it is with a heavy heart....

that is how the email started.  i generally live my the rule that if you have to cry go outside but this time, i couldn't quite make it fast enough.  my pullo is gone.  not to a forever home to be loved, but gone gone.  there isn't much point to go into details the end result is the same and if there is one thing that i have learned during the insanity of the last 18 months, in the end the result is all that matters, it can't be changed.  sure you can take your lessons learned and memories with you, but when all is said and done, it is what it is.

i had stopped second guessing myself years ago, but today has been difficult.  it feels like one big ironic kick in the ass.  i love pull more than i even tolerate most people, that is one of the reasons that i gave him up.  i wanted him to have a shot at happiness, a family that would love him as much as i do and room to run and a human companion that didn't work all hours.  i really felt that i was doing the best thing for him no matter how bad it hurt or how much i missed him.  it didn't happen that way and i feel responsible, i can't help feeling like if i had just held my ground, took him and ran, that he would be somewhere with me right now.

i've been keeping myself busy in order to keep myself from being angry and all that's left to do now is wait for his to come back to me so i can lay him to rest on the little dead.  he was honestly and truly the great love of my life and he deserved so much better.

nothing like a good old fashioned kick in the teeth........

whelp......this is the part where i'm supposed to be really happy.  the pullo-monster has been kicking ass in his training and i guess he's ready to find his forever home..... i say i guess because i didn't know until i happened to see his adoption page.  you know that feeling where it feels like you've been mule kicked in the chest followed my the room temperature going up about 50 degrees.  its exactly like that, only with a bitter aftertaste.

 he looks about as thrilled with this situation as i am.

buying local for a better community?

let's talk about money.  how and where we spend it and what that means for our communities.  sound good?  great!  as some of you know, i work in economic development, which is a fancy way of saying that i spend my days working to make my community more financially secure (ie: richer) both in cash and quality of life.  one of the issues that people ask me about the most is the "buy local" movements and how we can make them more successful.  my answer is to help people understand money, community spending and all of the effects of it.  since a lot of the folks who visit my little corner of the internet are smart, witty, business minded and consumer conscious; i think that you all get the big picture, hopefully this will help you spread it, and start some conversations in your own businesses on how to grow your personal and community wealth.

the easiest way to wrap your arms around this concept is the picture yourself in a room with 10 other people.  you all pull out your wallets and put your money in a pile in the center of the table.  that pile is your community wealth, you all still know what is yours but as a group this pile makes up your economy.  five of you own businesses, the other five work for the business owners.  you business folks are going to be giving some of your personal pile to your employees in exchange for wages.

buy local: in this practice all ten of you are going to pass your money around between each other as you pay wages and buy supplies.  this is really good!  it keeps money within your local economy, we want to encourage that (obviously).  but, don't forget, you are also going to need to spend some of your money on the greater good, like fixing roads, maintaining utilities, upgrading infrastructure, etc. 

you probably see the problem coming, there isn't any new money coming into your group and eventually, just circulating the existing cash and maintaining the necessary will leave you all with an empty pile.  so, what do we do?  we need to find ways to get money from other communities and bring it to our piles.  the easiest way to do that is for our businesses to sell their surplus supplies to other communities.  this new money is great money!

what about the stuff you can't get locally?  there are always going to be those things that you aren't going to be able to find locally, it is okay!  in fact, your community relies on the fact that other communities need your surplus just as you need theirs.  the trick is to find ways to make it mutually beneficial.  how do you do that?  first you want to minimize the dollars going out.  locally owned businesses tend to hire locally and don't send their dollars out of the community to parent companies which results in more in the pile.  source locally for manufacturing.  huh?  this is called a local supply chain.  this means that businesses get the supplies that they need to run their businesses and make their goods locally.  what if you can't find your source materials locally?  let suppliers know!  if your local chamber, edc and supply companies know what the local businesses need, they can attract businesses to your area that can help supply you.  guess what happens when they come, they bring their money piles with them.

in short, there are three types of money:
     -money coming in from outside of the community - awesome money
     -circulating money - neutral money
     -money being spent outside - sucky, but sometimes necessary money

what can you do as a consumer to keep money in and grow wealth in your community?
     -buy locally from independent businesses
     -buy from businesses who source locally
     -buy from folks who sell outside of the community (hit up the buy local tab on etsy!)
     -let your local economic leaders know what you would like to see and support (with dollars) in
     your community

what can you do as a business owner/indie artist?
     -sell regionally/globally
     -source locally
     -if you can't source locally, get together with others in your sector and figure out what you
      need and let your economic leaders know, they want to help!

what are your thoughts on this? what other business/economic topics do you guys want to discuss? 

xoxo,
caralee

so, so lovely

i just stumbled across this lovely dress over at modcloth.  i have to say, i'm in love!  so very, very lovely in it's simplicity and clean lines (not to mention 100% cotton, fair trade and handmade).  it's times like this that i kick myself for my moratorium on new clothes.  someone please buy it and give it all the love it deserves.

enchanted evening dress

hi high waisted!

