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William & Kate

Are you guys excited about the Royal Wedding?  I'm bursting at the seams! When I was a girl growing up in Canada Princess Diana was such a fave of mine. We still pledge allegiance to the Queen and all that stuff so Charles and Di was a big day. I remember getting up and watching with my mom who had stacks of magazines on Diana, and everything the day entailed. It was like my favorite cousin was getting married and we had a front row seat...in front of the television.

Flash forward and here we are again with William and Kate. I just love her (and can't believe I'm waxing on like a cuckoo bird about this). She seems so down to earth and like a girlfriend any of us could have. I came across these pictures this morning and have officially turned into my mother: I got all choked up and needed a kleenex. Stay tuned for me getting up by the light of the silvery moon to watch the wedding...I'm getting mini eclairs, brewing some tea and probably tossing back a margarita just for fun all at  3 or 4am. Go Wills and Kate!!

I can't help but think about how happy Princess Diana would be to see these two together.  *sniffle*

Official Picture taken by none other than Mario Testino
Kate with her mom and sis Pippa heading into the Goring Hotel.
Check those massive crowds...it has to be so overwhelming, yet exciting for her.
I'm losing it - I feel like my bff is getting married.  She just has that vibe to her, no?
The Official Programme
images via The Daily Mail

Thus ends my gushing nerd alert over the Royal Wedding although I can't promise there won't be a barrage of tweets in the early morning.  Are you guys watching??

Man, Dog, Morels

Oh how I wish our wonderpup, Chet Baker, Boston terrier, could be trained to find morel mushrooms using his highly sensitive nose. That would make him truly useful in ways that transcend his utility as a companion animal and terror to the bunnehs.

I LOVE all of spring's wondrous bounty: the returning songbirds, the hillsides bursting with blossoms, the greening of the landscape, the warmer weather, the almost vastly improved Pittsburgh Pirates...but right up there in my top five or so spring things is the ephemeral appearance of edible fungi.

We'll be eating morels most nights this week thanks to the wet spring and warming temps of recent sunny days. It's good to be alive.

Photo by Julie "Don't Say Anything Mean About Chet Baker" Zickefoose.

From the Inside Out

I had approximately zero intentions of doing a post tonight, but seeing as the neighbor came home from work and decided to begin slamming the doors and moving furniture at oh, 11:30pm, I decided to whip up chorizo spaghetti sauce and fling together some current thoughts swirling in my head.  It's hard to believe I've been living in my new space for over 2 weeks.  It still looks like a small twister went off and I am lamenting the loss of the walk-in closet the Chef built out for my birthday last year.  To be honest I have to stop talking about it or I feel physically ill wondering where I'm going to put all my clothes.  Tough problem to have (she says dripping with sarcasm), but still a problem none the less.

Even though it was a small move in distance, I still feel like it's a new day - Uh hello?  I have a dishwasher now!  - and want to make some changes in the new place.  For some reason I've been captivated by the thought of using bright color which is so not me.  My old space had dark wood floors, white white walls, and a mix of  white, black, jute, grey and varying shades of navy.  Kind of nautical meets Asian old world, if you will.  Suddenly I'm feeling a need to recreate some sort of twist/combo of these:



And I find myself oddly attracted to bright pink.  Wha?  Here's some of the things I've got strewn about that I'd like to incorporate in...


The fabric only...not the yoga mat or exacto blade.
Of course blanket has to be mixed in somewhere...
 and some crazy boho floor pillows I scored last week...although they may live on the deck.

It's an extravaganza of ethnicities up in this dojo so I have to streamline, streamline, streamline to create a plan.  All I know for sure is white is a base - white furniture has always been a staple for me so that's where I'll start, but it could take awhile so no holding breath, okay?  Um, is it Friday yet? - I'd really like to get at it in a non-guilty work zone.

And on a lighter note it was one year ago today that I started the ol' blog.  It's hard to believe an entire year has gone by, but my life is so much richer for having met and interacted with all of you.  No cheeseballs over here either - I totally mean it.  I've had gut busting laughs with most of you, shed tears with some of you when Lisa passed away, strengthened my wardrobe, and attempted although not quite completed the 30 Day Shred with others (Day 7 Level 2 complete!), and gathered so much info by reading your blogs and sharing your lives.  Thanks for sticking with me and reading along.  Mine is certainly not a conventional fashion/lifestyle blog, but it's a genuine attempt at keeping it real


Waging War on Carpets

As much as this blog is supposed to be about clothing and shoes and all that good stuff it's time to come clean...this thing has turned into an occasional play by play of my crazies.  I just can't help but share - it seems so much more interesting than just showing 14 things I like and then describing how I'd wear them.  I mean does anyone really want to read that from me every single day?  Anyone?  Anyone?

