Tons of Quail Flew Out of My Courtyard

 The architectural sample library is in Phoenix so this was considered going into 'town' for me. 

It started with my fresh love for this new yet vintage hat from Emme Boutique 1960-ish.  I have David Sheflin, owner of Vintage Fashion Inc. to thank for telling me about it.

The dress is from Saks 5th Ave about 3 years ago. It is really kind of falling apart.  This is what is great about living in Arizona.  I am still dressing for summer being that it is still hot enough to fry an egg on my sidewalk.  Oh and my newest SAM HARVEY bag.  I only have 2 made.  I hope it doesn't sell this Saturday at the Goodyear Market because I want it for my own!

 Jeffrey and I were on this major all day trek in a canyon all day in our Land Rover about a 100 years ago and when we stopped for lunch there were some Native Americans selling jewelry.  Jeffrey was like, "We are so remote, how can there be shopping HERE!"  That's just the way I do it.

The army surplus socks cost less than the tax of those wood Robert Clergerie wedges.

All the makings of an interior finish schedule that I have to finish before Eva and I head out to Boston to see my Aunt Jan, who is the editor and writer of New England Crafts Connoisseur in the beginning of October! I can't wait!   We are going to see 'top drawer' artists at Weston Craft Show in Vermont!  I want to get inspired to design a new bag style for Sam Harvey.  We plan to check out some Boston vintage shops too.

Good Stuff Happening

Town of Buckeye invited me back again last night to present the Park and Ride project to the Chamber. I guess to the members who weren't there last time.  I decided to go for the British Airways look.

My nails are the bomb. I know.  I told you I was against being a slave to nails but these are like shellac.  I cut down branches with a saw and they didn't even chip.  You can't see very well but I wore my vintage Miriam Haskell necklace from the ....hmm don't know really know the year, forgot. It's old OK.

Guess what is different?  Yeah, I know it still looks like a bomb went off in my sewing room but notice the new IPAD!! *horns, dukes of hazard peel out with me jumping thru the window, snare drums,  kazoos*

I convinced Jeffrey I needed this so I can keep a running total on our finances. Complete with tazor shock APP when I go over the budget.  See my greasy finger prints that make the shape of the key board. It is SO SWEET!

The orange and blue bag is done. I am naming it the 'Katy' bag.  The first one goes out to Katy because she is so welcoming and true as the blue sky.  I appreciate her blog because she encourages her children to sit on big cushy chairs and read books to each other. What a concept huh?  Her family all works together on projects like canning tomatoes or working in their garden.  Really amazing woman this Katy is.  This bag is even hotter in person. TRUST ME!

Virtual bedtime story for tonight. It's pretty cool. We have access to any book at any time.  I think my first one will be Emily Dickenson. 

Lily specifically told me I couldn't use this photo.  Oh Lil!

These Hearts Are Breakin' Boots

This is why you won't be catching me posting at 7:21am.  This is me loading up Lily and Eva for school this morning.  These boots are Lily's selection from last Sunday's shoe experience at Scottsdale Nordstrom's.  These crazy fashiontastic shoes are from Naturino.  It is not clear where they are made.  All I have found so far is "European shoe".  Feels and looks like Italian but these days you *China, yup I said it* never know.  They are great quality and they boast the feeling of walking on sand.

Lily wanted to keep the green i.d. chain on. She said it made the boots look more expensive?  You really should have been in Nordstrom's watching Lily trying on a toddler size gray metallic boot.  She always assumes that all of the singles that are on display are her exact size so she puts them on.  My sister in law was looking over at me like "Aren't you going to make her stop?!"  My reply was a supressed giggle that turned into me cracking up.  All the plastics with their well behaved kids were watching Lily making hopping laps around the whole department on one foot with this tiny sized metallic boot on.  Her foot didn't even make it to the base of the boot.  It was just lodged into the throat.  Well, I suggested the Naturino.  I wish they came in my size too.

Beautiful little bed head.  NO, I didn't photoshop the soggy Cocoa Krispies that are now dried onto her shorts.

Eva bought some patent leather Geox mary janes. Shoes that walk on air.  Actually, all the Serbin girls have matching black mary janes including cousin Leah.  Lily's reaction was, "Why would I ever need dress up shoes?".   About 30 seconds after Eva and Lily slid out of the back seat I heard from down the street, "Lily, I love your boots!".  I can't wait to hear her stories when she gets home today.  Eva and Lily are walking on air and sand. 

