Funny haha, or funny strange?

Official Hiatus

2009-05-14T16:46:00.003-05:00

When I started this Ani Cheval blog, my intention was to allow this to be my artistic get away - my anonymous outlet to be someone else for a change.

Apparently that didn't work out so well. It turns out I really like being me. So I'm putting this blog on hiatus until such a time when I have the artistic inspiration to fill the space again.

In the meantime, feel free to join me over at my regular blog Little Me in the Big D. It's really about me and the foods I love and the hobbies I take on. Now with the hiatus of this little anonymous blog, it can also include a little of my artistic side as well.

I was a good girl this year

2008-12-28T12:02:00.003-06:00

And Santa rewarded me beautifully. Oh yes he did! Right this second I am posting with my newest toy.

And look it has a red cover to match my Hawt Lipstick! Plus it's red for Girl Strength and Power! Woohoo! I'd like to get a purple one though to change out every once in a while. Purple is a great color!

Hopefully this new toy means I will be posting more. Hopefully.

Rest In Peace Bettie Page

2008-12-12T07:34:00.002-06:00

Thursday night the world lost an icon. Bettie Page has passed away. I just read her memorial page, but now the whole website has blown up and you can't get in or move around or anything. I wish her family peace. She was a beautiful lady.

1960s Retro Sheath

2008-12-05T11:13:00.003-06:00

Last night I picked up the cutest little retro Simplicity pattern.

Originally I picked it up with a certain silk boucle fabric I have in my stash, but then the gears in my head began to turn and I have another Fabulous costume that I'm going to make out of it as well.

What is it? Hmmm, I don't think I'm ready to let the cat out of the bag yet, but I'll give you a few hints:

Welding goggles
Red
Go go boots
EVIIIIILLLLL!!!!!

That's all you get, hehe. I hope to have this costume ready for All-Con. You can see it then. It's going to be so cute I just can't stand myself!!!

Still sexy even in the rain

2008-11-20T17:01:00.000-06:00

Thanks to The Bargain Queens, I give you a source for channelling your inner super hero any time of the year with these Fabulous Rainboots!

They're available at Amazon.com.

Do something nice for our troops, won't ya?

2008-11-13T10:59:00.002-06:00

http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

Sometimes us girls need to rally together and do something nice for our boys and girls in the Military.

Cell Phones for Soldiers takes old phones and accessories and sells them to refurbishing companies and then turns around and uses the funds to buy phone cards to ship to the soldiers. Each phone will buy a 1 hour phone card for a soldier to call home. This charity even has drop off points all over the nation if you have trouble mailing the phones in. Just click the "find a drop off point" tab across the top of the website and you'll be taken to a place where you enter your zip code and Voila, Drop off locations will appear mapped on your computer screen.

This is a great means of recycling cell phones instead of letting them sit in a dump and this time of year is a Great time to help our soldiers connect with their families. So many of them will be away from home over the holidays.

Simply Beautiful - Antique Jewelry

2008-10-24T15:05:00.007-05:00

These Friday Simply Beautiful entries were conjured up mainly for the purposes of me drooling over art as I become acquainted with it. However, there are so many different kinds of art, that it's not really fair for me to just stick to one medium for Simply Beautiful. I mean, to some people art can be something that they simply think is brilliant.

So for this newest Simply Beautiful installment, I will shift gears to another sort of art. Sparkly Art.

For some glorious reason I often receive a copy of the M.S. Rau Antiques catalogue. I don't recall when this began, but through this publication I have been exposed to Many beautiful things. The first catalogue I received was a Fine Jewelry issue. I remember being quite entranced with the sparklies in that issue. Today I received yet another Fine Jewelry catalogue from M.S. Rau Antiques, and let me tell you, it does not dissapoint.

First I will show you the item with which I fell in love from the first catalogue. It is still available for sale. It makes my Right hand ring finger tingle with joy.

That is a Star Sapphire and it is a rare gem indeed. It's the star shape that really just pulls me in. And it is a relatively simple setting. The gem doesn't really need much more than those little baguettes.

