Movie Review: Babette's Feast

Babette's Feast, originally uploaded by truity1967.

This weekend was a long one so I indulged in another foreign foodie film called Babette's Feast. This one was based on a story by Karen Blixen (whose home we visited while we were in Kenya!) and it is most definitely a slow starter. But a story that strives to show transcendence has to be set up properly, no?

The story is set in Denmark on the remote coast of Jutland. In the tiny village, there is a priest with a small but devoted following. His two beautiful daughters are his pride and joy and catch they eye of all the young men in the countryside for miles around. Though both have passionate suitors, neither one ever marries.

Years pass. The sisters have become old women, their father long dead. One stormy night, there is pounding on their door. A bedraggled woman enters with a letter from one of the sister's former suitors. It explains that this woman is Babette, a refugee from the French Revolution who has lost her son and husband. Would they please be kind enough to employ her? The sisters cannot afford to hire a servant, but Babette begs them to let her cook for them in exchange for room and board.

The sisters have always eaten a diet of salted cod and a gloppy brown bread soup, but with Babette in charge of their kitchen, suddenly their meals taste better, and thanks to Babette's ruthless bargaining, they are actually saving money!

One day, a letter arrives from Paris. Babette has won 10,000 Francs! The sisters assume she will return to Paris immediately, but she asks that they first allow her to cook them a real French dinner as an act of gratitude. The evening would also celebrate their beloved Father's 100th birthday. The sisters reluctantly agree. Babette goes away for a few days to personally see to the preparations.

When she returns, the entire town is shocked to see the parade of goods being carried up the shore from the boat. A crate full of twittering quails, a live turtle, heavy boxes of wine, blocks of ice, sacks and crates of exotic fare are all laboriously carried up the cliffs and into the Sisters' home.

The villagers are astonished at the lavish display, and because of their puritanical austerity, begin to worry that enjoying the meal would be a sinful show of gluttony, especially on a day meant to honor their strict former leader. They make a pact to eat the food, but not enjoy it and to not pass comment on any of it.

Until the third act, the movie moves glacially slow. This is by design. It shows us how simple life in the village is. We see how little thought they give to their physical bodies, choosing instead a life of piety that leaves them a little grumpy and short with one another. The sisters, though quite serene, have never known the joys of romantic love or married life. They have always avoided earthly pleasures. The first two thirds of the movie are all grey, bleak, barren, as devoid of color as if bleached by the salty Jutland winds.

But now comes Babette's banquet. For three days, she makes preparations, enlisting the help of a tow headed boy to help with plucking, skinning and making stocks. We see Babette carefully preparing each course with love and artistry, in complete command of an army of simmering copper pots, in a dramatic fog of steam and flame.

At last comes the night of the dinner. Nothing has been spared. The table is set in gloriously fine linen, with a different pieces of crystal for each of the many wines to be opened and generously poured. The somber group is seated at the table. The villagers are all in black with stiff white lace collars. Only one member of the group wears color. A general and another of the sister's former suitors, he is resplendent in a Prussian Blue wool coat with brass buttons and a splash of red satin.

The decadent feast begins. The first course is turtle soup, as rich as it is rare. Next, blinis laden with clouds of white sour cream and heaped with glittering black caviar. Then, a course of delicate quails wrapped in a blanket of lighter than air pastry and smothered in a deviously rich brown sauce. A crisp salad of endives, grapes and walnuts is followed by a course of cheese, a gorgeous almond cake decorated with marzipan roses and filled with liquer. The final touch is an outrageous platter of exotic fruits the likes of which the Jutlanders have never even imagined; dramatic orange pink papaya with it's trove of black seeds, a spiky pineapple, round green and purple grapes piled like jewels, and figs so ripe that they spill juice at the slightest touch.

Through it all, they do their best not to comment on the decadence that surrounds them. Only one member of the party has not taken the vow of silence about the food-the general. He alone truly understands and appreciates the sumptuous nature of the banquet. With shock, he recognizes the fine quality of the wine and food set before them. He exclaims upon it, and is befuddled when his fellow diners do not join in his joy. But he does not allow their silence to stop him from savoring the meal or from commenting on it. His rapturous descriptions of the special meal they are sharing finally weaken the resolve of the others at the table. Slowly the flush of pleasure creeps onto their faces as they savor each dish and sip and taste the beautiful wines. Though they never praise the food with their lips, their faces give away their joy.

