God knows my needs

For the woman, her home is her domain, her security. If something in her home is not right, the woman is not right.
(With men, their work affects their equilibrium.)

Our tiny 40.5m2 (440 sq.f) home is taking shape. We still have a 30m2 storage space to store our "don't needs" but our essentials are here. (Thanks to another trip yesterday carting a last portarobe of my clothes!)

My brother in law purpose built the kitchen in the studio-space around the few wall cabinets they had on the wall. Now that they've moved out, they've taken those cabinets with them, leaving us with just this:

See the unusable-because-it's-overcrowded-bench-tops-and-there's-no-more-space-under-counter?

I've been scouring eBay daily (and nightly) for some kitchen shelves, after losing out on what was the perfect shelving solution to my kitchen needs:

It sold for a very affordable $80, boo-hoo but it was interstate and it would be a nightmare getting it home.

The hunt continued. And prayer stepped up that God would provide me with an affordable, preferably vintage, solution. After all, He knows my heart!

Last weekend, it rained all day so garage sale-ing with MIL was postponed. Instead we spent some time pottering around our homes, cleaning, gardening... But at 3pm, the urgency to hit two tiny vintage/antique stores 10 mins from us grew to an uncomfortable ache. (Don't ask me to explain it.)

MIL was more than happy to accompany me in an attempt to salvage the day. The first little store was an affordable treasure trove of pretty things and a few choice vintage furniture. I walked away with my MIL's birthday gift to me, a lovely old Japanese made plate with the cutest bluebirds and cherry blossoms, $22.50:



And I picked out the most gorgeous childfren's book, with beautiful illustrations for $6.50.





But it was at the next little store that God answered my constant prayers. Whimsical Notions is an antique-y store in Warrimoo, NSW. The front of the store was the unaffordable stuff, like an art deco lady lamp for $1,150. The back however, was the more junky part... and behind some dusty washstands, cabinets and bookcases, I spied what looked like the top part of a kitchen dresser...

Upon closer inspection, it was a stand alone stained pine (yuck) kitchen shelving!!! Had I found it???

The width and height of the shelves I needed were very specific and limited and I wanted something as big and high as possible to fit as much as possible... would this do??

It DID! Thank you God!

This is it cleaned (and upside down for some reason.)

And hung!



Thank you God. Now I get to open my packed treasures and fill these shelves.

(And wait for the walls to be painted white!)

On the road again

I recently joined Zipcar. Because like Rain Man, I am an excellent driver. And while I claimed during my five-year stint living in New York that I didn't miss driving, it was a big lie.

I was not always a good driver and I'll also amend my statement to say that I am an excellent driver....when no one else is in the car. I get kind of nervous and distracted when other people are present. But on my own? I'm focused and pretty awesome behind the wheel.

My early driving days, however, were not so impressive. The same day that I got my license, in fact, I got into an accident. Not with another car -- with the garage attached to my parents' house. We had a tricky driveway/garage angle and because I had scored a 96 on my driving test, I totally thought I had it in the bag. But it was nighttime and as previously discussed on this blog, spatial relationships are not my forte. I managed to wedge my dad's Toyota Camry into the side of the garage and since he was already in bed, I had to wake him up and have him unwedge it. Not the best first day of driving.

But hey, I've never gotten a speeding ticket. I did once get a ticket for making an illegal turn, but that's my only moving violation (unless you count the time I totaled my Dodge Neon...but that was only half my fault). In college, I successfully drove a 16-person van from New Haven to Washington, D.C., which I think is kind of gangsta.

But honestly, it's not so much the driving that excites me about becoming a Zipcar member -- it's the freedom. Already, I feel like my life has been infused with possibility. I can go anywhere, at a moment's notice. On Sunday, I drove to Connecticut to have dinner with a friend. Just...because I could. My next trip, I think, will be to Amherst to visit Emily Dickinson's homestead. And who knows where I'll go after that. Life is a highway and I'm gonna drive it all night long.

Generosity of strangers

... and Flickr-world...

I posted these pics in a previous post but can't stop thinking about the generosity of the those in blogworld and Flickr-world...



This is local Australian Penelope wait's original collection of cups and saucers. Beautiful huh? (Btw, I'd love my own purpose built display cabinet!)

Then tragedy struck. Her roof caved in from some plumbing or roofing damage from a heavy downpour. Most of her gorgeous pieces suffered.



But many blogworld and Flickr-world friends came to the rescue!

This is what it looks like today:



Spot the few identical ones?

