I have definitely documented my moments of procrastination, but today proved to be exceptional.  Not only was I procrastinating from preparing all the actual work I need to accomplish, it was my procrastination’s procrastination that propelled today’s post.  Knowing my new NARS lip glosses were hanging out in an unadorned recycled tomato paste can prevented me from doing something, say profitable.  Luckily the solution was a handful away.

Never able to leave well enough alone, I decided the plain window panes could use a bolster of color and charm.  This procrastination’s procrastination took 5 minutes and made a big difference in my ability to avoid doing anything semi productive with my day.

When my sister was a toddler, she would insist on being taken to any & every restaurant’s powder room.  It wasn’t that she had to go – she was still in diapers, but she was obsessed with seeing the actual bathrooms.  I’m not sure what was going on in her 2yr old mind, but she was determined.  If she was denied entrance, she would throw a royal fit which usually amounted to all her food being tossed on the floor from her highchair.  Many many years later while dining in Philadelphia’s top restaurant, Vetri, I was reminded of my sister’s particular predilection as I probably was spending waaay too much time in the restaurant’s only loo starring at the charming mosaic mirror wall.

It used to be restaurant bathrooms were either standard or completely ignored in the design scheme.  But as the trend of using recycled & raw materials started infiltrating the main room’s decor, the bathroom was suddenly being included in the overall concept.  Innovative application of repurposed building materials are prevalent and can be easily adapted for the home.

For a time I was infatuated with the idea of painting my one and only bathroom intense lacquer red and papering one of the walls with vintage Chinese advertisements which is why I always appreciate when an inexpensive cantina lines the bathroom walls with vivid Mexicana images & sombrero topped pinup girls.  Sara Jenkins’ Porsena in the East Village has a sweet, cheap, yet impactful display right outside the bathroom -  Mason jars of varying heights are filled with dry pasta of various shapes & sizes.  Cheaper than a glass of house wine, the kitschy decor never lets you forget you’re in an Italian restaurant.

So the next time you’re out dining – make like my sister and insist on paying a visit to the new house of style.

xxoo.

Summer can’t come soon enough for me, so for the next month I’ll have to make do with photos from summers past spent in Coney Island.

Have you ever been in someone’s home and everything looks amazing, yet there is one piece of furniture that seems out of place with the others and you think, why wouldn’t they just replace it?  That’s how I felt about this black halogen floor lamp.  It has been the visual bane of my residential existence for over 20yrs, however the blinding bright light it emanates is so brilliant that I could never replace it.   I have tried.  Catalogs have been poured over, stores have been shopped – there was even the great dry pasta experiment of ’05.  Who would have thought uncooked angel hair would warp in the heat?

Inspiration sometimes strikes at inappropriate hours – like 12:45am on a Saturday night, but being semi-compulsive, that’s when I decided covering the ubiquitous dorm room staple in scraps of gold glitter contact paper.  If you’re thinking of emulating this project, I recommend using new sheets of contact paper – it will adhere smoothly and be easier to burnish air bubbles.

Embellishments on furniture are no different then jewelry on the body – sometimes I just don’t know when to stop, but I can always justify adding one more thing.  The shade seemed a little unfinished so I added two rows of small brass ball chain purchased at the hardware store.  I justified this addition as a precaution for potentially uncooperative contact paper strips that may lift over time.

Random (possibly useless) ephemera somehow always finds its way to me.  This would explain why I happen to have had a gallon bag of homeless & carless keys which would create the intriguing, but decorative pattern on the lamp’s base.  (As a professional organizer, I am very good at removing my clients’ clutter, however it takes a real act of procrastination for me to decide to clean out my craft closet.)

Once all the components were in place, my unattractive, yet functional light source became the center piece of the living room and I actually get a little happy when I open the door to my apartment and am greeted with a lightening bolt of shimmering gold.

Stay golden Pony Boy,

xxoo.

Slightly obsessed with naked filament light bulbs. Wiring that resembles baker twine is the tipping point.

I’ve been staring at the thumbnail of this light bulb on my desktop for months – I feel awful because I have no idea who’s it is and would like very much to credit the brilliant designer who created it.  So if you know who is responsible for this magnificent light fixture, please let me know!

xxoo.

The wedding program graphics are super clean, masculine & modern – just like the wedded couple.

Over the weekend much to my own astonishment, I attended my 1st gay wedding.  I was astonished that I came to the realization that this was my 1st while standing in the church waiting for the ceremony to commence.  I know many legally and not legally recognized same sex married couples, but I guess never was witness to their unions.  The fact that the aforementioned couple is gay was such a non-issue that it hadn’t occurred to me prior to the processional.  What I did observe is that this wedding was unlike any other that I have attended – there was a different energy.  The ceremony was fast & fabulous and full of genuine tear forming moments of tenderness.  But it was during the party that I understood this wasn’t the typical reception with a flurry of forced casual banter and jockeying to catch the next passed hors d’oeuvre, the pace was of a well orchestrated and relaxed cocktail party where the hosts made a point of greeting and welcoming every guest.

The happy couple take their first dance as husband & husband.

There are probably many variables as to why this party in particular was so memorable and unique – the fascinating guests, the storied venue, the tables being named after New York State governors – all valid contributors.  But I really think the reason this wedding was particularly special is because every person in the room (gay, straight or in between) was so genuinely happy and honored to be there.  There was so much love for the couple, the cause and the knowledge that these 2 men were graced with the gift of living in a state that acknowledges gay marriage as legal and equal.

And that is a true love story.

If you’re going to accurately host a 1920s Prohibition dinner & a murder party, alcohol beverages are mandatory regardless what the law says.  The creative challenge was how to serve the hooch discreetly to maintain the integrity of the speakeasy theme.  I toyed with the idea of serving the drinks in mason jars with those charming daisy cut lids from Sweet Lulu, but realized my extensive vintage soda bottle collection would be perfect.  Not only was it one of few ways for me to forgo an additional expense, but it infused my personality into the party which is the basis of every partyjeanie project.

The cocktail menu was limited, but well crafted.  Each liquor had its own designated drinking vessel.  The libation and its glassware are listed below:

• Perseco (better value than champagne on this beer budget bash) served in antique crystal champagne coupes
• Vodka Collins served in the aforementioned soda pop bottles
• Moonshine served in Baccarat cordial glasses (probably a 1st for my grandmothers stemware.)
• Mexican Coca-Cola & Sprite in their own glass bottles
• Sparkling & flat water in crystal wine glasses

Poppy long paper straws were placed into the vodka collins which may have explained why certain guests were a little more *festive* had they not sipped their drinks through a straw.   Mason jars were used to hold fruit garnishes.  I must admit it was really fun to see adults dolled up as 1920s gangsters & molls with tab, rc & pop shoppe bottles clutched in their well manicured hands.

Well, I think this might be the last installment from the dinner & a murder party.  I hope it will be helpful should you ever decide to plot a murder staged in a Chicago nightclub set during Prohibition.

xxoo.