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i'm anti-pants.  that isn't to say that i walk around in the nude, i just prefer skirts and dresses.  i have a couple of issues with pants, one being that they aren't nearly as comfortable as a skirt (it's like wearing pj's all day!) and two, i have a really long torso and for years we've been beating the low rise horse to death.  the main problem with having a long torso and a minuscule rise pant is that you end up with a couple of inches of skin showing between the top of your slacks and the hem of your top, and well that just isn't always appropriate, eventually i tired of having my rear hang out and retired from wearing pants.

apparently the rest of the world agreed with me (finally!) and got tired of hiking up their trousers every two steps and we are back to high waisted pants.  woo-hoo!  i'm going to try my hand at recreating the pair above with some well loved second chance denim that i've been saving in my fabric hoard.  i'm going to skip the patch pockets and do angled welts instead and i'm thinking white contrast stitching instead of the blue.  hopefully, within a week i'll be the proud owner of some killer high waisted jeans that didn't cost me $300 (ouch!). 

wish me luck!

xoxo

DIY Mock Smock Spring Skirt

hey kittens,

in order to recover from the wool coat of doom, i needed some instant gratification, so i whipped myself up a little skirt.  here's how i did it, so now you can do it too.

get your sh*t together:

roll of craft paper (wrapping paper, news paper or pattern paper will also work)
about a yard and a half of each main and lining fabric (pre-washed and ironed)
all purpose thread
a package of 1/4 inch  wide elastic
yard stick or quilting ruler
dress makers tape or string
(straight pins, 4 small safety pins, fabric scissors and paper scissors)

lets do this!

-measure around your natural waist, take that number and add an inch (w + 1)
      (use your dress makers tape or use a piece of string and measure it with your ruler)

-decide how long you want your skirt from the top on the waist band to the hem and add 2 inches (l + 2)
        (because this is a full skirt, you can get away with it being a bit shorter, but don't go nuts, if you want a comfy and safe mini length put your arm to your side and measure to your middle finger).
 
take your paper and use your measurements to draw a rectangle (w + 1 across the top and l + 2 down the sides.

it should look something like this:

-do you see those little triangles?  that is where we are going to put the pockets!  measure 5 1/2 inches down from the top edge on each side and draw a little triangle to mark the start of your pocket.

-use your pattern to cut two rectangles out of your lining fabric (ignore your little triangles) and two out of your main fabric, this time make a notch at each triangle.

-on your craft paper, draft some pockets......huh?.......make a kidney shape or a wonky oval/tear drop with a flat edge about 2 inches wider than your hand.   cut 4 of these bad boys out of your main fabric.

ready.....set......sew.......

-pin the top edge of each pocket piece (right sides together) to each notch on the main fabric.  using a 3/8th inch seam allowance stitch the pockets to the skirt and press the seams towards the pockets.

-place the front and back of the main skirt pieces together (right sides facing) and stitch together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance (start at the top, go down and around the pocket and then down to the hem).  press the seams open and finish them with a zig-zag stitch, pinking or serging.

it will look like this:

-take your skirt lining, right sides together and sew down one side from waist to hem using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, press seam open and finish (as above).

-for the other side, switch to a basting stitch and stitch the first 3 1/2 - 4 inches from the hem down with a loose basting stitch (1/2 inch seam allowance), then switch to a regular stitch and finish like the other side.

-take the skirt and the lining, right sides together, matching side seams and stitch around the top sing a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  turn the lining to the inside and press the top seam to within an inch of its life.

 

- now it's time to make our casings -  this is fun!  starting at the upper edge stitch around the top of the skirt every 1/4 inch.  you are going to do this 6 times and when you are done, it will look like so:

 -once your casing are done go back and pick out the basting stitches from the side seam of the lining, this is where are are going to put the elastic in. 

-cut 3 lengths of elastic the length of your waist and safety pin the ends together on one side and pin it to the skirt lining.  pin a safety pin to each end of the elastic and start working them through the casings (using casing 2, 4 and 6), check it out:

-this works best if you work all of the elastics at the same time, just move a few inches on one and then go on the the next.  once you are all the way around, zig-zag stitch the ends, end over end, overlapping each about an inch.  slip stitch the side seam closed.


