New Things I Learned This Week

Photograph by Elliott Erwitt

• I read an article that mentions anhedonia. It means living in the absence of pleasure or desire, an affliction sometimes related to depression.

• Have you seen these One Clique mix-and-match heels? You can pair a shoe upper with several shoe bases in their collection. They’re currently sold out.

• November’s O Magazine had a section on what to do when you have ailing or dying parents. I’ve been mulling two parts of Martha Beck’s “You’re Doing Fine:

Consider traditional Tibetan culture, in which children are encouraged to ponder their own demise, where the word for body can be translated as “something you leave behind,” and where revered teachers like Gyalse Rinpoche advise, “If you have got to think about something, make it the uncertainty of the hour of your death.” Does that upset you? Then you’re at war with one of the few certainties in life.

and also

When a friend of mine was dying, she said something I’ll never forget. “Guilt is useless,” she began. “If you did something wrong, let it go. If there’s something you’re doing wrong now, do better. If you can’t do better, forgive yourself.”

Alone with Bob Dylan

The Swedish film series Experiment Ensam (Experiment Alone) explores how much of our enjoyment comes from company. Among other experiments, they arranged for Bob Dylan to play a concert for one man. (via Kottke)

Are you a person who does things on your own? If so, I’m curious about what types of things. I’ve said before that I enjoy eating alone, I think I’d be happy at a movie too. But I’m not a huge fan of traveling alone, and if it came to a concert from one of my idols, I’d so much rather have a friend along so we could grin stupidly at each other.

How to Make Tinsel Tassels

When I was a kid we always decorated the tree with Christmas tree icicles, so I threw some in the cart this year. Then I wondered if I could use them to make cheapie tassels instead.

After some clumsy attempts using twine and ribbon to fashion the tassels, I pulled out some craft wire and voila! They’re super quick, about $1 each, and you can even leave them up for New Year’s. You’ll need:

• Tinsel, one 1,000 strand package per tassle
• About 10 inches of Fine-gauge craft wire per tassel
• Scissors

First you’ll make the wire loop that lets you hang the tassel. Loosely fold the wire in half.

Form a loop by giving the tail wires a couple twists.

Poke one end of the wire beneath all the strands of tinsel.

Pull the wires downward and gather the tinsel into a tighter bunch.

Twist the tail wires together to enclose your bunch of tinsel.

Carefully pull your tinsel out of the package.

You should have something that looks like this now.

Fold your tinsel down with a wire protruding from each side of the bunch. If you give the bunch a little twist, it will make a more attractive tassel head.

Now it’s time to secure the tassel head by wrapping the tail ends of the wire around the top of your bunch. Start with wrapping one wire tail in the direction of your twist until it’s wrapped all the way around.

Now for the second wire. You shouldn’t have to do anything special to finish the wires off, they should just lay flat with a pinch.

Now you have a tassel! Boom. Straighten out any tangeled strands by combing fingers through, or if you’re a perfectionist, you can use a wide-toothed comb. Gentle, my friend.

Clip away any uneven ends or unruly strands.

Yay! Now you can make one thousand more. And then heck, make yourself some pants. Let’s go dancing.

Rancho Siempre Verde

Last year, we set out to cut down our own Christmas tree and stumbled on Rancho Siempre Verde, which is like something out of Gilmore Girls. It’s a tree farm with s’more roasting, and wreath-making tables, and a big ball of kids who roll around inside a cloud of dust.

There are half dozen rope and tire swings hanging from the Eucalyptus. I wish this photo were scratch-and-sniff.

Hank’s favorite part is riding around in the tractor cart when it goes to pick up trees.

My favorite part are the wreath tables — $7 for the wreath forms and boughs, but the local ladies bring berries and ornaments and ribbons and small animatronic animals to affix.

When I was making my wreath, the ladies at the next table were discussing who would drive them all home. They were a little smashed on thermos toddies. Who made the toddies? They are strong. Fortunately, one of them was on a cleanse, so they poured another round.

Next year, I’m bringing toddies.

