The schizophrenic decade

I’ve recently taken a journey back to the 1990s, courtesy of Charles Cross’ Kurt Cobain biography, Heavier than Heaven. The book came out eight years ago but it’s taken me until now to read it in large part because I figured it would be emotionally draining. Even after all this time I found myself crying toward the end of the book, something I don’t think I’ve ever done before. There were so many issues that seemed to contribute to his unhappiness – poor parenting, a family history of mental illness, undiagnosed medical issues, drug abuse, family and financial obligations, celebrity. And there were an awful lot of just plain skeezy people around (as I suppose there always are when someone has money and an addiction).

A funny thing, to me, is that while the whole American/Northwest/grunge thing had become so dark and depressing at that point, on the flipside this was also the era of Britpop. Not that Britpop was brainless fun – there certainly was an element of social commentary to it – but it was definitely uplifting compared to what was going on here. It’s a bit like the Kinks going off and doing songs about magical cats and village greens while the Americans were wallowing in psychedelic sludge. I’m taking sides, mind you: I like it all.

Here’s to a schizophrenic decade.

My bathroom needs your assistance

Since I last wrote, I have closed on and moved into my condo. The last several weeks of my life have revolved around fix-it projects, finding a few new pieces of furniture, etc. Now it's time to choose some bathroom paint! This is supposed to be the fun part, and I suppose it will be... until I get my Visa bill.

I've found three colors that I like, and would love to hear some opinions. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind: 1) My bathroom has white wood paneling that I plan to keep, and I'll also keep the white ceiling. The new paint will only go about halfway down the wall, so a color that might be "too much" if it covered all four walls could work. 2) My towels contain pink, orange-red, yellow, beige, and brown. The tile in the tub is a light blue. I've been doing a decent job of hiding the nonmatching tile, but it would be good to have a color that doesn't clash with it.

Here are the colors I like so far:

yellowstone

baby turtle

love & happiness

Yes, they all have silly names. But which do you prefer?

Mission accomplished

I've been looking for a record cabinet for awhile. Trolling eBay and Craigslist has become an obsession of mine. I finally lucked out last night, finding one at a good price from someone on the South Side, not too far from work. Because I have a few hundred records, I will still need one or two more (either a large one or a couple of smaller ones) to hold everything, but I really like this cabinet. It's in very good shape and I think it's pretty darned cute. Don't you agree?

Hope sweet home

I am feeling optimistic enough about the condo to post more pictures. Please continue to keep fingers crossed that I will actually live there.

  

  

 

Redecorating, vintage style

The big news in my life lately, in fact the main focus, has been buying my first home. I've been condo shopping for nine months now, had some frustratingly long and fruitless waits on short sales, but am finally under a contract on a nice place. If all goes well, it will be mine in mid April.

Now, this nice place has an old kitchen that will need to be gutted at some point. However, I have all kinds of ideas for making it not just bearable but actually fun in the meantime. I've always wanted a kitchen from 1960. (See screen shot of Gidget's refrigerator on this here blog. I'm serious.) I'm thinking that with some appliance and cabinet paint and new pulls on the fridge and cabinets, miracles can happen.

Here is the kitchen in question, pre-Charlottizing

My other big desire right now is to get a nice record cabinet. This is exactly what I have in mind. I love it so much I could die. It's the wallpaper on my computer right now. Anyway, record storage was the main thing on my mind when I heard about The Vintage Bazaar. Usually Chicago prices on vintage stuff are pretty high. I'm used to finding great stuff insanely cheap in Michigan, so after ten years here I still can't bear to overpay. However, the prices at the bazaar were surprisingly good. Oh, and the place was a total mob scene. It seemed to be crazy successful.

I did not find any furniture, but I did find some great housewares that will go in my retro kitchen.

 

 

There's coin laundry at the new place, so this might be where I keep my quarters stashed.

 

I got five of these adorable dessert dishes, and there were only a couple of small chips in the whole set.

I can't wait to move! And to have Gidget's kitchen!

Old Times Square

 Playland and Pokerino!

American Badasses: X Chromosome Edition

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker: two badasses for the price of one

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Chaka Khan. Chak-chak-chak-Chaka Khan.

 

Etta James

  

Debbie Harry, Glamorous Badass

  

 Angela Davis, Political Badass

  

 Grace Slick

 

The Inimitable Tina Turner