Spiderman and the Mailman

Look folks, this is America.  The land of Capitalism.  This is the place where dreams are made and anything can happen in this beautiful democracy of ours.  I happen to like that.  Even if I do sometimes like to wear flowers in my hair.

So, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised today when I saw a mail truck that looked like this:

Spiderman and the USPS co-brand, license, blah blah blah.  Everyone makes a buck. photo courtesy of the USPS

I'm all for that.

Big Bucks no whammies.

I'm just glad that my children know the original Spiderman 1960s TV show theme song.  And I have Uncle Goalie to thank for singing it over and over when I was little that it stuck in my head.




Uncle Goalie taped himself on our Panasonic tape recorders with one of our cousins.  I recall the day my dad brought home that amazing black piece of technology.

photo courtesy of Prop Hire

There was something  lasting with those tape recorders.  Oh, kids these days what with all the digital stuff.  The tape recorders had a finite supply of tapes, so inevitably you listed to the same tapes over and over again.  Or you recorded over them.   But not the good stuff.  Not the recording of you and your cousin joking around singing "Spiderman."

Over the weekend, a friend's husband who I don't think has ever viewed my blog called it "hyper liberal."  I was a bit taken aback by that.  I mean, most of you know I don't get into politics.  Sure, I have mentioned Pete Seeger, tofu, and other things someone might associate with a liberal person.   But at the beginning of this blog I'm all about Capitalism.  Aren't the pinko lefties very much *not* into The Man?  Aren't the Hippies *not* into the big bucks?  Truth be told, I'm a mixed bag, Chad (name has been changed).

I'm into the hippy chic and so is the wonderful designer Jonathan Adler

The Pity Post

There comes a time in every mom bloggers blog-of-a-life where she is granted the opportunity to bitch and moan*.  In honor of my 188th post, I hereby grant you a peak at some of my current grievances.  Keep in mind I haven't bitched much here at all.  The whole point of the Whole Phamily is to seek out the good.  But I felt it high time to let out a barbaric yawp, bloggy-style.

I think it all boils down to a few (ahem, um, I meant 20)  key points, which are, in no particular order:

1. lack of focus.
2. more fun to procrastinate.
3. my writing sucks balls.
4. I go on and freakin' on.  And on and on and on.  Point well taken:  there are too many bullet points here for any reader to follow.
5. Other Women have it better.  Who are these Other Women?  Mom bloggers who know more than me, successful women, ivy-educated women who market themselves well, community college grads who market themselves well, 13 year olds who market themselves well (oh, wait, that is a boy), socialites who haven't dipped into the bowl of botox yet, self-proclaimed type A personality women.
6. Along the lines of #5, I am neither a hard worker nor come from money.  I'm so screwed.
7. Making lemonade out of the proverbial lemon is too hard.
8. I have good things to say and I think no one will ever listen (aside from you, dear reader who is one of my 20 or so loyal ones).  
9. I'd rather be dancing at a Phish show.
10. I'd rather be dancing at a Dead show (oh, wait, Jerry is dead).  Still, no one is comping my tix or putting me on any guest lists for any shows that I know of.
11. I'd rather be dancing.  Thank you, Capezio.
12. I want it now (along the lines of Veruca Salt, but I don't want to go down as a bad egg).
13. Easier to live vicariously through other people (similar to #5).
14. Too hard to create my own, but...
15. ...I'm too opinionated to keep my mouth shut.
16. Want someone else to do the work for me.
17. Still not a Skinny Bitch.  You thought I wasn't a bitch?  My nickname at age 6 was crab, but I hide the shell and claws well.
18. Still not just plain ole' skinny.  Don't give me any of that "well, you don't want to be too skinny" bullshit because what I'm talking about is just being thin, not anorexic, okay?  And just fitting comfortably into clothing.  No, I'm not a plus size.
19. Everything is too itchy.  I like cotton and stretch but not too much stretch because that irritates my skin.  No silk.  No wool.  Only some synthentics.  Is my best case scenario relegated to a life clad in Eileen Fisher?
20. As of yet, still not a  fag hag.  Derek Blasberg and Jonathan Adler, we can still be buddies.  But since #17 and #18 exist, I doubt I fit the bill.

And yet, I have a lot to be grateful for:

Kids
Husband
Health
Parents living
College degree
Masters Degree
Not being able to outsource one of my favorite activities:  sleeping
First crack at working in 8+ years.

Maybe I should actually get to work to try to make some bucks so we can rehire the cleaning help.   More on my decision to temporarily let go of our cleaning help for about 3 months so we could save $ to afford Mountain Jam coming your way, soon!

More about my new venture another time...If Jamie did it in DC, then I can do it in Philadelphia!






Thanks to Liz Gumbinner for that lift.


*this is based on no scientific data.  I just made that up cuz I wanted to bitch and moan.  Time to go back and fluff the pillows.

Jonathan Adler Isn't Miesian. And That's Okay

The simple excuse for not getting myself until last weekend to the Jonathan Adler store in Old City is that I am new to town.  Just ignore that I moved here more than six months ago.

You would think someone like me who loves Bauhaus minimalism, midcentury design and pines for a Barcelona Chair wouldn't be into all of Jonathan's colors.  Oh no!  I am!  I am!  I am!

Everything that I have read about Jonathan's great style is true from the looks of this fabulous shop.  Jonathan is a design sweetheart.  Sure, he speaks to the current zeitgeist of reclaiming trendy stuff from the 70s (like needlepoint pillows), but I know he will continue to wow the design world when tastes change.  Stango, who is my husband and sometimes a pessimist, said it is all too obvious and wasn't as impressed as me.

Like, when I showed him this awesome wall from the back of the shop, he wasn't too psyched:

I love that quotation!

You know what, Stango?  Take two happy chic pills and get back to me in the morning.

I loved the wallpaper in the junior section downstairs which caters to the younger set.   It reminded me of the wallpaper from my own 1970s room as a baby, but after texting her the image of it from the store, my mom disagreed.  Hopefully I will upload a photo of it here one day and you will see where I was going with that.  At least nice women in the shop gave me a sample.  What was I gonna do with the sample?

With glue and a blank book, in an instant I made a cute notebook.   Yay for utilitarianism!

Finally, at the entrance of the shop, they were selling Simon Doonan's book.  In case you didn't get the memo, Jonathan and Simon are married.  Simon is also a design guy.  He is a big guy at Barney's.  Haven't I already told you somewhere on my blog that I love W Magazine and that's where I get a lot of good info?  But remember to read the articles more than study the fashion.  Don't focus too much on the photos, other than for art's sake.  I'm not joking, BTW.  There's a lot of narishkeit (nonsense) there.

if you go to his website www.simondoonan.net/home you can buy it there!

I guess if it is your own store, you can sell your husband's stuff up front and center.