Tales From Marfa and Beyond!

Blogger Time Sucker Warning: Level Orange
Alrighty then.... sooo I have broken my own slacker blogger record by posting a mere 1 times last month. Busy,busy,busy here at the Pagoda. We continue to look for a new home where we can all be who we wish to be. I am hoping for a clear decision on this soon. Until that time I am a bit discombobulated.
How about a recap of our road trip?
We generally fly on our fam trips,so it was quite refreshing to pack up all our cares and woe and drive!
We live in North Texas and drove out to West Texas. We stopped on the way at a B&B in Glenrose, Texas. It was a beautiful old farm house that we had all to ourselves!
You were able to build a bonfire in the backyard,and we roasted marshmallows. I prefer mine nicely blackened ,carcinogens be damned!My hubs and I found it rather romantic to shiver and freeze in the farm house,and we had a good giggle when we found the heater the next morning!
The main attraction in Glenrose is Dinosaur Valley !
Crooked Halo keeping the Dinosaur EXACTLY where I suspect she will keep all the men in her life!
The 3 most important people in my life standing in a track where the dinosaurs once roamed!I stayed behind on this hike because my cowboy boots were too slippery!
Whilst the hubs and C.H. wrangled lunch up,the wee petal and I took in the cheesy delicious-ness of a kitschy Dinosaur statue display park.
Her best T-Rex imitation(note the face!)!
Our personal faves the Chicken Dinosaurs !
Those who complain that Texas is not beautiful country ,have not seen West Texas.
Can you say sleepy little town?
We stayed at The Hotel Paisano where the cast and crew of Giant stayed.
Not to worry I kept my eyes to the ground ,just in case Liz had lost a bauble or two.
Driving into town in the dark of night,I saw an eerie group of black creatures. Turns out they were these boviney rodent nocturnal things called Javelinas. I was fascinated. They instantly became my new favorite animal!I always try to find a X-mas orny to commemorate our trip. I lucked out and found a Javelina gingerbread cookie cutter! It will have the added bonus oflooking sleek and minimalist on the tree.
Walking to breakfast the next morning I spied one in a shop window. The shop window displays in Marfa were quite unexpected and arty.
Even the yards were arty. Here a giant donkey pulling a wagon for my collection!
This was its yard art buddy.
That night we ate at Jetts Grill . Guess which NON-South Beach en tree I chose(click to enlarge any image).a hint: Embracing my southern roots was well worth the miss step!
The next day we antiqued a bit. Another AMAZING giant donkey. I was in love!!! Alas ,it was not for sale!
On our way to McDonald Observatory,we saw a wild brush fire that shut down the highway for a bit.
Here we are at one of the highest elevations in Texas,the observatory is in the distance!
That night we attended the Star Party. It was absolutely one of te highlights of the trip. We sat(and froze,can you tell?)in a gorgeous amphitheatre
The design of the theatre was based on an ancient Greek design,and housed such an impressive presentation. It was an Astronomy lesson I shall never forget! The presenter had a handy dandy super nova laser pointer that looked as if his fingers touched the stars!
among the lessons learned ,finding Polaris ,the one trustworthy star. Otherwise known as my husband.Random JDP trivia: I inscribed my hubs wedding ring with "You are Polaris",thats a line from something...I forget just what.
....and last but not least ,what to my wandering eyes should appear....but this sign(please click and enlarge).A diggety dang nab delici-osity of a thrift store RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our hotel.
Their widows also held a delightful and bizarrely whimsical display for my viewing pleasure(oh yes, I did feel it was just for me)!
Remember this was right befor Easter,so the window had a bit of a seasonal theme.The view from looking into the rabbit hole!
Little girl and her lamby.
For a nominal fee she had set up her own version of an Etsy shop.
DIY mobile kits!
...um...and a candelabra.
This is what I got. A taupe-y beige lace and silk dress for 10 bux. What do ya think? Jean jacket, pearls, and cowboy boots to accessorize?
For 3 bux,an old lady polyester scenery shirt. I think just the jeans and boots for this.
For 2 bux ,a little vintage homemade shell in my favorite fall tones.
...and last for one buckeroo,this strawberry fruit salad smock. It will be perfection over a Kowalski undershirt and jeans.
The whole motivating force to go to Marfa was to check out the Chinati Foundation started by modern art champion and artist himself Donald Judd(ironically Mr Judds children AND Cliff May was featured in the March issue of Mens Vogue). We waited all week for their 1st tour,which as the sign denotes begins promptly at 10:00. No one was there. This was actually typical for our week,NOTHING was open practically(oh and I'm talkin' the where do ya eat? kinda Not open.). This nothin'(or hardly nothin') to do schedule was actually just what the Doctor ordered!
I shall try to come back soon to bloggy world in spite of a broken camera.