At this climactic moment, the General rises to offer this speech:

"Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another. Man in his weakness, and shortsightedness believes he must make choices in life. He trembles at the risks he takes. We do know fear.

But no. Our choice is of no importance. There comes a time when one's eyes are opened, and we come to realize that mercy is infinite. We only need await it with confidence and receive it with gratitude. Mercy imposes no conditions. And lo, everything we have chosen has been granted to us. And everything we rejected has also been granted. Yes, we even get back what we have rejected. For mercy and truth are met together. And righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another."

After the meal, Babette reveals a secret that makes the sisters appreciate the meal even more. Watch the movie to enjoy the secret for yourself.

This film explored ideas I hold very dear, that I am striving to understand. For one, there is the idea that the universe is capable of a bounty far beyond our human comprehension. Then, there is the idea that quality is worth sacrifice and patience because transcendence takes time. But most of all, as Babette says, "An artist is never poor."

She is never poor because she has the jewel of her skill and talent. She is never poor because she is engaged in the constant renewal of creation. This is not just romantic thinking- it rings deeply true for me.

PB&J, meet Cupcake. Lovely to Know You!

Felt inspired to try Martha's Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes this weekend and here's how they turned out. Quite pretty actually! They did taste like peanut butter and jelly, only way more caloric (thanks to sour AND heavy cream!) I think next time I'd do a variation with chocolate cake and the peanut butter frosting (which was faultless, despite my ignoring Martha's instructions to whip the cream first and then fold it into the peanut butter mixture. Sometimes she's such a worry wart.) and perhaps a Hershey Kiss or Peanut Butter Cup on top for good measure. What is your favorite cupcake recipe?

Gwen's Wardrobe Tweak: Part Two

Remember Gwen's wardrobe tweak? Well, we also took a shopping trip. On her list of things to add to her wardrobe:

Black & Neutral Ballet Flats

Brown Cowboy Boots

Wide Brown Belt

Skinny Belt

Updated Denim

Leggings

Cardigans

Little Black Sheath Dress

A few more tops

Another Blazer

Gwen is not a big shopper, and when she does hunt for clothes, she likes to hit thrift shops for eco and budget friendly options. I love thrift shops also. But for a project like this, I encouraged Gwen to try department & discount stores. How come? For one thing, they have wide color selection in a range of sizes. New things are more likely to be of the moment. There are usually great sale options. And finally, you can return them if they don't work with what you already have at home. Once we had the basic pieces of her wardrobe filled in, we would hit thrift shops for quirky accessories and unique one of a kind pieces. She had a budget of about $300 for this project and though we didn't get everything on the list, we managed quite a haul for about $150 thanks to the sale racks at Target and Macy's.

One of the finds Gwen was most excited about were these dark wash skinny jeans. She had never tried on a pair. One of our strategies on shopping day was simply to try on a ton of stuff. The point of this is to break out of the "that doesn't work on me" rut. There are many options that we tell ourselves we can't pull off, but unless you actually try them on you won't know for sure. Sure, not everything will work. But some things will surprise and delight you. Updating something as basic as jeans transformed Gwen's whole wardrobe, making it much more now. Look how great her favorite tee looks with these new jeans! The embellished ballet slippers were one of her new additions as well. Add a quirky bicycle necklace she already had and you've got a fabulous look.

Here is a look we put together for a little party that afternoon. Look how adding a simple scarf gives this look an extra dash of thoughtfulness and transforms it from "just a tank and shorts" to a real outfit. Accessories demonstrate intentionality- a big part of being well dressed!

We finished our afternoon by styling Gwen's hair with hot rollers. These babies are my favorite tool because you can put them in and then wander around the house getting your breakfast or tidying up. In ten minutes it's done- no standing at the sink chained to a flat iron or hair dryer. Gwen doubted she would do this very often, but she did go out and get a great haircut that will be no fuss to get ready each morning. I love how smooth and soft her hair looks her. We also did a quick five minute face. I'm not huge on make-up and neither is Gwen. (Thanks to adult acne, I'm wary of most foundations. I love my Daniel Kern products from Acne.org. They are the only prouducts that ever helped my skin.) but I almost always curl my eyelashes, do a swipe of mascara and add a little lipstick. It makes me feel ready for the day.

