Wicked Plants

Last Christmas I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of Wicked Plants, a fascinating tome that grafts together some of my favorite topics: history, horticulture... and murderous intrigue!

Wicked Plants has been a major inspiration for some jewelry pieces to be debuting soon at my Etsy shop. After all, Rappaccini's Garden is named for a gothic tale about... you guessed it, a deadly flower. Since I've loved the book, I'm excited to see how the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers has brought it to life with their current exhibit...

There could be no better place to display these alluring poisons than the Conservatory with its dramatic Victorian stylings. The exhibit runs until October, but I'm scheming to visit this weekend. Between this, the Yellow Owl Workshop book signing tomorrow, and the rescheduled Alameda Flea Market on Sunday... my weekend (and my camera's memory card) should be quite full!

Hope your weekend is just as delightful!

xoxo

Elizabeth

How We Turned Things Around for Halloween

As I pouted on Friday, our Halloween Party got axed when the attendees dwindled. To add insult to injury, my Tildy-Pumpkin's face caved in. The perfect Halloween that I had envisioned was literally crumbling- and so was I!

I'm getting to know myself fairly well. I'm a perfectionist. I like to plan. I'm not always graceful about disappointment. I'm also realizing that "perfect or not at all" isn't the best philosophy for happiness. 

So this is how we turned things around for Halloween.

First, I literally turned our pumpkin around.

Then, Adam coerced/guilted/bribed/bullied a handful of coworkers into coming over for drinks and snacks on Friday after work. In the hour before our guests arrived we whipped up some guacamole, corn salsa, goat cheese bruschetta, a batch of salty-spicy-sweet toasted pumpkin seeds, and a cinnamon apple crumble. We lit some candles, and we had a party. Was it the costume party I'd imagined? No. Did my guests stand around and talk about science, thereby boring me to death? Kinda, yes.

But we had a good time (and my guacamole was really tasty).

For the rest of the weekend we were without any plans, so we donned our costumes, took the Bart to San Francisco, and found ourselves in the midst of a Giants/Halloween celebration. Plenty of orange and black, many beards to fear, blaring horns, dozens of Mario + Luigi pairings, and what we hope was just a pipe bomb. California knows how to party!

Adam's costume was indiscriminately creepy. Vampire? Werewolf? Zombie? Miscellaneous undead creature? It was open for interpretation, and judging by how few people dared to look him in the eye, it was a success.

 I went as a Mad Men-inspired secretarial type.

All in all, a good Halloween! How was yours?

Chomp!

Yesterday I visited Chomp, the carnivorous plant exhibit at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. It was fun to tour as an adult, but it made me wish I was still a nanny! The exhibit was definitely geared towards kids with comic book styling, displays outfitted with magnifying glasses, and of course, the "ewww, gross!" factor. I was hoping to capture a venus flytrap in action, but they apparently weren't hungry. I did, however, get beautiful shots of strangely alien pitcher plants.

As cute as the Chomp feature was, I fell in love with the more traditional Victorian aesthetic of the main Conservatory exhibits. I can imagine spending several hours there with a macro lens, and the steamy greenhouse climate would be a welcome vacation from blustery winter weather!

My favorite part was a pond dotted with enormous lily pads, touted as strong enough to hold my weight. I can't tell you how tempted I was to test that claim.

Fresh Picks from Rappaccini's Garden

Hello my lovelies... Today I'm off to Chomp, an exhibit of carnivorous flora at the Golden Gate Park Conservatory of Flowers. Sinister plants??? Can you think of anything more perfectly calculated to delight me?

Speaking of, there's only about a week left to receive up to 15% off of your purchases at my new Etsy shop...

Weekend Reading

I decided to take a little break from beading last night to attend the Creative, Inc. book launch party at Candystore Collective in San Francisco and see these lovely ladies in person...

I was so in awe of Joy's presence that I got totally tongue-tied. All I could squeak out was, "uh uh uh... I love your shoes!" In my defense, they were some pretty rockin' shoes.

Aside from this moment of conversational brilliance, I had a fantastic time- eating more than my share of tiny cupcakes and making connections with Bay Area artists and bloggers (like Natalie, whose blog I'll be relying on for fashion guidance from now on). I distributed the last of my beribboned handmade business cards, which were looking oh-so professional after being crumpled in my purse. Thank goodness I picked up a signed copy of Creative, Inc.- I clearly need all the help I can get.

Speaking of freelance business, I'm off to the post office to mail the very first orders from Rappaccini's Garden. I'm over the moon, kids- it's been a happy week. 