Fierce Finale!

Well, hello there!
I must say I was pretty darn pleased with the P.R Season 4 Finale!
talk about extremely talented designers bringing their A game!!!

I know,I know, its been a bit since last we chatted.....busy,distracted,ennui ,spending time with my littlest who will start kinder full time next year,....has kept me from dear bloggy world.
...but can you believe it? I have had e-mailed requests for my thoughts on the results of P.R. !Ah me,I simply cannot disappoint.
I'll dive right in!
I could not have been happier with the final 4,and believe a more deserving final quartet has yet to be narrowed down to, until this season!
I believe ,ultimately the final 3 were also the most deserving of showing at Bryant Park.
The above look was my favorite of Christians collection.
Maybe I liked it so much because it was not a jacket and pants,but I loved the drama and the proportion!Please do not get me wrong,I think Christian is a magnificent creator of jackets,and probably will make his fortune from selling these unique jackets as his signature item.
My only disappointment with the evening ,was that Jillian came in 3rd. This dress alone made me think she had won it.
...and then there was this extraordinary look. Talk about innovation and having a new and fashion forward point of view!
Jillian will make her career from creating her magnificent signature coats!
I was not at all unhappy with Christians win. I was actually quite thrilled.There will always be a need for Christians style (think Christian La Croix,or John Galliano),but we have seen his style of drama before,and I hope it never goes out of style,because I LOVE it!!!!!!!! Still, I think Jillian is the one to watch. She's the one with the new ideas.She has not yet narrowed her style focus down,we saw that in the challenges(heck we saw that in her model selection!). I think this was why she took the bronze.
This was the piece I loved most in Rami's collection! Wow! I didn't think he would win,but honestly,I think it was pretty close between all 3 of the designers!

Which brings us to Chris March...


...and his human hair adorned garments.I think it will not surprise you that I(wearer of table cloths as shawls(P.S. Rebecca ,I squirted diet RedBull out of my nose from giggling at your comment)) loved this little garment"notion". Alrighty ,it skeeved me out a bit ,but based on the presented garments from Rami and Chris,I do believe Rami won by a mere hair (I hear you groaning throughout Bloglandia!). Yes,it obviously skeeved the judges too.
I believe Little Edie would have voted for Chris!"And that's the revolutionary costume pour du jour.
You mix 'n' match and, Presto!
A fashion manifesto."*
I think I would have preferred her commentary over Poshbot's.
Obviously Chris was heavily influenced by the 20's. when it was, for a time ,quite fashionable to wear a Monkey Hair coat.
Skeevy ,believe me.... I know from personal experience!
Ah,yes... tis I in a monkey hair trimmed coat! I wore this when I was in the chorus of My Fair Lady. The costumes were rented from a big costume house in NYC. I remember both loving this garment AND being skeeved out!
.....and just why wasn't I Eliza!!!!????!!!
Oh yeah,I was a baby. Scary when you look at pics of yourself and think that!
Tommorrow,me and the fam will be off on a road trip to Marfa, Texas.
This is a little town where Giant was filmed and home of
The Chinati Foundation. We plan to eat crazy small Texas town Mexican food and pancakes. Read dumb books (for me ,the Buffy comics season 8),play Yahtzee,hike,antique a bit,soak upsome fine art,ya know the usual. See ya latuh gatuhs!
* Grey Gardens Lyrics by Michael Korie

