A thousand thundering thrills await me/Facing insurmountable odds gratefully/The female of the species is more deadly than the male

Ah, the life of leisure. I'm unexpectedly already feeling a little antsy because of my time off, all three and a half days of it. Now that I think about it, I haven't had four days off in a row since the end of May, 2007. Fuck, I haven't had three days off in a row since then. And maybe three times in that period I had two days off together. No wonder I don't know what to do with myself. Jesus, what kind of life was that? No wonder I was miserable. I should add that I had accumulated almost two weeks of vacation, but I had a manager who took it as a personal affront if any of her staff actually requested said vacation.

Even though I'm still relieved and happy to be away from that job, I had a moment in the grocery store today where I was suddenly struck with a burst of anxiety and my stomach flipped and I thought, "Oh shit! I don't have a fucking job." But I pushed through it. I'm counting on the universe to take care of me, as it always has.

Before the grocery store, I hit another thrift store in the quest for fodder for my latest idea. I was only mildly successful, but it's better than nothing. On the other hand, on my quest to own enough serving bowls and platters to last a year if suddenly I don't feel like washing them, I found another melmac confetti handled bowl (the other one is in the blog archives somewhere -- a lovely burnt orange color) for a ridiculously cheap price. Maybe because I'm so steeped in the look of mid-century design, these bowls seem timelessly beautiful to me. They would not look out of place in, say, a store like Design Within Reach (most absurdly untrue store name ever, by the way) with a price tag of $100+. My point is, how can anyone discard these things? Oh well, my gain. Today's Aztec melmac confetti bowl (again, made in St. Louis - a plus!):



I have a penchant for vintage men's coats and jackets. I'm not a delicate flower and often the best vintage women's coats and jackets are teeny with very narrow shoulders (that's not to say I don't have a fabulous collection of vintage women's outerwear that fits me, because I do), so I like to wear a man's coat or three. Particularly leather and suede ones. It's taken me a bit to come around to embracing the 70s style, but it's been looking better and better (I blame Swingtown) and today, I couldn't resist it. I think I've been pretty clear in the past that I'm a rather thrifty gal -- I've never spent extravagant amounts of money on clothing (except maybe the occasional pair of boots and even then my idea of extravagant isn't the same as most) or anything else, though I have recently splurged a little on my iPod and mobile, and maybe a teeny bit on upgrading my laptop. Anyway, my point is, I was willing to buy this jacket for a whole $16. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I dislike spending more than $5 per item at thrift stores. Anyway, unbeknownst to me, outerwear was half off and I got it for $8! Behold the shiny caramel leather goodness:



It's in perfect condition; no tears, or stains or threadbare seams. What's not showing is the zip out fuzzy plaid lining. Oooooh, I can't wait to wear it!

I'm going to start photographing dinners again, since I have time and the inclination to cook. Stay tuned.