The Pear Neccessities

Over the last couple of years I have learned how to cook. I love it, but I don't have the chance to do it often.  However, after a successful vegetable lasagna last night, I have decided that this week I am going to try a new culinary adventure: Pear, Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onion Pizza. 

Pears aren't a fruit I often eat, but I love the look of them. And once I do have one I always think, "why don't I eat this more often?"  As you can probably already tell, today's post is about pears.

If you're not going to eat them, might as well wear them! Cathy at la prochaine fois makes these incredible dried fruit rings. 

Searching for something a little less frilly? Ash Hilton makes this modern, chic Pear Ring.

The steel base of Yanko Designs' Pear Tree Lamp charges three pear lights that can be picked off and stay illuminated for an hour before "running out of juice." Place them back on the tree to recharge.

 

Too cool to juice -these Buddha Pears (for sale in the UK and China) were created by a Chinese farmer. Read more about it at Just Cool Design.

And finally....

Just about the best chair I have ever seen:

 

The Prickly Pear Cactus Chair by Valentina Glez Wohlers

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Products So Good They Will Make Your Tassels Twirl

Thanks to modern pioneers like Dita Von Teese, Dirty Martini, Jo Boobs and other performers, burlesque is everywhere these days and it couldn't be more exciting for a lifelong cabaret lover like myself. If you were to turn me into a pile of materials it would consist of feathers, sequins, glitter and well...anything pink and sparkly.  And so as it happens every once in a while, I am suddenly trendy. 

Burlesque Painting as seen on Bellydancing by Elaine

Christina Aguilera's movie "Burlesque" is coming out and amazing new troupes are popping up every day-including Delray Beach's own Modernesque Burlesque, celebrating a year of tantalizing shows and incredible performances. Burlesque is popular again!

People are even decorating their homes, events and weddings in retro burlesque fashions:

Wedding Photo from YourWeddingDay.com

 

Burlesque Wallpaper as seen on The Gin Lady

Put some tease back into your life with these great products, style inspirations and burly-q goodness

so good they will make your tassels twirl: 

It's almost summer time - let your inner pin-up girl shine with the "Skipper" Nautical Bikini from one of my favorite places to shop Pin Up Girl Clothing. Check out their site- I promise you won't be disappointed!

On the beach, at the grocery store, craft store or even the office - this sexy seamstress Tote by 6Prints is a fun way to lug around all your stuff.

This beautiful headband by Tragic Veil is pure burlesque heaven.

 

Burlesque Beauty Pendant by Queen Bean Jewels on ArtFire

More removable than a stripper pole. Bring a little sexy sass into your home with this wall decal by beepart.

Make your bedroom your own red light district with a lingerie clad Tramp Lamp.

Finally, burlesque is all about the tease - and there is no tease unless something is left to the imagination.

Key to every performance is the perfect pair of pasties. Here are some of my favorites:

Candy Pasties by Fleur du Mal

 

Awesome Sushi Pasties. Photo by Fractured Frame Photography.

Music Note Pasties by Manuge-et-Toi Burlesque as seen on Trend de la Creme 

Pac Man Pasties as seen on Forever Geek.

 If you are local to the Delray area, don't forget to check out Modernesque Burlesque's June 5th Midnight Show.  See Pulp Pin-up at its finest at Respectable Street.  Find out more and buy presale tickets for only $5 at http://www.respectablestreet.com/.





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My Art-Full Life - Home Decor

I love decorating and I love being crafty. Sometimes the two combine.  In honor of Friday's Living the Art-Full Life posts, I thought I would share with you some of the artsy-crafty goodness that I have been working on in our house:

This was a dark wood, vintage credenza style record player that was all busted up, but the player still worked.  Got it at a garage sale for $20 and created this:
 

Guitar Picks cover the two outer panels

Still working on the side piece. Not quite sure what I plan to do yet!

I also worked on creating a stained glass looking creation on my TV stand.  It is actually just black paint on the outside glass and colored glass painted inside to create the stained glass effect.

An old IKEA lamp became the perfect place to use all the leftover glass bead pieces I have been making over the years.

And below is what may become the newest addition to my site http://www.prettyusefulstuff.com/.  Just need to finish it and decide if I like it as a card or a print:

Are YOU living the Art-Full Life? Tell us all about it - we'd love to feature you and your work!

Nothing Rhymes with Orange Robot

Despite my husband's protests, about every 6 months I redecorate the house.  We have had walls in red, lime, purple, cream, turquoise, tiled, patterned with stripes, swirls, wall decals, and even an alien mural.  Currently my obsession is finding the perfect shade of orange, a decor color I have loved ever since Nickelodeon's Big Orange Couch. 

My first attempt came out a little too yellow for my taste but while looking for something with some more red in it I found the perfect color in the most perfect little burst of inspiration - Richard Wilkenson's "Orange Robot".

http://www.monster-munch.com/

Sadly, the man of the house wasn't too sure about orange, so I set out to show him how fantastic an orange room can be:

 

Top: http://www.zabola.com/

Bottom: http://www.splutterfish.com/

The I found the room that sealed the deal:

Inspiration Room by Åsa Clerksén at Family Living Magazine

As Seen On Emma's Design Blog

If you put a robot in a room, all of a sudden my husband will look past anything - orange walls, flowered wall decals - heck he would probably even be into that spotted dog rug....just as long as there is a robot. 

And oh, there will be robots because currently they are running amok in home decor everywhere. Suddenly my husband, and brother I might add, are totally in style:

Shana Logic has Robot Hand Towels and the super sweet Robot With Headphones Print

Thanks to the blog The Invisible Agent I was made aware of some incredibly cool robot lamps on Ebay.

My heart is fluttering with love for this pillow and if only I had a spare $79.00, it would be mine, all mine...

Rr is for Robot Romance Pillow by One Roof Designs on Etsy

And who knew that Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh is an artist whose latest venture is a series of rugs, including a series of robots?!? My favorite is Super Thing 3000 (seen below) but there are many styles, all available in 2 sizes.

Robot Rugs courtesy of Robot Living

 

**By the way - I can't find who made that dog rug or where to find it, but I absolutely adore it - from it's big paws to its googly eyes.  Does anyone know who made it? **

In my search, I did however find the coolest rug that has ever existed and I just ordered the taxidermy catalog to make my own (thanks to a killer tutorial from creator Hemi Housewife on Crafster http://www.crafster.org/ - the bible for all things crafty). 

Animal Friendly Fake Taxidermy Rug / Tutorial:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=27267.0

"Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto"