So I know I kept saying "oh, I'm having a whole week off to recover and so I'm going to take advantage and organize my closet..." I'm armed with the April In Style, which has a step-by-step guide to organizing and utilizing what you've got so you can dress every day as though you're being shot by the Sartorialist. And there are worse ways to dress.
(Aside - this is a man, The Sartorialist, who doesn't shoot trends. He doesn't shoot "pretty" or "edgy" or whatever. He shoots well-thought-out, well-executed looks. Everywhere. And if you're not familiar, you should go and peruse. It's inspiring. If only he'd come to Dallas....)
Anyway, the closet organization turned out to be Big Talk and not much else. I seem to spend more time napping and bathing and laying on my side than I anticipated. I blame the vicodin. (And the wound, naturally.)
What I did have to do today is pack. Well, I actually made little piles of clothes because my weekend bag is hanging from a hook in my closet that I cannot reach without acrobatics or a husband, and since acrobatics are strictly off the menu...I wait for Steve to get home from work.
I have 3 outfits put together, main event outfit not included as it's at the cleaners having the hem repaired.
So, outfit one: traveling.
On the left, a converse tank, a skirt from forever21 (see detail on right -- it's what sold me on the skirt. That and it was on sale for something ridiculous), and my blue plaid Chuck Taylors. Day One in the Car. And potentially the rehearsal dinner if we make it in time. Oh crap...must RSVP for that.
Day two, hanging by the pool:
On the left, the top of the bathing suit picked up on our honeymoon, and shorts from Forever 21. On the left, the lovingly dubbed "roller girl" outfit -- top also from forever21 and knee-highs ...from guess where?! I've got some crocs that'll work nicely on the way to/from the pool. Don't worry, my open wound will stay safely dry on the side. I know better than to contaminate public water...
That night, I'll be wearing this dress:
(Picture from my cousin's wedding in may of 06)
And then traveling back on Sunday:
Same tank and shoes from tomorrow, but with capri's picked up on our honeymoon...we'll be stopping at a farm to buy some produce and whatnot and I'm not sure a skirt is the way to go.
So that's a taste of what I'll do with my entire closet. and then I'll print out proofs and tape them to the inside of my closet door. I'm thinking to make it easy I'll group them by activity/day/mood...like "wanting to dress like a slob but have a meeting with potential clients." or "sick of dressing like an eskimo but have to shoot a demo site"... I'll start with summer, since my winter clothes are good and packed away. I won't post all of the pictures, just the ones I'm most proud of.
Apparently you start with your 8 favorite items. Or however many favorite items you have, and then you add staples, accessories, shoes, etc. Maybe this will inspire me to buy a grown-up purse.
It can join my skateboard as my 30th birthday gifts.
ok, so it occurred to me that I never did talk about what Steve and I did for our anniversary...which we clearly celebrated early because yesterday I was not one for celebrating. (Yup, that's right. 2 years. yesterday. Word.)
We went to Charlie Palmer. It was DIVINE. You should go. I could wax poetic about the food, but it will just make me hungry.
Also, had my follow-up today. It looks the way it's supposed to look. Like a bloody, swollen, open wound. (Now you're glad I didn't talk about the food, eh? Because that put you right off it) I still can't drive, but I can travel.
So the 6.5 hour car trip this weekend is still on. And I'm stocking up on film (just call me a luddite) and charging the digi battery and I'll come back with oodles of pictures. I've recently tweaked my approach to weddings and basically, unless Lynn (or Joana, of course) is shooting it, I'm taking my camera because too often I hear complaints from brides about just how failed they were by their photogs. So, since dancing is mostly off the menu and booze is definitely out (which will make this reception the only one I've attended sober...the ones as a child no counting here, obviously) I plan on being the documenter. Also, saturday afternoon will be spent by the pool (I won't get in, people --- bloody open wound!) so that will make for some fun photo ops, as well.
