Ramblings of a Menopausal Broad

Tag: Design (Page 1 of 2)

Seven Things I Love (8-1-2022)

August 2, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Celebrate accordingly!

1. This Street Art in Louisiana – This stunning piece of art was created by Seth GlobePainter and is located in Baton Rouge.

[Found on the Intermission App]

2. This Service Offered by NASA – A few days ago the International Space Station (ISS) few over my hometown. Unfortunately I didn’t hear about it until after it had happened, as I read all my neighbors commenting about how cool it was on Next Door. Bummer!

The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021.

That’s when I discovered that you can sign up to be notified whenever the ISS flies over your zip code. It’s called “Spot the Station” and it’s simple to do. Choose whether you want to be notified via email or text and enter your zip code (be sure to select the actual community you live in on the map) Once you sign up they will send you a confirmation code. Enter that and you’re good to go.

This is what one of the text notifications look like (I got my first one already!)

3. This Collaboration Between Kellogg’s and Penguin Random House – I’m not a big fan of sugary cereals (well, truthfully I am a big fan, but everyone knows they’re unhealthy, especially for us menopausal broads.) I am, however, an ENORMOUS fan of promoting summer reading and I love that Kellogg’s is healing kids (and adults) get free books just for eating cereal. I mean, the kids can read these books for the Summer Reading programs that they’ve signed up for at the LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

The Kellogg’s Feeding Reading program is in its fourth year. It’s odd that I’ve never heard of it before now.

[Discovered in a Commercial on TV]

4. This “Ballet Gone Bad” – HILARIOUS!

5. This Bold Kindergarten Teacher – On November 9, 1938 Mrs. Helen (Hurlick) Beebe was called to testify in court as a witness to a burglary. Judge Arthur S. Guerin, noticing that Mrs. Beebe was wearing trousers, reprimanded her for wearing something that was so distracting. To everyone’s amazement, Judge Guerin rescheduled the proceeding so that Mrs. Beebe could return in what he deemed a more “acceptable outfit.” In other words, he wanted her to put on a dress.

Well, Helen wasn’t going to have any of this jerk’s misogynistic bullshit. And she showed up at the rescheduled hearing once again wearing slacks. The judge rescheduled the hearing again, this time warning Helen that if she showed up in slacks she would be held in Contempt of Court.

After the second postponed hearing, Helen was interviewed and quoted as saying”

“Listen, I’ve worn slacks since I was 15,” She said, “I don’t own a dress except a formal. If he wants me to appear in a formal gown that’s okay with me. I’ll come back in slacks and if he puts me in jail I hope it will help to free women forever of anti-slackism.”

Helen Hurlick Beebe

Anti-slackism – I LOVE IT!

Sure enough, when she showed up in slacks a third time, the judge threw her in jail for contempt. Her sentence was five days. And just to add salt to the wound, the judge made her wear a denim dress while she was incarcerated.

Helen was released early and her case went to the Appellate Court. They overturned Judge Guerlin’s ridiculous ruling, giving her carte blanche to wear whatever she wanted to the next hearing. She chose to wear a formal evening gown. Sassy.

By the way, Mrs. Beebe went on to be a pioneer in speech and speech pathology. Quite the illustrious career!

[Found on All That’s Interesting]

6. This Sunday Morning Story on Refrigerators – now I want one. And I want to remodel my kitchen…. Mostly though I love that this is a long-time Fitchburg, Wisconsin company that is still going strong AND manufacturing here.

7. This Upcoming Hallmark Movie – Hallmark has really been upping its game on diversity. They’ve aired several LGBTQ+ movies (not just ones with peripheral characters who are LGBTQ+ but actual movies ABOUT LBGTQ+ love stories); they have a line of Mahogany cards & ornaments targeted for African-American customers and now they’re adding a series of Mahogany movies; and just a few days ago I saw a trailer for this movie…

Romance in Style is all about BODY POSITIVITY! Yippee. You can see the trailer HERE.

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

Song of the Day

Seven Things I Love (7-25-2022)

July 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments

1. This Country Music Group on America’s Got Talent – I’m not a regular AGTT watcher. I tend to watch the truly amazing performers who go viral via YouTube weeks or even months after they’ve been on the show. But I managed to catch this performance just a few days after they were on. Most likely you’ve already seen it or at least heard about it.

Chapel Hart is a KICKASS trio from Poplarville, Mississippi. Their performance was so sensational that the judges (Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, Simon Cowell and host Terry Crews) made an exception to the rules and gave a “Golden Buzzer” to the group even though there were no more Golden Buzzers left to give.

CHAPEL HART; PHOTO CREDIT: ALEXIS CARTER

Chapel Hart (sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle) performed an original song called “You Can Have Him Jolene” which is a tribute to their idol (and America’s idol) Dolly Parton.

You can watch the video (again and again) below and also read the lovely tweet from Dolly herself!

(Side note: a little history behind Dolly’s Jolene. One day Dolly met a little girl named Jolene and she said to the girl – such a lovely name, I should write a song. And she did! But she decided to use a little bit of her own life for the story. Going all the way back to just a year after she was married to her husband Carl – 1996. It seems there was a bodacious redhead making goo-goo eyes at Dolly’s hubby and that was the inspiration for the song. Needless to say, Dolly ain’t gonna let Jolene have him.)

