That is my distressed/battle cry when I can't get a plastic bag open- with grocery bags it's pretty easy...Just keep rolling them between fingers and eventually they will separate.

I have yet to reach that breaking point with Contractor Bags.

And lately, I'm using a ton of them... Don't fret, my friends. I'm not stocking up the landfills of the south lands. But I do have a little kid and a GE refrigerator that roasts things once a year- so an occasional bag does actually contain trash but I have also found them to be a great container of transport, a holding device of sorts, for things heading to our local goodwill.

The problem is I can't open the darn things. They are thick and sturdy and melty-welded together on one end, and un- breachable on the other.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Makes me nuts.

I was watching a movie a long while ago and watched as a robber cut a circle in a plate glass window and removed the (really freakishly perfect) circle with one of those doohickey handles with the suction cups and I thought "Eureka! Contractor Bags will no longer stymie this gal from donating (and occasionally throwing out large amounts of turned dairy)!"

The solution was simple.

DUCT TAPE.

I know! I feel ever so clever that is took me this long to figure *that* out... Good gravy!

So I put a little length of duct tape right on the box to keep it handy... Simply stick the duct tape on one side of the (supposed) opening of the bag and pull...

I have my piece of duct tape a little different than in the picture- I have it mostly folded over so only a little adhesive is showing and it doesn't just perma-adhere to the bag (and then render the gigantic bag useless as a bag, and pretty useless except as a small tarpaulin).

Also- clear packing tape works... Pretty girly decorated packing tape works (but I can't find mine now that I switched to the reinforced paper tape stuff).... Blue painter's masking tape doesn't work so well, but that is more for masking than for adhesive prowess.

But Duct Tape rocks.....

I may have to keep a stash in my glove box for the produce bags at the natural foods market- those are taunting my arthritic hands these days....

Wondering if they make a "green" duct tape.... (off to find out....)

www.chickdowntown.com has announced that they will soon be opening a Babychickdowntown for designer baby clothes.   Why not dress your little ones in hot designer clothes as well! 

Happy Shopping!

Taji desu,

Juice had a wonderful time on Saturday going out for a walk.... The walk ended up at Kinokuniya for more than an hour, as usual, that's typical of Juice to stay at Kino for such a long time..... Anyway she was pretty tempted to get Potato and Kindai since Potato April issue had eito on the cover ^-^'' demo, her friend talked her out of buying the magz instead, she got Lucky Star Official book.... Coz Konata is more tempting.... haha... Anyway Juice managed to get a new pair of shoes and a new bag for work... well which isn't so bad since she hadn't been spending much these days in school.... As for me I didn't get anything, coz there weren't any nice clothes, but I was tempted to get the book I am a cat.... haha something interesting to read. I am a dog, but I don't know much about a cat, so might as well read something different....

haha.... Juice is so funny, she didn't realized that her printer ink is already to the limit that when she printed something just now, the paper just came out blank, with not a single ink printed on the paper... *tsk tsk* She should watch carefully at the ink level left....

Tomorrow is another day for Juice, it will be a long day with 4 periods....

Here's a designer to keep an eye on.  It's no surprise that designer Thuy Diep is as talented as she is.  Ms. Diep was born in Vietnam to parents who are both tailors.  Under their tutelage, this designer learned at an early age how to make clothes.

She went on to Brown, later Parsons and landed at a New York-based Parisian atelier; doing work for the likes of Carolina Herrera, Peter Som and Zac Posen.  Not to mention some time at United Bamboo.

In her third collection Thuy Diep under the self-named label "Thuy", displayed her Fall/Winter 2008 collection at the Exit Art gallery in her home base of New York.  When asked her inspiration for this collection she said: "My collection is about contrasts-- harmony within disharmony". 

I seriously despise the fact that I cannot provide you with any photos, but I highly recommend that you click here for a look at her F/W collection.

I really like her use of color and the modern look of her garments.  She according to her press release:

She materializes the myriad of inspirations of her Manhattan environment, where contrasts of colors and forms are ubiquitous, creating a collection to dress the modern, chic and sophisticated woman. Thuy's unique designer perspective was conveyed through her outerwear as she showed a command of layering techniques.

Her designs are available at Divine Girls (San Francisco), Nicchia (Chicago) (where I found the below beautiful dress from her Spring 2008 collection) and Drawer (Tokyo and Osaka).

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Just a quick point.

BBC News has today changed the design of their site (this may be throughout the BBC, or just here, but I actually can't be bothered to even click on the one solitary link and activate that portion of my memory required to cross reference that information. I am that lazy.)

This seems to happen everywhere these days, and I keep on noticing the same trends.

Everyone's becoming fond of airy, spacious layouts. Big gaps between things, and no harsh lines or borders.

I guess the idea is that it's more friendly and inviting. But to my eyes, it just seems less clear, more vauge and less densely informative.

Bear in mind this is a news site we're talking about.

I don't like this trend. It rarely sits right with me, and it seems particularly contrary to the goal of news institutions (assuming they are what they should be, which, having watched JFK last night, I assume they aren't).

Basically, everything's spread out, no longer delineated, and I have to scroll...scroll I say, to get all the information available to me previously.

This is rubbish. I'm not happy.