If you find yourself falling into a hum drum wardrobe routine, set aside an uninterrupted block of time, have a trusted friend come help and try to create different combinations. (Pop open some bubbly and make it a party!) How many shirts do I have that go with these pants? Maybe this dress could work as a skirt if I layer it with a tee shirt? Which shoes look best with this length of bottom? Not everything will work together. But keep an open mind and keep experimenting. Some things will surprise you.

Take photos of the winners for reference. Print them out and keep them in an easy to reach spot. (I made Gwen a little look book to keep right in her closet!) Now your outfits are "ready made" and all you'll have to do is pull the pieces in the morning. You will be shocked at how many possibilities you have in your closet already, and you will start to have a lot of fun experimenting with new looks that express the person you are. That is the whole point of fashion after all.

Movie Review: Mostly Martha

E and I somehow managed to see the American re-make of Mostly Martha (No Reservations) while we were living in China. It was appallingly bad in every way. Had we been in the United States, I'm quite sure we would have walked out. (Seeing an American movie in a Chinese movie theater was a bit of a rarity so we toughed it out!) The premise was wonderful- so full of possibility. This is my most detested movie going experience- seeing something that could have been wonderful made flat, silly and trite. So I was happy to discover that Mostly Martha was originally done in German. I added it to our Netflix que with the hope that they did it better the first time around. I wasn't disappointed.

Mostly Martha is the story of an uptight, perfectionist chef who cannot stand to hear her creations criticized. She obsesses about preparing her food with precision, but she has no real conception of how it can nurture and satisfy on far more than a physical level. We never see her taste even one bite of the exquisite gourmet food she is busy preparing day after day. She lives alone in an antiseptic bubble of her own making. Then one day, on their way to visit Martha, her sister and niece Lina are in a car accident. Suddenly, Lina is an orphan and Martha has an eight year old girl to care for.

As you might expect, this transition is bumpy. Both engulfed in grief and plunged into unfamiliar roles, Lina and her Aunt Martha antagonize each other with oppressive silence. To make matters worse, Lina stubbornly refuses to eat. Meanwhile, Martha's boss has hired a new chef to "help out" around the restaurant. Mario's easy going, cheerful personality are an instant hit with everyone in the kitchen- everyone except Martha, who is convinced that he is after her hard won spot as head chef.

As the story unfolds, Lina begins spending lots of time in the restaurant kitchen watching and learning. She is instantly enchanted by Mario and takes to hanging on his every word. (It's no coincidence that Martha makes buttoned up French cuisine and Mario prefers a relaxed approach to Italian classics!)Martha tolerates having Mario in their lives since it seems to help Lina deal with her grief and finally begin eating again. But she begins to learn something from him too.

I believe that making food is a powerful metaphor for nourishing every part of ourselves- not just our bodies. And that is what made this movie so moving to watch. Food is much more than just fuel- or at least it can be. It's something we offer to the people we live with day after day. That can be very intimate. If you offer food made with mechanical precision and no gusto, what are you really offering? If you do it with warmth and enthusiasm and joy- then you are giving a precious gift that can't be denied and is filled with the complexity and richness of life. Nothing less!

And P.S: the the Soundtrack is wonderful. What great movies have you seen lately?

Triangulation

My two best friends came for a visit last week. I've known them for thirteen years, ever since I was sixteen. What is it old friends know about you that other people never could?

When I think of the three of us in high school, I think of Sarah's LeBaron Convertible (which we dubbed "Cher" after a face lift in which she went from navy blue to cherry red) show tunes blaring, our hair tangling in the wind, singing at the top of our lungs. Crying our eyes out after watching Reality Bites for the first of a thousand times. Sharing our (probably terrible) teen angst filled poetry. Watching Katie playing her guitar through the crowd and being in on the secret meanings of her songs. The giddy rebelliousness we felt as we ripped our clothes off on the shore of Medicine lake in the middle of the night and plunged into the black, weedy depths.