In addition to getting this fabulous recognition from Dolly, Chapel Hart also has been invited to debut on the Grand Ole Opry. It’s been quite a week for these three young women.

(One more side note – Dolly Parton made a cameo on this week’s The Orville. She plays herself, even though it takes place in the 25th century. It’s clever how they work that out in the storyline. It was fantastic!)

If you’d like to watch the video directly on YouTube here’s the link.

[Shared with me by my friend Meta]

2. This Emu named Emmanuel Todd Lopez, and his adorable caretaker, Taylor Blake of Knuckle Bump Farms –

Taylor had been making education videos when Emmanuel made an unplanned cameo and since then Taylor and Emmanuel’s videos have gone viral. People are scrambling to get a hold of some of the “Emmanuel, don’t do it!” merchandise! Taylor says – it’s coming!

Who doesn’t love emus???

[Found on LGBTQ Nation]

3. This Editorial About Why It Matters That J Lo Took Ben Affleck’s Last Name – Honestly, I don’t know why a 50+ year old (especially one who’s been married like four times) would want to take their husband’s name.

Here’s the thing – I get that it’s easier four couples to share the same last name, especially if there are kids involved. In this day and age I feel like at the very minimum that couples should hyphenate their names and both take each other’s names. There are also couples who figure out how to merge their names into a single name.

And I get it – from a family legacy thing and ancestry and all that (carry on the family name) that doesn’t work but really, the whole family legacy thing is bullshit. It’s just men and their egos.

Anyway, this article explains very thoroughly why it is problematic for Jenny from the Block to take Ben’s name.

You’re a feminist Jennifer!

4. These Coffee Pods – I have one cup of decaf coffee every morning which is why I don’t really like to make a pot or futz with a lot of different appliances.

Recently I have been using a small pour-over and it’s fine but it still takes a bit of time and effort, sometimes more than I want to put in first thing in the morning.

But I stopped using k-cups for a couple reasons, the main one being that they are bad for the environment. The second reason being that drinking a hot beverage that has been poured through plastic is not healthy. After all, we avoid putting items in plastic now in the microwave. Why would we think it’s okay to run hot water through k-cups to make coffee?

Enter Cometeer. These are “pods” in that they are pod-shaped but that is the only similarity. The contents are high-quality beans that are ground and brewed and then flash-frozen into a small sphere. The spheres are put into the pods. Cometeer sends your package in dry ice so it arrives frozen (you receive notification so you can watch for it as soon as it’s delivered and can get it into your own freezer.)

All you need to do is drop one of the spheres into a cup of hot water and you have a perfect cup of coffee. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a smooth cup of coffee.

I signed up for a subscription (every four weeks) for the decaf package and have only tried two of the types included so far. It comes with four different varieties.

Seriously, this is life changing. Also, it makes fabulous iced coffee drinks!

[Discovered in Wired and ]

5. This Milwaukee-Themed Collage – Only Milwaukeeans will understand how wonderful this is.

Can you identify all of them?

Starting at top going clockwise: The Purple House, Brother Ron and his Religious Car, superfan Mike “Freeway” McCarter, the late year-round sunbather and nudist Dick Bacon, John Hamann aka “The Milverine”, the late Frank “Pepperoni Cannoli” Pecoraro, and in the center, TV attorney David Gruber.

[Found on On Milwaukee]

6. These Vintage Home Gadgets – Why can’t they figure out a way to make things that we use everyday that look pretty, like they used to. Okay, maybe not the mixer, but the other things are wonderful! I love those Bosch coffee grinders.

[Found on CNN]

7. This 60 Minutes Story on the 21st Century Public Library – This made me actual miss being in libraries and it’s been a long time since I felt that way.

Word of the Week

Quote of the Week

Song of the Week

Seven Things I Love (5-9-2022)

May 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments

1. This Outfit for the Met Gala 2022 – People have a lot of strong opinions about the Met Gala. Some say it’s an ostentatious event full of self-absorbed, pretentious individuals who have too much money. (After all, tickets are $35,000* a piece.)

Others say it’s a pretentious event full of ostentatious, self-absorbed individuals who have too much money. (Just kidding.)

They see it as an opportunity to showcase creativity in the areas of fashion and the performing arts.

Whatever side you fall on, you can’t deny, it’s a spectacle.

My interest is dependent upon the theme. This year I was excited about the theme – Gilded Glamour – because I love Victorian and Edwardian era clothing. I expected people to use fashion of the “Gilded Age” as inspiration for their gowns/ensembles. There were a number of incredible designers of that period (Charles Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Jeanne Paquin, Madeleine Chériut, and John Redfern to name a few) as well as a few modern designers who use fashion of the era for inspiration (Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Christian Lacroix.)

For the most part I was disappointed.

But then I saw Emma Corrin, wearing this outfit by Miu Miu, and, well, at least the Met Gala gave us this. Corrin did her homework (or her designer did her homework) and IMHO she won the Met Gala.

