Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

I need a vacation. I don’t care if I go anywhere, I just need a break from my normal routine. I think my boss agrees because she’s been telling me that if I need some time off, all I have to do is ask. Perhaps it’s been my bad attitude and constant crabbiness that makes her think I need the time off. She’s right, of course. I’ve been a bear to deal with and my attitude has been horrible. I think a vacation just might do the trick.

I’m not planning to go anywhere, although I did toy with the idea of visiting my sister for a few days. I think what I really want is the ability to create my own schedule. I’m not going to work or go to the gym next week. What I want to do is get up without the alarm, walk around the neighborhood, work in my studio, work on projects that need to get done and just enjoy my time. Sounds like a vacation to me!

I decided, at the beginning of the year, I’d attempt to be more proactive when it came to taking care of things. I’d no longer pass by piles of stuff, I’d make sure my consignment sheets stayed up to date, I’d file regularly and I’d take better care of my checkbook. So far, so good. I actually take a few minutes to put away things and take care of those tedious chores. I’ve also decided to tackle a few projects I never anticipated.

When I left Ozarks Public Television (OPT) in March of 2000, I had no employment plan. All I knew was I was burned out on being a graphic designer and had no intention of doing it again. Well, never say never. As you know, an opportunity presented itself and I’m currently teaching myself InDesign so I can design a show catalog for the Enamelist Society. It’s actually an interesting project, even if I’m driving myself crazy with self-imposed deadlines for learning it. The layout language has come back to me quite easily, and I understand the program, but it’s complicated. Good thing is that I know I won’t have to master every aspect of the program in order to complete the catalog. Plus, I have some good friends in the printing industry who have offered to help me when I have questions.

That being said, I’ve also come to the conclusion that it’s time for me to make a move in my job. I just don’t feel challenged and I want to work somewhere I can learn from people who know more about marketing and design than I do. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of things about my job. I work with some great people, the clothing is gorgeous and the customers are really nice. I just need more of a challenge.

I’m not throwing metalsmithing aside, however. I am trying to push myself in that area as well, but am not having as much success. I keep reminding myself of the advice Steve and Sarah gave me to make things for myself and the rest will follow. I’m currently working on some new ideas while I fill gaps in my inventory – which I took since it needed to be done!

Work is hard to find and I know there are great, talented, experienced people out there who haven’t found a job despite their best efforts. I’m thankful I have a job, but if anyone needs a part-time designer/marketing person, just give me a call.

Wow. Has it really been two weeks since I’ve written? I have no excuses except I’ve been busy and haven’t had anything to write about. So, rather than bore you with the mundane crap of daily life, I’ve waited until I’ve had something interesting to talk about. Ok, it’s not really that interesting, but I did take pictures!

As I posted before, we recently renovated the bathroom and, as usual, one project leads to another. While we didn’t have a budget for another bathroom overhaul, I did want to make some changes to other parts of the house. We have a great area, right off the kitchen, we refer to as the coffee area. Originally, it was the dining room, but we use what was the family room as our dining room because we wanted enough space to completely spread out the table. Plus, it just works better for us. Before we moved in, we purchased two leather barrel chairs thinking we’d use them in the living room. I thought I wanted a Saarinen-style table and chairs for the coffee area, but realized that two table and chair sets on one level would look weird. The barrel chairs didn’t really work in the living room so we put them in the coffee area. Eventually, we added a third barrel chair (an antique from Steve’s grandparents) to the area. All was great except when we had guests. It’s just natural for everyone to want to gather in that area and three chairs just don’t work.

I recently found a set of white leather chairs at my favorite store, Funtiques, and wondered if they’d work with the black barrel chairs in that area. Thus began another project. Funtiques had four chairs but were willing to sell them in sets of two. I couldn’t decide how many to buy. Then, I couldn’t decide whether or not the white would work or look too stark. Steve and I discussed pros and cons of two versus four chairs. We moved furniture, we rearranged the area, we talked ourselves into the chairs and back out of them. Then, I went out and scoured all the decent flea markets in the area until I came back to Funtiques (for the third time in a week, I might add). What’s really comical about this is that the chairs were really cheap. This wasn’t about money at all!

