The Sparkly Shoes Blog

I've been looking for sparkly shoes lately - sparkly shoes for less than $30.  Thing is, I couldn't find any that weren't:

a.) Open toed (too cold)

b.) Too tall (I'm already two inches shy of six feet. I don't need a 4.5 inch platform, thank you much. I'm going to church, not to Vegas.)

c.) Too expensive (though I found the perfect pair... for $149 plus tax.)

Yesterday morning, I *literally* woke up with one thought in my head - could I make sparkly shoes?

I asked my husband. Had to ask twice, actually, because I kept mumbling (first thought, you know). He thought the chances were pretty good.

When I was awake, I poked around online. I found this (rather adorable) video, which was a good start, followed by this excellent post. I used the Dainty Squid's method of mixing the glitter with the Mod Podge, using heels instead of flats and spending a long time taping up the edges before starting.

$16.99 Payless Heels

 I put on four coats, followed by a final topcoat.

Tesla, waiting for me to finish so I could come play.

Honestly, I couldn't be more pleased. Because I mixed the glitter with the Mod Podge, they don't shed at all - every bit of glitter is sealed up. I didn't even get through half of the $5 bottle of Martha Stewart glitter (in Hematite), either. The next time I do this (and there will be a next time), I'm looking forward to using another Martha glitter - the extra fine texture and sophisticated color really make the shoes special.

So there's my Christmas project - what are you working on?

Sur La Table

...is also the name of a store. But that's not what this post is about.

When not traveling, moving, or raising a spirited (read: obstinate) puppy, I've spent the past year cultivating a new book project. Though new is a bit of a misnomer, since it was cooking in my head well before Jayne made an appearance.

But it's been what I like to call a slow-cooker idea, requiring a lot of time to develop. In between, it has changed tremendously in the best way.

One key component of the book has been the same, however - it has always been about the food.

Well, that and two people who find each other. But they eat well.

The two specific kinds of cuisine found in the book are French and Italian. Now, I'm fairly conversant in Italian food. It's really pretty straight-forward and very accessible. Versions of it can be found in Olive Gardens, Macaroni Grills, and in every restaurant where someone boils pasta and tops it with sauce.

French food...it's a bit trickier.

There is often some technique involved in French cookery, and if not, there's the appearance of technique. You don't find Coq au vin in pizzerias, or cassoulet at buffets. Shari's does not have tarte tatin month. Here in Tri-cities, the likelihood of my finding a little French bistro is well below nil.

But I need it for the book, so I popped onto Amazon and picked out a small selection of books, as well as a blue steel crepe pan that I'm really quite in love with.  But along with the crepe pan, it's obvious that I'll also need a proper Dutch Oven soon, as well as a roasting pan and a tart pan (had one, but the bottom is missing and that's a somewhat crucial piece). Oh, and ramekins.

After flipping through the books - which look amazing - it's very clear that I will have to get over my dislike of whole roasted chicken specifically, and my inexperience when it comes to roasting meats in general.

(I've roasted vegetables - does that count for anything?)

But it's been a good year for expanding my repertoire, since I'm now quite proficient with cutlets, sauces, and roux making. Oh, and custard.

Well, off to contemplate making potato leek soup.  Will post later as the food adventures continue...

Thankfulness

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

I'm all for giving thanks, and being thankful, and spending time with family, and eating.  Really, I am.  But I can sum up my feelings about Thanksgiving best in a recent Twitter post:

I have ADD. That's just the way it is. So Thanksgiving can be the Trifecta of stress for me. Don't get me wrong - my love of food and cooking is well documented. But cooking on a schedule is...dicey.  And cleaning? No, we're not hosting Thanksgiving (thanks be to heaven above), but we're still leaving, and being a woman, I don't like coming home to a messy house.

And travel?

Little bit traveled out.

Little bit.

A lot.

So throw in the fact that Thanksgiving food is not my kind of food and my general apathy towards professional football, and it leaves me with a strong desire to fast-forward to the yuletide season lurking around the corner.