Emma’s outfit is a modern take on one worn by Mr. Evander Berry, known as “The King of the Dudes,” in 1888. He was a Gilded Age fashion icon and once changed his clothes FORTY times between breakfast and lunch. (You can click on his photo below to read more.)

There were three other dresses that I think did the theme justice – Nicola Coughlan, Cardi B., and Billie Eilish.

*Did you know that the Met Gala is a benefit for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art? The Costume Institute, which is self funded, will be receiving $17.4 million from the 2022 gala – a record amount.

[Seen at the Met Gala and found in Vogue]

2. This Barbie Doll – It’s sold out, but if you click on the photo below you’ll be sent to the Mattel page with all the close-up photos. The amount of detail is incredible. The original cost was $75. They’re already selling on eBay for $200-$500.

[Found by Jeannie and found on the Modern Met]

Also this Barbie Doll…

Part of a quartet of Star Wars Barbies. In addition to C-3PO Barbie I also love Stormtrooper Barbie but honestly, they’re all fabulous. They were released in 2020. At that time they cost $100 each. Amazingly you can actually still find them. C-3PO appears to be the one most available. It currently costs around $150. Stormtrooper Barbie is harder to find and is priced between $225 and $450. Chewbacca is running minimally for $500. And Rey is $200+.

3. This Guy, Perfectly Copying How Specific Actors Run – no words necessary.

[Found by my “little” bro, Chuck. Thanks Charlie!]

4. This Amazon Commercial – I abhor Jeff Bezos which means, by association, I hate all things Amazon. I stopped my Amazon Prime membership from renewing and I only order from Amazon when I absolutely have to. (I always try to buy from small, local businesses.)

Having said that, even greedy corporations can do good things once in a while. And I think that is the case with the all-female delivery services they have set up in South India. Giving women employment opportunities in Kerala, Chennai, Kadi, and Gujarat is a big deal.

One thing I’ve learned in my years of supporting charities that help women: when you help women there is a much higher chance for success (i.e personal growth & advancement, health & education of their children, safety & security, etc.)

(If the video isn’t showing above click on the image below to go to YouTube.)

5. This Shel Silverstein Stamp – I don’t think that there are many people in the U.S. under the age of 60 who aren’t, at the very least, familiar with Mr. Silverstein’s book The Giving Tree, or who haven’t chuckled while reading/hearing one of his poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends.

I, along with so many other GenXers, have been a huge fan, so when I saw these stamps I knew that I had to get some. And I did, three sheets.

Being a children’s librarian for twelve years (before becoming a library director for another dozen years) I’ve read more Silverstein than the average person.

One poem that I (and pretty much every other librarian in the world) really love is his poem “Overdues” from ‘A Light in the Attic.’ Course as most libraries are now eliminating fines, some day it will be completely “dated.” Still, probably not in my lifetime, so I’m not going to worry about it!

But it seems that more people are now seeing the message of ‘The Giving Tree’ as being negative. I sort of get that. As a kid ‘The Giving Tree’ wasn’t one of my favorite books. I didn’t like that the kid used up every little bit of the tree. I thought the kid should have let the tree thrive and grow. (My favorite book was actually Mrs. Twiggley’s Tree.)

Still, the majority of Silverstein’s iconic books were only in black and white. I’m sure they wanted a picture that everyone would recognize but that also had color.

[Found on USPS]

6. This Perfectly Aligned Telescope – If you click on the picture below you can get all the scientific details but ultimately you can see, the photo on the left is the normal shot they’ve gotten in the past, and the photo on the right is with the new perfectly aligned telescope. MAGNIFICENT!

[Found on Gizmodo]

7. This Frank Lloyd Wright “Preserve” – When FLW designed homes he took every little detail into consideration. This is why most of the homes he designed included FLW furniture made especially for the house. He also was very aware of environment, making sure that whatever he constructed blended well and since he often used nature for inspiration his homes were located in green, woodsy spaces.

A couple who were trying to sell their FLW house couldn’t find a buyer. Urban creep was threatening to overtaken one of FLW’s creations. So a very remarkable solution was found.

This story made me weepy (happy weepy.)

[Seen on Sunday Morning – obviously.]

Word of the Week

Quote of the Week

Song of the Week

What to Watch This Week

Seven Things I Love (12-20-2021) : Christmas Edition

December 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments

1.  This Music Video by Ingrid Michaelson (Featuring Zooey Deschanel) – I’ve always been obsessed with animated stop-motion films created with felt.

Here’s another short film I’ve watched about a half dozen times (it’s on Netflix). It’s called ‘Robin Robin’ and it’s a delightful holiday gem.

 

2. This SNL Monologue by John Malkovich – truly a national treasure.

 

3. This Tour of Fortnum & Mason (and also Harrods) at Christmas – My friends know this, but F&M is my mothership and it’s been calling to me for the past couple of years. For myself personally, not being able to get to London and Ireland to visit my friends there and do all the things I love to do in the UK is in the top five most difficult things about the pandemic.

 

4. This Christmas Short (which is actually a Christmas Advert)

 

5.  This (Faux) Letter to Santa – gotta love a little historical humor.

[Found by my friend Jeanne (thanks Jeanne!)]

