Muddled in the Middle

It’s hard to know where to begin with this blue, milk-glass hen I love so much. There are SO MANY available in most every antique store you walk into. But I was looking for something specific. Carolyne Rhoem, New York Socialite decor artist (like Martha Stewart only classy and without the jail thing) and a see-through dark blue glass hen and she’s what got me on the hunt for my own. In case you didn’t know, the glass hen on the nest has a HUGE following. I’m determined not to own more than one, but I have seen a few that surprised me and I wanted to add to this little beauty. Just to show you what a big deal she is, there is a book available on amazon.com called “Glass Hen on Next Covered Dishes: Identification & Value Guide.”  Then there’s the National Milk Glass Collector’s Society which has an extensive article about identification and classification of glass hens on nest ( http://nmgcs.org/articles/42-hen-on-a-nest-studying-a-glass-collection.html ) . ...

I used to get so mad at my parents when they would claim they couldn’t do something because “life has been too busy recently and we just can’t do it.” No it hasn’t! I protested. We went to “Splasharama” last weekend and that was it! We can have guests for dinner. Just make a little extra food. How hard is that? I couldn’t understand their argument: You WERE busy last weekend + you aren’t busy now, Therefore, Elle can’t have friends over.  But now I get it. Because....I finally did it this week. I played the married card. While wrought with guilt, allow me to explain it away. It’s not because I’m tired. I will not be taking a nap. I will not be doing anything “fun.”  I will most likely be sitting on couch with my hubs. But here’s the kicker: I wasn’t doing that the past three weekends. When we aren’t together, one on one, we aren’t bonding. We aren’t together. Does that make sense?  When you go to a party and everyone’s chatting, even if you’re standing toge...

I’m starting off Antique Love with a group of much-loved frames that are not antiques. They are from Hobby Lobby by Sheffield, which always reminds me of The Nanny. I wanted to find frames that would do my Italian great-grandparents justice.  My great-grandmother, Nona, had a snazzy sense of fashion and a sassy way about her, as you can tell from the picture. See that bag she’s got? Crocodile. And my mother still has it.  My great-grandfather, Nono, as seen playing shuffleboard on ship’s decks, left Italy after they demanded he return his issued boots (the only shoes he had) after he fought in the French-Italian war. He said, “That’s it, I’m done. I’m going to America.” He made his first million with his Italian Wine Company in New York City, lost it all the great depression, and made it back afterward. I can’t believe how much my grandfather looked like him.  With a tale like this, I can hardly give them...

I looked long and hard for my teapot. I wanted it to be large enough to be able to serve tea to a small group of people, but beautiful enough to be a decorative ornament, as well.  But looking for a tea pot is a soul-searching experience. Who am I? Do I want a tea pot that’s Asian because I went to China? Well, no, because I didn’t like it there. Do I want a teapot from Ten Thousand Villages that says “exotic Africa?”  They look cool, but it’s not ME...and on and on this inner struggle continued.  I even considered throwing out the idea of ceramics all together and just go with a traditional British metal tray, teapot and cream and sugar dishes. But I’ve got teacups (post on those coming) and I wanted ceramics again. You’ll never guess where I found it. TJ Maxx by Home Essentials. It was waiting for me in the section with teas and coffee. You see the strawberry on top with jagged leave partruding?  One of those leave was slightly...

sweetjanespopboutique.blogspot.co It’s true. Here’s the FAIL that started it all, a Bratz doll. When I first saw these ladies, I was horrified. Now, I highlight my hair on occasion, and her wedges do look startlingly familiar. But the half shoulder dress with a “Twiggy-esque” hemline and extra seductive eyes and makeup?  I’m not sure of the intended age-group for this product (trust me, I searched the product website), but my guess is that these are for age 6-10. The website, bratz.com, introduces you to the whole gang: Yasmine, Chloe, Jade, and Sasha--not your typical Tiffany, Jennifer, and Ashley. I’m not going to give a history of doll names over time (Barbie definitly didn’t make it through the 1980s), but I’m pretty sure these names were not chosen for their modern popularity.  tattoopins.com equinceanera.com Accessories you can add are wigs with a different style and hair color and a feather boa. Bratz we...

howilostmymancard.com Yeah, I know male photograpers have inducted Skinny Jeans as their official garb, but remember the time before it existed? Remember what photographers wore then? Are remember how they were still artsy and cool?   I don’t know if it’s the lack of role models or what, but someone needs to show today’s men how to dress like men. No more Beiber hairstyles to the side-swoop, no more skinny jeans and no more V-neck shirts. Like, forever.  I lived in China for a year and apparently, it has become really popular for guys to be really skinny, pale, and have really spiked-out hair. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s modeled after Japanation--Japanese animation characters like Dragon Balls Z. My Chinese friend explained to me that girls like this style (the guy looking pale and sickly) because they can feel needed, like the guy needs her to nurse him back to health. Is this what we want???

