swirling around in my head for the first time in ages! It’s good to get excited about something and to want to work in the studio. I don’t feel pressured to work on production pieces since Stacey completed so much so I now have some time to do what I want to do. I hope the trend continues and yes I will have pictures of new work coming soon. I’ll admit that I sometimes avoid working in the studio because it gets a bit lonely. Having Stacey around meant having someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of.

In other news, I’m thinking about a new pair of glasses. I tend to change my frames every 2-3 years and am considering a new look. Problem is that I can’t decide what I want. Right now I have a modified cat-eye which I like but am getting a bit tired of. In the past I’ve looked at something rectangular, but most of them are too wide for my face. I’ll keep you posted.

The studio’s calling. I started a new design last night and am anxious to continue. Right after I have another cup of coffee.

I’m going to conclude my musical entries with one about my favorite cheesy songs. These are the guilty pleasures that are probably on most people’s “bad songs” list, but somehow never made it on mine. For whatever reason, these are the songs I never skip on my iPod and they always make me smile. Warning! These songs are bad!

1. “Goodbye Girl” by David Gates. I never liked anything by Bread and I certainly never expected to like this song even after all these years, but I do. I remember seeing the movie, starring Quinn Cummings, Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, when I was probably 12 or so and loving it. Shortly after,I raided my piggy bank for enough money to buy the theme song on 45 and listened to it until I wore it out (or lost it). Yes, it’s schmaltzy, but I love it.

2. “Arthur’s Theme” by Christopher Cross. By now you’ve probably left the computer to throw up, but stay with me because things will get worse. I love this song! I remember my friend Rachel’s dad having a Christopher Cross cassette and we’d listen to “Sailing” on our way to the lake (he owned a sailboat). I never liked that song, and Rachel and I would make gagging noises in the back seat, but “Arthur’s Theme” somehow stuck with me. Maybe it’s my love for Burt Bacharach that makes this song tolerable.

3. “Superstar” by The Carpenters. If you’ve seen the movie “Tommy Boy” you know the power of this song. If David Spade and Chris Farley can bond over this song then it’s good enough for me. Actually, I have had a life-long love/hate relationship with The Carpenters. I loved them as a kid, hated them as a teen and young adult, then re-discovered them a few years ago and fell back in love. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pure cheese, but fun anyway.

4. “I Think I Love You” by David Cassidy. Man, I loved David Cassidy as a kid. I watched “The Partridge Family” and owned all of David’s albums (still do) and I thought he was the hottest thing; much cooler than his brother Shawn. Plus we all know the only reason we watched “The Partridge Family” was to drool over David and laugh at Danny. This is one song that has remained a favorite of mine throughout the years.

5. “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton John with ELO. This is the cheese cherry on top of a pile of cheese. If memory serves me right, the movie starred ONJ as an alien that comes down to save a skating rink called “Xanadu.” It was so bad, but the song is a slice of cheesy pie. It’s about dreaming big and making that dream come true with skating and lights and music and aliens and ELO!

What are some of your musical guilty pleasures?

Since my last entry was a bit negative, I thought I’d list some of my favorite songs. These are the songs I can hear over and over again without tiring of them.

1. “Hey Jude” by the Beatles. Most everyone who knows me knows that this has been my favorite song since I was two years-old. Remember the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine was dating a guy who went into a catatonic state every time he heard the song “Desperado”? Well, that’s how I feel about “Hey Jude.” Whenever it come up on my iPod, I just stop and listen to it. I never get tired of hearing it and I have no idea why!

2. “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. This is one of those songs that demands to be played often and at a very loud volume. I especially like listening to it in my car on the way to work because it gets me pumped up for the day. Thanks to Steve’s admiration for Neil Peart, I now listen to the drum part of the song and have a new appreciation for it.

3. “Back in Black” by AC/DC. Ok, ok, I know this song is very cliche, but I love it anyway. It’s another song that should be played very loudly and always gets me going. Years ago someone gave me the “Back in Black” album as a joke and I loved it. Sometimes, when I’m not in the mood to work, I just put on a little AC/DC and it gets me moving. It’s also good for workouts.

4. “Girl From Ipanema” by Stan Getz/Astrid Gilberto. I. Love. This. Song. I love this version. I love the Frank Sinatra version. I love it so much I walked down the isle to it at my wedding even though I was not “tall, tan, young or lovely.” Well, maybe I was to Steve, but I doubt I looked that way to anyone else. It was the “Getz/Gilberto” album that Steve and I listened to on our first date and it holds many great memories. ‘Nuff said.

5. “Streets of Bakersfield” by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens. I owe a lot of my musical knowledge to my friend Valerie. Back in the ’80s she was listening to Dwight Yoakam and I thought I was too cool to listen to country music. Then I heard this song and my mind was changed. There’s just something about it that I love. Matter of fact, I love most of Dwight’s work and quite a bit of Buck’s but this song remains a favorite.

I could go on and on about the songs I love but now I want to hear about what you love. What are your favorite songs?