Gentle Readers, A Giveaway For You

I have been planning to do a giveaway  for some time now, but my middle name is procrastinator so of course I kept putting it off.  This is just a thank you for everyone who puts up with my nonsense.

 

Do you see the cushion on my comfy chair?  I made that just for one of you, Gentle Readers.

I also made one in red, on my handy dandy silkscreen.

So, red or black, the choice is yours.  All you have to do is become a follower and leave me a comment.  There is safety in numbers you know.  If you're already a follower just leave me a comment on this post telling me which colour you would like.  Easy peasy right?
Just one little thing.  Postage here in Canada is staggeringly expensive, so I'm just going to give away the cushion cover.
                                          Good luck everyone!

I will draw the winner on Wednesday so spread the word!

I'm Mad and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore

For some time now, my garden has been growing this plant:

To say it is a prolific plant would be an understatement.  When we moved here around 15 years ago, I wanted to remove said plant from my garden.  There was just a little clump of the stuff. " Nay Nay!",   said the Dear Man, " It's a nice plant. "

After putting up with it for several years, I resolved to get rid of it.  The plant would not be gotten rid of.  I tore it out, I dug it out, I used super human strength to remove it. I used organic weed remover. The plant would not back down.  It just spread out and jumped around more and more.  This spring I said enough is enough and bought brought out the big guns.

Oh yeah.

Now gentle readers, you must know that I eat organically as much as possible, never buy a mix of anything, scratch bake, make my own bread, etc.  I could go on but I think you get the idea.  This is chemical free territory.  However, I'm at the end of my rope with this vile piece of green and I just had to do it.  I had to spray this bad boy from here to eternity.

 Do you see that browning on the leaves?  Yesssss!  Roundup works! I've used two bottles on this miserable excuse for a plant and I need more.  I'm not going to stop until that stuff is decimated for good. Please don't judge me, I just can't take it anymore.

On a more pleasant note, I leave you with some pictures of my beautiful lilacs:

They smell heavenly too.  Have a great weekend.

Cheers!

In Mourning

Gentle Readers, I am sorry for the meager post today.  I am very sad.

Good bye Jack. Time will never be the same.

I will be so lost without you. Sorry, I just had to do it.

Let's Talk Tights People: A guest post.

Hi! Daughter #1 here and I've been asked to do a guest post on one of my fashion passions: tights & various hosiery!

First things first, let's get our hosiery nomenclature straight:

Pantyhose: Sheer or semi-opaque, thin, close-fitting hose that cover the waist to the toe.  Leg covering to be worn under a dress or skirt.
Tights: opaque, heavier knit than pantyhose, close-fitting hose that cover the waist to the toe.  Leg covering to be worn under a dress or skirt, usually in cooler seasons & climates.

Leggings: THESE ARE NOT PANTS!  They should must be opaque &amply thick enough not so show every dimple of cellulite one might have.  Leg covering to be worn under a dress or long tunic.  Not to be worn under/with other tight-fitting clothing unless you are wearing your costume from Cirque Du Soleil or are practicing ballet at the studio.

Now that that's out of the way...

I love tights & pantyhose, I 'heart' them.  I always buy a pair when I'm traveling, and have even been given hose from other people's travels.  I also love trying designer hose.  I often never can afford designer clothing, so the hose lets me engage my innerfashionista in an affordable way.
My current designer favs are my Vera Wang nude fishnets:

me last night, putting my netted feet up after work

And my purple Betsy Johnson fishnets.  I wore them to work today. Here's an action shot:

it's hard to tell, but they are just a bit darker than my blouse.

Honourable mention goes to my first pair of fishnets:  DKNY. They were classic black and sadly no longer with us.  But I will tell you dear friends, that designer hose, in my experience, do stand the test of time better than drugstore finds.