Of course, our lives took us in different directions. We've all followed winding paths to adulthood- Sarah's took her from Wisconsin to Alaska to Oregon, adding a big white dog, a ginger headed husband and matching wild woman toddler, a beautiful house and a nursing career along the way.

Katie became a mother to a very lady like little girl in glasses. She still pursues her love of music, playing shows around Minneapolis, touring and recording whenever she gets the chance. She works for the college she graduated from, helping other young musicians pursue their dreams and traveling all over the country. She's met a wonderful man who is a great father to Lou and yin to her yang.

Our lives have taken us far from each other and sometimes it's a few months between phone calls. But we come together for the big moments, and every now and then, manage a trip together. What surprises me every time is that being together is never easy.

You would think that after so much water under the bridge and such a rich knowledge of each other, our visits would be awash in nostalgia and reminiscences. But, what makes our relationship so charged with magic is that I can feel them shaping me even as we sit poolside sipping mai tais. Of course, we always have fun. But, there is always an element of discomfort- the kind of pain that growth requires.

As I watched them with their families this past week- busy being moms and wives, I was also struck by how happy they are, how much themselves. For some reason, it felt quite lonely to me. It brought me back to my own winding path and how far it has diverged from the expected, the usual. I felt a bit lost. All the things that make a typical life are missing from my own. No career, no home, no kids. I thought again about how diverging from life's usual trajectory leads you to uncharted territory. You have nothing to rely on or plan around but yourself and your own internal compass. When you add in children, a home, a nine to five job, there are things that follow logically. One thing necessitates other things. The freedom and flexibility of my life also comes with a cost- it comes at the expense of certainty.

Then I found myself thinking about triangulation. When distances are too difficult to measure physically, you can find the other two fixed points in the triangle and find their angles to ascertain the third location. That triangle might span miles or inches. And you can use the information for navigation.

My friends have lives very different from my own. Welcoming them into our home was a joy, and a huge departure from our usual routine. Our normally quiet, tidy house was turned into a wild, messy, joyful base of operations. I didn't get to share my day to day life with my friends, perhaps because it is unsharable. By it's very nature, it is solitary, quiet, meditative, slow.

I felt myself looking in on their world as parents- the love they feel for their children is so palpable, so real. Yet it is something I just don't comprehend, because it is incomprehensible to someone who hasn't done it. The only person I love with that crazy, wild, unabashed, bottomless love is my husband.

But we don't need identical lives to share this bond of adopted sisterhood. In fact, it's better as it is, with each point in the triangle distinct, unique and telling each member exactly where she is.

Etsy Stories: Easter Sunday

See the entire collection of Easter finds live on Etsy here!

On Easter Sunday the birds are busy singing sweetly in the blossoming trees.

A little dish of hand painted Wooden Easter Eggs reminds her of the season.

A pretty Easter Bonnet festooned with flowers is just the thing for the early morning church service she is attending with her neighbor.

This Embroidered Doily inspired the brunch menu she'll serve afterwards.

Soft boiled eggs kept warm with knitted caps and served with scalloped potatoes, ham, warm rosemary biscuits and a healthy slathering of gravy. And it wouldn't be brunch without fresh squeezed orange juice, steaming hot coffee and a round of very spicy bloody marys.
Even though today is really too cold for her chiffon dress, she couldn't resist wearing it when she saw all those bravely blooming bulbs poking their heads out of the snow and mud. Her pretty folkloric Sweater goes surprisingly well. It must be the contrast in textures.

These Leather flats are her house slippers for now, but once the mud and rain are gone, they will be her go to shoes. (They fold up to pack in her purse just in case!)

Do you celebrate Easter? What are your favorite traditions?

Martini, Tigerskin Rug, Tuxedo & Velvet Slippers: Too Much or Just Right?

Nerd Boyfriend just never quits being wonderful. How glamorous is this shot of David Niven? He has managed to sit on a tiger skin rug and not look even the least bit campy. Even in a tuxedo with a martini in hand. Well done sir. I'm not sure it could still be done in 2011. I'd almost move somewhere snowy to get a chance to build a fire and enjoy the view of my velvet clad feet propped up on an overstuffed plaid ottoman. Almost. Perhaps I'll just add The Pink Panther to my Netflix que instead.