 

6. This Collection of Eggnog Cartons – Called the “Eggnog Project“, graphic designer Madeleine Eiche has curated a museum-worthy selection of eggnog cartons that exhibit the variety of designs in American eggnog packaging.

[Found on ‘Messy Nessy Chic’]

 

7. These Letters from J.R.R. Tolkien to His Children – Can you imagine receiving something so incredible? Not only were the stories wonderful (which is no surprise) but the drawings are magnificent!!!

 

 

 

Word of the Week

Quote of the Week

 

Have a Safe & Happy Christmas!

Seven Things I Love (9-13-2021)

September 14, 2021 / / 0 Comments

HELLLLOOOOOOOO! I’ve missed you all!

Sorry to have been absent for awhile but there was good reason. I migrated the website to a new host – YAY! Unfortunately it took WAY longer than expected. The data finally finished transferring last Monday, so now I should be able to do a lot more with the site. It’ll just be a matter of figuring out how to do it.

I’m starting an online course this week so expect some big changes in the near future (fingers crossed – I have a vision of what I want in my head, let’s see if I can actually pull it off!)

I’ve been saving things to post and have a lot to choose from so let’s get to it!

  1. 1. This New Show on Hulu called ‘Only Murders in the Building‘ – I’m OBSESSED with this new series! And I’m not the only one, it’s getting rave reviews.
Only Murders In The Building — “Who Is Tim Kono?” – Episode 102 — The group begins researching the victim. Meanwhile, Mabel’s secretive past starts to be unraveled. L to R, Mabel (SELENA GOMEZ), Charles (STEVE MARTIN), and Oliver (MARTIN SHORT). (Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)

Steve Martin came up with the idea for ‘Only Murders…’ and co-wrote it with John Hoffman. He stars alongside Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Anyone who is a fan of Steve Martin & Marty Short know they work very well together. The addition of Selena Gomez though seems way out in left field. But it works, so well. She’s an excellent straight person to the zaniness of two of comedies great legends.

Mabel Mora played by SELENA GOMEZ

Here’s the premise – it’s about three people who live in an old but still rather posh apartment building in NYC. They are all pretty much alone, each having issues in their personal relationships. Martin & Short’s characters, being in their 70s, are also dealing with their feeling of obsolescence and/or fading stardom.

Oliver Putnam played by MARTIN SHORT

There is one thing that connects the three of them – their love of murder mystery podcasts. And one night, as they discover their common interest, they find out that a person in their building has died by suicide. But the trio isn’t satisfied with how the police have closed the case so the they decide to start their own podcast (named “Only Murders in the Building” because they are only going to solve murders that occur in their building) and they vow to solve the mystery.

To pair up with the show there is, obviously, a PODCAST to listen to.

The episodes drop once a week, on Tuesdays, on Hulu. They’ve already done four episodes and there will be a total of ten episodes in the season.

Charles-Haden Savage played by STEVE MARTIN

(Although a second season hasn’t been officially announced, there is a good chance there will be one. The writers/actors involved seem to be onboard to continue and the viewership has been great. Although streaming services don’t release actual numbers (why is that?), Hulu did say that ‘Only Murders…’ was the most-watched comedy premiere in its history. That comes with a one big caveat though. Either way, people are excited about it and watching. If you aren’t watching yet do it now – we want to get a SECOND SEASON!

  1. 2. This Tweet of a video of Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in slo-mo.
    Are they both married to other people that they adore, yes. Did they put this on for the cameras to promote their new movie, yes. Is it swoonworthy, HELL YES.

3. These Gowns from the Met Gala, 2021 – this year’s theme is “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” Of course there was no Gala in 2020 but the themes for the last five balls were:

2019 – Camp: Notes on Fashion (and by camp they meant to camp it up, be campy)
2018 – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (my favorite theme so far)
2017 – Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
2016 – Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
2015 – Through the Looking Glass

I personally find this year’s theme a little boring compared to the previous ones but nevertheless, the clothes did not disappoint. Here are a few of my favorites:

Natalia Bryant (Kobe’s daughter) wearing an exhibit dress by Conner Ives chosen by Anna Wintour. I think it’s beautiful – the color, the sparkle, and the fact that it de-emphasizes a woman’s figure to me is a wonderful statement on body image and body positivity. Gorgeous!

Billie Eilish – I personally love this dress because it’s (a) Oscar de la Renta, (b) pink, (c) a classic design and (d) totally out of character for Eilish! Plus, the girl actually has gorgeous boobs! Who knew!

Alexandria Ocacia-Cortez with the designer of her dress, Aurora James. Message is loud and clear AOC! (It says “Tax the Rich.”)

Jennifer Hudson, wearing AZ Factory – the woman is a goddess.

Rep. Carolyn Mahoney (NY-D) – I’m a sucker for positive political statements if you haven’t figured that out.