Going from Simple to True Art brings us to this lovely Edwardian necklace.

The drops and intertwining of little diamonds is so eye catching. And the little bits of Sapphire and Emerald bring a slight pop of color to the piece without overpowering the simplicity of the diamond floral motif. It is delicate like a web and yet it is destined to be handed down to enthusiasts and hopefully daughters and daughters-in-law for many years to come. This is the kind of necklace that would compliment nearly any black tie affair with grace and class. It is nearly timeless.

Timelessness in art and jewelry is something to be proud of, however sometimes a Bold "wow" statement is in order.

This piece is so amazing. I don't know if I would ever have the guts to wear something that bulky on my wrist, but it is such a statement and so entrancing, I'm sure if I happened on the occasion to own it, I would wear it nearly every chance I got! The bulk of the bracelet is carved crystal banded with little diamonds. I've never seen carved crystal jewelry before this. It is strange and yet incredibly inviting - demanding of attention even.

And then sometimes there is such an exciting beauty in the art of simplicity.

This little ring is just about the only thing that this girl's modest budget could ever afford from M.S. Rau Antiques. I do not post it because it is a cheap item. I post it because I personally think that it is even more elegant than the Star Sapphire ring. This simple little carved ring would be a beautiful accompaniment to the Edwardian Necklace. It would make a perfect Engagement ring for a pair in love. And it would be a timeless bauble to pass down from generation to generation. Just take a moment to admire the intricate care in the carvings. It's quite a beautiful piece. In fact, the sight of this makes a girl want to re-shuffle her budget so she can call it her own.

Please excuse the mess

2008-10-18T12:02:00.003-05:00

Again.

I have switched layouts again and there are a few things which are not working properly yet. I just need to make time to fix them.

And we have a Red!

2008-10-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

Every pin up girl, or even costumer for that matter, should have a good reliable Red lipstick. It's classic, classy, and it really gives one that Wow factor that they're looking for when it's needed. For years I've been searching for the Perfect Red. I've found Orange Red, Blue Red, Fuscia Red, and even Pink Red. But the perfect True Red which looks best on me has been rather elusive.

That is, until I finally broke down and visited the much hyped M.A.C. counter.

Now, as much as this girly girl loves Make-up and pretties, the mundane alter-ego with which I live on a daily basis Despises anything high maintenance and thus shuns any and all make-up counter interactions due to them being frivolous and a trap to siphon money out of the ever dwindling bank account.

But when costumes are being put together the girly girl gets to rule the roost and thus she had her first rendezvous with the M.A.C. counter. And within moments the Perfect True Red was obtained.

Behold! Russian Red! *with an addition of some clear gloss for shine

Simply Beautiful - Bourgeureau painting at Sotheby's.

2008-10-17T15:02:00.004-05:00

Next Thursday Sotheby's Auction House will have among its auction items the painting "Young Shepardess Standing"(Jeune Bergere Debout) by William Bourgereau.

Isn't she beautiful? She along with the "Bohemienne au Tambour de Basque" are the very reason why I adore Bourgereau's work so much. Look at her. See the confidence and aire of defiance in her eyes. And while the Bohemian Girl's portrait is more on the meek side, the point is that there is a clear definition of personality in these portraits. This Shepherdess is Sassy. The Bohemian girl is a little shy. But each is letting you in on a part of what makes them tick. Portraiture isn't always like that. Plus I adore his choices of color. Sometimes it's natural and muted and sometimes it's bold and rich. His lighting is also amazing.

It looks like Sotheby's is selling several Bourgereau paintings. I also adore this little portrait "Une Petite Fille". Unfortunately I can't find a good pic to post on the blog, so you'll have to click the link.

I so wish I could afford a Bourgereau! Maybe one day.

Shoes!

2008-10-16T16:22:00.007-05:00

Yep, I'm returning to this modest little blog. And I return bearing gifts.

I would like everyone to look at this lovely little pair of shoes which I shall call "candy for my feet". The pair's real name is Sakura.

