i love this book.
it is the first cookbook i've owned that i read in one night cover to cover. it's full of little tips and interesting info, not to mention some great recipes. i made the tomato and chedder turkey burgers last night and spent most of today dreaming about the leftovers. (they're already gone!)
isn't it nice when a birthday can last a few weeks? yesterday, a package arrived from an old friend. (thank you ingrid!) she may be the world's greatest packer. she could fit a week's worth of clothes in a sandwich bag. really!!!
-a copy of the new novel written by an old friend's wife (i am very excited to read this book!)
-a new-to-me top she no longer wears and i volunteered to take off her hands.
-amazing scented products from l'occitane (in addition to being a great packer she's got a great nose)
i also love this vintage apron from jillypickle! she has the best taste. thank you jill!
have a great weekend everyone!
jordan and i are working hard to save, save, save money. cutting back on our consumption hasn't been too hard. and it's interesting too. i find that the less i buy the easier it becomes to distinguish between things i really want and those that are just passing fancies...
one thing that i continue to think about is an abstract painting to offset some of our more illustration-ish art. above are some examples of abstract art i admire, but i am looking to learn about other artists. any suggestions?
we won't buy a big piece until we're settled into a more permanent space. but i might by myself a little piece as a bday present.
i wish the 13-year-old me had owned a copy of fool's gold. penny, the protagonist, would be my hero. maybe, she still is. penny is a 15-year-old fashion designer/activist who makes it her mission to end the reign of male jerks at her high school while strutting around in adorable handmade outfits. AND she lives in colorado.
we recently went to a little talk given by the artist and author of fool's gold, amy reeder hadley. amy (a colorado native) never drew comics before she fell in love with the first volume of rising stars of manga. eight months later (after teaching herself to draw manga) she entered the rising stars contect and was a runner-up. after that she was offered a three book deal with tokyopop. crazy.
now amy's working on a new series for vertigo called madame xanadu. she also spends a lot of time drawing in her fan's copies of fool's gold. find out more about fool's gold, madame xanadu, and amy at her website.
ever wonder about how the sun and moon appear and disappear each morning and night? the answer can be found in the feminist and oh so groovy children's book, amy and the cloud basket. published in 1975, the book is the story of amy mclune, who bucks the gender roles in the town of pan.
instead of wanting to spoon clouds on and off the sun and moon as the females of pan traditionally do, she wants a basket to collect the clouds. at first the men of pan are outraged that a girl would even think of asking for a basket. eventually, everyone realizes that each person should be able to choose their role in the cloud changing process. thank you amy mclune!
i highly suggest clicking on the photos to get an even better look at the far out clothing and hair worn by the citizens of pan. the book is an homage to bell-bottom overalls.
amy and the cloud basket was published by lollipop power press, a feminist publishing collective based in north carolina. you can buy your own copy for only $88.95 (!!!). my crumbling copy is not for sale.
one of the movies we watched on new year's eve was the french film, l'iceberg. the movie is sweet, silly, and strange. it is exactly what comes to mind when i think of french comedies (although this one is actually belgian). while probably not for everyone, for me l'iceberg was a quirky treat. plus, it's really fun to say l'iceberg with a french accent.
we also attempted to watch april's shower, but didn't make it past the opening scene. don't see this movie unless you happen to enjoy bad acting.
i try not to force myself to finish bad movies and boring books. i prefer to move on to something i can fully enjoy.
a recent favorite book is julia child's my life in france. julia was amazing. i wish jordan and i could have dinner with her and her husband, paul. the only problem would be that my stomach might not be strong enough to handle her rich french cooking. do you think she would be offended if i requested no dairy?
another one of my favorite childhood books is the best-loved doll by rebecca caudill. i tried taking photos of the cover of my copy, but it is so faded and torn that the photos were terrible. my version has a pink cover, which i think may be the original cover from the early 1960s.
it's the story of a little girl who is invited to a birthday party where each child is invited to bring a doll and prizes will be awarded for categories such as "best-dressed" and "oldest" doll. the main girl decides that she will bring her favorite doll, one that is not particularly old yet has matted hair and and patched cheeks from constant play.
i love to go back and re-read the books i loved as a child. even though i read these books hundreds of times, i always notice details i didn't as a girl (like the simple smiley faces on the girls).
i like that i was exposed to both traditional girly influences along with '70s progressive influences such as the free to be you and me record, where it's the boys playing with dolls and the girls who want to be athletes and firefighters. (can anyone else still sing every song from this album?) it's interesting how when reading the best-loved doll i never thought to myself, "wow! this book is really girly!" and yet i do remember thinking after listening to the song "william's doll" that it shouldn't be a big deal for william's parents to buy him a doll, even if he defies the lyrics of the song and decides not to be a father.
some of my favorite books in my picture book collection originally belonged to my mother. one that is particularly special to her and me is a tall red book about horses illustrated by the dutchman, piet worm (great name!).
i especially enjoy the part of the story when the three horses go into town dressed up as women. piet perfectly captured the kind of costumes i loved as a child.
i also love my mother's copy of the the steadfast tin soldier. the inside cover always makes me smile.
p.s. it's really hard to take photos in colorado in november when you work full time. i miss the ecuadorian sun!
thank you ashley! i love it.
and thank you to everyone for the compliments on our new apartment. we actually took it because it is a great deal, but the silly little details should make it a fun place to live for a year.
we are going to a wedding in the mountains this weekend and then i start my new job on monday so i may not be around for a few days. when i do find time to write i should of plenty of news and photos to share.
and because one can never own too many books, here are three from my wishlist:
1. find your place art book by gracia & louise (i've been coveting this one for awhile.)
2. oh dear zine by julia pott (i hear more will be available in a couple of weeks.)
3. sailor & pekka by jockum nordstrom (found via fine little day.)
have a great weekend!
while cleaning out some old boxes this summer, i stumbled on an old set of postcards i used to play with as a child. my first reaction was, "look how cute these are!" then i turned the cards over and realized they are from sambo's pancakes, an old restaurant chain that i think was popular in the '60s.
sambo's owners supposedly chose the name based on their names (Sam and Bo for Bohnett) but used the story, "little black sambo," as a promotional tool. The story is about an indian child who has his new clothes stolen by a group of tigers. he finally outwits the tigers (they run in circles so fast that they turn into butter) and returns home where he eats big piles of pancakes. while the story takes place in india, the sambo character in the original book (written by Helen Bannerman) is depicted as black, and not just black, but as an offensive stereotype with crazy hair and big red lips.
it is interesting to me that sambo's restaurant would choose this name but chose to illustrate the sambo in their story as white. i wonder if these postcards were the original ones used or if they were used later once the restaurant faced a drop in business due to opposition of the racist sambo story? the last of the sambo's restaurants closed in the early '80s.