Leave Some White

Rainbow gelato in tiny square compartments, grill marked sandwhiches with ham hanging everwhere like pigeons from every corner, fine leather satchels next to hand painted paper shops.  Families hugging and kissing, everybody wearing black, gandoliers sifting through the brackish slime green colored canal water.  Fortress walls with grids of iron that fit perfectly together.  Feeling like it would be perfectly fine if I got lost.  I had Ave Maria ringing in my ears for days and days.  NO - not in Korean!  It is the best I could do.   

  I can tell you there were moments in Venice when I was actually hmmm what's the word? Not bored but out of my routine of working on projects.   So I watercolored.   I was genius for leaving those gondola wood posts white don't you think?

 I used violet blue for my shadows.  I remember making a point to leave more white on this one.  Jeffrey was also tired of waiting for me to stop being all painterly.  Professor Albanese PUNCTUATED LEAVING WHITE in a watercolor.  It's like knowing when to stop talking.

Yes, I loved green just as much back then.  What was that you said? I know, I should have added one more corbel under the eave on the right.  I just threw your car keys in the lake.

Ave Maria will always be me walking down a cobble stone street in Venice. NO, it wasn't in Korean then! It definitely sounded more Enrique Iglesias without the shrillness.  If that makes any sense at all.  In the last 15 years I have never heard that song until tonight.  Don't even ask me why.  It really was Ferrari Dino moment. 

What Would You Do If...

Yes, I am still wanting this coat.

Lately, my hours are filled with architecture.  Some sewing projects are taking longer to complete like my boucle coat with military pockets.  I had to put it away until I could have Cecile at SEWING LAB last week help me sew my *biased* sleeve to the bodice.  I of course brought 2 other minor sewing repairs like I would get through the sleeve so fast. It took 3 hours to sew the right sleeve in.  At least I know I wasn't too far off on the first one. Not bad for teaching myself with a book.  I think this coat will be like a collectors train set, it is going to take a long time to complete and I may never finish it!  Do you understand that I want to hand sew finish each button hole?  I still need to....don't let me start.

I don't even have the buttons yet. It is something I savor in the back of my mind that I rocked the shoulder pads and sleeves.  Look at the bump out on the shoulder!  I love that I have come this far in sewing my first couture coat.  Half machine and half hand sewn.  You should see the lining.  You probably never want me to talk about this coat.  Too bad.

Honestly, look, I've never been more serious here.... What would you honestly do if you woke up tomorrow and at the foot of your bed or hammock or whatever you roll up in at night, and Dean Martin was singing Kentucky Babe to you with that extra Hamburger Helper yahda yahda yahda la da la la loo croony singing.  What would you do?

This is what Salinger was listening to when he wrote Down at the Dinghy.  Salinger's character, Boo Boo Tannenbaum was humming this as she was walking down the board walk to go convince some little boy not to run away in his little boat.  That's about as far as I got.  I think I put too much oil in my tub because I just slipped off this here chair.

Never Try to Go to Bed at 6:38

Never try to go to sleep at 6:38pm.  I just couldn't keep my eyes open for Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix.  That's all I wanted tonight because I caught Eva's back to school cold.   As I was feverishly flinging covers on and off Enrique Iglesias "I Like It" was ravaging my brain.  I guess there could be worse nightmare songs.  Well actually it did get worse when my brain started mixing in All Night Long by Lionel Richie.  That was when I decided to get the hell out of bed.  I caught the ending when Voldemort was extricating himself from Harry's soul.  The ending scene with Harry wearing his evergreen v-neck sweater made me feel all better.  Ok it's not the ending scene but close enough.  Stop it now!

Where am I going with this?  I am just happy about orange and blue tonight really.  Jeffrey saw me piecing together some bags with bright blue vinyl and bright orange straps the other day and I remember him saying "I wouldn't cut too much of that out!".  I said, "Trust me." *famous words from me, that he has heard all too many times.*  Oh yeah, that is the tiniest kitten sitting on my work table. Nana bought it for Eva when we were eating Swedish panckakes in Kingston last Sunday.

I am seeing a re-occuring theme of orange and blue in a lot of my projects.  The photo above was taken when I toured the Eastman Cotton Gin in Buckeye, Arizona.  These fiberglass panels were installed I don't know when, but they became the catalyst for a color palette for the Park and Ride that Jeffrey and I are working on right now.  Jeffrey designed the shade canopies with their slight tilts and angles and I came up with adding the colored panels to the underside.  We make an amazing design duo Jeffrey and I. 