I've got posts backed up for a week based sheerly on things like piles of laundry I keep tripping over, the new neighbor who refuses to angle park his big *ss mountain climber SUV so I have to keep pounding on the door asking him to move in order to get into my garage (get the hint much there neighbor?), the Chef's cat attacking his dad's leg leaving a big ol' bloody bite after he left her out in the rain for too long...don't mess, and oh so much more.  Hopefully I'll get to a weekend recap before the weekend but until then let us begin with a momentary deviation so I can clear this image from my mind.

I'm calling this thing the 'Hell No'

Apparently someone over at Maison Martin Margiela decided that women need a trough for their toes and therefore came up with this mess.  I hope to God I don't see anyone wearing these shoes because I will tackle them to the ground, rip them from their feet and toss them into the nearest fiery furnace.  This is not okay.  I am calling a Fashion 'Mergency 911.  Someone get Iman on the phone.

And now to the most recent development over here at the bird:  My cats have taken their feelings about my landlord's cheap new carpet straight to the source...the carpet.  Every morning I find a little more destruction.  Just this morning I realized they full on ripped it right off the stairs - thankfully not all 15 of them, but bloody close.  Examine the evidence:

This is the work of a carpet hater - two of them as a matter of fact.  
They've had it with carpet and they're not taking it anymore.  
Help.me.
She's out for blood on carpet and will not be disturbed from her boho throne.  

Pardon me while I also add that I am failing at the 30 Day Shred.  I've had a migraine for 5 days running and can't do squat for fear of aneurysm.  All but 2 women on my dad's side passed away from aneurysm...it's in the fam and I'm not taking chances.  That being said I am moderately intrigued at the idea of jumping around at midnight to see what the new neighbors do.

Hmmmmmmmmm

Just tonight I was wreaking havoc on my own body eating a piece of Chocolove's dark chocolate salted almond goodness when Kelly Ripa had to appear on tv with her Ripa for Ryka sneaker commercial flaunting her skinny arms and legs, waving them around in my face.  Fine Kelly. FINE. I get the point already!!  (prolly friends with jillian michaels anyway)  Wait a second...is that carpet scratching I hear?

Sunday Dreaming

Holy Mother of Jill Stuart
~anyone have $850 bones lying around?~

Happy Easter everyone!  I'm currently staring down a See's Candies Chocolate Peanut Butter Egg and suffering with day 4 of migraine central.  What better way to count down the moments to Sunday dinner than by gazing away at Shopbop?  Here's to finding and winning 9 of their $100 gift certificate giveaways before all the moneybags ladies out there storm the web and shank this glorious frock out from under me.  Oh Easter Bunny...you out there?

Caption Contest #18


I toad you we weren't done with the Bill of the Birds Caption Contests! Here's the latest. Send in your clever caption for this photograph (keeping your cleverness on the clean side of the NC-17 line). Our panel of ninja-like judges will select a winner and that winner will receive a coupon code good for $20 in the BWD Online Nature Shop. Deadline for your caption that trumps all captions is Thursday, April 28.

Good luck! Gentlepeople start your captions!

Shine in the Gloom

So here's the thing about living along the coast - at least in Southern California - you can potentially sit in overcast/foggy weather for hours not realizing that 5 minutes up the street the sun is beaming bright as can be.  Similarly sometimes you leave the house and it's toasty and fabulous only to return to brisk winds and grey skies.  Enter Sunday afternoon...there I was fresh off my flea market finds, all was well in the world.  I swear it was hot outside when we left the house.  Not so much upon return.  Enter breeze, clouds, and even fog.  Thankfully I had my bag to light the way.  Is it summer yet?

Shark fins! Okay not really, but kinda feels like it right?
Not sure what I'm looking at here...definitely wasn't the mini black widow spider
I killed last night on the ceiling.  (planted by landlord i'm sure)  
Unless it hitched a ride back to my place on my pant leg.
Windy
~Tucker-Elodie's Grand Mere Blouse, Gap-Pintuck High Rise Trouser (seen here), 
J.Crew-Leopard Belt (seen here), Free People-Pouchette (seen here), 
Brooklyn Thread-Beaded Bracelet, Melinda Maria & FP Rings, Target-Sunnies~
Couldn't sign off without pointing out it appears I've quite literally 
shredded my *ss off even though I've only completed up to Level 2 Day 6
of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.  

