And for extra credit...

A hat to match! Finished with mere hours to spare! The color in this picture is true.

Frittata

de leftovers: pork butt, roasted squash, okra, and turnips. With salad mix; an unlikely triumph.

Sauteed Trout

with roasted butternut squash and sauteed shiitakes.

Fuschia Sweater

IMG_0070
Originally uploaded by tinyloop.

Behold, fresh off the needles. The color is much (much) more vivid fuschia in real life, though obviously nowhere near as vivid as the model.

Leftover Chicken Sausage

with sauteed mei quing cabbage and purple roasted potatoes with roasted garlic. Nummers.

Pork Butt

which despite its name is actually part of the shoulder, I think, and doesn't that mean it's high on the hog? Where ever it is, that's where we ate Saturday night. The spouse grilled everything in sight: pork butt, red peppers, apples, and tomatoes. And then he made onion rings! A great dinner.

Misc

Just two quick notes: Rei, please don't show all black clothes on a black runway. Christian: I am still available to be dressed exclusively by you, or even adopted, if you prefer.

Viktor and Rolf

Ack! Aaagh! OMG! Viktor and Rolf, always up for something new, showed their Spring line in an online show, created digitally, using only one model (Shalom Harlow, who has been huge since the nineties, bless her long-lived limbs). It's always worth seeing V+R clothes, which are wild and beautiful, but let me tell you, the digital show is something else. Mainly because it gives a pleb like me a chance to watch the clothes in action: how they move on the body, look from different angles, etc. Also, it's a little lesson in why the right model matters—Harlow does not appear to have a stiff joint in her body. She's walking on what have to be five inch heels, heels I literally could not stand up in, and she's like a tree being lightly tossed by wind. Amazing. Anyway, do check it out: http://www.viktor-rolf.com/index.htm.

Burn After Reading

How can it be that the Coens have been making movies as long as they have and never have made a bad one? The spouse and I laughed until we wept, though if you've seen it you'll know how much discomfort was involved. The only problem is, I really can't watch Brad Pitt any more. I like him, and he's very funny in the movie, and he gives it his all, but I just can't forget the public life long enough to believe the character. Weirdly, I am able to suspend all of that when I look at George Clooney. (George, my crush on you is over, but I actually feel closer to you now that I no longer carry a torch. I see myself as the Tilda Swinton in your life.)

Nina Ricci

which really means Olivier Theyskens. Theyskens dressed Madonna in a full-length ball gown made of yellow leather for some event, and then a black leather gown for the Oscars, and while she didn't exactly get lots of praise for the outfits, they did put him on the map. Then (as I understand it) he got hired to revitalize the old French label Rochas, which had been piddling along (as many of them do) on scarves and fragrances. He was a huge hit with fashion editors, and the dresses were wonderful; high-necked, long sleeved, fitted to a T gowns in greens and eggplants. The only thing is, they cost a fortune and the society ladies who buy such things don't want to look like skinny Victorian governesses, so his sales were not stellar. He eventually started making some wearable clothes (pants, even!) but his bosses at Proctor and Gamble (who own Rochas, such is the weirdness of the fashion world) pulled the plug and went back to concentrating on the lucrative perfume business. Theyskens is the special pet of Anna Wintour (Ed in C of American Vogue) so although there was a general wail along the lines of "Olivier is a genius his corporate masters could never understand oh where will he go oh what will he do!" he himself never manifested (publicly, anyway) much worry. As it turns out, he was picked to helm another old house in need of a boost: Nina Ricci (you know it because it makes "L'Air du Temps," a perfume sold in drug stores in a bottle with a bird on it and advertised on TV relentlessly in the seventies).

Now, that in itself is interesting because at the time that he must have been negotiating to take it over Nina Ricci had a young, hip designer in charge: Lars Nilsson. Nilsson is an incredibly talented Swede, who makes gorgeous clothes, and who cannot seem to keep a job to save his life. He was hired to take over Bill Blass, made wonderful things, was fired. Hired by Nina Ricci, made wonderful things, fired. Later he went to Gianfranco Ferre, a really plum job, and was fired before he even showed his first collection. What is going on there? I have no idea. But, as I say, out he went, and in went Olivier Theyskens, and there Olivier remains. And the things he is doing there! He just showed a collection made almost entirely of dresses with hemlines raised in front and trailing in back. For a little variety he threw in some satin short-shorts and pants with fins, but basically, if you want to wear Theyskens it's flamenco dresses for you. Can this possibly end well?

Not that I'm complaining, because let me tell you, the dresses are breathtaking. Given that I don't give a hoot about Nina Ricci's bottom line I say, bring on season after season of dresses this fantastic. (For the sake of keeping things fun we're just going to ignore the size of the model's thigh. 'Kay?)

Did I mention that Theyskens is 29?

Fried Chicken

with quinoa and salad.

Roasted Vegetables

Turnips, potatoes, and okra; improbably good. Also scrambled eggs with chives and sweet potato. The spouse couldn't get over the last, raved about it, gobbled it up, and wondered how I was so smart as to think of it. Here's how: I was planning on eggs for dinner because I hadn't planned anything else in advance; as I was on my way to scramble them I passed our toaster oven and realized I had left a whole baked sweet potato in it from the night before. I thought "that looks like dinner-bulk to me!" and tossed it (potato not toaster) in.

Roast Pork Rib-end

with sweet potatoes and salad. What is there in the world better and easier than roasted meat? Here's what I did: I took the meat out of its package, put it in a dish, stuck it in a 350 degree oven for an hour and a half, and took it out. And it was scrumptious! Sweet and golden and juicy! Heat + meat = miracle.

Peanut Stew

with quinoa. I assume it was delicious, but due to a recent cold I can't taste anything but salt.

Pretty Doll

I recently bought a doll from a Southern folk art center; both I and my daughter are fascinated by it. So we made one ourselves! Here she is, made from sewing-room scraps, stitched by me, design directed by my daughter.

Fried Chicken

with corn on the cob and pan-roasted okra. That latter was my spouse's idea, following a meal he had in a restaurant. You just toss whole okra (no topping and tailing! Let alone slicing up!) into a hot grill pan that has been lightly oiled and cook until the pods are wilted and charred. I'm sure it was delicious, but I have a cold that prevents me from tasting anything.

Aerogarden Pesto

on whole-wheat tri-color elbow macaroni; with salad. The Areogarden is a gift to pesto-making; one harvest equals one meal's worth, and you don't even have to go outside! Threw in some parsley too, and whether for that reason or not, the pesto stayed bright green. I dislike an oxidized pesto, but am usually helpless to prevent it.

Chicken Sausage

with steamed crook-neck squash and baked sweet potatoes.

Bacon and Eggs

Delicious Miss Sue's eggs, and scrummy bacon-of-the-month club bacon. A Big Girls Only dinner.

Marc Jacobs

OMG I love Marc Jacobs and I can't help it. I don't want to because he's so mega-huge and liking him does not make me look smart or interesting or distinctive but o. m g. I love him. The spring 2209 rtw collection is so awesome.