Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Ever have one of those days when you felt a little tough? Well, today was one of those days for me. I wanted an edge; to feel a little daring. I donned my favorite jeans, my super-fab Frye boots, a black velvet blazer, and, the coups de grace, my skull-print scarf. I felt so rock and roll. That is, until my first destination. “Oh, what a cute scarf. Perfect for the season,” the woman said. Dammit! I didn’t think about it being related to Halloween! No, I was being edgy and tough. By the third comment I was ready to rip the damned thing off. When my buddies at the MAC counter commented on it (they loved it) I told them I was a pirate and if they pissed me off, I’d take their ship.

Think I’ll wait until after the 31st to wear it again.

Mmm, mmm, nothing says “cold weather” like a nice chafing dish full of meat and cream! This week’s recipe is Meat Balls with French Cream. Ground beef, green olives, flour and butter combine to make tasty meatballs. Mix Worcestershire sauce, onion juice, cream and lemon juice to make a lovely cream sauce. Serve atop pilaf and you’re ready for a sophisticated dinner for four.

Personally, this might taste good, but it looks like something barfed up after an all night kegger. Am I wrong here? Serving it in a silver chafing dish just makes it sophisticated crap rather than regular crap.

I have an amazing sense of smell, so it’s no wonder perfumes and colognes ingrain themselves into my memory and take me back to times in my life. For example, I distinctly remember the Christmas my Nana and Papa gave me my first grown-up perfume. It was Babe by Faberge. I wanted Love’s Baby Soft, but my sister got it instead and I was insanely jealous. I think I was 12 or 13 at the time. I remember throwing a fit and apologizing to my grandparents for being an ungrateful brat. Of course, they forgave me! I thought it would be fun to take a scented trip down memory lane so here’s a sample of my fragrance history.

In high school, I wore Vanderbilt by Gloria Vanderbilt, Ralph Lauren’s Tuxedo, Anais Anais by Cacharel, Halston and Tatiana. I also had a small bottle of Enjoli which my good friend, Dan Boone (his real name) loved. It was the early 80s when I was in HS so all the guys wore Polo by Ralph Lauren. Every time I smell it, I’m transported back to HS. Great memories.

When I got to college, my fragrances became more heavy. By now it was the mid to late 80s when it seemed like everyone was wearing Dior’s Poison. I wore Paloma Picasso and Opium. Both make me gag to smell them today.

After college, I got caught up in the body lotion/body spray craze of the early 90s. I wore Victoria’s Secret Sparkling Cassis for years until they (thankfully) discontinued it. I tried Ralph Lauren’s Safari for a while, then I graduated to Elizabeth Arden’s Sunflowers, which I was wearing when I met Steve, who wore Ralph Lauren’s Polo Crest at the time.

Shortly after Steve and I were married, I wore Romance by Ralph Lauren and RL discontinued Polo Crest so Steve started wearing Polo Blue which he still wears. Two years ago, I discovered Stella Sheer and the fragrance story ends today with my addition of Stella In Two to my collection.

What fragrances do you wear? What did you wear when you were younger?

Ah, Nordstrom. The place where dreams come true. Such was the case last night when Suzanne and I ventured into the Fragrance Department. Enter Pat Mullins, certified fragrance sales specialist. This woman knows her stuff! She’s like a walking encyclopedia of fragrance knowledge. I told her I was looking for something new, but wasn’t having any luck. I wanted a special fragrance that wasn’t sold in Dillard’s or Macy’s. She immediately showed me the new scent from Badgley Mischka. It was lovely. I told her I wore Stella Sheer by Stella McCartney and she introduced me to Stella In Two, the latest fragrance from the designer which is meant to be layered with her other scents. Bingo! Since I’d just purchased a new bottle of Stella Sheer in late summer, this seemed like the perfect addition. On one hand, she layered Stella In Two with Stella and on the other hand, she sprayed the Badgley Mischka. She told me to walk around for 20 minutes and let it set.

In the meantime, Suzanne had discovered Miss Dior Cherie which was an interesting combination of strawberries, caramel popcorn, green tangerine, strawberry leaves, violette, pink jasmine, patchouli and musk. It wasn’t a favorite of mine, but it was interesting on Suzanne. As it wore on, the strawberry really came through but not in a sticky, sweet way, more subtle and adult.

I was sniffing each hand trying to figure out what I liked. Steve immediately liked the Stella layers and the Badgley Mischka was turning fruity so I decided against it. Another trip into Nordstrom and Pat demanded to smell each hand. She declared the BM to be “wrong” for me, but said the Stella was perfect. I bought the Stella In Two and Pat then gave me a talk on layering my fragrances. I said I didn’t have the lotion, but used an unscented lotion instead. She said that was ok, but I should be layering for the best effect. She gave me a very generous sample of the In Two lotion and sent me on my way. Suzanne was still debating the Miss Dior Cherie so she didn’t purchase anything.

