Mad with Desire...

Laughing Liippa Half Slip.

Nixie Garden GuardHers.

Sidhe Stem Stockings.


I am in love with everything made by Jennifer M. Brown, designer/creator of Under The Root. I would be the happiest girl if all my unmentionables were from this shop. It's the vintage-inspired yet edgy urban look of Jennifer's designs that drive me mad with desire. Her pieces are custom fit to your measurements with a large selection of colors as well as fabric choices. What more could a girl want? Did I mention that she also makes undergear and such for gents? Swoon.


Beauty Essentials...

Here are two beauty products that do basically the same thing. All you have to do is decide how much you're willing to spend. They both are completely fabulous and are favorites of mine. They do just what they say they'll do: brighten and erase the signs of fatigue on your face. Benefit's Eye Bright is in pencil form while Yves Saint Laurant's Touche Eclat is a liquid with brush attachment.


Eye Bright by Benefit Cosmetics $20 at Sephora. It brightens your eyes beautifully when applied under the brow, above the brow, at the corners of your eye. I've gone through more than one of these pencils. This little magic wand is one of my favorite beauty essentials. It's so easy to use, reasonably priced because it lasts forever, and really makes a dramatic difference. I adore this product.

Touch Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent $40 at Sephora. The liquid form makes this brightener super easy to use and more subtle. It widens the eyes when used between the eyebrows and along the sides of the nose. It makes lips look fuller when used in the hollow of the chin and around lip contours. It erases the look of fatigue around your eyes. So for those of us who never seem to get enough sleep, this is a must-have. I use it all time and absolutely love.
Check out my other beauty essentials too...xo

Fringe Fall 2009

The Lovely Librarian Cowl is the first of the Fringe Fall 09 lineup to hit my shop. A rich, super soft, oversized mocha brown cowl complete with a unique sculptural brooch that can be worn with all of your wardrobe pieces. What makes this piece extra special is the brooch; a large, soft, pliable muslin fabric sculpture with strips of vintage lace, velvet ribbon and a very old mother-of-pearl button. I designed the ruffles to actually resemble worn, well-read pages of a book.

I hope you like my newest Fringe creation. There's plenty more where this came from, soon to appear...Thanks for visiting...xo












Chris Isaak...




Last night I went to see Chris Isaak in concert. It was at Humphreys By The Bay in San Diego. An outdoor, smallish venue set (you guessed it) on the bay. It's not the first time I've seen him there, but last night was extra special. I already had good seats in the center section, eighth row on an aisle seat, but when a women working for Humphreys came up to me and the gal next to me and asked if we would give up our seats for some producers in exchange for front row seats, you can guess what we replied.

Yes, friends, we (myself and Laurie from Michigan) were moved to the front row and let me tell you...it was such a blast! Even though Laurie and I had never met before, we had a grand time together. Chris and his band put on an amazing show, complete with the infamous mirror suit which he put on for his encore songs. We were so close that we could see a missing mirror on his upper right thigh...oh my.

Graffiti on Trains...






Route 99 between Vidalia and Bakersfield, California. It was a leg of our road trip home. We saw so many graffiti trains. A huge number of them just sitting, car after car, on the tracks. I was only able to snap a few photos while driving by, but they really don't do justice to the real thing. They were long, long trains, all with graffiti. I've never seen anything quite like it, the quantity, that is....At any rate, I think they're very cool.



Well Being Tip...


At the risk of sounding like an old little, brittle woman (I'm not, really I'm not!), I must tell you about these supplements. They are amazing. Truly. If you're a knitter/crocheter, jeweler, crafter, artist, in any profession where you work with your hands all day, then Move Free will be your best friend. I know this sounds like a testimonial, but honestly, they made a huge difference for me. I wanted to tell you about this product in case you have sore hands/wrists/joints and need something to help. Within one week of taking them I noticed a big improvement. I've been using these supplements for about two years now. You can find them at any drugstore.

So there you have it, my well being tip of the day...xo

I'm Back...

Hello lovely friends! I'm back from my wonderful vacation and I missed you. Thank you to all of the sweethearts who left me such dear messages while I was gone. I truly appreciate each and every one of them.


Our trip was relaxing, the weather was brilliant, and we made many happy memories (and took lots of pics) which I will share with you here in various posts.

