Christmas Mushroom Santas

now I know that these are not the best of photography...my digicam sux...what can I say... But I thought it very curious that I had these as part of my Christmas decorations. When I found them for a mere 50c each at CostPlus a couple of decades ago, I couldn't resist them. Though I feel that the artisan who made them got it wrong by making the spotted mushroom BLUE and adding a SNOWMAN to it! It should definitely be RED like the Amanita Muscaria mushroom it is meant to be... Of course any correlation here between Santa and mushrooms is not purely coincidental... I wonder if the artist had the philosophy down at the time they were manufactured... I'm sure that most of you are sophisticated and know what I'm alluding to, but if you're curious about what I'm talking about, James Arthur has a very fascinating account on the Amanita Muscaria...search it on the web... and I hope you're enjoying the holidays... Happy Holidays!

A Very Special Introduction...

I’d like to introduce you to a very special personage by the name of Minky. When I first saw him a few years ago, it was love at first sight! I named him after something that Peter Sellers would say as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther. I think he would pronounce the word "monkey" as "minky." Minky was really a therapy monkey while I was recuperating from a work injury… Yes, people thought I was losing it...

…and here he is sitting gingerly, perched on the arm rest of a wingchair, in his element, with his “come hither” look…and here he seems to be beckoning one... “come here and give me a hug!” ;-D {{{Minky}}} you got it, me boyo…

and motioning over to the books, "would you care to join me on the leather ottoman so that we could find a book together?" Good idea Minky... "aaah...I think I'll just sit a spell..." no worries mate... "posture? Who cares about posture? Just kicking back for a bit..." Look at that little paunch...
"would you care to join me in the Boudoir? There's room for two on the chaise..."

no Mel luv, I don't think you're crazy shoving your hand up a beaver who sounds like Michael Caine...knock yourself out, mate!

Kangaroo Scrotum Anyone?

Yup, Craig Ferguson has done it yet again-he has enlightened me with another one of his collectibles...this time a Kanagaroo Scrotum!
Now Craig's scrotum, if I may say that, has an actual face, can you see the nose and two dots for eyes? He's perched up on Dr Who's London phone booth flying machine...

Naturally, I was very curious so I looked up the um "item" and came across a whole host of lovely products to take with you as souvenirs of the Land Danundah...here we have a lovely collection of cigarette lighters...so could you call these "great balls of fire?"

utterly delightful...grab yourself a pair if you're ever in the vicinity of these fuzzy handfuls...

Boylan Vintage Soda Pop

Boylan's Diet Cherry Cola in their four-pack cartons...very intriguing...
I adore th pale lavendar colored logo on their bottles-when I saw this bottle today, it reminded me of my patent leather sandals in the same color, so I just had to try the soda out! Also I really like the old-fashioned concept...

it's like you're sipping on a piece of Americana and they're really quite delicious...try some!

Argyle Pairings...

Happiness is...

lucking out with these argyle socks as they go so well with these pretty lavender patent leather sandals! Can't wait to wear them in the Spring... :~D

Books: Life With My Sister Madonna

I found it at the local Thrift and thought that it would be worth my couple of bucks to snap up this one - and I haven't been disappointed! WHAT AN EYE OPENER!!! Highly recommended by me - I don't feel that I should give you a review of it as that will spoil the many surprises and misconceptions that are revealed in this book...
the design of the cover is also really clever, the way Madonna is looking back at her brother Christopher with that cocky hand akimbo. As they say, "actions speak louder than words." But there is an undeniable resemblance between the two siblings...

then I remember I have Madonna's "Like a Virgin" CASSETTE from waaay back in the 80's...
and she's now got me looking at all my other old cassettes...yup, they're still there...

One thing though, I didn't know that Madonna was half French Canadian and probably knows more (Canadian) French than Italian!

Ardent About Argyle

I guess it started with this trio of argyles...all of a sudden my eyes spied all things ARGYLE...

and argyle socks always hit the spot!

