“Do you like the look of jeans, but the feel of pajamas?”
-- Pajama Jeans commercial

SO MANY THINGS THAT I WANT TO SHARE + JULY 14, 2011

I continue to battle it out with MMD and am in the final stretches, but it has indeed proved to be quite an assignment. And it relies heavily on the acquiring of groceries and other supplies that are occasionally out of my hands.

I continue though & I am still hopeful that all will get off of the ground within the next couple of weeks. Stay posted, my precious few faithful. Once again, I have bitten off more than I could chew. But it sure is fun, doing all of this darn chewing.

We continue to try to revamp our little house here on Anita and I've taken to making a tablecloth out of an old quilt and setting some stone paths in the backyard so try and cut out some of the damn MUD that the four of us are constantly tracking in the house. It's kind of a pain, but I'm sure that we will be glad when all looks nice, clean and intentional.

We have also noticed some old chains in one of our trees that were presumably used for a swing. So I'm basically bananas for a swing right now and trying to consider my options. This of course brings me to the magnificent Hare Swing by Adam McEwen, which is my first choice.
How fantastic. Buy me one. My birthday is in August.

Speaking of luxury items that I am totally entitled to, I also found this buck necklace on 1stdibs and I want it very much and promise to wear it everyday and never ask for another necklace as long as I live. How fantastic. Buy me one. My birthday is in August.

Any day now there should be silver paint for the painting of the beautifully re-tiled bathroom and I am hoping to persuade Mr Madden into painting the ceiling of said room as well. Could be amazing. And silvery.
(Sometimes its such a shame that we rent. There's really only so much that we can do, that's worth it to do.)

And while we have all of that beginning I am attempting to clean our very cluttered kitchen (before it eventually gets painted a gorgeous blue-green) and am now considering what will happen to our office, the last hideous refuge in the house.
Perhaps I paint a mural? Am I crazy and will Mister just kill me??

eko nugrohomartha stewart, broken crow

Maybe I'm just turned on by what's busy or perhaps I have no desire to paint another room a flat color. What to do, what to do.
And then I consider this wallpaper (below) from Porter Teleo in what I believe is Kelly Wearstler's grand foyer.

I admit to being a tad conflicted when it comes to Kelly Wearstler. Sometimes I totally get it- like this wallpaper and the turquoise. And her awesome acceptance of cadmium red. It's really powerful here. Other times its just too much, too gold, perhaps too LA??

But her blog is really illustrative and I find so much of her visual language other-worldly to me; like she has her own manner of speaking and is such a broad thinker & a bit all over the place. She creates almost Eames patterns come to life. I find her work very unexpected and a little gauche, but its fascinating. She is nothing if not inspiring. Go to there.

I think that a sign of real wealth is being able to buy an unlimited amount of books. I do know about libraries, but its just not the same. I love books for the objects that they are, for the feel of them in my hands. I like to underline them and dog-ear the corners.

Needless to say, I wish that I had more money for books. But I did recently finish Just Kids (Patti Smith) and Bossypants (Tina Fey). And hurrah for both.

Just Kids left me sobbing. All of the New York and the poverty and Pratt and Hall Street mentions. And then the sad, distant death of her friend. Ugh. And she says something about all of her friends dying, everyone leaving her and that she wasn't luckier, she just had the best horse.
Could you just curl up in a bawl??! Highly recommended. She makes the ordinary seem magical.

One of our dearest friends sent us this video which he brilliantly took off of his television. He was spot on to recognize our very own Homeless McCrazyface. And here he is with Austin's Finest on a charming little show called Jail:

Is he scary & nutty or what??

Oh, Homeless, you're always making us laugh!
And can I please say that I DO NOT MISS HIM and that living in a little neighborhood as opposed to tha 'hood does indeed have its upsides.

Like this upside. This is great:
During a morning walk with the hubs I found proof that kids ruin cool. I was laughing and Slade was sleepy & amused by nothing. This may be a fun project for me and you're welcome.
KIDS RUIN COOL.

And if that isn't enough awesome for today, there's Brosmind from Barcelona and they're CRAZY and very crafty and appear to always be up to something.
Some days I feel as if my work needs to get goofier and guys like this help get that urge in me really going. And it makes me think that I need to be drawing, drawing, drawing with a pen...