There were not many mishaps, but there were a couple of fairly major ones. The first day of our vacation, my husband's computer died. Actually, his motherboard fried. After the initial panic and dread subsided, he found a computer troubleshooter in Mammoth. They managed to retrieve an important presentation he had been slaving over for the past two weeks. Luckily, he had backed up everything on his computer just two weeks ago so the only major item he needed to retrieve was that presentation. So a happy ending to that story...

The second fairly major mishap (in my opinion, anyway) was the demise of Josephine. Josephine was my beloved fishing pole. She'd caught many a fish for me in the years I've had her. We happened upon the most beautiful lake, Lake Tioga, which is between Mammoth and Yosemite. I saw the perfect spot to fish and was making my way over to it by climbing an incline with lots of rocks, large and small. I lost my footing (I've never been the most graceful girl around, I've actually had some epic falls in the past) and did a sort of minor fall/slide, landing with a thud on...Josephine. The fall snapped off her reel, but the rod is fine, and I have a reel-shaped bruise on my right hip along with a scraped right elbow, no serious injuries. Never fear, my dears, this also has a happy ending...


The boy made his way over and perched on that perfect flat rock I had spotted and preceded to catch four gorgeous rainbow trout. They were the first fresh water fish he had ever caught, even though he'd had numerous tries over the years. So it was a very special and delightful day after all.

{Our boy at that perfect flat rock fishing spot.}

It's good to be back home, sleeping in our own beds along with all the other comforts of home, although I'm a bit sad that our vacation is over. When you have children, you start counting down how many summer vacations you have left with them before they're all grown up. The way I see it, I only have maybe 5 summers left with the boy. Bittersweet thoughts...

Koala Cuteness...

Sleepyhead.

Time for dinner.

The koalas were either eating or sleeping when we were at the zoo. So adorable! I thought that while I'm away on my vacation , it would be the perfect time to schedule some posts with the zoo pics. I wanted to share some of the many photos I took on our zoo visit...

The Darling Little Deers...





I swore I was going to remember the name of these beautiful creatures. I do believe they are all from Africa, but that's about all I can remember. If any of you know their names, please let me know, will you? The darling little deer in the first photo was really tiny. I want one.


Stripes Are In...

This is not an optical illusion...there really are three zebras standing there. Aren't they magnificent?

Peek-a-boo...I see you...

Hello, little dollface.

Thank you for stopping by...xo

Pretty in Pink...



I still have lots of San Diego Zoo photos to share. The flamingos were brilliant. They always make me happy when I watch them. It's so cool when they stand perfectly still on just one leg. I hope you enjoyed these shots...there will be more coming soon.


She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain...

Hello lovelies. I'm off on my first vacation in 3 years. It's sorely needed. My husband and son will be with me. We're going to Mammoth and then Yosemite. I closed my shop on Etsy for this vacation which is a first for me. It's harder to do than I thought it would be, but I expect I'll get over any anxiety about it as soon as we hit the road. We're leaving today, bright and early (in about half an hour). I hope to have internet access for the first half of our trip. If so, I will check in here and give you some snippets of our activities.

I'm travelling light for this trip (which is really saying something for me). I plan to be inspired by all the wonders of nature. Although I've been to these places before, it's been a long while. I'm taking Josephine (my fishing pole), my sketchbook, journal, camera, and still debating about knitting/crochet paraphernalia. Drop me a line if you like...I'll miss you while I'm gone....xo

P.S. I have a number of blog posts scheduled for this time while I'm gone. I hope you'll come back and check them out.

Devil's Post Pile, Mammoth


Silver Lake, Mammoth

Half Dome, Yosemite
Bridal Falls, Yosemite

Book Sculpture Revisited...

Remember these?

Every year around Thanksgiving, we would make turkey centerpieces out of old phone books in grade school art class. I used to love making them. It's a great way to recycle an old book that is damaged or you've no longer a use for.

I revisited this craft a couple weeks ago when I was trying to come up with a fun craft for my 12-year-old boy. Believe me, it's no picnic trying to interest a boy that age with crafts. He flipped over this one though. Above is my finished project. I had an old journal from two years ago that I kept around purely for the daily quotes it offered. It turned out to be a lovely book sculpture although it is a bit rough and uneven. Also, it would have been better if the journal were about twice as thick, but still, I quite like it. I even have the attached ribbon bookmark keeping the place for one of my favorite quotes.

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." ~Salvador Dali

Whenever I want a quote, I simply unfold the page. As for the boy's book sculpture...he's still got a ways to go on it. He had an old book we picked up at a school giveaway and it is much thicker than mine. Typical for his age, he has the patience required for this only in small spurts. When he's finished with his sculpture, I will be sure to show it to you...