Friday I made my final decision to buy two of the four chairs. I was so excited to get them home and get things arranged, except I overlooked one little problem: the chairs wouldn’t fit in my car. Now, I could have waited until Saturday and Steve and I could have put them in his car, but that’s not my style. Instead, I called my father-in-law, Pete, and sweet talked him into leaving his gardening project to help me with the chairs. What a great sport he is! He came right over and we loaded up the chairs and got them home. (Thanks again, Pete!) By the time Steve came home from work, the coffee area was done and I was so happy with the results. Here’s a look at the final rearrangement:

I love the look of these white chairs! I’m tempted to go get the other two for downstairs.

We moved the stick lamp over and are still trying to figure out the space on the orange wall. We might move the picture or I might find something else to put there with it.

Now that everything is arranged, I’m laughing at myself for making such a big deal out of buying the chairs. I love how they look and the fact that the backs are as stylish as the front. Now I need to go refill my coffee and really start my day.

It all began with a leak and ended with a complete overhaul. Naturally, it took longer than expected and cost more than planned, but the bathroom is done and the final results are worth the hassle of construction. We were reluctant to change anything in it, but were forced to when we realized there was no way we’d be able to match the existing parquet floor. Our goal was to honor the original design of the house, but create a modern, timeless bathroom. I think we accomplished that.

You may remember an older post about how we chose slate for the new flooring. We were very pleased with the results and plan to put the same slate in the other bathrooms in the future.

The colors are perfect in the house and we love the look. Because the damage to the floor had seeped under the old vanity, the vanity had to be removed to repair the floor. Unfortunately, the vanity was built into the wall and couldn’t be saved. Pavel suggested we create a floating vanity that attached to the wall, but didn’t reach the floor. I love the color of the wood and think it compliments the floor colors. I also like the design of two doors and a drawer underneath for towels and such.

Pavel made new vanities for both sides since the bedroom side of the bathroom is so much smaller. His custom work is outstanding! The only thing we didn’t fully agree on was the vanity top. I insisted on black matte formica and he hates formica. I reminded him that we were paying for it so he had to do what we wanted! I think the results are great.

As you can see in the mirror’s reflection, the color scheme is gray, yellow, orange and brown. I originally wanted orange walls, but realized, when I tested the color, that it was too much. Then I thought about chocolate, but it was too dark. Gray is perfect, although I could have gone a bit darker. Still, I’m pleased with the results.

Remember how this all started with just a floor? Well, once the floors got redone and the vanities were created, Steve and I decided it was time to consider tiling the shower. The old shower tile was still in good shape, but someone had put silicone sealant on it and the grout was all yellow. Plus, removing the vanity on the bedroom side of the bath had left an untiled area on the tub where the vanity had been attached. We decided to stick with white tile, but took off the shower door (only one side had it) and put up two shower curtains instead. Since the tile was being redone, we had Pavel raise the shower head about 12 inches.

All in all, it’s perfect for us and stays with the design of the house. We hope Harry (the architect and original owner) would be pleased. I know we sure are.

I vividly remember the day a Mac was placed on my desk and I was left to figure out how to use it. I was the only employee at KOZK (PBS) who had a Macintosh and nobody knew what to do with it. I wasn’t married to Steve so I didn’t have a handy resource living at home. Somehow I managed to get it started and l learned how to use the programs specifically designed for it. In February of 1995, the station sent me to the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) to attend a two-day workshop on how to use QuarkXPress. I had no idea how to speak “print” but I was about to learn.