-all that's left now if the hem!  i generally like to hem my skirts with a blind hand stitch, but this one works well with a machine stitch.  i took the length up about a half an inch, pressed and stitched with a long stitch at 1/4 inch from the fold.  then, i clipped the remaining fabric close the the stitch, turned it another quarter inch and top stitched at 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch.  i did the same with the lining, only on the first fold, i folded up and inch instead of 1/2.

this is the perfect spring skirt, easy to wear, easy to care for and big roomy pockets.  this is also easy to customize, skip the pockets, try it with a pretty silk, vintage sheets, add trim or ric-rac, the possibilities are endless and because this little sucker can be made in under 2 hours, you can fill your closet with them and never get bored.

put your pattern somewhere safe because we're going to make some simple adjustments and turn this skirt into a fantastic summer dress.

monday hot list

happy monday everyone!  things have been a bit quiet in these parts, last week i headed out to atlanta for a business retention and expansion class (awesome class).  unfortunately my internet would not work the entire time i was there, so i'm trying to play catch up on life in general.  thankfully, i have today off, so lets get to it, shall we?

here are a few things that i'm obsessed with this week:

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i am in love with this dina goldstein  photo.  

i covet juliette hogan's winter 2011 collection.  it is the perfect combination of muted pastels and earthy neutrals, and has a few of my favorite things, high waists, pretty structured eyelet knits and pleats.  this is my favorite look:

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last but not least, orange sherbet.  i think that is *almost* spring here in the yoop and i am dreaming about sherbet on a daily basis.  please hurry warm weather, atlanta spoiled me.....i'm ready to stomp my feet and point until it hits 80 degrees and i can sit out side with a pushpop.

i'm just finishing up a tutorial for a great and easy spring skirt for you, so i will see you soon!

xoxo,
cs

my love

my love.  the first time i saw pullo was at a detla cargo building at detroit metro.  he arrived in a little gray plastic travel kennel with shredded newspaper in the bottom.  he was perfect.  he had puppy breath and was the size of a football.  i was in love.

on the ride home he explored his new humans, slept in my lap, snuggled in my coat and showed us that he could unzip a hoody with his teeth.  he had a crooked strut that seemed almost arrogant.  it wasn't too long before it was just the two of us.  he was my constant companion.  he slept stretched out against my back, attempting to be the big spoon with with his big wrinkled head on my neck and a paw on my shoulder.

no one likes to talk about the worst days, the days after heartbreak or the days after loss.  the worst days are the days where you could quite feasibly throw in the towel.  those are the days when no job, no friends, no responsibility, not even yourself is enough to warrant getting out of bed.  my love and i went through those days.....i always got out of bed.  if nothing and no one else in the world mattered, he did.  he didn't deserve to have to wait for breakfast or pace endlessly to go outside.  he always took being the anchor very seriously.......

we were so very, very close.  two short weeks from a new apartment chosen especially for him.  close to the lake and to ice cream so that even his short sturdy little legs could make the round trip without a problem.  ground floor.....no stairs for his hips, he's three now, soon his joints will start to bother him if we aren't careful......so very, very close.  my love isn't coming home.  he's going to get some help for the trauma of all of the moving and death and grief and then he will find a new love.  my heart is broken, but his will be fine.

w.i,p. - quilt

it's a wild and crazy friday night!  in my defense, i have the plague.  right now i'm plugging away on a quilt.  this has been a bit of a nightmare.  not because it's been difficult, but because i've been indecisive about the quilting.  this will be my third (yes, third!) attempt.  initially i decided to machine quilt it with my walking foot.  when i was just about done, i changed my mind, it looked to manufactured for what i was going for.  after picking out all of the blessed machine stitches, i started hand quilting with straight lines radiating from the center and crossed about four inches apart.  half way through, i was feeling luke warm about it.  thankfully, hand stitches are easier to pick out.  we are now on the third attempt.  i'm going with a simple crossed squared.  we shall see.

specs:

-full/queen sized
-quilt top made with 25 fat quarters
-bamboo batting
-natural muslin backing

you know how i'm always harping about pre-washing  your fabric, the one exception for this is quilting.  i personally don't wash fabrics before i quilt, i wait until everything is done then throw it in the wash and it comes out all crinkly and lived in.  if you are looking to maintain your shape and size perfectly, pre-wash everything including the backing before you start.

