Just a quick hello!

Here is another one with no pics cause it is just such a sloooooow computer I am hijacking. I probably should go and get some lunch. Anyhoo...

I watched another movie that I have to share titled "House of D". It has David Duchovny in it whom I am not a huge fan of, but I LOVE Robin Williams so I picked it up from out local aforementioned AMAZING video shop. Have I mentioned? Anyway, it turns out that neither of them are a huge part of the movie and that it may never have even made it to the big screen because I can't find anyone who remembers it.

The story is one of those that has a bit of everything, some laughing, some crying and a bit of laughing through tears which I believe makes it a chick flick. Don't worry though, not in a J-lo or Jane Austin kinda way. The story revolves around the childhood memories of Duchovny's character as he approaches the "becoming a man" stage of life at 13. He is played by a charming lad whose name I don't know. His best friend, Williams, is a challenged forty something year old who makes for an interesting sidekick. I don't think I will go fully into the plot because I think everyone would take something different from this flick, but there are great characters played by Tia Leoni and Erica Badu who really bring the whole thing together. Not life altering or anything, but a really good solid story.

On another front, it will be my birthday at the end of March and I am gathering ideas for it using (what else?) wedding magazines. I feel that as I have never really celebrated a proper birthday party I will put some effort for this one and so far it is coming together smashingly. If anyone wants to contribute ideas, please let me know.

Invitations... hmmm... well let me see if I can get a photo or two downloaded here.

Oh so sad... I can't get it any bigger. But they are in a magazine called Creative Weddings out of Australia. SUCH a fabulous photo spread with a Marie Antionette bent with such a cutie as the model. I am thinking to do flocked paper if I can find it online. I collect pink pressed glass dishes so I am going to lay out a crazy amazing desert table. I may even run with the Marie Antionette thing and do my hair up like hers. A few feathers never hurt anyone...

Gotta go, lunch is over and my course instructor is giving me some sort of eye.

This is getting fun...

At my sister's house. Just finished taking photos of my new pretty things. Thirty seconds on the computer. I know I said I wouldn't make a habit out of this, but I still want some feedback from your fabulous heads. I have finally started to figure out some new designs. Maybe. What do you think?

PS I forgot to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR last post. Not intentional, I don't type well under pressure. I imagine you are starting to figure that out. New computer asap, I promise!

At the movies. Many Thumbs UP

I have been bringing in the New Year one movie at a time. Here in Nelson we are lucky enough to have a rather broad range of movies at our local rental shop. It is kind of a pride factor for us that we spend a lot of time rubbing in our city friends' faces with " Oh, you really should try to track this down," knowing full well that Blockbuster or whathaveyou thinks that foreign means something involving Gerard Depardieu or Tom Cruise's Last Samurai. Anyhow, I digress...

I just finished "Roi de la Coeur", or King of Hearts which came out in 1966 and bombed in France. I would suggest perhaps that it wasn't very PC at the time to point out how ludicrous certain behaviors are in wars. (A year later it was released in the US and became an instant cult classic, running for five years.) The war has just ended and the Germans are leaving a "surprise" as they pull out of a small town in France. A local overhears the plan to blow the town sky high come midnight the following day and sends word to the approaching "good guys". The poor soldier chosen to diffuse the situation, Charles Plumpick, accidently leaves the gate to the assylum open when running from the German soldiers and sets the scene for a bit of a walkabout by the colourful inhabitants. As the townspeople have already evacuated themselves, these crazy characters are free to explore their "true" personalities with the "real world's" props and costumes. What a fantastic pageant ensues that truly blurs the lines with regards to what "crazy" really means! See this movie.

"Enlightenment Guaranteed" is the (subtitled) story of two German brothers lost in Tokyo ofter drinking away $600 (or possibly pounds) in a downtown bar. In this case lost refers more to their spiritual state than their geography, although the fact that they can't find their hotel by a longshot leaves them sleeping in cardboard boxes for the night. The one brother has been left by his wife and kids and can't for the life of him figure out why, although it is obvious to everyone else. The other is desperately trying to find a zen way of life by sitting on a meditation cushion daily. They spend some time in a monestary in the end that shows both of them what they have been searching for in a rather refreshing sense. A really beautiful story that has some of the funniest bits I have seen in a long time. (Sidebar: LOVE Ulwe's home, right down to the coathangers!) See this movie.

I don't have time to write about "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" but don't see the movie. Read the book. Then see the movie. It is so beautifully done. I am going to track down the book now online and read it. Then I will write about it next time I can take a computer hostage.

To Market, To Market We Go...

So, I make pretty things. Well, I think they are pretty. This would be why I make them. I make pretty things for living spaces out of eco friendly stuff. I LOVE fabric and the best kind is the kind that isn't covered in formaldehyde. You might be surprised to find out how much ickyness goes into the fabrics that cover your home and body. But I am not into preaching, I simply intend to infiltrate as many houses as possible with my eco-warrior ideas via pillows and linens.

I am not going to make a habit of posting my own stuff, (cause there is a chance somebody would tell me it isn't as pretty as I would like to think,) and normally wouldn't... but I am doing some market research and want to ask people that I don't know or rather, who would tell me some honest things. I need some questions answered. So I am posting them here because... well I don't really know how else to do this. I thought about standing out on the street but quickly dismissed this as a) it is friggin cold out this time of year, and b) I am looking for people with good taste AND who put at least a smidgen of thought into their nest. That rules out a good percentage of Nelson. I love this town, but home decor is not really at the top of important things around here. Snowboarding, drinking good coffee and a crazy vibrant arts scene yes... sofas, no. And it woud be hoped, that you, dear readers (all three of you at this point, lol) are at least a bit interested. Definitely you are stylin, or you wouldn't be here, right? Hahaha... yes. Well.

