Yesterday afternoon I grabbed lunch at one of my favorite lunch spots in Burbank. This place has delicioso authentic Mexican food and that's why I keep going. However, every once in a while this restaurant offers more than just delicioso burritos y tacos. Yes in the greater Burbank area a restaurant like this attracts celebrities too and if you're lucky, you'll be there when one shows up. Yesterday I was there at the same time as Alfonso Ribeiro. I must admit, I didn't know his name yesterday and I'm sure most of you don't recognize it now. You will definitely recognize his most famous character - Carlton Banks! Even now that nostalgic theme song is running through my head ("Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down....") Ah...good ol' plaid wearin', country club goin', 70s dancin' Carlton. Alfonso seemed like a pretty regular guy which makes his portrayal of Carlton even more impressive than it already was.

Thanks to Nick@Nite we can enjoy Alfonso's performance on this ground breaking show something like 25 times a week. But for those of you who aren't up that late in the evening, here is a special compilation of what really endeared us to Carlton Banks.

(Those of you who are angry with me for getting the theme song stuck in your head may not want to watch the following video - this song sticks much worse)

Do you remember when stenciled borders were in? I do. I had these great purple teddy-bears that matched my pastel hearts comforter. One of my sisters had a red heart pattern that went nicely with her NKOTB posters and the other sister had black bars that were intended to look like piano keys. Oh. Yeah. I don't feel too embarrassed about it since we were kids at the time, but some of you are still hangin' in there with your stenciled borders.

I'm of the persuasion that in general, stenciling is better left in embarrassing pictures of decor from the 80s and 90s. It really has no business existing in 2008. I suppose it's not fair to lump all types of stenciling into one group, but for my purposes consider the following examples.

Exhibit A

Ah yes, the garden flowers with fat bumble bee motif. Perfect for any craft room needing some color.



Exhibit B

Gardeners everywhere unite! Watch the sky for the watering can stenciled spotlight....that will be our cue to plant in empty flowerbeds everywhere!



Exhibit C

Classic pink flower vine border. It's the perfect way to make your master bedroom feel comfortable for your husband.



Exhibit D

No Stenciled house would be complete without the twirly vine heart pattern.



Exhibit E

This versatile pattern goes well over the doors or windows, over a mirror, or as a border.



Exhibit F

For the stenciler wanting a simpler, less flowery pattern, try using this lovely ribbon bow. Nothing says "welcome to my home" like ribbon wrapped gift walls



Exhibit G

The perfect look for any bathroom is a green ivy growing on the walls. It's especially useful to cover up any real green growing on the walls.



Exhibit H

Last, but not least, this pattern is perfect for the beach dweller in you. Finish this look off with a bowl of collected sand-dollars on your coffee table and your oceanside cottage look will be complete!

A couple weekends ago we decided to do some long needed re-organizing, re-thinking and re-decorating of John's home studio. We took everything out and sorted it into keep, toss and sell piles. We took down the old curtains and painted the walls. We organized the keep pile in the room and re-arranged the furniture. Ahhh...progress feels good.

We've dubbed the look "Modern Deco" because we've combined the clean simple lines of 50s/60s modern with a few bold touches of 20s/30s art deco.

But now we're stuck. I had a plan for the new curtains but today we came up with a plan 2. Neither of us can decide if we like plan 1 or plan 2 better. This is a crucial turning point because the fabric will dictate the art for the wall and the rug for the floor. The fabric is also the art deco part of the of the modern deco scheme.

Here's where you come in. The swatches below are very different patterns, though both art deco bold looks, and they take the room in varying directions. Even though you haven't seen the wall color or the furniture or the ideas for the artwork, I'm curious which one YOU like. If you don't like either one, don't tell me because it took too long to narrow it down to just these two! If you do like one over the other will you leave a comment?

A

(Black on Ivory Damask)

B

(Silvery Teal and Rusty Orange Paisley with Black Outlines)

Nice work R & L

This has been a week of sightings. On Wednesday J and I saw Jay Leno driving one of his old Model T's in Burbank. Then of course, NAMM has been filled with celebrities. The list is pretty long, but the highlights have been Bill Murray (random!), Mark Isham, Slash, Chris Sligh, Vernon Reed, Terry Lawless, Morris Hayes, George Shaw and Herbie Hancock!!