As I'm reminiscing about my black fishnets, I am going to take a minute and pay a little tribute to other tights and pantyhose that served me well and then met their (always) untimely end.  I had light purple semi-opaque tights with darker purple tiny bows...I always wore them with a muti-hued purple sweater dress. *sigh*

I had sheer black hose with a seam down the back for my role in our high school musical "Guys & Dolls".  I loved those and kept them when the show was done.  When they ripped I spent a long time summoning all my courage to go to an Adult novelty store to buy another pair.  It was the only place I could source some, apparently some find the seam down the back kinky, I just appreciate all things retro.  Anyway, with head high, shoulders back, and determination I walked through the front door and to the delight of my little Baptist eyes all the hosiery was right inside and I did not have to search. Lastly, I had a pair of crochet knee-highs.  I found them at a vintage shop and could not leave without them.  They were an off-white colour and I don't think I ever wore them anywhere.  My skirts were always above the knee & I do not endorse showing the tops of knee-highs...no matter what they are doing in fashion magazines.

Tights I long for:

Back to the present.  Here is my collection now:

I had to move them out of my sock drawer, they just wouldn't all fit.

Best Bargains:

On my most recent US excursion I found these for $1 each!!

I got these at Anthropologie for $5.  I love polka dots so this find warmed my heart.  They make me look a tad jaundiced though, so I bought a sweaterdress that same mustard yellow colour to wear with, thinking it would make them work...but alas the dress is too short to wear with sheer pantyhose and I accept that fact. So, I am awaiting my yellow opaque tights I just ordered from ebay to layer under the polka dots...to make the dress work.  We shall see.  My husband is doubtful...and is not a supporter of polka dots in the first place.

And now, leggings.  I have mixed feelings about this article of clothing and continue to think of them as part of the hosiery clan.  Please feel free to use the above definitions, I wish more people would.  Leggings have tempted me to start another blog devoted just to candid shots of crimes against fashion.  Would you support me in this by emailing your found evidence? I think we might have to shame people back to decency...but that's a whole other post...

So, leggings.  I have a pair.  They are faux leather.  Go big or go home, right?

I think they are deadset fabulous but feel a little bit of shame in the bottom of my heart for loving them so much. 

They are full length, right to the ankle bone.  I wear them with belted black shirt dresses and simple heels. I even wear them to work at the Chanel counter! Sorry I don't have an action shot...it's after 11pm and I do not feel like modeling, forgive me.

Thank you all for your interest, or at least humouring mine! 'Twas fun and perhaps mum will let me do it again some time.

Much Love,

Daughter #1  

http://www.brknpoet.com

Thank you #1 for that inspiring and informative post.  I'm sure we all learned something today.  I have learned not to acknowledge my daughter's presence if she is wearing above shiny faux leather legging things out in public with me!

Anthro Stash

Some of my gentle readers requested that I show pictures of the Anthro purchases I made whilst visiting NYC.  I did not buy much because a) I was traveling by air and,  2)The shop is a bit pricey for my budget.  So here goes:

Of course I saved the bag!!

These little dearies were all on sale.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I thought they were pretty.

The clock faced one was not on sale but I loved it so I got it anyway.  I do have a spot for it, though.  I'm putting it on the drawer of the little blue table in my never ending reno Studio.

I don't have it on yet, don't hurry me people!

Here is an artsy outdoor photo of my beloved drawer pulls.  I believe I could be a photo stylist, non?

 I really, really love this little guy.

I plucked it right out of here.


My husband is a serious collector of sterling silver.  Most of his pieces are from the late 17 and early 1800s.  When my eyes fell on this, I knew I must have it as a tribute to his collection:

Hey, don't laugh.  He was really touched that I gave him any thought at all whilst on my trip.

Ooh, I can see myself in this shot.
Well, that sums up my total purchases from Anthro.  My daughter bought a fun pair of tights there too. (on sale)  She buys weird unusual tights from every place she visits.  That's a whole 'nother story for a whole other post. I may get her to do a guest post on that topic.  Wouldn't that be food for therapy fun!