I designed, wrote and edited the KOZK Program Guide for several years and am proud that I was the person who took it from paste-up layout to computer. Fortunately, I made a lot of friends in the printing industry who were more than patient with me and my endless stream of questions. I loved what I did, but I admit I grew tired of it after many years. Besides, by the end of the 1990s, it seemed like everyone was an “expert” at desktop publishing. My knowledge seemed very pedestrian. In March of 2000, I left KOZK and didn’t do much with layout programs for many, many years. Instead, I managed to create all my ads and logos in Illustrator and Photoshop. I haven’t had a need to do any kind of design. That is, until now.

My good friend Sarah (also my metals instructor) is a member of the Enamelist Society. Every two years the group hosts a conference that includes a juried exhibition. The exhibition has a gorgeous full-color catalog of all the pieces in the show, artist information and general information about the group. In the past, they’ve hired a graphic designer and Photoshop editor to create the catalog. Unfortunately, the previous designer wasn’t able to work on this year’s catalog so Sarah thought she’d talk to me. I admit, my first thought was to say no, but I began to get excited about re-entering my print world. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any desktop publishing software and had no idea how to use InDesign (the preferred software for design and print). Steve and I talked about it and we decided I could learn it in time to create the catalog.

We bought the software and installed it on Saturday. When I opened a new document, I began to feel overwhelmed and comfortable at the same time. It looks a lot like my old Quark documents, but I know InDesign is much, much more advanced. Fortunately, I’ve been working in Photoshop and Illustrator and some of those rules apply within InDesign. I bought a book with DVD instructional videos and I’m  getting started. Wish me luck. If I don’t figure this out, the Enamelist Society is going to kick my ass!

I was driving to work the other day, listening to Tom Petty, when the song “Running Down a Dream” came on. I was struck by what a great driving song it is and how just listening to it makes me want to hit the highway and go. I decided to compile a list of songs that I think are perfect for road trips. Feel free to add yours to my list.

“Running Down a Dream” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. “It was a beautiful day. The sun beat down. I had the radio on. I was driving.” How can you argue with that as an opening? The song paints a perfect picture of cruising down the road with no cares.

“East Bound and Down” by Jerry Reed. I love Jerry Reed. The dude is funny. While I’ve never seen “Smoky and the Bandit” in its entirety, I get the gist of the movie and I think this song is perfect for out running the fuzz. Plus, you gotta love a guy who travels with a basset hound named Fred.

“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. I’ll admit it; I love AC/DC, and sometimes you just gotta rock. This song has it all: attitude, grinding guitar and bagpipes.

“Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO. Cheesy, yes, but a great song along song for the road. It just makes me feel happy.

“Viva Las Vegas” by ZZ Top. The bearded boys can rock and this is my favorite version of this song. It reminds me of the scene in “The Big Lebowski” when Bunny Lebowski is driving back from Vegas, in her convertible, and puts the pedal to the metal. Good stuff.

“Streets of Bakersfield” by Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owens. It’s no secret this is one of my favorite songs, but it’s also great on the road. I always crank up the volume when I listen to this.

“Boys of Summer” Don Henley. I’m not a fan of the Eagles or of Don Henley, but I do love this song. I think it’s because it conjures up images of summer and driving around with the windows open.

Other favorites are: “Fun, Fun, Fun” by The Beach Boys; “Locked Out” By Crowded House; “The Distance” by Cake; and “Vacation” by The Go-Gos. What are your favorite driving songs?

When Steve and I moved into our home we started embracing the 70s. After all, the home was built in 1971 so we figured it would be fitting to furnish it in a modern 1970s style. Amazingly, most of our mid-century Danish modern furniture fit right into the decor, which is good since I don’t want to part with my beloved Heywood Wakefield dining room set.

The office/sewing room was one of the places that never seemed quite finished. We had a lovely 1950s desk that looked great, but didn’t fit our decor or desk needs.