J and I were assigned the job of show paparazzis, I mean photographers for Spectrasonics so we got to get up close to these people. I'm not a TMZ kinda gal, but it was pretty cool to be within 4 feet of guys like Herbie Hancock AND watch him get excited about our new instrument. Check out the pics from the show HERE. (click on "NAMM" and choose a day)

I WISH I could take credit for this. This guy, whoever he is, is hilarious! Ah...good ol' Olan Mills Photography. I remember when I thought Olan Mills was the De Vinci of modern family portraiture. Ok...maybe not the De Vinci, but it was pretty good. Oh...how things have changed.


ACTUAL OLAN MILLS PHOTOS


"Those glasses came free with a purchase of Brut cologne"




"Thoughtful Lance. Mirthful Lance. Two sides of a delightful coin."



"Drake won Rockin'est Senior Mullet by a landslide."



"That dude wore a tie for nothing."



"The Purvis family made several stops along the Oregon Trail to document their six-month journey. This photo was taken just two weeks before the dysentery took Momma to Jesus."



"I wanted a shot like this for my wedding. The Mrs. said no."



"It's called a leisure suit, ladies and germs, and if you didn't have one in the early 70s, you were a big fat loser. Mine was teal. I wore it with a silk floral shirt and a long necklace with a football player pendant that we all got at that year's team banquet. I was THE MAN."



"Once they had two or three, how did they ever find enough time alone to make more?"



"No Comment"



"Olan Mills backdrop #4: Bucolic Meadow with Split Rail Fence. Is that an animal carcass behind her? "



"A pose like this will get you kicked right out of the Convention. "



"Oh, this is super. What better way to capture the charm and innocence of a child than to plunk him down amid the coarse trappings of a life lived in pursuit of wealth -- oversized bills, an adding machine and the Wall Street Journal -- and make him sit inside a briefcase? (They probably just fold up the little demon right in there to carry him home.) The finishing touch is the globe, which completes the portrait of the young Antichrist in Chess King vest and Red Goose loafers, plotting his takeover of the world (insert maniacal laugh). That is, as soon as someone changes his poopy diaper. "



"Bobbi isn't the first waitress to fall for her manager, but she and Dale both got fired from Shoney's."



"Rejected Toby Keith album cover."



"Just a typical afternoon down on the plantation. In a business suit. Y'know, for a budget meeting with the servants."



"Dawn and her recently exhumed sister, Gorgotha, pose with Scraps. "



"This photo isn't discolored. The 70s really were that Orange."



"And don't miss the First Presbyterian Players as they perform "Godspell" next Wednesday night in the Fellowship Hall. Childcare will be provided. Please bring a covered dish."



"At the Southern Baptist Convention?"



"Olan Mills Backdrop #11: The Library, one of their most popular themes, as seen in this photo of the young Unabomber and his wife."



"The Library might be more believable if the shelves weren't sloping downhill."



"Olan Mills is all about versatility. The simple addition of a column turns this generic plantation into Tara, where, apparently, someone opened a Hair Cuttery. (This Dorothy Hamill cut was very popular in 70s after Doro won Olympic gold. Both my sisters had the cut at different times. I did not -- although I did have a huge crush on Dorothy). "



"Patrick broke ranks and chose drag over the bow tie."



"You'd think Pearle Vision would throw in another two pairs for free."



"Kenneth and his prom date"



"I got a 20 that says he drives a Camaro.'



"Hiroshima, 1945. The last known photo of Kelli and Senor Loco."



"Someone spent money on this."



"It's so cute when couples have matching hairdos "



"Nothing says 1973 quite like denim and helmet hair "



"I'd hide my face, too, little girl."



"B-52's, the early years."



"She's looking for the speaker that's piping in "Muskrat Love" so she can blast it with her laser eyes."

The Winter NAMM Show is this week. It's one of the biggest (is it the biggest?) music trade shows in the world. It takes up the entire Anaheim Convention Center which is enormous. The company with which I am employed exhibits at the show and it's always really fun. Of course, it's loud and chaotic and gives you a headache in about 10 minutes flat, but it is fun. We've seen all kinds of famous people there including, but not limited to - Steven Seagal, Gene Simmons, Stevie Wonder, Hanz Zimmer, Earth, Wind and Fire and Sinbad. (Steven Seagal is HUGE, by the way, I mean he's a giant).

Music merchants from software companies to instrument makers to music publisher to gear makers exhibit at the show. Roland always has a large portion of one of the halls where they exhibit and demo their instruments. Demos are always entertaining. Some are authentically "wow' type entertainment. Some are "cool" type entertainment. Others are "really?" type entertainment. HERE is an example of the "really?" type. Where the entertainment is more in watching the demo-er than in being impressed by the product.

