I'm a lowlife

The quality of this is not awesome, but you get the idea. Reform School Girl by Nick Curran and the Lowlifes.

Ok, so old music Thursday, and pretty much all other blogposts have fallen by the wayside. I'm crazed hormonal incubator on a mission from Venus (or Mars) to sew quilts, stay in bed all day with my kid, and avoid all human contact. And that apparently extends to writing. I have completed so many projects and had so many thing happen in the last few weeks, but the thought of writing them down feels monumentally difficult to begin, and also somewhat pointless. But then I get an email or a text message from another person, saying "what gives?" and I feel guilty. So I eat another scoop of cinnamon ice cream to drown my sorrows and promise to find time the next day.


I've eaten A LOT of cinnamon ice cream in the last few weeks.

Did I ever mention I went to reform school? Not really. It was a boarding school in Maine, but it wasn't exactly Exeter. It was like a progressive liberal reform school for kids who smoked too much pot, and whose parents were hippy yuppies trying to be better parents. Yay me. 

I thought I'd start back easy and tell you guys what I've been listening to lately. Nick Curran and The Lowlifes. So good. Nipper Knapp found this guy on a song of the day thing from some hipster college radio station out of Seattle(?) he listens to online. 


They're kind of like Rockabilly meets The Misfits, Meets Jack White, meets Howlin Wolf, meets The Ramones. The lyrics are pretty grim, and I'm sure my mother would not approve, but I kind of dig pulling out of the Joann Fabrics parking lot in my prius blasting "I'm Gonna Kill My Baby". Puts everything back in it's natural order.


Also they remind me of this band, whose name I can't remember, that played in Ann Arbor when I was about 16. Any of my readers from A2 in that era know who I'm talking about? They were all Rockabilly boys, and I dated one of them, mostly because he had a 1957 Chevy Bel Air, and a 1950s truck, and wore his hair in a super slick pompadour, smoked Lucky's, and his dad was one of those hair dressers who did hair shows, who may or may not have been dead of AIDS. He and other guys in the band were emancipated minors who lived in this crappy house near campus, and they had a paraplegic dog who wore diapers, and had a little trolly back made of skateboard wheels so he could pull himself around the house. All of these things blinded me to the fact that he was a short, ignorant, grifter, who now may or may not be aspiring to be the night desk man at a hooker hotel. The good life. Ah youth, where have you gone?


Ok back to sewing nursery curtains, and cuddling on the couch with my fellas. 

Cribs

The fabric is Michael Miller Zoology Flannel in Sea

I don't want to blow your minds or anything, but I just sewed a crib sheet! It only took an hour, and though it's not perfect, it's pretty darn cute. I googled "how to sew a crib sheet" and used sort of an amalgam from all the different tutorials. I ended up cutting the fabric (which is the standard 44/45" wide) to 70 inches, and I think it's about an inch or two too long, but I'd rather have it be too big and tuck it, than not big enough. It's also not as tight around the edges where I sewed the elastic as I'd like, but...I SEWED ELASTIC! I did the four corners method, not the pocket method, and it was easy as pie. 

I'm totally going to make another set for the little man, with the Central Park Zoo Fabric I got. I was going to repaint the nursery, but that required, you know, painting, and moving furniture, AND, the Pels are loaning us their glider rocker, which is dreamy, but is pale green, and goes perfectly with the aqua walls. So, instead I've opted to make some new crib bedding, curtains, and decoupage his dresser, like I did for Jack before he was born. I even have leftover fabric from the sheets to make throw pillows for the rocker. Who needs new paint?! 

Can you tell I'm kind of nesting?

Kate Spain Central Park Zoo - How cute will this be as a crib sheet?!

Bienvenidos

I made another one. But I have a good excuse. Nipper Knapp went to NYC last week for meetings with some networks, and productions company's about our show Gentrification. One of them wants to see what it looks like as a movie. So I'm putting together a little picture book sort of dealie about the characters in our show, the locations, etc... I don't know if it's marketing, or production design, or just gluing stuff and using photoshop, but I love this shit. 

The next project Nipper Knapp wants to shoot is set in Idaho, and has a scene that calls for a scene where kids are having an art fair. When he told me he needed me to make some "projects" for the scene, I tried to not to be giddy. One of them includes a scale model of downtown Boise. Architectural models that looks like a 5th grader made it?! "I'M YOUR GIRL!" I shouted, twirling, and tossing my hair tie in the air. 