Alrighty, this is the long-awaited edition of my blog. The *GREEN* Edition.
know that to most people, green = energy use/global warming. And for those people...I'm going to humor you with this link: Al Gore. It's actually worth watching. Particularly if you were interested in An Inconvenient Truth. It's not short. 30 minutes. So during lunch. It's not a waste of your time. Promise.
Now, Green, to me, actually equals CLEAN. Sustainable. Chemical free. The chemical-free is something I've been mildly interested in achieving for as long as I can remember, but it was certainly raised to a whole new level after my brain swelled up last fall. No need to tempt fate, right? So here is my primer, complete with a few helpful links.
In your home, the best thing to do, and the easiest, is to recycle. If you live in Dallas, simply go to GreenDallas.net and request a bin. If you live in an apartment complex, then have your manager do it. If he resists, play him this: (or, if you're me and you recited it as part of the spring PTA recital thing when you were 7, then you can just tell it to him. At least, the parts you remember.)
Next, if you're feeling ambitious and not easily skeeved out, then you want to get a compost bin. If you're lucky enough to have a backyard, a pile will do. Eventually, this is the one that Steve and I will be sliding under our sink.
So, you've reduced your waste. Yay! Now, reduce what you bring in that produces waste. It's not as hard as you think it is.
At the market: put your produce in re-usable bags. Whole Foods has some that are remiscent of fishnets, they expand to hold whatever you're filling them with and they're very sturdy. We use them for anything on the large side: apples, potatoes, onions, rhubarb -- grapes, garlic, that sort of thing, those falls through the holes. If I'm buying one or two of a particular vegetable - artichoke, garlic, what have you, skip the bag altogether. You don't want to store it in a bag, and it will go in a bag to go home, so there's no need to use up one more for the basket-to-checkout trip. And of course, the no-brainer: take your own totes to the market. Yesterday was the last day Whole Foods used plastic bags. Yesterday should be the last day YOU use plastic bags. Give me your reason for needing them, and I'll happily supply you with an alternative. I have a large tote (the boat tote from LL Bean) and it handily holds all of my other smaller totes and at the market it is perfect for things like milk and juice cartons, and cereal boxes. (the packaging for all of which is recyclable.)
Don't buy pre-packaged stuff. In addition to having waaay too much packaging going on, there's no telling what's in there. The ADA is amazingly lax about these things. And you might find that once you start using fresher ingredients and taking a bit more time to prepare your foods, things, er, move, a bit more smoothly. You'll also have less waste. Find the bulk aisle (generally close to the produce) and shop there. Pull out your old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (skip and recipe that includes squirrel) and you'll be amazed at what you can create. People always tell me how jealous they are of our fancy dinners (and Steve has earned the reputation of Food Snob at his office) but really, it's not hard. It just takes a bit of planning and sheer willpower to Be Bold. Watch Alton Brown. And Nigella Lawson. And read Plenty - at the very least it'll make you hungry. Also, watch - or read - Fast Food Nation. That'll motivate you to pay more attention to your food. For Real.
Shopping at the mall/target/other boutiques: take your own bag. Or, if you forget (or don't want to walk around looking like a smug twat) then ask the first store to give you a slightly larger bag and put all subsequent purchases in that one. But don't be the insecure chick I saw once who traded her large-enough White House Black Market bag for a same-size Neiman Marcus bag and then moved the stack of clothes from WHBM into the NM bag...and added the *stockings* from NM to them. Do appearances matter that much? You just *wasted* a bag? If you knew that you wanted people to think you were dropping an ass-load of money during your mall trip, why not start out at Neimans and save a bag?
I digress. Also, it seems small, but if the store has store receipts in addition to credit receipts, ask for one or the other, but insist that they not print out duplicates of both. It's 4 inches of paper, but if you can visualize with me a towering stack of not-always-recyclable-because-it's-heat-sensitive 4-inch slips of paper....that's a lot that you're not using.
Carpool. Or better yet, take public transit. The trip itself is more fun if you don't have to worry about a designated driver. And DART is expanding every day. Gas is pushing $4 a gallon. I get 30mpg in the city and that's still enough of an incentive for me to purchase a day pass.