xoxo-

monday hot list

morning kittens!  happy tuesday!  we're late so let's get to it, this is what i'm obsessed with right now:

i am in love with the american apparel interlock knit high waisted pencil skirts.  if you follow me on twitter or are a friend on facebook then you probably know that aa had a crazy april fools promotion (no, it wasn't a joke, shame on you for thinking i would trick you!).  as a part of the promotion, you could order a virtual shit ton of stuff for free, i ordered these skirts in every color available and only paid the shipping.  they are a gift from the heavens.  they are a pencil skirt version of sweatpants.  i wore the black one to p-town on my moving adventure and i'm wearing the sea-green one with a white t and tan and bronze studded flats today.  they aren't free anymore, but they are well worth the price.

american apparel - pencil skirt

next up is burt's bees tinted lip balm.  i'm anti-lipstick.  i think it takes a special kind of woman to pull off lipstick and i'm just not up for the challenge.  lip gloss is to sticky for my taste and most tinted lip balms end up leaving stains.  burt's bees is phenomenal.  it isn't waxy, isn't sticky, just a tiny bit of tint and is actually a functional balm.  i'm in love with the honeysuckle.

burt's bees - honeysuckle tinted balm



"hello, lover"  peach is my favorite color for spring and jeffery campbell has some pretty, pretty new shoes to celebrate my obsession.  these little beauties are the peach of a pair flats and are coming soon to modcloth.  they must be mine.  i'm seeing them with high waisted navy blue pleat front shorts and a short tulip sleeved peach sweater.  navy and peach is going to be the go to color combo for spring and summer.

peach of a pair - modcloth

xoxo,
cs

dear petoskey, you are dead to me

well, its finally over.  i made the trip down to p-town this morning to get the rest of my things squared away.  it's been a long time coming and the issue was forced yesterday when i was informed that some of the paperwork that i needed for my taxes was still in my apartment.  off i went, a lovely four hour drive, thankfully it was a nice day.

imagine my surprise when i pulled up in front of my little ghetto palace to find a "for sale" sign in the front lawn/dirt.  interesting.  huh, the door is unlocked.  interesting!  what the f*ck is that smell?!  ahhhhh, don't mind that, its just the aroma of squatters.

so, yeah, here's the rundown - - - i was able to salvage a carload of items that weren't totally f*cked, including the paperwork i needed, my pink chucks, my dress form, two dufflebags of clothes, one trunk of apparel fabric and the quilt i was working on.  nowhere to be found, any of my cameras, my i-pod, my i-pod alarm clock, my filing cabinet, vacuum cleaners, microwave, a large portion of my shoe collection, dvd player, router, blackberry and go knows what else.

oddly enough, i'm kinda okay with this, kind of not all that surprised to find meth heads in my supposed to be secure apartment.  true, i'm now faced with replacing pretty much everything, but one thing that is irreplaceable - - - seeing a chubby 8 year old girl wearing your "I <3 Sensitive Singer/Songwriters" and have her ask you if you're going to keep your teddy bear without the slightest bit of  irony.

coexistence

 source - shirae

today has been a day.  there has been good, there has been less than good and there has been realization.  on the good front, i signed a lease on my new apartment.  on the less than good side of the coin i received word that pullo was acting out of sorts.  news of pullo set into motion a chain of events that ended in a realization.......

while my mind was racing trying to figure out what to do about a puppy in a pissy mood and an eight hour drive away my mind stopped in a place that i never would have expected.  could i really call?  could i ask for this favor?  was it crossing a line that was so broken that it can no longer be defined?  do i really have a choice?

i'm full of pride to the point of spite.  there was a time that i would just assume walk around the world than accept a lift across town......there were times that i did.  i made the call.  i would like to think that i'm not that person anymore.  i'm not proud.  but i don't think that that's it, i think i'm just over it.  really, truly honest to god over it.  over all of it.  over all the pain, the humiliation, the hurt, the betrayal.  none of it is there anymore and i just hadn't realized it.  i'm really not sure when it went away.  i know it was there long after i told people it wasn't, i was too proud to admit that i couldn't control the negative feelings.  i couldn't control them so i denied them and kept denying them until all of a sudden they just stopped being there.

the past is the past, what was done can't be undone, but with a bulldog tantrum i get to enjoy the peace of mind a relationship that was and the human being that was the other part of it.  i can wish him well, hope for his success, accept his help and go about life moving in our own circles.  its amazing to me that once this saga with pullo is over our circles will likely never have occasion to cross again and i am okay with that.  i'm grateful that what could be our final intersection wasn't one that involved tears or arguments but the common heroics of a friendly gesture.

i feel so very blessed to be a grownup sometimes.