I stumbled upon these little gems today doing some modest research on sustainable shoes. These little shoes aren't vegan, which is what many people mean when they say they only wear sustainable shoes, but they are made from re-claimed Japanese Kimonos which makes them at least partially recycled. Some of the shoes in the line are a bit too much for me with the brightness factor and the too much patterning, but these are subtle and quite beautiful. some of the others I would absolutely wear if they had a "less is more" pattern. Anywhoo, they're pretty and they make my little toes dance for joy. And a pedicure. These lovely specimens are the brainchild of Hetty Rose and you can see her whole collection at www.hettyrose.co.uk

But back to the original reason for my posting - my modest research.

Until now Vegan shoes have been relegated to what I can only describe as simply "ugly." But lately this whole Green craze (thank you media for propagating that, by the way!) has lent its support to a few designers who want to usher the vegan folk out of their Thrift Store reclaims or strictly canvas and rubber stylings. One of the biggest names to do so recently is Natalie Portman with her shoe line for Te Casan. And they're not bad. They're not Fabulous, but they're not bad at all. They have a simple and classic approach as opposed to "foot candy." They're sensible, not droolworthy. However, I did find some lovely shoes in a couple of places (mostly the UK, hmm, I wonder why the US hasn't jumped in as much yet?) that Are worthy of the "ooh, I want" status and yet still vegan/made of sustainable materials. Beyond Skin's line of footwear, for example, is quite stunning and I believe I must have the following:

Gloria
Amelia

My Favorite - Saphire

And of course, a purse named Portia

About now I bet you're wondering if this Ani is one of "those Vegan people." Nope, I'm not, but I do like to do my part in making this world a better place and I haven't decided yet if the "faux leathers" are actually more damaging to the earth than taking leather from animals is, but I do believe that the more we, as consumers, shop for items which encourage alternate methods of, well, Anything, then the more diversity we'll have and maybe the things that will Really help us to be kind to the earth will become more attainable for the average working class folk. Make sense? Ani may be a girly girl, but she Does care and she hopes her readers will too.

Sewing Inspiration

2008-09-21T16:09:00.002-05:00

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm in need of some good sewing motivation. I've gone through all of my DVDs and there's nothing there that's really calling to me. My 30's-40's era collection is Seriously lacking and those I do have I just recently watched several times.

So I channel surf.

And I am happily surprised by the Red Carpet preview show on E for the Emmy's tonight. I had completely forgotten about the Emmy's! The real red carpet action hasn't really started yet, but they're doing some fun other commentary right now.

Once the actual red carpet starts going, it will be amazing, I'm sure. And what better inspiration than Red Carpet, right???????

I've got my 1940's playsuit pattern re-sized on parchment paper, now I need to make friendly with the iron so I can start cutting out my mockup. Hopefully there will be progress pictures coming soon.

There be changes

2008-09-12T10:16:00.002-05:00

Just an FYI, I'm going to be changing the focus of this place a little bit. Rather, I'm going to focus more on what I originally intended for Ani Cheval. So you may see some things move around or disappear.

1940s play suit

2008-09-11T20:05:00.003-05:00

For my newest project I have purchased a vintage pattern from Out of the Ashes Collectibles. I purchased a pattern for this 1940s playsuit.

I'll be making the shorts and top for the project. They'll both be in red and there may be a few adjustments to the design as the project isn't supposed to be historical. It's a 1940s concept of an idea, which I'll reveal as the construction unfolds.

Can't wait to get started!

For tonight though, it's Project Runway and a glass or two of Chardonnay.

Not so Gothic

2008-09-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/fashion/2008/08/pre-order-your.html

YSL and Lancome are both rolling out shiny black lipgloss this fall.

First nail polish, now lipgloss. Is there anything else from my teens that I was ostrecised for wearing that will soon become Envogue?