What else can I tell you, what else, what else?  Well first thing's first I should have bought more than one pair of these jeans seeing as I wear them 14x a week.  Aside from that tomorrow's Good Friday so I'll only be working a short stint in the AM before signing off for the weekend to celebrate Easter.  I'm looking forward to spending time with friends, going to church, organizing some stuff, cleaning off the deck, and scaring the sam hell out of the neighbors who are moving in downstairs.  It's always strength in numbers with those couple types, so I have to do like dogs do and mark my territory around the deck so they don't feel as though they can meander on up into my space whenever it suits their fancy...like the girlfriend did this morning catching me strolling about in my pajamas!! Not pretty.

Never a dull moment over here at the bird.  

Lesser Prairie Chicken

This adult male lesser prairie chicken spent our morning together dancing in his lek on the Selman Ranch, near Buffalo, Oklahoma.

I didn't want you to think I didn't get any good photos! I'll tell the whole story in the days ahead.

Rag Rug Chic

On Sunday afternoon I peeled over to the local Flea Market late in the day to see if I could find any treasures for my new abode.  Truth be told I was all kinds of hoping to find that psychedelic Austin Powers-ish type jersey dress I left behind last time...no dice.  Talk about a lesson learned.  Sigh

While wandering the aisles I came across a vendor whose wares immediately caught my eye:  rag rugs, aprons, and homemade pillow cases.  My grandmas both used to whip up some rag rugs that would make your eyes water from the sheer beauty of the colors they intermingled - and I still have handmade pillow cases in my cupboard.  Just last week I had been chatting it up with my mom about making a massive one of my own when low and behold there they were!  As I zipped in closer I noticed the person had turned the rug into a nifty little handbag that had a flour sack pocket on the outside and the best polka dot lining inside...so many pieces of my childhood all rolled into one.


As it turns out Michael Wells is the owner/operator of Cattle Headquarters, a graphic design company that makes hand-printed t-shirts, flour sack towels, pillowcases, aprons and other items featuring retro-cool Western-inspired images. As we got to talking I learned that his great-grandparents had made heirloom quilts from flour sacks - they, too, had the "re-use philosophy" down pat.

This one ties around the waist, but there were others that 
tied around the neck as well.  I just fell in love with all the different patterns.
Totally took me back to my childhood.

There's Michael!  Sorry about the closed eyes, new friend :)

I ended up buying the cheeriest bag and wanted to give you a peek at it.  It's perfect for casual days, store runs and trips to the beach - totally something you would find in Anthropologie.  I hope you enjoy...if you're interested in picking up one of your own visit Cattle Headquarters here.  Lots of great stuff to choose from and eco-friendly, too.

I'm running out to the store momentarily and about to throw this on.  
Taking the bag out on its maiden voyage - it totally gives the outfit some zing.
Cool button, huh?  There's a little fabric strap that pulls over to seal it shut, too.
The detail on the bag is wonderful and they retail for $45.00.  Handmade!

*once I get my place organized there will be a rag rug diy on the horizon.  *take note idea stealers*

Dreaming of Dawn Dancers

In my dreams I have seen you there, dancing.
Dew-kissed little bluestem your stage set.
Grunting bison and whistling meadowlarks your only audience, save for me.

Many's the time I thought to come find you, but life snatched my plans from me as the prairie wind tugs at my words. Getting to the middle of nowhere requires more than good intentions.

Now sitting hunkered down, as if to imitate your own pre-dance posture, I wait, breathless, for your show to begin. I hear you hoot and whinny, gurgle and cluck. I am beside myself with anticipation.
All of us are waiting for the sun to tell us when this show can begin. As it has for thousands of years, the sun rules this natural phenomenon. No one will blink the house lights to alert us. We must be here, poised, prepared to leap and court. Or in my case, prepared to gasp with utter amazement.

I'd like to thank you gentlemen for letting me watch your prairie ballet. And, lest we forget, thanks also to the ladies for making these dudes dance.

Two Words

Yes! and....

Yes!

Those rather poor photos represent my two latest life birds: the black-capped vireo and the lesser prairie chicken. I got both of them while attending The Woodward Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Woodward, Oklahoma. This small-sized birding fest is a keeper. And the birds are stupid ossum.

I'm going back for better chicken photos tomorrow, if the weather gods comply. Got great looks at both species, though, and that counts most of all for me. Just love being out here in the land of the big sky—it does one's heart some good.

Restaurant Update...Pass the Knick Knacks

Okay am I the only one out there who is so glad it's Friday they wanna marry it?  This week went by in a blur of boxes piled everywhere, hectic days at work, the car locked in the garage, and yesterday morning a gas leak.  Yes friends I said gas leak.  Just what I need:  to kick off in the confines of my own home without one last swig of Don Julio on a Friday night.