Monday Hot List

i'm not the superstitious type (bold faced lie), so i don't have any fear of jinxing myself (huge fib) but i found an apartment today that will be perfect for me and the pullo-monster.  i'm set to sign the lease tomorrow.  as you may know, i got rid of all of my furniture with the last move (save my ridiculously large t.v., bench and matress and box spring (comfy beds are too hard to come by).  this means that i need to refurnish from scratch and i get to refurnish with things that i love.  woot!  we'll start with my favorite room for today's hot list, here's the inspiration for my new bedroom furniture:

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source 

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happy thoughts of being reunited with the little man and sleeping in on sunday mornings (under that duvet cover! - seriously!  i generally don't go that frilly and girly but i think i could die happy under that).

any recommendations on the next room?

The Wool Coat Of Doom

fin.....i don't think i've ever had a more anti-climactic finish to a project.  this little baby has been the bane of my very creativity for nearly two months and it is finally done.......i have learned quite a few things.

1. never, ever say yes to a favor unless you have clear understanding of what exactly you are agreeing to do.

2. some folks should not be allowed to own vintage - they just don't get it.

3. i'm a clothes snob.

a couple months ago my sister asked me if i would "fix the lining" of a coat for someone she worked with.  of course i said "no problem" figuring it was a split seam or other such nonsense.  it was a good thing i said yes because she had already volunteered me for the job.  a couple of weeks later she shows up with this coat.  i was horrified.  it's mid-century vintage blue felted wool men's over coat.  don't get me wrong.  this baby was a beauty in its day.  i did a little research and it was handmade by a tailor in chicago.  the new owner paid  a few bucks for it at a flee market.  it was a hot mess.....

the lining didn't need to be "fixed" it needed to be completely replaced.  it was completely dry rotted, so eaten that it pretty much just hung by the seams and threads.  i explained that this was a "huge" project and not something that could happen overnight.  everyone said they understood (they always say that, in reality they think you're a cambodian sweat shop who should be able to turn the sucker around in under 48 hours).

Here's the rundown of what had to happen to make this coat come to life again:

-take down all the hems and remove the old lining remnants (if you do this on a piece with dry rot,  where a dust mask,  you don't want all of that nasty shit in your lungs, i'll spare you the details).

-remove the canvas duck cloth stabilizer, sweat pads (gross), batting and shoulder pads. (use the pieces as a guide to cut new ones)

-replace stabilizer, sweat and shoulder pads and batting (around the shoulder seams).

-if this coat had had workable pieces of lining to use as pattern guides i would have cut each piece at the stitch line, traced on pattern paper and added a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  seeing as how this didn't have usable pieces i had to do a "rub off" pattern on muslin, check fit, fix, transfer to pattern paper and then add seam allowances (ugh!).

-after all was said and done, the lining was machine stitched and then hand blind stitched into place.  fml.

the best thing i can say about this thing is that it is done.....i can't wait until it is out of my life forever.  don't get me wrong, the coat is beautiful again, completely restored and the new lining will last forever, i just have no love for it anymore, probably because the story isn't the meticulous work that went into the restoration but the "$3" price tag (hah!).

all told, about two months of work - he really thinks this coat was a bargain.......




-

Home Sweet Home

jolby print 

ugh......i'm currently in the midst of apartment hunting hell.  i fully realize that i've been spoiled and most likely ruined forever by being able to have a say in the design and build of the majority of my living spaces for the past decade or at least free reign to overhaul as i saw fit.  while i'm growing used to being back in the yoop, it has become painfully obvious that we are missing one crucial element, adiquit single professional housing.  it seems like everything goes straight from nasty student housing to buy a house to live in forever kind of housing.  i could live with the former if it weren't for the peanuts attitude of student housing - - - "no dogs allowed"

i have successfully reached my obligation of waiting until spring to move, and i assure you that though there is still snow on the ground it is spring, if it isn't spring there is a good chance that someone won't get out alive.  don't get me wrong, i love my family and this time together has been good, but given my "free spiritedness" it is best that i quietly grab my things and hussle out the back door.  i need my own space and a lot of it, i need closets, my pullo-monster, i need a studio, music without headphones and sunday mornings where people aren't up and moving around by 8am.

i have found that recently i am reluctant to spend any time at home and will make any excuse to leave having grown tired of walking on eggshells and explaining my quirks.

i'm praying to the real estate gods that i find the perfect little casita for me and the monkey, ideally one that is ready for move in as soon as i return from my conference in atlanta, which would put my little man home the first week of may, just in time for spring walks for ice cream.

love of a lifetime (movie)

so, someone put the idea of lifetime movies in my head.  damn.....i love lifetime movies.  as a service, i decided to pick top 5 lifetime movies staring former child stars.  if you haven't seen these screen gems before, i highly recommend that you do.  hell, even if you have.....gather some friends, some booze and follow along with some plot oriented drinking games.