At the office: insist on having a recycle bin in the breakroom, by the copier, anywhere there's flagrant waste. You have no idea how much paper copiers go through. And insist that the stock start off as recycled paper.
I feel like I haven't told you anything new.
At home, toxic cleaners should never enter your house. Especially if you have small children or pets. Read the back of any of your conventional cleansers. There's a poison warning. Let's use your floor as an example: you mop with say, a Clorox product. Residue dries into the floor. Your cat/dog/baby walks over the floor and gets residue on it's hand/paw. Then this creature that you care for cleans itself (or simply sucks its thumb) and ingests that residue. Not a lot, but enough. You wouldn't put it in your body, but you'll put it on the floor for someone else to put in theirs? Someone who has no control over what goes on the floor? Seventh Generation, Method, Mrs. Meyers...good ol' White Vinegar. Ecover (which makes a FABULOUS scrub). All non-toxic. See the link for "how to go green" at the bottom for more info. I am trying not to get too ranty, here.
Also, use rags! Bar mops, scouring cloths, cloth napkins, etc etc. Think of how skeezy sponges get. Think of how much money you drop on paper towels and napkins. That, plus the fact that once they've been used they can't be recycled, FAR outweighs the cost of washing cloths. In our home, we're 95% fabric. 5% paper -- for runny noses and kitty barf. Oh, and toilet use. (They might convert me to not be grossed out by washing handkerchiefs and using rags for kitty barf, but they will have to pull toilet paper from my cold, dead, hands. Ditto anything that absorbs blood. For real.) It's not fancy, it's cost-effective.
It's also worth noting: Friends Don't Let Friends Drink From Plastic! Why, you ask? BPA. PVC. BAAAAD. Alternatives: Sigg (recent news, here), Voss (bottled water is a joke. However, I like my water cold and ice-free. These come in glass bottles and take trips through our dishwasher where they are sterilized). When we were on Corsica we noted that every restaurant served us water from big glass jugs (similar to these, one of which is now in our fridge) instead of giving us disposable bottles. They also served local food without a care for "Trends." In retrospect it was our first foray into "local dining" and it remains some of the best food I've ever eaten. Even the calzone from the little takeout place down the street - they made their dough in-house and used local ingredients. Yummmm.....
"A significant amount of plastic, however, is not properly disposed in landfills and makes its way into the environment. Plastic does not biodegrade quickly which means it remains in the environment for a very long time. Plastic trash has made its way to coastal ecosystems and the ocean, presenting a danger to marine and birdlife. Plastic debris can be found in many coastal areas (as well as inland); however, one of the greatest concentrations of plastic trash is a Texas-sized floating island of plastic debris in the north Pacific gyre, a collection of trash that has been swept together by ocean currents."
And speaking of pets - are you aware that the clay for your litter is STRIP MINED? Alternative abound. We use Swheat Scoop, which is made of - you guessed it - wheat. It clumps up, and it's flushable. You simply let the clumps soak in water (in the toilet) for roughly 20 minutes so they dissolve, and flush.
So that's cleaning, pet litter (do I even need to discuss pet food, or have the recalls scared you into action? Just remember - it's literally an act of cruelty to force your vegetarian ways on your animal. Particularly if you have a cat. Their little bodies are constructed as carnivores and to deny them essential proteins is akin to willful mal-nourishment. Not Cool.), and now food.
Local Food - being a "locavore" is all the rage these days. And I have to say that in addition to shrinking the "carbon footprint" of your meal, it just tastes better. Steve found the local farmer stalls at the farmer's market on Sunday and came back with 16 yummy eggs, ripe delicious strawberries, and several other items. Shopping this way - and eating this way - opens up whole worlds. Grow what you can, obviously, and patronize your local farms and your meals will be richer for it. You'll be healthier for it. (I used the flowers from my basil plant along with a couple of leaves in pasta sauce last week. It added a subtle dimension. And the shoots from not-yet-matured garlic are VERY yummy on white fish with lemon, butter, and white wine.)
