The Metaphorical Magpie

Oh, my goodness gracious

It's Wednesday already and I'm still recovering from all the excitement over the weekend. Sweets and I started out our Saturday straightening up the house to prepare for our special houseguest's arrival. I found a pretty potted lavender to brighten up the guest room. When it's a bit warmer, we'll plant it in the garden to remember her visit in the future. Then we spent part of the afternoon visiting with our friends who have generously offered to let me borrow jewelry for the wedding day. I had fun trying on sets of rubies and emeralds before settling on a gorgeous diamond set. On the big day, my personal "jeweler" will come see me before I walk down the aisle to help me accessorize and then whisk them away to a safe place at the end of the evening. After the fashion show, we had fruit and coffee and a great conversation. Suddenly it was time for us to dash to the airport to collect Sweets' mom, Debbie. After she got settled in her room, we went out for shared appetizers and margaritas. Sweets kept getting mysterious phone calls and he looked mischievious. Finally we went home and collapsed. I was totally unsure about what would be happening on Sunday but I knew something was going on. Quentin cried in his crate almost all night, so I was up with him watching tv for a few hours and then back up early. I called Cynde so early she was still asleep. She told me to put on a dress and be ladylike. I should be ready to leave around 2 pm. So I fussed with my hair and tried on lots of clothes and wondered what the heck was going on. Finally Sweets said it was time to leave. We drove in a direction I didn't expect and we drove for longer than I expected, too. From the backseat, Debbie called out "Well you like birds, you're on a wild goose chase." Then we pulled into this cute little town I've never visited, Allentown, NJ and parked in front of the Garden Tea Room where a private tea party in my honor had already begun. The tea was flowing and the girls were giggling.

There were all the Bad Girl Posse members who are also my bridal party, of course, and my mother and sister, neighbors and friends . It was so amazing that people from all aspects of life came out for the afternoon.  It made me all teary and rashy.

Cyndemouse did an amazing job organizing the event, Talulah designed the invitations, JPO was the mistress of ceremonies and kept the girls laughing with cool games to play and prizes for the winners. The tea room was so adorable. Light filled and airy. Each guest was served a vintage cake stand with several  tea sandwiches like crab and avocado, a bacon wrapped scallop, a stuffed mushroom, fresh fruit and an assortment of sweets like tiny lemon tarts and linzer hearts. All the teas were by Harney & Sons. JPo knows so much about them she stood up and talked about all the flavors like a tea specialist. She suggests the Pomegranate Oolong for spring sipping.

Of course, there were gifts, too. Some people found things here. Other people went there.  There were also   lots of nighties. Are you trying to get me pregnant, ladies?

So much care went into everyone's selections. My mother and sister searched high and low for pretty paper that had birds on it. They had to hunt down one of the items on our registry all the way to the manufacturer. Sweets mom made me a patchwork handbag with state birds that signify the state I was born in, Sweets' home state, where we live now, where we've vacationed and where we'll be married. Take a peek here. My dear friend, Tess, could not make the shower. The other morning two enormous boxes surprised us with a most generous gift.

The thing that touches me most is the friendship each one of these women offers me. Whether we share the same hometown, a love for poetry or art, a passion for tea, or miles of history - they are all my tribe. And I love that there is always room for one more to join us and the party. As my neighbor Karen would say, "Namaste".

Photo credit: Anna J.  aka ShallowDOF. More photos of the party are in my Flickr stream.

After all the stressful planning, all this wedding stuff is starting to be fun again. I'm getting so excited for the big day where we can all relax, dance and have fun.

Chocolate cake for breakfast

Remember that old Bill Cosby comedy routine called "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast"? If you don't you can get it on iTunes. On Sunday night, Sweets whipped up Nigella's Chocolate Sour Cream Cake from her "How to Be  a Domestic Goddess" book which I received for Chrsitmas. I'd read Emily over at the Black Apple raving about  this cake so I bought ingredients and then couldn't find the time to bake.  Sweets went into  a cooking frenzy and we ended up with mashed sweet potatoes, chinese pot stickers and  this yummy cake. He's actually becoming quite an accomplished baker. I just sort of hover nearby to give pointers  like "no, no,no, use cake pans, hon, not loaf pans, find the round ones" or to demontrate how to seperate an egg. This cake is really dense. The sour cream takes over the texture and adds a zingy taste. We found the icing needed about a half cup more sugar to stiffen it up to spreading consistency.  For fun he dusted it with rainbow sprinkles and pink sugar.

I've been taking modest little tastes over the week. On Sunday night, I couldn't even finish my slice. On Tuesday night after work I ate a piece as I wrote out checks- one of of least favorite chores. Then this morning, I woke up and saw that cake nestled under it's cake dome and knew it was time for cake for breakfast. I'm enjoying with a cup of peach black tea by Good Earth. No this is the way to ease into the weekend!  TGIF, People.