1: fifteen and pregnant:

source

what's not to love here?  you've got the cheerleader from "bring in on" and the sassy southern chick from some 80's sitcom and guess what - she's 15......and she's pregnant (hence the title).  as you can imagine this causes a great deal of issues for our lovely lifetime family - namely, how come mom has a southern accent, but the knocked up teenager doesn't?  don't get too wrapped up in the plot - - we know the gist, she's immature, mom's mad, the siblings feel left out, the boyfriend leaves (obviously not before pulling out).  as youngun gets stretch marks and realizes she'll never wear a bikini again, she grows to love the renter in her uterus and they live disfunctionally ever after.

drinking game: because the leading cause of teenage pregnancy is boone's farm and 30 packs, buy a case, shot gun a beer every time "bring it on" says something self absorbed and three swigs of boone's every time sassy mom gets on the phone and says "i just don't know what to do" in a nasal southern drawl.



2: casualty of love - the long island lolita story:

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sam from "whose the boss" screwing an auto mechanic from long island, tony danza is going to be pissed.  i mean, who could forget the time that he caught her with the hickey under her turtle neck when she was like 13?!  we all know this story, the only reason to watch this movie is for the long island fashion and the bad accents.  adding the the awesome absurdity of this movie is that lifetime bills the genre of this movie as a "romance, tearjerker."  really, lifetime?!

drinking game: long island iced tea (natch) make a couple of pitchers and take a drink every time you wonder why all grown men in long island have children's nicknames (joey, billy....).  start to double down when you're drunk enough that the fact that only half of his wife's face moves after sam shoots her in the head is funny (you're an ass and you don't deserve to be conscious to see sam in her prison uniform)

3: no one would tell

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 ahhh, young, violent love.....the battle royal between dj from "full house" and kevin from "the wonder years."  here's the deal, dj's in love with kevin - kevin is in love with dj.  love hurts.  kevin gives dj his letterman's jacket, dj is smitten, she talks the her chubby guy friend, kevin see's her as a cheating whore and smacks her around.  guess what......no one tells.....there is a pinnacle scene (as there is in all domestic violence movies) with dj in the bathroom in front of the mirror looking at her bruises.  all we can think is "how rude."  if stephanie had not been out working the meth ho stroll she would have used an olsen twin to gouge his eyes out.

drinking game:  pints of bourbon (staple of abusive high school jocks in lifetime movies), guys take a nip every time your mind wanders to winnie cooper, ladies every time you think of kimmy gibbler's stellar wardrobe, treat yourself to a pull.  you'll be blacked out by the sock hop......yes, there's a sock hop.....what high school doesn't have an annual pep rally sock hop?!

4:  she fought alone 

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 in case you hadn't noticed this just keep getting more and more interesting as the list gets longer.....maybe i should have built suspense by starting from 5 and working my way to 1....too late now......we have our first appearance of the 90210 alumni, and i mean david silver, kelly kapowski was "saved by the bell."  i know that she tried to move up to the most desirable zip code but, once you bounce back and forth between zack and a.c. slater....you are pretty much tainted forever.   back to the movie.....so this one is billed as a an inspirational romance....i give that a big what the fuck.....see if you a agree......girl gets raped by a football player, she tells, he said, she said, she throws milkshake on him.  she falls for his friend (david silver).  david silver pretends that he likes her too so that he can lure her into another attack (i guess that's the love story part).  a bunch of mean girls cut her hair.  david realized that his friends are douche bags and runs away with kelly, zack morris challenges him to a knife fight where his dreams of college and pro football are dashed by cut tendons.......who will take care of his mentally ill mother now?!  have sex in a church, get busted, fight the system, drive off in a convertible.

drinking game:  just roll out a keg for this one.  these kids are just too much and the good old boy attitude of this football town will make you want to do a keg stand drive out to the woods and do an initiation ritual with some poor rape victim.