The floating top is cool and it’s in great shape, but it isn’t what we wanted so we began looking for a 1970’s office desk. I wanted one with chrome legs, walnut formica, metal or wood/formica doors and a return, ideally. I found exactly what I wanted, but it belonged to a good friend of mine who wasn’t about to part with it.  I scoured eBay, Craig’s List, various flea markets and resale shops, but couldn’t find one. I came close a time or two, but most of them were in horrible shape. Last Saturday, Steve and I went downtown to look in the window of an old office supply store called Moseley Office Supply. It’s been around since the 1950’s and specializes in new and used office furniture. Naturally, they weren’t open on the weekend, but I went back on Monday to check out the used furniture warehouse.

There it was; the desk of my dreams. Well, almost. If I were to get really picky (and I usually do) I would prefer metal doors, but this came closer than anything I’d seen in a couple of years. It was a little beat up, but the top was in great shape and it had a return. I had J.D., the warehouse dude, take off the chairs that were stacked on it so I could take a closer look. I sent several pictures to Steve and he said he liked it. I measured everything and had J.D. place a hold on it and a red chair I found in another room. I told him I’d call the next day to tell him whether or not I wanted it.

That night, Steve and I measured the room and I sent some pics of our old desk to a friend who owns an antique store. She agreed to take our old desk on consignment and give me a deal on the consignment percentage. I arranged to have Pavel and his truck help me with the pick up and desk moving on Thursday. I was set.

We delivered the old desk to Funtiques Thursday morning and went downtown to Moseley’s to get the new desk. J.D. was on a delivery, but Richard was working the warehouse and was very helpful. I was disappointed that J.D. hadn’t done all the work I’d asked him to do, but let it go. Besides, I know I can do a better job fixing the cosmetic damage. We loaded the desk in the truck and drove it home. That’s when things got a bit, well, complicated. Pavel informed me that he wasn’t sure the desk would fit through the door. You see, I’d failed to measure the doorway and stairwell to see if the desk would fit (insert Homer Simpson D’oh! here). He carried in the chair and the return, but the desk was going to be a challenge. Pavel offered to come back on Saturday when he and Steve could haul it, but I insisted I was strong enough to help. I would eat those words. Pavel took the heavy end and I took the “light” end and we started up the first flight of steps. He started to shift the desk to an upright position so he could maneuver the corner and I ended up with a desk on my chest, trapped against the wall. Eventually, I shifted my grip and we ascended. Lots of grunting, a few wall smudges, a floor gouge and a wall scrape later and we had the desk in place. Pavel kept asking me if I really liked it since he couldn’t understand why in the world anyone would buy an old desk. Yes, I assured him, this was what Steve and I wanted.

Steve got home and we leveled it and screwed in the return. It’s gorgeous and I love all the room I have to work on the computer. Now all I need is a nameplate and some great 1970s art for my office. And I’m not moving it again!

Anyone who has known me for many years probably remembers a time when my fingernails were perfectly manicured. Even when I started doing metal work, I kept my nails polished and immediately took care of any chips that happened so they always looked perfect. Then one day I took off the polish and didn’t paint them again for a very long time. And I liked not having to deal with the upkeep. Plus, if I ran over my nail with my polishing brush, or filed a corner off with my metal file, I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my manicure.

But I missed having fun with color and I missed how nice my nails looked when they were polished. I kept hearing about manicures that lasted 2-4 weeks and became intrigued. OPI created the Axxiom system and CND created Shellac. Both are applied then cured with light, but I wasn’t sure about the little differences. OPI had a great color selection (naturally) including some funky greens and blues, while the CND system was more classic in their colors and only had black and deep purple in the funky category. I did a some research and discovered that the OPI system is applied more thickly (almost patted on) and takes longer to remove. Plus, I’d heard it left your nails soft and weak. Not for me. The CND system is painted on, just like polish, and is removed more easily with pure acetone. One of the ladies at the gym had her nails done with the CND system and was really pleased. She gave me the contact information for her manicurist and I made an appointment.

