Mrs W says...

Dusting is as much fun as a stiff drink!

Adventures in Painting

Although I love my pearls and nipped-in waists, I also enjoy a solid afternoon of home repair.  This is why I took on the massive project of painting the entire first level of my house.  This level has an open living room, dining room, and partly open kitchen, and all four walls were painted a blue-white.  Now if there is one thing Mrs. W dislikes, it's cool whites.  They darken the room without adding color.  Here's a wall sample:

Now here's the color I chose to replace such a blue hue:

Lovely, isn't it? Some might even call it the color of...Cancun Sand.  Eh?  Anyhoo, the confession part of this post is that I started painting last July 4th, with every intention of finishing within several weeks.  But then I got on the top rung of the ladder, as Mr. W had told me not to, in order to reach the very high ceiling.  Predictably, I fell off.  Landed on top of the ladder, bruised and cut up my whole right side.  It was not very ladylike.  So for about six months, the main floor looked like this:

Through dinner parties, and hosting Christmas, the first floor was half-done.  Thankfully, Easter is a time of resurrection (and help from in-laws), so the rest of the floor is now painted and matches.  Glory be.

Mrs W says....

Would you care for a chocolate?  It tastes better when served on a doily.

WTF?

In looking around for "WTF?" items, I came across two kind-of-bizarre images.  Neither of them was weird enough in and of itself, but the fact that both were randomly from the same movie, and I found them in separate searches, seemed to indicate to me that I should post them.  Picnic was a movie from 1955, critically acclaimed and well-received by audiences....although the stills are a bit confusing.

"One of us belongs on the cover of a romance novel...
the other refuses to partake in such nonsense, and is merely here to rest against this log."

"Are we laying down?  Or propped up against a wall in the girl's bathroom?
Hard to know, but I'm glad neither of us is wearing tops."

Charade

This week I watched Charade, from 1963.

This is a rom-com-dram.  The rom is from Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn falling in love while trying to find Audrey's character's late husband's missing fortune. (I'd refer to them by their character names, but Cary's character lies repeatedly about his identity, so his name changes about every twenty minutes, each time Audrey's character catches him in a lie.)  The com is from Cary's arrogant dry wit, and Audrey's sassy dry wit, both of which are immensely appealing:

Peter Joshua: Why do you think Tex did it? 
Reggie Lampert: Because I really suspect Gideon and it's always the person you don't suspect. 
Peter Joshua: Do women find it feminine to be so illogical, or can't they help it? 


Reggie Lampert: You're blocking my view.
Peter Joshua: Ohh... which view would you prefer?
Reggie Lampert: The one you're blocking. 


The dram is because people keep dying, and the viewer (and Hepburn's character) aren't sure who to trust.  


The story is fantastic, the dialogue witty, the characters interesting; it's one of my favorite movies of all time.  Plus, you can't beat Cary Grant for handsome leading man:

Somebody get me a cold compress.

And there is no one more beautiful and elegant than Audrey Hepburn:

Hello, bright eyes.

Sigh. Remember when life was simple and women wore scarves over their hair and men dressed in suits every day and we had to figure out where Charles hid a quarter of a million dollars before a group of thieves killed us?  Those were the days.

Spring pick: Heels

During the winter months, I wear boots about 5 days a week.  By the time March rolls around, I'm ready to put the boots in the back of the closet and pull out the heels.  I know there are a lot of women who hate high heels because they can be uncomfortable.  But, if you wear them on days you know you won't be walking a lot, and you buy high quality shoes, they're really not bad at all.  Mainly, I love heels because they make me feel feminine and pretty.

Which is so dumb on many levels, but whatever.  I'm 5'8" and have shoulders like a Packers linebacker, so I find my cues of lady-likeness wherever I can. Other reasons to love a good pair of pumps: heels make calves look shapely when you're wearing a skirt, and they lengthen and slim the leg.  

Every high heel-lover should have a pair of red heels...

t-strap heels...

heels in unconventional colors....

stripper heels*...

Wait, what?  No.  I take that last one back.

(I got this picture from a website called, no joke, Booty Cocktails.)

Bundt cake

This past week I had a coffee date at my home with another lady.  The same day, Mr. W was due home back from a business trip.  Mr. W's favorite dessert that I make is my grandma's Almond Chocolate Chip Bundt cake, thus I made the cake for his return, and to serve to my friend, Mrs. B.

Mrs. B has given up chocolate for lent, but chocolate chips aren't really chocolate, right?  I'm sure Jesus understands such distinctions.  

Regretfully, the bundt cake did not exactly bake.  

It wasn't raw, it was more...rare.  The problem is the almond filling which is so moist and dense; it just doesn't cook properly if you don't add enough milk to the batter.  Which I didn't.  Boo-hoo.

No worries, both Mrs. B and Mr. W and I all enjoyed the cake in small cups, with a spoon.