Today, I debut the new “Tammy” fragrances. I’ll be layering Stella Absolute Rose (another sample I received) with Stella In Two. I’ll let you know how I smell.

Well, I am now an artist whose work is sold in three states. This past weekend, my work was accepted for sale in the gift shop of the [Metals Museum](http://www.metalmuseum.org/) in Memphis, TN. Whee! Yes, I’m excited, but stressed at the same time. You see, the stakes have been raised. I must produce more work to keep up with demand. I know, I know, nobody has any sympathy for me!

It’s an honor and I owe a debt of gratitude to my good friend, Sarah Perkins, who not only took my work to Memphis, but believed I was good enough to be in the museum.

This morning, as I’m running around attempting to straighten my house, I’m reminded of those daily chores I hate to do. You know, the ones you’d gladly pay someone else to take care of, but you do them anyway. So here’s a sampling of the mundane chores that I put off until I have to do them.

* Put away folded laundry. I’ll fold it, but I hate putting it away.
* Empty the dishwasher. I don’t know why this is a biggie since my dishwasher is small, but I hate doing it.
* Hand washing dishes. Large soup pots, wine glasses and other delicate pieces will sit, rinsed, in my sink for days before I’ll wash, dry and put them away.
* Grocery shop. I don’t know anyone who likes doing this. Add to the mix the fact our nearest store is crummy and you have one of my most hated chores.
* Emptying the litter box. I give Steve that job.
* Emptying trash cans. Again, this is Steve’s job, but I sometimes have to do it.
* Making the bed. It’s the first thing I do, but I’d much rather let someone else take care of it.
* Vacuuming. Another Steve chore, but I tackle it occasionally since we have so much cat hair.
* Dusting. I do not dust. I should, but I don’t. I can let the stuff settle for months before taking care of the problem.

What are your hated chores? How do you tackle them? Helpful hints welcome here.

With cooler weather comes more opportunities for cooking! Todays’ recipe isn’t necessarily gross, like last week’s bananas ‘n’ bacon, but the picture is disgusting. Plus, the name is just funny.

Veal Birds – veal round steak, bread crumbs, butter, onion, sage and salt combine to make a lovely centerpiece to your dinner creation. Why these are called “Veal Birds” is beyond me. They don’t even look like birds once they’re rolled up. Basically, these are thin cuts of veal stuffed with bread crumbs, covered with gravy and baked. They suggest serving them with parsleyed carrots which are the same color as the veal in the picture below. Note the unappetizing red gravy. This is like a dinnertime massacre.

Veal Birds with Parsleyed Carrots – Yummy!

It’s done. The vessel and stand are done and ready to be turned in on Monday. It’s been a love/hate relationship. I hated all the hammering to raise it, the planishing almost drove me crazy, the enamel inside didn’t turn out as planned and the stand has it’s own set of problems. But it’s done. And, really, I think it looks pretty damned amazing. I had no idea I could do something like this.

The vessel is copper with leaded enamel on the inside. I couldn’t get a good picture of it, but the color is a deep amber with a black stripe around the rim. The stand is sterling silver and the stones are synthetic topaz and peridot.

Here’s the piece put together. I like how the topaz are reflected in the copper. I lacquered the vessel so it won’t tarnish.

Here’s just the stand. Note that I set the peridots upside down so they form little pyramid feet. How clever is that?

It’s finally cool enough to wear the first boots of the season. Hooray! Today’s choice is the timeless [Frye Harness Boot](http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/15344730/c/3.html) the best boot I’ve ever owned. They make me feel powerful. They make me feel invincible.

Now I’m going to go out and kick some ass in my powerful, invincible boots. Oh, note to Suzanne, I’ve paired these with my hippie-cool camo jacket. I know how much you love camo.

Look out Springfield, here I come!

Yesterday I learned [sand casting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_casting) which I was happy to learn since the cuttlefish and I weren’t getting along. Since I was studio monitor today, I decided I’d jump right in to sand casting.

I took a vintage glass bead and cast it and the results are below. The original bead is on the left. You can see that the wings didn’t fully form. That’s due to the placement of the piece. I should have put the wings below so the silver could flow better. Still, he looks pretty cute!

I also did a huge piece, but it didn’t form fully for the same reason as the bat. However, it’s cool so it might appear here in the future. Btw, the sand contains glycerine and smells like burning crayons when it’s being cast. So far I haven’t found a casting method yet that doesn’t stink.