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Okay, while I didn't indulge in any expensive furniture purchases--thank heavens--on Ebay, I did fall into an Ebay trance and bid on this "vintage" fabric. (Who knows if it's actually vintage.) I'm planning on either recovering my dining room chairs with it, or doing pillows, or putting it where many yards of fabrics already are: in a box under my bed!
One word: Ugh. I got my shipment from Avenue with my Seven Seven dark rinse straight leg jeans. I had such high hopes. I shouldn't have been so naive! They did what many a pants have done before them--fit well in the hips/thighs, but gaped wildly around the waist. According to Avenue's instructions, I ordered a larger size than normal, so now I'm wondering if I went down a size...I don't think that will help that much. Sigh. All I want is a pair of nice-fitting dark wash jeans!
I was given false hope last week when I saw Calvin Klein Jeans is now making plus sizes. I loved a pair of jeans I had when I was smaller, so I was pretty jazzed. I saw them in Macy's and was super excited, but I tried both styles (bootcut and flare), and both of these gaped so much in the back of my waist, I could of used that area to carry my lunch or something.
I suppose if finding a pair of jeans is my biggest problem, I should be so lucky, but why must it be so dang difficult?!
I love all things Hollywood Regency, and one classic that I absolutely adore is Dorothy Draper's Espana chest. These can sell for as much as $4,000 and probably more. I saw a slightly worn one yesterday and today on Ebay and was tempted to bid, but realized that no matter what a deal, I couldn't afford it. Bidding just ended at $527.
While browsing other Draper chests online, I came across another of my dream pieces, a nightstand by George Nakashima. This has been something I've lusted after ever since seeing it in the October 2005 Metropolitan Home. (I was going to include my scan of this clip, but my scanner is NOT cooperating). See the one Dragonette has for sale now for $4,500.
Nakashima's designs are the essence of fine craftsmanship. He was wood-obsessed, and I can appreciate healthy obsession!
There are two exhibits in my native Pittsburgh area right now: "Nakashima Revealed" at Carnegie Mellon's Regina Gouger Miller Gallery through Oct 28 and "Nature, Form & Spirit" through Nov. 11 at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier (which, incidentally, is about 15 miles from where I grew up, and I never knew it existed! For shame!).
You can bet I'll be making another trip to my parents' before these exhibits close. If you have never been to Pittsburgh, make a weekend trip there sometime! I can suggest an itinerary, but if you wanted to take in the Nakashima exhibits, a nice nearby counterpart might be to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater.
Starbucks is evil...and not because they're all corporate or whatever but because they KNOW I like black & white cookies and are prepared to force me to eat them despite my best efforts to avoid them. The Starbucks in Annapolis used to have them in the case, and it was everything I could do to not buy one and gulp it down when the going got tough. I was relieved, therefore, when I started my new job Downtown and none of the 3+ Starbucks in walking distance carried the cookies. Alas, yesterday, I walk in to get a half-caf (not following doc's orders as closely now) coffee and--do my eyes deceive me?--see a packet of two black & white cookies by the register. Apparently, they're something new. Why, Starbucks, why!?! I have so far avoided temptation. The one thing they have going for them is that for some reason, I find prepackaged B&Ws less appealing. Now, if they take them out of the packaging and put them on a plate or in a case, they become much more appealing to me, but in plastic, I'm less inclined to indulge. However, there are times when one gets very desperate...and I don't like knowing that they're so close at hand. Sigh.
I recently signed up for Washington's Green Grocer, a produce delivery service. For $35 a week for organic or $29 per week for conventional, you can have a small box of delicious mostly local produce delivered to your doorstep. While similar to a co-op in that you get regular deliveries of produce, in this case, you don't buy shares, and you can cancel any shipment or go bi-weekly. It's very flexible. The list changes weekly, and you can substitute things you like for things you don't like or add additional items to your list (even butter and other dairy products if you so desire). I got two boxes of produce so far (I went for the organic) and found the produce to be fresh, tasty, and not damaged (a concern--they were as nice as if I'd picked them out myself). I'll probably go to getting the deliveries bi-weekly, as I am having a hard time eating that much fruit (the veg is no problem, but I'm having a hard time with the fruit). Try them, you'll like them! They deliver to many places in DC, Maryland, and Virginia...ask if they deliver to you!