Summer Essential Fashion...

The Linen Getaway Dress is a perfect swimsuit cover-up. It's very flattering, light and comfortable. You could go straight from the beach or pool to a quaint bistro for lunch and look great. It's darling as a little summer dress too. Excellent for a vacation. If you want one, you'd better hurry. They're on sale at J. Crew right now. I snagged mine at the sale price and couldn't be more tickled with it.

Year of the Tiger...

{I took this photo at, you guessed it, the San Diego Zoo}

I think tigers are magnificent creatures. Maybe it’s because I was born in the Year of the Tiger. I’m partial to them. I found this site that will tell you what your animal sign is. Below are the supposed traits of Tiger people, each one is followed by my comments. Please note that I meant for some of my answers to be humorous.

Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. –
I hope I am. I strive to be all three. The deep thinking can get me into trouble though.

They can be extremely short-tempered, however. –
What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. –
I try to always treat others with respect (unless they prove to be complete and total jerks which doesn't really happen much). As far as older people (what do they mean by "older people" anyway? That whole statement is just weird) are concerned, I avoid conflict at all costs. Now, those in authority, that’s a whole other story. After all, authority is sometimes meant to be challenged.

Sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. –
Sadly, this has been known to be the case from time to time. Like the time my old roommate and I were bored and decided to give each other perms (aka poor, hasty decision). I am notorious for indecision with the little things. The big things I have very definite thoughts on, for the most part.

They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. – Suspicious? I don’t think I’m suspicious…why? What have you heard? As for c
ourageous and powerful, I must admit I’ve always wanted to be a superhero. And if any fool messes with my loved ones, they better get ready for a one way ticket to Misery Town, courtesy of Year of the Tiger.

Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs – And where does that leave my darling Ox of a husband, hmmm? By the way, analyzing the accuracy of the traits listed for Year Of The Ox is a whole other post. Just sayin'.

Other interesting Tiger Tidbits...

Ideal jobs for the Tiger include (who comes up with this?); Entrepreneur, Military officer, Politician, Musician, Writer, Poet, Designer, Theatre director, Stockbroker, Athlete, Film star, Trade union leader, Company director, Stunt person, Explorer, Teacher.

Some famous Tigers; Sir David Attenborough, Natalie Wood, Tom Berenger, Agatha Christie, H.G. Wells, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Dickinson, Isadora Duncan, Roberta Flack, Frederick Forsyth, Jodie Foster, Stevie Wonder, Sir Alec Guiness, Hugh Hefner, William Hurt, Dylan Thomas, Marilyn Monroe, Demi Moore, Beatrix Potter.

One Big Stick = Fun

Ok, sunshines, it does appear that this week is nature week on Fringe. I took so many pictures as well as some videos at last week's zoo visit, and I just can't help but share them with you. Look at it as good clean fun for all ages. I hope you are enjoying them...Please forgive the roughness of my videos, and the background noise.

This particular elephant was very playful and did lots of different things while we were there. You can't tell from the video, but the elephants have a huge area to hang out in, as they should. I admit the angle of this video is not the best, but the place was packed with people (as you will notice from all the background chatter on the video). I thought the "weeeee!" at the end was particularly charming :), and it wasn't me that said it (fyi).

As always, I'm glad you stopped by...I love reading your comments. xo

Did I Mention That I Love Giraffes?

We fed the giraffes on our San Diego Zoo excursion. They were so polite taking the biscuits out of our hands. Look how long her tongue is. And notice the cool shadow to the left...


The zoo photographer guy got the top of his head drooled on right after this photo was snapped of me feeding my giraffe buddy. Hazard of the job, I guess.


I mean really, who couldn't love this darling? Aren't giraffes the most amazing creatures? They are truly beautiful too. This little love is licking her lips in anticipation of another biscuit.


Meerkats Make Me Happy...






Last week we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was a wonderful day. I took over a hundred photos and several little movies (so beware, they will soon be posts). We spent the entire day there. One of the best parts of our visit was the meerkat clan (I looked it up, a group of meerkats is called a clan). They were so active, clever and charming. They came right up close to us. Honestly, the way they stand so stretched out and straight with their feet apart, it's comical. We also observed that they have great stance (karate talk) when they stand. We stayed there longer than any other area of the zoo. I hope you enjoy some of the photos I took of them, including the last one of J.B. Meerkat (the J.B. is short for James Bond). J.B. is my son's souvenir of our day at the zoo.