Cooking with Carrie

So despite all the bad reviews, I will be going to see Sex and the City 2 at some point, as someone who owns all six seasons and the first movie on DVD. But I'm not expecting much. I did get a peak at the interior design in the movie on Elle Decor and had a pleasant surprise. I had run across a tile I loved in a wine shop in Rosslyn a few years ago, and here it is popping up in Carrie's kitchen! It's not the greatest picture of the tile itself, but I just love the textured look of them.

I have a bone to pick with geography

So I was reading a blog post about traveling around the world, and the writer talked about Equatorial Guinea, and how expensive it was. And I thought, oh, bushwoman was supposed to have gone there for Peace Corps, but then there were riots or something, and so she went to Botswana and lived in the bush instead. But then I thought, oh wait, there are multiple Guineas, let me check on that. Yeah, turns out she was supposed to have gone to just plain Guinea, not Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, or French Guinea (another continent altogether). Well, French Guinea is technically Guyane, but it's also called French Guinea, so it's close enough.

So my gripe is this - with all the millions of words in the hundreds of languages in the world, four countries have to be named essentially the same thing? I would think the makers of geography could be a little more creative than that.

Sad Day

Very sad news. Friday night I came home and discovered that Lewis had died. He had been really dark colored and lethargic for a few days, but I'm not sure what it was that he died from. He had a rough froglethood, as we had no idea what we were doing when we got the tadpoles, but he was a trooper.

R.I.P my beloved baby frog.

Fashion Inspiration

I love it when a photo speaks to me on different levels. The photo below is of an editor of Martha Stuart Living (if I remember correctly), and is quite obvious the specific person and her dog are the subject. No offense, but I can't even really remember who she is, so that obviously wasn't important to me. What I found inspiring in the photo was her beautiful scarf. As many people who know me know that a scarf is my most frequent accessory, it's not surprising. But it's not just the scarf itself that I love. The slate grey and punch of red work fantastically together and the proportions that they are used are beautiful, and can be translated in so many different ways - different items of clothing, interior design, how a photo is framed to capture something similar, and the list goes on. How are you inspired by the little things in a photo?

(photo courtesy of Martha Stuart Living)

Taxation without Representation

So anyone who moves to DC finds out really quickly that living in a district is a little different than living in a state. I never really took great offense to the fact that we don't have any voting senators or representatives, because I still had my own vote. But I've been living here over three years now, and it's starting to get to me. I went on a tour of the Capitol with my parents when they were here in April, and the whole thing was pretty much a snub on Washingtonians. We came really close last month to getting representation, but it stalled when gun control provisions (or rather gun uncontrol provisions) were added to the bill. So this morning I came across an article in the Washington Post that details how Puerto Rico is now in the runnings for becoming the 51st state. Really? Really?

Previously on Lost

So I'm a bit of a lostie - it all started back during Season 2 when I stayed with bushwoman over Christmas break and we watched all of Season 1 on DVD in 3 days. While I, and millions of other people, will be a little lost when it all ends this weekend, I found out what I'm doing this Saturday - catching up on what happened in a musical fashion at the Iota Club, with the Brooklyn-based band Previously on Lost, which writes songs about episodes of the show. Any other losties out there wanna join me?

Sit Down and Take A Load Off

We all know about my slight chair obsession, which isn't going anywhere soon. Here's a chair from the inspiration file - I've always loved this one.

(photo courtesy of Apartment Therapy - I think)

Ready to Take Off

DSC_8574, originally uploaded by sassyladie4567.

My Baby!

DSC_8778, originally uploaded by sassyladie4567.

Isn't he a cutie?

Babies Just in Time for Mother's Day!

Boyfriend went up to the cabin last weekend and had a special delivery for me when he came back - 3 tadpoles! They came from the same tire rut that Lewis and Clark came from, so my hope is that they are gray tree frogs, but we'll find out in a couple of months. The frog guru (actual title) on the frog forum I frequent thinks they may be toad tadpoles, so that made me a little nervous. They are really small, so I'm thinking they just hatched from eggs, but they are quite active and fun to watch. I can't wait for little baby froglets - they are so adorable. :)

Finding My Way Around Storage

Two for one Tuesday! Oh wait, it's Wednesday. Oh well, here is another random project that I had finished a while ago. I've posted before about my design dilemmas when it comes to my bathroom, and unfortunately I'm no further along now. But back when I was thinking about making it transportation-themed, to fit with the Metro map shower curtain, I saw on the internet some baskets made out of newspaper. This got my little brain a chugging, and I finally came up with a purpose for all the maps that I've been hoarding. Everyone has their thing they can't get rid of, and for me, it's maps. I either think that I will at some point use it again, or I just like to have it as a souvenir. But the fact of the matter is, they usually end up taking up space in a drawer somewhere. So about 10 maps later, I now have a map basket!

And yes, the edge is a little crooked, but for a first try, not so bad, I think. I modpodged the crap out of it, so it's holding up pretty well in the bathroom.

The Bathroom Chair Reveal

So I have a backlog of random projects that I have done in the past, oh, six months, so here goes. You may be familiar with the chair that I found free on boyfriend's street, and intended to redo to match the bathroom in my old apartment. Well, needless to say, I'm really slow when it comes to projects, so it didn't get finished until after I moved and no longer had room for it and it doesn't match my new apartment. So I am currently in the process of trying to sell it on Craigslist and getting very frustrated with the approximately 17 people who have left me dangling multiple times. Anyways, here is the original, in its intended setting:

and here is the finished product:

The idea was to get a faux-lacquer effect, so boyfriend had read up on the process, which involved a coat of primer, a couple of coats of flat paint, and the floor wax. It ended up being more of a semi-gloss finish, but I was too lazy to try harder for something that didn't work in my apartment any more. Back in high school I had drawn a super sweet monogram with a celtic knot border and fancyiness in art class, and I intended the monogram to be the same, as I had spent quite a bit of time on it. Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared from my stash of random artwork, which makes me really sad. So I had to improvise and I think it came out pretty nice. Now hopefully someone with the initials LBM wants a new chair.

First Fridays - Leaping Forward with Twins of a Gazelle

So I've been super busy lately, but I'm coming out of my internet hiding with a splash to fill you in on what you should be doing tomorrow night. Last month I got the chance to go the the first First Fridays show of Twins of a Gazelle, with the vocals and guitar provided by my friend David-Craig, along with Noah on the cello, Emily Chimiak on the violin, Arthur Harrison playing the theremin (really amazing instrument, I was fascinated), and Christina on the viola.

It was a great intimate acoustic show, mixing mellow, soothing sounds with some great foot-tapping melodies that I, at least, couldn't sit still to. The link above is to one of their songs, so definitely take a listen and see for yourself.

And I say all this to announce what everyone in DC should be doing tomorrow night, namely, attending the second First Fridays show! This month The Echo Wall will be joining Twins of a Gazelle, along with a painting raffle from Emily, who has incredible work. I've got my fingers crossed to win this time! All of the details are on the poster below as well as on Facebook:

May's Event
June's Event

So despite the fact I brought my camera and took lots of pictures, they are currently on my computer at home and I haven't even looked through them yet. So here are some fantastic photos taken by M.V. Jantzen:







So come on down to Mid City Caffe (1626 14th Street Northwest) at 7 p.m. tomorrow night! I hope to see you there!