Seriously though:  gas leak = no bueno

Thankfully it's all fixed, however the car is still in the garage.  One thing at a time, Carrie - this has become my mantra.  I do believe the Chef and I are chanting it in our various locales throughout the day.  He's up to his eyeballs in renos and building codes and inspectors, so it's been a wild one.  Here's to a light at the end of the tunnel for each of us.  In the meantime here are a few pictures of what's going on.  This was very early in the week and I kinda got wound up in the artifacts so this is less progress and more me making a mental note of things I wanna cart out of the place.  Is there such a thing as Asian boho chic when discussing interiors?

 Here's what it was....
Aaaaaaand....
Here's what's left of it. Pretty much cleared out.
They primed the ceiling today so I have to get in there for some more update pictures.
And to make sure no one runs off with (read:  the Chef is persuaded to sell)
that dragon.  Not sure where I'll put him, but he's pretty cool.
As is this fabulous screen.  Mother of Pearl!  On the screen and also one of my
fave expressions however that alone may not be grounds enough to escape with it.

Whatever the case may be hopefully I'll have time to bust over there and get some more updates before the end of next week.  What do you guys have planned for the weekend? Saturday will find me glued to the maison as I try to get the clutter out from in front of the television so as to resume the 30 Day Shred.  I'm actually terrified of the pending pain of diving back in.  *ouch* *ouch* *ouch*  Perhaps I'll make time to take in some fresh air, but that would involve taking a shower and readying myself for public and right now I'm all about a nap.  Have a great one whatever you do.  Oh and if you're going to Coachella - steer clear of the vomit piles and don't forget your deodorant.  Good luck with that!

A Page From The Past

~My Grandma, Grandpa and Mom on the day of her wedding to my Dad~

I guess it's nostalgia week here at the bird. I can't tell you how long it's going to last so it might end up being nostalgia month before we know it.  Change does that to me.  My mom called tonight to let me know my uncle's daughter ripped down my grandmother's house to build a new one in its place.  In an instant I was overcome with sadness - dare I say grief -  and immediately transported back through time, standing in her kitchen by the old coal stove while she lifted the burners to stoke the fire.  My mom and her 8 brothers and sisters grew up in a one bedroom tiny house on the prairies in Canada.  They came from humble beginnings, but their house and family was always overflowing with love, laughter and acceptance.  My grandma was the kindest most generous person I've ever known and it pains me greatly to think I'll never step foot in her tiny home again.  For some reason I can't stop thinking about the wonderful, cold glasses of water she used to give me in the bubbled drinking glasses she pulled out from behind the dark yellow stained-glass cupboard doors.  It hit me tonight - I can never go back in time to that time again - as much as I know it and live it daily, it just really sunk in.  Those days are over - a thing of the past.  This aging thing is really getting to me...I'm thinking about mortality - mine and everyone else in my family - and time seems to have sped up exponentially.  Is this a mid-life crisis?  Is this where men duck and run to go buy a sports car in order to feel young again?  Whatever the case may be - I just love this picture of my gram (and mom and grandpa) - she was chic to the fullest in her lace dress and hat.  I have a feeling those really were the days -- I know they were.

The Grass Is Always Greener

Do you ever just feel like you're going on about your day...do de do de do de do when wham! (not george michael) you get hit between the eyes by the sheer incompetence of those around you?  I often find myself wondering how on earth it is that people are employed.

Take for example my recent run-in with Verizon.  I have what they call the Triple Bundle:  phone, internet and television.  One would think that when you transfer service all 3 pieces of that TRIPLE BUNDLE package would automatically be activated at the new residence, no?  Oh it transferred all right.  For 2 days until someone over there in Verizonland decided to change the status of my order from 'complete' to 'pending' causing only the phone service to go dead.  Why?  No one knows - isn't that interesting?  Three hours and five different departments later, apparently no one over there is 'authorized' to change that one little word back to its appropriate status - COMPLETE.  Someone took the authority to eff it up, but no one wants to man up and take the authority to make it right.  At least not for 24 to 48 hours.  Why?  Who knows?  No one - that's who.  So in the meantime I'm trying to recruit without a phone.  Effective, isn't it? It's like being at a standstill in the dark.  Everyone knows where the switch is, but no one who can reach it will turn the bloody thing on.  Good grief.