Rancho Siempre Verde
2250 Cabrillo Hwy, Pescadero, CA 94060
(650) 326-9103

Little Kid Scientist Gift Guide

As a toddler he was impatient to get to the moon, when she turned four she asked for a lab coat. A few gifts for our budding geeks. Live long and prosper, little ones.

Tattly Science Set of Temporary Tattoos, $15 Future founder of the first scientist biker gang.

Break Your Own Geodes, $15 Geology means you get to smash things.

Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste, $12 We’ve been through alllll the science experiment books around here, and this series is our favorite. Simple experiments, solid scientific explanations, and many of them work with stuff you’ll have around the house.

Miracle Fruit Tablets, $15 Condensed Miracle Fruit tablets temporarily bind to the tastebuds and make sour things taste sweet. So neat!

Crystal Growing Volcano, $8 Like a baking soda volcano, but you don’t have to do it in the driveway and change clothes afterward.

Pregnancy Update: Still Pregnant

Do I want hot chocolate or a pickle? This is what I use my brain for now.

Nausea prevented me from eating much my first trimester, which made me pleasant to be around. A few of the appetizing meal choices I made in that period:

This last one is dinner on Halloween night.

That was a couple days before my appetite started to return, and just before I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Hey-ohhh!

So if you guys want to come over for some unsweetened soy hot cocoa and pickles, party’s at my place.

My Twinkly-Kapow Tree Topper

Behold this little firework tree topper. Pow. It’s from Wendy Addison’s Theatre of Dreams, a boutique tucked away in magic Port Costa, CA. (If you’ve never seen Wendy’s work go look.)

My sparkly twinkle topper was $48, and if you want one of your own, I think you should get it. Drop her a line at shop@wendyaddisonstudio.com. She will cut it out, and glue it up, and make it sparkly, and send it to you with her hands. Thanks, Wendy.

The Ferguson Verdict Links

The Washington Post has a decent synopsis of what’s happened since the verdict: What We Know About What Happened in Ferguson.

What You Can Do

10 Ways You Can Help the People of Ferguson from the Huffington Post:
• Support efforts requiring all state, county and local police to wear [dashboard and] body cameras.
• Advocate for the removal of the Pentagon’s “1033 Program” by signing the petition here
• Send condolences to Michael Brown’s family here.


A protestor retreats after being treated for tear gas. Photo Credit: Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images

News

Darren Wilson Describes his Fear of Michael Brown
“Wilson said that Brown went for the officer’s gun, saying: ‘You are too much of a p—- to shoot me.’”


President Obama’s Press Conference
“We need to recognize the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges we still face as a nation. The fact is in too many parts of this country distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color.”
“We have made enormous progress in race relations over the course of the past several decades. I have witnessed that in my own life, and to deny that progress is to deny America’s capacity for change.”

Photos of Nationwide Protests from Time.


Commentary on violence in Ferguson


2 Timothy 1:7 – For the spirit of God does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. Photo by: Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images

Brown Family’s Statement
“Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera. We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful.”


Dasha Jones, 19, is arrested for unlawful assembly during a protest outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Mo. on the evening of Nov. 20, 2014 from Time Magazine

Impact

‘Ferguson Goddamn‘ from Colorlines:

“I’m frustrated with myself for expecting, if only for a moment, that people who have historically not valued black life, would actually value black life. More than anything, I’m sad. I’m just sad. This is no way to live.” – Dr. Yaba Blay, director or Africana Studies, Drexel University

“Even as I expected the decision to be what it was, it still hurts deeply. Who can be shown their babies’ lives don’t matter and expect to feel anything but pain and rage? And fear? The decision leaves me in fear for the safety of the children I love so deeply.” – Asha Bandele, Author

Satire and Social Commentary


Young man wears a shirt mimicking popular shirts with names of television show characters, but supplanted by names of black children and young men killed through abuse of power. Photo by Time. (If you’d like one, it’s part of the And Counting collection sold here.)