I think I'm going to get a call any day now for my photo styling skills.

Carry on.

The Sleepover

This weekend my little grandson stayed with us as his mummy and daddy attended a wedding out of town.  Oh what fun we had!

Our little girls couldn't wait for him to go arrive.

The girls got anxious and decided to wait for him outside.  let us in!

Sophie, don't you remember when he was your little baby?

I'm trying my best to forget that, Mummy.

 Emma, you're his half sister don't you love him?  No, I just liked stealing his baby bed.

 Now, he's a big boy and he loves to play with the girls. Whether they like it or not.

 Bmer you're here!  Let the fun begin.  The girls are always a bit shy and standoffish at first but they gradually warm up to him.  Pretty soon they're all rolling around wrestling with each other.  But then it happens.  Remember when  you were a kid, if there were three kids around, one always got left out?  Same with doggies.  One dog was always interrupting the other two having fun.

Okay, puppies, it's bedtime.  Let's all go out and do our duty before we hit the hay sheets!

Hey, whaddya mean I can't sleep with Emma and Bmer?  We have learned from previous sleepovers that Daddy and Sophie have to sleep in a separate room because she and Bmer will wrestle all.night.long.  After numerous configurations and substitutions we have learned that Emma and Bmer have to sleep with Mummy because Emma will not put up with any shennanigans or tomfoolery.  Except this time, Mummy forgot to feed Bmer before he went to bed. who knew? And she spent the longest time trying to settle him down before the lightbulb went off and she remembered to feed him.  Ahh, sleep at last!

Until 6:30am when sharp little ears hear Daddy in the other room.  I open the door and let them at him.  Then I promptly go back to sleep.

Bmer keeps looking for his mummy and daddy.  Oh, happy day, here they are!

All is right with the world.  Emma and Sophie are exhausted and sleep all day Sunday. Thank goodness that's over with, they're thinking.  But guess what, daughter #1's doggy is coming over next weekend!  I'm sure grandchildren will be easier, won't they?

Dreams Do Come True

I just want to wrap up my NYC trip with a post about the unexpected and  wonderful things that happened during my short visit to NYC.
We were unexpectedly invited to a rehearsal  for this guy's show:

This picture was taken the day before on a whim.  We never dreamed we would actually see any celebrity in person.


We met this cabby who told us he was one of only three taxi drivers in the city who gets to be in CSI, Law and Order and movies.

He showed us his call sheet for a movie coming out called the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

My daughter got to visit Tiffanys.  She channels Audrey Hepburn.


Finally, my dream.  When my girls were little, I used to watch Regis and Kathie Lee for the chat time. (do not judge me)  Regis was always seeing plays on Broadway and would hold up a copy of Playbill while he talked about the show he saw.  I used to think I would never see a show on Broadway and never hold a copy of Playbill.  Well, gentle readers I was so wrong:

#1 and I saw Wicked on my birthday and I held the Playbill in my hot little hands.  This is a wonderful musical. Funny and sweet with great music, what more could you ask for?

This was the stage inside the theater.  We had great seats.                                                                     

Okay, gentle readers, thus endeth the lesson.  Have patience, your dreams, big or small, can come true.

Spring Break

I decided that today I would give you a break from all of my bori  exciting NYC adventures and give you a peek at my garden.  We do have spring around here, we are not always a frozen tundra.  Case in point:

 Gratuitous artsy photo above.

We have forget me nots everywhere in the spring.  I love them.

Everything's coming right along.

I'm sure everyone's tulips are long gone, but ours are just blooming now.  As are the yucky adorable dandelions.
My rhododendron is in full bore:

So pretty. Don't you wish they lasted all summer?

Our little pond.  I love to hear the fountain, it's so peaceful.  I've seen photos of some of your gardens and I am green with envy, they are so gorgeous.  It would probably help mine if I worked in it once in a while.  That sums up my picture show for today gentle readers.  Carry on.