I must take a moment to lecture everyone who says "unfortunately the area we live in blows when it comes to growing things." Horse. Shit. You read that right. Horse shit. If I can grow basil in my windowsill, and my mom can plant a questionable looking potato -- you can find a farmer close enough who can provide you with yummies. So you live on the coast? Seafood! You live in a completely land-locked area? Fruit trees, honey bees, root vegetables, herbs. Put some chickens in your backyard (rescue all of those ill-advised easter gifts) and have fresh eggs! Even in New York City (you might have to register for that link to work) residents are filling their postage-stamp backyards with fruit-bearing trees. I don't have so much as a balcony, and yet I've got basil, dill, and oregano. After I heal and re-organize the office to hang my bike, there will be a lemon tree in our bedroom in front of that southern-exposed window. I killed mint ten years ago. So when I say "If I can do it, you can do it!" know that I am not lying. I Killed an invasive weed.
Ok - so doing all of that actually helps to keep evil chemicals off of your food. If you're friendly with the farmer then you can find out exactly what's going on with your food. The only thing better is growing it yourself.
As for meat, find yourself a local butcher who's more than happy to tell you anything you want to know. Mine is named Greg and he's delightful.
Oh...I know that there's more, but the vicodin is either kicking in or wearing off (it's so hard to tell lately) and I've gone all fuzzy. So I'll wrap up.
Remember - think about what you put in your body. What goes into your foods (ADD and ADHD are actually recently linked to food dyes and preservatives...) and your home. It effects your body. And what is it they say about an ounce of prevention....?
Links:
Treehugger How To Go Green (yes, it's a treehugger link, but it's rather comprehensive) Idealbite - I get daily emails from these guys. They're good for all kinds of random, helpful information. Ecorazzi (everyone needs some gossip) Alternative Registry this links to an example for a baby registry. I ran across it at some point when I was trying to do a bit of research for my sister-in-law. I wish I had known about it for our wedding because it's where I would have registered. Gaiam - good for housewares and general lifestyle needs G Diapers - an option for re-usable diapers. Cute, too! Earth911 - fairly comprehensive recycling site...good for general information as well Organic Style - an online mag - fairly enjoyable Your Footprint - If everyone lived like you, how many planets would we need? (full disclosure, if everyone lived like me, we'd need 3.5 planets. Don't lie when you take the quiz. That doesn't help anyone) and finally, Planet Green, a fun little site from the Discovery Channel. It often gets linked from Treehugger.
Ok, so remember: everything you need to know about preserving the planet you learn in Kindergarten: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Don't waste. Don't hit your friends. Don't steal crayons. Share. No littering. And, one from Scouts -- always leave a place looking nicer than when you found it.
That was a lot to digest. Kudos for making it this far.
I'll leave you with one of the greatest songs of all time: (and point out the irony that there was a parking lot across the street from us. They ripped it up and it will be a park. Eventually. Put right again.)
To begin with...I *finally* drew up my boots! The ones I'm going to have made to wear next fall. The ones I've searched in vain for for several years only to find designs that just don't quite cut it. So I'm going to take the sketch to my cobbler after my tooshie heals and since we have until the fall, I'll be able to take my time finding the perfect leather (maybe suede?) and then when it cools off I'll have enviable black boots to go with my enviable brown boots. I've decided that there's no sense in owning shoes people don't compliment, since there are so many many sexxxxy pairs of shoes out there...
so they're essentially these, but with a round toe, an Edwardian heel (my favorite heel, sexy and stable) and no zipper....because I'm masochistic. And maybe in suede. Or shantung. Not patent, though, because that's too close to hooker land even for me. And maybe a colorful sole, a la Louboutin....but Robin's Egg Blue? It is my signature color. Wonder how the cobbler would feel about painting Robin's Egg Blue on the sole of his boots.
On a completely unrelated note, Steve went to the store to pick up food for lunches for the next couple of days and he brought me back a present for when I'm healed and can drink again. Buffalo Butt Beer. That's love.
