I should have hit CTRL ALT DEL before leaving the house dressed like this, but I was in a hurry, as I had very important business to attend. There were twelve pounds of Bing cherries waiting for us to pick up for Danny's Fair jams, conserves, and chutneys. It was good timing as we booked our hotel rooms for the fair last evening. Only 57 days until the State Fair!
Last week I dried several pounds of cherries to use in baking and in a double-cherry conserve with both fresh and dried fruit (and a splash of brandy). I wear gloves, but I've also accepted that my hands will be stained for the next few weeks. It is a small price to pay for a larder filled with the best things of summer to enjoy all winter. Danny's focused on winning ribbons, but I'm looking forward to all the wonderful things we'll have to share at Christmas. It used to be so much work getting the preserving done, but Danny's changed all that. I strongly endorse teaching preserving to children (your own, or any willing student) because you can get them to do all your work for you! Shhhh, they think they're having fun. Bonus points if you can get them to think weeding the garden and pushing the Hoover are adventures.
Speaking of adventures...we spotted this at Hand-Me-Ups yesterday. It was about 5 ft tall including the massive shade. I threatened to buy it, Danny threatened to buy some gold cherubs, and in the end we decided it best to just buy the Johnson Brothers "Jewel" flow blue platter and get the hell out. But really, I wanted that lamp so bad it hurts. If we had a holiday cabin in the woods, I'd have bought it without question. I don't suppose it would be right to purchase holiday property just to have a place for a lamp. Damn, I want that lamp in the worst way.
Outfit Particulars:
80's rayon blend blouse and skirt by Southern Lady (I'm neither) Hand-Me-Ups-$6.99
80's Lady Carol (geez, what's with all the ladies?) of New York crepe jacket-Hand-Me-Ups .99 cents
Shoes-Goodwill
Mandolin necklace by 1928-bought 80's, Marshall Field's (I think)
1960's gold beads-Thrift World
Bentmar hat (60's-ish) Hand-Me-Ups
60's Gold and black necklace-Hand-Me-Ups
1950's green crystal clip earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
1960's (70's?) bag by JR-Thrift World
1960's Monet Brooch-Can't remember
Onyx and gold bracelet-Mum's
Niello bracelet-Goodwill
Tights-K Mart
Fragrance-still none due to asthma, but my bottle of Guerlain Santal Royal arrived and I hid away in my room to give it a sniff from the bottle where it wouldn't bother Danny. Oh. My. God. I'm not an oud fanatic but Oh. My. God. Why do I always fall in love with the hard-to-get stuff? Seriously. This is LOVE.
There's something familiar about the way this outfit is put together. Is it the hat? The collar on the jacket? Wait, I think I know...
Happy Canada Day!
9 comments:
If you love Santal Oud then you will definitely love Amouage's Gold & Lyric Woman. Funny, SO has been panned as smelling synthetic & syrupy sweet or jammy.
Luca Turin in his review for Style Arabia, gave Santal Royal a one-star rating which is accompanied by an “Avoid” definition-
"Guerlain’s unseemly haste in trying to pander to the Arab market is lately reaching levels that must make Jacques Guerlain spin in his grave. This unisex Santal Royal smells as if Thierry Wasser had mixed equal parts of Cool Water [Davidoff] and any one of the lamentable, so-called “ouds” that Western firms try to sell to Arabs who probably know better."
I don't know, most Arab style perfumes are quite heavy & cloying to the western palate tending to focus on quality of ingredients rather than artful blending. I can't imagine Guerlain using synthetic or poor quality oud though.
2 vintage perfume spottings-
A group of Swiss ladies in their 60's came to our gallery the other day. One lady was wearing Molinard's Habanita- a very 1920's powdery fruited tobacco. Another was wearing Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass - spicy carnations with a a heady blast of aldehydes over an almost unguent base of lavender, cedar, & laurel. Both brilliant choices for summer.
Well hello there!!! You look far more gorgeous than an '80s computer screen, of course you do you are doing the dots!!! I used to rope the lads into chores by making out it was cool, worked until they grew into slothy smelly teenagers!! They thank me now as they can actually look after themselves now in their flats.
PS: Go back for the lamp, the log cabin can come later!!
I am intrigued by the cherries - do you dry them in the oven?
We seem to be pretty crap with cherries in the UK, we just eat them. Continental Europeans and Americans seem much more inventive.
Go back! Go back and get the lamp!!! You can always tuck it away somewheres and bring it out for Christmas! Imagine the lamp, on the ground (a la Christmas tree), surrounded by jars of cherry preserves!!
Sorry, I'm on a vicious, vintage housewares kick. And that lamp was GLORIOUS!
Johnsons Bros makes beautiful dishes and serving pieces. Can you show us a pic of what you picked up?
Happy Canada Day and State Fair prep!!
@Bibi
Yeah, that sounds like Turin. Then again, he considers Tommy Girl one of the great fragrances, so you know, taste is subjective, etc. etc. Almost all oud is synthetic now given the scarcity and cost, but there's good synthetics and bad. I rather like Creed's, but Danny hates it so I haven't bought a large bottle.
Blue grass! Oh my goodness, that does bring back memories.
@Sue
You done good with those children!
@Mim
I bought a food dehydrator a few years ago which makes drying so much easier than using the oven, or doing it outdoors on a screen. Essentially, you end up with something raisin-like. If you do them in the oven, put it at the lowest setting. Place the pitted and halved cherries on parchment lined pans, and take care not to crowd them (it helps the air circulate). You could also use a baking rack atop a baking sheet to get air circulating, but cherries have a lot of sugar and the clean up will be...not nice. Either way, it will take a couple days, though you can leave them in a turned-off oven overnight with no harm done. After a few hours, flip them to get air on the other side of the fruit. They should be pliable, but not wet and it sometimes helps to let them come to room temperature to see if they're ready. Some will dry faster than others, so remove those and keep going. If they go too long, just re-plump them in warm water and use them in cake.
I like the dehydrator as it won't tie up the cooker for two days, and it uses much less electricity.
Of course the very best thing to do with fresh cherries is plunking them in a jar covered in brandy.
@Thrifty Parka
That lamp would be a bit too big to tuck away anywhere ;)
I will get the platter photographed eventually. My everyday dishes are JB Friendly Village, but I couldn't resist a bit of flow blue.
That lamp's not doing it for me Goody, I say "Walk away from the lamp" . I agree you accessorise better than Madeline, in fact you are the Queen of accessorising in my eyes. Hope the preserving goes well.
You're right about the hat: it's Auntie Em-goes-to-the-fair only if one views the hat alone. Add the bright green polka dots, the 20s strapped shoes, and pile on the bling et voila! It's as chic as a French schoolgirl on her free day with francs in her pocket!
The lamp is probably possessed,y'know. Bring it home and next you'll be installing an avocado green shag rug and hanging plants in macrame slings in the living room windows. And then you'll find 8-track-tapes on top of the piano and Burnt Orange fondue pots on top of the stove. It looks like it would be happier living with a woman who wears polyester knits, smokes Marlboros and drinks cheap Chardonnay, and reads the artcles in Playboy. * It is kinda cute, though...
@Jayne
I have a funny feeling the lamp will be sticking around the thrift store for a bit. I can't bring it home-I don't have a room large enough for it.
@Beth Waltz
You described my tastes so well until you got to the Marlboros (I smoked Dunhills, back when I smoked). I have a stereo that plays 8 tracks. I bought it when I was in high school and it still works (except for the turntable) so I see no reason to get rid of it.The speakers are as tall as that lamp.
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