While I'm happy that the awful dry black lipstick that never had any staying power is getting a new life in the form of a shimmer that may actually be more flattering, the first socialite I see with black lips will be receiving a little card that says:

I'm so Gothic (on one side)
*flip*
My lips are black like my soul (opposite side)

I must begin work on designing said card before the lipgloss is available at the end of the month. I want to be at the ready.

And of course, I will probably also be purchasing a tube for myself. Although I contend that since I wore it before when it was UN-cool, I will not be perpetuating the trend, just revelling in an improved product. HUSH!

Simply Beautiful - Rockstars & Royalty

2008-08-29T10:15:00.000-05:00

I know I've been quiet with the Simply Beautiful posts. I've started a couple of blogs and just never finished them. I need to get better about that. This week's installment was easy though. Wednesday night I was struck by a bridal designer's work. I mean, STRUCK! Like her dresses smacked me on the noggin and demanded to be plugged on my blog!

So without further ado, I give you the beauty that is Rockstars and Royalty.

In order to respect the rights of the artist, I'm not going to re-post the images of her AMAZINGLY beautiful dress. You'll just have to click on over to her blog to see it. And when you do, also click on the link for the entry about the red lace show gown. It's quite beautiful too.

And while you're at it, check out their Official Website.

Women and Self Defense

2008-08-28T09:57:00.001-05:00

One of the blogs I watch here is Championing Ourselves Blog. You can see it's right there on my Blog List. It is a blog about physical feminisim, which is something that is rather a new idea to me. But in light of my recent fitness goals and also getting older and having an interest in being as strong on the outside as I am behind that curtain in my brain, I have rather enjoyed the entries on this blog.

Yesterday's entry was a really good one. It speaks of rape and self defence. It is a Great encouragement for any woman who has been reluctant to take self defense classes. We all need those. In fact, we all need to take classes regularly instead of once in our life as is the current trend.

Self-defense and aquaintance rape

Uh ohs in filming

2008-08-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

When you're a self funded, small production company, sometimes things fall through and you just have to make due. Such was the case at our last filming for the Short Film I'm currently working on.

We had already lost our camera man to a new job and re-location. We had already lost another PA due to an itch to move. It was Hot as Hell outside in the middle of summer and it's a little hard to find people to work for you in the heat. You find out real quick who your friends are when you start desperately asking around for help when its 100 plus degrees outside and you're planning on shooting inside a metal shipping container.

In the end, the heat wasn't Near as bad as it was predicted to be. The actors handled it like pros and so did the Very minimal crew we had on hand. How minimal did you say?

Other than the actors, we had two PAs, me, a representative for the site who was there mainly to make sure we filmed only in the places we asked and didn't trash the place, and our actor/director. So since the PAs were doing sound and our director was needed in front of the camera 98% of the time, I got to learn how to press record on the Really Expensive Toy-er camera. So I got a taste of being an assistant director and in the process it made me put a little more together in the way of my "job" as a Script Supervisor.

Here's a peek at where we were filming.

Unfortunately, we just got the news that a lot of that area is going to be paved very soon and it's unlikely we'll be able to film again before that happens. So this could be interesting for continuity.

But in brighter news, my preparedness antics for set have garnered me a rep of semi-handy(wo)man goddess. Hehe. There were clamps and screwdrivers involved and we Almost had to break out the little hand saw. Good times!

Inspiration

2008-08-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine posted this quote on her Live Journal today.

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."

It's an Eleanor Roosevelt quote.

I know I find it inspirational, not only in just the words themselves, but also in the way it is inspirational to her. She literally is looking fear in the face right now to pursue her dream. I admire that.

I hope that by re-posting this quote, I can help spread the inspiration.

I am Dying to read this book!

2008-08-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

Histoire de ma vie (History of My Life), by Giacomo Casanova. Yes, I am. Firstly I love a good gossip. I'm a terrible "girl" that way. And second I have a mild obsession with the 18th century at the moment. And third, this quote about Kitty Fischer, a notorious courtesan, is Brilliant!