5:  mother, may i sleep with danger

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and we have a winner.  the end all be all or lifetime movies.  this sucker is a classic.  not only is it ridiculous, it has tori spelling aka: donna martin also known as the worst actress in the world.  the biggest surprise of this movie is not the unbelievable plot, but that for once, donna isn't the worst one.  there is a full on tie with the psycho girlfriend murderer and the knows too much mommy.  just take a look at donna's boyfriend with the dimples, strong chin and brooding eyes and you know that he's no good, but still donna's stupid and now that she's put out for dj david silver she needs to put some miles in and the guy with the fake identity and faker past is just the right one to get busy with.....after all what's a girl with an eating disorder and daddy issues to do?  mom see's through his game and checks him out with the sheriff who's all too happy to give up the goods without a foia request so the beloved has to kidnap donna and stash her in a woodsy cabin.  note to self ask all potential dates if they have a woodsy cabin that they may want to hold me hostage in, if they hesitate....run......

the best past of this movie is when donna tries to save herself by finding a canoe and rowing herself to safety.  have you ever tried to row a canoe, much less use one as a get away vehicle and an ore as a weapon.  i'm not buying it.  i even have a hard time getting past the title....."mother, may i sleep with danger"......why, no daughter, get your skanky ass back in the house and find yourself a nice jewish boy.

drinking game:  fuck it, this one is fun all my its self, make some margaritas and laugh your ass off and hope that someone re-edited this bad boy and it turns out to be a snuff film after all.

****click to links to head to lifetime for viewing schedules, you can also watch these masterpieces online**

And yes readers, you may now sleep with danger.

Every Girl's Crazy 'Bout A Sharp Dressed Man - Shoe Edition

i love shoes.  i've probably spent more on shoes than i have on housing, food and transportation combined (if you added my coat collection to that, i could have probably paid for college outright as well).  to be very clear, i do not have a foot fetish, in fact, i hate feet.  they are user friendly to be sure, but it isn't until you put them into a beautiful shoe that they become works of art.  when it comes to a guy one of the first things i notice are his shoes.  i'm not looking for brand or price, but style and function (and the absence of lifts, seriously snack packs, just own your shortness).  in my humble opinion, a well dressed man can get away with owning three styles of shoes:

1: the chukka:  this is a special, special shoe and can run the gamut of price, quality and material.  the hallmark of a chukka is that the body of the boot is only two pieces and it stops at the very top of the ankle bone, so really, its an ankle boot.  because of the rub factor these usually can be found in fantastic comfy suedes, canvas and worn leather, but it is worth it to have them in a nice kid (check out the cigar pair below - i die!). i picked out a few of my favorites for you that can get you through pretty much any occasion. 

http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/

http://www.imflashy.com/

http://www.easytimesshoes-outlet.com/

2: redwings/ next up, you need a good work boot.  work boots are tricky, pick the wrong style and they look all clunky or worse, you look like a rap video reject (timberlands are never, ever, ever acceptable).  i'm a fan of redwings workboots, but you need to be careful.  only go for the classic workboot, just say no to the lumberjack.  here's two guys who do a redwing justice.

http://www.lookbook.nu/

http://www.styleforum.net/

3: last but never ever least, get yourself a pair of chucks, black or natural.  yes, they do count as sneakers.

go buy shoes!

xoxo

cs

Set SAIL!

Today was a fantastic end to a pretty awesome week.  I spent the day at the Chocolate Festival.  I really don't think I need to say much more than that, two little words that pretty much mean absolute bliss CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!  A couple of weeks ago, one of my co-workers (the fantastic Jen) asked if my sister would consider participating in Chocolate Fest.  The sister said yes and the rest should have been pre-ordained.  Chocolate Festival ended up colliding with crazy busy weeks and coming up with 400 tasting samples just wasn't on my sister's agenda.  She is a fantastic baker, culinary school trained and interned with one of Portland's best wedding cake makers, she is also an insanely talented lawyer, sooo yeah.....

Being the only one in the family without either professional training or having owned a restraint, I get a ton of crap about my cooking.  But, SAIL (Superior Alliance is Independent Living) is a fantastic cause and I was determined to suck up my kitchen anxiety and make it work.  The result my super special Wasabi Chocolate Covered Almonds.

So exciting, the event was great, a ton of money was made and my chocolate went over awesome (whoa!!).  Here's my recipe, enjoy!

2 Pounds Raw Almonds

2 Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons Water

(whisk these together until they are all foamy and dump into a big Ziploc bag with your almonds and shake to coat)

2 Tablespoons Wasabi Powder
4 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
4 Teaspoons Corn Starch

(mix these up and dump them into your bag and shake to coat your almonds)

Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and throw your almonds in.  Toss them into the over at 275 and roast for 30 minutes.  Stir.  Reduce heat to 225 and roast for another 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Let cool.