I love how the sky came out.  I remember watching the blue puddles drying not knowing how it would look. Lily just interrupted me to ask if hair grows while we sleep.  I told her yes and then she said "THAT'S CREEPY!" She is almost 7.

Tim has orange and blue doing their magical thing by his front door.  Did I mention how blue and orange are complimentary colors being on opposite ends of the color wheel?  I can't believe I am blogging with a fever and on Erev Yom Kippur.  That's love.

Karen Walker RTW  Spring 2011

I would have liked to be sitting next to White Lightning to see if this blue jacket was a shade brighter. WL's photo from the runway seemed so much better.  I showed this to Jeffrey and I know it gave my bag cuttings some credibility.

Ummm, who was talking about Bert and Mary orange and blue back in January?  Just sayin.

This was a cute car at the Edmonds muscle and hot rod car show last Sunday.  I love this trailer.  Ok, now you see where I came up with chrome plated bread box.  That door opens into a tiny cab with a thin mattress covered in a hand made quilt.

These dish towels need to be in that microscopic *totally ripped this off from Salinger* kitchen on wheels don't you think?  These were hand knitted and sent to me by my friend Katy.  Yes, she hand knit these just for me.  I want to make her an orange and blue bag and send it to her.  Thank you Katy for this thoughtful gesture.

It is 9:46pm and I am wide awake.

The Wedges, Coat and Clutch

Sometimes taking apart a wooden crate with a crow bar is a great way to get into blogging mode.  

Not quite cool enough to wear these Wolford tights and Michael Mott for Paraphernalia mod 1960's jacket that I bought at Vintage Fashion Inc. in Phoenix.  This is a never before seen shot of the mandarin orange clutch by SAM HARVEY .  I found the leather at Tandy a while back.  I am on the lookout for a sewing machine for leather.  The wedges came before the coat when I was into Hogwarts.  I had no idea I would be finding this supreme coat back then.  I love how this all works! Eventually, these random tangents that I take you on pull themselves together.

This is a recycled glass chime by Bedrock Industries that I snatched up at the Edmonds Farmer's Market last weekend.  I bought it for Lily because it reminded me of her drawings.  This chime is in the tree in the photo shoot see it?

Look what Fed Ex man dropped off yesterday! I can't wait to take a dip in my new View!  

Photographer: Eva Serbin, just before tennis class. Vintage Fashion Inc. ,mod 1960's Michael Mott for Paraphernaliacame lovely coat *yes I was sweating in 100 degree sunset heat vapors*, Wolford winter soft logic tights, L.L. Bean Signature forest green wedges and a SAM HARVEY leather clutch.

"Jeat Jet?"

My favorite talks on the phone with my brother Erik is when I have to hang up because I can't stop laughing.

  This wasn't one of those times but I did muster a pretty good cracking when I told him "Erik, I see this little house with a shit load of bird houses all over it."  The more insane out of nowhere the better.  The fact that I am explaining this is killing it here.  It's just not funny now!  I further piled it on when I told him how I was going to dump a whole bag of Chips Ahoy in this tiny garden for all the bird houses. 

I am just zooming into this birdie chalet on the right. These bird houses live about 3.5 minutes walking distance from my Mom's house in Edmonds, Washington.  The window is so yellow that there must be a Dr. Zhivago waltz playing for sure inside.

As soon *and I mean AS SOON* as I clicked my little Nikon button, a bearded dude with a yellow cap appeared.  It was really cheesy that I asked him if I could take photos of his bird houses AS I AM TAKING PHOTOS OF HIS BIRDHOUSES - DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH.  "He spoke exclusively from the larynx, as if he were altogether too tired to put any diaphram breath into his words." - Just Before the War with the Eskimos, JD Salinger. 

It's not like he said "Hey, why the hell are you taking pictures of my house?!"  Instead, he was more than happy to share his lovely miniature creations.

For this one, I asked, "Can I take this photo?" He said, "Yup."  Then he went into his microscopic clap  board house on the corner and told me he was going to bring out more of his bird houses.  *I'm thinking, don't be thinking I am going to follow you in there, floating log spinner.  Could you just imagine him in the Puget Sound balancing himself on a floating log?*

Tim is the kind of guy that would give his pen to somebody kneeling on the sidewalk trying to write down a phone number with a busted tip pencil. He would say "Hey, I just found this pen, go ahead and keep it."  Even though he was really hospitable I was hoping he wasn't going to say "Jeat Jet?".   I was rehearsing rapidly how I would say that "That's really quite all right, I just inhaled a whole bag of Chips Ahoy." or "I think I have to go polish my chrome plated bread box now".

