A Funny Valentine

Hi everyone! I don't have much to say today. Mostly because I'm knackered and have a big week ahead. I will reach out on Tuesday for sure to share a St. Valentine's Day post. Many sweet wishes to you until then.

XO Gwenny

Heart - The Shape of Love

Some people do not like the shape of love. Why?

The shape is linearly pleasing and it's symbolism even more so. Especially when you consider there is only one more week until St. Valentines Day.

Look at these. Anything made from a fork has got to be cool, right?
And this. It's so wee and sweet!
And what's not to heart about this?
I want!

 3D!

Useful! And they rhyme. Bonus!

Looks good enough to eat!

Yes! Please.

Love is right!

Madonna at the Super Bowl

Pietro Perugino's Madonna (detail)

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There was some mass hating last night on my twitter feed about Madonna. But please let me remind all the naysayers of these tiny little points.

1. Without Madonna having paved the way there would be no such entity as Lady Gaga.
2. Without Madonna having paved the way Katy Perry would not have "Kissed a Girl."
3. Without Madonna having paved the way in Pop Music - especially for women, the industry would have been vastly different then it is today.
4. And, I'm sure you're saying to yourself, "Someone else wold have done it if she didn't." Yeah, well, she did. And she is the one and only Madonna Louise Ciccione.

I love Madge! Always have. I was in the 7th grade when I was introduced to "Borderline" by one of my bully classmates, who had done a skit to the song. The girl was terrible but the song was sensational and while it's not her best tune (as I hearken back - at least not to me), I was hooked.  It was early autumn of 1983 and "Madonna" had just come out. For my birthday in October my mother and father gifted me a Sony Walkman (the equivalent of the ipod touch at the time) and the ever enduring cassette to play on it, called "Madonna." And to this day, I will still rock a little Nona!

I love her. I love her for always pushing the envelope. I love her for her feminine whiles. I love her for her demanding high standards. I love her for her perseverance. I love her for her insecurities. By the way, if you're human, you're insecure at some point. Even if you are a super star.

I love her for enduring very visible dramas;  Sean Penn, Prince, her children and Guy Ritchie. And I love that she has dabbled in more than just dancing and singing. She has a true creative mind having written a children's book, been a Golden Globe winning actress, and now has directed a film about one of history's greatest love stories. She has more Renaissance than the great Leonardo Da Vinci and she's a woman!

I feel a kinship with her somehow. I realize that sounds silly but keep reading. I believe sometimes she feels lonely, sad, incomplete or usurped by others. I do too. I also believe that she is probably very grateful for her blessings. Me too, for mine.

She has been a blessing throughout my life; when I was bullied in junior high school, she sang "Holiday" to me. In early high school, "Where's the Party" became my theme song. In 1989, "Like a Prayer" was released and so was I - from high school. Once I reached university, deciding what to do with my life became a huge challenge so I learned the "Vogue" dance moves - it was a wonderful distraction - I never did decide "what I was going to be when I grew up."

Nearly ten years later, "Ray of Light" was a literal ray of light for me. I was floundering professionally and personally. And it was a huge motivator for me. A motivator to always seek hope. And seek hope I did - on a whole other continent. I came out the other side of that adventure a smarter, stronger, braver woman - "quicker than a ray of light" and I sought to write it all down.

Now here it is and I still love her. Last night as I watched her perform, I was astounded at how well she can still move her body and write a song. Lip sinc? Who cares? Of course there are snarkers out there who have to attend to the little bitch inside them like JP Starkey from the Dallas SB Nation. I think he was upset the Patriots lost - so he blamed Madonna - that my friends, is what we call "yellow journalism!" Poor widdew JP. His big fancy Tom Bwady wet him down...Wah wah. Anyway, Madonna is no Ashley Simpson. She is a proven artist with 30 years of experience who was on stage orchestrating a huge event for Americana's sake. Perhaps we can be gracious and give her some leeway, no? For a more accurate account of the entire performance at Super Bowl XLVI's half time, refer to Alex Fiore's, "Madonna Rocks Super Bowl 'Like A Virgin'," from the Northern Star and other positive reviews from very reputable sources like Billboard, The Boston Herald and Entertainment Weekly all posted on All About Madonna.