(And if you've stepped inside a place of retail in the last month, you've caught it mid-lurk)

But I'm thankful for my husband, and his job, and our house, and my publishing career, and our wiggy dog. I'm thankful for red curry, sunny days, digital photography, antique china, Nars lipstick, how Danny looks in his motorcycle jacket, title insurance, new friends, old friends, Starbucks, good books, alpacas, freeze-dried beef liver treats, sale books at Barnes & Noble, red leaves, TJ Maxx, Nutella, full-spectrum light bulbs, Target, comfortable shoes, pink nail polish, candied ginger, the bulk section of WinCo, butterflies, dry shampoo, vacuum cleaners, pink spackle, Doctor Who, and the fact that the holiday movie season approacheth.

I'm thankful for my family, my parents, siblings, parents-in-law, siblings-in-law, aunts, cousins, uncles, and another holiday with my 95-year-old grandmother.

I'm thankful for my agent, for the wonderful editors I've gotten to work with, my publicists, and the booksellers who help people discover my books.

I'm thankful we found a truly crackerjack dog trainer to help with Tesla's "special needs."

I'm thankful that we are no longer building a house.

I'm thankful that the Lord is gracious.

Because of that thankfulness, I can handle a traffic-snarled bit of organized thanks-giving.

And after Thanksgiving?  Let the advent season commence!

Update: Also thankful for this - 

Yay! Sometimes it really is the little things :-)

Rescue, Kiss, Repeat

I don't know about you, but I'm loving ABC's new show, Once Upon a Time. It's one of those rare TV shows that keeps getting better and better with each episode.

In the first few episodes, we see Prince Charming (whose real name is James, we learn), wake Snow White. Later, we learn how Snow and Charming met. It was the kind of meet cute that involves a lot of flirtatious squabbling, adventure, a grudging admiration and a certain amount of chemistry. She saves him. He saves her.

Rescue, kiss, repeat.

I love that.  I love it because it's a truer model for a real-life happy ending in marriage. It's not just the prince rescuing the princess in the classic model, or the princess rescuing the prince in the feminist model. Long-term love involves both.  Marriage is committing to rescue each other, over and over again. It's having each other's backs, it's being strong for each other.

Fairy tales will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm troubled by the lack of stories that involve courage on behalf of both men and women. East of the Sun, West of the Moon is one of the rare examples of a couple who must rescue each other. The prince, as the bear, rescues the girl from poverty.  The girl rescues the prince from the troll princess.

There is still a happily ever after for them, but both the man and the woman have had to work for it.

And that's how marriage is, isn't it? Courage is required for both the husband and wife to fight for and rescue each other, facing down despair, discouragement, illness, and injury in battle.

You never know how many battles you'll face in marriage, or when the next one will find you. The happily-in-betweens? Absolutely worth the work.

Happy End of Tacky Day

Okay, I know. Tacky Christmas decorations abound. But are they as tacky as Halloween decorations? No. Not at all. No contest.

Our neighbor down the street has an inflated skull with inflated ghosts coming out of it.

Really hoping that it'll get put away for storage. Also, really hoping they're just as into Christmas lights.  I love Christmas lights.

So...blogging this much. *Almost* as much of an epic fail as getting (or trying to get) Tesla's toenails ground at the PetSmart in Mount Vernon, WA.  (We ended up having to get a refund. It wasn't going to happen.)

We ended up, once we got back from the three-week Memphis/Little Rock/St. Louis trip, having to go to Portland (Anacortes for Danny), Anacortes (Mount Vernon for me), and Los Angeles (technically Foothill Ranch, east of Irvine).

By the end, I was a complete mess. Actually, I think I was a mess beforehand, but that doesn't mean we didn't have some fun. In California, we got to go to Disneyland (my first time!) and I got to hang out with my dear friend Kara and see her digs in West Hollywood. A grand time had by all, even for Tesla, who got to be admired by one and all on the tram to and from the Disneyland Kennels.