Melt 3 cups of baking chocolate over low heat.

Hold your almonds by the little tail, dunk in the chocolate and set on parchment paper to harden.

Eat......These are awesome with a hearty read Zin. (Nom-Nom-Nom!!!)

Monday Hotlist - Caralee Commons

Yay!  It's Monday!  I am behind schedule but I was determined to post a hotlist.  Today's list is a photo array of absolute must haves should you find yourself in a box like office (aka: a cubicle).  I call mine Caralee Commons.  Sue-ville is on the other side of the room and at least 4 Caralee Commons could fit in there.  But, as I've heard many a men proclaim, it isn't the size, it's what you do with it.  Lies.....all lies.  Anywho, Sue-ville doesn't have any of this:

With all of this at my fingertips, it would be ridiculous to even think about being annoyed by inequitable space allocation. 

Have a lovely Monday!
Caralee

Tailgate Dress

I found something more frightening than Jeans Day......Tailgate Day........If I thought that Jeans Day was going to put me in an out of my element funk, nothing could have prepared me for the wrath of Green Bay Packer Tail Gate day.  I had planned to ignore the nonsense, I am not, after all, a follower of sports and don't own any "Packer" gear.*  The day before the big day (the FIRST big day, two weeks ago) I came to the harsh realization that I was the ONLY one who was not a resident of "Packer Nation," and I best figure out how to be a team player.

After work I went shopping to see if I could find myself a Packer T-Shirt.  No such luck......everywhere was sold out, I even went through the "hefty" little boys section to see if I could scam something there.  Great for the economy - really bad for me.

My mission was clear.  I had one night to make a Packers dress.  Luckily, Tony from my office is an insanely devout Packer fan and he an his wife are expecting their first child.  After trying (unsuccessfully) to talk him out of a green and gold nursery, I had picked up 8 yards of white/green/gold cotton in a cute retro type plaid for a quilt and curtains.  Sorry Tony, your nursery fabric is now my Tailgate dress.

I was working with a serious time crunch - one evening to sketch, draft, cut and sew, so it was all hands on deck and my dear dad was forced to iron seams.  I went for a really simple design, a six part bodice with 3/4 length sleeves and two part skirt.  I really love this type of top because the curves in the side pieces that attach to the center create the dimension (and the sleeves!), so you get a nice blousing with no darts and no need for closures (yay for time saving!).

Generally, I put pockets in dresses like this, not enough time (boo), but the put together was fantastic (and pretty brilliant).  The skirt top and bodice bottom are the same circumference and are over sized, stitch them together with a 1 inch seam allowance, then go back and stitch a casing within the allowance large enough for 1/4 inch elastic.  Fit to your waist, stitch and close the casing.  Hem and done.  Flippin fantastic!

In all, I actually love the way that this turned out, it fits well, has a nice 70's vibe, goes great with white tights and I didn't look like a tool on tailgate day.  Since the Packers won, I had to bust this baby out again last Friday for another Tailgate.....This time for the Superbowl.  Thankfully, no one noticed that I didn't wear the same tights, apparently its bad luck if you change your underwear......

*I was reminded that I did in fact purchase a Green Bay T-Shirt a couple of years ago as a souvenir from a crazy girls weekend, it like the rest of my belongings is still missing in action.

Presidential Attire

     Big news today!  Next week the President is coming to the Yoop, more specifically he's coming to the home turf of Little Dead.  The official statement is that he's coming to talk about the importance of technological infrastructure for economic success.  Personally, I think that he got word that we're one of the few geographical areas in the country that was able to maintain stability during the past few years of financial turmoil and wants to ask for our advice (hehehe).  Also, it is highly possible that Michelle is sending him up here to take notes on my stellar style.  Yeah, that's probably it.

Now, I'm all set to go when it comes to the Big O's visit......at least when it comes to one of my two favorite topics.....Economic Development.  The second is a wee bit stressful.  What does one wear when the President comes to town? 

I would have preferred more notice, after all, we are talking TWO (!) important political dresses in one week and desperate little time for sketching, cutting and stitching.  I have turned to some pretty fabulous first ladies for some inspiration and hold on to your hats, I did not turn to our favorite First Lady Kennedy.  I'm Just as shocked as you are.  I looked to two other fashion favorites, the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni:

My other favorite; the entirely under appreciated Rosalynn Carter:

I will keep you posted on developments, but I can assure you one of them will not result in anything like this:

XOXO,
Caralee