4. Russian Caviar Sofas – I’m not sure who thought of making these or why but honestly, I absolutely ADORE them!

[Found on MessyNessyChic]

5. This Tweet of a Video of Steve from Blue’s Clues! – Menopausal Broads are a little too old to have grown up actually watching Blue’s Clues, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t get to experience it. Either we had our own kids who enjoyed the show, or our siblings had kids who were fans, or maybe some of us were even children’s librarians, who worked with kids, for well over a decade, during the time Steve was on the show, and who always made sure that Blue’s Clues books and videos were always on the shelves.

SO lovely to see him again. All those warm & fuzzy feelings!

6. This Patch You Can Order on Etsy – TOO PERFECT! Unfortunately the shop owner is currently away, but you can ask to be notified by email when they open back up.

7. This Response by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the Governor of Texas’s LOATHSOME & OUTRAGEOUS claim that he was going to “eliminate rape” when he was asked about the new Texas abortion law not having an exemption for rape & incest – AOC is excellent at explaining things clearly and in a way everyone can understand. It’s why she is such a threat to Republican politicians and why they have done everything they can to demonize her to their base.

Word of the Week

Quote of the Week

(And to be clear, there are pros and cons to both.)

Seven Things that I Love (7-26-2021)

July 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments
  1. 1. This Restaurant Logo – It’s brilliant! Sadly, it seems the restaurant never opened. This website says, “Sadly due to unforeseen circumstances this project never made it through to launch.” I wasn’t sure if that was because the restaurant didn’t opened or if they chose to go with a different logo (which would have been a huge mistake.) I couldn’t find a restaurant by this name, except in reference to this logo, so I’m thinking the restaurant didn’t get their funding or something like that. What a waste.

2. These Gelato Bars – I found these at my local grocer and man, am I hooked. Admittedly they are a bit pricey (they’re $4 each at Sendiks) BUT if I went out to a gelateria I would easily pay that much. More importantly, they are keeping me from eating an entire pint of the stuff! Here’s the best part though, my favorite bar (the Chocolate light) only has 90 calories and my second favorite, Coconut Breeze, has 170 calories (still not bad.) I think the highest one is Pistachio chocotella at 210 but most of them are between 80 and 170 calories.

3. This Music Video with Bjork – I LOVE, love, love this song! It makes me smile when I hear it. You may think I am crazy or that you’ve got the wrong video when you first start watching but you’ll see what I mean very quickly. “It’s Oh So Quiet” was originally sung by Betty Hutton in 1951. It’s actually the English cover of a German song written by Hans Lang. I can’t decide whether I like Bjork or Hutton’s version better. I think I like Hutton’s version better but Bjork’s video is so fun and she’s so damned cute…

https://youtu.be/BooO0rViUKI

4. This Tweet from Randy Rainbow (a goddess) about Bezos Going to Space – Randy always knows the right thing to say.

In case you need a visual.

This photo provided by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, exits the Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule after it parachuted safely down to the launch area with passengers Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, near Van Horn, Texas, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)

Oh, and the Washington Post and Late Night Talk Show Hosts also had a field day with the hat (well, pretty much everyone did).

5. This Children’s Show – I just found out about this show. How have I not heard of it before?!? (Admittedly, I stopped being a Children’s Librarian in 2007.) It’s been on the air since 2012. The opening was warm your heart – the Neighborhood of Make-Believe!

https://youtu.be/m08BrNDkJjw

6. These Photos of John Singer Sargent Painting Gretchen & Rachel Warren – It’s not often you get to see photos from this era of people actually having fun or smiling.

“Five very informal snapshots of John Singer Sargent painting ‘Mrs. Fiske Warren (Gretchen Osgood) and Her Daughter Rachel’ in the Gothic Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1903. Sargent was staying with Mrs. Gardner during a several weeks’ visit to Boston and his hostess allowed him to use the Gothic Room as his studio. In 2018 the Museum borrowed the portrait from the MFA and made it the centerpiece of a small-scale but fascinating exhibit about the painting. For the duration of the show the portrait was set up on an easel on the very spot in the room at which it was painted! There was even a brief catalogue available.” [Found via the Facebook Group the Gilded Age Society]

7. This Suns Fan Who Donated to a Milwaukee Food Bank – Adam Richardson traveled to Milwaukee from Virginia for Game 3 of the championships. An avid Suns fan, he didn’t let his loyalty to his team prevent him from noticing how welcoming and friendly Milwaukeeans are! To thank the residents of the Bucks’ home city, Richardson sent a check to a local food bank.

The comment by the food bank’s VP speaks volumes as to why this is so meaningful.

“We get checks in the mail all the time, but this one was different,” said Scott Marshall, the food bank’s vice president of development and communications. “It’s wonderful that so many people locally want to work with the food bank, but when someone from a different community has a one- or two-day experience in the city and says, ‘I want to give back to the city,’ it means so much.”

‘Go Suns, but thank you Milwaukee’: A Suns fan was so inspired by the city’s hospitality that he donated $1,000 to a local food bank by Grace McDermott of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; July 23, 2021

Word of the Week

I have to admit, I didn’t know that this was a thing. I mean, I’ve heard of people doing it but didn’t know it had become so rampant that it had actually been given a name. And it’s not just being used for pranking/revenge but for extortion too. A man recently died because of a swatting incident because two people were trying to get his twitter handle. His TWITTER HANDLE.

