Foodie Goodie

You would think they'd rhyme. But no.
They're cute tho....
Oh Christmas tree...o christmas tree...I'm a gonna eat you.......

from this post on Apartment Therapy......

Here's me...waiting for the Persimmons.....

I ate a billion of them when I lived in California because it is a State Law in the Golden State that every yard has to have a tree....so they were rather common....
but uncommonly delicious......

after 3 days stuck inside because of The Huge Snow of the Northwest (2" of snow)
I bundled up in layers and went to go buy some.........food.
I was out of Bloody Mary Mix.

70s Italian Waffle stompers, patagonia leggings, wool thi-hi socks, short black sweater dress, 70s Harris Tweed jacket, gray scarf and a cream mohair beret. striped mitts....made by me......these are my everyday, all day pair.

the original the stupendous the cashmere panties.......

when I started looking on the old internets for cashmere underwear made from recycled cashmere sweaters, I found nothing. Nothing. No one had done it by September 2009. I was first on the planet Earth to get them made and listed.....in my search, I found 3rd world factory made cashmere panties for women....I found one pair of 3rd world factory made cashmere bloomers....and I found baby's soakers made from old sweaters....I found cashmere blend panties....but no 100% cashmere panties, bloomers, knickers, drawers....from recycled.
so now, I find I'm being copied !
that means it was a fabulous Idea!

Here's a red pair.....and more will come in the next few days...and that ain't all that's in my head....

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and a few pics of past projects.......

I yam what I yam...

but you are sweet........potato.

hey November, you were 70 degrees at the first of the month, remember? well, I do. I knew you'd be back to your old tricks...freezing me..and with ...snow?

This is late November....acorns..and dry leaves.

another November thing....waiting for my persimmons to ripen.  taps taps taps taps taps.......baking a pumpkin pie...(yes I did that today)

so here we are....Sweet potatoes in the can, and a real ripe Yam!

it is by magic

and my sewing........
another collection of vintage fabric trees.......
last year the set of 12 sold out within 2 days of listing and displaying in the store.....

the trunks are old wood spools of thread........this another project I designed....from the pattern....(ha) a triangle and the base, to thinking of the vintage spool as a tree trunk....oh sure.........someone else may have thought of it.....but I  haven't seen this anywhere else ..yet!
Just listed in my thatyountvillegirl etsy shop........

this set...I think I can get about 2 dozen floral evergreen trees from this bit of very old printed muslin.....The next sets will be of similar barkcloth, and other fabrics and other shapes......so they will all be listed in the next few days...before Thanksgiving day. The goal is to try to make about  4 dozen

What's the meme, Shareen?

sparkle...purple...and soft...
I am in love with this 60s dress......

black, metallic sparkle and an India bohemian thing going on.......
the opposite of cul de sac Mad Men....for the vintage mom with the hookah in the family room......

I thought it demanded a choker..so I tied a silk paisley scarf at the neck and let the tails hang down the back......this deep neckline will be the perfect place for a great necklace...some rhinestones or lots of chains in silver and gold.......

Empire neckline, a full skirt.....more room to stash the pumpkin pie and whipped cream...

I'm also loving the late autumn display of old books with weathered gold papers, some branches that blew down in the recent storm.......and my trusty old Napa milk can.......

In case it gets cold...bundle up in a 70s Irish tweed vintage coat  and drink some vintage Irish whiskey...Gorgeous Donegal tweed in shades of purple......

Look at the structure....this is a classic that will always and forever look good....

Head cold? Classic blue beret....
yeah, Blueberry Beret.....

This + That = yeah.

Dressing like a lady...somewhere between uggs and a caftan...lies some classy stuff....

 a fall calico skirt with a vintage Bonnie Cashin Jacket....

With a cream leather clutch and pale tortoise vintage Polaroid Cool Ray sunglasses.

Keep your head warm...with a 70s velvet print cap.....

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A vintage girly motorcycle-inspired black leather jacket.....

with a vintage satin corset top ....a Big Bow and Stripes!

Vintage stripe hat (lots of fake pearls and chains..)

and hey, wear at least 2 colorful crinolines
 lavender....
 ....and black with pink....
not the same old Holiday outfit, eh?