Amber over at "My Aim is True" has started a great feature called Fat Fashion Thursday. It features plus-size fashions. If you're a plus size, you understand how hard it is to find stylish fun fashions (witness, my travails this weekend, where I tried on about 3 outfits, got frustrated with the fit, and left the mall...), but every week, Amber's been dishing up fun outfits, and because she's vegan, the accessories are too! I know I've found some excellent sites I never knew about that I plan to peruse for fashions in the future!
When I worked in Annapolis, one of my favorite things to do over lunch was to explore Natalie Silitch's delightful boutique on Maryland Ave. in Annapolis. Natalie makes folk art with delightful painted fabric mermaids (see photo), angels, snowmen, bunnies, you name it. But, what I loved about the shop was how it combined her art, other new things, natural items like shells and stones, and antiques. It was one of those places you go, and the arrangement of everything is so nice you'd like to eat it just so you could take it with you!
I don't own one of Natalie's pieces myself, though I did get my mom a rabbit for Easter. I have, however, bought many fun things at the shop. I got Liz a bunch of shells there. I also bought myself a cute paperweight with robin's eggs on it and a vintage 5 franc french cafe dish (and probably other things I'm forgetting). These are some of my favorite things! Both of these things, I "visited" for ages before buying. I finally bought the paperweight when it migrated to the sale section. The cafe dish I only bought after they 
were offered singly (there had been a set of 3...too many dishes for me!) I'll share pictures of these lovelies later! (Not near them at the mo').
Definitely, if you're in Annapolis, check her store out on Maryland Avenue. There are several other cute shops nearby, including a fancy pet shop, a tea shop, other home decorating/antiques shops, City Dock coffee, and some art galleries.
If you can't make it to Annapolis, Natalie's art is sold direct from her web site.
Saturday was gorgeous, and I wish every summer day was that nice. Fortunately, I planned to be outdoors, though I didn't plan the exact activity. I was waitlisted in the walk the Maryland Outdoor Club did that Erin went on. So, I planned to go to Great Falls after some searching online for some nice easy walks.
I started off with a hearty breakfast of blueberry pancakes.
Ted and Angela met me at my place and we set off.
First, we followed the tourists and checked out the falls. Always fun. You can't quite see the crazy kayakers in this shot (the little dot in the middle).
Afterwards, we did an easy 3 1/2 mile loop. About halfway through, you pass an abandoned gold mine. There's also a stretch where you follow an abandoned streetcar route.
The best part, by far, was the drinks we had afterward at the Irish Inn. As I was driving, I could only have one cider. We couldn't resist having some food too...all that "strenuous" hiking, you know!
After all that outdoors time, Ted and I topped off the day by meeting Liz for dinner alfresco at Cafe Berlin.
While I'm on the topic of laundry products and what a slob I am, here's another product I recently tried. It's a spray starch for ironing, with a "stain resistance" substance built in. I bought it at Target this weekend from the same aisle as my Oxiclean Spray Away.
Let me explain. I hate ironing. I avoid doing it as much as I can. I used to iron once every few months or so, but recently, I have accepted that I must do it to look professional and put together. I eschewed my tiny tabletop ironing board in favor of a full-size one and set up camp with it and my iron in an over-the-door hanger so that I could avoid the inevitable avalanche of stuff from the closet with my laundry/cleaning supplies where I used to keep it (where its cord used to whip out and smack me in the face).
Before this weekend, I had more or less universally dismissed starch as old-fashioned and unnecessary in today's fast-paced digital society. However, I figured anything that could make ironing remotely more interesting for me for even a day was worth it. So, I am in day 2 of using this product and am pleased. Mainly, I love how it allows me to get the wrinkles out of my chinos more easily, but the stain resistance also seems to work. Yesterday, I dropped a piece of feta cheese with balsamic vinegar on my pants and there wasn't a mark. (This is not to be confused with my previously mentioned balsamic vinegar incident).
You can find out more about this, and other Faultless products, here.
After what shall forever be known as "the Great Balsamic Vinegar Incident of 2007," (or the time Christine splashed vinegar on her newly dry cleaned white jacket), I thought I'd share a find. I love love love Oxiclean Spray Away. How much? Let's put it this way, on my last business trip, I used some of my precious carry-on liquids space for it and when I went to Target last weekend, I bought 4 containers.
I've used Shout wipes and Tide to Go as well as Gonzo in the past. None of these worked as well in my opinion. Of course, the wipes, you can probably get away with packing outside of the "liquids" bag, so that might be a consideration.
I found them online at this site, which sells them for $4.99 each or $6.99 for a 2-pack. Amazon.com has them for $3.39. The Rockville Super Target had them for $3.99. A great investment to keep your clothes spotless.