Quote of the Week

Seven Things I Love (5-31-2021)

June 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments
  1. 1. This Design by Stephen Burrows – If you haven’t watched Halston yet on Netflix, DO! They rather thoroughly cover “The Battle of Versailles Fashion Show” which occurred on November 28, 1973. Publicly it was advertised as an event to fund raise to revamp the Versailles, which was in dire need of restoration, but it also was an opportunity for American designers to show that they could hold their own against the French.

Created by Eleanor Lambert and Versailles curator Gerald Van der Kemp, the show pitted French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, Marc Bohan, and Hubert de Givenchy) against American designers (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, and Anne Klein, who brought along her assistant, Donna Karan).

Many of the designers who were involved in the ‘Battle of Versailles’ have either retired or passed away but Stephen Burrows is not only still around but he’s on Instagram!

2. This Parody of the famous Queen Song called ‘Menopause Rhapsody’ – I mean, is there anyone who doesn’t love the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,” even when it’s used for satirical purposes? This is kinda genius.

3. This Painting – ‘The Merchant’s Wife at Tea’ by Boris Kustodiev, painted in 1918, oil on canvas; at the State Russian Museum.

4. This Fascinating Short Film about the Last Matriarchy in Europe – Kihnu is a small island off Estonia’s western coast. There are men on the island but they work as fishermen and leave for long periods of time. So the women are left alone and have learned to do everything for themselves. It’s an incredible microcosm and it would be tragic if it was lost. In fact, the Kihnu culture is on Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity list. But the younger members have been leaving to go to larger cities, where they can make more money and have more options.

Of course this is happening everywhere in the world. It used to be that people grew up and tended to live in the community where they were born. I know if you look at my family, both my parents had three siblings and five of them live within a 50 mile radius. Then if you look at their kids, even just on my mother’s side of the 14 grandkids only TWO live within a 50 mile radius.

Still, I think there are young people who would like to live this lifestyle. All those millennials into cottagecore.

Still, trying to find them might be difficult and of course they all would want wifi. And the current residents of Kihnu may not welcome newcomers.

5. These Gorgeous, Biological Illustrations by Ernst Haeckel – “Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including ecology, phylum, phylogeny, and Protista.” [Found on MessyNessyChic]

6. This Poem by Alison Luterman – thanks to my friend LeAnn for posting it.

7. This New Series on PeacockTV – To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have watched this (I can’t start a new series!) but then I saw the cast – Sara Bareilles (Jesus Christ Superstar and who doesn’t love her song ‘Brave‘?), Busy Philipps (been in a bazillion things and I just adore her), Paula Pell (most famous as an SNL writer but also recently did a hilarious Quibi series called the ‘Mapleworth Murders’), and Renée Elise Goldsberry (one of the original Schuyler sisters!) The premise of the show actually seems made for me (the only thing I would have changed is making them an 80s band instead of a 90s band – obviously.)

Girls5eva used to be a popular girls band back in the 90s when these women were only teenagers. The name plays on the number of band members. Unfortunately things happened and the band separates and loses touch.

One day Dawn (Bareilles) hears a popular rapper doing a cover of one of Girls5eva’s songs on the radio. It occurs to her she’s owed some royalty money so she checks in with her old agent. She finds out he’s been sitting on the royalty checks for almost three months and the checks will be void with a day so because she doesn’t want her former bandmates to lose out on the cash she decides to deliver them and reconnects. I don’t want to get into any more of the storyline but here’s my thoughts:

  1. I had no idea that Sara Bareilles was just a good actor (yes another one of those people who is multi-talented
  2. Sara Bareilles wrote the songs used in the show, so of course they are amazing
  3. I really wanted to like Renée Elise Goldsberry’s character (Wickie) better but I feel like they haven’t developed her character enough/told enough backstory – I pray they do a second season!
  4. Was kinda bummed that they had all the women except Paula Pell play themselves as teenagers because she’s the only one who isn’t “thin.” I think they should have gotten teenagers that looked like the three other girls too.
  5. I think anyone who considers themself a Menopausal Broad can use a “second chances” story.

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

One last thing that I have to close with, a video from ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.’ He wasn’t on the air but he did gift us with one of his delightful web exclusive videos. As usual, John Oliver nails it.

Seven Things I Love (4-5-2021)

April 5, 2021 / / 2 Comments
  1. 1. This Comedian’s Solution to Gun Control – So simple. I’ve only recently discovered Steve Hofstetter and he’s hilarious. I start watching his videos on YouTube and end up watching for hours.

By the way, I bought a small portable (annotated) version of the constitution which I carry with me. I’ve been surprised at how often I refer to it. Originally I got it because I wanted to be like RBG – but I never thought I’d actually use it. Turns out there’s a very practical reason for carrying one around and it’s no surprise that Justice Ginsburg would know that.

2. This Roundabout Mural in My Hometown of Dubuque – I’ve never seen this myself but then I’ve not been “home” for a few years because, well, you know why. I was curious to see if this was a thing, if maybe artists were doing this around the US or even around the world but I couldn’t find any others (admittedly I only did one search.) I did, however, find that public traffic sculptures are a thing.

