Stir it Up

I love a cookbook author who says women need more time to smoke cigarettes and drink cocktails. Three cheers for Peg Bracken!
Here's a sample of a recipe from her book.

Skid Road Stroganoff: "Add the flour, salt, paprika and mushrooms, stir, and let it cook five minutes while you light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink."

When her cookbook hit the market in 1960, her wry witty writing reassured women that they did not have to be perfect to have a happy home.
Back in those those days, working women also cooked dinner for their husbands and children. A group of friends who called themselves the Hags traded complaints and recipes over martinis after work before hauling themselves home to start dinner. Don't you love that?

Peg Bracken died today.

I bought her (out of print) book to honor her memory.

My husband would be over the moon if I cooked him something from her book.

I usually pop a Lean Cuisine in the microwave and he's thankful for that. The poor thing.

Sunny Amy Sol

I love Amy Sol. She reminds me of another artist I've blogged about - Audrey Kawasaki. I've seen a photo of the girls together so I think they're pals.

Anyway, I have a dinosaur painting Amy created - who doesn't like dinosaurs? Especially the vegetarian ones that were really big with long necks? Bronosaurus were they - until scientists changed their names to Apatosaurus. I liked the first name much more. So I was checking out Amy's blog & saw she's been listening to Au Revoir Simone.. another one of my favorite girl bands... makes me heart Amy even more :)

If you'd like to see Amy Sol's blog...http://my-sweet-panda.livejournal.com/

For Audrey Kawasaki's blog... http://i-seldom-do.livejournal.com/

80's Rock

Two bands of the moment totally remind me of my childhood.

Chromeo & New Young Pony Club.

Perhaps Chromeo works the 80's the best with their new wave beats and sounds. It reminds me of my Commodore 64 & Atari video games. My favorite posession as a kid was my Maniac T-shirt. A close second was my Thriller record.

I worshipped girls who said "totally" and "she's like so" and "like." I just looked up and realized I typed "totally" in my first line - see? It's still there!

The legs in Chromeo's cover shot remind me of a combo of ZZTop and A Christmas Story. I couldn't post this without giving serious props to Zapp for that cool digitized voice.

New Young Pony Club's song Ice Cream just melts me. I am absolutely green with envy because I wish I had a fantasic voice, a rocking band and fabulous style. They're kind of like a brunette Blondie.

California Fires

This picture - of a firefighter giving a thumbs up to a water drop - sums up my hope that the California fires will be out soon.

Normally, I talk about happy things on this blog - but since my blog is about the comforts of home, it is closely connected to what's happening right now.

How many people right now are worrying about losing everything?

I often post photos of a cozy chair, a kitchen that inspires a party or dinner, beautiful paintings, festive gardens. I've seen all of these things stolen by these fires.

All day long I've been glued to the tv, watching nonstop coverage of the fires blazing across SoCal.

I was at a couple of them yesterday and I'm still digging the ash and dust out of my nose and ears. I'm lucky - at least I'm not worried about my home.

This is a Reuters photo. Click this line to see more.

Ouija Boards

Ouija Boards still give me the willies, even though I remember pushing them as a child, making them go to yes when the pointer was headed toward no.

Was I battling a spirit's message? Or was it just my friend and I going toe to toe?

Maybe I'm happier not knowing. I love a scare!

Anyway, here's a group of creepy boards that are from http://www.copronason.com/Saturday

Deadly Decor

When I was a child, our home had a long, covered entry. It was perfect during Halloween.
It had a lone lantern that I would switch out with a flicker bulb. We would hang endless amounts of fake spiderwebs and scatter spiders all over the walls. Fake body parts peeked out of bushes and fat juicy bats and supersized spiders would fall at intermittent times.

What pulled the look together was a smoke machine and cd playing scary sounds. I especially loved the graveyard sounds and the one where a woman is running & screaming while a werewolf chased after her.
We didn't just leave this decor to be appreciated. My brother and I hid in the bushes and jumped out with a scream to scare trick or treaters. Many a full grown man turned on his heel and skipped out of there. I only felt bad when it was a toddler who was usually so scared they were gasping for air.

I wish I were having a Halloween party this year so I could deck out my backyard and play scary sounds on CD. I'd invite my guests to walk up into our backyard and scare the living daylights out of them.

By the way, these scary decorations are from http://www.horchow.com/ Don't they remind you of the Haunted Mansion? I love that ride!

DVF Doll

In the spirit of the holidays... yes I know it's not even Halloween yet... but my heart is with Christmas year-round... can I tell you one thing that I crave, but probably wouldn't spend $100 on?

The Mattel Barbie Collector Diane Von Furstenberg Barbie Doll.

Someone told me I look like the doll, so of course I'm in love with her. It's probably because I'm addicted to wrap dresses and love big hair.

Cheeky Chanel

I loved Chanel's looks at PFW. I had to separate them from the rest because the others make me think of a night out on the town. These make me crave strong coffee in the afternoon while lounging in a cafe on the Champs-Elysses. All of this after an exhausting morning of shopping. After the coffee, back to the Paris Ritz for a nap, a shower and a night on the town in my Alexander McQueen dress.

Paris Fashion Week

I was at the Angel's game Sunday and it was a long hot day.
Let's detox from sports by looking at these catwalk treats from Paris fashion week.

John Galliano - This dress is so delicate and light.

Below is Antonio Marras for Kenzo - I just love the disco sequins!


Hammer time with Jose Castro!


I must finish with Alexander McQueen's unbelievable creations!

More at FashionWeekDaily.com

Martha's Perfect Halloween

I love how these photos make me feel the best parts of Fall.

The one precious moody & spooky holiday... mixed together with breezy and crisp Autumn afternoons.

http://www.marthastewart.com/

Jeffers Dreamy Bedroom

This bedroom by Jay Jeffers makes me want to curl up with a good book, a cup of strong coffee and my cat. It's dreamy.

www.jeffersdesigngroup.com

Pumpkin Donuts

Aren't these the cutest?
They're Krispy Kreme donuts just in time for Halloween.
So cute... but so dangerous. I ate 3 (or was it 4?) donuts in a row once, & I was so sick.

Sugar Skulls

I love Halloween and I love decorating for holidays even more.
I bought Martha Stewart's Halloween magazine this month and while the photos were beautiful, I just don't have the time to make decorations.
So when I saw sugar skulls in Domino, I thought aha!
I love figures for Day of the Dead. In my hallway, along with my splurge artworks, I have a treasured little skeleton dressed up as Elvis in a shadowbox. I picked him up for $18 on Olvera Street. He's about 3 square inches.
These sugar skulls in Domino are $11 each, and I think I'll get three to have a trio of happy skulls.