Until Monday,

xoxo Elizabeth

Decorating for Two: Heavy Metal Duet

If I were to say to my boyfriend, "I think we need more metal in our apartment" he'd probably respond by cranking up Tool on the stereo. Not exactly what I have in mind. 

As we've learned in previous experiments, sometimes Adam and I are just singing different tunes when it comes to home furnishings. His version of metal decor is heavy and industrial, like the rusty circular saw blade that he once rescued from the street and hung on our wall. As for me, I'm all about Victorian iron curlicues and delicate wire forms. 

You'd think our styles would clash...

Home of Fred & Wendy Testu in San Francisco Style

Photographed by David Duncan Livingston, Scanned by Shock the Bourgeois

But then again, there's something dull and matchy-matchy about harmony, isn't there? This bedroom is a fugue of masculine and feminine notes, riffs on a theme of patinated metal. It's just discordant enough to keep things lively- and isn't that what every couple wants?

Renegade Weekend

We had quite an artsy-craftsy weekend at...

This was our first trip to Renegade, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd hoped to do a bit of networking, but alas, the classic rock was pumped up so loud I could hardly manage more than "hello" and "love your work!" at each booth. Luckily, I did get to meet the lovely Lisa of Violet Swan and the blog Le Petit Cadeau (remember her?), whose pieces are somehow even more romantic in person.

My favorites included sweet and simple plates by Rae Dunn and a bunny tea towel by Flock Home. Naturally this graphic print by Nora Aoyagi captured my heart (it would be fantastic against the dark walls in my kitchen, fyi).

We had a great time- we even embraced the oh-so prevalent hipster 'stache trend. I sported a "Mr. Gloucester MT" (thanks to Old Tom Foolery), and Adam decided to try out a new look...

Craig's List Christmas Wish List

One day after browsing through the bleak job postings in the Bay Area, I decided to cheer myself up with a quick dip into furniture for sale. Though nobody in California wants to employ me, they do want to sell me some excellent stuff.

First up, this gem- a Shiny Red Pharmacy Cabinet.  

No price, which signals that I should back away slowly, but my goodness, how lovely.

It reminds me of these cabinets from Mothology (and these from Restoration Hardware), which are definitely on my "someday, maybe" list.  

The Craig's List find has a much more appealing shape, but I'm not sold on the sporty finish- I prefer the raw and weathered look shown here. 

Certainly would make for a sassy liquor cabinet!

The seller of this antique Cast Iron Industrial Shelving was apparently entertaining reasonable offers- but not mine! Oh, misery! 

I hope he got his $395 asking price- what a deal.

Rotten luck that this one got away, as it would have been a great alternative to the unspeakably expensive Decker Bookshelf at Anthropologie.

The wheels make for practical kitchen storage, and it has a masculine edge and historical aura that would earn Adam's approval.

And lastly, this Wardian Plant Conservatory. Oh, my. I have a place for this in my heart, and also in a sunny corner of my Berkeley bedroom. I already have an elegant little plant mister and an orchid. Give me this, a sarcastic butler, and a British accent to match and I'm living in a Henry James novel. Yes please. Now let's have tea and feign aristocratic ennui. Yes please.

Only $250, quite a bit better than the retail price.

Sooooo... if anyone is really stumped about what to get me for Christmas this year, allow me to recommend a Craig's List gift certificate (also known as "cash").

Now the "Fun" Begins

Poor Adam. Because our belongings arrived in Berkeley a few days late I didn't get enough time to unpack and arrange. On Monday he moved into an apartment brimming with boxes!

Adam, though brilliant, is artistically challenged. At the very least, his taste tends to clash with mine. Think empty beer bottle collection and dart board vs. Great-Grandma's bone china and framed print of J.W. Waterhouse's Crystal Ball (with the skull, naturally). That could get ugly real fast. Thankfully Adam is the pliable sort of boyfriend who generously gives his girlfriend free reign over their home (either that or I'm the bullying sort of girlfriend who selfishly squashes her boyfriend's freedom to decorate?).

Since my excursions to Berkeley will be limited to a weekend here and there we're faced with an interesting project: decorating vicariously.

This week we're getting organized: drawing up a floor plan, taking lots of pictures, creating a list and budget of the purchases that will be necessary to spruce the place up. Here's a bit of what I'm working with...

These are pictures of the space taken when we first toured. The (ugly) furniture in the pictures is not mine!!