...the illustrious Kitty Fisher, who was just beginning to be fashionable. She was magnificently dressed, and it is no exaggeration to say that she had on diamonds worth five hundred thousand francs. Goudar told me that if I liked I might have her then and there for ten guineas. I did not care to do so, however, for, though charming, she could only speak English, and I liked to have all my senses, including that of hearing, gratified.

Thank you, Heather Carroll, writer of the "Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide" blog! for posting such a FUN Tart of the Week piece on Kitty Fischer and including that above quote!!!!

Did I really just say that?

2008-07-30T13:02:00.001-05:00

A moment ago I uttered words that I would think are sure fire DEATH to a Foodie's tastebud needs. I actually said, "I love my Steamer!"

WHAT????

I love food. I mean LOVE it! If I knew I could feel attractive at 400 lbs, I'd give in to all abandon and eat my way through the day every day. An entire bag of Doritos would be devoured at least once per day as well as I'd indulge in fried goodness daily. Mmmm, and Ice Cream...

But since I do Not have the metabolism of a mouse, I try my best to eat as rediculously healthy as possible for lunch at work so I can then have more of a cushion for what I eat for dinner. And one of the ways I eat healthy at work is to steam a variety of things for lunch each day.

Currently, my steaming repatoire consists of salmon, frozen veggies and brown rice. There's not much diversity there. But I have to say that it's rather good and oddly satisfying. And CHEAP!

I buy my spices at the 99 cent store in my neighborhood. And I buy my rice in bulk. And veggies are only about $2 per bag of mixed veggies, so $4 gets me through two weeks. Salmon can also be pretty cheap as well depending on what time of year it is. I buy the packaged large filat and then cut it down to little 2oz pieces per day and freeze it to take to work as needed. Chicken would be even cheaper than salmon. The steamer itself was only about $25. Since I've had it for over a year now I'd say it's paid for itself many times over by now.

And the best part? I don't have to prepare my lunch every day before I come to work. My supplies are already here in the freezer or in my personal cabinet. I only have to remember to put the ingredients in the steamer an hour (for the brown rice then put the fish and veggies in at 30 min) ahead of lunch. And that's not so hard.

So as much as I hate to say that I am in love with my steamer, it is a fact that I have to admit to. Not only does it provide me with healthful low calorie meals, but it also allows me to eat pretty cheaply. Plus the clean up is a Snap as long as you are simply steaming items as opposed to cooking meals in it.

Here's a list of steamers from Amazon.com to get a person started:

Oster 5712 Electronic 2-Tier 6.1-Quart Food Steamer

Black & Decker Divided Food Steamer
This is the one I have

Rival RC61 6-Cup Rice Cooker with Steaming Basket
And you can also always steam in your rice cooker

Simply Beautiful

2008-07-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Fridays are always such a wonderful day for those of us who work regular 5 day-a-week jobs. And what better way to celebrate Fridays than with something Beautiful or Inspiring?

This is the first installment of many more Simply Beautiful Fridays. I hope to bring some beauty into every one's life each week. And for my first pick, I will share with you an image that captured my heart and made me love the artist William Bouguereau.

It is titled "Bohemienne au Tambour de Basque".

I love her skin tone and how he has positioned the light. I love how realistic the situation is. It's not much different from a photograph sitting. And I also love her outfit. I actually found this when I was researching Gypsey costuming and I instantly fell in love with both the coloring and the design. And in the process, I fell in love with this artist.

Thank you to the Art Renewal Center for sharing so many great artists with us via the internet. This resource is truely a blessing on many levels.

Silly things people buy

2008-07-23T14:33:00.001-05:00

Last week on Good Morning America a teaser was shown for some piece they were doing on shopping smart. And in the teaser, they showed a person walking out of a grocery store with a flat full of bottled water.

My first gut reaction to the image as presented along with the "saving money" strategy was, "water is free." I actually stood there brushing my teeth thinking about how silly it was to be complaining about the price of providing oneself with the basic needs of life and yet to be Purchasing something that is readily available out of the tap with no extra charge other than a person's regular water bill.