I went in last Thursday to get it done. I was thinking it would be fun to have manicured nails for our anniversary weekend trip. Because the color choices were limited, and I don’t normally choose basic colors, I chose the deep purple color. Cheryl, my manicurist, explained that she’d apply a base coat, two coats of polish and a clear top coat. The base would cure for 10 seconds, and each additional coat would cure fore two minutes. Then I’d be done. No drying time. Nothing.

She pushed back my cuticles and scrubbed my nails before applying the base coat. I put my hand in a machine and a light came on the cure the polish. She then applied the color and finally the top coat. Once that was done, she took a rough pad and scrubbed my nails. The top coat comes out sticky and needs to be polished down. It all happened in about 30 minutes. And I was done! No need to wave my hands in the air to dry them and no worries about messing them up when I reached for my car keys. What fun!

But the fun wore off. Cheryl did an ok job applying the polish, but my standards for manicures is off-the-charts high. Personally, I can do a better job. So it bugged me. And, quite honestly, I got tired of the color. It was lovely, but I was done with it in about a week. Now, I will say, it never chipped or cracked, and I’m really hard on my hands, so that was impressive. I called Cheryl yesterday and asked if she’d remove the color because I was done. I think she was surprised I didn’t wait at least two weeks, but she was happy to take care of me. She applied the acetone, scraped the polish off with an orange stick, scrubbed my nails and applied cuticle oil. The polish removed easily and my nails look and feel perfectly normal.

Bottom line: it was a fun experiment, but I don’t know if I’d do it again. If I had a special event I wanted my nails to look good for, I’d probably do it. It was only $25 (the cost of a regular manicure) and took about 45 minutes, but not having to worry about chips is great. It would be the perfect thing to do for a vacation. In the meantime, I’ll keep my fingernails naked and concentrate on my pedicure.

Today Steve and I celebrate 15 years of marriage. Well, we may celebrate today, but our actual anniversary is on February 29th so we’ll have a real one to celebrate next year! It’s been great so far and I can’t imagine being married to anyone else. I can truly say that Steve is my best friend and my soulmate. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our share of quarrels and issues, but I think we have it pretty darned good.

As I wrote about earlier, I bought Steve and grill for our anniversary. That may seem like a gift just for him, but I benefit from it too because he cooks! And I had so much fun surprising him with it! The original gift plan was to make him a gold granulated wedding band. Unfortunately, the price of gold kept rising and the price of the raw materials alone made it cost prohibitive. But I still wanted to make something for him, so I decided I’d make a granulated band of fine silver and incorporate gold granules in the design. I had made him a ring for our 10th anniversary and he’s been wearing it on his ring finger and his original wedding band on his right hand. The 10th anniversary ring is 10mm wide and has 10 holes in it to symbolize 10 years together, so when I was designing the new ring, I wanted to do something special in it too. But what to do? A 15mm ring would be too wide and I didn’t want 15 holes in it. Then it came to me: create the number 15 in the granulation design using gold granules.

Tom Davis, my photographer, was kind enough to take a quick shot of it last Friday so I could give it to Steve over the weekend. It fit his finger perfectly and he loves it! The cool thing is that when it’s on his finger, you can’t really see the number. Plus, turn it the other way and it will work for our 51st anniversary!

Tonight, we’ll have a quiet dinner at home and enjoy some time together reflecting on our years as a married couple. We’ve been lucky and I’m so blessed to have such a great partner in life. Happy anniversary, Steve. I love you very much!

Have you ever had a meal that was so exceptional you know you’ll never forget it? One that felt custom designed to your tastes and culinary desires? Steve and I had such a meal Saturday night at Michael Smith Restaurant in Kansas City. Owned by James Beard Award winning chef Michael Smith, the restaurant has a limited, but very finely-tuned menu. Steve and I ate there last summer and knew it was the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary.