Little pockets of  assorted drama wore me out this week. I think I literally lost a little chunk of my mind on Thursday morning after arguing with my sister about something that's been unresolved since last week. Ugh.

Last night I was in bed by 10:30 pm and woke up feeling so much better. There is lots to do around here. Sweets mom is flying in to visit us for the weekend. And a little birdie might have let me in on a secret bridal shower sometime over the weekend, too. So besides the busiest day of the work week, I've got pillows to fluff, things to arrange, outfits to select.

Just a few fun things to share before I hippity hop off quick like a bunny:
Have you been keeping up with the daily dose of eye candy at 3191? The other day ,  I wanted to dive into one of Stephanie's photos of a bed all made up with vintage linens and take a flower scented snooze. I think spring is really invigorate her. Her posts on Little Birds lately have all made me smile, too.

Have you seen Jek's adorable jumbo faux coco bunnies in her Etsy shop? Bigger than a Barbie and scented like cocoa with sweet embroidered faces. Go on you know you want one. No calories involved with these Easter bunnies.

Sweets brought home a pile of newly released music this week. I've been bopping around to The Arcade Fire. I'm pretty much in love with (Antichrist Television Blues). In the car, I've been losing track of the miles with  LCD Soundsystem.

Happy Spring!

To celebrate, enjoy this audio slideshow, "A Burst of Spring Flowers"produced by the uber talented people I work with at the paper. This is just one of the cool multimedia projects we've been working on lately. Take a peek at TVJersey.com or subscribe to the TVJersey podcast on itunes. Tomorrow, there will be a video of disco queen, Gloria Gaynor, touring her NJ home.

Click To Play

This post is brought to you by the letter "C"

Last month, Janet at Muppinstuff pulled a tile out of her Scrabble bag for me to work a meme off of. I was busy and started a draft post and kept putting it off. Then she was heading to the beach for a few weeks of holiday and I didn't want to post it while she was gone. Now she's back and I'm up earlier than usual today. So here we go. (finally) Ten Things I Love That Begin with the Letter C:

1) Chartreuse- The shock of this color is so invigorating. Like a whiff of mint, a shot of tequila or a spring bulb pushing up through the ground to greet the sun.

2) Cupcakes- Yes, the ever popular, handheld iced delight. My favorite is a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Not that I'd say no to other flavors.

3) Chickadees- I have to work birds into this list somehow! Chickadees are frequent visitors in my yard. They are so friendly and cheerful, happily chirping as they hang on the suet feeder near the back door. You can tell they are inquisitive.

4)Curry- Be it green, red or yellow. I love the gorgeous colors, the fragrance and the heat of a curry. I wish I lived in London and could bring home tins of curry takeaway whenever I like. One New Year's Eve, Cyndemouse and I accidentally made a green curry with three times as much curry paste as we should have. That year started with fireworks coming out of our ears.

5)Cherry blossoms- These harbingers of spring make me freak out with happiness. We found a local park over the summer that is loaded with cherry trees. I can't wait to go exploring there soon to wander amongst the pink branches. They should begin to bloom in the next few weeks.

6) Chihuahuas- Two spunky pups reign supreme in my household. Despite getting on in years, they are full of pep. Quentin is almost fully recovered from his surgery. The fur hasn't grown back on his leg but his strength has returned. We've been enjoying longer walks together around the neighborhood. It's great to see him taking on stairs this week. His time in the cage has given Maggie more time to snuggle with me. We've been loving our "girl time."

7) Concerts- Music is one of those things that brings people together. I love to find people that have a vast knowledge of a genre I may not know much about and get some education. Even better than enjoying music on your own is going to a concert and being part of the experience. Over the years I've been to some amazing shows. Some of my favorites include Ray Charles at the Saratoga Jazz Festival, The Flaming Lips at Webster Hall, Pearl Jam in Montreal, Ambulance Ltd in a tiny club in Brooklyn, The Gossip at the Skychurch in the EMP, the time I danced so much at a Prince show my vintage pants ripped. There have been loads of good shows and there are always more to come.

8) Cameras- Even if they are old and don't work, I love cameras. It just seems like magic to me that you can look through that tiny viewfinder and freeze what you and only you can see inside.

9)Curiosity- My personal business card says "Inquisitive mind at large." I've always been a Nosy Nelly. That most likely led me to a career in journalism. Almost on a daily basis I find myself saying "I wonder..." and then finding out an answer later in the day. I love to know about food and nature. How people live and what motivates them to do great or terrible things. I think curiosity is one of my best qualities.

