Emergency Shoe Shopping

Picture of the Day for 9/30/2015. Rats! You know those shoes I bought for the swanky banquet I'll be attending in a couple of days? The shoes I loved and was excited to wear? They are in Utah. I'm in Ohio. That's a problem. I had to go out and buy a replacement pair of heels.

I Got Sniped

Picture of the Day for 9/29/2015. I'm longing to own a John Falter poster. He was an illustrator who designed several World War 2 recruiting posters. I adore his artwork and I'm fascinated by that era. Occasionally one will show up on eBay for several hundred dollars. I was delighted to see one on eBay for less than $100 which was within my price range, but at the last minute someone sniped me and outbid me. Dang! I took this screen shot when I mistakenly thought I had the item in the bag.

New Red Shoes

Picture of the Day for 9/28/2015. Sometimes a girl's just gotta have a new pair of red shoes.

Blood Mooon

Picture of the Day for 9/27/2015. Tonight was the dreaded blood moon (total lunar eclipse of a super full moon). Death and destruction did not occur as was predicted by a lot of doomsday groups. Phew. In the famous words of "Sweet Brown" Wilkins, "ain't nobody got time for that." 

Although- that contrail across the sky below the moon is a little suspicious. Conspiracy theorists are always wary of contrails...

Mismatched Earrings

Picture of the Day for 9/26/2015. I bought this really pretty necklace/earring set in Gallup, New Mexico last month. Decided to wear the jewelry today and noticed that the hook for one earring is much longer and thinner than the hook for the other earring. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it really is quite noticeable. I have just enough OCD in me that this will really bug me.

Sock Organizing

Picture of the Day for 9/25/2015. Organizing my sock drawer tonight. I know- my life is exciting. The rejects ended up on my floor.

Good-Bye Dillards

Picture of the Day for 9/24/2015. Demolition has begun on the Dillard's department store at Fashion Place Mall. Prior to Dillard's, this space used to house Weinstock's department store when I was in high school. My friend Sara just posted this on her Facebook page:

The demolition of Dillard's. Does anyone else remember the high pitched sound, heard on the escalator? I could still hear it two months ago, but Lucy Colosimo could not. The only two people I definitely remember hearing it were my mother, and Michelle Martine Merrill's father, who are no longer with us. Like Rose's love affair with Jack on the Titanic, did this thing actually exist?

Too funny- I never realized my dad could hear the high-pitched sound. The reference to escalators reminded me of how Sara and I discovered this little kick-plate at the bottom of escalators to stop them. Being obnoxious teenagers, we would always surreptitiously kick them when we were at a mall shopping. It never got old seeing an escalator stop dead. Good times. 

Christmas at Macy's

Picture of the Day for 9/23/2015. And so the Christmas season begins...

Eye-Catching Flu Shot Notice

Picture of the Day for 9/22/2015. This notice encouraging people to get their flu shots certainly is an eye-catcher!

Jewelry Organizing

Picture of the Day of 9/21/2015. My latest attempt at organizing my jewelry- using those felt hangars that are popular right now for my necklaces. We'll see how it goes. If this doesn't work out, I may try those hanging scarf organizers that have a lot of loops. 

Hayley Turns 16

Picture of the Day for 9/20/2015. My great-niece Hayley turned 16 today. Dating age. Oh boy. Look out!

Where is My iPad?

Picture of the Day for 9/19/2015. I was working on cleaning my bedroom and wondering where in the world my iPad was. I just couldn't seem to find it anywhere. Where did I last have it?

Oh.

It finally occurred to me that I was watching the new season of Longmire ON my iPad. Right in front of me.

Sigh. Not my finest moment.

Clean Car

Picture of the Day for 9/18/2015. I've had my new car for a couple of months now and something unprecedented has happened. I've managed to keep it pristine. No a speck of trash or clutter in the interior. 

David Hasselhoff???

Picture of the Day for 9/17/2015. Out of curiosity, I clicked on a link to a slideshow that Google created from images I've posted on the internet. Why Google inserted David Hasselhoff photo bombing a picture of me and my sister Robynne when were kids is beyond me. I think that's the most random thing I've seen in a long time.

Shoe Shopping

Picture of the Day for 9/16/2015. Here are the shoes I'm going to be wearing to my fancy dress-up affair in a few weeks. 

Christmas Lights on Temple Square

Picture of the Day for 9/15/2015. It's a monumental task to hang the Christmas lights on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City and the process starts early. I was watching the workers from my office window and feeling sorry for them being out in the cold, rainy weather.

Dress Shopping - Part 2

Picture of the Day for 9/14/2015. Snuck away from work to do some more fancy-dress shopping. It's nice there's a Macy's right next to my office. 

San Andreas Cake

Picture of the Day for 9/13/2015. My sister Paula called tonight's dessert her San Andreas cake since there's a huge fault line through the cake. She's always so embarrassed by what she calls her dessert fails but she shouldn't be. They always taste great.

Crafty Crap

Picture of the Day for 9/12/2015. I attended an open house at one of my favorite little vintage stores and knew what I was going to buy the moment I laid eyes on this box. "Crafty crap" tickled my funny bone.

Dress Shopping - Part 1

Picture of the Day for 9/11/2015. I have a fancy banquet to attend in a few weeks and instead of following my usual pattern of waiting until the last minute to purchase an outfit, I decided to start shopping relatively early (for me). It wasn't as horrible as I anticipated. That's because I actually found some gowns that fit.

