The Metaphorical Magpie

Niftiness abounds

Still getting my act together post vacation. Lot's of little things caught my magpie eye in the last week or so. Take a look.

Sufjan Stevens is streaming his Songs for Christmas for free until Dec. 25th. There are also two free Mp3's at the ready for your downloading pleasure.

Jenny, the Felt Club mastermind diva and  resident cutie of Sew Darn Cute is writing a book. Read her announcement here.

We went to the movies this weekend and I was more excited about the trailer for Juno than the film we actually saw.  Starring Ellen Page who impressed me in Hard Candy and Michael Cera who always bestills my nerd loving heart. it has the makings of a fine little film. Looking forward to it's release next month. Written by Diablo Cody, new hot shot/bad ass screenwriter who is about to estrogen bomb Hollywood. She wears a "broke ass weave", did a stint as a stripper, wrote her script in a Target and married a Trekkie. Interested yet? Entertainment Weekly profiled her a few weeks ago. I was laughing out loud when I read what she has to say about Jennifer Garner's complexion.

Everyone likes corduroy. Right? Some people actually appreciate it. Enough to start a club and hold a convention. The paper I work for did a story about the Corduroy Appreciation Club last week. If you, too, adore the sound of your corduroy clad legs rubbing together, join the club at their official site.

I know many of us are obsessed with self portraiture taken in bathrooms. Grub Street put out a Restroom Report that rates New York City restaurant loos on a five star rating system. Who cares about the food! Is the bathroom cool? Make your reservations accordingly.

The Museum of Arts and Design just opened an interesting new exhibit, Pricked:Extreme Embroidery, featuring works by women and men from seventeen countries. Not your granny's stichery. I particularly like the embroidered tattoos on a mounted softie arm by Benji Whalen. There will be some interesting events throughout the next month with some of the artists. Including several MAKE workshops at MAD covering Embroidery 101, over embroidery and bargello.  A talk this Thursday will cover  the political, radical and shocking in embroidery.

The New York Times had a special section on Giving today. Learn how other people are giving and find a new way to give this holiday season. You'll feel warmer than when you wear a Shetland sweater.

Holiday idea launch

My mother in law is crafty in more ways than one. She sent out a list of questions a few weeks ago looking for ideas to make some homemade gifts this year. I love that idea. I thought maybe y'all would enjoy it, too. I really enjoyed imagining the answers to question #4 far more than looking through catalogs for something to put on my Christmas list.  I've added a few questions of my own here, too. Hopefully this will be inspiration for other crafty gift givers out there.

1. What is your favorite recipe? (Hmm. Is a cookbook of some sort in the works?)
Here's one I picked up while working at my first job which was at a local Jewish bakery. I started to work there on my thirteen birthday. On cold mornings, Iris, the manager, would make this for our breakfast after we iced all the coffee cakes and put all the baked goods out for customers. It's so simple you can make it on a hot plate like we did.  Today I like to use my fancy copper frying pan. To me this is a comfort food that evokes my childhood and the transition to being a career girl because I've been working and cooking ever since.

Eggs ala Iris
2 eggs
2 tbsp cream cheese
butter for the pan

Beat the eggs and scramble them in a frying pan. Before the eggs  firm up completely  add small bits of the cream cheese and combine. The eggs should be firm but not well done. The cream cheese will be molten blobs of rich goodness.

Optional add ins: a few tablespoons of sliced scallions or diced tomatoes. This is not an omelette. The eggs are the star here.

Serve with a toasted buttered poppy seed or everything bagel.  Seeded rye toast works, too.

 

2. What is your favorite color? I'm partial to apple green, aquamarine, sky blue, dove gray, candy apple red and cherry blossom pink

 

3. What size regular shirt or sweatshirts do you wear? I'm kind of particular about this. I only wear zip up hoodie sweatshirts. As for shirts, if it's a T, I only like the girly cut type like the ones made by American Apparel. If it's a boxy man's cut or if  it or falls lower than my waist I won't wear it. Let's just say the size rhymes with Marge.