Now that we're back, it's time to return to the task of moving into our house. I'm just about done with choosing which photos need to be printed for which walls - I'm VERY excited about having artwork up! As the granddaughter of two artists, I don't handle blank walls well.  My brain doesn't know how to handle them..

In other important news - both ABC and NBC aired their fairy tail themed shows, Once Upon a Time and Grimm, respectively.

When the trailers were released, I thought Grimm looked a bit more focused. Having watched both pilots, I'm wondering if it's too focused - it feels more forced and rote than Once.

Not that Once doesn't have its awkward moments, but it's sticking close to the Hero's Journey arc for its heroine, played by Jennifer Morrison. You might remember Morrison as Cameron from House.  Now, I'm convinced that the writers for House kind of really hate women, since Cameron's character was wheedly and annoying. Not so with Emma Swan, who has got a backbone and knows how to use it. It's refreshing, honestly.

In Grimm, the lead, David Giuntoli, is stiff and bland. Werewolf Silas Weir Mitchell (Prison Break) is far more interesting, but it's tricky when the best character is a supporting character.

It often takes a few episodes (or a couple seasons) for a show to hit its stride. So we'll see how goes, but do catch Once - it's well-cast and has vision. Whether the vision is carried off or not remains to be seen, but I think it's off to a strong and inventive start.

Anybody else watching the two shows? What's your take?

Un Jour de Pluie

The rain, it comes.

You know you live in the desert when it rains and you're confused about what, exactly, is going on.  This is after 25 years in the Willamette Valley, where it rains 10 months out of the year.

Still. Brain trying to recollect what one does when it rains.

Tesla is completely befuddled by the moisture from the sky, because she spent her Spring rainy season in our corporate apartment as a young pup, only experiencing the rain that blew/dripped in past the patio covering.

(I apologize for the crick in your neck. I'm not techy enough to figure out if the orientation can be changed. But cute, no?)

Right now, Tesla will ring her bells to go outside; I'll open the door, she'll take in the scenery and decide - no, actually, not worth it.

Just kidding.

I've been reading The Paris Wife, FINALLY - I've wanted to read it for some time, but the Kindle edition is on the pricier side, and the wait list at the library took a long time...

...anyway, reading it now, and oh. My. Goodness.  Poor Hadley! An excellent read so far, The Paris Wife tells the story of the first Mrs. Hemmingway from her perspective, from meeting Ernest in Chicago to marrying him at the age of 28 (he was 21). They moved shortly after the wedding to Paris - and not the nice part of Paris, either - and make a home for them while he struggled to find himself as a writer.

Writers are difficult people in the best of times; Hemingway had hemochromatosis, the inability to metabolize iron, as well as (most likely) bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

He also drank like a fish.

Easy man to be married to? Not so much.


Another book that makes for terrific rainy-day reading?

Jenny B. Jones' There You'll Find Me  is perfect for a day with precipitation.  I should have realized it was also perfect for an airplane ride...I slogged through a truly terrible book (actually, two of them) on the flight back from St. Louis, which was painful because Danny's book was absolutely brilliant.

He'd giggle at his book and I'd role my eyes at the pages (and pages) of limp characterization.

I came home and pulled out There You'll Find Me.  I loved it for all of the reasons that I loved Anna and the French Kiss - a very real, very likeable heroine, a gorgeous setting, and a crush-worthy boy.

(Speaking of, Stephanie Perkins has a new novel out.  I'll get back to you on that...)

There You'll Find Me treads perfectly across themes of loss and hope, romance and change, friendship and grief.  Did I mention it's funny? That the protagonist refers to Pride and Prejudice as the single girl's Magna Carta?

Really, it's grand. Trust me.

So if it's rainy where you are - these are the books! Grab a mug of tea (carefully) and tuck yourself into bed with a book.

Or, if you're Tesla, you can go catch a raindrop.