The Bathroom

For the sake of your eyes, I've cropped out the heinous broken medicine cabinet and fluorescent light (neither will make it to the next stage of decorating).

The "Living Room"

We're going to be using one of the two bedrooms as our living space.

We've already torn out the closet doors so that the closet can be used as an office nook.

The Kitchen

A corner kitchen that will be quite serviceable. A dishwasher! A hood! A disposal! A double sink!

If we focus on these glorious elements we can ignore the plastic cabinets and odd layout.

The Dining Area

This shows any charm that the apartment might have: the bay windows will accentuate my octagonal faux-bamboo table and chairs!

This is a rough floor plan, showing how we've got our furniture laid out currently. I've omitted the boxes :D

This is drawn from memory and to "optimistic" scale (as in, I hope it's as big as I remember it).

Coming up next, a serious debate: which shower curtain??

Matilda on Furniture (and on the internets)

Well, we did it. We moved all of our stuff to Berkeley. I can't tell you that the move went smoothly (that would be a lie), but it's done, and all that's left is to sweep up our empty Wallingford nest and ship Adam off to NorCal next week. *Whew*

I feel it would be cathartic to share all of the gory details of our move, but I will have to wait until I can talk about it without raising my voice and cursing. It might be an appropriate post for Halloween, as it was a *$%#ing HORROR. See, I told you I wasn't ready to talk about it yet!

While I'm simmering down, here's a happy thing:

My adored little Cattywompus was part of Monday's Pets on Furniture post at Desire to Inspire!

Matilda luxuriating on the sunporch.

Check it out here, and be sure to peruse the glorious Desire to Inspire while you're at it. Tildy-Cat has asked me to mention that any fan mail can be emailed to shockthebourgeois@mac.com, attention Matilda Warlock!

My First Stop in Berkeley Will Be...

When I read Curious Expeditions I always find myself whining, "awwww, no fairrrrrr" and crossing my arms like a sullen child. I might even throw in a foot stomp or two. For good reason! These extremely lucky bloggers/artists/lovers-of-all-things-macabre embark on voyages to the darkest corners of the earth... and bring the most delightfully creepy things to light. They're galavanting around the globe, and I'm forced to read about it on my lunch hour. Completely not fair. *Pouts*

As you can imagine, their post about The Bone Room had me teetering on the brink of a jealous tantrum.

How many hours would it take to look at everything?

Creepy crawlies!

The bat! I want!

I promise, I won't touch anything!

I was about to close my browser window and have a time-out when I realized...

The Bone Room is in Berkeley.

So now it's time for me to gloat- 'cuz when I move I can go there anytime I want. HA! So there!

All Images by Dylan Thuras and Michelle Enemark of Curious Expeditions. Thank you!

Our BIG Announcement

I'm sure by now that you've noticed that Shock the Bourgeois has been a little... sparse lately. We promise, it's not because we don't love you. Let me esplain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

In real life, Cook Adam is a biochemist, and his employers very recently informed him that they would be moving to the Bay Area. Remember how Adam and I went to San Francisco "on business?"

Well, Adam is moving to Berkeley in October.

If that news hit you like a ton of bricks, try to imagine how we feel!

We're still in a fog about this whole thing, and we've got a lot to do in just over a month.

• We need to locate an apartment in Berkeley (we're thinking Gourmet Ghetto area?) that is large enough for Adam, Matilda, and most of my earthly belongings, but cheap enough that it doesn't swallow our income. (This is proving to be tricky, as apparently living rooms with no doors rent for $600 per month.)
• We need to pack and figure out how to get our things from here to there!
• We need to stage a major yard sale to sell things I thought I'd never have to part with.
• We need to get me moved in with my parents.
• We need to sedate me so I don't freak the hell out.

Okay, mostly kidding about that last one. Mostly. It's hard to feel positive about staying behind when my favorite things in life are moving to California- especially because we have no idea what the future holds. Will I get to join my little family in 2010? We don't know. All we know is that we've chosen, and now we have to make the best of it.

What does this mean for Shock the Bourgeois?

• Posting for the next month could be infrequent. After that I'll be back to daily posts, because... I've gotta pass my lonely hours somehow!
• For the meantime I'm shifting away from Craig's List. Nothing against you, Craig, but it's a bit depressing to search for home furnishings when you no longer have a home to furnish. Of course, I will using CL to get rid of my lovely things...
• We'll be documenting our adventure as much as possible, and showing you our inspirations from two beautiful cities!

So, any San Franciscans out there? We could sure use your advice...