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An   airline style..tote bag  paired with a  vintage blue herringbone suit...

and under the suit....a cute vintage calico blouse...

add a plaid wine leather vintage wrap coat....

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Long pleated blue plaid wool skirt and a matchy-ish vintage blue jacket..with a black velvet collar....

Cuuuute knit beret...to keep the head warm....

and a Dash of Fall flavor...oatmeal tweed trench coat.....

Raw thoughts on a childhood haunt.....

The Fagiani bar in Napa will reopen and it will retain the ugly blue and burgundy tiles that were applied in the 40s, to a 1910 building.
My whole life is about preservation of that which has come before...I like today and tomorrow just fine...but I have spent my entire existence acquiring bits of this and that, and vast knowledge of old tomatoes, old furniture, old buildings, old paint, old wallpaper, old crap ...good and bad, and of course.... old clothes...old memories

Wow, what an incredible soap opera has happened over this.....
Bought by Steve Hasty a few years ago, he has lost the money and found the money to remodel and open it as a bar and restaurant again...(the economy is such a dream-killer).


This bar is 2 doors down from the Asia Cafe, where my parents and I went to dinner many many many nights of my childhood. Sick green walls, musty old varnished wood, each booth had a chrome hat rack standing ready. Great Chinese/American/Chinesey food, hot tea, and Eddie's mom, Mary Berengue was the waitress. Dum Dum candy pops after dinner served in the same little monkey bowl as the stale fortune cookies, with fortunes that never really told me which path was my real destiny.
Yes it was paradise. See the pic of the sign at the bottom.

The Fagiani family were politicians and friends with my mom and dad. My parents also were politicians and they were also bar and restaurant owners. My mom's bar , Lomita's Red Front, is now Bouchon Restaurant.

 yes...this bar....tattooed on my arm..

Fagiani’s bar was closed in 1976 by Muriel Fagiani after her sister’s homicide in the bar, and it became a time capsule.
The beer stayed in the cooler.....the electricity stayed on...telephone bill was paid for 3+ decades and still rang when Hasty bought it. After he bought the bar, the sister's murderer was found, and is in a trial right now. Clicky here for that story.
You can't make this shit up.
Well, you can, But I didn't. It happened when I was pregnant with Shayne and it haunted me too. A murder. In a place I knew intimately with the gossamer of time.

Over the years since I lived there, Napa has licked the boot heels of the rich, trading on its proximity to wine.
This makes me roll my eyes since Napa (like Tacoma) has always been working class. Why be ashamed of working? It seems that every city in America can't figure out that
is the heart and soul of a city...that which gives it Authenticity.

Hasty plans to reopen the bar and create a restaurant for the second and third floors. First the Napa Planning Commission rejected Hasty’s plan to keep the tiles because fancy-pants experts said it was wrong wrong and wrong. And they were right. Those tiles are uggggly.

So What. Here's the quote from the Napa Register,"Addressing the city council Tuesday, architectural historian Caitlin Harvey — who submitted a report about the project to the council — said Hasty’s varying design elements are integrated properly in the design plans. The building’s blend of styles is unique, she said. "
Ms. Harvey is channeling my soul.....as does..."Cindy Heitzman, a former Napa County Landmarks president who has served on several preservation boards, said Hasty’s project — keeping the building largely as is — retains the building’s historical value. The Fagiani tiles, she said, “tell a story of a period in time” and contribute to the building’s character, and reflect part of Napa’s history.“It’s not a beauty contest. ... this building tells a story,” she told councilmembers."

"Councilmember Peter Mott said the Fagiani building reflects Napa’s past as a blue collar, post-war town. "

another quote , "Page & Turnbull, a San Francisco architectural firm, also asserted that overall, the building’s design elements complement each other. "

This, folks, is how it's done. So what ...ugly is as ugly does. It tells a story. Here in Tacoma, at breakneck speed, so many old buildings and neighborhoods are disrespected and disrupted for the Flavor Of The Decade.
Copycat towns and cities are the Real ugly. Character people !! Reality !! Get Me Real.
So happy that the bar my parents would secret me in when I was a youngin' so they could have a belt for the road, after dinner at the Asia Cafe.....is gonna live again.
A tiny piece of my childhood is saved from stupid capitalists.....

 photos stolen from The Napa Register. so sue me.
 photo of Asia Cafe sign from athena glow on flickr