So. Some Questions:

1) What was the last thing you purchased for your home that was of a decorative nature (ie, not a lightbulb)?

2) Where did you purchase said item?

3) Roughly how much did you spend?

4) Do you consider the purchases that you make for your home to be well thought out, impulse buys, "I only buy what I absolutely love" or filler (like as in, "I need a pillow for my sofa. Oh, here's one, I'll take it.")?

5) Do you ever purchase anything (that is not "safe to buy without actually seeing up close" like CDs or books) online?

6) How important is the eco-factor in your purchases? Mucho, kinda or not at all?

7) How often do you "upgrade" the look of your abode? Are you the seasonal type? Or have you just decided on a look and stick with it? Or is your space a collection of items from the past decade that you have added to a bit at a time?

8) Wal-mart, Anthropologie, Hermes or the artisan market?

9) Are you sick and tired of answering questions yet?

I cannot tell you how much it means to me to get you to answer these... :)

THANK YOU!
(PS. Yes, Bee, the bee was inspired by you!)

Runs with scissors...

Holy Freakin' Cow! The effort one must put out to find a few minutes on a computer in this town! (Cows are holy by the way, it is OK to say that.) My computer has, it seems, fallen into the vast nothingness that is the office of the only Mac guy in town. I sent it by way of sneaky-like-spy through a friend of a friend who he owes a favour to and it STILL has taken weeks and weeks! Not a very big favour obviously. So frustrating!

I keep seeing things during my wanderings (like this...



...and this...)

Christmas tree made from coat hangers and snow of crushed glass...

that make me want to run to the nearest USB cable and download, but it just doesn't work that way in such a town as Nelson. I have even resorted to cleaning my house to keep my mind off blogging! Did I mention the cow? The holy one? Yes, like that.

I will have to continue this the next time I can steal time on a machine. It has taken so long to download these photos and whatnot that I must now depart. Ack! So soon! I have barely written anything and I have so many things to chat about! I hope you are all out there feasting your wallets on craft faires and markets! Indie and handmade are our mantras this season (as should be every season) and I will be bringing you some lovely ideas from my deeply camoflauged Martha streak soon enough! This year I combined a bit of Domino with a dash of Martha and taught myself how to make stained glass gingerbread. YUM! Pictures soon, I promise! Let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed that I get my little metal friend back asap! Till the next time, here's to more rum in your nog!

Head-lights.

Shhhh! I am being sneaky and blogging from a computer that I am not supposed to be on. So naughty! I am the only person on the planet who is actually good at crashing a mac. This would be my reason for being absent for what is seeming like forever... to me at least! I haven't had my computer for weeks now and it feels like an arm is missing...

I have been using my downtime (insert laughtrack here) to catch up on my other favorite activity, my magazine obsession. Always the most fun is British and Australian rags and I am just on Cloud 9 with all the hints of the Yule Season this year! (That is not PC, it's the word I have always used because I think it reads as a more well heeled and nature inspired version of Christmas.) I say hints because, strangely, what gets me all tingly are the sparkly candlesticks and trying to decide on a scheme for the abode.


This is not meant to be a post on Christmas decor, but it was this image which led me to the site of Honey & McAlpine where they have a rather interesting take on the trophy head trend that has been around this year. I quite like this idea although the prices are pretty steep. I like the garden sculptures as an ethereal ornament for all seasons, but the first one would make the most hauntingly beautiful focal point for outdoors in December. Not advocating the practice of blow up snomen and rooftop sleighs here AT ALL! We should get that straight. But I like this... and I like how the unadorned wire kudu disappear into the surroundings the way they would in real life. Like shadows.

Served Up In Style

A few months after I first moved to Nelson, I was invited to an "alter-ego" party where you were meant to dress up the part. Not knowing anyone in town yet and knowing these people to be theatrical, I figured that I should dress as a German dominatrix. I ended up getting quite friendly with a German. He was dressed as a woman. Where am I going with this? Well, pottery of course! This nice fellow invited me to his place a few days later to "cook a big fish." He didn't strike me as the domestic type, (he was over six feet tall and wearing a rather bright orange dress that was a few sizes too small when we met so forgive me for not getting a clear picture,) so imagine my delight when presented with the most stunning salmon dish served with organic greens and roasted walnuts over some sort of divine cheese concoction. My favorite part of the meal however was what he served it on. His roomate was a potter and the entire meal was served in the most unbelievable pottery. Each dish was completely different and even the salt and pepper shakers were beautiful works of art. The food would have been delicious regardless, but there was something about eating off of handmade, one of a kind earthenware that made the dinner an experience.

I have a penchant for sets of dishes, but it is my goal to collect dishes that go far beyond normal plates and bowls. I have completed my trove of pink depression glass and I would like to compile a collection that is more artistic now. These fit the bill. Organic, textured, a beautiful balance of colour and sophisticated greys. A natural but artistic look of high quality. All from the beautiful etsy studio of Lois Aronow from Brooklyn, New York. (I love that her influences include Antoni Gaudi.) Lovely.