But isn't it great to ponder on the generosity of others connected via www who share a passion for something... and who are great people, inside out??

What is the point of curling and other reflections on the Winter Olympics

Despite the fact that I have basically failed at every athletic endeavor I've ever attempted, I love the Olympics. They make me weirdly patriotic and optimistic about world affairs. If we can all get along on the slopes and on the rink, can lasting world peace be far behind?

Some thoughts on this year's Winter Games in Vancouver, in no particular order:

1. Shaun White looks like a less-creepy Carrot Top













2. Male figure skaters can be sexy even when questionably attired. Let's just say that I wouldn't kick any of these guys out of bed:

















Ok, maybe I would kick Johnny Weir out of bed, but I'm not sure I could get him there in the first place. I am, however, fascinated with the euphemizing of his gayness that plagued commentators during the men's competition.



3. Curling looks neither fun nor athletic. Was it invented by hockey-loving janitors?

4. Now that has someone died, it's pretty tasteless to make luge jokes. Tasteless, but not impossible.

5. Watching the opening ceremony, I wondered if I had smoked marijuana and then forgotten I had done so. My favorite part was what I termed "Hipster Riverdance." I hope you saw it, because after an exhaustive Google image search, this is the best photo I can find:


I've mostly been watching the Games at bars or friends' apartments, because the picture quality of my T.V. is so terrible. But apparently, I'm getting a new flat screen T.V. from my Dad for my upcoming birthday....here's hoping it arrives before the closing ceremony, which undoubtedly will feature more random and unrecognizable Canadian celebrities!

A little bit of beauty reorganises my soul

When it's apparent that you have nothing of real worth (like a priceless artpiece or diamonds spilling from your drawers, or even a home anymore), and things are so uncertain...

Having my most beloved of books and china re-arranged in my favourite piece of furniture, my china dresser...



... gives me ridiculous amounts of pleasure!

Our little home is gaining its equilibrium, one day at a time.




P.s. My treasured Domino is in another spot, to gaze on each day!

So You Think You Don't Like Poetry

This poem, by Sharon Olds, is dedicated to Etan Patz, the victim in perhaps the most famous missing child case ever. It was the Patz case that started the whole kids'-pictures-on milk-cartons thing. Patz's body was never found -- he was six-years-old when he disappeared walking to his school bus stop on May 25, 1979.

The Missing Boy

Every time we take the bus
my son sees the picture of the missing boy.
He looks at it like a mirror -- the dark
straw hair, the pale skin,
the blue eyes, the electric-blue sneakers with
slashes of jagged gold. But of course that
kid is little, only six and a half,
an age when things can happen to you,
when you're not really safe, and our son is seven,
practically full grown -- why, he would
tower over that kid if they could
find him and bring him right here on this bus and
stand them together. He holds to the pole,
wishing for that, the tape on the poster
gleaming over his head, beginning to
melt at the center and curl at the edges as it
ages. At night, when I put him to bed,
my son holds my hand tight
and says he's sure that kid's all right,
nothing to worry about, he just
hopes he's getting the food he likes,
not just any old food, but the food
he likes the most, the food he is used to.

Etan Patz

"Are they made from real Girl Scouts?"

Of course, the answer is no. But even if I found out they were made from real Girl Scouts, it might not stop me from gorging on them. (Side note: Wednesday Addams = easily the highlight of Christina Ricci's career.)

I currently have two boxes in my freezer: Thin Mints and Tagalongs. I am also fond of Samoas, but I refuse to buy them since they changed the name to Caramel deLites. What is that shit about? My friend Alan pointed out that maybe the person who invented the cookie was from Samoa and trying to pay homage to his heritage. To demonstrate my solidarity with this most-likely-fictional Samoan baker, I will not buy or eat Caramel deLites.

Other cookies have undergone some name changes or the name varies depends on the region where they are sold. I distinctly remember what now are called Do-Si-Dos being called Savannahs when I was growing up. And every year, there are new kinds of cookies, like Daisy-Go-Rounds (which are apparently cinnamon-flavored) and 2010's Thank U Berry Much cookie, which according to a review on Slashfood, is excessively sweet and contains cranberry and white fudge chunks. (Side note #2: How does one become a Girl Scout cookie reviewer and what are the qualifications? Is rigorous training involved?)

You can waste a lot of time reading "Girl Scout Cookie FAQs" here. My favorite questions include "Don't Girl Scout cookies contribute to the childhood obesity problem?" and "Why didn't my Girl Scout receive her cookie patch?" (Side note #3: The answer to the latter is unfortunately not "Because the bitch didn't sell enough cookies, duh.")