John Updike on Loving the Now

Image from the New York Times, text From Friday's Writer's Almanac:

When he was 19, John Updike wrote to his parents: "We do not need men like Proust and Joyce; men like this are a luxury, an added fillip that an abundant culture can produce only after the more basic literary need has been filled. This age needs rather men like Shakespeare, or Milton, or Pope; men who are filled with the strength of their cultures and do not transcend the limits of their age, but, working within the times, bring what is peculiar to the moment to glory. We need great artists who are willing to accept restrictions, and who love their environments with such vitality that they can produce an epic out of the Protestant ethic. Whatever the many failings of my work, let it stand as a manifesto of my love for the time in which I was born."

One of my writing teachers once told us "The difference between great writing and sentimental writing is specificity." That is what I love about this quote- he is saying that in order to write really well, you have to pay close attention to the moment, the now. The things that are odd about that moment are what make it special and worthy of attention. It is details that bring vitality to writing (and all art, really).

Also, isn't it lovely to be so crazy about the time in which you were born that you can turn it into something beautiful for other people to enjoy too? That is certainly what Shakespeare did.

I've never read any of Mr. Updike's work, but it looks like it is time to pick one up. Have you ever read him? Favorites to suggest?

Movie Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop isn't a documentary about the illusive street artist Banksy. It's a documentary about street art and what happens when a subculture is co-opted and then consumed by the mainstream. It's about what happens next in that process, when art is commodified and reduced to entertainment. But it's mostly about the one flimsy thing that separates art from pop culture: intention.

This documentary centers on the intertwining stories of Thierry Guttera, and street artists Shepard Fairey and Banksy. Guttera is a loner Frenchman in L.A running a vintage clothing shop by day and filming illicit graffti artists by night. His cousin Invader leads him to Shepard Fairey (of Obama Hope poster fame) who opens the door to an entire counterculture of bandito artists roaming the streets after dark armed with cans of spray paint. He records them scrawling subversive messages on alley walls, train cars, bus stops and stop signs. Over time, he becomes one of them, his omnipresent camera recording their every move. As he becomes more deeply immersed in this illicit world, he becomes obsessed with adding to his collection the most elusive and secretive trophy of them all, Banksy.

In an interesting twist, though Guttera had captured tens of thousands of hours of footage, he never watched or cataloged the film he collected, dumping it without order or reason into 20 gallon tubs and piling it in a store room like a racoon. For him, the interesting part of film making was the pretense of the camera which allowed him to be there in the first place.

Eventually, and against the odds, he does meet and befriend Banksy and is brought into his trusted inner circle. At that very moment, Banksy is skyrocketing to fame in the art world and his work is commanding record breaking prices. Banksy realizes that the movement he helped to create is about to become swallowed up by the mainstream and urges his friend Thierry Guterra to finally make his documentary with all the incredible footage he has collected.

So Guterra does. From his massive stash of film, he randomly pulls clips together to form an hour and a half long meth fueled nightmare of cut together snippets. Banksy is unimpressed, but feels that someone ought to do something with Guterra's film hoard. Banksy suggests that Guterra try his hand at an art show while Banksy and his team goes through the footage independently.

Guterra throws himself into the art world fray without hesitation. Since he has toured around the world filming different artists, he has seen plenty of high end gallery shows, but doesn't know much about what it takes to run one himself. He rents a warehouse space and hires a massive team of creative people to help execute his vision Andy Warhol Factory Style. He spares no expense and re-mortgages his house and business to pay the costs. His graffito bandito friends agree to help him and through the endorsements of now world famous street artists he is welcomed into the art world without much critical deliberation.

The documentary walks us through the hype factory of his big debut show and asks the question, What, if anything, separates the work of an imposter (or, more kindly, newcomer) like Thierry Guterra (now going by the alias of Mr. Brainwash), and the work of long standing members of the subculture like Banksy and Shephard Fairy?

The artists themselves seem puzzled. Who is the joke really on? What is the intention behind what they are doing? Graffiti is all teasing and provoking authority and promoting rebellion, so what happens when it is accepted into mainstream pop culture? Is it then stripped of all meaning? And if so, how can any of these artists claim to be more legitimate than Mr. Brainwash?