Final unrelated note: I read an article in February's Popular Photography (the CVS down here is SO behind...) about pirating photographs from the internet. I'm going to stop jacking photos so much, and certainly when I do I'll credit the photographer. Although come to think of it, aside from the Sartorialist, most of what I jack has the "to copy click here" link in it...but with the photos that I'm concerned about people copying I'm going to take some basic measures to protect them. Notice how my boots aren't up there? No need to have people ripping off my design before they're even made!
Alrighty... time to go pass out on the couch some more.
XOXO!
PS - The Greatest Show of Our Time returns to the air tonight! You know you love it.
Ok, so there was no massacre, but I did have a little surgical procedure on Friday and there's still some blood. It's to be expected. There's also Vicodin, though, so it's not all bad. Yes, I'm blogging on Vicodin. Woot! So I'm not cleared to drive and I've got the week off from work, which is nice. Because I'm walking like an old woman with broken legs. It's sexy.
I'm filling my days with Big-V induced naps, and some movies and magazine and a Gilmore Girls marathon. When I grow up I want to move somewhere funky like Stars Hollow. Maybe I can make Dallas funky like Stars Hollow. All we need is a Paris and a Luke and a Kirk. It'll be awesome. Oh, and baths. LOADS of baths. It's nice to have the green light from my Doctor to take as many baths as I want. 20 if I like. Although if you take 20 baths a day then you don't do much else. So it's closer to a half-dozen. And then there's some comatose time spent on the couch. Several hours.
Ok - answers to the inevitable questions:
1) It'll heal when it heals. I can walk so that's a bonus. I'll be cleared to drive after my follow-up, hopefully.
2) It will not impede my ability to reproduce, except that currently sex is off the table. As is booze. Hence 6 baths a day.
3) Gauze. Lots of gauze. I have a gauze wedgie.
4) I sleep alright. It's due mostly to the vicodin so it might not be quality sleep, but there's certainly quantity. :-D
5) Steve is taking care of me. On friday he wouldn't even let me walk my dishes to the sink. He's cooking and holding my elbow (he's got nothing to do with the gauze wedgie...we do have our pride) today while I was in the bath he vaccuumed and made lunch. Yesterday he had a hair appointment and got my mom to come babysit me so he didn't have to reschedule. This morning Kris and I shuffled to CVS while he went cycling. It's so cute and endearing. I'm totally spoiled.
I do have big plans for my recovery days: organizing my closet. I'm using a combination of inspiration from tv shows, movies, and paparazzi to help things along. I'll post some pictures when I'm finished. Word. I'm sure this makes me all kinds of lame, but think of how cute I'll be when all of my outfits are so put-together because I took several vicodin-induced days to organize and shoot my closet. Woot. Also good -- my newInternet-based-Time-Suck. Although it tends to lead me to $600 shoes....sigh.... If anyone can find shoes that are just as fab but not nearly so expensive, I'll make them cookies. Any kind of cookie. That's a promise.
Time for the 4th bath of the day! Sylvia Plath would be jealous (and maybe still alive....)
ps...don't worry I haven't forgotten my "Green Issue." It's going to rock. And be vaguely Ranty.
So there was the coffee on Friday night. It was yummy. I saved the grounds and am going to make myself some Crappucino Brownies. Word. I'm considering carrying around that little bag as a purse...it's the perfect size for keys, wallet, sunglasses, phone. :-D For more pictures, please see the googlepage. At any rate, if you're considering dropping a crapload (no pun intended) on coffee and you can be sure that it's Kopi Luwak, then by all means - do it. Just remember that the region only produces 500 lbs during a year when the cats are particularly...um...active...so if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. But isn't that true with everything?
Alrighty...we're rearranging the office tonight. Again. A few months ago I switched it around so that we have a makeshift partners desk and my back is to the Roland, because I have the mac and the mac has garage band...you see where this is going. Well, Steve managed to send Frankenmac to his recycled laptop heaven and ordered himself a MacPro yesterday. So we're switching sides since his computer is not only his, but will have garage band and much more space than he'll ever fill up on its multiple drives.