So for this one, I wanted something else besides the Gentrification cover shot that we used for all the NYTVF materials last year. I still love that shot, and the wooden Nipper Knapps that we had made, but I think we need something fresh. Oh and I was already thinking about making this for our front door, so...  

It's a luchador wreath that says Bienvenidos (welcome in Spanish). I wanted to make something for our house that was pink (for me), but had some dude stuff too (luchador). 


Ok, back to cleaning my office. It's going VERY slowly. As soon as I get one little corner finished, there is some new pile behind a curtain. Oh and I have to stop and eat, sleep, and care for my family from time to time, so...it might be weeks. I actually can't believe they can do one of those episodes of Hoarders in 1 or 2 days. My office isn't nearly that bad, and it's taking me weeks! Part of the problem is that, I'm cleaning other parts of the house too, and everything ends up on my desk. Maybe I'll start piling stuff up on Nipper Knapp's side of the bed and see if he notices... "What that stuff? Just the Christmas decorations that you forgot to bring the box up from the basement for. Huh? No, I'm not in any hurry, you can just leave it there on your pillow. LOVE YOU" 

My most sincere apology

Jack did a puppet show for me at school on Friday. The lines were "Ugh, this play is SO boring" 

Today Jack and I had our first playdate EVER. That's not completely true. I mean we've gone and played at other people's houses, and had lots of kids over here, but like, the neighbor's house, or something like that.I have never in the entire history of his little life, called or emailed another mom, and said, "hey, let's get the kids together." Ever. And I have never used the term playdate, because it's dumb.

So now that Jack's beloved Cleo has gone and ABANDONED (just kidding Brett, not really, a little, come back!) for San Francisco, we need to get us some school friends up in here. I worked the holiday wreath sale for Jack's school with the mom of a little boy named Thomas. He is only at school one of the days that Jack is there, but like Jack he seems a little shy, and his mom is nice, so... playdate. 

We met at the park, and within minutes the boys were playing Batman and Robin, and finding sticks to use as guns, and swinging, and happy, and when they sat down on a bench to have a snack, Thomas said "we're best buddies". Normally I'd say "easy sizzler," but I was too filled with relief to be sarcastic to this particular 3 year old. After the park, we went to Heirloom bakery where we ran into the awesome Bob of Smacksy fame. I talked to his dad about maybe having an At-At battle sometime soon (ka-ching playdate! I'm getting really good at this!) 

But before we ran into Bob, and before we got our lunch, we ran into Kathy Baker. She was walking out, as we were walking in, and in my head I thought "WOW, Kathy Baker, she's AWESOME", but Thomas' mom was talking to me, and the kids were weaving in and out of our legs, and talking to us at the same time, and instead of stepping aside when she tried to get by with the person she was with, I completely blocked the path, trying to listen, and pay attention, and not reveal so early in the relationship that I am a terrible person. Usually I'd say something like "oh I'm sorry", and make the "what are you gonna do" face. But my brain, now addled by pregnancy and socializing, froze. I said nothing. 

As I'm writing this, it occurs to me, that it wasn't Kathy Baker at all, but maybe Jane Curtin. I know they don't look anything alike at all, but both of them are awesome funny actresses who I love, and my mind can no longer work out small things, like famous people being individuals. Also she was wearing a large sunhat.

So to any of my readers who are friends with Kathy Baker/Jane Curtin, please tell her I'm sorry it's not my fault, I was under duress. And also, I loved you in Edward Scissorhands/Kate and Ali. YOU are an inspiration! 

27 bras

This is NOT my dainties drawer. This belongs to some very fancy organized lady. 

Sorry I've been so bad at posting. Nipper Knapp was in NYC two weeks ago, and I was sick with the flu, and then he came back, and then Jack got the flu. Now Nipper Knapp is back in NYC for meetings (go Gentrification go!), no one has the flu, and I am on an organizing tear. 


I cleaned out our closets and got bags together for goodwill, for friends, and a GIANT box of clothes and shoes for Nipper Knapps niece Arden, who is 12 and gorgeous, and going to look so cute in all the stuff I can't fit in anymore.


I discovered something sort of disturbing when cleaning out my drawers. I'm always thinking "I need new bras", and "I don't have any good bras". I wear the same bra almost every day, and god forbid they discontinue it, because I'll DIE. I have a pale pink one, and a black one, and I wear them every day. So I was very surprised to discover that I have 27 bras. 27!!!!!! That's not including the nursing bras, of which I have 7. I wear one of them. But what do you do with old bras. I have bras that are cute, but no longer fit right. I have super sexy bras that cost a fortune that I've worn once. I have bras that I got in 1992.