MOVCFM,Baby its Cold Outside,February 2008

Happy Valentines Day !!!! In honor of the day I had to share a little retro vintage clothing themed Valentine for you by a cherished favorite artist of mine.Miss Joan Walsh Anglund !
So,how many of you(when it's cold outside) consider it a good day when it's high noon,and you're still in your PJ's ? I have a little alternative vintage solution for you. Lets call it "Comfort Food for the Body" ! How about old beaded cardis from the 50's and the softest and buttery-est,washed to perfection jeans(those that are at least a size too big!)you could possibly find?
The above icy blue cardi was thrifted recently for 1.50(it was half off!),and the old lady beads were bought at an estate sale for a couple of bux.

In the floor collection today ,I present to you a typical winter day ensem for me. You could even call it a uniform.
Beaded cardi ,that I have had for so many years,I can't recall the price,Kowalski undershirt,my fav-o-rite jeans ever!I bought these in my 2nd trimester with my 1st,and now they are merely delightfully baggy!
.....and..... my absolute ,positive ,mu-hajorly favorite,the kind of thing goofy old Stacy and Clinton would make me throw away.....
....my beat up and aged to perfection,cowboy boots! I bought these for 4 dollars at the thrift eons ago. I have spent over 100 dollars through the years in re-sole-ing fees. I wore them last year in Hair for pitys sake. Not only do I love to wear them but am sentimentally attached to them. ...and look,now they're sandals too!

Another ice blue beaded cardi from my collection,bought from the thrift,and this time accessorized with a vintage detachable fur,beaded,collar also from the 50's(and the thrift, for a few bux!).
...another year round staple for me is overalls.They are always cheapedy cheap at the thrift!
Step 1:thrift a vintage looking ,extremely soft and comfy sweater. This one has a lovely vintage-y rose print and cost 69 cents. I just toss them in the washer and dryer and felt them a bit for patina.
Step 2: Add a well loved denim jacket.
Step 3: For interest I threw on this vintage tablecloth as a sort of wrap.I wore this last Thursday to take my littlest to dance class. It was a particularly cold and blustery day and I just sort of grabbed something as a shawl/scarf. I was amazed at the compliments I got.
My oldest babe could not believe Mommy wore a tablecloth out (I'm sure Sarah can't either!),and she told her father just that.To which he replied"...and how long have you known your Mom?"
I became rather enamored of the table linen as fashion accessory idea and decided to experiment.
Here I paired a thrifted cardi from the 60's with a lace table runner and pinned with a couple of 60's and 70's flower pins from my collection. In retrospect I think one pin is enough!
Here I used an embroidered dresser scarf as a neck scarf ,paired with another fave 69 cent ,washed to death ,and oh so soft sweater!See one pin is best!
...but what to wear when you are going to an event and all you really wanna do is stay home and watch Mission Impossible re-runs ? My vote goes for non-constricting velvet vintage dresses! My favorite leopard velvet that I have had for ages,and am so glad I never tailored it to fit.
My newest green velvet baby doll dress from the 60's ! So soft ,so warm,and so comfy ! I bought both of these at my favorite vintage clothing store, Ahab Bowen,for less than 20 bux each(much less!)!
I leave you with a pic from season 1 of Project Runway. This is Austin Scarlets much maligned offering from the "deconstruct vintage clothing" eppy.
I loved most of the garments that came from that challenge,but this is the one that I would have liked to have owned! The judges hated it,but I LOVED it. Which is more than I can say for last weeks wrestler girl eppy.Could my beloved PR have "jumped the shark" as they say in the biz?
I have not yet watched last nights eppy,so don't tell me anything about it until I watch it later tonight.
....but I will say this about the Wrestler Girl challenge...at least the designers embraced it,and my top 3(Jillian,Christian,and even Rami)did create some fun stuff
....but come on now.... give us some high fashion....please!