3. This Video Clip from Sesame Street – most of you who grew up on Sesame Street will remember John John. Be sure to watch all the way through and see if you don’t have a big smile on your face when this is over.

4. This Video from 1949 about a “Step-Saving” Kitchen, from the Department of Agriculture – Created for farming families, the video is pure vintage delight. Set aside for the moment the whole housewives (only) do all the cooking thing, and focus on the design aspect. There are actually many things I wish were standard components in today’s kitchens. The cookbook holder on the inside of the cabinet and the garbage hatch were two things I was most impressed by.

I also loved the counter height analysis. I wonder if they still make “pull-out boards”. As a taller person I find most counters are usually too low for me.

A few last thoughts… the video made me miss the “olden” days, just a little bit. Things like having a landline in the kitchen and the little desk you’d sit at while taking a call. I also thought it was interesting that they chose to have a woman narrating the video even though it was about architectural design. It’s a little bit of a relief to know that in 1949 they didn’t feel it would be necessary to have a man present the plans. I realize it was for something considered a “woman’s world” but it would have been the man making the decisions and paying for it.

5. These Hand-Painted Wallpapers – Anyone who knows me knows that I’m wallpaper junkie. And chinoiserie wallpaper, especially hand-painted chinoiserie wallpaper, well, it makes my heart go pitter-patter. When I bought my current house (it’s my Golden Girls’ Dream House,) I knew I absolutely had to have wallpaper put up in a few of the rooms. And so I did and in my opinion, the wallpaper I chose is magnificent. But admittedly, none of it can compare to these.


Chinoiserie (or China Style) “is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music.”

From Wikipedia

The story of how de Gournay began could possibly be movie-worthy:

Started in 1986, founder Claud Cecil Gurney started de Gournay following an unsuccessful search for experts to restore the antique Chinoiserie wallpaper in his family home. His passion for art and Chinese history brought him to China where he investigated the possibility of working with local artists to replicate the pieces he longs for in his home.

Once in China, he quickly discovered the government’s preference for mass design, making traditional hand painting of wallpaper a dying art. In an effort to save the vanishing tradition, he widened his search and eventually located artists whose parents, grandparents and ancestors had been trained in these specific techniques and who shared his wish to continue the traditions.

De Gournay || The World’s Most Beautiful Hand-Painted Wallpapers; Pendulum Magazine; April 30, 2018

Swoon.

6. These Peeps Sandals – My friend Leann made these for Easter. I think they are adorable! Full disclosure, she said that it’s a bugger to work with marshmallow (even marshmallow that you’ve allowed to harden) and a glue gun.

7. This Training Video for Wendy’s Employees – Only in the 80s. It was a simpler time. MUCH simpler. (Still, this brought me much happines.)

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

It’s….

Do you have a library card?

Seven Things I Love (3-8-2021)

March 8, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Happy International Women’s Day!

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 8: An International Women’s Day march, led by the Bread and Roses group, takes place in downtown Boston on March 8, 1970. The march advocated rights to abortion and equality in work opportunities. (Photo by Don Preston/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
  1. 1. This Couple, Annie Kampfe and Cliff Donnelly, Who Built a Miniature Mid-Century House Based on the Homes They Grew Up In – who doesn’t love miniatures and someone who put this much into the details of a Mid-Century home – I mean, it really would be every kids dream house, right?
ANNIE KAMPFE and CLIFF DONNELLY of Leewood, Kansas

2. This DoorDash Commercial – I don’t know about you but there is something quite comforting about the idea of being roomies with Cookie Monster. Yeah, he’d make a mess when he ate, yeah, you’d have to hide the cookies, but how cute is he sitting there on the sofa, reading next to Daveed Diggs?!?!

https://youtu.be/J8uXvfKjax4

3. This New(ish) Television Series, Resident Alien – based on a comic book series, Resident Alien takes a fairly common premise – alien invasion – and turns it upside down. In the SyFy series (which stars Alan Tudyk, most famous for his role as Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne in Firefly, though I also love his ‘Steve the Pirate’ in Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story, one of my all-time favorite movies) is an alien who crash lands in Colorado while on a mission to actually destroy planet Earth. In the crash he loses some of the equipment he needs to destroy earth because it’s winter and it gets buried in the snow, somewhere on a rather large mountain.

Without alien equipment he has to go old school and look for it by walking around and digging, which he knows could take weeks. He decides he will need food and shelter and luckily finds a remote home on the lake. Not so lucky for the homeowner, it isn’t abandoned. The alien kills the man and disposes of his body in the lake but also takes the human’s form in case he’s noticed while searching for his lost equipment.

Soon after though a murder occurs in the nearby town and the victim is the town’s only doctor. The people in the town need someone to help them with the autopsy and guess who is the nearest doctor, yep, the guy the alien killed and transformed himself into.

What is most hilarious I think is that there are a couple kids in town who can see through the facade. I can’t remember what the explanation was – I just took it as being something like in the Polar Express and why kids could still hear the jingle bell. At first there was only one boy who could see him and the alien decided he was going to have to murder the kid. But the kid was a bit more of a challenge than he anticipated.