We had reservations, but our table wasn’t quite ready so we went next door to the tapas/wine bar (also owned by Michael Smith) called Extra Virgin. The atmosphere was very loud and cheery and it would have been fun except we wanted a quiet, slower dinner. Next time, though. We ordered drinks and had just received them when the hostess told us our table was ready. I think we were seated about 5 minutes past our 7:30 reservation. Impressive, especially on a busy Saturday night.

We scanned the menu and knew we’d have a hard time figuring out what to eat. Everything looked great! As we were debating what to order, Steve noticed the Chef’s Tasting Menu options near the bottom of the menu. Four, five and six course tastings were available as well as wine pairings to go with each course. Our waiter, Tyler, suggested the four course as it would be substantial without being overly indulgent. We could not choose what each course would be, and we would each be served something different, but we could tell them any dietary restrictions or preferences. I told Tyler I was open, but would not eat duck. Steve didn’t care either way.

The first choice was the starter. Tyler brought the wine and I received a white Spanish wine which I don’t believe was on the menu (and I have no idea what it was). Steve received a rosé. My starter was Pacific yellowtail ceviche with taggiasca olives, potato chips, scallion and chive oil. It was divine and something I would have chosen. Steve got the venison carpaccio with arugula, heart of palm, pomegranate vinaigrette and croutons. We tasted each other’s selection and declared that we had been served the right one. Score round one for the chef!

Round two was the fish entrée. I received the pastrami rubbed yellowfin tuna with carrot-farro risotto, roasted root vegetables and green peppercorn salad. The portion was very small, but perfect, and the flavors complimented the white wine I was served along with it. At this point, I have no idea what wine I was drinking, even though the portions were small. I mean, all of the wines had three names and I just couldn’t keep up with them. All I know is I was enjoying them very much! Steve received the pan roasted wild striped bass served with rosemary peanut potatoes, sauteed spinach, calamari and red wine guanciale reduction. He was drinking a pinot noir that was so amazing we had Tyler write it down. Again, the selections made for us were perfect as I’d already had the bass the last time I’d eaten there and wanted to try something new. We were having so much fun talking about what we were eating and trying to guess what would be served next!

The third course was the meat course and this is where we really began to wonder if these people had zoned into our brain waves or something. Steve had discussed ordering the eye of the ribeye and I rarely eat red meat, so this was going to be interesting. Another red wine was served to Steve and I received my first red of  the evening, which I believe was a blend. The food came and I was served the pan roasted eye of the ribeye with celeriac pierogi, black trumpet mushroom and cippolini onion. Steve received the grilled rack of lamb with chorizo and semolina dumplings, crispy brussels sprouts and huckleberry gastrique. I took one bite of my ribeye and swooned. It was amazing! Steve dug into his lamb and had the same reaction. A few bites later, we decided to try each other’s selection. We both declared our dishes the best. I about gagged when I tasted the lamb with the huckleberries. Ick! And Steve wasn’t as impressed with the ribeye as he thought he would be. We chatted with Tyler and asked how the selections were made. He said he puts in the order with the chef, the chef tells him what will be made, and Tyler would decided which customer would receive which dish. The guy was good.

On to dessert. When the glass of Moscato was placed in from of me, I laughed because I despise sweet wines and I really hate sparking ones. Still, I was game for the adventure. Steve received a sweet riesling and felt the same way. When the dessert arrived, Tyler announced that we were probably expecting the chocolate selection to be served to me, but that wasn’t what he had chosen. And he was spot on. I don’t go for chocolate desserts. Instead, he served me a lemon bread pudding with blackberry glaze, jicama and grapefruit. I love any citrus desserts and was delighted in my selection. And it was perfect with the Moscato! Who knew?!

The meal lasted over two hours and we had a blast. We left feeling full, but not stuffed or uncomfortable. The portions were large enough to enjoy but small enough not to send us over the edge. All in all, a great way to celebrate our anniversary with a meal we will not forget!