Home pages like this, I want to be able to flick my eyes over and know whether there's anything of interest to me in about a second. More detailed viewing should reveal slightly more data, but it should all be increasingly esoteric and useless.

This is how my mind works, this is how I absorb data best, and that is what you are there for internet. For quickly dumping information into my already bulging cranium.

Please stop pumping me with vacuous space.

Now, I'm off to buy some fabric to make my room less spacious (or perhaps more cosy).

Funny that. Too much whiteness on my walls, and I'm going to make a bed cave.

Architecture, interior design, and web design. They all of their fashions, but they are also all about the way we live, the way we understand, the way we relate to our world.

Bloody fascinating when you think about it.

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Now playing: Múm - [Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy #12] Winter (what we never were after all) [foobar2000 v0.9.4.3]
via FoxyTunes

the author of patterns from the past (mentioned in previous post) has a really cool collection of vintage sewing patterns for sale online. inspiring even if you don't sew!

Wer es nocht nicht geschafft hat, den Winterspeck der letzten Monate wieder loszuwerden, der wird diesen Trend lieben: Den "Goddess-Style". Die Tuniken und Kleider fallen geschmeidig und weit über die Hüften, und verstecken all die bösen Röllchen, die bei Jeans gnadenlos über den Hosenbund quellen. Das Beste: Die von griechischen und römischen Göttinen inspirierten Outfits sind nicht nur figurschmeichelnd, sondern auch extrem weiblich und sexy.

Die Stars lieben den neuen Goddess-Style und das sicher nicht, weil sie übergewichtig sind, sondern weil die Kleider einfach atemberaubend schön sind. Fashionmagdaily zeigt Stars wie Rumer Willis und Jennifer Love Hewitt in den glamourösen Roben.

Wer die Promis mit solch wunderschönen Kreationen beglückt? - Designer wie Alberta Ferretti, Donna Karan, Vera Wang und J Mendel.  

Feeling like a goddess

Goddess Style

Da die meisten Designerteile für Normalsterbliche unerschwinglich sind, gibt es den Goddess-Style auf Seiten wie Lew Magram auch zu bezahlbaren Preisen:

Kleid, olivgrün: 159,99 $

Kleid, elfenbeinweiß: 89,99 $

Kleid, Terracotta: 149,99 $

was clicking around when i found this interesting post written about high waisted pants on patterns from the past. it was posted last feb and reminded me of style bubble's very inspiring post on the early 90's look. really like the idea of high waisted pants + loose blazer though friends have commented that it's hardly a look for non-models. but i guess it isn't much fun anyway to lift a look off the runway. it's so much more exciting if it's about the essence of a look, the idea behind it and the message it sends off. when a look is being interpreted instead of copied, it transcends trends and that's when we truly own a look.

Like these ladies shot by the sartorialist demonstrate, we can always adapt the idea of the loose pants + blazer look (and any other interesting fashion ideas) to suit our personalities, celebrate our body shapes and carry our thoughts.  

It's nice when I find a meal where the foods compliment each other because it simplifies my life by knowing what to serve with what. Of course I don't have to stick to any one meal plan; I can mix and match the main dishes and sides, but a lot of the time I'm in a hurry and don't have a lot of time to think about it. I already have quite a few meals like this up my sleeve, but when I find a new one to add to my collection I get happy because it adds a little more variety to our meal choices.

I'd like to share some of my new and old meal plans with you in hopes of helping you with the question `what do I make for dinner'. Here's a meal that we have tried lately where the foods complimented each other really well. The food items aren't necessarily new for us, but the flavors are and that makes a big difference.

The Meal:

• Honey Barbecue Meatloaf
• Ranch Mashed Potatoes
• Your choice of vegetable (I just heat up a can of green beans or corn)
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Honey Cinnamon Butter

Make Ahead Tips: You can make the Honey Cinnamon Butter ahead of time and refrigerate until serving. You can also prepare the meat loaf and refrigerate it before baking.

The Recipes:

Honey Barbecue Meat Loaf

I'm not usually a meat loaf eater but I love this one and the family does too.

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 egg
1/2 cup oats -- quick cooking
1/3 cup barbecue sauce -- honey flavored
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard -- prepared
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound ground beef
ketchup

In a large bowl, stir together soup mix, egg, oats, barbecue sauce, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chili powder. Add beef and mix well. Press into an ungreased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Top with ketchup. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160*. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Make mashed potatoes as you usually do but omit the butter and add ranch dressing and cream cheese to taste along with less milk than usual. Top with grated cheddar cheese.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

My kids love these (so do I) and there's never any leftovers because of this. We also make them for breakfast. Be sure to try them with `Honey Cinnamon Butter' (recipe follows).

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons applesauce
1 medium tart apple -- peeled & grated
topping:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine -- cold
1/2-cup oatmeal -- old fashioned

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add the egg, milk, oil and applesauce and stir until just moistened. Fold in apple. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. For topping, combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in oats. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400* for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm with Honey Cinnamon Butter (recipe follows). Yield: 1 dozen.

Honey Cinnamon Butter

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Serve with muffins, toast, bagels, French toast or pancakes. Refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: 1 1/3 cups.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open for Meal Two.

i'm feeling some love for these straw and raffia bags found here.