meganrantsabout.wordpress.com So many of my guy friends have told me why they “had” to break up with that cute little chiquita banana they were dating just a little while ago. And of course, they claimed she went crazy.  “Really??” I say, “She seemed so cool.” But no. She went crazy-go-nuts on his tail. Yelling at him and always trying to know where he was.  Alright, kids, here’s what’s up. Physical relationships bond you in a way you neeeeeever could have anticipated. If a chick is cool breeze about you disappearing for a few hours with your bros and not saying so, or not panicking if you don’t wanna hang out with her, she’s either cheating on you and not so much attached, or you should wonder how many relation ships (or relations) before you she’s had. For you doubters, let me explain. Origin unknown When you hitch up with someone, you’re taking on all their baggage from previous relationships (including the witnessed relationship of their parents’ mar...

Photo from http://dangerousintersection.org The book Every Woman’s Battle , less-known counterpart to the wildly successful Every Man’s Battle, cited romance novels as women’s version of porn. I could see that. I mean, let’s be honest, women love to believe that a ridiculously gorgeous man who happens to be Ripped, Rich, and Real with you (yes, the three R’s) could totally happen upon your life suddenly and fall madly in love with you.  I know, the Twilight Series is not listed in the Teen Romance section of any bookstore. But the same idea follows, he is obsessingly baffled by her (every girls’ dream) and can’t stay away (even while she sleeps) and oh yeah, he’s always asking what she’s thinking about because he can read everyone’s mind but hers (convenient). Doesn’t every girl dream to have a guy begging to know what she’s thinking about?? Ladies, look for a Comm major. My husband is the best listener I’ve ever met-- even when I’m talking about my hair.   ...

This photo from giantbomb.com perfectly emulates the mentality of GTA: "See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil." This kick-starts a new section of my blog, American Morality FAIL . This are just things I've observed that I can't believe ever got started! My goal is not to complain, but to challenge America to a higher order of entertainment, fashion, whatever! The first FAIL: the video game, Grand Theft Auto.   When one of my friends first saw this game in college, she was embarrassed to be present as a woman. At that particular moment, some big-wig of the city was inviting a prostitute into his car (in order to increase his health), after that car had just run down numerous citizens and cops for points. You watch them do their thing for a long, awkward moment and the game continues with its other objectives: assassinations, street racing, drug-dealing, and drunk-driving. Before continuing, however, you can kill the prostitute to get your money back. The ...

Sometimes, it’s awesome to get married later. I’m not talking about your second marriage being better than the first (I think all would agree that no marriage is as sweet as the first). I’m saying that you can know a lot more before you go into the marriage when you date after college.  Sure there’s that sucky time of watching all your friends get engaged junior year and then married senior year and right after. Then there’s the wave of all those friends starting to produce (Facebook babies unite!)...  Photo from http://www.lorussostudios.com After all THAT’S over with, you are probably finding your place in the working world. And you know what? So is your future spouse!  So when you date, you get to see the spouse in their place in the world, career, financial stability (or instability), and a personality firmly set after moving away from the college roommates. Their weight has finally settled, their gym habits are not wavering.  A lot that hasn’t ...

Photo from positivebodyimage.org.uk The first time I had a clue that married people seemed to have a secret world was when a friend let me in on her self-image struggles. She had dealt with an eating disorder back in college (and probably longer) and it spilled over into her marriage. The thing that startled me the most (after the fact that I realized I was “on the outs” as a single person) was that personal issues can’t help but be relationship issues. I mean, what girl HASN’T had image issues? So if it happened to this girl, couldn’t it happen to me? And why not everyone?  So basically she says she was feeling insecure & well... fat one night and didn’t feel like she could have sex. Her husband had a problem with that, of course. Not because she didn’t want to have sex, but because it was spurned by her painful image of her self.  Let me explain. Husbands SHOULD be worried about their wives. And when it gets to the point where you can’t enjoy the closest...

Hey, I was single once. I wondered why my married friends disappeared. My best friend from high school and I were inseparable even after going to separate colleges. But once she got married, our friendship didn’t make it through their engagement. I was yesterday’s news. It hurt. A lot.  It wasn’t until a married friend shared with me somethings about married life that I realized...there’s a whole world of explanations, reasons that I don’t know anything about--it’s like a secret world that all married people are in-on but don’t want to share because it might compromise the “sanctity of the inner circle.” This circle IS sacred. If it is broken, i.e. the marital secrets are shared, there is no trust. And I’m not planning on revealing any of my own.  But I do think it’s important for others to know a few things, specifically those that might be frustratingly mistranslated by single friends. I'm working thro ugh my own discoveries with my amazingly patient husband. I...