This is what happens when my co-workers have a little too much time on their hands.


silky1b silky2

Nice work Bill Gates....Your talent is inexhaustible.



I bet they put the video together on a Mac.

Did you know there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of songs about food? I've been thinking about food quite a bit since I'm on a post Christmas-gorge diet. A Google search for "food songs" yielded about 4,600,000 results!! Some of these fascinating results are as follows:

A website named www.mixedup.com boasts an impressive list of 500 songs about food and a very odd and disturbing picture in which apparently Satan has eaten someone's lunch.

"Maximum Consumpion" by The Kinks

"Goober Peas" by Kingston Trio
"Happy Meal" by The Cardigans
"Junkfood Junkie" by Larry Groce
"He Ate Too Many Jelly Donuts" by Rick Dees
and of course
“Bigsmorgasbordwunderwerks” by Squonk 



This bear looks like he's having fun...



Here's KIDiddles songs about food for kids. My favorite is "Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?" That's exactly what I'd like to know....







Apparently the top ten food songs, according to The Observer, are as follows:

1 Wine With Dinner Loudon Wainwright

2 Roast Fish and Cornbread Lee Perry

3 Pass the Peas The JBs

4 She Cooks Me Cabbage Champion Jack Dupree

5 Rock Lobster The B-52s 

6 Fish, Chips and Sweat Funkadelic

7 Eli's Pork Chop Little Sonny

8 Chitlin con Carne Junior Wells

9 Forget About Dre Dr Dre

10 Ice Cream for Crow Captain Beefheart 






Even Dole is jumping in with "Jammin' 5 a Day Songs." Check out these great lyrics

Now here's a little song where I can take the lead
I wanna eat the right kind of foods that I need
I'm countin' all my servings in a real cool way
I'm talkin' fruits and vegetables, 5 A Day!

1 -2 -3 -4 - 5 A Day
That's the fruit and vegetable way
Eat 5 servings every day
Sing 5 A Day!

Poetry. Pure Poetry.

I did it. I finally called the dentist and made an appointment. It's a long overdue appointment. I have alot of excuses for not making the appointment sooner- mainly I couldn't find a good time to be out of commission for several days....like planning when to get the flu. See, there is quite a bit that needs to be done - remove the last wisdom tooth, put in a couple fillings, touch up a couple fillings, adjust the crown, then go back for a good cleaning, probably a deep and painful cleaning. So what finally pushed me to finally make the call? My sweet little niece, Katie. She's 5 1/2 and oh so honest. Here's the story:

One evening, while we were at my sister's in San Antonio, my nieces were getting ready for bed. They had brushed their teeth and had come over to show me how clean they were. I asked them if their teeth were squeaky clean. They both began rubbing their teeth with their index fingers until they each got a faint little squeak. "Sure enough! Squeaky clean!" I said. "Are mine squeaky clean?" Katie replied in a straight tone, "No, you have plaque."

So, I'm going to the dentist before my mouth looks like this.

"Live every week like it's shark week."

I can't wait for the next one!

Did you know there are professional whistlers? PROfessional WHISTLERS? Yes. There. Are. There is a whole whistling community out there and they have books and albums and websites. Now, I love the whistling section of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" as much as the next gal, but I had no idea that in the year 2008 there are people who proudly whistle for a living. Check this out.

Whistling Tom is an "award winning virtuoso whistler and singer" who "entertains publicly at community events, fundraisers and festivals, and performs private shows for senior centers, veterans' facilities and civic associations." He is featured in the documentary



There's also Robert Stemmons, a.k.a. "The Whistler" of whom it was said -

"Stemmons is a whistler. But to leave it at that is like calling Steinway a piano."
                 - Utica Observer-Dispatch

Check out his albums here.


Cartter Frierson, The Chattanooga Whistler, with his famous album "Whistling in the Garden." It's well worth your time to go take a listen.



Of course, I couldn't leave out Steve "The Whistler" Herbst the 2002 International Grand Champion, Recipient of the 2003, 2004, 2005 International Whistling Entertainer of the Year Award and inducted in 2007 into the Whistler Hall of Fame.



Whistling has an international audience and is enjoyed by both young and awkward.





From Hand Whistlers


To whistlers of old


I know you're all itching to try out your own whistles. Fortunately for you, I found this very helpful instructional site. How To Whistle Loudly