Vintage Clothing

Picture of the Day for 9/10/2015. My sister Paula has been cleaning out old bags of clothing. She came across some of my childhood clothing that my mother had handed down to her kids. I think her kids might have worn the toddler-sized swimsuit but none of them consented to wear the double-knit polyester dress my mother made for me. Can't blame them. Double-knit polyester is not "cool." 

 

Vindictive Bath Soap

Picture of the Day for 9/9/2015. My neighbor Erma gave me this bottle of lovely honeysuckle-scented soap for my birthday last year. I love it except for the fact that it seems to have a personal vendetta against me. When you push down on a soap dispenser handle there's a reasonable expectation the soap will be dispensed in a downward direction. Nope. This soap likes to squirt out at an upward angle designed to hit me right in the chest. Not good when you are rushing to get ready for work and have to stop and change blouses after a soap attack. I've never had sneaky soap before. 

Amish Tourists on Temple Square

Picture of the Day for 9/8/2015. I was looking out my window at work and noticed a group of Amish tourists on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. That's a sight you don't see every day! It's somehow appropriate since much of the world thinks the Mormons are just like the Amish. Not true- at least not in appearance. There's a whole style called Mormon Mommy Chic and it involves lots of make-up, trendy clothes, and somewhat big, blonde hair. 

Jessica Rabbit Hair

Picture of the Day for 9/7/2015. I will be disappointed in the day when my great-niece Sadie decides she's too old to:

1- Stand behind me with her face on my shoulder so we can take selfies.

2- Play with my hair. Today she draped my hair over my face and told me I had Jessica Rabbit hair.

Snake Jewelry

Picture of the Day for 9/6/2015.  I think I've mentioned before that I have this weird obsession with snake jewelry. When I was in Gallup, New Mexico I fell in love with the inlay work on this set and HAD to have it. 

Here I am wearing the jewelry.

Here is the store description of the set.

Authentic Native American Handmade 4 Piece Snake Set

Handmade in Gallup, New Mexico 

Navajo artists Oscar Alexius and Lester James handmade one of the most unique and sharp Jewelry sets the Nugget Gallery has owned.

  The "Mosaic Inlay" Snake set is a rare one of a kind piece, mostly for the fact the Navajo's do not make snake Jewelry.

Lester James inlayed the body of the snake with Black Onyx, Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, and opal.  The snakes rattler was set with Natural Red Coral. 

  The set to a step by step process while each artist carefully worked on each piece in different sections.  The set took over three week process to be finished.  Finishing off with satin finish and Sterling Link chain to adjust the length.  

Each piece is stamped with the artist Oscar Alexius hallamark and Sterling Silver stamp. 

Measurements:

  Necklace Measure: 6 1/2" Length 6 1/4" w/out chain x 1" Width 

  Bracelet Measures: 5 1/2" Inside End to End x 1 5/8" Width x 1 1/8" Opening 

  Earrings *POST*: 1 3/8" Length x 1 1/8" Width 

  Ring: 1 3/8" Length x 1 1/8" Width 

Oscar Alexius

Oscar Alexius (stamps O.A., also a two line script stamp first used in 1982.)

Navajo artist Oscar Alexius has been an active silversmith since the mid-seventies.  Oscar Alexius is a member of the Navajo Salt Clan and specializes in the old style traditional stamp work and satin finish jewelry.  As an artist Alexius has mastered the techniques of old style, traditional, contemporary, and channel inlay in Sterling Silver and 14KT Gold.  Oscar Alexius enjoys a challenge when it comes to special orders and is very successful in creating what you desire.  For over 23 years Alexius has produced jewelry for The Nugget Gallery and continues to create outstanding jewelry. 

Cameo Collection

Picture of the Day for 9/5/2015. So, yeah. When I have a mundane day with little opportunity to take a picture of something interesting, I fall back on taking a picture of a new pair of shoes or a jewelry acquisition. I love collecting antique cameos and I bought this one at an antique store in Las Vegas. The store owner had detailed provenance information about this bracelet. It used to belong to a wealthy socialite from Colorado in the 19th century. I know it sounds like he was just making stuff up, but I believed him since he had such specific names and dates. The bracelet circumference is oversized since it was meant to fit over a ladies long sleeve and glove.  I researched the half-moon symbol on top of the woman's head and learned it represents the Roman goddess Diana. I love Greek/Roman mythology so that was a plus.

Skirts

Picture of the Day for 9/4/2015. I purchased the red skirt pictured below at the Walmart in Gallup, New Mexico last month for $7. I had packed poorly for the nearly week-long trip and was desperate for something different to wear. Who knew this would start an obsession with these $7 dollar knit skirts from Walmart. I've got a total of 8 of them now- seven pictured below and I'm wearing the other one as I write this blog entry. 

Twins

Picture of the Day for 9/3/2015. In a blog entry back in 2013, I mentioned that the Pioneer Woman looks more like my sister than my actual sisters. The three of us Merrill girls could not look less like each other than if someone had plucked three strangers from a crowd and announced they were sisters. 

Now I really know she's my twin. She recently appeared in a commercial for her new line of dinnerware and cookware wearing the exact same butterfly shirt I own!

Abundance

Picture of the Day for 9/2/2015. I think the universe was trying to give me a message yesterday about abundance. A friend brought over these beautiful peaches and then last evening as I was taking a walk I ran into a neighbor who encouraged me to run into the church around the corner to pick up some produce. The neighborhood women had just concluded a produce swap and were trying to get rid of the last of the tomatoes and squash and peppers. I came home with sacks filled with vegetables. It felt like I was being showered with riches. 

Morning and Evening Skies

Picture of the Day for 9/1/2015. The morning and evening skies were both striking today.