There has been speculation that the whole thing is an elaborate hoax masterminded by Banksy, but I tend to agree with Boston Globe reviewer Ty Burr who said, "I'm not buying it; for one thing, this story's too good, too weirdly rich, to be made up. For another, the movie's gently amused scorn lands on everyone." They say that truth is stranger than fiction and it certainly seems to hold true in this little movie.

Making Retro Hair Modern

I love how this retro inspired hair do is made modern by being ever so slightly mussed. (How does he find all these fearlessly bold women?) It makes me daydream about growing my hair long again. And then copying these hair style how tos!

Etsy Stories: Under the Big Top

Today's adventure happens beneath this canvas canopy. (See the collection live on Etsy here!)

Under the Big Top...
Eccentric Collars ring every neck.

Polka Dots blend right in.

Refreshments are Dragon Shaped.

Seals spin tops in candy coated colors.

The Tatooed Lady stares you right in the eye.

Why choose between Fringe or Sequins? Go ahead with both!

The tightrope walker wears forest green suede booties and carries a very long black velvet baton for her suspenseful march across thin air.
And the whole show ends with a Bycicling Bear.

Deprivation Vs. Abundance: Learning through Food

Broc Ollie by Boopsie Daisy

A few weeks back I saw The Veganist on Oprah and felt quite nauseated by her whole approach. The instant TV solution hung thick over the whole episode. You can STILL eat EVERYTHING you usually do, just switch to soy cheese and tofu sausage! In just one trip to the grocery store, you'll have changed the world! And added ten years to your life!

My problem with this approach is that by substituting something for animal products, you are actually focusing your attention on what you are not getting. Because soy cheese will NEVER taste as good as real cheese. But it will remind you of all the real cheese you are not eating and add to that feeling of deprivation. Furthermore, in many cases, you are simply exchanging one processed food for another. This won't effect real change in the farming system, and it won't taste good or nourish you the way food can and should.

Rainbow Market Print by Honey Tree

I prefer Deborah Madison's approach to vegetarian (and vegan!) cooking. Instead of trying to turn a soybean into a chicken, she focuses on the amazing, dizzying variety of foods that she can work with. From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone:

"In the kitchen, raw materials have always been my inspiration. Plant life is visual, tactile, aromatic, fetching and mysterious-beans that look like jewels; subtle grains, the strange beauty of seaweeds; the ingenuity of man-made foods like coils of pasta, myriad cheeses, and the different hues and fragrances of oils...Nothing is more important than starting with ingredients that are of the best quality, for our final results will never be better than what we start with. A hidden advantage of using good ingredients is that they allow us to cook simply and eat well."

As with so many lessons, this one goes far beyond the kitchen. I think that when we focus on abundance instead of deprivation, we transform our whole lives.

I have been considering just this idea with my life in Hawaii. I have often found myself finding fault with this beautiful place because of things I "can't" have here. This is a rural place, cut off from the rest of the world in many ways. There aren't great little boutiques, giant museums, vast libraries, hip bars, indie movie theaters and fancy restaurants like there were in Chicago.

But as I began to examine that idea, I found that it was a mental construct in many ways. If I focus instead on what is available, I couldn't possibly be disappointed.

There are small local places for art and culture that are nurtured not by deep pockets, but by the care and devotion of a few passionate people. There is an interest in preserving a culture that is unique to this one spot on the face of the earth. People are connected to the subtleties of the seasons and earth in ways city folk never could be. Apples may not be cheap, but friends bring over oranges and avocados by the bagfull. If I can embrace what is around me right now, I won't have a moment to waste on wistfullness.

I visited the farmer's market this morning and filled my bag with a few pounds of tiny local sweet potatoes with gorgeous purple flesh, several taught zuccinis, a fluffy bunch of basil, gently ruffled mint and cilantro, and the vendor pressed several bunches of slightly bruised apple bananas on me free of charge. My whole bill was eight dollars. Then I remembered that it is March and my friends back in the Midwest are contending with six feet of snow. Just try to feel deprivation then!

What wonderful things do you have in your life? How does focusing on those change your perspective?

P.S) Bet you didn't even notice that all of these meals were Vegetarian, did you?

