jersey girl looks up

Small Things = Big Difference or tying one on this weekend

Friday, January 22, 2010

This is the second post of a new weekly column this winter with tiny tips to save the planet by buying eco friendly items and maximizing the value of those items by making them last longer.

My guy doesn't wear many ties these days, so it is taking me a long time to collect enough to cover a chair seat in a cheap imitation of this amazing piece by Peter Russo.

Good ties are expensive so you want to help them last (even when planning your own recycled chair seat) and here are some tips to help that happen.

1. Ties are cut on the fabric's bias which gives them stretch for knotting, but it also makes them susceptible to lumps and bumps. So - no wire hangers (Joan was right about this one) - hang them vertically, lie them flat or roll them up.

2. Rest 'em - Even when you have a fave tie or a trademark tie- giving it at least a day of rest - unknotted - between wears will prolong its life.

3. Untie it - Tying a proper tie is becoming a lost art and gives some guys who don't do it very often a headache, but untying them is just as important.

The best way to remove a tie - for the tie - is to work these steps in reverse. Pulling the smaller end through the knot is much quicker but can stretch the tie out of shape.

4. Roll 'em - You can't wash a tie in water because it will shrink unevenly. You can't dry clean silk ties and you can't iron them or they can harden and get shiny. So, for wrinkles- first try rolling it- starting at the narrow end- and then leave it rolled for a couple days and see if it smooths out. If not, think steam.

5. Buy 'em to last - A lining of 100% wool or a wool mixture will help the tie hold its shape over time. A biased cut across the fabric grain makes the tie lie straight when you knot it. When buying a tie- try looping it on your hand- it shouldn't twirl in the air if it's high quality. Check closely for even weaving and if a silk tie feels rough to the touch- it likely won't last as long as finer silk, so pass it up.

Some Etsy finds for you tie guys and the tie guys in our lives.

1. One of Toybreaker's gorgeous screened ties.
2. Sherry Truitt's totally clever and amazing Knock His Socks Off cufflinks.
3. We Choose Joy (love that name!) adorable little So Handsome Onesie.
4. Dolly Knit's beautiful Knitted John Tie.
5. Linda Layden's gorgeous faux ivory scrimshaw tie bar.

Chinese New Year's Resolutions or the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night (do you remember that part or did you just hum that line, too?)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

So, anyhoo, during a giveaway a couple weeks ago everyone was nice enough to tell us all some of their resolutions for 2010.

And some of us are determined not to make any- which is kind of like making one anyway.

I have always been a bit lazy about resolutions and certain other types of long-term planning

(although I do have a nice family plot picked out under a shade tree in Tucson for hubby and I)

this is one reason we have never gone on a cruise

(there are other reasons involving seasickness and the joiny kind of things cruises require you to do- and of course, the cold hard cash part of the whole cruise experience)

because cruises, among many other things that I will probably never get to do, require some kind of long term planning.

Or maybe because I can still hear my grandmother saying "if you want to hear God laugh, tell her your plans"

(or maybe that was a country song, I forget now ...)

but anyway, planning has always been a bit of a problem for me- although I am a bit of a short-term list maker, so do get a few things accomplished here and there.

With the Chinese New Year about to roll into the Year of the Tiger (can you say that without hearing the Rocky song play in your head ... I didn't think so)

and I know it's Eye of the Tiger, but still ...

I can at least resolve to NOT do a few things in the new year.

1. Run in any kind of marathon

(I can't believe I even thought this was remotely possible last year- although I am determined to beat that damn race-walker at the reservoir- she will be at least 65 when we meet up again in the spring and I will be on a bike this year, so I am thinking I will finally be able to take her)

2. Choose logic over intuition

(nope, not gonna do it)

3. Watch a movie with Nicolas Cage in it

(sorry, but I can still hear him whining, "Peeeegggggy" to Kathleen Turner and it creeps me out- I did like Birdy though)

4. Join Facebook

(I may not say never to this one, but I can probably hold out for another 12 months)

5. Give up diet pepsi

(I've tried, I can't do it, I admit it)

6. Give up vampires

(even though I ~~think~~ know there is a connection between America's vampire obsession and America's obsession with not aging I'm still waiting on True Blood's new season)

7. Weigh myself

(because muscle weighs more than fat, remember, and even though I am feeling like I need to trade in my pencil skirt for the crayola model, I know it is all muscle)

8. Give up our vacation

(never again, we are taking one this year)

I could go on and on with things I am not going to do because, well I am a little bit lazy and most things are a little bit efforty, but just know that when you are multi-tasking and getting all sorts of things accomplished, I am most likely lying on the couch drinking diet pepsi and watching vampires .. or at least I hope to be.

(celebratory Tiger card by Frantic Meerkat)

Uncommon Goods Catalog is in the Mail!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Very exciting to come home and find the Uncommon Goods Valentine's Day catalog in my mailbox. If it is in your mailbox, too- check out page 65 for three exclusive sets of Polarity lockets only available through them - Unusual by Christy Zaragoza (Peppermint Daydreams), Nature by Holly Ward Bimba (Gollybard) and Whimsical by Jessica Doyle!

This is my first catalog for Polarity and I have loved Uncommon Goods forever and am so happy to be in there!