 

4. If you could have anything made for you what would it be?
A scarf. I love lightweight ones I can wear in the office as well as a bulkier one for keeping warm outside.
OR
A hat. Pom Poms and tassels are welcome in my wacky world.
(Please note that I am unfortunately, allergic to wool. I get all rashy and cranky if I wear wool. Although I've had limited success with cashmere and merino.)
OR
A bag I can take my lunch to work in. I imagine it having a flat rectangular bottom . We use reusable glass dishes for our lunches, so some support or a little cushioning on the bottom would be great. Craftapalooza provided a link to the Sew Mama Sew blog's November Handmade Holidays- 30 Days of Gifts to Sew. November 4th's post featured several awesome lunch bag tutorials to choose from. I'm kind of digging this owl fabric, or this one called Algae paperweight by Kaffe Fassett.
OR
A new handbag. Something roomy enough to hold all the gadgets I carry around with me and a few interior pockets to keep it all organized. It's got to be big enough to tuck in a magazine or a newspaper section. I'm smitten with the Frenchy bag pattern by Amy Butler. I could imagine it made with any of these fabrics: Nest Bark in Blossom, Joel Dewberry's Damask Espresso,  Marine Dandy Damask or Pistachio Dandy Damask by Michael Miller,  or just about any of the colors in Kaffe Fassett's paperweight collection would make me ecstatic, too.

5. Is there anything you want or need that you wouldn't get for yourself? A letter opener. I know it sounds like something a granny would want for a gift but that's how I roll. Mail is pouring in from my nieces/pen pals and my other important peeps. I need a fabulous letter opener like the kind a glamorous starlet in a old black and white movie would use to open all her important correspondence.   

6. What color schemes are in your home? Our kitchen makes use of green, coral and cream. Drawer pulls, trivets, peppermill, etc are copper. The living room is sky blue. Deep blue and ochre complement the walls. Our bedroom is cobalt blue now but we'll be painting that soon to a sage green. Our bathroom is a classic 1930's black and white. The only color free room in the house. Towels are several shades of light green. The studio has neutral beige walls, chocolate brown shelves and accents of pale blues and greens.

7. Do you collect anything? Oh, my, yes. vintage buttons. old figural salt and pepper shakers. Bird illustrations or books. Vintage tile trivets, aprons and tablecloths. Sparkly shoes.

8. What is inspiring you right now? Acorns. Pine trees covered with snow. Fields of cotton. Seahorses. Gold glitter. Freshwater pearls. Embroidery. Marshmallows. Owls. Tea. Polaroids. The sound of crunch leaves.

Back on home base

Vacation was great. We were busy pretty much all the time exploring new places or visiting family. We arrived home late Saturday night. Sunday we slept in a little and then split up to do some errands. I went to my new favorite local market for some vittles and Michael's to pick up some final items for the November Colorrific Swap. I had just enough time to put together a pot of split pea soup and stuffed peppers before we went out to meet Cyndemouse at the movies. Sweets and I were experiencing some serious media withdrawal. We saw American Gangster, which was done pretty well. Not too over the top for that type of thing but also a wee bit generic for us.

It's been right back into the thick of things now that we've returned. The dogs were waiting to be sprung from the kennel on Monday morning. I didn't accomplish anything before work except giving them lots of rubbums and treats. Yesterday, we had an appointment early in the morning for the ductwork in the house to be cleaned. Then our pal, Lenny, came to start installing our new front door. He brought us his lastest twist on pumpkin pie which we promptly munched on for breakfast.  Election day is always a long day for me. I didn't get home until 1 am and I tumbled directly into bed. This morning I am mucho tired.

Lots to do this week. My Colorrific swap package hasn't made it's way out of the house. Many apologies to my partner. Many of my usual go-to items for swaps were on her list of things she doesn't care for. I've had to think extra hard about  items to include that will really satisfy her. Plus it's my week to post a Friday Faves over at  Self  Portrait Challenge. I need an extra big mug of coffee and more than an extra hour of daylight savings time to get everything accomplished this week.

I've  not had time to look at my photos from the trip yet but when I do, I'll put some up with details about our fun.