And then I remembered one of the places where I went to college. I have never tasted water so nasty in my life. It was absolutely unpalatable. But I couldn't always afford to buy gallon jugs of water all the time because I was a college student with no job. What I did instead was purchase a luxury item that was the smartest buy of my college career. I bought a Brita filtration pitcher. Upfront, the purchase hurt my teeny budget, but once I made that initial purchase, I was able to utilize the free water that was available to me from my dorm kitchen sink. And I only had to change the $7 filter once per semester. Buying water jugs was a $2-$3 per week expense.

Now people don't even bother with the gallon jugs anymore. Everyone much prefers the convenience of an individual bottle to carry around. But whereas a gallon was around $1, those little bottles which hold a fraction of the same liquid are also $1. People are spending probably 3-4 times as much on convenience.

Now that our society is focused on "going green" I hope that the bottled water fashion will lull to a stand still. Not only is it an unnecessary expense when times are lean, but it's also bad for the environment to throw all of those bottles in the landfills.

So if you need good tasting water combined with the convenience of an individual travel bottle, here's a few links that will not only help you out with taste, but will also keep your drink looking fashion forward.

Kleen Kanteen - Made of the same stainless steel as is used in food, dairy, and brewery preparation, it is purported to be Toxin-Free and won't leech Anything into your beverage. They've just upgraded their line to include some cute colors so your Kleen Kanteen can be a personal statement.

SIGG - Aluminum bottles with a ton of design options to satisfy your quirky style. Although this product is made of aluminum, they guarantee that the liner will NOT leech anything into your drink. The ingredients are not available for the lining, so be aware that you have no way of seeing exactly what is in that lining. Use your judgment on how careful you want to be about what you store your water in. They do promise that they are BPA-free.

CamelBak - This product comes from the company who originated the water hydration systems you see many bikers and various other athletes using. They changed the make-up to their plastic bottles to be BPA Free.

Brita - This was my first water filtration pitcher. I still keep one in my office.

Pur - Another filtration system. I actually prefer the taste from this version, but I think that's just a personal thing and not anything scientific.

Horse Slaughter news

2008-07-13T13:19:00.001-05:00

Today a blogverse friend posted some news on her personal blog about Horse Slaughter. I grew up with horses and still have one in my hometown on my dad's land, but unfortunately I can't afford to have him here with me in the big city. I am a little ashamed to say that I've not been keeping up with this issue as much as I should. I need to change that. In the meantime, here's a plea for help and the links that were rovided today for your information as well as mine.

Suffolk Downs Race Track has implemented a zero-tolerance policy on horse slaughter!

BLM intends to euthanize Mustangs.

Congressmen Rahall and Grijalva, at least, have questioned the BLM.

Remember, everyone, we STILL do not have The Horse Protection Act through and we need it. Horses are still going to Canada and Mexico, which is especially horrific in cruelty, every day. Until we get not only slaughter stopped in the US for good but also transportation for slaughter outlawed our horses are in danger. And, yes, that means EVERY horse because most stolen horses end up in slaughter! Please talk to your Senators and Representatives again!

Garlicky Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Herbs

2008-06-27T13:29:00.001-05:00

Recently I made my very first attempt at roasting a tenderloin on the grill. I was Very pleased with how the recipe came out! And even better, it was Easy.

The recipe comes from Food & Wine. The chef providing the recipe is Jeri Ryan.

You can find the whole recipe here

This tenderloin was so luscious. Since it was my first I was worried that I would either over cook it or that people wouldn't like it since roast tenderloin is supposed to be cooked medium rare. To my absolute joy, the guests went crazy over it. Compliment after compliment was given over the recipe. I only wish I could have afforded the whole 4 lb recipe instead of having to scale it down to 1 lb.

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please go back to the Food & Wine website and give them a review. Recipes this good deserve many acolades!

Please excuse my mess

2008-06-26T15:23:00.001-05:00

I'm fiddling around with new blog skins and since I'm not very html savvy, I'm pretty slow at it. I hope to have something solid and permanent by the beginning of next week.