10)Cyndemouse- She could have gone to SXSW last week but she stayed home because she takes her maid of honor duties very seriously. She tells me when I need to rest. When I need to get motivated. And last night she told me, the painful truth, that my latest haircut isn't cutting it. She navigates the treacherous waters between my sister, mother, and my future mother in law and friends with aplomb. Keeps the problems from me as best as she can. And keeps coming up with new ideas and solutions for anything that comes our way. I love my mouse.

Now, I have to go buy some cupcakes to celebrate a friend at work's birthday today. I'll "C" ya'll later.

Fascinatin' feathers

As you know, it's pretty much all birds all the time in this magpie's nest. I haven't had much time for much relaxation lately. Most of my free-ish time is going to planning, planning, more planning, stressing out, freaking out and general bridezilla type behaviors. This morning I do have a rare window of peace and quiet.  Sweets has gone out to meet the best man at the wedding site to figure out where to have the cermony. I've made a pot of coffee and spent some time sitting by the window watching the birds outside. For a few minutes I slipped outside with my camera, still in my pajamas, to catch a few frames. We had an ice storm last night. All the trees are enrobed in ice. The warmth of the sun encourages melting in a sensuous dripping symphony. Pair that with bird song and coffee. Magnificent.

One thing I have been looking for lately is a how-to on making feather fascinators. Evidently, they are far more popular in the UK and Australia than here in the States. I think it would perfectly lovely to have one for myself and the brides gals for the wedding. Here's an assortment I've come across in my travels. If any of you have any other suggestions, please chime in. Especially if you make them yourself or can tell me the basics on how to do it myself.
I saw a groom wearing a feather brooch by Leah  C.  in a magazine last week.   She also makes bridal hair accessories that are amazing as they are expensive. BD-i Design has pages and pages of fascinators.

On Etsy, Kiss Curl , a UK milliner has an assortment of cocktail hats and fascinators.

Glamour Bomb makes a mini top hat with a dove perched on the brim.

These feather brooches incorporate bits of vintage jewelry. I think they're charming. Don't you?

Mikiye makes lots of yummy accessories. I think these flowers would look great in my maid's hair. Perhaps Innocence for Talulah, Devotion for JPo,  and Softly for Cyndemouse. I have my eye on Miss Holiday for myself. Or one of these that incorporate flowers and feathers in a color scheme that is more customized.

These satin ribbon headbands with felt birds are cuties, too.

I  almost fainted when I came across  Thymbl Designs from Germany's Etsy shop.  Brooches like this or  this would be  perfect for our mothers to wear.  And she makes Magpie Hairbands with vintage Czech buttons. 

Other feathery fun I've seen lately:
This photo of a feather floating by Lyrical is so quieting and gorgeous. How can you not adore a man who carries feathers in his camera bag for just-in-case photo opportunities. Love it!

Did you know you could send ducks through the mail? Birdyboo has a Flickr set of a box chock full of duckies that came via USPS.

Speaking of birdies coming in the mail, I was thoroughly surprised when a mystery box arrived on my doorstep last week. Jessica found a adorable pair of birds salt and pepper set and sent them to me as a surprise. She told me she was out shopping for something else, started to think about me and my grandmother and her grandmother and as she lost her train of thought she dropped what she was carrying. There on a shelf out of sight were the shakers. If she hadn't stooped to pick up what she'd dropped she would have missed them. We both believe in the power of grandmothers. Many thanks for brightening what has been a sad week remembering Grams. And thank you to all who commented on the tribute to her.

Now I'm off  for more  coffee, maybe a face mask  and mischief.
Happy Saturday.

 

In memory

My Grams passed away a year ago today. Her absence is on mind every day. Last year, I copied photos from her albums for a slideshow during her memorial service. I thought a nice way to remember her today would be to share some of them with you.

I love the feather in her hat in the left photo. The photo on the right was always displayed in her house. I spent hours and hours  staring at it. Marvelling at her hairstyle and smooth face. 

Her eyes were always full of mirth. She liked to dance, play cards, listen to big band music, go out to lunch and eat shrimp- her favorite. When I was having a bad day, I'd go over to her apartment and she's make me a grilled cheese or a steak-um sandwich with tomato. She wasn't an accomplished cook but it always tasted good when she made something especially for me. Sometimes we'd get out her big photo albums and she'd tell me stories about the people and pets in the photos. I tried to remember as much as I could about what it was like to grow up during Depression, live through a world war, have a husband out to sea all the time.  I miss her stories.

In the last two photos, she's helping me celebrate my 4th birthday and of course all the others along the way except this last one.

Looking closely, I can see the engagement diamond I now wear on her hand in this photo. I took the bottom photo of her at my sister's wedding. You can see the adoration in her face. I'm going to miss her on my big day very, very much.