Farmer's Market cards from Yee Haw

Etsy Stories: Sylvia's Mix & Match Spring Style

Sylvia is feeling inspired by contrasts this spring: soft and hard, masculine and feminine, stripes with florals, bold vivid colors with whisper soft neutrals and texture, texture, texture! Here are a few of the things she loves right this second. (You can see them live on Etsy here too!)

Her Hand woven Straw Fedora goes perfectly with everything in her closet,

Including this Dress by My Lola in a perfectly of-the-moment-color-pallet in navy, mustard and aqua.

A classic piece like this Deer Antler Necklace adds a dash of edgy sophistication.

And who would guess that these Turkish Towels weren't meant to be worn as a shawl? Come spring, they make wonderful picnic or beach blankets since they aren't heavy like terry cloth towels! (And sand won't stick to them either. Perfection!)

This Fuzzy Coin Purse feels good to hold, adds a little texture to her outfit and holds just the essentials.

Speaking of texture, what could be a nicer texture to snack on than a light and fluffy Marshmallow Sampler Pack? (Available in chocolate, cardamom, caramel, maple, lemon grass or rose vanilla. Who could pick just three?)

This instant collection of Dainish Art Glass adds a little swirl of texture to her coffee table.

And this Raindrop Gocco Print is just the thing to complete the tableau over the bookshelf in the corner! What is inspiring you for spring?

Big Island Tsunami! Could Have Been Worse.

This time around, (remember last time?) the Tsunami did affect The Big Island, though not at the elevation where Eric and I live. Thankfully all our loved ones are also safe and sound. You can see photos of the mess in our little town here. The cleanup to deal with in Kona is nothing compared to the devastation in Japan. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Donate here if you can.

Aloha-

Becky

Silk Jumpsuits: For or Against?

Victoria's Secret must be where strippers find their day time get ups- push up bras, midriff baring tops, tiny pleated cheerleader skirts and 5 inch heels (all at once!). I usually toss their catalogs straight into the trash.

Now I grant you, this animal print jumpsuit isn't exactly subtle. I'm far too short to really carry it off. And it's made of silk. Does that push it further or closer to the Jersey Shore? And we all know how the Fug Girls feel about a jumpsuit... But still. I like it. It's so deliciously diva-y. I'm imagining wearing it with a turban and a long pendant necklace. And then ordering the cabana boy to bring me a martini. With six olives. NOW!

Ah well. We can't be subtle every day.

DIY with the Fab Miss B: Papier Mache Sail Boat Mobile Tutorial

Here is a sailboat mobile I just finished recently. Follow along to make your own!

I snapped up this tiny papier mache sailboat ornament at an after Christmas sale (I'm such a sucker for 50% off ornaments!) with a thought that I might someday have a go at making my own. And then I saw these Sailboat Making Instructions on Ann Wood's beautiful blog, so I knew I had to try. I am not quite as precise as Ann, but I'll show you how I made my boats in case you'd like to play along.

First, I made the papier mache base using boxboard from a cracker box as a base. I simply cut out a double half moon shape and used strips of paper to create a boat hull with a narrow prow and a slightly wider rear. I also included a narrow band over the midsection so the mast could fit inside it. (I used 1 part flour to one part water for my papier mache paste just like in kindergarden, but next time I think I'll try acrylic gel medium for a more elegant finish. It was very lumpy indeed!) I let my hulls dry overnight.

Then I painted them in preppy blue and white stripes with acrylic paints. Next time I might use old book pages so the text comes through the paint the way it did in my store bought boat. I used a hole punch to make a hole in the middle band for the mast to stand upright in.

I constructed my mast and rigging by eyeballing. I used hot glue to attach ordinary bamboo kitchen skewers in three places. Then, I laid out a piece of fabric to create a sail with. I made a tiny notch in the fabric at the base...

And then at the top. (Thanks for the men's shirt swatches Mum! I've put them to good use!)

Then I used a needle and thread to whip stitch the sail to the rigging.

Finally, I used hot glue to secure the masts to the hulls and let them dry. I clipped my boats by their masts to a Ready Made Photo Mobile, though I did have to remove several extra pieces with a wire clipper. I have it hanging in my living room, but I think it would be just darling in a child's room too.

If you make your own sailboats, be sure to let me know how they turn out! I'd love to see pictures!