Long and Plaid !

Plaid is cool...plaid is for everyone...and plaid is back!
In the fashion world the popularity of plaid rises and falls....
and it's all about plaid right now.

Plaid was a big deal in the 70s. It can have a boho, earthy quality in natural tones. A big deal in that time was the maxi...ankle length dresses, skirts and coats for that romantic hippie look.
This coat has wood toggle buttons and a big collar, and hood. It's back in style again...and listed on ebay.

In the punk anti-fashion fashion movement of the late 70s and beyond...
designers like Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McLaren who opened their Let It Rock boutique in London’s Chelsea in 1971, used Royal Stewart tartans, the royal personal tartan of Queen Elizabeth II, as a political symbol of protest against government oppression by subverting, tearing, cutting, pinning and writing provocative statements on the esteemed tartan.

Here's a dress that combines tartan and vinyl, in a punk way...
click to go to etsy

The history of tartan goes back to the French word, tiretain, meaning woven cloth. Tartan usually refers to special plaid patterns. The word plaid is derived from the Scottish Gaelic plaide, meaning "blanket". Originally plaid was first used to describe the rectangular, blanket-like garment, sometimes made up of tartan, that preceeded the modern kilt. And as we all know, kilts are mostly made of plaid patterned fabric! Wanna find a tartan pattern name? click here

tree hugging and just hugging...

so....on the Big Party Night.....I saw someone in a Flamingo costume....and another lady with cheek dots tossing toast, and ladies with their dresses over their heads..........and me ... checking out my neighborhood with my growling dog in my arms....
can one be in trouble for walking while drinking? With her dog in her arms? Naaah.

So thanks to all you lovely people for giving me another sparkle-full evening on Planet Earth, Tacoma WA. First Night was first rate.
Thanks for not making me drink anything besides water, soda pop, and vodka. The food was yummy, the conversations were silly and Tacoma partied just swell ...all was wet and chummy....and no one danced naked in public (that I saw...) and only the dog puked.

So the men and a woman or 2 have arrived on my street with trucks and pipes and many big orange signs. I'll be taking at least a few pics a week to document the progress of Progress.

First they moved the big concrete planters........and then they cut down all the trees on our stretch of Broadway....boy are people who are closed on Monday gonna be surprised on Tuesday !!

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I sell small furniture and tho Eames isn't my style, I do love a good thing .... and I love the love story of the married couple who brought a European modern style to the US and did it West Coast style........
here's a little vid....

Poorly Worded Signs + Darkness =

Misunderstanding ! OK. The sign said:
No Parking Tuesday after 7 am...blah blah blah.....
That leads one to believe that there is
NO Parking starting Tuesday at 7 am and on to infinity.....
It's true!
Of course that is not what was meant by the signs scattered about on Broadway..funky funky Broadway.
The big men with big trucks and even bigger muscles were moving our big concrete planter boxes because OH JOY!! our street is about to be torn up.
Word up....
How about this:
No Parking
Near Planters
Tuesday Only
7 am - 6 pm.
I have the Pollyanna belief that my government is here to serve ME,
not to confound me and make my life harder than it already is...

And you do know, I'll be noting the progress of the Revamping of Antique Row....

and of course there will be no parking for months....Good Luck to us All on Antique Row !!
But on a happier note !!
FIRST NIGHT !!
of course we'll be open....and havin' a Ball Ya'll..........

A little trip down memory lane...
sidewalks and planters and the old wood box which will move....

Why Is MY Street Closed at 7am Today????

I think The City doesn't like or respect antique row because we ain't controllable corporate types....we're odd, weird, feisty, and we say inscrutable things.
OK, First Night is fine. (I'm gonna assume the street must be closed NOW for First Night)
And I'm not stupid....I know things must be set up...But really now...2 whole days and 1 night is needed on Broadway from 7th to 9th? NO PARKING??
Tully's, the restaurant, the dentist, the ashdon, the 35 businesses, the gay bar, the mortgage companies, screw Riley, and Dennis Flannigan....and so on........Oh wait, maybe they pay for parking...some of us Have To Drive To Work With A CAR...some of us carry more than dog hair and a water bottle to work. Just saying.
I am not a happy driver.
I'm gonna be surprised to go to work today and find the signs gone...Just a Wish...a girl can wish, right?