MDNA - such a clever title - will if nothing else entertain. And what is Madonna if not an entertainer? If you've never read a biography about her, you can learn more about her here. It's enlightening.

For all the Madonna nihilists and especially for the Madonna fans, I leave you with a mix of some of my favorites by this dynamic star. Viva Madonna.

Se mai avete ballato o non cantate ad una canzone del Madonna, suppongo che potreste essere negativi circa lei ma allora probabilmente non conoscete il suo lavoro. Se parlaste male delle sue prestazioni la notte scorsa ed avete ballato o cantate per livellare una delle sue canzoni, vergogna su voi… voi cazzo piccolo!

Album Art: Sandro Botticelli's Madonna

Madonna - A Sample from poppiesandpaperbacks on 8tracks.

Popovers - The American Answer to Yorkshire Pudding

Oh, how I love these special treats! Delish! And the only time I ever eat them is at The Rotunda at Neiman Marcus. Ok, more exactly, I have only eaten popovers the two times I've been to Neiman Marcus for lunch but I fell in love immediately!
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Ogden Nash  said it best:

Let's call Yorkshire Pudding

A fortunate blunder:

It's a sort of Popover

That turned and popped under.

The Basic Popover Recipe

Ingredients:

4 T butter, melted

6 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk (whole)

2 cups all purpose flour

1 t salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F

Grease the custard cups, ramekins or popover pan with butter, well

Preheat custard cups, ramekins or popover pan for 2 minutes 

Spoon 1/2 t butter into 6 of the custard cups, ramekins or popover cups

Whisk together eggs and milk until frothy (see photo)

In a second bowl whisk together flour and salt, then add egg mixture

Mix batter very well until complete combined

Pour batter into cups, ramekins or popover cups until just about half full

Bake for EXACTLY 30 minutes and DO NOT PEEK!

Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes

Enjoy warm with Strawberry Butter

Chicago Metallic Popover Pan - You can also use a custard cup or ramekin

Strawberry Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup butter at room temperature

1/4 Cup strawberry preserves

Directions:

Mix both ingredients together with a fork, well

Pour into silicon ice tray and chill 

serve with warm Popovers.

Jan Masny - Photographer

Source

 These are amazing. Enjoy! So much movement. All photos by Jan Masny.

Wallpaper - Flat Vernacular

For sometime now, the trend in home interiors has largely been paint. You can do gads of things with paint that's for sure. Tons of colors, lots of texture and even a few effects. But, long thought marginally passe has been wall paper. Paint's over! Get these!

You've got to check out Flat Vernacular! You've never seen the likes of this! The company was started by Payton Turner and her partner Brian Kaspr. They are ridiculously talented! - So unfair!

Conceptually, their designs are fresh, colorful and choc full of amusement. They have a line of wall paper catalogued under "custom." Yup! custom...STICKERS!

Remember all the stickers you saved and collected in albums in 4th grade? Well, those little geniuses have devised a way to actually use them. Gawd! Why wasn't it me? I mean, why the heck did I go to art school - oh yeah - because it was fun! After all, I'm trying to be a writer - so let me write about other artists today that have pinkies and toes full of rad!

While I love the stickers, they also have other creative wall paper designs, like "Pheobe" that are meticulously thought out and even more expertly executed!

Bonus: Both Brian and Payton are super accessible as well! So while they are rock stars...they are not unapproachable. And, of course, they're in New York. It is, after all, the center of the universe!

Phoebe

*Incidentally, Payton is Howard Cosell's grand daughter. The late Mr. Cosell is, still, perhaps the most recognizable voice in sports announcement.

A Smile A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Laughing is the most important thing to me besides my husband and family. I like nothing more than to giggle uncontrollably. Remember when, in school, you and a friend would crack up for no explainable reason? Perhaps these will evoke some giggles?

This is a travel paperback of the best (worst?) kind!

You can actually buy this if you are so inclined to be this kind of crafter!

I found this today when I was researching funny book covers! Super handy! M ysister has a book called "What's Your Poo Telling You." And, I'd add this picture here, but I don't want to offend any readers with it's irreverence. It gives "vintage" a whole new meaning!