I asked him if he sold any of these bird houses at the local farmer's market *which I already knew the answer* and he said no, he just makes bird houses for his friends. Thanks Tim.  I wonder if you come from a long line of floating log harpooning spinning shingle makers?

This Is How I Deal

This is the song that was playing while I was on my way from SEATAC to see Mom and Papa.  I was sitting in the farthest back seat inside of this black limo.  Why was I sitting among crystal goblets with red paper napkins tucked inside, I don't know.  I mean Mom told me last night that she had pre-paid for a shuttle to take me to Edmonds, Washington.  Let's back up shall we?

I roll my turquoise Swiss Army luggage up to the super shuttle kiosk and give them my confirmation number and they tell me to go sit on this oak slat bench until they call me.  So I wait about 15 minutes and then this driver calls out "Lara, we are ready for you!".  He leads me PAST the mini van blue shuttles all lined up and ahead in the distance is this black limo that is about a mile long.  My jaw just drops.  Ok, let's also add that I have my Babolat tennis bag slung over my shoulder.  I am thinking to myself , "This guy must think I am a tennis Pro!"  So he puts my tennis bag and luggage in the cavernous trunk and I sat in the back of the huge emty limo cab.  It was just me!  I was thinking that Mom must really be proud of me for blowing the Mayor away last Tuesday with  the concept watercolors. 

Led Zepplin and Joe Walsh just sounded right while I was gazing out the limo window *yes, I rolled the window down, why don't people do this when they are in a limo?* looking at tall fir trees against a cool gray toned sky.  Ahhhhh, the sun is hidden from view.  I love this.  I need this little vacume bubble of seclusion.  Things were really crazy last week.   I loved the activity of it all.  The harder they come the more fierce my topspin returns.

Oh and by the way, Mom said she did not specify a limo.  The universe just lined that one up!



In my perfect limo riding world I want this Ludacris song blasting with perfect woofers and tweeters and all that whatever. Just perfectly loud and obnoxious.  That's woahllla skaty!

Glad You Can't See My Chipped Toe Nail

I left my watercoloring hermitage today.  I popped into Vintage Fashion Inc to try on this shredder mod military coat.  I just bought it like 5 hours ago. I will model when I finish my orange leather SAM HARVEY bag.  I need some Wolford tights too.  It is like David Sheflin knew I needed this coat.  I get such a rush when I go to VFI.  I feel lucky that there is a guy like David who is so connected in Phoenix.  His shop is so clean and elegant.  I would love a store like that for my bags.  Soon.  I am sure it will happen. 

 What the hell, my Ipod is playing Nick Nack Patty Wack Give Your Dog a Bone.  That is what I get for buying Jeffrey a turn table.  The most disturbing transition is going from Lily Allen to Mousercise with something about Uncle Scrooge's Money.  It is so cheesy it makes me cringe.

This is me shooting a photo from one of Sheflins books at VFI on 60's fashion.  Cathyanne was giving me the low down on who Michael Mott the designer of my bitchen militant infantry coat.  Gawd, I love it.  Mott designed the coat for a shop called Paraphernalia.  I guess in the 60's this shop was known for selling British designer labels.  I guess he worked along side Betsy Johnson too.  Did I mention how I love the chrome bulbous buttons?  It was great to get the hell out of my house.  I see a studio, warehouse, boutique for all the shit I do coming soon.

This is what I was looking at while sitting on this bench drinking a Cafe Americano.  I cropped out the Honda in front.  No it was not a Honda Cycle.  I wouldn't have cropped that out.  You ready for the great end of the week news?

Vance gave me approval for 15 runners for the Sanctuary in Paradise Valley!!!!  He wants an invoice!  He wants more runners for his CASITAS!  If I could fly, I would wear my Ipod listening to The One, Backstreet Boys or maybe The Olympic Spirit by John Williams.  I had to share this with you!  This is so amazing!  Someday we will laugh together how I started this SAM HARVEY out of my house while watching bunnies sleeping in my courtyard.  I will love the day I have my dining room back.  But for now, I do like being able to just wear cut offs.  My studio has to have natural light you hear that!  It has to be just like my dining room or it is a NO GO.

Oh, and Sherrie, I must have spent 2 extra hours today adding trench coats and SAM HARVEY bags to all my ontourage.