~J.Crew Military Vest, Free People Tank & Tube, Siwy Hannah Denim, Brandy&Melville Bag, 
J.Crew Ballet Flats, PANYC & Motif56 Bracelets, Target Sunnies, Random Necklaces~

Speaking of dark:  the electric company decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and just kill the power to my old apartment rather than transferring it back into the owner's name as has been done since, oh, the dawn of electricity. Oh no that would be too much like, say, proper procedure.  Instead I am now without wheels and a prisoner in my own home due to the fact that my car is parked in the garage that can't be opened because the garage door opener is, you guessed it, electric and on the same account as the one they gloriously (dripping with sarcasm) turned off!  Even better?  There is apparently a rash of electric company switch turn-ons this week so they can't get the account reactivated - and my car out of the garage - until...wait for it...MONDAY.  Pardon me while I spontaneously combust.


Excuse me stranger?  Can I get a ride?  Is that a moth in your hair?  Oh, no thanks.

Can someone please turn the lights back on?  I'm just trying to keep moving forward and avoid lingering in my former, well put together and much loved abode where everything had its home, was organized and wonderfully decorated.  A place where I could get in and out of the garage with ease.  Those were the days.
Onward and upward, my friends.  I smell Friday and a nice long NAP.

ID Quiz: Birds on a Wire

Location: A residential neighborhood in Miami, Florida
Date: March 30

Yes these birds are in silhouette (sorry) and yes they represent four separate (bird) species.

The first person who can correctly identify these four species AND write a separate (and proper) haiku about one of them, wins a copy of my new book Hummingbirds and Butterflies (which I wrote with co-author Connie Toops).

Deadline for entries is Saturday, April 16, 2011. May the best birder/poet emerge victorious!

Stages (and a Fitness Winner)

I've come to the conclusion that moving is a cathartic experience - and that I have become someone who no longer likes change.  In my 20's I was a leap off the edge, risk taker, change seeking kinda gal - moving far away, taking chances, moving even further away, oftentimes not even looking before I leapt.  Over the weekend I realized I don't think I'm that person anymore.

On Saturday a friend came over in the morning to help with the move.  He and his wife are relo'ing to Texas this weekend and throughout the course of conversation he said something that stuck with me all day, "sometimes you need to shake things up."  Later in the day a couple more close friends rolled in to assist with organizing and along the way one of them asked how long I'd lived in my other place.  When I responded saying six years - he looked at me and said, "it was time for you to make a change."  I laughed saying, "oh yeah big change I moved upstairs," but he stuck with it saying he really felt I had needed some sort of change to keep moving forward.  Even though I didn't say anything in response, I've been thinking about it ever since.

On Sunday it donned on me, as I walked through my old apartment, that this is the longest I've lived anywhere in 20 years.  And then the strangest thing happened - I got really sad and had to swallow a sizable lump in my throat.

Isn't it funny how when you're in a situation you don't see how weathered and worn
it's become until you remove yourself and look at what's left.
This was my favorite room in the house - it has the best natural light and I'll really miss it...despite the fact that it clearly needs a new paint job in a bad way.
I lived in every room of this place - no space was under utilized as evidenced by the wear and tear.
Even though you can't see the full size, this was my office.  I'm an Executive Recruiter for anyone
who doesn't already know.  I burned my voice out on the phone, counseled
people into and out of jobs, laughed my head off, cried my eyes out, and ripped people
a new one in this room.  I learned just how strong I am in an 11x11 space.
I couldn't fit the entire bedroom in this picture - it's much wider and has big windows behind me.
What I'll remember most is the light streaming through the windows, the amazing deco
detailing on the walls and ceiling...and the door that provided escape when the
place was broken into in the middle of the night. (See here).
Even though I'm nowhere near unpacked, organized and situated one thing I know I'm going
to love about the new place is all the soft warm light that streams in in late afternoon.
When I was sitting on the couch yesterday afternoon I happened to glance outside the door 
to the lanai (that's what my Hawaiian friends call it and it sounds so much better than deck, don't you think?) 
and notice the tops of the palm trees in the distance.  Sigh
This is a win-win-win for all three of us.  Two of whom may just be 
even more traumatized by the simple change than I am. 
But we all made it in one piece.

Onward and upward to the weekend when hopefully there will be many spare moments to get things in order.  I am most definitely having an existential crisis which is probably a good thing, otherwise how does a person take tally of where their life is and if it's even on track?  Pardon me while I go locate the track.

On a lighter note - Winner of the Fitness Giveaway is #57 - Bella Gets Real!  Email your information to me and prepare to Shred and Pilate, my friend.  I shredded once over the weekend, but with moving to a place that requires me to climb 15 stairs multiple times per week I feel toned legs are on the horizon.  My lats are screaming from all the lifting and my calves are tight as ever.  Bring.it.on.  I'm so far behind on the shred I fear everyone's moved on to Level 3 and left me in the dust.  cough cough

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