Anyway, it’s an excellent show! The first episode was a little slow but it has only gotten better and better.

You can watch the trailer here. OR if you really want to get drawn in, here are the first 7 minutes.

ALAN TUDYK as the Alien and Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle

4. This COMPLETELY FABRICATED Series Called Tiny Secret Whispers‘ that Seth Meyers Has Been Gushing Over on His Show for the Past Three Weeks – Sorry Stephen, but Seth has officially become my favorite late night host. His impressions, his banter with his staff, long running jokes like the Thorn birds, the Sea Captain and now this. It’s sheer brilliance and it keeps his audience tuned in every night.

5. These Waterproof Notepads, Aquanotes – I’ve found that I think most clearly in the shower. I suspect it is because there is no distractrations. I’ve tried for several years to find the best way to keep track of my thoughts and ideas. I moved in an Alexa. I bought a waterproof recorder, a few different ones actually. But nothing worked because everything that I bought required me to then take transcribe what I dictated and that was a pain. I finally found these and they have been the best solution. They keep me from rambling (as we know, that is my tendency) and then I can rip off the page, take it to my desk and get it all taken care of without having to listen to a recording first. They are a little pricey but after you buy the first pencil/pad set for $9.75 you can get refills, 3 pads for $26, so it’s a little over a dollar less per pad.

6. This Response from LeVar Burton on the Decision by Seuss Enterprises to Discontinue Publication of Six of Their Titles – Who is better qualified to speak on this topic than Mr. Reading Rainbow himself (and of course ST:TNG’s Geordi La Forge)? You should watch the entire interview and listen to his full reply. It’s exceptional.

“Actually, I think that, in the general sense, once you know better, it is incumbent upon you to do better, and that’s exactly what Seuss Enterprises is doing here. They are being a responsible steward of the brand and they looked at these six titles and determined that in the light of today, they really don’t fit with the values that we’ve all come to know Dr Seuss for. Look, all of our heroes are human; they are all flawed. It’s one of the things I learned from Gene Roddenberry, one of my storytelling mentors. Gene was a guy who had this great vision, but he also wanted all the women in short skirts, so our heroes are flawed.”

-LeVar Burton on CNN’s Full Circle

7. This Website that Drives You Around Most Major Cities of the World – called Drive and Listen, the website will make you feel like you are sitting in a taxi in one of over 50 cities in the world. You can choose whether you want to include street noise (why wouldn’t you?!?) and a local radio station. Unfortunately you don’t get to choose the radio station but that only makes the ride more realistic.

London, UK
Paris, France
Havana, Cuba

Word of the Day

I came across a great list of female related words (most of which I will be using in the future so I’m not going to include the link.) I’m starting with this one. The root of the word, vir-, is Latin for man, such as in the word virile. Don’t you find it interesting how one definition is a nagging shrew and the other is strong, heroic woman?

Quote of the Day

Have a lovely week!

Seven Things I Love (2-8-2021)

February 8, 2021 / / 2 Comments

1. This Stonehenge Made Out of Ice (called “Icehenge”) – okay, so THIS is so AWESOME! And it turns out this was done by a friend of mine’s husband (along with a couple other guys.) How amazing is it! They didn’t do it this year because of COVID and I guess because it’s too cold but I told her to let me know if they do it next year because I want to see it in person. How did I not know about this?!?!

Five friends (Drew McHenry, Kevin Lehner, Quinn Williams, Alec Seamars and Patrick Shields) from Wisconsin created an amazing Stonehenge out of ice on Rock Lake, near the city of Lake Mills.
This photo was taken in 2015.

2. This Teacher – I mean, how cool is this? Teachers are way too underappreciated and definitely UNDERPAID.

3. These EXQUISITE William Morris Designs – I love, love, love the octopus. It’s so steampunk! (Steampunk is one of my many obsessions.) I can’t believe Morris created such a design but it’s really his!!! (Thanks Ann.)

4. These Children’s & YA Books on Body Acceptance – man, if only books like these had been available when I was a kid.

5. This TikTok Environmental Science Enthusiast Known as the Black Forager – she’s adorable.

6. This “Cover” of ‘American Pie’ by Home Free Featuring Don McLean – thanks to my brother Michael for bringing it to my attention. So wonderful!!!

7. This Video of Ryan Reynolds Learning about Ice Sculpture – Ice Sculpture is super cool (and rather intimidating!) Every single time I watch a video of him I only love him even more (and when it’s of him and his wife Blake Lively, ❤️ both of them, they’re so cute!) BUT, it’s not surprising, after all, he’s Canadian.

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

Today’s quote is from a series called ‘Dead Feminists Broadsides’ which have been gathered together in a book titled Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color. I am will post other broadsides in the future but I thought I’d start with Harriet Tubman in honor of Black History Month. You can purchase postcards of all (I think) of the broadsides and there are a few broadsides that you can still actually purchase. Also, there are some lovely mini-broadsides for a few “unofficial” members of the Dead Feminists broadside series. Personally, I would love to have them ALL! Click on the image below to go to the website.

Have a Wonderful Week!

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