Fantastic, no? Really loving that blue and white banner. Cheerful and sinister at the same time.

My mother loves to needlepoint like a little lady and is always after me to start-- (I actually have a bag full of needlepoint things in my closet right this very moment.)

I found Felicity Hall's work and am in love with the date pillows. She provides free PDF's on her website for all numbers. Awesome and generous of her. I need to start needlepointing.
AND did you know that the ladies that get paid to needlepoint Christmas stockings can make $1000 per?? Maybe I love to needlepoint too.

I'm also over my hair. OVER IT and I have cut it all off. AND I'm going really blonde. Really into all of this colored streak thing, but I'm sure that Mr Madden wouldn't understand a bit of it and I prefer to not confuse the poor dear. But still, my interesting imaginary self has gorgeous blue streaks and I love them to pieces.

I spend most of my time in play clothes, with dirty hair and big Bose headphones constantly on. (Technically I guess that they are Mr Madden's headphones but they have paint all over them and crusty pinata paste so they look like they belong to me.)
This is what I'm listening to, rambling around the house, making dinner, perhaps having a cocktail or two:

1 the Weeknd (House of Balloons) This album was explained to me as the last one of the night and that's pretty right on, once all of the cigs are gone and you cannot drink another drop. Which sometimes happens. Like almost everytime. And last night.
2 Cannot get enough of Jim James so its no surprise that the new My Morning Jacket album (Circuital) is awesome. Like put it on repeat awesome.
3 Wu Lyf (Go Tell Fire To The Mountain.) No idea what they're saying. Not even a good guess.
4 Lykke Li (Wounded Rhymes) Indeed. She's nutty, but sexy too. Play Jerome. Even the song about the prostitute has a great beat. You gonna get some.
5 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi (Rome) Great background music. For a very swanky party.
6 Dr Dog (Shame, Shame & Fate) I'm late to this party, partly because I had a very difficult time downloading illegal copies of their music for several years. Happy to say that I have remedied that problem because some of this stuff is just amazing. Not I would have paid for it amazing, but I would have seriously considered it. (The Beach, Jackie Wants a Black Eye)
7 And the summer always sounds great with some Black Crowes (Before the Frost, Warpaint). It has to be loud and you have to hear it kind of waft around the house. Makes you want to dance around, sing soulfully to yourself. Cheers. (Houston Don't Dream About Me)

wu-tang via the simpsons

8 King Geedorah (Take Me To Your Leader, Anti-Matter) I am always on the hunt for cool hip-hop that I can play in the house and that will be a big hit with the other dude that lives here. Strange, but not too strange.
9 What Made Milwaukee Famous They're local, so I'm trying.
10 Wu-Tang Clan (Enter.../36 Chambers) YES. You can still rap like ODB. And its still just as much fun as you remember it to be. Point at a friend-- He can be Method Man.
11 And I do. I double-dog dare you to get drunk in the summertime and not think that its James Brown time. (My Thang at eleven on the volume, please & I've Got Money is a perfect accompaniment to running through the sprinklers.)
12 As you know, James Brown time of course is properly followed by Bill Withers time. And then you can loop on back to the Weeknd. What fun. A full circle. (The Same Love That Made Me Laugh, Use Me)

And just a very very quick word to say how in love I am with Uxus Design from Amsterdam.
I was initially head over heels for their company site and the interface featuring tiny fowers that rotate and offer little menus. It really is one of the most beautiful and graceful websites I've ever seen.

I later discovered their blog which is positively chock full of fabulous little bits and pieces and gorgeous artwork from all over the place. They really could not update this fast enough for me.

would never have known about all of this

Such gorgeous work and such an exquisite assortment of images. Without them I would have never known about any of these amazing things. (Clockwise from top left: Pascual Sisto, Kris Knight Portraits, Typoe and Jacob Dahlstrup Jensen.)

stolen in the spirit of baseball from the NYTimes

AND OH WAIT PS Derek Jeter hit his 3000th home run because he is the man. That's right. Your baseball team blows. And I am cheering here in Texas and getting the occasional finger from the locals.

Also: Michael Eudy. Yes indeed. And wedding entry next time and yes yes yes its all married bliss. Just always so much more to tell you. ciao ciao ciao

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