Whining is officially over

After the earlier whine fest, I thought it best to make up a list of some nice things that have happened lately, too. Just so ya'll don't think I'm in agony over here.

After a crummy week, I treated myself to an armful of purple tulips.

We took our invitations to the post office in my home town. The nice mail lady let us use her stamp to hand cancel them. Within a few days, all the amazing work Sweets did started to reach its destinations.
People called. They emailed. They showed up at our desks gushing. They talked amongst themselves. It was really gratifying to see people so pleased about something we created. Especially in our business. When professional designers are asking for the name of your printing company, it is fun to shock themby saying that it was all done at home. We chose square 7x7 kraft paper envelopes and recycled paper. Each envelope included a square invitation featuring a snowy egret illustration, a map of Philadelphia with our favorite spots listed, a vintage map of New Jersey altered to use for the direction sheet called "Migration", a card suggesting hotels called "Perch Nearby" featuring a hummingbird illustration. Over Thanksgiving vacation, I found a vintage postcard in the antiques store in Sweets' hometown in Indiana. We scanned it and created a duotone instead of full color to complement our color palette. It turned into a rocking reply postcard. Birdies hold up a banner entitled "Join the Flock." On the reverse, an intro lists groups of birds before asking if you were "winging in for the celebration" or would be there "regretfully in spirit from our nest." Coming home everyday to find cards in the mail has been so much fun. It's a nice surprise to see who replies and their handwritten notes.

Blood oranges are in season. Yum.

Super Mario, in the tech lab, has retrieved over 20 gig from my hard drive. He's still not sure if it's corrupt but it is a glimmer of hope. Crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that the contents of my hard drive are not totally lost.

There have been a few snow showers here. I've been babying the backyard birds with extra snacks like the ends of a wedge on prima donna cheese, bashed up cookies, pears and of course lots of seed, suet and scattered cracked corn. In a rare moment of quiet, I sat on a stool by the back door with my binoculars watching the parade of masses of bluejays, starlings, cardinals, juncos, chickadees, sparrows and the rarer visits by the downy woodpecker, red bellied sapsucker and white breasted nuthatch.

We saw Badly Drawn Boy in concert at the Theater of the Living Arts and braved the cold for cheesesteaks afterwards. Both were tasty!

Mercury Shmurcury

The past few weeks, it's been quiet here around The Metaphorical Magpie. Because I have been fighting for my life against the naughty, evil forces of mercury going retrograde. I an not exaggerating, people!

Here's what's been happening:
I fell down the stairs and bruised the bejesus out of my bedunkadunk.

Arguments pop everywhere. At work, in restaurants, at a concert. Even on the highway. Do I have a "Let's Fight" sign on my head?

My laptop turned toes up. I keep begging the tech working on it to wait until mercury goes direct before he gives up and reinstalls everything. He has tried so hard to revive my hard drive but so far all the diagnostic tests haven't even found it. Cripes! The genius that I am has not backed it up at home in months. Which means I lost months of photos including our vacation to the Pacific Northwest that I didn't even put up on Flickr. Sob. All my bookmarks. I am beyond miserable over this. The loaner I'm using is so non-descript. Sigh.

Quentin keeps me awake every night. He has this uncanny way of sensing the exact moment I've finally fallen asleep and then he begins to whimper and whine about being lonely in his cage.This usually occurs between two and five in the morning. Half way through his recovery, he is improving his abilty to walk on his bum leg and keep me awake almost constantly.

All my joints are aching. My hip hurts all the time. Now my wrists, hands, left shoulder, ankles and knees. I went to the doctor on Friday. He told me he likes me because my health complaints are always puzzling. Um, thanks, I think. Yesterday, I spent an hour and a half waiting to have blood drawn in the hopes that something will solve the puzzle.

I got a haircut and nobody noticed for ten days. Plus the ends are all fuzzy and my curls aren't as curly.

We're up to our eyeballs in wedding plans and problems keep popping up. For a couple of days I felt the Wicked Witch of the East... "I'm melting." The bridesmaid dresses did not work out as planned. The dress I ordered for Talulah didn't fit. So she came to visit and went with Cyndemouse to shop more. We bought a new dress for her and JPo. When we showed the new dress to JPo she decided she liked the first one better. So Cyndemouse dragged Talulah back out and they found new dresses. Now they'll all have a dress in the same shade in a slightly different shade.

When mercury is retrograde basically nothing goes right. Technology fails me. Schedules get shaken up. Accidents happen. Then it all stops when it goes direct. Not that things don't go wrong sometimes. It's just that everything feels so insurmountable when mercury has me in it grips.

The good news is by Thursday, it goes direct again. It won't be until June that it yanks on me again.

So the next few days, I'm going to keep my chin up and ride it out. The worst is almost over. I can feel it.