Nation Doesn’t Know If It Can Take Another Bullshit Speech About Healing
Sometimes Unfortunate Things Happen in the Heat of a 400-Year-Old Legacy of Racism

Mighty Closet, Catie Nienaber

Catie!

Catie and I have known each other for a few years, and some of you will remember her from Camp Mighty. She runs Dronning Vintage, and is so tall and striking that I always notice her around town.

Mai shot these a while ago, and now Catie’s style incorporates a lot of modern pieces as well, but here’s what she has to say about her affection for vintage clothes:

Being an online vintage shop owner means I am utterly surrounded by my work at all times. I operate the business out of my home, and it’s not unusual to see hand-washed dresses hanging from the shower curtain rod to drip dry, or receipts and checklists stacked on a tower of hat boxes.

The apartment building I live in was built in 1923, and I love that so many of the original details, like glass doorknobs, the enamel bathtub, and the picture frame moulding that wraps around every wall, are still intact. I don’t wear vintage every day – it’s too delicate for what my real life entails – but when I do, I feel that much happier in my home. Sometimes I go all out and do my hair and makeup in a vintage style, too. Soft waves or victory rolls are my favorite.

This simple late 1950s/early 1960s cotton day dress is super comfortable.

I dressed it up with Miu Miu kitten heels, but I would just as easily wear it with ballet flats (maybe from Tieks or Repetto).

I especially love when mid-century dresses have a belt because I like accentuating my waist.

This late-1940s rayon blouse has palm trees and surfers on it. The blouse is a little on the short side so I always wear it with higher-waisted trousers. Although these pants have a ’40s-style influence to them, they are in fact from the 1980s.

The platform sandals are also 1940s though.

I got the fresh gardenia from a flower stand in downtown San Francisco, you can find them at most stalls in the city.

This red 1950s Suzy Perette dress is a great example of how Christian Dior’s New Look influence trickled down into mid-price American design houses, with its huge skirt and smaller waist.

Bag is from Tory Burch.

These black and cream heels are from Miu Miu. It’s very rare that I have vintage shoes that are big enough to fit my feet, and Miu Miu usually has strong vintage styling in their designs. If you don’t want to shell out for a brand new pair, you can get some very gently worn ones on eBay quite often so watch for deals.

Celluloid was a popular and affordable material used for making jewelry in the 1930s and 1940s and these days the pieces are quite collectable. I have a nice collection of animal novelty pins and brooches and this celluloid parrot is a great one.

These butter-yellow 1950s shorts are made of soft, very fine-wale corduroy.

The blouse is Miu Miu, as are the loafers.

I’ve had them resoled several times because I wear them so often. Cobblers are more and more rare these days so if you find a good one, give them your business!

The story behind this suit is amazing. Someone took a 1940s wool suit and expertly dismantled it, eventually flipping it upside-down, making the jacket into a skirt and the skirt into the jacket.

I call it the Surrealism Suit.

I wore it with a 1940s hat and simple, classic Christian Louboutin heels.

Like a lady. Catie, thanks so much for showing us your amazing closet. If you’re a vintage devotee, have a look at Catie’s shop, Dronning Vintage.

Photos by Mai Le of Fashioni.st.

Simple Holiday Photo Cards

Real mail! It’s better than Christmas.

I’ve been looking for a pretty photo card for this year. If you’re looking too, these are some of the more attractive options I found:

Merry Little Everything card from Artifact Uprising, 1.75 each

Konfetti Photo Card from Paperless Post, $1.96 each (Use dicount code CHEERS for 20% off plus free shipping through Dec. 15)

Peace Holiday Photo Card from Pinhole Press, $1.96 each (Discount code CUPOFJO gets you 30% off through Dec. 5)

Joy Photo Card from Artifact Uprising, $1.75 each

Painted Diamonds Photo Card from Minted, $1.63 each

Here’s to the Good Photo Card from Artifact Uprising, $1.75 each

As you can see, I’m a huge fan of Artifact Uprising, they are nailing it right now. If you have any favorite print sources you don’t see listed, let us know in comments.

Paper Culture is a great option, and holiday photo cards are 30% off right now. Thanks, EG!