He got a mac....what did I get? An ipod and Leopard. (the new OS) Point of interest: if you try and have your Ipod engraved with the phrase "Bad Mother Fucker" so you can channel Samuel L Jackson, apple tells you that it's "inappropriate text." So instead, my shiny new ipod is engraved with the phrase "Butt Faced Miscreant." If you can tell me what it's from (and not because I told you, cheaters...you know who you are) I'll send you baked goods as soon as my bionic parts heal up after this Friday's little procedure.
This weekend will be fun :-) Drinking some cat-crap coffee tonight (will report back on actual taste.) and then having some Bachelorette Fun tomorrow night. Woot! Also, Rishi's in town. So excited. Hanging out after Cat-crap coffee tonight and maybe a bit tomorrow but definitely Sunday. He's even staying downtown so we can just wander down to his hotel. It's like a total teaser for when he moves here, which I'm counting down the days for. There's like 60 or something.
Ok. So in other news, not only have I managed not to kill my herbs, but the basil is actually FLOWERING. (I've since pinched the flowers, as instructed) Photographic proof:
And in honor of the Stones movie that I'll be seeing Thursday afternoon (will also report back) - my favorite Stones song (maybe because I've always kinda wanted to *be* this chick he's describing....even though I find not a single one of those guys attractive...)
I climbed today. 30 whole minutes. I think my arms might fall off. It was a good climb, but sad because in my heyday (pre-foot-surgery) I could flash a 5.11 and complete a 5.12 on the second or third go. Today I was falling off of 5.8s. Yeah. Frustrating bit: my technique remains the same. My body remembers what to do. My muscles, though, after 8 months of lying low are laughing at me. It's most disrespectful. At any rate, the jiggling is looking at its last days and I think my arms might fall off. Oh, I already said that. It's worth saying twice. As my very first ever personal trainer said: "You know it's a good workout when it hurts to wash your hair." Amen.
In other news, I've decided...ok, I decided a while ago, that I'm going to embrace one of the trends from when I was twelve. My 30th birthday present to me is going to be a skateboard. It's been 17-18 years since I was on one, but I'm quite sure it's like riding a bike. I won't be tricking off handrails, but I'll be sailing around on nice days. Maybe the kids who live down here will take pity on me and show me some tricks.
My husband bought Cure tickets. The show is early, but I don't care. June 6th, at the AAC. Me and Robert Smith. Insert Happy Dance Here ----> {___________}
And then the weekend of my birthday we'll go camping. I should get on planning that. The weekend AFTER the 4th of July. Just a little jaunt to one of the lakes. Or maybe somewhere we can do some bouldering. I'll do a bit of research. I have time.
Our second Anniversary is coming up. I tease my boss that my marriage has lasted longer than his did. Of course, neither Steve nor I are the kind of Crazy he and his wife were. That counts for a lot. Steve got us reservations at a restaurant down the street called Charlie Palmer. It opened a few months ago in a new hotel and it's been fairly busy. Apparently they took the inspiration for their decor from the fact that Texas is the largest producer/supplier of Wind Power in the country and they've got turbine blades hanging from their ceiling. I'll let you know if it's cool or hokey. It could go either way.
So have you noticed that all of the magazines are having "green issues"? This pisses me off. Every issue should be green. This stuff should be mainstream by now. Of course...it's probably hard for the average person to take seriously -what with Elle and Vanity Fair putting FREAKING MADONNA on their covers... So in honor of that I'm going to make my earth day blog (or as close as I can, since that day is actually our anniversary) my "Green issue." What will be green about it? You'll just have to wait and see. But here's the most obvious: it's online, which saves paper. And if your computer is energy-star rated, even better!
But now my husband is almost home and I haven't even thawed dinner...
For some reason I woke up insanely early today. So I did what I always do when I wake up insanely early: updated the googlepage. See here and here.
And since I don't have a whole lot to wax poetic about - just general business, etc, I'll give you a video link and a question:
Why the hell aren't I greeted like this when I come home? All I get is "Oh, it's you. My food bowl is empty." And then they meander back to wherever they were sleeping.