When I opened Steilacoom Forge Deli in uh, Steilacoom, I was in direct competition with Bair Drug. Guess who had their electricity, water, and other utilities turned off for "construction" at least once a month for a day or 2??? Guess who had their street corner torn up for "construction" at least once a month for a day or two??? Guess who had the street blocked off for a day or two, at random times over the course of the year and a half I was (trying) to be in business??? Me.

I'm a little sensitive.
I just love how THE ARTS are the latest Buzz Concept to Revitalize Tacoma This Decade (tm)
and then when the arts get too um, arty.....all hell breaks loose.
Rather, things must be muzzled.

Antique Row has been a consistent generator of fun, skewed perspective and general nose-thumbing at normal society....and we like it like that!
Used furniture??? gross. Old smelly books? ikkk. Used clothes? barf.
But those non-mainstream items/concepts/practices are what Fuel creativity.
Even tattoos are mainstream now. Chew on that Chew on Dat. (obscure Roald Dahl reference)

Eating oatmeal everyday is boring. Have chocolate cake for breakfast and see how you stack up!
The last neat thing the city did was to install Cable Internet all over town!!!!
I would not be here to annoy you all but for That!! (wait I used to write for newspapers...you know what they are, right?)
(I can't get cable downtown unless I pay big big bucks for construction and installation which is an interesting dilemma....my theory is that everyone is waiting for sidewalk and street mayhem, followed by prettiness....uh, you did remember to run cable to every address on the new construction you did down there, didn't you??? or did you forget, which means the new construction will need to be torn up to cable-up downtown??)

And while I'm blogging about Things Tacoma Is Doing To Annoy Me (tm)...
At least when PP Ray was running things around here, the streets did NOT have holes in them the size of Guatemala !!
Why in the hell do we have massive condo projects that look so modern and upscale, yet the citizens have to drive on 3rd world rutted goat trails to get to them and to the new Nordstrom at the mall?
Did you think I wouldn't notice?
Yeah, fab. My new Missoni dress is in my new Lexus, as I dodge 46 pot holes between Nordy's and my Downtown Condo...............
WTH ??
(I don't live in a condo downtown, I was just giving you an example of the disparate dichotomy that now exists in Tacoma...)
I blame The Man From DesMoines....and I don't mean the waterfront burg up north...

So have fun on First Night but don't get naked what ever you do. And don't do anything Rick Warren would wag his finger at.....



Bair Drug is closed now. Looks permanent.
Karma is a Bitch.

More Xmas Music !

Mark and I used to do a radio show at KGHP in Purdy....and this is a selection of music we used to play...on our traditional Christmas show....Enjoy !!


We played The Pansy Division version, but I can't find that....this is long long before the Gay Cowboy Movie.....I just can't quit you.....



No one does Christmas like the Irish.....Merry Christmas Nick!



and I want to show you Mr.T experience "Danny Partridge Got Busted" but not on youtube..waaah. So here.

It's A Wonderful Life !!

Always the right time for a pretty party dress !
For the fellas, um , er... or a 60s Cafe Leather Motorcycle Jacket.....

Cobalt Blue tissue lame is sparkly ! This is my new favorite color...so snowfall at night....


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Black and White Gunne Sax Bubble Dress...the most wanted Bubble from a fave
designer !

Even sassier with the slim skirt pulled up...


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Red Satin..always the right choice to Wow 'Em !

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60s Cafe Racer Jacket ...a 46 !

click lil elf to take you to ebay

And always remember....It's A Wonderful Life !!

Get on with Your Holiday....and First Night..

The snow has really slowed me down...from sprouting a big leak in my sheepskin boots..which means I had to buy 4 new pair to replace them....well, new to me...that is!


The gang at the shop kept us open everyday during the wet white stuff.....We are here for your retail needs....and now we rest for a day!



We'll return after the hangover subsides and we wake from the steak, the turkey, the yams, the pie and the whipped cream, the mimosa's, and the wrapping is folded and put away for next year!
I have a few last minute auctions on ebay....and the store has coats and other cold weather needs.....sorry I didn't get a pic of the lovely dresses and the Righteous white Tux jacket that the Ghost of Elvis lusts for....
Of course I"ll be open on Boxing Day....the 26th.
And a Big Deal on First Night !