Then I was looking for a pair of shoes and a hitherto ignored shoe box by "Jelly Beans," which is the tastiest candy pink and in an argyle pattern, just POPPED right out at me. It reminds me of this pink, grey and white vest I used to have in the 1980's which I wore till it was, um, best discarded! I wish that I could have photographed it at some point or better still, reworked it into another garment or thing! But back then we weren't really repurposing or redesigning items...I have no idea what sort of shoes came in this box but naturally, it makes me want to own something in argyle print in THOSE colors... So I accidentally see this pair of argyle shoes by RocketDog which are as cute as a button! They may not be like jelly beans but I love the candy pink combo...

and of course there's argyle the Italian way...hmmm...fruity...Now I know why I liked this pair of basket-weave leather mules which I got in the early 90's - the weave looks diamond patterned, in other words, ARGYLE!!! I also love the yummy toffee tones...

But I'm satisfied with this cardi I found yesterday during Kohl's $10 gift towards purchase promo - I can't get enough of that...really!!! (this ended up being less than $5)

argyle diamonds in yummy fall colors on a pumpkin spice heather grey/brown background...love it! Oh, and the basketweave mules above will go with it!!!

hey, I've already found this rust cross-over T to go with it...awesome...

 and this heathered oatmeal tee...

and changing grains, this heathered barley tee...

and these brown jogger pants...

amber floral necklace...

just love the heathered nutmeg brown of this cardi!

Sippen' Argyle Rattlers

Aaarrrrgyle...

yes folks, that really is an ARGYLE pattern on his mug!!! Craig Ferguson, you are sooooo IN duuuuude. Shown here with Mark Ruffalo, a good show-I enjoyed it Craig...

Come to think of it, Geoff Peterson, Craig's robotic sidekick, has his very own slimmed down version of the Argyle Rattler! And of course, he's tres chic with all his necklaces... I know that this is a LOUSY pic but Geoff is only shown very momentarily and by the time I focus and click he's out of the frame...this is the best I could capture the mug!

and here's the lovely Robot Skeleton Army shown in the opener for the Twitter/Email segment - also love, love, love, the 1980's style jingle that's sung by Craig(sounds like him!)...

hey, wait a minute...what do we have here...?
okay this pic looks a bit contrived but I LOVE the TEAL TIE...YES THAT'S A TEAL TIE!!! Looks healthy Craig, but is that SPRAY TAN??? In the words of Snookie, he's a "tan American individual!"

Jazz Oxfords, Wingtips, Saddle Shoes & Spectators...

There's no denying that oxfords are all the rage this season and I have not been spared from this raging and lusting after them...

looking forever for woven leather oxfords, finally found these Auditions Pilot oxfords...

but they were too "square" so I added black squares, harlequin style...

these perforated biscuit / nude oxford wingtip shoes are neutral too but chic...

and these Trotters Lila basketweave oxford shoes in bronze / pewter...

timeless, classic styling...

they are a narrow but fit extremely well!

dark pewter / gunmetal jazz oxfords with grosgrain ribbon laces...

these are unmistakably your "saddle shoes" but they're also wingtips! They'll go with anything in grey, black and white / cream or even beige...they're sort of a neutral...

these are so reminiscent of the 80's oxfords, I had some 18 pairs over the years...these are shown with genuine gossamer like shoe laces from way back in the 80's...

Mauve and Madonna

this off-white Indonesian retro skirt that I thrifted for $2.25 with cutout details, is just like the Indonesian clothing that we used to get in the 1980's. It was looking a bit tired - so I dyed it mauve or lilac pink and now wear it with my mauve lariat necklace... and here's the lilac rosary lariat necklace close up...graced by the original Madonna...

yes, I know that Madonna (Ciccone) made the rosary-as-accessory famous but here's Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino with his star lariat rosary type necklace...adore his style...oh and his six-pack abs! ;-)

and hey The Situation, I'll buy your book - can't wait to find it at a local thrift store baby...

 I would team the mauve skirt with this pretty pink butterfly tee...

this Color Club nail polish in Right On...

these Miista purple holographic shoes...

and these pink hightops...

 these pretty lilac pink mirror lens sunglasses...

or these lilac / lavender framed sunglasses / sunnies...

But wait - here's Madonna with Rosanna Arquette in a promo shot for the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan" and they're both sporting MAUVE lipstick!!!