But you know what's better than reading about Girl Scout cookies online? EATING THEM.


C is for Cookie, and that's good enough for me!

Conversations with clothes

Listen up, Powder Blue Rabbit Fur Poncho:


Yeah, I'm talking to you. I WILL figure out how to wear you out of the house someday. I see you smirking at me in the closet, all "Ha ha, you don't have the balls to wear me!" Look, poncho, you pose a sartorial challenge, I admit. I have trouble with the poncho look in general. And then when you add the fact that you are controversially made of actual bunny fur...well, it's almost too much. I've tried putting you on over jeans and you look silly. I've tried putting you on over a dress and you look even sillier. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU BUT I AM DETERMINED TO FIGURE IT OUT IN CALENDAR YEAR 2010.

And as for you, Gold Lamè Backless Halter Top?


Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to do with you. I know you were worn by Christie Brinkley in an 80s cigarette commercial, but still. I can't do backless because of what I have going on frontwards. But you're so undeniably awesome, in a Studio 54 way, that I refuse to give up and sell you on eBay. You hear me, Gold Lamè Backless Halter Top? You're not going anywhere. I'm going to wear you, even if it's under a blazer and only I know you're under there.

Black Ostrich Feather Necklace. Sigh.


Look at you. Maybe if I were an octogenarian opera diva from Vienna, I could pull off wearing you. Or Joan Collins. But as a graduate student living in a studio in Allston, MA? You drive a hard bargain. I have found a temporary solution, though:


At least someone can get some use out of you.

Well, Rhinestone-Studded Yves Saint Laurent Black Pumps, I have at least worn you.


But I want to wear you MORE. I only wear you, like, once every two years. I need more occasions to wear you, more places where I can wear you without looking deranged. You are the gem of my shoe collection and virtually no one has seen you. Let's work together on this, can we?

All of the above items were given to me by one person: my eccentric aunt, a cookbook author and former high-powered ad exec. She gives me tons of amazing stuff, some of which is borderline unwearable, but I just can't part with any of it. And the story about the gold halter stop? Totally true. Only me and motherf%$*ing Christie Brinkley have worn that thing. She was stylishly taking a drag off a MAX cigarette (a now defunct Virginia Slim-esque brand) when she wore it. Maybe I should take up smoking.

This stuff is only the tip of the iceberg -- I have more crazy things in my closet that I will reveal on this blog in later posts (red alligator cowboy boots, a funereal black hat with netting from the 20s, a sequined bolero...). Lots of girls have costume jewelry, but how many have costume clothes? For a long time, I was her only niece and the sole recipient of all this craziness, but there is now another....and she has no idea what's in store for her. Lucky bitch.

LonnyMag is out!

Run over!!!

I'd love to see Lonny in A5 sized print magazines... subscription only!!

Excuse me while I turn voyeur...

Flickr marvel gulp

I love looking at how other people arrange their dressers and cabinets. I have a real weakness for dressers and china cabinets... Hence my huge piece :) Of course, space permitting, I have another 2 (which are in storage).

Whilst unpacking and organising my favourite china pieces, I faced the conundrum.. how do you stack china cups and saucers?

Like this? (This is what I've always done)



Or perhaps like this?



Or perhaps like Flickr maguire0423's method: (not sure about the amount of hooks I'll have to use to achieve that, though!)

Anyhow, I went a-voyeuring on Flickr...

This is my favourite display by far. Of course, you'd have to have heaps of space!!! I reckon my all white Johnson Bros would look spectacular in a similar cabinet, but a bright yellow, chartruese or hot pink...

Flickr Penelope waits

Flickr Amy Cluck of Peptogirl Industries

Flickr The Nostalgia Fairy

Flickr MODERN REVIVAL

Flickr Rachel

Flickr janehlong

Flickr babydoll1989

Flickr Sherry's Rose Cottage

Flickr decorology

Flickr emmmmzeeee

Flickr sammawamma

Flickr jessicav|jecca

Isn't Fiestaware a gorgeous riot of colour?

Flickr MHerron_99

Flickr eeeelaine88

Flickr Island Gardener

Flickr Jacquiscloset

Flickr mylulabelles

Flickr [Jodie]

Flickr The Vintage Magpie

Flickr Happy Loves Rosie

Flickr Snowdrops in Spring

Flickr JoyfulOtter

Flickr Cottageqt

Flickr harperscout52

Flickr toriejayne

Flickr Knitty, Vintage and Rosy